Among the many things for which Thomas Jefferson was renowned are his “Feast of Reason” dinners, where people gathered at Monticello to respectfully discuss the civic issues of the day. Inspired by this precedent–and given the current polarized and inflammatory state of civic dialogue in our country–Carpenters’ Hall, in partnership with the Dialogue Institute at Temple University, will host a “Feast of Reason” dinner series reimagined for our time. Over a family-style meal, participants will be guided through a brief history of our evening’s topic, followed by a respectful and thoughtful discussion, guided by experts. Each meal will include 16 participants and will be held at Carpenters’ Hall from 6-8 pm.

A short reading will be sent out before each gathering. Although we encourage you to read it beforehand, it is not required.

Our next dinner will be held on November 12 and will address immigration policy. We will discuss the question “What values should guide good immigration policy? What does good immigration policy look like in your own community?”  Anuj Gupta of the Welcoming Center, and Cathryn Miller-Wilson of HIAS PA will be present to help facilitate the conversation and provide context.

If you applied for our previous dinner, and were not accepted, but would like to be considered for this dinner, please email Alyssa Constad at alyssaconstad@carpentershall.org.

An application is required to ensure that we have a multitude of political backgrounds and prospectives present at the meal. If you are chosen to participate in our November 12 meal, you will be notified by Tuesday, November 10. If you accept, you will be invoiced $40 for dinner including alcohol or $30 for dinner without alcohol. If you would like to participate, but the cost of a ticket is prohibitive, please reach out to Alyssa Constad;  alyssaconstad@carpentershall.org.

Thank you to The Kauders Foundation for their generous support of this project.