A time for youth Published: 4/30/2005A song of youth commitment
"Vanguard" means front and center. And as youth moved into the vanguard at the 96th Bahá'í National Convention Sunday morning, they captured it with love, passion, harmony and commitment.
"How extraordinary that we as youth are given the opportunity to commune with our Mother Temple of the West, to meet in fellowship with other youth visitors from around the country and to spend special time with our dearest Marguerite Sears, Counselors Birkland and Andrews, the National Teaching Committee, and members of the National Spiritual Assembly," read a letter from the nearly 40 invited youth guests and more than a dozen other young volunteers and visitors.
"The youth here have pledged to intensify their already vibrant activity."
Little wonder that delegates and other Convention visitors softly restrained tears as youth guests took turns reading passages from that letter over quiet piano strains provided by Vahid Brooks of North Hollywood, California.
Only moments earlier, Edmund Lee of Rosemead, California, had recited an impassioned poem in tribute to the martyrs of Iran and other persecuted souls, culminating in a series of challenges:
"Who
will arise to champion His Cause?"
"I will," responded
the youths, arrayed at the edges of Foundation Hall, in unison.
"Who will arise to blazon His Name? ... Who will uplift
the downtrodden? ... Who will traverse these lands to spread the word?
... Who will light the torch of unity? ... Who will 'burneth asunder'
the veils of evil suggestion? ... Who will embody the agents of change?"
"I
will,"
the
gathering responded to each challenge.
"Who
will raise the call of Yá Bahá-u'l-Abhá?"
"We
will," the youths repeated, leading into an original
song of powerful, personal commitment.
Baha'i
classes find wide appeal SYDNEY, Australia, 5 April 2005 (BWNS) -- About 6,000 primary school children in Australia are attending Baha'i classes, which are offered in more than 300 state-run schools. The classes are offered mainly to provide religious instruction to Baha'i children.Yet more than 90 percent of the children in Baha'i classes are from families who are not members of the Baha'i Faith -- indicating the wide appeal of the Baha'i approach to religious education.
Moral values stressed
In accordance with the Baha'i belief that all the world's great religions share the same divine origin and have been revealed progressively to humanity, the approach of Baha'i Education in State Schools (BESS) includes an introduction to the world's other great religions. BESS classes also stress the development of moral values as taught in all world religions, such as patience, honesty, and compassion, as well as Baha'u'llah's social principles, such as the oneness of humanity, the equality of women and men, and the promotion of racial and religious tolerance. Prayers and meditation are also incorporated.
Independent thinking
The BESS program encourages children to identify those virtues they already possess, and those they need to develop. The classes adhere to the Baha'i principle that education should help people think independently. Hence, BESS teachers do not seek to convert or indoctrinate their students, but rather to encourage them to think about their spirituality and the ways they can serve humanity. (read more at http://news.bahai.org/story.cfm?storyid=361)
Photo: New Zealand musician Grant Hindin-Miller, a Baha'i, giving a concert for Baha'i Education in State Schools (BESS) students in the Rainworth State School in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
Happy "Naw Ruz" 162 B.E.
(BWC - Haifa, Israel)
Baha'i communities throughout the world celebrate their new year, marked
by the spring equinox in the northern hemisphere, between sunset on 20
March 2005 and sunset on the 21st. Known as "Naw-Ruz," the
festival has been celebrated in Iran from time immemorial, and was confirmed
by Baha'u'llah as a holy day. It coincides with the first day of the first
month of the year in the Baha'i calendar.
The observances will take different multi-cultural forms in the 120,000 localities where Baha'is reside around the world, but typically include devotions, celebrations, and feasting. 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 freedom from the pressure of material desires.
(Photo: Among those celebrating Naw-Ruz this year are these Baha'i youth, from a diverse range of countries, who are serving as volunteer staff at the Baha'i World Centre in Haifa, Israel.)
Seize
Thy Chance-2005 NEBY Fest (Feb. 18-21, 2005)
Over 600 youth gathered for an arts-infused and inspiring weekend in Stamford, Connecticut last month in a vibrant spirit of love and unity.
"Seize
thy chance!" was the theme of the festival carried out by the Northeast
Bahá'í Youth Committee, called NEBY Fest 2005. The always
exciting and creative explosion of energy and talent touched the hearts
of the many participants who came from all over the country, including
the nearly 100 youth who were not Bahá'ís.
