Surrey Neighbouring Faiths Program Mid-April 2012 Newsletter

Greetings, I am still feeling the warm glow of last nights spiritual and transformative evening with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and a host of other spiritual leaders. Hosted by the Art of Living Foundation, Humankind: An Evening of Peace and Inspiration, was exactly that. The audience was treated to beautiful songs by the Universal Gospel Choir, and meditations and prayers were offered by each of the spiritual leaders. An SFU professor spoke about the challenges and successes in addressing youth violence, and Sri Sri Ravi Shankars words of wisdom brought home the urgent need to bring peace and non-violence to a troubled world. It was good to see so many of you there, and I trust that each of you left feeling a little more empowered to continue the good work that you do. Looking for another opportunity to work towards peace in our communities? You got a few options in the coming months, but in particular, I want to draw your attention to the Pilgrimage to Burns Bog event taking place this Sunday, April 22 at 2:00pm. There will be speeches, singing, and a beautiful walk through one of the Lower Mainlands ecological gems. Most importantly, this is an opportunity for you to fill your cup by rubbing shoulders with others who are, like you, deeply engaged in the gentle struggle for a more peaceful and healthy world. Peace be with you. See you there. A warm welcome to anyone receiving this newsletter for the first time.

Upcoming Events
April 22 - Earth Day Multifaith Pilgrimage to Burns Bog Burns Bog is sometimes called the "lungs of the lower mainland" because it stores carbon that would otherwise cause climate change. Burns Bog cleans our air and water, provides habitat for many (endangered) species, and plays an integral role in our local ecosystem. Join this annual pilgrimage in a ritual that belongs to no single religious or cultural tradition. We answer the call to go and to connect to this rich, natural environment in our midst. The Pilgrimage Festival begins at 2pm April 22 near the entrance to the Delta Nature Reserve, behind Planet Ice (10388 Nordel Court, Delta, BC V4G 1J7) and the Pilgrimage walk to the Cedar Forest begins at 3 pm. Join us. See here for details. April 27 First meeting of the Community Coalition Against Abuse A number of local community groups are starting a coalition to work toward reducing domestic abuse in Surrey, British Columbia through coordinated and seamless service delivery, collaboration, sharing of resources, through prevention and treatment initiatives, education and media relations and advocacy. The group is seeking participation from faith communities that share a desire to address this issue from multiple perspectives. The first meeting takes place at Kwantlen Polytechnic University, April 27 from 12:303:30pm. For more information, contact organizer Balbir Gurm.

Opportunities to Connect
Mentors Needed for Digital Storytelling Project

Located at Alexandra Neighbourhood House, World of Youth is a youth initiative to bring together newcomer and host community youth to build understanding and friendships. Using video and digital storytelling as a technique, group members are looking to create a video that breaks down stereotypes and strengthens understanding in the wider community. As one youth wrote, we want to document our experiences and create a video in short story format, looking at different perspectives, views of people from different cultures. To transform the barriers they perceive to allow for learning and building of friendships We are looking for mentors for the project to help guide the youth through the process, help them gain a greater understanding of stereotypes, and form the concept for the video. They will need help writing a script and pulling it all together. The youth are grade 10 and 11 students, mainly from China and Taiwan, with limited English but lots of enthusiasm! The group usually meets on 3.30pm on Mondays at Camp Alexandra in Crescent Beach but we have some flexibility around this. For more information contact Maxine at 604-538-5060 ext. 28 Want to start a conversation about living wages? Did you know that the majority of BCs poor children live in families with working parents? This is because their parents are working hard in jobs that dont provide them with enough income to come to cover their basic living expenses. They are not earning a living wage. Many Faith Groups in Surrey have firsthand experience of dealing with the effects of parents working in low wage jobs. They are involved in running food banks and other charitable responses to this issue. They witness the struggles that their members face on a daily basis. The Living Wage Faith Group Engagement Project , funded by the United Way of the Lower Mainland, is an opportunity for Faith Groups to find out how the concept of Living Wages relates to their beliefs and work and how it can address these issues. For more information please contact Michael McCarthy Flynn at 604-873-8437 or info@livingwageforfamilies.ca or visit the website. Surrey Interfaith Council A range of religious and secular community leaders have embarked on a dialogue process to explore the formation of a Surrey Interfaith Council. At this point, the Steering Committee is drafting Mission and Vision Statements that will be presented to the larger group later in the spring. A summary of the first dialogue event in November 2011 can be viewed via that link at the bottom of this newsletter. Please let David Dalley know if you are interested in connecting with this project. Early Years Workshops The SNFP offers an educational outreach workshop titled Honouring the Religious and Spiritual Identities of Children in Early Childhood Education. It is 2 to 4 hours long, and is geared towards preschool and early elementary school teachers. The purpose of this workshop is to explore spirituality and religion as important components of the whole child in the education of young children. Please let David Dalley know if you are interested in observing this workshop or training to become a presenter.

