Who should I invite to this dinner?
Anyone. Whether a believer in Jesus Christ or not, married or single, in school or a professional, any woman is perfect for this dinner because the dinner is all about each woman being herself. Invite women who don’t already know each other well, create an environment where people feel welcomed in but are not placed under any assumptions.
How should I extend invitations?
However works best. Sending out invitations by mail works well and we have found that creating a facebook event works nicely as well.
How late can someone join in on a Red Tent Dinner?
The Red Tent Dinner works best if no one joins the dinner after the second week. The relationship and trust participants tend to instill in one another begins to develop the very first week of the dinner and participants who come for their first time after the second dinner struggle to connect with those who have already come to know one another better. Late beginners also often feel at a loss when engaging with the dinner’s themes, which build upon themes introduced in early weeks of the dinner.
What if a participant responds poorly to a week’s theme?
The Red Tent Dinner is based on gracious acceptance, love, and affirmation. Each woman is free to share whatever is provoked for her by an evening’s theme. And while women tend to enjoy the questions asked and where those questions lead them, occasionally a participant may struggle with a question asked and may refuse to share or may share some of the negative emotions stirred up for her by the question. And that is ok. Everyone can still hear and respond to whatever is offered and the dinner can still continue even if someone refuses to share or respond to anyone else at the table. Do not make the dinner all about that one person, do invite that person to share and respond, and allow each woman to choose who she will be at the dinner and to bear the glory or burden of that choice. You are not facilitating a classroom where there are participation points, you are a woman among women; all of you are free, soulful, and moving beings who should be honored as such.
Can one group of ladies continue to meet to walk through the various Red Tent themes?
Yes. Still, we are hopeful that Red Tent participants will end a Red Tent series open to starting a Red Tent of their own with other women. We long for women to extend the relationship that Red Tent Dinners foster to others and hope that leaders will encourage their participants to strongly consider branching out to start their own dinner if they are ready upon completion of one Red Tent theme.