Milwaukee's IPG launches

It is always a joy when a cluster reaches that special point where it advances to the A-stage. It just happened in Milwaukee, WI. Here are some excerpts from that community’s newsletter helping orient the friends to this new chapter in the growth of the Faith, how they can participate, and the evolution of the cluster’s administrative structure. Most of all, you can feel the joy of launching an IPG!

Our cluster has attained the A-level! And there’s still time to join in the first ever expansion phase. What is the expansion phase? Here is what the Universal House of Justice says in its December 27, 2005 letter. . . .

“The expansion phase, often a period of two weeks, demands the highest level of intensity. Its objective is to widen the circle of those interested in the Faith, to find receptive souls and to teach them. Although this phase might include some element of proclamation, it should not be seen as a time to hold a few events for this purpose or to undertake a set of activities that merely convey information. Experience suggests that the more closely teaching approaches and methods are aligned with the capacity acquired from the study of the institute courses the more rewarding the results.”

How do you participate in this cluster’s first expansion phase? Teach and pray during the week. Make home visits, host devotional meetings, teach children’s classes, hold a fireside, offer Bahá’u’lláh’s message to others, and invite people to join you.

An Area Teaching Committee has been formed!

In response to the increased level of activity in our cluster, the Regional Bahá’í Council has formed our Area Teaching Committee! It assists with the advancement of the Five Year Plan by administering aspects of systematic effort to achieve accelerated expansion and consolidation. As part of the core team for the cluster, the Area Teaching Committee works closely with the Auxiliary Board members and Cluster Institute Coordinator.