Festivalof Light

LUNCHTIME on Thursday was an ‘illuminating’ experience at Good Shepherd Primary School when people of many Faiths in the city took part in a Festival of Light service.

The Primary School is a UNICEF Rights Respecting School, and as a follow-on from the Peace Lantern initiative by Bright Brand New Day spearheaded by Rev Dr David Latimer, the school held a ‘Festival of Light’ to welcome a Peace Lantern to their school.

Good Shepherd Primary is largely run by a Student Council, where a democratically elected committee of children help drive the decision-making. The council meets once a week and, according to Aine Kivlechan, a teacher at the school, who is also the UNICEF facilitator, the children said they wanted to find out more about the other Faith communities living in the Waterside.

“They said they did not know who their Faith neighbours were and they wanted to get to know them,” she said.

“The school had organised the Festival of Light after we were approached by Rev Dr David Latimer to receive one of the Peace Lanterns. That festival was to have been in May, but through a chance meeting with Rev Dr Latimer, the children brought the Festival forward because the Peace Flame was here,” she said.