Activities in your LSA

[Darz]

I'm curious to know what each of you personally do in your LSA. What activities and events does your LSA offer? Also, how many people in your LSA participate in the activities and events?

Thanks!

 

[arthra]

Usually the members of the Local Spiritual Assembly are among the most active members of the community and so being pretty active they coordinate Feasts and Hold Day events ....

It's importnat to note though that when one is a Member of the Local Spiritual Assembl;y they can only represent that institution ... that is being an Assembly Member in itself has no special merit beyond that of any Baha'i and this is generally the case for all Baha'is that serve inour administrative bodies from the local to the national and international level. No Baha'i has any conferred station beyond serving as a representative of an institution or maybe as a person appointed by an instution!

The Assembly as an Institution is the basic building block you could say of Baha'i Administration and matters brought before it are confidential. Families will sometimes have problems that will come beforer an Assembly..maybe marital issues and so on. The Assembly is authorized to accept Memembership Applications, see that Baha'i Marriages are conducted and can make recommendations to the National Spiritual Assembly for sanctions when Baha'i laws are violated. They can also make referrals for counseling and medical therapy, etc. as needed. The Assembly also must approve any public teaching or proclamation efforts within it's jurisdiction.

Assemblies also confer with the National Spiirtual Assembly as well as Auxiliary Board Members from time to time.

An Assembly consists of nine adult believers that are elected at Ridwan every year and in smaller communities this can mean most of the community could be on the Assembly. My wife and I have served on our local Assembly most of our Baha'i lives.

There are usually four officers elected by the Assembly itself a Chairman, Vice- Chair, Secretary and Treasurer..

 

[Darz]

Thanks for the good info Art. It was all very interesting to read.

Unfortunately, I actually made a mistake in terminology; I was trying to ask what activities and events happen in your local Baha'i community.

 

[arthra]

Well the Assembly holds regular meetings and plans activities pretty much like I described above. We have regular NIneteen Day Feasts and Holy Days. Once in awhile we'll have classes, devotional meetings and childrens' classes.

- Art

 

[Darz]

Do you ever do anything with the outside community?

 

[Steinninn]

Thanks for the good info Art. It was all very interesting to read.

Unfortunately, I actually made a mistake in terminology; I was trying to ask what activities and events happen in your local Baha'i community.

We have a small house in midtown Reykjavík, I go there very thursday for three hours to go trough the Ruih book. Now there is an education week of sorts, where we try to expand the Baha'i community in Iceland with prair and meetings. Every year there is a summerschool. We also have a slice of land in the westfjords were we go plant trees. Every 19 days we have the 19day festival. It goes on and on Two weeks ago two Icelandic Baha'is went to visit Ólafur Ragnar, our president, and gave him two books to celebrait the 100 years since the bahai faith was mentioned on print in Icelandic.

 

[arthra]

Do you ever do anything with the outside community?

Well by outside community I'm assuming you mean with say other non-Baha'i religious or social groups.. Baha'is are represented in the Inter-faith Council and so we often participate in some of their projects. Baha'is have also served in non-partisan commissions such as the Human Relations Commission in our City and we were asked to send a representative to a Regional Conference Meeting of a fairly large Christian denomination. But this varies of course with the community... More established Baha'i communities will have social developement projects that are of service to others. I've know Baha'is who are active in the United Nations Association and the Esperanto League as well.

- Art

 

[PeruanoKiwi]

Currently Doing Book 5 on thursdays book 1 On mondays I have devotional meetings on tuesdays we usually have about 15-20 people show up. Its all very touching. Currently helping out with a junior youth class on fridays .... Its all very busy sometimes I feel like I'm not doing enough

Hasta Luego.
PK

 

[Steinninn]

Currently Doing Book 5 on thursdays book 1 On mondays I have devotional meetings on tuesdays we usually have about 15-20 people show up. Its all very touching. Currently helping out with a junior youth class on fridays .... Its all very busy sometimes I feel like I'm not doing enough

Hasta Luego.
PK

You are doing more then most people


And wecome to the Bahá'í forum :balloons:

 

[PeruanoKiwi]

Steinninn thanks for the welcome I see you have recently become bahai in the last year... Out of curiosity what religion were you before?

