The Prince Albert Community witnessed a gathering that attendees said was not just important, but necessary given recent international events.
The gathering was not about politics nor anything physical or governmental. It was a gathering of people from diverse faiths seeking world peace through fervent prayers as they met at the Prince Albert Multicultural Centre on Feb. 4.
“We see all over the world people are fighting and fighting for what? I have my family back in Iran, there is no happiness. There is war. They are always killing people. There is no freedom,” said Jinus Makari, the co-organizer and a member of Baha’i Community in Prince Albert. “We are so blessed to be in Canada and have freedom of speech, be free to go wherever and enjoy life.
“There are many countries where people are suffering, there is no freedom for women. They have to wear hijab. But here I am a free woman and can talk freely. I want to create awareness and bring awareness to the people. I wanted us to pray, that’s why I said ‘come lets pray together for them and ask God to open the door for other people so they can enjoy the freedom that we have.’”
The evening gathering began with a brief introduction from Makari about the purpose and aim of the evening event. Makari anchored the prayer session. One after the other, the attendees spoke and offered prayers according to and in line with their diverse beliefs to the Creator or highest being requesting for an end to wars, fighting and killings in the whole world.
“It was a beautiful and powerful moment to have so many people from different cultures and different faiths come together and really respect each other. That was a really uplifting and hope filled kind of moment,” said Rev Nora Vedress, from Calvary United Church in Prince Albert, a Chaplain with the Prince Albert City Police and Co-Chair of the Women’s Commission. “One speaker speaking about the violence in Iran, it’s been on our hearts, our minds, all around the world.
There were also brief messages of encouragement and exposures of irregularities around the world.
In her message, Vedress extended the warm regards and well wishes from the Chief of Police assuring the community “that the Prince Albert police service is committed to creating safety and that means that we have safety to worship the way that we want to worship, and speak out when we want to.”
“I think sometimes we take for granted how we are free to worship the way we want, to study the way we want and protest when we want in a peaceful way and be protected to do that,” Vedress added. “We do need to cherish that … because it’s not a guarantee. We need to make that a priority in our lives.”
One of the speakers, an Iranian who preferred to speak anonymously, told attendees about the situation in Iran.
“I speak here today as an Iranian woman with a broken heart, carrying the pains and fear of millions whose voices are being silenced,” she said. “In recent days, the people of Iran have been facing unimaginable violence. Peaceful calls for freedom have been met with brutal repression. In a very short time thousands of innocent, unarmed civilians have been killed. The internet was shut down so that the world will not witness the truth, prisons are overflowing and many lives hang right now in the shadow of execution not because of any crime but because of Courage.”
Representing the Aboriginal culture, faith and believers, Elder Liz Settee, a Co- Chair Police Women Commission said she was glad to see prayers for peace, and hoped to see more of them.
“We got to do better in this world,” Settee said. “This gathering this evening means a tremendous amount of hope, so many different faiths and beliefs and ways of worship, that we can sit under one roof and respect each other, listen to each other, have some good conversation tonight. We opening our hearts and minds to come together and to be under one roof is amazing,”
“It’s like a ripple effect,” she added. “If you drop a pebble in the water, and the ripples go out, we can gather more people and just have that ripple out into the community and spread that way. It is possible for so many people to come together with different backgrounds and different beliefs, no argument no fighting no upheavals no war. Its a beautiful thing.”
Baharam Makari, co-planner of the event, said it was great to see such a large gathering for a first-time event.
“Hopefully we will do it more often and hopefully God will give the message to the rulers of the world that they will do the best for humanity and for mankind,” Makari said. “This evening means a lot and hopefully peace will be to the whole world not only one part of the world. We believe in one world, one country, hopefully that will happen soon.”
Jinus expressed her gratitude to everyone that attended.
“People from many religions came here tonight but we all have one common and shared hope, and that is peace and unity, so we get together to do this. We can move the world together.”
This is the maiden edition of this Multi-faith Prayer Gathering and the organizers are planning to host another one in the nearest future until world peace and unity is achieved. There were believers from the Sikh Community and other religious beliefs, the Vento National Worship Centre under the Pentecostal Assembly of God.
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