Over one hundred people attended the 20th celebration of World Religion Day in the library in Omagh on Sunday 19th Jan. Again this year the celebration coincided with the ‘In Good Faith’ exhibition which is produced under the direction of the Northern Ireland Inter-Faith Forum. The theme of the programme was ‘The Oneness of Religion’ and the excellent audio/visual presentation on this topic, prepared by Colin Palin, set the scene for the afternoon. Mr Eric Bullick, headmaster of Omagh Integrated Primary School, remarked how moved he felt while watching it. He went on to say, ‘some of the World Leaders should have been present to see it’. The children from his school choir sang and this brought a special happiness and joy to the event.
All the readings were from the Bahá'í Writings and read by Mahin Gornall and Dorothy Riordan, along with three students from Drumragh Integrated College. It was particularly pleasing to hear these young people read the words of Bahá'u'lláh and Abdu'l-Bahá with such reverence and meaning. This was undoubtedly due to the enthusiasm and encouragement they received from their headmistress, Lady Rosemary Salisbury. The Chairman of Omagh District Council, Mr. Pat McDonnell, attended and although he did not come prepared to make a speech he was happy to say a few words at the end of the programme. He said how impressed he was with the sentiments of the AV and the readings, and that during his year of office as chairman ‘of all the people I have met and spoken to none have impressed me more than the Bahá'ís and what they are trying to do in the community’. He also remarked at having heard some of the Bahá'ís being interviewed on the local radio on several occasions and that it was pleasing to know that modern means of communication were being used in a positive way and not just for entertainment.
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