Dear Friends,

Spring is here and with it, a time of new beginnings and renewal. It’s a time for reflection and an opportunity to discern whether the stand we are taking continues to call us forward. At Faith & the Common Good, we stand for resilient and sustainable communities. Our founders, Bill Phipps and Ted Reeves, laid the foundation we continue to build on when they recognized the diversity of Canadian religious and cultural perspectives and the need to find practical ways to work together on common good projects.

The Very Reverend Dr. Bill Phipps

Sadly, The Very Reverend Dr. William Phipps passed away recently. During Bill’s memorial service, many spoke of his leadership, his passion for social justice, and his commitment to being a realist. Kevin Thomas, Bill's nephew quoted Bill saying over and over again… “love and community are what makes our lives important…and for the sake of community and the planet, we have to find ways to work together even when we disagree…or especially when we disagree”. At FCG, we are committed to finding common ground, connecting our beliefs with our actions, and carrying on Bill’s work in ecological and social justice.

Thank you for being part of our network. We invite you to read on and learn more about what we’ve been up to lately. As always, please feel free to share your thoughts, suggestions and comments with me.

I wish you joy in celebrating Earth Day.

In gratitude...

Michelle Singh, Executive Director

Sacred Water: An Interfaith Conversation –  A World Water Day Virtual Event

Our Interfaith Conversations series continued with Sacred Water: An Interfaith Conversation, during World Water Day. We were honoured to host Mary Anne Caibaiosai, Anishnaabe water walker, Dr. Romila Verma, Founding Director at Water Speaks and Lecturer at the University of Toronto, and Sukhvinder Kaur Vinning, Decolonization Consultant and FCG board member. Our guest speakers spoke about what different faith or spiritual traditions teach us concerning the sacredness of water and how we can connect more deeply with it. You can access the recording here. We will be offering additional Interfaith Conversations over the next few months.

Greening Sacred Spaces – London

GSS London celebrated the spring equinox with a Drumming Circle Celebration out in the park. Led by holistic practitioner, researcher and educator, M. Tracey Whiteye, Oshkaabewis Kwe, who honoured Mother Earth and future generations with song and prayers, other drummers shared their drumming traditions. These included Rob Larose (Ireland), Dave Rayo (Nicaragua), Nooshin Jaberi (Iran), George Cooper (Liberia) and Charles Innis (One World).The event was also an opportunity to highlight and advance the City of London’s Climate Emergency Action Plan (CEAP), and encourage Londoners to take the CEAP Pledge.

GSS London continues seeking diverse faith communities to join them in creating a network of pollinator gardens. If you are interested in participating in this project, please send an email to [email protected].

Drumming Circle

Greening Sacred Spaces – Toronto

Scotts Canada is once again providing Nature's Own Organic Soil for five gardens in Toronto - the donation amount is over $7,000. Over the past few months, faith communities have been working on their designs for their native plant gardens. They include Darchei Noam, Islington United, Durul Hijra Islamic Centre, Metropolitan United, St. Cuthbert's Anglican.

Darchei Noam, pandemic planting. 2021

Greening Sacred Spaces – Ottawa 

Come celebrate the 50 Ottawa faith communities who are taking part in the Energy Benchmarking Program, learn about their successes and failures in managing their operations and accessing funding, and much more! We welcome all, especially those seeking to learn more. This event will be in-person, public health guidelines permitting. We are aiming to provide a virtual option as well.

For questions, queries please email: [email protected].

Register Here!

Faithful Footprints- New Newsletter

Visit Faithful Footprints Newsletters to learn more and sign up for this monthly newsletter.

Greening Canadian Mosques 

Greening Canadian Mosques Webinar Series, with partners, EnviroMuslims highlighted three sustainability success stories from mosques across the country. Attendees heard from ISNA Canada (Mississauga, Ontario), Akraam Jomaa Islamic Centre (Calgary, Alberta) and the Jaffari Community Centre (Thornhill, Ontario) on the successful implementation of multiple sustainability initiatives within their places of worship. You can view the recording here. 

Diocesan Environment Network – Atlantic Canada

The Diocesan Environment Network (DEN) in Nova Scotia, PEI is celebrating their 10 year anniversary by tapping into the power of music with the Global Movement to Sing for the Earth. DEN is inviting everyone to join together to sing the Resolution Song. Have your choir or your faith community and your friends sing together, record it and send it to DEN. DEN will compile it into one video to be released for Earth Day, April 22. Listen to a video of the song and the background score.

New Tools, Resources and Reports

Karla Winham’s report, Gardens Built by Love: Faith-Based Community Gardens is a new study of 10 faith communities that have created gardens at their places of worship and the benefits such gardens entail. Read an interview with the author here.

Everyone together: planting a community garden

Our Partners: Feature

The FCG network is stronger because of our partners. That's why, on the last Tuesday of  every other month, we will be highlighting the work of a group or collaborator to show our appreciation for all they do for the community towards a more sustainable future. This month, to launch the series, we invite readers to learn about the work of Shoresh, an Ontario, grassroots Jewish environmental charity. 

Awe and Wonder, Shoresh

FCG Monthly Network Meetings

Interested in learning more about what's happening across our national network? The FCG community meets on the first Tuesday of every month to connect, share upcoming events, and useful resources. We learn from and are inspired by one another. Join the conversation! Contact Elyse at [email protected].

Seeking a New Board Member

Do you believe that our diverse faith and spiritual communities can be a force for good? Are you passionate about protecting our environment for future generations? Do you enjoy contributing to multi-cultural, multi-faith, grass-roots environments? FCG is seeking another Board Member from a non-Christian background. Learn more here.

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