Faces of Forgiveness Sessions
1. Keynote Speaker: Dr. Everett Worthington
Dr. Everett Worthington, a licensed psychologist, is a professor of psychology at Virginia Commonwealth University. He has published more than 150 articles on forgiveness and marriage and family relationships. He is the author of 19 books and has appeared on national media programs such as Good Morning America, CNN, and The 700 Club.
2. What Do Students Want to Know about Forgiveness & Reconciliation?
Students will have the opportunity to ask questions about forgiveness, reconciliation, and related ideas such as apology, revenge, and justice. Our research leads to some common questions such as the following: What are the benefits of forgiveness? How is God’s forgiveness different from human forgiveness? Can you forgive without reconciling? Can you forgive but still let people deal with the consequences of their actions? Can people apologize or offer forgiveness for other people?
Everett Worthington, Ph.D. and Geoff Sutton, Ph.D., Psychologists.
3. Today’s Forgiveness: Tomorrow’s Marriage
It has been said that the best predictor of future behavior is past behavior. This applies to forgiveness. With any relationship there is the reality of emotional injury (disappointment, insensitivity, betrayal, etc.). How a person handles such an experience today sets the stage for how it is managed in marriage. Find out how a pattern of asking as well as granting forgiveness in your present relationships as a roommate, sibling, classmate or boy/girlfriend can impact your future marriage experiences.
Christine Arnzen, Director of Clinical Services at the National Institute of Marriage and the former Director of EU Counseling Center.
4. Can Crime Victims Forgive?
Is it possible to forgive someone who perpetrated a horrendous crime against you? This session will delve into that very question by hearing from those who have been victimized by a criminal offender and have worked through the process of forgiveness.
Bob Cirtin, Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice
5. A Theological & Ethical Discussion of Simon Wiesenthal's book, The Sunflower
While imprisoned in a Nazi concentration camp, Simon Wiesenthal was taken one day from his work detail to the bedside of a dying member of the SS. Haunted by the crimes in which he had participated, the soldier wanted to confess to—and obtain absolution from—a Jew. Faced with the choice between compassion and justice, silence and truth, Wiesenthal said nothing. But even years after the war had ended, he wondered: Had he done the right thing? In this book, fifty-three distinguished men and women respond to his questions. They are theologians, political leaders, writers, jurists, psychiatrists, human-rights activists, Holocaust survivors, and victims of attempted genocide. The Sunflower will challenge you to define your beliefs about justice, compassion, and human responsibility.
Doug and Lois Olena, Adjunct Instructors, Theology
6. Ultimate Fighting: Surviving Church Brawls with Your Spirit Intact
Often good people with strongly held beliefs find themselves at odds with other good people with equally strong beliefs. In churches the result is often unpleasant: hurt feelings, factions, even church splits—people responding sinfully in response to perceived sinful actions. This session will examine the nature of conflict in churches in an attempt to promote healthy conflict management, forgiveness, and restoration.
Steve Smallwood, Instructor, Department of Theology and Dr. Jeff Fulks, Professor of Social Work
7. “The Good, the Bad, and the Forgiven”—The Forgiveness Factor in Film
Most would agree that some manner of “redemption” is a major theme in nearly every feature film. This session will explore the theme of forgiveness as depicted by Hollywood movies. We’ll take a look at various movie scenes where forgiveness was a significant part of the story. Discussion will revolve around how forgiveness, or the lack thereof, is shown in modern films and what impact these scenes might have on our culture.
Dr. Cameron A. Pace, Professor of Communication and Communication Department Chairperson
8. Every Day is a New Day
The teaching career involves daily interaction with students, fellow teachers, parents, and administrators. These encounters are sometimes volatile or unpleasant. Teachers must be able to forgive outbursts, unreasonable demands, false accusations, and lack of cooperation in order to guide students toward achieving their academic goals.
Dr. Joan Cargnel and Dr. Bud Greve
9. Facing Childhood Abuse
How do we forgive abusers, ourselves, and even God when we feel so crippled by our feelings of hurt, anger, and shame? Most are overwhelmed with the idea of forgiving those who have caused what they perceive to be irreparable harm. This session will address how we can begin the process of forgiving and initiate healing as we face childhood abuse.
