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News Archives Less recent events that may be of interest |
Here you can read archived news items related to The St Helena Bahá’ís.
Index:
Bahá’í Activities Update (May 2010)
Daily Bahá’í Quote (29th September 2009)
Is ‘normal’ what we really want? (September 2009)
Talks & Visitors (July 2009)
traducir/översätta/vertalen/übersetzen/tradurre/http://StHelenaBahai.org in your language (July 2009)
The Ascension of Bahá’u’lláh (29th May 2009)
The Declaration of the Báb (23rd May 2009)
The Festival of Ridván (21st April 2009)
Annual Election (21st April 2009)
Bahá’í New Year Celebration (21st March 2009)
Intercalary Days (26th February 2009)
Bahá’í Activities Update (May 2010)
There are 9 Holy Days on the Bahá’í Calendar, and six of them fall between March and May.
The 21st March, the first day of spring in the northern hemisphere is celebrated as Bahá’í New Year - the first day on the Bahá’í World calendar. This year it fell on a Sunday and we had an enjoyable tea party with guests at the Centre to celebrate.
The 21st April is the next Holy Day and commemorates the Announcement by Bahá’u’lláh of His Station as the Manifestation of God for this day. This took place in a garden on an island in a river in Baghdad, named by Him “The Garden Of Ridván” meaning Paradise, prior to His being banished again by the authorities who were concerned about the influence His teachings had on those around Him. The day on which His family joined him there, the 9th day (29th April), and the day on which they left on their journey during the winter (2nd May), to Istanbul are another 2 of the Holy days when we meet and pray together. This period is called the Festival of Ridván.
The 23rd May celebrates the First Holy Day of the Bahá’í Dispensation. It commemorates the Announcement by the Báb (the Gate), the forerunner of Bahá’u’lláh, in 1844, that He was the Manifestation of God entrusted with the mission to prepare the people for the Declaration of Bahá’u’lláh (the Glory of God).
In addition
The Centre has had a face lift. The whole of the outside has been re-sealed, as well as the floor inside, and it looks so much better. The painters did a good job, and we thank them.
In January we met to elect 6 delegates from the Western Cape, with which community St Helena is currently affiliated, to the National Convention in South Africa. At that annual Convention, all the delegates then elect the 9 members of the National Assembly of South Africa, which body runs the affairs of the Bahá’í Community for the next year.
Also in January we ran a Soft Drinks stall at the request of Nick Stevens, for the day of fund raising for Warren Leo Appeal. This was a first for us and a challenge, but we enjoyed helping and raised £80.40 for this worthy cause.
We had a happy children’s outing at the end of February - a picnic at Blue Hill Community centre again.
One of our number attended the Human Rights Capacity Building meetings with Ms Mesquita and these meetings will resume soon.
Daily Bahá’í Quote (29th September 2009)
From today you can find a daily Bahá’í quotation on our home page. We hope you find these helpful. The quote changes every day at midnight (your time).
Is ‘normal’ what we really want? (September 2009)
Much has been written about the current global economic crisis, and commentators continuously debate how soon the system will “return to normal”. But is “normal” what we really want? Could the crisis be an opportunity to create a new and better system?
International policy think-tank The European Bahá’í Business Forum (EBBF) thinks so. To find out read the article “Is ‘normal’ what we really want? Views on the economic crisis”.
Talks & Visitors (July 2009)
We are delighted to announce that we’ve added two new sections to our site.
Every month, usually on the last Thursday, we hold a public meeting at which a talk is given on a subject that will be of interest both to Bahá’ís and others. Where possible these talks are now presented on this website. Go to the index Talks and please check back regularly for additions.
Also we have added a new Feature on Bahá’í visitors People who spent time on the island and will be remembered by many. You may find some friends there. We plan to update this page too, to feature other visitors, as and when we can obtain the information.
traducir/översätta/vertalen/übersetzen/tradurre/http://StHelenaBahai.org in your language (July 2009)
This website can now be translated into many different languages, using the Google™ Transalate facility (NB: JavaScript must be enabled to use Google™ Transalate).
