Faith fuse for cultural communion
Free cooking class hosted by different faith groups in Greater Victoria
People of different faiths will get together to bake bread, before they break bread.
The Inter-Cultural Association of Greater Victoria, Victoria Multifaith Society and the South Island Dispute Resolution Centre are offering free cooking classes hosted by the Sikh, Hindu, Muslim and Jewish faith communities.
The classes are free and will be followed by a shared meal and interfaith open house.
This is the third phase of ICA's interfaith bridging project. The project aims to foster relationships between different faith groups in the region.
The first meal, hosted by the Sikh community at the Sikh Temple was held Jan 15. Twenty people of the Baha'i', Jewish, Muslim, Christian, Unitarian, Sikh, Hindu, Buddhist, First Nation's communities cooked a meal of dahl, roti, butter curry chicken and samosas. They shared the meal with dozens more who came to learn about the Sikh faith and culture.
"This came from our partners' interest in creating food together," said Steven Baileys, multicultural program co-ordinator for ICA.
"Food has an important role to play in our faith and our culture. When we break bread together, when we get our fingers dirty together, we create something together that we share."
The cooking classes are open to members of local faith groups at no cost and are held at various locations around the city. Each one is followed by a shared community meal and interfaith open house.
"We invite (other faiths) to come to the Muslim Mosque, to the Hindu Temple, to the Jewish community centre – it's a chance to visit other places of worship and learn about their rituals, customs and history and create new friendships," Baileys said.
The next classes will be hosted by the Hindu (Feb. 12), Muslim (March 4) and Jewish (to be announced) faith communities.
Cooking class enrolment is restricted to 20 people.
The shared community meal and interfaith celebration that follows the cooking classes are open to cooking class students and their family members as well as members of the public.
For more information, or to register for an upcoming class, please contact Baileys at sbaileys@icavictoria.org or 250-388-4728 ext. 116.
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