Blessed are the Peacemakers:

How Assets and Skills

Intrinsic to Professional
Social Work are Informing
International RAOs and the
Work of Inter-communal
Reconciliation
Aaron Tyler

This article shows how assets and skills intrinsic to the field of social work
inform the administrative procedures and operational framework for the
most challenging component of inter-communal conflict transformation:
reconciliation. It suggests that religiously-affiliated organizations can
provide a notable contribution to this normative phase of conflict transfor-
mation. Offering Coventry Cathedrals International Center for Conflict
Resolution as an illustrative case study, this article shows how assets and
skills intrinsic to the field of professional social work inform the operational
framework of faith-based organizations dedicated to the difficult work of
inter-communal reconciliation.

T
wentieth-century visionary Richard Buckminster Fuller
once opined, Either war is obsolete or men are. Indeed,
whether between empires, states, tribes, or villages, violent
social conflict has left an indelible print on human history, leaving no
generation unaffected.
Since the collapse of the Cold War, inter-communal conflicts
between ethnic and religious groups, across and within state borders,

Social Work & Christianity, Vol. 36, No.2 (2009), 143-175

Journal of the North American Association of Christians in Social Work
144 Social Work & Christianity

have dominated the global landscape of violent social conflict. And, in a

world quickly shrinking through interlinking processes of globalization,
these inter-communal conflicts are no longer isolated occurrences with
only local ramifications. The plight of the embattled Ijaw and Ogoni
peoples in Nigerias oil-rich Niger Delta has undoubtedly affected the
stability of the Nigerian state, greater West Africa, and an oil-dependent
global community. Inter-communal conflict in Burundi has exacerbated
tensions in the tribally complex and politically fragile breadbasket
of Africa. Georgias sheltering of displaced Chechen Muslim families
and rebels has intensified the growing distrust and animosity with its
northern neighbor, Russia, aggravating instability in the ethnically and
religiously diverse Caucasus. Kashmiri ethno-religious groups fighting
for autonomy or secession continue to threaten the fragile peace between
South Asias nuclear powers, India and Pakistan. The regional and global
effects of violent tension in the Middle East, whether between Jewish
settlers and Palestinians in the West Bank or Shia, Sunni, and Christians
in post-invasion Iraq and Lebanon, are all too obvious. Indeed, violent
social conflicts between identity groups continue to proliferate, and the
sociopolitical ramifications are often borderless.
Ted Robert Gurr (2007), the founding director of the Minorities
at Risk Project, has conducted a brief, yet comprehensive, analysis
of inter-communal violence that reveals the magnitude and complex
character of organized identity conflict (p. 122).1 He offers compelling
evidence demonstrating the numerical significance of violent inter-state
communal conflicts over the past two decades. In 2005 the Minorities
at Risk Project (MAR) categorized over 284 politically active cultural
groups, which represent over one billion people . . . located primar-
ily in sub-Saharan Africa, Eastern Europe, and throughout Asia. The
sociopolitical and cultural grievances espoused by these groups are
localized and their demands vary widely. Some seek greater civil and
economic parity through power sharing arrangements and equal access
to resource wealth and labor opportunities, while other groups are mak-
ing more dramatic secessionist or irredentist claims that would require
the redrawing of state borders and the implementation of new social
frameworks and political systems (Gurr, 2007, p. 134).
For the past two decades the multifaceted field of conflict man-
agement has struggled to develop conflict resolution paradigms and
strategies appropriate to violent inter-communal conflict. Peacemak-
ing efforts between identity groups are often more difficult than those
Blessed are the Peacemakers 145

between nation-states. This added difficulty is due to the tendencies of

communal identity, whether religious or tribal, to entrench hatreds of
the Other through sociocultural processes of dehumanization and ex-
clusion. Rational political interests are complicated by more intractable
issues of self-identity and impoverished narratives of the Other. Such
embossed animosities make normalization of relationships difficult.
When an us versus them impulse is nurtured through clashing
narratives of religious or tribal identity, peace arrangements become
elusive and genuine reconciliation unlikely. Despite these challenges,
a normative framework of reconciliation must be part of any lasting
peace arrangement between ethnic or religious communities that have
experienced violent conflict.
This article focuses on the most difficult aspect of conflict man-
agement, reconciliation, and suggests that religiously-affiliated orga-
nizations (RAOs) can offer a compelling contribution to this often
intractable stage of conflict resolution. Moreover, assets intrinsic to
the field of professional social work are informing the operational
planning and initiatives of international RAOs working in the area of
conflict resolution and reconciliation. Following a description of the
typical conflict transformation process and a conceptual analysis of the
stage of reconciliation, Coventry Cathedrals International Centre for
Reconciliation (ICR) will be proffered as a potent illustration of how
international RAOs, committed to conflict resolution, are affecting in-
ter-communal reconciliation through a mutually enriching relationship
with the field of professional social work. Coventry Cathedrals ICR is
a highly respected, faith-based center dedicated to resolving violent
conflicts, the integration of spirituality with the practical ministries of
reconciliation, and programmatic collaboration with local, regional, and
international public agencies and other nongovernmental organizations
(NGOs) involved in multi-track conflict management. An examination
of ICRs faith-based foundations and operational strategies will give the
reader a clearer picture of how the skills and attributes of social work are
essential to the administrative and operational initiatives of international
RAOs working in the arena of inter-communal reconciliation.
This article concludes with a six-part schema for practical applica-
tion, offering the ICRs faith-based approach to inter-communal conflict
management as a holistic model for integrating spirituality with the
pragmatic assets central to the field of professional social work. The
ICRs six R approach to conflict resolutionResearch, Relationships,
146 Social Work & Christianity

Relief, Risk, Reconciliation, and Resourcingwill illustrate how a social

work methodology, committed to service, understanding, and dialogue,
is integrated into the ICRs faith-based mission of reconciliation.
Having already introduced the global landscape of contemporary
inter-communal conflict, a brief examination of the archetypal stages
of conflict transformation is necessary to illustrate the important place
reconciliation holds in the work of conflict resolution and how a nor-
mative, faith-based framework of intervention is often appropriate. A
discussion of the ICRs self-described purpose, planning, and strategy
for reconciliation will follow.

Stages of Conflict Transformation

Conflict management has become a convoluted field of study for

academics and practitioners interested in the causes of violent social con-
flict and the processes necessary for peace. It has developed into a mul-
tilevel enterprise with a plethora of diverging theories for understanding
inter-communal conflict and a large toolbox of practical approaches to
facilitating dialogue, ceasefires, and, ultimately, reconciliation.
Conflict resolution paradigms are helpful for categorizing conflict
types and systematizing ones thinking of a particular conflict and how
best to participate in peace building. Of course, theorizing on the causes
and processes of a conflict and its resolution is fraught with pitfalls. Geo-
political complications, third-party intervention, undulating communal
loyalties, and international participation are only a few of the independent
variables that can alter the nature and severity of violent conflict. Because
of its inconstant nature, inter-communal conflict management requires
acute understanding of local historical context and the various actors in-
volved in violence and peacemaking (Ramsbotham et al, 2007, p. 11).
The escalation and de-escalation patterns of communal conflict are
not uniform for obvious reasons. Context does matter, and local tribal,
religious, and linguistic identitiescoupled with historical experi-
ence and political geographyare not easily disentangled. Cognizant
of such variables, theorizing about communal conflict can be useful,
insofar as general patterns may help to classify current tensions and
predict future behavior. In Figure 1 Ramsbotham, Woodhouse, and
Miall scaffold the basic intensification and de-intensification pattern
of typical inter-communal conflicts using a simple distribution curve
(Ramsbotham et al, p. 11).
Blessed are the Peacemakers 147

