Program aims to keep peace at churches
BY T. KEVIN WALKER
THt C HRONICLE
When it comes to strife, no
place is sacred.
No one knows that better than
Richard Blackburn. For years, he
has been training pastor* and other
church folks in the an of resolving
jspnflicts that arise in the church.
Blackburn founded the Chica
go-based Lombard Mennonite
Peace Center in the early 1980s.
Back then, the center's conflict
resolution seminar, and resources
focused largely on healing the
wounds caused by the arms race
between the United States and the
Soviet Union. But when the Cold
War ended, Blackburn found that
conflict resolution training was in
great demand at churches, where
rifts, disagreements and outright
disdain among congregants is not
uncommon.
"There is conflict in the
church just like there is conflict in
every other arena where we inter
act with other human beings." he
said.
, Each year, Blackburn leads
week-long mediation training
seminars geared for church lead
ers. Much of the training is rooted
in the centuries-old teachings of
the Mennonite Church, a denomi
nation known for its affinity for
peace, love and understanding.
Blackburn brought his seminar to
Winston-Salem last week. About
60 people paid about $600 each
for five intense days of the inno
vative training. In a large meeting
room at Home Moravian Church,
participants listened to lectures,
held discussions and took pan in
role-playing activities. all
designed to help them quash con
flicts. both small and large.
Blackburn took every oppor
tunity to toll participants that
church conflict is not necessarily
bad. Constructive conflict, he said,
can actually help a church grow
stronger through interaction and
i
Photiw. by Kevin Walker
Above: Richard Blackburn
addresses trainees last week
during a seminar held at
Home Moravian Church.
Right: Bishop Simeon Nxishu
ra and Rev. Titus K. Oyeye
mi attended the seminar.
collective discovery.
"(Constructive conflict) is an
opportunity to learn something
new about God and what God has
in store for us." he said. But,
Blackburn said, constructive con
flict can turn to destructive con
flict, the kind so divisive that it can
tear away at the church's very
core. The seminars are aimed at
training church leaders to defuse
situations before they get to that
level.
The Lombard Mennonite
Peace Center has developed such
a reputation that those who took
part in last week's training came
from near and far to learn the
skills.
Bishop Simeon Nzishura trav
eled from his church in Burundi to
attend the training. He is no
novice to conflict resolution train
ing He had already attended one
of Blackburn's sessions and found
what he learned so helpful that he
came back for more.
"1 think church leaders should
really be involved in healing, not
only within the church but also in
the country," he said. The issues
that Nzishura's congregation had
to work through were far from
petty. Burundi is in Central Africa,
a region where two tribes, the Tut
sis and Hums, have been fighting
and killing each other for years.
Nzishura, who also heads the
Union of Christian Churches in
his country, said the strife between
the two tribes is so bad that some
churches are divided along tribal
lines. He credits what he has
learned through the Lombard
Menn'onite Peace Center with
helping to make some headway.
"We have showed people how
to unite by forgiving one another,"
he said.
The Rev. Titus K. Oyeyemi
was also a repeat attendee at the
training. Oyeyemi, who is also
African, is hoping to incorporate
the training in his ambitious
African Projects for Peace and
Love Initiatives, which aims to
bring conflict resolution and even
tually kinship to everyone on the
continent.
"Our goal is to develop inter
tribal good will and .interfaitlj
good will for ethnic and religious
harmony in Africa," he said.
Oyeyemi is confident that the
same skills that would be used in a
church to resolve a conflict can be
used on a larger scale.
The Rev. Judy Davis, a pastor
of a church in Boonville, said
mediation training is especially
helpful to new pastors, such as
herself. Davis has been a pastor
for less than two years, and she
has already encountered issues
that had to be ironed out. She said
she took courses dealing with con
flict in divinity school, but they
were not as intense as the training
she got last week.
"I think it is a great opportuni
ty for new pastors to come to get
the tools that they'll need to han
dle (conflicts) effectively from the
forefront," she said.
Churches are not the only onr.
who have called on Blackburn to
settle disputes. He also works with
other groups. Recently he has
been working with a school dis
trict that recently went through a
strike. But Blackburn believes that
his work with churches is key. He
says churches should set the stan
dard and lead by example.
"I think the church is called to
be a light." he said. "And it starts
with how we relate to each other.
Then we can witness to others in
the world."
For more information about
the Lombard Mennonite Peace
Center, log on to ww.Lmpeace
center.org.
Face to
Face
Photo by Kevin Walker
Phillip Boyd Jr. got a
chance to have some
face time Saturday
with U.S. Senator
Elect Richard Burr.
The two met up at the
grand ribbon cutting
for the Children's
Museum of Winston
Salem. Before chat
ting with Burr ; Boyd
had his picture taken
with the future sena
tor and Mayor Allen
Joines.
A&T receives science grant
SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
N.C. Agricultural and
Technicaf State University
has been awarded a three-year
National Science Foundation
grant of $187,457 for the
project titled "Implications of
STEM (Science, Technology,
Engineering, and Math) Dis
ciplines Research for Instruc
tional Innovation and Assess
ment in Economic Educa
tion."
Led by Dr. Scott Simkins,
interim director of the N.C.
