Group Structure
Ground Rules Over four years of meetings we have arrived at the following rules that enable us to provide a safe space for discussion:
•	Listen to each other.
•	Do not interrupt.
•	Do not monopolize the conversation; make sure that everyone who wishes to speak gets a chance to contribute.
•	Speak respectfully to each other.
•	Speak from personal experience, rather than making broad sweeping statements.
•	Do not criticize another member or a faith tradition (including a denomination or group within your own faith tradition).
•	If someone hits a sore point, speak up during the meeting, if you are able or, if not, talk directly to the person who offended you after the meeting. If you cannot work things out, speak to your leader and ask for help.
•	Since we are a book group with diverse membership, the Daughters of Abraham does not endorse any political or social causes. Any member of the group is of course free to support any cause in her own name.
•	Be mindful about scheduling book group meetings on any of our respective holidays.

We have also found it useful to follow a set of “Principles for Interreligous Dialogue” (PDF) to guide our discussions.
Can my group call itself “Daughters of Abraham”? Your group is a “Daughters of Abraham” group if you:
Are these things:
•	An all-women’s book group
•	Welcome to women who identify as members of all three Abrahamic faiths: Jewish, Christian and Muslim. We include only these three faiths.
Do these things:
•	Meet to discuss books (and film and poetry and art) that explores lives lived in faith or the cultures of the lands where the Abrahamic faiths flourished.
•	Maintain an atmosphere of respect by adhering to discussion ground rules.
•	Stay in touch with The Daughters of Abraham in Cambridge to let us know what books you have found led to a good discussion. (We hope to continue to grow our book list as we increase the number of groups.)
•	Maintain an identity as a group focused on faith and the practice of the faith. The Daughters of Abraham do not advocate, take sides on or support any particular political causes or agendas.

FAQs

Why did you start Daughters of Abraham?
The Daughters of Abraham was the inspiration of our founder, Edie Howe. She attended an interfaith service on the evening of September 11, 2001 and sat with Jewish, Christian and Muslim women. Looking around at these women she wondered what she could do to respond to the actions of the terrorists. She decided to form a book group of women from the Abrahamic faiths. From that initial insight, a number of groups have been formed, the founding group having met continuously since September, 2002.

How is this different from interfaith dialogue groups?
We see ourselves not as a dialogue group but as a book group focused on discussions of books about our own faith traditions. We engage with the books (and poetry) we read to explore the meanings, shape and practice of our own and one another’s faith. We are not an academic study group, nor a group of people officially representing any particular tradition or theological position.

Who may join?
Any Jewish, Christian or Muslim woman who shares our purpose and mission is welcome to join us. We try to keep a balance among the three faiths, so not everyone who applies to a particular group may be admitted to that group. We sometimes need to form new groups in order to maintain a balance of members. Find a local group. >

What is the general structure of your meetings?
We meet in the same space each month. We try to have that space be non-sectarian, comfortable and easily accessible by public transportation. We meet for a two hour period. The first 30 minutes or so are devoted to social time and community building, gathered around kosher/halal food brought by the members. We then spend about an hour or an hour and a quarter on the discussion of what we have read. One of our members has taken on the role of timekeeper and leader of the discussion. We generally use the last 15 minutes of the meeting for announcements of general interest and decisions about what to read next.

Do you have ground rules?
We have agreed to speak respectfully to one another; not to monopolize the conversation, to speak from personal experience, rather than making sweeping statements as to ask questions of members of other faiths rather than make assumptions about them. Read our “Ground Rules”.

How do you choose books?
Members suggest books at the meetings. Between meetings, members email suggestions to the “keeper of the list,” a member of the group who maintains our book list. Periodically we all review the suggestion lists and arrange books into high, middle and low priority. Then, by consensus, we choose books from the high priority list. If anyone strongly objects to reading a particular book we do not read it in the group.

Do you ever disagree? Are there problems?
We occasionally disagree and try to resolve our difficulties with respect and in the moment. We encourage members to speak up when something has offended or upset them so that we can resolve difficulties in the group. Rarely have we experienced problems across the faith traditions. If there are disagreements, they tend to be among the members of one faith, e.g. Catholics and Protestants, Reform and Conservative Jews. Since we have ground rules to which we adhere, problems and disagreements are only occasional, and usually easily resolved.