December, 2010
BAHA'I
CENTRE OF OTTAWA IN VANIER SINCE 2007
- Ruby Pratka
Heather
Harvey and Ayafor Ayafor want to build a better world. And they believe
that a better world starts in the front room of a former Mexican
restaurant on MacArthur Avenue.
Ayafor and Harvey are members of the Baha'i faith, a religious
community that they say has about 1000 adherents in Ottawa and about 5
million scattered across the world. The Baha'i presence in Ottawa dates
from 1948, says Harvey. "We've gone from nine in 1948 to over
1000 now," she says. The Baha'i Centre of Ottawa has been in Vanier
since 2007.
The Baha'i Faith was founded about 150 years ago in Iran, by a
spiritual leader who believed he was the next in a series of prophets
serving the same God. Baha'is consider Abraham, Moses, Buddha, Jesus
and Muhammad to be prophets as well. There is no clergy, only a
democratically elected 'spiritual assembly' in each area with a Baha'i
presence. The faith has since spread worldwide; according to the
Centre for Faith in the Media it is the second most geographically
widespread faith after Christianity. Baha'is, Harvey explains, respect
the texts of all major religions and believe in the "unity of God"
across world religions.
"At its basis there is a commonality to what our relationship is with
God ... and to life after death," says Harvey.
"One of our fundamental principles is the idea of the oneness of
mankind", says Ayafor, who was born in Cameroon and raised a Christian.
"Fundamentally we are like cells of a body; we're evolving. The
writings are there to bring unity in the world, but Baha'is don't know
how that is going to happen."
Harvey and Ayafor say they believe it is impossible to separate science
and religion, and that world peace is inevitable. They also
believe in the importance of community service.
"To work in the service of humanity is highly looked upon," says Harvey.
To that end, she says, the centre holds youth study groups for
teenagers to figure out how to best serve their community. "It's all
about 'what can I do tomorrow?'," Harvey says. "The reality of what you
can do varies from neighbourhood to neighbourhood. In those study
circles things emerge, like a literacy campaign or a health campaign.
Our junior youth groups clean the parks; simple things can be done and
something leads into something else. It's very important for youth -
and everyone - to believe they have a purpose"
In addition to youth groups, the centre holds devotional meetings where
attendees study the texts of all major religions, children's classes
and summer day camps. And anyone is welcome to come
to the centre and have a look around. These programs are open "to all
people, whether Baha'is or not," says Harvey. "We are not an
inward-looking community."
Printed
in Perspectives Vanier, December 2010
|
