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Dear friends,
We hope you have by now had a chance to read the letter emailed to all believers in the Prairie States region by our Regional Baha'i Council (RBC), regarding the importance of our cluster, among others in our region, becoming vibrant and capable third milestone clusters by Ridvan of this year. It is for this reason, primarily, that members of our RBC will be visiting and accompanying us at our next cluster reflection meeting, on Saturday morning, February 21st at the Baha'i Information Center, 30 West Lockwood Blvd in Webster Groves. They bring with them insights from around the region and our country, as well as a spirit of sacrificial service that each of them embodies. Preliminary details of that gathering have been shared previously with everyone, but we thought to review a few things again at this time.
As a reminder, everyone in our cluster and surrounding clusters will meet Saturday morning, 2/21 at the Baha'i Center for the reflection gathering, followed by lunch. At the reflection gathering, we will consider what the reality of our cluster is, as glimpsed by current core activities taking place (study circles, devotional gatherings, children's classes, junior youth classes), home visits and general teaching efforts. We will also reflect on what we have been learning here in MO-01 over the last 3 months by engaging in the above activities. Hopefully we are also increasing our capacity to share the teachings of Baha'u'llah with many in our cluster, and we see everyone as a protagonist in the unfolding process of community building. Lastly, we will consult on plans, objects of learning/goals for the upcoming cycle and beyond.
After lunch, everyone is invited and encouraged to join our RBC members as well as your cluster collaborators to visit friends, family, neighbors, etc in homes and neighborhoods in the cluster. The purpose of these visits can vary depending on who is visited, such as inviting a neighbor to a devotional gathering, sharing a prayer with a family member who is ill, or inviting new friends in a neighborhood to a family festival, among other things. Visits will be arranged ahead of time by your cluster collaborators. Each team of friends that goes out into the community may grow in capacity to share the teachings/world view/prayers etc of Baha'u'llah, and having a more experienced person accompanying us and working in teams on these endeavors serves to allay any uneasiness or uncertainty about undertaking these basic grassroots efforts going forward. After our visits, we will return to the Baha'i Center to reflect and consult on what we may have learned in the process.
The RBC is finalizing a few details, so there will be further communication with a reminder of exact times and any other items worth noting. Please feel free to reach out with any questions, in the meantime.
With much gratitude,
M0-01 Area Teaching Committee
Nora, Billie, Mitch