Youth Embraces Diversity

Growing up in Toronto, the most multicultural city in the world, has shaped a commitment ot interfaith understanding and cooperation

By Ryan Nutter
February 2006

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As far back as I can remember I have had a fascination with people who are different from me. My interest began when I realized that there are other religions and ethno-cultural groups in Canada besides my own.

Growing up in Scarborough (a subdivision of Toronto) I spent the first years of my life living next door to a Hindu family. All of the children had been born in Canada, and I grew to be close friends with the three who were nearest to my age. I was exposed to the culture and language of their family and observed the traditions of India that had now been intertwined with the culture and customs of their new homeland – Canada.

Educated within the public school system for the first 11 years, diversity and multiculturalism became a part of my life. In fact, when I first learned to spell multiculturalism, I knew it was something important, but little did I know that this word would shape my life in the not so distant future.

Looking back on those early years in the public school system, I feel a deep sense of gratitude. I was given the chance to interact with people of all cultures, religions and ethnicities. Through daily interaction with my peers, I learned the customs and traditions of Sri Lanka, India and Pakistan, as well as the beliefs and principles of Islam, Hinduism and Sikhism. This early contact with the outside world, inside my own community, educated me in a powerful way.

Once I had entered middle school, my fascination with culture and language had completely enveloped my life. By that time, the tragic events of September 11, 2001, had occurred and I felt the need to delve deeper into the interfaith world.

Coming from a section of Toronto that has a large population of Muslim, Sikh and Hindu immigrants, I had already become quite accustomed to their cultures and religions, but never before had I taken it upon myself to study their religions in depth.

It was at this time that I began to read the Holy Q'uran, first in English and then gradually taking steps to learn and comprehend its original Arabic form using Arabic reading materials for children. From that, inspired by my interest in the Sanskrit languages of Hindi and Punjabi, I moved onto studying other sacred texts: the Sri Guru Granth Sahib (Sikhism) and the Vedas (Hinduism).

Another turning point

Entering high school, I was forced to ponder my future. Now that I was a teenager, I recognized the importance of accomplishing as much as I could within these few high school years. And then, halfway through Grade 9 at Cedarbrae Collegiate Institute, I experienced another major turning point in my life. My parents felt it would be beneficial if I finished school at Cardinal Newman Catholic High School. They saw the Catholic school system as an institution that promoted ideals and morals that they didn't see emphasized in the public board.

Much of my family, including cousins, aunts and uncles, had been educated in the Catholic school system. However, I was a bit nervous as I had only ever been to public school.

Although I am a Protestant, I always felt closer to the Roman Catholic side of my family and often spoke to my grandmother about my urge to become a Roman Catholic. Little did I know that my parent's decision, and this new chapter in my life, would change me forever.

Catholic school was not what I expected. I had images of strict priests and nuns roaming the hallways of the school, demanding that the students spend their lunch period reciting the rosary. Well, I exaggerate, but it did feel as if I was entering into an unfamiliar and unknown environment. I soon discovered that none of this was even close to the reality and that Cardinal Newman was a community of people who were sharing together one common love – their love for Jesus Christ.

Throughout Grade 10, I was, in a sense, brought back to the religion that I was born into: Christianity. My religion teacher, Ms. Maxine Blair, taught me the morals and ideals of the Catholic Church while teaching me about the shared traditions of Christianity as a whole. I learned the teachings of Jesus Christ and how these teachings are significant today. I felt inspired to spread His word of love and respect by joining the interfaith movement – a movement that had been growing for many years. But it was not until the following year that I was given a chance to act on this inspiration – something that I believe was a calling from God – when I was introduced to the Canadian Council of Christians and Jews.

My Grade 11 World Religions class, under the direction of Ms. Audrey Ferrer, took part in the "Discovering Diversity Schools Program", an initiative of the Canadian Council of Christians and Jews. The program is meant to create a better understanding between students and the religious communities of their city.

This experience motivated me to create the first-ever interfaith week at Cardinal Newman. Entitled "Newman Interfaith Week", it brought speakers from the Baha'i Faith into our school to have lunch and discuss their traditions with the students. The interfaith week also included a religious film night, a Buddhist meditation activity, and each day during the announcements I recited the morning prayers in one of five different languages: Hindi, Punjabi, Aramaic, Hebrew and Latin.

Because of the great success of that first event, the Newman Interfaith Week has become an annual event at our school.

First Abrahamic Exchange

This year, the interfaith week will be making first-ever strides forward in the Catholic Board's interfaith education. As part of the program, I have created what is thought to be the first Abrahamic Exchange in the Toronto Catholic District School Board and possibly in all of Canada. The event will bring students from an Islamic private school and students from a Jewish private school to Cardinal Newman to spend an entire day with Catholic students in an attempt to build bridges between the three religious groups.

We have also planned an assembly in which a panel of religious leaders will join in an open dialogue with students about their faith experiences and how their respective religions have impacted their lives.

In my interfaith work within the community, I have come to see that the need for building bridges between different Christian denominations is just as important as connecting with other faiths. I feel that it is not possible to create constructive dialogue with other religions, and expect to understand them, while ignoring the ecumenical call that confronts all Christians. With this thought, I am in the process of creating Cardinal Newman's first ecumenical prayer service, bringing leaders from the Anglican, United, Orthodox, and Catholic Churches together to share their love of God under one roof.

Discovering Diversity Award

In September 2005, I was humbled and honoured to receive the first Canadian Council of Christians and Jews (CCCJ) "Discovering Diversity Award". This is a national award honouring students who are dedicated to creating an environment of respect and understanding through interfaith work in their communities.

Of course, I could not have received this award without the help and inspiration of the CCCJ. As well, these endeavours could not have been achieved without the help of my classmates, people like Sally Mistica, Rachel Lee, Sharon D'Souza and Matthew Zambrie. Each of them has shown themselves to be great friends and leaders through their determination to work towards a better society for all.

In fact, Sally Mistica is one of Cardinal Newman's most active and chief supporters of global justice issues. With her beautiful smile and overwhelming charm, she introduced me to the world of social justice and brought me into several initiatives that I have found to be both fulfilling and rewarding.

Together, Sally and I spoke on Parliament Hill in the nation's capital in support of Aboriginal Rights and she urged me to join our school's Amnesty International group.

Now that I am in my graduating year of high school, I have chosen to take cooperative education for a semester in order to gain more hands-on experience in the interfaith world. In late September, I began working with the CCCJ at their main office, helping to organize upcoming events. I am now completing my co-op with Scarboro Missions, not only because of its close location to my school, but also because of the close relationship that has developed between Scarboro and Cardinal Newman High School over the years. Meanwhile I will continue to work with the CCCJ, speaking at special events such as the Young Leaders' Forums and at the CCCJ Annual General Meeting.

At Scarboro Missions, I have had the pleasure to work with Kathy Murtha and Paul McKenna, helping with interfaith and Golden Rule retreats. I have also created an interactive Golden Rule movie designed for and aimed at students of all ages. The movie is now on Scarboro's website. Working at Scarboro Missions has helped me to realize what beautiful and magnificent work the Catholic Church is doing to open up further dialogue between faiths.

With all of these experiences, I have continued to work towards a vision that I had at a very early age. This vision was to create a society of acceptance, a society where people could be themselves without worry of hate or discrimination. When I set out to achieve this goal, I didn't believe that it could be possible, but I soon learned that if you trust in God and work towards realizing your own vision with the support of others who share common ideals and beliefs, anything is possible.

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