With the support of wonderful volunteers, Faith Connections’ Scripture Sound Bytes was launched in 2007. Scripture Sound Bytes (SSB) invites young adults (18-39 years) to gather each week to discover how the Sunday readings relate to their own lives. Hosted at St. Christopher’s parish in Mississauga, these gatherings offer opportunity for prayer, reflection, and social time for the young adults of the west end.

Coming up to its three year anniversary, Scripture Sound Bytes is excellently run by dedicated volunteers and supported by Fr. Scott Young, St. Christopher’s pastor. As such it has been decided that SSB will become “St. Christopher’s Scripture Sound Bytes.”

We've posted a new prayer tool on Imagination in Prayer. This Ignatian method of prayer asks us to place ourselves back in time into the Biblical scene. Use your senses to imagine what you might see, hear, feel, taste, and/or smell. St. Ignatius, founder of the Society of Jesus (Jesuit Order), “encouraged people to develop an intimate relationship with God who loves them and desires the best for them.” It seeks to find the truth of our heart and not just the truth of facts.

Click here to learn more!

Over the last year, we as a Faith Connections community have had the opportunity to reflect on the importance of silence, stillness and solitude.  This theme was integrated into many of our initiatives including October’s Hike and Prayer on Toronto Island, our Theology on Tap talks in November and April, and the Lenten Listening Busy Persons' Retreat. As we enjoy the rejuvenating summer season, let us continue to integrate silence into our lives.

Redemptorist High School Retreat Team in Toronto – Seeking Young Adult Team Members!

Resumes are being accepted for those interested in joining the Redemptorist's High School Retreat Team in Toronto.  This is ideal for University students who have an interest in the faith development of high school students and who would like to be a mentor and model for our youth.

For more information, click here.

Our everyday experiences can expose us to new understanding and draw us closer to God. As a university student, Gregory Beath risked eating a food he had never tried before and was pleasantly surprised. He reflects on how this risk allowed him to connect with a culture, a people, and an individual’s struggle for livelihood in Canada…

How many times have you passed by an interesting-looking building and wished you could go inside?

On Saturday and Sunday, May 29th and 30th, the City of Toronto opened the doors to Toronto's architectural wonders! This annual event is called “Doors Open Toronto”. Faith Connections decided to make it a more meaningful event and organized a “Hike and Prayer” for the Saturday afternoon.

The Catholic Register is assembling a new team of Youth Speak News writers from across Canada for the 2010-11 season.

Vanessa Nicholas-Schmidt, Faith Connections Program Director, will be taking an eight-month leave of absence to pursue studies at Regis College, University of Toronto. We wish Vanessa all the best in her studies. We are currently conducting a search for a temporary replacement for her position. We invite you to tell others about the job posting below.

Dear Friends,

Your concern, prayers and support went with me as I returned to Haiti in January after the earthquake. It was a source of courage and hope for me and I was able because of you to transmit this to those around me. Each day brought new realization of the extent of the damage and disruption in the life of that tiny island country and the in the life of each of the Haitian people that I met.

Food forms a relationship between people, the Earth and God and thus should be a spiritual experience from production to consumption.

Fr. Jim Profit, S.J., underscored this message during an evening of Lenten reflection hosted at the Newman Centre by the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace and Faith Connections March 8.

Click here to read the article by Carolyn Girard at The Catholic Register.