The Multifaith Library exists to support the work of spiritual and religious
caregivers in their efforts to understand the many faiths represented in our
population. You will find resources on a broad spectrum of faith groups. We have books,
articles, websites, on-line books and a telephone for those who need quick
information or more in-depth research.
All God’s Children in the Month of Ramadan Rev. Dr. Marie M. Fortune, Aug 21, 2010
The following sermon was preached by Rev. Dr. Marie M. Fortune Sunday, August 15, 2010, at Broadview Community United Church of Christ in Seattle. Source
“For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God might and awesome, who is not partial and takes no bribe, who executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and who loves the stranger, providing them food and clothing. You shall also love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt . . .”—Deuteronomy 10: 17-19
Three incidents in the news in recent weeks have been deeply disturbing to me.
The announcement of a plan to burn copies of the Quran, the Muslim sacred text, on 9/11 at a church in Gainesville, FL
The fierce conflict over building a Muslim mosque near Ground Zero in New York
The assertion by Ron Ramsey running for governor of Tennessee that Muslims don’t deserve the protection of the First Amendment... Continue reading
Canada adrift in religious world, James Ron, July 29, 2010,
Extract: " Canada’s mainstream seems almost oblivious to the role of religion in contemporary life. Although Christmas and Easter are widely celebrated, Canadians seem shocked anew each year when told their holidays mark religious events. “These are secular holidays,” many claim; “surely no one actually believes they are celebrating Jesus’s birth and death, do they?”
In the superb graduate program where I now teach, Canada’s finest global affairs students seem virtually illiterate when it comes to their own religion, or to the religions of others. Although they eagerly achieve competence in secular politics, they express little interest in learning the basics of Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism or Judaism.
This is true even when students express keen interest in promoting development and conflict-resolution in places such as Morocco, India, Sri Lanka or Israel. In these (and most other) countries, faith plays a crucial role, and only the most naive secularist would claim otherwise.
Last semester, I taught a course on international human rights, and included a week on the links between rights and faith. To prompt class discussion, I asked a student to present a paper on Jewish theological debates about the rights of non-Jews.
“Imagine you are a UN official tasked with convincing Jewish settlers to improve their relations with Palestinians,” I said. “Instead of referring to international human rights principles, however, draw on resources within the Jewish religious tradition.”
Surprisingly, student reactions ranged from indifference to dismay. “Isn’t this just legitimating religion?” one asked. The others seemed peeved at having to even engage. If this reaction is true for Canada’s finest students, imagine what the rest of secular Canada must be like.
A few weeks ago, my family attended an Ottawa fundraiser for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF). A sign near the picnic stand said the wieners were made of both beef and pork. Startled at this combo, I asked the JDRF volunteers what message they might be sending their Hindu, Jewish and Muslim donors.
They seemed confused; the men and women manning the barbecue had little idea that Hindus often shun beef, or that observant Jews and Muslims avoid pork. When I used the Muslim word for sanctified beef, “halal,” confusion reigned supreme; “I can’t even pronounce that word,” one said, while another argued that Hindus, Muslims or Jews should just focus on the potato chips.
After inquiring with the JDRF’s Ottawa coordinator, I discovered that my inquiry was the first of its kind in their 16-year history. Never before, she said, had her staff been asked to accommodate religiously based diets.
Yet religious custom and belief is all around us." continue reading
Home Depot discriminated against Sikh man, Brendan Kennedy, July 1, 2010,
Home Depot Canada and one of its senior employees discriminated against a Sikh security guard by “selectively enforcing” a hard hat rule and threatening to fire him for not removing his turban, Ontario’s Human Rights Tribunal has ruled.
The company and assistant manager Brian Busch also subjected Deepinder Loomba to “discriminatory treatment in the form of rude and offensive comments and conduct” based on his Sikh religion, tribunal vice-chair Ena Chadha wrote in her decision.
