Transcript:US Bahá’í Newsreel/Volume 17/No 1 (Fall 2007)
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This every Sunday at the Baha'i house of worship in Wilmet Illinois, devotions are held sacred writings from the world's religions are recited in a realm of peace and holiness. And the house of worship choir offers songs to uplift spirits. People who are visiting the temple casually come upstairs to the devotions as all are welcome. On Sunday May 27 th 2007, the Baha'i Temple experienced a powerful devotional service, right? 200 voices sang in harmony for the finale of the choral Music Festival. The festival was a first ever conference for Baha'i choirs throughout North America. The number of visitors surpassed all expectations of the house of worship staff. We were expecting maybe 500 people. We received 1000 people. And what's really so exciting about that is that it wasn't just baha, about 20 to 30% were our neighbors people in the area. To the best of my knowledge. This is the first time that we had so many people who had never heard of baha allah before come to the House of Worship. Since the inauguration in 1953. This concert really brought to fulfillment, the prophecies of baha allah Abdul, baha and ya Fendi, stating that this house of worship should have always have its doors open and we should fill it with seeking souls and it's through music that we were able to do this. This is one of the ways we can reach uh this community of interest, bring them to a devotional, bring them to a musical program and make friends with them. The harmony of the voices created a spirit of peace and enlightenment songs. I heard it was, you know, the music was beautiful. I mean, acoustics in there are wonderful, but the music was beautiful and it just, you know, it's, I, I don't really have adjectives. Now there was a majesty about it. The music transcended all passive observance and instead it produced a powerful force that created an atmosphere of meditation and reflection. Music just has a way of just, just music is still now music is magical to me. It's just, it's just magic and in that sense, again, it's just like religion, you know, and spiritual, spiritual teachings. And so for me, music is a wonderful means to, to not only bring different people together, but I feel it's a very beautiful and natural way to keep people together and to strengthen their bond, whether it's, you know, at a house of worship or wherever it may be because music has this power. Your vote goes a long way. Remember to go to your unit convention the first weekend in October, India. In the 19 sixties and early seventies, there was a new spirit of energy and enterprise in the American Baha'i community, a new voice was beginning to be heard throughout the nation. The civil rights movement, the women's rights movement and the protest against an unpopular war had become catalysts for people to seek out new ways of thinking about the nation and the world. Baha from all over the United States poured into the South to share the world embracing teachings of baha allah, the prophet founder of the Baha'i faith devoted to the principles of the oneness of humankind and unity. Scores of Baha'i went door to door and offered these ideas to each and every person they encountered. This is a religion that erases everything except the love inside was my friends. They, they hate white people also and they want to hang out too. You know, of course, that's not right. You can't find peace that way. Baha faith is the answer. I've been looking for this door to door approach was an opportunity to share the Baha'i faith with as many people as possible. It was referred to at the time as mass teaching. Starting in 1965. There was already a movement of individuals moving towards baha allah. The receptivity that was present was very obvious from the fact that you would just reach out to individuals and they were starving for spiritual food. Although thousands of individuals joined the Baha'i faith in the South, there were no systems in place to help them build a strong commitment to their new faith. Nor was there a way to stimulate these new Baha'i to take action in their communities? Well, the families that were enrolling in the faith were very much uh they were in love with baha a lot. However, with the numbers of people that were embracing the faith, there were not the numbers of Baha'i to touch them on a regular basis. It's the heart to heart um connection that really did not get fully developed. Um Back in the seventies, we touched them, they embraced baha allah. But then we weren't able to keep that touch. Much has been learned since then. About the process of teaching today, Baha'i have a new plan of action. There is a process in place designed to support individuals who want to contribute to the spiritual enhancement of their communities. Baha'i, along with their friends and neighbors can host a devotional gathering, teach a children's class or facilitate a youth group. Baha'i are learning how to accompany their friends and neighbors as they embark on this plan of action. The Universal House of Justice, the International governing body of the Baha'i has made accompaniment, a vital part of the community building process by accompaniment is meant walking with an individual as they make their initial attempts to perform acts of service until they are