I once studied with a spiritual teacher
who taught that there are essentially only two basic
emotions in the world: Love
and Fear. He taught that every human, at any given time, is either
extending love outward, or calling love to them. He
believed that is what fear, and its offshoot anger,
actually are: a call for love.
The "Occupy" groups which are
springing up around
North America
have been accused of being aimless and without purpose.
"What is it they want?" is a constant refrain
we hear. And yet, despite the constant asking, there is
no definitive response from these by and large peaceful
demonstrators who are hunkered down in our various
cities.
It is my belief that there is no answer
to that question, except that they need and want to be
noticed, paid attention to, to be heard. They are
frightened and they are making a call for love.
We are living in fearful times and I
sense there is a collective angst throughout our
populations which has begun to percolate into a mass
expression.
A while back I was re-watching a film
called "13 Days". The film is set during the
two-week Cuban missile crisis in October of 1962, and it
centers on how President John F. Kennedy, Attorney
General Robert Kennedy, and others handled the explosive
situation.
There is a scene where one of Kennedy's
principal aids, Kenny O'Donnell, is walking past a
church. It is a point in the crisis when the American
public actually believes there is going to be a nuclear
war. The church is full of people with a line-up waiting
to go in.
Today we are not facing an immediate
threat of all-out war. But our way of life is changing
dramatically, and quickly. And this change appears to be
directionless, its only consistency being its
inconsistency, and its principle expression appears as a
rapid erosion of the world we know.
The question that comes to me is how we,
as leaders and followers of diverse faiths, answer this
widespread call for Love. The only answer I can find is
that we respond by extending love in a collective and
peaceful way. As well, are we prepared to engage in
responding, in a unified manner, to the social problems
that surround us?
To a large degree our society has become
predominantly secular. Yet we have also become a
multi-faith society. Historically, as in 1962, when a
population reaches the levels of fear we currently
experience, they begin to seek out spiritual solace, and
hopefully, spiritual solutions and direction. Are we
open to being there, collectively, with those in need
during this time of trepidation and questioning?
Someone who is saying YES to that
question is Rev. Bob McElhinney, a retired
United
Church
minister in
Toronto
with many years experience in congregational and
community based ministry. He contacted me the other day
concerning his current involvement with the Outreach
Committee of Occupy Toronto. They are planning an
Interfaith Gathering for Sunday, Nov. 27. This will be a
family-friendly event, a gathering of
peaceful witness concerning the perceived growing gap in
Toronto
between the few who are very wealthy and the many who
are poor. He is inviting members of all faiths to join him.
This
could be a time for a collective expression of Love in
the presence of fear.
To:
All who would see interfaith peace grow in
North America
Subject: Believing in the power of interfaith
connections
Connections are what the United Religions
Initiative of North America (URI-NA) is all
about. Interfaith ambassadors across
North America
are joining forces in URI Cooperation Circles.
They bring people together to share their
beliefs and discover their common ground and, in
so doing, strengthen the possibility of peace in
local communities.
Cooperation Circles are working to address issues
ranging from education and the environment to
hunger. As each individual brings with them the
teachings of love, responsibility and community
from their respective religion, they strengthen
and reinforce the critical role of these values
for all.
I believe in URI and have decided to support this
global cause with local action. Never before has
our world felt so small, and the need for
building peace through cooperation and
collaboration been greater. Please click
this link to read about Cooperation Circles. The events held in 2010 and 2011 to date have
proven to be incredible catalysts for
heightening the effectiveness of local
initiatives.
Please feel free to contact me if you have any
questions or comments at ardeyt@sbcglobal.net.
Thank you for your support! Warm
regards,
Ardy
Turner
Chair United Religions Initiative in North
America, Inc.
“You are invited to attend our annual special Universal
Worship service, timed to honour and celebrate the
many festive occasions observing Light at this time of
the year, such as Diwali,
Channukah, Christmas, Kwanza
.
Please join us as representatives from the Baha’i, Buddhist, Christian,
First Nations, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim, and Zoroastrian
religions share with us their prayers, poems, songs and
music.