In addition to the sharing of the arts in ways to spiritually transform
society, the youth, listening intently to prominent Bahá'ís
about the role of the new generation in revolutionizing society, were
inspired to rise to the challenge facing them, and heard captivating and
moving personal anecdotes about Bahá'ís who knew and served
the founders and early "dawnbreakers" of the Bahá'í
Faith. 
The
program also featured consultation on Bahá'í scholarship,
and personal remembrances of Mona Mahmudnizhad, the 17-year-old Bahá'í
who was martyred in Iran after being arrested for teaching Bahá'í
children's classes.
NEBY Fest 2005 was an amazing weekend, infused with a spirit of love,
faith, and action, sparked by these words of Bahá'u'lláh:
"O MY SERVANT! Free thyself from the fetters of this world, and loose
thy soul from the prison of self. Seize thy chance, for it will come to
thee no more."
To read more about the youth conference or chat with youth online, please
visit the Bahaiyouth.com forum. To inquire about attending other activities
by the Northeast Regional Youth Committee, or youth activities in other
parts of the country, contact the Bahá'í Youth Desk at:
youth@usbnc.org, or visit bahaiyouth.com.
This article is from THE LIGHT OF UNITY, monthly newsletter
http://www.us.bahai.org/news/defaultex.htm - NEBY FEST: www.NEBY.org
NEBY Fest photos by Alex Rehayem
Members
of a regular Baha'i children's class in Yarmag, Ulaanbatar, Mongolia.
February 2005 (BWNS) In classes like this, children learn songs, stories, and quotations that teach them spiritual and moral values. The classes are part of a curriculum developed by the Ruhi Institute, a Baha'i educational institution in Colombia, that also acquaints the pupils with the history and principles of the Baha'i Faith. Children's class teacher Uyangantsengel Dashtend (rear left), a designer by profession, holds classes for two groups of children three times a week. "Children are our future," Ms. Dashtend said. "If we work with them, we will be guaranteeing the world we wish to help to build." Baha'is hold about 85 children's classes throughout Mongolia. The Baha'i community also organizes regular study circles and prayer gatherings, which are open to Baha'is and the wider public.
Children
from Gikondo singing at the jubilee of the Rwandan Baha'i community.Thriving community builds social unity
KIGALI, Rwanda, 2 February 2005 (BWNS) -- The jubilee festivities here were a major victory in the history of the Rwandan Baha'i community, a speaker told the participants at the celebrations.
Uzziel Mihembezo, one of the early Baha'is of Rwanda, said that the event was proof that despite the genocide in 1994, the Baha'i community continues to grow. Many Baha'is were among the 800,000 to perish during the violence, and many fled the country.
However, the community is thriving, with 28 Local Spiritual Assemblies and Baha'is living in 106 localities. [more]
Residents
of the village of new Yundun in The Gambia with visiting Baha'is from
Canada and the United States, who were contributing to children's classes
and literacy classes. 1993.Two reasons for festivities
BANJUL, The Gambia, 23 January 2005 (BWNS) -- The Baha'i community of this West African country had a double reason to celebrate last month.
The first was the opening of a new national Baha'i center in the coastal town of Bakau, about 10 km from the capital. The second reason for celebration was the 50th anniversary of the introduction of the Baha'i Faith to the country.The consecutive festivities were held 24-26 December 2004.Among the more than 200 people attending the opening and dedication ceremony of the national center, held on 24 December 2004, were representatives of the Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, and Muslim communities. [more]
The
Baha'i House of Worship, New Delhi, India. Photo by George Day.NEW DELHI, India, 12 January 2005 (BWNS) -- Prominent international visitors to the Baha'i House of Worship here recently expressed their admiration of the Temple that attracts more than three and a half million visitors each year.
Crown Princess Margareta of
Romania and her husband, Prince Radu von Hohenzollern-Veringen, attended
a prayer service at the Temple on 14 November 2004. On 13 December 2004
the First Lady of the Slovak Republic, Silvia Gasparovicova, attended
a similar service at the House of Worship.
Princess Margareta and her husband were welcomed at the House of Worship
by the secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of
India, Farida Vahedi, and by the architect of the Temple, Fariborz Sahba,
who explained features of the building.
The couple
was accompanied on their visit by the ambassador of Romania to India,
Vasile Sofineti, and Mrs. Sofineti. Following a service, which included
prayers from some of the major religions, the guests proceeded to the
nearby information center where they viewed an exhibition about the Baha'i
Faith. The Princess expressed delight at finding on display photographs
of her great-grand-mother, Queen Marie of Romania (1875-1938), who was
the first monarch to become a Baha'i.
