GET IN TOUCH

Across the country, youth are arising to dedicate a portion of their summer to service. Many of these youth have regularly attended institute camps over weekends or during school breaks—designed to provide a space for spiritual growth, community service, and learning—where they study the Ruhi Institute courses and develop capacities for service to their community. The summer service program supports two goals: deepening the spiritual capacities of youth and empowering neighborhoods to strengthen their community-building activities. In Charlotte, at least 20 youth will study and serve in two communities offering children's classes and starting Jr. Youth groups. Want to help? Volunteers, drivers, meals, materials and chaperones needed. Reach out here.

Mirzá Ali Muhammad was born in Shiráz in 1819 and was executed in Tabríz in 1850, at the age of 31. His title, the Báb, means “the Gate.” Similar to John the Baptist, He foretold of a Mighty Messenger of God that was coming soon. This Messenger was Bahá’u’lláh, the Prophet and Founder of the Bahá’í Faith. The Báb, however, was also a Prophet in His own right; He revealed a Holy Book, the Bayán, as well as many tablets and prayers. Although His Dispensation lasted only 6 years, from 1844-1850, He had many followers, thousands of whom gave their lives for His Cause. This Holy Day is commemorated at 12 noon.

As we embark on our third year of creating space for meaningful, transformative conversations about race, you are invited to see the documentary "Power". Plan to join us on Sunday, July 20 @ 2pm at the Charlotte Bahá’í Center. We will have fellowship, refreshments, a film viewing and facilitated, small-group discussion.

In Power, Ford examines the history of American policing in order to see what its future may hold. The slave patrols created in the 1700s to track down enslaved persons; the often violent police suppression of the Civil Rights movement; and more recent wrongful deaths rhyme in ways that are difficult to ignore within a deeply entrenched framework of violent racial inequity. Yet in many communities throughout the country, the police are seen as a necessary bulwark against the threat of crime and disorder. The documentary allows this contradiction to drive the narrative forward, with insights from scholars and critics of the police alongside those of law enforcement officers and civilians whose lives have been negatively affected by policing.