What we’re about
Have you lost relationships over politics? Tired of the constant division? Miss being able to have a simple, human-to-human conversation with people you disagree with?
Join BreadBreakers and be part of the solution.
In BreadBreakers, we gather around a common dinner table and, for just a couple hours, set aside the debates and have a real conversation. Instead of arguing, we try to understand what makes each other tick. Why we feel the way we feel. What life stories and experiences lay beneath those group affiliations and opinions. We work to dig beneath the simplistic labels and see each other as the complex, nuanced people that we are.
Especially right now, during election time, it’s more important than ever to build a bit of trust, to practice the art of engaging with those outside our “groups,” and to think about the kind of community we want to have regardless of who wins in November.
Here’s how it works: eight people and a facilitator gather around a table at a restaurant or community center. For two hours, we’ll tell our stories and try to understand each other, guided as needed by facilitator-posed questions. We won’t try to convince—just to empathize and learn. You can join a group that meets once, or a group that meets three times (once every other week). You can also volunteer to serve as a facilitator if you’re interested!
BreadBreakers is an initiative sponsored by Restoration United Methodist Church in Reston, VA, but the program and our dinners are secular in nature. Not all of the BreadBreakers Team are church-goers either. All faiths and all stripes are welcomed.
