Study Circle Group "Arises to Serve" in NYC, Part Two

Meeting weekly at a home in Richmond Hill, Queens, Jack C., Eric R., Dave J., and Scott W. had over several months progressed through Book 1 of the Ruhi Institute, which had dealt with themes such as "Understanding the Baha'i Writings" and "Prayer."  Recently, they had proceeded to Book 2, and new member Arvid N. had joined the Ruhi group.  Book 2 was entitled Arising to Serve.  The general focus of that book was on how to appropriately introduce Baha'i topics to others. 

In June 2009, as the group was about midway through the book, Jack mentioned an upcoming Baha'i holy day gathering on July 9, which commemorated the 1850 martyrdom of the Bab, the prophetic forerunner of Baha'u'llah.  After a brief discussion, the group enthusiastically decided to take on the task of planning and presenting the devotional program for that Holy Day event at the NYC Baha'i Center in Manhattan.  It was a timely suggestion, coming as it did while the members were in their Ruhi course already studying ways of teaching various historical and spiritual topics pertaining to the Baha'i Faith.

Thus, over the next few weeks, the five Baha'is divided up the labor, did research at home, and at their study-circle meetings pooled their ideas and different talents, eventually crafting a tentative program.  Naturally, prayer played a part in the preparations at various points.  Then, on a night shortly before the scheduled day of the devotional gathering, the Ruhi group members convened in the Gillespie Auditorium at the Baha'i Center, and spent several hours rehearsing that program, making changes as needed.  For the members of group, this was the first time they had organized such an event – most, moreover, having little or no experience with staging, sound systems, or lighting.  Happily, Jordan, co-caretaker of the Baha'i Center and handyperson sine qua non, provided some technical advice to the group. 

At noon on the day of the Martyrdom of the Bab, the auditorium was filled with Baha'is and their guests.  The lights were dimmed to virtually complete darkness, and ethereal-sounding, orchestral music began to whisper from the hall speakers:  Charles Ives's classic The Unanswered Question, overlaid with brief quotations from the writings of the Bab, intoned via microphone from offstage.

This musical meditation ended, nine men and women, each carrying a candle, quietly came onstage one by one, and recited a prayer in one of several languages – Bulgarian, Spanish, English, Malaysian, Korean, Amharic, Russian, Farsi.  Setting their candles on a table onstage, they each then took a seat in the front row. 

After a short welcome, Arvid N. proceeded to give an account of the life of the Bab, using a text he had written for the occasion and illustrated by an engaging slideshow, controlled by Jack in the auditorium's control room, and projected onto a screen onstage.  This presentation alternated with a recitation by Eric, who intoned portions of the discourse of the Bab addressed to His disciples, the Letters of the Living, as He sent them out to teach the Faith in 19^th-century Persia. 

Arvid then took the podium again and gave a dramatic account, again with slideshow illustrations, of the martyrdom of the Bab.   The presentation seemed crafted not only to be of spiritual service to local Baha'is, but also to provide an engaging, accessible account of this remarkable historical event for any non-Baha'i guests who happened to be in attendance.  This concluded, Eric then movingly intoned the final portion of the Bab's address to the Letters of the Living.  The Holy Day presentation then finished with a recitation of the Tablet of Visitation, while those in attendance stood and faced the Qiblih, the resting place of Baha'u'llah, in Bahji, Israel.  Attendees and presenters alike then congregated in the basement of the Baha'i Center for refreshments and fellowship.

Scott

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