Location
November 22, 2014
To all Local Spiritual Assemblies and Registered Groups in the Prairie States
Dearly loved Friends,
The Regional Council is pleased to announce a Regional Youth Gathering will be held December 20-21, 2014 at the Kansas City Baha’i Center, 6515 Independence Ave, Kansas City, MO 64125. A warm invitation is extended to young people, 15-30 years of age, of all backgrounds and circumstances. This space will offer participants a chance to take stock of progress of the youth movement in the Prairie States region, to build their capacities for meaningful service, and to consult about how other souls can be invited to play their part in this effort. Registration and more information are available at www.youthgathering2014. Baha’is in the Kansas City cluster are generously offering hospitality for the youth to stay in their homes. Youth and any accompanying adults are welcome to request this hospitality or to make their own lodging arrangements.
As a corollary, a space for adults to study the youth conference materials is being planned at a nearby location. It is hoped this will expand the vision of the youth movement among parents and other adults, and will extend the support and engagement of a growing number of friends in developing patterns of life built by the core activities in neighborhoods and other social spaces. Adults may register for the concurrent adult gathering by sending an email to: admassistrbcps@gmail.com with “register for adult gathering Dec. 20-21” in the subject heading. Unfortunately, we are not able to provide a separate space for classes or the care of children. But if it is necessary for parents to bring younger children along, please bring quiet activities for them to enjoy and they will be lovingly welcomed among the circles of study for adults.
Just as many individuals, institutions, and communities arose sacrificially to support the youth to attend the 114 Youth Conferences called by the Universal House of Justice in 2013, the Regional Baha’i Council feels confident there will be an equally supportive response for this youth gathering. The Council asks that you ensure that every youth in your area between the ages of 15 to 30 receives the invitation to the youth gathering, that any material assistance needed for transportation or lodging is assured and not allowed to be an impediment, and that the current and subsequent efforts made by the youth in your area to gather in groups to contribute to the well-being of their communities are supported and given the latitude necessary to grow and develop in service to others.
The message of the National Spiritual Assembly for the Feast of Qawl is timely as preparations are intensifying in this region for a gathering of youth, and the continued acceleration of the “progress and expansion of the Cause” is spurred on by the energies and “spirit of selfless service” among increasing numbers and groups of youth. “What is most important to realize” as written by the International Teaching Center, “is that such a promising pattern of growth can only be maintained if everyone, in a humble posture of learning, and no matter the extent of his or her activity, offers unqualified support, in deeds and words, to every other soul who labors in the divine vineyard. ‘All must become as wings to bear one another onward’, Baha’u’llah states.”
With loving Baha’i greetings,
REGIONAL BAHA’I COUNCIL OF THE PRAIRIE STATES