“We hope these sessions help us build a strong community of Christians in Ottawa.”

Elizabeth Mabie
Spur Ottawa Writer

What’s for lunch? Once a month, from March to May, the Workplace Network will serve a hearty meal of thought-provoking content from guest speakers, with a side of discussion groups. These interactive luncheon seminars aim to encourage believers to bring Christ into the workplace.

The “Taking Our Faith to Work” series offers different methods to help Christians navigate their workplace and share their beliefs with fellow employees.

“Our heart at the Workplace Network is to have a city full of Christ followers who are comfortable and confident taking their faith to work and using it to make their workplaces better, stronger, and more Kingdom oriented,” says Jennifer Parr, a Workplace Network leader. “If you are a Christian in the workplace, we don’t want you to feel lonely or tentative about your faith.”

The sessions are scheduled for March 16, April 13, and May 11, running from noon to 1:00 p.m. Participants need to register, but the events are free.

“It wasn’t until later in my career that I started to understand and believe that I was a Christian, following Christ 24/7.”

Each session has a different theme with March’s being, “Bringing a Christ-Like Character to Work”. The session starts with a video and explanation of what it means to be Christ-like, which leads into participants contributing their thoughts on the topic. Guest speakers share their experiences conducting themselves in this manner at their jobs. Participants will then break off into small groups for discussion and to connect with each other spiritually.

“We hope these sessions help us build a strong community of Christians in Ottawa from across all denominations, and that the sessions form relationships where people support and encourage each other,” explains Parr.

Parr is passionate about creating a thriving faith-based community and fostering safe space to share the Gospel. She describes herself as once having been a “submarine Christian”: A Christ follower who would resurface after the work week was over.

“I went to church on Sunday and then I’d go underwater from Monday to Friday in my workplace,” she says. “I wasn’t conscious about how I was taking my faith to work or if I had a Christ-like character. It wasn’t until later in my career that I started to understand and believe that I was a Christian, following Christ 24/7.”

Parr believes when people understand that they can rebuild their work environment into a more welcoming place, they will take those first steps and work towards making it a reality. Taking Our Faith to Work’s aims for the conversations with guest speakers and other participants to help push everyone in that direction.

“I hope that the participants will take away a sense that they are not alone, that they’re part of a community, that they encourage each other, and that they’ll learn from one another,” Parr states. “I hope that they’ll be inspired to transform our workplaces, because when we change that environment, we can transform our city.”