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Adult Program

The adult program is designed to empower participants by increasing the capacity for direct teaching and for related consolidation activities. Emphasis is on ‘learning’ and ‘acting’ more than ‘listening’ and ‘intellectualizing’. The classes consist of learning direct teaching and consolidation skills under the guidance of experienced tutors in a hands-on workshop environment. Tutors are drawn from the ranks of those most closely associated with and experienced in the field of action who are working toward the goals of the 5 year plan.

Theme: "May All Find A Part To Play" (Universal House of Justice, 6 Dec 2008)

Vision: All believers are continuously developing and joyfully contributing their knowledge, skills and inspiration for systematically achieving the goals of the 5 Year Plan. The message of Bahá’u’lláh for renewing civilization through the Word of God for this day is easily and readily shared at all levels of society.

Purpose: Application of the skills learned in the core activities to effective teaching.

Content: Skills workshops with demonstrations, role playing, scripted scenarios and participant feedback.

Participation: Every adult and youth should participate in the workshop on The Role of the Believer in Systematic Teaching, and select two or three of the other workshops on the individual core activities.

The Committee Added New Workshop Please click on NEW

Workshop 1. Role of the Believer in Systematic Teaching

The workshop objective is to empower the individual believer to teach with greater confidence, skill and knowledge, either individually (e.g., by holding firesides, or teaching children’s classes or study circles) or collectively in a team activity such as an Intensive Program of Growth.

‘The friends who participate in these intensive programs of growth should bear in mind that the purpose is to ensure that the Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh reaches the masses of humanity and enables them to achieve spiritual and material progress through the application of the Teachings.’ (9 January 2001, Universal House of Justice)

Recognition of teaching as a spiritual enterprise. ‘It is not enough to proclaim the Bahá'í message, essential as that is. It is not enough to expand the rolls of Bahá'í membership, vital as that is. Souls must be transformed, communities thereby consolidated, new models of life thus attained. Transformation is the essential purpose of the Cause of Bahá'u'lláh, but it lies in the will and effort of the individual to achieve it in obedience to the Covenant. Necessary to the progress of this life-fulfilling transformation is knowledge of the will and purpose of God through regular reading and study of the Holy Word.’

(The Universal House of Justice, in a letter to the Bahá’is of the World dated Ridván 1989)

The focus of this workshop is on reinforcing, strengthening and augmenting the teaching skills that were offered in the Shenandoah Bahá'í School in 2008. The workshop will review the Institute process, overview ongoing and planned activities in our region, and help each believer identify opportunities for playing a special part in the teaching work, with particular attention to the needs of isolated believers, groups, and C-clusters.

Personal teaching experiences will be solicited as to what was done, results, what was learned.

Workshop 1 is built on teaching themes from Teaching the Cause, Ruhi Book 6. It will be presented in two 90 minute sessions as follows:

Session 1 (90 minutes with topics selected from among the following)

Review of guidance on 5 year plan; Institute process
Spiritual basis of teaching; praying for empowerment
Discovering receptivity; identifying groups to teach
Integration of core activities to respond to individual needs

Session 2 (90 minutes with topics selected from among the following)

Honing our introduction to the Faith
Using Anna’s Presentation in teaching
Developing sensitivity and wisdom in teaching
Roles of the Individual, community and institutions
Devising elements of a Personal Teaching Plan

The class will be conducted in an interactive environment. Various presentation techniques may be practiced with role playing of selected teaching scenarios. Results will be discussed with identification of positive results and recommendations. Workshop 1 will be offered to youth and adults.

Workshop 1, consisting of two 90 minutes sessions, will be offered 6 times in entirety, at times as indicated in the program schedule.

Workshop 2. Teaching Children’s Classes

The focus is on building our capacity for the spiritual education of our children through classes that nurture attitudes and behaviors based on love of God, universal moral values, and Baha’i teachings for this day Participants will learn how various approaches are helping children “develop their spiritual faculties and lay the foundation for a noble and upright character” (Universal House of Justice, 20 October 2008, p.2).