After
the service there will be light refreshments and an
opportunity to meet each other.Come and
participate in one of the most popular events at this
joyous time of the year. All welcome.”
Saturday,
21 January, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm and 6:30 – 9:00 pm
Metropolitan
Community
Church
of
Toronto
&
Dances of Universal Peace
invite
you to an
Aramaic Lord’s Prayer workshop
To
Register:Mail
letter of application containing your name, address,
telephone and e-mail to Qahira Jo Oppenheimer, 115
Simpson Avenue, Toronto, ON M4K 1A1, or leave it at the
MCC Toronto Information Centre, with a cheque for $40*
($20‒under 18
and $30‒over
60) payable to MCCToronto. Work scholarships are
available. For further information e-mail: DUP@MCCToronto.com.
“The
sounds of the Aramaic language, which Jesus spoke, are
rich with ways of knowing the atmosphere within
which 1st century men and women—saints, sinners, rich
and poor, from all walks of life—were welcomed at the
table. The healing ways of Jesus' words are
systematically unveiled in the work of Saadi Neil
Douglas‑Klotz as he opens the door to these
teachings anew, with beauty and renewed hospitality.
This is truly the Good News!
Jalila
Joanne Murray will be coming to
Toronto
to lead this workshop. The beauty and profound message
of the prayer drew her to the Dances of Universal Peace.
She has been leading the Dances in eastern
Ontario
for 18 years.
The
workshop cost includes a vegetarian lunch. The book,
Prayers of the Cosmos, by Saadi Neil
Douglas‑Klotz, will be available for purchase at
the workshop.”
“Occupy Toronto Outreach Committee invites members of all faith
communities to gather with Occupy Toronto on Community
Outreach Day - Sunday November 27 at 1 pm at St. James
Park, Adelaide or King St. E. just east of Church St.
This gathering will be a peaceful witness against the
growing gap in our city between the few who are very
wealthy and the many who are poor. This will be a
family friendly event.
For Information contact:Rev.
Bob McElhinney 416 636 1662 or e-mail at: bobmce2002@yahoo.com”
Our
Peace Meditation group will be meeting on Fridays
beginning in Newmarket
. We welcome anyone who would like
to join us for this evening of meditation, prayer and
community.”
Please
email Erika Allen at erwassif@gmail.com
if you are interested in joining us.”
Noor has pleasure in
inviting you to this year's programs for the Annual
Twinning of Mosques and Synagogues.
Friday,
November 18:
Jum'ah Time: 1:30 pm Location: Noor Cultural Centre Shabbat Time: 6:00 pm - to be confirmed Location: Temple Emanu-El (
120 Old Colony Road East
,
North York
- http://www.templeemanuel.ca/index.php/contact/
Sunday,
November 20:
2011 Women's Multifaith Symposium:
Sharing our History, Building our Future
Time: 9:00 am - 5:00 pm Location:
Multifaith Centre, University of
Toronto
(
569 Spadina Avenue
,
Toronto
,
ON
) Admission:
$20 (registration required)
Location:
Don Heights Unitarian Congregation,
18 Wynford Drive, Suite 102
,
Toronto
,
416-444-8839 Date:
first Monday of the month
Time: 7:00pm to 8:30pm
Topics:PowerNovember
7,WomanDecember
5 Contact:
Reverend Michelle Singh, Interfaith Minister,
michelle_singh@rogers.com
“This multi-faith Spiritual Dialogue Circle is
committed to bringing diverse people together for
conversation, prayer, sacred music and meditation. In
this Circle, participants are invited to share readings
and experience from their own spiritual traditions. We
encourage everyone to share their personal inner wisdom
connecting spiritual practice and everyday life.
Ultimately, our goal is to foster peace within ourselves
and our world. This is a safe and open community in
which everyone is welcome to explore, grow and be
supported.”
sponsored
by the Institute of Traditional Medicine and the U of
Toronto Faculty of Social Work's Interprofessional
Certificate in Applied Mindfulness Meditation
November
26 & 27, 2011 (9am - 5pm each day)
Training
Fee: $325
or
early registration: $250 if paid by Nov. 1, 2011
553 Queen Street West (2nd floor)
limited
spaces, please call to register: (416) 537-0928
(Participants
must commit to attending the entire weekend)
“This
is a two-day weekend training with Vinny Ferraro
(training director of the Mind Body Awareness Project)
for educators, parents, social workers, probation
officers and other youth service providers who are
interested in integrating mindfulness and emotional
awareness techniques into their work with at-risk
youth.
