Lombard Mennonite Peace Center
Description
LMPC works to encourage the nonviolent transformation of conflict in relationships in homes, workplaces, schools, churches, and throughout our world. The Lombard Mennonite Peace Center (LMPC) ministry receives its impetus from II Corinthians 5:18 - "All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation." Thus, LMPC seeks to ground its peacemaking in a biblical understanding of salvation and Christian discipleship.
LMPC was conceived as a peace resource center - sharing speakers, audio-visual resources, and literature with churches and the broader public throughout the Chicago metropolitan area and beyond. Initially LMPC was called upon to provide educational resources on biblical peacemaking in regard to such issues as the nuclear arms race, U.S.-Soviet relations, Central America, and other global issues.
As its ministry matured, LMPC's work expanded.
LMPC provided resources on a diverse range of peace and justice concerns, from biblical foundations for peacemaking, to conflict transformation skills for the family, the church, the workplace, and the community. Additionally LMPC was increasingly called upon to help those caught in difficult conflict to find reconciliation and healing by offering mediation services for individuals, churches, and other organizations.
In the 1990’s, LMPC added an international component to its work, having provided training in conflict transformation for church leaders in the former Yugoslavia. From 1996 to 2011, Richard led an annual training event held either in London or various other cities in the United Kingdom. Since 2005 he has also periodically led training events in the Netherlands and at the Theological Seminary and Conference Centre Bienenberg in Switzerland. Finally, each summer since 2006, he has taught a course on Religion and Dispute Resolution: Mediation Skills for Church Leaders in Florence, Italy, for Southern Methodist University.
LMPC has also been called upon to work in school settings.
Educational leaders, responding to an increase in violence and other destructive expressions of conflict in classrooms and on playgrounds, have sought alternative approaches to the management of conflict in schools. LMPC has offered training to teachers, school social workers, and administrators in conflict transformation skills for the classroom, and in establishing peer mediation programs in schools.
LMPC began in 1983 as a congregationally based ministry with a local and regional focus to its outreach ministries. Over the years, the demand for LMPC's educational programs has grown significantly such that we now have a national focus to our outreach ministry. Such growth has confirmed our original vision for providing peacemaking resources for churches of all denominations. In 1998 LMPC reorganized as an independent non-profit ministry responsible to a ten-member Board of Directors.
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facebook.comThe Mediation Skills Training Institute is designed to equip church leaders with the skills necessary to deal effectively with interpersonal, congregational, and other forms of group conflict. For more information, go to www.lmpeacecenter.org
You still have time to get a group together to register for our "Healthy Congregations" workshop in South Carolina and receive a discount for up to 20% off! For more information or to register, go to https://www.lmpeacecenter.org/workshops/hc/
What can be done to prevent anxiety from becoming a toxic force in your congregation? The "Healthy Congregations" workshop is designed to equip leaders to respond to anxiety in congregations in ways that prevent destructive conflict and help the church stay focused on its mission. This workshop will be held near Columbia, SC on November 3-4, 2017. Group discounts and early registration are available until October 20. For more information or registration, go to https://www.lmpeacecenter.org/workshops/hc/.
Are you looking to develop skills to manage conflict in healthier ways or to prevent destructive conflict in your church? Sign up for the workshop "Conflict Transformation Skills for Churches," which will be held in Indianapolis, IN on Saturday, October 21. Early registration and group discounts available until October 6. To learn more or register, visit https://www.lmpeacecenter.org/workshops/cts/
Are you encountering unhealthy patterns within the church, or are you interested in enhancing your ability to manage self in a non-anxious manner in the midst of congregational anxiety? Consider signing up to attend the leadership training program: "Clergy Clinic in Family Emotional Process." We have extended the early registration deadline to October 9, giving you more time to make plans. Register by this date to save $100 in tuition! For more information, visit us at https://www.lmpeacecenter.org/cc/
The recent hurricane in Florida has created uncertainty among some as to whether or not to register for the "Mediation Skills Training Institute" in Lakeland, FL. Fortunately, the host church has just confirmed that they are still able to host the event on October 2-6, 2017. Due to the uncertainty and disruption, we are extending the preregistration deadline to September 22, 2017, so that people who register by that date can still save $200 as early registrants. Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with the people of Florida, and all the other states and countries that have suffered from Hurricanes Irma and Harvey.
LMPC will have an information booth at the upcoming Pax Christi Illinois Annual Gathering. We are honored to be a co-sponsor of this event, and look forward to hearing presenter Maureen Costello of Southern Poverty Law Center speak on this year's theme of "Transforming Hate into Love in an Age of Fear." The event will be held at Saint Xavier University School of Education in Chicago on Saturday, October 7, starting at noon (note that this time has been changed). We hope to see some of you there!
Are you interested in learning skills to transform conflict in your congregation or strategies for preventing destructive conflict in the church family? Register to attend the hands-on workshop "Conflict Transformation Skills for Churches" in Indianapolis, IN on Saturday, October 21. To learn more or register, visit our website at https://www.lmpeacecenter.org/workshops/cts/
The "Clergy Clinic" is a program designed to enhance the ability of participants to function as self-differentiated leaders within their own ministry setting. It will provide a safe forum for processing challenging situations in one's ministry, while also facilitating reflection on how one's own functioning can either fuel anxiety or have a calming influence on the church system. Read more at https://www.lmpeacecenter.org/cc/. Clergy Clinic meets 3 times, for 3 days each time, over the course of a year, and includes input on systems theory, family of origin groups, and congregational case study groups. Group B meets over the following dates: Nov 6-8, 2017; Feb 26-28, 2018; and April 30-May 2, 2018.
The "Clergy Clinic" is a program designed to enhance the ability of participants to function as self-differentiated leaders within their own ministry setting. It will provide a safe forum for processing challenging situations in one's ministry, while also facilitating reflection on how one's own functioning can either fuel anxiety or have a calming influence on the church system. Read more at https://www.lmpeacecenter.org/cc/. Clergy Clinic meets 3 times, for 3 days each time, over the course of a year, and includes input on systems theory, family of origin groups, and congregational case study groups. Group A meets over the following dates: Oct 23-25, 2017; Feb 19-21, 2018; and April 23-25, 2018.
This workshop is designed to equip leaders to respond to the presence or potential threat of anxiety in a congregational system in ways that prevent destructive conflict and help the church stay focused on its unique mission and purpose. For more information or registration, visit our website page at https://www.lmpeacecenter.org/workshops/hc/
Are you interested in enhancing your ability to manage self in a non-anxious manner in the midst of congregational anxiety? It's not too late to sign up for the "Clergy Clinic in Family Emotional Process" - you can save $100 in tuition if you register by September 18. For more information or registration, visit our website at https://www.lmpeacecenter.org/cc/
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