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EDUCATION

Peace Worker/Transition Consultant Training Program

The Association of Unity Churches International Peace Worker/Transition Consultant Training Program consists of educational requirements and practicum:

Peacemaking Skills Institute
Thriving Ministries Model and Practice
Lombard Mennonite Peace Center Mediation Skills Institute
Board/Leadership Training
The I of the Storm
Making Peace with Our Past

Educational Requirements

Peacemaking Skills Institute (PSI)

PSI outlines the principles of peacemaking as well as the skills needed to effectively be a peace worker and/or transition consultant. This training also makes the distinction between peace building and conflict resolution. The concepts presented relate directly to dealing with challenges and interpersonal difficulties that arise in the life of the individual or the ministry. PSI also explores the “integral approach” to understanding the dynamics of ministry. It presents a holistic—all quadrants/all levels—model for understanding and working with conflicts, church growth, and transitional issues. This training includes the work of The I of the Storm: Embracing Conflict, Creating Peace and a comprehensive board/leadership training, designed to be used independently or in conjunction with a total peacemaking process.

PSI also outlines the structure of a congregational peacemaking process and how peacemaking can be adapted to transition consulting services. Topics include:

Principles and goals of peacemaking in the congregational peacemaking process
Transition consulting
The peacemaking steps
Strategies for implementing the peacemaking process
Case studies
How to determine whether the minister should stay

The training focuses on working with conflicted communities or those who have experienced the loss of ministerial leadership.

Thriving Ministries Model and Practice

This seminar integrates Spiral Dynamics and the integral principles to formulate an All Quadrant / All Level (AQAL) understanding of ministry. Integral Leadership is about modeling a way of relating to opportunities and challenges of ministry that inspire others to take up meaningful roles in the life of the church. Church growth is less about increasing numbers, but is about increasing ownership, raising consciousness, growing energy, and creating a culture of peacemaking. These shifts in our traditional concepts of church leadership and growth make healthy and energetic ministry possible. Topics include:

Different sized churches behave differently
The Relational, Organization, Communal, Cultural, and Spiritual Aspects of Ministry
Overcoming the systemic problems associated with moving from pastoral to program ministry
The three congregations in every ministry and their unique attributes
Spiral Dynamics and the Integral Map of Ministry
How to create membership competence by creating value in membership

The program also builds leadership capacity and addresses ways to enhance the minister/board relationship. More information about Thriving Model Ministry Workshops.

Lombard Mennonite Peace Center Mediation Skills Institute

This training is designed to equip peace workers with the skills necessary to effectively mediate disputes and move conflicted parties to healing and reconciliation. The intensive teaches collaborative problem-solving and healing strategies for work with conflicted parties and entire congregations. The Mediation Skills Institute is conducted by the Lombard Mennonite Peace Center (www.LMPeacecenter.org) and is required (or its equivalent) for those wishing certification as a peace worker/transition consultant.

Practicum

It is the individual's responsibility for gaining practical experience and demonstrating the competencies inherent in the modules. Candidates for certification should conact the Director of Peacemaking & Transitional Services prior to doing any practicum component.

Certification candidates are required to provide documentation to substantiate the following:

Board/Leadership Training
This training includes: principles of leadership; dynamics of ministry; roles and accountabilities of the minister, board and congregation; membership competence; and agreeing and disagreeing in love. This is designed to be an 8-hour training.
- Requirement:Facilitate one (1) Board/Leadership Training.
The I of the Storm
Teaching The I of the Storm is a prerequisite for a community engaging in the Making Peace with the Past weekend. It is important that participants are clear that no one and no thing is against them; that all perception is misperception; that we are shifting our focus from needing to be right to doing the right thing; and that conflict is an opportunity to demonstrate our Wholeness.
- Requirement:
  Teach I of the Storm in three (3) different venues
Making Peace with Our Past
This process explores the systemic dimension of the church community and the issues that are rooted in the communal narrative. Churches with a troubled history possess unresolved community issues rooted in past hurts, disappointments, betrayal, and broken dreams. This training provides participants with an overview of history-related issues that affect community life. It teaches a simple, yet dynamic process of identifying unresolved issues and patterns of dysfunction linked to family systems dynamics.
- Requirement:
  Intern with a Certified Consultant in two (2) Making Peace with the Past processes

Documentation

Certification candidates are required to complete the Peace Worker/Transition Consultant Information Form and return to Director of Peacemaking & Transitional Services.

In addition to the above requirements, consultants are required to submit two letters of recommendation from mentors and/or clients, including ministers, board members, or congregants whom you have served.

Certification

Certification as a Peace Worker/Transition Consultant under the auspices of the Department of Peacemaking of the Association of Unity Churches International is available to those who have completed the Association of Unity Churches International Peace Worker Training Program and Practicum, and have received a recommendation for certification from the Director of Peacemaking & Transitional Services. Recommended candidates will be referred to the Board of Trustees of the Association of Unity Churches International. The term of certification is for two years. To retain certification status, the individual must serve at least one ministry each year following the initial two-year term of certification and attend the Peacemaking Skills Institute every other year.