News | Bahá’í Center of Washtenaw County

Responding to COVID-19: Bahá’ís around the world take action

in Blog / News

Bahá’í communities around the world have been responding to the global health crisis. Below are examples of how Bahá’ís are taking action:

Looking beyond the health crisis in the Kurdistan region of Iraq

ERBIL, Iraq | May 3, 2020
Social actors examine how the expression of spiritual principles bringing people together now can be sustained and strengthened well into the future.

Community banks in Nicaragua take early precautions

MANAGUA, Nicaragua | May 1, 2020
Baha’i-inspired program draws on experience and sound principles in response to global health crisis.

Participation in the Discourses of Society: A Series from the Baha’i World News Service

This month we are featuring a series of articles from The Bahá’í World News Service (BWNS) – the official news source of the worldwide Bahá’í community.

Representatives of a number of national Baha’i communities recently gathered at the Baha’i World Centre to reflect on the past several years of experience learning about participation in the discourses of society. The Baha’i World News Service took the opportunity to interview groups of representatives about the experiences and insights they have gained in this area of endeavor.

PART ONE: Contributing to social transformation—reflections on Baha’i participation in discourses

2 December 2018

BAHA’I WORLD CENTRE — In recent years, national Baha’i institutions and regional agencies have been systematically participating in the discourses of society, such as migration and integration, social cohesion, race unity, the role of religion in society, and climate change, to name a few.

The phrase “participation in the discourses of society” is being used more and more to describe the involvement of the Baha’i community in the broad conversations focused on social betterment.

Discourses take place at different levels. Individuals can contribute to discourses in their professions or fields of study. Many individuals and communities are drawn into discourses on issues vital to their neighborhoods and villages. Non-governmental organizations inspired by the Baha’i teachings—for example, in the area of social and economic development—contribute to discourses related to their efforts. The Baha’i community’s formal involvement in discourses related to the well-being and progress of society is facilitated at the national and international levels by offices of external affairs and the Baha’i International Community, respectively.

The Gate: Dawn of the Baha’i Faith trailer and movie info

in Bahá’í Topics / Blog / News

There has been a lot of excitement about the release of the film The Gate: Dawn of the Baha’i Faith, so we’ve collected some links about the film to share with your friends. In the Detroit area, the film will be televised on June 24, 2018 at 2pm on WXYZ-TV (Channel 7). The Baha’i Center of Washtenaw County will also be hosting a movie night featuring the film, so keep in touch for more details!

About the Film (from thegatefilm.com)

In the midst of religious intolerance and extremism, one religion—the Bahá’í Faith—offers a path toward world peace by advocating the oneness of humanity’s major religions. Now, this groundbreaking documentary tells the amazing, little-known story of the origins of the Bahá’í Faith.

The Gate: Dawn of the Bahá’í Faith recounts the founding of this new world religion in Persia by a Prophet known as The Báb. In the mid-1800s, Jews, Christians and Muslims alike were awaiting the imminent arrival of a Divine Messenger. Beginning in 1844, the Báb’s message, which included then-controversial ideas like the oneness of major religions and the empowerment of women, spread like wildfire across the region amidst this religious climate.

However, His groundbreaking new message presented a threat to religious and political leaders of the time, resulting in relentless persecution of the Báb and His followers. The Báb’s message ultimately triumphed with a growing number of faithful; today, the Bahá’í religion is practiced throughout the world by over five million people.

Combining dramatic reenactments with interviews of renowned historians, religious scholars and Bahá’í Faith experts, The Gate: Dawn of the Bahá’í Faith celebrates the brief, exciting life of a prophet and the indelible impact His message continues to have on the world today.

The Caring Group

in BCWC News / Blog / News / Programs

Do you know someone in the community who is having health issues? Someone who is facing some other sort of difficulty and would appreciate hearing from the Baha’i community in the form of a card or a call? We now have a process in place to provide contact with those of us who might welcome a caring gesture from the community as a whole. A Caring Group has been established to provide this service. Although there is often general information available in the community, we are encouraging those who know of Baha’is who would be pleased to receive a caring gesture from the group to please share this knowledge with their Local Spiritual Assembly or with an established contact from their group, who will pass it on to the Caring Group. As this is a new process, we are hoping to expand it gradually, and to do our best to insure no one is omitted. Thank you for participating in what we hope will be another way to add unity to our community. If you have questions or concerns, please contact bcwccaringgroup@gmail.com.

Me, the “Other”: A documentary film about diversity and co-existing

in Blog / Light of Unity Festival / News / Press Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

In these exceptional times, we are given the task to turn challenges into opportunities which would positively impact our lives and harmoniously shift the balance of our world.

Me, the “Other” is a documentary film about a group of students living in Washtenaw County in Southeast Michigan with diverse backgrounds (ethnic, racial, religious, gender, age, socio-economic, sexual orientation, disease). The cast includes an African-American athletic coach, a Taiwanese gymnast, a Pakistani student leader, a transgendered 66 year-old woman, an American-Peruvian-Japanese romance, a bisexual Republican, and a Mexican student on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. Through their struggles and accomplishments, we find ourselves in each of them.

Light of Unity Festival: Celebrating the 200th Birthday of Bahá’u’lláh

in Blog / Events / Light of Unity Festival / News

Over 5 million Bahá’ís around the world are preparing for the bicentenary celebrations of the births of Bahá’u’lláh and the Báb. Communities are planning local festivities designed to share and exemplify Bahá’u’lláh’s global message of world unity — and all Bahá’ís are encouraged to reach out to their friends and circles with invitations to join in the celebrations.

In a letter dated May 18, 2016 from the Universal House of Justice:

“These Holy Days should be viewed as special opportunities for the friends to reach out to the widest possible cross-section of society and to all those with whom they share a connection—whether through a family tie or common interest, an occupation or field of study, neighbourly relations or merely chance acquaintance—so that all may rejoice in the appearance, exactly two hundred years before, of One Who was to be the Bearer of a new Message for humankind.”

This year the Festival includes the of Birth of the Báb which will be celebrated on Saturday, October 21st, and culminates with the celebration of 200th Birthday of Bahá’u’lláh on the following day, Sunday, October 22nd. Here in Washtenaw County, planning for the Light of Unity Festival is underway and local events and activities will be announced when finalized. If you are interested in participating, please contact us.

For notifications regarding Light of Unity Festival (and other Baha’i) events, please sign up to receive the monthly Bahá’í Center of Washtenaw County email newsletter here.