Regent Park Focus

We were please to have one of the co-founders and president of the El-Tawhid Juma Circle or also known as The Toronto Unity Mosque, Troy Jackson in our studios to discuss progressive Muslim faith and looking at the religion from a gender equal, human positive perspective. From the beginning of the interview Troy made it clear that the mosque began with the understanding that women and men are equal in all aspects of ritual practice, regardless of their sexual orientation, gender orientation or various other categorical signifiers. Together with his partners El-Farouk Khaki and Dr. Laury Silvers they have created a welcoming space for people of all faiths who would like to become more informed about Islam. They usually have between 20-50 people for Friday prayer sessions. Their is a growing movement of Muslims who would like to find a place where they feel comfortable practicing their religion. Too often people think that they must leave a part of themselves at the door of the mosqu...

As part of our continued series on faith and spirituality, we had a member of The Regent Park Community Ministry come in and discuss what they do and what they hope to accomplish with their organization. Kevin Moore, who is connected to the United Church of Canada sat down with our host Omar and had an informative discussion about faith and Christianity. The Regent Park Community Minisitry is located at 40 Oak St., which is home to the CRC (Christian Resource Centre) and hosts a community hub that provides shared spaces to community service organizations that offer a range of support such as language instruction, job training, after-school programs and drop-in groups. The ministry hosts various discussion groups, such as their coffee discussion group which brings together people of various faiths such as: Hindu, Christian and Muslim. This group in particular talks about each person's faith journey and the obstacles and joys they have faced. During nice weather the mini...

The Divas have been really productive the last few weeks in producing and creating all kinds of media including photos and audio recordings. Last week the girls had a chance to edit their photos from the architectural photography workshop we did. We discussed ways on improving our photos and how to make them more interesting. To give the photographs an extra layer of meaning, we discussed our feelings surrounding the current revitalization project and how people come to understand it in many different ways. We have yet to discuss how or if we are going to present these in a more public matter. Below you will find some of the highlights from our excursion. The Divas also worked on Public Service announcements for a local Kingston radio station. The topics they chose to speak about were the pressures associated with school and parental pressure as well as the detrimental effects of bullying and teens. We will have them up and edited for you enjoyment soon. Stay tuned for more ...