The 13th Annual International Forgiveness Day was celebrated at Dominican University in San Rafael, California. The 14th is in the planning stages.

Last year's Forgiveness Day Celebration was honoring Congressman John Lewis with the Hero of Forgiveness, Reconciliation and Peace Award for his lifelong work towards peace, justice and racial equality and Marianne Williamson with the Champion of Forgiveness, Reconciliation and Peace Award.

A Masters of Forgiveness Workshop, called "The Heart and Soul of Forgiveness was given by Marianne Williamson on Saturday, August 1st.

John Lewis  recently showed tremendous compassion when a former Ku Klux Klan member, Elwin Wilson, courageously asked for his Forgiveness for a bloody beating he and a white mob had bestowed on John at a diner in 1961. When the two met for the first time, Elwin apologized to John and they set aside their past differences and lovingly embraced each other with open arms. You can see their story on YouTube.

 Marianne Williamson is an internationally acclaimed spiritual teacher and best selling author of books such as A Return to Love and The Age of Miracles. Marianne is also one of the initial signatories to the Department of Peace Proposal and a co-founder of the Peace Alliance.

Recently, the Marin Independent Journal featured this story on Forgiveness Day: