A “Community Expo of Beliefs and Ideas” will take place at the Surrey City Center Library, 10350 University Drive, on Saturday, February 1st from 10:30am to 4:30pm. This event is affiliated with the United Nations World Interfaith Harmony Week. Registration is not required, but space is limited. All programs are free and light refreshments will be served.
This day-long Community Expo will feature information booths from a range of religious, spiritual and philosophical groups in Surrey as well as a number of experiential sessions and activities open to the public. The aim of this event is to engage a broad cross-section of the community in learning about the plurality of worldviews in Surrey in a safe and non-judgmental setting.
Experiential sessions will take place in Room 120 throughout the day. These sessions will include: a blessing from a local First Nations elder, a music yoga session with the Sahaja Yoga group, a performance by the Punjabi Masihi Church choir, chanting with the Soka Gakkei Buddhist group, a performance by a Muslim Children’s Nasheed group and a Satsang with the Art of Living Foundation.
The Main Program from 2:00pm to 4:00pm will include music, meditation, and an interfaith panel discussion featuring speakers from five local faith traditions. The Main Program is presented by the Global Clergy Association of Canada, a group of clergy from different faith traditions that work together to promote harmony and understanding in the community.
A community meditation event will take place throughout the day in the Library’s meditation room on the second floor. People from all religious, spiritual and philosophical backgrounds are invited to take part in this event by signing up to meditate for 15 minutes. Organizers hope that this event will demonstrate the range of traditions in our community that incorporate some form of meditation into their spiritual practice.
A “Wall of Beliefs” will be on display in the main atrium of the Library. People from all religious, spiritual and philosophical backgrounds will be invited to respond to the prompt: “I believe…” by writing their response on a sticky-note and posting it on the wall. Organizers hope that by the end of the day the “Wall of Beliefs” will be an engaging visual representation of the diverse range of beliefs that make up our community.
Children’s Storytimes will take place in the children’s area at times throughout the day. Children and families will be treated to a range of engaging stories from the world’s wisdom traditions.
This event is open to people from all religious, spiritual and philosophical traditions.
Progressive Intercultural Services (PICS) Society is the lead agency for this event, with funding from EmbraceBC’s Interfaith Bridging grant. The community partners for this event are Surrey Libraries, the Global Clergy Association of Canada, and the Surrey Interfaith Council.
For more information, contact: David Dalley, Project Coordinator: interfaith@movingtogether.ca or 778-988-3549; or Eva Touzard, Assistant Project Coordinator: eva.touzard@pics.bc.ca or 604-596-7722