ready to stand on their own and help others do the same in Columbia, South Carolina like days gone by. Baha'i are still reaching out and connecting with their neighbors. The Granby Mill Village of Columbia is the kind of neighborhood where everybody has a front porch. Neighbors can rely on each other. Borrowing a cup of sugar or even a vacuum cleaner is commonplace in Granby Mill. I read a bunch of books that I was going through stuff and Oak and JB are two friends who live across the street from each other. In Grand Mill, the two have had parallel spiritual paths. Like many of their generation, they've searched to find spiritual truths that bring meaning to their lives. Religion didn't make much sense to Oak when he was a young man, he turned to atheism a much more logical approach in his mind. He says he became everyone's theological nightmare. Some people left crying and, you know, it wasn't my intent for that. But, you know, I like to challenge faith because I feel if you don't challenge what you believe, if you don't always stay open to the possibility that you could be wrong, then you, your faith is like the blind faith. It's walking off a cliff, believing that some unseen force is just going to keep you from falling to, to your doom. Oak met a Baha'i at work and felt an impulse to study the Baha'i faith in order to find the flaws, what he discovered was a religion that he could embrace as a lifelong truth. And then as I looked at it, I was like, I can't find one flaw and one step further. I not only can I not find one flaw, but I want to be involved in this wave of the future because, you know, I felt like I kind of found like, you know, I B M before, like, you know, it blew up because it's like, you know, I want to buy stock in the faith right now in his friendship with Oak JB has found someone with whom he can explore religion. Been doing a lot of investigation about religion for years. I stopped going to church, but I felt like my spirituality had, had increased and based on personal investigation like Oak, JB had been disappointed with the religion he grew up with, he was looking for something that rang true to his beliefs. JB searched for truth in every religion he came across. It's clear to me that Christianity is, is about love and unity and brotherhood. That Islam is about love and unity and brotherhood, Hinduism. All these, the the underlying precepts are the same. By the time Oak and JB Met Oak was already a Baha'i, as their friendship developed, Oak shared some of the teachings of the Baha'i faith with JB JB was attracted to the Baha'i teachings and he began to explore them further. The premise of all these other faiths is love and unity. I feel like the Baha'i faith puts a lot of emphasis on how to apply these ideas. Initially, JB did not become a Baha'i, but he was interested in helping Baha'i establish greater unity in the world. Oak began to accompany JB in his efforts. My understanding of accompaniment is that it's establishing bonds, maintaining the bonds of friendship and friendship and action and really assisting each individual that we come in contact with and really taking responsibility for the nurturing and the caring for that person really up until they are on their own individual and independent course of action. One of my earliest draws to the faith really was all the things that they, that the baha are doing for the Children. And I very early on asked Oak if I could be a part of the children's programs without being a Baha'i, I said, yeah, for sure. Of course, together they went to the Lewis Gregory Baha'i Institute in nearby Hemingway, South Carolina. The Lewis Gregory Institute offers courses ranging from topics on spiritual empowerment, devotional life, the moral and spiritual education of Children and youth and teaching the Baha'i faith. These courses are all part of a sequence called Ruhi. Ruhi helps individuals find their niche for service by applying the Baha'i teachings through action. The course JB and Oak attended was the fifth book in the Ruhi sequence. It focuses on the spiritual empowerment of adolescents known as Junior Youth. The Junior Youth Program is designed to empower junior youth primarily through service for them to begin to think of themselves as agents of social change in their community. And when we're talking about junior youth, we're talking about essentially middle school aged youth. Oh my God. Once he returned from Lewis Gregory JB was eager to work with the youth in his neighborhood. He and a friend began a junior youth group that now meets weekly. We now have a junior youth group, Juliet and I, and that's been beautiful. It's kind of a lot of it really comes from, from one family and friends of theirs. A lot of time, we just spend kind of getting to know them and hanging out with them and we really kind of let them know from the beginning that this is their group. MS Nelson and her granddaughter Khadija live in the neighborhood. Khadija now participates in the junior youth group with JB. MS Nelson has noticed the effect on her granddaughter's life. Yeah, I think they're learning so much about accepting people of all different cul cultures, colors, um societies. Um And I want that for them because I didn't have that along the way. Oak has been there to guide support and also be a witness to J BS spiritual journey. He really helped me kind of