This section addresses ways of celebrating multiculturalism in different environments. We are experiencing this unique social and religious phenomenon as a Church and as a people in Canada.<\/p>\n
In the following segments, we would like to show how we could celebrate this reality in our parishes and schools, and deepen our awe in the splendour and richness of diversity that we have in Canada. \u00a0Cultures and faiths that have for centuries been so distant from each other, now strive for harmony and co-operation in Canadian urban communities coast to coast.<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n During Lent 2003, multiculturalism was celebrated at Scarboro Mission Headquarters as a long overdue outreach to and affirmation of the many recently-arrived multicultural or ethnic Catholic communities in Canada in the last thirty years.<\/p>\n Starting with Ash Wednesday, Scarboro Missions welcomed each of the following cultures to come to the St. Francis Xavier Chapel to celebrate Eucharist in their language and with songs and symbols that captured their story and the unique cultural expressions of their faith in Jesus Christ. The following members of their local Catholic communities came in both smaller sized groups of 30 to 50 to overflowing numbers of over 100:<\/p>\n With all the groups gathered, we prayed for peace globally, peace in their countries of origin, peace in their communities here in Canada and peace in their own families. As a Canadian missionary community made up of priest and lay members who have witnessed to Christ in a variety of ways overseas and in Canada, Scarboro Missions named and recognized how these newly arrived Catholic cultures are in mission to Canada and bring renewed energy, vitality and Christian values in family and business and social life to the Church in Canada as well. We said we wanted to affirm and support their missionary charism to the Canadian reality and hoped these gatherings would be just a beginning.<\/p>\n What we did in Lent could be done in most parish communities in major cities and urban centres across Canada from Vancouver in the west to Halifax in the east. Even more so, it could be celebrated in a hundred different ways in classrooms and in auditoriums in every elementary and Catholic High School from coast-to-coast. To do so would enhance our own understanding of the word “catholic”.<\/p>\n To look at the city of Toronto<\/strong> is to glimpse in smaller numbers at the reality in other cities, and the cosmopolitan nature of our schools and our parishes and how this needs to be named, understood and celebrated.<\/p>\n According to Census 2001 of Statistics Canada, 59% of Greater Toronto Area list English<\/strong> as their mother tongue. However, the following breakdown of some of the other languages<\/strong> spoken illustrates the tremendous diversity of population backgrounds in this city and its reflection in other cities across Canada: Chinese 7.59%, Italian 4.41%, Portuguese 2.42%, Punjabi 2.13%, Filipino 1.89%, Spanish 1.75%, Tamil .64%, Urdu 1.23%, Arabic 1.07%, Persian 1.00%, Korean 0.79%, Gujarati 0.78% and Hindi 0.48%, amongst many other languages.<\/p>\n It is important to note that the Caribbean nations with such diverse histories and cultures are generally listed as English speaking but they also are a clearly significant grouping in many parishes and school populations.<\/p>\n One would not think that Punjabi, Tamil, Urdu, Arabic, Persian, Gujarati or Hindi would have that much interest for us as the numbers of Christians or Catholics in those populations are small. However, it is an interesting phenomenon to note that these very religious Muslim, Hindu, Jain, Sikh and Zoroastrian people choose often to send their children to Catholic schools where they can be educated in a Faith atmosphere and where in Ontario specifically, in the Grade XI curriculum the study of world religions is a requirement.<\/p>\n In this segment, we are making suggestions for parish life<\/strong>. Then in September, we will assist our teacher and chaplain friends with applications of our Scarboro Missions’ experience of cultures in their classroom<\/strong> and entire school celebrations.<\/p>\n We are suggesting two ways: a one-time event (Option A) or a series of events (Option B).<\/p>\n One-time Event (Option A):<\/strong> Even in rural parishes where the ethnic make-up may be of 3rd and 4th generation European or British Isles ancestry, there is a way of celebrating the mystery and the beauty of diverse cultures in our Canadian Catholic Church and in your particular parish family. The Offertory procession can include with the bread and wine and water, the symbol of each of the cultures making up the parish community. A reader or lector would name each of the cultures and the meaning of the symbol. A small flag on a stand can be used to represent the country\/culture, which can be placed on a table before the altar for all to see.<\/p>\n It would help if the homily that day also focuses on the richness of cultural traditions in the CATHOLIC and UNIVERSAL Church. It can conclude with a sincere welcome of the most recent cultural groups to arrive in the parish, and the history and qualities that that culture offers the Church and Canada. Summer time is a good time to try this focus and end with a Multicultural Smorgasborg of foods from each tradition. A card and explanation of each food’s origin and meaning would make the entire event a Fiesta of Catholic Cultures.<\/p>\n Series of Events (Option B):<\/strong> A more intensive program we have used in a parish in Scarboro over a 5-year period focused on one culture every 3 months. It met with great success and added greatly to the joyfulness, hospitality and sensitivity of all the parish members. They learned more about their own cultures but also about the cultures and traditions of others next to them in the pew.