Ongoing Events

Community Sweat Lodge and Drum Circle

The Cwenengitel Aboriginal Society hosts community sweat lodges and drum circles. The drum circles take place every Thursday evening at 6:30pm, the sweat lodges take place every second Saturday starting at 10:30am. The next sweats are April 7 & 21. There are separate lodges for men and women. Men must wear shorts, and women must wear a long skirt or gown to the ankles. The events are open to people from all faith traditions. For more information, please contact Wally LaVigne at wally@cwenabso.org or (604) 588-5561 October 2011 June 2012 Interfaith Speakers Series The South Fraser Unitarian Congregation in Surrey is hosting a 1st Sunday Community Interfaith Series that will run from October 2011 to June 2012. Speakers will reflect on the following theme: We live together in diverse communities. As individuals, we draw on our belief systems to guide the ways we think and act. Our belief systems shape how we relate to one another and how we come together as a community. What are some of the core values and practices of your faith tradition? How do they shape and strengthen your faith community? How might the wisdom of your faith tradition help us to live and flourish in our diverse community? We will hear perspectives from the following worldviews: Hinduism, Paganism, Humanism, Islam, Kabir Panth, Sikhism, Christianity and Bahai. For more information, please contact info@sfuc.bc.ca.

Further down the road...

May 5 to June 2 Founders and Faith Traditions A course by Harold Rosen This course offers a brief but useful and stimulating survey of history-changing missions, and the faith traditions they generated. We introduce the field of comparative religions, finding many patterns that link different faith traditions, as well as enriching complementarities all of which will expand our world views and our appreciation of humanitys journey. We start with an overview of Moses, the Torah and the Jewish saga across the ages. In parallel fashion, we address Zoroaster, the Gathas and Persian civilization; Jesus, the Gospel and Christian civilization; as well as Muhammad, the Quran and Islamic civilization. Harold Rosen is a community interfaith educator, with masters degrees in religion, philosophy and education. The course takes place Saturdays, 1:30-2:30 at the Surrey City Centre Library. For more information and to register, contact seniors@sfu.ca or 778-782-8000. May 4 Presentation at Surrey Teachers Association Convention Calling all Surrey teachers! David Dalley and Sylvia Zeelenberg will be presenting a workshop for elementary school teachers at the May 4 Surrey Teachers Association Convention. The workshop will explore religious diversity in the classroom, and offer educators resources and ideas for fostering understanding and respect in the classroom. Please contact David Dalley if you are interested in learning more. May 6 Community Interfaith Series: Rev. Will Sparks on Christianity Rev. Will Sparks is the Minister at Northwood United Church. Come and hear him speak about Christianity at the seventh session of the Community Interfaith Series sponsored by the South Fraser Unitarian Congregation. All are welcome. The service starts at 10:30am at the Newton Seniors Centre. See attached poster for details. May 10-11 Workshop at 2012 Cities Fit for Children Provincial Summit

The 3rd Annual Cities Fit for Children Provincial Summit is dedicated to the sustainable development of our cities and urban and rural areas. The event will bring together local, municipal and regional leaders involved in policy decisions and designing and building healthy safe communities for children and families. Come and hear how multifaith networks can play an important role in this process. Late Spring - Evening Candlelight Meditation Walks at Fleetwood Labyrinth Labyrinths are found throughout history and in many different cultures and religious traditions. They are used as tools for meditation and prayer; as a means of quieting the mind and enriching the spirit. Weekly evening candlelight meditations will be starting up again in Mid-March at the Labyrinth at Fleetwood Gardens in Surrey. These meditation walks are open to the all, and are a great opportunity for building interfaith connections. Please contact labyrinth@sfuc.bc.ca if you would like to be a part of this program. June 1-5 Interfaith Eco-Theological Symposium This coming June 1-5, Bethany-Newton United Church is hosting an international symposium to widen and strengthen the world-wide inter-faith community to gain momentum and to provide collaborative leadership as Science, Religion, Public Policy and Business seek to Green communities. The Symposium will engage theology with key ecological concerns from a variety of religious and spiritual perspectives. The theme is Our Sustainable Future and our focus will be on faith-based and scientific approaches to economic and ecological problems and challenges. Visit the website for location and details.

Keep in touch...

What to learn more about the Surrey Neighbouring Faiths Program? Visit our website, watch our documentary, or look through past editions of this newsletter. Want to stay connected? Sign up to receive this monthly newsletter or join our Facebook group. This newsletter contains links to other events and resources in the community. Unless you are receiving this newsletter directly, some of the links may be disabled. To receive this newsletter directly, sign up at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/surreyneighbouringfaiths/. Our Mission Statement is: The Surrey Neighbouring Faiths Program builds community capacity for multifaith learning and dialogue with a focus on children and families. If you have any programming or project ideas that relate to this mission statement, please let me know. We are always open to new ideas! In peace, David Dalley (604) 502-8661 davidanderin@dalley.ca Comforted by how much we share, were able to delight in our differences. - Raffi, from A Covenant for Honouring Children Sfuc poster Pilgrimage poster (in snfp folder)