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Arlington Bahá’ís Take Part in Historic Conferences

Many Arlington Bahá’ís are excited about taking part in a series of forty-one conferences taking place all across the globe . The conferences were called by the Universal House of Justice, the supreme administrative body for the Bahá’ís of the world, to discuss community activities. Six of the forty-one conferences are being held at various locations in the United States, two of which have been or will be attended by Arlington Bahá’ís including one this past weekend (December 6-7) in Atlanta, Georgia and one this coming weekend (December 13-14) in Stamford, Connecticut.

The Bahá’í World News has created a website to capture a summary of each of these meetings and provide a space for participants to share their comments. Mehrdad who attended the conference in New Delhi, India stated “The highlight here is the coming together of diverse peoples, sitting under one roof, and thinking the same—the unity of thought of people. I am seeing this for the first time in my life. It’s the realization of what Bahá’u’lláh described: the garden with different flowers.”

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Dec 09, 2008 | 3 comments View Post

Interfaith Devotions

“O SON OF MAN!
I loved thy creation, hence I created thee. Wherefore, do thou love Me, that I may name thy name and fill thy soul with the spirit of life.”

~Bahá’u’lláh

What nurtures your soul? What makes your heart tender? Prayer, music, fellowship, cake, tea? Whatever the answer might be, sharing devotions with friends gets us all closer to the Creator. Please join us for interfaith devotions that will take place on Monday, December 8th at 7:00 pm in Ballston. Please contact the Baha’is of Arlington and find out more about this devotional gathering.

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Dec 08, 2008 | 0 comments View Post

A New Baha’i Visits Haifa

I had the honor of being invited to Haifa, Israel, in March 2008, for meetings at the Baha’i World Center. I had become a Baha’i just a year before.

My wife, who accompanied me, and I had an opportunity to tour the Baha’i Holy Places at Bahji – the Shrine of Baha’u'llah – and the Shrine of the Bab on Mount Carmel in Haifa.

From among hundreds of photos that we took, I would like to share this two-minute animated slide show of a new Baha’i's first visit to the Holy Lands.

~ David Henderson, an Arlington Baha’i

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Dec 07, 2008 | 2 comments View Post

Ascension of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá

On November 28 at 1:00am, members of the Baha’i Faith throughout the world will commemorate the passing of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, the eldest son of Bahá’u’lláh. He was born on May 23, 1844 in Tehran and given the name `Abbás. Yet the name that he preferred was ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’ which means ‘Servant of Bahá’. As a young child he accompanied his Father in exile and was a prisoner for most of his life. In 1908, as a result of the Turkish revolution, all political and religious prisoners of the Ottoman Empire including ‘Abdu’l-Bahá were released. In 1911 and 1912 he traveled to Europe and North America to spread his Father’s teachings concerning the coming of a new day and the unity of all mankind. He was knighted by Queen Victoria for his humanitarian services and spent his life caring for the sick and the needy.

Before Bahá’u’lláh passed away in 1892 He appointed ‘Abdu’l-Bahá as the Center of His Covanent and the sole interpreter of His writings. Abdu’l-Bahá died in his house in Haifa (pictured) on November 28, 1921 at the age of 77. Over 10,000 mourners, representing every class, religion and race in Palestine attended his funeral. Excerpts of some of the speeches given at his funeral by the various religious leaders can be read here.

We invite you to join us here in Arlington as we commemorate his passing. Starting at 9:00pm on Thursday November 27th, we will be showing two films, including the new full-length documentary “The Promised One of All Ages.” The commemoration with prayers and devotional readings will be at 1 am. Please contact us for more information or for directions to this commemoration. Some of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s writings are available here.

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Nov 26, 2008 | 1 comment View Post

The Day of the Covenant

A covenant is a binding agreement between two parties. In the religious sense a covenant is an agreement between God and man, whereby God requires of man to behave in a certain way in return for which He guarantees certain blessings. Bahá’ís recognize two kinds of covenants, a Greater Covenant and a Lesser Covenant.
The Universal House of Justice, the supreme governing body of the Bahá’í Faith, describes the two covenants in the following manner:

“There is, for example, the Greater Covenant which every Manifestation of God makes with His followers, promising that in the fullness of time a new Manifestation will be sent, and taking from them the undertaking to accept Him when this occurs. There is also the Lesser Covenant that a Manifestation of God makes with His followers that they will accept His appointed successor after Him. If they do so, the Faith can remain united and pure. If not, the Faith becomes divided and its force spent. “

Bahá’ís believe that Bahá’u’lláh is the latest Messenger of God, and through Him, God’s promise to mankind, His Greater Covenant is renewed. When Bahá’u’lláh passed away on May 29, 1892, in His will and testament He appointed His eldest son `Abdu’l-Bahá as the center of His covenant and the sole interpreter of His writings. In addition to being the center of his Father’s covenant, `Abdu’l-Bahá was the embodiment of every Bahá’í ideal, the incarnation of every Bahá’í virtue and provide a perfect example of how to live according to the Bahá’í teachings. Therefore every year on November 26th, Bahá’ís all over the world celebrate The Day of the Covenant. This is a day for us to celebrate the life of `Abdu’l-Bahá as well as the Covenant of Bahá’u'lláh which has ensured the unity of the Bahá’í Faith.

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Nov 25, 2008 | 0 comments View Post
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