The Primal Point: Summer of the Herald
To all believers in England
Dearly loved Friends,
Please see below a message from the Bahá’í Council for England.
With loving Bahá’í greetings,
Marco Milone
Secretary
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‘The substance wherewith God hath created Me is not the clay out of which others have been formed. He hath conferred upon Me that which the worldly-wise can never comprehend, nor the faithful discover.…
I am one of the sustaining pillars of the Primal Word of God.
Whosoever hath recognized Me hath known all that is true and right and hath attained
all that is good and seemly…
By My life! But for the obligation to acknowledge the Cause of Him
Who is the Testimony of God …I would not have announced this unto thee .…’
(The Báb, Extracts from an Epistle to Muḥammad Sháh)
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Beloved Friends,
The Bahá’í Council for England sends you its abiding love at this most auspicious time of celebration, as we recall that night when the Martyr-Herald of our Faith, the Báb declared His Mission. “This night,” were His words 175 years to this day, “this very hour will, in the days to come, be celebrated as one of the greatest and most significant of all festivals.”
As we are all well aware, October 2019 marks the bicentenary of the Birth of the Báb. The Universal House of Justice has reminded us that “…this anniversary… provides all Bahá’ís with marvellous opportunities for awakening those around them to the great Day of God, to the extraordinary effusion of heavenly grace signalled by the appearance of two Manifestations of the Divine Being, successive Luminaries Who brightened the horizon of the world.”
This last weekend, the Council called a gathering of Bahá’í institutions serving across England to review the progress of the Plan made thus far, and to redouble the resolve to fulfil the pledge made to our Supreme Body – that all clusters at the first milestone of development would advance beyond the second by the end of this Plan in 2021.
At present, these are: Cumbria, Cornwall, Devon, Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Solent and Suffolk.
The gathering was held in the vicinity of the resting place of the beloved Guardian, which we were blessed to visit twice over the weekend, to supplicate the Almighty, that the efforts of all friends in England might be redoubled, and offered at the Holy Thresholds as a befitting way of honouring the Twin Manifestations in this year of special potency.
At the gathering, we explored a number of key elements of the Plan, including the importance of reaching out and working with large numbers of friends of the Faith; the strengthening of the youth movement; the development of clusters at various stages of development; the importance of unity of thought and action among the institutions of the Faith; leading by example and supporting every friend whose heart’s desire is to serve their Creator.
The Council is delighted to see a number of initiatives emerging throughout England for the friends to arise and join over the next five months leading up to the Twin Holy Days and is in the process of collating these activities, which will be shared with all in the community in the upcoming days and weeks.
In particular, the summer months can afford many in the community with opportunities to dedicate greater amounts of time to service, be those individuals – such as youth and friends whose occupation comes to a natural slowing during the summer months – or families, in the choice of how they spend their precious summer weeks together, in service to others.
As we all pray and meditate on our offerings at the Sacred Thresholds at this special time, what greater assistance can we call upon than the prayers of our Supreme Body itself:
“As the two-hundred-year anniversary draws near, we will offer frequent supplications on your behalf in the Sacred Shrines, praying that your efforts to befittingly honour the Báb will succeed in advancing the Cause He foretold.” (Universal House of Justice, Ridván 2019 message)
Beloved Friends, the Council stands ready to assist each friend in the community to make their plans now. Please do get in touch via email on bce@bahai.org.uk; we would be delighted to assist you.
With loving Bahá’í greetings,
Marco Milone
Secretary