Friday Friends: seeks to bridge the gap between races and cultures by helping program participants get to know one another beyond categories.

At times, Charlotte seems to have an especially wide gap. Too often we view people from a race or culture that's different from our own as "people we don't trust" and "people we have no way to get to know". Much too often, we have to ask ourselves..."Where's the faith community? Why aren't they leading the way"?

Now, the faith community led by the Executive Directors of Mecklenburg Ministries and the Charlotte Rescue Mission, is stepping forward to lead the way with an idea called "Friday Friends.”

Mission:

Find a Friday Friend of different race, ethinicity, faith or cultural background and meet the last Friday each month and get to know one another!

The overall mission is to identify 500 people through the faith community and the cultural community: black, white, Latin, Asian...and to pair them as lunch partners. They agree to eat lunch on the last Friday of the month for 6 months to get to know each other as people...not as "categories".

Sign Us Up!

FRIDAY FRIENDS MONTHLY QUESTIONS

LUNCH #1: What attracted you to this program? What would you like to see happen over the course of the next 5 months? How much risk are you willing to take with each other? What would help you do that?

LUNCH #2: Describe your family as you were growing up. What messages did you receive from them about yourself? What messages did you receive about people from other races and cultures? How do you perceive those messages today?

LUNCH #3: Describe a significant time when you were aware of your identity as a member of the __________race or ethnic group. What would you want other people to understand about you and/or your group?

LUNCH #4: Talk about the words associated with your group and your feelings about them. What would you like to ask your partner regarding the use of these words?

LUNCH #5: What concerns you most about building inter-racial, inter-group trust in our city? What would you like to ask your partner that you think might be risky to ask?

LUNCH #6: Where do you think Charlotte will be 10 years from now, in issues of inclusion and inter-racial trust? What would need to happen to create the future you would want to live in? What are you willing to commit to as individuals or partners to help create that future?

Click here for a link to Crossroads Charlotte

Friday Friends at a Glance:

•  
• Commitment: Have lunch with someone of another race, ethnicity or culture on the last Friday of each month(or whatever works for you), for 6 months to build a relationship together.

The goal at the end of the 6 months is to have at least 500 people who have learned to connect beyond the color of their skin and their ethnicity or cultural beliefs. These 500 people have broken bread and bridged a cultural gap to find the common ground of trust.