Video message identifies key concepts for bicentenary plans

The video message below, from the National Spiritual Assembly, conveys three key concepts concerning our involvement in the bicentenary, particularly for the remaining weeks leading up to the end of October.

The highlighted concepts are:

1. Befittingly honour the Báb

That “every community, every household, every heart” celebrate this occasion, and that “efforts to befittingly honour the Báb … succeed in advancing the Cause He foretold”, should be the aim of the three protagonists of the Plan the world over.

2. Conversations with others

The conversations surrounding the upcoming celebrations, involving the widest possible cross-section of society, will be an extension of the conversations before and after the first bicentenary about the Blessed Beauty and His Mission, centring on the Twin Manifestations “Whose Birthdays are ‘accounted as one in the sight of God’” and recalling the Báb as the Herald of Bahá’u’lláh and the portal to His Revelation, as He signalled in the very title He chose for Himself.

When carrying out our conversations with others, we will bear in mind that the sequence of institute courses is designed to connect souls to the Twin Manifestations and assist the participants to translate the Teachings of Bahá’u’lláh into action; that its use can assist communities to enhance their capacity to engage a population in meaningful conversations and invite others to become part of the community-building process.

3. Community building

The number of people participating in celebrations, and the subsequent impact of the events on community life, depend largely on the experience gained and the capacity developed in community building. The friends will need to make every effort to ensure that the celebrations in October 2019 will strengthen every activity and lead to the emergence of many more as every individual is assisted to take his or her next steps on the path of service.

The spirit of heroism of the Báb and His followers will be a source of inspiration for the friends to arise and intensify efforts to have conversations in which they invite a growing number of people to be involved in the process of community building.

In the cycle before the bicentenary, every community is thinking about how to “attract the largest possible number” of souls to the community-building process and engage them in preparing for and celebrating the bicentenary.