A cluster’s plan of activities for the consolidation phase

Here is a succinct summary of activites going on in the Intensive Program of Growth of a cluster in the Northeast shared by email recently.

 

"With so firm a foundation in place, the foremost thought in the mind of each and every believer should be teaching. Whether in their personal efforts they teach their friends in firesides and then involve them in the core activities or use these activities as their primary instrument for teaching, whether as a community they make their work with children and junior youth the initial thrust in a cluster or focus first on the older generations, whether in their collective endeavours they visits families in teams as part of an intensive campaign or call on seekers in their homes periodically over time.... What all must acknowledge, irrespective of circumstance, are both the crying need of a humanity that, bereft of spiritual sustenance, is sinking deeper into despair and the urgency of the responsibility to teach with which we each have been entrusted as members of the community of the Greatest Name." -- Universal House of Justice, Ridvan 2007

Even though the expansion phase is over, the teaching continues.  Below find the your cluster's plan on how to continue the teaching work, Please send thoughts, stories and feedback as the Cluster Agencies learn from this process.  
 
Creating lasting spiritual bonds with friends, family, co-workers & neighbors
(A) Sharing the fundamental verities of the Faith
(B) Starting core activities: use vision of the Universal House of Justice (quoted below from 28Dec08) 

• Devotional gatherings: Efforts to hold meetings that strengthen the devotional character of the wider community
• Children's classes: Offer classes that foster the spiritual development of children
• Junior youth groups: Form groups that channel the energies of junior youth
• Study circles: Establish circles of study, open to all, that enable people of varied backgrounds to advance on equal footing and explore the application of teachings to their individual and collective lives 
  

Accompanying others
(A) Encourage based on vision from the guidance and encourage them to share that vision with others
(B) Please call at least one other person to share with them the plan and the vision for the rest of the expansion phase
(C) Think of one person with whom you'd like to work to teach during the expansion phase

 

One in a group of young men calls to teachers asking what are doing, hears presentation and declares

Friday, May 15, 2009

"Baha'u'llah is for everyone, not just for those we think look like a Baha'i"

Southern Nevada (A) recently launched another cycle of its intensive program of growth. There were many joyful results: 10 individuals declared their belief in the Cause, and numerous study circles, devotional meetings and children's classes were established. Of the many inspiring teaching stories received from this cluster, we are sharing two here for the important lessons they convey.

The first is basic common sense, but something definitely worth reflecting on because it is easy to forget:

We were able to engage many people while walking through the neighborhood simply by saying "Hi" to everyone and by making eye contact. If we hadn't taken this initiative we would have missed the chance to meet and talk with __, who then declared their belief in Bahá'u'lláh. . . .

The second is a reminder to not make assumptions on people's interest and receptivity based on their looks or outfit.

Today we had two new people on our teaching team. It was their first time going out direct teaching and they were so excited. Having that amazing energy with us today helped us to have great success. After we visited all our assigned buildings with little more than a half presentation and a couple of follow ups. We were walking to our car to return to the Bahá'í Center. A group of young men was standing out in front of the apartment, and as we walked by, one of them called out to us. He looked to us like the least likely person to be interested in the Faith based on how he was dressed. But he asked us what we were doing, so we started sharing Anna's conversation with him. At the end of it he declared and said that he wanted to tell his good friend about everything that he had just learned. We learned the true meaning of "don't judge a book by its cover." Bahá'u'lláh is for everyone, not just for those we think look like a Bahá'í. The best part is that our two new teachers were so excited and cannot wait for next weekend's direct teaching effort.

Teaching while under surgery!

Another two delightful stories from our active teacher Richard about making the best of every opportunity to teach! Shared on the 'gnats into Eagles' Yahoo! group, and used with his permission.

4 April

I just found out there are many different areas of the heart that each have specialists. One is electrical. My appoitment today in this area showed that I needed a pacemaker now. He wanted to send me to the hospital and have a PACEMAKER put in yet today but couldn't get into the hospital till Monday which was also full but he had me come in at 6 am to get it done...

