Opening my home, even in the midst of moving
An individual in Ottawa describes her initial efforts to bring together individuals and families from among her neighbours and networks and considers how each person has something to offer in building a united community.
A devotional gathering in the home of Haidy Mostafa with families she met when moving into her new community.
This year, along with several other individuals in Ottawa, I began learning about how a group of families can work together to improve the spiritual character and social conditions of their communities. This opportunity came at a challenging time for me as I was busy with purchasing and moving into a new home; however, I learned early on in my life that I cannot postpone service for a perfect time as I might always find myself busy with something.
In its 19 March 2025 letter to the Bahá’ís of the world, the House of Justice wrote beautifully about the concept of a Bahá’í home:
In a Bahá’í home, warm hospitality combines with spiritual quickening and intellectual progress. Through activities that every Bahá’í family can offer in its home, it can demonstrate a way of life that can be emulated by all those who seek to counteract the divisive forces that feed discontent, conflict, and self-interest, and to weave the bonds of trust, cooperation, and constructive action upon which a healthy community depends. Indeed, in a range of clusters worldwide, groups of families are already opening their homes and working together to help to consolidate local activities and to greatly extend their reach and influence.
I realized that the spiritual and material aspects of my life needed to grow simultaneously. So, I seized opportunities to connect with others in the spaces I was naturally in.
As I learned about mortgage options and had almost settled on a bank, a customer representative from a different bank called to offer me a better rate. He also met with me after work hours to make things easier for me. When we met, I asked him why he was still in the office after 6:00 p.m. “Don’t you have a family?” I asked. This started a conversation about his wife and his resilient Sri Lankan parents who always pushed him to work harder. He acknowledged the possibility of becoming a workaholic and said that he wanted to make a change.
I replied, “Let’s test your commitment to this change. I’m a Bahá’í and our new year is coming soon. I’m inviting you to the celebration of Naw-Rúz and you will need to leave your office on time to join us by 6:00 p.m.” At Naw-Rúz, I was pleasantly surprised when he and his wife came to the celebration. I saw their desire to advance beyond the material aspects of their lives. At this point, it became clear to me that I would invite them to a future gathering with other families in the community.
Soon after I moved, I invited the Italian-French couple living next door over to my house. Although they had known the previous owner for many years, it was the first time they had been inside the house. Despite living in the neighbourhood for decades, when they were going on vacation, they could not think of anyone else besides me with whom to leave the keys to their house in case of an emergency. I realized how disconnected neighbours were in this community, and how much warmth a gathering of families could bring.
For the first gathering of the group, I invited a few other people in my community, including an African lady and an Indian couple. We studied a few paragraphs from message of the Universal House of Justice to the Bahá’ís in the Democratic Republic of Congo regarding the oneness of humanity, and how to overcome obstacles to oneness such as prejudice. Everyone was engaged and recognized their shared identity as members of one human family. They all agreed that we should hold such a gathering regularly. During devotions my son sang prayers for unity, and everyone joined in. I noticed that one of the friends is gifted with a melodious voice. She requested that before the next gathering I share with her the materials we will study so that she can have time to choose some sentences to put to music. My heart rejoiced because I could see that she was already a protagonist.
-Haidy Mostafa
