Launched in 2006, the Fetzer Institute's four-year Campaign for Love & Forgiveness, encouraged people to bring love and forgiveness into the heart of individual and community life. Through facilitated conversations, public television documentaries, web resources, activities, events, and educational curricula, people from all walks of life explored the role and power of love and forgiveness in their lives.

The impact of the conversations was significant. Seventy-five percent of conversation participants reported they would be more likely to:

Forgive themselves for mistakes

Forgive others who are close to them

Consider offering forgiveness as a response to a difficult situation

Talk with friends or family about forgiveness or being more forgiving

Choose to forgive someone rather than being angry at them

Campaign Partners

Public Television Stations: In addition to the conversations, six public television stations worked with local community agencies to organize activities designed to engage a variety of audiences, includin at-risk youth, refugees, cancer survivors, those in the helping professions (caregivers, health care providers, directors of faith-based communities), and the community at large. Activities addressed topics such as racism and racial healing, genocide, high homicide rates for at-risk youth, and religious intolerance.

Here's a sampling of what happened:

KEET/Eureka, CA An original theatre production on forgiveness, art exhibits, digital storytelling workshops, TV and radio spots, and campaign conversations spread the message of love and forgiveness in this northern California community.

Maryland Public Television Full-day events devoted to reaffirming the power of love and forgiveness punctuated Maryland’s campaign efforts that have included supporting local organizations for conversations, activities, and the dedication of a forgiveness garden.

WGVU/Grand Rapids, MI Through a series of special events—including A Season of Forgiveness—and numerous conversations, love and forgiveness are taking root at Grand Valley State University, local libraries, and elsewhere in the Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo area.

WXXI/Rochester, NY Videos from young people, conversations, and an exhibition of images and stories of people who found the strength and courage to forgive called "The F Word," are the hallmark of Rochester’s local efforts.

American Library Association: In partnership with the campaign, 50 libraries across the country facilitated public discussions on a broad range of books addressing themes of love and forgiveness using the Let’s Talk About It discussion series model.

StoryCorps®: StoryCorps® is the largest oral history project of its kind, creating a growing portrait of who we really are as Americans. Since 2003, tens of thousands of everyday people have interviewed family and friends through StoryCorps®. Millions listen to StoryCorps®’ award-winning broadcasts on NPR's Morning Edition and online. The campaign features selections from StoryCorps® to illustrate how love and forgiveness is woven into so many aspects of our lives.

Films Funded by this Campaign

The Fetzer Institute is a major sponsor of three public television documentaries about love and forgiveness, each designed to encourage contemplation and spark conversation.

Forgiveness:

In the new PBS film Forgiveness: A Time to Love and a Time to Hate, acclaimed writer, producer and director Helen Whitney explores a compelling range of stories, from personal betrayal to global reconciliation after genocide.

Forgiveness: A Time to Love and a Time to Hate provides an intimate look into the spontaneous outpouring of forgiveness: from the Amish families for the 2006 shooting of their children in Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania; the struggle of ’60s radicals to cope with the serious consequences of their violent acts of protest; the shattering of a family after the mother abandons them, only to return seeking forgiveness; the legacy and divisiveness of apartheid and the aftermath of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission hearings in South Africa; the penitential journey of a modern-day Germany, confronting the horrific acts of the Holocaust; and the riveting stories of survivors of the unimaginably, brutal Rwandan genocide.

Once a uniquely religious word, forgiveness now is changing and there is no consensus about what it is and what it is becoming. However you define forgiveness, its power is real — and never more so when it struggles with the unforgivable. Inevitably, as Whitney reveals, its new role in the world raises serious and complex questions: why is forgiveness in the air today; what does that say about us and the times we live in; what are its power, its limitations and in some instances its dangers; has it been cheapened or deepened … or both.

Divided into two 90-minute acts, the film airs Sundays, April 17 and 24 at 10 p.m. ET on PBS stations nationwide (check local listings).

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The Power of Forgiveness

This documentary examines the power of forgiveness in alleviating anger and grief caused by the most dramatic transgressions imaginable and those that are more commonplace. The film features families of victims from the tragedy of 9/11 and forgiveness education in Northern Ireland, where unforgiveness has been a way of life for generations. Produced by Journey Films, The Power of Forgiveness received numerous awards, including the Best Documentary Award at the Sun Valley Film Festival, the Religion Communicators Council Wilbur Award, and The Christophers' Christopher Award. The film aired on public television stations in March 2008.

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The Mystery of Love

Hosted by actor, playwright, and author Anna Deavere Smith, this documentary explores love in marriage, family, community,science, forgiveness, the search for the divine, friendship, and even war. Produced by Independent Production Fund with major funding provided by Fetzer Institute, The Mystery of Love aired on public television stations in December 2006.

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