© The Local Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Bournemouth and Poole 2021
Dorset
Baha’is
Local Dorset activities
If the learned and worldly-
wise men of this age were to
allow mankind to inhale the
fragrance of fellowship and
love, every understanding
heart would apprehend the
meaning of true liberty, and
discover the secret of
undisturbed peace and
absolute composure.
Baha’u’llah
Our Community Faith walks
We joined up with our friends in the Solent community to enjoy short family oriented walks. The New Forest and the Solent coastline providing many opportunities to get out in the fresh air. These have continued every other month or so and have been well received.A community visit to London
Our community enjoyed a minibus visit to London’s New Southgate Cemetery to pay our respects to Shoghi Effendi the beloved Guardian of the Baha’i Faith who passed away in 1957. This spot is regarded by the Bahai’s as a place of pilgrimage; Shoghi Effendi was the great grandson of the Founder of the Baha’i Faith Baha’u’llah and ran the affairs of the faith for over 3 decades. It is a place of prayer and contemplation for Baha’is from all corners of the globe.The Centenary of the passing of Abdu’l Baha
On November 26th 2021 a few local friends visited the Bahá’í tree planted in Holton Lee Nature reserve back in 2012 to commemorate the visit of Abdu’l Baha (the eldest son of Baha’u’llah) to the UK some 100 years before. Storm Arwen was due to batter the UK that day, but for the duration of our visit where we said prayers for peace, the sun came out. Having said our prayers and after enjoying a moment of quiet reflection the friends went for lunch together where we exchanged news. Later that afternoon the storm arrived in all it’s fury and continued throughout much of the night On Sunday 29th November at our regular Zoom devotional all those friends who had been unable to visit the tree celebrated the Holy Day with prayers and music. To celebrate the Anniversary of the passing of Abdu’l Baha a special film was commissioned by The Universal House of Justice (the International body of the Baha’i Faith) that looks at the achievements of His long and distinguished life. The film “Exemplar” can be streamed from the link adjacent.Life during lockdown
The advent of the Covid-19 outbreak in 2020 and the series of 3 National lockdowns had serious consequences for the activities of the local Baha'is. In the event it spurred us onto new avenues of activity and new areas of learning. Like many similar groups, it wasn't long before we had purchased a Zoom account and commenced online meetings both administrative, educational and reflective. We found to our surprise that many remote families and friends previously too far away to travel for a meeting now appeared on Zoom. Our devotional meetings grew in size and provided a basis for reflective worship and pastoral care. We were able to keep an eye on other members of the community who otherwise might be at risk and ensure their well being. Our administration moved online too, even our yearly elections found their way onto Zoom. All the while that Covid 19 restrictions are with us, many friends have requested that the Zoom meetings continue even if some face to face meetings resume. Our educational classes can also continue on Zoom involving friends from throughout our cluster.
The Bahai tree - a visit to commemorate 100 years since the passing of Abdu’l Baha
© The Local Spiritual Assembly of Bournemouth and Poole
Dorset
Baha’is
Local Dorset activities
Our Community Faith walks
We joined up with our friends in the Solent community to enjoy short family oriented walks. The New Forest and the Solent coastline providing many opportunities to get out in the fresh air. These have continued every other month or so and have been well received.A community visit to London
Our community enjoyed a minibus visit to London’s New Southgate Cemetery to pay our respects to Shoghi Effendi the beloved Guardian of the Baha’i Faith who passed away in 1957. This spot is regarded by the Bahai’s as a place of pilgrimage; Shoghi Effendi was the great grandson of the Founder of the Baha’i Faith Baha’u’llah and ran the affairs of the faith for over 3 decades. It is a place of prayer and contemplation for Baha’is from all corners of the globe.The Centenary of the
passing of Abdu’l Baha
On November 26th 2021 a few local friends visited the Bahá’í tree planted in Holton Lee Nature reserve back in 2012 to commemorate the visit of Abdu’l Baha (the eldest son of Baha’u’llah) to the UK some 100 years before. Storm Arwen was due to batter the UK that day, but for the duration of our visit where we said prayers for peace, the sun came out. Having said our prayers and after enjoying a moment of quiet reflection the friends went for lunch together where we exchanged news. Later that afternoon the storm arrived in all it’s fury and continued throughout much of the night On Sunday 29th November at our regular Zoom devotional all those friends who had been unable to visit the tree celebrated the Holy Day with prayers and music. To celebrate the Anniversary of the passing of Abdu’l Baha a special film was commissioned by The Universal House of Justice (the International body of the Baha’i Faith) that looks at the achievements of His long and distinguished life. The film “Exemplar” can be streamed from the link adjacent.Life during lockdown
The advent of the Covid-19 outbreak in 2020 and the series of 3 National lockdowns had serious consequences for the activities of the local Baha'is. In the event it spurred us onto new avenues of activity and new areas of learning. Like many similar groups, it wasn't long before we had purchased a Zoom account and commenced online meetings both administrative, educational and reflective. We found to our surprise that many remote families and friends previously too far away to travel for a meeting now appeared on Zoom. Our devotional meetings grew in size and provided a basis for reflective worship and pastoral care. We were able to keep an eye on other members of the community who otherwise might be at risk and ensure their well being. Our administration moved online too, even our yearly elections found their way onto Zoom. All the while that Covid 19 restrictions are with us, many friends have requested that the Zoom meetings continue even if some face to face meetings resume. Our educational classes can also continue on Zoom involving friends from throughout our cluster.
The Bahai tree - a visit to commemorate 100 years since the passing of Abdu’l Baha
© The Local Spiritual Assembly of Bournemouth and Poole
If the learned
and worldly-wise
men of this age
were to allow
mankind to inhale
the fragrance of
fellowship and love,
every understanding
heart would
apprehend the
meaning of true
liberty, and discover
the secret of
undisturbed peace
and absolute
composure.
Baha’u’llah
