Message to unit conventions

4 February 2026 / 18 Sovereignty 182

To all those gathered at Canada’s unit conventions

Dear Bahá’í Friends,

It is with love that the National Spiritual Assembly greets you as you gather together to consult, reflect and elect the delegates who will represent your area at the National Convention this year. As mentioned in our 29 January letter, we look eagerly forward to consultations that are enriched by conversations you have had with your families, friends and neighbours.

In its 31 December 2025 message, the Universal House of Justice notes that “Whatever form a person’s service takes, it emerges from the unique interaction between, on the one hand, the needs of the Faith and, on the other, the possibilities afforded by the circumstances of each individual and the sacrifices that he or she chooses to make.” As the National Assembly studied the message with the Counsellors, we saw how wide is the range of direct and indirect efforts being offered in support of the Plan. Those who are contributing to the educational process of the training institute as children’s class teachers, junior youth animators and tutors see new generations of servants of the Cause arising. Friends whose services are not directly connected to the core activities are becoming more conscious of how they, too, are playing their part: through contributing Bahá’í thought to the discourses of society, whether in university classrooms or in professional settings; through their ardent prayers, in the privacy of their chambers and with others in informal spaces; through forging friendships through home visits; by educating their children in a Bahá’í life, and discussions with other parents in schoolyards and playgrounds; through quiet interactions with others about the state of the world, offering words of hope that counter despair; through contributions to the funds of the Faith and through deputization. Each is contributing a share and seeing it as part of the greater whole.

Much has been said about the role of the three constant protagonists of the Plan in the 31 December 2025 and 4 January 2026 messages of the Universal House of Justice. We invite you to reflect together on those messages, and on what has been learned and accomplished. Below are a few questions you may wish to draw upon in your deliberations, in addition to other questions and comments prompted by your study.

The Community

• The third paragraph of the 31 December 2025 message describes features of a cluster that has passed the third milestone, “a measurement of a journey whose beginnings are well understood”, and consolidated its progress. Even those that have not reached this stage are on the path towards such a vibrant community. Whatever the stage of development of your cluster, what advances have you seen along this path? How are you seeing the community emerging as a more visible protagonist in the work of the Plan, consulting together, working in groups, taking initiative, and making collaborative arrangements as described in the fourth paragraph of the message?
• In both messages, the House of Justice comments on how vital to growth is the dissemination of learning, and the role of clusters that act as reservoirs of knowledge and resources to the clusters that surround them. “Indeed”, says the House of Justice, “the rapid movement of clusters past the first, second, and third milestones requires that this pattern be strengthened and widely replicated.” How is your community benefiting from insights and experience of nearby neighbourhoods, communities or clusters? How can this be strengthened?

The Institutions

• In paragraph nine of the 31 December 2025 message, the House of Justice states: “For while individuals, communities, and institutions all have a contribution to make, it is the institutions of
  the Faith that are ultimately charged with tending to this entire ecosystem of learning. An essential requirement is to ensure that there are adequate arrangements in place, both institutional and less formal, to enable it to thrive, and that all those involved in the learning process are connected by loving relationships imbued with a spirit of humility and magnanimity.” This description of the role of an institution may differ from the ways we have thought about this subject in the past. What is being learned about this vision, and how would you describe “the ecosystem of learning” in your cluster, and the formal and informal arrangements that are in place that enable it to thrive?

The Individual

• What are some examples of greater numbers of enkindled souls pursuing the Plan with whole-hearted devotion? What is contributing to this?
• Referring to paragraph 16 in the 31 December 2025 message, what are you learning about recognizing “when the city of the heart is open”, and about “the conversations that lead to this moment and that follow it”? What insights do you have about “how to discern receptivity in different settings and how to acknowledge when it has already matured into faith”?

We eagerly await news of your gatherings, and send our warmest love.

With loving Bahá’í greetings,
NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY
OF THE BAHÁ’ÍS OF CANADA
Nabet Fani, Assistant Secretary