Hi all
Continuing the conversations, at the cluster level, initiated by the latest 5 year plan, some of us met at Jude's home in Worcester, last Saturday July 2.
The friends present at that meeting agreed that it'll be good to share with the rest of the cluster what has been talked about in this and upcoming meetings. Even though we're not any "official" institution, the notes we'll share are just designed to make everybody aware of whatever was discussed, so there can be follow up to activities/discussions/plans. This message and supporting material will be posted in the Community page of our website (http://worcesterbahais.org/news).
We'll also explore the possibility of implementing a mechanism for interacting in the website (or another place) so discussions can be held and ideas shared without too many emails (NOTE: this is only a proposal, we don't know if it's going to work we might rely on emails for a while).
We discussed the training that both Joe & Mark went through recently and how they're in charge of spreading the knowledge among us. They'll be sharing with us a couple of workshops on becoming a tutor for Ruhi book 1. After we're trained on how to facilitate a book 1, we'll be able to invite "easier" our friends/acquaintances to participate in study circle in more intimate, familiar environment for our friends.
This training will happen as 2 workshops that will be held on Sunday July 17 and on Saturday July 23. They'll be very intensive and will be 9AM-6PM. More details will follow when the details are formalized.
On Saturday July 23, at 7:30, there'll be the monthly devotional in Templeton, at 7:30PM. This is instead of the usually scheduled devotional on the 3rd Saturday of the month (so, no devotional on July 16).
Another suggestion of the meeting was that we'll try to stick to the dates of the cycles of the programs of growth suggested to us (see letter below). Before we have had our own agenda in terms of meetings/activities, but it makes sense to be more in tune with the rest of the Baha'i communities around. Please note that the dates below are only the expansion phases.
If you need to familiarize yourself with the concept of the program of growth and its phases, take a look at this letter from the UHJ (it's half way down the letter): http://universalhouseofjustice.bahai.org/activities-bahai-community/20051227_001
That's all I have to share. Please email the group to add to this conversation.
Eugenio
R E G I O N A L B A H Á' Í C O U N C I L
O F T H E N O R T H E A S T E R N S T A T E S
December 14, 2015
To the Bahá'í community of the Northeastern states
Dear friends,
The Regional Bahá'í Council is pleased to announce the dates for expansion phases in 2016. The friends have told the us that they appreciate the sense of regional unity experienced by holding the expansion phase for its three-month cycles of growth during the same period of time.
The Council decided to continue to suggest expansion phase dates. These dates, however, may be moved up or back if this will be beneficial to a particular cluster. Where there is an Area Teaching Committee or a cluster development facilitator appointed by the Regional Council, that agency will set the final dates for the cluster's reflection meeting and expansion phase. We recommend that the dates be communicated to the friends at least two to three months in advance.
2016 suggested expansion phase dates
February 6-21; May 7-22; August 6-21; November 5-20
“…one thinks in terms of the three-month cycles of activity through which a community grows – the burst of expansion experienced as a result of intense action; the necessary period of consolidation during which increases in ranks are fortified as they, for example, participate in devotional gatherings and the Nineteen Day Feast and receive visits at their homes; and the opportunities designated for all to reflect and plan. The question of teaching among receptive populations moves to the foreground in this light, and the challenge of seeking out souls who are willing to engage in a conversation about the world around them and participate in a collective effort to transform it comes into focus.” Universal House of Justice, December 12, 2011, para. 9
The specific date of each cluster reflection meeting is flexible but is usually held one or two weeks before the start of the expansion phase. In clusters where there is no Area Teaching Committee or cluster development facilitator, these cycle dates may be facilitated by an Auxiliary Board member or an assistant, “the means for planning and reflection has also developed organically, becoming more organized, systematic, and varied as complexity has grown” Insights from the Frontiers of Learning, 3.2.
Please contact the Regional Council with any questions.
With loving regards,
Regional Bahá’í Council of the Northeastern States
Chet Makoski, Secretary