Bahais plan interfaith powwow

Arkansans interested in learning about global spirituality are invited to participate in a World Religion Day observance at 7 p.m. Jan. 13 in the Faulkner County Library, 1900 Tyler St., Conway.p>

World Religion Day was started in 1950 by the National Assembly of the Bahais of the United States as a way to increase understanding and harmony among the followers of different faiths. The goal is to focus on what the religions have in common instead of how they differ.p>

“It’s really to underscore the common spiritual origins of all the world’s faiths,” said Lisa Armstrong, a Bahai who helped coordinate the event. “It’s to help bring about more understanding.”p>

Bahais plan interfaith powwow

FCL marking World Religion Day

World Religion Day Celebration 2011 will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 13, at the library. Interested in learning more about the world’s religions? Curious about leaders who have worked to make positive change through interfaith cooperation? Celebrate your own beliefs while sharing inspiration, thoughts, and prayers with others at the 2011 observance of World Religion Day. The event will be celebrated for the second year at the Faulkner County Library, 1900 Tyler St.

World Religion Day was first observed in 1950, when the national governing body of the Baha’i Faith of the United States established it to call attention to the essential oneness of the worlds’ religions and to show that religion is a motivating force for world unity.

This year’s interfaith panel will discuss the importance of the independent investigation of truth. Their presentation will be followed by a question-and-answers, an arts activity for children and their families, refreshments and socializing.

Panel members are:

• Baha’i Faith - Dan Reimer, M.P.H. - Baha’i Community of North Little Rock, Arkansas. Reimer is Deputy Director of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Center to Prevent Childhood Obesity. He regularly assists communities of the Baha’is in Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas.
• Buddhism - Dr. Douglas Young - Journey Into Silence Group - Dr. Young recently moved to Conway where he practices meditation at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church.
• Christianity - Rev. Teri Dailey, St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, Conway. Rev. Daily practiced pediatrics before leaving medicine to pursue ordination in the Episcopal Church. She has served as priest at St. Peter’s since 2008.
• Hinduism - Dr. Umadevi Garimella - Dr. Garimella is director of the Science Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Institute at the University of Central Arkansas.
• Islam - Dr. Rifat Akhter - Assistant Professor of Sociology and Director of the Gender Studies Program at the University of Central Arkansas. She is a practicing Muslim by birth.
• Judaism - Mr. Sam Siegel - Currently a freshman at Hendrix College, Sam recently received a grant from the Crain-Maling Center for Jewish Culture to continue his work educating others about the Jewish religion and culture at Conway High through the Jewish Service Organization.
• Unification Church - Mr. Bruce Biggin - Bruce joined the Unification Church in 1972, and has served that faith most of his adult life as a church leader and as a missionary. Currently, he is director of the Ambassadors for Peace Association of Arkansas

For more information, contact Lisa Armstrong at 501-851-6608 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , or Jeanetta Darley at the Faulkner Library at 501-327-7482 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

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