{"id":33726,"date":"2017-06-09T13:17:27","date_gmt":"2017-06-09T17:17:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/?p=33726"},"modified":"2017-06-09T13:22:08","modified_gmt":"2017-06-09T17:22:08","slug":"practicum-helps-cjp-alumnus-lydell-steiner-15-found-mediation-center-ohio","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2017\/practicum-helps-cjp-alumnus-lydell-steiner-15-found-mediation-center-ohio\/","title":{"rendered":"Practicum helps CJP alumnus Lydell Steiner to found Ohio mediation center"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lydell Steiner\u2019s vocation came calling in the form of a persistent acquaintance who recognized his skills might fit a community need. The Ohio native was a team pastor at Kidron Mennonite Church when a community member repeatedly asked if he\u2019d consider developing local mediation resources.<\/p>\n

At the time, Steiner was enrolled in Eastern Mennonite Seminary<\/a>, and had taken a few Summer Peacebuilding Institute <\/a>courses at Eastern Mennonite University (EMU). But the recurring request for local mediation made him reevaluate his educational path.<\/p>\n

Steiner gathered a trusted group to help discern his next step. He decided to transfer into the graduate program in conflict transformation<\/a> at EMU\u2019s Center for Justice and Peacebuilding<\/a>. He devoted the required semester-long practicum to exploring mediation possibilities in Ohio.<\/p>\n

Two years after earning his master\u2019s degree \u2014 and the practicum experience which provided the foundation \u2014 Steiner and his community partners have created Connexus<\/a>, a nonprofit organization committed to \u201ctransforming the culture of conflict in Holmes and Wayne counties of Ohio.\u201d<\/p>\n

Professor David Brubaker<\/a>, Steiner\u2019s advisor during his practicum, says CJP students typically come in on one of two tracks. Some enter the program unsure of their focus and discover it along the way.<\/p>\n

Others, like Steiner, enter with a vision of the work they are called to do. CJP then equips them to achieve those goals.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat kind of entrepreneurship is what the peacebuilding community needs,\u201d says Brubaker.<\/p>\n

Localized needs assessment conducted during practicum<\/h3>\n

Steiner\u2019s practicum experience was a key piece of the strategic planning process that led to Connexus.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Lydell Steiner with wife Rebeca. Photo by Denise Hazlett.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For his four-month practicum, Steiner decided \u201cto flesh out more in depth that question of developing conflict mediation resources for our community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Steiner returned to Ohio and began his research. What current and historical resources were available for conflict management and mediation? What did local nonprofits, business leaders, churches and residents lack in this area? How were other mediation organizations operated, such as The Fairfield Center<\/a> in Harrisonburg, Virginia, and Shalom Counseling and Mediation Center<\/a> in Bryan, Ohio?<\/p>\n

This research culminated in a \u201cvisioning session\u201d in July 2014. Steiner invited key stakeholders from Holmes and Wayne counties to brainstorm how a mediation center might look and function. He also invited Brubaker to facilitate the gathering so that Steiner himself could present on the results of his extensive conversations with leaders from throughout the two-county area.<\/p>\n

Steiner says this was \u201cthe moment that really helped me coalesce.\u201d The group identified education and training in conflict transformation and networking for existing mediation resources as their primary objectives. They also decided to proceed in \u201can organic model,\u201d says Steiner, gathering volunteer efforts rather than building an organization from the top down.<\/p>\n

Broad community support is more important, Steiner says, than \u201cthe injection<\/i> of a lot of energy, a lot of vision, a lot of money, a lot of building.\u201d This approach means that growth is slow, but hopefully, more sustainable. Twelve individuals continued to meet, forming a steering committee.<\/p>\n

Educating the community<\/h3>\n

Almost three years later, Connexus \u2013 the organization that grew out of that visioning session \u2013 has conducted mediations, built a network of mediation practitioners, published a website, assembled a board, and gained non-profit status. Steiner volunteers for the organization while working at Venture Products, a small-scale tractor developer based in Orrville.<\/p>\n

In November, Connexus began hosting storytelling events to demonstrate mediation to those unfamiliar with the practice.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve come to realize that people still stigmatize conflict,\u201d says Steiner. \u201cIt feels as though, if you ask for help in a conflict, that somehow there\u2019s something really wrong with you … it helped me realize how hard this journey was going to be.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the spring, Steiner combined a guest sermon at an area church with a basic communication and conflict management training. By these small steps, an organization is built, as people learn what exactly Connexus could offer their family or community.<\/p>\n

