Establishing Ties of Friendship on College Campuses

In an A-stage cluster within the Southwest region, the expansion phase of their latest growth cycle included conversations about community building with students on two local college campuses.

Today teams went to form bonds of friendship with students at _____ College. The concept of ‘community building’ was shared, and [we engaged in conversation] about ways that could improve the community in their own neighborhood.

Almost all that were approached were invited to join a study circle that will be held on campus. Amazing conversations happened! There is such a diversity of students at ______ College that it is like a beautiful garden!

On each succeeding day [of the expansion phase], more students were interested and expressed their desire to participate in a study circle that will be launched on October 25 at [the] College! It is so rewarding to find such purposeful youth who have hope that they can change their community and want to make a difference in the lives of the junior youth!

“Even the most modest estimates suggest that there are now tens of thousands who participate in periodic campaigns to establish ties of friendship, on the basis of shared understanding, with those previously regarded as strangers.” (Universal House of Justice, Ridvan 2010)

Engaging classmates with the vision of junior youth empowerment

 

Here is the second teaching story from the latest cycle of the intensive program of growth in New York City (A), this one focusing on a university campus!  The Bahá’ís are engaging their classmates by sharing the vision of the junior youth spiritual empowerment program—and directly inviting their active participation.  And that’s not all!  The core activities, the habit of engaging in spiritual conversations, and the institute process are all creating an exciting atmosphere.

One teaching team consisting of four youth studying at one of the universities here has been saying daily the teaching prayer for the Northeast states and the prayer for New York to attract divine confirmations in a spirit of unity.  They have been sharing with friends and classmates the significance of a junior youth empowerment program, explaining that it helps junior youth navigate through a crucial period of their lives and provides a space for junior youth to explore and develop their moral, language and cognitive capacities, within a group context of study, discussion and service.  The teaching team has been inviting their friends to help them start a junior youth group and also to participate with them in a Book 5 training to provide them with the practical and spiritual capacities to animate a junior youth group.  The team has also been inviting friends and classmates to join a Book 1 study circle. . . .

One teaching team member decided to reach out to a student who had previously contacted the university’s Bahá’í Club this year and expressed interest, but had not yet attended any events.  The team member had realized the seeker lived in her same building, and the seeker responded enthusiastically to an informal, informational meeting in the team member's dorm room.  They were joined by another very receptive seeker, and all three talked very naturally for 2 hours, discussing the seeker's questions about devotional gatherings, youth year of service, and all going over a children's class lesson from Book 3 (including a story from ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s life!).  All members seemed very pleased to have taken the time to meet and really connect to one another's hearts through conversation elevated by Baha'i teachings.

Core activities helping establish "spiritual village"

It’s no surprise:  core activities are the foundation of growth.  The trick is, how do you multiply and sustain them?  Every cluster faces this question, and the friends everywhere are engaged in on-the-ground learning and gaining insights specific to their communities.  This recent report from Eugene-Lane County, OR (A) contains some intriguing insights on getting core activities firmly established.

Our first receptive neighborhood continues to be very much so.  A new Grade 2 children’s class (using the lessons from Ruhi Book 3A) is just starting up, so we now have 3 children’s classes in this neighborhood.  It will soon evolve into a junior youth group, and we have an ongoing devotional gathering as well.  This neighborhood shows great promise in becoming a “spiritual village”, and resources will be directed that way.  We will try to increase attendance in children’s classes as assess interest in other core activities by making home visits to families.  One of the children’s mothers has already expressed interest in a Ruhi Book 1 study circle.  We will also try to build community connections between the teaching teams and neighborhood families through a community garden project. . . .

Core activities have now been started at the local community college, first by a devotional gathering and then by a study circle.  The college shows promise in becoming another area with a nexus of activities.

We have learned that some of the keys to success in starting core activities are:

Being flexible

Having resources ready to take advantage of opportunities as soon as they arise

Not continuing to dwell too long on efforts that are not bearing fruit

These insights are helping us in both the expansion and consolidation phases.

He was impressed at the grassroots approach of the Faith

 

This story about the efforts of the Bahá’ís at Maryville College (in the Knoxville, TN (A) cluster) will definitely inspire you.  If you ever wondered what a very small but very committed group of youth can do, just read on!  They found a receptive population (international students), have oriented their approach to the wider campus community by explicitly inviting them to participate in community service (i.e., some work with us to start core activities), and are well on their way to officially registering their first Bahá’í Campus Association.  Strong support from the cluster core team and a nearby Local Spiritual Assembly have just added to the momentum.  Now they have a full set of core activities in which seekers are actively participating or even running.

Each year in August, Maryville College has a “Church and College Picnic” to welcome incoming freshman.  The friends organized to have a Bahá’í booth as one of the booths at this picnic, staffed by the Bahá’í students (currently there are 4 on campus) and core team members, as well as a 15-year old who had just participated in the Project Badi summer teaching effort. . . .

A month prior to the event, the core team consulted with the Bahá’ís on campus about what items to have at the booth.  One of the youth had this brilliant idea:  Instead of having a sign-up sheet for people to sign up for information about the Bahá’í Faith, we instead had a community service sign-up sheet that said:  “If you are interested in doing community service projects, please write your contact information here and the Bahá’í club on campus will be in touch with you.”  The response was the greatest we had in years!

We also had numerous chances to directly share the Message at the booth—at some point, 3 of us were sharing Anna’s conversation simultaneously!

