Waves of Pioneers Preparing in Ontario
With the launch of the Nine Year Plan, Bahá’ís and their collaborators are expanding their vision of growth in a number of ways, including considering how to respond to the needs of their sister communities and responding to the call of the Universal House of Justice, the international governing body of the Bahá’í Community. Periodic […]
Sudbury’s Global Conference: A Mighty Effort Uniting the North
By: Chandyn Bachiu The first global conference in a series of conferences sweeping the province was held in Sudbury in early May. Over 250 people attended, with a handful on the zoom link as well, and art, music, and stories were shared in an atmosphere of friendship and fellowship. The conference was for the grouping […]
Translating Insights from the National Meeting Into Action at the Grassroots
In early February, more than 150 representatives of local, regional and national Bahá’í institutions and agencies gathered at the Toronto Bahá’í Centre to consult on plans to pursue a new phase in the development of the national Bahá’í community. While participants journeyed from as far afield as Nunavut, Vancouver Island and Prince Edward Island to […]
“You Could Feel the Warmth!” Studying New Guidance in Springdale, Brampton
The team in Springdale, Brampton came together the day the December 30th message from the Universal House of Justice was shared. One friend serving in the neighbourhood describes their experience: “I’ve seen the strengthening connection between the team of tutors here and the House of Justice. There isn’t a hesitancy to come together to study […]
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 […]
A Vibrant Festival in the Victoria Hills Neighbourhood Kick-starts Fall Activities
Written by Maryam Ahrari, Emily Glabush & Núr Elmasri Summer has come and gone in a flurry, and we are not only reflecting on our learnings but sustaining a trail of neighbourhood activities which have continued into the fall here in Victoria Hills, Kitchener. One event that contributed greatly to the energy and spirit of […]
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.”
Having Conversations with Families in Bayview Mews
A group of families living in the Bayview Mews neighbourhood of Toronto, near Sheppard and Bayview, have been learning for the last 6 years about working with families. In that time, they have begun a children’s class which is now on the precipice of having four concurrent grade levels. For several years, the team has […]
Fostering True and Lasting Friendships in Kipps Lane
Written by Carmelia Taheri & Emma Persaud Stepping into London’s Kipps Lane neighbourhood in the evenings, any onlooker can see youth coaching volleyball, children running around in the park accompanied by their parents, and junior youth playing basketball with their animators. With approximately 30 thousand inhabitants, it’s a lively and vibrant community. The first community-building […]
“I joined because you knocked on my door!” Reflections on Youth Service
Mena and Jonaya are both 17 and have been serving in the Chester Le pocket in the Upper Don Mills neighbourhood of Toronto for the past six years. They shared the following reflections on their service this summer, the conversations it has led to in their respective families, the way their understanding of their neighbourhood […]
A team of Four Arises to Serve Full Time in Sudbury
Amidst the rising energy across Ontario at the outset of this one year plan, a team of collaborators in Sudbury, the reservoir cluster for the vast subregion of northern Ontario, have arisen to offer a dedicated period of service over the coming year. Each of these souls thoughtfully considered the needs for growth, what it […]
The Camel Stopped Where It Was Meant To: A World Traveller Pioneers to Brockville
“For a while, it was forbidden to travel to Brockville because of COVID restrictions. It’s very new for me this concept of pioneering, of expansion, the phases… But now, the border is open and everything seems to be moving in that direction.” Jules Dourson was introduced to the teachings of the Faith three years ago […]
“I can give this year to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá!” Dedicated Service in Thunder Bay
Written by Carolyne Dowdell Our family moved to Thunder Bay in 1987 with the desire to serve and a love for Northern Ontario. I retired about three years ago now and I’ve been doing whatever I can to serve. I’ve realized that this, the Faith, is my passion. Over the course of the pandemic, the […]
The Institute Inspires Expanding Conversations in Upper Don Mills
The Upper Don Mills neighbourhood, along Don Mills Rd and Finch Ave in Toronto, has been home to neighbourhood activities since 2006, during the first institute campaigns in Toronto. The work has concentrated in four smaller pockets since then, and as the process of growth strengthens, new pockets along these streets have opened to the […]
“I hope you don’t think this was easy!”: Adventures in Sharing Learning
seeing the way that a “development in culture finds expression in the quality of their interactions.”
