Faith funding making a difference

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 16/04/2022 (1329 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

This Easter weekend will mark the first one in two years in which Christians are free to gather in the pews of their churches to celebrate.

Similarly, this Passover will also be the first in which those of the Jewish faith can enter synagogues without facing any public health restrictions.

And for Muslims already well into Ramadan, this year’s month-long fast and prayers is finally one in which the community can celebrate together.

These past two years of COVID-19 have tested the faith of all of us, even those who would not describe themselves as religious. But as trying as the pandemic has been, those who have kept the Free Press Religion in the News project moving forward have never wavered.

The funding we’ve received from all walks of faith have enabled us to do what no other major Canadian daily newspaper can — consistently deliver diverse coverage of the central force in the lives of so many Manitobans. Since launching this project in 2018, donations both big and small have funded more than 700 stories that we’ve published online and in our print edition.

We want to keep this project going so we are again passing the collection plate around. Our first ask a year ago raised more than $10,000, which helped pay the way for a wide range of coverage including sending faith writer John Longhurst to Rome to cover the Canadian Indigenous delegation’s recent visit with Pope Francis. We hope this crowd-funding appeal will allow us to do even more for the coming year.

Thank you for considering this opportunity to be a part of telling the story of faith in Manitoba.

— editor Paul Samyn

The Free Press is committed to covering faith in Manitoba. If you appreciate that coverage, help us do more! Your contribution of $10, $25 or more will allow us to deepen our reporting about faith in the province. Thanks! BECOME A FAITH JOURNALISM SUPPORTER