To the believers in the Northeast region
Dearly loved Friends,
We are living at a time when worldwide deaths from COVID-19 surpass 364,000 with more than 100,000 in our own country, economic hardships worsen, the spiritual disorder of deeply ingrained racial prejudice and systemic injustice deepen divisions and raise fires of anger born of hopelessness, and the political climate is poisoned with negativity, moral bankruptcy, and disunity.
In its May 9, 2020 letter, the Universal House of Justice wrote that “…they (Bahá’í communities) have recognized that the state of the world has made the need to render meaningful service to humanity more urgent.” Given the state of the world, we certainly all want to assist those who need us most.
The House of Justice makes it clear that one form of meaningful service we can offer is to invite people to pray with us. We can think of our family members, friends, neighbors, and people we encounter in our communities as we serve individuals. Perhaps they would benefit from the exquisite beauty of the prayers, inhaling the tranquility that they provide. Maybe they are longing for change or shedding tears of hopelessness or rage, fearful for the future, desperate, or lonely. Many have loved ones who are suffering or have died. In either case, we are offering them a gift when we invite them to commune with the Beloved so that their souls will be uplifted, their hearts gladdened, and their spirits reassured. We can pray with them for an increase in love, justice, and unity. We can pray together for our country and the world, for humanity and those we know.
Our devotional gatherings also provide a service to society. Ponder, for example, the spiritual implications for the multiplication of devotional gatherings in our region. Each new one helps to strengthen a culture of worship within our nine states. With each compared to an individual beacon of light shining across the Northeastern skies, surely the intensification of those lights from every home and the flow of divine assistance resulting from our supplications will set in motion spiritual transformation and acts of service that embody increasing realization of the principle of the oneness of humanity.
Devotional gatherings are something that all can do. They can be as simple as praying with a family member or friend on a regular basis. The National Spiritual Assembly is asking every Bahá’í household to host a regular devotional gathering. The Regional Bahá’í Council is calling for an increase of 999 new ongoing and sustained devotional gatherings, with an emphasis on household devotionals, by the Day of the Covenant. When considering how you will contribute to this focus on devotional gatherings, please think about how having a devotional gathering or even another one will give you an opportunity to render service at a time when service is needed more than ever. Contemplate the considerable benefits to a member of your household or others around you or even to the whole region, and then step forward, ignite another light, and make your contribution to the intensification of the spirit of love, devotion, and unity throughout the Northeast.
With prayers for your well-being and continued service to humanity,
Regional Bahá’í Council of the Northeastern States
Marie McNair, Secretary
Cc Counselor Farah Guchani-Rosenberg
Auxiliary Board members
Regional Training Institute Board