The community building process under way in the region is a part of a global endeavor to raise capacity at the neighborhood level to apply the Teachings of Baha'u'llah in action. The Universal House of Justice, in its 153 Ridván message, states,
A community is of course more than the sum of its membership; it is a comprehensive unit of civilization composed of individuals, families and institutions that are originators and encouragers of systems, agencies and organizations working together with a common purpose for the welfare of people both within and beyond its own borders; it is a composition of diverse, interacting participants that are achieving unity in an unremitting quest for spiritual and social progress. Since Bahá’ís everywhere are at the very beginning of the process of community building, enormous effort must be devoted to the tasks at hand. Universal House of Justice, Ridvan 153
The Junior Youth Spiritual Empowerment Program
The Junior Youth Spiritual Empowerment Program channels the surging energies of junior youth. It is open to young people ages 12-14 and assists them to navigate through a crucial stage in their lives.
Children's Classes
Among the range of questions now before every training institute one stands out as particularly pressing: how to mobilize sufficient numbers of children’s class teachers for successive grades and, by extension, tutors who can form groups to study the requisite courses. The units that comprise the three books currently available contain both materials for study by teachers and lessons for children, allowing institutes to establish without delay the first three grades of a six-year programme.
Besides the systematic training of teachers for successive grades, institutes will need to learn about the formation of classes for distinct age groups in villages and neighbourhoods; the provision of teachers for various classes; the retention of students year after year, grade after grade; and the continued progress of children from a wide variety of households and backgrounds–in short, the establishment of an expanding, sustainable system for child education that will keep pace with both the growing concern among parents for their youngsters to develop sound moral structures and the rise in human resources in the community. -Universal House of Justice, Dec 12, 2011
If you would like learn more about starting a children’s class in your area and/or serving as a children’s class teacher, please contact: board@rtise.org.
Study Circles
Circles of study, open to all, enable people of varied backgrounds to advance on equal footing and explore the application of the Bahá’í teachings to their individual and collective lives. Bahá’í study circles provide participants with the knowledge, spiritual insights and skills to enable them to contribute to the betterment of society, starting with their own neighborhood. This is done through systematic study of a sequence of courses based on the Bahá’í Writings using the courses of the Ruhi Institute.
If you are interested in learning more about study circles or participating, please contact: board@rtise.org.
Devotional Gatherings
Devotional meetings are occasions where any soul may enter, inhale the heavenly fragrances, experience the sweetness of prayer, meditate upon the Creative Word, be transported on the wings of the spirit, and commune with the one Beloved. Feelings of fellowship and common cause are generated, particularly in the spiritually heightened conversations that naturally occur at such times and through which the “city of the human heart” may be opened. By convening a gathering for worship at which adults and children of any background are welcome, the spirit of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár is evoked in any locality. -December 29, 2015 Letter of the Universal House of Justice to the Conference of the Continental Boards of Counsellors
Course Registration
We are happy you are interested in participating in training to support others in their education and service – whether they are children, junior youth, youth or adults! Please click on the appropriate link below to register for any of the following study circles:
Book 3: Teaching Children’s Classes
Book 5: Releasing the Power of Junior Youth
Book 7: Walking Together on a Path of Service
For other courses, please contact: board@rtise.org.