2 freshman who visited the booth had already researched the Faith and wrote a report about it in their high school (a pleasant surprise!).  Most of the upperclassmen that we talked to were already familiar with the Faith, which is an indication that the 4 Bahá’ís on campus are actively teaching their friends.  These upperclassmen had a lot of respect for the Faith and the Maryville College youths.

So we learned that involvement in community service projects is an idea that many young people on campus wholeheartedly embrace.  The participation of younger youths who had just finished being in Project Badi added to the spirit as they are on fire with enthusiasm.

Now, while there are active Bahá’ís at Maryville College, there has never actually been a Bahá’í Campus Association there.  So the 4 youths, assisted by the cluster institute coordinator and other community members consulted about how to register the club at the college.  We identified a possible advisor for the club, who was the head of the college’s Center for Strong Communities.  He asked us what the Bahá’í club would do, and we answered, “Service projects such as devotional gatherings, junior youth groups, neighborhood children’s classes and study circles.”  He was impressed at the grassroots approach of the Faith and agreed to be the club’s advisor.  He also informed the Bahá’ís of a second event that they could host a Bahá’í booth, an event for the campus religious clubs.  At this booth, we again had a sign-up sheet for community service projects.

At the next Nineteen Day Feast, the children’s class coordinator stressed that we should try to start neighborhood children’s classes and junior youth groups right away before the cold weather comes.

The beginning of the semester is a very important time to start core activities, as well as for the Bahá’ís to reach out to students, as freshmen are still identifying which clubs they want to be involved with.  As soon as all the Bahá’ís on campus knew their schedules, they immediately figured out what days they could come together to teach a neighborhood children’s class or organize a junior youth group.

The cluster institute coordinator supported the youth behind the scenes in all of these activities, including help them obtain materials for the booth.  The core team does not direct the college youth, but lovingly encourages them and supports them in their efforts.

So, after getting a list of names of interested people from both booth (and by word of mouth), the Maryville College youths communicated with all these seekers through mass emails.  They presented Book 1 (and the rest of the Ruhi sequence) as a way to train college students for service, as well as to learn about spirituality.  Regular weekly times were set up for a Book 1 study circle, a junior youth group, and a children’s class.  The study circle has 11 seekers.  There’s also a monthly devotional gathering scheduled.

6 seekers were interested in helping out with the neighborhood children’s classes and are helping out with this class, which is 10 minutes away from campus.  The Bahá’ís on campus help out by providing transportation for these students, most of whom are international students.  These seekers have been very important human resources for all the efforts.  2 of these students have also taken Book 5 and are now animating a junior youth group, accompanied by the Bahá’ís on campus.

The monthly devotional meeting continues, hosted by those students that have completed Book 1.

The core team members meet with the Maryville College youth on a monthly basis to consult and encourage them.  As Maryville does not have a Local Spiritual Assembly, the core team supports the college youth wholeheartedly.  The Auxiliary Board member is very supportive, the area teaching committee helped cover the cost of the Ruhi Books and booth materials, and a neighboring Local Spiritual Assembly has stepped in to be the club’s official sponsor.

Small in number, high in engagement

This is an excerpt of a description of a C-stage cluster in the Central region.  Though their numbers are small, the friends’ enthusiastic involvement in the institute process has more than made up the difference.

This is a small cluster of dedicated and supportive souls.  I believe most of the teaching has been taking place on the university campus.  When looking at the human resources statistics in this cluster, 50% have completed the sequence, and 66% are engaged in teaching activities.  So although the numbers are small, the percentages are high, and comparable with other clusters that have 4 or 5 times as many believers.

Focused learning moves Knoxville forward

Some types of progress take center stage, and other types of progress occur behind the scenes. But all progress involves the growing capacity of the believers to reach out to their neighbors and share the Message. This report from Knoxville, TN (A) is especially interesting because the friends have been involved in some very focused learning about a specific part of the teaching process: inviting seekers to declare. To spread the learning (and increase their capacity), they organized a gathering to build their skills in a practical way.

I wanted to give you a report about a gathering that was based on an idea you and I had discussed some time back. We had shared experiences about things we had recently learned about directly inviting seekers to declare. You had suggested that maybe the area teaching committee should host a special meeting in the community to share these ideas. Well, we ended up doing just that, and it was very fun and inspiring for all who were able to attend. . . .

We called it the "Learning and sharing about teaching meeting" (long title, I know) and it was held at the Knoxville Bahá’í Center. There were 12 people who attended from all corners of the cluster. We of course didn’t mean for it to be replacement of the Reflection Gathering, and it wasn’t; it’s just that we were at the middle of our IPG cycle and we wanted to share these ideas as soon as possible rather than waiting for the next reflection gathering that wouldn’t be until the end of the cycle.

At this meeting, we reviewed new and creative ways of inviting people to declare, shared teaching success stories over the past year and got motivation from the excitement of others who had been teaching their own community of interest and in their own neighborhoods with family and friends. . . .

So, some new and interesting things we learned from each other were:

To challenge our friends and seekers to learn more about the Bahá’í Faith from the international Web site www.bahai.org, and say, “Next time we meet, let’s discuss the most interesting thing you found out about the Faith from the website." That resulted in a declaration.

To say to a seeker or during a home visit, "It seems like you love Bahá’u’lláh and the principles of the Bahá’í Faith. Is there any reason you would not want to become a Bahá’í?" That resulted in a declaration.

To ask a seeker, "Have you prayed about the Bahá’í Faith? What does your heart tell you?" This also resulted in a declaration.

