Over three week-ends in April I had the privilege to be among the first group of colloborators to be tutor trained in Book 5 "Teaching Children's Classes" Grade 2. This was an excellent course with a very moving spiritual content as well as practical experience in preparation and delivery of the lessons. The material has been very skillfully drawn together with each lesson building on the previous one. This is an exciting and challenging time for the Northern Ireland Bahá’í Community and I hope that as many of the friends as possible will take the opportunity to do this training when it is offered. As we move into the final year of the Five Year Plan it would be wonderful to see that the majority of the friends here have completed the sequence of courses.
Report by Rosemary Jamshidi
Book 5 collaborators including two of the tutors Marion and Michelle (the third tutor is Rosemary Johnston). There were nine collaborators, eight shown here and Jim Holmlund who is taking the photograph.
Rustam Jamshidi in dramatice mode as part of the Book 5 enactments.
What an inspirational reflection meeting it was with around 40 people there. We started with a devotional and then a song, played a game on the elements of friendship and enjoyed each other’s company. To our benefit both Auxiliary Board Members were present. Ann O’Sullivan shared with us an inspirational vision of how we can continue to advance our cluster.
She mentioned that what is really needed right now are two things: 1) Making home visits and doing the practice of the Ruhi books 2) Completing the sequence of courses so that we have at least 40 people who have completed the sequence.
She also answered why this was necessary: Around the world experience has shown that 40 people through the sequence is the ‘critical mass’ that is needed by which a cluster then has the necessary resources to engage in intensive programs of growth (which is where we want to be). And it makes sense mathematically as well, the more resources you have the more people you can reach.
Also when new people start declaring themselves as Bahá'ís an excellent and effective way of consolidating them is to visit them and deepen them in the Faith, share stories about the Faith and the Central Figures with them (this experience can be gained by making home visits and doing the practice of the books). So the more people who gain experience in this field by making regular home visits now means the more consolidators we will have. So all you need to do is pick up the phone and ask to visit someone. Or if you would like to work with another person in making home visits then give your area coordinator a call and ask him to pair you up with someone.
Study Circle Courses: Belfast has 5 Book 1 courses going, Lisburn one.
Report by Area Coordinator: Mahan Hashemi-zadeh.
Recently the intensive Book 2 tutored by Earl Redman from the Republic of Ireland has been completed, as has a Book 2 tutored by Elizabeth Palin. A Book 3 has already started in Londonderry, with 6 collaborators at the last count.
Report by Area Coordinator: Lesley Taherzadeh O’Mara
The final book in the current series - Drawing on the Power of the Word.
Drawing on the Power of the Word by the Ruhi Foundation in Colombia seeks to enhance the power of expression and explore the moral implications of speech and action. It consists of twenty readings, each of which is complemented by exercises in language skills. The readings begin simply, but gain in complexity both in terms of thought and language. The first reading introduces Diego and his youth group, who live in the small town of Alegrías. With the help of a tutor from the nearby institute named Elisa, the group thinks about the power of enlightened words and pure deeds to bring about social change.
Junior Youth Coordinator, Afnan Hashemi-zadeh.
For further information, please contact your Area Coordinator, or visit the Training Institute for Northern Ireland's website
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