A group of Sherwood Park residents is putting messages of love and support around the site of the area’s first mosque.
Organizer Lisa Slywka said she created “Show your love, fill the fence” in response to the shooting last Sunday at a Quebec City mosque that killed six people.
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“When Sunday occurred…we were all completely shocked and devastated,” she said.
Slywka, who is a communications instructor at NAIT, said she has a diverse student body and wanted to send messages of inclusivity to the area’s Muslim community.
An impromptu gathering of parents and children took place Sunday afternoon at Broadway Crescent and Broadview Road, where the mosque is being constructed.
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“I think in the immediate [future] that all the Muslim community here in Sherwood Park needs to know that we as Sherwood Parkers, we support them. We welcome them. We include them as people we shop with, people we go swimming with or whatever,” she said.
Slywka is asking residents to put their notes and messages up by February 14, Valentine’s Day.
“I thought about the fact that this is a great opportunity for people to show their love of anything – be it romantic or platonic,” she said.