How We Do It

Every six months, Common Tables will set up a diverse Table of four to eight people in the same geographical area. The role of the individuals is to host (on a rotating basis) a Common Tables Dining Experience. The role of Common Tables is to provide proven interaction guidelines, ice-breaker exercises, and experiential feedback that will ensure a powerful and fun learning experience that gets beyond labels or separation to honor differences and celebrate commonalities and uniqueness.

After four dining experiences in six months, Common Tables will assign members to another diverse Table and the process starts over with new friends – while previous friendships continue to evolve.

Continuing education about religions, philosophies and cultures will be provided through online forums that will be led by topic experts. (In development)

Why We Do It

To paraphrase a great American, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., we have a dream – a dream that will open the heart of the world forever. We see a day when individuals create relationships that build acceptance, harmony, and understanding that transcend religious or political differences. We see a day when people of any and all faiths and belief systems will come to see the value in each other’s uniqueness.

We each have the power and the opportunity right in our own communities to affect change. Towns across this nation and the world are becoming more heterogeneous, not less. This grass roots movement can leverage this opportunity. Through Common Tables, it is now so easy to meet and socialize with people outside of your circle of friends – while changing the isolation and separation inherent in our diverse and global society.

Our goal is to actively promote peace through understanding and the dissolution of perceived differences.

Look out your window and see young children of all ethnic backgrounds playing together. Will adult-realities eventually have these children taking up arms against each other because we – as adults – have failed to learn the truth – or at least the common ground – for peaceful coexistence?

This is a pervasive problem between all people of all religions. Look around. Most of the world’s problems originate from the inability of political and religious leaders to find a common ground of understanding and acceptance, or their unwillingness to lessen the reins of control.

In most parts of the world – and from many religious and philosophical teachers – we hear we need to promote racial, ethnic and religious harmony; pursue a relationship of oneness with all mankind, honor our differences and celebrate our common ground. These are all platitudes when they are uttered but not reinforced by action. Common Tables will help to change that by changing how individuals everywhere view diversity. It is happening already.

What We Do

Common Tables is a conduit to bring culturally diverse individuals, or couples, together with the tools and techniques for a progressive dialogue of compassionate discovery. The diverse characteristics of each small group of four to eight people are based upon each member’s past or current association to religious or philosophical ideologies – ideologies that have established the core values and practices or each individual.

Our objective is to have the individuals identify the common threads of values and life practices that are mutually shared by the group. Through this process, team members learn about the key religious and cultural characteristics that have influenced – and continue to influence – each individual’s life.

Our desire is to have the individuals learn to honor the differences that create the rich mosaic of our global society, while celebrating the commonalities that bring us together.

Who We Are

Common Tables is a Denver-based organization. Our vision is global; our focus is at the local, grass-roots level. The goal of Common Tables is to build a framework within which 3 million people from all over the world will meet in small diverse groups with a primary goal of simply getting to know one another. In a short time, these small group interactions will generate the momentum needed for respect and understanding to circle the world.

Organic, Fair Trade Clothing with a Positive Message

Today we feature the wonderful messages from the people at We Pluribus - "More than a t-shirt company. It's a message."

We Pluribus' organic cotton, fair trade t-shirts and hoodies feature sayings and designs which convey a positive message of unity, peace, tolerance, and respect for each other and the environment. The shirts look terrific, so you will look good in your clothes and feel great about wearing them.

We Pluribus - terrific people, fantastic products - in complete alignment with our principles here at Common Tables. Check them out today!!

"We Pluribus. We the people. No Exceptions."

The L.A. Times features Common Tables

The buzz continues to grow! This time with a major article in Tuesday's L.A. Times:

Breaking bread and boundaries

by Stephanie Simon, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
March 18, 2008

CASTLE ROCK, COLO. -- The four couples were just settling into small talk over appetizers when Kenneth Holloman cleared his throat.

"Would the group permit me to ask an impertinent question?" he said. "How many here believe there's a hell?"



It was not your typical icebreaker.

But then, this was not your typical dinner party.

The couples, strangers to one another, had been brought together by Common Tables, a nonprofit that aims to nurture interfaith friendships. Holloman is an atheist; his wife, a Methodist. Their group included a Jewish couple; a Baptist minister and his wife; and a couple who left the Mormon Church and now belong to a New Age movement called Religious Science.

