“If not now, when?” Kawartha Lakes Reaches the Second Milestone
A group of friends in the Kawartha Lakes cluster have made an incredible discovery: the untapped potential of a good cup of coffee. As we will see, this much-loved yet unlikely protagonist was the catalyst for what is now an expanding nucleus of friends consulting, reflecting, and acting together on a weekly basis. This January, […]
Sharing Prayers and Having Hope in Brant-Haldimand-Norfolk
A vibrant group of souls in the Brant-Haldimand-Norfolk cluster have been sharing prayers and developing an outward looking orientation. This large cluster touches Lake Erie to the south and is connected to both Welland and Hamilton and includes Six Nations of the Grand River and Mississaugas of the Credit First Nations. There are three Assemblies […]
Thousands of Friends Across Ontario Commemorate the Centenary of ʻAbdu’l-Bahá’s Passing
Over the last month, thousands of friends have honoured the beloved Master in this, the Centenary year of His Ascension. The Universal House of Justice has described this time as “a year for profound reflection on the life of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and the strength of the Covenant of which He was the Centre…”[1] In the efflorescence […]
An Assembly in a Learning Mode Spurs Growth at the Grassroots in Hamilton
The Local Spiritual Assembly of Hamilton has been consciously working towards building bonds of love and fellowship in the community and supporting initiatives at the grassroots. In the spirit of learning, the Local Spiritual Assembly reached out to the Toronto Assembly in response to an article published in Bahá’í Canada about advances in their community. […]
An Outpouring of Celebrations for the Twin Holy Days Across Ontario
Friends and neighbours gathered across Ontario to celebrate the Twin Holy birthdays of The Báb and Bahá’u’lláh on November 6th and 7th. The following accounts from six localities in both rural and urban contexts, are offered as inspiration for the plans being made towards the upcoming Centenary celebrations of the passing of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. From Sophie […]
Ice Cream Aisles and Fishing Resorts: Home Visits On the Go
By the end of the first week of their home visit campaign, the Thunder Bay team had already had 40 home visits: “So we kept right on going.”
“I want to feel that too”: Youth in Kitchener Reflect on the Power of Prayer
Written by Emily Glabush A small nucleus of friends in the neighbourhood of Mooregate, Kitchener, have been making efforts to sustain core activities since February 2021. The restrictions of the pandemic, as in many places, resulted in the loss of many connections with friends. In the spring of 2021, after having an in-person teaching campaign […]
26 Prayers Adorned with 26 Flowers of Ontario
In March, a selection of prayers was released in commemoration of the one hundredth anniversary of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s passing, prepared by the Research Department of the Universal House of Justice. Friends across Ontario have been inspired by their beauty, drawing on these newly translated prayers in both private prayer and devotional gatherings. Many of the images […]
Your True Home Isn’t a Physical Place: Prayer and Pioneering
By Margaret Niego I have been a pioneer since I was a youth. I was working at a summer job in Alberta and a Bahá’í couple visiting from the Northwest Territories invited me to pioneer to Hay River, which was later named Nunavut. When I came back to the city 45 years later, Toronto wasn’t […]
“She Elevates my Soul”: Friendship on Georgina Island
Mandana Sabet has been visiting Indigenous communities in Canada and Greenland since she arrived in Canada decades ago. Alongside Bahá’í friends in Newmarket and Georgina, in the York North Cluster, Mandana has been building relationships with families living on the Georgina Island reserve for some time. She recalls a friend calling her to say there […]
Newly-translated Prayers Invigorate the Lennox-Addington Cluster
The 26 prayers of ‘Abdu’l-Baha, recently translated into English to commemorate the centenary of His ascension, inspired a flurry of activity in the large rural cluster of Lennox and Addington. These prayers were released in March of 2021 by the Baha’i World Centre, adding to two other sets of prayers that have been translated over […]
Zooming on Manitoulin Island: The Spirit Island
Written by JP Mayer and Pam Jackson How would you conduct a children’s class without children being present? Ask Ina Swain and Pam Jackson, two friends who live on an island in the Sudbury-Manitoulin cluster. When you live far from children and grandchildren but your heart aches to serve, you get creative. When one door […]
Believing is Seeing: Reflecting on Prayer and Service
“There is no time to lose. There is no room left for vacillation…Such an opportunity is irreplaceable. Let the doubter arise and himself verify the truth of such assertions. To try, to persevere, is to insure ultimate and complete victory.” – Shoghi Effendi [1] By Subrina Bhullar My children’s class participants are almost junior youth […]
“A space for everyone to feel connected”: Drawing on the Power of Prayer in Clusters at the Forefront
In many localities in Ontario, friends are extending the spirit of collective worship to those around them. Those in the Greenboro-Heatherington neighbourhood of Ottawa, which has experienced significant growth over the past year, have seen how the practice component of Ruhi Book 1, Reflections on the Life of the Spirit, sharing a prayer with a […]
Seeking Untapped Potential: An Expanding Nucleus in North York
Sara Louie Daliran came to Canada from Iran 15 years ago. Early in her university education, she married her husband, Reza, who is from a Muslim family. Soon after they were married, the couple began studying the books of the Ruhi Institute, and two years later he enrolled in the Faith. Since that time, and […]
Walking with Hope in Sudbury
Helen and JP Mayer have been having devotional gatherings at their home in Sudbury, Ontario for several years. After pioneering in China for seven years, they draw on their experience of communicating through body language: “It’s amazing what a smile can do. Everybody has the potential to be open-hearted if you approach them very attentively […]
“How could we offer something without leaving our homes?” Dawn Prayers in Stratford
The Oxford-Perth cluster first advanced beyond a couple dozen activities just last year, through holding more frequent institute campaigns every cycle. These regular institute campaigns strengthened a dynamic youth movement and opened pockets in the cluster to children’s classes and junior youth groups, and soon the cluster could see a path towards the vision of […]
The Power of Intergenerational Friendships in Stratford
In the Oxford-Perth cluster, the friends have seen dramatic growth with respect to devotional gatherings over the past few cycles. The spirit of intergenerational accompaniment and friendship is strong in the cluster and is solidified through both a pattern of collective worship, as well as an outward-looking orientation. The passing of Mary Helen Hazen, a […]
“We’re all really like family”: Distinctive Conversations in Cornwall
Accounts from a number of clusters illustrate the way that all activity begins with a “simple strand of love,”[1] and one of the ways in which this love is felt through elevated and distinctive conversations. This thread of love weaves a “pattern of patient and concentrated effort, cycle after cycle, to introduce children, youth, and adults […]
Unity in diversity: brought together through prayer
BELLEVILLE – Regardless of religion, residents of Belleville are finding a communal place to pray at the home of Steve Hayman. Steve, along with his friend, Donald Lucas, have been hosting a devotional in the city for the last few years. Check out their story below told through the eyes of Donald and new participant […]