|  | | Practicing forgiveness requires commitment, time
Forgiveness is a tenet of faith and a popular sermon topic, but the practice of daily reconciliation — of cleansing the hatred from one’s heart — can be a challenging goal.
Those working to give church members practical ways to implement forgiveness strategies say practicing what is preached is a matter of living it each day, with an emphasis on revisiting what was learned the day before.
"Reconciliation is a huge amount of work on the congregational level," said the Rev. Sonnye Dixon, pastor of Hobson United Methodist Church in Nashville, Tenn. "You have to believe that it’s essential for your community to make it start to happen."
Last year, more than 70 of Hobson’s members embarked on a yearlong journey toward forgiveness. Dixon said the idea for the program began after church leaders saw that dozens of members had stopped attending worship because of disagreements or personal issues with their fellow Christians. | | | |
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