Jo Berry Explores Forgiveness in Context of Bombing that Killed Her Father

Newbold College and Church recently spent two weeks focusing on forgiveness. The featured speaker to end the Forgiveness Project was Jo Berry, whose father was killed in an IRA bombing in 1984. Berry now travels with the very person responsible for the bombing, speaking about forgiveness, reconciliation, and community healing.

To learn more about Berry’s powerful story and the the Forgiveness Project, see:

REAL-LIFE FORGIVENESS IS MORE THAN JUST A WORD (Helen Pearson, TED News, 4 April 2018)

[THANK YOU to Helen Pearson and Victor Hulbert for publishing such important stories and making sure our community is aware of them!]

Ohio Congregation Cares for Refugees, Promotes Reconciliation

The Adventist Review posted a story recently about the Centerville Seventh-day Adventist Church in Dayton, Ohio, United States. The congregation is a church plant focusing on the needs of refugees from Africa. Excerpts:

Most of the refugees come from Rwanda, with some from Burundi and Congo. The majority do not yet know English but are making efforts to learn.

“Many in the group have never lived in a setting like the one they are experiencing [in the US], because many of them have spent 20 years in refugee camps, living only in tents,” [senior pastor Winston Baldwin] said.

“As you can imagine, the physical needs of these refugees are great,” said Baldwin. “They need everything from clothing and household goods to washers and dryers.” Many Centerville members have donated clothing, appliances and even provided plumbing repairs.

The complete article is available online: "US Africa Refugee Church Plant Brings Reconciliation, Growth" (Heidi Shoemaker, Adventist Review, 27 July 2017).