Figure 1: Inter-Communal Conflict Intensification

and De-intensification Pattern

The phases of difference, contradiction, and polarization are subjec-

tive terms that are not easily measured. They may take months, years, or
decades to manifest into an outbreak of direct violence or war (Ramsbo-
tham et al, 2007, p. 11). The intractability of many inter-communal
conflicts is often due to segregating historical memories and clashing
narratives that develop between opposing groups as they pass through the
ideational stages of contradiction and polarization. Importantly, polariza-
tion often occurs in tandem with contradiction; they are not necessarily
sequential. Moreover, violence and war play an important role in deepening
contradictions and further polarizing opposing groups.
As a community experiences segregation, discrimination, and vio-
lence from another group, historical memory is adversely affected, and
narratives of victimization and animosity are cultivated. Vendetta traps
and violent atrocities become more likely in inter-communal conflicts
when, through culturally reinforced processes of exclusion, one group
suppresses the recognition of and respect for the human dignity of the
Other (Glover, 1999). When the moral resource of respect is suppressed
or overwhelmed through contradictions and polarization, dehumanizing
stereotypes of the opposing group are facilitated and inter-communal
violence and war become a reality.
Much like the chronological inconstancy across the intensification
phases of conflict, the stages of de-intensification are not necessarily
realized in an orderly progression. More often than not, efforts toward
ceasefire and formal peace agreements are made simultaneously. However,
it is usually necessary for normalization, whereby collective security and
sociopolitical development are ensured, to precede the normative pro-
cesses of reconciliation (Ramsbotham et al, 2007, p. 12-14). It is this phase
148 Social Work & Christianity

of reconciliation that is the focus of this paper; for, it is here that Religiously
Affiliated Organizations (RAOs) and the field of social work are making
profound contributions to inter-communal conflict resolution.

Defining Reconciliation

The Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Policy (2007),

which has done much work in the area of inter-communal reconciliation,
defines reconciliation, in part, as the process of repairing social ties
and community trust in the aftermath of violent conflict. Repairing
social ties and community trust between post-conflict communities is
a delicate affair in the wake of unbridled violence and countless stories
of victimization. Indeed, lasting peace between communal groups with
scarred historical memories requires more than an empirical cessation
of hostilities. In Brounuss (2003) report on reconciliation for the
Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, reconcilia-
tion is defined as a societal process that involves mutual acknowledg-
ment of past suffering and the changing of destructive attitudes and
behavior into constructive relationships toward sustainable peace (p.
12). Reconciliation cannot go before the mutual acknowledgment of
past suffering. For this reason, the engines of reconciliation are the
communities affected by the violence. As such, external actors cannot
bring reconciliation. Rather, they can become participants in the pro-
cess, encouraging dialogue, mediating social transitions, and helping
to nurture constructive relationships and more humane and inclusive
identities of the Other. Ultimately, however, reconciliation between
communities must be mutually desired and pursued by those societies
engaged in the violence; it cannot be derived or coerced by third-party
participants.
Unlike the mechanical nature of ceasefires and formal agreements
between political elites, normalization and, to a greater extent, reconcili-
ation are grounded on a normative framework that involves restoring
the moral worth of the Other and reclaiming a mutual recognition of
human dignity between victims and perpetrators of violent inter-com-
munal conflict (Amstutz, 2008, p. 74-76). Ramsbotham, Woodhouse,
and Miall (2007) are correct to describe reconciliation as essential to
deep peacemaking (p. 12), which encourages a re-imagining of com-
munity through grassroots dialogue, intercultural exchanges, trust
building, and restorative justice.
Blessed are the Peacemakers 149

In addressing the demeaning, prejudicial narratives perpetrated in

the seemingly intractable Arab-Israeli communal conflict, one social
psychological study describes societal level reconciliation as the only
pathway to successful conflict resolution and a genuine peace process.
Such reconciliation must be scaffolded so that the representation of the
enemy is positively altered through processes of legitimization, equaliza-
tion, differentiation, and personalization as well as changes in attitudes
and emotions that need to take place in the minds and hearts of the great
majority of society members (Bar-Tal & Teichman, 2005, p. 19).
Crocker (1999) distinguishes between thick and thin mean-
ings of reconciliation. From the thinnest conceptualization of simple
coexistence in the face of continued inter-communal animosity to a
principled compromise where differences and disagreement remain,
but a humanization and mutual respect of the Other is cultivated and
openly maintained. The latter conception of reconciliation, Crocker
contends, may help prevent society from lapsing back into violence
as a way to resolve conflict. Crocker offers the truth commissions in
Chili and South Africa as examples of conflict transforming forums
designed to help facilitate this thicker conceptualization of reconcili-
ation (p. 60-61).
Sociologist Louis Kriesberg (2007) argues that the most caustic
conflicts are nurtured through dehumanization, mutual accusation,
and disavowal of the opposing groups historical memory. In the wake
of such destructive conflicts, Kriesberg offers reconciliation as a
multifaceted, long-term contribution to tempering these destructive
characteristics of violent communal conflict (p. 320). According to
Kriesberg, the multidimensional process of reconciliation can be strati-
fied into four components:

1. Developing a comprehensive truth that involves, ideally,

a consensual historical memory of past sufferings and in-
justices;
2. Remedying past sufferings and injustices through material
reparations, legal retribution, and legally instituted assur-
ances of non-discrimination and civil equality;
3. Victim reciprocity, whereby the moral identity of the
perpetrator(s) is acknowledged and restored through mu-
tual dialogue and religiously imbued values of forgiveness
and compassion; and
150 Social Work & Christianity

4. Security: that is, former enemies are given mutual assur-

ances that non-threatening, perhaps even cooperative,
coexistence is an inter-communal desire.

These four dimensions of reconciliation are rarely sequential, sym-

metrical, or completely achievable in every destructive conflict (p. 320-
22). Indeed, context and timing matter, and every conflict has unique
opportunities and limitations for implementing the multidimensional
course of reconciliation. Regardless of their potential for implementa-
tion, each element is an essential ingredient to convalescing fully from
the brutal divisions that result from destructive violent conflicts.
Empirical conflict management strategies focus primarily on coerc-
ing peace, and are tailored to local, regional, and global issues of political
and economic stability (e.g., power sharing, collective security, resource
allocation, etc.). Diplomats, UN Peacekeepers, and the International
Criminal Courts play important roles in securing ceasefires and peace
agreements, but none is well-equipped to facilitate the normative pro-
cesses of reconciliation. Religious leaders and faith-based organizations,
however, are uniquely positioned to contribute to this complicated
but essential realm of deep peacemaking. Behavioral scientist Renee
Garfinkel (2004) echoes this contention:
Most religions are committed to working for justice
and peace, and have long-standing and well-established
structures or processes for doing so. They may also have
religion-specific approaches to conflict resolution, such
as guidelines for resolving conflict or rituals for reconcil-
ing relationships that have potential application across
religious boundaries. (p. 5)
The rituals and belief systems of most religions emphasize the needs
of community over the desires of the individual. This more selfless,
other-focused perspective can challenge warring groups to expand
their conceptualizations of community to include the maligned Other.
Religion, which is too often culpable in justifying violent communal
conflict, remains one of the most potent sources for inter-communal
convalescence and is best suited to succor processes of reconciliation
following violent conflict.
Retributive justicepunishing those guilty of egregious crimes
against humanityis central to temporal efforts of peacemaking and
Blessed are the Peacemakers 151