Common Tables puts together group rosters and asks members to meet for dinner at least four times. Participants can talk about theology or the weather. They can share prayers or photos of their children. Nothing's required. And nothing is off-limits, except proselytizing. The point is simply to reach out, to shake hands with a Buddhist, enjoy a glass of wine with a Wiccan, share laughs with a Sikh or an agnostic or a Jain.

Click Here to read the full article. (Be sure to use the link at the bottom of page 1 to read the second page!)

Table Grace

Among the wonderful feedback we get from our Tables is a delightful collection of interfaith blessings - used before and after meals. From time-to-time we'll share some of our favorites.

Here are a few we've gathered recently:

This ritual is One.
The food is One.
We who offer the food are One.
The fire of hunger is also One.
All action is One.
We who understand this are One.

Hindu blessing


He is God! Thou seest us, O my God, gathered around this table, praising Thy bounty, with our gaze set upon Thy Kingdom. O Lord! Send down upon us Thy heavenly food and confer upon us Thy blessing. Thou art verily the Bestower, the Merciful, the Compassionate.

Baha'i


Blessed is The Lord our God, Sovereign of the universe, who sustains the entire world with goodness, kindness and mercy. God gives food to all creatures, for God's mercy is everlasting. Through God's abundant goodness we have not lacked sustenance, and may we not lack sustenance forever, for the sake of God's great name. God sustains all, does good to all, and provides food for all the creatures whom God has created. Blessed is The Lord our God, who provides food for all.

Birkat HaMazon (Jewish)

Heard From The Tables

Kenton K., Colorado, Common Tables Member

“WOW! We just finished up with our first dinner (almost 4 hours.) What a wonderful experience. "

Diversity?? You Bet!!!

What do a Baptist, a Buddhist, and a Baha'i have in common with a Muslim, a Jew and a Quaker?

The answer is easier than you might think: Members of each of these faiths have recently joined Common Tables. And each brings to the Common Tables community an open heart and a spirit of curiosity.

FACT - Common Tables already includes members who list their faith and/or spiritual belief system as: Jewish - both Orthodox & Reform, Baptist, Unitarian Universalist, Atheist, Buddhist, Primal Indigenous, Catholic, Seventh-day Adventist, Pantheist, Religious Science, Baha'i, Quaker, Agnostic, Church of Christ, Islam, Methodist, New Thought, Episcopalian, United Church of Christ and a number of folks who are "Searching". What a wonderfully diverse and exciting group!

Americans relocating faith of their fathers

The Florida Times-Union
February 26, 2008
By Jeff Brumley, The Times-Union

As a minister to Jacksonville college students, Shari O'Brien doesn't need a survey to tell her that a quarter of young adults claim no affiliation with a religious institution.

Nor did Gee Sprague, a local Methodist minister, need a poll to tell him mainline Protestant churches are in decline or that about half of American adults are quitting the faiths they were raised in for nondenominational congregations, other religions or no religion at all.

But confirmation that these trends are continuing as strong as ever came Monday when the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life issued its U.S. Religious Landscape Survey. Relying on interviews with more than 35,000 adults, the survey describes a nation where religious self-identification and loyalty are in flux.

"It's sobering to me, but it's not a surprise," Sprague, pastor of Crossroad Church in Jacksonville, said about the survey.

Luis Lugo, director of the Pew Forum, told The Associated Press the survey reveals that religion in America is "like a marketplace - very dynamic, very competitive."

"Everyone is losing, everyone is gaining," Lugo told AP. "There are net winners and losers, but no one can stand still. Those groups that are losing significant numbers have to recoup them to stay vibrant."

Read the full story.

A Message From Stephen Simon

In January we presented Stephen Simon's (Spiritual Cinema Circle) Favorite Films of 2007. Following last night's Academy Awards, it seems appropriate this morning to post the "message for both the mainstream film industry and its film critics" with which he introduced his picks for 2007. As many of you know, we are HUGE fans of the Spiritual Cinema Circle and of Stephen Simon, so it should come as no surprise that we find his words worth repeating:

THE MOVIE MYSTIC

BY

STEPHEN SIMON

MY FAVORITE FILMS OF 2007

Before we look at my favorite films from 2007, I have a message for both the mainstream film industry and its film critics: You have both lost all connection with film audiences.