MBA
Training Director Vinny Ferraro is a long-time
mindfulness meditation practitioner, meditation
instructor and a nationally recognized pioneer in
bringing contemplative practice and emotional
awareness programming to at-risk, gang-involved and
incarcerated youth and the community of providers that
serve them.”
When: Nov. 10th and
11th, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., and Nov. 12th, 9 a.m. to
4:00
p.m. (Please note that this is a NON-RESIDENTIAL
retreat.) When: Nov. 10th and
11th, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., and Nov. 12th, 9 a.m. to 4:00
p.m. (Please note that this is a NON-RESIDENTIAL
retreat.)
Facillitated
by Ayya Medhanandi
Sponsored by Spring
Rain Sangha
Where: The Society of Friends (Quakers) House at 60
Lowther Ave. (corner of Bedford and Lowther, 2 blocks
north of Bedford exit of St. George Station), Toronto,
ON
Cost: $60. A donation (Dana) to help support the
Buddhist nuns at the Sati Saraniya Hermitage would
also be greatly appreciated.
Registration: Pre-registration is necessary.
Application forms can be found in the
"Retreats" section ofwww.springrainsangha.com Contact: For more information, please contact us at
multi-dayretreats@springrainsangha.com
“After 19 years as a Buddhist nun, Ayya Medhanandi received bhikkhuni
ordination in
Taiwan
, and then returned to
Canada
to found the Sati Saraniya Hermitage, the first
Canadian Theravada Buddhist monastic residence for
bhikkhunis (fully ordained women). She is currently
the abbess of this hermitage near
Perth
,
Ontario
.
This retreat will include meditation instruction, group chants and
devotional practice, and a pot-luck meal for the
traditional monastic alms-giving.”
On
the International Day for the Elimination of Violence
against Women
Join
us for an evening to:
·Celebrate
women and mothers
·Explore
the relationships among maternal health, gender
equality, violence
against women, and HIV/AIDS
·Raise
funds to benefit two projects managed by IDRF in
Zambia
and
Zimbabwe
that prevent the transmission of HIV/AIDS from
mother to child
·Keynote
Speaker: Louise Binder
·Entertainment:
Nhapitapi Mbira (Traditional Zimbabwean Music Live!)
CLICK
HERE to buy tickets
and mark as "COMMEMORATE AND CELEBRATE" in
Comments Box
If
you are unable to attend, please consider supporting the
projects in
Zambia
and
Zimbabwe
by making a small donation online, marked as "FAM
Campaign".
November 24 – Presentation to Surrey’s
Social Planning Advisory Committee
The Surrey Neighbouring
Faiths Program will be presenting the documentary and
Toolkit to
Surrey
’s Social
Planning Advisory Committee on November 24. It is
great privilege to be able to share the project with
this important municipal committee. Wish us luck!
December 3 – Human Book Event at City Centre
Library
Visit the City Centre
Library in
Surrey
on December 3, 2011 for the launch of the “human
books” program. A number of speakers from the
Surrey Neighbouring Faiths Program will be on hand to
discuss perspectives on religious diversity in our
community. For more information please contact David
Dalley or look over some of the media
coverage on the event. We hope to see you there!
February 4, 2012 – Workshop at Children the
Heart of the Matter Conference
The Surrey Neighbouring
Faiths Program will be presenting a workshop to early
childhood educators at the “Children the Heart of the
Matter” conference in
Surrey
. Visit the website
for more information and to register.