think about what I might do with the junior youth group and give me some, some, you know, very loose parameters of just ideas and input and he was even there for the first uh for several meetings of the, of the group, starting a junior youth group was just one effect of the training at Lewis Gregory. Another effect hit JB closer to home, came back from that first weekend at Lewis Gregory. And I said I'm gonna raise my son behind J BS son Brecken is four years old. JB shares custody of Brecken and the two spend half of every week together. JB liked that. The Baha'i teachings would encourage Brecken to ask questions about spirituality and to seek truth for himself. It's one of the things I struggled with. Um I knew I was having a child was how do I raise my child with spirituality? Spirituality has taken me 15 years to come to personally through a lot of investigation. Uh How, how do I raise a child with that? The tired soldier called God maker of the woman who took care of sick people called God. He, we have some, some struggles and, and uh he lives in some very different worlds and that's um um that's, that's hard for him. And since I've started incorporating the, the teachings into um our, our lives, um we've been able to get through some of these fits and this, this rage and that, that, that he experiences. I don't know what God's name is. That's right. God has lots and lots of names. Huh? Me, me, me, me, my power. Yeah. OK. Do you wanna sing it? Um No, I want only. He would have seen it. Ok. Oh, God, guide me, protect me. Make me JB. Could not have imagined he'd ever be one to pray. But since becoming a Baha'i, that's changed. He and Oak now host a weekly prayer meeting every Tuesday night. There is a steady stream of visitors stopping in at Oaks home. Welcome everybody again to uh dinner and devotions on Whaley. Thank you for coming. This includes a number of their friends, many who consider themselves spiritual but not religious. You know, what's a devotional gap that I started? All our friends just came out of the woodwork and people who I never would have thought would have been interested in receptive to prayer and the concept of prayer were just energized by it almost every week. There's some new person that we've never met that's often come with someone who, who's not a behind themselves. Oh, my, I'm your child. I'm down here. We're starting to attract more young people to the, to the faith and to our activities. And it's just as a result of, you know, just kind of this personal relationship that we've developed and that, you know, we both believe and we're in it together. Oh, Man Oak and JB are, are partners now in, in their service and in their teaching, um, they don't do all the same things. It's not that, um, but they're, they're together helping to nurture other people that they are are teaching um about baha Oak and JB continue to walk down a path of support and encouragement. JB still looks for ways he can apply the Baha'i teachings in his community, whether it's praying with his son, working with youth or sharing the Baha'i writings through a devotional gathering. JB is developing his confidence through action. Here, you have this beautiful soul, a person who is already really good people now empowered to do more things than he ever imagined. And he's a friend of mine and you know, he lives across the street and uh you know, it's just real happiness. My dude, I'm your child. The National Spiritual Assembly has received exciting news from across the country in cluster after cluster. Baha'i are using lessons learned from the Training institute. More devotional gatherings, children's classes, junior youth groups and study circles are cropping up every day and a wide spectrum of Americans are joining in from diverse ethnic and religious backgrounds that truly represent the American people. Youth are showing they are integral to this growth clusters where youth play a central role are appearing to have great success. Fuck. Hundreds of youth have spent the summer in intensive training sessions or in study circles in their home communities. They are using the Ruhi sequence to learn how to provide service to their communities. Ruhi training helps youth develop a sense of identity. They reflect on the purpose of life. The spiritual gifts inherent in young people, the power of prayer and Baha'i history. You're studying the Ruhi books, you're studying the writings, direct quotes from baha allah and, and you change, it changes the person, you know, baha allah words because I realize in my spirit, realize baha done and I do and their sacrifices to make the faith of better for everybody else. And that itself, it told me that I should do Children classes. As a part of these programs, youth have had a chance to try out their new skills in real life situations. They've had direct experience in the field of action as teachers of children's classes, junior youth animators and teachers of the FAY service became such an exciting adventure to, to plan and to do and to find people to do it with you. And the whole process that, that ever since then service is just an exciting thing. The National Spiritual Assembly calls upon youth across the United States to continue to arise and become the most enthusiastic supporters of programs of growth at home. Toast communities can go far in feeding the flame of this