How the Training Institute has taken root in a group of families in Whitehorse

In this story for Australian Baha’i Horizons, we explore how two Baha’i families with young children used the Baha’i Ruhi curriculum to spearhead community-building activities in their neighbourhood and embrace more families into the fold.

It started with a common thread; Two families who both sent their children to the same school and had a shared desire to address the spiritual educational needs of their children. 

Acknowledging this desire would be shared with more parents, they started to engage in daily conversations at school pick-up and drop-off with other parents, making a conscious effort to start inviting their friends into spiritual educational classes for children that were driven by the Baha’i Faith’s Ruhi Institute.

 “Children’s classes were introduced as a means of spiritual education and we had direct conversations about the purpose and structure of children’s classes, leading to invitations to join,” the team shares. “If parents were too busy to join the weekly class, we introduced the children’s festivals which they could join during school holidays.” 

The children’s classes started more than two years ago. Over time, the children’s attendance has increased in regularity, and the overarching vision of the classes has solidified in the parents’ minds. “They started to see the transformative effect on their children and themselves,” the team shares. “They also started to see a positive effect in their family life.” 

A natural next step for this expanding group of families was for a Ruhi Book 1 study circle to commence – titled Reflections on the Life of the Spirit. The aim of the Ruhi study circles is to foster a greater sense of ownership and build capacity in individuals to be of service to their neighbourhoods.

“These friends are now fully involved with the rhythm of the group of families,” the team shared. “They study, reflect, consult and plan with us. They expand with us and help run children’s festivals. They also assist in service projects including making video narratives to share with other parents.  

“Some of the parents also have junior youth, so we have started consulting on how they can have conversations with their children’s friends to start a junior youth group.”