Brian Upton, Director of EU Counseling Center
10. Amish '06 School Shooting: Lessons in Forgiveness
On October 2, 2006, a disillusioned young man entered the West Nickel Mines School in Pennsylvania, killing five young Amish students and wounding five others. In the aftermath of this tragedy, followers of the story witnessed a remarkable story of forgiveness. Grieving members of the Amish families not only forgave Roberts but extended Christ-like compassion to the Roberts family. How is such forgiveness possible? What might we learn from Amish (and Anabaptist) disciplines? What forgiveness practices do we recognize from our own Pentecostal tradition?
Dr. Marty Mittelstadt, Assistant Professor of New Testament
11. Forgiveness: You Go First: How Forgiveness Makes a Marriage Work
Led by an attorney who has mediated in 700 family law cases, most involving divorce and child custody, this session will focus on the importance of forgiveness in maintaining healthy marriages and nurturing homes. Given the high rate of divorce even among Christians, it is clear that many believers are not applying the principles of healthy relationships taught in the Bible. Students will benefit from wisdom gained both from scripture and from the experience of mediation for nearly twenty years.
Robert Hankins, J.D., Springfield Attorney
12. Interview with Rabbi Rita Sherwin
According to Jewish teaching, forgiveness is an attribute of the Divine that we as human beings are commanded to emulate. On the holiest day of the Jewish year, Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, we are required to ask God for forgiveness, to approach those we have wronged and ask them for forgiveness, and to forgive those who ask us. But are there any circumstances in which God does not forgive? Are there any sins that we cannot forgive? These are some of the questions we will ask as we explore the Jewish understanding of forgiveness.
13. Student Writings on Forgiveness
In this session, students will share how they responded to offenses committed against them. Their stories will describe their struggle to react in a healthy way and what they have learned in this struggle. Students may find these narratives challenging in their own experience of offense.
Facilitated by Dr. Diane Awbrey, Associate Professor of English
14. Intercultural Perspectives on Forgiveness and Shame
Though forgiveness is a universal need and a trans-cultural phenomenon, the fact of living and working in intercultural settings presents special challenges to forgiveness. This will be an interactive seminar focused on many ways in which cultural differences cause offense and present obstacles to reconciliation. Participants will discover that forgiveness is possible anywhere and will be introduced to different paths to forgiveness which are appropriate in intercultural settings.
Dr. Robert Bartels, Associate Professor of International-Multicultural Studies and John Plake, Missionary in Residence
15. The Miracle of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa: Perspectives from a White Collaborator with the Apartheid Regime
I would like to share some of the mixed emotions that we as white Afrikaners experienced as we transitioned from apartheid to democracy. The role that our president, Nelson Mandela, played in modeling forgiveness after his release from prison can never be underestimated. Within a period of just a few months he was transformed in front of our eyes from a “terrorist” into a statesman. This has implications for racial conflicts all over the world.
Dr. Johan Mostert, Associate Professor of Community Psychology, AGTS
16. Apologize. It’s Good Business.
If a company says "my bad," will its customers forgive? This session will address the appropriateness of corporate apologies and related case studies. Implications of corporate apologies, including legal liability, will be discussed.
Becky Rhoades, Associate Professor of Business, and Bernie Dana, Assistant Professor of Business
17. Against You Only Have I Sinned: Forgiveness According to the Psalms
God's forgiveness in the Psalms is an aspect of God's graciousness toward His people. Psalms tells us that God is willing to forgive, and that we should appeal to God for forgiveness, and it has examples of people seeking God's forgiveness. Contrary to popular belief, forgiveness in the Psalms is not tied to sacrifice, but to God's compassion. This session will explore these themes in the Psalms with the ultimate goal being freedom on the part of the believer.