May 10-11, 2012 – 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
“ENGAGING THE OTHER”
CONFERENCE The
Power of Compassion
“WHEN: Friday-Sunday,
December 2-4, 2011 WHERE:
Santa Clara
University
,
Santa Clara
. At a time when
polarization is the true culprit, a multi-cultural,
multi-disciplinary conference addressing fear-based
belief systems, negative stereotypes, polarization,
enemy images, scapegoating, and artificial barriers of
distrust that divide us. Co-sponsored by:Common
Bond Institute (CBI); International Humanistic
Psychology Association (IHPA);
Santa Clara
University
; Pacifica Institute. Information at http://cbiworld.org/”
“The
International Symposia for Contemplative Studies will
bring together academics and other interested attendees
for presentation, discussion, and collaborative
networking in the emerging field of contemplative
studies, which includes contemplative basic science,
contemplative clinical science, contemplative philosophy
and humanities, contemplative education, and those
domains of contemplative practice that relate to and
interact with these fields of research and
scholarship.”
We
are very pleased to welcome and introduce our new
interns. Jonathan
Oskins will serve as Communications Intern. Skyler
Oberst will be the Membership Intern. Both
will serve from now through the 2012 Connect in
Atlanta
. [Mark your calendars for July 15-18(19) for
NAINConnect 2012.] We are so fortunate to have
these highly qualified interns.
We
had an impressive field of applications to choose from.
Some of the other applicants have agreed to help us with
committee work.
Jonathan
Oskinsis
the 2011-2012Communications
Internfor
NAIN. He is a Graduate student currently pursuing an
M.A. in Interreligious Studies in the first incoming
class at
Claremont
Lincoln
University
. He is currently a Board Member of the Academy of
Judaic, Islamic and Christian Studies.
Skyler Oberst, the 2011-2012Membershhip
Intern,is
a senior, pursuing dual degrees in philosophy and
anthropology with an emphasis in religious studies at
Eastern
Washington
University
.
In
a world beleaguered with poverty and violence, an
emerging interfaith movement offers opportunities to become
friends with ‘the other’ safely, a first step in
peacemaking. The whole human family is showing up in
neighborhoods in countries everywhere, thanks to
airliners, the internet, videocams, and so much more.
This new diversity can terrify or delight us but will
not go away. The strategic question – whether to
choose ‘fight or flight,’ or, as those in the
interfaith movement would suggest, to reach out.
In
spite of the daily news, the great good news is that
people everywhere, in fact, are reaching out. A thousand
interreligious flowers and more are blooming across the
globe. No one organized, planned or even predicted this
surging proliferation of activity. It seems to be a
natural human response when the races, religions, and
cultures of the world interact freely with one another,
face-to-face, on a daily basis.
The
very spontaneity of this development in world religion
means most of us involved don’t know the bigger
picture, haven’t yet connected with brothers and
sisters working on the same issues elsewhere. Amazing
stories wait to be told, and multiplying resources
deserve promotion. TIO aims to connect the dots.
On September 15, 2011, a group of seasoned
interfaith activists and young adult leaders who care
about these matters launched The Interfaith Observer,
casually known as TIO. It is a monthly e-journal telling
new stories, exploring new issues, identifying exemplary
resources, and connecting us to each other. TIO will
look for the big picture while providing hundreds of
links to particular opportunities. For more details
about TIO, click this link.
WOMEN,
SPIRITUALITY, AND TRANSFORMATIVE LEADERSHIP: WHERE GRACE
MEETS POWER
AUTHORS:
Kathe Schaaf, Kay Lindahl, Kathleen
S. Hurty
Publication Date: November 18, 2011
"The
world is in crisis and it seems that many are looking to
women to heal the planet and our human family. Before
women can step into our full potential as leaders and
guides in this moment, we must individually reconnect with
our deepest wisdom and with our spiritual roots;
collectively heal the many dimensions of separation that
keep us fragmented and ineffective as agents of social
change; and globally reclaim our rightful place as
spiritual leaders in service of a balanced and
compassionate new paradigm.
This empowering resource engages women in an interactive
exploration of the challenges and opportunities on the
frontier of women's spiritual leadership. Through the
voices of North American women representing a matrix of
diversity--ethnically, spiritually, religiously,
generationally and geographically--this book will inspire
women to new expressions of their own personal leadership
and invite them into powerful collaborative
action."
