Te Whakarewa o Ngā Tirohanga Whānui
A unique consultative gathering of approximately 150 members of institutions from the continental, national, regional and local levels occurred online on the evening of 17 February 2022. The purpose was to consider the ways in which Aotearoa can fulfil the call of the Universal House of Justice to hold a series of conferences to contribute to the worldwide effort of reaching out widely to all well-wishers of humanity during this spiritually charged period in history.
The conferences are to be joyful, celebratory, and uplifting gatherings, to be an experience to suit many people.
The letter of 4 January 2022 letter from the Universal House of Justice to the Bahá’ís of the world speaks about a confluence of circumstances in the world and within the Faith having made this a charged moment. In essence, the spiritual spaces we are going to create in these conferences are for building oneness and for building our future.
Spirit of engagement and constructive consultation
Almost all of the 38 Local Spiritual Assemblies in our land had multiple members present. The National Assembly was present as an institution, Regional Councils and Auxiliary Board members were strongly represented, and the meeting was blessed to have the presence and wise advice of New Zealand’s liaison Counsellor Tessa Scrine. The meeting achieved its two main purposes — to bring the Local Assemblies into full collaboration with the other institutions that have been making initial preparations for the conferences, and to identify some of the matters that need to be addressed. There was a unifying spirit of engagement, and pragmatic issues were discussed freely and constructively. This was an elevating way to begin the preparations for the Nine Year Plan.
Components tailored to various audiences
The conferences are to be joyful, celebratory, and uplifting gatherings, to be an experience to suit many people. The conferences will have different components, and therefore inviting people can be tailored to the portions of the conference that will suit where each person “is at”, so that their needs can be met. There are well-wishers of humanity everywhere who will be eager to participate. By their nature, the conferences will meet the needs of the widest possible range of people.
The New Zealand Bahá’í community needs to be adaptable at this time, and the logistics of having the conferences at a time when the Omicron variant of the Coronavirus pandemic is building in our country were explored fully and frankly. It was acknowledged that we need to be realistic.
As Local Assemblies have their finger on the pulse of their respective communities this gives them the knowledge to be able to carefully read the reality of what is possible in their circumstances, and make plans accordingly. Because of the circumstances of the pandemic, the original plan to have large vibrant conferences has to be modified and brought to a much more local level, so Local Assemblies will have more ownership of logistics. But even on a smaller scale, the conferences can still be vibrant spaces that suit the reality of conditions at the time.
Themes and formats of the conferences
The five themes that conferences can explore were shared: Bahá’u’lláh’s vision for humanity; the distance traversed; building vibrant communities; educational endeavours and the training institute; contributing to social transformation — with each theme interwoven with vibrant expressions of arts and creativity.
The logistics should be arranged in such a way that entire families can attend. The ultimate purpose is that everyone comes away feeling connected to a global movement leading towards the transformation of society. A large number of facilitators have already been trained by the Regional Councils and Auxiliary Board members to help the process. And many other friends have been working on logistics. Each of the localised conferences would be based around natural connections. The Regional Councils and National Assembly will assist with funding for the conferences where needed, as it is not intended that any registration fee will be charged, but the funding mechanism will operate at the local level.
One of the strong features in the coming Nine Year Plan is an increasingly collaborative spirit. Local Assemblies are connected to cluster agencies, to Auxiliary Board members and one or more assistants, so it is really an opportunity to strengthen this collaborative relationship to ensure the conferences reach their full potential. The Auxiliary Board members and Regional Councils have a strong vision of the aim of the conferences and are playing an important role. None of the institutions is on their own. The institutional capacity will be unleashed most fruitfully through loving collaboration.
Channels of spiritual energy
It has become abundantly clear that it is not simply by being physically present together that spiritual energy is channelled. The fact that the House of Justice has convened these conferences and charged the National Assemblies and Regional Councils with holding them has already created a channel for the spiritual energy to flow. And now that spiritual energy is being channelled to the local level.
Wholehearted effort and support of the conferences will carry the spiritual energy, and create the connection from the House of Justice to all. These dynamic energies will be released through unreserved effort in this collaborative enterprise as one nation, playing our part in the global Bahá’í community. All present felt blessed to have this connection with one another in Bahá’u’lláh’s magnificent Administrative Order.
Featured image: a few of the 150 participants in the gathering.
Below: more participants. (Click images to enlarge.)
