On Sunday 5 August we had one of the best cluster reflection meetings to date, a pleasant mixture of arts, discussion, teaching stories, reflection and planning. A notable aspect of the day was the many stories of peoples endeavours in the four core activities and beyond. A focus of the reflection meeting was on the subject of divine confirmations, an intrinsic part of teaching. The cluster is now in its two week intensive teaching phase of the latest Intensive Programme of Growth.
That was a short synopsis of the day but you’re better off asking people who were there to describe it to you.
We currently have six study circles ongoing in the cluster with twenty three participants. Of these twenty three there are seven who are members of the community of interest.
An interesting aspect of this is that two of the participants who are members of the community of interest are attending a Ruhi Book 3 course, with the others being in Book 1. Recently two Book 1 study circles which both contained members of the community of interest have been completed and are likely going to amalgamate into one Book 2 because a larger study circle lends itself to a greater experience for the participants.
Haven’t seen the ‘pyramid’ in a while? Well here it is:
Study circle activity has been on the move in the cluster during August. A Ruhi Book 4 with six collaborators from the Coleraine/Portrush area completed their study on Friday, 10 August; a Book 3 is running along well and should complete before long. Finally two Book 7 study circles are scheduled to complete their study by the end of the month. When that occurs the cluster should have four additional friends added to the pool of those in a position to act as tutors for Books 1-6. Our glorious challenge now is to make sure they, along with the 11 friends who have previously been fully trained, have ever greater opportunities for moving both Bahá’í friends and those from the community of interest through the sequence.
Studious in Seven Valleys (studying Book 7)
The next Cluster Reflection Meeting for the Seven Valleys Cluster :
Ballymena North Business and Recreational Centre Cushendall Road Ballymena
Sunday, 16 September 2007 Time: 2:00 – 6:00 pm.
Friday 10 August saw the start of animator training hosted by the Seven Valleys Cluster in the University of Ulster. The training will take place over the next three weekends, yielding a total of twelve new animators, seven of whom are resident in the host Cluster. The remaining five new animators are from the Northern Lights Cluster.
The animator training, facilitated by Edwina Agahi, Soha Graham and Afnan Hashemi-zadeh focuses on the true nature and potential of Junior Youth and the role of the animator in this vital core activity. The course also provides training on the use of the six Books in the Junior Youth sequence and it is hoped that on this occasion trainee Animators will get the opportunity to gain experience delivering course materials to Junior Youth within the Community.
Aside from advancing through the sequence it is hoped that participants will feel confident enough to start their own Junior Youth Group. Lots of fun and laughter generated by games and artistic contributions of those taking part and excellent meals were provided by Mahvash, Vinny, Colette and Vessal.
Anyone interested in training as an animator should contact Edwina Agahi (see below).
Cluster 1 (Northern Lights): Mahan Hashemi-zadeh
Cluster 2 (Stars of the West): Vida Lake
Cluster 3 (Hainsworth): Anne Munro
Cluster 4 (Seven Valleys): James Holmlund
Junior Youth Coordinator for Northern Ireland: Edwina Agahi
Children’s Class Coordinator for Northern Ireland: Pat Jamshidi
Regional Coordinator for Northern Ireland: Arjang Agahi
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