Councils & Training Institutes

Bahá'í Council for England

Please note changes

Following a recent change, the officers of the Bahá'í Council for England are: Dr Tiffani Razavi (Chair) Mr Adam Thorne (Vice Chair) Mrs Mitra Murray (Secretary) Dr Isatou Hyde-Forster (Treasurer) There is no change to the remainder of the membership. The Council can be contacted through its office, manned by Guitty Bonner, 9am - 1pm Monday to Friday, Tel: 01424 672193  e-mail: bce@bahai.org.uk

Bahá'í Council for Scotland

A busy summer in Scotland

It has been a very busy summer for the Bahá'í communities of Scotland. The Scottish gathering in Inverness provided the inspiration, encouragement and enthusiasm to carry out many of the events in July and August.

In May members of the Training Institute and the Bahá'í Council  met with Counsellor Paddy O'Mara to study together the recent letters from the Universal House of Justice  regarding the Twelve-month Plan and the Five Year Plan. This was a very special meeting where the two institutions consulted with the Continental Counsellor in order to develop a common vision for the progress of the Faith in Scotland.

Scottish Gathering 2000 - Inverness

This was held in Inverness over a sunny and warm weekend in June. It was a lively and friendly gathering on the theme of "Confidence in the Future". This gathering was particularly special, as so many friends from the Scottish islands had been able to attend.

A moving presentation was given by Olya Roohizadegan about her time of imprisonment in Iran and how the friends there readily gave up their all for our beloved Faith. National Spiritual Assembly member, Trevor Finch, gave an inspiring talk on the Twelve Month Plan and the latest Ridván message with particular reference to Scotland and the islands of the North Sea.

The children, junior youth and the youth had their own exciting parallel programme. Both Olya and Trevor spoke to the youth and children groups. They were encouraged to make their own Twelve-Month Plans, and use many forms of art to present aspects of the Faith.

The coming together of so many friends from around Scotland and specially representatives from most of the main island groups (we missed the friends from Mull) was the ideal occasion for the launch of the Council's "Treasuring the Islands" Campaign. The aim is to develop, in consultation with the island communities, realistic plans tailored to the needs and resources of each island community.

Youth Task Force presents "Islands" video

After the Council presentation outlining the main features of the campaign, mainland friends had the opportunity to find out about the joys and challenges of life on the islands and be able to offer their services in whatever way possible, including visiting the islands or saying regular prayers for a particular island community. (Watch out for the video about the islands produced by the Youth Task Force for Scotland). "Treasuring the Islands" campaign is a long-term process and the Council hopes to receive offers of assistance from all parts of the United Kingdom. For more information please contact the Council Secretary (address above) or the Council's Travel Teaching Co-ordinator, Sandi Humphrey, Tel: 01876 560316, e-mail: sandi@:solas.fsnet.co.uk

Tireless Olya's travels

Tirelessly and enthusiastically Olya Roohizadegan visited many communities including Dundee, Aberdeen, Donside, Shetland and Orkney before and after the conference, inspiring Bahá'ís and their friends along the way. This resulted in a great deal of publicity, many well-attended meetings and four declarations.

TRACES

Scotland-based diversity dance group TRACES was re-formed in July and has enjoyed a hectic and fruitful summer. For the full story and photograph, turn to the new Youth Space section.

16th Bahá'íland Gathering

The 16th Bahá'íland Gathering was held in Aberdeen, on the theme of "Beyond the Century of Light". This summer school provides a safe and relaxed meeting point for many Bahá'í families, and there were even more children this year. The Council is grateful to the organising committee, the speakers and the teachers of children, and junior youth, classes.

Some of the activities on the islands included a Children's camp in Barra (Western Isles). The camp was organised by the Bahá'í children's group of Lewis, and was attended by about twenty children, many of them not Bahá'ís, two of their mums and two members of the Youth Task Force for Scotland. For those who think Scottish islands are cold and wet, the weather was so hot that most of the activities involved playing on the beach and swimming in the sea (after the devotionals of course!).

To round off a busy summer especially for the youth, an Aberfeldy weekend was held at the end of August for an indepth study of the Writings.

An important element of the Councilfor Scotland's Twelve Month Plan is the spiritual education of the children and junior youth. This is being addressed by the Children's Task Force which is planning to visit as many communities as possible to discuss effective integration of children and youth in the Bahá'í community.

For information about any of the above please contact the Bahá'í Council for Scotland's secretary, Mrs Anwen Shahim.

Winter School in Scotland

Wed 27th December - Tues 3rd January at the Loch Lomond Youth Hostel, by Duck Bay, on the A82 between the Balloch and Arden roundabouts Info from the Secretary, Council for Scotland Tel: 01506 843343  e-mail: anwen.shahim.@wcom.net e-mail: mailto:council_for_scotland@bci.org