Triad IPG off to a strong start

Just before Ridvan, Triad, NC (A) launched its intensive program of growth. The patterns of identifying receptive communities and direct teaching—so successful across the country—are now being established here. A friend reports:

Dear Friends,

The Triad, NC cluster launched its first cycle of its IPG and has completed the intensive phase. They taught in a very receptive neighborhood with primarily African-American residents and were blessed with the registrations of 6 adults and 1 junior youth.

Love,

C

Pledges fulfilled with joy

All over the country, the friends are joyfully implementing the pledges made at the Regional Bahá’í Conferences held in December. The spirit is dedicated, the action is systematic, and the results are exciting. Here is a summary shared by a believer in a cluster in the Northeast region:

Of the 3 new children’s classes pledged, our cluster has fulfilled 3 to date.

Of the 2 new junior youth groups pledged, our cluster has fulfilled 2 to date.

Of the 15 devotional gatherings pledged, our cluster has been able to fulfill 11 to date.

Of the 50 home visits pledged, our cluster has fulfilled 36 to date.

Let us rejoice in our accomplishments!

The learning never stops in Austin

Austin, TX was one of the first A-stage clusters in the country. They’ve been through more than a few cycles of their intensive program of growth. With each cycle, the friends learn more, they refine their approaches, and they move ever forward. Here are some of the latest insights gained and steps being planned:

For this latest cycle, we moved the IPG headquarters to new location under another Local Spiritual Assembly in the cluster. This resulted in:

Raising new human resources

The new host LSA’s support for the teaching activities rose to a new level.

There was increased enthusiasm in the cluster.

Collective teaching in two neighborhoods attracted several new teachers. Participation was diverse: children, junior youth, youth and adults from all backgrounds. . . .

There was a strong prayer component for the teaching effort. Prayers were distributed to the cluster, and community-wide prayer gatherings held on every Saturday of the project with more than 50 participants, where friends stayed at the center while others went out to the field to teach. Very strong confirmations were felt by all teachers!

Several meetings took place for the first time, attended by the area teaching committee, Auxiliary Board member and host LSA to share the IPG plans prior to beginning of the cycle. It was very successful and the Local Spiritual Assembly’s support was present throughout the effort, both from individual members as well as formal decisions as an institution. There was also increased communications from the Local Assembly to the host community.

We’ve learned that we need to have clarity of roles and responsibilities for the area teaching committee, Auxiliary Board member assistants and cluster institute coordinators. There was a lot of pull and push for information during the last cycle and different members felt overwhelmed at different times. We need to define responsibilities clearer.

For the next cycle, we plan to Increase the number of friends engaged in the teaching work by broadening the scope of opportunities to participate in the IPG.

We plan to increasingly focus our teaching efforts into those neighborhoods where core activities are ongoing and/or the Bahá’ís may already be known.

We will also be more focused on offering to teach the family, friends, and neighbors of newly declared believers.

"We realized that we are creating relationships."

Our efforts to teach the Faith are carried out with the ultimate goal of building a new civilization. In cluster after cluster, neighborhood after neighborhood, the early glimmerings of this process are showing themselves. One of the most recent glimpses of the future comes to us from Charlottesville, VA (B) with a delightful update from one of the believers. The friends are learning how to conduct—and sustain—children’s classes, they are reaching out to their neighbors and forming relationships. They are seeing the big picture into which all of their activities are being carried out. And joyful friendships are being created.

Allah'u'Abha friends!

We had another beautiful week. Here are some updates!

Children's Class

The children's class was such a success this week. We are starting to really get a feel for the children and how to best create order and structure within the class. Thanks to B who kindly provided refreshments for the children. They were much appreciated in the heat!

This week the children, in addition to learning prayers and songs, made puppets out of brown paper bags. They love doing crafts, and the parents take special note when the children bring home their art after the class. C, O, and A are being very creative in coming up with ideas each week. . . .

We are thinking it takes about 5 teachers to maintain order in the class; however, it looks like we only have 2 consistent teachers for the summer. Long story short, we need teachers! If you're interested in serving in this capacity, please let us know!

