On an unseasonably warm (22 degrees!) November evening, myself and my partners from ArtsBuild Ontario and Toronto Arts Council set out on a walk across Philadelphia to Christ Church Neighborhood House. This was the first of two trips to explore the ways in which arts groups are thriving within faith buildings and often in collaboration with faith communities.  First stop (with many thanks to the George Cedric Metcalf Charitable Foundation), Philadelphia, guided by Faith & the Common Good's friends and colleagues at Partners for Sacred Places, based in the United States.

Mark your calendars to join us on March 7th, 2018 for The Chemical Valley Project, an innovative documentary-theatre performance telling story of a small Indigenous community smothered by Canada’s petrochemical industry in our own backyard.  It will spark conversations on Canadian environmental policy, treaty rights and Indigenous relations, as well as the current nature of Canadian identity and values.

Where: The Registry Theatre, 122 Frederick St, Kitchener
When: Wednesday, March 7, 2018 at 7:30pm

Join Youth for Water and Green Communities Canada for a four-part webinar series! Learn how to strengthen collaborative initiatives and build positive alliances with Indigenous communities.

Dates: February 7, 2018 - March 21, 2018

Click the link for more information and to register: www.eventbrite.ca/webinar-series-trying-to-get-it-right-tickets-42245268736

Faith & the Common Good recently launched an energy benchmarking program and Toronto Hydro and Enbridge Gas Distribution are assisting us in the City of Toronto. Hamilton, Halton, Peel, and York regions are also participating in this program.

An Ontario 150 Grant Summary

The 2017 Ontario150 Youth Partnership Program was an opportunity for Ontario youth to participate in their communities in ways that would reflect their creativity, cultural expression, diversity, environmental stewardship, entrepreneurship, and civic engagement.

Building a Meditative Garden at Christ the King Catholic Secondary School

The students at Christ the King Secondary School received tremendous support from TD Friends of the Environment, Ontario150, and Greening Sacred Spaces Halton Peel to build a new meditative garden on the property in Georgetown.

Playwright Marcus Youssef, upon accepting this year’s Siminovitch Prize for playwriting, gave a speech that clarified for me why I am interested in the intersection of faith communities with the broader community. Youssef wrote about his interest in points of intersection and the space between people, spoken and unspoken. He wrote about moments of unexpected connection between people, across culture and groups and about learning from these liminal explorations and the richness that comes from these moments.

At Faith & the Common Good, we were fortunate to receive an Ontario 150 grant. It provided the opportunity for youth of different religions and cultural backgrounds, to create 8 native plant gardens in 3 regions this spring; Ottawa, Halton, and Toronto. Toronto FCG chapter chose 3 faith sites: Shaarei Shomayim Congregation, Manor Road United Church, and the International Muslims Organization of Toronto (IMO).