Fall 2014 issue of Bahá’í Canada
A youth’s representation of a group of friends at a regional camp.
This issue of Bahá’í Canada is called “Insights into creating an environment of mutual support.” The magazine will now be published two to three times per year.
The National Spiritual Assembly’s hope is that the combination of the website and the magazine formats will allow quick access to news including messages of the Universal House of Justice, and also provide an opportunity for deeper analysis on themes related to the progress of the Plan in Canada.
The theme of mutual support and assistance was a thread in messages of the Universal House of Justice in recent years and was studied in depth at the youth conferences around the world in 2013 and in Canada in 2014. The issue includes stories from the history of the Faith, and accounts that took place recently across Canada that illustrate how individuals of all ages and backgrounds, communities and institutions are learning to support each other and to expand the circle of intimate friends that are working together for the betterment of the world.
The Universal House of Justice wrote in its 1 July message to the participants in the 114 youth conference around the world: “To follow a path of service, whatever form one’s activity assumes, requires faith and tenacity. In this connection, the benefit of walking that path in the company of others is immense. Loving fellowship, mutual encouragement, and willingness to learn together are natural properties of any group of youth sincerely striving for the same ends, and should also characterize those essential relationships that bind together the components of society.”
In the section dedicated to the theme of mutual support and assistance, the youth conference materials provided by the Bahá’í World Centre last year state: “To counteract the powerful social forces that threaten to sap their powers and distort their purpose, youth can rely on God’s unfailing assistance. They also have to enhance the ability to create an atmosphere of mutual support and assistance among themselves and in their communities in which their powers to transform society are multiplied.”
We look forward to hearing from you about this issue and to receive content, which include news, stories, reflections and pictures.