Teaching

We are really starting to feel a part of this community. When we walk around, children are running out to greet us, parents are waving. As far as our direct teaching efforts, we will be focusing less on door-to-door teaching. Our hope is to expand upon the many connections and relationships we already have. For example, we spent one afternoon this past week sitting in one family's living room, getting to know them, sharing stories and playing music. Two of the younger men will join us for one of A's devotionals soon!

As a side note, we are realizing that door-to-door teaching is really only a fraction of what needs to be done. In comparison to what is needed for other efforts, it is minimal. The majority of our time and effort is needed in follow-ups, and in initiating and leading Ruhi study circles.

Birthday Party

This week we had an extra special event. A daughter of a in whose home we use as a home-base for the children's class had a birthday this weekend. The family warmly invited us and sincerely asked that we come to the event. A group of us showed up to the party. The small apartment was packed with people, balloons, mounds of fruit and yummy food, and a ton of singing. Members of a local church were there, leading devotional songs and prayers and giving talks. We all listened and sang when we could (when it was in English!). After their devotions were done, the birthday girl stood up and insisted to everyone present that we sing a Bahá’í song, "We Are Drops". Then she insisted we say a prayer they've learned in the class, and she and her sister led the prayer: "O God, guide me, protect me, make of me a shining lamp and a brilliant star. Thou art the Mighty and the Powerful." Afterwards she and her sister wanted us to sing another song they had learned! It was truly wonderful to see the children themselves ask to sing and pray.

We are truly teaching hearts, and that goes so much deeper than words. More than anything, at this birthday party we realized that we are creating relationships. We have a large responsibility to these beautiful souls.

With much love,

The Core Team

"Support from the Local Spiritual Assembly has encouraged more activity"

When the institutions work together, progress in the cluster is a natural result. What is so interesting in this report from Las Cruces, NM (*C), is how sustained commitment is creating a close working relationship between core team members and the Local Spiritual Assembly. It is one of several things being done to help encourage more and more of the friends to arise and serve.

Actively engaging the Local Spiritual Assembly in the plans and actions of the cluster is vital. By meeting with the Assembly recently we have enlisted its support for the Reflection Meetings. The Assembly has asked to meet with the cluster institute coordinators for at least 20 minutes at every Assembly meeting (which is held every 19 days). In just a few weeks this support from the Local Assembly has encouraged more activity. We also informed the Assembly of our projected Reflection Meeting dates for the entire year. . . .

Outside encouragement is vital to this community. Having speakers on the Regional Bahá’í Conference recap the highlights and walk us through the planning sessions helped everyone understand where we were and where we needed to be. This format will be used for our next Reflection Meeting as well.

We have found that setting a goal of 100% participation in at least some aspect of the core activities is helping some folks see what is possible with the institute process. Patience with the process and striving towards having more individuals completing the sequence of courses is working well in our cluster.

Data, human resources, commitment, reflection all lead to steady progress

Knoxville, TN (A) is moving forward! This report, several excerpts from which we have shared here, is a stellar example of operating in a learning mode. The friends are analyzing the information they are regularly collecting, consulting about progress made and current needs, and creating goals and specific plans of action to meet those needs. Especially exciting is the breakthrough that has been made in relation to consolidation. There is now a wider and deeper understanding among the friends about the necessary elements of a sustainable follow-up process and the human resources needed—for which they have a well-organized system. Finally, it is thrilling to see how the various Local Spiritual Assemblies in the cluster are arising to support the teaching efforts and the close working relationship between the LSAs and cluster entities. Go Knoxville!

Analyzing consolidation:

At the end of this 13^th cycle, the area teaching committee analyzed the rate of retention of new believers in the cluster over the past year. The following aspects of each cycle were reviewed: 1) how many of the new believers for the last 3 cycles have remained connected to the community, 2) how many are consistently in Ruhi classes, and 3) how many are receiving home visits and being knitted into the fabric of community life from an organic level. The findings were clear: during cycle 11 there was a 30% retention rate; during cycle 12 there was a 40% retention rate; during cycle 13 so far there has been a 90% retention rate. . . .

