Join us on Thursday June 03 at 7 p.m. for the final session of this three part series.

We come together in this series with open hearts and minds to learn from each other. This is an event that assists us in holding up the strengths of our faith traditions that are all founded on love and compassion for others. 

To register use this link :
https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJIoceugpzgrHNWvKgZh_nRgKnJBf5Tv_D4V

Local Congregations of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in partnership with the World Sikh Organization of Canada, have organized a virtual award ceremony to celebrate International Women’s Day on Monday March 8, 2021.
We are honoured to present Sonja Gaudet, Paralympic and World champion curler, and Amrit Kaur, teacher and religious rights advocate, with awards to recognize their contributions to our communities. We are most excited to hear them share their personal stories of courage. Please help us circulate this invitation and register for this free event on Eventbrite: iwdaward.eventbrite.ca#IWD2021

Please join us for our Annual Unity in Diversity Gathering on December 04 at 7 p.m. Normally this event includes a dinner hosted by Squamish Multifaith but due to the present conditions with Covid-19, the event will be held virtually. The upside is that you can participate even if you are not in Squamish and there is no limit to numbers who can attend. The gathering will include an update on our activities this year and you will see that we have continued to engage with the community in creative ways – Multicultural Day in February, Golden Rule Day April and BC Thanksgiving Food Drive in September.

A special screening of the Documentary – Featuring 20 years of United Religions Initiative, a global network of multifaith initiates connecting people to common purpose and enduring relationships will be shown. See how the power of collaboration contributes to a culture of peace and interfaith understanding.

Squamish Multifaith Association is a Collaborating Circle with URI and we are happy to be welcoming regional coordinator, Tahil Sharma and Global Trustee, Valeria Vergani to join us for the event.

All welcome

RSVP to receive zoom link. gerguilfoyle@me.com  

As the second wave of Covid-19 starts to ramp up, blanketing communities with the chilling prospect of further isolation, and retreat into a disconnected cocoon, a platoon of volunteers quietly distributed flyers (5000 in total) around their neighborhoods in Squamish. The orange flyers are recognizable to many as the herald of the BC Thanksgiving Food Drive, a province-wide initiative that helps feed thousands across BC who rely on food banks for their basic nutritional needs. This grassroots campaign, is coordinated locally by the Squamish Multifaith Association in partnership with the Squamish branch of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and Squamish Food Bank. 

Its success is dependent on a broad base of community support where everything from promotion to logistical support is donated by organizations, businesses and a company of volunteers, many who have volunteered each year since the first campaign, nine years ago. This year the need is greater than ever. Covid 19 has resulted in the demand for services increasing by 230% as many in our community battle job loss and financial hardship.

 Some wondered if we could even run it this year. Would we be able to get volunteers? How safe would it be? Fortunately, the operational design requires no solicitation or knocking on doors and donations are simply left outside the door for pickup, so the risk of transmission was very low. Instead of shrinking in number, we added to our volunteer base this year, demonstrating that in these challenging times, people are yearning to come together, support each other, and serve the needs of their communities – in short to unite in service. One of the lovely aspects of this service is its suitability as a family endeavour. Each route consists of between 100 – 140 homes to deliver to and takes about two hours depending on how close the homes are to each other, and the length and gradient of driveways! Some routes are best suited to young energetic legs. A unique feature of the Squamish Food Drive is the special collection at the Sikh Temple to add a bonus collection to effort.

Collection day was Saturday September 26^th and as route volunteers returned to their route to see what donations had been left outside for pickup, another team of volunteers was preparing at the foodbank for sorting, weighing and repacking of food items. Currently located at 39650 Government Road, the foodbank is in moving mode as it relocates to its new digs downtown at Under One Roof. With Covid precautions in place, all volunteers at sorting stations were masked and sanitizing sprays were available for use throughout. To maintain physical distancing, less volunteers were allowed at the foodbank than usual, which meant these volunteers had to be both fast learners and nibble as the donations rolled in in a steady stream from 10:30 a.m to 3 p.m. . Boxes of Dominoes pizza arrived at 12:30, a very welcome treat to snack on whenever there were short breaks. Tim Hortons provided coffee and muffins for the early shift.  

The first part of sorting is checking for expiry dates and thanks to reminders from our friends at Mountain FM, each year we get less expired items. Expired items cannot be used and unfortunately must be discarded. 