Hollywood has seemingly decided that “quality” now equates with dark, violent, and depressing; consequently, 2007 was one of the bleakest years ever for film distribution. To make matters worse, and to illustrate anew the fable of the emperor’s new clothes, film critics have fallen into lockstep with film distributors. As I write this column on January 1, 2008, the film that has garnered almost every film critic group’s nod as the best film of 2007 is NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN, which centers around one of the nastiest, most vicious, and soulless serial killers ever depicted on screen. In the first ten minutes of the film, a man is graphically strangled while the killer looks positively orgasmic and then another innocent man is cold-bloodedly shot between the eyes. And then it gets worse…much worse. Nevertheless, the film critic for the Portland Oregonian said this about the film: “exact, spare, bloody, dark, and unrelenting, it’s superb.”

Excuse me?

While I respect every one’s right to say whatever they believe, I also reserve the right to ask, “What are you folks smoking”? “Best film” means the one film every year that is represented to the rest of the world as the premier achievement in the American film industry. Focusing on the craft itself is fine for categories like sound editing, costume design, or cinematography, but, when you’re talking about the “best film”, content itself should be of paramount importance.

For studios and critics, “superb” and “bloody, dark, and unrelenting” may belong in the same sentence but, fortunately, we in the audience don’t agree. The fall season of 2007 produced the weakest box office results for that period of time in the last ten years. The film industry is quite literally awash in red ink. According to a November 26, 2007 article in Video Business Weekly, the film industry lost a staggering six billion dollars in 2006.

In short, the business model of the film industry is broken. Creatively, it’s even worse. The chasm between the insular, dark, violent, and cynical tastes of most studios and film critics and the desire of audiences to have other choices is now deeper than the Grand Canyon.

I also think it would be wonderful, and more honest, if the Academy (of which I am a member) changed the characterization of awards from “best” to “favorite”. Factors such as both the film’s and the individual’s overall popularity always factor into Academy voting anyway, whether members want to admit it or not. Using “best” in regards to the art form of film is not only unfair to all concerned but also simply impossible to gauge. I have no idea what “best” means in films.

My own list of favorite films of 2007 consists of films that personally moved me, inspired me, and made me feel better about being human. When we post these choices on the message boards for subscribers to the Spiritual Cinema Circle, I’m sure our community will share some passionate opinions and disagreements of their own. That’s the fun of it. Let the discussions begin."

NOTE: You will find Mr. Simon's personal favorite films of 2007 posted in our entries on January 21st and January 28th. Click here for more information about the Spiritual Cinema Circle.

New Mexican Style Bread Pudding

This recipe is more complex than we usually like to present, but you’ll find it more than worth the extra effort. Here it is, Common Tables style Capirotada (Mexican style bread pudding):

New Mexican Style Bread Pudding
(CAPIROTADA)

Common Tables Caution: This recipe uses Madeira wine. It may not be suitable for those Tables with members who have alcohol prohibitions.

In place of the bread pudding standbys of milk and eggs, our version uses a homemade caramel sauce, lots of cheese, and sweet Madeira wine to create an elegant blend of flavors which raise this New Mexican Style Bread Pudding far above its more conventional relatives. Traditionally served during Lent, you will find variations commonly presented under the old Mexican name for this dish: Capirotada.

Yield: 6 to 8 servings

8 ounces French style bread (about 1/2 of a normal sized loaf)
1 cup sugar
1½ cups water
1 teaspoon cinnamon (use Ceylon Cinnamon if possible)
4 Tablespoons butter
1 cup Madeira
¾ cup pinon nuts, lightly toasted
¾ cup raisins
4 ounces shredded Monterey Jack cheese (about 1 cup)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter an 8” x 8” (2 quart) casserole dish.

Tear the bread into ragged one inch chunks, place on an ungreased baking sheet and toast in the oven, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned – about 10 minutes.

Cook the sugar in a heavy saucepan over medium heat – without stirring – until it begins to melt around the edges of the pan. Turn the heat down to low and start stirring with a metal spoon. As the sugar continues to melt, it will first turn a golden-yellow color. Stir continuously until all of the sugar has melted and is the color of dark honey. (This step isn’t as tricky as it sounds, but you’ll need to pay attention to avoid burning the sugar.)

Remove the pan from the heat and slowly add the water (a teaspoonful at a time to start). The sugar will boil, foam and generally create a lot of excitement, but just keep stirring and adding the water very slowly. When all of the water has been added, you will have a thin caramel syrup. NOTE: If you find you have some lumps of hard caramel remaining in the syrup mixture, simply return the pan to medium heat and boil until all lumps have dissolved.

While the caramel syrup is still hot, stir in the cinnamon and butter.

