CANTON – The Unitarian Universalist Church in Canton has been awarded an $8,000 grant from  the Unitarian Universalist Association to expand the knowledge and sacred practices of various world’s religions.

The year-long World Spiritual Practices Project (WiSPP) will support experiences from a diversity of religious and spiritual perspectives that will be conveyed through workshops, worship, speakers, arts and cultural performances, and programming for congregants, the public, and potential future UUs.

The World Spiritual Practices Project launches to the community on Friday, August 23 with Rumi in the Garden, a poetry walk in the garden and front lawn of the Unitarian Universalist Church.

The initiative will include expanding the understanding of Buddhism during the creation of the Tibetan Chenrezig Sand Mandala hosted in the fall by St. Lawrence University, celebrations of the Hindu culture in collaboration with Clarkson University Friends of India, and opportunities to explore the spiritual practices of our indigenous community. The project will invite the community to engage in Earth-centered, harvest, and solstice traditions as well as celebrations and holy holidays within the Abrahamic faiths.