Strengthening the learning process: Groups of families 

The local governing bodies from Australia’s south-eastern region have gathered in Sydney and Melbourne to explore how groups of households across New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory, Victoria, and Tasmania are contributing to more vibrant, coherent and outward-focused neighbourhoods. 

Local Spiritual Assemblies from NSW and the ACT gathered at a meeting in Sydney at the beginning of August, with those from Victoria and Tasmania meeting in Melbourne on August 25. According to the Baha’i Council for South-Eastern Australia, the spaces were organised to provide Local Assemblies with the opportunity to seek out support, to learn from other communities, and to witness news and insights from groups at various stages of development.  

In its 30 December 2021 message to the Conference of the Continental Board of Counsellors, the Universal House of Justice states that: 

The spaces featured the chance for members of Local Spiritual Assemblies to study and discuss developments in their own communities and hear from Baha’i communities of various shapes and sizes as part of a special panel discussion comprised of members of selected Local Spiritual Assemblies. The insights and reflections offered during the panel discussions were aimed at strengthening the country’s learning process about how groups of families can work together to support the capacity-building process. 

In the Knox community, for example, the panel members spoke about prayer and meditation acting as a precursor to their process. They said those groups of families which are greatly involved in their community-building process emerged from activities already in existence such as English classes and study circles. 

In the smaller community of Yarra, community members were naturally involved in the care of children, and so several families were able to connect through the concept of the spiritual education of children. Another group of individuals in the same community were passionate about community service, so they rallied together to form a gardening group and have since extended their community-building initiatives further. 

In the community of Lane Cove in Sydney, the community-building process gained momentum through initial conversations between mothers who shared connections due to their children attending the same school. Now, there are more than 100 individuals involved in the local core activities, with children’s festivals a mainstay of the moral education process.  

In its 30 December 2021 message, the Universal House of Justice asks Local Spiritual Assemblies to take on a greater responsibility in nurturing the development of the community during the current series of Plans when it says: 

With the first Local Spiritual Assembly in Australia elected in 1923 in Melbourne, it was noted at the Melbourne gathering that it was “important to think about where we have been [as a community] and where we are coming from”.