To the believers in the Northeast region for the Feast of Asmá
Dear Friends,
In a recent message, the National Spiritual Assembly asked every Bahá’í in the United States to host an ongoing devotional gathering. Just before that, the Regional Bahá’í Council announced a regional goal of adding 999 more devotional gatherings to the region’s current total by the Day of the Covenant, November 25, 2020. Since then, the friends in clusters throughout the Northeast have been arising to host devotionals in all kinds of spaces, including in their homes with their families or friends, in conjunction with other activities such as Assembly meetings, children’s classes, junior youth groups, and study circles, and in many other creative combinations of places and people. The result is that as of August 15, the region has 1,477 regularly-held devotional gatherings, 441 toward the goal of 999.
The 558 more devotional gatherings needed to win the goal by November will require more Bahá’ís and friends of the Faith who are not currently having devotionals to learn about the benefits of hosting them and be accompanied to get started. Conversations about how devotionals create an uplifting and spiritual atmosphere in our homes and communities can inspire friends to be involved. Experiencing connections to the Word of God and resulting spiritual awareness can stimulate a desire to pray with others. Participants can enjoy stronger, deeper, more loving bonds in families and friends, neighborhoods and communities. Moreover, the Universal House of Justice’s frequent reminders that within the framework for action of the current series of Five Year Plans we can “promote race unity in the context of community building” connects us to devotional gatherings as an activity within that framework that has tremendous capacity for addressing the ills that afflict our society. Surely, devotional gatherings have within them the elements of profound conversation, deep friendship, unity, and love that will help eradicate racial prejudice from the fabric of our nation and will be significant in manifesting in action our desire to promote the acceptance of the principle of the oneness of humanity.
In view of the importance of multiplying devotional gatherings, please consult at this Feast about what can be done to help win the goal. You might start by consulting about the value of devotional gatherings and sharing stories about those that you already have. You might make a list of the devotional gatherings that you currently have in the community. Maybe you can think about ideas for additional spaces that can be used for new devotionals or friends of the Faith that you might invite to have their own. On an individual basis, the friends might make personal contributions by offering to start a devotional gathering or add another to those that they already have. The community members might also consult about how they can work together to assist others to increase the number of devotional gatherings in your area, discussing how the friends might accompany others or making lists of those who can be accompanied. While you do that, please know that the Regional Bahá’í Council hopes that your consultation will be fruitful and lead to action. The Council appreciates the time that you spend consulting and the efforts that result from it.
With much love,
Regional Bahá’í Council of the Northeastern States
Marie McNair, Secretary