Arising to carry out our pledges

The six Regional Bahá’í Conferences held in the United States have concluded. And the participants in these historic events have hit the ground running! The conferences generated enthusiasm, confidence, practical ideas, and above all momentum! Thousands of the friends have made pledges to arise to serve in specific and key ways, and already we are seeing examples of them taking immediate action on their pledges. In addition, in many places the friends are meeting to share the enthusiasm with those who weren’t able to attend the conferences, and to further refine their plans of action for their clusters.

Here is a report from a friend in a B-stage cluster in the Central region. You can feel their excitement and eagerness:

I'm already hearing stories and seeing confirmations of people engaging in their pledges! One of our new neighborhood classes started today (the a high of 0 degrees didn't stop the warmth of the friends wanting to share the Faith!) Nine children attended with 5 of the 9 being from the community of interest! The junior youth are assisting with the classes. Several of the parents stayed for a discussion on the same lesson the children were learning. I talked with the host afterwards on the phone and encouraged the idea of starting a Ruhi Book 1 with the adults. So we’re off to a great start. . . .

Several more folks have been attending and supporting the devotional gatherings already in place. Attendance has almost doubled at some of them. A few new Study Circles have begun and others ready to start soon! Also one friend shared Anna's presentation the day after the conference.

I heard one story from a friend who pledged to homefront pioneer to our cluster. She is going to accompany another believer on a home visit to a seeker one of the friends had met at a store who asked about the Faith and listened to Anna’s presentation.

The friends are building their confidence and skills needed as we inch closer to launching our intensive program of growth. It is truly exciting to see.

With much love,

M

Another friend reports:

I am still basking in the glow of the conference! And the friends in my cluster are moving! _ is remaining true to her plan to do a home visit each day: Day 1 was with a new friend, and then the two of them came over to my house. Day 2 was with __’s son, and they talked until midnight. And __ is starting on visiting the Bahá’ís in her cluster already.

And a believer in a B-stage cluster in the South Central region notes:

The friends who attended the Conference are pretty excited about getting to work. One of them has emailed:

I’m opening my house this Saturday morning to invite people who were at the conference to share the experience with those who weren’t able to go. We can also have some further reflection and consultation about the pledges we have made, the strategies we discussed to help move this cluster forward.

Although we will be having a reflection meeting in January, I thought it would be good to keep the energy going, and get some planning and refinement before then.

Finally, one of the Regional Bahá’í Councils has observed:

The Regional Bahá’í Council has learned of four clusters where believers met on the weekend following the conference to reflect and bring to fruition the individual commitments of service.

No doubt we all have additional stories to share of our first steps “hitting the ground running” in our clusters. They will all be delightedly welcomed to this blog.