CLEVELAND HEIGHTS — As Election Day approaches, Fairmount Presbyterian Church in Cleveland Heights is opening its church for the first time. No foreigners club event.

The free event featuring live music, poetry, herbal teas, a reading room, connect games and more will take place the day before Election Day, Monday, November 4, from 6 to 9 p.m. .

Pastor Ryan Wallace and Kate Bouldin, director of youth and young adult faith formation, are part of the team that organized the gathering.

They said it was aimed at helping people disconnect from their cell phones, social media and the 24-hour news cycle to have face-to-face conversations and get to know each other.

“This seems particularly relevant to us in this election period that we find ourselves in: our country is more polarized than ever,” Bouldin said. “It’s the idea that the work of justice, the work of connecting with each other and better understanding each other’s politics is done first through relationships.”

Bouldin called it “disalienating” to others who may be different from you.

“Work on seeing another person as your neighbor rather than a stranger so you can better understand their perspectives and beliefs, even if they are really different from yours,” Bouldin said.

Several star artists participate, including Kevin Monaco, Isaiah Hunt and Emergence Ensemble.

Fairmount Presbyterian Church

Various areas of the church will be set up for community activities. Pastor Ryan Wallace said there would also be quiet spaces for people to pray, meditate and read.

“Part of the message we want to send is that no matter what happens on Election Day and in the days and weeks and months after our neighborhood, we need to know each other, we need to take care of each other.” , Wallace said. And again, no matter what changes, it doesn’t change.

The church conducts community outreach activities with the goal of attracting large numbers of people to the event who have no connection to their church.

“We hope this is the start of many No Strangers Club gatherings and more of a grassroots movement in our community to invest in relationships with each other,” Wallace said.