AN UNEXPECTED PENTECOST: REFLECTIONS ON INTERFAITH SERVICE AND LUNGAR AT G7 JUBILEE PEOPLE’S FORUM

This sacred meal (Lungar)was a wonderful embodiment of the message of Jubilee:  we are all equal. We all sat on the floor. We acknowledged the sacredness of the moment by taking off our shoes and washing our hands. It was “gracefull.” We received the gift of food brought to us without cost. We were blessed by the generosity and service of the Sikh community. There was conversation, laughter, and big smiles ! 

Weekend of Welcome – Bus Tour

Perhaps we began as tourists. We signed up to learn, to take something off our bucket list. One gurdwara –  tick,  one mosque- tick,  one temple- tick. As we traveled from place to place something else happened. We were changed from tourists to pilgrims.  How did that happen? 

Weekend of Welcome – Interfaith Potluck

The WoW Potluck was a rambunctious, inclusive time of meeting, eating and and sharing. In the theme of Confluence of Faiths we shared water stories: favourites rivers, raft trips gone awry! We also wrote statements about the gifts of our faith on blue paper waves to add to a shared river, a confluence.

Tables of Shared Wisdom

On October 21, 2025, faith leaders and community members from across Calgary gathered at the Catholic Pastoral Centre for a simple vegetarian meal and a surprisingly powerful lunchtime conversation. Hosted by Bishop William McGrattan in partnership with the Calgary Interfaith Council, Tables of Shared Wisdom: Faith in the Age of Artificial Intelligence invited us to wrestle with a question that feels both urgent and ancient: 

Calgary Interfaith Council 2025 AGM

I would like to conclude with a thought to ponder.   In our society today we value individuality, entrepreneurship, or uniqueness – like sports celebrities, or businesspeople or TV personalities, but when an individual is unique and distinct due to their religious discipline, it is not celebrated, it is mocked.   We must work together to change this paradigm so that we can truly become a pluralistic multifaith society with interfaith harmony and respect.  Let us work together towards this goal with the CIC.