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Activities in Thames Valley Bahai Community. Baha'i Faith in the UK Baha'i Religion Spiritual and Material

The plants of Thine orchard . . .

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From the children's classes Dec 2012
Depiction of a prayer.

Drawing plays an important role in bringing alive Bahá’í writings and prayers for youngsters.

This drawing, done by the children who attend the children’s classes held on Sunday mornings by the West Berkshire Bahá’í Community, depicts the prayer: “O God! Educate these children. These children are the plants of Thine orchard, the flowers of Thy meadow, the roses of Thy garden. Let Thy rain fall upon them; let the Sun of Reality shine upon them with Thy love. Let Thy breeze refresh them in order that they may be trained, grow and develop, and appear in the utmost beauty. Thou art the Giver. Thou art the Compassionate.” For this, and more prayers, look at the  Bahá’í Reference Library.

Children’s classes are continuing this winter (2012/2013). The regular classes, held on Sunday mornings in Newbury between 9.30 am and 10.30am, alternate between two age groups – four to seven year olds and eight to 10 year olds.

Myra Erbenova, who leads the children’s classes, said: “These classes are designed to help ensure that children grow strong intellectually, morally and spiritually. Each Sunday we do a variety of activities each connected to a subject which is important to Bahá’ís. So, for example, we will recite and memorise prayers, sing songs and memorise quotations and then maybe hear a story, play a game and do a colouring.”

For more details, email myra@khorassani.com for information.

Celebrating the Birth of Baha’u’llah

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Members of the Thames Valley Bahá’ís joined Bahá’ís around the globe to celebrate the anniversary of the Birth of Baha’u’llah, the founder of the Bahá’í Faith.

Shoghi Effendi was the Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith from 1921 to 1957 until he died. 12 November marks the date in 1817 when Baha’u’llah was born into a noble family in Tehran, the capital of Iran (then called Persia). He is known within the Bahá’í Faith as a Manifestation of God (along with Moses, Abraham, Christ, Muhammad, Krishna and Buddha).

A website featuring photographs to help viewers experience the life of Baha’u’llah is run by the Baha’i International Community to mark the anniversary. Some photographs have not been published before, and many have only had limited distribution. The address of the site is www.bahaullah.org

Thames Valley Community member, Shawn Khorassani, said: “The Birth of Baha’u’llah is a key date for Bahá’ís. Baha’u’llah means ‘Glory of God’. He is the founder of the Baha’i Faith. We joined other Bahá’ís around the globe to celebrate the anniversary of the his Birth.

“Anybody interested in learning more should look at the website – it’s appropriate for a range of audiences, not only Baha’is and those who have a deep interest in the Baha’i Faith, but also people who, from an academic or historical perspective, want to see what kind of photographic documentation exists for such a unique figure as Baha’u’llah.”