Adios
PK.

 

[Steinninn]

Steinninn thanks for the welcome I see you have recently become bahai in the last year... Out of curiosity what religion were you before?

Adios
PK.

I was christian just a few weeks ago All my friends are christian, all my family is christian (well, some are athiest). But most of them were very tolerant about it. I became a bahá'í 17 okt.

UPDATE: What about you, what's your story?

 

[PeruanoKiwi]

Oh I was born into a Bahai Family 3rd Generation Bahai. I've recently just awoken from a spirutal vacation that I was on... I had a detour in my journey but I'm back on track now

Good to see new believers comming into the Faith !

 

[BruceDLimber]

Hi!

The Assembly also must approve any public teaching or proclamation efforts within its jurisdiction.

This is somewhat misleading: assemblies typically approve (and sometimes themselves plan) major events, but individual Baha'is are always free to teach the Faith, to hold firesides (informational meetings about the Faith) in their homes, etc.! There's no need to await anyone else's approval before doing these things.

And to answer another question, my Baha'i community (Rockville, MD) is active in both our local interfaith organization and the larger metro-DC one. And we hold weekly deepenings (study classes), Ruhi classes (more formal study classes with a specific curriculum), children's classes, and regular devotional meetings.

Best regards,

Bruce

 

[Cosmos]

It's importnat to note though that when one is a Member of the Local Spiritual Assembl;y they can only represent that institution ... that is being an Assembly Member in itself has no special merit beyond that of any Baha'i and this is generally the case for all Baha'is that serve inour administrative bodies from the local to the national and international level. No Baha'i has any conferred station beyond serving as a representative of an institution or maybe as a person appointed by an instution!

Artha, then please explain to me why my Bremerton Local Spiritual Assembly members, when invited to have an evening discussion with them at a member's home, expressly refer to themselves as the "spiritual channel" (the very words) of the Baha'i community? Indeed, not only is this not the reality of the position held by an LSA member, but it gave my fiance and I a grave feeling, further lending us credence to stay firm with the (true) Rocky Mountain House of Justice leadership. I have also read many reports from Baha'is and former Baha'is enumerating on similar, and even more hostile, interactions with their local Spiritual Assemblies, particularly in areas such as Los Angeles. Also, something else that needs explaining is if Spiritual Assembly members do not have any other positions or titles outside of administrative affairs--then why are even UHJ representatives openly given spiritual titles for the community relative to their social position? ...I could not make this up! :sorry1:

In the meantime, we have finished Ruhi Book Courses 1 & 4, and now ending a quarter of core activities, mainly our adult/children classes that has shown varied results and Sunday devotionals. My direct impression ever since nationwide cluster meetings during Ridvan (IPG meeting) was that there is somewhat of a crisis within the American Baha'i Community in that there has been many drawbacks in Baha'i activities with the non-Baha'i communities. For example, here in Washington State, I am told that there is almost no Baha'i activities at all, one of the main problems being that Baha'is are relying on public community centers (Baha'i Community Centers) in such a way that it is having a stagnant effect on our ability to reach others. For a while now my fiance and I have been serving as a temporary hub for the Bremerton community itself--which shocked us!--and that we are among the youngest in not only our entire cluster but the entire county! Another serious drawback is our whole Spring/Ridvan quarter approach of "door-to-door" (which we are not to rely upon) strategy of spreading our message, which I did participate in, however. Befriending non-Baha'i communities is something that can only be done through a whole-hearted commitment to the task of devoting time to others outside of propagating our classes and curriculum. Please also find my comment thread on the pros and cons of Ruhi Courses, as the seven (soon eight) book courses are designed similar to initiatory phases of mystic traditions that if not checked in some aspects of its "systematization" or evolves from its 1980's implementation (maybe 1960's origins) possibly will hinder progress within our own community by stifling diversity of cultural methodology in learning and passing on information. Thus far we are optimistic in our endeavors within the community and wish every friend out there blessings from our Lord and guidance from the Greatest Luminary in the Abha' Kingdom!