A&T Academy for Teaching
and Learning, and Mark
Maier. associate professor of
economics at Glendale Com
munity College (Glendale,
Calif.), the project explores a
set of NSF-supported STEM
di<cipline teaching innova
tions that demonstrated suc
cess in terms of instructor
use, student learning and pro
fessional research, and inves
tigates their adaptability for
economics education. This
project follows the successful
completion of a $130,000
NSF grant, "Just-in-Time
Teaching in Economics," by
Simkins and Maier in 2004.
Volunteer
awards
given to
local folks
SPECIAL TO THE CHRONIC! I
Gov. Mike Easley has
announced the recipients of the
N.C. Award for Outstanding
Volunteer Service in Central
North Carolina.
The N.C. Commission on
Volunteerism and Community
service
recog
n i z e d
the 115
recipi
e n A s
from 29
c o u n -
ties on
Nov. 9
at 3
p.m. at
Casley
3 U II SC I
Avenue Church of God in
Asheboro. The award honors
individuals, groups and busi
nesses thai liflvc made signifi
cant contributions to the com
munity through volunteer serv
ice.
"Volunteers are the driving
force behi/td programs and
organizations that assist thou
sands of North Carolinians
every day," Easley said. 'They
lend a helping hand to our chil
dren. adults, seniors, and at
risk and underserved popula
tions. and give back so much
to our communities. This
award honors and thanks our
volunteers for their invaluable
service to our state."
The statewide volunteer
recognition program, estab
lished in 1979, is an important
part of the history and tradition
of volunteerism and communi
ty service in North Carolina.
Since the program's inception,
more than 15,000 North Car
olinians have received the
award.
The winners from Forsyth
County were the Community
Care Center, Cecil Mahatey,
Betty Penn, Christine Treath
away and Vulcan Materials.
Guilford County winners were
Roger March. Pearl Everette
Durham, Jeanie Ray, Chris
Pucket and Julia Stevens.
Hairston
from page A 1
proud of," he said. c.
With Hairston at the helm,
the NAACP has taken a much
stronger interest in the. local
criminal justice system. Hairston
started Court Watch more than a
year ago. The program places
NAACP volunteers in court
rooms to monitor the way
judges, lawyers and prosecutors
interact with defendants. Hair
ston has also come down hard on
the state's habitual felon law,
which gives district attorneys the
leeway to seek longer sentences
for repeat offenders. Hairston
says the law is used prejudicially
to punish blacks more severely.
Most recently. Hairston has
made a fuss about the lengthy
stays that some offenders have in
jail before they go to trial. In
some instances, those charged
with crimes are waiting in the
Forsyth County Detention Cen
ter for a year before they see a
courtroom. Hairston says that is
unfair to those accused of crime,
especially if they are found not
guilty once they get their trials.
"I think that if these people
are found innocent after being in
jail for so long, the state should
compensate these people." Hair
ston said. "That is one of the
things I want to work on with the
Legislature in Raleigh."
Also on Hairslon's watch,
the NAACP chapter has moved
into its first-ever freestanding
building. Last week, the chaptcr
opened its doors at the former
Northampton Recreation Center,
now called the NAACP Enrich
ment Center. The city donated
the center to the NAACP, which
is using the building not only as
its base but also as a community
resource.
In addition to office space for
the NAACP. the center boasts a
game room where young people
File Photo
Stephen Hairston is sworn in two years ago by former NAACP leader Bill Tatum.
play pingpong and pool. Axom
puter lab is also under construc
tion. Hairston said the lab will
offer computer classes and give
people a place to type papers and
do research. There is also a large
meeting room there where
organizations will be encour
aged to take advantage of for
meetings and other get-togeth
ers.
"We really want to make this
a first-class outfit," Hairston
said. "We want as many people
in here as we can (get) in here."
Daniel Hayes has already
fallen in love with the NAACP
center. He has been at the center
each day since it opened on Nov.
15. Hayes remembers when the
city shut down the Northampton
Rec. With no center, he said,
young people in the community,
located off Carver School Road,
had little to do to occupy their
time.
"There was no place for us to
go," Hayes said. "We just hung
out outside"
The new headquarters fulfills
one of the top goals Hairston had
when he was elected president
two years ago. He wanted the
chapter to be more visible in the
community. something he
thought would be difficult to do
in the basement of the Winston
Mutual Building, where the
chapter was once located. Hair
ston wants the center to be open
for at least 11 hours a day. But
that is only a dream at this point
because volunteers are needed to
man the center when it is open.
Last week, Hairston spent
his afternoons working at the
center. Another volunteer came
to relieve him in the evening.
Hairston wants more NAACP
members to step up and become
more involved in every aspect of
the organization's operation.
If elected to another term,
Hairston said, a lop goal would
tXTWTry to get more members
active in the NAACP. He says
only a faithful few are there for
every cause.
"I wish that more of the
members had gotten involved.
We depend on the same people
over and over again. There is
more to being a member than
paying your $30." Hairston said.
"Imagine what we could do if
we had 200 or 300 people step
ping up to the table."
Hairston says his first term
as president has been an amaz
ing two years. The retired police
officer doesn't view the presi
dency as some form of monar
chy. He doesn't want to serve
forever, just long enough to
leave his mark in the areas he
has already started work on.
"I think you should change
leadership every so often. When
someone stays too long. I think
the organization suffers. It needs
new blcx>d every now and then."
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