Remembering ‘Abdu’l-Baha’s Visit to Canada 1912-2012

Posted on January 25, 2012 by admin

One hundred years ago, ‘Abdu’l-Baha, the son of Baha’u'llah and head of the Baha’i Faith after his father’s death, visited Montreal, Canada. ‘Abdu’l-Baha gave a number of public talks on a variety of topics and now a new web resource provides the text of all of these talks, as well as all of his talks during his travels in the United States. The site can be found at http://centenary.bahai.us/abdul-baha-in-america.

'Abdu'l-Baha meets with some of the American friends.

One talk was presented to workers and labour organizers. It is said that the talk was organized by Honore Jaxon, one of the first Canadian Baha’is, who was once the secretary of the Metis leader Louis Riel at Batoche, Saskatchewan. Although presented in 1912, it remains relevant today, dealing as it does with the issue of social equality and the sharing of wealth.

 

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Baha’i Marriage Preparation Workshop

Posted on January 11, 2012 by admin

Calling all singles! The Saskatoon Baha’i Community is organizing a marriage preparation workshop for the afternoon of Saturday February 11, to be led by educator and author Heather Cardin. Location and other details to be announced. This is open to any single person who would like to learn more about Baha’i marriage. Mark your calendars.

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Knitting Knights

Posted on January 8, 2012 by admin

Come pray and knit with friends. Bring your prayer books and knitting supplies. If you don’t have any, they will be supplied. If you want to learn how, this is the place. If you already know how, this is the place to knit together.

Starts Thursday January 12, 2012 6:30 pm.
Starts with Potluck Dinner
Place: Call 261-5652 (Lynn) for details.

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Lloyd Axworthy and Allan Rock: “Canadians Can Help Stop the Persecution of Iran’s Baha’is”

Posted on January 8, 2012 by admin

Toronto, Ontario, 5 January 2012 (CBNS) — Two pre-eminent Canadians, Lloyd Axworthy, President of the University of Winnipeg and former Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Allan Rock, President of the University of Ottawa and former Canadian Ambassador to the United Nations and federal cabinet minister, have published an eloquent appeal on behalf of the Baha’is of Iran.

Under the title “Canadians Can Help Stop the Persecution of Iran’s Baha’is”, they write of how “deeply troubled” they are that Baha’is are denied access to university, and express concern that “the brutal regime in Tehran has turned a deaf ear” to the calls to end “systematic persecution of Baha’is”.

Read the full story on the Canadian Bahá’í News Service:
http://www.bahainews.ca/

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Junior Youth Programs

Posted on December 14, 2011 by admin

Junior Youth Programs brings together junior youth (age 12 to 14) from diverse backgrounds in small groups of 5 to 15 members and offers them a setting in which young people can discuss ideas and form a strong moral identity. The basic premise behind the program is the belief that junior youth are capable of thinking deeply about the world and their place within it and that they need an environment that gives them support and encouragement. The program has three interconnected components, described below.

Developing the Power of Expression
The program enables youth to develop their powers of expression – with a focus on critical reasoning, literacy, comprehension and eloquent speech – in order to participate more effectively in the planning, decision-making and development of their communities.

Developing Human Potential
Junior youth groups are accompanied by trained animators to work with materials developed by various organizations around the world designed specifically to develop language skills and the power of expression. Some materials address mathematical concepts and social issues, while others seek to prepare young people to approach the investigation of physical, social and spiritual reality in a scientific manner. Though the moral concepts in the materials are drawn from the Bahá’í teachings, they are not religious in nature, nor do they treat subjects that are specifically Bahá’í. The short stories impart essential moral concepts and build certain attitudes that underlie the decisions and guide the actions of junior youth as they mature into young adults.

Service to the Community
Service is a critical component of the program as the animators help groups analyze the needs of their community and, through consultation, design, carry out and evaluate service projects that help address those needs. Between the ages of 12 to 14, they can support a children’s class teacher and help them in their activities as well they will organize activities for their communities that are important to them, whether it be cleaning their neighborhood, do community gardening, have arts night, visit senior homes, shovel driveways, etc. Service activities are very broad because they are based on the suggestions and interests of the pre-youth in the class. Therefore, these service activities may differ from group to group and from community to community.

For more information on Junior Youth Programs contact the Saskatoon Baha’i Community at:
Phone: (306) 244-5166 or 978-4797
Email: secretariat@saskatoonbahai.org

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The Baha’i Faith

Posted on December 1, 2011 by admin

“Let your vision be world embracing…” – Bahá’u’lláh

Throughout history, God has revealed Himself to humanity through a series of divine Messengers, whose teachings guide and educate us and provide the basis for the advancement of human society. These Messengers have included Abraham, Krishna, Zoroaster, Moses, Buddha, Jesus, and Muhammad. Their religions come from the same Source and are in essence successive chapters of one religion from God.