We read the super cool recent letter from our Regional Bahá’í Council about how college campuses can be considered receptive populations, and therefore decided to definitely increase the number of firesides on college campuses this semester. Many of the adults who were present volunteered and made a commitment to come and help the youth on college campuses this year.

Another idea stemming from that letter was to spend time this semester approaching college professors in specific departments in the colleges near where we live to ask if we can do a presentation about the Bahá’í Faith, such as in the Sociology, Religious Studies, African-American Studies, Psychology, Women's Studies, and American culture departments, because they might be more inclined to want their students to learn about the Bahá’í Faith.

This meeting had a devotional portion, and we also consulted on the themes we found in the Bahá’í Holy Writings used during that devotional. The biggest themes were:

We should approach teaching with great joy, become detached from the outcome, and realize we are just an instrument of Bahá’u’lláh.

We should not get dismayed if there are not as many of us doing the teaching work as we would like to see right now, because the truth is that the angels of the Concourse on High are with us when we open our lips to teach, and that is all the help we need.

The importance of having our personal lives and character in line with the Bahá’í teachings when we are teachers of the Faith ourselves.

Next time when we have this meeting, which will be coming up soon, we are going to do the same meeting, but make it longer so that we can incorporate more teaching, role-play, and practice of Anna's conversation, as well as learn from other ways of direct teaching that may have worked for people between now and then.

All in all, it was a really great idea, and the area teaching committee got several emails from people who thanked us for hosting that gathering. Thanks so much for the idea.

And since that time, the momentum hasn’t slowed down a bit. Here’s some recent news about one particular locality in the Knoxville cluster, and how the friends are arising with confidence to try out new approaches.

Dear friends,

Here is a picture of some of the Knox County Bahá’ís who got together for the first community devotional of 2010. We gathered together to pray for Haiti, the Yaran in Iran, and some of our family members who passed away in 2009. The devotional program was very moving and emotional, and yet also very uplifting and spiritually strengthening!

At the last Nineteen Day Feast, the Knox County community made a commitment to have weekly devotional gatherings and deepenings this year, in order to raise the level of core activities in the cluster, as well as to help strengthen our own Bahá’í community and ourselves, and to ultimately make the Five Year Plan a reality! People have already signed up for hosting these activities in their own homes and in their various neighborhoods, as opposed to just hosting them in the Bahá’í Center. This helps decentralize the activities of the Five Year Plan, so that we can more easily invite friends and neighbors.

This is a special accomplishment because the Knox County community has recently become much smaller, with only about 30 people remaining after many moved away this past year. It is also a milestone for community members to open up their own homes to host core activities. In the past, they had assisted with plenty of teaching projects and study circles in the homes of new believers, but there were all in other areas of the cluster and not in the Knox County locality itself. There had also been a pattern in the past of relying on the Knoxville Bahá’í Center and just waiting for events to be held there. That is now changed.

Please keep Knox County in your prayers so that we can all arise in unity to accomplish the goals of the Five Year Plan! Hopefully we can add more core activities to these regularly scheduled devotionals as the year progresses.

Uniting a campus in prayer for Haiti

We wish to share this beautiful initiative spearheaded by the Bahá’í Campus Association at New York University. They have started a campaign of individual prayers and are planning an interfaith prayer event, at NYU. Below is a letter they have sent to all the religious clubs at that university. This is such a heartfelt outpouring of service, that we wanted to encourage the Bahá’ís at other colleges and universities to also consider a similar effort!

The president of the Bahá’í Campus Association gives some background to this endeavor:

In the past few weeks, the NYU campus has been hosting numerous student-run efforts to provide material relief for those affected by the disaster in Haiti. In light of the message from the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Haiti along with reflection upon a quote by Shoghi Effendi (below), however, we felt it was incredibly important to summon spiritual support for the victims of the Haiti disaster as well. We have therefore used our resources as a Bahá'í Club at NYU to initiate a "Prayers for Haiti" campaign (and a Prayers for Haiti interfaith event) by reaching to all other spiritual clubs on campus. Below is the letter which we have written to the other clubs on campus (others are welcome to use it as well). . . .

Here is the letter:

To the spiritual clubs of NYU:

"...When such a crisis sweeps over the world no person should hope to remain intact. We belong to an organic unit and when one part of the organism suffers all the rest of the body will feel its consequence."—Shoghi Effendi, Bahá'í writings

Dear friends,

In this time of extreme suffering for the people of Haiti and those all around the world who are touched by the disaster there, it is clear that our global community must rise up in every way we can to support those affected. Monetary and material support is, of course, of great necessity, but the importance of providing spiritual support is immeasurably important as well.

On behalf of the Bahá'í Club, I would therefore like to initiate the creation of a "Prayers for Haiti" event and campaign in the upcoming weeks. It would be a beautiful thing for all the clubs providing spiritual leadership on campus to pledge as one unified body that we will say daily prayers for those affected by the disaster in Haiti. Any clubs interested in co-sponsoring and hosting an inter-faith “Prayers for Haiti” devotional event, please contact us as soon as possible.

Thank you for your faithful support of those affected by the disaster in Haiti, and may our prayers spread comfort to those in need.

NYU Bahá’í Club

"So powerful is the light of unity that it can illuminate the whole earth."—Bahá’u’lláh

"We are looking at college clubs as networks of teaching teams."

How can Bahá’ís on a college or university campus most effectively teach the Faith? How can they most effectively contribute to the efforts in their cluster overall, including, if it’s an A-stage cluster, their cluster’s intensive program of growth? How can cluster agencies support the initiatives of Bahá’ís on campus? These are compelling questions, and we were exciting to receive the following insights that have been gained from a number of experiences on campus. Some key elements: individual initiative, on-campus teaching teams, flexibility, and regular communication with the core team.

