Bahá'í

It was about August 9, 1981, and I was visiting the Baha’i House of Worship which was something I did a lot when I ran into my friend Charles Young.  He invited me down to his neighborhood the following Sunday to meet at the South Shore Country Club to see Count Basie and Dizzy Gillespie. This sounded great to me as the Count Basie Orchestra is my all time favorite musical group and Dizzy Gillespie is the Father of Be-Bop and is also a fellow Baha’i.  The South Shore Country Club is a big place but Charles told me that to find the other Baha’is all I will have to do it look for the balloons.

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.

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.