Bahá’u’lláh, the latest of these Messengers, brought new spiritual and social teachings for our time. His essential message is of unity. He taught the oneness of God, the oneness of the human family, and the oneness of religion.

Bahá’u'lláh said, “The earth is but one country and mankind its citizens,” and that, as foretold in all the sacred scriptures of the past, now is the time for humanity to live in unity.

Founded more than a century and a half ago, the Bahá’í Faith has spread around the globe. Members of the Bahá’í Faith live in more than 100,000 localities and come from nearly every nation, ethnic group, culture, profession, and social or economic background.

Bahá’ís believe the crucial need facing humanity is to find a unifying vision of the nature and purpose of life and of the future of society. Such a vision unfolds in the writings of Bahá’u'lláh.

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Baha’i Devotional Gatherings

Posted on December 1, 2011 by admin

Bahá’ís in Saskatoon and around the world are engaged in local grass-roots experiments in devotional gatherings. Devotion, prayer, meditation, and reflection lie at the heart of spiritual life. Without ritual or dogma, Bahá’ís join with their friends, neighbours and relatives to pray, sometimes in intimate gatherings in homes, sometimes in more public venues, for the purpose of meditating, reading spiritual writings, and worshipping in creative and personally satisfying ways. These devotional gatherings are open to all and are intended to embrace that attitude of prayer and practice of devotion that is universal to all religions.

Prayer and meditation are the focus of Bahá’í devotional gatherings. Without ritual or rite, sometimes more informal, sometimes more formal, these gatherings are journeys taken together to explore the principal ways by which we can learn to commune with the divine. We offer prayers of thanks, ask for mercy, compassion, courage, and resolve, pray for peace and justice on earth, and generally deepen our appreciation of grace and our attitude of detachment, reliance on God, contentment, and submission. Drawing on a variety of religious traditions, with extensive use of the words and tablets of Bahá’u'lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, whose prayers are among the most beautiful in the world, Bahá’í devotional gatherings represent an experiment in universal worship and are open for all to experience.

For more information on Devotional Gatherings contact the Saskatoon Baha’i Community at:
Phone: (306) 244-5166 or 978-4797
Email: secretariat@saskatoonbahai.org

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Baha’i Study Circles

Posted on December 1, 2011 by admin

Small group “study circles” organized by Bahá’ís in Saskatoon and around the world are helping people apply spiritual principles to their lives and communities. This remarkable program in adult and youth education is perhaps the most widespread single educational program in the world.
Anyone is welcome to join one of the study circles. Using cooperative and active participation methods, these study circles aim at self- and community transformation. The small circles use discussions and practical exercises to systematically study those spiritual and moral principles that can be directly applied to improving and transforming the lives of participants and expanding their commitment to and desire for personal and collective change.

Based on Bahá’í principles and universal moral values, study circles aim to improve our lives and make the world a better place.

For more information on Study Circles contact the Saskatoon Baha’i Community at:
Phone: (306) 244-5166 or 978-4797
Email: secretariat@saskatoonbahai.org

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Children’s Classes

Posted on December 1, 2011 by admin

Bahá’í families sponsor regular children’s classes in several neighbourhoods in Saskatoon. Open to all, these classes provide children with spiritual and moral education, stories and friendship, games and art activities, in an environment designed to develop their capacities and interests.

Children are introduced to moral principles as well as the lives of humanity’s foremost spiritual Teachers: Krishna, Zoroaster, Moses, Buddha, Christ, Muhammad, the Báb, and Bahá’u'lláh.

Avoiding a sectarian or rigid approach, the classes aim to awaken in children an understanding and love of those universal spiritual principles and moral teachings that have served to uplift humanity throughout the ages. These teachings, drawn in large part from the Bahá’í writings, convey a love of the arts, the utmost respect for science, and a moderate and wise focus on moral and spiritual education. Bahá’í children’s classes aspire to impart in children a love of humanity, in all its diversity, and a love of knowledge, both material or spiritual.

For Bahá’ís, moral education that focuses on the development of moral capacities in the child is fundamental to human happiness and allows those capacities for genuine and authentic human cooperation and citizenship to emerge in our children.

For more information on Children’s Classes contact the Saskatoon Baha’i Community at:
Phone: (306) 244-5166 or 978-4797
Email: secretariat@saskatoonbahai.org

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