Last week I attended a screening of AS WE FORGIVE in one of the House of Representatives office buildings. It’s a documentary that chronicles the recent release of 50,000 Rwandan genocide perpetrators due to a century-long backlog of court cases, and how Rwandan genocide survivors are learning not just to cope with the return of the people who killed their friends and family members, but to forgive and embrace them as neighbors.
(Two CHBC church members were involved in the production of the documentary; and a member of Church of the Resurrection, several blocks from CHBC, directed it!).
Some of the stories of forgiveness are absolutely astonishing. To cite one example: imagine if one of the men who participated in a movement that killed your husband and five children moved back into your village…and he was repentant…and he wanted to help build a new house for you…and to help you complete your farming work before the food rotted for the season! How would you respond?
The documentary has played in such venues as the World Bank or a Capitol office building (it's not explicitly Christian). And the themes and goals are clearly ones that Christians will want to support and be involved in.
Also, the processes of reconciliation between perpetrators and survivors are being facilitated by an interesting interplay of government agencies, churches, non-church ministries, and individuals.
Your church may want to consider requesting a showing at your location for the purposes of stimulating good conversations among neighbors and colleagues in your community (though I’d suggest finding some other time than your main weekly gatherings:-). Bethlehem Baptist in Minneapolis did. I’ve been told the aforementioned Church of the Resurrection is doing good work through partnering with a church in Rwanda.
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