They joined hands across the table, lowered their heads, and each said a brief prayer over their eggs and sausage, thanking God for the food and seeking his blessing on their time together.
When they finished, they uttered "Amen" in unison, then smiled at each across their booth at the Perkins in Golden Valley.
"We 'Amen' each other a lot," explained Robin Hickman, nodding at her breakfast companion, Al Quie. "There's an ease between us."
For the past four years, the 53-year-old African-American social activist and the former Republican governor, who turns 93 this month, have met regularly, to pray, eat and talk.
"We approach this table in the spirit of listening and loving," said Quie, Minnesota's oldest living governor. "Then we carry our fellowship out into the world."
While the pair would appear to have little in common, they have a shared concern about paralyzing social issues — the achievement gap, racial disparities, prison reform.
The ebullient Hickman met the reserved man she calls "Governor Al" in 2012 in the ornate chamber where he once presided. They were both in the Governor's Reception Room to attend the state's commemoration of the Emancipation Proclamation's 150th anniversary. Quie was invited to the podium to make a few remarks.
"I said, 'All mankind came from Africa. We must speak the truth. We enslaved our ancestors,' " he said.