The Garrison-Martineau Project

(a.k.a. The Conversation Mother Warned You About!)

What does a Garrison-Martineau session look like?

The average Garrison-Martineau session has about 25 people in attendance. After they arrive and sign in, they get a 5 minute orientation and are then broken into small groups of 5 with 2 believers, 2 nonbelievers and a trained facilitator in each group. They go on to have the structured conversation described below. The entire conversation should take no more than a couple of hours and then food is served.

Conversation Format

First hour: Personal Stories & Mirroring

Each person tells the story of their personal journey toward or away from religious beliefs. The focus is on the experiences and facts they encountered and found transforming.

After one person has told their story, ask someone from the other side of the theological fence to mirror what they heard. This should only take a minute or two. This continues around the circle until everyone has had a chance to tell their story and mirror.

Q&A: After the mirroring, the facilitator will collect any questions folks might have on index cards and choose a few to be asked.

Second hour : Social Concerns & Mirroring

Each person finishes the sentence (and only one sentence!): "I am concerned (afraid, angry) about X.

After several times around the group, when people are beginning to run out of things they're concerned about, each person will have an extended time to discuss why they feel alarmed about a particular issue. The focus is on how they arrived at their concern --if they had a personal experience, read an article that resonated with them...

Once again, after one person has discussed their concern in detail, someone from the other side of the aisle will mirror what they heard, ensuring that each person is and feels heard.

Wrap Up

Each person should have a few minutes to explain what they found valuable.