ICA Victoria invites you to attend the interfaith open houses
Victoria – The Baha‘i’, Buddhist, and Christian faith communities are
hosting open houses to provide interested members of the public with the
opportunity to learn more about each faith group. The aim of the open houses
is to build relationships among faith groups and to encourage understanding
and cooperation. The first open house took place in April and was hosted by
the Christian Community at the Christian Church Scientist. Three more open
houses are scheduled:
Baha’i’ Faith Open House: Sunday, May 27, 3 to 5pm
Windsor Park Pavilion, 2451 Windsor Rd
Buddhist Faith Open House: Saturday, June 9, noon – 2pm
4095 Orion Place, Saanich Gorden Head (near UVic)
Unitarian Faith Open House: Sunday, June 10am (service); 11am (open house)
James Bay New Horizons, 224 Menzies St
The open houses are the second phase of a two-part project called Food, Faith,
and Community that aims to increase awareness about our region’s different
faith groups.
The Inter-Cultural Association of Greater Victoria (ICA), Victoria Multifaith Society
(VMS), and the South Island Dispute Resolution Centre (SIDRC) collaborated with local
faith groups for the project. The first phase featured a series of cooking classes
and shared meal celebrations.
Participants from a range of faith backgrounds joined together to cook, share,
and celebrate cultural foods associated with the Jewish, Hindu, Sikh, and Muslim
faiths. More than 80 people attended the series of cooking classes. At each
celebration, attendees learned about the faith group and participated in a
community dialogue activity designed to increase awareness and tolerance.
A booklet that includes recipes, photos, and a brief summary of each faith
will be available later in June.
Information, including images, about phase one and the first open house is
available at
www.icavictoria.org/services/upcoming-workshops-and-training,
For more information on the project, contact ICA’s Community Development Coordinator Steven
Lorenzo Baileys at sbaileys@icavictoria.org or 250-388-4728 ext. 116.