I told the doctor that I loved the knowledge of different cultures and asked if he would mind me asking what his Religon was. He appreciated the interest and replied Sikh. I showded that I knew what Sikhs were and told him I was a Baha'i. He said he was very familiar with the Baha'is.

I then said to him, "I came to you 'seeking' help with my heart, and I find that 'seeking' knowledge.about my heart introduced me to a true 'Sikh" in ever sense of the word and it is so rewarding to me to have a Sikh help me with my 'seeking'. It is good to be in Spiritual hands!"

He is about 40 and enjoyed my sense of knowledge and poked fun at my humor (or lack of it), whichever it is.

10 April

It is now a day after I had my pacemaker put in. Pulse was 40 down to 20 for the past year. Now it is a steady 70. Wow! I guess my body now has nearly twice the blood flow for the same period of time. That has got to give me a rush!

There were 6 people in the operating room for the hour of the surgery. I taught the Faith to one of them for the entire operation. When my Sikh doctor saw [my wife], he said with a smile that I talked Baha'i the entire operation. I could only see one person's face and it seemed right to keep talking about the Faith. While the doctor was working on my heart, hopefully I was God's scalpel to operate on the doctor's soul.

I cannot believe that I could be recovering considering a hole was cut into my chest, a foreign object was put into my body, two wires were threaded through a vein into my heart with 2 screws being inserted into my heart with the attached wires.

Could it be that teaching is a medicine that is healing me?????????? ???

I mentioned or taught the Faith to about 20 different staff there. I have promises that some will pull up the web site. One went right to the hospital's computer and pulled up Bahai.org and he was very touched and last night he came to my room and we talked for over an hour. He wanted to come again tonight. But I was ready to go home.

It seems logical to me that I was responding to God's call to make teaching the "Dominating passion of my life."

Love you,
J. Richard Hoff

Response to persecutions: Single-minded dedication to the prosecution of the Five Year Plan

May this excerpt from today's momentous message from the Universal House of Justice marking the Anniversary the interment by 'Abdu'l-Baha of the sacred remains of the Bab in their permanent resting place on God's holy mountain, inspire us to still greater sacrifice in fulfilling our sacred responsibilities for our beloved Cause -

"All of us long for the alleviation of [the] trials and tribulations [of the friends in Iran].  What we must realise is that this longing may best be expressed through single-minded dedication to the prosecution of the Five Year Plan.  All of us then should seize the opportunities that present themselves for the advancement of the Cause, confident that the victories won will bring abiding joy to the members of the long-suffering, renowned community in the native land of the Blessed Beauty."

http://www.bahainews.ca/en/090321-naw-ruz


The Universal House of Justice

21 March 2009

To the Baha'is of the World

This Naw-Ruz marks the centenary of one of the outstanding events in the Apostolic Age of the Baha'i Dispensation, the interment by 'Abdu'l-Baha of the sacred remains of the Bab in their permanent resting place on God's holy mountain. In the words of 'Abdu'l-Baha: "The most joyful tidings is this, that the holy, the luminous body of the Bab ... after having for sixty years been transferred from place to place, by reason of the ascendancy of the enemy, and from fear of the malevolent, and having known neither rest nor tranquillity has, through the mercy of the Abha Beauty, been ceremoniously deposited, on the day of Naw-Ruz, within the sacred casket, in the exalted Shrine on Mt. Carmel."

In commemoration of that triumph of the Cause, the members of the Universal House of Justice, accompanied by the members of the International Teaching Centre, have today offered prayers of thanksgiving in the Shrine of the Bab on behalf of the worldwide Baha'i community, expressing gratitude for the unfailing divine protection vouchsafed to the Cause of God. In their solemn contemplation, their hearts were stirred as they recalled the indelible image of the Master left to posterity when, on this day a hundred years ago, having with His own hands laid that peerless Trust in its final place of repose, He rested His head upon the edge of the blessed casket of the Bab, and "sobbing aloud, wept with such a weeping that all those who were present wept with Him". They remembered, too, the manifold obstacles with which He had been confronted in constructing this sacred edifice and His unbounded relief at having accomplished one of the principal objectives of His Ministry.

