What traditional instrument is widely used in Ivorian music? What is the name of the traditional Spanish dance accompanied by hand clapping? What river flows through Quebec City?
Do you know the answers to these global trivia questions?
Last month in Québec, nearly 100 people representing 15 nationalities put their knowledge to the test at Supper of the Nations, an intercultural dinner event hosted by MCC Quebec’s Migration and Resettlement Program. The event sparked new connections, strengthened existing relationships, and celebrated cultural diversity.
Guests arrived to find tables named after Quebec cultural symbols such as poutine, ‘oreilles de crisse’ or crescent-shaped pork rinds, the arrowhead sash, Maurice Richard, the rigodon dance, and tuques. Around the hall, country flags hung from the corners, marking stations where volunteer church members — now proud chefs — stood behind silver hot plates filled with their homemade dishes.
Imagine the rich aromas filling the room! To name just a few dishes, there was Mexican soup served alongside Guatemalan enchiladas, Haitian sticky rice with fried pork and, at another table, Algerian couscous with Madagascaran ginger carrot salad. Lebanese taboulé and hummus were heaped onto plates, as were Italian lasagna, sauerkraut with sausages from France, and Portuguese cod. Quebec was represented with classic dishes like pudding, shepherd’s pie, and traditional beans.
For dessert, there were crepes with maple syrup, Algerian cookies, sweet Portuguese rice, dates, and a special Chilean cake. And to top it all off, Andrée, a member of Sainte Rose Church, originally from Cameroon, presented Zacharie Leclair, MCC Quebec representative, with a special bottle of champagne in gratitude for the evening. Zacharie called all the volunteer chefs onto the stage and uncorked the bottle, not without spraying champagne on the projector and the guests at the front table in the process. Then, Andrée offered each chef a sip of champagne. Needless to say, the intention to celebrate had been accomplished in full.
After supper, two newcomers shared stories of migration to their new homes in the Lower Laurentians, communities north of Montreal. Odjé spoke about the challenges he faced on the journey to Canada with his family from Côte d’Ivoire. Mathias, from Spain, described how the French courses offered through MCC’s Migration and Resettlement Program have been supporting him as he settles into life in Quebec.
Supper of the Nations gave church members a rare opportunity to meet other Mennonite Brethren churchgoers they might not normally have a chance to break bread with (or enchiladas, in this case). It was also a chance to highlight how MCC Quebec’s Migration and Resettlement Program continues to grow alongside the newcomers it serves.
The event closed with a spirited round of global trivia, with questions for each country represented, followed by a prize draw for donated treasures: houseplants, a meal at a restaurant, a Moroccan soup bowl, North African sweets, and a recipe book. The warm and welcoming atmosphere created by all participants made the evening into much more than a dinner; it became a joyful, laughter-filled expression of community across cultures.
Zacharie read this passage from Leviticus as guiding words for not only the evening’s gathering, but MCC’s Migration and Resettlement program as a whole:
33 “‘When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. 34 The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the Lord your God.
Leviticus 19:33-34