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Baha'i Academy for the Arts 15 -22 August ... Sidcot School, Somerset
The Northlands Youth Centre may not be the hotspot of this little town, but my house isn't big enough to hold a family of four, never mind seventeen youth and a team of responsible adults. Anyway, it was there that we all gathered one weekend in October, and departed from, having not heard even a snippet of The Prodigy at any point.
The first workshop I was involved in was an informative session on The Covenant, its implications in everyday life with reference to the Writings and to messages from the Universal House of Justice. As a new Baha'i I found it very useful.
Later that morning we had a themed activity, which was a dance/movement workshop. Working individually at first, then in pairs and as a group, we choreographed a dance based around part of the Long Obligatory Prayer ...
"... make of my prayer a fire that will burn away the veils which have shut me out from Thy Beauty, and a light that will lead me unto the ocean of Thy Presence."
The workshop was fun but also educative, in that, by getting us to express words in movement we were considering what those words actually meant to us spiritually. I found this helped me to understand the importance of meditating on the Holy Writings.
Our second discussion session was centered around "Sacrifice" and submission to God's Will. In pairs we wrote an article or story on the theme and then we shared our efforts as a group, taking the best features from each of them. We were given quotes from the Universal House of Justice that addressed Baha'i youth and were amazed and inspired by them.
Our third discussion was about the Major and Minor plans and the Greater and Lesser peace. We talked over their meanings within the context of the Writings and through group contribution we came to realise, to some extent, the implications of these promises on the present and future state of our world. I found this very exciting because although I have read and heard about these concepts briefly in the limited time I have known about the Faith, I hadn't really understood what they meant, which frustrated me because I knew that they are important.
Another highlight was the wonderful devotional organised by Gawayne Mahboubian-Jones towards the end of the weekend.
The weekend was brilliant. I would say that it superseded any expectations I might have had. I learned a lot about the Faith that I had recently joined in a hurry of inspiration and knew little about. I m really glad to be a Baha'i and to meet such wonderful people - adults and youth - at these events. I'd like to thank Darren Howelll for all the time and effort he spent organising the weekend, as well as all the other adults who made the weekend possible and successful. To all those who weren't there, you missed out. Sorry, but I have to say it!
Fran Simpson
Early one Saturday morning in September, passers-by gave curious looks to the gathering around the bandstand in the middle of Cardiff's main pedestrianised shopping street.
Massive bunches of ballons emerged, covering all the uprights and beautiful foliage was draped around the horizontal poles. A huge banner proclaiming "The Earth is but one country and mankind it's citizens" was hoisted, and a unity tree covered in gold, with lots of brightly coloured leaves appeared. Two exhibitions were set up on either side of the stand, and a table provided a facility for children to colour in pictures.
Finally, the musicians arrived... We have three quarters of a string quartet in our community, the fourth travelled from Preston, and singers Steve Day and Payam Beint joined us.
Thus it was that the Baha'is of Cardiff began their day celebrating the 50th anniversary of the first Local Spiritual Assembly in Cardiff. Many friends from all over the world joined us to enjoy the atmosphere and to help. Hundreds of leaflets, pens and balloons were handed out against a backdrop of music. Even the sun eventually blazed as if it was mid-summer, to add to this wondrous day.
Tish Roskams
Ever wondered what it would feel like if people started booking several weeks in advance for your public events? Ever thought of what you would do if the hall were too small? Any idea how it would feel to say "Sorry but we're fully booked, could you come another time?"
This is the situation we have experienced here in Swindon's Shirin Dalvand Teaching Project with the Tranquillity Zone, which is a 40-minute programme of words and music in a candlelit room adorned with fresh flowers.
After nine months of hard work, making contacts, establishing excellent relationships with newspapers, taking time to get to know the people in local government, standing Saturday after Saturday giving out leaflets, our Tranquillity Zones have found a little place in people's hearts, which is a good thing, because the locks on people's hearts have iced over. Everyone knows that the answer is to spray a little "de-icer" into the lock and then it can be opened.
The "de-icer" we are using here in Swindon is the word of Baha'u'llah. After the application of the words of Baha'u'llah, we give a short introduction to the Baha'i Faith - progressive revelation and the three onenesses, when appropriate, and then invite the participant to a corner of the room for tea, biscuits and a chat. The results have been great - people are coming time and time again, bringing their friends, and several people have already found Baha'u'llah in their hearts, with many more wanting to be on our mailing list. One week we had 44 bookings spread over four sessions, some people booked up to a month in advance!
We also take the Tranquillity Zone to many groups in Swindon, such as Druglink, Women's Groups and other charities as an out-reach service. Everyone has been very appreciative of our gift which we want to make as if to a king.
All this has been a cause of great joy (with the occasional headache!) for our community, but much work still lies ahead. A lot of planning needs to be done in co-operation with our Auxiliary Board members on how to combine our proclamation work with expansion and consolidation. We are evaluating our work regularly to make sure that our efforts comply with the House of Justice in promoting the process of entry by troops. Hopefully, that process is now underway.
