TruthBook Religious News Blog

‘For once, we’re all in the same room’
By JON TATTRIE
Sat. Jan 24 - 4:47 AM

Halifax joined the global celebration of World Religion Day on Sunday. A couple hundred people from at least 10 faith groups slipped through a snowstorm to gather at All Saints’ Cathedral in downtown Halifax.

Dozens of groups across Canada and thousands around the world united to celebrate what they say is the common heart of all religions. World Religion Day has been observed on the third Sunday of January annually since 1950, when it was initiated by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of the United States.

The Halifax event was organized by the Baha’i community.

"In the Baha’i writings, it talks about all religions being equal and that the purpose of religion should actually be to unite the human race," said Ariel Borden, a dancer in the Baha’i Army of Light Dance Troupe.

"I think that it’s been really inspirational, in the sense that in this day and age, a lot of us see religions as dividers of humanity."

Sunday was a sort of variety show from faith groups. The Baha’i started things off with the dance troupe’s stomping presentation of the words of Baha’u’llah, the Baha’i founder, who said that world peace was not only possible, but inevitable. Billy Lewis then led the Mi’kmaq Kitpu Youth Drummers and Dancers in a smudge ceremony. A youth group from Beechville Baptist Church presented the word of God through interpretive dance, the Vedenta Ashram Society read from the Hindu scriptures and Saint Matthew’s United Church acted out the parable of the Good Samaritan.

Halifax’s Buddhist community joined in with a series of contemplative songs and the Universalist Unitarian Church added some folksy music. Brahma Kumaris captured much of the sense of the meeting with Four Faces of the Soul, a dance/spoken word piece describing the journey of the soul.

It starts off in Innocence, free and unfrightened, but is soon "protected" by Tradition. It eventually rejects those trappings and the Modern incarnation goes into rebellion. In the end, the peaceful soul enters Shakti, the face of transformation.

Ursula Johnson and Billy Lewis of the Mi’kmaq group spoke about their participation after the event. Johnson said it was the group’s fifth year.

"We really enjoy the opportunity to come and share some practices and some music and forms of celebration of our spirituality from the aboriginal culture," she said.

Lewis, an elder, explained the meaning behind the smudge ceremony. Booming drums echoed through the vast church while the Kitpu group sang high-pitched chants as Lewis fanned the smoke from burning sweetgrass onto the gathering.

Attending World Religion Day was for Lewis a sign that at root, all spiritual values are shared.

Debbie Nicholson, the main organizer from the Baha’is, said they had more than 120 participants, from babies to seniors. She was especially pleased to have the Nova Gospel Ensemble for the first time.

"It really worked well," she said of the group’s rafter-raising performance. "It’s a part of our culture in Nova Scotia, that kind of gospel music, so it was nice to bring that element in."

She acknowledged that not all faiths were present, but said they extend the welcome as wide as they can and drew 10 different faith groups this year, plus the ensemble.

She’s got her eyes on groups like the Quakers for future years to expand the celebration.

"For once, we’re all in the same room," she said of the day.

Labels: Baha'i, Canada, interfaith, Jon Tattrie, World Religion Day

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