“I am satisfied that the complainant was treated differently because of his turban and that this was negative differential treatment,” Chadha wrote. Continue reading
Quebec says: Be tolerant and obey us, or else, By John Carpay, For The Calgary Herald,
Earlier this month, a Quebec court granted the province's only English-language Catholic boys' school an exemption from the government's Ethics and Religious Culture (ERC) course.
This was a setback for the Quebec government's attempt to impose its religion of relativism on all children, without exception.
The courtroom victor, Loyola High School, describes itself as "a Jesuit, Catholic school that challenges its young men to become intellectually competent, open to growth, religious, loving and committed to doing justice." continue reading.
2010 World Religions Summit, Youth to religious leaders: ‘Set higher expectations’ By: Marites N. Sison
Anglican Journal, June 23, 2010
Inter-faith youth delegates to the 2010 World Religions Summit today urged religious leaders to promote “multi-faith religious education” to equip young people with “tools of non-violence and peace.”
The proposal stirred different reactions from religious leaders here. Some said multi-faith dialogues and events in a university setting would foster understanding and respect between religions. Others said strict laws separating church and state would make such an education unfeasible in a school setting...
Pandit Roopnauth Sharma, president of the Federation of Hindu Temples of Canada, asked the youth: “How typical are you in your generation? Are you a voice in the wilderness or are you giving voice to your generation?”
To which, Zak Rosentzveig, from Montreal, replied, “I know a lot of people like me.” He added that the number of young people who care about the burning issues of the day is bigger than it’s portrayed to be. But he acknowledged that many are disenchanted with institutions, including religious institutions. “Disenchantment is not apathy,” he said. continue reading
Multifaith Council of Northwest Ohio co-founder feted as inspiration on his 90th birthday party, June 21, 2010
More than 50 people from different faiths and backgrounds gathered at First Unitarian Church Sunday to sing a rousing "Happy Birthday" to Woody Trautman at his 90th birthday party. Mr. Trautman, a retired electrical engineer, is the co-founder of the Multifaith Council of Northwest Ohio, with his wife, Judy Lee Trautman. continue reading
Tradition comes alive for Aboriginal Day celebration
By Mark Brett - Penticton Western News, June 22, 2010
A colourful celebration of season and culture was the order of business on the Penticton Indian Reserve Monday.
Dressed in traditional costumes, First Nations dancers and drummers, along with many others, enjoyed National Aboriginal Day ceremonies coinciding with the summer solstice.continue reading
The Amazing Technicolor Multifaith Theology School, Albert Mohler, Jun 14, 2010, Crosswalk.com
The leftward march of liberal Protestantism is hardly news, but on occasion a development arises that serves as something of a parable of that trajectory. Such is the case this week with news from California that the Claremont School of Theology, a school historically related to the United Methodist Church, is transforming itself into a multifaith center for the training of clergy.
In a press conference held on June 9, leaders of the school formally announced the "University Project," which will involve the addition of programs to train Muslim imams and Jewish rabbis. Programs to train Buddhist and Hindu religious leaders are to be added in the future. continue reading
THE UNIVERSITY PROJECT AT CLAREMONT SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY:
"We envision a model of theological education in which students are educated rigorously and intensively in their own religious traditions and in contact with the other religious traditions that are thriving throughout our society. We aim to instill our students with a strong sense of their own religious identities and the integrity of the religious traditions that they represent, while simultaneously teaching them to recognize the legitimacy and integrity of the other religious traditions which they will encounter at Claremont and the world beyond."
Lawyers battle over definition of religion, Charles Lewis, National Post · Thursday, Jun. 17, 2010
"A strong selling point of the Church of the Universe is the use of marijuana as a sacrament -- so assuming someone is inclined to indulge, the church is a godsend. That link to the divine, however, did not stop police three years ago from charging two of the brethren with possession of marijuana for the purpose of trafficking. Now the case, which began in April, is in one of the more unusual phases to ever take place in a Canadian court room: A debate over what exactly constitutes a religion and even whether such a definition is even possible..."
