Christianity, Conflict
and
the Soul of the Nation
Following the success of the Aviemore Conference, Christianity, Conflict and the Soul of the Nation, we are now able to make some of the resources from that conference available through this website. You will notice that we have established this website, dedicated to A Place for Hope, and we will continue to maintain and use this as a place to share ideas and resources over the next three years.
The conference was, of course, the launch pad for A Place for Hope which is being sponsored jointly by the Ministries Council and The Guild in order to establish both a mediation service, which can be used by the churches in Scotland, and a Centre for Peace and Reconciliation.
The conference was a great success in itself. Feedback forms indicate that participants saw this as one of the most important events they had ever attended. Comments such as, “This was a life-changing experience” and “This was a hugely significant event, increasing my enthusiasm for the work of conflict resolution”, were commonplace and many people felt that we had reached a tipping point from which we can successfully extend this work as a gift that the churches in Scotland can give to the communities they serve.
Mediation Training
Now, it is crucial that we follow this up with the training of the first cohort of mediators. Accordingly, we have set aside the week beginning 8 March 2010 to hold a four-day training event which will be provided by Core Solutions; this training event will give potential mediators the opportunity to experience one of the best mediator training schemes in the country. READ MORE>
Conference Report
We were delighted to have Professor Richard Roberts write a report on our recent 2009 conference. Read his report here:
Our 2009 Conference
Our recent conference was well attended by delegates who wanted to:
- understand more about the history and dynamic of conflict within our national life and within the life of our churches
- acknowledge the damaging ways in which our theology and our theological language have influenced our common life
- face up to living with difference within and between our denominations
- find new strategies for harnessing the creative power of conflict
- know more about the skill of mediation and its power to transform conflicted situations
- learn more about themselves and learn better ways of handling conflict to help transform their local church into a place of peace and reconciliation
| 'A Place for Hope' sponsored by |
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| The Church of Scotland Ministries Council and the Guild | |