One insight Steiner took away from his practicum dealt with questions of efficacy. In general, he says, communities with longstanding not-for-profit mediation centers all had \u201cgraduates\u201d who had gone on to develop their own niche practices.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur goal is not so much to develop the empire,\u201d explains Steiner. \u201cIt\u2019s to build the capacity in our community so that, if there are people who want to develop their own practice, they have those skills. It\u2019s not about Connexus so much as it\u2019s about our long-term community goals.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lydell Steiner\u2019s vocation came calling in the form of a persistent acquaintance who recognized his skills might fit a community need. The Ohio native was a team pastor at Kidron ... read more about Practicum helps CJP alumnus Lydell Steiner to found Ohio mediation center<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":33728,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[266,12503,17562,8845,14145],"tags":[17044],"feature":[17427,17424,17426,17422],"class_list":["post-33726","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni","category-cjp","category-digest","category-emu-at-lancaster","category-peacebuilding-and-development","tag-dave-brubaker","feature-emu-home-page-feature","feature-featured-graduate","feature-myemu-feature","feature-news-landing-page-main-feature"],"yoast_head":"\nPracticum helps CJP alumnus Lydell Steiner to found Ohio mediation center - EMU News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2017\/practicum-helps-cjp-alumnus-lydell-steiner-15-found-mediation-center-ohio\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Practicum helps CJP alumnus Lydell Steiner to found Ohio mediation center - EMU News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Lydell Steiner\u2019s vocation came calling in the form of a persistent acquaintance who recognized his skills might fit a community need. The Ohio native was a team pastor at Kidron\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2017\/practicum-helps-cjp-alumnus-lydell-steiner-15-found-mediation-center-ohio\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"EMU News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/EasternMennonite\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-06-09T17:17:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2017-06-09T17:22:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2017\/06\/20170322-Lydell-Steiner-008-1000px.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"667\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@EMU_News\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@EMU_News\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2017\/practicum-helps-cjp-alumnus-lydell-steiner-15-found-mediation-center-ohio\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2017\/practicum-helps-cjp-alumnus-lydell-steiner-15-found-mediation-center-ohio\/\",\"name\":\"Practicum helps CJP alumnus Lydell Steiner to found Ohio mediation center - EMU News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2017\/practicum-helps-cjp-alumnus-lydell-steiner-15-found-mediation-center-ohio\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2017\/practicum-helps-cjp-alumnus-lydell-steiner-15-found-mediation-center-ohio\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2017\/06\/20170322-Lydell-Steiner-008-1000px.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-06-09T17:17:27+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-06-09T17:22:08+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/d6737034219398924e6bd5dedcfa1245\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2017\/practicum-helps-cjp-alumnus-lydell-steiner-15-found-mediation-center-ohio\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2017\/practicum-helps-cjp-alumnus-lydell-steiner-15-found-mediation-center-ohio\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2017\/practicum-helps-cjp-alumnus-lydell-steiner-15-found-mediation-center-ohio\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2017\/06\/20170322-Lydell-Steiner-008-1000px.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2017\/06\/20170322-Lydell-Steiner-008-1000px.jpg\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":667,\"caption\":\"Photos shot on freelance contract by Denise Hazlett.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2017\/practicum-helps-cjp-alumnus-lydell-steiner-15-found-mediation-center-ohio\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Practicum helps CJP alumnus Lydell Steiner to found Ohio mediation center\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/\",\"name\":\"EMU News\",\"description\":\"News from the Eastern Mennonite University community.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/d6737034219398924e6bd5dedcfa1245\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Practicum helps CJP alumnus Lydell Steiner to found Ohio mediation center - EMU News","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2017\/practicum-helps-cjp-alumnus-lydell-steiner-15-found-mediation-center-ohio\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Practicum helps CJP alumnus Lydell Steiner to found Ohio mediation center - EMU News","og_description":"Lydell Steiner\u2019s vocation came calling in the form of a persistent acquaintance who recognized his skills might fit a community need. The Ohio native was a team pastor at Kidron","og_url":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2017\/practicum-helps-cjp-alumnus-lydell-steiner-15-found-mediation-center-ohio\/","og_site_name":"EMU News","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/EasternMennonite","article_published_time":"2017-06-09T17:17:27+00:00","article_modified_time":"2017-06-09T17:22:08+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1000,"height":667,"url":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2017\/06\/20170322-Lydell-Steiner-008-1000px.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@EMU_News","twitter_site":"@EMU_News","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2017\/practicum-helps-cjp-alumnus-lydell-steiner-15-found-mediation-center-ohio\/","url":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2017\/practicum-helps-cjp-alumnus-lydell-steiner-15-found-mediation-center-ohio\/","name":"Practicum helps CJP alumnus Lydell Steiner to found Ohio mediation center - EMU News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2017\/practicum-helps-cjp-alumnus-lydell-steiner-15-found-mediation-center-ohio\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2017\/practicum-helps-cjp-alumnus-lydell-steiner-15-found-mediation-center-ohio\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2017\/06\/20170322-Lydell-Steiner-008-1000px.jpg","datePublished":"2017-06-09T17:17:27+00:00","dateModified":"2017-06-09T17:22:08+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/d6737034219398924e6bd5dedcfa1245"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2017\/practicum-helps-cjp-alumnus-lydell-steiner-15-found-mediation-center-ohio\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2017\/practicum-helps-cjp-alumnus-lydell-steiner-15-found-mediation-center-ohio\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2017\/practicum-helps-cjp-alumnus-lydell-steiner-15-found-mediation-center-ohio\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2017\/06\/20170322-Lydell-Steiner-008-1000px.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2017\/06\/20170322-Lydell-Steiner-008-1000px.jpg","width":1000,"height":667,"caption":"Photos shot on freelance contract by Denise Hazlett."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2017\/practicum-helps-cjp-alumnus-lydell-steiner-15-found-mediation-center-ohio\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Practicum helps CJP alumnus Lydell Steiner to found Ohio mediation center"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/","name":"EMU News","description":"News from the Eastern Mennonite University community.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/d6737034219398924e6bd5dedcfa1245","name":"admin","sameAs":["http:\/\/"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33726","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33726"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33726\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33743,"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33726\/revisions\/33743"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33728"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33726"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33726"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33726"},{"taxonomy":"feature","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/feature?post=33726"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}