Author Archives: abfifer

Public Apologies Made Easy: the Notes App

January 14, 2019 – 4:46 pm

The New York Times published a fun article this weekend on the latest format used by celebrities for their apologies: the Notes app in the iPhone. Apparently part of their appeal is that they look spontaneous and personal, as opposed to the clumsy “formal apology” that was obviously written by a handler. They are also […]

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Forgiving a Murderer

January 14, 2019 – 9:22 am

Almost 19 years ago, four white teenagers assaulted an older black man in Grand Rapids, torturing him until he died. Willie Jones was a GM retiree who had just finished bowling when the teens beat him up, stuffed him in the trunk of his own car, and drove the car around until the next morning, […]

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Christian Mediation in Clergy Abuse Cases?

January 9, 2019 – 8:23 pm

Could Christian mediation help with the Catholic Church’s clergy abuse cases? Christian mediation differs from standard mediation in that it consciously incorporates Christian principles into the mediation process, promoting not only resolution of the dispute but also reconciliation of the relationship, to whatever degree is appropriate. Far from settling with a compromise, Christian mediation has […]

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Kiss Goodbye to “I Kissed Dating Goodbye”

December 29, 2018 – 5:47 pm

Peacemaking includes being able to admit being wrong. So stories of people who publicly acknowledge being wrong are encouraging and instructive. Recently, author Joshua Harris has acknowledged that the popular book he wrote some twenty years ago, I Kissed Dating Goodbye, was not only naïve but in some cases caused harm, and asked his publisher […]

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When You Should Not Say You’re Sorry

December 18, 2018 – 9:40 am

Interesting blog by Amy Sereday recently on mediate.com regarding apologies: sometimes, saying “I’m sorry” is not the best thing to say. Some people over-use “I’m sorry,” as if they’re apologizing for things for which they’re actually not sorry and indeed may have no control over. Her example was saying you’re sorry after receiving unfair or […]

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