History of the Unity Feast

The history of the Unity Feast is a bittersweet tale. It was inspired by the memory of Mr. Ganza Rwango, a Congolese who was tragically stabbed to death when trying to bring peace between two individuals in September 1997.

Ganza attended Hillsboro High School in Nashville during his freshman and sophomore years. The family then moved to Iowa and he graduated from Valley High School in West Des Moines, Iowa. Following graduation, Ganza attended TSU in Nashville. He had a contagious smile and was loved by all who knew him. His sister had once danced at a Baha'i sponsored Race Unity event held in Centennial Park and wanted the Baha'is to know about her brother's death.

Hundreds of people of varied backgrounds gathered at his funeral. Several Baha'is also attended the funeral and were touched to the core by the way this young man both lived and gave up his life. They decided to honor Ganza's life by sponsoring a monthly gathering which would welcome people of all races and religious backgrounds in a spirit of love and celebration.

The first "Unity Feast" was held in October 1997 at the Clifton Avenue Baha'i Center where around 80 Africans of various nationalities and 50 other people came to honor Ganza's memory at an Interfaith prayer service. Thus, the Unity Feast was born.

Since 1997, the Unity Feast has been held regularly at the Nashville Baha'i Center. A theme is selected, and related quotations from the Holy Books of major world religions are read. Themes have included the golden rule, true peace, the meaning of justice, life after death, and the oneness of humanity.

Beginning May 8, 2010, the Unity Feast began meeting quarterly, with dinner being served first.

The following faiths and traditions are frequently represented in the program: Christianity, Buddhism, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Zoroastrianism, Native American, and the Baha'i Faith.

One focus of the Unity Feast is to build bridges by demonstrating the commonality between world religions. Several years ago, the Unity Feast committee received an award at Opryland Hotel from the NCCJ for its commitment to increase religious tolerance in Nashville.

Music is an integral part of the program. While most of our musicians are from the greater Nashville community, we have also enjoyed musicians and dancers from Ethiopia, the Sudan, Japan, the Lakota nation, Spain, Iran, Haiti, Hawaii, the Cherokee nation, Greece, Scotland, and Ghana.

Baha'u'llah, the Prophet of the Baha'i Faith, teaches that "the earth is but one country and mankind its citizens." The garden of humanity is beautiful, with all its varied colors, cultures, backgrounds, and belief systems. The Unity Feast aims to display this beauty and help forge bonds of communication and harmony.