OZ Whitehead Firesides

"The Emergence of International Organisations, in Particular The United Nations & Affiliated Organisations, in the Context of the Baha'i Writings."

The talk will cover the emergence of the League of Nations and its inevitable failure; the creation of the United Nations and its family of organisations at the end of the Second World War; and the progress made in international cooperation in the 20th century. The talk will close by summarizing how the world has, in the last twenty years, taken backward steps and how these may be the precursor to the progress which will eventually be made towards a durable world peace. Gerald will include some personal insights from his time serving at the Bahá’í International Community United Nations Office.

Gerald and his wife, Margaret, became Bahá’ís in 1973 in London. They pioneered to Fiji in 1975. Gerald was secretary of the National Assembly for three years and Margaret established and ran the Bahá’í Publishing Trust of Fiji, whose principal activity was the translation and publication of the Bahá’í Writings in Fijian.

In 1979, they were asked to serve at the Bahá’í International Community United Nations Office in New York. They served there, and in Geneva, until 1987. Their principal focus was the human rights portfolio, including the work carried out in defence of the persecuted friends in Iran, following the 1979 revolution. To view the video visit our YouTube channel https://youtu.be/g01njVqlvr8

The Spook Who Sat by the Door (1969), by Sam Greenlee, is the fictional story of Dan Freeman, the first black CIA officer, and of the CIA's history of training persons and political groups who later used their specialised training in gathering intelligence, political subversion, and guerrilla warfare against the CIA. For the purposes of this talk we will concern ourselves less with the paramilitary aspects of the film, but rather with the way in which the power of perception can be a force for liberation and how the Bahá’í concept of the Pupil of the Eye--a term used to refer to the spiritual perception of people of African descent--is framed within the context of the film. The term 'spook' has multiple meanings: a ghost or spectre; a spy or covert agent; and a derogatory way to refer to black people. What the film does is to use the term subversively to describe how African Americans have occupied a seemingly passive, subservient position in the minds of the dominant culture. This dismissive attitude overlooked the active power of observation which the black community utilized to learn the behaviour and attitudes of the dominant white community and then to formulate effective modalities of survival based on that information, while the white community remained largely unaware of the inner life of African Americans. It is this capacity to stare deeply into the soul of America, to recognize its contradictions; it's fissures and moral inconsistencies that is an indispensable mechanism for eradicating the scourge of racism. As the Bahá’í writings so eloquently say: "truthfulness is the foundation of all human virtues."

Masud Ashley Olufani is an Atlanta-based actor, mixed media artist, and writer whose studio practice is rooted in the discipline of sculpture. He is a graduate of Morehouse College, and The Savannah College of Art and Design where he earned an M.F.A. in sculpture in 2013. Masud has exhibited his work in group and solo shows nationally and internationally. The artist has completed residencies at The Vermont Studio Center; The Hambidge Center for Arts and Sciences; and Creative Currents in Portobello, Panama. He is a 2020 South Arts Cross Sector Grant recipient for Elder, a site specific installation created to coincide with the redevelopment of the historic David T. Howard School in Atlanta. Masud is a 2018 Southern Arts Prize State Fellow; a recipient of a 2015 and 2018 Idea Capital Grant; a Southwest Airlines Art and Social Engagement grant; and a recipient of the 2015-16 MOCA GA Working Artist Project Grant. He is the creative director of Blocked: A Global Healing Project, a multimedia performance created to memorialize spaces marked by the trauma of the transatlantic slave trade. As an actor, he had a recurring role on the BET series The Quad and has appeared in numerous television shows including Greenleaf; Being Mary Jane, Devious Maids, Satisfaction, and Nashville. He is a featured actor in the film biopic All Eyez on Me. He is the co-host of the PBS news based investigative journalism show Retroreport, premiering nationally in the fall of 2019. As a writer, Masud has published articles for Burnaway; Bahá’í Teachings; and is a featured contributor for the Jacob Lawrence Struggle Series catalogue, produced to coincide with a major exhibition of the Struggle Series paintings.

To view the video visit the YouTube channel https://youtu.be/POY-ll0Oys4

‘Abdu’l-Bahá was the son of the founder of the Bahá’í Faith, Bahá'u'lláh. Before His passing, Bahá'u'lláh wrote a document telling the Bahá'ís to turn to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and that He would inspire His son with whatever ‘Abdu’l-Bahá needed to know.

Today we can’t meet ’Abdu’l-Bahá, but we can get to know more about Him through the words of those who did meet Him. These stories are about the interactions of the pilgrims and visitors who met ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, both in America and the Holy Land, and the emotions of those encounters. They illustrate dramatically the spiritual powers and prescience of ’Abdu’l-Bahá. He would answer questions before they were asked, convert atheists into believers, know the thoughts of His visitors and read the reality of their hearts. For those with receptive hearts, He would guide and educate with profound and uplifting talks. The stories attempt to show a little of what it had been like to be in His Presence.

