Dynamic conferences will speed us into the new Plan
The National Spiritual Assembly wrote to all the friends in Aotearoa on 14 January 2022:
Tēnā koutou katoa! Ngā mihi aroha!
With a sense of joyous anticipation, we are happy to share with you details of the series of conferences that have been planned to take place throughout Aotearoa in response to the call of the Universal House of Justice. As you may recall, these conferences were first mentioned by the House of Justice in its 2018 Ridván message, and further explained in a letter to all National Spiritual Assemblies on 15 September 2021. The key purpose is summed up in the words of the Supreme Body explaining that the conferences will help to prepare the community “for a dynamic thrust forward with the launch of the Nine Year Plan”. These conferences are not just for registered members of the Bahá’í community, but open to anyone who is involved, or wishes to be involved, in the processes of transformation that the Faith is fostering.
Please find enclosed a document with details of the conferences that are planned throughout Te Ika-a-Māui and Te Waipounamu (the North and South Islands). These plans represent rapid and intensive planning work by the two Regional Bahá’í Councils and the teams they have assembled to assist them, in collaboration with Auxiliary Board members. For these devoted efforts, the National Spiritual Assembly is deeply grateful. Tē tōia, tē haumatia! [1]
The purposes of the conferences [2] are to:
Carry “to the friends in every land the spiritual energy released by the [recent] gatherings in the Holy Land as the community prepares for a dynamic thrust forward with the launch of the Nine Year Plan.”
Enable participants: “to gain greater insight into the nature of the spiritual enterprise in which they are engaged, a sense of the distance traversed thus far, and a deeper understanding of the exigencies of the current stage in the unfoldment of the Divine Plan.”
“Enhance appreciation of the privilege of being part of a community that has set its gaze upon the spiritual and material transformation of society, and of the bounty of being connected by bonds of love and camaraderie with brothers and sisters in a global effort, each one labouring within the same framework for action, all united under the sheltering shadow of the Covenant.”
The conference programmes will cater to all age groups and will include a mix of presentations and workshops, with arts being an integral part of these. In a letter of 8 December 2021 to the friends in Aotearoa, the National Assembly encouraged the friends to begin developing artistic contributions ahead of time.
In order to ensure the maximum benefit and widest possible reach of the conferences, there will be a wave of conferences for groups of clusters and neighbourhoods around the motu. The first conference will be held on 25-27 March and the last one on 16-17 April, for a total of 13 conferences — 10 in the North Island and 3 in the South Island. Details are in the enclosure with this letter.
In its letter of 8 December 2021, the National Assembly wrote: “The vision for the conferences is of widespread and diverse participation.” Dear friends, this means that we very much look forward to the participation of each and every adult, youth, junior youth, and child who are the well-wishers of humanity. We urge you to consult with your communities and encourage them to begin to have conversations with all those who could be invited to participate in these historic conferences.
Ngā manaakitanga!
Loving Bahá’í Greetings
National Spiritual Assembly
Footnotes
[1] Whakataukī, meaning: “Nothing can be achieved without a plan, workforce and way of doing things “
[2] As set out by the Universal House of Justice in its letter of 15 September 2021