The discussion was sparked from an initial question from a member of a Regional Bahá’í Council to all the Auxiliary Board members in the region:

Dear friends,

A question has come up recently about youth groups and college clubs. In your experiences within your clusters, are there organizations, institutions and/or agencies responsible for campus clubs and/or youth groups? For example, there is a cluster in which weekly firesides are taking place at a local college. The person coordinating the firesides also hopes to involve all youth of the cluster, and wants to know how such an effort could be coordinated and supported. . . .

One Auxiliary Board member’s reply:

We've been experimenting with looking at college clubs as networks of teaching teams. For example, two friends on a teaching team live in the same dorm and develop friendships with and find new members of the community of interest from other residents of that dorm. They bring these seekers to regular events supported by the entire college club, but their focus is to nurture their interest through regular visits to those seekers. One member of the college club collects information about core activities, community of interest, and declarations and conveys this information to the area teaching committee secretary, much like a neighborhood coordinator might. The cluster institute coordinator is also involved with these campus associations as needed to provide refreshers or institute courses. In this way data is made available to and analyzed by the core team, which can then make recommendations as to where receptivity is being seen and how future activities can be planned.

We have been learning that colleges often cannot hold to the same cycle dates as the rest of the cluster due to midterms/major campus events that get in the way. For this reason we have been encouraging the Bahá’í Campus Associations to work on a different cycle, often with their own expansion activities being planned for more relaxed times of the year such as the beginning of the semester or right after exams. In this way, although the college students might be less visible to the greater Bahá’í community, by working in their natural environment and focusing on teaching their peers, we hope the sustainability of their efforts can increase.

These are just a few things we've been trying. I look forward to hearing other ideas!

Regional Bahá’í Council member:

This sounds very logical. Which universities in which clusters are involved?

Auxiliary Board member:

Most of this has been with one university. The other colleges in these clusters are less active, though we're working on that too.

The main challenge has been helping foster individual planning of teaching rather than trying to get everyone to do one activity. This can avoid college students feeling pulled away to support off-campus activities and therefore unable to focus on the many on-campus opportunities. It also helps reinforce for the non-college youth that just hanging out with college youth does not automatically mean you are serving.

One recent success: Teaching teams brought their seekers to a campus social event organized by the club. It was a place where the seekers could have a sense of community, and they were nurtured individually over the rest of the week. No teaching happened at the initial social event, yet most of the participants eventually became Bahá’ís!

Hope this is helpful!

New youth on fire with core activities

It’s always exciting to see new believers on fire and plunging with full zeal and joy into service, and the enthusiasm of new Bahá’í youth is particularly intense. Here is a brief account of how one youth has hit the ground running:

A is college student at the University of __ and is a new believer who enrolled several months ago in his home community. He is hosting amazing devotionals in his dorm room, in which 10 or more members of the community of interest regularly attend. He has also been closely involved in a local NGO and shared with it the vision of junior youth groups, and now it wants to start junior youth groups as a service.

Blizzard, i-phone, both help college presentations

It is common for Bahá’ís to be invited to give a presentation about the Faith to college and university comparative religions classes. This report from Colorado Springs, CO (A) describes 2 such gatherings, one of which took place during a literal blizzard (but no snowstorm can hold back dedicated teachers). Particularly noteworthy is how the friends used these opportunities to practice what they had learned in the institute process to share a direct presentation about the Faith. The receptivity of the students is very inspiring to see. And technology continues to play its part in the teaching process—I loved how the seeker just automatically “pulled up” a photo of the Shrine of the Báb on their i-phone!

Four of us were scheduled last Sunday to give a presentation about the Faith to a class of Inter-Faith Ministerial candidates who were all due to be ordained in two weeks. . . .

The Saturday night before our scheduled presentation, the storm hit Colorado Springs, and all churches and other institutions cancelled their services and functions that Sunday. Since we were snowed in, we were under the impression that our class would be cancelled as well. But then we learnt that the class was still on since one of the other speakers (who was due to give a presentation right after us) lived close by the school and was planning to get there and give his presentation. So, we too braved the weather and headed out.

To our surprise, the roads were fine. We arrived and waited for our turn.

One of the friends gave a wonderful power point presentation about the Faith. We were preparing to wrap up and leave when the instructor of the class announced that the person due to speak after us was not going to make it (his car skidded on the roads so he returned home). As a result of that, we were given another 45 minutes for questions and answers!

The room was filled with energy as we were asked questions. The students who were around 15 in number, asked for contact information and links on the Web. They were not ready to let us go easily. One lady asked if she could help with our children’s classes after we shared with them information about the core activities. Another asked for a copy of the power point presentation. They were commenting fondly on Bahá’u’lláh’s quotations and the concepts introduced.

In brief, we left the class with hugs and a world of appreciation from the students as well as to Bahá’u’lláh for the gift of our Faith.

Four days later, one of us was scheduled to give a presentation on the Faith at a Comparative Religions class at the community college. It was the third time that the professor teaching this course had invited the Bahá’ís to do this. There were 22 students present. They were given an introduction to the Faith based on the presentation in Ruhi Book 6 for a whole hour. Then the floor was open to questions which lasted another 30 minutes.

The students demonstrated extreme interest in what they were hearing, and their professor even more so. He kept on remarking to the students, “You see? Didn’t I tell you it was a fascinating religion?” or “This is remarkable! Very unique!”

