Conversation Starters

1. Share a story/thoughts connected to each of these statements:  Other people see me as… I see myself as…
2. What has given you hope lately?
3. Pair up with one or two people.  Find five things that you have in common.
4. What’s something in your childhood that has shaped who you are today?
5. “One day I’m going to….”
6. What individual journeys are we all on? (Ask the group about a journey they are on, or plan to be on)
7. Describe a time when you were made to feel you didn’t belong. 
8. Describe a time when you felt valued and that you did belong.
9. Who did you grow up hearing about as the other or less than?
10. What are some ideas about how we can make our welcome wider in our everyday lives and in our group? 
11. How do you feel about the phrase, “war starts in our own hearts”? Does it make you uncomfortable? 
12. Discuss this passage: “We are building the most diverse, hand-in-hand community of peacemakers on the planet. We celebrate difference rather than fear it. We choose to love anyway, so that we might change the ideas that lead to violence.” 
13. When have you felt nervous in a group of people? Where do you believe this feeling came from?