Interfaith Community Breakfast

1976 ...

A leap year. The year the Summer Olympics were held in Montreal. ​The U.S. Bicentennial. The year 1.2 million Canadian workers staged a one-day strike against wage controls. The year Pol Pot gained control in Cambodia. The year of "Operation Thunderbolt," AKA, the raid on Entebbe. The year the CN Tower opened to the public. The year Apple Computer was founded. The year Viking I landed on Mars. Pierre Trudeau was the Prime Minister. Bill Davis was the Ontario Premier.

And it was the first year that the mayors of the cities of Kitchener and Waterloo, in conjunction with the KW Council of Churches, hosted a Community Prayer Breakfast - held on March 10 at the Kitchener Farmer's Market at 7:44 a.m. (as reported on February 4, 1976, in The Waterloo Chronicle), "To bring together those who are filling an active leadership role in our community, to ask God's guidance in carrying out duties and responsibilities."

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From those beginnings, grounded chiefly in concern for civic leadership and representing mainly (but not exclusively) the Christian tradition, the breakfast came to expand its scope, becoming more and more inclusive, celebrating the region's "many wonderful diversities [of] race, culture, journeys of faith and forms of worship," (quoted from the program for the 25th annual event).

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Over the years, the breakfast has been held at the Kitchener-Waterloo Hospital Auditorium, Kitchener Farmer's Market, Waterloo Inn, Bingeman's Centre, and even (during COVID) online.

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Originally organized under the direction of the municipalities, in 2009 responsibility for the event was transferred from the cities to Interfaith Grand River, though its organizing committee has continued to consist primarily of volunteers from throughout the community.

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In 2015 - the 40th anniversary of the breakfast - the name of the event was changed to reflect its more inclusive nature and purposes, becoming the "Interfaith Community Breakfast." The 2020 program described it as "an opportunity to celebrate and affirm our shared commitment to the richness and diversity of our multi-faith, multi-cultural community."

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Along with the continuing support and participation of elected civic leaders, agencies, and organizations, in each passing year, the music, prayers, and presentations offered at the breakfast have become increasingly reflective of the rich array of cultural heritages, faiths, religious and philosophical traditions that now define our region.

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Thank you for also being a part of this wonderful tradition!

... 2025