UK Bahá’í News Update
18 March 2020
18 ‘Alá’ 176 B.E.
GC-34704
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Contents:
- Bahá’í Training Centre closed; Easter intensive training to continue online
- Arrangements at the National Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds
- 2020 Justice Conference cancelled
- New Persian-language booklet now available
- IT engineer vacancy
- Communities in Kenya collaborate to build educational facility with environmentally sustainable technologies
Bahá’í Training Centre closed; Easter intensive training to continue online
Regretfully and in response to the latest government advice regarding controlling the spread of the COVID-19 virus, the National Spiritual Assembly has decided that the Bahá’í Training Centre at Arncott, Oxfordshire, will now be closed until further notice.
However, arrangements are being put in place for the institute campaign planned from 10-13 April to take place online. The National Assembly very much hopes that all the friends who were intending to participate in this event will continue to do so. You will be contacted in due course about the arrangements for this.
A positive aspect of this change in arrangement is that it will now be possible for those who were not able to travel to the Centre to join in the courses. Details will be provided in due course about this, so please book the time in your diary.
Arrangements at the National Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds
The National Ḥazíratu’l-Quds will be closed to the public until further notice, except in the case of need and by prior arrangement. However all of the offices and departments of the National Assembly continue to operate fully by staff who are serving from their homes. If you have an exceptional need to visit the Centre, please contact nsa@bahai.org.uk or phone 0207 5842566.
2020 Justice Conference cancelled
The upcoming 2020 Justice Conference, scheduled to take place 10-13 April in the Netherlands has been cancelled. The possibility of rescheduling the Conference for later in the year is being considered and further developments will be announced in due course. Registered participants will receive a separate email in due course regarding logistics.
New Persian-language booklet now available
A new, Persian-language booklet has been published for presentation to friends of the Faith and newly-enrolled believers. The booklet contains a selection of prayers and Writings, including The Hidden Words. Subsidised fully by the National Spiritual Assembly, the booklet is available free of charge in the UK to Persian tutors and those working with the Persian community. Individuals, Assemblies or communities may wish to make a contribution to the National Fund which will be allocated to publication costs. The booklet will be available from Bahá’í Books UK at https://www.bahaibooks.org.uk/.
IT engineer vacancy
An opportunity has arisen for an IT engineer to join a small team of full time staff to support, and develop the IT network at the National Ḥazíratu’l-Quds, and applications for around 20 internal and 180 external users. A number of long-term expert volunteers aid this role, which supports the activities of the Faith in the United Kingdom.
The wide range of technologies used within the working environment provides opportunities for learning and development, and to apply new technical skills though a mixture of interaction with skilled volunteers and self-learning though a training portal. This is also a wonderful opportunity to serve and interact with many other full time staff and volunteers, to develop spiritually and to gain inspiration from many areas of learning and service.
Applicants with either graduate IT qualifications, or engineers with several years’ experience in Desktop support/Servers/Office 365, together with initiative and a caring and loving attitude towards service is expected. A salary is offered to enable successful applicants but as with all service to the Faith, there is also the opportunity to undertake it on a voluntary or part-voluntary basis.
Please contact the National Spiritual Assembly by email at nsa@bahai.org.uk for further information about the role. Individuals who would like to apply for this position should submit a copy of their curriculum vitae, together with a covering letter sharing their reasons for applying.
Volunteers from the village of Namawanga and the surrounding area joined together in recent months to undertake the construction of an 800-square-meter educational facility for their village. The Kenyan Baha’is, who managed the project, found that years of experience with community-building activities enabled them to create a collaborative environment for this undertaking and to make creative use of locally sourced materials and tools. The building will act as a center for the Bahá’í community’s efforts to raise capacity for service to humanity. Read more, here >