Festival of Spirituality and Peace Remembers Hiroshima

The Festival of Spirituality and Peace at the St. John’s Episcopal Church, Edinburgh, opened on Saturday, with events to commemorate the dropping of the atomic bombs over Hiroshima and Nagasaki planned throughout.

Under the running theme of ‘Tomorrow’s World’, the Festival, which seeks to “reawaken the heart of the festival for people who, after 9/11, want to work together for a peaceful future in tomorrow’s world,” will bring together an eclectic mix of music, culture and faith.

Co-organised with the General Consulate of Japan, presentations by local faith and community leaders combined with music and images in remembrance of Hiroshima and Nagasaki brought a moving and purposeful curtain-raiser to the event, which runs until 4 September.

The opening party on Saturday afternoon kicked off the lighter celebrations for the week, with musical performances from buskers and jazz musicians. The afternoon also saw the formal opening of the ‘Finding the Sacred in the 21st Century’ Art Exhibition and the launch of the Amnesty International Festival Campaign.

Speakers at the opening party included Chair of the Scottish Arts Council Richard Holloway and artist George Wyllie.

An exuberant musical performance on Sunday evening under the title of “Traditional and World Music with Attitude!” was followed by a service to commemorate the dropping of the atomic bombs, which included music and words under the theme of light and darkness.

To commemorate the 60th anniversary of the dropping of the atomic bomb on Nagasaki on 9 August 1945, 60 Scottish writers and poets including A. L. Kennedy, Tom Leonard and Tessa Ransford contributed to a special edition anthology of works. Selected readings will be given at the launch of the book on Tuesday.

The Festival will also see a number of conversations on social-political issues and how to construct a peaceful world.

Abbot Lama Yeshe of the Samye Ling Buddhist monastery along with Cardinal Keith O’Brien and Kathy Galloway, leader of the Iona Community, will speak about peaceful living in the modern world in the War and Peace conversation on Tuesday 9 August.

The following Tuesday will see what is sure to be an interesting dialogue tackling the question of how to unite faith communities in their vision of God.

Comedian Bill Bailey will also hold a conversation on the prophetic and subversive qualities of comedy and its ability to bring about change.

The Hiroshima Nagasaki A-Bomb Photo Poster Exhibition which displays posters from the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, Japan, will also run until 29 August.