A century ago, the Faith was emerging from a period of severe crisis during which the incarceration of 'Abdu'l-Baha by His inveterate antagonists in the Ottoman Empire had been renewed, a grievous assault on the unity of the Cause had been launched by the Covenant-breakers, and an upsurge in the persecution of the heroic Persian believers had produced a fresh wave of sacrifice. In the immediate future there lay dazzling victories. The strenuous and fate-laden journeys of 'Abdu'l-Baha to the western world would release incalculable spiritual powers destined to give rise to unprecedented progress of the Faith in the American and European continents He visited. The Tablets of the Divine Plan would set in motion processes designed to bring about, in due course, the spiritual transformation of the planet. The Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Baha would establish the basis for a future world order.

Today the Cause of God is again confronted by cruel and relentless opponents seeking in vain to eradicate it in the land of its birth. However, this is occurring in a world far different from that of a hundred years ago, when the Faith was largely unknown and its defenders were few. From all parts of the world the followers of Baha'u'llah appeal for justice, while providing, in the example of their lives, compelling evidence of the absurdity of the accusations levelled against their Iranian brethren. In this appeal they are joined by fair-minded people of all backgrounds, including thousands of Iranians who express their concern at the denial of the human rights of their Baha'i compatriots.

The sacrifices of the Bab and the dawn-breakers of the Cause are yielding abundant fruit. Energized and confident, the followers of the Greatest Name throughout the world have mobilized their resources in a vast and concerted endeavour to offer the healing balm of Baha'u'llah's Teachings to the multitudes of humanity. The magnificent progress achieved over the past century demonstrates the invincible power with which the Cause is endowed. It is but a portent of the ultimate realization of the oneness of humankind.

[signed: The Universal House of Justice]

The Art of Teaching Heart-to-Heart: A comment

This edifying comment on the question of the need for those accepting the Faith to sign declaration cards was posted by our experienced teacher-friend Richard to the Yahoo! newsgroup "gnats into Eagles" on 19 March. Used with his kind permission.


The writings state we should deliver the Message in a simple language addressed to the heart. The writings state we should teach in such a manner that "the seeker should SPONTANEOUSLY be IMPELLED to embrace the Faith."

Over the 48 years I have been a Baha'i I have worked at learning to put these factors into a spiritual context of presenting the Faith.

I have well educated people with good minds just sit and nod in agreement and allow me to enroll them without coments or questions. I felt their mind shut off and they were in a spiritual condition that felt so very right with them.I could see the body language as they leaned forward and some touched my hand. When asked if I could bring them into the Faith they said yes. They never saw the card and when it was present to them for a signature they put their name on it in what seemed such a natural thing to do. Now remember many asked many questions! It happened to different people in different ways.

Our society says, don't trust anyone, don't sign any thing till you ckeck it out with a lawyer.

The Guardian's wife said, she would never sign that enrollment card that stated, "I will obey [the Baha'i] laws and institutions."

Many Baha'i National Spiritual Assemblies have never had an enrollment card to be signed. It is a U.S.-thing. Sign them up!!!!!!!!!

I have had a number of special people who have accepted the Faith turn 180 degrees away from any futher involvement when they were asked to sign up!!!

The signing up changes the dynamic from Heart to Heart to a legalistic or should I wait to learn all about the laws and institution before I sign. It turns into into a "head" [rather than a "heart"] trip.

Now remember I get enrollments each year and with the exception of Natives which you don't have to have a card signed, and I have had to get cards signed all my Baha'i life.

