For six weeks over the course of the fall, the ICJS convened Genesis
discussion groups involving nearly 300 persons from 27 churches
and synagogues. Project participants met in small groups of 10
or so, with each group including equal numbers of African-American
Christian, Jewish, and white Christian congregations. The result
was a city-wide phenomenon. With the Genesis stories as common
ground, discussion group members crossed invisible but formidable
boundaries. The groups reached inspiring levels of intimacy and
trust despite differences in religion, race, and economic class.
On this web site you can read articles from our newsletter about
the Baltimore experience, including a report on Bill Moyers' visit as well as a journal entry from one of our staff members, which describes the significance of the Genesis project for
a multi-cultural city.
Dr. Christopher Leighton, the ICJS Executive Director, co-edited
a companion volume to the Genesis series entitled Talking About
Genesis: A Resource Guide (with an introduction by Bill Moyers).
The guide contains essays giving background and context to the
Genesis stories, as well as questions and tips for organizing
your own discussion group. From Bill Moyers' Genesis web site
you can download excerpts from the resource guide.
The Genesis home-page offers many other materials for understanding and interpreting
the Genesis series. The ICJS consulted with Moyers' staff on parts
of that web site. We particularly recommend the participants' speak section, in which some of the participants in the televised conversation
used the Internet to respond to questions from the broadcast audience.
|
