Bicentenary of the Birth of Bahá’u’lláh
Dearly loved Friends,
The National Spiritual Assembly has been delighted to learn of the many creative initiatives already under way around the United Kingdom to prepare for the forthcoming bicentenary of the Birth of Bahá’u’lláh.
It will be helpful to reflect upon the fact that this special period of spiritual potency is an opportunity to advance, and intensify, the processes and activities that we have been pursuing for more than two decades now in our local communities. For example, through the training we have undergone, we have been learning to speak of the greatness of the Day and about Bahá’u’lláh. We have been learning to weave worship and meaningful service into the fabric of our lives, and to share insights and understandings in spiritual conversations during home visits and other interactions with all with whom we share a connection. Drawing on the spiritual forces released at this time and the capacities we have been developing over the years, these days, weeks and months present us with “the single greatest worldwide opportunity there has ever been for connecting hearts to Bahá’u’lláh.”
In order to inspire and encourage further the efforts of the friends, we are happy to enclose exciting news of some resources that will be available to communities, and a few more accounts of activities and plans that are being pursued here in the United Kingdom, which display some of the creative ways in which communities, believers and institutions are honouring, “a Manifestation of God, the Unifier of the human race.”
May the efforts of every believer at this auspicious time be confirmed by the Blessed Beauty.
With loving Bahá’í greetings,
Patrick O’Mara,
Secretary
cc. Counsellor Shirin Fozdar-Foroudi
Preparing for the forthcoming bicentennial celebrations of the Birth of Bahá’u’lláh and the Birth of the Báb
“At the heart of these festivities must be a concerted effort to convey a sense of what it means for humanity that these two Luminaries rose successively above the horizon of the world. Of course, this will take different forms in different contexts, extending to a myriad artistic and cultural expressions, including songs, audio-visual presentations, publications and books. Such initiatives, coupled with widespread celebrations that are both uplifting and reverent, are also sure to spark the curiosity and wonder of many who may as yet be unfamiliar with the names of the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh.”
(From a letter dated 18 May 2016, written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to all National Spiritual Assemblies)
FILM PRODUCTIONS
The Universal House of Justice has commissioned the production of a film to enrich the joyous bicentennial festivities. The film is expected to be approximately 60 minutes long, and its use will naturally depend on local circumstances. It will be available online to download by mid-September. The House of Justice has expressed the hope that the friends will “put on screenings that stimulate conversations about the Person of Bahá’u’lláh, about how He was willing to bear extraordinary hardship so that humankind might be rescued from its confusion and suffering, and about how He now inspires the efforts of millions people who derive from His teachings inner strength and spiritual direction for their lives.”
In the United Kingdom, the Religious Education Task Force of the Office of Public Affairs is producing a 15-minute film for use in schools. The film follows a number of junior youth in different parts of the UK, as they reflect on the condition of the world, on Bahá’u’lláh as the “Divine Physician”, and participate in activities that help to bring His vision into reality. Further materials for use in schools will be available shortly.
ONLINE COVERAGE
Starting in the days immediately leading up to the bicentenary, a dedicated section of the Bahai.org website will describe community activities taking place in a selection of countries. “Over the course of the hours through which the friends in every part of the world will gather for each of the Twin Birthdays, the website will be updated with information on the festivities occurring in particular places. Before, during and after the Holy Days, it is expected that this website will serve as a resource upon which the friends my draw for inspiration and encouragement.”
BICENTENARY PUBLICATIONS
The Warwick Bahá’í Bookshop has produced a new, full-colour leaflet for the bicentenary of the Birth of Bahá’u’lláh which can be given to people we are conversing with, explaining further the significance of this momentous time. It is available here: enquiries@warwickbahaibookshop.co.uk
The National Spiritual Assembly is also in the process of preparing a small, beautiful booklet of prayers and writings from the pen of Bahá’u’lláh, with a brief introduction to His life and mission. This will be available to present to every contact, from every walk of life, in the course of our conversations about Him. Such friends can in turn be encouraged to share further copies with their friends and family members.
