Wednesday, 14 October 2026 · Thomas Merton Centre, Oakville

Twenty-five years at one table

The Interfaith Council of Halton marked its twenty-fifth anniversary over breakfast, in a full room. Here are the photographs, the short films taken during the morning, the message from our third founding Co-Chair, and the presentation exactly as it was shown.

The morning

It began with two gatherings, and an open door

The Council was founded in 2001, after two gatherings at the Al-Falah Islamic Centre in Oakville — Together We Stand, and soon afterwards, at Eid, Together We Celebrate. Three Co-Chairs were chosen and the door was left open. Twenty-five years later, on a Wednesday morning in October, the room was full again.

Two of the three founding Co-Chairs were in the room: Imam Abdul-Qayyum Mufti and the Rev. Dr. Mòrar Murray-Hayes. The third, Rabbi Paul Sidlofsky, now serves a congregation in the United States, and sent the message you can watch below.

The morning opened with a land acknowledgement and a blessing over the food, read in Hebrew, in transliteration and in English. Nine faith traditions sit at this table — Bahá’í, Buddhism, Christianity, First Nations Spirituality, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Sikhism and Zoroastrianism — and the Golden Rule was read from each of them in turn. Guests were welcomed from the Town of Oakville, from Halton Region, from Halton Regional Police, and from all three levels of government. The Council was presented with certificates and letters of greeting: from Sima Acan, Member of Parliament for Oakville West; from Stephen Crawford, Member of the Provincial Parliament for Oakville, on behalf of the Government of Ontario; and from Rob Burton, Mayor, on behalf of Oakville Town Council. All three are below.

Thank you to everyone who came, to the faith leaders who opened the morning and offered the blessing, to the volunteers who set out the chairs, poured the coffee and carried everything in and out again, and to the Thomas Merton Centre for having us.

The photographs

A full house

Photographs from the morning, in the order they were taken. Click any one of them to see it large.

The hall at the Thomas Merton Centre as the morning begins (1 of 19)

Tables laid for breakfast, with the head table at the front (2 of 19)

A full room — guests from across Halton at the 25th Anniversary Breakfast (3 of 19)

Imam Abdul-Qayyum Mufti with Council members, in front of the Blessing of Food, read in Hebrew, in transliteration and in English (4 of 19)

Faith leaders and Council members gathered at the front of the hall (5 of 19)

Council members and faith leaders, 14 October 2026 — among them Imam Abdul-Qayyum Mufti (left), Vida Rosen, the Rev. Malcolm French scp, Pravin Lata Sharma, the Rev. Deborah Laforet in the interfaith stole, and the Rev. Dr. Mòrar Murray-Hayes (6 of 19)

Council members and faith leaders together at the front of the hall (7 of 19)

The Council with its guests from the Town, the Region and Halton Regional Police (8 of 19)

The Council and its guests, 14 October 2026 (9 of 19)

Certificates of recognition presented to the Council on its twenty-fifth anniversary (10 of 19)

The Council receives certificates marking twenty-five years (11 of 19)

Certificates of recognition, presented during the breakfast (12 of 19)

Council members on the stage at the Thomas Merton Centre (13 of 19)

Council members on the platform — from the left: Imam Abdul-Qayyum Mufti; the Venerable Jeff Ward; the Rev. Deborah Laforet, in the interfaith stole; the Rev. Dr. Mòrar Murray-Hayes behind; Pravin Lata Sharma; the Rev. Malcolm French scp; and, at the right, Vida Rosen (14 of 19)

In front of the opening slide — Twenty-five years at one table (15 of 19)

Imam Abdul-Qayyum Mufti with guests, in front of the title slide of the morning’s presentation, Twenty-five years at one table (16 of 19)

The company gathered as the morning draws to a close (17 of 19)

Everyone who came to the 25th Anniversary Breakfast, 14 October 2026 (18 of 19)

Guests and Council members together at the close of the breakfast (19 of 19)

Sent to the breakfast

Greetings and certificates

Three levels of government marked the anniversary in writing.

Greetings to the Interfaith Council of Halton on its twenty-fifth anniversary, from Sima Acan, Member of Parliament for Oakville West — Sima Acan, Member of Parliament for Oakville West
A certificate recognising the Council on the occasion of its 25th Anniversary, and the breakfast as “a meaningful opportunity to bring together communities across Oakville”.

Greetings to the Interfaith Council of Halton on its twenty-fifth anniversary, from Stephen Crawford, Member of the Provincial Parliament for Oakville — Stephen Crawford, Member of the Provincial Parliament for Oakville
A letter of greetings and, on behalf of the Government of Ontario, a certificate: “twenty-five years ago, in the year the world changed, faith leaders in Oakville chose a path of solidarity, understanding, and dialogue.”

Greetings to the Interfaith Council of Halton on its twenty-fifth anniversary, from Rob Burton, Mayor of the Town of Oakville — Rob Burton, Mayor of the Town of Oakville
Written on behalf of Town Council and the residents of Oakville, recalling the two gatherings of 2001 — Together We Stand and Together We Celebrate — that began it all.

From the morning

Five short clips

Taken on a phone from where we were sitting, so they are short and a little unsteady — but they are the sound of the room.

13 seconds
A reading from the podium, with the hall looking on.

9 seconds
Moving to the front of the hall.

13 seconds
A speaker at the podium.

11 seconds
During the programme.

13 seconds
The hall, partway through the morning.

A message from our third founding Co-Chair

Rabbi Paul Sidlofsky

Founding Co-Chair in 2001, now serving a congregation in the United States. He could not be in the room, so he sent this — and it was played to the breakfast from the platform.

Three minutes.

The presentation

Twenty-five years at one table

All 43 slides, as they were shown on the morning. Swipe, scroll, or use the arrows. Slide 23 carried Rabbi Sidlofsky’s message, which is above.

Slide 1 of 43

Swipe, or scroll sideways

Download the presentation

PowerPoint file, about 27 MB. It contains Rabbi Sidlofsky’s video, which is why it is large.

The work carries on

The table is still set

Twenty-five years is not a milestone to reach and put away. The monthly meetings continue, and so do the Interfaith Youth Festival in Halton’s schools, the Interfaith Peace Camp for children, and the gatherings we hold whenever something far away wounds people here.

Our gatherings are open to everyone.

See what is coming up Get in touch