Community Building Activities: Rigden Farm March 29-April 4th

Thursday, April 1st

Spiritual Education Classes for children, all ages 4pm

Neighborhood Community dinner 5pm

contact Jessica for directions lanikamalphoto@yahoo.com

Friday, April 2

Jr Youth Spiritual Empowerment Group

"Cultivation spiritual and intellectual excellence through service to the community."

6pm Rigden Senior Living Center, Timberline Room 

Contact Jessica with any questions!

Reflections on the Life of the Spirit- Monday morning study cirlce

What a fun morning! Several friends participating in the capacity building study circle, Reflections on the Life of Spirit spent an hour this morning memorizing 5 quotations by playing, 'quotation charades'. Each participant creates a hand sign that goes with a portion of the quote. It was so much fun!!!! One of our participants knew several hand gestures that was authentic sign language. Brilliant! Two of the participants have young children which is a great way to integrate practice and learning by sharing with the children. I am looking forward to next Monday to learn more.

Celebrating God's Love - Neighborhood Devotions

What a beautiful gathering of friends! Sunday mornings devotions at the Rigden Senior Living Center was inspiring and joyous. Writings from the Sacred Faiths of God, Hinduism, Judaism, Christianity,  Islam and the Baha'i Faith. The theme, 'Behold, All Things Become New", was perfect for the second Sunday of Spring. The following is one of my favorite quotes from the mornings program,

"And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away....And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.... The former things are passed away. And He that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new." The New Testament: Revelation of St. John 21:1-5

What a beautiful passage!

Another profound exerpt from the mornings devotional is from 'Abdu'l-Baha, son of Baha'u'llah, 

"The divine Prophets are as the coming of spring, each renewing and quickening the teachings of the Prophet Who came before Him. Just as all seasons of spring are essentially one as to newness of life, vernal showers and beauty, so the essence of the mission and accomplishment of all the Prophets is one and the same. Now the people of religion have lost sight of the essential reality of the spiritual springtime...."

`Abdu'l‑Bahá: The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 127

Fellowship and visiting with friends was enlightening and a joy. One of the shared themes of the morning was very profound. It seems that there is a desire for an individual to serve God, but this particular person felt it difficult to contribute. Every single soul can share and contribute to the enhancement and transformation of our communities....the challenge is to develop and cultivate the skills and by using our God given talents. It was wonderful to share this vision of opportunity and plan to cultivate this desire within one of the friends. I am already looking forward to visiting her this week. Thanks so all who made Sunday such a joyful gathering, until next month....

Kyler and Emmy sharing a prayer and a hug during children's class.

'Unite the hearts of Thy servants..' Baha'u'llah

The purpose of this blog is to share capacity and community building activities that lay the foundation for a spiritual neighborhood. In addition, share current learning and reflect on the experiences that we have in cultivating our community. For almost two years activities such as spiritual education classes for children and study circles for youth and adults have been established in hope of uniting 'the hearts of Thy servants'.(Baha'u'llah)

The Baha'is, along with friends of the Faith from around the world are working within neighborhoods on a grassroots level to incorporate the spiritual truths of all Faiths within our daily lives. As the prophet founder of the Baha'i Faith, Baha'u'llah, wrote, "let deeds, not words, be your adorning." It is through the action of service to humanity complimented by prayer, that is cultivating our spiritual neighborhoods worldwide.

Within our neighborhood, souls have been coming together from all back grounds of Faiths and cultures to truly exemplify the oneness of God. One of my favorite quotes from 'Abdu'l-Baha says it beautifully, "Let all associate , therefore, in this great human garden even as flowers grow and blend together side by side without discord or disagreement between them." What is absolutely profound is that the spiritual teachings of God are not specific to a particular person, but rather are a gift to all of humanity and have always been. In a talk on the causes of religion, 'Abdu'l-Baha says, "Religion should unite all hearts and cause wars and disputes to vanish from the face of the earth, give birth to spirituality, and bring life and light to each heart."

Cultivation of our spiritual neighborhood is a direct result from the development of skills and the building of capacity through acquiring spiritual virtues and knowledge. Of course, this is vital for every individual, child, youth and adult. Please join us on our journey on the path toward unity and cultivation of a spiritual community. All are invited and welcome!