SUMMER SCHOOLS
Each of the five Summer Schools happening in the United Kingdom in the coming months will focus on the life and mission of Bahá’u’lláh. Friends will have the opportunity to practice in workshops how to converse with others about the Blessed Beauty.
MORE ACCOUNTS FROM AROUND THE UNITED KINGDOM
During consultation on the bicentenary, the Area Teaching Committee in the Greater Manchester cluster, decided to assist the community to reach the widest cross section of people, and to advance and develop the devotional life of the community. A weekend cluster school was held, with one day focusing on the life of Bahá’u’lláh and the other on the life of the Báb. Friends were encouraged to hold many more devotionals. Each area across the cluster has since been making their own plans. Some, for example, have held story telling events and regular devotionals. It is hoped that each of these devotional meetings will hold their own bicentenary commemorations.
In order to find more people to connect with in Wellingborough, Northants—and to promote a devotional spirit in the town—the community has been experimenting with public devotional gatherings in the museum. Posters and flyers are posted around the town, friends and community of interest are invited, and an article appeared in the local newspaper. The first two devotionals have been wonderful, spiritual occasions which have deeply touched all present, including many new friends, including some who responded to the newspaper article. Some have since been visited in their homes, and neighbourhood devotionals are among the plans for following up the contact.
For the Twin Holy Birthdays in 2016, in Inverurie, Aberdeenshire, the friends organised a two-day festival with a variety of activities aimed at appealing to different sectors of the community. These included offering a children’s class in a local school, organising a coffee morning and a games evening, hiking up Bennachie mountain, hosting a multi-cultural dinner, and holding a devotional in an ancient stone circle called Easter Aquhorthies, which means “field of prayer”. For this year’s bicentenaries, plans are under way to have a similar festival of events. In doing so, the community is calling upon many other friends from the community of interest to assist, including offering music and food from different cultures.
Two artists in Bristol—Corinne Randall and Lesley Cottle—have hired a gallery space for a week, to show their beautiful artworks in an exhibition titled Hidden Chords, inspired by Bahá’u’lláh and the Báb. Because the space is quite large, the community will be hosting their musical devotional programme for the Birthday of the Báb on 20 October in the gallery itself.
In Dundee, the Local Spiritual Assembly is collaborating with the local arts society to hold an art exhibition, inspired by the life and mission of Bahá’u’lláh. Not only are they intending to invite their friends to this exhibition, but some consideration is being given to how to share the life of Bahá’u’lláh with the artists in order to inspire their work, including inviting them to devotionals and firesides. Believers have joined a local storytelling group to meet new souls and gain confidence and improve their storytelling skills for sharing the life of Bahá’u’lláh and the Báb. They have also joined a singing group. At a recent meeting, they were asked to share with the group any songs they would like to learn or events at which they could all perform.
Bahá’ís in Swindon are to approach six local primary schools with a view to offering lesson plans and assistance as part of their citizenship programmes. The idea is for the students to be asked to investigate Bahá’u’lláh and then share in their school assembly the life of Bahá’u’lláh. As it is the bicentenary it was felt that the students could think about what their home town would look like in 100 years with a view to putting photographs of their work and ideas into a time capsule. A local teacher has suggested the idea of students putting on a concert on Friday 20 October, co-hosted by the Bahá’ís.
A couple of friends who graduated from art school in Edinburgh were inspired by the bicentenary to create two illustrated books of quotations that are designed to encourage reading the writings in the morning and the evening. One is made up of quotations from Bahá’u’lláh and has a sea-theme. The other is made up of quotations from the Báb and is visually themed with birds.
To encourage members of the community and their friends to understand better the life and mission of Bahá’u’lláh, a family in Welwyn Garden City is hosting a series of firesides. The plan is that each fireside will advance chronologically the story of Bahá’u’lláh, and explore the relevance of His Teachings to today. For the first fireside, an equal number of believers and their friends explored the spiritual renewal expected in the middle of the 19th century and conversed about how the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh apply to the needs of the world today.
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