Lindy BunchLindy Bunch, an MDiv student at Wesley Theological Seminary who is exploring being ordained in the Episcopal Church, has won a partial scholarship to attend “Practical Peacebuilding: Skills and Spiritual Practices for Conflict Transformation,” Jan. 9-12, 2013 in New York.

Candler and The General Theological Seminary (GTS) have partnered to host this new ecumenical continuing education program for church leaders, and they offered the partial scholarship as an incentive for people to take notice of it. Bunch was randomly selected to receive the funds after completing the program’s marketing survey.

“As a future faith leader, peacebuilding and conflict resolution tools are important to have because there is a lot of conflict in the church,” said Bunch, one of the first people to register to attend Practical Peacebuilding.

Bunch graduated from Wofford College in 2009 with a degree in art history and history, a minor in German studies, and a concentration in gender studies. After college, she gained first-hand experience in conflict resolution by doing community building in rural South Carolina and in Thailand.

“I saw that conflict could be really useful. Sometimes you need things to come the surface so that you can reach resolution,” said Bunch. “Practical Peacebuilding appealed to me because it shares that philosophy, and it’s going to teach me to deal with conflict in ways that are authentic to the Gospel message.”

Practical Peacebuilding, which offers CEU credit, takes place at the Desmond Tutu Center on the GTS campus. The registration deadline is Oct. 31. For more information, visit the registration site.