Traveling Healing Teams Minister to First Nations in Canada
"We resist forgiveness because we often feel that if we do it, we are just going to let our abuser win over us again. But forgiveness does as much to free the victim as it does the abuser."
(Montreal, Quebec)—Christian Week reports that a traveling healing conference called "Rising Above" is seeking to bring Canada's First Nation's people together for support and healing. (Photo: Joel Coppieters)
In collaboration with the Canadian Bible Society's Montreal district, the team includes a number of native Christian leaders as well as some trained counselors, who encourage listeners to take personal responsibility for their responses and their behavior.
"Because I had always resisted accepting the childhood abuse that I suffered as an excuse for my behavior and attitudes, I just didn't deal with it," said one attendee.
"While the teaching from Scriptures forced me to deal with the difficult issues of forgiveness and acceptance, the personal testimonies of others who had walked the same difficult path before me confirmed that it was possible."
"We resist forgiveness because we often feel that if we do it, we are just going to let our abuser win over us again," said Howard Jolly. "But forgiveness does as much to free the victim as it does the abuser."
