Twin Holy Days celebration becomes a catalyst for service

Through weeks of preparation, a Twin Holy Day celebration in Toronto opened the door for a wide range of friends to be of service to their community.

Matt Kianfar, who took part in the celebration with his study circle, said that consultations at his neighbourhood Feast helped everyone consider what they could offer – either as individuals or through their core activities – to the event.

“The Feast letter encouraged us to think about what we can do based on what we have learned in the past,” he said. Several friends planned home visits to deepen on the significance of the Twin Holy Days and to consult on what they could do to celebrate. The response from the community members was immediate. Some contributed decorations, music and storytelling, while others offered food or rides, ensuring that no one was left out of the celebrations.

Mr. Kianfar and his study circle decided to prepare by watching Light to the World, the film released during the bicentenary of the Birth of Bahá’u’lláh,

One participant, Keisha Gayle, says the film inspired her to paint a tree and invite the children and junior youth in her community to add handprints as leaves. On the trunk she included a quotation from Bahá’u’lláh reading: “Ye are the fruits of one tree and the leaves of one branch.”

“It was such a profound video,” she said. “In that video there is a tree that looked just like this one and I was thinking that it would work well for our community if all the kids could get together and all the groups and show that we are really one.”

Parsa Zahraei, a youth whose study circle collaborated to tell the story of the life of Bahá’u’lláh, said it had a great impact on him to prepare for the evening with his friends.

“I was deeply inspired by the life of Bahá’u’lláh. He went through so much and it really showed me how important it is to dedicate time to serving the Faith.”

He added that so many different people celebrating Bahá’u’lláh was a very special thing.

“We all came here to celebrate the life of a Prophet of God and we’ve been able to spread that Message further, to our neighbours,” he said. “I can’t wait for the next celebration.”