The Lakota Indians of South Dakota are an intriguing story and microcosm of the plight and problem of indigenous peoples today.  This class will share this particular story, as well as the necessity and difficult processes of forgiveness and reconciliation with which North American Christians must wrestle for a truly full and concrete gospel.

Walker Percy, the southern, Catholic novelist, once described his task as that of “diagnosing the modern malaise.”  In this class we will explore his view of both spiritual “sickness” and its potential “cure” through reading and discussing his novel, The Second Coming, as well as viewing a recent documentary of his tragic yet quietly inspiring life.

In the fall of 2006, when a gunman killed five Amish children and injured five others in a Nickel Mines, PA, one-room schoolhouse, media attention rapidly turned from the tragic events to the extraordinary forgiveness demonstrated by the Amish community toward the murderer and his family.  We will explore the tenets of the book and film entitled Amish Grace: How Forgiveness Transcended Tragedy.  With the questions why—and how—did they forgive, we will explore a compelling study of Amish grace.  The concept of forgiveness is embedded in Amish society through five centuries of Anabaptist tradition, and grounded in the firm belief that forgiveness is required by the New Testament.   The book carefully distinguishes between forgiveness, pardon, and reconciliation, as well as analyzes the complexities of mainstream America's response and the extent to which the Amish example can be applied elsewhere, even here at First Pres.  This intelligent, compassionate, and hopeful book is a welcome addition to the growing literature on forgiveness.