Present, Past and Future Multifaith Calendars...
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2025 Multifaith Calendar - Pathways to Peace
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2025 Multifaith Calendar   ...Printed Wall Version...  srp:  $15.95 (CDN) / $14.95 (USD)

 


As multiple conflicts rage across the world, it can be easy to give in to feelings of hopelessness about humanity’s prospects for a peaceful and prosperous future. The dream of true and lasting world peace is universal, yet elusive. What will it take for us to finally set aside our petty differences and historical grievances to find a common vision for humanity? Does peace simply entail the absence of war, or does it incorporate freedom from all forms of injustice and oppression?

Many philosophers and spiritual leaders have posited that we cannot achieve global peace and unity until we  realize peace within ourselves – an intriguing perspective inviting new and creative interpretations. Perhaps, peace need not be more complicated or grandiose than a walk amongst the wildflowers or a late-summer sunrise.

In the 2025 Multifaith Calendar - Pathways to Peace, we invited artists to reflect deeply on these perennial questions and to channel their visions of peace into artwork that soothes the spirit, uplifts the soul, inspires others to action, and ultimately offers solace to a divided world. We hope you find that the included art evokes a sense of both comfort and optimism.

What's New for 2025:  Over the years, the Multifaith Calendar has been privileged to moons and moon cycles according to different Indigenous Peoples, including Nisga'a (northwestern BC) and Ojibwa (eastern BC to western Quebec and in the upper and mid-west in the US), Cree (across western and central Canada and Quebec as well as in Montana), and Coast Salish (Pacific Northwest). This year, the 2025 Multifaith Calendar again features moons and months as observed by the Mi'kmaq First Nations.

The Mi'kmaq are a First Nation of Indigenous people whose territory—called Mi'kma'ki—spans the maritime provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and parts of Newfoundland and Quebec. The Mi'kmaq have lived there for 11,000 years and their language is one of the Eastern Algonquian family of languages. The Mi'kmaw Moons names denote the passage of time by reflecting activities in the natural world through the seasons.

2024 Multifaith Calendar - Reclaiming Our Happiness
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Whether it's gazing up a beautiful sunset on a warm summer evening, welcoming a newborn child into the world, or the excitement of exploring a new place, everyone can fondly recall a moment in which they felt truly happy. But how, after having endured the hardships of the last few years, can we bring ourselves to not only inhabit, but ultimately embody that feeling? To elevate ourselves to a place where we can inspire feelings of 

joy in others, and move forward with assurance that we're ready and able to affect positive the change we so sorely need.

Look inside and see what will make us smile once again and continue to build hope for the future. We hope this gives you an idea of the fertile space we hope to explore in the new 2024 Multifaith Calendar: Reclaiming Our Happiness.

What's New for 2024:  Over the years, the Multifaith Calendar has been privileged to feature aboriginal seasons and moons according to different First Nations, including Nisga'a (northwestern BC) and Ojibwa (eastern BC to western Quebec and in the upper and mid-west in the US), Cree (across western and central Canada and Quebec as well as in Montana), and Coast Salish (Pacific Northwest). This year, the 2024 Multifaith Calendar features moons and months as observed by the Mi'kmaq First Nations.

The Mi'kmaq are a First Nation of Indigenous people whose territory—called Mi'kma'ki—spans the maritime provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and parts of Newfoundland and Quebec. The Mi'kmaq have lived there for 11,000 years and their language is one of the Eastern Algonquian family of languages. The Mi'kmaw Moons names denote the passage of time by reflecting activities in the natural world through the seasons.

 
2023 Multifaith Calendar - Building Our Future Together
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The last few years have been challenging, yet we have persevered. We have conserved our energies, as needed, and have tapped into more inner strength than likely any of us knew we had. Our struggles have not been easy, but we have deepened our resolve and grown immeasurably in spite of—indeed, because of—them.

Yet now it is time for us to open our hearts and work towards building our future together. To meet the neighbours we have never visited before and to join forces with friends, newcomers, and new acquaintances. Our collective needs are vast, but working in concert, we can surely meet them. And when trouble arises and we begin to lose hope, we can care for ourselves and trust that others will soon pick up the slack. For there is no need for fear or overwhelm when you know you are just one part of a loving, cohesive community.


In this 2023 Multifaith Calendar, we celebrate the beautiful and necessary work of BUILDING OUR FUTURE TOGETHER. Read through and see how our artists offer their visions of hope, teamwork, community, and mutual support. We hope these will inspire you and bring you courage in the year ahead. Enjoy and share with your friends and co-workers!

We are excited to once again bring some new design elements in our 2023 Multifaith Calendar. Youll continue to see a new and easier to read font, colour coding of faith symbols to make it easier to cross-reference between the monthly grids and sidebars, and new colour coding for those observances with a religious accommodation advisement (also marked with an asterisk *). Please enjoy and we welcome any feedback you may have.

