Baha'i mom and poet Andrea Hope gives 10 ideas for fun summer activities related to the priniciples of the Baha'i Faith.
The resources for this episode are as follows:
Quote on behalf of Shoghi Effendi:
"Regarding your Summer School; he is indeed grateful to your Assembly for the great success that has attended your efforts for the formation of this institution, the teaching value of which for England cannot be overestimated. He wishes, in particular, to offer his most sincere thanks to the Bahá’í youth group in London for their remarkable share in making the school such an outstanding success this year. This has been certainly a bold undertaking, considering the limited number and resources of the believers in England. But the results obtained are highly encouraging and augur well for the future of this first English Bahá’í Summer School. The unity, courage and whole-hearted loyalty of the friends have enabled them to boldly face and successfully overcome the difficulties and obstacles which may have first appeared, to many at least, to be quite unsurmountable. The Guardian would, therefore, urge all the believers to persevere in their efforts for raising the standard, both intellectual and spiritual, of their Summer School and to heighten its prestige in the eyes of the friends, and of the general non-Bahá’í public outside. The institution of the Summer School constitutes a vital and inseparable part of any teaching campaign, and as such ought to be given the full importance it deserves in the teaching plans and activities of the believers. It should be organised in such a way as to attract the attention of the non-believers to the Cause and thus become an effective medium for teaching. Also it should afford the believers themselves an opportunity to deepen their knowledge of the Teachings, through lectures and discussions and by means of close and intense community life."
These ideas are in no particular order:
1. Scrapbook your family or community's Baha'i history
2, Connect nature experiences (flower, water, etc.) to quotes from the Faith
3. Travel like the early believers
4. Create care packages to drop to families (race unity, essential workers, Feast)
5. Baha'i-themed scavenger hunt
6. Performing arts night based on a principle of the Faith (if you don't feel you have "talent" offer to host or find a compelling or funny short story)
7. Deepening on the Hands of the Cause of God
8. Drive-in performance or film
9. Connecting with animals
10. Trunk party based on a principle of the Faith
Email: info@andreahope.org
Website: www.andreahope.org/tomother.html