The Multifaith Action Society (also known as MAS) promotes interreligious understanding. Members believe that building interfaith bridges is essential for communities and contributes to a more resilient world. MAS has undertaken a wide variety of community-based projects and initiatives over the course of its forty-three year history. From the outset, the Society has sought ways to bring together the many faith groups which characterize Vancouver and to sponsor socially-responsible and relevant initiatives relating to the common good. For example, some of MAS’s earliest board members co-founded the Greater Vancouver Food Bank, which presently provides assistance to 28,000 people suffering from food insecurity each week.
Early in the organization's development, the Society mobilized its limited resources primarily in the interest of public education and interfaith advocacy. However, as the Society matured, it began to play a much more active role in the community through organizing interfaith events, sponsoring conferences, and serving in an advisory capacity for those interested in adopting policies or fostering environments that are more welcoming to people of faith.
Among MAS’s most recent or ongoing initiatives are: 1) The Multifaith Calendar, published annually by the Multifaith Action Society for the past 32 years and featuring upwards of 500 spiritual observances from over a dozen world religions, with accompanying background information and details of any important cultural or ethical considerations, such as faith-based holidays or dietary restrictions; 2) Multifaith - Be The Change Program, inspiring people to take action and build a better world in the face of global climate change, social injustice, ecological chaos and economic crisis by relating these issues back to specific, measurable, and realistic actions that we can easily integrate into our daily lives; 3) 2010 Winter Olympics Security Dialogue, addressing racism and promoting multiculturalism; 4) Multifaith Socials, creating a safe space where members of diverse faiths and multicultural communities meet on an ongoing basis to develop strong relationships and community partnerships; and 5) The "Power of Spirit" Project, conceived with the intention of gathering BC's myriad faith communities together in interpersonal dialogue to explore the ways in which their spiritual beliefs have helped them to overcome adversity throughout history and into the present day.