In addition, the MFC has been privileged to feature aboriginal seasons and moons according to different First Nations, including Nisgaa (northwestern BC), Ojibwa (eastern BC to western Quebec and in the upper and mid-west in the US), and Cree. This year, the 2023 Multifaith Calendar once again features moons and months as observed by the Coast Salish First Nations.

The Coast Salish is a group of ethnically and linguistically related indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast, living in British Columbia (Canada) and the US States of Washington and Oregon. They are part of the Indigenous Peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast and speak one of the Salishan languages.


Featuring 24 pieces of original art from visual artists across North America and Internationally, our 2023 MFC is dedicated to Building Our Future Together.


Find out more about our 2023 MFC cover artist Sherron Fairbairn.

Click here to view the inset images included in the 2023 edition.

2022 Multifaith Calendar - Resilience
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Even in the midst of rising seas and turbulent waters, somehow life goes on. Nature endures; people band together. And more than that, they thrive.

Forests fill with new growth, just a short time after experiencing devastating wildfire. Previously endangered whales and turtles bounce back in abundance, the moment they are given a chance. Communities find new ways to come together and develop creative solutions to their most long-standing problems. Neighbours reach out—perhaps for the first time—to share food and supplies with one another. Family bonds strengthen; children and grandparents are even more cherished than before. And people learn that taking risks, making mistakes, and accepting setbacks are all inevitable parts of life. Without them we could never grow or learn. 

Challenges bring suffering, it is true, but they also bring new opportunities. They give us a fresh start. A second chance to improve ourselves and our societies. They teach us courage and humility. During such

 times, we often have no choice but to stare down our personal and communal imperfections. To see ourselves and others as we really are. The process is painful, but it is also a necessary truth-telling. For it allows us to deepen into empathy and acceptance. And through it, we are purified together, like coal into diamonds. 

In this 2022 Multifaith Calendar, we celebrate RESILIENCE and the hope that keeps us afloat, even during the most difficult times. Our artists share their visions of strength, renewal, community, growth, and perseverance. May these inspire and sustain you over the course of the coming year.

Published annually by the Multifaith Action Society (MAS), the Multifaith Calendar is a unique educational resource that facilitates understanding of religious observances, occasions and festivals important to a wide spectrum of cultural and faith communities.

Featuring 25 pieces of original art from visual artists across North America and Internationally, our 2022 MFC is dedicated to exploring resilience.

Find out more about our 2022 MFC cover artist Evelyn Beck.

Click here to view the inset images included in the 2022 edition.

2021 Multifaith Calendar - Living Legacies

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2019 Multifaith Calendar -
Coming Together: Exploring New Connections

Featuring 26 pieces of original art from visual artists across both North America and Internationally, the 209 MFC marks the 33rd year of publication and features the theme of Coming Together: Exploring New Connections.

In a world where negativity and polarization are becoming increasingly common, it is easy to become fearful and isolate oneself. But it takes exactly the opposite approach to stem this tide. As such, rather than separate and divide even further, now is the time to take down walls, and come together in new ways.

This year, we are asking what connects us?  Is it economies, politics, a sense of place, a unique culture? What brings people together in dialogue, action and creativity? How do we build new bridges across old divides? Lets look for new paradigms on how to actively engage with each other that holds the promise of inclusion and not exclusion. Lets envision all the wonderful ways to connect.

The 2019 Multifaith Calendar is devoted to Coming Together: Exploring New Connections. All our artists submitted works based on this rich theme. And the variety of subjects and techniques is no less than inspirational.

Our 2019 Multifaith Calendar is dedicated to exploring this theme. We hope you enjoy this edition!
 

2018 Multifaith Calendar - The Power of Inspiration
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Featuring 26 pieces of original art from visual artists across North America and Internationally, the 2018 MFC marks the 32nd year of publication and features the theme of The Power of Inspiration.

Rather than separate and divide even further, now is the time to take down walls, and come together in new ways. 

This year, we are asking what connects us?  Is it economies, politics, a sense of place, a unique culture? What brings people together in dialogue, action and creativity? How do we build new bridges across old divides? Lets look for new paradigms on how to actively engage with each other that holds the promise of inclusion and not exclusion. Lets envision all the wonderful ways to connect.

The 2019 Multifaith Calendar is devoted to Coming Together: Exploring New Connections. All our artists submitted works based on this rich theme. And the variety of subjects and techniques is no less than inspirational.

Our 2019 Multifaith Calendar is dedicated to exploring this theme. Enjoy!
 

Find out more about our 2018 MFC cover artist Darren Julian.

Click here to view the inset images included in the 2018 edition.



2017 Multifaith Calendar - Love and Compassion
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Celebrating its 31^st year, the 2017 Multifaith Calendars theme is 'Love and Compassion.