Topics
include:
* How do our spiritual values inform us about living with
the challenges and blessings of diversity?
* How do we stand for the greatness of each other?
* How do we catalyze our collective transformational power
as women of spirit and faith?
"This
is a truly 21st century story that focuses on a new set
of movements for social change that are bringing
together young people across lines of faith for the work
they can do on behalf of all of us.
(Ruth
Messinger President, American Jewish World Service
)
With the
publication of their breathtakingly comprehensive and
creative profile of the emergent interfaith youth
movement, Patrice Brodeur and Eboo Patel have both
disclosed and helped to create an increasingly coherent
social force that exemplifies what Brodeur calls
"the global"--the unfolding of global dynamics
in local communities. This volume, glistening with new
ideas and energies, gathers one innovative voice after
another--27 in all--to provide vivid testimony to the
progress and potential of various initiatives that can
eventually produce a truly transnational youth movement.
The world will be the better for the empowerment of
religiously alert, tolerant young people who welcome
diversity and pluralism as an opportunity rather than a
threat.
"Peacebuilding
is both an art and a spiritual journey.
Let
It Begin With Me does more than highlight the efforts
of a diverse group of visionaries. It inspires each of
us as readers to truly 'be the change' we wish to see in
the world."
---James Twyman, author and peace troubadour, www.jamestwyman.com
"The
peace movement has come a long way since the "make
love, not war" mantra of the 1960s. No longer are
activists solely focused on the end of violence. A new
consciousness is taking hold that realizes the power and
potential of creating a new vision of peace, allowing it
to express in our world. People are living true to this
vision, and a new peace paradigm is growing. Let It Begin With Me features 21 interviews from
Unity Online Radio's Leading Edge series hosted
by Mindy Audlin. Each interview, with best-selling
authors, speakers and visionaries, explores the
possibility of peace from a different perspective. Gain
inspiring ideas for your own spiritual practice, create
your own definition of peace, and discover ways to make
a real difference in your community and in the world. Mindy Audlin, licensed Unity teacher, is the
author of What If It All Goes Right? Creating a New
World of Peace, Prosperity and Possibility and the
founder of Network On Purpose, a business community for
people with purpose. For more information visit www.mindyaudlin.com"
NEW
RESOURCE - THE POWER OF A BROKEN-OPEN HEART: LIFE
AFFIRMING WISDOM FROM THE DYING
“Julie
Interrante, MA, is founder of The Compassionate Arts
Project and has been serving as a chaplain in acute care
and home hospice care settings for more than twenty
years. Building on her decades of work in healthcare
settings, in her latest book, Interrante weaves together
illuminating insights on the importance of embracing
pain.”
"What if life, beneath
the surface, were composed of a series of transitions
with the potential to break open our hearts? And what if
our broken-open hearts could ease our approach to
living?"
To read more
about this book, and other projects from the The
Compassionate Arts Project,
visit Julie's website>>
GOLDEN
RULE
LESSON
PLAN & ART
EXERCISE
FOR
SCHOOLS AND YOUTH GROUPS
What would the world be like if every
person on the planet lived according to the Golden
Rule?
Dear interfaith allies:
“In
this newly-published art exercise and lesson plan, young
people are invited to envision a world in which every
person lives according to the golden rule. Next, they
are asked to depict what they have imagined or
envisioned by creating a piece of art.
Accordingly,
character education is engendered in young people
using the methods of play, fun, creativity and the arts.
We
at Scarboro Missions have found this exercise to be very
helpful in supporting young people to imagine and create
a world characterized by cooperation, social justice,
non-violence and a sustainable physical environment.
This
exercise can easily be adapted to address the Green
Rule: What would the world be like if every person on
the planet made a special effort to protect
and care for the environment? For more information
on this greening exercise, see the art exercise/lesson
plan.
If
appropriate, please forward to educators, youth workers
and interfaith leaders in your network of colleagues.
Please feel free to post a link to your website.
The
exercise is also available in Word -- this format makes
for a much cleaner and crisper print copy when dowloaded.
For your convenience, the lesson plan is also available
in pdf format.
