Best known as the creators of the “Walking in the Way of Peace” ministry of conflict transformation and peace-building for congregations, the Institute collaborates with a unique team of lay and ordained facilitators who bring a broad range of experience, depth and continuity to this ministry.
We offer assistance in a variety of areas to support client congregations and organizations as they move through differences and conflicts, grow and heal, strengthen communication and dialogue skills, create structures and processes to support moving forward in productive and life-giving ways, and envision the future.
Programs and Services for Communities of Faith …
Planting the Seeds: Introductory one-day workshops and products
Leaves of Healing: Multi-faceted programs for reconnection and restoration
Spreading the Branches: Turning toward the future
Walking in the Way of Peace: Christian Peace-building for Churches
More than a program or a process, or a set of tools for addressing conflict, “Walking in the Way” implies a manner of living and a way of being. (to learn more click here)
Workshops and other learning opportunities
Steering Your Way Through the Storm: Leadership in Times of Conflict (link to brochure)
Covenantal Dialogue: Leading Your Congregation to Transformation and Healing (click here for brochure)
Strategies for Trauma Awareness and Resilience (STAR 1) (click here for brochure)
“Emergent” churches—learning to thrive in the 21st century
Leaves of Healing:
Multi-faceted programs for reconnection and restoration
Beginning the listening—issues clarification and situation assessment
Healing and transformation for traumatized churches
Restorative process for clergy boundary violations
Walking in the Way of Peace: Interventions in the midst or the wake of congregational conflict
Mediation and small group dialogue—training and facilitation
Leadership Skills in Times of Congregational Conflict: In-depth training in communication skills, conflict transformation, healing and discernment
Spreading the branches: Turning toward the future
Discernment in covenantal community
Visioning and discernment for 21st century churches
The “emergent church”—thriving in the 21st century
Strategic planning and redevelopment
Church growth training
Lay ministry training
All programs and services of The Brookfield Institute are customized to meet individual client goals. Services are project priced after the scope of the work has been determined and agreed upon. To explore how the Institute might best serve your needs, please contact us directly at 508-331-3081.
co-creator of Walking in the Way, has been a corporate management consultant since 1981. In 1993, she co-founded From Conflict to Community to bring her skills to congregations. She has a Master of Divinity from Andover Newton Theological School, where she also taught conflict management and communication. Karen Nell holds a certificate in mediation and conflict transformation from the Lombard Mennonite Peace Center. She received her Doctor of Ministry from Hartford Seminary with a focus on interfaith dialogue. She is ordained in the United Church of Christ presently serving the Congregational Church of Christ, UCC, in North Leominster, MA. Karen Nell is also Program Director of the Brookfield Institute.
Beverly Prestwood-Taylor...
has over 22 years of experience serving churches, prisons and campus ministries in Michigan and Massachusetts and is co-creator of Walking in the Way. In 1983, she received a Masters of Divinity from Boston University School of Theology and is ordained in the United Church of Christ. Schooled in Conflict Mediation and Trauma Healing through Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisonburg, Va., she received a Doctor of Ministry with distinction at Hartford Seminary with an emphasis on conflict transformation. Beverly specializes in cultivating healthy relationships between the pastor and the parish and in facilitating a healing process in traumatized churches. She also currently serves as Executive Director of the Brookfield Institute and is serving as Interim Pastor for the Congregational Church of Athol, MA.
Bonnie Marden...
facilitates and teaches groups to confront conflict and discover constructive energy for growth, discipleship and healing. Her training encompasses mediation, intervention and dialogue skills which she loves teaching in experiential and interactive settings. Called to the ministry of reconciliation, she believes the restoration of our relationships with others is critical to our relationship with God. With thirteen years experience as a Parish Consultant specializing in conflict and transitions for the New England Conference of the United Methodist Church, she joined the Walking in the Way team in 2006. Trained in mediation through the Lombard Mennonite Peace Center, she is a member of the JustPeace Center for Peace and Reconciliation. Her background in finance, economics and program administration proved useful in lay-leadership roles on local church Pastor Parish Relations, Finance and Worship committees in the United Methodist Church. She is currently teaching conflict and administration at Boston University School of Theology. Degrees in political science and economics (Tufts University) have familiarized her with the political realities of denominational decision-making and nurtured a life-long search for grace in communities of faith.
Rob Gormbley...
is an ordained United Church of Christ pastor and has served local churches since 1980. During his ministry in five churches of varying sizes in three New England states he has honed his skills, leading two of them from significant conflict through healing into subsequent growth. Rob's expertise in leadership development skills has extended to other settings; as an adjunct faculty member at The Andover Newton Theological School, as a Field Education supervisor and sector leader and as a co instructor for the Church and Ministry Seminar for Doctoral candidates concentrating on pastoral leadership transformation. In his work with the Massachusetts Conference of the United Church of Christ, Rob has been trained as a Church Growth Consultant and a Vital Congregational Living Coach. In 1980, Rob received his Masters of Divinity from Andover Newton Theological School and was awarded a Doctorate in Ministry with honors in 1994 also from Andover Newton. Rob currently serves as Senior Minister of the Mittineague Congregational Church in West Springfield, MA.