Love,
"A spiritual-accepting enrollment-getting Baha'i"
Richard

A further of his perceptive comments (of 20 March) which highlights an effective attitude in teaching the Faith:

"I find when I have warm feelings about a situation that I can communicate with whoever it is in a more effective manner. So I resist thinking about anything negative about what is going on. I just look at what I can praise."

Flexibility re card signature in declaration process

Useful guidelines from the U.S. National Assembly on the process of registering those declaring their faith in Bahá'u'lláh - as relayed in the Yahoo! group "gnats into Eagles."


The Regional Council [for the Southern States] recently received additional clarification regarding the new "registration cards" and processes for registering a new youth or adult believer.

The National Spiritual Assembly [of the United States] no longer requires the signature of a new believer on the card if he/she has accepted Baha'u'llah as the Manifestation of God for this age. The teacher of the new believer can
fill out the card for him/her and quickly pass it along to the involved Local Spiritual Assembly. The new believer can sign the card if he wishes to but it is not required.

If the new believer is registering his/her children or junior youth, the parent's signature is still required.

This is a significant change in our processes for teaching and we encourage you to consult on this and relay this information onto your teachers in the field. The Regional Council will also send correspondence to the Local Spiritual Assemblies to this effect.

Loving regards,

[C.M.]

Assistant Secretary for Cluster Advancement
Regional Bahá'í Council of the Southeastern States

Core activites aspect of Baha'i peace education

A concise presentation of the Core Activities

Integrated into the Faith's ongoing community development, and central to the expansion and consolidation of the Faith:

Referred to as the Core Activities of the Baha'i community, they constitute a four-fold process of community development for peace involving small community study circles, devotional gatherings, neighborhood moral and spiritual education classes for children, and gatherings for youth. Learning is facilitated by local community members who complete tutor training programs and subsequently engage the wider community in creative, culturally appropriate applications of development activities. They are described in more detail in Table 1. The Core Activity initiative began in Colombia some 20 years ago and has since spread to over 100 countries in all four continents. Local, regional, national and international statistics and anecdotal summaries on the progress of the Core Activities are gathered every three months from all Baha'i communities around the world. From the local to the international level, statistics and lessons learned are analyzed and used for increased understanding, to stimulate areas of promising growth and to encourage local human resource development. Anecdotal data is compiled thematically into regular international circulars informing the Baha'i community around the world about progress made towards community development for a peaceful world.

Table 1: Core Activities

Activity	Goal
Ruhi Study Circles	To build communities of learning composed of Baha'is and their friends, colleagues and associates, that promote individual and collective spiritual transformation through study and practical application of thematically grouped sacred texts. Two of the seven units of study are devoted to the spiritual education of children and youth, an understanding of their spiritual destiny in the processes of peace building, and encouragement of all youth and adults in the community to mentor, teach and value children.
Neighborhood children's classes	To engage Baha'i and non-Baha'i children and their parents in moral and spiritual transformation and competency development through service learning.
Junior youth gatherings	To engage adolescents of all or no religious affiliation, between the ages of 11-14, in peer clusters of positive influence and mutual support. Junior youth animators are frequently young adults who work creatively to address issues of identity, moral leadership and build skill in contributing towards solving local problems. The young adults also serve the function of role models for the younger teens and provide them with alternatives to risky behaviors while developing confidence and leadership capacity.
Devotional gatherings	Devotional gatherings. Goal: To provide neighborhood forums for people of diverse backgrounds and beliefs, to say prayers together, read from sacred writings and discuss spiritual themes in a collaborative and artistic manner.

Each of these four themes operates in local, regional, national and international settings. They involve a unique blend of structure and agency balancing guidance from Baha’i Sacred Texts, administration and mentorship from Baha’i Institutions who regularly seek dialogue and feedback opportunities to inform decision making, and individual initiatives that are encouraged and supported by the Institutions.

From the document Baha'i Faith and Peace Education, by Marie Gervais, University of Alberta Canada

[DOC] Baha'i Faith and Peace Education chapter

What are Core activities? What are Baha'i Core activities?