Highlights:
  • All Faiths Public Gathering for Prayer and Devotions ~ June 5th, 6th, 13th, and 20th
  • Informational Talks ~ June 19th & 26th
  • Race Unity: Kids Art from the Heart in the Park  ~ June 6th 
 
Oxnard-Ventura   Bahá'í Newsletter of the Oxnard and Ventura Bahá’í  Communities

June 2004
 

"There can be no doubt whatever that the peoples of the world, of whatever race or religion, derive their inspiration from one heavenly source, and are the subjects of one God.""
                                                                                                                          ~Bahá'u'lláh

The purpose of the Oxnard-Ventura Bahá'í News is to provide information about the Bahá'í Faith and activities of the Bahá'í's to those who wish to learn more or attend Bahá'í devotional gatherings. If you have comments or do not want to receive the Bahá'í News, write PO Box 7344, Oxnard, CA 93031, call 648-1222. No donations requested or accepted.

Informational Talks
A brief talk on a general topic about the Bahá'í Faith is followed by discussion. A time to bring up any question in your heart about spiritual topics.

Saturday, June 19th, 7:30 PM
Jeff Albert will speak on Race Unity. Come share your perspective!
              Quick Residence, 659-4660

Friday, June 25th, 7:30 PM
            Tuman Residence, 984-1222

Race Unity: Kids Art from the Heart in the Park!
Arts and Crafts for children of all ages with local artists & crafters.

Sunday, June 6th, 1-4 p.m.
Plaza Park, Ventura

Summer Virtues Camp! June 21 to July 12. Mondays, 10 am - 12 noon,  Free! Ages 6-12 limited enrollment. EP Foster Library - For info call Alice 659-4660

Bahá'í Temples
Often, Bahá'í's are asked about their places of worship. At the present time, there is a Bahá'í temple on each continent; the Bahá'í temple in North America is located in Wilmette, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago on the shore of Lake Michigan. 

To explain how the Bahá'í community functions in the absence of local temples, it is necessary to briefly discuss the nature of Bahá'í community life and the function served by Bahá'í temples.

The life of a Bahá'í community is organized according to the Bahá'í calendar, which consists of nineteen months of nineteen days each, plus 4 intercalary days (5 in a leap year).

At the beginning of each Bahá'í month, the community gathers for what we call the Nineteen-Day Feast, which consists of a spiritual portion with readings from the Sacred Writings, a consultative portion, and a social portion for the purpose of fellowship with other community members. 

Because there are no rituals involved, a temple is not needed for this purpose, and many Bahá'í communities meet in private homes to observe the Feast. Larger communities often build a dedicated Bahá'í Center.

The Bahá'í Centers closest to this area are located in Los Angeles at 5755 Rodeo Rd. (not Rodeo Drive) near the corner of Rodeo Rd. and La Cienega, and in Encino on Genesta Ave.

There is also a planned Regional Bahá'í Center to be built in Thousand Oaks south of Olsen Rd. where it intersects Highway 23. A Bahá'í Center, however, is different from a Bahá'í temple.

Large Bahá'í centers contain many elements that would be familiar to any church, mosque, or synagogue: a large meeting space, classrooms, kitchen facilities, etc. Smaller Bahá'í centers can be as simple as a storefront or a couple of rooms in a building.

Bahá'í temples, however, are required to have certain architectural characteristics--nine sides and a dome--and are given over entirely to prayer and meditation.

There are no rituals that take place in a Bahá'í temple, and Bahá'í temples are open to all people regardless of creed. In the Bahá'í temple in Wilmette, devotional services are held daily, consisting of readings from the Sacred Writings of various world religions.

Additionally, observances of Bahá'í Holy Days are held there at the appropriate times. More information about the temple in Wilmette (officially called the House of Worship in English) is available at http://www.us.bahai.org/how/

Other Bahá'í temples have been built in New Delhi, India; Frankfurt, Germany; Panama City, Panama; Apia, Western Samoa; Kampala, Uganda; and Sydney, Australia. Another temple is being built in Santiago, Chile. The very first Bahá'í temple was built in Ishqabad, Russia (now Ashgabat, Turkmenistan); it was damaged in an earthquake in the 1930s, and was torn down by the Soviet authorities in the 1950s.

All Faiths Public Gathering for Prayer and Devotions

Fillmore CommUnity
1st Saturday of the Month, June 5th. Call Luanne at 524-0683 for details

Oxnard CommUnity
 1st Sunday of the Month, June  6th. 10:30 AM. Locations June vary. Call Barbara at 984-4390

Ventura CommUnity
 2nd Sunday of the Month, June 13th, 10:00 a.m. at the Clubhouse, 3700 Dean Drive.

Camarillo CommUnity
 3rd Sunday of the Month, June 20th. Call Renee at 383-3904 for details.

Websites to Visit [or Recommend]
The Bahá’í World,   Planet Bahá’í,  and the Bahá’í Youth Website.

To order Bahá’í books, magazines, or videos, call the Bahá’í Distribution Service at 1-800-999-9019 or email bds@usbnc.org for more details.

To learn more about the Bahá’í Faith, contact the Bahá’í House of Worship or the Bahá’í community in your area [link to Contact page coming soon]. Further information is also available at www.us.bahai.org and www.bahai.org.

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