Category: Arlington Baha'i Activities

Ayyám-i-Há

The Bahá’ís of Arlington will be soon be celebrating Ayyám-i-Há (also called Intercalary Days) between February 26 and March 1. During this time of the year, they enjoy fellowship with family and friends, perform acts of service and charity, exchange gifts, and attend social gatherings. Immediately after Ayyám-i-Há, Bahá’ís observe a Fast, when for 19 days, they will not eat or drink between sunrise and sunset.

This year Arlington Bahá’ís will gather on Friday, February 26, at 7:00 PM to celebrate. They welcome guests and friends to join them. To learn more about the gathering, please contact: info@arlingtonbahai.org.

The Bahá’í calendar follows a solar year and consists of 19 months of 19 days or 361 days. The 4 days or 5 days during a Leap Year are Ayyám-i-Há.

There are no traditional holiday decorations or rituals. Some Bahá’ís decorate their homes, some do not. Ayyám-i-Há is about sharing generosity, joy and love with others.

Bahá’u'lláh, the Prophet-Founder of the Bahá’í Faith, said of Ayyám-i-Há: “It behoveth the people of Bahá, throughout these days, to provide good cheer for themselves, their kindred and, beyond them, the poor and needy, and with joy and exultation to hail and glorify their Lord, to sing His praise and magnify His Name.”

You may join us on Friday February 26th to celebrate this joyful Bahá’í holiday. The theme will be Oneness. We will share prayers, delicious food, and have lots of time to talk. To learn more, email: info@arlingtonbahai.org.

To learn more about the Bahá’í calendar, click here: http://www.bahai.us/bahai-calendar

Feb 18, 2010 | 0 comments View Post

Arlington Bahá’ís Elect Local Spiritual Assembly

Bahá’ís in Arlington and across the world are preparing for the election of their Local Spiritual Assembly (LSA). In every locality where 9 or more Bahá’í adults live, on the April 20th the Local Spiritual Assembly is elected. The only communities where Local Spiritual Assemblies will not be elected are in Iran, since the government of Iran in 1983 called for the dismantling of the Bahá’í administrative structure. Therefore in 1983 the National Spiritual Assembly of Iran dissolved itself and the rest of the Bahá’í administrative structure in the country as a demonstration of goodwill towards the government.

There is no clergy in the Bahá’í Faith, rather the LSA is the elected administrative body that provides pastoral care and coordinates the affairs of the community at the local level. The institutions of a National Spiritual Assembly (NSA) and the Universal House of Justice coordinate the affairs of the Bahá’í community at a national and the international level respectively. Therefore the Local Spiritual Assembly in addition to providing guidance for the Bahá’í community at a local level, is the grassroots centerpiece of a democratic local, national, and international election processes.

The secret ballot election takes place in a prayerful atmosphere, void of nominations or campaigning. All Bahá’ís over the age of 21 who reside with in the particular geographic jurisdiction are eligible to vote and to be elected to serve. Individual elected members have no special authority, status, or power outside the Assembly itself.

To find out more about the Bahá’í electoral process please read this article or watch this video on YouTube.

Apr 20, 2009 | 0 comments View Post

History of the Bahá’í Faith in DC

On April 4th, a group of Bahá’ís from Arlington and DC and their friends got together for a bus tour of some of the places that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá visited on his trip to the United States in 1912. `Abdu’l-Bahá made three visits to Washington, DC in 1912: from April 20 to 28, from May 8 to 11, and from November 6 to 11. There are other tours being planned for May and November of this year, so if you are interested please contact Lex Musta at 202-253-6899 for more details or to reserve a seat on the bus for those trips.

Below are a list of the places we visited:

  • The Metropolitan African Methodists Episcopal Church (the AME Church) located on M street NW. It was here that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá spoke to the Bethel Literary Society. You can read the entire speech here. The Bethel Literary and Historical Society was established in 1881, and was the first national association of Africa-American intellectual leaders. Frederick Douglass spoke on a variety of occasion to this group, and past presidents of this society include Mary Church Terrell and Louis Gregory.
  • Arlington National Cemetery. While ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was in DC, he went with Agnes Parsons to pray at the grave of her father William B Royall. Mrs. Parsons is best known for organizing the first Race Amity Conference in 1921. She was a member of the national Race Amity Committees from 1924 through 1930, and was the chair from 1925 – 1928.
  • 1832 26th St, NW. This is currently a private residence owned by Mr. and Mrs. Boyle. In 1912 it was the home of Mírzá Ali-Kuli Khan and Madame Khan. Mr. Khan, a Bahá’í, was at that time Charge d’Affaires of the Persian Legation, and he hosted a luncheon for ‘Abdu’l-Bahá at this townhome. Louis Gregory had been speaking with ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, but left before the luncheon began, as it was still uncommon to have interracial gatherings in DC in 1912. When ‘Abdu’l-Bahá learned he had left, he sent for Mr. Gregory immediately and gave him the seat of honor on his right.
  • Mr. James Ryan of the Esperanto Society of Washington spoke to our group in front of the German Marshall Fund Building. In 1912 this was the home of Mr. and Mrs. Parsons, and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá gave many talks here including to the Theosophical Society and the Esperantists.
Apr 14, 2009 | 0 comments View Post

Devoting the Night

PrayersTo begin the month of February with a refreshed spirit, you are welcomed to Devoting the Night – a devotional which will begin later in the evening, after dinner in Rosslyn. On Saturday January 31st, after filling up at Red Hot & Blue at 8:00pm, we will then venture to fill our souls with the devotional at the nearby River Place apartments. The devotional is expected to begin around 10:00pm. If you would like more information, please contact the Baha’is of Arlington.

Jan 27, 2009 | 0 comments View Post

Arlington Baha’is Share in Changing Times

teamWhile my wife, Kit Bigelow, and I had the honor to be featured speakers at the recent Changing Times Conference, held in Hluboka, Czech Republic, someone emailed me to ask who was behind … who was sponsoring … the truly outstanding event at the Townshend International School in the southern Czech Republic. The organizers are seen in the photo at the right … five young adult professionals from Europe, America and the Middle East.

There is no corporate sponsor, no deep-pockets. Simply five visionary young adults – Ruha Reyhani, Clare O’Brien, Vahid Khamsi, Martin Kummel and Neysan Zölzer. They and the 230 young adult professionals from 40 nations who have attended this week-long conference on defining the future are, in my opinion, among the best and brightest of tomorrow’s leaders.

group-with-kitThe five organizers all have “day jobs” yet have found the time to communicate and coordinate … mostly by email … a major conference that focuses on defining visionary leadership principles. In the process, they have attracted speakers from all over the world, ranging from actor Rainn Wilson, Mr. Ian Semplewriter Holiday Reinhorn and Italian business leader Giuseppe Robiati to Dr. Moshe Sharon, a distinguished scholar from Hebrew University, and Mr. Ian Semple, retired member of the Baha’i Universal House of Justice (on the right).

It was intense – daily lectures and workshops for eight to 12 hours. But, then, tomorrow’s leaders know the meaning of hard work.

I have never before seen, known or participated in such a meaningful conference. My wife, Kit Bigelow, who was one of the speakers, has described the event simply as, “humorously soul uplifting.” I looked at the faces of the young adults, and saw the world’s future. Incidentally, we are both members of the Arlington Baha’i community.

Check out this cool animated slideshow the Changing Times leaders created at the end of the conference, featuring the music of Andy Grammer.

~ David Henderson, an Arlington Baha’i.

Jan 09, 2009 | 0 comments View Post