The Greater Houston Amazing Faiths Dinner Dialogues
The Dinner Dialogues provide an opportunity for people to meet people of other faith traditions, to share their experiences and listen to the sharing of others, and to converse about matters of faith and spirituality in a safe, controlled environment.
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“The dinner I attended last night was moving for all participants. We not only learned about the traditions and personal struggles of people from various faith traditions with spirituality and ethics, but there was also an intimacy and sense of "being known" that occurs only when people share very personal things important to them in a safe environment.”
--Mayor Bill White, Houston TX
“I didn't know what to expect, but I'm so glad I attended. It was such a powerful experience knowing that, although we have different religious backgrounds our spiritual hearts are the same.”--Charlene French“Last evening was one of the most nourishing experiences of my life. Not only was it great fun getting to know new friends, but our listening confirmed, once again, the many commonalities shared within our beautiful mixed bouquet of humanity.”
--Diane Trees-Clay
The Dinner Dialogue is the cornerstone event of the Greater Houston Amazing Faiths Project. In this annual 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 on this website to be placed into a host home for the evening of the dialogue. Hosts also register on this website, and agree to open their home and prepare 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 chosen and trained by the Project's staff to facilitate the conversation in a structured way that creates a safe space for all to share and listen. Guests share a meal together 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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