wfn.org | Baha'i news: Conference series reaches half-way point with 40,000 participants

[Sally Weeks <sweeks@bwc.org>]

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Baha'i conference series reaches half-way point with 40,000 participants

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, 31 December (BWNS) - A series of 41 conferences is  bringing together unprecedented numbers of Baha'is in country after country , with more than 40,000 people having participated so far.

The 18-week series reached the half-way point last weekend with a gathering  in Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia. Previous weekends have seen as m any as four simultaneous conferences, in cities from Almaty to Yaounde.

The conferences began on 1 November and conclude on 1 March.

The events - with their focus on providing an opportunity for reflection on  achievements to date and the work ahead - have been described as a turning  point for the participants.

"For many individuals, it has been a life-changing opportunity," said one B aha'i who as an appointed counselor has attended several of the gatherings.  "It has helped them gain a clearer vision about their life, their identity  as a Baha'i, and their identity as a Baha'i community."

Around the world, members of the Baha'i Faith are involved in four core act ivities at the neighborhood level - devotional meetings, study circles, chi ldren's classes, and activities for young adolescents. One person has descr ibed the goal of the activities as "spiritual transformation" brought about  by "praying together, studying together, educating children, and empowerin g junior youth."

Praveen Mallik of India, who provided assistance at the conferences in New  Delhi and Kolkata, said the events indeed have offered a better perspective  of what is being accomplished at the local level.

"These conferences are really an eye-opener for all of us," he said. "They  provided us the opportunity to realize the strength of the process of commu nity-building. People sensed the process of transformation of society."

Many of the conference participants have talked about the Baha'i belief in  the unity of the human race and how that teaching has been reflected in the  gatherings.

"The conference illustrated the uniting power of the Baha'i Faith," said Eh san Hemmat of the Dominican Republic, who attended the conference in Quito,  Ecuador. "People of different nationalities and cultures got together in a n atmosphere of love, joy, unity of vision, and unity of thought, and they  left the conference more united in action."

One feature of the conferences is workshops for discussing plans to promote  Baha'i core activities in specific communities.

"We already are witnessing the effect of the conference in an acceleration  in the number of activities," Mr. Hemmat said a mere five weeks after the g athering in Quito.

Crystal Shoaie of Bolivia said similar reports have come in after conferenc es in Antofagasta, Chile, and Sao Paulo. "We are hearing case after case of  individuals and groups that are already carrying out the plans and commitm ents made at a conference," she said.

Another feature of the conferences is the connection with the Universal Hou se of Justice, the head of the Baha'i Faith which on 20 October invited all  Baha'is to attend a gathering in their area.

In that respect, Mr. Hemmat called the Quito event "a channel of inspiratio n."

"You could feel that you were honored by the Universal House of Justice to  be invited to the conference," he said. "You could feel the spirit of the H oly Land touching the hearts of participants. Some of the people were walki ng around with tears in their eyes."

The same thing happened in India, Mr. Mallik said. "Every believer received  a loving personal invitation from the House of Justice," he said, and peop le did their very best to respond - with "maximum material and physical sac rifice."

To read the story with accompanying photographs, go to: http://news.bahai.o rg/story/685<http://serv04.news.bahai.org/story/685