Discovery Programs 2020
Weeklong
4 Day
J u l y 5 - 11
S e p t 24 - 27
AN UNFORGETTABLE EXPERIENCE
Explore religions. Observe rituals. This video highlights the Discovery Week.
ENCOUNTER
an Hasidic Jewish yeshiva
a Muslim congregation at Friday prayer
a Zen meditation
a Sikh langar meal
and much more
WHAT TO EXPECT
Lectures
Introductory talks give you a map of the religious topography and advice on how to best savour the experience.
Class talks are given on each religion covered, providing excellent insight into the religions we visit.
Religions Explored
Weeklong Program
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Buddhism
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Christianity
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Daoism
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Hinduism
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Islam
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Judaism
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Native Spirituality
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Rasta
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Sikhism
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Wicca
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Zoroastrianism
4 Day Program
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Bahá’í
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Christianity
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Hinduism
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Islam
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Judaism
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Mormonism
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Sikhism
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Unitarianism
Site Visits
Between classes, we venture out to visit places of worship, visiting at least one site for each religion.
The visits are more than tours. You will meet hosts, encounter communities, ask questions, explore fantastic architecture, share meals, and often observe ritual. In some instances, we will be invited to join in and experience the ritual ourselves (optional, never obligatory).
Schedule
Through years of practice we have honed our schedule to optimize the combination of excellent guides, arresting architecture, and visits timed to observe ritual and communal life.
You'll explore with a great group of people, savour tasty food and, lastly, you'll love the classes - participants often marvel at how scholarly yet accessible they are.
It's a rich experience - hold on to your hats!
Weeklong Schedule
4 Day Schedule
REASONS PEOPLE ATTEND
Cultural Exploration
Professional Development
Lifelong Learning
Diversity Training
Spiritual seeking
Intellectual curiosity
Peace building
Educational Travel
FROM OUR EVALUATION FORMS
Over 15 years, 95% of participants say the program "exceeded expectations" on feedback forms
Reasons people give for how the week exceeds expectations:
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the lectures greatly surpass what they anticipated
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the warm welcome and quality of the site visits
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the interaction with other attendees
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the passion of our speakers at the sites
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seeing the religions in their own communities
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the whole being more than the sum of the parts (food, people, ritual, music, architecture)
What our participants say
Shawn Newton
Minister at First Unitarian - Toronto, ON
Luc Bussières
Sociology of Religion professor at Université de Hearst - Timmis, ON
CBC Metro Morning
Listen to Brian's interview with Matt Galloway.