A Memorial Meeting for Grace Pritchard MBE, who declared in 1959 and pioneered to help form the first LSA of Bangor in 1959, was held in Shalom House, North Belfast on Sunday 5th April. The meeting was organised with the help of Theresa McBurney, Grace’s former assistant at the New Lodge Nursery School, where Grace worked through the troubles until she retired. The programme consisted of mainly Baha’i prayers and readings interspersed with Grace’s favourite music. Among the 38 people who attended were fellow principles of Nursery Schools, former colleagues, former Nursery School pupils, Grace’s son daughter in law and grandson, and Grace’s spiritual children, who had learned of the faith through Grace. June Hoskins (nee Glover) who had been at Grace’s Nursery School in Frederick Street, and learned of the Faith from Grace, came over from England for the occasion.
When people remembered Grace, they remember her eyes, big blue eyes, as if gazing out at the sea of West Donegal, where she was born and brought up. They remember her loving smile, her delight in and love of children, how she made each child feel safe and special, how she would cook their favourite dishes. They remember her sharpness and displeasure when anybody did anything to trample on the well-being or rights of children or, heaven forbid any violence or cruelty. Theresa remembered how Grace asked her to buy toys for the children, and how when she came back from the shops with dolls for the girls and guns for the boys – Grace was horrified. Pat Skelton remembered Grace’s words: ‘’If a small child never learns through first-hand experience, playing with natural things like earth and water, none of the rest of their education will have any real meaning, it will be just words about words”. They remember her for her actions: during the troubles when internment was introduced and the New Lodge Road was, was in uproar, she brought mothers and children back to her home in Bangor. They remembered her encouragement – how she nurtured people, helped them to accomplish their dreams: For Theresa, who had left school at 14, it was encouragement to go to college and get qualifications, for Lesley, it was help in public speaking. They remember her help and advice when dealing with personal problems, whether dealing with problems at work or dealing with children who were upset or insecure. Peter Rodie remembered Grace as someone who introduced him to the United Nations Society, and then to the Faith when he said he was interested in world unity.
The North Down Museum was the setting for an evening of light & unity on Saturday 2 May 2009. Amongst the people attending were Councillor Anne Wilson, representing the North Down Borough Council and her husband Brian Wilson, representative of the Green Party. Also present was the Baha’i Council for Northern Ireland representative, Patricia Irvine. The evening included a candlelit devotional with ‘The Wayfarers’ Choir and an inspiring talk on the Bahá'í Faith and on the history of the North Down Community. To conclude the evening, a moving audio visual presentation was shown with photographs of the first Local Spiritual Assembly in 1959 together with many other photographs of the Northern Ireland community throughout the years to 2009.
Cllr Kate Lagan was moved by a photograph of Mahin Gornall’s final year Baha’i School in Iran. The teacher, central in the photograph was Mahin’s Uncle Golshani who was martyred in 1983. Also in the photograph is Mr. F Haddadzadeh, then a 17 year old pupil who was imprisoned in Mashad in March this year. Cllr. Lagan has kindly offered to assist the Baha’i community to make representations to our local MPs for which we are extremely grateful.
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