In an effort to celebrate religious and cultural diversity, the Third Avenue United Church’s community involvement committee has planned “Embracing the Spirit,” a weekend workshop for women beginning the evening of Friday, April 28.
The women’s conference is the first of its kind in Saskatchewan to be sponsored by the United Church of Canada. Shannon Lindgren, co-president of the community involvement committee, says the idea came about by a perceived “need in the community for people to get to know each other,” and foster understanding and celebrate diversity.
The conference will begin Friday night with registration, opening remarks, prayer and entertainment. Saturday, workshops feature five women of diverse backgrounds and Sunday the conference will wrap up with breakfast, reflection and discussion, ecumenical services and closing remarks.
Speakers include Mary Seru, a member of the Third Avenue Church originally from Fiji; Hiba Tayofik, an Iraqi refugee who came to Canada six years ago; Sylvie Niyongere, a sociology student at the University of Saskatchewan originally from Burundi; Eleanor Sunchild, a Cree lawyer from Thunderchild First Nation; and Abiti Bhuyan, originally from Assam, India.
Ultimately, Lindgren says she hopes the conference will “be an opportunity to bring women together to share their experiences and to get to know one another.”
Registration for the women’s conference is $20 and the deadline is April 24. To register, call Barb at 306-445-8171 or email [email protected].
