During the season of Lent, our sermon series is “How Do I Forgive?” and each week we will share 3 practices for cultivating forgiveness based on the theme for that week. These practices come from The Book of Forgiveness by Archbishop Desmund Tutu and his daughter Mpho Tutu.
Those of you worshiping with us in person during this sermon series has or will receive a small packet with a journal, a candle, and a stone to help you engage in these practices of forgiveness.
For those of you worshiping with us online, I invite you to make yourself a journal, find a stone somewhere near your home, and identify a candle you might use for the practices I will share each week.
Below are the practices for week 2:
Meditation: Sitting in the Safe Space (Tutu pg 41)
“Sometimes the work of forgiveness feels too much like work and all you want to do is be still and feel safe. For this meditation you will create a cloak of safety that will always be within reach.”
Sit comfortably, and close your eyes lightly if you choose.
Pay attention to your breath. Don’t direct it. Follow it.
Allow yourself to feel a cloak of safety surrounding you like a fabric.
What is the texture of the cloak? Does it have a color? Does it have a fragrance?
Settle into this cloak in your imagination as fully as you are able. Pull the cloak around you and setting into feeling safe.
When you feel the need for this cloak of safety, know it is always there and you can just reach for it.
Stone Ritual: (Tutu pg 63)
Take your stone and trace around it four times in your journal, creating four circles.
In each circle, write the name of each step of the Fourfold Path: a) Telling the Story b) Naming the Hurt c) Granting Forgiveness d) Renewing or Releasing the Relationship.
Write around each circle what resistance you notice as you consider walking the Forfold Path.
Write down anything that is holding you back.
Journal Exercise: (Tutu pg 63)
What would be the best outcome you could imagine, if you were to forgive?
How would your life be different?
How would your relationships be different – both your relationship to the one who harmed you and your relationships with others?
