Over the last six months, there has been a steady rise in the number of devotional gatherings, increased participation and enhanced quality as friends in the Washington, DC cluster are beginning to see their acts of collective worship as the seeds of a future House of Worship. These devotional gatherings are taking place across different settings – college campuses, homes, and the Baha’i center – and engage a variety of populations.
Here is a report on a July 2014 gathering of friends who hold regular devotional spaces as well as others who are interested in this path of service.
This gathering brought individuals together to discuss what is being learned about enhancing the quality and growing the number of devotional gatherings in DC. Twenty-six people attended including the hosts of 10 of the 15 devotional gatherings regularly held in the cluster. Those in attendance reflected on part of a talk given by Mr. Paul Lample, Universal House of Justice member, on community building. They also discussed the importance of creating many devotional spaces throughout the cluster and enhancing the devotional quality of community building activities.
Some reflection highlights
- The purpose of a Baha’i House of Worship is to be a place of worship for all. There is a need to open up devotional spaces, large and small, all over the cluster.
- The aim of a devotional gathering is to create an environment where people are exposed to the Word of God, and in that atmosphere can reflect together about individual spiritual growth and the needs of the community.
- A devotional gathering is an instrument to bring souls together, not just an activity or event. We are seeing this increasingly in DC.
- Our acts collective worship are the seeds of a future House of Worship.
- Studying “Reflections on the Life of the Spirit”, Ruhi Book 1, Unit 2 on prayer has helped some to deepen their understanding of the purpose of these gatherings, encouraged some to start devotionals, and assisted hosts of devotional gatherings to refine their quality.
- One of the participants, a friend of the Faith, talked about the impact of the devotional gatherings in his neighborhood, saying that hearts are touched and his neighborhood is “much better now” because of the work of the Baha’is to open multiple spaces for prayer, fellowship and service.
Ideas for action raised by those present
- We can be creative with the format and content of devotional gatherings. There is no set agenda or ‘ritual’ that has to be followed – let us try many things in our cluster and then get together and reflect on the action we have taken, and see what is happening, how participants are becoming collaborators.
- Hosting can be simple, inviting a few people to pray with you in your home.
- Hosting doesn’t have to be one individual or family. We are seeing teams working together in neighborhoods and learning about how to jointly host devotions.
- Doubling the devotional spaces from 15 to 30 in the cluster is a possible goal for the community. Since January 2014, six new devotional gatherings have been formed. Participants suggested continuing this growth.
- A few new gatherings have started with people helping one another take first steps and helping remove and overcome obstacles. It can be useful to ask, ‘Who could I invite to a devotional? Who could I accompany to start or grow a devotional gathering? What can I do to assist in doubling the number of devotional gatherings over the next three months and keeping both new and existing gatherings regular?”
“At the heart of Bahá’í community life are collective acts of worship, undertaken in diverse settings, “uniting with others in prayer, awakening spiritual susceptibilities, and shaping a pattern of life distinguished for its devotional character”—activities that infuse with spirit all of our services. This implies that life in a typical cluster should be characterized by many regular devotional gatherings, large and small, involving all of the Bahá’ís and many of their friends from the larger community. Whether held at Bahá’í Centers or in neighborhood homes, these can embrace a wide variety of styles and should take place throughout the cluster on as many days of the week as possible.” National Spiritual Assembly, Feast Letter, January 18, 2014