District hosts conflict transformation workshop, OEP anniversary celebration.

The third of four regional celebrations honoring 30 years of On Earth Peace took place Nov. 12-14 in Western Plains District. The event drew participants from across the district and an audience of several hundred to a JOYA (Journey of Young Adults) concert in McPherson, Kan. Over 40 pastors, deacons, and other congregational leaders met at McPherson Church of the Brethren for a conflict transformation workshop.

"One of the reasons this training was so successful is that this district really yearns for opportunities to come together and exchange ideas," said Leslie Frye, co-facilitator of the workshop. "So whenever something like this is offered, people will travel long distances to take part." Frye, a licensed minister and certified mediator from McPherson, teamed together with Vickie Samland, ordained minister and teacher at the Conflict Center in Edgewater, Colo., and Bob Gross, co-director of On Earth Peace and a mediator and workshop leader from North Manchester, Ind., to lead the event.

The workshop included exercises in understanding conflict dynamics, active listening, and other tools for transforming conflict and handling power in church leadership positions. Small group sessions gave pastors, deacons, and meeting facilitators a chance to exchange their thoughts and experiences in dealing with conflict in their respective roles.

An afternoon session for meeting facilitators drew the largest group. Congregational lay leaders were given resources and tips for planning an agenda, effective use of consensus and other group decision making models, and how to react to passive and aggressive behaviors in a group setting.

The JOYA quartet of LuAnne Harley, Shawn Kirchner, Brian Kruschwitz, and Barb Sayler traveled through the district during the weekend, performing at Church of the Brethren congregations in Kansas City, Kan., and McPherson, and leading Sunday morning worship in Wichita, Kan. JOYA first formed in 1994 while the participants were in Brethren Volunteer Service, and has gathered again ten years later to help celebrate the ministry of On Earth Peace. "The rich harmonies, which bring the message of peace through the universal language of music, invoke a spirit of prayer, build bridges with other cultures, and pass on the stories of freedom, hope, and love," said Sayler, who is a co-director of On Earth Peace. JOYA is preparing to record a CD which will be available by June 2005.

The final regional weekend commemorating the anniversary of On Earth Peace will take place March 4-6, 2005, in Pacific Southwest District at Modesto (Calif.) Church of the Brethren and LaVerne (Calif.) Church of the Brethren. For more, visit www.brethren.org/oepa/30thAnniversary.html or call On Earth Peace
at 410-635-8704.

Source: 11/19/2004 Newsline