wfn.org | BWNS -- Devotional meeting pulses with energy

[Baha'i World News Service <bwns@bwc.org>]

Baha'i World News Service
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Devotional meeting pulses with energy
NEW YORK, 28 November 2005 (BWNS) -- The sounds of African drums and
soaring voices burst out over a normally quiet lower Manhattan Street
lined with antique dealers and four-story apartment buildings.

It was a recent Sunday morning and the pulsating energy was coming from
the New York Baha'i Center where a drum circle was being led by African
American men, with people from a variety of ethnic backgrounds joining
in.

The gathering was a striking example of a new and growing feature of
Baha'i community life: community devotional meetings designed to engage
the world at large through uplifting and inspirational prayers, music,
readings and more.

In this case, the monthly event also offers a striking antidote to the
sometimes subtle, sometimes overt sense of racial segregation that still
pervades American society.

Called the "Hush Harbor Devotional," the gathering takes its name from
meetings held by slaves who hung wet fabric on tree branches to stop
their voices carrying while they were praying and planning escapes.

"The whole idea is to extend that idea of a safe place, not just for
black folks but for everyone that comes to the devotional," said Lloyd
Lawrence, one of the organizers.

"I think we free people up from their own cultural limitations," Mr.
Lawrence said.

William Roberts, a keen observer of the progress of the devotional, said
many newcomers are surprised that they feel so comfortable in an
environment that is led by African-American men.

"In the larger society, people are made to fear black men," said Dr.
Roberts, who himself is African-American and serves as a member of the
National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of the United States.

Dr. Roberts said that at the Hush Harbor Devotional gathering people are
helped to feel at ease, to feel welcomed and embraced.

"Many people want to have a conversation with God, feel the spirit of
the Almighty," said Dr. Roberts.

"They want to have their souls quickened with that spirit -- and coming
into this kind of devotional allows them to feel that spirit."

Participants are welcomed with refreshments and invited to stay for
lunch. In addition to drumming and singing, the Hush Harbor Devotional
also features the chanting of prayers in a wide range of languages,
including Arabic, Persian, Mandarin, and Spanish.

The Hush Harbor Devotional began about three years ago. The idea came
from participation by New York City Baha'is in the Black Men's
Gathering, which are regular events that were founded by Dr. Roberts in
1987 and have continued ever since.

The aim of that gathering, which has proved an ongoing success, is to
change the conditions of men of African descent and help them to achieve
spiritual transformation.

The use of the drumming combined with prayers began with the Black Men's
Gathering and became the model for the Hush Harbor Devotional.

"The purpose [of Hush Harbor] is not to perform, it's not to read
perfectly, but to pray," said Dr. Roberts.

Kenneth Ray, who organizes the event with Mr. Lawrence, said he thought
it had helped the community to understand its wonderful diversity.

"When we first started, Hush Harbor was mainly attracting the
African-American community, but now it is inclusive of people from all
backgrounds, Baha'is and non-Baha'is alike," Mr. Ray said.

Mr. Ray said the question the organizers attempt to answer is this: "How
many different ways can we present the [Baha'i] Faith to as many
different backgrounds?"

One of those attracted is P.J. Sanchez, a law student, who learned of
the Baha'i Faith initially from her mother and then read some Baha'i
material online. She came to realize the New York City Baha'i Center was
within walking distance from her apartment, and so she decided to attend
a devotional gathering there.

"I was struck with the inclusive nature of the worship," Ms. Sanchez
said.

"I felt as if everyone was actively participating, rather than just
listening or responding by rote as I have felt in other forms of
worship," she said.

"The lack of clergy and the lack of a script or plan -- the lack of
ritual, I suppose -- for the devotional made the worship feel much more
self-directed and organic, as if it was springing up naturally from the
hearts and minds of the participants."

Ms. Sanchez said she was also struck by the diversity of the
participants. "There seemed to be a much wider variety of race and class
than I have usually found in various religions, and everyone mingled
together without the formation of cliques," she said.

"Everyone participated in the devotional in a way that felt comfortable
to them -- shouting out or not, moving around or not, praying in English
or in Spanish -- and this was respected by all of the other
participants.

"The musical nature of the Hush Harbor Devotional seemed very unique to
me.  Instead of music being an interlude from prayer, it was the mode of
prayer itself. I found this to only enhance the words being said."

Ms. Sanchez attended a discussion about the Baha'i Faith that followed
the lunch and was able to ask about the various forms of worship in the
Faith. She says she is interested in learning more.

One of the core activities of Baha'is around the world is to increase
the efforts made to host devotional gatherings and to enhance their
quality.

The Hush Harbor Devotional is now seen as an example of how to reflect
on positive aspects of one's culture and to bring that to the rest of
the Baha'i community and the population at large.

"Really what's happened is we've witnessed men who have been
marginalized in their community step forward," Dr. Roberts said.

"It allowed them to know that being a Baha'i does not mean you have to
put aside your culture, your way of doing things," he said.

Mr. Ray said that the devotional provides many with a different
understanding of diversity and worship.

"It's a way for everyone to express his or her spirit -- it's about the
full participation of everyone in the room," he said.

"We seek to touch people's hearts. If people's hearts are affected then
Hush Harbor is serving its purpose."

(Report by Stephanie Vaccaro.)

(Photographs by Mike Relph.)