Blog Posts

Eat & Share Stories

November 10, 2023

This past Sunday, a dozen Council members for Let’s Go Together in Skagit County, and volunteers from the community, gathered at Skagit Valley College to Eat and Share Stories – the first official event in our Let’s Go Together program (LGT). The purpose of this pilot gathering was to test our strategy and logistics in…

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Power and Inadequacy of a Calling

November 7, 2023

This past month, like many of you, I’ve been mourning the loss of lives in Gaza and Israel. My heart aches for peace there, just as it does for Ukraine, the Uyghurs in China, civil conflicts in Central Africa, and other troubled places around the world. I also yearn for us to truly live up…

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Time to Get Off Our Pews

October 30, 2023

This week I am writing primarily to my Christian siblings. It is also applicable to other traditions. But some responsibilities come with being the majority wisdom tradition. Our Jewish and Muslim neighbors need us. They need us now. I have spoken at length about dehumanization and how it leads to violence. We are in a…

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Resisting Collective Blame

October 25, 2023

For the past decade, my focus has been on understanding and combating dehumanization in Washington State and across the United States. During times of conflict, communities here become more susceptible to threats and violence. Just last week, I had conversations with a young Palestinian Muslim woman and a Jewish woman, both of whom expressed feeling…

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Humbled by Humanity

October 16, 2023

My heart is heavy about events in the world this last week. My heart breaks at the violence Hamas is inflicting upon Israeli civilians and the hostages and their families. My heart breaks at the deep pain of the Palestinian people and their situation. There are so many layers of history, missed opportunities, and trauma…

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Identity

September 20, 2023

I grew up in a small town called Lacrosse. The town still has about 300 people living there. Our high school mascot was a tiger, and it was painted on the gym wall. I remember going to basketball games and cheering loud for the Tigers. During the games, we kinda disliked the visiting teams. And…

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Will Christians Step Up?

September 12, 2023

Surveys conducted by IPSOS and Gallup corroborate a sentiment that is palpable: there is significant concern about the division among Americans. So, what is the solution? What steps can we take to remedy this situation? At Paths to Understanding, we are committed to uniting individuals from diverse cultures, traditions, and identities. Our aim is for…

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LGT Coordinator Joins PTU Team

September 6, 2023

We have some big news! As you all know, we launched our new Let’s Go Together program this year. We teamed up with almost 20 local groups in Skagit County to bring together neighbors across lines of faith, culture, ethnicity, and socio-economic situation. Now our local leadership team is ready to invite their community members…

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GDL Resources

August 9, 2023

We invite you to download these Discussion Questions, Action Steps, & Resources. Please sign up for our weekly email newsletter below.

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