Shalom Team

Shalom Team, District Board of Administration

  • The Pacific Southwest District Board has not organized a Shalom Team in recent years.
Five year terms ending on December 31.
The home churches of persons listed above, are in brackets, i.e. (Tucson)

District Board of Administration (return)

Shalom Team defined inĀ District By-Laws, 2018 ed. Article III. Section K. page 12 From the 2002 Annual Conference Paper. Article III Sections A and B.

A. Membership and Qualifications

The Shalom Team will be of a sufficient size to meet district needs, with attention given to gender balance and geographical representation within the district. People eligible for the Shalom Team must be active members of the Church of the Brethren. They will serve for a term to be determined by the district. The District Executive/Minister, the District Board chair, and the District Moderator may meet with the Shalom Team. Persons eligible for the Shalom Team will meet the following qualifications:

  1. Members will demonstrate the following personal qualities:
    • Spiritual and emotional maturity
    • The ability to manage their own anxiety and be a non-anxious presence with others in conflict
    • Respect for confidentiality
    • Sensitivity, honesty, and integrity in their dealings with others
    • Commitment to the beliefs, practices and polity of the Church of the Brethren
    • Openness to and respect for diversity (cultural diversity, personality styles, power, etc.)
    • Willingness to receive training in areas related to restoring wholeness
  2. Members will demonstrate competency or will receive training in one or more of the following areas:
    • Listening skills
    • Basic conflict resolution skills
    • Systems theory
    • Group facilitation
    • Multi-cultural issues
    • Organizational and congregational dynamics
    • Knowledge of Church of the Brethren General Board resources and other Church of the Brethren agencies’ resources

B. Functions

There are four functions of the Shalom Team: Consult, Assess, Educate, and Mentor.

  1. Consult. The Shalom Team will be available to provide timely, short-term consultation on any issue which hinders, or threatens to hinder, progress toward total well-being. Consultation will involve active listening, prayer, and discernment.
  2. Assess. Based on the consultation, Shalom Team members may identify the needs or name the brokenness. Assessment should include assisting persons to envision “next steps” that help move them toward wholeness and help them identify resources that would enhance such progress. The Shalom Team will be aware of a wide range of resources and will assist individuals and congregations in identifying options appropriate to their needs. Such resources will probably include Church of the Brethren agencies and their staffs (including Ministry of Reconciliation, Practitioner’s Network, Association of Brethren Caregivers, Congregational Life Team members), but can also include other local, regional, or national agencies or consultants, or resources provided within the district.
  3. Educate. The Shalom Team will provide, on a regular basis, local, sectional, or district wide educational and training events utilizing the above-mentioned congregational resources. Shalom Team members will demonstrate a willingness to receive education as well as facilitate educational events being brought to the district. Examples of education events can include, but should not be limited to, the following:
    • Preventative skills that congregations can learn before differences escalate into destructive conflict
    • Competency in conflict-transformation tools and skills (including those listed in the qualifications for Shalom Team members)
    • Collaborative tools for making difficult decisions
    • Responding in the early stages to challenges and issues currently facing congregations or districts
    • Trends and challenges in the wider church and their impact on the district
  4. Mentor.
    1. Shalom Teams may identify and mentor persons in the denomination who demonstrate skill in one or more of the areas listed under Shalom Team qualifications.
    2. Shalom Teams may invite persons to acquire additional training (via district events and other opportunities) and encourage such persons to share their learning with Shalom Teams.

Shalom Teams may become aware of possible ethical violations at any stage of these four functions. Should this occur, an immediate referral to the Ethics process will be made. **Shalom Teams may be called in to focus on any conflict or brokenness resulting from an ethics process.

**Specifics of this process are found in the 1996 Annual Conference Paper “Ethics in Ministry Relations.”