2012 About Our Devotional Programs

Man may say: “I can pray to God whenever I wish, when the feelings of my heart are drawn to God; when I am in the wilderness, when I am in the city, or wherever I may be. Why should I go where others are gathered upon a special day, at a certain hour, to unite my prayers with theirs, when I may not be in a frame of mind for praying?”

To think in this way is useless imagination, for where many are gathered together their force is greater. Separate soldiers fighting alone and individually have not the force of a united army. If all the soldiers in this spiritual war gather together, then their united spiritual feelings help each other, and their prayers become acceptable. (‘Abdu'l-Bahá, from notes taken by Ethel J. Rosenberg)

Our devotional programs are designed in accordance with our understanding of the Bahá’í writings on how to worship God in community and have all been actually used in worship before being put up on the website. Besides these songs that are sung together towards the beginning, in the middle, and at the end, there is a variety of music to listen to, and I have tried to suggest titles on CDs that might be in people’s collections already or are readily available through Bahá’í bookstores or outlets like iTunes. We always start with meditating to sacred music sung in a language besides English to reflect the diversity of the Bahá’í world. It’s also our goal to have an experience somewhat similar to what one might have at a Bahá’í House of Worship with, for example, no sermons or talks. Temple services have more restrictions in what can be read and sung.

In devotionals held in Centers or homes, we are free to use instruments and sing or read the words of Shoghi Effendi, as well as talks of ‘Abdu'l-Bahá, which are not allowed in the Temples. Besides carefully selected Bahá’í writings on the theme, every program includes writings from many of the world's religions, including sometimes African traditional religion, Taoism, Sikhism, and Native American religion. Visitors and Bahá’ís alike usually find this part very interesting as they show how the religions all essentially say the same things though in different ways and are sometimes prophetic.

Besides themes on various virtues and spiritual topics, we have programs to use around the times of several anniversaries that ordinarily get ignored, such as the passing of Shoghi Effendi, the passing of Bahíyyih Khánum, Bahá’u’lláh's arrival in the Holy Land, His imprisonment in the Siyáh-Chál, and His encounter with the Maid of Heaven. There are also relevant themes for use on or near Bahá’í Holy Days, Ayyám-i-Há (“The Mystery of God”), the Fast, and special event days such as World Religion Day, Race Unity Day, UN Day, and International Day of Peace. We also have some with special themes like Healing, Prayers for the Persecuted, Reflections on 9/11, and For the Victims of Disaster. We hope these programs, designed as mini-deepenings as well as worship, both inspire the friends to higher levels of service and interest our seekers in learning more about the Faith. Thank you for supporting our efforts to uplift the Bahá’í worship experience!

- Warmly, Wendy Scott