The Bahá'ís of Norfolk, UK
International Pot Luck for Peace
21st September 2025
The Bahá'ís of Norfolk organised an international potluck on the UN international day of peace on 21 September 2025. People came in their national dresses, and also brought food from their countries. Prayers were read from the scriptures of different faiths on the topic of peace.
We were all reminded of the Golden Rule, which a central teaching of all religions - to do to others as you would have done to you. This is essentially a message of peace.
There was a thoughtful introduction to the day, reminding us that we can all truly all live in peace, but we need to work toward removing the barriers to peace.
Some of these barriers were mentioned: racism, inequality between men and women, the large gap between rich and poor, and not acknowledging the oneness of humanity.
Whenever we work towards removing these barriers we work for peace.
Naw Ruz 182 BE
(22nd March 2025)
Bahá'ís worldwide observe the respective Holy Days of their Faith, so in Norfolk the local Bahá'ís do likewise. March 20th heralded the Vernal Equinox in the Earth’s Northern Hemisphere and the Autumnal Equinox in the South – a day when the sun’s light strikes the Equator directly and illuminates every continent equally.
Many people in the world do celebrate this day, including Zoroastrians, Sufis, some Muslims and all Báha’is. The day itself is known in Persian as ‘Naw Ruz’ – New Year.
It is a spiritual, as well as a physical springtime, and for Bahá'ís it serves as a symbolic reminder of the oneness of all the messengers of God, and the spiritual springtime they each brought to humanity. The UN’s General Assembly in 2010 recognized the International Day of Naw Ruz, describing it as a spring festival of Persian origin which has been celebrated for over 3,000 years.
A Naw Ruz celebration was held in Norwich on the 22nd March at Roxley Hall, 66 Yarmouth Rd, Norwich NR7 0QF and was attended by over 60 people. The presentations included a programme of live music, visuals and spoken text reflecting the sequence of the physical seasons as a spiritual metaphor for the progression and renewal of religious revelation. Three Bahá'í painters and one photographer exhibited some of their work, with an accompanying note as to their respective inspiration, technique and medium.
Everyone attending was invited to join a collaborative art activity using simple origami to create a shared garland of paper flowers. A small group accompanied by guitars sang some songs, encouraging the audience to join in on occasion. The afternoon finished with refreshments and lively conversations. Indeed the event had used a spectrum of art forms – music, singing, recitation, photography, painting, flower arrangements, origami, baking and the art of conversation!
Those attending offered positive feedback – ‘…a beautiful gathering, a real celebration using the arts in so many ways…’ – ‘an uplifting and joyful atmosphere’… – ‘…it was really easy to work with other people – look how happy and smiling we all were … ’
An equally positive and warming feature was the diversity of those attending both of race and belief.
