Greetings everyone,

This fall has seen some great momentum for the Surrey Neighbouring Faiths
Program with more to come in November! Please take a moment to read on...

Multifaith Storytelling Kits

You are invited to participate in the “Multifaith Storytelling Kit” project.
Please save this date for an important orientation meeting:
Date: Sunday, November 8
Time: 2:00-4:00pm
Location: Newton Public Library (Meeting Room)
The Surrey Neighbouring Faiths Program, in partnership with DIVERSEcity
Community Resources Society and the Surrey Public Library, has been
selected to receive $12,750 through the “Inter-faith Bridging Program” of
EmbraceBC, a provincial program of the Ministry of Citizens' Services. This
funding will support the development of “Multifaith Storytelling Kits.” The
Multifaith Storytelling Kits will contain books, CDs, and other materials that
can be used to educate about each of the different faith traditions in our
community. There will be a separate kit for each participating faith
community. They will be available for loan through the Surrey Public Library,
and will be a lasting resource for multifaith education in the community.
You are invited to contribute to this project in whatever way you are able.
There will jobs for people interested in assembling kits for specific faith
traditions. There will also be jobs for people interested in helping with more
general aspects of the project. All contributions are welcome!
The orientation session will be co-presented by staff from the Library. It will
address:
• How do we make a storytelling kit?
• How do we go about purchasing the materials?
• What budget do we have to work with?
• What are our timelines?
• How do we get started?
Please feel free to circulate this invitation to anyone who may be willing and
able to contribute.
Please also let me know if you are able to attend the November 8 meeting.

Updates
Cities Fit For Children
The SNFP presented at the “Cities Fit For Children” Summit in Langley on
October 22, 2009. The event brought together municipal, regional and
Aboriginal leaders from across the province. The presentation was well-
received and some great contacts were made. It will be exciting to see if
other municipalities become interested in developing similar programs.
Centre for Child Development
The SNFP presented an in service at the Centre for Child Development, a
community paediatric rehabilitation agency. The title of the presentation was
“Honouring Religion and Spirituality in Family-centred Care.” The
presentation was well-received and resulted in some great dialogue.
Fall 2009 Early Explorers Session
The Fall 2009 Early Explorers Session is well underway. The session will finish
in November with visits to the Muslim, Latter-day Saint, First Nations and
 Unitarian communities. As always, it is a wonderful group of families and we
have felt warmly welcomed by each of the faith communities we have visited.

Upcoming Events
Decade of Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue, Understanding and
Cooperation for Peace
The General Assembly of the United Nations is set to proclaim 2011-2020 as
the “Decade of Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue, Understanding and
Cooperation for Peace.” The SNFP has been invited to submit a summary of
the program as an interfaith “success story.” This is a wonderful opportunity
to share this local project with our global community.
Early Years Conference – The Rights of the Child
The SNFP will be presenting at this conference in Victoria on February 4-6,
2010. The conference will explore early childhood, family and community
development through the lens of Child Rights. The U.N. Convention on the
Rights of the Child (1990) articulates various inherent human rights that
should be afforded to children. Policies designed to support and provide
general and specific services to children and their families, should reflect
these rights in order that all children may reach their full potential in society.
Conference participants will have the opportunity to consider research,
policy, and practice from a child’s rights perspective in order to further the
quality of their work with children, families and communities. Visit here for
more information.
Human Rights Day event in Langley
Dr. Lee Brown will present “Justice in the New Age” on December 10 at the
Township of Langley Civic Building. The presentation is an exploration of
the Iroquoian Great Law of Peace and the Baha’i Kitab-I-Aqdas and their
implications for justice and peace with specific reference to the Aboriginal
Experience of colonization in Canada. See attached document for further
details.

Ongoing announcements
2010 Multifaith Calendar Fundraiser
2010 Multifaith Calendars are available for purchase. They are $15 each or 2
for $25. They make great gifts! All proceeds go to the Surrey Neighbouring
Faiths Program. Packages are available for anyone who would like to sell the
calendars.
Listing in Surrey Leisure Guide
Watch for the SNFP listing in the spring edition of the Surrey Leisure Guide!
Thanks to Erin Balmer in the Surrey Parks and Recreation Department for
supporting this and offering it free of charge. This is a significant step forward
for the promotion of the SNFP.
Surrey Public Library - Multifaith Display Cases
The next library display will be at Fleetwood Library for the months of
November and December. This display functions as a “conversation starter”
to encourage dialogue about the various participating faith communities. This
display will rotate through a number of libraries over the coming year.
Join us on Facebook!
Join our Facebook group and receive timely updates on the Surrey
Neighbouring Faiths Program and other multifaith events in the community. If
 you are not already on Facebook, you will need to provide an email address
and password to join. It is quite painless. This newsletter will continue to
provide more in-depth, monthly updates to your inbox.
As always, I invite your comments and feedback on any aspect of the program. If
you would like to get more involved, please let me know what your interests and
passions are, and we can explore some ideas together.
In peace,
David Dalley
(604) 502-8661
davidanderin@dalley.ca

“Comforted by how much we share, we’re able to delight in our differences.”

- Raffi, from “A Covenant for Honouring Children”