In the spirit of shared humanity, everyone — regardless of faith or creed — is invited to come together for a special service tomorrow.
World Religion Day takes place every year on the third Sunday in January. Some local people of different faiths have been working together to conduct an evening program that promises to be more inclusive than anything else experienced in the city.
“There’s people from a lot of different groups who have moved here, a lot of countries and cultures. It’s not as diverse as Edmonton, but it’s getting there,” explained co-organizer Renie Zeitz.
As a member of the Bahá'í faith she believes in promoting the spiritual unity of all peoples. She noted the word ‘religion’ stems from the Latin ‘religare,’ which means ‘to unite.’
The event is part of an international movement to foster interfaith harmony by emphasizing the ties between all religions.
To that end, Zeitz teamed up with Rev. Connie Lee of the Braeside Presbyterian Church, along with Rev. James Ravenscroft and music director Nancy Chegus of the St. Albert United Church.
The service will start with a prayer by retired senator Thelma Chalifoux, with the possibility of some drumming. There will also be a traditional smudge ceremony, the burning of dried herbs like sweetgrass to cleanse and heal spirits — an important aspect of many First Nations cultures across the world. After this, the individual representatives of each faith will offer their prayers.
“There will be a short service in response to show that we have more in common than we have differences, that we can do things together, we can unite and find common ground,” Zeitz said.
While they bill this as an event with participation “from aboriginal to Zoroastrian” the organizers have been struggling to find an attendee to round out the ‘B’ contingent.
“We’ve hit so many walls trying to find a Buddhist, she laughed. We’ve run into every roadblock for Buddhists.”
The interdenominational service for World Religion Day takes place tomorrow at 7 p.m. in the Braeside Presbyterian Church at 6 Bernard Dr. The event is not affiliated with any religious institution and funds are neither solicited nor accepted.
To learn more about the movement, please visit www.worldreligionday.org.
For more information contact Lee at 780-459-6585.
