10-08-2017
11:15 am - 12:15 pm
R.E. Building – Rooms 6, 7 & 8

Building a Community of Forgiveness

Ideally, a faith community is the place to practice repentance and forgiveness, the better to use them in the world outside. This session explores pathways to forgiveness.

When a child feels wronged, the impulse toward revenge and retaliation may invite more creative possibility than forgiveness. Many children, too, have experienced (or offered) insincere apologies, perhaps when an adult mediator’s goal was to achieve a temporary peace. This session teaches that as liberating as an apology can be for both the aggrieved and errant parties, true forgiveness is only sustainable in the context of justice. Repairing a broken covenant takes sincere intent and deliberate practice. Children in this session begin to learn the appropriate skills.

Take Home

Ask your child what they found most meaningful about their religious education session today—having this conversation directly afterward tends to yield the most information. You might ask, “What do you think about forgiveness?” Ask them whether and how they have been hurt by someone whose apology they seek. Ask them what it would take for them to forgive that person. Ask them what practices they learned today that might help them. Share about a time you have sought forgiveness when you knew you had hurt or wronged someone. Share about at time you forgave someone else. Be honest about how forgiving and seeking forgiveness have been challenging or rewarding for you.

Check it out: Session 4