A Rich Tapestry: What Baha’is Are Doing Around the Country

Since the spiritual core of the Baha’i Faith focuses on “deeds, not words,” what are Baha’is actually doing to address the racial and cultural divisions in the United States?

A new series of short documentary videos from the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of the United States shows how American Baha’is have translated belief into action, offering a hopeful future for communities throughout the country.

Each video showcases a group of individuals who, through their commitment to seeing their communities flourish, have created spaces that welcome people from different backgrounds to work for the betterment of society together:

We cannot bring love and unity to pass merely by talking of it. Knowledge is not enough. Wealth, science, education are good, we know: but we must also work and study to bring to maturity the fruit of knowledge.

Knowledge is the first step; resolve, the second step; action, its fulfillment, is the third step. – Abdu’l-Baha, Abdu’l-Baha in London, p. 54.

“A Rich Tapestry” offers some insight into how the Baha’i core activities such as children’s classes, junior youth groups, study circles and prayer gatherings bring people from all backgrounds together in a spirit of love and concerted effort to better themselves and their communities.

These four new videos add to the growing body of documentary films that highlight Baha’i community building efforts taking place all across the world, especially earlier films like “Light to the World,” “Frontiers of Learning,” and “A Widening Embrace.” Together, these previous films and the four new short videos reveal a vision of how the global Baha’i community has begun establishing a grassroots foundation for peace and unification around the world.

The title for this series comes from the following quotation, part of a letter released in February 2017 by the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States:

A rich tapestry of community life that increasingly reflects the sublime teachings of [Baha’u’llah] will not emerge of its own accord. The evils of racism, materialism, and moral decadence will be eradicated only by a love that is translated into action. – “A Pivotal Time in America,” a letter from the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is United States.

The first four videos are:

A Rich Tapestry: how the Baha’i community responds to race and culture issues through community building activities with a spiritual foundation.  

Refresh and Gladden My Spirit: how two women, inspired by prayer, serve their community together.

It’s About Service: how a youth group, inspired by spiritual principles, brought together immigrants to overcome cultural differences and serve their new city.

The Baha’i World View: how the Baha’i Faith’s principle of the oneness of humanity translates into action through a framework of community-building activities.

You can watch the first video of the new series, “A Rich Tapestry,” below. This short film provides some context to the efforts you will see in subsequent videos, explaining how the Baha’i teachings, through community-building activities, change the way we think about spirituality and service to humanity.

More videos will be added to the collection, so you’re invited to check in on the site from time to time to see more stories of people in America taking remarkable new steps to create a better world for themselves and their neighbors.