Whānau spaces draw souls into community building

Whānau days, whānau hui and children’s festivals have been generating unity and joy in clusters across the North Island. These spaces can enrich human resource development and enable patterns of community life that draw friends and whānau ever closer to Bahá’u’lláh’s teachings.

More than 10 clusters have been running these activities, starting during the Five Year Plan and continuing into the One Year Plan. They include Auckland, Wellington, Hawkes Bay, Waikato, Wairarapa, Taranaki, Triumph, Coromandel, Eastern Bay of Plenty and Western Bay of Plenty.

Whānau days can be simple and intimate, held in homes of friends in the Bahá’í community, or bigger events held at a school or marae. They can be an opportunity to introduce the community-building activities such as children’s classes, the junior youth programme and study circles. Collective art activities have fostered unity and helped to develop stronger friendships with friends and whānau.

In the Wairarapa, the friends have been learning about engaging larger numbers by establishing a rhythm of cyclic whānau days/hui and children’s festivals to engage large numbers of youth and adults in acts of service and conversations about the path of service and institute process. Waiata and sharing kai are two important elements of the whānau days. The prayerfulness, spirituality, unity and joy of those taking part is palpable.

In Taranaki, a whānau reflection hui was organised where feedback from parents included the following comments: “The children’s class kaupapa is in line with our family value of manaaki” and “watching the development in the children is beautiful”.

The video below give a visual glimpse of the process in the Wairarapa cluster.

Wairarapa

This cluster reached their second milestone as a result of establishing a rhythm of cyclic whanau days/hui and children’s festivals to engage large numbers of youth and adults in acts of service and conversations about the path of service and institute process.

Featured image and below: Whānau day in Masterton, Wairarapa, July 2021