Facilitating Forgiveness and Reconciliation in the Church and in the World

Forgiveness and reconciliation are central to the gospel message and virtues that mark Christian maturity. Recognizing them as virtues does not automatically translate into an ability to recover from relationship hurts, and people may then turn to a clergyperson or lay leader in the church for help in getting from a place of hurt and anger to one of acceptance and closure. This course is designed to assist students in their efforts to acquire the knowledge, wisdom and skills they need, first to embody the virtues themselves and then to facilitate others. Course material will be delivered by means of lectures, movie clips, and popular and scholarly publications. Grades will be based on a set of personal reflection papers (40%), an annotated bibliography (10%) and scholarly essay (40%), and active participation in small group and whole class discussions (10%).