Interfaith Day at Buddhist Summer Camp at The Lake Monastery, Cambridge ON

8 July 2025

by Jay Moore

Reverend Ananda Thero, a Buddhist monk at The lake Monastery and a member of the IGR Steering Committee, was in charge of the programming for this summer camp for about forty-five children from the community, mostly Buddhist families. This day was planned to be “Interfaith Day” to expose the children to a variety of different religions and hear from speakers from each of the identified religions: Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Islam and Christianity. Judaism was planned, as well, but a speaker wasn’t available. Ananda asked me to teach the children about Christianity and, as a “retired Christian,” I was able to call upon my learning about that religion from the earlier part of my life.

 There were three age groups: 5 to 7, 8 to 11 and 12 to 16 and sessions were planned for each. The little ones were adorable and were very interested in Christmas and Easter and how Christians celebrate the birth and death of Jesus and how these special days are more than about Santa Claus and Easter rabbits and Easter eggs. They learned about how Christians learn from their holy book, The Bible, and like to show their symbol of a cross in their churches and in their pictures.

The 8 to 11 year olds wanted to know what it was like for me as a Christian boy growing up in a Christian family, about people gathering in a church and about praying. I emphasized two main areas of Jesus Christ’s teachings: “Love your neighbour as yourself” and, since God can forgive us, we should forgive each other.

The 12 to 16 year olds were the most challenging. One asked about Satanism. Another asked, “If Mary was the mother of Jesus, how could she be a virgin? Finally, one asked, “Did Jesus really rise from the dead?” This is a difficult theological question to answer. I hope my answer was adequate.

Some of the guest speakers and adult helpers gathered after for tea and, as we shared our experiences with the kids, we got to know each other a little better. All in all, the time spent with everyone was a good demonstration of the value of interfaith action in our community.