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On April 1st & 2nd over a hundred people including several Sisters of Sion, joined the Board of Governors and staff to celebrate the re-opening of The Ammerdown Centre following the successful completion of its modernisation and refurbishment programme.

Benedicté Scholefield, Director of Ammerdown officially welcomed everyone. In her opening address she paid tribute to her predecessor Sr. Carolyn Wicks nds for her vision, courage and the work that went into the project, which has made Ammerdown accessible to all people.

As the overall theme for the weekend was forgiveness and reconciliation, Benedicté encouraged each one to visit 'The F Word: Images of Forgiveness'. This very moving exhibition is a collection of personal stories of people who had suffered violence and injustice, and who shared their journey of forgiveness, each being very different.

Camilla Carr, one of the people featured in the exhibition gave an inspirational account of her journey of forgiveness. She and her boyfriend Jon James were taken as hostages in Chechnya in April 1997. Their ordeal lasted 14 months. They had gone out to set up a rehabilitation centre for traumatised war-children.

On Sunday morning, Sheelah Trefle-Hidden, lecturer from Bradford University shared her expertise on 'Understanding Forgiveness' in which she examined the nature of conflict, forgiveness and finally reconciliation. We also looked at the story of Jacob and Esau in Genesis. These days were interspersed with time to meet and talk with friends, to enjoy the beautiful gardens showing off the abundance of spring, nourished with good liturgies, an evening of music and dancing, and feasted with delicious food.

Phil Conroy - 10th April, 2006