Dearest friends,
On Sunday, Nov 2, we had our Cluster Reflection Gathering at the home of the Esmaeili’s in Worcester and shared a loving and vibrant afternoon, joined by the Secretary of the Northeast Regional Bahá’í Council, Marie McNair, Auxiliary Board Member, Mamak Charepoo, and our Sub-Regional Institute Coordinator, Samin Charepoo.
We heard from some of our local youth that participated in the 2025 Summer of Service about their experiences and also celebrated our cluster’s wide-range response and participation in helping with offering meals, deepenings, supplies, and more. A recap of the Worcester Cluster Summer of Service can be found in our newsletter here.
We watched a video of the letter from the Regional Bahá’í Council of the Northeast States for the 2025 Unit Convention (link here) which informed our consultation on ways our community can be a spiritual refuge for the people of Worcester County and what strategies we can be employ.
Based on the fruitful consultation and feedback we received from the friends at the Cluster Reflection Gathering, the Area Teaching Committee has set the following goal for our cluster for the current cycle:
This cycle, our cluster will cultivate a welcoming haven for the Bahá’í community and the people of Worcester County by increasing the number of active study circles and inviting more friends, families, and youth into these uplifting spaces. We will accompany participants through home visits, nurture consistent devotional gatherings, and arise together for acts of service that strengthen bonds of friendship and community.
We are proud to share that friends are already working on this goal in various ways and we look forward to hearing more about how the friends are putting into action our collective goal. If you would like to start a study circle or have any questions, please reach out to the Area Teaching Committee: worcestercounty.atc@gmail.com.
Activities in our cluster during this cycle
The Shrewsbury community collected clothes and non-perishable foods for local drive at their Feast of Qudrat.
If you are looking for a space to donate food and clothes, please contact Sanam Zaer (sanam.zaer@gmail.com // 774-249-2999) who is coordinating the Worcester Art Magnet School (WAMS) Family Food & Clothing Share.
On Nov 22, 37 friends from Westborough associated with the Bahá’í educational programs for children and junior youth, gathered for a potluck. Children’s class teachers and animators shared the vision of the betterment of the world with the families and related the stories from the educational curriculum to that vision. Parents were then invited to see the educational process as their own and a way to raise a new generation of citizens in the community. The evening ended with birthday cake for one of the children in the group and a stronger sense of connection.
The Unity Feast of Qawl at the Upton Community Center on Saturday, Nov 22 was hosted by Jila and Jamshid Rassekh and was widely attended by approximately 80 people, many of whom are friends of the Faith. It was a lovely afternoon filled with fellowship and delicious food and leftovers were donated to a local community fridge.
Nov 1-2: There was a local youth intensive study of Book 4: The Twin Manifestations in Shrewsbury, covering the Life of Bahá’u’lláh (Life of the Báb was studied in March 2025) and they were able to finish.
Celebration of the Twin birthdays
Birth of the Báb – Hoeffler Residence in Westborough, on Oct 25
