By Adam Bauer
I would like to take a moment to honor the people of the land we live on; this is the homeland of the Auk Kwaan and Taku clans of the Tlingit people and thank them for centuries of stewardship. Gunalchéesh
Also, I would like to thank the Juneau Empire for making these columns possible.
The world center of the Baháʼí Faith, the Universal House of Justice, is holding a series of conferences around the globe. The core of these conferences is “Building a better world together,”exactly what that looks like in each community is based on the needs and opportunities in the individual locality. These conferences are meant to be a means by which the Universal House of Justice can interact — through the Bahá’í community — with society, sharing the optimistic Bahá’í vision of the future of humanity and the critical role that religion must play in creating that future.
Collectively, we know there is work to be done to build a better tomorrow. The status-quo is not sustainable, and this great society is not going to degenerate into barbarism and anarchy. The only alternative is a world that continues to move towards unity and justice. The question is how do we get from here, to there?
On the weekend of June 4, the Baháʼís of Juneau are hosting a three-day Building a Better World Together conference at the Methodist Camp. We will be exploring concepts of faith and social action in the family and the community. Meeting the needs of the soul as well as the material needs of society are increasingly being seen as reciprocal aspects of a mature spiritual life.
“Because it is concerned with the ennobling of character and the harmonizing of relationships, religion has served throughout history as the ultimate authority in giving meaning to life. In every age, it has cultivated the good, reproved the wrong and held up, to the gaze of all those willing to see, a vision of potentialities as yet unrealized.”
Universal House of Justice
On Saturday June 4 at noon, there will be a community conversation between faith and community leaders discussing our collective vision for a vibrant future here in Juneau. We will share ways that we can support and assist one another. Any community organization leader who wishes to join us please contact the Baháʼís. Anyone who wishes to attend either the camp or the Saturday discussion please visit our website for more information www.juneau.earth.
With love for all.
• Adam Bauer is a member of the Local Spiritual Assembly of the Baháʼís of Juneau. “Living & Growing” is a weekly column written by different authors and submitted by local clergy and spiritual leaders. It appears every Friday on the Juneau Empire’s Faith page.”
