Quaker meetings and churches can help AFSC by doing some specific things to support our peace and justice work. This year we are inviting you to help with our work to create more religiously hospitable communities by engaging with a film resource, “Hawo’s Dinner Party: The New Face of Southern Hospitality.”

“Hawo’s Dinner Party” is a video module designed to support dialogue, bridge-building, and cultural exchange in communities that receive immigrants and refugees from Muslim-majority countries.

Directed and produced by Kim A. Snyder and executive produced by BeCause Foundation in association with Active Voice, the module follows the trajectory of Hawo Siyad, a refugee and former nurse from Somalia, who has come to work at the nearby Tyson Foods chicken processing plant. Dressed in colorful hijab even on the assembly line, Hawo is determined to learn English and to connect with her neighbors. But as news of “home grown terrorism” appears in the national media and as Hawo tries to reach out, we get an intimate glimpse into the honest—and often uncomfortable—encounters that emerge.

You can learn more about “Hawo’s Dinner Party” and the Shelbyville Multimedia Project at www.ShelbyvilleMultimedia.org. Active Voice would really like to know if you have offered an event; you can send that information to Lucy Duncan at lduncan (at) afsc.org and AFSC will pass it along.

Click here to read the full article, find event planning resources and discussion questions.