conflict resolution. However, conflict transformation, whereby reconcilia-

tion is enabled, requires inclusion of restorative justice. Restorative justice
emphasizes forgiveness in conjunction with restitution, reparations, and
repentance. Importantly, as theologian Harold Wells (1997) points out,
reconciliation does not replace justice. Rather, reconciliation is the
result of justice (p. 4). Of course, it is always easier to speak of restor-
ative justice as an outsideras one spared from the violence, unspeak-
able suffering, and injustices that defined the conflict. However, in most
cases, retributive justice must be fastened to efforts of restorative justice
if the normative phase of reconciliation is to be realized. Rival historical
memories are not easily reconciled. In post-conflict societies, vendetta
traps make future conflict more likely. Nonetheless, eventually one group
must decide to break this trap of reciprocal hatred and resentment and
prefer the difficult but restorative path to reconciliation (Glover, 1999).
Christianity provides a powerful perspective of reconciliation
through the restorative process of forgiveness. Hannah Arendt (1958, pp.
138-140) once declared that Jesus greatest gift to political philosophy
was forgiveness. Over the past several decades, a number of Christian
organizations have emerged in earnest to participate in the practical
and normative work of reconciliation efforts between communal groups
whose wounds of hatred, resentment, and vengeance have made violent
action the preferred alternative for inter-communal engagement.
One of the oldest, most respected, and influential RAOs working
in the field of international conflict resolution is Coventry Cathedral.
Its vision statement calls the Cathedral Community to be a taproot of
spiritual renewal and a global epicenter for inter-communal reconcili-
ation. The capstone of its holistic ministry of renewal and reconciliation
is its International Center for Reconciliation (ICR). The ICRs task of
reconciliation, which focused on restorative dialogue with Germany
in the aftermath of the bombings of Englands cities by the Luftwaffe,
has evolved into a multidimensional, global ministry that participates
in reconciliation efforts around the world, from violent inter-religious
and inter-ethnic conflicts to state-minority hostilities and interstate
quarrels. Moreover, Coventry Cathedrals many partnerships with other
RAOs and NGOs involved in global conflict management are filtered
through the administrative and operational infrastructure of the ICR
(www.coventrycathedral.org.uk).
The ICRs faith-based vision and methodology, strategic and op-
erational planning, funding initiatives, collaboration with public agen-
152 Social Work & Christianity

cies, and partnerships with other RAOs for purposes of reconciliation

are worthy of focused attention. The administrative and operational
practices of this RAO emphasize the use of social work skill sets in the
important work of inter-communal reconciliation. It is hoped this brief
investigation into the administrative practices, conflict management
programs, and strategic planning and developing initiatives used by
this prominent international RAO will provide a more comprehensive
picture of how a large international, humanitarian RAO can streamline
multidimensional administrative efforts and openly integrate faith with
the practical social work practices of resolving violent social conflicts
and facilitating reconciliation.

Background of Coventry Cathedral and its

International Center for Reconciliation

A Christian communitys theology and accompanying practices

certainly help to shape its temporal vision of community and ministry.
At the same time, geographical and historical contexts provide a recip-
rocal influence on how a communitys theology, rituals, and service are
interpreted, expressed, and communicated to Gods creation. This is
certainly the case with the Anglican communitys Coventry Cathedral.
A brief history of Coventry Cathedral is necessary to appreciate the
formative contextual foundations of this international RAO.
The first cathedral in the town of Coventry was established by a
Benedictine community in 1043. In the wake of Britains sixteenth-cen-
tury religious tumult, when popes, kings, and queens were violently
vying for the allegiance and treasure of Englands people, the Catholic
See of Coventry was dissolved. It would be almost four centuries later, in
1918, before the contemporary diocese of Coventry was established and
its cathedral (the church of St. Michael) named (www.coventrycathedral.
org.uk/history, 2004). On November 14, 1940, the German Luftwaffe
bombarded Coventry through the night with incendiary bombs, setting
the city alight. Coventrys Cathedral was destroyed. According to the
communitys own testimony, the resolve to rebuild was immediatenot
as an act of defiance, but rather a sign of faith, trust and hope for the
future of the world (CoventryCathedral.uk.org/history).
The harrowing experiences of November 1940, transformed the
Christian identity and vision of Coventry. In response to its physical
destruction, Coventry Cathedral sought to rebuild, not only its cor-
Blessed are the Peacemakers 153

poreal identity of brick and mortar, but also its vision of community,
expanding its expression of caritas and reconciliation to the greater
human familyto include enemies and friends. Reconciliation became
a requisite of spiritual renewal for the Coventry Community. Writing for
another notable international RAO, the Institute for Global Engagement,
Nate Jones (2007) points to how the historical memory of destruction
permanently transformed Coventry Cathedrals ministry of peace and
reconciliation:
Indeed, the community at Coventry Cathedral did not
especially emphasize the idea of reconciliation until the
cathedral was bombed during World War II. This trau-
matic experience prompted a re-examination of the con-
cept of Christian reconciliation as Coventry attempted
to respond in forgiveness to the Germans who bombed
the cathedral. Once freed to understand reconciliation in
this way, however, the Anglican community at Coventry
began to grasp a broader vision for reconciliation around
the world, leading to the creation of the International
Center for Reconciliation (http://www.globalengage.
org/media/article).
Today, one can walk the haunting grounds of Coventry Cathedral and
be reminded of how, from its ashes, the communitys vision of peace and
reconciliation was reborn. Side by side, the ruins of St. Michaels and
the new cathedral (sanctified in 1962) are architecturally harmonized
to create one living Cathedral devoted to the spiritual and pragmatic
support of reconciliation and renewal across the globe (www.coventry-
cathedral.org.uk/history).
As mentioned above, the centerpiece organization created by the
Diocese of Coventry for participating in global peace and reconciliation
efforts is its International Centre for Reconciliation (ICR), an institu-
tional cornerstone of the visionary recreation begun in 1940. For several
decades following World War II, the ICR focused on reconciliation
efforts with Britains adversary Germany and former communist bloc
countries. Today, the ICRs practical work in conflict management spans
continents, focusing heavily on violent inter-religious and inter-ethnic
conflicts around the world (www.coventrycathedral.org.uk/internation-
alministry). Examples include:
154 Social Work & Christianity

Mediation between Christian and Muslims during and fol-

lowing the violent riots that devastated churches, mosques,
and communities across northern Nigeria in late 2000.
Brokering the Kaduna Peace Declaration of Religious Leaders
in Nigeria, August 2002.
Coordinating the Alexandria Process (the religious track
of the Middle East peace process).
Brokering the First Alexandria Declaration of the Religious
Leaders of the Holy Land in January 2002, bringing together
the key Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders of Israel/Pal-
estine.
Helping negotiate the resolution of the siege at the Church
of the Nativity in Bethlehem in April/May 2002.
Through a cooperative effort with the Religion and Peace-
making Initiative of the United States Institute of Peace,
the ICR helped to create and cultivate the Iraqi Institute
of Peace in Baghdad in 2004. A primary purpose of the IIP
was to facilitate interfaith reconciliation and cooperation
between Shia, Sunni, and non-Muslim minorities.2