enthusiasm by encouraging these youth to use their skills in their neighborhoods, cities and towns. The National Assembly calls upon local spiritual assemblies, institute coordinators, area, teaching committees, parents and community members to rally in support of these precious, bold, energetic and dedicated young champions of the Baha'i cause if you'd like to be trained in the Ruhi sequence. Contact your training institute coordinator or your regional Council today. Contact information can be found on the web at W W W dot us BNC dot org slash RBC. But activists slammed mcginty and governments in general saying they were quick to avoid responsibility. White House and Congress in a new fight. Voter concerns about giving Sarkozy jasmine. Can you turn off the radio, please? Thank you, honey. Have you read this letter yet on elections? One of the signs of the breakdown of society in all parts of the world is the erosion of trust and collaboration between the individual and the institutions of governance. The friends must strive ceaselessly to avoid being contaminated with these destructive attitudes. When called upon to vote in a Baha'i election believers should be aware that they are carrying out a sacred task to this dispensation in this increasing distinction. We'll be seen the promise of the glory of the world. Order of baha allah. The system destined to fulfill the highest expectations of humanity. Yeah. Yeah. In the middle of the 18 hundreds, a new religion was born in Iran. The prophet founder baha allah revealed a vision for the future of humanity. He called on the people of the world to recognize that each is a member of one human family. He called for the renewal of love and for brotherhood to extend beyond the traditional borders of ethnicity and nationality. The earth is but one country and mankind its citizens. Oh, ye rich ones on earth. The poor in your mid midst are my trust guard. Ye my trust and be not intent only on your own ease. Oh, Children of men know you not why we created you all from the same dust that no one should exalt himself over the other. Baha. Allah also proclaimed these teachings to the kings of Europe and the rulers of America. His message was for them to lift their vision from narrow self fulfillment to a heightened sense of social responsibility for the entire human race. Hark and Ye o rulers of America and the presidents of the Republics there. Queen in London. Oh Pope of Russia. Oh Emperor of Austria, open thine eyes that thou may behold this glorious vision. The first person of royalty to accept baha Allah's message was Queen Marie of Romania. She was descended from Queen Victoria of England and Tzar Alexander of Russia who had both received baha Allah's proclamation when Queen Marie became a Baha'i, she was not at the time ruling her country as her husband was the head of state. However, after becoming a Baha'i, she routinely shared the teachings with her countrymen. In one testimony. She said baha Allah's teachings are a great cry toward peace. A century after baha Allah's proclamation to the kings, another ruler accepted his teachings. He would be the first reigning sovereign to do so his name, his highness, Susa Malia Tali, the king of Samoa. In 1967 the king was visited by prominent Baha'i, Yugo ya Keri as part of a worldwide effort to acquaint the kings and rulers of that era with Baha'i, a few months later, Mister ya Kerry made a second visit as it had become known to some Samoan Baha'i, that the king had an interest in the Baha'i teachings. The king himself greeted Mr Giay outside of the home, whisked him away to a grand dining room, grasped his hands and said, I am a Baha'i, I believe in baha for five years, the king practiced the Baha'i faith in private before finally making it known to his fellow Samoan Baha'i, that he was their brother in faith. Bye the and died, right? Like him. No, raised by contributions of the Baha'i from every island country and continent of the globe reared in the heart of Polynesia. In this lovely island of Samoa, its cornerstone laid by his highness. Ya. The second in an impressive and widely attended ceremony in 1979. This much blessed house of worship. Now opening wide its doors to peoples of all creeds, of all races, of all nations and of all classes is dedicated to the three fundamental verities, animating and underlying the Baha'i faith, the unity of God, the unity of his profits, the unity of mankind. My sincere and warmest expression of thanks goes to the members of the Baha'i faith all over the world, both high and low who have given so generously of their resources. As we reflect on the 1st 50 years of the Baha'i faith in these islands. We are filled with profound love and admiration for your momentous role in our history. And indeed the annals of the entire world. We pray also at the enduring peace that so much your outstanding record of devoted service to our people will radiate all parts of the world. When he passed away. At age 94 the Malietoa was one of the longest reigning monarchs in the world. During his reign, the crowning achievement of this island country was the move from colonization to independence to those he ruled. The Malietoa leadership was marked with humility and to his colleagues, his reign was characterized by wisdom, humor and insight. My said, my son, my feet says some my so more to so I it my hair.