The committee connecting hearts and souls in rural Australia

There are some specific words from the international governing body of the Baha’i Faith, the Universal House of Justice, that spur on the work of Australia’s Rural and Remote support committee. 

The Rural and Remote committee was first conceived in 2002 as a means of ensuring those in isolated areas are connected to guidance, information and encouragement particularly in regards to the community-building process unfolding across Australia and beyond.  

In February 2002, the national governing body of the Baha’i Faith, the National Spiritual Assembly, released a letter outlining the functions of this new project, stating that: 

Formally known as the Outback Project, the initiative’s mission statement is that those who are geographically isolated will experience a strong sense of cooperation and loving connection with the Faith and with fellow isolated believers and walk a path of increasing knowledge, service and social transformation together. 

Infused with the spiritual energies which come from service to humanity, and through online study groups, training and opportunities to go through the courses of the Ruhi Training Institute, the committee aims to connect a vibrant, united, informed and active network of Baha’is who are geographically isolated to stand firm in the Faith, embracing Baha’u’llah‘s teachings and becoming active protagonists in the Nine Year Plan. 

The committee facilitates various gatherings including spaces for devotion and prayer and programs for the spiritual education of children. 

When the initiative first launched, its members were meeting up via an ever-expanding tele network. Friends would call-in and laugh, chat and sympathise, as if sitting around the kitchen table. It was in this setting that they would also move through the courses of the Training Institute – learning together, raising their capacity to serve, and immersing themselves in the Writings of the Faith – albeit thousands of kilometres apart.

Just as in face-to-face study circles, these spaces continued to incorporate the arts, sometimes managed with the help of the mailman! Poems, stories, singing animated the process while participants were empowered to design their own service projects suited to the needs of their environment – funds raised for the Royal Flying Doctor Service, youth classes, prayers cards for children, literacy sessions for Indigenous women and much more. 

The team says that even though many of the individuals live in isolated areas, they are still able to find a way to contribute to the advancement of society – as online facilitators and participants of study circles, participating in various celebrations, connecting with like-minded community groups and hosting community gatherings in their own homes that are conducive to unity, fellowship and joy. 

“The act of service brings spiritual joy to us all,” the committee reflects. “The needs of this period are urgent and we need to enhance the spirit of collaboration and co-operation between friends from diverse regions of this country.” 

Those living in geographically isolated areas who wish to connect with the Rural and Remote committee can email ruralandremote@bahai.org.au