The workshop builds upon concepts and guidance for teaching children’s classes in Ruhi Book 3. The workshop will help teachers effectively utilize the Teacher’s Toolkit and other resources, and incorporate storytelling, games, music, the arts, service projects, and other techniques for creating a joyful and loving learning environment that focuses each child’s curiosity, creativity and energy in becoming a Child of the Kingdom.

Workshop 2 will be presented in two 90 minute sessions as follows:

Session 1 (90 minutes)

Review of guidance

Review of Concepts of Ruhi Book 3
Starting your children’s classes
Demonstration of a children’s class

Session 2 (90 minutes)

Assignments to prepare and teach a children’s class
Participants practice teaching a children’s class
Discussion of how children’s classes fit into bigger vision

Workshop 2, consisting of two 90 minutes sessions, will be offered twice in entirety, at times as indicated in the program schedule.

Workshop 3, Holding Devotional Gatherings.

Workshop 3, Holding Devotional Gatherings, is one and a half hours long and will be offered four times. You can sign up for your preferred session when you register on-line.

The focus is on our roles in fostering the life of the spirit through devotional gatherings that enable every soul and our communities of believers to draw closer to God through prayer and meditation on the sacred texts. Participants will explore the variety in devotional gatherings, from intimate gatherings in private homes to community devotionals in Bahá'í centers, public places and nontraditional venues; interfaith approaches; use of music and the arts; opportunities for involving children and junior youth; and tips for creating an atmosphere to enable the soul to “soar on wings of detachment.”

Participants will enhance their capacities to share quotes and themes (drawing upon Reflections on the Life of the Spirit, Ruhi Book 1 and Arising to Serve, Ruhi Book 2), and to offer prayers to a group or individually, in a home or in public setting. Volunteers from the Saturday classes will be invited to help plan the devotions for the Sunday afternoon closing session.

Workshop 4, Animating Junior Youth Groups.

Workshop 4, Animating Junior Youth Groups, is one and a half hours long and will be offered four times. You can sign up for your preferred session when you register on-line.

The focus is on building skills to animate young people in their early adolescent years “to navigate through a crucial stage in their lives” (Universal House of Justice, Ridvan 2008, P.1); and “to form a strong moral identity, empower them to contribute to the well-being of their communities,” to reflect the love of God in their daily lives and in their relationships with family and peers; and to confidently follow their own special paths of service and not be “distracted by the ephemeral pursuits of a bewildered society” (Universal House of Justice, 20 October 2008, p.2). The workshop will summarize resources available for planning junior youth classes, highlight experience in our region, solicit ideas for enlisting the “vast reservoir of energy and talent” of junior youth (Universal House of Justice, 27 December 2005, p.7) and include demonstrations of creative animation approaches.

Workshop 5, Tutoring Study Circles.

Workshop 5, Tutoring Study Circles, is one and a half hours long and will be offered four times. You can sign up for your preferred session when you register on-line.

The workshop objective is on building human resources for expansion and consolidation through small group study of a programmed sequence of courses at the local level. It will be oriented to practicing the interactive dynamics skills that take place in a study circle using a simulated environment. Students will find a part to play in taking on the roles of the various participants – tutor, believer and seeker - in all phases of activity involved in the creation, operation and learning experiences of a study circle. Situations and issues that might arise from a study circle will be included and possible approaches to responding to them will be identified and practiced.

This course is based on the Ruhi Institute process as contained in portions of Walking Together on a Path of Service, Ruhi Book 7. It will include elements of the following:

Qualities of the tutor
Creating an atmosphere for open, constructive and active participation
Understanding the Institute process for small group study

i. Finding a target audience

ii. Explaining the nature of the study circle

iii. Deciding the location, day, time, and duration of classes

d. Tutoring a study circle

i. Role of the tutor

ii. Methodology of ongoing learning

iii. Consultation between tutor and student

The class will be conducted in a workshop environment. Various instructional methods will include practice sessions using scripted scenarios, role playing and participant evaluation of results. It will be offered to youth and adults.

Upon completion, the participant will be prepared to select a path of service in actively promoting the growth of the Cause by serving in the many opportunities to support the teaching activities of Local Spiritual Assemblies, individual believers and teaching teams.