Fireside Meetings (informal brief introductory talks, with readings and prayers) are now being held once a month on Sunday mornings at 301 Walnut Boulevard, Rochester, Michigan 48306 USA.
Meet and visit with us in a casual setting. Learn more about the Teachings of Baha'u'llah and share our devotional spirit of love, fellowship, and joy. Readings are from the Bahai Writings, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Daoism, Confucianism, and other world religions. Email to confirm, via Contact. Map. Flyer. No ritual or solicitation of funds. Light refreshments. Members of all faiths are welcome to join us in discussion, meditation, and prayer.
The next Fireside will be on Sunday, January 31, 2010; 10:30 am to 12:00 noon . Hope you can make it!
The October 30th Fireside included the Confucian Analects.
The September 25th Fireside included a reading of Chapter XI of The Bhagavad-Gita and Bahai prayers.
The August 28th Fireside Meeting was held in Rochester, Michigan. After an historical outline, discussion centered on Jenabe Fazel's "Elements of Universal Religion."
The July 26th Meeting was held at Speakers Corner in Hyde Park, London, in the United Kingdom. Approximately 40 to 50 people attended at various times. There were a lot of very good conversations held, with much interest, from some very thoughtful and inquisitive seekers from all over the world and the UK. See photos at Speakers Corner, Hyde Park, London, UK.
The June 12 Fireside tended toward discussion of an outline of Bahai history and Some Vital Bahai Principles. Discussion went so well we lost track of time and forgot to read the selections prepared from the Gospel of Luke, but will save them for a future fireside! The July Fireside Meeting will be held in the United Kingdom.
The May 29 Fireside Meeting included readings from the Upanishads, from the Indian Vedas, perhaps the oldest known religious text. It has been dated by some scholars to before 2,000 BCE.
The May 15 Fireside Meeting included readings from the Dhammapada, a classic of Buddhist scripture from about 70 BCE.
The Reform Bahai Faith held a public Fireside Meeting in the old First Congregational Church, which goes back to the 1850s, in downtown Rochester on May 1. The Fireside included an introductory talk on the oneness of God, all the Manifestations or prophets, and the unity of humankind, closing with readings from the Bahai Writings and prayers, and a Lakota Indian prayer to Wakan Tanka, the Great Mystery or Spirit.
“The foundation underlying all the Divine precepts is that One Reality. It must needs be Reality, and Reality is One, not multiple. Therefore the foundation of the Divine Religions is one. But we can see that certain forms have come in, certain imitations of forms and ceremonials have crept in. They are heretical, they are accidental , because they differ; hence they cause differences among religions. But if we set aside these imitations and seek the Reality of the Foundation we shall all agree, because religion is One and not multiple.” —Abdul-Baha