Pathways to Unity Summit: Highlights from June 2025

Recently, friends from across Pittsburgh and nearby communities gathered for the Pathways to Unity Summit - a day filled with reflection, creativity, and meaningful conversation. Together, we explored an important question:

“A Vision for Humanity: We are one family - but how do we get there?”

A Day of Connection and Reflection

Throughout the summit, participants shared ideas in small groups, collaborated on art projects, and enjoyed uplifting music and movement. Each activity offered a different way to reflect on what it takes to build communities that are vibrant, purposeful, and unified.

One group created artwork showing how individual trees can come together to form a forest - an image that reminded us of the strength and beauty of unity. Others worked with meditative drawing or music as a “ladder for the spirit,” helping us to pause, reflect, and imagine new possibilities.

As one participant shared:

“For me, the Summit was uplifting as all large structured Bahá’í events in our community are. Seeing everyone that is able to show up and their commitment and love inspires and motivates me.”

Building Stronger Communities

The heart of the conversations focused on practical ways we can move closer to the vision of humanity as one family. The Bahá’í community has been learning about this for nearly two centuries, striving to create spaces where people of all ages can grow spiritually, build friendships, and work together for the betterment of society.

Four types of community-building activities have become a central part of this learning process:

• Classes for children that nurture spiritual qualities such as kindness, honesty, and fairness.

• Programs for young teens that encourage both intellectual and spiritual empowerment, helping them develop confidence and a sense of purpose.

• Study circles where youth and adults explore spiritual themes together and strengthen their capacity for service.

• Devotional gatherings where friends and neighbors come together to pray, reflect, and support one another.

A Catholic friend who attended reflected:

“There were many times during the conference when I felt we can build a better world for the future by working together, instead of separating from each other by our religions. In the small discussion groups, every person felt free to express themselves, and we all really listened to each other. The artistic portions really made these things come alive—creating a song ‘Together We are Strong,’ doing movement together, and our tree mural were highlights for me.”

Learning Together

These efforts are supported by the Ruhi Training Institute, a series of study materials and courses that help individuals and groups develop the skills and vision needed to serve their communities.

The Summit highlighted how much joy can be found in the process of learning and creating together:

“My daughter really liked making the tree art and leading prayers with the instruments.”

“I was energized by the diversity of perspectives in the consultations I joined, and found the arts integration uplifting and joyful. I was also inspired by the action plans developed by friends around the cluster who attended.”

Moving Forward

The summit reminded us that building unity is a journey. Through conversations, creativity, and collaborative action, we are learning step by step what it means to live as one human family.

To learn more about the Baha'i Faith or become involved in community activities, contact us here.