Participants in the conflict transformation training:
1st row: Michelle Armster, executive director, MCC Central States; Jean Carlos Arce, Puerto Rico Program Coordinator for MCC East Coast; Hermann Mputo, pastor at Christian Center the Hand of God, Hamilton, Ohio; Jacob Cook, teacher of Christian ethics and peace theology and co-director of the Shalom Collaboratory at Eastern Mennonite Seminary; Jim Amstutz, retired pastor/Bible teacher.
2nd row: Kathy Neufeld Dunn, associate conference minister for MC USA’s Western District Conference; Jill Heine, founder, On the Journey Consulting; Heidi Regier Kreider, conference minister for MC USA’s Western District Conference; Lorraine Stutzman Amstutz, MC USA’s denominational minister for Peace and Justice; Andrew Wright, director of programs, MCC Central States; Hyacinth Stevens, executive director, MCC East Coast; Beth Good, Global Service Learning director, MCC; Insil Kang, senior director of Integration at Village Church, Beaverton, Oregon.
3rd row: Krista Dutt, MCC Great Lakes Chicago program coordinator; Jon Carlson, moderator for MC USA and lead pastor of Forest Hills Mennonite Church, Leola, Pennsylvania; Shannon Dycus, vice president for Student Affairs, Equity and Belonging at Eastern Mennonite University, Harrisonburg, Virginia; and Andrew Terry, area missioner at Episcopal Diocese of Texas. (Photo by Brenda Burkholder.)
En español Mennonite Church USA, Mennonite Central Committee Central States and Eastern Mennonite Seminary provided an in-person conflict transformation training to 17 participants on Sept. 26-28, 2024, in Akron, Pennsylvania. The training was a potential model for future training sessions that will be offered more widely in the next year or two.
The training was led by Lorraine Stutzman Amstutz, MC USA denominational minister for Peace and Justice and Michelle Armster, MDiv, executive director of MCC Central States, with input from Rev. Dr. Jacob Alan Cook, who teaches Christian ethics and peace theology and co-directs the Shalom Collaboratory at Eastern Mennonite Seminary, and Jim Amstutz, retired pastor/Bible teacher.
“We invited participants that, because of their interest and understanding of conflict transformation and/or restorative justice, could provide us with necessary feedback on the training so that we can continue to develop it with constituents over the coming months,” said Stutzman Amstutz. “This training will be available for individuals to equip them with tools to address conflict and harm constructively to encourage dialogue, understanding and strengthened relationships,” she added.
Speaking to the significance of this work in today’s cultural context, Armster said, “To live is to have imperfect relationships with self, family, systems and nature. We must acquire all the skills possible to do/be in conflict and admit harming with humility and courage.”
“Anabaptists believe that peace is the will of God in the world,” Cook explained, “and I propose that following in the way of Jesus involves a practiced commitment to frameworks and skills for building peace in our communities. That’s the focus of these training sessions: increasing the capacity of more and more leaders in congregational spaces for pursuing transformational justice, restored relationships and the holistic peace that is God’s shalom.”
The training is part of MC USA’s current “Learn, Pray, Join: Conflict Transformation” initiative. MC USA’s “Learn, Pray, Join” initiatives seek to create opportunities across the church to deepen understanding around a common topic and to come together in prayer and support. Join Stutzman Amstutz, Armster, Cook and Hyacinth Stevens, executive director of MCC East Coast, on Oct. 22 at 11 a.m. PT/2 p.m. ET for “Conflict: The Joys and Challenges,” a webinar that will explore the recent training and discuss future steps to create ongoing trainings for congregations and institutions. Spanish interpretation available. Register here.
Mennonite Church USA is an Anabaptist Christian denomination, founded in 2002 by the merger of the Mennonite Church and the General Conference Mennonite Church. Members of this historic peace church seek to follow Jesus by rejecting violence and resisting injustice. MC USA’s Renewed Commitments state the following shared commitments among its diverse body of believers: to follow Jesus, witness to God’s peace and experience the transformation of the Holy Spirit. Mennoniteusa.org
Written by Camille Dager.
“Learn, Pray, Join: Conflict Transformation” provides tools and resources to help MC USA church communities peacefully engage in dialog around difficult and divisive topics. By embracing restorative justice and modeling healthy communication, we seek to witness to God’s peace as we build diverse communities to serve and follow Jesus.