The subject matter aroused the students’ interest to such an extent that, when the presenter was talking about the Shrine of the Báb on Mount Carmel, one of the students pulled up the photo of the Holy Shrine on his i-phone and passed it around so that all the students could see it.

The Bahá’í used that action to emphasize the point on how humanity has advanced so much and how it has “contracted into a single neighborhood” that there is a dire need for a global religion that can accommodate all.

At the end, the professor asked the presenter if she would visit his class every semester, and of course the answer was, “You bet!” They also decided to get together again in order to further discuss the unique inclusive character of the Bahá’í Faith, as well as other questions that could take them deeper into the study of the Faith.

Re-charged Baha'i Campus Association plunges into action

What can a small group of Bahá’ís at a university campus do? How can a Bahá’í Campus Association (BCA) contribute to the Five Year Plan? The answer to both these questions is “A ton!” We are very excited to share these two pieces of correspondence related to a recently established BCA. The loving encouragement by the Regional Bahá’í Council to all Bahá’ís attending universities in the region, the enthusiasm of the friends at the University, the thoughtful consultation on opportunities and effective activities—these are all brilliantly reflected here. Core activities, firesides, Holy Days, interfaith efforts—they are doing it all!

First is a letter from the Bahá’í Campus Association to the Local Spiritual Assembly that is sponsoring it:

Dear Beloved Local Spiritual Assembly

The members of the University of __ Bahá’í Campus Association were excited to read the letter from the Regional Bahá’í Council to the Area Teaching Committees and Local Spiritual Assemblies in our region on the subject of college Bahá’í clubs. The letter and its enclosed documents were studied at a special club meeting called to address the issues raised by the Regional Council. . . .

As you know, our club had a brief lapse in active functioning owing to a drop in enrollment of Bahá’í students at the university last year. It is our immense pleasure to convey to you the exciting news that we have been officially reactivated as a registered student organization. Our first official order of business was to reflect and consult on the materials from the Regional Council and the National Teaching Office. The following planned line of action is based on our understanding of the guidance:

For starters, core activities sponsored by the Bahá’í Club, which have been ongoing during the Fall 2009 semester, will continue on a regular basis into the Spring 2010 semester. More details are mentioned below.

One new activity to be initiated by the Club includes participating in the campus semiannual day for student organizations, the next one of which is being held next month in the student center. This event is an opportunity for university organizations to reach out to the campus community with information about their activities and invitations to join the group and attend events. The Club’s approach to this event will be shaped by the document Some Strategies for Teaching College Populations provided by the Regional Council.

The Club agrees wholeheartedly with the statement in Regional Council’s letter that activities can be more effective when focused on a college campus. In addition to the core activities, firesides are a potent platform for meeting the often overlooked interest in the Faith on campuses. The plan is to schedule a regularly-held fireside on campus for the spring semester.

Publicizing our activities should prove fruitful on campus. The student paper is widely read and has already run an announcement for a Bahá’í Club event. Announcements written in chalk are allowed on the sidewalks and captivate students’ attention. There has also been a debate waged in both media (and the sidewalks and the newspaper) about interfaith dialogue and religious tolerance. The scene certainly seems set for the Bahá’í Club!

As you know, the Club also hosted an exciting Holy Day celebration for the commemoration of the Anniversary of the Birth of the Báb in an elegant and spacious room in the main campus library. The members will try to repeat that experience in hosting another Holy Day celebration in the spring. We are consulting with our Local Spiritual Assembly about holding our community’s Naw-Ruz celebration in the student center. Our BCA will try to attract wide attendance from the university and greater community.

As mentioned above, the Club—while pursuing the steps to achieve an active status on campus—did not wait to initiate core activities in attempting to play its part in the Five Year Plan. Some of its members and their friends and contacts have been meeting once a week to study the Reflections on the Life of the Spirit materials of the Ruhi Institute and are establishing a regular devotional meeting, possibly on campus. They will complete the final unit before the end of the semester and in the following semester will resume the regular meetings to go through the second book, Arising to Serve. A special weekend intensive course will be held soon to study the Animator materials.

So far, our Club has had 8 contacts from our community of interest attend our activities, including 2 on a regular basis.

The Club is grateful for the Assembly’s willingness to serve as its sponsoring institution, and it will make sure to communicate on a regular basis regarding its affairs and plans. Club meeting minutes will be provided to the Assembly in a timely manner.

The members of the Club beseech your prayers for their efforts to effectively serve the many communities the Club intersects on and off campus.

The Regional Bahá’í Council, which was copied on the above letter, then sent this loving response to the friends at this university.

Dear Friends,

Our hearts are overjoyed to learn that the __ Baha'i Campus Club is re-energized and actively participating in many events that will lead to teaching opportunities. The upcoming day for student organizations where you will be able to reach out to large numbers of students, as well as the Ruhi Book 1 study circle, Book 5 intensive, firesides and other activities are all very exciting!

We commend the __ Local Spiritual Assembly for sponsoring your Campus Club and look forward to hearing of more plans and success stories in the future. The Council will pray for your teaching efforts, that they will bear abundant fruits, and be acceptable to the Blessed Beauty.

Loving Baha'i greetings,

Your Regional Bahá’í Council

Empowering new and old friends in Springdale

The friends in Springdale, AR (B) have been teaching up a storm. There is so much to celebrate in this recent cluster report, both in terms of the learning that has been gained and the results that have been achieved. The friends are working with a receptive population, empowering old and new believers alike through the institute process, and engaging Local Spiritual Assemblies and Bahá’ís on campus. Two important areas of growth are their children’s classes and home visits.