In addition to its direct participation in conflict resolution efforts,

the ICR also represents the Diocese of Coventry in its transnational,
ecumenical partnerships, such as those with the Anglican Diocese of
Kaduna in Nigeria, the Syrian Orthodox Diocese in Jerusalem, the
United States Institute of Peace, and the Foundation for Relief and
Reconciliation in the Middle East (FRRME) (www.coventrycathedral.
org.uk/internationalministry).
The ICR is currently staffed with six employeesits director, two
project directors, two volunteer coordinators, and a consultant for Af-
rica. While linked to the spiritual mission and identity of the Church
of England, the ICR is not dependant on the Church for fiscal support.
Instead, the ICRs roughly four million dollar annual operating budget
is realized through a multilayered schema of financial assistance from
government institutions, Community of the Cross of Nails partnerships,
charitable trusts, businesses, and individuals. A necessary component
of its day-to-day work involves fundraising and fiscal management,
ensuring resource support for local and regional projects of reconcili-
ation (www.coventrycathedral.org.uk).
Coventry Cathedral serves as a central hub for hosting dialogue and
Blessed are the Peacemakers 155

coordinating strategy, but the majority of its global work takes place in
hundreds of locales and on multiple scales, which require adroit project
development efforts, volunteer coordination, and cooperative communi-
cation at all levels. Its extensive agenda in conflict resolution is maintained
through highly coordinated partnerships with dioceses located in conflict
areas and a sundry of other international and local RAOs and secular
non-governmental organizations (NGOs), multinational corporations,
all tiers of government, and local community leaders at the grassroots
level of conflict zones. With minimal staff, the operational planning and
strategic initiatives of the ICR depend heavily on its ability to coordinate
support from local, regional, and global organizations.
Its creation and coordination of the Community of the Cross of Nails
(CCN) represents the most pronounced of its efforts to broaden its reach
and deepen its healing influence in local conflicts around the world.

CCN Centers

On the night of November 14, 1940, medieval rafters of the in-

flamed St. Michaels fell from the roof, landing in the form of a cross.
Considered a divine signal of hope and resurrection the cross of nails
has become an emblem or reconciliation for Coventry Cathedral and
for embattled, yet hopeful, communities in over fifty countries and on
five continents (www.coventrycathedral.org.uk). A replica of the charred
cross can be seen in the ruins of the Cathedral today. The geographical
and topical breadth and administrative complexity of the Community
of the Cross of Nails is emphasized by the Cathedral Community:
There are now 160 Cross of Nails Centres around the
world, all emanating from this early, courageous vision,
and all working for peace and reconciliation within their
own communities and countries. This has no boundaries:
it may focus on issues of politics, race, religion, econom-
ics, sexual orientation or personal: it can have broad and
far-reaching, national consequences, or it can make just
a smallnonetheless significantdifference to peoples
lives. Centres can be churches, reconciliation centres,
prisons, NGOs and schools, any body of people who have
a heart and a need to pursue reconciliation in their own
lives and the lives of others. The Centres in Germany and
156 Social Work & Christianity

the USA are administered by national Boards; others range

over all continentsfrom Africa to Australia, Europe to
Asia: truly a global network, with Centres being encour-
aged to support each otherpractically and prayerfully
(www.coventrycathedral.org.uk/ccnbkgd.html).

Indigenous CCN centers are networked through the ICR, making it

possible for Coventry Cathedral to participate in conflict resolution
efforts in areas where its presencebecause of logistical, financial, cul-
tural, and staff limitationswould be otherwise restricted. A requisite
to conflict management and reconciliation is ethnographic fieldwork
that seeks an in-depth understanding of the histories and stories that
motivate and shape a conflict. CCN centers, and their numerous staff
and volunteers, provide Coventry Cathedral and its ICR a clearer picture
of local context, enabling it to make a more informed and localized
contribution to the work of reconciliation.
The ICR and the majority of CCN centers are unified spiritually
through the Christian commission of reconciliation and service and the
intangible asset of community prayer. Administratively, CCN centers
place significant emphasis on volunteerism, recruiting financial and skill
support from within local parishes and community. The ICR serves as a
focal point of unity, helping to train local leaders in mediation skills and
reconciliation models, coordinate reconciliation efforts between local
CCN centers, and encourage funding and technical support partnerships
between CCN centers from different parts of the world.3 What is more,
the ICR staff may assist local CCN centers by hosting high-level media-
tion efforts at Coventry Cathedral; generate international attention to
the local crisis; coordinate cooperative efforts with local, regional, and
international public agencies, as well as other RAOs; and organize and
manage participation in local reconciliation projects.
A pithy case study from the Middle East helps to illustrate the
operational complexity and strategic partnerships that undergird the
reconciliation work of Coventry Cathedral.

The First Alexandria Process

In the geographic homeland of the three Abrahamic traditions, reli-

gion and politics are inextricably intertwined. Religious identity remains
Blessed are the Peacemakers 157

an inherently public matter and an essential identifier of communities

in the Middle East. Diplomacy and subsequent political agreements that
ignore the percolating influences of religious identity inevitably fall short
of holistic, deep peacemaking. Once religion is manipulated into an instru-
ment of violence, it must be reclaimed as a solution for peace.
In an effort to underscore the necessity of religions role in the
conflict management processes underway between Jews and Arabs
in the Levant, key Jewish, Muslim, and Christian leaders from Israel
and Palestine joined forces to promote a religious approach to peace
(White, 2006, p. 9). This interfaith cooperation culminated in the First
Alexandria Declaration of the Religious Leaders of the Holy Land in
2002. Canon Andrew White, then director of the ICR, spearheaded the
negotiation processes culminating in the Declaration.4 The declaration
begins by decrying unbridled violence against noncombatants in the
name of God as a desecration of His Holy Name. The violence in
the Holy Land, it continues, must be opposed by all peoples of good
faith. It concludes with an indefinite commitment to reconciliation
through regular (monthly) interreligious dialogue in Jerusalem and
persistent communication with the political leadership in the region.
The Alexandria Declaration has been lauded as an honest forum for
peace by local and world leaders, including the former president of the
Palestinian Authority, Yasser Arafat, and then Israeli Prime Minister,
Ariel Sharon (White, 2006, p. 9).
Significantly, the participants of the Alexandria process refused fis-
cal support from the Palestinian Authority and the Israeli government
in an effort to ensure the non-partisan nature and overall integrity of
their conflict management work. Currently, funding for the Alexandria
process comes from Coventry Cathedral, the Church of Norway, the
United States Institute of Peace, and the governments of the United
States and Great Britain. Its ability to forgo funding from these local
public agencies associated with the long-term conflictdespite the high
costs involvedis a testimony to its genuine intentions of unfettered
conflict resolution and reconciliation (White, 2006, p. 10).
The Alexandria Process and the reconciliation work of Canon White
and the ICR represented a renewal of interfaith dialogue in the Middle
East peace processes. The task of the ICR director was to facilitate real
dialogue, whereby competing stereotypes could be gradually replaced
by stories of mutual respect, understanding, and even friendship. As
made clear by Canon Andrew White (2003), such dialogue goes beyond
158 Social Work & Christianity

