There comes a time in every participant’s experience when it clicks how important process is to the growth of community-building efforts undertaken in neighborhoods by Bahá’ís and collaborators.
It happened this past summer for many of the 33 young people engaged in a Northeast Region initiative that encompassed service in the Boston, Rochester, Buffalo, New York City and Philadelphia areas.
“I’ve always tended to be very results-oriented, and I tend to judge success or failures based on results,” reflects one youth. “But when deepening on the concept of transformation, I’m really seeing it as a process.”
Eventually, says the youth, results will emerge. “But I think it’s the process itself that needs love and attention. And we can have trust and faith that whatever results emerge will be OK, because we’ll learn from them and these results will then inform how to continue and/or tweak the process.
“This has helped me gain the spiritual qualities of patience, humility, and learning more strongly how to pace myself and my service.”
Efforts in nine neighborhoods
The summer of service did yield immediate gains in the nine neighborhoods served, says Marie McNair, secretary of the Northeast Regional Bahá’í Council, which oversaw the effort.
“At least 263 substantial conversations with youth took place in the neighborhoods,” she recalls. “With 15 new study circles forming, 39 youths entered study circles and 63 new families participated in core activities. Seven friends declared their faith in Bahá’u’lláh.”
Initiative participants say they emerged from the summer experience confident in their ability to learn new skills and apply them effectively.
“The most important attitude that I internalized was a humble posture of learning by keeping learning objectives in mind as we were in the field every day having conversations and regrouping afterwards to collectively consider what each of us was learning,” a youth notes.
“Although we couldn’t manage to start a Ruhi Book 1 [Reflections on the Life of the Spirit] study circle with youth” in the neighborhood that particular youth served, “everything was approached in a learning mode, and I found myself rejoicing in the small victories without being overly attached to outcome.
“My capacity to speak more openly and directly about the Bahá’í Faith and the Person of Bahá’u’lláh was built through studying [an approach detailed in Book 6, Teaching the Cause, of the training sequence] and doing direct teaching during home visits.”
Another benefit participants point out is the bonds of friendship that were built.
For one youth, “Some strengths of the training were balancing study with field work and building bonds of friendship with fellow youth from our sub-region and all over the Northeast.” For another, “Bonds of friendship with spiritual potency were formed as [the team] learned and served together in the field.”
Learning wasn’t restricted to the young participants, of course.
“Reflection on the part of the planners and regional institutions was helpful in identifying strengths and suggestions for overcoming challenges,” says McNair.
New clarity in collaboration
“For example, collaboration between Local Spiritual Assemblies and cluster agencies advanced, particularly in terms of funding and assistance with practical logistics, and suggestions for how that collaboration might be further enhanced arose out of the experience.”
In addition, she says, “Communication from regional institutions to the generality of believers, the youths, Assemblies, and cluster agencies was plentiful and sustained and should continue after the project. The clusters where the projects took place benefited in many ways, such as learning more about holding and sustaining collective teaching campaigns.”
And “the value of having Auxiliary Board members involved in fostering support was very important,” says McNair, “as will be the engagement of summer participants in helping” with future plans.
To that end, Brett Emmons, a coordinator for the regional training institute, says “one of the best outcomes, I think, was our determination not to make this a summer event but rather a continuous process.”
“We are learning about how to systematize the flow of youth through the institute process,” says Emmons.
“We are already planning for the next steps, which will not only include further reflection on the part of regional institutions but also setting up a calendar that will enable the use of school breaks for seminars to prepare participants and the initiation now of steps to prepare for next summer.”