Enrollments: 3 new Bahá’ís this cycle, 9 so far this year.

Friends arising to serve: 17 participants in a recent teaching project in Springdale, 26 homes visited, 17 return visits requested. . . .

Empowerment of new believers: 2 believers have finished studying Book 1 and will start Book 2. One of them will host the next Feast, as well as begin receiving home visits. Another believer has started Book 1, received a home visit, will give a fireside with 2 other believers next Friday, and will cook for a Holy Day celebration.

Empowerment of veteran believers: Around 5 friends shared Anna’s presentation for the first time during the direct teaching project. Around 15 Bahá’ís have taken training for and/or grasped the importance of the Book 2 deepening themes and their use in home visits. Several friends in a number of communities have carried out their first ever home visits, and additional believers are ready and making plans to do their own home visits.

Empowerment of Local Spiritual Assemblies: A member of the Regional Bahá’í Council visited the cluster and conducted a training for Local Spiritual Assemblies about the Institute process—right before Unit Convention. The training reviewed the skills and acts of service tied to each Ruhi book.

Children’s classes: 4 classes are active and continuing, and 1 new one has started this cycle. 2 of these are composed entirely of children from the wider community.

University Bahá’í club: It is formed and active and will have a regular devotional gathering, as well as firesides every other week.

Insights about receptive population: The main receptive population in this cluster is the Marshallese community. Most want to study the Ruhi Books and listen to the deepening themes in Marshallese. So we need to raise the number of Marshallese tutors and individuals who can make home visits.

There are already 2 confirmed Marshallese tutors, and another 2 just need to complete Book 7 to finish the sequence. Several Marshallese friends also learned the first part of the first deepening theme. They found it very useful. They like the idea of giving this theme in Marshallese, but request a non-Marshallese Bahá’í to accompany them to pray and answer questions if needed. So there is an opportunity for more of the non-Marshallese friends to work together and bond with the Marshallese through accompaniment.

To raise more Marshallese resources to carry out home visits, we will go theme by theme, practicing each one in the field before moving on to the next one.

Empowering college youth, advancing clusters

College and university campuses are places with immense potential for sharing the Message. How can that potential most effectively be utilized, both in the context of the specific campus and the cluster in which it is located? A challenging question, around which much learning is taking place! Over the past year, a lot of insights have been gained about teaching the Faith on college and university campuses. Here is a report from the Northwest region that summarizes some of the progress made over the past year. We share it because it depicts clearly a wonderful process of transformation in several Bahá’í Campus Associations (BCAs) as they strive to focus their activities to implement the main elements of the Plan. It is also heartening to see the loving encouragement and support given to the youth by the Regional Bahá’í Council and other institutions of the Faith.

So, to begin: In Autumn of 2008, two events were organized by the Regional Bahá’í Council for the Northwestern states, bringing together youth from several colleges and universities from 3 different states in the region. The purpose of these gatherings was clear:

To broaden our common vision of the Five Year Plan, to share experiences, to prepare campus action plans aligned with local cluster efforts, and to empower youth to take their place at the forefront . . .

The main elements of the retreats were as follows:

During the retreat, participants had an opportunity to review the major elements of the Five Year Plan, study recent guidance, reflect on personal goals, consult together and develop a campus action plan. Devotions, art, music and drama were incorporated throughout the weekend.

Over and over again, we heard from the youth that they felt excited and empowered by the retreat. They gained a much better understanding of the Five Year Plan and the specific role they can play. Another common sentiment was that youth on campus are a fertile ground. They are open to new ideas, have time available and not as many barriers as they may have later in life . . .

Consultation during these gatherings enabled participants to reflect on the experiences of their past efforts. For example, it was concluded that certain types of large-scale proclamation events involved substantial resources but relatively small results.

Campus plans of action were made, in which specific activities were identified, as well as the timeline and resources. Here are some of the commitments made for two of the participating universities:

Start a children’s class in an apartment complex in the cluster.

Start an interfaith devotional with other faith groups on campus.

Continue planning monthly firesides.

Start a children’s class in the housing complex for married students.

Start a Ruhi Book 1 study circle on campus.

Start monthly devotions on campus.

The impact of these gatherings on the youth was substantial, as illustrated by some of the comments about their experiences:

I liked seeing the different institutions, each with a different role, all working together.

I liked making solid plans. Sometimes, we are just wandering through our campus existence not doing what we should. Now, our BCA has a plan.

I wish I had done this while I was in college!

I like how we were so supported by the different institutions.

We are leaving here with concrete action plans and we all know what to do.

I liked how this weekend really helped us to organize and plan—not just talk, but action.

I’m so happy to see this. It’s amazing! We all had this passion, but we just needed a catalyst to get us going. I’m so excited to see what the future holds.

Even more exciting is to see how the campus plans of action unfolded. A member of the Regional Bahá’í Council states:

We have recently learned that the Ruhi study circle, the campus interfaith devotional gathering and the Bahá’í children’s classes in married student housing—all begun as a direct result of the “campus advance” gathering last fall—are growing in strength. That’s 3 out of 4 core activities initiated by our youth!

The events also inspired about 20 young people to attend the Regional Bahá’í Conference in Portland in December. These youth then returned home to spearhead teaching efforts in their cluster, helping it to advance to the A stage in February!

Two similar events are now planned to take place in August and September 2009. Stay tuned!

