When You Don't Believe in God, And They Really Want You To

Elise separated from their Catholic upbringing after coming out, but their very religious parents keep trying to bring them back. And Meg Griffiths, a professional dialogue facilitator, speaks with Juleyka about creating trust across diverging spiritual beliefs within our families.

Featured Expert: 

Meg Griffiths’s professional background is at the intersection of education, dialogue, ministry, and the work for justice, with over 15 years of professional experience in higher education and community-based organizations. She has experience leading facilitation workshops, dialogues, and culture change initiatives in higher education, theaters, foundations, and religious, civic, and community organizations. While Meg's work has varied, at the heart of it all has been a belief in the power of relationships, storytelling, reflective practice, and good humor. Always an interdisciplinary thinker and learner, Meg received a Masters in Pastoral Ministry from Boston College’s School of Theology and Ministry and a B.A. in American Studies with a concentration in Women’s Studies from the College of the Holy Cross. Learn more about her work as Director of Programs at Essential Partners here. Essential Partners is an organization that facilitates dialogue and “helps communities and institutions have healthier, more complex, more inclusive conversations about polarizing differences of values, beliefs, and identities—whether the issue is building a new public school in Ohio or addressing the global refugee crisis in Jordan.” 

Meg recommends Essential Partner's field guide to community dialogue design as a resource for navigating difficult conversations––find it  here. 

If you loved this episode, be sure to listen to When They Want More Family Time, But You Don't and Coming Out to My Family.

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