World Interfaith Harmony Week is February 1-7. How will you participate? How about some engaging dialogue, learning & interfaith professional development? Religions for Peace USA and El Hibri Foundation have collected some of the best leaders in interfaith work today and are offering them up in a tempting menu of free webinars. It’s like attending a whole conference in little bits each day for a week. And did we mention it was free? On Friday, Feb. 7 at 3 pm ET Dr. Patrice Bordeur, Director of Research, KAICIID Dialogue Centre will speak with us about Research and Big Data in interfaith movement. Tune in here: http://www.rfpusa.org/the-best-of-interfaith/

Each year, Interfaith salutes outstanding community individuals in the areas of Education, Health, Fine Arts, Youth and Senior Citizens. Recipients demonstrate commitment and dedication in their respective area by volunteering to significantly improve other individuals’ lives and our community.

Please join people of faith from across the San Joaquin Valley at the Fresno’s Valdez Hall for the Fresno/Clovis Prayer Breakfast. This community tradition celebrates our blessings as a community and upholds our public officials in prayer as they carry out their duties. This local event began humbly in the 1940’s when five business men started meeting at a Divisadero Street restaurant for prayer and fellowship. The group has grown to become one of our valley’s largest annual community gatherings, drawing Christians of all backgrounds and elements from the Fresno and Clovis communities. The Fresno/Clovis Prayer Breakfast has spanned the terms of eleven Fresno mayors and has grown to include the Clovis mayors as well. During the 1970’s tenure of Mayor Ted C. Wills, the name was changed from the Fresno Community Prayer Breakfast to the Fresno Mayors’ Prayer Breakfast. And during the mid 1990’s term of Mayor Jim Patterson, the name was changed to the Fresno/Clovis Prayer Breakfast when the community of Clovis was invited to participate.

The 15 events of Interfaith Week began Monday, allowing students to gather for discussions, presentations, films and food. The week is a collaborative effort between UND’s Wellness Center and community and campus organizations. Events including “Lunch with A Muslim,” “Taste of Faith” and “Free Thinkers Dinner” allowed students to learn about faiths and beliefs through food. Panels and discussions invited participants to interact with members of various faiths. In coordination with the Pursuit of Wellness, a month long Wellness Center event that encourages students to participate in events on campus, Interfaith Week covered one of the Seven Dimensions of Wellness. “One of the dimensions of wellness is spiritual,” Assistant Director of Nutrition and Wellness Programs Karina Wittman said. “It’s just more of an awareness, to enhance our multidimensional wellness … to realize what opportunities are out there.” The Wellness Center adopted “It’s All About Conversation, Not Conversion” as its unofficial slogan. The week allows different beliefs, religious or not, an equal opportunity to share their message and background. Wittman says this is important for the campus and Grand Forks community.

“What is Genesis One Really About?” At the Islamic Cultural Center.

INTER-RELIGIOUS DIALOGUE: The Dominican Biblical Institute, Upper Cecil Street, Limerick will offer a Course on Inter-Religious Dialogue for six Tuesday evenings before Lent and for three Tuesdays after Easter. It will begin with a short overview of inter-religious dialogue in the Church to date. This will set the context for how we approach Judaism and Islam – to appreciate them as faiths in the One God and in their likeness and differences in relation to Christian faith.

This month, the Jewish/Muslim Film Series continues at the Noor Cultural Centre with an award-winning Lebanese movie, Where Do We Go Now? which received Ecumenical Special Mention and the Francois Chalais Prize at the Cannes Film Festival (2011), and the People’s Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival (2011). This humourous and insightful film promises to stimulate a dynamic and fruitful discussion of how neighbours from different faith communities can diffuse tensions through various means, when political strife threatens peace and friendship. The value of important initiatives such as the Weekend of Twinning and the Jewish/Muslim Film Series lies in their ability to illuminate the commonality of our struggles, diffracted through the prism of our differences. We hope more and more people from our two diverse communities will join us (admission is free) as we continue to find common ground and to deepen our friendships, thereby enhancing our understanding of and commitment to what it means to be Canadian. Film is a wonderful vehicle for people to start what can be called ‘courageous conversations.’ It is very effective to share a common experience through a film, and then have a frank discussion afterwards. As Jews and Muslims living in Toronto, we constantly encounter the diversity of religious beliefs and practices within our respective traditions, as well as the diversity between them. Such encounters with difference may be deeply challenging and yet profoundly enriching. Watching Arranged together helped bridge schisms across both interfaith and intra-faith divisions – between Jewish and Muslim, conservative and liberal, Orthodox and Reform – to dispel stereotypes by bringing into focus the humanity of those on the other side of the divide.

Conversations in Faith is a series of six sessions, plus a film, to foster understanding and respect among people of faith that will inspire us to work together for peace. These sessions are organised by the Ignatian Spiritual Centre in partnership with the The Bishop’s Committee for Interreligious Dialogue

1 -A cat walk by small kids presenting interfaith harmony 2 -women of wake center (illiterate)present a tableau presenting interfaith harmony 3 -young boys and girls (10-13) speech competition: Together we smile. presenting interfaith harmony 4 - Poetry presentation presenting interfaith harmony

Through Dances of Universal Peace we will celebrate and explore the worldview of Maori, the Indigenous people of Aotearoa, New Zealand, and Earth- based Wisdom from other parts of our beautiful planet. We will explore our origins - finding the gifts from our own ancestors, and also the origins of our world, through Creation Stories and by spending time in Nature, honouring Papatuanuku and Ranginui, Mother Earth and Sky Father, the sacred waters and the trees. This will be a unique opportunity to connect to our Indigenous Soul, which yearns to reclaim its relationship with the natural world. Shafia Mariam is a long-time mentor of the Dances of Universal Peace, initially for many years in the UK. She was called by her Maori ancestors to return to Aotearoa (New Zealand) the land of her birth, where she became immersed in Maori studies, while offering a series of Dance Leadership Trainings. Her desire to offer a bridge between the two cultures led to the creation of many dances springing from the Indigenous Wisdom of the Maori people. She has travelled with these dances to Europe and Australia and found people from many backgrounds with a hunger for reconnection with the earth and their own indigenous soul. Her tribal affiliation is with the South Island iwi (tribe) of Ngai Tahu. Wendy has been journeying with the dances since 1995, and also within the Maori world, beginning with a desire to learn about Maori art forms, and plant medicines, leading her to study on a marae, where she fell in love with the language and the wisdom it contains. Incorporating and reflecting these passions, she creates beautiful art in many mediums, and has created dances, songs and stories of Maori creation. Although not of Maori descent, she has always been drawn to things indigenous and recently discovered her ancestors of African and Native American origin.