Dr. Bill Griffin, Associate Professor of Old Testament and Hebrew
18. Restitution: The Price of Forgiveness May Be More Than You Can Afford
In this session we will explore the biblical basis for and practical implications of restitution which may be actual or symbolic. If at all possible, the offender should pay for or replace property taken, damaged or destroyed. If the monetary amount is so great that the offender is prohibited from repaying, then partial and/or symbolic restitution may be appropriate.
Gary Allen, National Director of Ministerial Enrichment for the Assemblies of God
19. How to "Get over it": An Operational Definition of Forgiveness
This seminar will present a working model of how to actually forgive oneself or others who have perpetrated harm. Attendees will be exposed to the Jones-Lopiccolo Model of recovery which involves the process of exposure, confrontation, and forgiveness. Testimonials of people who have used the model will be included.
Dr. Grant Jones, Professor of Psychology
20. Much Ado about Forgiveness in Literature
Nuances of forgiveness will be illustrated through the use of short excerpts from literature. A team of professors will present favorite passages exemplifying different aspects of forgiveness as portrayed in literature from varied periods, genres, and cultures. Fiction, poetry, and drama, as they fire the imagination, convey powerfully some of the most fundamental biblical truths and allow us to examine both the good and evil consequences of our behavior.
Participants: Eliezer Oyola, Diane Awbrey, Marilyn Quigley, Timothy Rohde, Nathan Nelson, Robert Turnbull, Sandra Vekasy, Randy Tate, James Edwards
21. Forgiveness and Health: Biological Correlates of Forgiveness
Offenses are stressful events that can often produce powerful emotional reactions. The presenters discuss the biopsychology of forgiveness in terms of a stress model.
Panel: Everett Worthington, PhD; Geoff Sutton, PhD; and Michael Tenneson, PhD, Professor of Biology
22. Coventry Cathedral and Britten’s War Requiem: Images, Words, and Sounds of Reconciliation.
Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem, a master choral work, was commissioned for the 1962 dedication of the newly constructed St. Michael’s Cathedral in Coventry, England. On 14 November 1940, both the city of Coventry and the former Cathedral were devastatingly bombed by the German air force. This session will explore the artistic and spiritual themes expressed both in the new Cathedral and the Requiem.
Dr. Linda Ligate, Professor of Music, and Dr. Nathan Nelson, Professor of English
23. Icyizere: Hope
This past summer, filmmaker Patrick Mureithi recorded a reconciliation workshop in Rwanda that brings together 10 survivors and 10 perpetrators of the 1994 genocide, with encouraging results. All participants come to realize that they can overcome their shared trauma only if they strive to forgive each other and work toward rebuilding trust within their communities. Patrick will show segments of his footage, describe the process involved in making a documentary, and share insights about the pain and liberation involved in forgiving such great offenses.
Patrick Mureithi
24. Beyond the Gates of Splendor
This incredible documentary film is based on the amazing true story that inspired Elisabeth Elliot’s best-seller. When five missionary families travel to Ecuador, they find creative ways to connect with the Waodani, an isolated tribe. Some meet with hostility, and death. In a testament to unsurpassed forgiveness, members of the slain missionaries’ families return to the Amazonian basin and live among the tribe. This powerful and award-winning documentary features first-hand accounts, including recent tribe interviews.
25. End of the Spear
In this film based on a true story, tragedy strikes as a missionary group journeys into the heart of the Amazon jungle in search of the Waodoni, a tribe of fierce warriors completely isolated from civilization. When five of the missionaries are killed by tribesmen, their families are left husbandless and fatherless. Despite their tremendous loss, and as a testament to their faith, the families decide to remain in Ecuador and live among the Wadoni as originally planned. A young boy, determined to unlock the secret of his father’s death, must learn to accept a tragedy he cannot remember in this powerful tale of sacrifice, courage, and redemption.
26. The Power of Forgiveness
This film by Martin Doblmeier includes seven dramatic stories that explore faith traditions and health sciences. The 78-minute documentary includes stories with The Amish, North Ireland, Ground Zero, renowned Buddhist teacher Thich Nhat Hanh, Nobel peace Laureate Elie Wiesel and interviews with best-selling authors Thomas Moore (Care of the Soul), Marianne Williamson (The Gift of Change), and others.