On Saturday, February 1?st?, an informal Community Day will be held for representatives of all local Faith Communities at 4pm “at the crossroads” of Court & Dundonald Streets in Hamilton to begin a month of observances that commemorate the 10?th? Annual World Interfaith Harmony Week of the United Nations (Feb. 1 – 7?th?).

The inaugural gathering continues the faith based diplomacy that was precipitated on December 17, 2019 by the official exchange of the “Docum?ent on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together” (“The Document”) between The Most Reverend Wes Spiewack (Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Hamilton) and Emir Saleem Talbot (Imam of the Bermuda Islamic Cultural Center at Harrington Sound).

The Meet & Greet also solidifies the community inclusion that was signified by the New Year’s Eve candlelight “spark of forgiveness” vigil for North Hamilton that was hosted by Councilor RoseAnn Edwards and other community activists.

It is worth noting that The Document was originally executed between His Holiness Pope Francis and ?The Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Ahmad Al-Tayyeb ?during World Interfaith Harmony Week on February 4, 2019?. This week of collaboration was officially adopted unanimously more than 10 years ago by the UN General Assembly.

The resolution can be found on the link below: ? https://worldinterfaithharmonyweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/UN-declaratio n-65-5-EN.pdf The theme of this Resolution is based on the tenets?‘Love of God and Love of Neighbour as Self’ - however, the scope of its reach has been extended to those who share no faith and instead may reference ?‘Love of Good’ . The UN has urged that in local communities, there is a “?need to work at the grassroots level … we must move beyond mere words.” In this spirit, the Community Day at the X-Roads will be facilitated by Glenn Fubler of Imagine Bermuda with support from Charles Daniels of Emmanuel Baptist Church. Activities throughout the day will include orientation and planning sessions, a goodwill document exchange, the BermudaCAN Vision 2020 tree planting initiative, the “Sahaba Soup” kitchen and early evening candlelight vigil.

It is also noteworthy that the ‘week of harmony’ comes only two weeks or so, following the birthday of Rev Dr Martin Luther King Jr - a courageous champion of interfaith harmony, during his short but impactful life. By way of this Meet & Greet, the Faith Communities in Bermuda are now being invited to join in this global observance, by spreading the word and by having representatives to attend the few events that are being organized.

We are also inviting the entire community to join us and to work within their respective sphere of interest to create common ground.

• Press release from X-Roads of the City Peace Initiaitive