Although Christ proclaims, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God,” too often we see the children of God embroiled in destructive conflict and controversy.

Has there ever been a meeting, family, community, nation, or even a person truly free from conflict?

Who has not experienced rancorous divisions among fellow Christians?

Who does not know families who have gone through difficult divorces or suffered from family conflicts?

Who has not seen the effects of political or international conflict?

We can shrug it off, saying such conflict is “normal” and do our best to survive it. But in reality conflict often leaves behind enduring damage – severed relationships, broken ties, people left scarred and embittered.

Should we Christians not do better than this?

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could respond to conflict in gracious and constructive ways? Might we learn how to handle conflict so as to build relationships rather than harm them?

As Quakers/Friends, we believe it is possible – that we can learn to see conflict as a way to minister to each other and to glorify God. We can harness conflict as a transforming power toward growth and healthy change.

That is why every January the Northwest Yearly Meeting observes Peace Month. This year’s theme is Conflict Resolution. Whether or not we are involved in war, we all have conflicts in our lives–but how do we deal with conflict? How do we resolve conflict in a manner consistent with our faith? There are many layers of conflict resolution, and although we can’t learn all there is to know about resolving conflict in a month, we hope to at least open up the conversation.

Join us each Sunday as we look at these topics:

• January 6: Internal Conflicts
• January 13: Conflicts within the Family
• January 20: Conflicts between Groups
• January 27: National, International & Global Conflict Resolution