Los Angeles' Oldest Protestant Church Welcomes Azim Khamisa, the Man who Forgave his Son's Murderer

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 12, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A voice of progressive Christianity, best-selling spiritual author and national pulpit voice, Dr. R. Scott Colglazier, Senior Minister of First Congregational Church of Los Angeles, is curating a series of workshops and interactive experiences entitled "Love, Compassion and the Art of Forgiveness."

The newest in this series is a worship service in which Dr. Colglazier will welcome Mr. Azim Khamisa to share the experiences of his journey at First Congregational Church of Los Angeles. This special event will take place on January 30 at 11:00 am and will be followed by a Q&A session with Mr. Khamisa.

In 1995 Azim Khamisa lost his only son, Tariq, in a senseless gang-related murder. Rather than reacting with rage and bitterness, Azim chose the path of forgiveness and compassion. He recognized the duality of the tragedy.  Not only had his son lost his life, but Azim saw that the 14 year-old gang member charged with his son's murder was a victim, too. His amazing choice to release his bitterness led to the establishment of the Tariq Khamisa Foundation (www.TKF.org) and the subsequent forgiveness movement that has reached millions.

Dr. Colglazier's accessible and optimistic spiritual work has been featured on CNN, The Today Show, The CBS Morning Show, and KCBS/KCAL9 as well as in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and The New York Times.

"Forgiveness is not condoning. Nor it is even repairing what has been broken, though often that is possible," says Dr. Colglazier.  "And contrary to many popular notions, forgiveness isn't really about the other person. Forgiveness is deciding that you need to lay something down, put something aside, or simply make peace with a personal situation. You forgive so you can get on with your life."

The Love, Compassion, and the Art of Forgiveness series which started in September 2010 is an engaging, fresh and challenging collection of free workshops, lectures and experiences open to the entire city of Los Angeles. For more info, please visit www.FCCLA.org.

First Congregational Church of Los Angeles is located between Downtown & Hancock Park.  540 S. Commonwealth Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90020.

Director of Communications, Kim-Minh Huberwald, email/ [email protected]  tel/ 213.355.5236.

SOURCE First Congregational Church of Los Angeles