Mission
The mission of the Westminster Town Hall Forum is to engage the public in reflection and dialogue on the key issues of our day from an ethical perspective.

History
In 1980, Westminster Presbyterian Church members Paul and Diane Neimann, launched the Westminster Town Hall Forum. Watergate special prosecutor, Archibald Cox, was the first speaker, and the Reverend Donald Meisel moderated. Since then, more than 250 speakers have addressed Forum audiences, including, among others, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Elie Wiesel, Thomas Friedman, Cornel West, Kathleen Hall Jamieson, David McCullough, Marcus Borg, Marian Wright Edelman, Barbara Brown Taylor, David Brooks, Salman Rushdie, Gwen Ifill, and Bryan Stevenson.

Advisory Board
The Town Hall Forum is guided by a volunteer advisory board that is comprised equally of Westminster Church members and at-large community leaders. The Advisory Board meets throughout a year and provides support, oversight, and guidance in the areas of policy, community relations, development, and programming. The Forum is led and managed by a paid director. The members of the board are Megan Dayton, Chairperson; Tony Graham; Tim Hart-Andersen; Karen Kraemer; Song Lee; Luther Ranheim; Buffy Smith; Sandy Wolfe Wood; and Tane Danger, Director.

Collaborations
From day one, the Forum’s primary collaboration has been with Minnesota Public Radio. Forums are always aired at noon on MPR News Presents, 91.1 FM in the Twin Cities. Noon forums are broadcast live, and evening forums are recorded for later broadcast, usually within a day or two of the event.

Funding
Because of the generosity of its donors, the Forum has maintained its commitment to offer programs that are free and open to all. The Forum receives 85% of its funding from individual donors and 15% from co-sponsors. Although Westminster Presbyterian Church provides generous in-kind support, it provides no operating funds from its annual budget. The Town Hall Forum is a community resource funded entirely by the community.

Sponsorships
The Town Hall Forum welcomes community involvement and support. Over the years, Forum events have been co-sponsored by businesses, nonprofits, faith communities, and educational institutions, including Hennepin County Library, United Theological Seminary, the YWCA of Minneapolis, The Nature Conservancy, and MinnPost, to name just a few. Individuals or organizations interested in co-sponsoring a forum should contact the Forum director at [email protected].