The ATC feels that this increase is due to a greater knowledge of what consolidation truly is. There is a much clearer understanding of the importance of immediate follow-ups with new believers. The core team has learned to continue visiting people, even when they are not home or seem disinterested. It can be said that one the greatest lessons from this cycle was the importance of being persistent and not giving up. Often, when new believers were not home or did not answer the door, it was simply because they were busy with their life, jobs, or children, not because they were disinterested. The friends never stopped visiting new Bahá’ís. They remained consistent in visiting the new Bahá’ís and seekers on a weekly basis and did not lose faith or hope in them.

Appropriate time was allocated for Ruhi classes based on the needs of the new believers. There are 3 “shifts” that volunteers who wish to assist with the process of consolidation can choose from: weekend, daytime weekday, and early-evening weekday. There is at least one core team member always available during those shifts to lovingly accompany a community member who wishes to home visit with a new Bahá’í.

Committed human resources key:

During this cycle, the home visits and follow-up processes were sustained better than ever before with the help of some motivated and dedicated community members who have become firmly involved in the organized teaching process. There were members from each Local Spiritual Assembly in the cluster to assist with teaching and consolidation. Additionally, there were members of the Sevierville community (one hour away) who traveled to Knoxville to assist with home visits every week.

Goals set based on reflection and experiences:

After consultation and careful review of core activities in the cluster, it was decided that the first goal to reach this cycle is to improve the number of devotionals held in the cluster, both quality and quantity. The core team has been encouraging and empowering the community in this aspect of the 5 Year Plan since the Reflection Gathering, where there was a special presentation on what a devotional is and how easy it is to have one in your own neighborhood. As a result there were 10 pledges of people who are going to try and hold regular devotionals this cycle.

The second goal for this cycle is to increase the number of people visiting new Bahá’ís, both to share the deepening themes from Ruhi Book 2 with them and for general home visits. This was discussed at the Reflection Gathering, and some of the youth talked about how fun and easy it is to share deepening themes with new believers. A number of people volunteered to visit new Bahá’ís and share these deepening themes.

Close institutional collaboration:

The area teaching committee secretary and the cluster institute coordinator have been visiting local Nineteen Day Feasts and Local Spiritual Assembly meetings to help create and foster loving fellowship and a humble environment of learning. It was helpful for all parties involved to be on the same page as far as what the goals and needs are for the upcoming cycle. Everyone was able to learn from one another’s suggestions and had a feeling of love and a better understanding of what the organized, systematic, and cooperative efforts of an IPG cycle are.

"Thank you for your sacrifice and your teaching"

This delightful piece from San Diego, CA (A) brought lots of smiles to my face. The teaching is continuing in earnest, and now there are signs of a SECOND “Bahá’í village” emerging in the cluster. Plus, an 8-year old believer participated on a teaching team, and his humble and thankful attitude gave much encouragement to the rest of the friends. I’ll say no more!

Cherished teachers

What an extraordinary teaching effort we just completed! The cluster’s second “Bahá’í Village” has now emerged. Over 3 weekends, there were 50 friends engaged in direct teaching in this neighborhood, including 10 visitors from all over the country. With so many loving teachers in the field, everything was surrounded and infused by the holiness of the presence of the Supreme Concourse. Now there are 9 more new Bahá’ís—9 more family members! . . .

Here is a beautiful story from one of the members of the coordinating team about our youngest teacher, __, who joined us at the tender age of 8. :)

With warmest love and affection for you all!

The Area Teaching Committee

Dear friends,

Here is the picture drawn the weekend of 4/18/09 by __.

He accompanied our teaching teams on Saturday during a teaching effort in a neighborhood. After spending most of the afternoon on Saturday accompanying his mother and another member of the team to visit homes, he came back to our afternoon reflection. While we ate lunch he drew a picture of the Bahá’ís visiting homes carrying the materials for Anna's conversation. It showed lots of details of the homes, even the staircases and doorbells and addresses. His drawing, as he described it to everyone, shows God smiling and happy with the sacrifice of the Bahá’ís who are teaching. Afterward, he came up to me and he said that he forgot to tell the group one more thing. He had wanted to tell them, "Thank you for your sacrifice today and for teaching." Rather than trying to get the attention of everyone again, I suggested he go talk to each of the participants and tell them directly because it was hard for everyone to hear him in the big group the first time. He did exactly that. I watched eyes get watery throughout the room as he, with such humility went to many of the friends, and I was happy that so many of the teachers told him what a difference his being there made to the effort.