VMS is happy to announce that we will collaborate again this year with the Hindu Parishad & Cultural Centre to present the always wonderful multifaith arts devotional, One Spirit: Celebrating our Faiths Together.
This unique event is a joyful celebration of religion and culture through song, music, chant, poetry, dance from many different traditions. The program will begin at 4:00 PM Sunday, 21 September 2025 at 1934 Cultra Ave in Saanichton, followed around 6:00 PM by a vegetarian Indian meal generously provided by The Urban Rebar.
Please register here as soon as possible, or RSVP at victoriamultifaith at gmail.com. Payment is by donation. This is one of our most popular events, so space is limited. We look forward to seeing you there!
VMS is pleased to introduce Claire Grant as the newest addition to the board of the Victoria Multifaith Society, in the Buddhist seat. Claire started practicing mindfulness meditation in the tradition of Venerable Thich Nhat Hanh in 2010 while living in France, and has been practicing and facilitating as Bell Master with the Victoria Mindfulness Community since 2012.
Claire was ordained a member of the Order of Interbeing in 2017 and was given the dharma name Chân Đức Dung meaning True Virtue of Inclusiveness. She has attended many mindfulness retreats in Plum Village, France and has supported her local mindfulness community with retreats and Days of Mindfulness. Claire lives in Victoria with her partner Stephane and has two adult children.
Would you be open to meeting a person from another faith for coffee and conversation, one on one? Just a relaxed conversation with someone new whose beliefs and personal experience you might like to know more about? No pressure, just connection, curiosity, and maybe a new friend. Connection starts with one conversation.
People are encouraged to be open and ask questions, but where the chat goes is totally up to you. No speeches, no proselytizing – just real talk with someone who respects your beliefs.
We will match you up with someone according to the preferences you express on this questionnaire, Google Form, Let’s Talk (Multifaith) We’ll then send you both an introductory email to connect you so that you can follow up with each other to make arrangements for coffee, wherever and whenever you choose.
Let’s Talk — and build a better, closer, safer community one conversation at a time.
This is a personal initiative of a member of the VMS Listening Circles, who collaborated with VMS to create the above multifaith version of the original Let’s Talk Tuesdays at Spinnakers. For those who would also like to participate in that project please follow the link or sign up on Eventbrite. NOTE: These are 2 separate projects, with the project at Spinnakers running 12 to 2 p.m. on select Tuesdays.
On four Tuesday evenings of May and June of this year, around 30 people gathered at Christ Church Cathedral for a series of bi-weekly Listening Circles that brought together people from the Abrahamic faiths (Jewish, Muslim, Christian and Baha’i) to learn, listen and share about the heartrending conflict in Israel/Gaza. Presenters from the Jewish and Muslim communities presented their perspectives, followed by Q&A and mixed discussion groups of 6 to 8. Although questions and conversations were sometimes difficult, participants often expressed gratitude for the opportunity to contribute to the dialogue and to form personal bonds with one another.
We’d like to warmly thank Christ Church Cathedral for providing an incredible venue to bring our communities together; Yasser Yousef of Fig Deli (pictured here with Grace Khalifa) for his support by more than once catering dinners for the entire group; Jennie Keeran of the Christian community for providing refreshments for each of the sessions; and to Hanan Abousaleh, Dahlia Beck, Rabbi Harry Brechner, and Mustafa Abousaleh for their informative and insightful presentations.
This year is a significant anniversary: the 80th Anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the event that motivates us more than any other to seek peace and nuclear disarmament. Join us on the beautiful grounds of Gorge Park Pavilion, 1070 Tillicum Road on the evening of Wednesday, 6 August for a wonderful, free community event for all ages. A donation bottle will be passed for contributions. Please register here for more information, and bring a lawn chair and/or blanket if possible.
When: Wednesday, 6 August 2025
Where: Gorge Park Pavilion, 1070 Tillicum Road
Lantern-making will begin at 6:00 pm indoors on the ground floor of the Pavilion, with all materials provided. The program will begin outdoors at 7:30 pm and end with the launching of the lanterns in the Pavilion reflecting pools at 9 pm. All welcome!
A new series of four Listening Circles will take place in May and June this year: In Search of Common Ground on Palestine-Israel. The series will again be held at Christ Church Cathedral, with speakers, small discussion groups and refreshments. All who participated last year are being invited to return, to deepen our knowledge and the bonds of friendship between our communities.
All are warmly invited to the 2nd in our new series, Spiritual Perspectives on Hot Topics, an opportunity for people of various backgrounds and faiths to come together and discuss complex and/or challenging issues from a faith perspective. “How Will You Measure Your Life?” will take place:
Most of us would say that the most important things in life are our families and relationships. We’d probably also admit that getting it right is more difficult than ever these days. Yet it’s essential to our health and happiness. Clayton Christenson, a professor at Harvard University, regularly spoke to his business students on the importance of relationships, sometimes moving them to tears. Our speaker Richard Rush will share that profoundly helpful philosophy of life with us, followed by discussion in small groups.
The event is free, sponsored by VMS and hosted in the spacious Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints on Quadra St, with thanks in advance for their kind hospitality. Light refreshments will be provided.