the niceties of so many contemporary interfaith encounters, where

nice people are talking to nice people over cucumber sandwiches
and cups of tea on the mayors lawn. Rather, genuine reconciliation
is hard, dangerous, risk-taking work that involves people who are
broken by violencevery, very intense violence. Real interfaith rec-
onciliation seeks to stop the killing through enabling and encouraging
hardened enemies to sit down with each other in the midst of violent
conflict to ask hard questions and give honest answerswith the hopes
of gradually softening impoverished narratives of the enemy and re-
imagining coexistence (p. 7). The reconciliation work of Canon White
and the ICR involved long-term, honest relationship building with
individual and communal participants of violent conflict. From these
trust-building relationships, White and his team emerged as a neutral,
yet compassionate third-party that was well placed to relay the stories
and perspectives of opposing sides, encouraging greater understanding
between warring communities.
Former ICR Director, Canon Andrew White, offers a helpful il-
lustration of this type of real dialoguethat between Rabbi Michael
Melchoir, minister for Jewish Diaspora Affairs for the Israeli government,
and Sheik Tal El Sader, a former Minister of State for the Palestinian
Authority and a founder of the militant, anti-Israel organization, Hamas.
Both men were key participants in the Alexandria Peace Process. Before
a contentious audience in Europe, Sheik Tal El Sader joined hands with
Rabbi Melchoir and declared,
Rabbi Melchoir is my brother. He is not my friend, he
is my brother, and we are going to walk this long and
difficult road together. And eventually we will, because
my job is to pull up the thorns along this difficult road
and plant flowers (White, 2003, p. 8).
The transforming spirit of these two former enemies, states White, is a
powerful illustration of how people can change:
If we just condemn everybody and say, It is impossible,
they are evil, they are terrorists, they cant change, then
we are saying that the work of the Cross is not all suf-
ficient and that our God cannot intervene and change
peoples life. (p. 8)
Blessed are the Peacemakers 159

Our work as mediators or reconcilers is constrained by our human limi-

tations, he continues; thus, ones reliance on the supernatural work of
God to change individuals remains a key ingredient to the faith-based
work of reconciliation (White, 2003, p. 8). Expecting Gods presence and
power in the work of reconciliation, Christian participants can believe
that human beings can be spiritually and ideologically transformed.
For this reason, White concluded,
We must not just talk to nice people; in most instances
it is not the nice people who cause wars. Our challenge
is to engage with some of those who are responsible for
the perpetuation of violence or, if not them, then those
who can influence them (2006, p. 11).
Coupled with this normative approach to interreligious recon-
ciliation, Canon White and the ICR were tasked to serve as a critical,
proactive liaison between religious leaders, diplomats, and politicians,
especially before or immediately following a violent encounter between
communities. In an interview conducted by the Department of Applied
Christian Ethics at Wheaton College, Canon White described the pri-
mary role of his team as one of facilitation:
In the vast majority of the work done within the name of
the [Alexandria] process, my team and I actually facili-
tatewhether that be negotiating with terrorists, trying
to get religiously sanctioned cease fires, or whether that
be trying to get the European Union and the American
government to take seriously the role of religious leaders
within a political peace process (2003, p. 5).
The Alexandria process has provided a religious-track to peacemaking
that complements (not circumvents) the political peace initiatives un-
derway in the Levant (White, 2006, p. 10). It is providing Palestinian
and Israeli religious and political leaders an unofficial forum through
which political leaders or community spokespersons can engage one
another in a way often prohibited through official channels of diplomacy.
For instance, Canon White recounts how, in 2003, he escorted U.S.
diplomats to the place of Lazaruss resurrection (Bethany) to meet
with the prominent West Bank Islamic cleric, Sheikh Taysir Tammimi,
at the local Shia court. According to White, Arafat knew about this
meeting, and he had given approval for this meeting to take place under
160 Social Work & Christianity

the umbrella of the Alexandria process (White, 2003, p. 5).

Through the Alexandria process, the ICR helped to create a trusting,
non-partisan forum for inter-religious dialogue between Muslim and
Jewish leaders. In 2002, Yasser Arafat called upon the ICRs director,
Canon White, to lead in negotiation efforts to end the siege of the Church
of the Nativity in Bethlehem, serving as a third-party intermediary be-
tween Palestinian and Israeli mediators (www.frrme.org). Developing
deep, trust-building relationships with the leaders and communities
embroiled in this inter-religious conflict has enabled the ICR and its
partnering RAOs to provide a sturdy bridge of communication between
Palestinians and Israelis instead of the alternative dialogical impasse that
has too often characterized this inter-communal relationship.

Practical Application for the Field of Social Work

This special issue of Social Work & Christianity is dedicated to dem-

onstrating how the administrative practices of RAOs are affected by the
field of professional social work. The social work toolbox is essential for
international RAOs involved in the work of reconciliation. The conflict
management and reconciliation work of Coventry Cathedrals ICR and
its CCN centers around the world emphasize the importance of social
work skills and assets in international conflict management processes
and reconciliation initiatives. Dispute resolution skills are grounded
in the field of social work. Third-party mediation, whether between
individuals or societies, is a core function for professional social work-
ers. The ICRs strategic planning, volunteerism, and coordination of
multilateral partnerships rely on important social work skill sets. The
ICRs six-part methodology, designed to achieve its faith-based vision,
is indicative of social works role in this international RAO.
Described as the 6 Rs, the six interlinking phases are put forth by
the ICR as necessary for realizing its faith-based mandate of reconcili-
ation. These phases are not necessarily sequential but often occur in
unison. The idiosyncrasies of each conflict necessitate a custom-tailored
approach to implementing these six stages. Figure 2 illustrates this mul-
tidimensional method. Each component merits a brief description.
Blessed are the Peacemakers 161

Figure 2: The Six Rs of Reconciliation

Research

Communal conflict resolution seeks to overcome impoverished

narratives of hatred and resentment, which are grounded, too often,
on misunderstandings and misinformation. Historical memory can be a
powerful inhibitor to reconciliation. Remembering and acknowledging
past sufferings and persecutionsalong with repentance and gradual
forgivenessare part of the reconciliation process. Ultimately, each
side must be willing to reconstruct its relationship with the Other, re-
envisioning one another as part of the human family, worthy of dignity
and respect. This is difficult on an individual level and extremely chal-
lenging on a societal level.
The client systems impacted by conflict resolution strategies imple-
mented through ICR efforts vary widely. Thus, this RAO, as an agent of
mediation, dialogue, and, ultimately, reconciliation must be cognizant
of the multiplicity of cultural, religious, geographical, and historical
contexts that will influence operational planning and intervention
strategies. Community organizing efforts, volunteer coordination, and
target relationship-building cannot precede in-depth research of the
contextually contingent circumstances shaping a violent conflict.
The National Association of Social Works (NASW) Code of Ethics
(1999) expects professional social workers to demonstrate a cultural
competency, which demonstrates a knowledge base of their clients
162 Social Work & Christianity

cultures and an ability to provide services that are sensitive to . . . dif-

ferences among people and cultural groups (p. 9). As well, developing
a greater understanding via a rigorous research agenda is a responsible
measure and critical requisite for efficient strategic and operational
planning in international conflict resolution RAOsespecially in
cases where religious or tribal identities are complicating peacemak-
ing efforts. Inter-communal reconciliation cannot come before greater
understanding. To be effective, third-party participants must endeavor
to understand past experiences, current negotiating positions, and the
stories of all parties involved in the violent conflict.
One appropriate research-intensive method of conflict resolution
is the elicitive or educational approach. Michelle LeBaron (1997), law
professor and director of the University of British Columbia Program
of Dispute Resolution, describes the focus of this operational, research-
intensive strategy:
This approach focuses on gathering information from
parties to the conflict about processes that make sense
in their cultural context. Parties are invited to consider
the setting or forum, appropriate procedures, forms of
contact or communication to be used, kinds of outcomes
that are desirable, and the roles for outsiders or inter-
venors in the process. The elicitive process is important
because it allows for the mergence of a fit between parties,
processes, and intervenor (p. 327).
The program initiatives of ICR clearly embrace this elicitive
approach to conflict resolution, placing research and subsequent
evaluation as essential for policy efficiency and effectiveness. Research
involving office-based reviews of articles, reports, bulletins and other
background information, as well as field-based interviews with all
parties to a conflict (www.coventrycathedral.org.uk., 2004), enables
the staff at ICR to better understand the identity of conflicting groups;
the cultural, political, or religious contexts of said conflict; the past and
current stages of violent conflict; the competing stories and stereotypes
formed about the Other; religious or tribal rituals or symbols that may
affect violence or peacemaking; and important religious, social, or politi-
cal authority figures who may accelerate the processes of reconciliation.
This prefatory research helps ICR implement more dynamic and efficient
program processes for intervention and dispute resolution.
Blessed are the Peacemakers 163

