A Change in Community

I've been thinking about the growth of the Baha'i community a lot in recent days. It's only natural, as we stand at the cusp of a new series of plans which, the Universal House of Justice writes, is "generational in its scope and significance". What will the Baha'i community look like by the end of it? Well, simply put, I don't think we can really guess, at this time.

But hey, that's never stopped me before.

And to be fair, they do say that the capacities we will acquire by the end of all this "can scarcely be glimpsed at present", which means that we can get just a tiny little peek of them at this time, so, why not?

To try to wrap my head around all this, though, I decided to look backwards to see where we have come from, so as to get a better understanding of where we may be heading.

Aside - You know, dear Reader, it's been a while since I've done an aside, hasn't it? I feel they make these articles a bit more conversational, and allow me the freedom to toss in these odd little observations. They're like the ADHD of writing. But here I wanted to draw attention not to my meandering thoughts, but more to my lack of regard for "proper grammar". Have you ever noticed how many times I begin sentences with conjunctions? Or end sentences with prepositions? Oh wait. I meant to say, "But have you ever noticed how many prepositions I end my sentences with?" (I can see my English teachers rolling in their collective graves.) But, despite the number of times I do this, I still get people "correcting" me on it. For them, I just want to point out that I am not writing in Latin, and do not, therefore, need to follow the grammatical rule of that language, no matter what Winston Churchill has said (oh he of the "This is the sort of language up with which we will not put" fame). The House of Justice, in paragraph 9 of the 30 December 2021 message, to cite but a single example, begins a sentence with "And in areas where..." So if they can do it, I feel fine with it, too. Anyways, back to my actual point for writing this article.

Looking back, I got to thinking about the differences in the Baha'i world before the 10-Year World Crusade, and after. Then I thought about the changes in the Baha'i world before and after various other Plans.

I'm no expert, nor a trained historian, but it seems to me that before the Crusade the Baha'i world, though united in their love for the Central Figures and in their obedience to the Guardian, was still a collection of individual national groups each doing their own thing. There were 12 National Assemblies, and the only one on the African continent was Egypt and Sudan. By 1963, 56 countries had National Assemblies. (Google is my friend.)

Prior to 1953, there were numerous national or regional plans, but there was not a lot of work between the various countries. A little, but not a lot. By the end of the Crusade, they were all working together in a unified global endeavour.

Similarly, before the start of the recently completed series of Plans, in 1996, the Baha'i world was unified, but each country had their own focus. While the various goals in the Plans united them, each country seemed to have its own focus. One would look at firesides, while another would focus on the development of schools. They were all moving forward, but when you visited each one, you had to learn about the focus of that particular country. And although our Feasts were all laid out similarly, it was hard to recognize that they were all Baha'i communities. Now, to be fair, this is not a fault. It showed the great diversity of cultural expression within the Faith. It just made it awkward, at times, to try and help another community in their work.

By the end of the recent series of Plans in 2020, every country in the world was focused on the same things, each from their own cultural perspective. You could go to any Baha'i community around the planet and know that they were doing the same activities, whether it was devotional gatherings or children's classes. You could visit a new community and help with their activities right from the git-go. And wherever you went, you would be certain to learn about how they applied their own culture to those same activities, and maybe bring some new ideas home with you.

So, again, pre-1953, all the friends were looking to the Writings and the World Centre, but doing their own thing. From 1953 - 1963, we had learned how to collaborate on a global level. Between 1963 and 1996, we were collaborating on a global scale, but each individual community was doing what it felt was most important. Today we are all working on the same projects, and coming to appreciate the diversity of ways in which these projects can be accomplished.

One more thing to consider, and that is how we developed in our abilities.

My favorite example of this is the Tablet of the Divine Plans. Shoghi Effendi brought them to our continued attention, and helped us recognize that they were the basis for all global plans that would come. When we examine the Tablets, we notice a definite systematic movement within them. The first one refers to various states and how within those same states some cities have believers and some do not. We are asked to go to those that don't. The second Tablet pushes the concept forward by saying that there are few believers in the southern States, and that we should either go there ourselves, or send someone there on our behalf. In the third Tablet we are taught even more about how to distinguish between places and set priorities. Some states, we are told, have believers while others do not. Prioritize those that do not. The fourth Tablet talked about going to the western states to teach or sending others. The fifth broadened it to Canada and Greenland, while the sixth expanded the vision to the whole world.

Step by step, the Master helped us learn to prioritize, and the Guardian slowly moved us towards being more systematic.

In the previous series of Plans, the Universal House of Justice patiently built upon this base as they guided us towards a better understanding of the importance of action and reflection. During this reflection period, we learn more about how to recognize and set priorities, based on the results of the actions taken.

I can only imagine that this learning will greatly increase in the years to come.

Looking at a little bit of what is happening around the world, it is evident that many work day in and day out just to earn the right to have a roof over their head. But as we come together as a community, and learn to help support each other, we can allow more people to dedicate their time to the needs of the community. My wife and I decided any years back that one of us would work a job that allowed the other to dedicate more time to the Faith. We also gave up a lot things that some people consider essential, like cable television. We did all we could to cut down our expenses to ensure that the hours we would have needed to work for those things was spent in service instead. I can easily see a time when more people come together to do just that. Three or four sharing a place, allowing them to do greater service for the community. We're already seeing this happening with some animators of junior youth groups. And as rental prices increase more and more in urban areas, I am confident we will see more people having to come up with innovative ways to allow others to serve effectively.

This new series of Plans will no doubt change the way we interact with the greater community around us. It will see a shift in our priorities. It was witness a new approach to how we live. For without these changes, we will only try to continue doing what we have always done. And we know that the approach we are used to is not enough.

And I, for one, look forward to a community that continually reflects on each step it takes, making sure that the next step is as effective as possible.