The Pennsylvania Council of Churches, Chris Satullo of the Philadelphia Inquirer and Rabbi George Stern, formerly of the Neighborhood Interfaith Movement and the Jewish Social Policy Action Network are working together to develop a program aimed at providing safe spaces for people of faith to discuss their differences in a civil manner. We are hosting our first effort to describe what we are attempting to do on September 30 at the Germantown Jewish Center (GJC) in Philadelphia. It is our hope that this will be the first of many such efforts throughout the Commonwealth, though long-term efforts will be contingent on identifying funding to cover the costs of this work.
Here is a description that was provided to GJC:
The nation’s political discourse is in crisis. Debate by insult. Online trolls. Toxic tweets. People hunkered down in partisan silos where assumptions harden.
What can be done? Can communities of faith become places where respectful dialogue takes root and flowers, where a trail out of the poisonous wilderness gets blazed? Chris Satullo (journalist and principal at the Penn Project for Civic Engagement), Rev. Sandy Strauss (of the PA Council of Churches), and GJC member Rabbi George Stern are creating a new project in congregation-based dialogue. It is based in existing models for discussions that manage to be both passionate and civil, carving out safe spaces for airing opposing viewpoints in a way that potentially provides an opportunity for finding common ground. GJC is proud to help them pilot this project.
At our annual Bregman program, Chris Satullo will introduce the project and provide details about the steps GJC and other local congregations can take in a quest for civic engagement and problem-solving.
If you have interest in such work within your own congregation(s), please contact Sandy Strauss at s.strauss@pachurches.org or (717) 545-4761, ext. 5.
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