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"lighten and uplift
them, so that they may soar on the wings of the Divine verses"
-Baha'u'llah
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South
surges towards success
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NASHVILLE,
United States, 17 December 2003 (BWNS) --
Participants at the biggest Baha'i conference
held in the United States since 2001 prepared
themselves for increasingly focused efforts to
expand the Faith in their country.
Some
4,000 Baha'is attended the Southern Regional
Baha'i Conference, which was held from 27-30
November and was opened by the city's vice mayor
Howard Gentry Jr.
Participants
spent sessions examining progress in three core
activities being undertaken throughout the
Baha'i world -- capacity-building study circles,
children's classes, and devotional meetings.
Those
sessions, aimed at furthering the process of
expansion, were allied to the theme of the
conference, "Blazoning the Name of
Baha'u'llah," a plan to introduce the name
of the Founder of the Baha'i Faith to every
resident of the United States by 2013. |
Poetic inspiration...Anis Mojgani recites one of
his poems at the conference in Nashville. Photo
by Tom Mennillo.
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The
Regional Baha'i Council of the Southern States, which
sponsored the conference, reported "extraordinary
progress" in the number of study circles in the
region, and in the number of participants who have
completed the sequence of courses and trained as tutors.
Then
participants examined what was successful or otherwise
in Baha'i communities, evaluating progress in geographic
"clusters."
The
southern states of the country saw a dramatic surge in
enrolments in the Baha'i Faith in the late 1960s and
early 1970s, and participants at the conference pledged
to undertake systematic activities to ensure the region
continues in that tradition. At the event, which was
open to the public, 18 people joined the Faith.
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The
conference was dedicated to the memory of Ali-Akbar
Furutan, 98, the much-loved Hand of the Cause who
passed away in Haifa, Israel, on the eve of the
opening of the conference. Speakers drew on the
example of his life to encourage participants in
their efforts.
Among
the addresses given at the conference was one by
Robert C. Henderson, secretary-general of the
National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of the
United States.
A
prominent article in "The Tennesseean,"
the state's biggest-circulation daily newspaper,
subsequently quoted Mr. Henderson urging on the
Baha'is in their efforts to expand the Faith. |
Members of an Oklahoma family, who have been
investigating the Faith, spoke of their
experience. |
"We
are really talking about the essential mission of the
Baha'i Faith, which is nothing more complicated than
learning how to love and sharing with other people what
we're learning about that love, and then telling them
Who taught us how to love like that," Mr. Henderson
said.
Another
speaker, Eugene Andrews, a member of the Continental
Board of Counsellors, told the participants that the
Faith is not a church, and its members should not
conduct themselves in a way where leadership comes from
an individual or individuals presumed to be qualified
for the purpose.
Rebequa Murphy teaches a South African song to
the conference participants. |
"Where
does our spiritual vitality come from? It comes
from you all," he said.
Rebequa
Murphy, also a member of the Continental Board,
used an urban analogy to illustrate her point that
the institute process (which includes study
circles, children's classes and other community
activities) was aimed at raising a community of
teachers of the Faith.
"In
New York City you learn [to] only hail cabs that
have their light on, because if their light's not
on they're not open for business," Ms. Murphy
said. |
"When
we become communities of teachers, what happens? What
the institute process does, it turns on [our] lights. So
people know we're open for business. And they come to
us.
"We
must never forget the purpose for which we live -- to
bring about the oneness of the human family."
Kenneth
Bowers, a member of the National Spiritual Assembly said
he was a native southerner, a descendant of
slave-holders and confederate soldiers and he could
testify to "a new life that is stirring in this
age," one in which he could be loved by
African-Americans and love them right back.
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"And
the question I ask is, who else but God can do
something like that?" Mr. Bowers said.
Artistic
expression permeated the conference. There were
musical and dramatic performances, a journey for
children through reconstructed historical places
of the Faith, film screenings, displays of the
visual arts, and creative devotionals.
A
performance of the Voices of Baha choir --
featuring solos by performers such as Dan Seals,
Red Grammer, the Price Sisters, and Van Gilmer --
took place in a venue synonymous with the music of
the south -- the Ryman Auditorium, once home to
the Grand Ole Opry.
Youth
and children had sessions devoted to their issues,
and many young people volunteered to help in the
running of the conference. Other sessions included
an adult singles discussion group, an
African-American teaching consultation, young
adults leadership sessions, and a forum for study
circle tutors. |
Musician Red Grammer entertaining the children
at the conference. |
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| Published in Bahá'í
World News Service |
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