Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America

Conflict is often viewed as something to be avoided, if not minimized, in human relations. Thus, the goal in many attempts at reconciliation is to reach harmony between warring parties through mediation and compromise. Though this is an understandable objective, at times conflict resolution may fail to address the underlying causes of conflicts, as well as the inherent injustices and the power dynamics that factor into a broken relationship. Thus, apparent resolutions fail to truly reconcile the parties and peacemaking has not taken place.

Therefore, the BPFNA is committed to building cultures of peace that take into account concerns for justice and parity in power in an effort toward reconciliation. Conflict Transformation is an approach toward peacemaking that uses conflict constructively to transform the relationships between parties, enabling them to be mutually cognizant of the underlying problems, and individually empowered and empathetic toward others as they address their differences. The primary goal is to prepare and guide the parties for dialog, with resolution of their conflict a common result.

The BPFNA encourages its constituency to learn more about Conflict Transformation and to be trained in the techniques employed by peacebuilders. We hope to provide resources and training to aid those who will join us in seeking to build cultures of peace.

► BPFNA's next Conflict Transformation training is set for late April 2010 at North Shore Baptist Church, Chicago, IL. Email Evelyn Hanneman from our contact page for more information.