“Baha’u’llah states that “the purpose for which mortal men have, from utter nothingness, stepped into the realm of being, is that they may work for the betterment of the world and live together in concord and harmony.”
“Baha’u’llah states that “the purpose for which mortal men have, from utter nothingness, stepped into the realm of being, is that they may work for the betterment of the world and live together in concord and harmony.”
The Rio Grande Valley (RGV) Cluster is at the southern tip of Texas. Relatively isolated from the rest of the United States as well as most of Mexico, it is culturally distinct from both. It has almost 1.4 million inhabitants, over 90% of whom are Hispanic. The RGV offers a friendly, family-oriented approach to life where people tend to greet others warmly and to help strangers in need. The Valley is growing fairly rapidly due to a high birth rate and immigration from across the Mexico border. Many families have members on both sides of the border. A seasonal influx of “Winter Texans” brings tens of thousands of retirees from the Midwest, and the beautiful beaches of nearby South Padre Island attract tourists.
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The provisions of the Universal House of Justice for the Nine Year Plan include broadly:
Two-Fold Moral Purpose
“The Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh is concerned with the transformation of both humanity’s inner life and social environment. … A clear sign that the society-building power of the Cause is being released in a cluster is that efforts are being made by a growing band of its inhabitants, inspired by the teachings of the Faith, to help improve the spiritual character and social conditions of the wider community to which they belong. The contribution made by Bahá’ís is distinguished by its focus on building capacity for service; it is an approach founded on faith in the ability of a population to become the protagonists of their own development.“ (30 December 2021 letter, Universal House of Justice)
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In a recent feast letter, the National Spiritual Assembly has set a challenging goal for the American Bahá’í community: “we ask that every Bahá’í household in the nation undertake the hosting of a regular devotional meeting. The members of the National Spiritual Assembly have pledged to do their part, and we lovingly invite you to join us in achieving this vision.”
Currently 25% of the households in the South Central region are hosting regular devotional meetings. Statistics from the Regional Bahá’í Council show that there are approximately 4,000 Bahá’í households in the region, and that there are currently just over 1,000 regular devotional meetings. We can increase this participation toward 100% through the personal initiatives of Bahá’í families throughout our area.
Significance and Benefits of Devotional Meetings
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The Universal House of Justice at Ridvan of 2022 began a series of global plans that will last a full 25 years, carrying the Cause into the third century of the Baha Era and conclude at Ridvan 2046.
Action was taken immediately to initiate global conferences with over 33 convened here in the South Central Region where the excitement was unprecedented. The conferences were imbued with prayers, fellowship, nourishment, study, consultation on how we can effectively meet the needs of the whole community, and a review of the Faith’s historical past in the film Glimpses of a Hundred Years of Endeavor.
From these conferences also emerged a new unity of vision around the Nine Year Plan. They focused on protagonism and the development of nuclei at the grassroots. They are helping teams of friends read their reality and make plans together. Many people gained a new insight for how we can engage the whole community and our neighborhoods. What is key, we are realizing, is the need for systematic follow up on all the new plans as we move forward.
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Wave 2 Seminar in Harris Cluster Grouping/Louisiana Houston Baha’i Center, October 6 to 9, 2022
These questions are the objects of learning being contemplated at each wave of the institute seminars. On October 6-9, 2022 weekend at the Houston Baha’i Center, about 40 tutors from the Harris Cluster Grouping and Louisiana gathered for the second wave of seminars in an intensive 3-day training.
The goals of the seminar were to increase the quality of the institute and disseminate learning. This was accomplished by studying the contents of the new version of Reflections on the Life of the Spirit, especially the “A Few Thoughts for the Tutor” introduction, and through rich practical experience of applying the themes in the three parts of Book One during home visits in the greater Houston community.
“A culture of regular home visits needs to be strengthened to support the development of true friendship.”
We gathered – some 45 from Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana – for a heart and spirit-filling institute seminar in an intensive five day format. It was August 2022 at the dawning of a new series of Plans mapping our path for the next twenty-five years. Building on the significant advance in the process of entry by troops pursued by the Baha’i world since 1996, the new Plans focus on expressing the society-building power inherent in the Cause in an ever-greater measure. We learned to welcome all comers into an understanding of Baha’u’llah’s vision for community building, social action and participation in the discourses of society.
The seminar kicked off a collective endeavor of tutors throughout the Region to generate experience and learning around the following two questions: