Belfast Bahá’í community will be holding a joint unity service with All Souls Church on Sunday 25th March from 11.30 – 12.30.
The one hour unity service will be a combination of prayers and readings on the theme of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.

‘Abdu’l-Bahá, meaning the “servant of Baha” was appointed by Bahá’u'lláh as the one authorized interpreter of the Bahá’í teachings and as Head of the Faith after Bahá’u'lláh’s passing. `Abdu’l-Bahá was seen a perfect example of the Bahá’í way of life.

While `Abdu’l-Bahá was still a prisoner of the Ottomans, the first Bahá’í pilgrims from the western world arrived in Acre in 1898. After His release in 1908, `Abdu’l-Bahá set out on a series of journeys which, in 1911-1913, took Him to Europe and America. There He proclaimed Bahá’u'lláh’s message of unity and social justice to church congregations, peace societies, the members of trade unions, university faculties, journalists, government officials, and many public audiences.

Unitarians hosted ‘Abdu’l-Bahá on his visits to the USA, England, and Scotland, and it is particularly fitting that All Souls’ Church in Belfast is hosting a Bahá’í service on the centenary of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s visits to the British Isles.

For Baha’is, the New Year comes at a perfect time — 21 March — the vernal equinox, which marks the first day of spring and the end of the Baha’i Faith’s annual Nineteen Day Fast.

Called Naw Ruz – “new day” in Persian, the Baha’i New Year has its roots in Persia, where the Baha’i Faith originated in the mid-1800s.

Naw Ruz is one of nine holy days in the Baha’i calendar, on which Baha’is suspend work. As with all Baha’i holy days, there are no set rules for observing Naw-Ruz. However, Baha’is often gather for prayer at sunset on 20 March, which signals the end of the 19-Day Baha’i Fast period.

“Praised be Thou, O my God, that Thou hast ordained Naw-Ruz as a festival unto those who have observed the Fast for love of Thee and abstained from all that is abhorrent unto thee…” Excerpt from Baha’i prayer for Naw Ruz

From 2-20 March, Baha’is worldwide observe the annual fasting period by refraining from eating or drinking from sunrise to sunset. As in many world religions, the Fast is a time for reflecting on one’s spiritual progress and making an effort to detach from material desires.

During the Fast, Baha’is age 15 and older typically rise before dawn to eat breakfast and pray. At sunset they break the Fast, often gathering with Baha’i friends to enjoy a meal together. The following are exempt from fasting, as it could be harmful to their health: those younger than 15 and older than 70, the ill or infirm, women who are pregnant, nursing or menstruating, travelers and those engaged in heavy physical labor.

The 19 day Fast is “essentially a period of meditation and prayer, of spiritual recuperation, during which the believer must strive to make the necessary readjustments in his inner life, and to refresh and reinvigorate the spiritual forces latent in his soul. Its significance and purpose are, therefore, fundamentally spiritual in character.” (Baha’i Reference Library)

‘Abdu’l-Bahá stated about the Fast, “This material fast is an outer token of the spiritual fast; it is a symbol of self-restraint, the withholding of oneself from all appetites of the self, taking on the characteristics of the spirit, being carried away by the breathings of heaven and catching fire from the love of God.”

After sunset on 20 March – the eve of the vernal equinox – Baha’is throughout the world will celebrate Naw-Ruz, the start of the Baha’i New Year. For Baha’is this is a religious holiday that marks the end of the nineteen day Fast. It is one of the nine Baha’i holy days on which work and school is to be suspended.

Abdu'l-Baha, Son of Baha'u'llah

The Day of the Covenant commemorates Baha’u'llah’s appointment of His eldest son, Abdu’l-Baha, as the protector of the Covenant of Baha’u'llah, which was established to ensure the unity of the Baha’i Faith. The Ascension of Abdu’l-Baha marks the anniversary of his death in 1921.

As protector of the Covenant, Abdu’l-Baha, (sometimes referred as the Center of the Covenant), was charged with safeguarding and protecting the Faith against differences and schisms, making it impossible for anyone to create a new sect or faction of belief.

The Covenant of Baha’u'llah is unique in religious history: No other world religion’s sacred scriptures provide such explicit instructions for the organization of the community of believers after the founder’s passing. The Baha’i Faith is thus the first religion in history that has survived its critical first century with its unity firmly established —and ultimately with a blueprint for a divinely ordered global civilization to bring unity to the world.

After the death of Baha’u'llah in 1892, Abdu’l-Baha carried forth his father’s mission until he died in 1921 at age 77. Abdu’l-Baha was known as an ambassador of peace, a champion of justice and the leading exponent of the new religion.

Shrine of the Bab

During visits to Europe in 1911 and the United States and Canada in 1912, he was greeted with respect and acclaim by believers and non-believers. In city after city, he was invited to speak at churches and synagogues, and before distinguished groups and organizations. The net effect was to establish the Baha’i Faith as a major new force for social reform and religious renewal.

Affirming that “Love is the most great law” and that the “supreme need of humanity is cooperation and reciprocity among all its peoples”, Abdu’l-Baha reached out to leaders and the public indeed, to every soul who crossed his path.

Abdu’l-Baha’s funeral on Mt. Carmel was attended by 10,000 mourners from all persuasions and denominations. He is buried in a vault on the north side of the Shrine of the Bab.

Tehran

On 12 November, Baha’is around the globe will celebrate the anniversary of the birth of Baha’u'llah, the founder of the Baha’i Faith.

Gatherings are held in thousands of localities – in homes, at public facilities, at local and national Baha’i centers, and at Baha’i Houses of Worship.

Baha’is invite their friends and the public to join them in offering prayers and celebrating with special programs, artistic performances, and refreshments.

Entrance to the Shrine of Baha'u'llah

The date is one of nine holy days during the year when Baha’is suspend work.

Baha’u'llah was born in 1817 into a noble family in Tehran, the capital of Persia.

In 1853, He was exiled from His native land to Baghdad, where in 1863 He announced that He was the bearer of a new revelation from God that would bring unity to the peoples of the world. He was later exiled to Acre, in present-day Israel, where He passed away in 1892.

On the 9th August 2011 Pat Irvine, Tony Sherwani & Jamie Anderson visited the Lord Mayor of Belfast Councillor Niall O’Donnghaille on behalf of the Belfast Baha’i community. This was the first encounter the Lord Mayor had about the Baha’i Faith. He asked many searching questions about Baha’i Faith beliefs. The conversation was open, informative and relaxed. Many subjects were discussed including the fact that he is the youngest Lord Mayor of Belfast, as well the responsibilities and challemnges that come with that status.  This was probably the longest visit by the Belfast Baha’i Community representatives to a Lord Mayor of Belfast over the past 15 years.  The Baha’i Community of Belfast presented him with a book on Baha’i Holy places situated on Mount Carmel in Haifa, Israel, and inscribed inside was wishing him a successful year in office.