This year, Liguorian magazine gave me a dream commission — writing four articles on diverse aspects of peace. We began with an exploration of interfaith peace and ways the Bible embraces the whole world, including people of varying faiths. Next, we ventured into the valley of the shadows of death and terrorism, and saw how the light of God shines even there.
The world came to Toronto this November for the seventh global Parliament of the World's Religions. Founded in 1893 in Chicago, the Parliament is credited with launching the modern formal interfaith dialogue movement. Over 7,400 participants from almost every faith and nation attended. I am honoured to have presented at two workshops.
January 1 is designated World Peace Day by the Catholic church - a fitting day to reflect on the state of world peace, and ways that faith can guide us towards more a peaceful coexistence. It is also timely to reflect on how we can integrate peace more deeply into our souls and lives on New Year’s Day, a day traditionally devoted to personal reflection, renewal and resolutions. But peace in the modern world is not easy, intuitive, or inevitable. There are ways in which it appears to be ever more fragile, and challenging to build.
I've been exploring ways and wisdom for nurturing peace between people from different faiths. If you're interested in learning about, connecting with, or serving with people from other faiths, here are the best resources I've found for doing so (with a North American focus for in-person opportunities, and wider focus for learning materials).
Published by Scarboro Missions in 2014, this directory focuses on organisations promoting interfaith education and encounters in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), Ontario, Canada. A list of international and online resources is also included.
