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IGR Community News
Announcements, Newsletters & Activities
IGR members are connected to many different religious, spiritual, ethnic, and cultural groups, and love to share what’s happening in their communities. Check out our new Community News section to see events and activities shared by IGR members!
Please note that while all events and activities posted on the Community Events blog are submitted by Interfaith Grand River members, they are not necessarily endorsed, supported by, or vetted by Interfaith Grand River as an organization.
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Interfaith at the American Academy of Religion
By Jeff Wilson In November I went to Boston to attend the annual combined meeting of the American Academy of Religion and the Society for Biblical Literature. Together they constitute the largest gathering of Religious Studies scholars in the world, with more than 10,000 professors and researchers meeting to present papers, learn about developments in our subfields, and catch up with colleagues. It’s a heady time, with scholars studying every kind of religion
Dec 15, 2025
Thinking in Lyrics (November)
by Jan Hansen I often find myself thinking in song lyrics. This is one in a series of short articles about some songs and a few of the thoughts that they prompt in me. None of these songs were written for a faith-based setting, but all of them have some elements that relate to faith, philosophy, or world view. This is Me (Words and Music by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, from The Greatest Showman) This song is about people who are very conscious that they stand on the margin
Nov 19, 2025
Censorship and Free Speech
by John McLaughlin Is censorship, or “cancelling” people whose views do not align with our own the most constructive responses to speech or writings we find objectionable, or should they be tolerated under the banner of free speech? How can we resolve this conundrum? The Baha’i Teachings do not support suppression of ideas or perspectives through censorship, but at the same time strongly condemn speech that attacks any member or group within the human family. The Baha’i Teach
Nov 15, 2025
Religion Trivia
by Jeff Wilson On Saturday, November 8, the University of Waterloo held its Open House for prospective students. Since I’m the Associate Chair, Undergraduate for the Department of Religious Studies, I was on hand to staff our table. Because we were surrounded by all the other programs in the Faculty of Arts, I had to think about what I would do to make us stand out. So I created a simple game. I used an over-sized foam die, a cardboard box, and a small folding table. Visitors
Nov 15, 2025
Sharing Our Deep Thoughts
By Jan Hansen Do we talk enough about what is important to us? I have just filmed the 36th episode of an interfaith podcast on YouTube. In it, a guest sits with our host for a fifteen minute to half hour conversation. Questions include “What is most important to you about your faith?” “How does your faith impact your life?” and “Have there been times when you have struggled with your faith, or when your faith supported you through a struggle?”. We have spoken with bishops (wh
Nov 15, 2025
Reflections on War and Violence – “Let Us Beat Swords Into Ploughshares”
by John McLaughlin Let Us Beat Swords Into Ploughshares As I share these thoughts, it seems appropriate as today, September 21, is the International Day of Peace. The theme of the discussion at last month’s IGR meeting was “War and Violence”. By co-incidence our monthly meeting fell on September 11, the anniversary of the horrendous attacks on the World Trade Center towers in New York that killed thousands of people and shocked the world. The effects of this tragedy have ripp
Oct 15, 2025
Thinking in Lyrics (October)
by Jan Hansen I often find myself thinking in song lyrics. This is one in a series of short articles about some songs and a few of the thoughts that they prompt in me. None of these songs were written for a faith-based setting, but all of them have some elements that relate to faith, philosophy, or world view. Beautiful (Gordon Lightfoot) This is a love song directed at a romantic partner, but it takes on a different meaning when one looks at it as a song about a higher pow
Oct 15, 2025
Thinking in Lyrics (September)
by Jan Hansen I often find myself thinking in song lyrics. This is one in a series of short articles about some songs and a few of the...
Sep 18, 2025
Why we fast once a year in Judaism
by Ruth Shushan We follow a lunar calendar when celebrating our Jewish high Holy Days, Sabbaths and holidays. When it is a new moon our...
Sep 18, 2025
Reflection: Season of Creation
by Sandy Milne Each year since the 1990's, Christians around the world have celebrated the gift of Creation in a special way during the...
Sep 8, 2025
Socially Awkward During Post-Service Coffee Time? Talk About IGR!: Some Thoughts About Grassroots IGR Promotion
by Jeff Wilson At the August Interfaith Grand River meeting we had a very productive discussion about branding, elevator...
Aug 26, 2025
Thinking in Lyrics (August)
by Jan Hansen I often find myself thinking in song lyrics. This is one in a series of short articles about some songs and a few of the...
Aug 26, 2025
Observations from Interfaith Grand River at the Multicultural Festival in Kitchener
by Jeff Wilson On June 21-22, IGR staffed a booth at the annual Multicultural Festival. It was hot, occasionally rainy, and lots of fun....
Jul 30, 2025
Reaching Out For Human Contact
by Jan Hansen I was at the Interfaith Grand River booth at the Multicultural Festival when we had a pair of women come to us. One of them...
Jun 26, 2025
Lessons from an Interfaith Street Fair
by Jeff Wilson On a warm and sunny Saturday, May 24, I participated in the Interfaith Pride Street Fair sponsored by Eastminster United...
Jun 26, 2025
Some Thoughts Regarding “Identity” by John McLaughlin
The theme discussed at the March meeting of Interfaith Grand River was “ identity - how our faith identities interact with our other...
Mar 26, 2025
D'var Torah for Interfaith Service at Rockway Mennonite Church
D’var – Theme of Love God (or the Good); Love Your Neighbour Delivered on Feb 2/25 for Interfaith Service at Rockway Mennonite Church...
Feb 20, 2025
Reflection: One Voice
by Jay Moore Interfaith Grand River was the guest host of a regular event organized by the Laurier Wellbeing in Film Forum (LWIFF), a...
Nov 30, 2024
Tour of Waterloo Regional Police Services Headquarters
At our Members’ Meeting held Thursday, 11 July 2024, we addressed how our faith traditions relate to policing and the law in our...
Jul 17, 2024
Interfaith - Why Bother?
By Jay Moore [Reflection presented at Grand River Unitarian Congregation at a special service about Interfaith Dialogue] This is a very...
Apr 16, 2024
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