On the weekend of Friday, October 5th through Sunday, October 7th, Sheikh Ghassan Manasra, the AR’s International Director, led a training seminar in Sarasota, Florida. It was the Abrahamic Reunion’s first three-day interactive training in the US. Eleven people came from across the US to learn how to become AR group facilitators. Over the course of the weekend, participants learned to:
- Bring together a multi-faith community and become a peacemaker
- Facilitate discussions in large and small groups of different cultures and faiths
- Build a group for comparative text study and dialogue
Sessions included fun exercises and activities that enabled participants to learn the technical side of how the Abrahamic Reunion creates groups. They learned how to bring people together to form a group and how to create connection between group members.
Participants came with varying degrees of knowledge and experience. Some were young adults in their 20s, some were church ministers, and one woman works in a facility for elders. Both men and women joined the group, which consisted of Muslims, Christians, Jews, and Sufis.
This group will continue to meet every few months to be personally mentored by Ghassan and to support each other as they learn to be effective group facilitators.
If you are interested in joining this group or inviting Ghassan to your area to train a group, please contact Katie Emmons at katie@abrahamicreunion.org