Sharon was born in Sitka, raised in Tenakee Springs, Alaska, went to high-school in Juneau, lived in Fairbanks, became a Bahá'í in 1969 in Douglas. She pioneered to Hoonah, an Alaskan Native village, in 1970 and lived in Anchorage before returning to Tenakee in 1975 to manage her parent’s store, Snyder Mercantile.

Earl was born in Colorado, raised in Las Cruces, New Mexico, lived in the Marshall Islands and moved to Fairbanks to further his education in 1972. He also lived in Anchorage. He married Sharon in 1980 and became a Bahá'í on the same day. Earl and Sharon pioneered to the Mapuche Indian region of southern Chile in 1989, returning to Alaska in 1995. In 1999, they pioneered to Ireland where they live in the Alaska House.

Sharon worked with women’s groups on both sides of the Irish-Northern Irish border, trying to get them to realize that people are people, and helping them eliminate religious intolerance. She has also given workshops on learning to be your creative self through the arts in both Ireland and Northern Ireland. She has a reputation for making great cakes.

Earl has tutored many study circles and writes books:

-'Abdu'l-Bahá in Their Midst, which documents 'Abdu'l-Bahá’s travels to the West, was published in 2011.

-Shoghi Effendi Through the Pilgrim’s Eye, volumes 1 and 2, were published in Feb 2015 and March 2016, respectively.

-The Knights of Bahá'u'lláh, was published in June of 2017.

-Visiting 'Abdu'l-Bahá volumes 1 and 2, about those who went to visit 'Abdu'l-Bahá in the Holy Land from 1897 to 1921.

Earl and Sharon have been traveling and telling stories from their books. They have done their story-telling in the United Kingdom, Israel, Ireland, Iceland, Poland, Germany, Tunisia, Hawaii, Fiji, Samoa, New Zealand, Australia, Canada, the US and Alaska. To view the video visit the YouTube channel https://youtu.be/fBWpMim53DQ

I became a Baha’i in 1961, a 1st year student at Cambridge, thereby becoming the first Cambridge undergraduate to become a Baha’i thanks to one, Ian Semple, who was the first in Oxford. Since those happy days, marriage, children, pioneering for the Faith in Swansea, then to Tobermory on the Isle of Mull to open the Inner Hebrides to the Faith, then on to France to open up the Basque region and finally back to Scotland, where Carolyn, my wife and I are now retired in Stirling. Most of this time I have been a language teacher, first French and some German and then English as a foreign language, which I still do on a voluntary basis.

Particularly over the last 10 years or so, Carolyn and I have travelled extensively both in Europe and further afield to support Baha’i activities, all of which we have greatly enjoyed.

I have written just one book, Letter to the Christians, which was originally written in French and which I started largely for myself to help me become clearer about the link between my Christian faith and Baha’u’llah, but also because at that time Baha’u’llah’s ’Tablet to the Christians' had yet to be translated into French. This led to the work on what has come to be known as the Omega Course, which is to help Baha’is and particularly interested Christians to better understand the relationship between the revelation of Christ and that of Baha’u’llah.

My talk will involve a glimpse of what is to be found in both Baha’u’llah’s 'Letter to the Christians’ and material from the above-mentioned Omega Course concerning many subjects of concern to Christians and Baha'is, inevitably much abbreviated. I hope people will find it helpful. I am not a theologian so I am greatly indebted to the research and thoughts of those who have preceded me in delving into many matters of interest in this domain Bon courage!. To view the video visit the YouTube channel https://youtu.be/Va_hvOrINuI

This is a remarkable story of how a young Englishman came to learn about the Baha'i Faith and what he achieved before his life was tragically cut short less than one year later. It tells of the circumstances and glorious insights that 'Abdu'l-Baha Revealed confirming what His 'dear Breakwell' had achieved in the path of his Lord. This story, of the first English Believer, will touch and amaze hearts.

Arlette Manasseh is a writer with a background in theatre. Her career was launched when she was selected for an award-based training at the Royal National Theatre Studio from which she went on to win the Genesis Prize for New Directors. She has worked with performing artists across disciplines including Roger Robinson for a national tour prior leading to 'A Portable Paradise' (2019) and won the TS Eliot Prize for Poetry and the Ondaatje Prize in 2020.

