In “Syria’s Last Chance” (Christianity Today, July-August), Dale Gavlak describes the reconciliation ministry of the Rev. Canon Brian Cox:
Some 22 years ago, Brian Cox, an adjunct professor at Pepperdine University School of Law and senior vice president for Dispute Resolution Training for the International Center for Religion and Diplomacy, developed a model of reconciliation based on Matthew 18. …
The relational method that Cox developed works well with both secular and faith-based groups. “It’s a unique process that is not interfaith dialogue, not traditional conflict resolution,” said Cox, also an Episcopal priest in California.
This approach, he said, is well suited to the Middle East with its populations of Muslims, Jews, and Christians. “It focuses on softening hearts as the first step toward constructive, joint problem-solving,” he said.
Over the years, Cox has traveled to the world’s hotspots to introduce more leaders to faith-based reconciliation. Cox and others worked for eight years before making significant progress in reconciling Pakistani Muslims and Indian Hindus in Kashmir. In the Mideast, he has already worked with Israelis, Palestinians, and Muslim Brotherhood members.
Photo by shamsnn (Flickr: Syrian Demonstration 30) [CC-BY-2.0], via Wikimedia Commons
Matthew Townsend is a Halifax-based freelance journalist and volunteer advocate for survivors of sexual misconduct in Anglican settings. He served as editor of the Anglican Journal from 2019 to 2021 and communications missioner for the Anglican Diocese of Quebec from 2019 to 2022. He and his wife recently entered catechism class in the Orthodox Church in America.