After all the effort, the final result depends on the generosity of Squamish residents. And generous they were with 760 homes contributing a total of 9435 lbs. Even accounting 3.44% expired food this left a net weight of

9110 lbs. Add to that the very generous contribution of 424lbs of food collected at the Sikh Temple for a grand total of 9534lb of usable food ready to restock the shelves of the Squamish Foodbank. Our BEST year ever! Despite the curve ball thrown at us by Covid-19, made possible by 60 route volunteers and an additional 16 volunteers for sorting and the generosity of Squamish residents.

O Thou kind Lord!  Thou hast created all humanity from the same stock.  Thou hast decreed that all shall belong to the same household.  In Thy Holy Presence they are all Thy servants, and all mankind are sheltered beneath Thy Tabernacle; all have gathered together at Thy Table of Bounty; all are illumined through the light of Thy Providence. 

O God!  Thou art kind to all, Thou hast provided for all, dost shelter all, conferrest life upon all.  Thou hast endowed each and all with talents and faculties, and all are submerged in the Ocean of Thy Mercy.

O Thou kind Lord!  Unite all.  Let the religions agree and make the nations one, so that they may see each other as one family and the whole earth as one home.  May they all live together in perfect harmony.

O God!  Raise aloft the banner of the oneness of mankind.

O God!  Establish the Most Great Peace.

Cement Thou, O God, the hearts together.

O Thou kind Father, God!  Gladden our hearts through the fragrance of Thy love.  Brighten our eyes through the Light of Thy Guidance.  Delight our ears with the melody of Thy Word, and shelter us all in the Stronghold of Thy Providence.

Thou art the Mighty and Powerful, Thou art the Forgiving and Thou art the One Who overlooketh the shortcomings of all mankind.

‘Abdu’l-Bahá

Cancer is a very scary diagnosis with its many uncertainties and long and difficult treatment regimens. Many treatments and diagnostic imaging is only available in the city. A group of dedicated men and women who are Squamish Volunteer Drivers for Cancer provide a service that alleviates some of the stress associated with cancer treatment.The Squamish Cancer Car program drives clients dealing with cancer to appointments in the city.  12 drivers, 2 dispatchers and a coordinator all happily volunteer their time to get people to doctor appointments, surgery, radiation therapy and chemotherapy.  The volunteers find it very rewarding to give back to the community!

“The Gift of a Lift” is a free service.   Clients are very appreciative; some of their comments   ..… “thank you to the volunteers”,   …. “a car full of daffodils”, “when your doctor gives you the bad news, …..who do you call?…. thank you for your help, your time, your kindness”.  “God bless you!”

There are always those behind the scenes and we would like to say thank you to our supportive fundraiser and the many donors who give of their money so that the program is possible!   During this Covid-19 challenge, we would like to say a special thank you to our drivers for helping two clients complete their radiation treatments!    

This story was submitted by Grace Halverson as part of our Golden Rule Challenge series.

If you have a Golden Rule Story to add, please send it to us at squamishmultifaith@gmail.com

 

 

“TREAT OTHERS AND THE PLANET AS YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE TREATED”

The Golden Rule is ancient and modern, secular and religious, personal and common. It is the universal principle of treating others the way that we want to be treated.

The idea of dedicating a day to the celebration of practice of the Golden Rule was initiated by a collaborative in Interfaith Peace building in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on April 05, 2007.  They put out a call to all citizens of the world and many organizations, including the United Nations, to join them in proclaiming the day and living everyday according to the teaching of the Golden Rule in order to make our world better and more peaceful for all.

Since then, about 700 organizations in 165 countries have joined in proclaiming Golden Rule Day and a request for a United Nations declaration of Golden Rule Day is pending before the General Assembly.

Squamish Multifaith Association joined this collaborative and decided to issue a Golden Rule Challenge, as a way of inviting a community response and celebrating the many acts of kindness and thoughtfulness that are easing the burden on others and on our shared environment, especially during this challenging time.

This call was put out on April 01 and we will be collecting stories throughout April. In celebration of Golden Rule Day, I would like to showcase an organization that looks after some of our most vulnerable community members.

I checked in with Emma Cox, manager of the Squamish Foodbank,

to see how they were faring and if she had any examples of how practice of the Golden Rule was helping them during this time. I was blown away by her response.