“She studied major and minor religions and created a list of 10 common denominators that she said all faiths had: a supernatural dimension, whether it be God, gods, ghosts or spirits, or an ultimate experience; a way to help people to live with such paradoxes as life and death, good and evil, and order and disorder; a source of authority from a scripture or ancestral teachings or a magisterial structure like the Catholic Church; a system of symbols; sacred times, such as holy days, and sacred places, such as temples or pilgrimage routes; a series of repeatable rituals; an ethical system and taboos; a comprehensive way of life; the ability to sustain a group, not just individuals; and an identity or tradition that can be passed from one generation to the next.” continue reading
Interfaith religious leaders band together against Comedy Central’s Jesus cartoon, The Coalition Against Religious Bigotry
"Faith groups of different religions banded together recently to protest plans by Comedy Central to release an animated cartoon about Jesus Christ. In the cartoon, Jesus is just a guy living in New York who wants to live a normal life. The Coalition Against Religious Bigotry, a television watchdog group, is comprised of Media Research Centre president Brent Bozell, Family Research Council president Tony Perkins, talk radio host Michael Medved, Catholic League president Bill Donohue, Rabbi Daniel Lapin of the American Alliance of Jews and Christians and Parents Television Council president Tim Winter." Continue reading
Investors Demanding Social Justice, By CLYDE HABERMAN, NYTimes.com, June 3, 2010
"As instances of business malefaction pile up — Enron, Madoff, Goldman Sachs, A.I.G., Toyota, BP, and we’re just clearing our throats with that lineup — the concept of corporate responsibility has acquired the sour air of an oxymoron for many people. Laura Berry is not one of them.
Ms. Berry is the executive director of an organization that bears that very idea in its name: the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility. It doesn’t accept that doing good and doing well have to be mutually exclusive at American companies, recent experience notwithstanding. If ever the corporate world could use a healthy infusion of responsibility, this would seem to be the time." Continue reading
Death of Rev. Rod Carter[Rod was the Director Restorative Justice Program, Queen 's University: School of Religion]
During the course of his life, Rod had enjoyed a diversity of personal and professional experiences. After serving a period of incarceration in Kingston Penitentiary, Rod had proudly earned a federal pardon and worked passionately to improve the lives of others. He worked both in the military and as a teacher before experiencing a call to ministry in The United Church of Canada in 1984, and was immediately appointed to serve several Aboriginal communities in Alberta. In 1990, Rod began his career with Correctional Service of Canada as a Chaplain at Joyceville Institution before being appointed as Regional Chaplain of the Ontario Region. In 2000, Rod was seconded to Queen's Theological College where, as Director of the Restorative Justice Program from 2000 to 2010, he pioneered the establishment of an internationally recognized post-secondary program that subsequently trained hundreds of people from across the world. His work had earned him many accolades over the course of his career, including most recently an Alumni Achievement Award from Queen's Theological College in 2009. Rod was predeceased by his son Jeff in 1999 and his wife Sally in 2008.
My heart bleeds, my soul is torn, By Rod Carter
EXTRACT: "Some churches have tried to endow suffering with some form of spiritual credibility that can help lead to redemption and character development. I feel that's theological garbage, a spiritual surtax paid in blood and justified through distorted atonement theories. There's no glorification for one in death valley, it's pure agonization.
Oh, I know about St. Paul singing in his chains, of jails and shipwrecks; but I've always questioned his mental state. I can deal with asceticism, but not mortification. I believe in organ donation, but not jumping in front of a bus for someone else. Maybe that's my "sense of sacrifice failure point." continue reading
Multi-faith groups decry conflict and ‘costly militarism’ By Grant Granger - Abbotsford News
It is with regret that we inform you that Rev. Carl Tuyl, former Executive Director of OMC, passed away on May 5, 2010.
