Spring is sprung and it’s time for a Crowdfunder

In 2018, the Winnipeg Free Press announced it wanted to do a better job of engaging the various communities in Winnipeg. Did that include the faith community? I decided to find out.

I went to see editor Paul Samyn and then-publisher Bob Cox. As the faith page columnist at the Free Press since 2003, I knew that people in the faith community were disappointed by religion coverage in the newspaper. If there was news about religion, it was usually something bad — a priest involved in scandal or someone blowing things up in the name of God in a far-away country.

The daily life of people of faith, including the many positive contributions they made in Winnipeg and around the world, was mostly absent from the newspaper.

I told Paul and Bob if they wanted to do a better job of serving all the communities in the city, one place to start would be by creating a faith beat. They agreed. But, they said, the newspaper had no money for that. “What if I go out and raise it?” I asked. If I could do that, the Free Press would create the beat, they said.

I did. Generous local faith groups offered their support and Religion in the News Project began in March 2019.

The first article through the project was about Father Sam Arenziano, who was being honoured for his years of faithful service to the city’s Italian Catholic community. That story, written by Brenda Suderman, was on the first page with a large photo. I told people: “There’s a priest on the front page of the Free Press — and he’s not even in trouble!”

It was a joke, but it underscored the goal of the Project: To provide coverage of religion in Manitoba in a way that highlighted the many positive ways people of faith, congregations and other faith-related organizations impact the community. And not only on the faith page on Saturday, but all through the week and in all sections of the newspaper.

Since that time, over 1,000 news articles about local faith have appeared in the Free Press. The stories are also available free of charge on the Free Press website.

Why am I sharing this? First, because there has been a change to the way the Free Press will report about religion. Last month, it started a new partnership with Broadview Magazine (formerly the United Church Observer), a publication about spirituality, justice and ethical living. The partnership is designed to strengthen and broaden the newspaper’s religion coverage.

Together, the Free Press and Broadview will share a reporter, Josiah Neufeld, an award-winning magazine journalist and graduate of the Red River College Polytechnic Creative Communications program. He will be taking my place as the religion reporter; I will continue writing this column.

It’s a unique partnership, made possible by support from the Winnipeg Foundation and modelled after what the Free Press is doing with the Narwhal to report about the environment. As far as I can tell, it’s the first time a Canadian newspaper has partnered with a religious publication in this way, and it could be a model for other newspapers in Canada in the future.

The other reason I am sharing this is because it’s time for the spring Crowdfunder! This is when you can join the 25 or so denominations, organizations and congregations in the city to support this unique project and help to launch it into the future. And because of the new partnership with Broadview, you can now get a tax receipt for your donation!

To make a donation to support this unique project, visit here or mail a cheque to Broadview at 310 Danforth Ave., Suite C1 Toronto, ON M4K 1N6. Write “Religion in the News” in the subject line.

A final thought: After 9/11, Muslims across North America faced suspicion, hatred and, in some cases, verbal and physical harassment. This included Winnipeg, where vandals smeared animal feces and eggs on the walls of the Muslim Islamic Centre. Local Muslims avoided leaving their homes to go to worship, for fear of facing anger and hostility.

In response, Rabbi Neal Rose, a leader in the city’s interfaith movement, helped organize rallies outside of the local mosque on Fridays so Muslims could feel safe and secure inside. The message, he said, was: “We will not let anyone harm those people.”

At that time, Rose dreamed of a day when people of faith in Winnipeg might regularly find ways to stand together to promote interfaith relations and understanding and dispel hate. That dream, he said, was never realized.

I recently had a chance to connect with Rose. I told him I think his dream was, in fact, realized — but not in the way he imagined. Maybe it was being accomplished as Winnipeggers have come together to support the Religion in the News Project. In so doing, they have not only made it possible to learn about other faiths, but also to put a human face on their interfaith neighbours and make it hard for hate to win. He agreed.

And now you can help keep that dream going! Thanks for your support.

faith@freepress.mb.ca

The Free Press is committed to covering faith in Manitoba through our Religion in the News project. This reporting continues because readers like you step forward to fund it.

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