Source: Greenville Online
http://www.greenvilleonline.com/article/20081109/NEWS01/811090324/1001/NEWS01
Pinto beans and cornbread will be on the table but an intimate dialogue about faith will be the main item on the menu when a group of about 10 people from a variety of religious backgrounds gathers at Rosemary Bomar's home on Nov. 13.
That gathering will be one of 10 across the Greenville area and hundreds in homes across the nation that will take place simultaneously as part of a program called "Amazing Faiths Dinner Dialogues."
More than 100 people representing eight non-Christian religions, seven from the Christian tradition and participants of no religion have signed up to take part in the three-hour program locally, according to Jenifer McDermott, a member of the Interfaith Forum, one of the three local sponsors of the event.
"At a person's home and over a meal, that's a welcoming type of atmosphere where people feel safe, comfortable and non-confrontational," said Bomar, chair of the Interfaith Forum.
Under the format for the program, each participant will draw a card at random, with each card containing a question about some issue of faith and how it relates to that individual's life. For example: "What is something about your faith that you would like to be sure to pass on to your children?"
The questions are written at an office in Houston, where the program originated in 2006 as a collaborative project between the mayor's office, the Boniuk Center for Religious Tolerance at Rice University and Interfaith Ministries for Greater Houston.
The groups are put together to ensure a diversity of religious representation at each dinner, Bomar said.