Giving and receiving feedback is difficult. This workshop wrestles with the conundrum of critique, exploring the benefits and risks of these tough conversations alongside concrete strategies for managing such conversations well, especially in contexts when dynamics of power influence how feedback is given and received. In addition, this workshop explores how to create a feedback-rich …
View course details “Giving and Receiving Feedback”

Facilitator: Betty Pries, C. Med. Additional mediation practitioners will be used for participant coaching and feedback for the role play scenarios. Online The goal of this workshop is to: a) introduce participants to a mediation style that purposefully shifts according to the needs expressed by the clients; b) invite participants to re-imagine the types of …
View course details “The Art of Mindful Mediation – Advanced Training”

Do you want to learn how to use conflict as a tool for transforming relationships and social dynamics? Candler School of Theology professors in ethics and conflict transformation guide you through the process of evaluating and engaging conflict in a theological framework. The lessons in this track will equip you with practical skills such as: …
View course details “Peacebuilding and Conflict Transformation”

There is no greater satisfaction than to see another person flourish and to know that one’s presence has helped a person come to this place. While conflict can cause people to struggle, a conflict coach partners with those in a conflict, empowering them to be at their best, to engage their conflict well and to …
View course details “Conflict Coaching Skills”

Reconciliation is the mission of the Church; and reconciliation is not the absence of conflict but rather the navigation of it. When approached with skill and grounded in Christ’s love, conflict is a healthy process through which we fully encounter our neighbor, we learn about ourselves, and ultimately leads to unity amidst difference. In this …
View course details “Navigating Conflict: Speaking the Truth in Love”

This workshop, uses the two lenses of conflict drivers and conflict paradoxes, and considers seemingly intractable conflicts and their transformation.  Questions for consideration include the nature of intractability, de-escalation strategies, transforming intractable conflicts and engaging emotions. This workshop builds on Understanding Conflict: Foundations. It is highly interactive, insightful, engaging and critical for all those who wish to …
View course details “Understanding Conflict – Advanced”

This workshop, uses the two lenses of conflict drivers and conflict paradoxes, and considers seemingly intractable conflicts and their transformation.  Questions for consideration include the nature of intractability, de-escalation strategies, transforming intractable conflicts and engaging emotions. This workshop builds on Understanding Conflict: Foundations. It is highly interactive, insightful, engaging and critical for all those who wish to …
View course details “Understanding Conflict – Advanced”

Conflict in congregational life is unique – it mixes organizational dynamics with personality, family history, conflict, theology and of course, faith. This combination creates both challenges and possibilities. This workshop provides church leaders with an opportunity to consider their role as leaders in this dynamic environment, providing practical tools and processes for engaging churches experiencing conflict, transforming tough situations into …
View course details “Leading the Church Through Times of Conflict”

Longtime activist, author, and Nobel Peace Prize nominee, Rev. John Dear, will walk us through the Synoptic Gospels pointing out Jesus’ practice and teachings of nonviolence and invite us to become practitioners of creative nonviolence, based on his new commentary, “The Gospel of Peace.” We will reflect on Matthew, with the Sermon on the Mount …
View course details “The Gospel of Peace: Reading Matthew, Mark & Luke from the Perspective of Nonviolence”

Martin Luther University College and the Institute for Christian Studies will present the conference, “Beyond Culture Wars: Fostering Solidarity in an Age of Polarization.” Hosted at the campus of Martin Luther University College (Wilfrid Laurier University), this event will be an education and discussion forum for faith communities, and for the larger public, to counter …
View course details “Beyond Culture Wars Fostering Solidarity in an Age of Polarization Conference”