OttawaWatch: An event to ponder
By Lloyd Mackey
HAVING been involved in writing about The Hill for almost ten years, I have become aware of the many Christian groups that cluster around the political institutions here, all with the objective of providing some kind of influence on the body politic.
Increasingly, several people close to the Hill scene have been wondering if there might be a way of bringing representatives of these groups together for a day or two, to get to know each other better. In addition, some are wondering about providing, within such an event, a cohesive opportunity to present a common front to public servants, Christian leaders in the city, politicians and diplomats.
……
Each of those other groupings, as well as the increasing number of organizations and movements coming from other non-Christian faith backgrounds, have their own equivalent spinoffs providing a range of unique faith/political interfaces.
For example, one of the most organized and, for matters of bringing about some cohesiveness to faith-based influence, is the Aga Khan Foundation. Among other things, the AKF is developing a partnership with the federal government, to turn the former war museum, located almost within eyesight of my press gallery perch in the Parliament Buildings, into a centre for the advancement and understanding of religious pluralism.
(It would actually be within direct eyesight, if it was not blocked by the sleek glassy facade of the National Gallery, parked beside the intersection of the Rideau Canal and Ottawa River.)
Ismailimail 