CommuNIqué - Newsletter of the Bahá'í Community in Northern Ireland
Issue 104 - 12 Bahá 162 BE - 1 April 2005 CE

 

COMMUNITY NEWS

 

NORTH DOWN'S CINEMATIC TRIUMPH

North Down Community held a fundraising event on 26 February, a dinner and cinema showing at the privately owned Tudor Cinema, Comber. The event itself proved to be very successful. The film, “My Big Fat Greek Wedding”, which is a romantic comedy, seemed to be enjoyed by everyone as there was a lot of laughter! Some of the friends who had brought their enquirers commented on how nice it was to be able to invite them to a social and fun event. A total of £500 was raised and a cheque has now been sent in aid of the national fund for the new Edinburgh Bahá'í Centre, the property goal that the Universal House of Justice has given to the Bahá'í community of the UK. Many thanks to all who supported our event.

KC


LONDONDERRY

 Dr John E. Esslemont

For the February “Deepening in Derry” Dr Iain Palin presented a talk on Dr John Esslemont. His was a life unlike many others, a short life of true service to the Cause matched by the other handful of Baha’is honoured with the title of ‘Hand of the Cause’. Dr Esslemont was the first Westerner to attain this status. He led a truly inspirational and intriguing life, one that Bahá'ís can learn from and those who where in attendance, I feel, learned the lesson. No matter how little time we are given, or even if we are weakened by sickness, we can still change the world, and make a difference to those around us.

CTP


MORE THAN 350 PRIMARY SCHOOL CHILDREN SING BAHÁ’Í SONGS

During Integrated Education Week, the Oakgrove Primary School in Londonderry invited Dr Keith Munro (Farrah’s Grandad) to take the assembly on Wednesday 2 March. CDs of two songs were left with her teacher well before and the class, as well as the school choir, rehearsed We Are Drops of One Ocean (with actions) as well as We Are One.

On the morning Keith spoke briefly about the ‘three onenesses’ and progressive revelation. He then, with the help of P5 pupils, unfurled a laminated banner of ‘Blessed is the Spot’ which was about 16 feet in length and had been coloured in by pupils of the Bahá'í children’s class in Derry. The prayer was then read, and the songs were sung: it was a joy to see the whole school doing the actions to We Are Drops. After the proceedings were ended Keith was presented with a certificate for helping the school and a sticker badge for his coat!

CKM


INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY IN OMAGH

Over 200 women from all over Ireland, and some men, gathered in the Silverbirch Hotel in Omagh on 8 March to celebrate International Women's Day. The event was organised by the Rural Community Network in conjunction with Omagh Women's Area Network, Cookstown District Council and Omagh District Council.

The theme was “Exploring Diversity” and the keynote speaker was Melanie Verowerd who is the South African ambassador to Ireland. She gave an excellent presentation which set the positive tone for the rest of the day, we later learnt that in her conversation with Vida Lake that her talk was based on the principles of the Bahá'í Faith.

Among the other presentations was one from the Bahá'í Community of Omagh given by Vida Lake who gave a beautiful presentation on the life and sacrifice of Táhirih and the early history of International Women's Day.

The Omagh Ethnic Community Support Group added a splash of colour to the day when women, including Nadereh Hedayati and Vida Lake and one brave man, came to the front of the hall and introduced themselves and their various countries and all wearing their national costumes.

After lunch there were workshops, including one on the Baha'i Faith which addressed the subject of equality of men and women. Many interesting questions and comments were put forward and one lady from Co. Armagh, who knows the Graham family, said that she uses quotations from a Baha'i book when she is giving talks at various meetings. It was a most enjoyable and interesting day and many opportunities to talk about the Faith came about in such a natural way and there was genuine interest and many questions were asked.

RJ


COMMUNITY CHANGES

  • We bid farewell to Pat Baillie of Carrickfergus, who passed away 2 March,
  • Michael Barr of Londonderry has declared his faith in Bahá'u'lláh and is warmly welcomed into the community,
  • John Stevenson has moved into Newtownards,
  • And we welcome back to Castlereagh Shirin Jamshidi who has been serving as a youth volunteer at the House of Worship in Australia.
 

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