In addition to academic research through documentary sources,

which may include local and international reports and published ac-
counts from official sources and media outlets (Midgley, 1997, p. 47),
ethnographic investigations appear to be one of the most important
research techniques the ICR staff uses to evaluate local communal
conditions. James Midgley (1997) aptly defines a basic ethnographic
approach to measuring social conditions:
The investigator spends an extended period of time in
the community and establishes close relationships with
local people. These relationships are important to ensure
that in-depth information is obtained. After studying the
community, the field notes collected during the study are
written up (p. 46).
The research-intensive, ethnographic field work of Canon Anthony
White and his ICR team in Kaduna, Nigeria, during the Christian-Muslim
violence in 2000-2001 enabled the ICR team to coordinate efforts between
the Diocese of Kaduna, local and national authorities, community work-
ers, and local Christian and Muslim leaders. Critical to the Alexandria
processes in Jerusalem was gathering information on the grievances and
interests of the diverging groups from either the Palestinian or Israeli side
of the conflict. Translating the stories of conflicting parties, learning and
appreciating cultural patterns of communication (verbal and nonverbal)
of specific groups (LeBaron, 1997, p. 333), and an ever-growing aware-
ness of cultural- and religious-specific norms appear to be important
criteria for the ICR and its CCN centers around the world.

Relationships

The field of professional social work asserts the central importance

of human relationships. The NASW Code of Ethics (1999) states: So-
cial workers understand that relationships between and among people
are an important vehicle for change. Social workers engage people as
partners in the helping process, with an intentional effort to promote,
restore, maintain, and enhance the well-being of their clients. A key
criterion necessary for the ICR to realize its international, faith-based
vision is human relationshipsthat is, the establishment of working
relationships with a wide range of stakeholders and identification of
local partners (coventrycathedral.org.uk, 2004).
164 Social Work & Christianity

Relationships were emphasized throughout this brief survey of the

ICRs work in conflict management and reconciliation. The staff of ICR
is tasked directly with creating and maintaining transparent relation-
ships with stakeholders in current- and post-conflict arenas. Through
the development of mutual, trust-building relationships, the ICR is able
to foster a hospitable third-party framework for addressing past, pres-
ent, and potential issues of violent conflict. These relationships help
create a foundational trust required before real dialogue and relation-
ship-building can begin. As LeBaron describes in the elicitive approach
to conflict resolution, such human relationshipswhen deployed in
conjunction with practical expertise and technical skills in conflict
resolutionare invaluable in inter-communal violent conflicts, as they
can spark creative interaction and respectful engagement, creating
an interactive exchange where information is shared, ideas are floated,
cultural differences are recognized, and a process that includes input
from everyone emerges (LeBaron, 1997, p. 329-30).
As well, the ICR staff is involved with identifying, initiating, nur-
turing, and coordinating relationship-building partnerships with local
CCN centers and other RAOs and NGOs, thus providing a more am-
plified contribution to reconciliation. A chief component, then, to this
international RAOs commitment to conflict resolution is the cultivation
of trust-building, restorative human relationships.

Relief

In the Gospel of Matthew, those faithful to the King inquired,

Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give
You something to drink? And the King rejoined, I tell you the truth,
whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did
for me (Matthew 25:37-40, New International Version). The lesson
from Jesus was clear: when Christians respond to the basic human needs
of others, they are responding to Him. For Christians in the vocation of
professional social work, one may argue that their selfless commitment
to helping those in need is ultimately derived from this faith-based
injunction of Christ to give of ourselves in a spirit of caritas and obe-
dience to the creator. The relief work sponsored by the ICR typifies a
clear interface between spirituality and the practical work of reconcili-
ation. Such work is wholly grounded on a recognition of the inherent
value and dignity of each personcreated in the image and likeness of
Blessed are the Peacemakers 165

Godand a call, not unlike the professional social worker, to elevate

service to others above self-interest (NASW Code of Ethics).
While not a large part of the ICR operating budget, financial and
humanitarian relief efforts in areas where IRC staff and CCN centers
are participating is a critical component of its faith-based work (www.
coventrycathedral.org.uk). As an essential ingredient to progress, the
ICR and numerous CCN centers are supporting, through monies, vol-
unteers, and skilled professionals, education and humanitarian relief
centers in current- and post-conflict areas. The ICR helped construct
the Mar Ephraim School in Bethlehem, providing an opportunity for
education to children from the Syrian Orthodox community. It is de-
scribed by its supporters as a hopeful step forward, giving the children
an opportunity to maintain their Aramaic tradition and ensuring their
future survival (www.crossofnails.org:Israel). In 2000 and 2001, the
ICR played an instrumental role in helping to facilitate the arrival of
medical assistance into pre-war Iraq (www.coventrycathedral.org). St.
Georges Cathedral in Baghdad, the sole remaining Anglican Church in
the country (a CCN center since 2007), is struggling to survive, while,
at the same time, quietly managing the distribution of humanitarian
assistance to local families and communities.
As a part of their ministries of reconciliation, CCN centers around
the world are directly participating in local and international relief
work. Global Care, an international Christian childrens charity based
in Coventry, UK, and a CCN center since 2006, is focused on cultivating
and implementing humanitarian relief projects for very deprived and
vulnerable children and young people in communities from Asia to
South America. Its relief work encompasses emergency assistance and
innovatory development initiatives that focus on basic human needs
assistance and education development efforts (http://www.globalcare.
org.uk/aboutus/). Providing a place of physical refuge and spiritual
and physical renewal to refugees has been a major focus of the CCN
centers in Tbilisi, Georgia (Cathedral Baptist Church) and Bujumbura,
Burundi (The Holy Trinity Cathedral). The ICR, in cooperation with
groups like Global Care and other relief-focused CCN centers, is able,
through obedience to its faith-based mission, to coordinate multilevel
intervention efforts, creating a holistic and dynamic approach to conflict
resolution and reconciliation.
166 Social Work & Christianity

