The Castlereagh community recommenced a series of meetings in St Dorothea’s Church of Ireland that had been inaugurated by Beman Khosravi some years ago. The Assembly after consultation with the Rev Kirkpatrick started these meetings in his church on 29 September. At the request of the clergyman they are taking the form of short talks with a devotional and discussion afterwards with the purpose of sharing our understanding of aspects of the Bahai faith and Christianity. This is an opportunity for us to share in a way that does not involve teaching and challenges us to share our beliefs in a sensitive and caring way. The first meeting created a warm friendly atmosphere with valuable communication between church members and the Bahá'ís. When the present series of meetings concludes they will be assessed as to whether it would be useful to continue them past the New Year.
PJ
October 17 saw Bahá'ís from Derry and Coleraine gathering for the latest in our “Deepening in Derry” series. On this occasion Dr Keith Munro was using parts of the book “Attaining the Dynamics of Growth”. For anyone who has not seen this fascinating book it was prepared by the International Teaching Centre on instructions from the Universal House of Justice. Five very different ‘A’ clusters from different continents were selected and case studies produced that show the diversity and similarities of the clusters working in their Intensive Programmes of Growth. On this occasion we read and discussed the opening letter from the Universal House of Justice and the closing analysis. Keith talked about how much the Bahá'í Faith had changed since most of us had entered it. How as never before this the time for community building with home visits, the nurturing of new declarants and involving them right from the start as active members of the community. Many thanks to Keith for an informative meeting and I recommend “Attaining the Dynamics of Growth” for reading and study.
ECP
Special stamp issued to mark the anniversary of the first air service between France and Israel. This stamp was on sale in French post offices during November-December. And what did they choose as a well-known landmark?
We note with sadness the passing of Betty Reed.
We welcome Lorraine Clarke (Belfast), Kathryn Payg (Belfast), and Catherine McGavigan (Londonderry) who have declared their faith in Bahá'u'lláh and been enrolled in the Bahá'í community.
Adib Ma’ani Hessari and Bahia Odess-Gillett on their marriage.
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