Trans-Europe

Exhibit on forgiveness sparks genuine conversation in the United Kingdom

Adventist Churches in Scotland and England open their doors to help Church and community members discuss healing through forgiveness.

United Kingdom | Njabulo King Ndlovu / BUC News

What, exactly, does it take to move past a lifetime of hurts? That is a question church members ask – but also the general public. Three Adventist churches in Scotland, Devon and Cornwall have recently taken on the challenge to share an answer.

This past week The F Word exhibition has been on display first in the Plymouth church and then transferred to Bodmin. In both venues the church became an exhibition area where the public could engage in the stories of people who have discovered forgiveness in unexpected places. These included stories of people whose lives have been shattered by violence, tragedy and injustice and who are learning to forgive, reconcile and move on. It has been displayed in over 300 venues worldwide and draws together voices from South Africa, America, Israel, Palestine, Northern Ireland and England to examine forgiveness as a healing process, a journey out of victimhood and ultimately, a journey of hope.

The West Country exhibits followed on from a more extensive exhibition by the Aberdeen church in partnership with Aberdeen University, the Dunecht and Albyn Schools and the Aberdeen Inter-Faith Group. They transformed the church hall into an exhibition area where over one hundred people, including students and parents from the schools joined members of the public during morning, afternoon and evening sessions.

After reading the powerful stories on forgiveness, each person or group was welcomed by Pastor Ndlovu into the sanctuary to debrief and reflect on their engagement with the exhibition and to participate in a group exercise such as writing and erasing a name or situation from which they wanted to move on. This moving and emotional process marked the beginning of various journeys to forgiveness with teachers, parents and church members working together to make the journey easier and relevant to the various age groups. Inevitably, the reflective exercise happening in the sanctuary, on many occasions, led to questions on Aberdeen church's beliefs. Students from Albyn Upper School described their experience to their Higher Business Management class as "one of the best out-of-school activities" they had done.

In addition, on Wednesday 11 March, the Aberdeen University's Chaplaincy invited Revd Sam Ferguson, their scheduled preacher for their mid-week service, to preach on Forgiveness while Pastor Ndlovu had the opportunity to explain The Forgiveness Project as a community service undertaken by Aberdeen Adventists. Part of the exhibition was set up at the King's College campus and seen by numerous university students, staff, worshippers and members of the public.

The following Friday, Carl Wilkens, founder of World Outside My Shoes and former head of the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) in Rwanda presented a talk entitled, 'Restorative Justice: Lessons from Rwanda in Healing and Building Peace'. Carl spoke passionately about his experience as the only American who remained in Rwanda when the 1994 genocide began.

His thought-provoking talk attracted additional university students, staff, and members of the public.

The Aberdeen Inter-Faith Group that includes Christians, Jews and members of the Baha'i faith were amongst other faith groups who dared to reflect on forgiveness on the evening of Thursday, 12 March in the Aberdeen church. Carl quizzed the group on the common and diverse outcomes from reading similar stories from the exhibition as well as general thoughts and experiences with forgiveness.

Church members also took time to grapple with issues of forgiveness during Sabbath worship services. Carl's gripping storytelling coupled by Teresa, his wife, with her musical ability, graced the morning services before a meaningful heart to heart afternoon discussion on the reality of forgiveness for individuals and church groups struck a chord with Aberdeen members. As Carl unpacked more stories from Rwanda, he challenged members to consider spiritual health as a leading benefit to resist the urge of personal, doctrinal, tribal and racial forces belittling the process of forgiveness.

Aberdeen church has made deeper inroads into the community with future partnerships already being considered. One such initiative actually happened the following week as Albyn School, one of the leading independent, co-educational schools in Scotland with over 700 pupils requested to further host the exhibition the following week, 16-20 March. With that, they requested Pastor Ndlovu to assist in leading the reflective exercises for some of the Religious, Moral and Philosophical Studies classes. Subsequently, Pastor Ndlovu has been invited to be a judge at Albyn School's Youth Philanthropy Initiative 2015, an innovative framework for targeted and meaningful local giving.

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