Sanctuary for DialogueOur Mission: To facilitate civil and respectful dialogue in which people express their beliefs and ideas, and seek to understand better the beliefs and ideas of themselves and others, including why they believe as they do.
Our Vision: The Community Church’s Sanctuary for Dialogue program is seen as a highly valuable resource, both within the congregation and in the broader community, for effectively facilitating discussions regarding topics on which the participants have strong disagreements, leading to increased trust and respect between the groups that disagree. |
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Upcoming Sfd Events
Sep. 27, 4pm and Sep. 28, 10am: SEA Course on Depolarizing Within. This Better Angels workshop teaches participants 1) How to be more aware of their own "inner polarizer," 2) How to be critical without demonizing, dismissing, or stereotyping large swaths of the population, and 3) Strategies for intervening constructively in social conversations with like-minded peers when these conversations veer into contempt and ridicule for people who hold other political views. This is a two-part workshop and participants need to commit to both sessions. Register online or at the SEA table during coffee hour.
Oct. 12, 2-4pm, Dialogue: What is Consent, Exactly? SfD is collaborating with a local group called Perspective Exchange to put on this dialogue using the Essential Partners model (see below). Click here for more details. Register at https://www.perspectiveexchange.org/events-1.
ONGOING: SfD members are also conducting workshops and debates in the community to address political polarization. We are using Better Angels workshops such as the Red/Blue Workshop, which brings together an equal number of conservative and liberal participants for structured discussion exercises, plus observers. Other workshops are Skills Workshops for talking across the political divide, Depolarizing Within workshops for talking with your own side, and Better Angels style Debates. If you are interested in participating in or observing one of these workshops, please email us by clicking the "Contact SfD" button above.
Previous Sfd Events
Let's Talk Turkey: A Skills Workshop for Talking across the Political Divide
Addressing Income Disparity
Let's Talk Turkey! Talking across the Political Divide, a Skills Workshop on Difficult Personal Conversations
Free Speech on College Campuses (Youth dialogue)
Palestinian - Israeli Conflict
Privacy and Security
Religious and Political Differences in our Congregation:
Personal Conviction and Public Duty
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Dialogues use questions to facilitate difficult conversations, often within an organization. Questions are developed in pre-interviews with the participants and those requesting a specific dialogue topic.
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Workshops and debates address communication on political topics. Participants learn more about their own beliefs, practice communication skills and learn by hearing participants with differing political views describe what they believe and why.
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