Look around – what in this world could not benefit from a little more love and compassion? Think about your neighbourhood, office, classroom, city, country, world – everyone benefits from an outpouring of love and compassion. In Canada, where the Multifaith Action Society produces the Multifaith Calendar every year, we are celebrating our 150th year (sesquicentennial anniversary) of confederation.

And as a country Canada has a long history of love and compassion – even when it comes to our internal and external government policies. For almost half a century, we have believed and delivered in a system of universal healthcare for all Canadian citizens. Around the world, we are known as peacekeepers and a safe haven for people fleeing oppression. We have opened our hearts and our borders and our pockets to fund humanitarian projects at home and around the world. We believe in love and compassion as integral Canadian qualities and so we asked our artists to explore this theme.

Where do you find love and compassion? We believe no matter where you live, or what your circumstances, we all have our daily sufferings and our pain. Whether it is emotional, physical or spiritual pain, love and compassion are always a balm to the body and the soul.

We can have compassion for oneself, for other people, for the environment, for animals, for a life condition or illness – in fact whenever your heart responds to pain and suffering – you are called to be compassionate. In other words, you are being called to act in a way that relieves suffering because at its heart, compassion and love are not passive but active agents in the world. Love and compassion calls us to reach us to one another: to join and not separate; to see unity and not division.

Our 2017 MFC is dedicated to exploring this theme.

Find out more about our 2017 MFC cover artist Daniel Nevins .

Click here to view the inset images included in the 2017 edition.


2016 Multifaith Calendar - Gratitude
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Celebrating its 30^th year, the 2016 Multifaith Calendars theme is 'Gratitude.

Most of us in the western world live in the land of plenty – the land of milk and honey – overflowing with resources, freedom, opportunities and beauty.

It is often when we stop; when we give ourselves time (just with ourselves and our thoughts) that we allow our inner most desires and voices to be heard.

It is a smorgasbord of delights. But no matter where one lives, we also live in a world of “duality” and the “evening news”!

On a daily basis, if we listen to constant tales of woe and suffering (which are never ending in the media) we can lose sight of all we truly have to be grateful for in our lives.

These are simple but profound ingredients of gratitude.

Everyones life is full of them. And once we start looking for them, they can come rushing into vision.


This year, we asked our artists to turn their eyes to what opens their hearts, humbles their lives, and makes them sing songs of gratitude.

Asking our Artists “What are you grateful for in your lives?” allowed them to express what they feel passionately about and what they honour in their lives. In turn, it gave us a rich kaleidoscope of work to use for this Calendar.

Find out more about our 2016 MFC cover artist Sravya Kakumanu.

Click here to view the inset images included in the 2016 edition.

 
2015 Multifaith Calendar - Stillness
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Celebrating its 29^th year, the 2015 Multifaith Calendars theme is ‘Stillness.

The world is chaotic. Everyone is busy. It can be difficult to find quiet time. But there is something important in stillness.

It is often when we stop; when we give ourselves time (just with ourselves and our thoughts) that we allow our inner most desires and voices to be heard.

This year we asked submitting artists, “Where do you find stillness?”

Is it…wandering in a field where old totems whisper their ancient stories into gentle breezes?

Or perhaps you find it in the beauty of a grey sky as it opens and spills out its gift of first snow.

In the 2015 Multifaith Calendar, you will find the artists answers and observations are as varied as their life experiences.

From tender moments with animals to deep moments in prayer, stillness is visually portrayed in soft water colours, vibrant oils, spiritual photos and even needlepoint.


Find out more about our 2015 MFC cover artist Sarah Collard.

Click here to view the inset images included in the 2015 edition.


2014 Multifaith Calendar - Transcendence

This years theme “Transcendence” can occur with something past, present or anticipated. The “something” can be anything and anywhere - a sound, a sight, a thought, a flower.

William Blake commented on this phenomenon in his famous words,

“To see a World in a Grain of Sand

And a Heaven in a Wild Flower,

Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand

And Eternity in an hour.” 
Auguries of Innocence

The Course in Miracles gives us another description of this feeling of transcendence: “It is a sense of actual escape from limitations.  If you will consider what this “transportation” really entrails, you will realize that it is sudden unawareness of the body, and a joining of yourself and something else in which your mind enlarges to encompass it. It becomes part of you as you unite with it. And both become whole, as neither is perceived as separate. What really happens is that you have given up the illusion of a limited awareness and lost your fear of union. The love that instantly replaces it extends to what has freed you and unites with it.”  ACIM: 361 text

This year our artists have captured this feeling of transcendence in both words and images. As this is an intensively personal experience we asked our artists to explain how their piece embodies the theme. The interpretation is theirs. 

We hope you find both words and images in this years calendar that move you beyond time and judgment into love and appreciation.

Find out more about our 2014 MFC cover artist Nicholas Bott.

