It started in 2015 with a question we kept hearing from our community: how do we actually get to know our neighbors? Not as categories, not as headlines — as people. Our first answer was Face to Face, a program MMY built to bring community members of different backgrounds into real conversation with one another.

In 2016, we found that the Faith & Culture Center had developed something we recognized: a structured dialogue model called A Seat At The Table. We've used it ever since.

The model is simple. MMY handles the catering and provides a facilitator. Guests arrive at the same table for a shared meal. From there, the work is theirs. Stories get told. Questions get asked. Assumptions soften. ASATT isn't designed to educate people about each other — it's designed to introduce them. The result tends to be friendships, not just understanding.