CIVIC, community and religious leaders heard about resolving conflict at the fourth annual Portsmouth Prayer Breakfast.

Church leaders, leaders from other faiths, councillors, charity and community leaders and others from across the city came together at Portsmouth's Guildhall. They had the chance to chat together over breakfast, to hear from a guest speaker, and then to join in prayer together for their city.

The Lord Mayor of Portsmouth, Cllr Gerald Vernon-Jackson, welcomed those who had gathered in the Banqueting Room for bacon or vegetarian/halal rolls, a fruit platter and coffee.

They then heard from Emma Jenkings from Hampshire-based Mosaic Mediation about 'the beauty of conflict'. She works as a professional mediator, equipping individuals and businesses to deal with conflict in a positive way. And she was able to talk about how her Christian faith influences the work she does.

"All of us have the inner desire for connection, but conflict that is mishandled leads to disconnection," she said. "Conflict is about difference, but it can become ugly because people don't tackle it early enough. Things can fester and assumptions can easily feel like facts. The conversations to resolve conflict can be hard ones. Conflict is inevitable, but letting it turn into combat is optional.

"Most conflict is actually not criminal behaviour or anything like that, but the result of violated expectations of others - 'I would have done things differently' perhaps. Jesus didn't say 'Blessed are the peacekeepers', but 'Blessed are the peacemakers'. They are different things. Keeping the peace is about not rocking the boat and keeping a lid on things, until they blow up. Peacemakers are actually disruptive, they are the proactive ones who are willing to have the awkward conversations to resolve things.

"The story of Zacchaeus in the Bible offers us a masterclass in peacemaking. He was a cheat, a traitor who was consorting with the occupying power. But Jesus asked to to go his house. Jesus didn't ignore his wrongdoing, but demonstrated his care and value of Zacchaeus, and saw his potential to do good. Then we see Zacchaeus showing genuine remorse and offering to pay back four times what he had cheated people out of.

"An peacemaker offers someone the chance to look at things in a different way. And a respectful assertiveness by the peacemaker does increase the likelihood of a different outcome. A mediated conversation should not just be seen as a last resort.

"Healthy conflict resolution is like exercise, the more you do it, the better you will be. You cannot compel people to be peaceful, but you can do your part to help conflict not to become combat."