Interfaith Partners for Sustainable Communities
Faith & the Common Good (FCG) is a national, interfaith charitable network dedicated to assisting and inspiring religious congregations and spiritual groups of all backgrounds to take collective action in creating more sustainable communities.
Vision
Working together for the common good to build a more resilient and sustainable Canada.
Mission
We harness the power of diverse faith and spiritual groups through education, capacity building, and collective action to build more resilient and sustainable communities.
Strategic Goals
1. Building Capacity via diversity
Goal: Strengthen the resilience of our organization & network by focusing on increasing diversity
2. Harness & Motivate Sustainability
Goal: Catalyze FBOs to practice sustainable ways of being to maintain a life-supporting climate
3. Strengthen Communities
Goal: Increase recognition of FBOs as critical partners in strengthening communities
Overview
Faith & the Common Good (FCG) is a national, interfaith network (charity registration # 82827 6121 RR0001) founded in 2000 on the belief that our diverse faith congregations and spiritual communities can be powerful role models for the common good. Our network is composed of people of faith, hope, and spirit who, despite our differences in theology, dress and culture, share a calling to protect our ecosystem and a passion for community service.
We work with local faith-based, environmental, municipal, Indigenous, and community partners across the country to host a wide variety of practical, educational, and spiritual programs that encourage: faith building energy efficiency; the re-purposing of surplus places of worship; faith sector support for clean energy and active transportation; interfaith climate justice and clean water alliances; and increased support for our climate-vulnerable neighbours.
Greening Sacred Spaces (GSS) is our longest-running program. A practical program accessible to all faith traditions, GSS assists faith communities with both the educational and spiritual dimensions of greening as well as the “how to” side of audits, retrofits, and generally reducing a faith community’s footprint.
On average each year, we work with close to 800 faith communities, from 20 different spiritual traditions, to host hundreds of green events and activities that reach more than 10,000 Canadians. With 1 of 3 Canadians attending worship regularly, we believe that galvanizing faith groups to be neighbourhood sustainability role models is crucial for a greener, healthier, more resilient Canada.
How We Work
Organizationally, we have a lean central staff team and charitable board structure that supports our sustainability work with individual faith communities of all backgrounds. Our board members represent a variety of sectors and faith traditions.
Our regional chapters, lead by both staff and volunteers, have local interfaith advisory committees, made up of volunteers from different faith backgrounds and denominations.
Civic engagement is fundamental to who we are. Our regional team members are housed out of local community organizations. We help connect Canada’s diverse faith groups with the wide variety of local non-profit, municipal and commercial organizations dedicated to a sustainable future.
For information on our history, including the Renewing the Sacred Balance and Greening Sacred Spaces programs, read our history document.
Acknowledgement
Faith & the Common Good is based in the Greater Toronto area, on the traditional lands and homelands of the Huron-Wendat Nation, Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nation, Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation, and Six Nations of the Grand River. Toronto is derived from the Mohawk word Tkaronto, which refers to ‘where there are trees in the water’. The sharing of this territory was codified in the Dish With One Spoon Wampum Belt Covenant, a treaty between the Haudenosaunee, Anishinaabeg, and other allied nations to peaceably share and care for the resources around the Great Lakes. Today, Tkaronto is still home to many First Peoples from across Turtle Island. We are grateful for the opportunity to live, work & worship on this territory.
“Salmon” by Don Skillen, Métis Artist 4. Change.