“As the demand increases for our services, our volunteers are putting themselves at risk to continue serving the community at this great time of need. Our volunteers are donating even more hours of their time to prepare approximately 120+ food hampers to be safely distributed at each food bank day so participants do not need to enter the food bank.
We have had an overwhelming number of community members contact us wanting to volunteer, deliver hampers or donate funds or food. “

And that is just for starters. Businesses small and large are pitching in to help:The Sunflower Bakery Cafe downtown baked and donated 40 loaves of fresh bread for their last food bank day.
The RCMP is doing a big food drive which is being delivered to the food bank next Thursday.                                                                                                                                       Nesters Squamish have ordered enough food for the next food bank day on 14 April that they will be donating.
The owner of the dog walking company in town ‘Dog Haven on Raven’ (Michelle) and two of her employees have taken over the deliveries for the pre-existing hamper program, as volunteers.                                                                                                                 Blue Water Concepts is doing a special Easter Food Drive, April 05, 07, and 09. Here is a link to the Facebook event page where people can get involved:
https://www.facebook.com/events/670064617154098/

Collectively as a community, donations to the food bank over the last two weeks have reached almost $25,000.

It has been said that the true test of a society is how it looks after its most vulnerable members. Squamish is passing the test with Golden Colours.

MAY EVERYDAY BE A GOLDEN RULE IN YOUR LIFE

 

Last week we issued the Golden Rule Challenge, as a way of inviting a community response and celebrating the many acts of kindness and thoughtfulness that are easing the burden on others and on our shared environment, especially during this challenging time. We are hearing your stories of thoughtfulness and caring and it is especially heart warming to hear how inventive people are in celebrating despite the restrictions placed on us all. Every evening at 7 p.m. the rattle and drum in our neighbourhoods as people clap and bang saucepans to thank the frontline health workers who are risking their own lives to care for people is a sign that we have something to cheer about.

But what about children, stuck inside unable to play with their friends? We have heard back from a few people with stories of how they creatively celebrated birthdays for children in Quarantine.

One family made a birthday sign and wrapped up a gift. They hung the sign on a tree in the child’s yard and left the gift at the door. They then called his mom and asked them to come to the door. He was so happy to receive a gift!

In another neighborhood – friends hung up birthday signs in the windows and chalked messages on the footpath. The family was texted to come to the front door and happy birthday was sung from the driveway.

So if you have birthday coming up in your family or know of a friend needing some birthday cheer. Get creative – and let us know what you did to celebrate.

New Day Gamble Pays Off

Organizers of the Multicultural Day held at Totem Hall on Saturday were banking on the new date in February reaching out to more young people and families. They were not disappointed. The event, a collaboration between Squamish Valley Elders and Squamish Multifaith Association attracted 250 plus with many new faces and participants sharing their cultural and spiritual practices through, song, dance and story.

The celebration was opened by Sisolia (Donna Billy) and members of the Harry family, with cultural teacher Tsawaysia (Alice Guss) leading the attendees in an honor dance to the animal kingdom. Emphasising the importance of our shared humanity and the need to overcome divisions, participants were encouraged to make new friends during the afternoon. February 01 marked the first day of United Nations World Interfaith Harmony week. This harmony was well demonstrated at the community feast where attendees were treated to a diverse menu prepared by Squamish Nation, Sikh Community, Baha’i Community and St. Joseph’s Catholic Church.

Previously held in conjunction with Canada Day, the event was moved to the first week in February to avoid competition with downtown events and to encourage more youth participation. Organizers admitted to being worried about turnout due to new date but prepared enough food to feed 300 and ramped up their promotion for the event. They credited social media, articles in The Chief and Squamish Reporter as well as help from Mountain FM in getting the word out.

Quest University students made a great contribution this year with a number of the students helping with the setup and cooking as well as children’s activities. They also contributed to the cultural performances with two dances from India and a mandolin performance.

Other performances included a traditional dance from the Philippines, a Tai Chi demonstration, hymn jam performed by members of St. John’s Anglican Church, a singing medley performed by Hotspot ESL group and the crowd pleasing performance of a song for peace sung by St. Joseph’s children’s choir. Squamish International Dance Group, lead by Judith Vetch and Patrick Mac Namara, enticed audience participation in dances from New Zealand, Bolivia and South Africa.

A poor sound system that had bedevilled the event in previous years was greatly improved this year through the efforts of Quest student Carl Natiuk and Rev. Cameron Gutjahr. Carl brought his experience to trouble shoot the existing system and Cameron added additional pieces of equipment to allow for a fuller sound and use of digital background music.

The afternoon was brought to a close with the story of the Walking Stick (that held a position of prominence on the stage) told by cultural educator Michael Fraser. Symbolizing peace and dignity, the walking stick journeys between communities bourn by runners and spends time in each community honouring the traditions of the ancestors and dedicated towards building unity and a better tomorrow.

It was a fitting closure for an event that strives to bring diverse people together through shared learning and celebration.