Formerly the InterFaith Peace Conference, this year’s SEJ (Southeastern Jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church) Peace Conference will acknowledge that peacebuilders must adapt to the changing landscape in the way they are called to work, including a commitment to "scale up" a younger generation of peacebuilders, said the Rev. Beth M. Crissman, director of Peace Building Ministries of the Western North Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Church.

This year’s theme is Breaking Down the Dividing Walls, which recognizes that although people are surrounded by escalating division and violence, it is not their differences that divide them, but their hostility toward others.

The three-day conference will feature renowned peacebuilders and use worship, interactive plenaries, workshops, film screenings and informal conversation to strategize how to build bridges of peace across political, theological and social divides. It is open to clergy and laity of all ages, all faith traditions or no faith tradition from across the southeastern United States and beyond. Special scholarships are being offered to high school, college and seminary students to encourage participation and shared learning with younger generations.  

For more information or to register, visit wnccumc.org/peace-conference-2025.