Hi! It’s so nice of you to visit the Pittsburgh Baha’i community’s website.
What can we build together?
Your local Baha’i community is eager to be of service to our neighbors of all faiths, races and backgrounds. Our core community building activities are open to all, and can be led by people of any faith. You will never be asked for a contribution or pressured to convert. The following activities are here for anyone who wants to be part of a “mighty spiritual enterprise,” building a just and peaceful world, one heart at a time.
The fundamental purpose animating the Faith of God and His Religion is to safeguard the interests and promote the unity of the human race, and to foster the spirit of love and fellowship amongst men.”
— Bahá’u’lláh
Devotional Gatherings
Devotional gatherings are regular times to pray together with friends, family or neighbors. They might be organized around a theme, like racial justice, or focused on strengthening the bonds of friendship and unity in any group of people. Every devotional gathering develops its own unique approach to worshipping together according to the creativity, talents and cultures of the participants. If you would like to join a community of worship that you can actively co-create, a devotional gathering in your area – or, indeed, a virtual one almost anywhere – would welcome you.
Responding to the inmost longing of every heart to commune with its Maker, they carry out acts of collective worship in diverse settings, uniting with others in prayer, awakening spiritual susceptibilities, and shaping a pattern of life distinguished for its devotional character.*
Home Visits
Home visits are an important part of every Baha’i community. They give us a chance to get to know our neighbors better and have meaningful conversations about life. Building these bonds of community helps strengthen our networks of support and create more peaceful neighborhoods. As such, Baha’is view home visits as a small but meaningful way to build a better society. During the pandemic, home visits may be happening over the phone, through a window or at a park. Let us know if you would like a home visit!
As they call on one another in their homes and pay visits to families, friends and acquaintances, they enter into purposeful discussion on themes of spiritual import . . . and welcome increasing numbers to join them in a mighty spiritual enterprise.*
Children’s Classes
The focus of Baha’i children’s classes is developmentally appropriate moral and spiritual education that nourishes young minds and hearts through investigation, play and music. If you would like to meet other families who are working on building a peaceful and just future for their communities and for your children to participate in peer activities that cultivate a noble character, reach out so we can connect you to a Baha’i children’s class in your area.
Aware of the aspirations of the children of the world and their need for spiritual education, they extend their efforts widely to involve ever-growing contingents of participants in classes that become centres of attraction for the young…*
Junior Youth Spiritual Empowerment Program
Youth between the ages of 12 and 15 are at a dynamic stage of life when many of the important facets of their identity are formed. Their natural curiosity and independence lead them naturally to a deeper investigation of the meaning of life and their place in society. Junior Youth Spiritual Empowerment creates a space where junior youth can explore what it means to be a spiritual being, the problems of their communities and how they can help solve them. If you have a child or children between 12 and 15, contact us about forming a JYSEP group..
They assist junior youth to navigate through a crucial stage of their lives and to become empowered to direct their energies toward the advancement of civilization.*
Study Circles
The Ruhi course offers study circle participants the opportunity to consider, through the study of scripture and conversation with others, the spiritual realities of life. What is the soul? What happens after we die? How do we nurture our spiritual reality while living in the material world? How can we solve the challenging problems facing the world today? If you would like to investigate these realities in an egalitarian and service-oriented group, please get in touch to find out about a study circle you can join.
Thousands upon thousands, embracing the diversity of the entire human family, are engaged in systematic study of the Creative Word in an environment that is at once serious and uplifting.*
To learn more about community-building efforts of Baha’is around the world, visit bahai.org.
*21 April, 2008, message from the Universal House of Justice
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Contact the Pittsburgh Baha’is
- Baha'is of Pittsburgh
- (412) 626-7019
- info@pittsburghbahai.org