Mediation helps to create a climate for breakthrough
in communication. By having an agreed-upon process,
and providing safety for the participants, the
disputants experience a balance of power. Janet
Mitchell helps those in conflict to focus on the
real issues that divide them, to express emotions
appropriately, and to understand their common ground
and shared values.
Differences are acknowledged in mediation rather
than "swept under the rug," and by bringing up the
diversity of beliefs, the mediator often helps the
participants understand each other better. Best of
all, the mediator can help the disputants
collaborate on an agreed-upon solution, rather than
forcing a compromise.
Workshops: Some congregations hire
Janet Mitchell to provide a workshop
or retreat on conflict or communication
skills. Learning how to listen is a skill that we
all need to brush up on. Understanding conflict is
important. Learning how to create a climate for
breakthrough can be essential to a congregation's
health. Learning how to start, and, more
importantly, how to stop a fight is helpful.
Another option that has proven success is for
congregational members to individually take the
"Style Profile for People
at Work" by Susan Gilmore and Patrick
Fraleigh of Friendly Press. Congregants can
greatly improve their communication skills by
learning about four communication styles. The style
inventory has been taught to Mennonites, Brethren
and others in the religious and business communities
since the early 1980s. The key is understanding a
variation of the Golden Rule. With styles, we "do
unto others" what they would have you do unto them,
not what you would want to have done to you. This
simple premise has been expanded to include the
steps in communicating based on style, learning
about own our styles, understanding calm and storm
conditions, the stress shift, and hot tips for
communicating with someone of each of the four
styles. Janet Mitchell has used the style
material for 25 years and believes it to be crucial
in helping people to communicate more effectively.
For more information, click on the book
Meeting Facilitation: Your
congregation may need to have a serious
discussion on a hot topic. Janet Mitchell
has been trained by Dr. Barbara Date' in the
Date' Discernment Circle, similar
to a Native American Talking Circle, which can help
congregations move through conflict by truly
understanding all points of view. It is not a
decision-making process. If your congregation needs
to make a decision, Janet Mitchell can facilitate
the meeting and ensure that all voices are heard.
Mediator's Credentials: Janet
Mitchell is a member of the Practitioner Network of
the Church of the Brethren Ministry of
Reconciliation as an educator, facilitator and
intervener; the Practitioner Network of the
Mennonite Central Committee, and Lacefield Mediation
Network;.Advanced Practitioner member of the
Association for Conflict Resolution;and the Indiana
Supreme Court's Registry of Civil Mediators
and Registry of Domestic Relations Mediators. She
works as Mediation Coordinator at a Mennonite
university, Bluffton.
