July 23 - August 27, 2026
Thursdays, 6:30-8:30pm British Summer Time
God's reign is characterized by shalom, a holistic just peace in which all relationships are restored and made right. So if God's mission is to establish the holistic shalom of God's kingdom, then our Christian vocation and calling is to follow Jesus into the sacred, healing work of peacebuilding.
Join this 6-week online small group to introduce peace-oriented theology, conflict transformation, and peacebuilding skills. As peacebuilders, we recognize that conflict unveils ruptured relationships, both interpersonally and between groups, so conflict can become an opportunity to work toward deeper connection, justice, and God's shalom.
This online small group is for church leaders, staff, and trainees curious about how their faith and peacebuilding fit together, who wants to begin learning about how to live as a peacebuilder, or hopes to lead such conversations in their community. This small group is intended as a launching pad to help you grasp the scope and beauty of God’s shalom vision as we learn to follow Jesus on his peacebuilding mission and to provide resources and support for you and your friends on the peacebuilding journey.
We welcome everyone to the group regardless of financial means. However, if you’re able, we encourage you to give a donation to Peace Catalyst International or Peace Catalyst Norwich to help cover the time and effort it takes to put on this event. Your donation will also help us offer more free events in the future and bring peacebuilding tools and trainings to under-resourced communities. Depending on your ability, we suggest a donation of $20, $50, or $75 for this 6-week group. You’ll have the opportunity to donate after you register.
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Meet & Greet - Hear the personal stories of those in your cohort
God’s Vision & Mission - Shalom & Peacebuilding
The Church’s Peacebuilding Vocation & Call
Introduction to Conflict Transformation
Discipleship: Christian Formation for Peacebuilding
Peacebuilding Postures & Skills
You can expect a highly interactive experience, with a lot of discussion accompanying new content. We request that you intend to be present for the majority of the sessions in order to facilitate your own learning and the learning of the other participants.
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FORMAT
The entire event will happen online via Zoom. Each week, participants will receive preliminary resources (readings and videos) to look at before our meeting. The goal for these small groups is to provide a diverse set of introductory materials and some guided reflection questions so that participants might reuse the content to lead exploratory conversations and small groups about peacebuilding in their own communities.
DATES & TIMES
July 23 & 30, August 6, 13, 20, & 27
6:30 - 8:30pm British Summer Time (1:30-3:30pm USA Eastern Time)
MEET YOUR FACILITATORS
Phil Gazley
Phil is the Program Director of Peace Catalyst Norwich in the UK. Phil has been in ministry for over 40 years. He has previously been a senior pastor, a worship pastor and a Lead Elder. He continues to lead worship and preach regularly. Phil also worked with refugees and in anti human trafficking for many years and is now a full time peacebuilder. He has lived and worked in over 20 countries, is married to Caren and they have two adult children.
Simon Snell
Simon has been involved in Peace Catalyst Norwich since 2022 and has a particular interest in working to build relationships between local Christians and Muslims. He has spent his career in international and community development, and worked in rural micro-enterprise development for a year and a half in Bolivia. He is married to Melissa, who is ordained as an Anglican priest and is undertaking her curacy in Norwich, and they have two grown children. Simon attends several Anglican churches in Norwich and is involved in sung worship, though he has also attended Catholic, Baptist and free churches.
Have more questions? Contact us!
Phil Gazley: phil.gazley@peacecatalyst.org