Evanston-Skokie IPG Day 4

The believers in Evanston-Skokie, IL (A) reached out in all ways to all their friends, colleagues and neighbors. In this report on Day 4 of their intensive teaching effort, a university student talks about a study circle began by some of the believers and their friends. They are studying Ruhi Book 4, “The Twin Manifestations”. The tutor explains the progress so far:

We had our third session today. We've had lots of interested people, new ones coming each time. The study circle is being held in the friends’ dorms.

It is working well, and we are giving participants a better understanding of what the Faith is about. We talk of both principles and history. In each meeting, we cover one section from Unit 1, “The Greatness of this Day” and then study from Unit 2 on the life of the Báb. The Bahá’ís’ friends are really intersted. I am building my skills at prompting discussion. For example, I connect the history to what they know. Today, we covered the Báb's address and highlighted that this is about the Covenant. We shared with each other what we think it means. It gets them thinking about what the Báb is saying. For casual participants, I want to give them an idea of what the Faith is all about. For the serious seekers, the Ruhi Books will give what they need. . . .

He also shares his thoughts on tutoring his first study circle:

It is fun, easy and not much to prepare. I had taken Book 4 previously; it was a good group! I am committed to finishing this study circle. We will need a couple of semi-intensives to finish up the book. They need to advance through the sequence. But, we are trying to create a study circle that they can invite friends to. __ and I tried to do Book 4 previously with the Bahá’í Campus Association; we got through the second unit but were unable to finish. Every session, I explain we have the Ruhi Institute so we can have a study circle; we can discuss, and there is practice so we can learn to do something useful.

Today, a reporter for an on-line publication participated in the study circle and asked lots of questions about the Faith. He was happy with the answers. He video-taped part of the study circle and interviewed us. I gave my own version of Anna's presentation to the video camera.

The students, they are all incredible.

Friends in Northeast fulfill pledges with joy

The friends in the Northeast region have been truly galvanized by the recent Regional Bahá’í Conference in Stamford. Both the believers who attended that event and those that were unable to do so have intensified their efforts in a spirit of joy and excitement.

For example, a believer in the Syracuse, NY (B) cluster reports:

At our last Nineteen Day Feast we had a very lively discussion on the topic of pledge fulfillment. Everyone is making progress on their pledges and there was a beautiful exchange of offers for areas where anyone was struggling to fulfill their pledges. I’m unsure what an A-stage cluster looks like, but this spirit is new to us. Surely we are approaching our goal. It’s got to be the best consultation I’ve experienced at Feast. . . .

And in New Haven, CT (*C), a friend reports progress on pledges:

3 people finished an intensive Book 3 and are starting a new children’s class.

A new Book 2 study circle is starting.

The students at the university are starting a new children’s class and a junior youth group.

Teaching is continuing.

Seekers are fulfilling the pledges they have made!

A friend from Rochester, NY (A) reports:

The friends have already begun to fulfill their pledges to help our sister cluster, Syracuse. AT least 4 of the friends have been actively involved. One has been tutoring a Book 6 study circle.

We would like to thank the International Teaching Center and our Regional Bahá’í Council for modeling a cluster reflection meeting at the Stamford conference. We used this model to structure our own cluster reflection meeting. We encouraged the friends to focus on the guidance and to channel the stories of celebration to show what has been learned.

Finally, many individual have arisen to serve as a homefront pioneer or travel teacher to a nearby cluster or to a receptive neighborhood within their cluster. The institutions and individual believers have been assisting them in various ways, including temporary financial support, opening their homes to host pioneers, or simply praying for their success in searching for apartments in an identified receptive neighborhood! The Northeast is truly on fire.

More than just numbers

This summary of achievements from Santa Clara County West, CA (A), taken from their cluster newsletter, is more than just a list of numbers. It is a reflection of how the friends have increasingly arisen to serve, and this growing base of human resources has expanded their capacity to reach out to their friends and neighbors.

23 people from our cluster made pledges at the Regional Bahá’í Conference to offer their services in a variety of ways, including to support a nearby B-stage cluster that is scheduled to advance to A-stage by Ridvan 2009. . . .

There are now 7 devotional meetings in our cluster.

Activities at the university have blossomed, including Book 1 study circles, regular devotional meetings, junior youth groups, attended by dozens of individuals from the community of interest.

The number of people who have completed the sequence of training institute courses has increased to 43. There are now 13 study circles in the cluster, with a collective attendance of 44.

3 people have recently declared their faith in Bahá’u’lláh.

Unity of Spirit in Jackson County

Take a closer look at Jackson County, OR (A), which has just launched its first Intensive Program of Growth. Everyone is working together in reaching out to seekers and planning a flurry of firesides. The friends have also benefitted from the presence of some visiting resource persons. You can feel the spirit of unity in this report of their activities.

Hi all,

We are off to a good start to our first IPG in Jackson County OR 9. There has been considerable positive interest during the 8 days we have been going. The first 5 days (for practical reasons before the Cluster Reflection Gathering) resulted in one declaration and today we just had 2 more. This was a couple who had been close to the Faith in Ashland. Two believers visited them today. One gave them Anna's presentation in a heartfelt way while the other said prayers. The result was two new Baha'is with small children! We are now at three new Baha'is!

There are 19 different seekers that have attended firesides to date during this effort. 6 more have attended devotionals. All have been through personal contact. Several of these are close to becoming Baha'is. 22 university students signed up for more information. We have a remainder of 19 firesides committed to along with 5 more home visits. This pm there will be presentations to two hispanic women who agree to them today. Further there are efforts to start a Neighborhood children’s class in Talent. We were out yesterday and found a couple of children. More effort will be expended today there.

