Prayers and songs from a diversity of faiths marked The National Day of Prayer at a May 1 celebration hosted by the Kenai Peninsula Interfaith Group in Soldotna High School’s auditorium.

Lasting more than an hour, the event featured a community choir, the Heartbeat of Mother Earth drum group from the Kenaitze Indian Tribe, monks from the Dharmachakra of Buddhism in Anchorage, a Baháʼí prayer and others. A speaker told attendees that he hoped the program would provide “peace and comfort” in a tumultuous world.

Omid Rahmanian, of Wrangell, offered the Baháʼí prayer on unity. It called for religions to see “each other as one family and the whole earth as one home.”

After the celebration, Rahmanian said he was “blown away” by so many different groups gathering to celebrate together. He said he counted more than 150 people in attendance.

“Tonight is celebrating our unity and diversity,” he said. “We are, truly, the various hues of one spiritual rainbow of humanity, coming together … It was so lovely to see it in action. That is not only possible, it is inevitable.”

The Kenai Peninsula Interfaith Group has been operating locally since around 2019. The group holds monthly gatherings where people of different beliefs come together. As they spend time together, Rahmanian said, they notice how similar they are.

“As soon as we enter into the mode of loving and serving others, then all of the borders, all of the differences disappear,” he said. “Not only are we talking about coexistence, we’re speaking about co-thrive. To come together.”

The Kenai Peninsula Interfaith Group meets at 10 a.m. the first Saturday of each month, rotating locations. For more information, find “KPen Interfaith Community” on Facebook.

Reach reporter Jake Dye at jacob.dye@peninsulaclarion.com.