Spread the toasted bread in an even layer in the buttered casserole dish. Gently spoon the Madeira over each piece of bread. Sprinkle with the nuts and raisins; top with an even coating of the shredded Monterey Jack cheese. Then, taking care that the sauce reaches all of the bread, pour on the caramel sauce.

Bake at 350°F for 30 minutes. NOTE: Traditionally the pan is covered with foil during the entire baking time – which results in a bread pudding with a soft, custard-like texture. We prefer to leave the pan covered until the cheese has melted into the general texture of the pudding – about 20 minutes – and to then uncover for the last 10 minutes or so of baking time to allow the pudding to lightly brown.

While the pudding can be served either warm or cold, we like it best warm and garnished with vanilla whipped cream (or vanilla flavored Cool Whip) and lightly dusted with cinnamon. It seems to us that the cinnamon/whipped cream combination mellows the intense sweetness of the Capirotada.

Interfaith Dialogue a Moral Duty to Finding Common Ground

February 15, 2008
by Louay Safi, The American Muslim

Extreme voices in the three religions that claim the monotheist heritage of Prophet Abraham--Judaism, Christianity, and Islam--are busy sowing the seeds of confrontation and hate. They have recently taken the advantage of the politically rooted tensions between western and Middle Eastern countries to develop misunderstanding and mistrust among the followers of these religions.

Quoting selectively from Islamic sources, they have painted Islam as an intolerant religion that urges its followers to hate people of other faiths. This depiction belies both the historical record of Muslims dealing with the followers of other faiths, and, most importantly, the Qur’anic message itself. Although historical Muslim societies were imperfect, there are plenty of examples to show that Islamic values inspired Muslims to develop multi-religious societies in which people of diverse religious backgrounds lived in considerable harmony. The tolerance of Medieval Muslim Spain and the invitation extended to Jews expelled from Jerusalem to return to the city upon the defeat of the Crusaders are two shining examples.

The Qur’an reiterates a fundamental truth taught by all the prophets who were sent by God to guide human endeavors. It asserts that true and honest living is the assured way for spiritual and social harmony, and for protecting the long term self interests of every human being.

Read the full article

Visit Common Tables on MySpace!

Another brief heads up:

Here at Common Tables we have opened the door into what is, for us, another new dimension within the Web 2.0 Universe. Yep, we’ve started the process of building a Common Tables Community on MySpace by signing up and creating our initial Profile!

Admittedly, it isn’t yet a very active space, but you can help make it a dynamic force in the international interfaith movement by visiting often (you can find us at www.MySpace.com/CommonTables). Let us know about you. Sign up in the Common Tables Community Group which we will be starting in the next few days (more about that next weekend).

Check back often. We’ll keep you posted as we continue to become an active presence in the Web 2.0 Universe.

Interfaith seminar draws 1,100 at FAU

12:46 AM EST, February 12, 2008
by JAMES D. DAVIS, Sun-Sentinel.com

Angels and demons, saints and murderers: Both are spawned by religion.

"There is no true religion, only true faith," religion scholar Thomas Idinopulos told 1,100 listeners at Florida Atlantic University on Monday night. "Religion can produce goodness and peace, but also madness, murderers, terrorists.

"Beliefs may be right or wrong; they may be idealistic or tyrannical. But faith doesn't deceive, because it leads to good works, and to social and moral justice."

Idinopulos, a comparative religion professor at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, was one of several speakers -- Muslim, Jewish, Christian -- the interfaith Shemin Trialogue Seminar.

Read the full story.

Common Tables - Now a FaceBook Cause!

We have now set up Common Tables as a "Cause" on Facebook.com! Find us by clicking here, then simply enter Common Tables in the "Search Causes" box at the top of the page.

The goal of Facebook Causes is what Facebook calls "equal opportunity activism." Facebook is trying to level the playing field by empowering individuals and newer non-profits to change the world. It sounds simple . . . and it is!!!

We will be using the Common Tables Cause on Facebook to help our friends recruit their friends into the Common Tables Cause, to keep everybody in the Cause up-to-speed on issues related to our global initiative and to keep members in-the-loop as media excitement related to the Common Tables Interfaith Initiative continues to grow.

Our presence on Facebook Causes gives everyone an opportunity to leverage their network on Facebook to effect positive change on a truly global scale. Our presence on Facebook creates an opportunity for all who really care about global harmony to quickly, easily and directly make a difference.

