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THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, JULY 10, 1996 PAGE 15.
Keeping the peace
Peacemakers and mediators, present and future, of Grey Central Public School gathered at
year's end. In back, from left: Teacher Elwin Garland, Jerri Van Loo, Jodi Semple, Sarah
Brubacher, Cass Boyd, Carla Hunt, Katy Sproul, Daniel Preston, Rose Kuepfer, Alexis
Ruttan, Stacey Bowles and Julia Johnston, and Principal Paul Statia. In the middle, from
left: Steven Zhand, Konrad Hammel, Matthew McCall, Ken Brown, Randy Milinkovic, Gary
Hiusser, Ryan Befurt, Rodney Dammeier, Shanon Clark and Christie Snider. In front, from
lea: Lorraine Damen, Kelsey Clary, Missy Engel, Jelma Gorier, Michelle DeWit, Joey Cypler
and Tyler Campbell. Scott Cox and David Cullen were absent.
Ministering to many
The husband and wife pair of Rev. Chris Johnston and
Rev. James Murray will take over duties at Brussels and
Ethel and Walton and Bluevale United Churches.
Brussels, Walton
welcome ministers
Grey PS ends peaceful year
By Janice Becker
Whether or not there is a trend
towards married couples in the
ministry, the north Huron area wel-
comes its third such union as Rev.
James Murray and Rev. Chris John-
ston come to Walton.
Rev. Murray is the veteran in the
family, now in his seventh year of
ministry in the United Church.
Born in Montreal and raised for
much of his childhood in Carlton
Place near Ottawa, he did not begin
his adulthood with a career in the
church.
He studied at Wilfrid Laurier
University in Waterloo where he
attained a business administration
degree, then spent a couple of years
in sales. In 1989, he graduated from
Queens University in Toronto -with
a theology degree.
"James had always felt a calling
to the ministry," says Rev. John-
ston, "but he felt it was important
to gain a certain amount of experi-
ence, maturity and understanding
before taking on the very difficult
job of ministry."
As for herself, Rev. Johnston has
experience in another career or two,
as well. She earned a Bachelor of
Journalism at Carlton University,
worked one summer for the Grand
Bend Sun and was fully involved in
the organizing and running of art
Morris council got through busi-
ness quickly, July 2, having held a
meeting the previous week.
The township will apply for the
services of a welfare recipient
(workfare participant) for jobs on
the roads and at the landfill site.
A drainage petition was accepted
for Lot 11, Conc. 6.
There were no objections to the
sale of the CNIB 1997 lottery cal-
endar in the township.
A letter received from the Min-
istry of Agriculture, Food and
Rural Affairs detailed the grant
structure for drainage. The engi-
neered drains will be funded by 1/3
councils, gallery and theatre events
in the Belleville and Kingston area.
After the couple wed, Rev. Mur-
ray received his first call to New-
foundland, while she was a
stay-at-home mom for their three
boys.
The family returned to Ontario
after two years, where Rev. Murray
has spent the past five years as a
minister in Hagersville.
It was during this period when
she realized that her dream of being
a professional quilter would not
work out and decided that being an
minister's wife was not a good
enough reason to not be a minister
herself.
In 1992, she returned to universi-
ty to pursue another advanced
degree, obtaining a Master of
Divinity from Emmanuel College
in Toronto. She graduated in May
and was ordained in June.
It was the United Church's settle-
ment committee which helped the
couple locate two parishes in the
same area.
Rev. Murray will serve the needs
of the Walton and Bluevale com-
munities while Rev. Johnston will
tend Brussels and Ethel.
The family will reside in Walton
with Rev. Johnston having regular
office hours at Brussels United
Church.
grants while drain maintenance and
superintendent grant will be 61 per
cent of the amount requested or
$11,697.88.
Due to a poor response from
other municipalities, council filed a
restructuring resolution from the
Village of Blyth.
TenPas Construction will be
exempt from curbside garbage
pickup because it is a business.
Brussels will receive a $1,200
grant from the township for fire
calls.
The road and general accounts, in
the amounts of $30,901.45 and
$340,925.98, were approved for
payment.
By Elwin Garland
I win! You win! is the hub
around which the mediation
program at Grey Central School
revolves.
In essence, mediation is a method
of conflict resolution in which two
disputants are assisted, if they wish
assistance, to come to a peaceable
agreement in which both parties
come out as winners. This does not
necessarily mean that each
disputant gets everything he or she
wants. Instead it means they have
worked at listening to each other
and arrived at a mutually
acceptable conclusion through the
help of mediators.
Mediators are people who exhibit
qualities that enable them to help
other people resolve differences. A
mediatcir remains unbiased so that
he or she can stay neutral. They
have nothing invested in the
dispute. They are also empathetic
listeners who try to listen with the
intent to understand what each
disputant is thinking and feeling.
They encourage the disputants to
tell each side of the story and they
treat each party with respect
regardless of the story.
Mediators are responsible for the
process of mediation. They help
people work together toward some
resolution. They are not responsible
for finding the solutions to the
problems; that is left up to the
disputants. The mediator's role is to
serve as a communication
facilitator.
An essential understanding for a
mediator is knowing that what is
told to them in the mediation
process is confidential. Their task
as a mediator is to build up the
disputant's trust in the process by
not discussing the problems with
others in the school. Should a
mediator do so then he or she can
no longer function in that role
again, for a special trust has been
broken. The mediators also need to
be aware of any situation when
someone may be about to disclose
something they should not. The
mediator must take that person
aside and caution the individual
about disclosing something he or
she may not need to.
Being a mediator is no easy task
and one not to be taken lightly.
Students who wish to become
mediators are first nominated by
their peers and seconded by
teachers. They must then go
through initial training. During the
training period students are taught
about conflict and the fact that it
can either Ise creative or
destructive. They learn about their
own style of dealing with conflict
and which are the best methods of
resolving conflicts.
After initial discussion and
reflection on conflict, students then
move on to learn about
communica-tion. In this part of
their training they learn active
listening skills and also about
communication blockers people use
to stop effective communication.
An example of an important
element learned in communication
is an "I" statement. By learning this
communication skill students
discover how to tell how a specific
action makes them feel and what
they think after it is done, for
example, "When you call me
names. I think you don't like me
and then I feel hurt." Using this
tool in communication is a
powerful way to express one's
feelings and thoughts in a positive
way. By using 'I' statements the
individual validates her or his
feelings.
In addition to these basic skills
students also learn how to problem
solve. Next in the procedure is the
teaching of the actual mediation
process. This includes establishing
ground rules, seating disputants,
and explaining the procedure.
Mediators also tell the disputants
the problem is that of the disputants
Continued on page 22
Morris council to apply
for Workfare applicant