Geared
to both schools and youth groups, this exercise can be
viewed or downloaded free of charge by clicking this
link:
The Multifaith Action Society
is pleased to present the new 2012 MultifaithCalendar
- Heart and Soul, available directly through MAS as well
as through our distributors across north America.
Available
in both printed and electronic versions, the MFC is the
leading source of complete and accurate dates, times,
and descriptions for 370 + observances and events
(including over 180 religious and cultural occasions
from 14 world religions).
Visit
the Multifaith Calendar
website for more information as well as
a chance to win a complimentary 2012 Calendar!
"It was on Oct. 8, 1971,
that Pierre Trudeau announced the policy of
multiculturalism. Saturday was its 40th anniversary.
Being Canadians, we did not celebrate.
Yet
an overwhelming majority of Canadians are quietly proud
of it and view it as a defining feature of
Canada
.
The policy has not been free of
controversy. Right-wingers keep sniping at it. Periods
of economic insecurity and fear of terrorism produce a
backlash against it. But such phases prove
“transient,” says Barry Watson of Environics
Research Group. With each passing year, more Canadians
approve of multiculturalism. Tellingly, the
Canadian-born and the foreign-born endorse it equally.
They also overwhelmingly approve of immigration and only
9 per cent want
Canada
to bar non-whites. …
… Support for multiculturalism
now crosses ideological lines.
While French President Nicolas
Sarkozy, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and British
Prime Minister David Cameron pronounced multiculturalism
dead, no serious national politician in
Canada
dare suggests it. …
…There are also positive
reasons for the endurance of the policy, rooted as it is
in our history.
The 1867 British North America
Act recognized aboriginal peoples, English-speaking
Protestants and French-speaking Catholics on the basis
of race, language and religion. The DNA of BNA (
British North America
act) was pluralism. …”
“Freedom of
conscience and religion” is the first of
the fundamental freedoms spelled out in the Canadian
Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Before freedom of
opinion, assembly and association comes religion. So
what could be wrong with
Ottawa
setting up an office specifically designed to promote it
around the world?[Read
more ...]
NCC AND A WIDE ARRAY OF INTERFAITH RELIGIOUS GROUPS URGE EMPLOYMENT
OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES
NCC News Service, September 23,
2011
The
employment of persons with disabilities is a
"central focus" of ecumenical and interfaith
religious groups, and the National Council of Churches
today urged advocates to renew their energies to support
the right of all Americans to work.[Read
more ...]
URI'S "INTOLERANCE ENDS WITH
ME" CAMPAIGN EXTENDED
United
Religions Initiative,
San Francisco
, October 5, 2011
On September 1, 2011, United
Religions Initiative invited people around
the world to sign a pledge
to take action against intolerance in their communities.
With responses still coming in from more than 50
countries, URI is extending the campaign until November
16, the International Day for Tolerance. The pledge
site provides a list of suggested actions people can
take to build trust among different groups in their
communities and speak out against bigotry.
Kim Lawton, Religion & Ethics
Newsweekly, September 23, 2011
Nestled in the hills between Tel Aviv and
Jerusalem
is a small village called the Oasis of Peace—in
Hebrew, Neve
Shalom, and in Arabic, Wahat
al-Salam. While the Middle East conflict continues
to churn all around, here they are trying to create a
different reality, one that says Israelis and Arabs can
live side-by-side in peace…
The
festival is the first of its kind, according to
organizers. The
Philadelphia Interfaith Children and Youth Festival (PICYF)
returned for a second year to theNew Covenant Churchcampus
last weekend for a two-day celebration of many diverse
faith traditions… The theme
was "Choosing Hope." Hundreds of people turned
out to eat food, listen to music, and have fun while
learning about a variety of faith traditions…[Read
more…]
After a year of reflection
and renewal, the Interfaith Center on Corporate
Responsibility (ICCR) will be celebrating its 40th
anniversary with a capstone event titled "Taking
Stock: Shaping a New Age in Corporate
Responsibility" this Thursday, 9/22, at its annual
event at Bridgewaters at the South Street Seaport in
NYC. ICCR first formed in 1971 as a faith-based
shareholder coalition in opposition to the racist policy
of apartheid in
South Africa
. Faith organizations with investments via pension and
mission funds chose to exercise their voice as
shareholders to protest major
U.S.