Sign the Guest Book for Carl Dirk Tuyl
- VISITATION – at the home of daughter Dian Hofstra, Sunday, May 9, 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm, 24 Lionel Heights Cr., Toronto -- Driving direction
- FUNERAL SERVICE – Monday, May 10, 1:00 pm, 1 st Christian Reformed Church of Toronto, 67 Taunton Rd., Toronto (parking very limited; extra parking in municipal parking lot on Mount Pleasant Rd.) Driving directions ***
- IN LIEU OF FLOWERS – donations may be made to CRC CHAPLAINCY DEVELOPMENT FUND, Christian Reformed Church, 3475 Mainway, Burlington, Ontario, P.O. Box 5070, Stn. LCD1, Burlington, Ontario, L7R 3Y8.
The funeral notice will be in the Toronto Star, today (click here) and tomorrow.
*** The nearest main intersection is Eglinton Avenue East and Mount Pleasant Road. Taunton Road is located one block east of Mount Pleasant Road, just south of Eglinton Avenue East. Taunton Road is only one block long, going in between Eglinton and Soudan. [www.firstcrctoronto.org]
More People Choosing Kosher for Health, By KAREN BARROW, NYTimes.com,
Is kosher food safer and healthier food?
An ancient diet has become one of the hottest new food trends.
A growing number of supermarket shoppers are going kosher — not for religious reasons, but because they are convinced the foods are safer and better for health.
Kosher foods, which must meet a number of dietary and processing rules to comply with traditional Jewish law, are the fastest growing ethnic cuisine, reports the market research firm Mintel. Sales of kosher foods reached $12.5 billion in 2008, an increase of 64 percent since 2003.... Muslims and Seventh Day Adventists, who also follow strict diets, also are regular buyers of kosher foods. continue reading
The Seventh Annual Abraham Festival, Earth Week, on April 18, 2010 @ Peterborough, ON. Our theme is 'One planet, united in faith' and we are
partnering with 'Greening Sacred Spaces' this year.
www.abrahamfestival.org
Event details are also here and here
Breaking Down Barriers: a Multi-Faith Guide to Accessibility in Places of Worship
"This resource was developed by Reena in partnership with champions of accessibility for people with disabilities. This Guide outlines a step-by-step process for making your place of worship accessible to people with disabilities, based on the Accessibility Standards for Customer Service, Ontario Regulation 429/07. Although some specifics may not apply, the principles outlined in this guide are useful no matter which province (or state) you live in..". Click here to see the full Guide or here
Restorative Justice in Prisons - by Chaplain Pierre Allard
Watch the Video --three part interview (read the description)
[Pierre is the Former Chaplain General and Assistant Commissioner of Corrections in Canada, more about his Just.Equipping is here]
World Religion Day Janaury 17, 2010:
The Durham Region World Religion day Multifaith Committee and Indo-Canadian Cultural Association of Durham Inc. is organizing a World Religion Day celebration in the Town of Ajax. World Region Day is an annual Multifaith celebration in over 90 countries for over 59 years and which is now in its 5th annual celebration in Durham Region. It has been hosted by the cities of Oshawa, Pickering and town of Whitby and this year the committee chose Town of Ajax.
Check the details of the event at the Town of Ajax, ON [invitation and flyer] and for a similar event at North Bay, ON.,
See the pictures
Spiritual care directors need public financing to make Canada healthy
Canwest News Service, January 11th, 2010 An unusually broad coalition of religious and secular leaders has come together to press for the re-instatement of the 12 spiritual care directors who were unceremoniously fired late last year by the Fraser Health Authority.
In the name of providing humanistic support for B.C. patients struggling with grim medical conditions, I hope this multi-spiritual coalition of religious leaders, holistic health advocates and secular politicians succeeds.
While leading-edge medical organizations around the world are providing more spiritual and emotional support for patients — aware of hundreds of studies showing a correlation with greater health — the Fraser Health Authority has turned the opposite direction and wiped out its entire spiritual care team.
The giant Fraser Health Authority, which covers the region from Hope to Burnaby, is behaving as if the spiritual directors are even less important than other health care providers it lamely defines as "non-core." continue reading
Islam Fights Extremism in UK Prisons, 7 January 2010, IslamOnline.net
Religious lectures given by imams to Muslim inmates in British jails are seen by many as the best means to tackle prisoners’ vulnerability to extremism and radicalization.