Before Mr. Dunbar's study class

Both of these photos were taken before Mr. Dunbar's class, which has been a fixture for youth serving at the Baha'i World Centre for more than 20 years. My Thursday night routine has been to work a little late, then visit the Shrine of the Báb, and walk down the bottom nine terraces to get to class. At that time, from 7 to 9 p.m. every night, the Shrine and terraces are bathed in light (see photo below), which has been done since the time of Shoghi Effendi, as a symbol of the days when the Báb was held in the mountain fortress of Makú, deprived of even a candle. My friend, Kent Chadwick (with the guitar above), lives in the same building where the class is held, so his flat has become a place for early-arrivals to hang out and participate in sing-alongs!

San Diego visitor

After the Black Men's Gathering teaching trip to Ghana last month, Jihmye Collins and his brothers came to the Holy Land for a three-day visit, because, as Billy Roberts said, "our mission isn't complete until we come and lay our heads down on the Threshold." The night that the men shared their stories and feelings of their experiences-- particularly about the receptivity and spirit of the Ghanaian people-- the auditorium was packed with staff members eager to inhale those breezes. We were all enchanted by the story-telling, the chanting and the laughter as they rejoiced: "mission complete"! :)

Images I won't forget

This was after the memorable reception with the Universal House of Justice. We sat in 25 chairs across from the Supreme Body, heard Mr. Paul Lample read a prayer and listened to Mr. Kiser Barnes first introduce the nine members and then speak to us about our service at the Baha'i World Centre. He said you never quite get over the bounty of being so near the Shrines.
On our Haifa walk-- when we toured the city, learned tips about transportation and shopping and other practical matters, and took the Carmelit subway for the first time-- we stopped at this baklava store. I just wanted to dive in. I had, of course, left room after my falafel. :)

Pats make patsies out of Chargers

SignOnSanDiego > Sports

Oh, my poor Bolts. LT, what happened? We were so close.

I heard there were restaurants showing the game here in Haifa, but the pre-game show started at 11 p.m. I settled for just reading about it when I got to work this morning... which was actually at 10 p.m. the night before West Coast time. I had to wait a couple of hours before the coverage by my friends at the U-T started posting:)

Nicole Vargas, I hope Eric didn't go into cardiac arrest or severely kick the dogs. The Vargas-Viglotti house could not have been a happy place to be yesterday after the fumbled fumble recovery, challenge and missed field goal. Y'all are in my thoughts.

A few more photos from orientation

Baha'is in Egypt on the Blogosphere dialogue

The Egyptian court's ruling to deny the Baha'is the right to obtain identification cards- needed for everything from school enrollment to burial certificates- has sparked a lot of debate about human rights such as this interesting post on a blog that came up when I did a search for the word Baha'i on Blogger.com. The link within the post is also an interesting account of the atmosphere of the courtroom and outside the courtroom when the judge gave the verdict.

The Baha'is, once accustomed to being part of such a new religion that most people they encountered hadn't heard of their Faith, are now seeing frequent mentions in the media, mostly in connection to the oppression of the believers in Iran and Egypt. In this column, #12 on the wish list for 2007, which was syndicated in several papers including the Washington Times, in an example.

Having the Baha'i Faith mentioned in such close context with political commentaries and in politically-charged debates makes me as a Baha'i nervous, because it is a principle of the Faith to abstain from politics and obey the law of the land where we live. I can, however, see how the current situations, in addition to inciting human rights activists, attract the attention of political activists, due to the fact that governments are involved in the violation of human rights. However, based on the teachings of the Faith regarding the future of humanity, Baha'is believe they will overcome persecution through other means than involving in politics.

Baha'i couple in Jerusalem: A minority of one

Check out this well-written piece from The Jerusalem Post about the Wismans, a couple from the U.S.A. serving at the Baha'i World Centre in a unique capacity.

Message to the Baha'is of Egypt from the Universal House of Justice

Some solid reporting from the Bahá’í World Centre about the situation in Egypt.