S. has been here for some days and will be here until Friday. F and R helped with our outreach efforts this weekend. F gave two Anna's presentations in Spanish in the brief time he was here. Their presence has been a real boost to our start.

Many prayers and a united effort are being put forth by the cluster regardless of where the Baha'is live. We have focused on two areas, greater Ashland and Greater Medford. Both areas have really responded.

DAY 1: Bearing our hopes (and fears), we launched! And what a launch!

The excitement is raising in Zikrullah Khadem Cluster (Evanston IL) the newest A-stage cluster in the Central Region. The reflection meeting was packed full of friends eager to hear the news, and to jump into action. The following story was shared by the Cluster Institute Coordinator. Enjoy!

This is our first daily narrative from the IPG!

It was less than six months ago, when the Zikrullah Khadem cluster, galvanized by visits from Counsellor Walker and Counsellor Birkland, and loving assurances from their Auxiliary Board Members started laying the groundwork for their FIRST Intensive Program of Growth. The cluster core team held a number of active refreshers - one day teaching projects that gave the friends opportunities to participate in collective teaching efforts in the neighbourhood, the Northwestern campus, the library, even at the mall! The focus of these refreshers was to learn how direct teaching could be practiced in any situation, that the presentation of the Faith from Book 6 (Anna's presentation) could be utilized in any interaction.

The fruits of these one-day endeavors aided the Cluster Core Team to outline the plans for the IPG. An IPG, ambitious even in its first attempt, to provide a teaching avenue for each and every believer in the cluster. Campaigns of various flavours were conceived and shared with the friends in the week leading up to the launch of the IPG. A Cluster Reflection Meeting was to be held on DAY 1 of the IPG, where the friends would pledge their plans and make commitments to each of these campaigns.

On the evening of February 8th, friends from all across the cluster converged upon the reflection gathering, bearing not only their hopes (and fears) for the next 9 days of the IPG, but also dishes, sweet and savoury for their potluck dinner. A dinner that tasted all the more delicious for the teaching stories that the friends shared over their meals! Devotions were then led off with the beautiful voices of several handmaids of His Cause, inspiring the friends to join in song and spirit.

The theme of the Cluster Reflection Gathering was "Soaring Higher"; and we found out just how high we could soar when one of our beloved Auxiliary Board Members announced that IL-17 had, that very week, been designated an A-Cluster by the Regional Council of the Central States! Just as we were recovering from the joy and the realisation of how we really had to step it up a notch to maintain a level of activity consistent with the nature of the A-Cluster, the plans of the IPG were presented. The response and enthusiasm to the plans of the teaching campaign was amazing. The five lines of action designated for IL-17's first IPG cycle are:

• FAMILY CAMPAIGN: Families with children would share the Faith in child-friendly locations such as the library or play areas, inviting their friends to the Evanston/Skokie children's classes.

• NORTHWESTERN CAMPUS CAMPAIGN: Sharing the Faith with Northwestern University students, with the support of the Northwestern Baha'i Campus Club! A series of activities are being planned on campus including an open mic in the vein of Crimson Spot, Cafe Ruhi (a casual coffee-house atmosphere for spiritual conversation based on Ruhi Book 1 themes, inspired by a similar event in Atlanta GA) and firesides.

• PRAYER CAMPAIGN: Offering ardent daily prayers for receptive souls in the cluster and for Baha'i teachers to arise courageously to directly teach the Faith, holding devotionals every other day of the IPG.

• OUTREACH CAMPAIGN: Reaching out to our friends, families, co-workers and neighbours and offering the healing message of Baha'u'llah to them, inviting them to core activities in our home or in the neighborhood.

• OPEN-DOORS CAMPAIGN: Sharing the Faith in a receptive neighborhood in Evanston, teaching door-to-door.

The friends got together in groups to discuss, finalize and make commitments to each of these campaigns. The Open-Doors campaign had the bounty and benefit of the Charepoos from Colorado, who had participated in the very successful expansion phases of the IPGs in Seattle and Colorado Springs and witnessed the recent Phoenix AZ IPG phenomenon. Their loving encouragement to the friends of this campaign, their invaluable experience and sharing of key learnings from similar campaigns, particular as related to direct teaching and its effectiveness were shared.

At the end of the evening, there was a raffle giving away three "flipcharts" of Anna's Presentation in Book 6, used to great success in Malaysia. Each friend also received a beautiful card bearing the Central States prayer for teaching, and a folder full of resources to help them along in the next 9 days of the Intensive Program of Growth. Some of the fruits of the reflection gathering included:

1. Commitment to devotionals held throughout the cluster for every day in the expansion phase!

2. Family firesides, a family bowling night (to teach at the Bowling Alley!) and a Baha'i-inspired children's book event at the library

3. Plans to invite neighbours to the believers' homes and share prayers together, in Park Ridge, Skokie, Morton Grove and Evanston!

4. Commitment of students and young adults in Evanston to hold portal events to invite their friends and widen their community of interest, midterms notwithstanding!

The reflection gathering came to a close with beautiful and inspiring devotional music, prepared by a Northwestern Baha'i student.

The delicious food, stirring music, the anticipated joy of teaching, the celebration of our shiny A-cluster status, the wonderful fellowship and love amongst the friends - it was truly a gathering of the beloved of Baha'u'llah, and what better way to consecrate the cluster's plans of this first intensive program of growth, the first of many, which will aid us to fulfill the dear wish of our beloved Universal House of Justice, for "the day when teaching is the dominating passion in the life of every believer".

Story shared by the IL-17 Cluster Institute Coordinator