Archive for July, 2008

Ethnic Fest 2008

Ethnic Fest was a great success for the Baha’is of Pierce County. The two-day festival, held each year at Wright Park during the last full weekend in July, is an outstanding opportunity to let people see us and get to know us. Easily more than 700 people stopped at our two booths during these two days. That’s people who stopped and looked, talked, got a balloon or a race unity bracelet. Our children’s activity booth was a fabulous winner. Children stopped and took the time to string their own race unity bracelets. That gave their parents a chance to visit and to see our banner and appreciate our basic message that all of the religions, coming from the same Source, are essentially one. We gave away 500 race unity bracelets and 500 balloons. The balloons had a simple, appealing message: some read “No Room in My Heart for Prejudice”, while others read “World Citizen”. We handed out hundreds of “No Room in My Heart for Prejudice” stickers to passers by – most of those were Fest-goers who did not really stop and are not counted among the 700-plus visitors. Dozens of adults stopped by to look and to take literature. Many of them took the opportunity to engage in lengthy conversations about religion and spiritual values. Twenty-four visitors signed up to request a follow-up contact from us. What a wonderful opportunity for us to bring our message to new souls! A great big “Thank You!” to the many volunteers who staffed our booths to meet and talk to our visitors, purchased supplies, delivered items, helped with set-up and take-down, said prayers for our success and made balloons and did all of those little things that made for a highly successful opportunity to present Baha’u’llah’s message.

Ethnic Fest is the right venue for us. Let’s do it again next year.

– The Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of Tacoma

Ethnic Fest in Tacoma – Pierce County


Our information booth and adjacent children’s activities booth at this year’s Ethnic Fest at Wright Park were very successful again this year. Here, on Saturday, Kay helps children make race unity bracelets and George shares the Faith with an interested inquirer. In six hours on Saturday, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., we gave away 320 balloons, with some reading “No Room in My Heart for Prejudice” and others reading “World Citizen.” We could have given away many more, but we had to save some of the helium for Sunday! We gave away about 500 balloons in the two days of Ethnic Fest (that’s the capacity of the helium tank). Dozens of children, with their parents, stopped by to make race unity bracelets, and many Fest visitors stopped by to have extended conversations about religion and the Baha’i Faith.

Ethnic Fest is an excellent venue for sharing the Faith. Thank you to the many people who volunteered their time to help!

Service to the Cause of God

The last trace of sunlight bids adieu for the day as the sun dips gracefully into the eastern Mediterranean Sea on a warm summer evening, as seen from the rooftop of the House of Abdu’llah Pasha in Akka, Israel. This is the house that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and His family lived in until He transferred His residence to Haifa, and the home where Shoghi Effendi, the Guardian of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh, was born late in the 19th century.

Bahá’ís should consider devoting themselves to a lifetime of service to their Faith. There are countless opportunities to do this over the course of a lifetime.

Join us at Ethnic Fest – a celebration of diversity

Consider the flowers of a garden: though differing in kind, colour, form and shape, yet, inasmuch as they are refreshed by the waters of one spring, revived by the breath of one wind, invigorated by the rays of one sun, this diversity increaseth their charm, and addeth unto their beauty.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá

Please join us for Tacoma – Pierce County’s annual celebration of our cultural diversity at Ethnic Fest at Wright Park in Tacoma this weekend, July 26 and 27! Come see the Bahá’í information booth.

Service to God has many roads

Baha’is can serve their Faith at the Baha’i World Centre in Haifa, Israel; at other international offices in Geneva and New York; at their National Office or regional offices, schools or institutes; or locally on Spiritual Assemblies and committees, and of course, by using their individual initiative to share the Word of Baha’u’llah with others.

Photo: the Workshop family at the Baha’i World Centre in 1984, with guest of honor, Counselor Anneliese Bopp

Let your vision be world-embracing

Let your vision be world-embracing, rather than confined to your own self.

Bahá’u’lláh

Photo courtesy of NASA and the National Space Science Data Center