On a cold and snowy Sunday afternoon of January 19, close to 250 people of diverse faith communities gathered in the warmth of the atrium of Ottawa City Hall to celebrate World Religion Day. This was one of many World Religion Days taking place around the world that day, each with its own unique theme and form decided upon by the local community.
“World Religion Day is an event that celebrates the religious diversity of the city, and it is also a good forum for people to come together and to talk about a common theme,” said Natalia Rodriguez, a member of the Ottawa Baha’i Community.
World Religion Day has been celebrated at Ottawa City Hall for fourteen consecutive years, and each year the event has had a different focus and program. The theme this year was “A Sacred Life: Beliefs in Action,” and the program began with an Aboriginal blessing followed by the Baha’i prayer for unity. As in previous years, there was a strong musical component to the event, which was provided this year by three choirs: the Unitarian Chamber Choir under the direction of Jacob Caines; the Sikh Children’s Kirtan Group led by Balwinderjit Singh, and the Tamir Choir under the direction of Cantor Daniel Benlolo.
One component that does not change in Ottawa is the support of City Hall which each year proclaims the third Sunday in January as World Religion Day. This year the proclamation was read by City Councilor Marianne Wilkinson, and was accepted by Sandy Brown, a representative of the Baha’i Community of Ottawa as well as by Abdul Rashid, president of the Capital Region Interfaith Council.
A new component to the event this year was a panel discussion on the topic of how belief impacts and inspires the day-to-day lives of adherents of various faith groups. The four members of the panel were Dan Maki of the Christian community, Nadia Abu Zahra of the Muslim Community, Bonnie McCutcheon of the Buddhist community, and Adam Moscoe of the Jewish community. The panel was moderated by Waubgeshig Rice, a local CBC journalist and an Anishinaabe from Wasauksing First Nation, who put the panelists at ease by speaking of his reliance on First Nations Spiritual practices in his daily life, such as smudging.
The panelists gave practical examples of how they put their beliefs into action, and one could see that although there was a diversity of practices, each inspired the practitioner to live a spiritual and moral life. As one member of the organizing committee remarked, “This panel has made it clear that although we come from different religions we are in fact channels to the same truth.”
Following the formal program, the audience and participants gathered in the back of the atrium to share food and thoughts.