How the Baha'is of Baltimore responded to the crises

In April 2015, the tragic death of Freddie Gray plunged the city of Baltimore into turmoil.  Although much public attention was placed on the symptoms of civil unrest, protests and in some cases, violence, conversations across the city increasingly brought into light the unmet need for unity as an underlying condition. In neighborhoods, communities and a city working to continue on a path of development, the ties that brought groups of people together to work towards a common cause despite differences of age, class, race, religion or other social boundaries were called on to contribute to reconstruction of the city, in bricks and in spirit.   

In the acute phase of unrest, the Local Spiritual Assembly began consulting on how efforts could be made to contribute to the city’s development, and began with a call over email to community members to decentralize [activities] into neighborhood gatherings open to all, to create a space for learning and consultation. This began a process . . .  structures of the Bahá’í community were able to provide a scaffold for building bonds of friendship, unity, and community development. 

The response of the Baha’i community to crises in Baltimore City included several lines of mobilization by . . .  

·        adapting the current framework of activities to meet the needs of unity in neighborhoods

·        expansion of activities to meet these needs

·        mobilizing groups of people who have been serving together to carry out conversations and acts of service

·        working alongside other groups to contribute to community development

·        use of social media for conversations and outreach

In exploration of ongoing activities . . .

•        Feast was adapted into "unity" Feasts, resulting in an increase in participation, both from community members and generality of friends.

•        The Holy Day event was adapted to discussion about ongoing crises in Baltimore City.

•        Devotionals were both adapted and expanded to address needs for unity.

•        Study circles were adaptable to provide a space for discussion.

•        Junior youth were mobilized to be of service and to carry out conversations in the city. In both cases, members of the public expressed appreciation for services and voices of the young.

•        Home visits and quality of connections within increased during the most acute phase of the crisis.

 

SED: Dialogue on Race & Ethnicity in Baltimore

The friends in Baltimore share how they responded to questions about race.

We were invited to join with the First Unitarian church of Baltimore in an ADORE (a dialogue on race and ethnicity) on Friday, May 1st. From the Baha’i Community we had youth and junior youth and adults [many from the wider community joined us].  We initially shared a pot luck meal together and were able to meet the members of the church as well as their other guests. Then we gathered and everyone introduced themselves. Interestingly, almost all the youth were from the Baha’i Community. There were also members of other Unitarian churches from around the area and members of the Maryland Ethical Society and some individuals that did not identify themselves with any organization. We then all watched a TED talk that focused on institutional racism. This was very informative; the audience then was divided in groups of 2 for a 15 minute dialogue to come up with a message to help Baltimore city's problems of racism. Everyone was told to pick a person that they did not know before and a different age group than themselves. This encouraged our youth to hold dialogues with adults.

At the end of the small group conversations, then people had a chance to share what they talked about. Every one of the youths that attended from the Baha'i community, bravely raised their hands and shared their thoughts. Even the youth that are usually quiet during youth group felt empowered to share. This was impressive sight to hear them eloquently express their thought and paths of action with a large group of people they had never met before.

After this discussion the Unitarian Minster shared a few words and let everyone in an exercise of breathing in and breathing out. Then we were invited to join this dialogue again on June 12th. The members of the Unitarian church then held lighted candles and went outside to stand in a vigil and sing songs about Unity. Some of the Baha'i Community members joined in as well.

This was very educational for the junior youth group and it was very refreshing for the Unitarian Church to have the youth involved. Speaking to one of the members, she stated that they are [learning about] engaging their youth, and she was interested in activities to join our youths together. She may bring her daughter to the next junior youth group meeting on Friday.

An Atheist: Baha'is “Instrumental” in Bringing People Together

The Baha'is in the northwest United States received this message from a self-described 'spiritual atheist.' The inquirer writes how the Baha'is were “instrumental” in bringing people together, and shares that many like him “would like to see more understanding among all of us.”

                                                                                                   

I am not interested in joining any group but I am interested in unity of a broad nature. Years ago the Bahai's were instrumental in bringing people of all faiths and beliefs together at the local county building. Is that happening anywhere in the area? Is it possible to have it happen again in our area? I am a spiritual atheist and it is possible. Do not laugh. And even so, there are those of my ilk who would like to see more understanding among all of us. Your group tried to do this in the past and I do think it did have somewhat of a positive effect. It would be great if a group like yours would spearhead something like this again. Just a suggestion. The world and it's people are growing more and more apart and if we do not do something to halt it we will be worse off for it. Just a thought.

