Monthly Reflection: Rahmat (Mercy) – On the House of Worship

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This month the Australian Baha’i Community released a short documentary called Beyond the Dome about the House of Worship in Sydney. The film shares some insights for us to consider as work is undertaken to beautify, enhance and restore the House of Worship for the years ahead–this exciting initiative is called “Dayspring of Light”. You can listen to some remarks about this initiative and the sacrificial legacy of the early Baha’is whose selfless contributions made the construction of the House of Worship possible, and even see an animated architectural rendering of the renovations. It’s incredibly thrilling!

You may have noticed, the Australian Baha’i Community has also produced an animation on the significance of Baha’i Temples and a video that tells us the story of Nettie Tobin and the importance of every contribution to Houses of Worship, no matter how humble. It has also shared a touching video called “A Letter from Abdu’l-Baha about the Building of the Temple” as well as a short video of stunning aerial views of the Temple in Sydney accompanied by remarks from the late Councillor Harvey Rose, Mayor of Pittwater about how this unique edifice is a “beacon of light”.

I have so much to learn about the institution of the House of Worship and whether you live in Australia, a country or locality that is preparing to build a Temple, or elsewhere in the world, understanding the significance of these unique buildings is worthy of study. I hope to spend time deepening on this treasure in the future: The Institution of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkar.

From what little I know, a House of Worship is a physical manifestation of the devotional character of the city, country or region where it is built. And what fosters, vitalizes and promotes a devotional character of a place is the Institute process. I’m really delighted that we released a series of four under-a-minute animations that attempt to explain study circles, children’s classes, devotional gatherings and the junior youth spiritual empowerment program. Animated by the very talented Oscar Gomez, we hope that these short videos that we’ve shared on our social media channels help you in your efforts or inspire you to make something like it too!

Two final things: in our previous newsletter we shared invitation templates for commemorations of the Martyrdom of the Bab and our special collection of articles, audio, and videos dedicated to this anniversary. And, as always, Cherie has created a couple more templates for us this month. This time it’s colourable puzzles featuring quotations centred around prayers from Abdu’l-Baha! We hope you like them!

"He is God" colourable puzzle

"O God, Guide Me" colourable puzzle

As always, you can find these–and so many more templates–on our downloadable content page!

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Sonjel Vreeland

In her innermost heart, Sonjel is a stay-at-home parent and a bookworm with a maxed out library card but professionally she is a museologist with a background in English Literature. She currently lives on Prince Edward Island, an isle in the shape of a smile on the eastern Canadian coast. Sonjel is a writer who loves to listen to jazz when she's driving at night.