Some Changes We Envision for 2026

by Jay Moore

I want to share some new developments about the progress we are making in interfaith action in Waterloo Region and beyond. The Steering Committee of IGR recently took some time for long range planning and a new vision of our future is emerging.

In recent years, let’s call it the “parent” group of IGR, has been focussed on the monthly meetings which usually are themed on a topic the Steering Committee has chosen and led as a discussion in one of three possible formats. We also have taken responsibility to organize our role at a booth at the Multicultural Festival every year in Kitchener.

At the same time, The Interfaith Breakfast Committee has organized the very large and very successful annual Interfaith Breakfast. One of the most important aspects of the success of this event has been the profile it has created in the community. It has a solid, highly respected reputation in the community, both among the faith groups in the region and within the secular community. I take my hat off to the many people who have worked so hard and so successfully over the years to bring this great event to the people of Waterloo Region. Thanks must go particularly to Sandy Milne who chaired the Breakfast Committee for many years and to the new chair, Jan Howitt. Well done!

There are two main areas where the Steering Committee has agreed we will add quality to our role in the community. The first is to work more closely with the Breakfast Committee to ensure that we create the synergy that’s possible when groups pull together, achieving more when we help each other rather than being loosely affiliated and operating independently. So, we have already started discussions about the ways we can work together more effectively. We believe we can achieve more if we see ourselves, that is IGR and the Breakfast Committee, as part of the same, close family and not just distant cousins.

In some of our descriptions of IGR we have referred to it as a “beacon in the region, bringing the light of interfaith values and principles to the community.” We agree that that is who we are and we believe we should be shining brighter for the sake of interfaith progress in Waterloo. So, the second area has to do with having a higher profile in the community generally and, to do that, we have taken a page from the Breakfast Committee, using their example to see a way for Interfaith Grand River, the parent group, to raise our profile and promote interfaith values and principles in more and larger ways. This has led us to consider a few more large events to be planned by sub-committees (like the Breakfast) and led by a chair. Here’s what we’re thinking:

1. In October, Sandy Milne organized a Thanksgiving Social in Cambridge and, we liked it so much, we’re considering making it an annual event. It will be a venue intended for people – many of whom attend the Breakfast – to have an opportunity to meet and greet each other in an informal setting and build relationships among us.

2. In the winter of 2026, we’re working on an event where students and faculty from both universities and the public are invited to a lecture or panel discussion or on-stage interview focussed on an interfaith theme with lots of Q. & A. and a reception in a large hall. Hopefully, we can promote it widely, sell tickets, invite the media and encourage youth to value the principles of interfaith.

3. Although we will not plan on it for the summer of 2026 but delay this plan until 2027, we would like to see a large, public “Interfaith Picnic in the Park,” held in either Victoria Park or Waterloo Park. The goal will be simply to bring many families of many religions and cultures together to experience each others’ company, share food and get to know each other in this informal setting.

4. Finally, the Interfaith Breakfast will be the main event for the spring, as usual, with all the benefits it brings to the cause of interfaith in Waterloo and beyond.

Since IGR will be focussed on these other major activities in the community, then our emphasis will not be so limited to our monthly topic discussion meetings. This provides more opportunities for people who are more interested in participating in other interfaith activities rather than discussion groups and this approach widens our impact and visibility in the community.

We will be developing this new strategy over the coming months and you will be hearing more from the Steering Committee as it grows. And - fair warning - we will be looking for enthusiastic volunteers to help us achieve these new goals. Stay tuned!

Jay Moore

President, Interfaith Grand River