On Saturday, January 17th, the Living Stones Church hosted a dessert/conversation called “Taste of Peace.”  It is put on by the Human Rights Commission here in South Bend and has as its purpose conversation and understanding among different ethnic groups.  Those who came were assigned a table.  The tables were intentionally diverse. 

At my table (table #6!) there were two African-American women, one Hispanic, three white women, and two white dudes (that would include me ).  There was a diversity of age among us (I was the youngest ).  And while I’m uncertain as to religions, there was at least one Muslim at our table.

And…it was awesome.  We had a list of four questions we answered around the table that dealt with stereotypes, perceptions, prejudices, and assumptions that we all had in regards to race.  I left really appreciating the stories and experiences of others and was struck by how different our backgrounds were.

The Human Rights Commission is now putting together “Study Circles” that have the same goal – conversations to understand tensions and understandings between races.  The groups consists of at least eight people.  And that eight has to be diverse (not helpful if eight white guys are staring at each other).  While there are several different groups meeting across our community, one will also meet at Living Stones Church.  It will be on Tuesday evenings. 

If this sort of thing sounds interesting to you and you would be interested in a six week Study Group, send me an e-mail here and let me know you would be interested.

I think you find the conversations very exciting and eye-opening and you will leave with a larger heart and appreciation for the world around us!