Rabbi Daniel Mikelberg of Temple Israel Ottawa and Reverend Canon Gary van der Meer of St. John the Evangelist Anglican Church describe their relationship as bashert, Yiddish for meant to be.

Both men arrived in Ottawa around the same time, both coming from Toronto, and both were quietly connected through a mutual friend: Rabbi Elise Goldstein, a prominent Toronto rabbi who had her own deep interfaith partnership with Reverend van der Meer. She suggested the two men connect. What followed was something neither could have fully anticipated.

Rabbi Mikelberg said they chose to view the challenges and limitations of the COVID pandemic as an opportunity, adapting their programming and gathering virtually to continue building community.

"We recognized that even though there were a variety of things that we could not do, there still were a host of things that we could do," said Rabbi Mikelberg.

Unable to gather in person, the two clergy brought their congregations together via Zoom for shared study sessions, exploring connection and shared values from a place of pandemic-era confinement.

Five years later, that tentative digital friendship has blossomed into one of Ottawa's most meaningful interfaith partnerships, and this June, the Capital Region Interfaith Council (CRIC) will honour them at its annual Joy of Faith event.

CRIC aims to enhance awareness, education, and collaboration of the many faith traditions in the National Capital Region, and to encourage the development of a living and dynamic expression of our pluralistic spiritual community. It is currently headed by the Jewish Federation of Ottawa’s Director of Advocacy and External Relations, Jodi Green. 

The recognition came as a surprise to both. "I had no idea we were being nominated," said Rabbi Mikelberg. "To hear about this last week was a tremendous surprise. It was quite humbling."

For Reverend van der Meer, the work has always been about something more than interfaith goodwill as a concept. He traces his thinking back to a formative encounter with Rabbi Goldstein, who warned him bluntly against what she called "spiritual tourism." The message stuck. "I took that to heart and took that as a challenge to work at real friendship," he said. "And what I learned by doing that was that you have to build trust."

That trust has been tested and deepened over the years. When acts of terrorism struck faith communities, such as in Quebec City, Pittsburgh, New Zealand, and Sri Lanka, Temple Israel and St. John's formed rings of peace around each other's buildings, eventually extending that circle to include a local mosque.

The two congregations have since shared some of the most sacred moments on each other's religious calendars. Members of St. John’s have attended the community Seder at Temple Israel; Reverend van der Meer fasted on Yom Kippur in solidarity. Rabbi Mikelberg and his congregants joined St. John's for Maundy Thursday. During a Sukkot celebration focused on themes of hospitality and thanksgiving, nearly 50 people turned out. 

For Rabbi Mikelberg, the partnership has taken on particular resonance against the backdrop of the past three years, a period he describes honestly as a lonely time for many Jewish people. 

"There are many times where I've been hoping that outside friends would speak up and been disappointed," he said. "But as I think about the relationship that Temple Israel has with St. John's, it's been so soulful to recognize that we're not alone.”

As for what they'd say to other faith leaders about embarking on this kind of work, both men are gentle but direct: start somewhere, go deeper than the surface, and don't expect it to happen in a crowded room. 

"You would not have been able to form this kind of friendship in a large interfaith group alone," said Reverend van der Meer. "It was this separate time we've had together."

Both Rabbi Mikelberg and Reverend van der Meer are being honoured at CRIC’s Joy of Faith event taking place on Sunday, June 7, from 3 to 5 pm at St. Augustine Parish, 1060 Baseline Road. All are invited to attend the celebration, and there will be live musical performances and food. To learn more, email Jodi Green, at [email protected].