Bahá’ís Of Bermuda Attend Israel Convention
A delegation of six of the nine members of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Bermuda joined fellow delegates from 157 countries at the 11th International Bahá’í Convention held in Haifa, Israel from April 25th to May 2nd. This convention takes place every five years to elect the Universal House of Justice, the international governing body of the Bahá’í Faith.
The members of the Bermuda delegation witnessing this historical event, which represented the 50th anniversary of the first Baha’i International Convention, were: Anthony Ball, Read Currelly, Christina Frith, Cheryl Peek-Ball, June Saltus and Blythe Walker.
The majestic Bahá’í gardens of Mt. Carmel which attract tens of thousands of visitors annually were the backdrop to this special event. For some three hours, the delegates to the 11th International Baha’i Convention filed one by one across the stage to cast their ballots, many in colourful national dress.
This spiritual enterprise was characterized by an atmosphere of reverence and joy, with each voter being called by name, in alphabetical order by country. The diversity of humanity was evidenced by participation from delegates from the Amazon regions to the frozen tundra, from Iceland to Indonesia, from Zimbabwe to Zurich and points in between.
The delegates are the members of Bahá’í National Spiritual Assemblies, who were themselves elected by delegates chosen at the grassroots level in their own countries. Thus, virtually every adult Baha’i in the world has the opportunity to participate in the election of the Universal House of Justice. This spiritual undertaking is significant for its absence of electioneering, partisanship, or political or national alliances. All voting is by private ballot after prayerful reflection.
The open consultations which followed the sacred election process was characterized by convergence of vision and purpose with the over 1000 Baha’i delegates focusing deliberations on the processes for promoting unity, social justice and advancing the spiritual and material prosperity of humankind.
The primary focus of the worldwide Baha’i community in the coming months will be on engaging youth ages 15 to 30 in collaboration and learning about the systematic empowerment of junior youth, those young people between the ages of 11 to 15.
At this 11th International Baha’i Convention it was announced that 114 youth conferences will be convened this summer in cities and towns around the world to galvanize youth to contribute to the spiritual and material development of their communities.
The Baha’i Community is welcoming collaboration with like-minded individuals in piloting a junior youth spiritual empowerment program in Bermuda which aims to channel their surging energies thorough a system of character education and service which has been tested and found effective in diverse communities worldwide.
For more information on the Baha’i Faith please contact the Bermuda Baha’i community at info@bermudabahai.org.
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