The parking lot can be accessed from both Quadra St. and the Spruce Ave. side street.
Do you Have a Strategy for your Life?, TEDx BYU, Karen Dillon. We think of success in terms of work, money and esteem, but our greatest values are around family and relationships.
Women are Not Winning, YouTube interview with British author Louise Perry on some of challenges of modern-day relationships.
The 2025 World Religions Conference was held on 2 February with 225 bravely attending in spite of the weather! Speakers from 8 faiths presented their spiritual teachings on the theme of Healing in a Polarized World. MC Karen Harper commented on the harmony among the diverse beliefs, as each added its unique richness and beauty of the others.
One common theme was love. Adrienne Carter spoke of the Bahá’í teaching, “Let your heart burn with loving-kindness for all who may cross your path.” Rev. Alastair McCollum also spoke eloquently of love as the foundation of all that we are, as well as the very definition of God.
Another widely mentioned teaching was the oneness of the human family. Umran Bhatti, of the host Ahmadiyya community, stated we are all part of the family of Allah, with no race or group superior to any other, all worthy of respect, all called upon to excel in goodness. Sikh elder Gurdeep Singh reminded us that human beings cause division, but God is one and “every being is My creation.”
Elaine Hall spoke of some of the core teachings of Christianity: that we are all children of God and should be peacemakers, since charity is the antidote for contention and anger never persuades. Rabbi Louis Sutker added the truth that diversity exists within unity because all our capacities are needed in different forms and circumstances.
Anneli Driessen explained metaphysical philosophy as the complex interactions of science and spirituality, giving the wisdom and knowledge of a compassionate, honest and respectful existence. Onkar Hans spoke of the ancient beliefs of Hinduism, that ignorance causes polarization, that selfless actions are needed and that forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.
The evening ended with a delicious and plentiful East Indian meal, and a joyful mingling renewing old and forming new relationships. The Ahmadiyya community is warmly thanked for providing this forum for interfaith understanding during these cold and snowy days! A collection of photos from the event is at this link.
This year’s World Religions Conference will take place at 4:30 pm on Sunday February 2nd, in the Gary Oak Room of Saanich Commonwealth Centre. All are welcome to attend this event which is held each year in honour of World Interfaith Harmony Week, the first week of February. A roster of speakers from 8 faiths will present their perspectives on a theme particularly relevant in these challenging times, “Healing in a Polarized World”, followed by an East Indian meal. Thanks to the event sponsors, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, there is no charge. The program and speakers can be found here.
Roughly 30 people attended this year’s AGM, held on 24 November at the Lutheran Church of the Cross, where the VMS Annual Report was presented.
The AGM theme of Faith & Activism was addressed by keynote speaker Hanan Abousaleh. Hanan spoke of her journey this year as a young Muslim woman who became a community organizer of the Palestine solidarity rallies when the October 2023 massacre led a brutal occupation to become an even more brutal war on Gaza.
As the emcee of the rallies for several months, her approach was simple: welcome people to the rally; give an overview of the past week; introduce presenters; lead a march. This has happened every weekend for the past 59 weeks and counting. Hanan is driven by the struggle for human rights. She mentioned some of the abuse and intimidation she and fellow activists have faced, but she remains steadfast in her commitment to the liberation and equality of all people as one family.
Hanan credits her faith for giving her hope and courage through this very long and intense ordeal of reporting each weekend on massacre after massacre. As an example, she cited the teachings inscribed on the sword of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH): “Maintain relations with those who cut you off, speak the truth even if it is against yourself, and be good to one who is evil to you.” The teaching to speak the truth even if it would be to your own detriment moved her to action. She also spoke of the good that has come from several unexpected places on this journey. It was through the welcoming community at various Palestine-related activities that she learned about other important local causes that sparked her compassion and admiration. This diverse community comprising people of all faiths, ethnicities and backgrounds only strengthened her belief in the importance of building connections and finding common ground.
Activism, she now believes, should be treated as a way of life, not just a series of temporary campaigns. She encourages everyone to be curious about the causes of their neighbours, since curiosity is the first step to solidarity.
VMS would like to thank Hanan for her thought-provoking and inspiring presentation. We’re also grateful for the event volunteers, participants, presenters and all those who supported not just the AGM but the many VMS initiatives during the year.
Assisting as presenters of the 2024 Annual Report were Rukhshan Butt (Ahmadiyya community) on the World Religions Conference; Dale Ruttan (LDS Church) on the Interfaith Liaison Network; and Cat Vallance (Bahá’í community of Esquimalt) on the Hiroshima-Nagasaki commemoration. Board members reported on a wide range of activities: see photos and highlights of the year here.
Outgoing board members John Borrows and Henri Lock were warmly thanked for their terms of service to the board since 2019. John Carter and Jeannine Friesen were welcomed as board members in the Indigenous Spirituality and Christian seats respectively.
We’d particularly like to thank Patrick Leon of Tsawout First Nation, a community organizer in his own right who teaches drumming, chanting and dance to young people in his community. Patrick opened the event with a powerful voice and drumming of the “Unity Song”, which set the tone of spiritual strength and solidarity that characterized the event.
