Transforming Conflict: Peace by Peace

We had a wonderful annual conference in October 2007, thank you all so much to those who came and those who supported us in spirit. Below are four articles written by conference participants about the event.

Peace by Transformation

In October 2007, the Fellowship for Reconciliation held its annual conference in the beauty and quiet of the Hollowford Centre in Hope Derbyshire. Themed, Transforming Conflict: Peace by Peace, participants from diverse backgrounds unified by the desire to overcome conflict and build peace, spent two days sharing knowledge and experiences on conflict and peace, amidst lots of fun. The conference highlighted the importance of peace in an increasingly turbulent world. It focused on dialogue, healing, reconciliation and co-operation as critical processes in breaking the cycle of violence and achieving positive and lasting peace.

The interactive ‘mood’ of the conference provided a great opportunity and conducive environment for mutual learning, characterised by talks/ presentations, role plays, group discussions, reflections, meditation and praise worship.

Building peace
As key speakers at the conference, Ray Gaston, former Vicar of All Hallow church in Leeds and Jacinta de Paor, from the Glencree Centre for Peace and Reconciliation, Ireland, shared inspirational and challenging insights on conflict transformation and peacebuilding. Ray, speaking on Muslim/ Christian relations: post 9/11-‘war on terror’, advocated for greater and constructive inter-faith dialogue in order to prevent as well as transform conflict. Seeing love, peace and justice as intrinsic and shared values of Islam and Christianity, he urged Muslims and Christians to embrace rather than demonise ‘divine’ differences in order to foster mutual understanding and co-operation, enhancing the prospects for genuine peace.

Jacinta, based on her work at the Glencree Centre, focused on healing and reconciliation between victims and perpetrators in the Northern Ireland conflict. She emphasised that creating safe spaces for victims and perpetrators to tell their ‘stories’ and be listened to with the hope for forgiveness and reconciliation is crucial in restoring relationships, ending the cycle of violence and building lasting peace in northern Ireland and elsewhere.

While the conference was a great opportunity to learn about conflict transformation as a people-oriented and durable approach of dealing with conflict, it was the ‘peace community’ spirit that I found truly humbling. I also realised that peacework is not the preserve of peace ‘experts’ but for any one who desires and shares the vision of a more just and peaceful world no matter age, sex, race, religion, occupation, academic, economic or social status. Thus we are all called to be PEACEMAKERS. Join us at this year’s conference, it’s an amazing experience.

By Fidelis Neba Chebe, a 2007 conference participant

"God is Love; Lover and Beloved"

The annual "Called to be Peacemakers" conference for young adults aged
18 to 30-ish, organised by the ecumenical peace body 'Fellowship of Reconciliation', was held at the Hollowford Centre in Derbyshire on 26th-28th October.

The weekend was titled "Transforming Conflict: Peace by Peace", and included guest speakers Jacinta de Paor from the Glencree Centre for Peace & Reconciliation in Co. Wicklow, Ireland, which provides the space for victims and survivors of the Northern Ireland Conflict to share their experiences. Ray Gaston, formerly of All Hallow's Church in Leeds, shared his passion for inter-faith work, particularly fostering a close and deep engagement with the Muslim community. Chris Cole, director of Fellowship of Reconciliation, led a workshop on the portrayal of masculinity in the media and linguistic practitioner Dan Storey explored the role of linguistics as a way of understanding and overcoming conflict within ourselves and between each other.

The complementary mix of activities, from involvement in worship times and workshops, to role-playing situations and discussions, enabled all participants to explore peace as a spirit-led, creative expression. The building of community through fellowship and friendship heightened our awareness that non-violent resistance in situations of conflict involves seeing our witness to peace as a transformative process rather than a destination, which requires teaching and guidance to be nurtured. In this way it helped us to recognise the radical embodiment of the gospel (which is the calling of God, the invitation of Jesus and the promise of Christ), as the need to affirm and uphold anyone who might be regarded as "other" in the world.

The insights we gained from the practical examples of conflict transformation achieved by makers of peace devoting themselves to serving others and striving to create the mutually supportive environment for sharing each other's truths, gave meaning beyond words to this chant that we sang throughout the weekend: "Ishq Allah, Ma'Bud Lillah" (God is Love; Lover and Beloved).

By Simon Latham, a 2007 conference participant

"An Eye Opener"

The "Called to be Peacemakers" conference weekend was an eye opener both for the outstanding natural beauty of the surrounding area of Hope as well as for the content. There were workshops on a wide range of areas within conflict transformation, from the troubles in northern island, to constructive interfaith relations to the Iraq war and gender differences. We worked in groups exploring the nature and impact of conflict in these contexts using role play and discussion. The power of open dialog and 'putting yourself in their shoes' really hit home during the exercises. There was also good opportunity for socializing and other activities included singing (the image - and sound of 30 or so people walking around singing a beautiful Islamic prayer in harmony stays with me) and a walk over the rocky hills by the Hollowford centre.

The event was attended by town planners, corporate trainers, professionals in conflict transformation and students alike. It is a good feeling to be surrounded by people who are actively committed to making a positive impact on the world and I found the weekend to be a hugely worthwhile and enjoyable experience and to which I was glad to make some small contribution.

By Joe Hudson, a 2007 Conference Participant

Called to be Peacemakers

This weekend conference was organised by the Fellowship of Reconciliation, an international charity with Christian roots but also a truly ecumenical and interfaith vision of peace. It took place in the Hollowford Centre, a remote activity centre in Derbyshire surrounded by the beauty of the peak district. The theme for the conference was Conflict Transformation.

Around thirty young people, ranging from university students to active professionals and even experienced peace activists, arrived on the Friday evening. After dinner, there was no hesitation before engaging in a group exercise challenging everyone to consider the different perspectives and situations of real people affected by the conflict in Iraq.

Over the next two days, there were inspiring sessions led by professional peace activists.

Jacinta da Paor referred to her work in Northern Ireland, patiently bringing together victims of sectarian violence and combatants. After having spoken about her work, including its sensitive nature and the related challenges, we had a powerful experience whereby each member of the conference took on an imaginary role. Some of us were British soldiers, some IRA combatants, some Loyalist combatants, some Irish victims. After the moving session during which it was difficult to separate reality from the fiction, Jacinta confessed that for every imaginary story, there was a real person she could think of for whom each story could relate.

Ray Gaston, a former Anglican vicar in Leeds who is currently doing a PhD in Birmingham, spoke about his experiences developing a relationship with local Muslims in the post-9/11 atmosphere. Referring to the experience of St. Francis of Assissi, whose Christian faith deepened when he visited Muslims in Jerusalem, Ray indicated the great need for interfaith cooperation and commented on the remarkable complementarities of especially the Abrahamic faiths. He concluded that any differences and conflicts that may arise between faith communities may indeed by God-given, as an opportunity to elevate members of all faiths.

There were also concurrent sessions on Tough Guise, challenging the common misconceptions of what it means to be a real man, and on positive communication, encouraging everyone to internalise the concept of peace, embodying peace in their thoughts and words.

While the quality of the sessions was exceptionally high, revealing a lot about how to transform conflict on many levels, the best part of the weekend from my perspective was the group of wonderful people with whom I shared the time. I was able to meet many amazing people, with whom I want to collaborate on many exciting projects. Although I knew nobody when I arrived on the Friday evening, I left on Sunday afternoon with many friends.

By Matthew Huish, a 2007 Conference Participant