At the bottom of each page you will see a dialogue box, headed with a row of flags, thus: 
. Just click on the drop-down box, select the language you require and allow Google™ Transalate to do the rest.
Please note that the Google™ Transalate facility is not provided by us, so any queries or concerns about its function should be addressed to Google™ Transalate. However if you have problems using this facility please contact us so that we can monitor its usefullness.
The Ascension of Bahá’u’lláh (29th May 2009)
The Bahá’í Faith, being a religion to unite all faiths, which have different special days, has 9 Holy days on which work should be suspended; three of them fall within the month of May. We commemorated the passing of the Manifestation of God, on the above date at the Centre. Bahá’u’lláh died in Bahjí near ‘Akká in the Holy Land on 29th May 1892, and His shrine is in a room of the house where He lived for some years after being released from prison.
The Declaration of the Báb (23rd May 2009)
Another Holy Day was remembered in May - the day on which the Faith began in fact with the declaration of the forerunner of Bahá’u’lláh, who was also a Messenger/Manifestation of God, He was named the Báb which means “Gate”, and He declared His station to a seeker on 23rd May 1844.
The Festival of Ridván (21st April 2009)
In April, on the first Day of the Festival of Ridván (Paradise) commemorating the time when Bahá’u’lláh, in 1863, declared that he was the Promised One of All Ages, we held our own celebration here at the Bahá’í Centre. This announcement was made to all the followers of Bahá’u’lláh gathered in the garden where they were encamped prior to His being banished from Baghdad to Constantinople by the authorities who were afraid of the number of people believing His teachings. Two more Holy days are commemorated during the 12 days they spent in this garden - the 9th day on which His family joined them and the 12th, the day on which they departed on their long journey, to the great sorrow of those left behind. The Festival of Ridván runs from 21st April to 2nd May.
Annual Election (21st April 2009)
Each year the Bahá’ís in a given area elect 9 people from their Bahá’í community, by secret ballot, to form a Local Spiritual Assembly (LSA), which guides the community through the year. The members of the St Helena LSA this year are: Basil George (Chairman); Cliff Huxtable (Vice Chairman); Jenny Corker (Treasurer); Barbara B. George (Secretary); Emma Bennett; Delia Huxtable; Gay Marr; Catherine Turner; and John Turner. This happens on the first day of the Festival of Ridván.
With no schisms or factions, the Bahá’í Faith comprises what is arguably the world’s most diverse and widespread organization. It has no clergy, and is coordinated by a unique administrative system with freely elected governing councils in nearly 10,000 localities. The Universal House of Justice is the supreme governing body of the Bahá’í Faith. Its nine members are elected every five years. This system of administration is set out in the Bahá’í scriptures. The Bahá’í International Community works closely with the United Nations and has offices at the UN in New York and Geneva.
Bahá’í New Year Celebration (21st March 2009)
The Bahá’ís of St Helena celebrated their New Year on March 21st at the Bahá’í Centre, where a tea party was held for family and friends. The Bahá’í Calendar began in 1844. This was the year when the Báb (The Gate) declared himself to be a Messenger of God, heralding the coming of Bahá’u’lláh (The Glory of God), who brought teachings to unite the world, as promised in past dispensations.
The Bahá’í Calendar is a solar calendar and is currently used by Bahá’ís around the world, along with the calendar of their country. It has 19 months of 19 days, with 4 or 5 Intercalary days from 26th February. This New Year is 166 years since the beginning of the Bahá’í Faith.
New Year is fixed by the vernal equinox and is celebrated on 21st March - the first day of spring in the Northern Hemisphere.
Intercalary Days (26th February 2009)
The Intercalary Days 26th February - 1st March (“Ayyám-i-Há”) are days of hospitality, charitable acts and service to the community. Some Bahá’ís exchange gifts with family and friends at this time. They are also the days when Bahá’ís prepare themselves for the Fast, which lasts from 2nd to 20th March.
This year the Bahá’ís and friends with children had a picnic at Blue Hill Community Centre.
Bahá’ís and friends met for a picnic to celebrate Ayyám-i-Há
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