Westchester NY (*C) seekers receive loving support

Here is a shining example of accompaniment at the cluster level. There is no substitute for consistent and loving follow up with seekers by local Baha'is!

Alice and Ray are seeker response champions in the Westchester County NY (*C) cluster. Long time Baha'is, they have lived there for years and know most of the Baha'is in the surrounding towns, so gathering support and accompaniment for seekers is only a phone call or an email away. They have a systematic method of lovingly welcoming seekers and step by step they lead them through introductions, meeting other seekers, firesides, devotional gatherings and Ruhí study circles. They follow up to make sure that the seekers are contacted by Baha'is in their own town, and they encourage the formation of new core activities there. When seekers declare they make sure that the tender new Baha'is are welcomed into the Baha'i community where they live. And, they offer a special gathering monthly for seekers and new Baha'is to attend and get to know each other. Some Baha'is keep coming back to these gatherings for years, bringing new friends who then embrace the Faith.

Of the eight seekers who have come through the national seeker response from Westchester County in the past few months, two have declared, four regularly attend core activities, and one is being accompanied via email while she is on a work assignment in Hawaii. As if that wasn’t enough, Alice and Ray provide regular and timely updates on each seeker for the Regional Specialist so we can keep track of their progress.

~NE Regional Seeker Response Specialist