Service and the Bicentenaries
National Spiritual Assembly
nsa@bahai.org.uk
24 February 2017
19 Mulk 173 B.E.
To all believers in the United Kingdom
Dearly loved Friends,
The Bahá’í world will soon have the joy of celebrating the twin bicentenary events of the Birth of the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh. These “highly significant Festivals” distinguish a “period of special potency” during which spiritual forces will surely be released, adding a powerful impetus to the efforts of the Bahá’í community in advancing the work of the Five Year Plan. The Twin Holy Days this year, which include the bicentenary anniversary of the Birth of Bahá’u’lláh, will occur over the weekend of 21-22 October, and thus fewer than three cycles remain until that Festival, cycles that are “fleeting opportunities for a stride forward, precious possibilities that will not return.” With the period of fasting approaching, the National Assembly wishes to invite each and every one of you to reflect personally and also within your Feasts, your families, your teaching teams and your neighbourhoods and villages upon the wide range of opportunities for individual and collective service during the coming months leading up to the first bicentenary anniversary. In its letter of 18 May 2016, the Universal House of Justice indicates that:
… the six cycles leading up to the first of the special anniversaries can be viewed as an initial period over which progress toward the overall goal of the Five Year Plan can be measured. The steps taken during these months, and the achievements that come as a result, will constitute an offering of ardent love, yielded collectively to Him Who is the Unifier of the world on the bicentenary of His Birth.
These are precious days indeed. But how can we ensure that our efforts will be worthy of the high calling to which we are summoned? What will be our “offering of ardent love” to Bahá’u’lláh? What “small steps … regular and rapid” can we take that will “add up to a great distance travelled” towards the achievement of the Plan’s goals? What “arduous” but “sustained effort” can we make to advance our clusters, to share the Name of the Blessed Beauty and His Message with all who cross our path, and to invite souls to walk with us in service to others? Can we individually and collectively use the coming summer as a time of focused, dedicated effort to advance the Five Year Plan? How do we play our part in ensuring that the “most distinguishing feature of the forthcoming bicentenaries will be a tremendous flourishing of activity by Bahá’ís and their friends in local communities”?
There are, of course, a myriad ways of expressing one’s love and gratitude to Bahá’u’lláh, and the National Spiritual Assembly prays that each believer will, by the grace of God, be able to find the way in which he or she can best contribute to the advancement of the Cause during these days.
One notable service comes particularly to mind. In its message to the Bahá’ís of the world, dated 23 May 2016, the House of Justice informed us that a “continuing flow of homefront pioneers will contribute significantly” to the global goal of establishing 5,000 intensive programmes of growth. In this light, one avenue of service might be to direct one’s capabilities “towards specific needs in clusters where the friends are labouring to intensify the growth process”. The time commitment involved could be as little as three months, though longer periods are of course also welcome. Service as a pioneer can often be harmonised with other opportunities in life; for example, students contemplating moving on to higher education might, in consultation with the UK Pioneering and Travel-Teaching Committee, identify a place where there are opportunities to both study and serve.
The National Assembly assures you of its ardent prayers that your consultations and actions in the coming months, leading up to the first bicentenary anniversary, may attract the blessings and confirmations of Bahá’u’lláh. May each believer play his or her part in realising the vision of the House of Justice that these “glorious Festivals will be opportunities for Bahá’ís in every land to attract the largest possible number of believers, their families, friends, and collaborators, as well as others from the wider society, to commemorate moments when a Being peerless in creation, a Manifestation of God, was born to the world.”
With loving Bahá’í greetings,
Patrick O’Mara,
Secretary