Presence, purpose and service: Family life and its impact on society form basis of Cockburn conference 

A local Baha’i governing council in the city of Perth has focused on the requisites to building stronger families when planning its most recent local conference. 

The Local Spiritual Assembly of Cockburn decided to study the recent message from the Universal House of Justice about marriage and family life and use it as the basis from which to plan the conference. 

“The Local Assembly’s focus was to look at what makes family life stronger,” shared one Assembly member. “The fact that we had the letter of the Universal House of Justice helped immensely with the preparation and selection of the sessions.” 

The Local Spiritual Assembly, through a process of consultation unique to the Baha’i Faith which is characterised by detachment, respect, and the view that “the shining spark of truth cometh forth only after the clash of differing opinions”, decided to include two sessions in the conference exploring the importance of family as a basic building block of community, its effects on society, and how society was impacting the family structure itself.

The Local Assembly also decided to include a session on how service affected family members, bringing them closer to one another and, in turn, having a positive effect on the community at large. 

“When the Area Teaching Committee (a body that oversees the community-building endeavours in a specific locality) encouraged all the Local Assemblies to plan local conferences within a short period of time, it seemed impossible at first,” the Assembly member said. “But once the Local Assembly began consulting, it was clear that confirmations from above were manifesting themselves in many ways.” 

The local conference was held at Lakeland Senior High School. Cockburn community has developed a long-term connection with the school and its principal, who was asked to present the opening remarks speaking of the importance of family and family life. 

The program was followed by performances from children and the youth and comprised of four sessions with the last session allocated to reflection and planning. 

“Hopefully those present at the conference will recognise the family unit as the core of the community and that family life is all about presence, purpose, service and growing together.”