Our Story

Who We Are

The Forum for Intercultural Leadership and Learning of the Canadian Council of Churches is an ecumenical Christian partnership through which Canadian Churches work toward intercultural leadership development and ministry learning in Canada and globally.

What We Do

Through The Forum for Intercultural Leadership and Learning, Canadian Churches:

Our Understanding of Intercultural Ministry

As a community we work together toward God’s vision of Just Intercultural Community in which all are able to be fully themselves as created by God. Just Intercultural ministry includes right relationship with God, with each other, and with all of creation. The Biblical vision of Shalom, or Peace, and the idea of Beloved Community help us understand this vision.

We recognize that we have glimpses of this vision and our understanding changes as we explore and experience it together. We recognize that Just Intercultural community and ministry looks different in different contexts. Toward that, we work together to resource communities to develop and name local theologies and praxes.

How We Work

The FILL Reference Group

Representatives of member churches and organizations, the other groups of FILL, and the FILL network gather regularly. They listen to the experiences and needs of member churches and local contexts across Canada toward shaping the work of FILL, equip themselves to champion FILL in their churches, and coordinate the work of the other FILL groups. 

Theology and Research Group

This table invites, fosters, and amplifies the many people working toward theologies of interculturality, connecting faith based intercultural ministry to the learning of other disciplines, and initiates and brings together research on intercultural ministry in the churches. An offering of this group toward describing and defining interculturality in the Canadian context is the document “Interculturality Framework and Guiding Principles: An Invitation to Conversation and Dialogue”  

Training for Transformation 

Members of this group meet on an ad hoc as needed basis to design and facilitate resources for Intercultural Ministry. This is also a space of co-learning and of mentoring program designers and facilitators. Their work can be found on our Programs  and Resources  pages.

Canadian Ecumenical Anti-Racism Network (CEARN)

CEARN seeks to be a space open to anyone engaged in racial justice in and through Canadian churches. It is a space of mutual support and learning from each other. As needs are identified, smaller groups of CEARN members come together for initiatives such as resource creation, workshops, and events. To mark its 20th anniversary, CEARN produced a short document on its purpose, history, and resources  

The FILL Network 

Alumni of the FILL “Engage Difference!” program regularly gather nationally and locally to support and learn from each other. A wider group of people connect through events and programs to support, learn from, and share resources and experiences from intercultural ministry in contexts across Canada and around the world.

Our History

Please visit our history page for more details about our story. We first formed as the Canadian School of Missions in 1921.