Click here to view the inset images included in the 2014 edition.

There are so many ways to interpret this years theme. Does the nature of spirit live in the sunlight cascading through newly unfurled chartreuse leaves? Can you locate it in your physical world? Or do you find it plays hide and seek, appearing one moment in your favourite song and then disappearing again only to resurface in the depth of prayer?

Surely, this theme is as wide as our imaginations and as deep and mysterious as life itself. This poem speaks to its elusive nature. 

Where does the spirit lie?

Does it sleep inside our hearts or dance inside our minds? Does it rise with the sun and set with grief upon a distant shore?

Where does spirit hide?

Do you find it tucked away in a drawer Hidden between old letters and forgotten lines? Or did you pull it out from under a heavy rock like the tide pulls out of its embrace with the shore?


Where does spirit reside?

Did you find it in the fold of a babys arm? Only to lose it in the pain of a heart broken friend? Did it track you down with its fragrant perfume, just to kiss your soul and vanish once more?

Where does the nature of spirit lie?

The answers are of course personal and universal. Our artists seek to answer this question through a variety of different mediums – oils, acrylics, photos and watercolours. In this years Calendar, our artists attempt to capture what lies in the invisible and animates the visible. Enjoy.

2013 MFC cover artist information here.

2012 MFC - Heart and Soul

What touches our hearts and moves our souls? Is it the face of a sleeping child? Is it the prayer that rises in our heart and sends us to our knees? Is it the smile of a close friend or the beauty of a still and silent forest?

Surely, to each and every heart, the movements of our soul are mysterious. It is like a dancing light we catch glimpses of, yet ever races ahead of us, waiting for us to follow. We cant explain it. Words often fail. Yet, we all know when our hearts have been touched and our souls have been moved. It is as instinctual as breathing.

The 2012 Multifaith Calendar explores the many ways our hearts and souls are delighted, expanded, illuminated and shared.


... And The Great Circle of Life

The Ancient Mayas believed that life was cyclical instead of linear. Therefore if they knew the past, they could in essence predict the future. A lot has been said about the Mayas prediction that the winter solstice December 21, 2012 is the end of a great cycle that was 1,872,000 days or over 5000 years in length. The turning of this great cycle held significance to the Maya. They foretold of catastrophes but also of a new beginning and a chance for a spiritual evolution for mankind.

2012 MFC cover artist info.

Here is how the Hopi Nation, who used the Maya calendar, talked about this special time...

“At this time in history, we are to take nothing personal. Least of all, ourselves. For the moment that we do, our spiritual growth and journey comes to a halt. The time of the lone wolf is over. Gather yourselves! Banish the word struggle from your attitude and vocabulary. All that we do now must be done in a sacred manner and in celebration. We are the ones weve been waiting for.”

Oraibi, Arizona, Hopi Nation


Click here to view a slideshow of the main images included in the 2012 edition.
 



2011 MFC - Celebrating Diversity

We are each unique. Yet we are all one. The great truths of the universe are often not captured in simple one-sided statements. More often than not, it takes the complexity of dualistic pairs of opposites to truly encompass the whole. Think:  night and day. Yin and yang. Unity and diversity. We cannot understand the whole without understanding its opposite sides. And so it is with faith. We only fully understand ourselves by learning to embrace others.

The 2011 Multifaith Calendar is dedicated to celebrating the amazing diversity of life. Within all faiths, there is a truth that belongs to no one and to everyone. It is the soul of goodness, the heart of kindness, the wisdom of the ancients. It is in our hearts, minds and souls, no matter where we live or what faith we practice. We honour this diversity and we celebrate it in each other. It is these many faces of the Divine  that we feature and highlight in our 25^th anniversary 2011 MFC.

Additional information on The 2011 MFC cover art. View the entire 2011 MFC art collection here.



2010 MFC - Cherishing Earth's Bounty

The Earth, especially our Western World, is blessed with abundance. Approaching this years calendar our imaginations can easily swirl in images of the richness of our surroundings: opulent fields that feed us, rivers and lakes which provide fresh drinking water, and wide varieties of food sources for humans and animals alike.

Added to this we are offered count­less opportunities for visual stimulation, and for recreation and relaxation for the soul, mind, and body. Many can cite connection to the Divine on the mountain top, in the lush for­est, or on the expanse of the ocean.

As we of the Multifaith Action Society reviewed the wonderful collection of art which was once again submitted, we realised that the original theme “Earth Bounty” needed also to include recogni­tion that this bounty cannot be taken for granted.


We celebrate it, we honour it, and with all the awareness that we now have, we realise that it needs to be guarded and cherished. It is in this spirit that we offer this years collection of art of different media: to inspire you also to reflect in some new way on our wonderful surroundings.

2010 MFC cover art info.

2009 MFC - Reflections of Joy