St. Louis, Missouri - The Area Teaching Committee sends to you its warmest greetings and prayers as the cluster prepare to launch its thirteenth Intensive Program of Growth cycle, the last cycle to be implemented in the current Five Year Plan. The Universal House Of Justice Message to the Conference of the Continental Board of Counsellors, December 28, 2010, while acknowledging the magnificent achievements of the current Five Year Plan, calls for even greater intensity of effort from the friends and reminds us that as we enter the new Plan, “New frontiers of learning are now open to the friends, who are asked to dedicate their energies to the creation of vibrant communities, growing is size and reflecting in greater and greater degrees Bahá’u’lláh’s vision for humanity”.
Our beloved House of Justice further offers loving encouragement to us in the following paragraph of the same letter, as well as providing a basis for which we work toward increasing the number of friends actively participating our cluster activities and services:
“Therein, then, lies the challenge that must be faced by those in the forefront of the learning process which will continue to advance over the course of the next Plan. Wherever an intensive programme of growth is established, let the friends spare no effort to increase the level of participation. Let them strain every nerve to ensure that the system which they have so laboriously erected does not close in on itself but progressively expands to embrace more and more people. Let them not lose sight of the remarkable receptivity they found—nay, the sense of eager expectation that awaited them—as they gained confidence in their ability to interact with people of all walks of life and converse with them about the Person of Baha’u’llah and His Revelation. Let them hold fast to the conviction that a direct presentation of the Faith, when carried out at a sufficient level of depth and reinforced by a sound approach to consolidation, can bring enduring results. And let them not forget the lessons of the past which left no doubt that a relatively small band of active supporters of the Cause, no matter how resourceful, no matter how consecrated, cannot attend to the needs of communities comprising hundreds, much less thousands, of men, women and children. The implications are clear enough. If, in a cluster, those shouldering responsibility for expansion and consolidation number in the tens, with a few hundred participating in the activities of community life, both figures should rise significantly so that by the end of the Plan, one or two hundred are facilitating the participation of one or two thousand.”
Our Reflection Meeting was wonderful and exciting. We prayed, sang, shared our challenges, strengths and learning based on our experiences implementing the core services during the current IPG cycle.
The ATC is excited to announce that our cluster created and sustained the following core services during the 12th IPG cycle:
- 16 Devotional Meetings with 88 individuals participating. 32 of the total participants are Community of Interest (COI). This is an amazing accomplishment!
- 9 Study Circle, 28 participants involved, 4 are COI
- 6 Children’s Classes with 24 children participating (mostly children of Bahá’ís). 21 children are from families who are not enrolled Bahá’ís.
- Animator Training: 2 wonderfully trained Animators are continuing Junior Youth Empowerment training for the friends wishing to serve as neighborhood Junior Youth animators.
Friends, we hope that sharing these successes with you will inspire even greater levels of activities in our cluster in the coming 13th and last IPG cycle in this Five Year Plan. The vitality of our collective community life is strengthened and grows through the multiplication of the core activities. Through the core services we increase the opportunity to engage our neighbors and neighborhoods in this spiritually transforming, community building process that, “seeks to raise capacity within a population to take charge of its own spiritual, social and intellectual development” (paragraph 5, 2010 Ridván Message).
The goals for the 13th IPG cycle focus on building capacity and increasing the number of human resources in our cluster to carry out the acts of service that will facilitate teaching and growth in our cluster. The numerical goals determined for this coming cycle, based on consultation of the friends in the January 8 cluster Reflection Meeting and the consultations of the cluster core team are:
- 5 additional Devotional Meetings sustained throughout the cycle
- 5 Study Circles to support the expansion of core services in the cluster
- 2 Home Visit teams
The cluster core team will also schedule Tutor and Children’s Class Teacher Reflection Meeting during the cycle as forums for learning and skill enhancement and organize “Anna’s Presentation practice sessions for the friends wishing to sharpen their teaching skills using this method for engaging others in spiritual conversation or presenting the Faith to community of interest and seekers.
Here are the details for the 13th Cycle IPG:
- Date: Saturday, January 22, 2011
- Time: 12:00 – 3:00 pm
- Place: Bahá’í Information Center
30 W. Lockwood, Webster Groves, MO 63119
We are looking forward to seeing you, to walking together in the path of service, as we advance the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh in our cluster. Please contact me if you have any questions.
With warmest Bahá’í love,
Nasrin Atkins
On behalf of the Cluster Core Team
314-771-8686