The exhibit also included the letter of Queen Marie addressed to Shoghi
Effendi, the then head of the Faith, in which she declared her belief
in the Baha'i teachings.
NEW YORK, United States, 22 December 2004 (BWNS) -- For the 17th time since 1985, the United Nations General Assembly has passed a resolution expressing "serious concern" over the human rights situation in Iran, making specific mention of the ongoing persecution of the Baha'i community there.
The resolution, introduced by Canada, passed by a vote of 71 to 54 on 20 December 2004. It called on Iran to "eliminate all forms of discrimination based on religious grounds" and took note of the recent upsurge of human rights violations against the Baha'is of Iran.
Specifically, the resolution noted the "continuing discrimination against persons belonging to minorities, including Christians, Jews, and Sunnis, and the increased discrimination against the Baha'is, including cases of arbitrary arrest and detention, the denial of free worship or of publicly carrying out communal affairs, the disregard of property rights, the destruction of sites of religious importance, the suspension of social, educational, and community-related activities, and the denial of access to higher education, employment, pensions, and other benefits."
Bani Dugal, principal representative of the Baha'i International Community to the United Nations, said that the worldwide Baha'i community is thankful for the support of the international community of nations. "As noted by the resolution, the situation for Baha'is has been worsening this year, and expressions of concern by the international community such as this remain the chief means of protection for Iran's beleaguered Baha'i community," said Ms. Dugal.
BWC-BP-041222-1-IRAN-341-N
Community
builds first centerHUAHINE, French Polynesia, 6 February 2004 (BWNS) -- Devotional songs and prayers marked the inauguration of the first Baha'i center to be built in French Polynesia.
After the local mayor and a Baha'i representative cut a ribbon of flowers to open the center, the Baha'is s
ang in Tahitian "Blessed is the spot", a song whose lyrics are a prayer by Baha'u'llah.
The event held on 7 January 2004 was attended by representatives of three other religions, as well as by Baha'is from Huahine, Tahiti, and Switzerland.
The ceremony also included Baha'i children singing selections from the Baha'i writings in French and Tahitian.
Francis Dubois, a Baha'i from Paea, summed up the feelings of those present when he rejoiced in seeing the physical presence of the Faith established: "Our hearts are on fire and filled
with joy," Mr. Dubois said. The opening ceremony came only eight months after the Local Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Huahine decided to undertake the project. Huahine, with a population of 8000, is an island in the Society Islands group, one of five archipelagoes in the territory of French Polynesia. Most of French Polynesia's 245,000 people live on the island of Tahiti, also one of the Society Islands. Once the decision was made to build, the Baha'is -- three families and four individuals -- threw themselves into the task of constructing the center, which will be used for spiritual gatherings and study classes.
Inspiring
youth to assist humanityHLUBOKA, Czech Republic, 25 February 2004 (BWNS) -- A six-day gathering to inspire Baha'i youth to make their contribution to the welfare of humanity attracted participants from more than 30 countries.
The world's suffering was a "call to action," a keynote speaker told participants at the "Changing Times" seminar, which was held at the Townshend International School here from 26 December 2003 to 1 January 2004.
"Today we are witnessing the disintegration of international order," said Robert Henderson, the secretary-general of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of the United States.
"Sovereign states are unable to stop the spread of terrorism and war, to stabilize the world economy or to alleviate the sufferings of millions," said Dr. Henderson, drawing on analysis by Shoghi Effendi and messages from the Universal House of Justice.
Baha'i youth, he said, should strive to become examples of the transforming power of Baha'u'llah.
They should "elevate the atmosphere" in which they live, face challenges with confidence and become the embodiment of excellence in their personal lives, academic training, professions, and spiritual qualities. The atmosphere of the seminar was characterized by the joy and camaraderie of the some 220 participants. In addition to the many European Baha'is, attendees came fro
m places as far away as Canada, the United States, Australia, and New Zealand.
Joyous parties to greet
the New YearBaha'is celebrate Naw-Ruz (New Year) on the spring equinox.
BELFAST, United Kingdom, 19 March 2003 (BWNS) -- Celebrations to mark the Baha'i New Year will take different forms throughout the world but will typically include programs of spiritual upliftment, music, dancing and feasting.
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 event planned for Belfast is typical of the kind of multi-cultural celebration that will be observed in many of the 120,000 localities where Baha'is -- who embrace human diversity -- reside around the world.
