Communication, Effective Disagreement,
and the Fall into Conflict
Wednesday, January 22, 2025
7:00 – 8:30 p.m. on Zoom
Facilitator: Dr. Betty Pries
Staff Facilitators: Diane Matheson-Jimenez and Melody Duncanson-Hales
Due to high demand, “Where two or three are gathered, there is Jesus and Conflict” is back!
Challenges emerge in congregational life when healthy disagreements tip over into conflict and entrenchment. Disagreeing well becomes especially challenging in the context of change or when the reality of change thrusts the congregation into discord. This session defines disagreement and conflict, considers the impact of change, and lays down root principles that support conflict’s transformation.
This webinar is to support and strengthen congregational lay leaders as well ministry personnel as they reflect on their church context, learn about congregational health, explore and identify their own community of faith’s path to healing and wellness, deepen their understanding of their own call to leadership, and discern God’s path for their churches.
We hope you can join us!
Our Facilitator: Dr. Betty Pries
With over 30 years of experience coaching, mediating, training, facilitating and consulting, Betty is highly regarded as a Conflict, Change, and Leadership Specialist. Betty specializes in working with complex challenges, supporting leaders, organizations and congregations to be at their best. Betty’s capacity to care deeply, listen well, and provide wise and thoughtful support allows her to help her clients engage in tough, meaningful, and important conversations, set directions, and achieve positive organizational change.
Betty is a specialist in equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI), leading anti-racism / anti-prejudice workshops, supporting EDI committees, reviewing and writing EDI-related policies, coaching leaders and offering support to organizations wrestling with EDI challenges.
Betty brings a wealth of experience to her work, having worked with a wide range of organizations, both nationally and internationally. Betty has extensive education, training, and experience in coaching, mediation, negotiation, consensus building, consultation, facilitation, and organizational health. As Co-Founder and CEO at Credence, Betty’s great joy has been the opportunity to mentor and support the growth of the Credence team. Betty has a PhD from the Free University Amsterdam on the topic of conflict transformation & spirituality. In 2021, Betty published a book, The Space between Us: Conversations about Transforming Conflict. She is a Chartered Mediator with the ADR Institute of Canada and a member of the ADR Institute of Ontario. Betty is a regular instructor at the University of Waterloo.