Loving greetings from the Swindon Baha'i community
There were seven non-Baha'i guests at the World Religion Day celebration in Derry, including an Alderman of the city and a Hare Krishna priest. The programme included not only prayers and readings, and a short talk on World Religion Day and progressive revelation, but also a showing of the very effective and moving video "The Secret of Our Century"..
The newspaper "Methodist Recorder" of Thursday 31st December carried a comprehensive two-page spread on the Faith. It featured three large photographs which would catch the eye of even the most uninterested browser, one of the House of Worship in New Dehli, India, a formal photo of "One World Rhythm" the Baha'i Choir taken at 27 Rutland Gate and a copy of a picture of Abdu'l- Baha.
The author of the article titled - "Community of light and joy" was Barney Leith, who covered the subject clearly and accurately. Beginning with the history of the Faith, its growth and maturity and covering aspects such as Baha'i worship, consultation, administration and Baha'i involvement with other organisations, an attractive picture of the Faith emerged. This was reinforced by the appropriate inclusion of extracts from the Baha'i Writings. Information on where to find out more about the Faith and recommended further reading was also supplied.
The article was the eighth of a major, nine-part series produced by the newspaper, written by members of the Methodist Church Inter-Faith Relations committee and guest writers. The purpose of this series of articles was to inform and promote understanding between faiths in modern Britain. Along with the satisfaction of seeing the Baha'i Faith being credited with this position is the knowledge that we as Baha'is must see it as part of our duty to become educated in the other world religions too.
If you want to raise the adult community's interest just connect two words Baha'i and rave ! Links of the Faith to drugs and other such possibilities are endless, but support was given and the youth ventured on with great care to ensure that this would be a "dry" event.
Initially the idea had sparked at the Carmarthenshire Youth Committee from a bright youth (Owen Swann) wanting to organise an after-exam celebration. Sounded cool at the time but five weeks before the event only the DJ Simon Huxtable had been secured, err ... no venue, no equipment, no bouncers and no publicity - the committee had a little wobbly.
Prayers stabilised us and we decided to press forward. Within 48 hours the premier night spot in the "dashing" town of Llanelli had been secured with bouncers and pretty hefty looking kit. The cost - free - prayers do work occasionally! Full steam ahead, printing 4,000 fliers, 500 posters and press articles to advertise the "One Planet Rave"..
4,000 is a lot of fliers but many inventive ways of distributing were thought up. The twin goals of the "One Planet Rave" were to publicise the word "Baha'i", just prior to the Badi Teaching Project, and to show youth that a good time can be had without being drunk or stoned.
All goals achieved, mission successful? Yes, but we had wanted to fill the nightclub and got only sixty-five punters. However, that's the biggest number of contacts we've had to a Baha'i event and the nightclub owner confessed that he couldn't get more people on a Wednesday night when alcohol was on sale. Our goals were achieved and the next time we'll fill the place!
Nothing would have been possible without Simon Huxstable (alias DJ Worm) travelling a 440-mile round-trip, and prayers sent to assist the event from every community in Wales.
Carmarthenshire Baha'i Youth Committee
Olya addresses UNA meeting
The Baha'i community of Exeter was very involved in a day of activities organised by the local United Nations Association, celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Declaration of Human Rights. This culminated with an evening talk by Olya Roohizadegan of her experiences as a prisoner at the hands of the Iranian authorities, including her heart moving account of fellow Baha'i women prisoners and martyrs.
This talk was well received, and as well as many Baha'is, there were followers of several Christian denominations and other faiths, the venue being a small and ancient church in the centre of Exeter.
We have since had a request for her to address a group at Exeter University.
Centenary tree planting
On Friday 18th December a tree planting ceremony to celebrate the Centenary of the Baha'i Faith in the UK was held at Heavitree Leisure Park, Exeter. A lime tree was planted to replace a tree donated by Baha'is some thirty years ago, and eventually destroyed by storms.
Local MP Ben Bradshaw performed the token shovelling of soil, and Barney Leith, accompanied by Erica, was guest of honour. Ben Bradshaw recounted the tale of how he first met a Baha'i during a long delay at Heathrow Airport, and how he had formed a lasting good impression. Barney spoke of the significance of the occasion, and of the attributes of a tree, how it affords shelter to birds and animals.
Also among the onlookers were two people present at the original tree planting - Baha'i Mrs Muktari, now living in Bristol, one of the first Baha'is in Exeter, and Councillior David Morrish. The plaque made by a Baha'i for the first tree had been in storage in a park shed, and was handed back to the Baha'is.
In the evening a pot luck dinner was held at the home of Parvine Foroughi. Barney Leith was guest speaker, and treated us to a riveting and thought- provoking talk. This coupled with the abundance of food made for a very special evening.
Peter Lee