Two Local Efforts that Are Helping to Create More Understanding and Community

Whether you're watching the girls from Sex in the City get a bite together or getting together with some co-workers to shovel down some food on your lunch hour, there's always something great about friends and food. However most of our friends are the same friends we've had since second grade or the ones that we made in some common circle that we floated in. The world is filled with people who are strangers until you meet them. What prompts people to meet others? Maybe it's their career that requires networking, maybe they are looking to identify with another individual who can sympathize or are in the same situation they are in. Maybe the commonality is in a same interest, hobby or activity? Or maybe it's just as simple as them sharing the same hair color? There are all types of things that join people and build friendships. However one of them usually isn't their differences.

"Friday Friends" is a new initiative locally here in Charlotte, NC that was put into place to build bridges between races. It promotes seeing people as people, not as categories. Five hundred people will be paired up to eat lunch with someone of a different race, culture or ethnic background different than their own. The goal is to work past stereotypes and to get to bond and build friendships with people outside of their own circle and network. In doing so, there is the hope that it will provide a stepping stone in working together in order to appreciate diversity within a community rather than misunderstanding and destroying it. How can we get past the surface if we are too fearful or don't know how to break the ice? It's not only race that creates barriers. Faith and economic walls will be broken with the breaking of bread together. This is a real opportunity for not only one individuals growth, but for growth in the whole community.