Operating in mode of learning essential to community-building work

SYDNEY, NSW – Australia’s Regional Baha’i Councils, bodies tasked with overseeing the development of community-building affairs across the country, recently came together in Sydney to reflect on how evolving administrative systems could support the growth of the Faith. 

The gathering was the first since the new Regional Baha’i Councils have been elected. Council elections take place every year in October and are announced on the Day of the Covenant, November 25. The Day of the Covenant is a commemoration of Baha’u’llah’s appointment of His eldest son, Abdu’l-Baha as His successor. Abdu’l-Baha played a crucial role in guiding the early Baha’i community and ensuring that the followers of the Baha’i Faith remained united. 

Any adult Baha’i in good standing who lives in the region can be elected to the Regional Baha’i Council. Members of the local Baha’i governing bodies, or Local Spiritual Assemblies, cast their vote for the nine members of their respective Councils. There are four Regional Baha’i Councils in Australia which cover Western and Central Australia, North-Eastern Australia, New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, and Victoria and Tasmania. 

The annual gathering enables members to reflect on what has been learned over the past year and prepare for the year of service ahead, both spiritually and practically. This year’s gathering focused on the development of systems that support growth. Areas requiring such systems for support include groups of families working in the field of community-building, the youth movement, and the deployment of pioneers to areas both domestic and international. 

At the beginning of the meeting, participants were reminded of the importance of the administrative order of the Faith, and that the administrative order is a framework, distinct from a set of procedures or policies, that works within principles. As described by the international governing body of the Baha’i Faith, the Universal House of Justice: 

Operating in a mode of learning underpinned the consultations – whether the Councils were exploring how to better engage in conversations about pioneering, how to support groups of families as they introduced spiritual educational activities into their spaces, or how to nurture a culture in the community where the youth “shine resplendent”.  

The gathering concluded with a renewed spirit of unity and purpose. Members from the Continental Board of Counsellors reminded the friends that the vision remains the creation of vibrant, spiritually dynamic communities and small settings where love, worship, learning, service, joy, and mutual assistance flow naturally.  

Participants were encouraged to maintain a keen vision aligned with the guidance of the Universal House of Justice and continue refining their systems with humility and scientific rigor. 

As collective objects of learning were shared, the Regional Councils were invited to consider their own areas for focused learning and growth, confident that the insights offered would help unify and advance the community-building work across the nation.