July 17 - August 21, 2024

Wednesdays 9:00-10:30am Central Europe/Central Africa, 12:30-2:00pm India, 5:00-6:30pm Sydney

God's reign is characterized by shalom, a holistic just peace in which all relationships are restored and made right. So if God's mission is to establish the holistic shalom of God's kingdom, then our Christian vocation and calling is to follow Jesus into the sacred, healing work of peacebuilding. 

Join this 6-week online small group to introduce peace-oriented theology, conflict transformation, and peacebuilding skills. As peacebuilders, we recognize that conflict unveils ruptured relationships, both interpersonally and between groups, so conflict can become an opportunity to work toward deeper connection, justice, and God's shalom. 

This small group is perfect for everyday Christians and Christian leaders who are curious about how their faith and peacebuilding fit together, want to begin learning about how to live as peacebuilders, or hope to lead such conversations in their community. This small group is intended as a launching pad to help participants grasp the scope and beauty of God’s shalom vision as we learn to follow Jesus on his peacebuilding mission and to provide resources and support for you and your friends on the peacebuilding journey.

+ What will this small group include?

  • Meet & Greet - Hear the personal stories in your cohort from other Christians around the world
  • God’s Vision & Mission - Shalom & Peacebuilding
  • The Church’s Peacebuilding Vocation & Call
  • Introduction to Conflict Transformation
  • Discipleship: Christian Formation for Peacebuilding
  • Peacebuilding Postures & Skills

Participants can expect a highly interactive experience, with a lot of discussion accompanying new content. We request that participants intend to be present for the majority of the sessions in order to facilitate their own learning and the learning of the class.

See the small group guide here.

+ Course Dates & Time

FORMAT

The entire event will happen online via Zoom. Each week, participants will receive preliminary resources (readings and videos) to look at before our meeting. The goal for these small groups is to provide a diverse set of introductory materials and some guided reflection questions so that participants might reuse the content to lead exploratory conversations and small groups about peacebuilding in their own communities.

DATES & TIMES

This weekly meeting will include participants from around the world.

July 17, 24, 31, August 7, 14, and 21

  • Central Europe / Central Africa
    • 9:00-10:30am
  • Eastern Europe / Eastern Africa / Israel / Palestine
    • 10:00-11:30am
  • India
    • 12:30-2:00pm
  • South Korea
    • 4:00-5:30pm
  • Sydney
    • 5:00-6:30pm
  • New Zealand
    • 7:00-8:30pm
 

MEET YOUR FACILITATORS

 

Bryan Carey

Bryan is a peacebuilding consultant and Director of International Partnerships at Peace Catalyst International. Bryan and his family have lived in Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina since 2017, where they have been learning alongside and supporting the work of Muslim, Catholic, and Orthodox peacebuilders. Bryan also hosts workshops, conducts trainings, and teaches about peace-oriented theology, peacebuilding practices, and how Christian groups can get involved in community peacebuilding. He regularly organizes learning experiences for international and regional Balkan participants that cultivate understanding and empathy for the narratives of other groups, ultimately with the aim to deepen relational connections that allow for collaborative work.

 

Philip Kakungulu

Philip lives in Kampala, Uganda with his family. He is a pastor and seminary graduate with a Master of Divinity, having majored in Faith-Based Training in Conflict Transformation for Trainers. As the team leader and founder of Crossing Lines Africa and a founding member of the African Peace Warriors Network in 2013 (part of Global Peace Warriors), Philip works as a peacebuilding mobilizer, promoting peace-oriented theologies and facilitating conflict transformation training around the Great Lakes Region of Africa and beyond. In addition to his peacebuilding and conflict transformation work, he has worked extensively with faith leaders in refugee settlements and internally displaced people settlements in Uganda, South Sudan, Kenya, Ethiopia, D.R.Congo, Tanzania, Rwanda, and Burundi because he sees all work to heal individuals and groups as part of God’s reconciling mission. He lives with the conviction that God’s peacebuilding mission forms the basic essence of Christianity and that we participate in the Kingdom of God as we pursue peace with God, self, neighbors, and the world. Philip believes that this all-encompassing peace is the core of what Christians are called to work for in the world, living with the conviction that we will never look in the face of another human being whom God does not love. Philip is married to Immaculate, and they have four children. 

Have more questions? Contact us!
Bryan Carey: bryan.carey@peacecatalyst.org