• All Faiths Public Gathering for Prayer and Devotions ~ May 1^st, 2^nd, 9^th, and 16^th
• Informational Talks ~ May 15^th & 28^th
• Ridván Festival Days  ~ May 2^nd 

"Verily I say, this is the Day in which mankind can behold the Face, and hear the Voice, of the Promised One."
                                                                                                                          ~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, May 15^th, 7:30 PM
Current issues and other topics of interest, come share your perspective!
              Quick Residence, 659-4660

Friday, May 28^th, 7:30 PM
            Tuman Residence, 984-1222

Ridván Celebration
Everyone is invited to join us for Ridván!

12^th Day of Ridván, Sunday, May 2^nd, 4:00 - 6:00 p.m. at the Centner Home: 7550 Henderson, Ventura. For additional details call 647-5153.

Ridván [cont.]
In God Passes By, Shoghi Effendi recounts the tale thus:

"Of the exact circumstances attending that epoch-making Declaration we, alas, are but scantily informed. The words Bahá'u'lláh actually uttered on that occasion, the manner of His Declaration, the reaction it produced, its impact on Mirzá Yahyá [Bahá'u'lláh's half-brother, who later tried to usurp His position and made several attempts on His life], the identity of those who were privileged to hear Him, are shrouded in an obscurity which future historians will find it difficult to penetrate.

The fragmentary description left to posterity by His chronicler Nabíl is one of the very few authentic records we possess of the memorable days He spent in that garden.

'Every day,' Nabíl has related, 'ere the hour of dawn, the gardeners would pick the roses which lined the four avenues of the garden, and would pile them in the center of the floor of His blessed tent. So great would be the heap that when His companions gathered to drink their morning tea in His presence, they would be unable to see each other across it. All these roses Bahá'u'lláh would, with His own hands, entrust to those whom He dismissed from His presence every morning to be delivered, on His behalf, to His Arab and Persian friends in the city.'

'One night,' he continues, 'the ninth night of the waxing moon, I happened to be one of those who watched beside His blessed tent. As the hour of midnight approached, I saw Him issue from His tent, pass by the places where some of His companions were sleeping, and begin to pace up and down the moonlit, flower-bordered avenues of the garden. So loud was the singing of the nightingales on every side that only those who were near Him could hear distinctly His voice.

He continued to walk until, pausing in the midst of one of these avenues, He observed: 

‘Consider these nightingales. So great is their love for these roses, that sleepless from dusk till dawn, they warble their melodies and commune with burning passion with the object of their adoration. How then can those who claim to be afire with the rose-like beauty of the Beloved choose to sleep?’ For three successive nights I watched and circled round His blessed tent.

Every time I passed by the couch whereon He lay, I would find Him wakeful, and every day, from morn till eventide, I would see Him ceaselessly engaged in conversing with the stream of visitors who kept flowing in from Baghdád. Not once could I discover in the words He spoke any trace of dissimulation.'"

p153

Many years later, Bahá'u'lláh would designate the Festival of Ridván "the Most Great Festival" and specify that the first, ninth, and twelfth days should be celebrated as Holy Days.

The Bahá'í administrative year now begins on the First Day of Ridván with the election of Local and National Spiritual Assemblies as prescribed by 'Abdu'l-Bahá and Shoghi Effendi. This is not accidental. The elections that renew the administrative order become part of the festivities.
[Used with permission from www.bahaiplanet.org ]

All Faiths Public Gathering for Prayer and Devotions

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

Oxnard CommUnity
1st Sunday of the Month, May  2nd. 10:30 AM. Locations may vary. Call Barbara at 984-4390

Ventura CommUnity
2nd Sunday of the Month, May 9^th, 10:00 a.m. at the Clubhouse, 3700 Dean Drive.

Camarillo CommUnity
3rd Sunday of the Month, May 16th. Call Renee at 383-3904 for details.

Websites to Visit [or Recommend]
The Bahá’í World,   Planet Bahá’í,   Bahá’í Youth, and our very own: Ventura Bahá’í 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.