Respectful Community Conversations Meeting Notes

Summit III  

May 10, 2025

For information about the Respectful Community Conversation project, visit the website at: https://www.hburgcommonground.com/ 

Respectful Community Conversation #1 was conducted on April 24, with 8 participants and 2 facilitators, with equal representation from those identifying as “left” and “right” on the political spectrum. All participants agreed to the purpose of the conversation, which was not to persuade, but to listen, learn and find common ground.  The first conversation focused on understanding participants’ values that underlie their beliefs and actions and to identify common values. 

 Although two participants declined to participate in subsequent conversations, the feedback from remaining participants was very positive. A summary of the session and results from the evaluation survey are available here.

A second conversation with the same participants with two replacements will be scheduled soon. The organizers would like to gain feedback on these conversations as a viable method to build community and how these might be expanded to include more and more diverse participants.

We were gratified to hear that participants in the Summit session agreed that this was a viable strategy to bridge divides and rebuild community connections and could and should be expanded to include other populations. Presented with a technology that helps with these difficult conversations, these organizations and populations may want to participate.

Target Populations

• “Purple” churches and civic organizations;
• Students as local colleges and universities
• • JMU Center for Community Engagement. Contact Dr. Amanda Teye or Dr. Lili Peaslee
  • EMU Center for Justice and Peace Building
  • Blue Ridge Community College
  • Bridgewater College: Jeff Pierson?
  • Also, Harrisonburg Schools – Keep Michael Richardson aware
• Public Schools, noting that Rockingham County Schools held a series of collaborative dialogues in the recent past. Contact Katie LaPira, Coordinator of Community Outreach and Engagement
• Life Long Learning Institute: sponsor a class or a one-time session
• Retirement communities: VMRC, Sunnyside, Bridgewater
• Groups of friends or family who know and trust each other, but are on opposite sides of the issues

Question:  How to reach less educated, informed or engaged populations?

Getting the Word Out/Recruitment

• Contact Democratic and Republic HQs
• Video stories and testimonials, once trust has been established. Note that participants in the first conversation were not open to having the session audio taped, even assured of anonymity of speakers.

Many thanks to the Summit session participants! Please forward questions, comments or suggestions to Wendy Wintermute, wwintermute1@gmail.com.