Forgiveness as a Spiritual Practice

Anger, fear, grief, and pain hinder us from feeling connected with the Spirit and our own healing energies. Exploring our story roots as we practice forgiveness opens us to living in a more peaceful way. Workshop focuses on tools and techniques for doing forgiveness work, not on therapy. FGC 2024 GATHERING WORKSHOP LONG DESCRIPTION Leader:…

Workshop Description

Anger, fear, grief, and pain hinder us from feeling connected with the Spirit and our own healing energies. Exploring our story roots as we practice forgiveness opens us to living in a more peaceful way. Workshop focuses on tools and techniques for doing forgiveness work, not on therapy.

FGC 2024 GATHERING WORKSHOP LONG DESCRIPTION

Leader: Sue Regen
Elders: Kenn and Lu Harper

A. Expectations and objectives for the week.

1) to introduce participants to a way of looking at forgiveness that can increase
spiritual and emotional healing.
2) to develop a list of tools and techniques for engaging in forgiveness work.
3) to practice/experience as many tools and techniques as possible.
4) to create a safe “community” in which group members can move as fast or as
slowly as they choose in practicing forgiveness.

B. Specific areas or topics that I expect to cover.

Sample of topics to be covered: a definition of forgiveness and an analogy for working with it; what does it take to successfully forgive?; what needs are being met by not forgiving?; connections with our body and health, self-forgiveness; boundary setting; acceptance vs. forgiveness; role of apology; next steps in the forgiveness practice/work.

C. Rough description of the format

Overall: Each session will begin with a reading and 20 to 30 minutes of worship, be
interspersed with small periods of worship as needed, and end with worship. Some
lecture, particularly during the first session, small group or pair work, individual
meditation and/or writing time, guided meditation, and shared discussion will be the
mode. There will be time each day for questions and/or reflections about the work.

Daily focus:

Monday: topic—introductions, grounding, and successful forgiving
Includes an introduction to the people, program and materials that will be used
and closes with a guided meditation. Discover how it feels to successfully
forgive or not to forgive through worship sharing, pair work and group work.

Tuesday: topic—tools and techniques for successful forgiving
Begin the list/chart of tools and techniques for doing forgiveness work (T & T.) Examine what keeps me from forgiving. Map my forgiveness world

Wednesday: topic—health connections and self-forgiveness
Focus is on self-forgiveness, including the health benefits of forgiveness
work. Using the song, “Let Her Go” and pair work, continue with self-
forgiveness and effective tools.

Thursday: topic—boundary work
Begin the concept of setting boundaries as a way to minimize the need to
forgive. Practice boundary setting. Discuss acceptance vs. forgiveness.
Add to the list of tools and techniques. Think about self-care. Guided imagery
opportunity.

Friday: topic—apologies, future, closing
Consider the role of apology. Create a forgiveness space. Address any issues
that are “on hold.” Meditate and write on next steps. Worship share and
closing.

NOTE: The actual flow and content of each day and of the week will be open to the Spirit’s leading with awareness of discerning individual and group needs. Each session will have a break at an appropriate time in the process.

D. Recommendations for advanced reading, or reading assignments during the Gathering and what to bring.

During the workshop we will use D. Patrick Miller’s “The Way of Forgiveness.”
It is not necessary to read this ahead of time. A bibliography of other forgiveness
books will be provided. Bring writing materials.

Leader Experience

I have been attending the Gathering since 1999. I have been leading workshops on the topic of forgiveness as a spiritual practice since 2004. This is such a deep topic, that often people take the workshop a second or third time. Experience in Leading Workshops: In the fall of 2002, I began a series of short Quaker dialogues on the topic of forgiveness. In February, 2004, I expanded this to an 8 hour workshop in Attica Prison with 15 inmates. I have now given this workshop 5 times in Attica. I have led over 85 workshops at: the FGC Gathering, the Friends Conference on Religion and Psychology, Pendle Hill, Woolman Center, Ben Lomond Center, Powell House Retreat Center, and numerous Monthly Meetings around the country, including my home Meeting, Rochester, NY. I also have led the Great Plains Yearly Meeting fall retreat, been a plenary speaker at Baltimore Yearly Meeting (Aug. 2014) and led the Lake Erie Yearly Meeting Spiritual Formation retreat (Sept. 2017.) Other workshops were at Austin Friends Meeting (Jan. 2015), Pima (Tucson) Friends Meeting (Feb. 2015), Charlotte, NC Meeting (Oct. 2019), Patapsco Friends Meeting zoom (Nov. 2020), QIVC by zoom (Jan. 2022), SEYM (May 2023) and FGC Gathering 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021 by zoom, and 2022, 2023. This ministry is a passion of mine, and I am always grateful for the opportunity to walk the path of forgiveness with others.