The Concept of the Dinner Dialogues
The Dinner Dialogues provide an opportunity for people to meet people of other faith traditions, share their experiences, listen to the sharing of others, and converse about matters of faith and spirituality in a safe, controlled environment.
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The Dinner Dialogue is the cornerstone event of the Amazing Faiths Project. In this event, people gather in groups of 8-10 in private homes to share a meal and engage in a moderated discussion about the role of faith or spirituality in their lives.
Dinner guests register themselves to be placed into a host home for the evening of the dialogue. Hosts volunteer to provide their home as a meeting place for the dialogue, and to provide a simple, nutritious meal for themselves and the guests. Hosts are trained in what kind of foods are appropriate for this event. The Project organizers provide support for them in meeting any dietary restrictions for guests, i.e. vegetarian, kosher, halal, etc.
Each group discussion is managed by a moderator. Moderators are selected by Project organizers and trained to facilitate the conversation in a structured way that creates a safe space for all to share and listen. Guests share a meal and dialogue together with the use of dialogue cards created exclusively for the Amazing Faiths Project, which contain thought provoking questions about the broad themes present in nearly all faith traditions and worldviews.
Dialogue guests may attend a dinner dialogue group with one other person, i.e. a spouse, partner, friend. Otherwise, the members of the groups are mostly strangers to one another. Groups are created for maximum religious diversity within a given geographical area (zip code or driving area).
During the meal and conversation, dialogue participants listen to each other as each person answers the questions on their dialogue cards. Guests are required to listen to each other without interrupting, questioning or commenting on what is being said. During this structured part of the evening, people speak only when it is their turn to speak. Mostly guests listen to each other. By the end of the evening, deep connections are forged and friendships have begun. Unstructured, "free" time is provided at the end of the evening for more social and spontaneous sharing. People usually exchange contact information at this time so that they may stay in touch with their new friends.
Many groups continue to meet together informally long after the dialogue event, either by participating together at additional Project events or by organizing their own social occasions as friends. These threads of connection and friendship constitute the chief outcome of the dinner dialogue event. Through these friendships, community ties are strengthened between the people of different faith traditions which, in turn, provides a bulwark against intolerance and hatred.
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Follow the links on this site to determine if an Amazing Faith Project Dinner Dialogues event is being planned in your area. If the Amazing Faiths Project has not yet made it to your area, perhaps you or someone you know could be the initial contact to bring the Project to your city.
Please contact us for more information about producing the Amazing Faiths Project in your area.
