"Local People - Global Faiths" by James Nelson and Norman Richardson is the second of a two-book series that provides learning resources for children about world faiths. It is aimed at Key Stage Three i.e. 11 years - 14 years. Book 1 covered Sikhism, Judaism and Hinduism. This book covers Islam, Buddhism and the Bahá'í Faith.
This book is a significant addition to the material by non-Bahá'í authors in Northern Ireland on the Faith. It complements the existing books by Ryan (“Small World: Introducing Primary School Children to World Religions”, 1988 and “Another Ireland: An Introduction to Ireland's Ethnic-Religious Minority Communities”, 1996) and Skuce (“The Faiths of Ireland”, 2006).
Most importantly this book is aimed at school children, in anticipation of the demand that will be created by an expected change in the curriculum for Religious Education.
The section on the Faith includes a wide selection of basic information on the Faith. It uses the experience of three young Bahá'ís - Omid Agahi, Maryam Roohipour and Courtnay Giffin and they describe what it is like to be young Bahá'ís in Northern Ireland.
Bahá'í communities are encouraged to use the book in the ways including the following:
We hope that the book will be a useful resource and we would be very glad to hear any comments on how it has been received or suggestions for ways in which it could be further used. For instance one Spiritual Assembly is already in the process of writing to the RE teachers of all the secondary schools in its district saying that that they will, of course, have received publisher’s information about the book and that should they wish to know more about the Faith, have more resources, receive speakers etc. the Assembly is ready to oblige.
The book is available from the publishers: Colourpoint Books Colourpoint House Jubilee Business Park 21 Jubilee Road Newtownards Co. Down BT23 4YH Tel 028 9182 0505 E-mail info@colourpoint.co.uk
It costs £7.99 per copy plus postage and packing of 10% of order value (minimum £1.50 maximum £5).
Bahá'í Councils were called into existence by the Universal House of Justice and have, under its guidance, have been established in a number of countries. Each of the four parts of the United Kingdom—England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales—has its own Council, all under the jurisdiction of the National Spiritual Assembly. The House of Justice has produced documents which set out the nature and role of Bahá'í Councils, why they have been established, what they do, how they function, how they are elected. The Bahá'í Council hopes the Friends will study these: they are available from the Secretary.
It is a sign of the progress of the Faith that even in the time since they were produced there have been major further developments and some minor changes. The documents are more relevant than ever and their study is important. The Council plans an article on the subject in an upcoming issue of CommuNIqué and asks the Friends to obtain the Universal House of Justice’s documents from the Secretary . They are availableelectronically or in hard copy.
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You will be aware of the exciting opportunity that has been offered to the Bahá'í community by the Speaker of the Assembly, Mrs Eileen Bell. As a result of her support we are organising a devotional and reception in Parliament Buildings on Saturday 18 November. It is an exciting time in the history of the Assembly and this event is a historical moment for the Bahá'í community in Northern Ireland. We have received some very warm letters of support from some of the people who have been invited to attend:
Fr. Brian D'Arcy: “…may I take this opportunity of wishing you and all the members of Bahá'í Council every blessing and every success. I am delighted that such an important event has been given to you by the Speaker of the Assembly, Mrs Bell.”
Nigel Dodds OBE MP MLA: “I do very much appreciate the invitation and I am sure this will be an enormously significant event …best wishes for a most successful evening.”
The event will begin with a devotional in the Senate Chamber. Included in the devotional programme will be music played by Carolyn Sparey-Fox on the viola and the choir led by Susie Agahi. After the devotional there will be a reception which will include a short presentation on the Faith.
The guests at the event will include key figures from political and religious organisations in Northern Ireland as well as many people who have had contact with the Faith over many years.
There are still some places available for Bahá'ís who would like to attend. If you are interested in attending this event please let the Council know via the Secretary, Dr Keith Munro.
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