Bicentenary weekend
National Spiritual Assembly
nsa@bahai.org.uk
23 October 2017
9 ‘Ilm 174 B.E.
To all believers in the United Kingdom
Dearly loved Friends,
With deep love and affection, the National Spiritual Assembly wishes to convey to each and every one of you its profound gratitude for the extraordinary services offered during the weekend just past to commemorate the bicentenary of the Birth of Bahá’u’lláh, and the Birth of the Báb.
Although numerous conversations and activities are still to be held in the days and weeks ahead, and others are yet to be reported, by midnight last night accounts received from some 180 communities indicated that more than 11,000 people participated in a wide range of events during the weekend. Of these, more than half were friends of the Faith. We are very pleased to share with you a synopsis of these accounts which attempts, however inadequately, to capture the extent and variety of events that took place across the country.
From the small village of Laurencekirk in Aberdeenshire – where two devoted believers managed to attract 28 newcomers to a screening of Light to the World – to Solihull, England, where more than 300 friends of the Faith attended a celebration, making up 75% of the guests, every effort has demonstrated a deeply impressive unity of thought and activity in our community. Surely your devotion and dedication to the Blessed Beauty, and its expression through so many acts of worship and service, has touched the hearts of all who participated.
Reports also indicates that up to two million people would have been potentially exposed to the news about the bicentenary through national and local media. Particularly noteworthy was the article in The Times, which published an excellent article about the Faith in its Saturday edition. The article quoted extensively from Bahá’u’lláh’s own Tablet to The Times, thus reaching its intended audience more than a century after it was revealed. In the Tablet, Bahá’u’lláh calls upon The Times to report accurately on the situation of the Bahá’ís in Iran, which is exactly what happened!
Please continue to share the stories and photographs of your activities with the National Spiritual Assembly, your Auxiliary Board members and Regional Bahá’í Councils, and give thought to how the souls that have been awakened to the advent of the Glory of God in the past few days, can now be further accompanied to play their part in the building of the new world that He envisaged.
With loving Bahá’í greetings,
Patrick O’Mara,
Secretary
Click here to download the synopsis of Bicentenary weekend reports
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