Originally posted here:  http://nibahai.org/blogs/adrian-mckee/forgiveness-wake-charleston-massac...

There has been a lot of discussion about forgiveness lately that started after the families of the victims of the Charleston Massacre expressing their forgiveness to Dylann Roof at his arraignment. Then yesterday a friend shared a Washington Post news article titled “Black America should stop forgiving white racists”.  She then commented on the article asking the question, “The notion of forgiveness has been on mind recently -- after reading The Sunflower by Simon Wiesenthal -- on the possibilities and limits of forgiveness - "You are a prisoner in a concentration camp. A Nazi soldier asks for your forgiveness. What would you do?"

Originally posted here:  http://nibahai.org:80/blogs/adrian-mckee/what-ruhi-10328

Here on Northern Illinois Baha'is there is a lot of mention about Ruhi classes so I decided to include this short explanation of what Ruhi is for those who are curious about it.

Bahá'ís everywhere are engaged in a global process of learning that is helping to build their capacity to apply the teachings of Bahá'u'lláh (the Prophet Founder of the Bahá'í Faith) to the transformation of society.

The purpose of Bahá'í study circles is to provide participants with the knowledge, spiritual insights and skills to enable them to contribute to the betterment of society, starting with their own neighborhood. This is done through systematic study of a sequence of courses based on the Bahá'í Writings using the courses of the Ruhi Institute.

Originally posted here:  http://www.nibahai.org:80/blogs/adrian-mckee/being-bahai-cowboy-state-10142

Though this radio broadcast is not focused on the Northern Illinois Area, it discusses Baha'i Celebrations and Holy Days (since Tuesday February 26 starts our Festival of Ayyám-i-Há). I thought I would add the link to this broadcast from Wyoming Public Radio entitled "Being Bahá'í in the Cowboy State".

Most Wyomingites have long since taken down their Christmas trees and wrapped up their winter holidays… But for people who practice the Bahá'í faith, the Festival of Ayyám-i-Há – where families get together and exchange small gifts, is right around the corner.

Originally posted here:  http://nibahai.org:80/blogs/adrian-mckee/after-newtown-10100

In the aftermath of Newtown it can be frustrating when looking at the news.  And I'm sure my $.02 worth is not going to make that much difference, but we, as a nation need to make some difficult changes in order to do something about what is truly going on in a society where such carnage is becoming more and more commonplace.

Originally posted here:  http://nibahai.org:80/blogs/adrian-mckee/observation-now-election-over-1075

Now that the election is over I have a couple of observation/thoughts I wish to express.

The first of these is that as Bahá’ís we are encouraged to stay out of conflict and contention, which are the characteristics of our partisanship politics practiced in our current political system.   Being Bahá’í is about coming together, working together for the greater good of all humanity.

Bahá’u’lláh, the founder of the Bahá’í Faith also has told the Bahá’ís to be active and loyal to our government and here in the United States it means to vote our individual conscience when there is a local, state or national election and not to participate in the “which party is better, or this candidate is better” mudslinging that always seems to come up..

I am Adrian McKee, the Webmaster of the Northern Illinois Bahá’í Web Site. I became a Bahá’í in late August, 1971. It was the end of turbulent times, the end of the “Flower Power” movement, and the winding down of the “Black Power” movement. It was 3 years after the assassinations of Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King, and the summer of the Police Riots at the Democratic National Convention in the summer of 1968. Being a Black teen in the ‘burbs of Chicago was very troubling and very confusing. There was excitement of some of the gains that were being made in the Civil Rights movement, but the reality is that there is still a long way to go.