Recently, Arlette began storytelling to share the rich history and lessons of the Baha'i Faith with the friends. She is also offering a free short storytelling course in February 2021 for anyone interested to learn how to tell stories that draw our hearts closer to 'Abdu'l-Baha. To view the video visit the YouTube channel https://youtu.be/JOmEDZYjF80

As we emerge from the trauma of the COVID-19 pandemic, there are many lessons that we can learn. Many have suddenly discovered that widespread fundamental changes in behaviour and lifestyle were possible, just what we need to address climate change. The superficial pleasures of the consumer society have faded as social relationships and solidarity grew in importance. There has been time for meditation and reflection on the purpose of life and the value of nature, with a resetting of priorities. We have travelled less and walked more, which could facilitate the transition to renewable energy and encourage rapid innovation to head off the climate catastrophe. We see the need to protect biodiversity to reduce the risk of new viruses transferring to human hosts. We must at all costs avoid going back to business as usual. Ultimately, selfish materialistic values must give way to those that foster the unity of all humanity and harmony with nature, which the pandemic has so clearly demonstrated.

Arthur Dahl is an environmental scientist, President of the International Environment Forum, and a retired Deputy Assistant Executive Director of UNEP, with 50 years' international experience in environment and sustainability. A lifelong Bahá'í, he is interested in relating ecology, ethics and spirituality. His books include "Unless and Until: A Bahá'í Focus on the Environment", “The ECO Principle: Ecology and Economics in Symbiosis”, “In Pursuit of Hope: A Guide for the Seeker”, and (with Augusto Lopez-Claros and Maja Groff), “Global Governance and the Emergence of Global Institutions for the 21st Century”. To view the video visit the YouTube channel https://youtu.be/FieRg8q1sTI

"Collective consciousness" is the term that sociologists use for the shared ideas and attitudes common to any group of people, whether a family, a nation or a gardening club. Emile Durkheim, one of the founders of the discipline of Sociology, explained that these common ideas and attitudes help to unify a social group without crushing the unique qualities which each member brings to the group or to wider society.

Covid19 is having a profound impact on world society and upon people's economic situations. Since it affects people regardless of social status or nationality, we can and must build a new and wider collective consciousness, where each person must seek the welfare of all.

This change is an evolutionary process, and an inevitable consequence of greater human mobility. This Sunday, we will learn from each other about where it might lead. To view the video visit the YouTube channel https://youtu.be/dJKvv0IkaO8

Payam Akhavan has encountered the grim realities of contemporary genocide throughout his life and career. He argues that deceptive utopias, political cynicism, and public apathy have given rise to major human rights abuses: from the religious persecution of Iranian Bahá’ís that shaped his personal life, to the horrors of ethnic cleansing in Yugoslavia, the genocide in Rwanda, and the rise of contemporary phenomena such as the Islamic State. In the context of the current pandemic, Payam Akhavan will share examples of the inspiring resilience of the human spirit in times of suffering and how embracing the reality of our inextricable interdependence can liberate us from past dogmas so we can imagine a different future. He will also reflect on how the vision of Baha’u’llah and the Baha’i teachings on the oneness of humankind have shaped his perspectives and work.

Payam Akhavan is a UN prosecutor, human rights scholar, international lawyer, professor at McGill University, Member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague, 2017 CBC Massey Lecturer, and author of the bestselling "In Search of a Better World". To view the video visit the YouTube channel https://youtu.be/8HJtyvvMRxI

From local to global, personal to societal, through deeds and words, action and discourse, the Baha'i Faith offers a unique vision of the purpose of religion.

More meaningful talks from Sean on "Search for Meaning Oxford" podcast.

"Search for Meaning Oxford" is a group for people searching for answers to some of life’s most important questions through conversations and reflections on the sacred writings of the Baha’i Faith and the world’s spiritual traditions.

https://anchor.fm/searchformeaning To view the video visit the YouTube channel https://youtu.be/ifvJrFV1F6g

A discussion of selections from the Baha’i writings about life on this planet and advances that have taken place in our knowledge of the universe and the emerging consciousness of world citizenship.

 

I will use examples from my professional experience in the field of Space and Satellites to highlight the progress of humanity in the realisation that as a planetary community we have no choice but to address global challenges ahead, if we are to pursue the glorious prospects of an ever-advancing civilization. Impediments to progress are the forces of nationalism, self-interest and all forms of prejudice which question the oneness of mankind and the respect for our common homeland, the planet earth. The writings of the Baha'i Faith inform and inspire us in our pursuit.

My background is in engineering, economics and finance having acted as CFO of a satellite communications company and now with continuing interest in space and satellite initiatives. I serve on the Board of Trustees of the International Space University and act as a Trustee of the John Templeton Foundation. To view the video visit the YouTube channel https://youtu.be/MQvDQKpBMCo