Guilt and Forgiveness Course Feedback

‘In my time as a Prison Chaplain, one thing that has come up again and again within one to one conversations that I’ve had with offenders is their difficulty with the whole issue of forgiveness.  At the heart of it is always their inability to accept forgiveness… because of their inability to forgive themselves.

The Guilt and Forgiveness Course has proven invaluable in working with such offenders.  It enables them to understand what the reality of forgiveness is, and to shrink that bag of boulders that they are carrying around on their backs to a pebble that is carried around in their pocket, enough of a reminder that they won’t commit a similar offence again.  And it opens up to them the idea of being forgiven by God – and how this gift is freely given to them in and through Jesus’ death on the cross.

In doing the course, I saw offenders really move forward, and the material covered for most has made them able to look forward in a way that wasn’t before possible.  I can highly recommend it to you.’  (Prison Chaplain)

‘I was amazed at the wonderful success. The women who committed to the course were women that I would never have thought would do so. Usually quiet and reserved I watched them come out of their shells and I was amazed at their openness and willingness to interact. It was a great week. We saw them let go of resentment and set free from the guilt that some had held for many years. God is good!’  (Chrissy Hailes-Perillo)