Stephen Hall and Rachel Ndegwa spoke as representatives of the International Teaching Center. Gerardo Vargas, a member of the Continental Board of Counselors, also gave an address. Continental Counselors are individuals appointed by the Universal House of Justice, the international governing body, to oversee the protection and propagation of the Bahá’í Faith around the world. Nine of these individuals serve on the International Teaching Center in Haifa, Israel, where the world headquarters of the Bahá’í Faith is located. Also in attendance were Robert Henderson, Jacqueline Left Hand Bull and William Roberts, three members of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of the United States.

Almost 2,000 people came to the conference in Connecticut, even with a sever ice storm; so many people showed up for this historic event that they needed overflow rooms! Saturday morning plenary sessions were following by a bag lunch, and then afternoon breakout sessions where small groups were able to study and plan together.

Saturday evening there were wonderful musical performances. (We hope to publish a second post highlighting those performances shortly). Sunday morning there were more keynote addresses and then more breakout sessions. Below are some pictures from the weekend.

So what are the activities that are happening here in Arlington, VA? We have study circles, which constitute a learning process that allows the Word of God to penetrate our hearts. There are children’s classes and junior youth groups. Children are the foundation of civilization; if we want to change the world we have to start with children. Local Bahá’ís also host prayer gatherings in their homes. These activities help us develop our own spiritual and social capacities as the world is in decline, and help us better serve the community. To find out more please contact us.

“Thank God, for He hath uncovered the veil from before thine eye, and that thou hast witnessed the great signs of the greatest glad-tidings which have been revealed in the Gospel, Bible and the Psalms; and wert confirmed that verily those glad-tidings have allusions to the appearance of the Kingdom of God during this time, and that the horizons shall brighten through the light of the effulgence in this age, which is the age of the lights and the century of thy God, the Powerful, the Almighty!” ~ ‘Abdu’l-Bahá

To find out more about the Bible and the Bahá’í writings, we invite you to join the Arlington Bahá’í Community on Friday December 19, 2008 at 7:30pm for a lively discussion and light refreshments. For more information or directions, please contact the Bahá’ís of Arlington. Before the discussion there will be a brief overview of the Bahá’í Faith as well as music provided by Hillary Chapman.

“The coolest thing about this conference that kept resonating with me was this quote from a letter from that Universal House of Justice that we read “May all find a part to play.” We all have a part to play to uplift humanity. We should not underestimate the process, it may seem simple, but it is profound.”
~ Blair, Arlington, VA

“Have you been on a road never traveled before? Where you have to trust the directions or you risk getting overwhelmed by the fear of the unknown and turning back too soon, before reaching the goal. Now imagine that 4000 others are on the same road. Or to be more precise, imagine that 6 million others are heading in the same direction, following paths as unique as each one of us is.” This is how Mitko described the Atlanta conference. To read his full post please visit his blog.

“Tons of people kept volunteering to help their communities – it was amazing to see all of these people rising up to serve. My favorite part was on Saturday night when there was a huge concert with wonderful musical performances. Since I’m from Atlanta it was also a kind of homecoming, it was nice to see people that I haven’t seen since before I moved here.”
~Alyssa, Arlington, VA

To read more about the Atlanta conference or to see more pictures (including other ones taken by Mitko) please visit the Bahá’í World News Service.

“The focus of the conferences is encouraging the participation of every Bahá’í and friends of Bahá’ís in activities that address the spiritual requirements of the day in which we live, studying together the Word of God, praying together, offering spiritual education to our children and developing the moral character of our young people to prepare for lives of service to humanity. After stimulating, funny, inspiring speeches by members of the Continental Counselors from the International Teaching Center, the participants studied together letters from the Universal House of Justice and then gathered in small groups to discuss specific needs and commitments in geographic areas. Everyone was urged to make a pledge of increased activity. To feed the souls of all the conference attendees, musical performances filled Saturday evening.”
~ Kit, from Arlington, VA

“I can’t express the joy and energy (spiritual) we got from the Atlanta conference and can’t describe it in words. All what I can say, that this conference was indeed “unique”, I have never been to a conference like it before. This photo was taken moments before we board the bus back to Virginia ”
~ Baher, from Arlington, VA

To be a Baha’i traveling back
From the Atlanta Conference

Where the same box lunch
Was served at all three meals
Where the dining room was
The floor itself
Where people of every
Astounding stripe sat beside
One another with
Joy and hope

Is to be so flooded with
Happiness
As to be sleepless

Is to be struck dumb
With love
Unable to do anything
But smile, weep and pray
For the chance to serve

This is the Wonder
The Miracle
The Radiant Gift

The Beloved of the Worlds
Appeared in the face
Of His gloriously humbled
People

~ Susan, from Alexandria, VA

[note: Continental Counselors are individuals appointed by the Universal House of Justice, the international governing body, to oversee the protection and propagation of the Bahá’í Faith around the world. Nine of these individuals serve on the International Teaching Center in Haifa, Israel, where the world headquarters of the Bahá'í Faith is located.]

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.”

The conference in New Delhi on November 22 and 23 had over 2,700 participants from all over northern India, 480 from Nepal, 120 from Pakistan and 50 from Afghanistan joined together to talk about concrete actions to build love and unity. The focus of the conference was on tending to needs of the children of the world and offering them lessons that develop their spiritual faculties and lay the foundations of a noble and upright character. They discussed how systematic study of the Word of God in small groups can build the capacity for service, as well as shared stories of efforts to help young people form a strong moral identity in their early adolescent years and empower them to contribute to the well-being of their communities. All of this was done is a spirit of joy and fellowship. Naheed and Tuba, two participants from the New Delhi conference, submitted the photos that are accompanying this story.

We expect to post a report from Arlington Bahá’ís who attended the Atlanta conference later on this week. A summary by Arlington Bahá’ís of the Connecticut conference will be posted next week. While each conference is unique, all will have the same theme, looking at the activities that Bahá’ís are doing in their own neighborhoods to build love and unity. If you are interested in learning more about the Bahá’í Faith, or the activities happening here in Arlington, we invite you to contact us.