“We became a food hub”: The power of collaboration in Vaughan
Sunder Singh grew up in India. When she was 14, she met three fashionable Persian women in the marketplace. They were so kind and friendly that she invited them to her home. For the rest of her life, she remembered this encounter. “The gentleness about them stayed with me,” she says. She also remembered the […]
Navigating Crisis and Victory: Studying Book 4 in Rowntree
The isolation caused by the pandemic can lead to feelings of frustration, even despair, among youth. In Rowntree, a neighbourhood in the northwest part of Toronto, one youth found resolve by recognizing a confirmation from Baha’u’llah. Rowntree was opened up with the junior youth spiritual empowerment program in 2012 when some 80 junior youth registered […]
“They’re a Group of Youth at the Vanguard”: Working with Groups in Greenboro
In Ontario, several centres of intense activity have been making incredible strides towards their goals, witnessing the “swelling tide, whereby the capacity, confidence and accumulated experience of most communities are rising.” [1] Many friends and teams across the region are engaged in setting audacious plans for the summer. In the Greenboro-Heatherington neighbourhood of Ottawa, one […]
Service Week in St. James Town
In the fall of 2020, the team in Toronto’s densely-populated neighbourhood of St. James Town was thinking about how their efforts to draw new youth into the community-building process could continue. Winter was looming, and restrictions around the pandemic were likely to increase. They were conscious of the need to weave together a pattern of […]
Touching the Hearts Through Service and Artmaking in Ruddington
The Ruddington Drive neighbourhood is comprised of seven apartment buildings with a population of about 3,200 people in the North West of Toronto. Newcomers from China, Iran, Hong Kong and South Korea make up close to 60% of the population and almost 30% of the population are young people. Since 2014, the expanding nucleus of […]
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 […]
Bringing our Questions to Families: Collective problem-solving around Children’s Classes and Junior Youth Groups
In both the Springdale neighbourhood of Brampton and the St. James Town neighbourhood of Toronto, youth from the local population who have graduated from children’s classes and the junior youth program are now tutoring, animating, teaching children’s classes, and beginning to coordinate activities. In both neighbourhoods, the expanding nuclei of friends holding activities are turning […]
“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 […]
A Reflection on Pioneering: Delivering the Message
Be thou a summoner to love, and be thou kind to all the human race. Love thou the children of men and share in their sorrows. Be thou of those who foster peace. Offer thy friendship, be worthy of trust… Loose thy tongue and teach, and let thy face be bright with the fire of […]
Malika’s Magical Mask: Brampton Collaborators Publish a Children’s Book
In Springdale, a neighbourhood in Brampton, the community of friends serving and praying together has grown significantly and stirrings of social action have become apparent. The process of growth began in the Springdale neighbourhood of Brampton in 2011. In the years since then, numerous cohorts of young people have graduated from the junior youth program […]
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 […]
Deciding to Pioneer: “Our role is to walk the path of service with our friends”
By Sonya Appadoo Our desire to homefront pioneer was first sparked when we studied the 29 Dec. 2015 message from the Universal House of Justice with a group of friends in London, Ont., soon after it was released. Helping to raise “the number of clusters where a programme of growth has become intensive to 5,000 […]
“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 […]
“A True Rallying Point”: A New Neighbourhood Centre in Sudbury
In early November 2020, through support from the region, the friends in Sudbury were able to lease a neighbourhood centre, at the exact midpoint between the Flour Mill and Louis Street focus neighbourhoods, just a kilometer apart. Having their own space became a necessity after the summer and fall cycles of intense activity when, despite […]
McQuesten’s first neighbourhood Ridvan celebration is a success
By Mona Rahimpour HAMILTON: The McQuesten neighbourhood in Hamilton recently had its first Ridván gathering. Invitations were printed, and over a two week period the team made visits to invite the families of children, junior youth and youth who had been involved with the institute programs. While the group was unsure what kind of response […]