Foundations in Conflict Transformation and Reconciliation

Hybrid For Clergy For Laity For UMC Clergy

The Foundations in Conflict Transformation and Reconciliation (FCTR) program is facilitated by scholars and practitioners in the field of conflict transformation from Duke University and other institutions. This certificate provides timely learning opportunities for pastors and other church leaders seeking spiritual disciplines and practical skills for healthier relationships and to foster transformation and reconciliation in their communities.

"In the end, reconciliation is a spiritual process, which requires more than just a legal framework. It has to happen in the hearts and minds of people."

Through this 13-month comprehensive introduction, participants will cultivate theological foundations, spiritual disciplines and practical skills to nurture healthier relationships with God, their families, congregations, neighbors, and all of creation as they seek just peace. The program seeks to foster personal and collective dispositions for conflict transformation and reconciliation amid division.

In addition to exploring their moral imagination, participants will learn to use practical tools such as deep listening, conflict coaching, and circle processes. Cohort members will gain knowledge and will increase their self-awareness about implicit biases and other attitudes that may create barriers between individuals and communities.

The FCTR offers a hybrid program to accommodate personal, pastoral, and professional obligations. Four in-person seminars and nine online re-imagination sessions over 13 months allow the participants to apply the Word Made Flesh methodology for contextual theology, engage in circle and other restorative processes, and experience conflict coaching, peer-mentoring and collaboration.

This program uses a cohort model through which participants discover the potential for conflict transformation and reconciliation as they journey in deeper spiritual growth and authentic group engagement. Dr. Nina Balmaceda, Leslie Gilbert, and Claudia Tsiaousopoulos lead the FCTR cohorts, in collaboration with guest expert instructors.

We are currently accepting applications for the May 2026 cohort.

Equip yourself with theological foundations, spiritual disciplines and practical tools for ministries that foster conflict transformation and reconciliation.

Participants at this certificate level will deepen their learning in these areas:

Communicating through authentic and transparent conversation on difficult issues
Hosting and reimagining covenants and liturgies that foster transformation and reconciliation in the church and the community
Applying the restorative approach to conflict transformation as distinct from conflict resolution
Navigating liminal spaces
Growing in understanding through deep listening
Engaging in coaching others and facilitating circle processes

The FCTR is primarily designed to serve pastors and church leadership teams. Aspiring participants from Methodist congregations in North Carolina qualify for free tuition. Preference is given to teams over individual participants.

All participants are required to:

Attend four in-person seminars.
Attend at least eight of nine live 90-minute sessions on Zoom. The exact dates will be determined by cohort and program members.
Complete five short asynchronous assignments and practical exercises.

Pastors and other Christian leaders interested in participating, who are based outside of North Carolina or who are not Methodist, please contact Leslie Gilbert at lgilbert@div.duke.edu.

Tuition

The program cost is $3000. Thanks to The Duke Endowment's support, the CFR will cover the tuition costs for pastors and church leaders of United Methodist, African Methodist Episcopal, African Methodist Episcopal Zion, Christian Methodist Episcopal, Union American Methodist Episcopal and First African Union Methodist Protestant churches in North Carolina.

Christian leaders who are based outside of North Carolina or who are not Methodist, may contact Leslie Gilbert at lgilbert@div.duke.edu for more information.

Lodging

The CFR will provide lodging for Methodist participants from North Carolina who have to travel more than 60 minutes to attend the in-person seminars. All other participants are responsible for the cost of their lodging.

Transportation

The cost of transportation, parking, and some of the learning materials must be paid by the participants or their congregations.

Applications for the fifth cohort are open. Preference will be given to teams of two to three participants (clergy and church leaders) serving in the same congregation.

Our Staff

Dr. Vilma “Nina” Balmaceda

Program Director

Born and raised in Lima, Peru, Dr. Balmaceda is a scholar-practitioner whose work focuses on interdisciplinary education and civic leadership development for conflict transformation, justpeace and reconciliation. She is the associate director of the Center for Reconciliation and an administrative faculty at Duke Divinity School. Dr. Balmaceda also serves as president and CEO of Peace and Hope International (PHI), a faith-based peacebuilding nonprofit dedicated to preventing and confronting violence and other forms of injustice in Latin America. She is a former human rights lawyer, with a Ph.D. in political science and M.A. degrees in international peace studies, and government and international studies from the University of Notre Dame.

Leslie Gilbert

Program Coordinator

Les Gilbert was born in Cleveland, Ohio and raised in the suburbs of Dayton, Ohio. He holds a bachelor's degree in organizational management. For over 30 years, while based in New York City and Fairfield County, CT., he has provided creative and technical leadership in a wide range of communications and marketing services for leading institutions around the world.

Contact Leslie Gilbert with any questions about the certificate.

“There has never been a time that we needed this more. We need this in the workplace, our family, and our country. We are beyond an inflection point.”
"We are so quick to try to resolve conflict that people do not really get to talk out what is going on. When you can stay in it a little longer, there is healing. Do not take the cast off too soon.”
"This has been transformative, and this is the work I would like to pursue in the second half of my career."
“The sooner and the earlier in life people can have this experience, the better. Any program about leadership should have a module that deals with conflict, and it needs to be done in a hopeful and realistic way.”

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