Over 120 people gathered in both Osceola County and Casselberry to celebrate Baha’i New year. Tornado warnings and hail storms leading up to the celebration gave way to beautiful blue skies as we waited for the sun to set, to break our Fast, and welcome the new year.
Orlando Baha’i History from Harvard’s Pluralism Project
Yesterday, Jessica Rohani found this article from 2003 on the history of the Baha’i Faith in Orlando. You may recognize some of the people in the photos.
The New Greater Orlando Baha’i Cluster Calendar is Live
The Area Teaching Committee has launched a new cluster wide calendar.
You may want to bookmark the calendar as this will be our primary method for sharing cluster activities. You can also subscribe to the calendar and all the events will show up in your own calendar program including Google Cal, Outlook, etc. You can also share via Facebook to let your friends know what is happening.
Welcome to the Greater Orlando Baha’i Blog
Hello and welcome to the blog page for the Greater Orlando Baha’i Community. We have just introduced our new and improved calendar and hope you enjoy seeing all the activities in our cluster in the same place. We welcome any suggestions for improving the calendar and making it useful to the community.
Naw Ruz Baha’i New Year March 21
All over the world Baha’is are celebrating Naw Ruz, the new year. The New Year is commemorated at the onset of the spring, during the equinox, when our star The Sun centers on the Earth’s equator.
Historically Naw Ruz has been celebrated as the Persian New Year for centuries. The term Nowruz in writing first appeared in Persian records in the 2nd century AD. It has been celebrated since the time of Zoroaster, but it is also an important festival for the Persians. In Iran it is a national festival, but the Iranian New Year is not exclusive to one religious group.
Naw Ruz is one of the most important festivals for Bahá’ís. Bahá’u’lláh confirmed the Babí calendar designating Naw Ruz in the Most Holy book, The Kitáb-I-Aqdas, as a feast. The Báb introduced a new calendar, known now as the Babí or Bahá’í calendar (see notes 27 and 147 of The Kitáb-I-Aqdas). According to this calendar, a day is the period from sunset to sunset. In the Bayán, the Báb ordained the month of ‘Alá to be the month of fasting, decreed that the day of Naw-Rúz should mark the termination of that period, and designated Naw-Rúz as the Day of God.
“ Naw-Rúz is the first day of the new year. It coincides with the spring equinox in the northern hemisphere, which usually occurs on 21 March. Bahá’u’lláh explains that this feast day is to be celebrated on whatever day the sun passes into the constellation of Aries (i.e. the vernal equinox), even should this occur one minute before sunset (Q and A 35, The Kitáb-I-Aqdas). Hence Naw-Rúz could fall on 20, 21, or 22 March, depending on the time of the equinox.” (The Kitáb-i-Aqdas, p. 177, note 26)
Bahá’ís celebrate Naw Ruz after a long period of Fasting. Bahá’u’lláh says, “Thou hast ordained Naw-Rúz as a festival unto those who have observed the fast for love of Thee and abstained from all that is abhorrent unto Thee.”
In Orlando, the Bahá’í community commemorated Naw Ruz on March 20th. The event was attended by around 150 people from Central Florida. Friends gathered from Brevard, Volusia, Osceola, Orange, Seminole and Polk counties. The program included devotionals, a presentation on Naw Ruz, artistic presentations by Andy Murphy and Robert Speirs, as well as the Central Florida Bahá’í Choir.
Later, youth of all ages enjoyed a dance until late hours.
SOME PICTURES OF THE EVENT
U.S. House of Representatives resolution condemns Iran’s persecution of Baha’is
WASHINGTON D.C., United States — The United States Congress has called on Iran to release Baha’is imprisoned solely for their religious beliefs.
For more information visit:
End of the World
A Baha’i Perspective on the ‘End of the World’
Recently, the topic of “The End of the World” has once again arisen as the center point of many discussions. This is being driven largely by all of the turbulence that is taking place on the world scene today. From turmoil in the Middle East, to waves of refugees crossing national borders, to the devastation of millions by the AIDS virus we see the signs foretold in the Bible and all of the Holy Books regarding “the end times”.
For more information:
- Baha’i Sacred Text – Kitab-i-Iqan: The Book of Certitude, by Baha’u’llah
- Online Baha’i Reference Library – Some Answered Questions(See Part Two: Some Christian Subjects)
- Books:
- Thief in the Night: The Case of the Missing Millennium by WIlliam Sears
- The Wine of Astonishment, by William Sears
- The Challenge of Baha’u’llah, by Gary L. Matthews
- In the Glory of the Father: The Baha’i Faith and Christianity, by Brian Lepard
- Booklet – Preparing for Christ’s New Nameby Alex Gottdank
- Web site with multiple Baha’i resources on Christian topics – Stonehaven Press
- The Baha’i Bookstore – a search under the name “Christ” brings up multiple entries
NEW Devotional Gathering
Over a score of friends gathered in a spiritual celebration. The Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Orlando has begun a Devotional Gathering to be held every 3rd Sunday of every month. On this occasion we celebrated the 100 Anniversary of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s visit to America. Prayers were inspired on this occasion and the topics The Master, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, shared with the friends a century ago. After devotions, the friends deepened on different topics from Talks given by The Master during his visit.
All are invited for future Devotionals. Location: Orlando Garden Club, 710 East Rollins Street Orlando, FL 32803. Time 11am – 1pm. Date: Sunday August 19.
