By george wesley dannells on Jun 20, 2007 in Baha'i Views | comments(0)
Our Baha’i community has reached critical mass. And just as promised, we are seeing lift-off.
Tonight is the third session of our Ruhi 1 study circle, continuing with our three dear seekers.
At 6:20 a.m. my son called me. “I’m up. It’s a beautiful day.” He’s right. It’s sunshine and blue sky this morning.
“How did your study circle go Monday night?” I asked. He and Megan started a Ruhi 1 on Monday, Megan as tutor, her first since she completed the sequence of Ruhi courses along with my wife and me. We were all a part of the most recent cohort of a couple dozen Baha’is in our cluster to complete the sequence.
“We had two seekers,” he said. “One was a person that Megan has been riding the bus to work with. The other we had never met before that night, but had called the Baha’i number previously. We just called her up and invited her to come. Neither had ever been to any Baha’i gathering locally before.”
It’s a beautiful day indeed. -gw+
By george wesley dannells on Jun 19, 2007 in Baha'i Views | comments(0)
This dear soul is planning to go to a Baha’i presentation for good reason. -gw
I think my going to xymboulos’s Baha’i presentation tonight will be good. I’ve always enjoyed learning about other religions, probably due to my not really believing in anything myself.
By george wesley dannells on Jun 19, 2007 in Baha'i Views | comments(1)
From the Thai Baha’i website, a powerpoint to download, and also songs and prayers in MP3 format, in Thai, but music is a universal language. The musical devotions are performed by Baha’i youth. -gw
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http://www.thai-bahais.org/English/pdownld.php#Yasothan
By george wesley dannells on Jun 19, 2007 in Baha'i Views | comments(0)
Thomas, a.k.a. twoarmtom.com, is man with multiple interests, among them supporting the Junior Youth in his Baha’i community in a very unique way.-gw
For the past few months the Baha’i Junior Youth Class of Niagara has been working on music compositions using GarageBand. The purpose of these creations is for background music to different prayers and writings chosen and read by the youth creating each song. Check out the Prayers section for written copies of each Prayer, and check out the Music section to listen to the music they put together for these Prayers.
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http://twoarmtom.com/junioryouth/
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photo: “GarageBand 3 - Recording,” uploaded on November 21, 2006 by mac_vegetarian on flickr
By george wesley dannells on Jun 19, 2007 in Baha'i Views | comments(0)
“Bcharre, home to beloved Lebanese writer Khalil Gibran,”
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What road leads to peace? The Baha’i Writings distinguish between the Lesser Peace and the Most Great Peace. Baha’is are provided guidance as to what their role is in God’s Great Plan. -gw
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Following the move to New York, Gibran meets and draws `Abdu’l-Baha, the leader of the Baha’i Faith. Gibran is impressed by `Abdu’l-Baha although they don’t see eye to eye on the subject of peace where Gibran is of the opinion that there are circumstances where a forceful approach is required, not least in the plight of Lebanon breaking free from the Ottoman rule.
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By george wesley dannells on Jun 18, 2007 in Baha'i Views | comments(0)
My email to our Assembly chairperson following up on my assignment to make some follow-up calls to persons who called our community phone number. -gw
Lori, I called both the Seabeck person, Thomas, and the Navy person, Nick.
Thomas called our number after finding it in the phone book and thinking perhaps that the Baha’i Faith was Buddhist. He is reading a book about Buddhism and is attracted to it. I explained to him the Baha’i Faith and it’s relationship to Buddhism. He was very friendly, but it is Buddhism he is pursuing right now.
I then spoke with Nick in San Diego who has declared his Faith in Baha’u'llah after having attended meetings at the San Diego Center for five weeks. He heard about the Faith after visiting the House of Worship when he was stationed at Great Lakes Naval Base in Illiinois. He noted that Kitsap County doesn’t have a Baha’i Center and wanted to be connected with Baha’is when he arrives here in Washington on July 20th. He mentioned his concern that he will not have a car for the first month he is in Washington and requested a ride to activities. I told him I would see that word was passed on. Is it possible to contact the Cluster coordinator for Kitsap County and find out if there is a Book 1 starting next month that Nick could attend?
George
Photo: “-where- San Diego -what- view from Navy barracks,” uploaded on September 22, 2005 by melanie on flickr
By george wesley dannells on Jun 15, 2007 in Baha'i Views | comments(0)
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Christopher sees the Baha’i Faith in a category of religious traditions that do not intimidate. -gw
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The religions that have no system of intimidation built into them are Baha’i, Shinto (tho’ it is deeply entwined with Japanese Buddhism), Rastafarianism, neo-paganism and Unitarian Universalism — with some African traditional and diaspora religions, some Jews and some primal indigenous religions. I feel that these, then, are the outside limits of the religions I would be willing to deal with. They’re the religions that systematically make it policy not to intimidate people with threats of eternal punishment for non-belief or disobedience. I know that there are sects of the other religions that also do not coerce people, and I’d be willing to deal with them, as well. I think that lack of intimidation and coercion might be my standard for dealing with a given religion, politically or socially. Because without the threat behind it, religion is just a choice.
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{Re-posted with permission}
By george wesley dannells on Jun 15, 2007 in Baha'i Views | comments(0)
Not every effort that is made to learn about the Baha’i Faith has a happy ending, at least not in the short run. Below is proof, and provides a lesson that is relevant to many Baha’i communities, including my own, where phone calls of inquiry don’t necessarily get answered promptly, and sometimes, God forbid, get overlooked altogether. God sometimes uses a pretty motley crew to carry out His Will here on earth.
Below is the woeful ending to one story. Click over and read how it all begins. We Baha’is can resolve to author a better ending to future stories of this variety. -gw
I call the Baha’i hotline again and leave a message for the cheery man. He doesn’t call me back. I feel bad. I’m sorry. No Baha’i.
Features:
A Month of Sundays:
The Stranger Sends 31 Writers to 31 Houses of Worship
By Stranger Staff
By george wesley dannells on Jun 15, 2007 in Baha'i Views | comments(1)
Blogging unites the world, one blogger at a time. …
Pick a card, any card. -gw
http://www.sitemeter.com/?a=stats&s=s31bahaiviews&r=83
By george wesley dannells on Jun 15, 2007 in Baha'i Views | comments(0)
How fascinating to read this post from Dean of travel4life.org of his encounter in Ethiopia with Baha’is who have started a TV program for children in that country! -gw
I’ve … become friends with a family with Kansas connections, a brother and sister now living here have married Ethiopians. Shane and his wife Bruktawit create a childrens puppet program widely watched each Saturday morning across the country. His sister Gail and her husband Zelalem run a private school for young children. There’s no public education for preschool kids, so the TV program provides some support for the community as a whole. And the private school started by Gail and Zelalem offers children a solid education and the chance to start life on the right foot.
Here’s the web site for the Saturday morning program: www.whizkidsworkshop.com. Take a look and send them a note of support!
Here’s Bruktawit and Shane at the studio.
They also invited me to do a presentation at the Baha’i Center. I shared with the community my experiences of traveling the world and the various religions I encountered. They responded with excellent questions, and treated me with great kindness and dignity.
Dean, “One day at a time-catching up!” Travel 4 Life
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{Re-posted with permission}