“Causes” provides the tools, you provide the network, Common Tables provides the global initiative. We encourage you to get involved, to get your networks involved . . . and their networks . . . and their networks! Together we can change the world . . . one meal at a time!!

Hindu-Buddhist Dialogue in Louisville (Kentucky)

Feb 1, 2008
http://www.organiser.org/

A Hindu-Buddhist dialogue was organised at Vietnamese Buddhist temple in Louisville, KY on January 5 as part of the cultural exchange programme. The main organisers were Dr Yashwant Pathak, Dr Hieu Tran and Shri Gaurav Shrivastava.

The whole programme was focused on interacting for idea of common beliefs between two world’s great ways of worship i.e. the Hinduism and Buddhism. The dialogue offered an opportunity to share the wonderful values of life not only with each other but also with the next generations and the humanity at large. Since both the ways of worship originated from the same Vedic and Sanatan Dharma traditions from Bharat, hence there is a lot of opportunity to enhance the spices between two ways of worship.

Read the full story

Students' trip to Israel aims at Mideast peace (Denver)

Monday, January 28, 2008
By Jeff Kass, Rocky Mountain News

Presidents, secretaries of state and special envoys have all tried to broker peace in the Middle East.

Now a group of 27 high schoolers from across the metro area - equally divided among Muslims, Jews and Christians - will fly to Israel in June in an effort to bring a measure of peace to the region.

It's a heck of an after-school assignment.

"I think it will make us more well-rounded, and I think it will show us that life is more complicated than walking down to McDonald's and grabbing a double cheeseburger," says Omar Murib, a 17-year-old junior at Douglas County High School, who is Muslim.

"You've got to start somewhere, and we're taking baby steps toward (solving) the war, guns, bullets and achieving peace."

During their 10 days in the region, students will learn firsthand about the facts on the ground, as diplomats say, and meet with peacemaking groups.

Read the full article

Favorite Films of 2007 - Part 2

For today's Monday Media Review we continue last week's listing of Stephen Simon's (Spiritual Cinema Circle) personal favorite films of 2007. Repeating myself here: we are HUGE fans of the Spiritual Cinema Circle and of Stephen Simon, so it should come as no surprise that we place value on his opinions. Here are the final threee of his 2007 selections and, in Mr. Simon's words, his reasons for these choices:

THE GREAT DEBATERS

A powerful and moving tribute to the courage of the African-American Wiley College debating team and its coach in 1930s Texas. Denzel Washington directs and stars in a film that reminds us of what we can accomplish when we decide that it is we, not the world around us, who define ourselves.

JUNO

A funny, poignant, searingly honest, and loving story of a teenager’s unwelcome pregnancy and her search for both herself and the most appropriate adoptive parents. Ellen Page is simply brilliant as the title character and the film has much to say about love, life, and responsibility. It also has one of the sweetest and most touching final scenes in recent memory.

WAITRESS

An offbeat, often hilarious, and sometimes harrowing story about a small town waitress and her unique talent for baking every kind of pie imaginable. Keri Russell achieves superstar actress status with her complex and nuanced portrait of a woman in an emotionally abusive marriage that she yearns to escape. The film is also a loving tribute to Adrienne Shelly, its writer/director/costar who was tragically killed after the completion of the film.

Common Tables at Wind Crest

This past Thursday - the 24th - Common Tables celebrated its newly formed partnership with the Wind Crest retirement community in Highlands Ranch, Colorado. Our objective remains that of establishing 750,000 small, interfaith dinner groups which combine to create a grass-roots base for overcoming barriers, misconceptions, and fear-based thinking about diversity and inclusion. The people who live at Wind Crest are contributing to our goals by joining in and starting up their own on-site Common Tables groups.

“There is a genuine community of unity being built here at Wind Crest, and we want to celebrate and recognize that,” said Randy Harris, the Executive Director of Common Tables. “This is the first time we’ve partnered with another organization in this way.”

“I have always believed that it’s important never to judge someone, based on his or her belief in God”, said Clarence Burton, a resident of Wind Crest. “By introducing Common Tables to Wind Crest, we have an opportunity to expand our social and cultural circles. It will give us an opportunity to value the diversity of Wind Crest residents, enabling us to become better neighbors and enriching our community living experience.”

This celebration served as Common Tables at Wind Crest’s inaugural event. The event was attended by numerous residents and staff members from the Wind Crest community. A certificate of Appreciation was presented to the community by representatives from our organization.