Thursday Evening Covenant Group, 3-14-02, SUMMIT HOUSE, TJMC
Dinner 6:30-7:00 (30 minutes)
CHALICE LIGHTING AND OPENING WORDS (5 minutes)
"[This] is what forgiveness is all about -- working through the unfinished business, letting go of the pain and moving on for your sake. You forgive so that you can finally get rid of the excess baggage that has been weighing you down and holding you back; so that you can be free to do and be whatever you decide instead of stumbling along according to the script painful past experiences wrote for you."
-- Dr. Sidney Simon in Forgiveness: How to Make Peace With Your Past and Get On With Your Life,
I have forgiven my mother and moved beyond my past. It wasn't easy and it took a lot of time, but I believe that the rewards I experienced were well worth the effort. Perhaps you should give it a try.
--Michael B. Ross, #127404, Death Row, Northern C.I., P.O. Box #665, Somers, CT 06071
"Resentment has been compared to holding on to a burning ember with the intention of throwing it at another, all the while burning yourself. When we feel resentful, we feel strongly the pain of the past again and again. Not only does this take an obvious and dramatic toll on our emotional well-being, it can powerfully and negatively impact our physical well-being as well."
-- Robin Casarjian in Forgiveness: A Bold Choice for a Peaceful Heart
CHECK-IN (15 minutes)
DISCUSSION (45 minutes)
FORGIVENESS: (questions to ponder if and as you like)
Have you needed to forgive another in a major way?
What was the result?
Is it always right for you to forgive?
Is forgiving condoning?
Have you needed forgiveness in your life?
Have you ever asked for it, directly, from another person?
Did it feel groveling, good, or what?
OUR COVENANTS—(10 minutes)
Service: How do we want to be part of this integral part of the meaning of Covenant Groups? Feelings? Ideas?
CHECK-OUT (10 minutes)
CLOSING WORDS (5 minutes)
[Last Sunday, David said that agnostics, humanists and atheists can also tap into the power of prayer without belief in a deity or the supernatural, simply by addressing a meditation or prayer to the deepest, most aware parts of ourselves. With that in mind, I've adapted this prayer from Vivian Pomeroy, Unitarian Minister, First Parish Church, Milton, Mass, 1924-54.]
Our deepest selves, forgive us that we often forgive ourselves so easily and others hardly;
Forgive us that we expect perfection from those to whom we show none;
Forgive us for repelling people by the way we set a good example;
Forgive us the folly of trying to improve a friend;
Forbid that we should use our little idea of goodness as a spear to wound those who are different;
Forbid that we should feel superior to others when we are only more shielded;
And may we encourage the secret struggle of every person.