First Presbyterian Church (FPC) is located in the “rurban” university community of Stillwater, Oklahoma. Because of the presence of a large state university, the city is more diverse ethnically, culturally, and religiously than might be expected in an isolated community of 46,000. This thesis project sought to encourage holy conversations and holy sharing using tools of Appreciative Inquiry and Reflective Believing between FPC and the Islamic Society of Stillwater as part of building up and supporting “beloved community” within the city. An interfaith core group planned sharing opportunities, with FPC goals of a greater knowledge/awareness of our own faith traditions, growth in our awareness of our need for our neighbor, and mitigating the privileging of Christian culture in our community. Planning and evaluation phases utilized Drummond’s “Signs of Success” exercise.