<\/p>\n The following are suggestions from what we experienced and animated:<\/p>\n We found with proper preparation, planning and ample announcements weeks ahead of these Cultural Focus Days, people looked forward to the awareness raising. Moreover, relationships grew among the parish community and more of that group participated in parish events.<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n This is a guide for Catholic School Teachers in the Separate School System in Ontario and across Canada, based on insights and experiences of Scarboro Missions.<\/p>\n The following outline follows earlier presentations directed to creating a celebrative and educational multicultural environment in Roman Catholic parishes and a report on the Lenten celebrations of ethnic Catholic communities at Scarboro Mission Headquarters in March\/April 2003.<\/p>\n While the following is directed to Catholic educators in the Secondary School system, it is also applicable to classroom programs for Elementary Schools and to the public at large.<\/p>\n Most urban communities now across Canada and, in particular, the major urban centres are rich in their diversity of cultures, languages, colours and religious faith traditions.<\/p>\n In the Catholic Secondary Schools, one finds a great diversity of global Catholic cultures, languages and populations that in many ways are “strangers” to each other. In the classroom, we see enfleshed and embodied the very meaning of “Catholic” or “universal” in students and teachers who are Catholic Christians, but who may be practicing other Rites within the Catholic Church besides the dominant Roman Rite – yet all in communion with Rome and the Pope.<\/p>\n There are the Ukrainian and Greek Catholics as well as Coptics from Egypt, Ethiopian Catholics from Africa, Syrian and Antiochan Catholics from Lebanon and Syria, Armenian Catholics and Malabar Catholics from India. The students and the teachers from these areas of the world have an ancient and rich heritage that can enrich and deepen our understanding of our faith in Jesus and practice of discipleship – but only if we name, recognize and celebrate this cultural and religious diversity in our classroom, in our school and in our school board.<\/p>\n The dominant Roman Catholic population that makes up the majority of our school population has great diversity. Some are third and fourth generation Canadian while others are recently arrived immigrant Catholic families escaping war or oppression. Others have come seeking a more opportune economic and educational environment.<\/p>\n These students and teachers claim for their Catholic ancestral roots, not just European or British Commonwealth origins, but a variety of different countries:<\/p>\n This is a veritable United Nations right within one religious grouping, Roman Catholicism, in one school and even one classroom but too often it is hardly spoken of or referred to – let alone celebrated, studied and understood.<\/p>\n We, at Scarboro Missions, believe it is in the naming and recognizing of this rich cultural diversity and listening to the stories and the heritage of each student and each culture that we will become truly CATHOLIC. By celebrating our diversity, we and also become truly creative global Canadian citizens of a multicultural, multi-lingual and multi-faith world.<\/p>\n As mentioned earlier, right within each class and each school, among students and even teachers, by birth or through marriage, we welcome and embrace smaller but significant numbers of Muslim, Hindu, Jain, Sikh, Bahai and Buddhist. These students have deliberately chosen to be students in our Catholic system where God and Faith are recognized as sacred and crucial for a balanced human educated life.<\/p>\n Since world religions are a compulsory part in the Ontario Grade XI curriculum, these students and teachers feel more welcomed and can have a greater role in communicating their faith values and practices as part of that curriculum. This participation, in turn, deepens and assists all students and teachers in appreciating their own faith. As a result, we can collectively recognize the movement of the Holy Spirit in all peoples, cultures and faith traditions.<\/p>\n This is a great challenge for every Catholic School Board in Ontario and throughout the country and is one of the most significant contributions we can make to the multicultural fabric and content of our unique Canadian life.<\/p>\n For this reason Scarboro Missions will, over the next two months, outline a variety of steps and methods that a school board, or a particular school, or a particular teacher can use to teach and communicate these religious, ethnic, multicultural values and practices.This can be included as content in a class on history, geography, current affairs, sociology or religion. It can be incorporated in the celebration of a saint’s day, a national feast day or a particular cultural holy-day or holiday.<\/p>\n As school begins, we invite you to look for this outline over the next two months. May we all begin by welcoming each of our students in their diversity as precious gems given to Canada to be educated and cultivated and strengthened for the contribution God intended them and all of us to make to an era of true peace and harmony.<\/p>\nCelebrating Multiculturalism at Scarboro Missions<\/h2>\n
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\n<\/a><\/p>\nCelebrating Multiculturalism in a Catholic Parish<\/h2>\n
Parishes in Urban and Rural Canadian Settings:<\/h3>\n
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\n<\/a><\/p>\nCelebrating Multiculturalism in a Catholic School<\/h2>\n
A. Introduction<\/h3>\n
Different Rites within the Catholic School<\/h4>\n
Multicultural Diversity within the Catholic School<\/h4>\n
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Multi-faith Diversity within the Catholic School<\/h4>\n