Our sense of “being” is grounded in a healthy self-esteem and satisfaction with our lives. These can be burdened by our feeling wounded with hidden grief and mourning. Today’s uncertainty and anxiety make it even more difficult for us to engage in self-care, and to theologically frame our understanding of self-care as something positive and healthy–not selfishness. In overcoming this difficulty and achieving such a theological framing of self-care, the practice of forgiving can assume an essential role. Our class, “Living a Life of Forgiving,” while honoring the life, ministry and legacy of Archbishop Desmond Tutu, is an opportunity for participants to reflect on what it means to practice forgiveness and to be empowered by the process of forgiving.
In an atmosphere of collegiality and confidentiality, participants will be invited to deeply think through forgiveness and how it impacts our lives. Readings, discussions, and assignments will offer specific tools to explore the practice of forgiveness.
Each participant will be encouraged to offer a brief meditation at the beginning and end of each class session. Prior to the beginning of the class, participants should read the paperback edition of: Desmond and Mpho Tutu, The Book of Forgiving: The Fourfold Path for Healing Ourselves and Our World (New York: Harper, 2015; $14.00). Other short readings will be provided to the class.
The learning journey and goals of this course are:
- to reflect deeply about the meaning and process of forgiving
- to identify practical tools that assist us in our efforts to engage in forgiving
- to explore some of the wider social implications of what it means to forgive
- to equip the participants with a framework about forgiving that they can use in helping others interested in this topic
Frederick J. (Jerry) Streets served as Senior Pastor of the Mount Aery Baptist Church in Bridgeport, CT. from 1975-1992, led the congregation in significant growth, building a new church edifice and developing many social outreach programs and ministries.
He served as the Yale University Chaplain and Senior Pastor of the Church of Christ in Yale from 1992-2007 where he established a model of multi-faith campus ministry. In honor of Yale’s tercentennial, Yale University Press published his (2005) Preaching in the New Millennium.