Resourcing

A fourth component of ICR strategy, as it relates to social work, is

resourcing. Through strategic resourcing programs, the ICR seeks to
empower local communities with the social work-intensive skills neces-
sary for resolving and preventing violent conflict and affecting reconcili-
ation (www.coventrycathedral.org/vision&methodology). Following,
or in lieu of, direct involvement in a conflict area, the ICR endeavors
to support and enable CCN centers in their development of conflict
resolution workshops, job skills training seminars, and mediation and
dialogue hubs. A primary service of ICR is identifying and facilitating
partnerships grounded on common concerns toward particular current-
or post-conflict communities. Oftentimes, the purpose of the ICR is not
to prescribe policy to CCN centers or partner RAOs but to serve as a
networking liaison that integrates local and international, secular and
faith-based perspectives into an interdependent, broad-based approach
to conflict management and reconciliation. It is a critical intercultural
associative approach to conflict resolution that acknowledges a plurality
of vantage points and normative preferences, resulting in a multidimen-
sional strategy of intervention.
This networking function of the ICR also involves the coordina-
tion of volunteers within its partnering CCN centers. While many of
the CCN centers are Christian-based organizationschurches and
RAOsa number of centers are non-religious NGOs who share a
common concern of reconciliation with the ICR. This voluntary col-
laboration offers a dynamic illustration of the ability of RAOs to work
in direct partnership with non-religious public or private community
organizations committed to similar principles of reconciliation. What is
more, the ICR also coordinates volunteer opportunities with Associate
Centers of Reconciliation, which are non-Christian RAOs working for
interfaith relations around the world. Fellowship and mutual edifica-
tion is made evident in the partnerships the ICR proactively maintains
with these other NGOs and RAOs committed to a common concern
for dialogue and the healing of wounds (www.coventrycathedral.org.
uk/internationalministry).
In addition to its networking function, the ICR seeks to remain an
educational resource for reconciliation, hosting conferences and work-
shops on specific or general issues of reconciliation. In August of 2008,
Coventry Cathedral hosted its International Youth Conference, where
Blessed are the Peacemakers 167

youth from Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Northern Ireland
congregated for five days and participated in workshops designed to
provide greater understanding on the practical and normative work
of reconciliation (www.crossofnails.com).
Moreover, the ICR provides communities a spiritual resourcea
locus for prayers and spiritual encouragement. The Litany of Reconcilia-
tion, recited each Friday in the Cathedral ruins, symbolizes the founda-
tion of this spiritual resource, saturating the practical work of conflict
resolution in a spirit of hope and divine presence. In a Good Friday
world filled with violence and despair, the ICR is very much an Easter
Organizationone that believes in new beginnings and reconciliation
through the power of the resurrection, imparting words of encourage-
ment to communities in conflict and to those workers deeply involved
in the normative work of reconciliation.

Risk-taking

The preamble of the NASW Code of Ethics begins by declaring that

the primary mission of the social work profession is to enhance human
welfare. It continues, Social workers promote social justice and social
change within and on behalf of clients. Such commitment involves
riskrisk for social workers, policymakers, and clients. In furthering
its ministry of reconciliation, the ICR is committed to taking risks for
peace, risking the welfare of ICR personnel serving in zones of violent
conflict and risking premature involvement in seemingly intractable
violent conflicts where poor timing could be counterproductive and
lead to a deterioration of a conflict situation (www.coventrycathedral.
org.uk, 2004). This core principle recognizes the physical and opera-
tional risks that come when identifying and developing relationships,
conducting ethnographic field work, participating in relief work, and
coordinating volunteers and material resources.
The faith-based approach of ICR and many of its CCN centers helps
to undergird such risk with a deeper spiritual purpose. As evinced in
its Litany of Reconciliation, risk is to be preferred to indifference. Not
unlike the service of the professional social worker, a commitment to
the disenfranchised, the oppressed, and the displaced is not risk-free
work; rather, uncertainty of ones safety or of a programs success is
a reality in the normative work of serving those in need. Whether in
ethnographic field work of an ICR team in Kaduna; interfaith dialogue
168 Social Work & Christianity

within the context of daily violence in Jerusalem or Jos; or the shelter-

ing of ethnic or religious minorities in Baghdad, Tbilisi, or Bujumbura;
risk is inherent in the work of reconciliation.

Reconciliation

For most Christian organizations, a vision statement is not an end

in itself. Rather, a vision statement stands as a dynamic witness to Gods
faithfulness. It represents a communitys freedom to respond to Gods
purposes of healing and restoration through Christ and his creation.
As such, a vision statement is not a static endgame but a reflection of
Gods unchanging mercy and reconciliation on the ever-changing con-
texts of human experience. The ICRs reflective vision statement seeks
to inculcate the inconstant nature of human conflict with an unwaver-
ing expression of Gods grace. Integrating spirituality with practice,
the ICRs three-part vision statement proffers a holistic approach for
conflict resolution: 1) Apply the Christian faith and unique heritage
of Coventry Cathedral to all its practical work; 2) Actively nurture its
role as a leading global center for reconciliation; and 3) enable local
people in conflict areas to sustain effective reconciliation initiatives
(www.coventrycathedral.org, 2004).
The final core constituent of the ICR methodology is reconciliation.
As made clear in its three-part vision statement, the ICR commits to
integrating its Christian faith and distinctive story of restoration with
the practical work of reconciliation (www.coventrycathedral.org.uk/vi-
sion). The ICRs entire work emanates from this faith-based component.
Coventry Cathedrals profound Christian heritage and theology provide a
rich normative framework from which deep peacemaking can occur.
Its ministry of reconciliation began in 1940 with the Christian
teaching of forgiveness. Engraved on the east wall behind the rebuilt
altar and charred cross of the Cathedral ruins are the words Father
Forgive. Prayed each Friday in the sanctuary ruins of St. Michaels and
in CCN centers around the world is the Litany of Reconciliation. It is a
prayer imbued with the virtue of forgiveness and is recounted here:
Blessed are the Peacemakers 169

All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.

The hatred which divides nation from nation, race from
race, class from class,
Father Forgive.
The covetous desires of people and nations to possess
what is not their own,
Father Forgive.
The greed which exploits the work of human hands and
lays waste the earth,
Father Forgive.
Our envy of the welfare and happiness of others,
Father Forgive.
Our indifference to the plight of the imprisoned, the
homeless, the refugee,
Father Forgive.
The lust which dishonors the bodies of men, women
and children,
Father Forgive.
The pride which leads us to trust in ourselves and not
in God,
Father Forgive.
Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one
another, as God in Christ forgave you
(www.coventrycathedral.org.uk/litany).5

Delivering a sermon at Coventry Cathedral on the interdenomi-

national foundations of reconciliation, Alastair McKay, the director of
Bridge Builders6, emphasized the transformative power of forgiveness.
Our willingness to forgive, he reminded listeners, is rooted in our
own experience of Gods forgiveness. From this faith-based perspec-
tive, reconciliation becomes a proactive response of faithfulness through
170 Social Work & Christianity

forgiveness (www.coventrycathedral.org.uk/psermons).
Following the racial strife that beset the city of Cincinnati in the
spring of 2001, city officials and community leaders engaged in a cam-
paign of healing. Following a racial profiling lawsuit, which involved
the police department, the City of Cincinnati and the Black United
Front, the Very Reverend James Diamond, Dean of Christ Church
Cathedral (a CCN center since 1975), agreed to host mediation efforts.
When asked by the chief mediator, What is the difference between
what I do as a mediator and you do as a reconciler? Diamond replied,
forgiveness. Indeed, both mediation and reconciliation must play a
part in managing any violent inter-communal conflict. Both methods
seek common ground; but where mediation stops with the pragmatics
of compromise, reconciliation carries forward the spiritual dimension
of forgiveness. According to Diamond, a formula for reconciliation
might be stated as thus: Truth + Forgiveness=Reconciliation.7
Canon Andrew Whites words on the role forgiveness plays for
Coventry Cathedral and ICR is illustrative:
I think once again we return to the Cross, where the
Cross is an extremely radical and difficult form of for-
giveness. And I think those who portray forgiveness as
something that is easy or something that is for the soft
or the weak have totally misunderstood the very nature
of what it means to be involved in radical forgiveness.
Forgiveness is a theological concept, but we are trying
to enable others to realize that forgiveness has profound
political implications. This is the heart of what we are
doing. . . . forgiveness is the only thing that prevents the
pain of the past from determining what the future is going
to be. So, I think it is absolutely essential that we look
at the issue of how forgiveness can be an instrument of
political healing (White, 2003, p. 7).
As discussed earlier, in many post-conflict contexts, forgiveness
becomes a necessary but most difficult ingredient to lasting peace.
Authentic forgiveness by those who have suffered injustice cannot be
coerced by others; neither can it be expected in all cases. The complexity
and idiosyncrasies of violent communal conflicts preclude easy prescrip-
tions of forgive and forget or let bygones be bygones (Wells, 1997,
p. 4). The traumatic historical memory in the wake of violent atroci-
Blessed are the Peacemakers 171