Irish stews and Persian cuisine will be on the menu for the opening dinner, and then will come the entertainment, said local Baha'i spokesman Ralph Rossi.
"There will be African singers, an Indian dancer and salsa dancing," Mr. Rossi said.
A highlight will be the combination of traditional Irish music with Persian drumming, he said.
More than 300 members of the wider community had been invited, he said.
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.
An example of another Naw-Ruz celebration will be in Seville, Spain, where Baha'is have invited guests to attend a program, which will start with a presentation on the significance of the festival followed by a prayer revealed by Baha'u'llah for Naw-Ruz.
Interfaith Devotional at the Rider University Chapel
Saturday, September 14, 2002
7:30 - 8:30 pm
Would you like to spend an evening with others from different religious backgrounds and listen to Writings from many different Faiths focused on a central theme? The Baha'is of Mercer county warmly invite you to participate in it's quarterly devotional program held at the Rider University Chapel on Saturday, September 14. Music and prayers begin at 7:30pm and conclude at 8:30pm followed by refreshments. Child care is provided. Donations are not accepted. Sharon at 609-434-0469.
ALL ARE WELCOME!
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Mojgan
Khadem, writer and director of the film "Serenades," on set with
actress Alice Haines, who plays the central character, Jila.Full-length feature film, inspired by the Baha'i writings, premieres in Australia.
PERTH, Australia, 5 February 2001 (BWNS) -- A tale of love and oppression, set in Australia's Outback in the 1890s and focusing on the story of an Aboriginal girl and a group of Lutheran missionaries, had its world premiere at the Perth International Arts Festival today.
The full-length feature film, entitled "Serenades," was written and directed by Mojgan Khadem, an Iranian-born Baha'i from Adelaide, South Australia. The film received a glowing review ahead of its release in an industry publication, Screen International, where critic Frank Hatherley described it as “an international gem."
“Sandra Levy’s production is a small miracle, with exquisite landscape cinematography by Russell Boyd and a moving cross-ethnic soundtrack,” Mr. Hatherley wrote. Shot on location in the South Australian outback, Serenades is Ms. Khadem’s first feature film. It stars Alice Haines and Aden Young. Producer Sandra Levy and director of photography Russell Boyd both have a long list of major films to their credit.
"Serenades" is set in the 1890s when German Lutheran missionaries were trying to bring Christianity to South Australia’s Aboriginal people. It tells the story of a young woman who has an Afghan father and an Aboriginal mother. [more]
Thousands
of Baha'is climb Mount Carmel as new terraces are inauguratedHAIFA, Israel, 23 May 2001 (BWNS) -- Thousands of Baha'is from every race, nation and religious background today streamed up the face of Mount Carmel in a prayerful ascent toward the Shrine of the Bab, the second-most holy place in the Baha'i world.
The climb, made up a stately stone stairway that runs through the heart of a series of recently completed garden terraces, was an act of deep spiritual significance to the participants here.
Coming this week from some 180 nations to celebrate the inauguration of the terraces, which extend nearly a kilometer up the mountainside, those who made the climb said they wer
e moved and uplifted by the experience. They will count it as one of the most meaningful of their lives.
"It was really soul-stirring," said Samuel Benjamin Obura, a 65-year-old sugarcane farmer from Kenya. "First of all, there was the beauty of the gardens and the Shrine. It gave one to think of many things.
"I thought of the suffering of the Bab," Mr. Obura continued. "He was put in prison and He was mocked an
d He was martyred and everyone thought that was the end.
"But now we see the glory that surrounds His Shrine and the adoration people feel when they visit it," he added.
The event today was part of a week-long program to celebrate the completion of a $250 million complex of buildings, gardens and terraces at the Baha'i World Centre. The terraces were built over the last 10 years with voluntary donations from the five million member worldwide Baha'i community. Baha'is view completion of the project as marking a major stage in the emergence of the Baha'i Faith on the world scene. The significance of this event is that it represents a kind of culmination of the development of the Baha'i World Centre on this mountain," said Penny Walker, a member of the International Teaching Centre here, a key Baha'i institution that focuses on advising national Baha'i communities on their growth and development.
"At the same time, we see that the Baha'i Faith is established in every country and territory of the world, bringing together an incredible cross-section of the human race, who are all committed to bringing people everywhere into one human family," said Dr. Walker.
The diversity of the worldwide Baha'i community was evident today as delegates made their way up Mount Carmel in a spirit of devotion. Many wore traditional native costumes and the procession was a showcase of the human garden, resplendent in all its races and colors. [more photos]
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