Accomplishments or Success Stories

  •  The MFSC has created a space where religious communities can discuss and address core issues of concern to British Columbians.

  • We have established ourselves as an organization with diverse membership that can speak with a single voice to government and society and over the past year have provided council members from diverse faith traditions to participate in public panel discussions on various topics.

  • We have represented a powerful witness to the common good in British Columbia. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Council attended monthly phone in conference calls with the Ministry of Health and the Public Health Authority, which provided accurate and timely information, as well as answers to questions regarding regulations and the vaccination program; this information was then dispersed directly to the member organization’s communities. 

  • We have demonstrated a working example of cooperation and respect between those with different beliefs.

  • We have met with the BC Minister of the Environment to discuss the Climate Change Emergency facing British Columbians today. The Ministry was amenable to a Summit. The second meeting with the BC Ministry of Environment was focused on discussing expectations of a Climate Change Summit. For an update on this issue, please see EVENTS.

  • The inaugural All-Party Interfaith Caucus was successfully launched twice in 2023. The first topic was the Role Faith in Society and the second topic was The Relevance of Preserving Religious Freedom. The recordings are uploaded to the Council’s YouTube channel. The APIC, held in June 2024, focused on Scientific Advancement & Spiritual Commitment: Finding Balance for the Sake of Humanity; the next APIC will be held in the spring of 2025. To review these events, please visit the Council’s YouTube Channel.

  • The Education Committee, met with Ministry of Education twice; during the first meeting, the Ministry gave two criteria for compiling a World Religions Resource Manual for BC Educators that will support Social Studies courses; the manual was not to contain proselyting material and it was to be inclusive of all faith traditions of BC. The criteria were met. The overarching purpose is to promote the positive contributions of people of faith and to reduce hatred and intolerance. The compilation of the resource manual, although considered a living document, has been uploaded to this website for public use. Please see the Resources page. The second meeting with the Ministry allowed the council an opportunity to discuss methods for circulation and promotion. In October 2024, members of the Education Committee, Harold Rosen and Susie Virk, along with Council Chair, Sherry Marceil presented at the Province-wide Professional Development Day for BC Educators, held at UBC. The Sharing Light: Multi-faith Resource Manual for BC Educators was met with great enthusiasm bythe the teachers who attended. From this group, a vetting committee was formed that is reviewing and processing the resource manual before it is uploaded to the ShareEdBC site, which offers BC Educators resources to support their course material.

  • The Council held their first Community Prayer Breakfast in November 2023. The theme was “Building Our Communities with Love.” Dialogue questions came from the Education Committee and the Environment Committee. The event was enjoyed by all who attended. The Second Annual Community Prayer Breakfast was held November 2024. The theme was Renewing Humanity’s Bond With Nature. Flossie Baker of the Sierra Club BC was the keynote speaker. Small group discussions focused on sharing tenets of faith on the matter of Environmental Stewardship. This event is a springboard to the World Interfaith Harmony Week 2025 events. Please see the Events page. Everyone who attended enjoyed the event.

  • The Health & Spiritual Care Committee has turned up some advisory opportunities in the community and is need of expanding their committee to have a diverse representation from the council to cover these advisory opportunities. Fraser Health Authority hosted a diverse cross-section of our members to consult regarding their Brain Death Policy. The issue of unifying accessibility for pastoral/ministerial visits to people in the hospital around the province is one current focus of the Health & Spiritual Care Committee.

Community Prayer Breakfast - Building Our Communities with Love. Held at the John Volken Academy November 18, 2023.

This panel discussion was coordinated by Century House Seniors Association and New West Hospice, and focused on the diverse religious beliefs surrounding death and dying, plus what funeral or burial rituals are undertaken.

From left to right: Ria Renouf, Moderator; David Iwaasa,The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; Afzal Mangalji, Muslim; Dr. Laura Duhan-Kaplan, Jewish'; Dr. Kala Singh, Sikhi . Nov 8/23

Click Here to See the finding from the meeting.

Members of the Multi-faith Summit Council of BC gathered with other interfaith groups to meet with Tahil Sharma, Regional Director of North America for the United Religions Initiative, who explained the work of their global organization. Everyone had the opportunity to share what type of community work their respective organizations were involved i. Oct 16/22

Environment Subcommittee meeting with BC’s Minister of the Environment, George Heyman, to discuss the Climate Emergency. Sept 7/22