© The Local Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Bournemouth and Poole 2021
Local Dorset activities
If the learned and worldly-
wise men of this age were to
allow mankind to inhale the
fragrance of fellowship and
love, every understanding
heart would apprehend the
meaning of true liberty, and
discover the secret of
undisturbed peace and
absolute composure.
Baha’u’llah
The Centenary of the passing of Abdu’l Baha
On November 26th 2021 a few local friends visited the
Bahá’í tree planted in Holton Lee Nature reserve back in
2012 to commemorate the visit of Abdu’l Baha (the eldest
son of Baha’u’llah) to the UK some 100 years before. Storm
Arwen was due to batter the UK that day, but for the
duration of our visit where we said prayers for peace, the
sun came out. Having said our prayers and after enjoying a
moment of quiet reflection the friends went for lunch
together where we exchanged news. Later that afternoon
the storm arrived in all it’s fury and continued throughout
much of the night
On Sunday 29th November at our regular Zoom devotional all
those friends who had been unable to visit the tree
celebrated the Holy Day with prayers and music.
To celebrate the Anniversary of the passing of Abdu’l Baha a
special film was commissioned by The Universal House of
Justice (the International body of the Baha’i Faith) that
looks at the achievements of His long and distinguished life.
The film “Examplar” can be streamed from the link
adjacent.
Life during lockdown
The advent of the Covid-19 outbreak in 2020 and the series
of 3 (current at time of writing) national lockdowns had
serious consequences for the activities of the local Baha'is.
In the event it spurred us onto new avenues of activity and
new areas of learning. Like many similar groups, it wasn't
long before we had purchased a Zoom account and
commenced online meetings both administrative,
educational and reflective.
We found to our surprise that many remote families and
friends previously too far away to travel for a meeting now
appeared on Zoom. Our devotional meetings grew in size
and provided a basis for reflective worship and pastoral
care. We were able to keep an eye on other members of the
community who otherwise might be at risk and ensure their
well being.
Our administration moved online too, even our yearly
elections found their way onto Zoom. All the while that
Covid 19 restrictions are with us, many friends have
requested that the Zoom meetings continue even if some
face to face meetings resume. Our educational classes can
also continue on Zoom involving friends from throughout our
cluster.
The Bahai tree - a visit to commemorate 100 years since the passing of Abdu’l Baha
© The Local Spiritual Assembly of Bournemouth and Poole