Archive for April, 2018

IFI Receives Prestigious 2017 All Star Award

April 20, 2018 directorifi No comments

The International Forgiveness Institute has received the 2017 All Star Award from Constant Contact for the creativity and effectiveness of its internet communications, particularly its email newsletters..

Only small businesses and nonprofits using Constant Contact’s email marketing tools are eligible for the All Star Award. Criteria used to select this year’s All Stars included, among others, use of social sharing features (Twitter, Facebook, Google+, etc.) as well as open, bounce, and click-through rates of email marketing campaigns..

“We’re happy to be recognized by Constant Contact for achieving strong marketing results and for consistently developing creative ways to communicate with our various audiences,” according to Dr. Robert Enright, co-founder of the IFI. “That has helped us gain acceptance of our Forgiveness Education Curriculum Guides in more than 30 countries around the world where forgiveness education is being taught.”
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Constant Contact, with more than 5 million customers, works to empower small businesses and nonprofits to grow effective customer relationships and succeed..

“Our emails and communication tools are made with our

readers and supporters in mind,” Dr. Enright added.“So thank you for engaging and interacting with us. We look forward to even more productive interactions throughout 2018!”
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Dennis Blang, Director of the IFI, handles all the organization’s communications planning and implementation. A Purple Heart Vietnam veteran, Blang has a journalism degree from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. To sign up for the IFI newsletter, contact Blang at director@internationalforgiveness.com.

Admired by Millions of People Around the World, Billy Graham was Ardent Forgiveness Advocate

April 15, 2018 directorifi No comments

The Washington Post, Montreat, NC – Just months away from his 100th birthday, William Franklin Graham Jr. (Billy Graham) died on Feb. 21 at his home in Montreat, NC. An American evangelist known to millions around the world, Graham was buried beside his wife Ruth who died in 2007. His casket was made by inmates of the Louisiana State Penitentiary where Graham often ministered to death-row inmates.

As a preacher, Graham consistently espoused a message of patience, love, respect, and forgiveness of others. He hosted large indoor and outdoor rallies for more than 60 years that he called “crusades.” Because of those crusades, Graham preached his message to more people in person than anyone in the history of Christianity. According to his website, Graham preached to live audiences of 210 million people in more than 185 countries and territories.

“In these days of guilt complexes, perhaps the most glorious word in the English language is FORGIVENESS.”

Including radio and television broadcasts, Graham’s estimated lifetime audience tops 2.2 billion people world-wide. Graham was on Gallup’s list of most admired men 61 times, more than any man or woman in history. According to the book Billy Graham: American Pilgrim, “Billy Graham stands among the most influential Christian leaders of the twentieth century. He belongs on the Mount Rushmore of greatness in American religion.”

For Graham, an important and often repeated part of his message was that “we need to have patience with others and their shortcomings. Don’t hold on to your bitterness and anger any longer — for they’ll become a poison to your soul.”

Here are some other forgiveness quotes made famous by Graham:

“Forgiveness does not come easily to us, especially when someone we have trusted betrays our trust. And yet if we do not learn to forgive, we will discover that we can never really rebuild trust.”
“Hot heads and cold hearts never solved anything.”
“Every human being is under construction from conception to death.”
“Man has two great spiritual needs. One is for forgiveness. The other is for goodness.”

The Washington Post – How an aging Billy Graham approached his own death; Feb. 21, 2018

The Washington Post – Here are details for Billy Graham’s funeral: A viewing at the U.S. Capitol and a private service in N.C.; Feb. 22, 2018

NBC News – Billy Graham, evangelist pastor and counselor to presidents, dead at age 99; Feb. 21, 2018

Wikipedia – Billy Graham

Four Eye-Opening Reasons Why You Should Watch the Rome Forgiveness Conference Videos

April 7, 2018 directorifi No comments

“The first-of-its-kind conference in Rome, Italy, explored what it means to forgive another person who has been unjust to you,”

according to Dr. Robert Enright, founder of the International Forgiveness Institute. “Crucial ideas on how to help children and adolescents learn to forgive were presented by international experts in the field of forgiveness education.”
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If you were unable to attend the Rome Conference on Forgiveness in January (hosted by Dr. Robert Enright and the International Forgiveness Institute), here are four reasons you should watch the speaker videos that are now available free of charge on the International Forgiveness Institute (IFI) website:
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Reason #1: To learn the importance of forgiveness education.

Dr. Robert Enright, IFI founder, first discusses what forgiveness education is and its importance for children and adolescents. Click here to watch Dr. Enright’s presentation on “The Science of Forgiveness.”.

This is followed by a stirring presentation delivered by teacher Annette Shannon of the Holy Cross Primary School in Belfast, Northern Ireland–a school that experienced the effects of The Troubles in Northern Ireland in the early part of this century. Click here for Ms. Shannon’s presentation.

You can also see the introduction to the conference by the Conference Master of Ceremonies, Fr. Robert Gahl, who is Professor of Philosophy, University of Santa Croce. Click here to watch and hear Fr. Gahl introduce the speakers.

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Reason #2: To hear the surprising declarations made by a high-ranking Iraqi official about forgiveness in Islam.
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The Iraqi Ambassador to the Vatican, Hon. Omer Ahmed Kerim Berzinji, said forgiveness plays a prominent role in his Muslim faith and that it is cited roughly 100 times in the Quran. (Click here to watch the opening part of his presentation, which includes a consecutive translation of his Arabic words. After this brief consecutive translation, the rest of the ambassador’s talk is in Arabic without the translation). The Hon. Berzinji expressed an interest in considering the implementation of forgiveness education in Iraq.

Reason #3: To hear for yourself the Orthodox Jewish speaker’s views on forgiveness.
Peta
Peta Pellach of the Elijah Interfaith Institute in Jerusalem gave an inspiring presentation of forgiveness in Judaism that is not to be missed. Click here to watch Ms. Pellach’s presentation.
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Reason #4: To hear for yourself the Christian speaker’s views on forgiveness..

Monsignor Mariano Fazio, Vicar General of Opus Dei and a long-time personal friend of Pope Francis, discusses his views on forgiveness. Click here to watch Msgr. Fazio’s presentation. Author of more than 20 books, Msgr. Fazio’s newest book is titled Pope Francis: Keys to His Thought.