ties cannot and must not be proscribed from the processes of healing.
Indeed, forgiving the other for past atrocities or current episodes of
violence has little to do with forgetting what took place in the past
(Chectkow-Yanoov, 1997, p. 83, Levin, 1992).
In an exposition on social works critical contribution to inter-
communal conflict resolution, Chectkow-Yanoov (1997) highlights the
professional social workers role as social therapist or healer. A healer,
writes Chectkow-Yanoov, is a professional who, working at the local level,
investigates the underlying causes of a continuing conflict in order to
construct an appropriate kind of treatment whereby warring commu-
nities can encounter each other through empathic listening and mutual
mourning (105-06). Such investigations may require looking at taboo
ideas, overcoming historical hatreds, verbalizing feelings of deprivation
or suffering . . . discontinuing behavior that humiliates or victimizes
other groups, improving self-understanding, and listening sensitively
to the complaints of the other side (p. 104-05). Through empathy and
trust-buildingtwo central values of the professional social workera
third-party healer can facilitate real dialogue, where active listening can
occur and expressions of regret or forgiveness can eventually be com-
municated clearly. Third-party healers can foster a safe environment
where truth-telling and remembering and forgiveness and repentance are
encouraged, freeing conflicting communities from the shackles of hatred
and the violent consequences of dehumanization (p. 105-06).
Forgiveness is a potent Christian virtue that undergirds the rec-
onciliation experience and ministry of Coventry Cathedral and the
practical work of the ICR. The reconciliation work of the ICR clearly
evinces how real dialogue and relationship-building are part of the free-
ing power of forgiveness and how truth and remembering must come
alongside any eventuality of forgiveness if lasting peace and coexistence
are to be realized.
Not only is spirituality a motivating essence of ICRs work in
reconciliation, but familiarity with the spiritual is often an asset when
facilitating conflict resolution processes between conflicting faith com-
munities. As discussed above, genuine interfaith dialogue requires an
understanding and, more importantly, appreciation for the influences
of religious beliefs, institutions, and rituals.
In Baghdad and Jerusalem, for instance, to ignore spiritual issues is
perilous to the process of reconciliation. Violence and dehumanization
of the Other too often find justification through manipulated religion.
172 Social Work & Christianity

For these reasons, the research, evaluative, and relational processes of

the ICR must appreciate and address the spiritual and ritual dimensions
of violent conflict between communities. RAOs involved in conflict
resolution between religious groups must understand the conflicting
parties cosmology and how their belief systems and ritual sets may
help explain historical circumstances and motivations for violence or
dialogue. RAOs, because of their religious underpinnings, can approach
inter-religious divisions with a deeper empathy for the spiritual argu-
ments proffered by clashing communities, garnering a position of trust
from those communities clashing, in part, in the name of religion.
Thus, not only does the ICR implement a faith-based approach
to conflict resolution, its operations and networking is framed around
a position of humility, which recognizes that competing, spiritually
informed perceptions of reality may be at work in a conflict. In such
situations, its role is not to judge but to understand, to help harmonize
interfaith, cross-cultural values of forgiveness, compassion, and hospi-
tality in hopes of nurturing a restorative approach to lasting peace. In
sum, for this international RAO, reconciliation focuses on where the
practical and spiritual converge, illuminating the recursive relationship
between faith and practice in the healing work of reconciliation.

Conclusion

In a shrinking, globalizing world, local and regional inter-com-

munal conflicts are commanding an international audience. This article
makes clear the central part international RAOs like the ICR are playing
in the difficult and variegated work of inter-communal reconciliation
and how assets and skills essential in the field of professional social
work inform its operational planning, program development, and global
collaboration efforts with public agencies, CCN centers, and partnering
NGOs. The ICR offers social workers a practical, faith-based model for
framing the management, planning, and implementation of conflict
resolution and reconciliation efforts for violent inter-communal conflicts
occurring on local, regional, and transnational levels.
Social workers employed with RAOs committed to inter-com-
munal conflict resolution must respect the way a faith-based vision
of reconciliation informs the practical work of conflict management.
Coventry Cathedrals ICR reveals how the practical methods of research,
relationship-building, relief work, resourcing, risk-taking, and reconcili-
Blessed are the Peacemakers 173

ation find spiritual sustenance, thus enriching the normative work of

reconciliation with the injunctions of faith.
In a Good Friday world that is filled with despair, resentment, and
hatred, Coventry Cathedral envisions itself as a resurrected organization
affecting reconciliation between communities, advocating new begin-
nings through a common purpose as human beings. In the words of
the Coventry community, while the vision is challenging and the task
is great . . . God is greater. v

Notes

1. See the Minorities at Risk Project (2005). College Park, MD: Center
for International Development and Conflict Management. Available at
http://www.cidcm.umd.edu/mar/.
2. Coventry Cathedral has produced an expansive, updated website
outlining past and current ministries of reconciliation through the ICR and
the Community of the Cross of Nails. Available at www.coventrycathedral.
org.uk (International Ministry). See the United States Institute of Peace for
a closer look into conflict resolution and reconciliation efforts underway in
Iraq. Available at http://www.usip.org/iraq/programs/violence.html.
3. The cooperative effort between the CCN center of Christ Church
in Dayton, Ohio and its partner CCN center of St. Georges Cathedral in
Sierra Leone is indicative of such cooperation between centers.
4. The negotiations leading to the declaration were co-chaired by
George Carey, former Archbishop of Canterbury, and Sheikh Mohamed
Sayed Tantawi, the grand imam of Cairos Al-Azhar Islamic University
(White, 2006, p. 9).
5. For the Khartoum Cathedral (a CCN center since 2002), The Litany
of Reconciliation, which is now an essential part of this centers local ritual
package, was modified slightly to confess another challenge of its local
ministry: For our indifference to the disabled, the HIV/AIDS victims, the
widows and orphans, Father Forgive (www.crossofnails.com).
6. Bridge Builders is part of the London Mennonite Center dedicated
to helping Christians better understand intra-Church conflict. It offers
intensive mediation skills training for laity and clergy. See http://www.
menno.org.uk/node/3.
7. This sermon was preached by the Very Rev. James Diamond, Dean,
Christ Church Cathedral, Cincinnati, at the Chapel of the Cross, Chapel
Hill, North Carolina on Sunday, January 20, 2002. Available at http://www.
ccn-northamerica.org/index.html.
174 Social Work & Christianity

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Aaron Tyler, Ph.D., is Chair of Graduate International Relations Depart-

ment at St. Marys University, One Camino Santa Maria, San Antonio, Texas
78228. Phone: 254-640-1722. Email: [email protected].

Key Words: social, work, international, conflict, assets, skills, reli-

gious