Exeter Quakers to bring the 'F' word to Exeter

The 'F' stands for Forgiveness - The Forgiveness Project is an exhibition of posters describing the stories of people who have been directly affected by violent crimes, rape, kidnapping, murder and the killing of a child.

The exhibition will be at St Stephen’s Church, High Street, Exeter. It will be open from 10.00am to 4.00pm Monday 11th March to Friday 15th and from 12.00 to 4.00pm on Sunday 10th and 4.00pm to 7.30pm on Monday 11th.

The exhibition reveals how the survivors and victims of these crimes have found their individual way through to allow them to forgive the perpetrators. This is not a soft option, or a spurious act. Each story shows someone finding their own, very different way to cope and they struggle to forgive because it was their only way forward.

The Forgiveness Project is a charity working in many places including schools and prisons showing the reality of the effects of these crimes. They have put together the exhibition and hire it out to pay for and expand their work.

There will also be a talk from Camilla Carr and Jon James at 7.30pm on Monday 11th March at St. Stephen’s. Camilla and Jon were kidnapped and held prisoner in Chechnya for 14 months. Anyone who has read their book The sky is Always There will know how inspirational they are.

Quakers support the value of restorative justice as a means of reducing crime and helping to heal the effects of crime. The members of Exeter Quaker Meeting are staging this exhibition because it shows so clearly how forgiveness brings benefits to victim and perpetrator and to society as a whole.