corporations doing business in
South Africa
. As a result, ICCR is credited as a pioneer in
shareholder advocacy and for helping to found the
broader movement of corporate responsibility. [Read
more…]
INTERFAITH OCCUPY WALL STREET
PROTESTERS MARCH GOLDEN CALF AROUND
ZUCCOTTI SQUARE
Helen Kennedy,
New York
Daily News, October 10, 2011
In
an inspired bit of theater, the Occupy Wall Street protesters on Sunday
paraded a shiny effigy of the Biblical Golden Calf
modeled after the iconic Bowling Green bull statue… "It's a
false idol, just as much as the Wall
Street bull has been a false idol for so
many of us for so long," said protester Ed
Needham… The golden calf, labeled Greed,
was marched around Zuccotti Square on Day 23 of the
Occupy Wall Street protest by a group of clergy who then
held an interfaith prayer session. [Read
More…]
In
spite of illness, in spite even of the archenemy of
sorrow, one can remain alive long past the usual date of
disintegration if one is unafraid of change, insatiable
in intellectual curiousity, interested in big things,
and happy in small ways.
Edith
Wharton
He
who learns the rules of wisdom without conforming them
to his life
is
like a man who ploughs in his field but does not sow.
Cooperation Circles are working to address issues
ranging from education and the environment to
hunger. As each individual brings with them the
teachings of love, responsibility and community
from their respective religion, they strengthen
and reinforce the critical role of these values
for all.
which 1st century men and women—saints, sinners, rich
and poor, from all walks of life—were welcomed at the
table. The healing ways of Jesus' words are
systematically unveiled in the work of Saadi Neil
Douglas‑Klotz as he opens the door to these
teachings anew, with beauty and renewed hospitality.
This is truly the Good News!
PEACE
MEDITATION GROUP 
Date:
first Monday of the month
sponsored
by the Institute of Traditional Medicine and the U of
Toronto Faculty of Social Work's Interprofessional
Certificate in Applied Mindfulness Meditation
Facillitated
by Ayya Medhanandi
The
Power of Compassion
April
26-29, 2012 | Hyatt Regency, 
become
friends with ‘the other’ safely, a first step in
peacemaking. The whole human family is showing up in
neighborhoods in countries everywhere, thanks to
airliners, the internet, videocams, and so much more.
This new diversity can terrify or delight us but will
not go away. The strategic question – whether to
choose ‘fight or flight,’ or, as those in the
interfaith movement would suggest, to reach out.
"The
world is in crisis and it seems that many are looking to
women to heal the planet and our human family. Before
women can step into our full potential as leaders and
guides in this moment, we must individually reconnect with
our deepest wisdom and with our spiritual roots;
collectively heal the many dimensions of separation that
keep us fragmented and ineffective as agents of social
change; and globally reclaim our rightful place as
spiritual leaders in service of a balanced and
compassionate new paradigm.
"The
peace movement has come a long way since the "make
love, not war" mantra of the 1960s. No longer are
activists solely focused on the end of violence. A new
consciousness is taking hold that realizes the power and
potential of creating a new vision of peace, allowing it
to express in our world. People are living true to this
vision, and a new peace paradigm is growing.
“Julie
Interrante, MA, is founder of The Compassionate Arts
Project and has been serving as a chaplain in acute care
and home hospice care settings for more than twenty
years. Building on her decades of work in healthcare
settings, in her latest book, Interrante weaves together
illuminating insights on the importance of embracing
pain.” 
Accordingly,
character education is engendered in young people
using the methods of play, fun, creativity and the arts. 
The Multifaith Action Society
is pleased to present the new 2012 MultifaithCalendar
- Heart and Soul, available directly through MAS as well
as through our distributors across north America.
Yet
an overwhelming majority of Canadians are quietly proud
of it and view it as a defining feature of 
In
an inspired bit of theater, the