Intercultural Ramadan Friendship Dinner at Holy Blossom Temple
Event Information
Description
RAMADAN INTERCULTURAL FRIENDSHIP DINNER
IDI GTA in collaboration with Holy Blossom Temple, Toronto Police Service and Canadian Armed Forces kindly invite you to a complimentary Ramadan Iftar (breaking-of-the-fast) Dinner.
THEME:
Chaplaincy: Faith-inspired Public Service, its Challenges and Opportunities
MODERATOR:
Joe Mihevc, Councillor, City of Toronto
SPEAKERS INCLUDE:
Habeeb Alli, Federal Chaplain, Correctional Services Canada
Captain Audrey Brown, Chaplain, 32 Signals Regiment
Rabbi Ronald Weiss, Director of Chaplaincy Services at Jewish Family and Child Services
*Programs includes a tour in the Temple and an introduction about Judaism.
BIOS:
Captain Audrey Brown, Chaplain 32 Signal Regiment
Audrey Brown joined the Canadian Armed Forces Reserve as a Chaplain in May of 2013. She completed her Basic Military Officer training in 2014 and complete her Basic Occupational Qualification in 2016. Since enrolling she has been a unit Chaplain for 32 Signal Regiment, a Communications Reserve unit that operates at both at Fort York Armoury in Toronto and at CFB Borden. Audrey has also spent the summer months at 4 Canadian Division Training Centre in Meaford, working with soldiers who are undergoing training.
Audrey Brown has been an Ordained Ministry with the United Church of Canada, for 24 years. She has served 5 Pastoral Charges in Alberta, and Ontario. She earned a Bachelor of Arts from Trent University in Political Science in 1991 and a Master of Divinity from Queen’s University in 1994. She is currently the President of Toronto Conference.
Imam Habeeb Alli
Habeeb Alli originates from Guyana where he studied at Queen's College and graduated in India with a Masters in Islamic Theology and Arabic Language, and also a Diploma in Journalism.
Habeeb has authored eighteen titles on Islam and poetry, the latest is Red Coconut-Bridging the racial divide.
He is a member of the Canadian Council of Muslim Theologians and the Canadian Council of Imams. He is an honorary director for the Moeen Centre for Persons with Disabilities, Director at the GTA Faith Alliance and the Abraham Festival in Peterborough.
Habeeb presently serves as Community Development Manager at International Development and Relief Foundation and Federal Chaplain with Correctional Services Canada. He is the founder of the annual One Love Gala in recognition of successful reintegration of inmates.
Rabbi Ronald Weiss
Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Rabbi Ronald Weiss received his undergraduate degree from Brandeis University; a Masters degree in Jewish Education and Rabbinic Ordination from Yeshiva University. He was a pulpit rabbi for twelve years, serving congregational communities in Binghamton, New York and Longmeadow, Massachusetts.
Rabbi Weiss moved to Toronto in July, 1994, where he serves as the Director of Chaplaincy Services at Jewish Family and Child Services. As mandated by UJA Federation of Greater Toronto, he is responsible for overseeing the spiritual and religious care received by Jewish patients in 41 hospitals, Jewish residents in 55 long-term care facilities as well as Jewish inmates in 26 Ontario correctional institutions on the Federal, Provincial and Municipal levels.
Rabbi Weiss represents the Jewish community on the Ontario Multi-faith Council for Spiritual and Religious Care, on which he served for many years as a member of its Executive Board. He is the only rabbi in Toronto to carry a badge - serving as a Chaplain-at-large for the Toronto Police Service; as well he is an advisor to the York Region Police Service and works with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Rabbi Weiss is the chaplain of the Jewish Hospice Program and provides spiritual care and counselling to the terminally ill in the Jewish community.
Every year, the Intercultural Dialogue Institute GTA hosts a series of community Iftar (fast-breaking) dinners during the month of Ramadan. Iftar dinners bring together people of various faith and ethno-cultural backgrounds and serve as a means of fostering dialogue and cross-cultural awareness. They address various topics related to common teachings and values in different faith traditions and cultures. A centre piece of the event is the keynote address provided by a distinguished speaker who has relevant expertise with regards to a pressing/relevant matter of discourse.
For more information on IDI GTA Ramadan dinners, please visit: http://toronto.interculturaldialog.com/activities/ramadan-iftar-dinners.
Organizer Intercultural Dialogue Institute GTA
Organizer of Intercultural Ramadan Friendship Dinner at Holy Blossom Temple
Intercultural Dialogue Institute is a non-profit organization whose purpose is to advance social cohesion through personal interaction by promoting respect and mutual understanding among people of all cultures and faiths through dialogue and partnership.
Intercultural Dialogue Institute aims to promote enduring interfaith and intercultural cooperation, tolerance and dialogue by sharing our differences and similarities in an effort to enhance civil society, to promote the development of human values, and to advance diversity and multiculturalism in the society. The Institute aims to eliminate or reduce false stereotypes, prejudices and unjustified fears through direct human communication. By this mission IDI aims to contribute to improvement of diversity, pluralism and multiculturalism throughout Canada.
IDI was formed in 2010 as a joint effort of several organizations and currently have 11 chapters* and regional offices in major cities of five Canadian provinces.
* GTA branch of IDI was established with the name Canadian Interfaith Dialogue Centre in 2004. Until July 2013 it had been known as Intercultultural Dialogue Institute (IDI) Toronto. In July 2013 it was re-branded as IDI GTA to represent the whole Greater Toronto Area.
Refund Policy: you can get a full refund if you cancel at least 72 hours before the event. If you cancel within 24 to 72 hours before the event, the refund amount is 50% of the ticket price. No refund will be issued for cancellations within 24 hours before the event or anytime after the event.
