From Divison to Vision with Charles Gibbs

This conversation with Reverend Charles Gibbs explores the story of how the United Religions Initiative brought people together to bridge religious and cultural differences and work together for the good of their communities and the world. We explore how they convened inter-faith dialogues around the world to “find words of a common vision that an amazing diversity of people could find themselves in.” February 28, 2023.

 Questions

1. What insights did you take from Charles’ stories of how they got people from such different backgrounds to work together and what it took to get consensus on one sentence of purpose?  
2. Charles shared the story of a woman in the Philippines who started a multi-faith conversation circle and had to do some work to find someone not Catholic. In the US, we could see this also relating to race, culture or class. How might you start a conversation that connects you with people you usually don’t interact with? 

Resources & Links

Kinship: A Hub to Amplify the Power of Community is Beth’s current initiative and includes this Resource page with sources of positive news stories and articles on the themes of this  podcast.

Reverend Charles Gibbs website

Opening the Dream – Beyond the Limits of Otherness – Essay by Charles Gibbs. Includes questions that Charles and his team used to invite people to discuss in one-on-one conversations at URI gathering.

United Religions Institute - The Preamble, Purpose, and Principles

“I can’t tell you how difficult it was to bring thousands of people into one sentence.

Video: Interfaith and Intercultural Dialogue - We Unite

Appreciative inquiry - Appreciative Inquiry Commons website

What is Appreciative Inquiry? Website of David Cooperrider who worked with URI

Click here on the Kinship web site for the transcript.