Tuesday, August 6, 2013

Pastor and deacon join forces with Bahá’ís

Pastor and a deacon learn of Faith, deacon “shedding tears of joy,’ with “no ifs, ands, or buts, that this is from God:” Both want to join forces with Bahá’í community. Here’s the story that was shared.
A deacon and a pastor who were riding in the car together called 800-22UNITE. They had met two Bahá’ís on the train on the way from Chicago to a town in the south.
This deacon was on fire with excitement and said he was shedding tears of joy. He said he had 'no ifs, ands, or buts,' that this was from God. He had heard of the Faith before but not in depth. He and his companion on the train, a pastor from the south, have a “Universal Catholic” church that is a sect of Catholicism apart from Roman Catholicism. He had met two Bahá’í pioneers, a mother and daughter, pioneers in China and Singapore who were visiting a relative in the same town as the church. Both of these clergy were most touched by the message of unity of religions and mankind shared with them about the Bahai Faith. Both were eager to receive more information, so packets with cover letters were mailed out right away. The pastor also requested literature in Vietnamese and Thai because he will be traveling to Vietnam and Thailand in a few weeks and wants to share literature with others and meet the Bahá’ís there! The deacon is so excited to meet with Bahá’ís in Texas and Louisiana.
AN UPDATE: A local Bahá’í shared this update with the community.
I was able to talk to the pastor by phone today, after we met with the Bahá’í mother and daughter over lunch. A group plans to attend his Sunday service tomorrow. He also invited me to participate in his Bible Study class on Tuesday, and go out for coffee afterwards. [I plan to do so.] The pastor is very definitely interested in joining forces with the Bahá’í efforts in the community.