Recent Articles
Arlington Baha’is to celebrate Naw-ruz on March 21st
For Baha’is, Naw-ruz, the Baha’i New Year comes at a perfect time — March 21 — the vernal equinox, which marks the first day of spring and the end of the Baha’i Faith’s annual Nineteen Day Fast. Called Naw Ruz – “new day” in Persian, the Baha’i New Year has its roots in Persia, where the Baha’i Faith originated in the mid-1800s.
The Arlington Baha’i community will come together to celebrate Naw-ruz, the Baha’i new year, on March 21st at 7 p.m..
Baha’u'llah, the prophet-founder of the Baha’i Faith wrote of Naw-ruz, “Praised be Thou, O my God, that Thou hast ordained Naw-Ruz as a festival unto those who have observed the Fast for love of Thee and abstained from all that is abhorrent unto thee…”
For more information, please contact us via the link above.
Arlington Baha’is to hold Ayyam-i-Ha Celebration on February 27
Ayyam-i-Ha, or Intercalary Days, is the time between the Baha’i month of Mulk (February 7 – February 25) and the month of Ala (March 2 – March 20). As the Baha’i calendar consists of the 19 months with 19 days each, the intercalary days provide an extra four days (or five in leap years) to complete the solar cycle.
During Ayyam-i-Ha, Baha’is strive to show extra love, fellowship, and charity. Ayyam-i-Ha is also a time when Baha’is give and receive gifts, particularly to children.
Baha’u'llah has said of Ayyam-i-Ha:
“It behoveth the people of Baha, 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.”
This year, the Arlington Baha’is will celebrate Ayyam-i-Ha at 6 p.m. on Sunday, February 27th. For more information, please call (703) 679-7554.
Arlington Musical Prayer Station
Arlington Musical Prayer Station with Katharine Key
Intone, O My servant, the verses of God that have been received by thee, as intoned by them who have drawn nigh unto Him, that the sweetness of thy melody may kindle thine own soul, and attract the hearts of all men.
(Baha’u’llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u’llah, p. 294)
Dear friends!
What nurtures your soul? What makes your heart tender? Prayer, music, fellowship, tea poured in peace, cake shared with a smile? Whatever the answer might be, sharing songs and prayers with friends gets us all closer to the Creator and recharges us for days ahead.
Mitko Gerensky invites you and your loves ones to a very special Musical Prayer Station and house concert with Katharine Key on Saturday, January 8th, at 7:30 pm,. This is the second time she is performing at the Arlington Prayer Station and everyone who attended the first time, enjoyed it immensely!
Katharine Key is a singer-songwriter who loves playing music to uplift people’s hearts and enrich their lives. She is classically trained in piano and self-taught on guitar, but only plays so that she can sing — her first passion. She has been a Baha’i for 14 years and took up guitar and song-writing so that she could serve the community, since music and the arts are an essential element of Baha’i community life.
Her debut album, “Intone,” consists of passages from the Baha’i scriptures set to original music in a number of styles, ranging from jazz to samba to folk and rock. She is currently working on a second album most of whose lyrics are her own reflections on spiritual struggles and breakthroughs. She will perform selections from both “Intone” and the upcoming album. “Intone” will be available for sale at the concert as well as online at www.cdbaby.com/cd/katharinekey.
When she is not singing, Katharine works in the field of HIV prevention research. Look for her and drop her a note online at www.justkat.com.
Please let Mitko Gerensky know if you plan on coming so that he can plan the size of the cake, or if you need details on the location.
Most Holy Religious Festival of the Bahá’í Year
The Bahá’ís of Arlington will celebrate the most holy religious festival of the Bahá’í year beginning Tuesday, April 20, at sunset. The community will gather together for a devotion service and will elect the Spiritual Assembly of Arlington County, the nine-member governing council that oversees the administrative and pastoral needs of the local religious community.
History and Significance of the Festival of Ridván.
From April 21 to May 2, Bahá’ís observe the Festival of Ridván This most holy day commemorates the anniversary of Bahá’u'lláh’s declaration in 1863 that He was the Promised One of all earlier religions.
Bahá’u'lláh’s declaration that He was “Him Whom God shall make manifest” and a Manifestation of God marks the beginning of the Bahá’í Faith .
Ridván (Rizwahn) was a bittersweet time, as Bahá’u'lláh was soon to be exiled to Constantinople (now Istanbul, Turkey). This was the latest in His series of exiles by the Persian government, which considered Him to be a heretic.
Bahá’u'lláh spent 12 days in a garden in Baghdad visiting with His followers. His followers named the garden Ridván, which means “Paradise” or “good pleasure” in Arabic. The exact circumstances of the Declaration are not known. According to Shoghi Effendi, Guardian of the Faith: ³The fragmentary description left to posterity by His chronicler Nabil is one of the very few authentic records we possess of the memorable days He spent in that garden. Every day, Nabil has related, ere the hour of dawn, the gardeners would pick the roses which lined the four avenues of the garden, and would pile them in the center of the floor of His blessed tent. So great would be the heap that when His companions gathered to drink their morning tea in His presence, they would be unable to see each other across it. All these roses Bahá’u'lláh would, with His own hands, entrust to those whom He dismissed from His presence every morning to be delivered, on His behalf, to His Arab and Persian friends in the city.²
Bahá’u'lláh called Ridván the Most Great Festival and the King of Festivals. He said:
Call ye to mind, O people, the bounty which God hath conferred upon you. Ye
were sunk in slumber, and lo! He aroused you by the reviving breezes of His
Revelation, and made known unto you His manifest and undeviating Path.
When He entered the garden, Bahá’u'lláh proclaimed the Festival of Ridván and made three announcements:
- He forbade His followers to fight to advance or defend the Faith (religious war had been permitted under past religions).
- He declared there would not be another prophet for another 1,000 years.
- He proclaimed that all the names of God were inherent in all things at that moment.
Bahá’ís suspend work on the holiest days of Ridvan-the first (April 21), ninth (April 29) and twelfth (May 2). These mark the day of Bahá’u'lláh’s arrival in the garden, the arrival of His family and the group’s departure for Constantinople.
Throughout Ridván, Bahá’ís gather for devotions and attend social gatherings.
At Ridván, Bahá’ís annually elect members of local and national administrative bodies, called Spiritual Assemblies. Bahá’u'lláh taught that in an age of universal education, there was no longer a need for a special class of clergy. Instead, he provided a framework for administering the affairs of the Faith through a system of elected councils at the local, national and international levels. (International elections are held every five years.)
Bahá’í elections occur through secret ballot and plurality vote, without candidacies, nominations or campaigning.
Arlington Baha’is Greet Naw-Ruz
The Baha’i New Year festival known as Naw-Ruz (literally “New Day”) is held on the spring equinox, March 21, but the celebrations will begin the evening before because the Baha’i day begins at sunset.
The Baha’i community in Arlington, Virginia, will observe the Holy Day with a Feast – a gathering for prayers, songs, sharing and food – the evening of Saturday, March 20.
The festival comes at the end of a 19-day fast in which adult Baha’is abstain from food and drink between sunrise and sunset as a reminder of the need for individuals to be detached from their material desires.
Naw-Ruz is the first day of the first of 19 months in the Baha’i calendar, which was initiated by the Bab, the Forerunner of the Faith’s Prophet-Founder, Baha’u'llah, who later confirmed it.
Learn more about Naw-Ruz, click here. To contact the Baha’i community in Arlington, click Contact above.
