Dear Friends,
Every local Spiritual Assembly and group should consult on what is needed in their community to foster an encouraging environment in which teaching is the dominating passion of the lives of the believers. Once the Assemblies and groups have evaluated where their communities are, with the help of their Assistant, they can decide on practical steps to create this spirit of growth, using the three core activities as a main channel of inspiration and action. Where possible everyone in each locality will have a role to play.
Assemblies need to take ownership of what they want to happen in their area, e.g. the number of study circles, devotional, firesides and social events open to all. The monitoring, encouragement and goal setting of the three core activities in each area can then be integrated into an overall teaching plan that builds on work already done. Such a framework is essential to make sure that individual effort is not just a one off event but a joyful process that becomes a channel for entry by troops. This is the challenge this plan gives to every group and Assembly.
One of the first resources Assemblies should turn to when creating their own plans is that of their Assistants, but they can also turn to the Council, or to the Training Institute, the Youth Committee and the Committee for the Promotion of the Arts. Indeed the imaginative use of the arts can be an effective tool in changing hearts. For too long much of what we have done has weighed heavily on us, part of transformation requires us to look at ways of doing things with a more joyful spirit in order that our souls may take wings and attract others.
With warmest Bahá'í greetings, Bahá'í Council for Northern Ireland.
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