Harrison Hills neighbors gather outdoors on “the Boulevard”
In its September 30, 2024 message (login required), the National Spiritual Assembly states:
“… the Counselors and the National Spiritual Assembly are calling upon the Regional Bahá’í Councils to organize in the coming months a series of conferences patterned after the global conferences that launched the current plan. In addition, they are asked to organize special gatherings for youth. In the same spirit as the previous gatherings, these will be open to all and intended to widen the circle of those involved in the life of the Bahá’í community. In all of these, we will, inspired by the themes of this letter, center our thoughts on immediate action and what now needs to be done to fulfill the goals of the Nine-Year Plan.”
As clusters throughout the region rise to the challenge set forth, we will share creative responses to this call to action. Several excellent examples of a community engaged in a sustained pattern of accelerated growth are underway in Fort Wayne, Indiana (Cluster 02). The Baha’is there have formed focus groups to brainstorm ideas and develop an array of conferences and gatherings ranging in complexity and themes.
Cluster IN-02 Fort Wayne
Fort Wayne’s multifaceted response to the National Spiritual Assembly’s September 2024 message has yielded agility of action, with some developing and launching individual initiatives, while other community members see this recent call to action as an opportunity to enrich a pattern of already established core activities in their focus neighborhood.
Part One – Shared Loss Leads to Sustained Action in Fort Wayne’s Harrison Hill Neighborhood
When George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor were killed in 2020, Harrison Hills neighbors wanted to gather together to honor their lives. Isolation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic required a creative response. Baha’i residents Akin DaDa and Gayle Bevill-DaDa joined with their neighbors to develop “Light Up the Night” an outdoor evening attended by over 100 family members who gathered to grieve outdoors. While the event was live-fed to the neighborhood Facebook page, an excerpt from the “NSA Statement to the American People on the Elimination of Racial Prejudice” was shared. At sunset, the light of 100 tealights, accompanied by the song “I Am Light” by India Arie, united the hearts in solemn reflection.
In 2021, as the pandemic continued, neighborhood collaboration infused with Baha’i principles helped the culturally and economically divided neighborhood develop a series of inclusive block-style outdoor events with a “One Human Family Sidewalk Chalk Contest” and an activity-based “Children’s Festival” – all aimed at building sincere relationships deepened with the bonds of friendship.
Husband and wife Akin DaDa and Gayle Bevill-DaDa recall that “Light Up the Night” was the turning point in their efforts to establish children and junior youth classes in their neighborhood. In 2022, Lisa and Bill Smits purchased a home in Harrison Hills to help form a nucleus of Baha’is serving the focus neighborhood. Over the past few years, the couples have provided weekly Ruhi Institute courses attended by a succession of children and junior youth. With momentum established, the first annual “Kid Camp” and “Junior Youth Camps” took place over the summer of 2024. Today, the Smits host weekly devotions and study circles led by local youth.
Gayle quickly points out that sensitivity to cultural diversity is essential to establishing trust in a diverse neighborhood. The nucleus of friends recently invited families to a two-evening gathering that started with a Junior Youth Fun Night on Friday. On the first evening, junior youth selected a theme for a skit and developed it independently to present to their parents. The documentary Frontiers of Learning was shown the second evening to inform parents about the values discussed in Ruhi Institute courses. A Q&A session followed the film. Many parents voiced their trust in the Baha’i approach and appreciation for the values shared in classes. Over time, significant dedication to the core activities based on the institute process has been at the heart of this successful response.
With the confidence they have garnered through sustained action and freshly inspired by the NSA’s strong call to action, new ideas are constantly coming to life. The nucleus plans a neighborhood home visit campaign to invite more families to join the core activities. Future goals include a Racial Justice conference for the broader Fort Wayne community. Akin and fellow musician Chad Thompson are planning an arts conference to share the message of the September 2024 letter centered on their shared interest in music.
As Baha’is embark on the third year of the nine-year plan at Ridvan, 2025, the NSA has already called for an accelerated growth pattern to continue through 2031. In contrast with the individual worldwide conferences held in 2022, the current conferences and gatherings aim to develop new capacities that garner continuous and sustainable outreach at the grassroots level. The Harrison Hills nucleus of friends have shown how much can be accomplished in a few years when Baha’is diligently arise to serve Bahá’u’lláh.