In the Arabic Hidden Words, Baha'u'llah writes:

O CHILDREN OF MEN! Know ye not why We created you all from the same dust? That no one should exalt himself over the other. Ponder at all times in your hearts how ye were created. Since We have created you all from one same substance it is incumbent on you to be even as one soul, to walk with the same feet, eat with the same mouth and dwell in the same land, that from your inmost being, by your deeds and actions, the signs of oneness and the essence of detachment may be made manifest. Such is My counsel to you, O concourse of light! Heed ye this counsel that ye may obtain the fruit of holiness from the tree of wondrous glory.

Crisis and Victory

In a prayer for youth, 'Abdu'l-Bahá supplicates:

O Lord! Strengthen these fragile seedlings that each one may become a fruitful tree, verdant and flourishing. Render these souls victorious through the potency of Thy celestial hosts, that they may be able to crush the forces of error and ignorance and to unfurl the standard of fellowship and guidance amidst the people; that they may, even as the reviving breaths of the spring, refresh and quicken the trees of human souls and like unto vernal showers make the meads of that region green and fertile.

Those who have studied Ruhi Book 4 know that the lives of the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh provide us with an important object lesson: that the Cause of God advances through a series of crises and victories. It “moves from crisis to victory to crisis to victory, and no power on earth is capable of stopping its onward march.” The same principle holds true on a smaller scale at the level of individual core activities, and nowhere is this more apparent than with the Junior Youth Spiritual Empowerment Program. The following story tells of a junior youth group in crisis, and how a personal tragedy helped the group turn that crisis into victory.

Today our junior youth group experienced a breeze of confirmation. Over the past few weeks, our group has been struggling with disunity, and today, we finally began to overcome that barrier. We started with a prayer; we had never done this before, but since the junior youth had not been getting along lately, I figured it would set a good tone. Afterwards, we decided to update our group “pact” with a new set of guidelines that all of the junior youth came up with together, including some new members. We emphasized that these guidelines were important to prevent future problems that could contribute to the disunity our group was currently facing.

After revising the pact, we went to play soccer. As we were walking, Jack called me over from across the street. Jack is the stepfather of one of our former group members, Jeremy, who moved away about a month ago. His mom, Melony, had lost both of her legs to cancer four years ago, and she had sent Jeremy to live with his dad because it was time for him to have a full time male role model. Today, I learned from Jack that Melony knew she did not have long to live, and wanted Jeremy to be settled in with his father by the time she was gone. Melony lost her life to cancer just a few days ago.

I had never seen Jack so speechless. He could not express any words to me, so he sent me inside his home to talk with Connie, Melony’s best friend of 17 years. Connie sketched out the last moments of Melony’s life. She expressed Melony’s last wishes, which were to have her body cremated and her ashes given to her two sons so they could scatter them in the ocean together. At this point, I realized that Connie and Jack were not only mourning the death of Melony, but were also worried because they were $225 short in paying for her funeral expenses.

What happened next was beautiful. I got to share prayers with them. We said a prayer for the departed, and I assured them that God would take care of this problem. Then my co-animator arrived and also shared prayers with them. I asked them for permission to share this news with the rest of the group and they agreed. I joined the group on the soccer field and informed them of their neighborhood’s loss. They wanted to know if Jeremy was okay, and how they could help. I told them about the funeral expenses, and they immediately wanted to do something. This became our next service project.

After offering condolences, the group fanned out into the neighborhood in teams of two, and in a span of just an hour we collected over $150. We presented this money to Jeremy’s family, and this is when I realized how empowered the group had become today. Connie and Jack expressed their thanks in such a way that the junior youth truly felt the significance of what they had accomplished. They recognized the purpose of their group; that it is the core of the neighborhood, and that it is strong enough to put aside personal differences in times of need. They showed encouragement, love, generosity, and kindness to a family during a difficult time.

What was perhaps most empowering was that race barriers were dissolved today. Jeremy’s family is African American, while the rest of the group members are Hispanic. The junior youth have been hesitant to invite their African American neighbors to join. When we talked about reaching out to them two weeks ago, they expressed that they were not wanted in the African American community across the street, and they had no reason to go there. But today, thanks to Melony’s sacrifice, our junior youth group was given a reason to bridge these race barriers and to unify as a group to work toward one common goal. A boy, who had dropped out of the group about a month ago but was playing soccer with us, took ownership of the service project and led the group in helping Melony’s family.

We had so many touching moments. One of the youth shared a story of one of the men who donated money. The man said he was going to spend the money on beer, but because he knows Jeremy’s family is in need and because of how much he loves his own mom, he decided to donate the money instead. When this story was shared with the family, Connie was overcome with how special a sacrifice that man had made.

These breezes of confirmation solidified our group today and empowered these junior youth to experience firsthand that they can make a difference in their neighborhood and in the world.