April 2024/ Bahá, Jalál, Jamál  181-182 B.E.

Community Newsletter

Vol. 1 Issue 7

Past Editions Found At https://www.nibahai.org/newsletters


Activities IL-3

Lombard

Winfeild

⋅ ComeUnity Coffee Break for Social Justice

Second Thursday of every month 

We will meet on zoom this month.

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88677596128?pwd=VHlCNXpLcmhtdnlEZ3R6ZWQxVWVUQT09

For more information, please email ComeUnity.SocialJustice@gmail.com


⋅ Fridays By The Fire

Friday by the fire will resume in May.

Aurora


⋅Ridvan Potluck 

Sunday April 28th 

Please join us in celebrating the 9th day of Ridvan at Waubonsie Lake Park (998 Kautz Rd. Aurora)

Please text or call (630) 805-1397 for more information.

⋅ Interfaith Devotions

Sunday April 13, 6-8 pm

Held at the Shahrokh residence. Please text (630) 805-1397 for the address.

Glen Ellyn


"Fleeing For Your Life: Refugee Journey Simulation"

Saturday, April 20 at the Glen Ellyn public library

Please join us for a 75-minute interactive simulation offered at 10:30AM, 1PM or 2:30PM presented by Exodus World Service.

Register at https://gepl.librarycalendar.com/events/month/2024/04?keywords=refugee

Contact Details for Area Teaching Committee


IL03 Area Teaching Committee
Email : IL03clusterATC@gmail.com
Phone/WhatsApp : (630)4761437
Secretary: Val Dobbs

Activities IL-19

Oak Park



⋅Meaningful Discussions

Join in on studying sections from the Baha'i writings to provide a spiritual perspective on challenges that are relevant to the community today.

Held Sunday mornings at 11AM at the Oak Park Baha'i Faith Community Center

124 Madison, Oak Park IL


⋅ Hour of Prayer

Held every Sunday at 10AM  at the Baha'i Faith Community Center

124 Madison, Oak Park and over Zoom. Go to this website for details and links for Zoom. https://opbahai.org/activities



⋅The Most Vital And Challenging Issue Racial Justice Film Series

Friday April 5th at 7pm 

The April meeting of this monthly film series will feature the documentary film Slavery by Another Name (based on the best-selling book by investigative reporter, Douglas A. Blackmon). Light refreshments will be served and a discussion will follow at the Baha’i Faith Community Center, 124 Madison Street, Oak Pak, IL.


⋅ Hour of Prayer

Held every Sunday at 10AM  at the Baha'i Faith Community Center

124 Madison, Oak Park and over Zoom. Go to this website for details and links for Zoom. https://opbahai.org/activities


Activities IL-06

Joliet


⋅Thursday Night Devotionals

Thursdays from 7:30pm-8:30 pm

Hosted by Karen Skaggs via Google Meet 

Please message (815-546-6607) or Karenskaggs95@gmail.com for link.

⋅Blended Sunday morning devotionals

Sundays at 9:00 am

Please join us on zoom or in person. 

Hosted by Jim & Cheryl Dougherty

1848 Corregidor St Joliet, IL 60435

815-600-1335

Activities IL-20

Northbrook


⋅Monthly Meditation

First Wednesday 7pm-8:30pm

Please join us at the Welcome Center of the Baha'i House of Worship (112 Linden Ave, Wilmette, IL) as we explore meditation from the Baha'i perspective. 

Eventbrite link for more information

⋅Fireside

Friday nights 6pm to 7:30pm 

Held at the Bahá’í House of Worship Welcome Center  (112 Linden Ave, Wilmette, IL)

⋅Devotionals at the Temple

Sundays 12:30pm to 1:00pm

Please join us at the Bahá’í House of Worship for a devotional followed by discussion on a theme 1pm to 1:30pm

⋅Discussion on Quilts 

May 7 at 7pm at the Northbrook Library 

Please join The Quilt Whisperer Connie Martin to discuss 18 pre-Civil War quilt replicas that were used to communicate with travelers on the Underground Railroad and related family history

Activities IL-18

Arlington Heights


⋅Men's Breakfast

Come and enjoy some flapjacks & Mancakes, wash it down with a gallon of hot steaming java, and top that off with an ice cold cup of OJ. Now that's a breakfast!

Saturday April 13

2nd Saturday @ 8am

Uptown Cafe 24 E Miner St, Arlington Heights, IL 60004



 

Zoom


⋅ Evening Devotional

Hosted by Cliff and Linda Luxion on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday 9pm on zoom. 

Zoom Link:

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81902451023?pwd=TG43ZjRVbGRjZmJmaHJ2aUdZMkVlQT09

Meeting ID: 819 0245 1023
Passcode: 322109

⋅Zoom Devotional

Hosted by Jim Percic and held on the 2nd and 4th Saturday of every month at 11:30 am on Zoom.

Second Saturday:

Zoom Link:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82308104531?pwd=RGdreHlCdHRINURnUlpZRHJFeTBpUT09

Meeting ID: 823 0810 4531

Passcode: 083485

Fourth Saturday:

Zoom Link

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85942921538?pwd=dGRwSWJQOWRlVGEwUUhwMjQzTkR0QT09

Meeting ID: 859 4292 1538

Passcode: 775333

⋅Zoom Children's Classes

Hosted by Linda Luxion 9 am  every other Sunday. 

Zoom Link:

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82509805538?pwd=bDVSUU9BNklmNjIxOHd2WFF2cmcwZz09

Meeting ID:
825 0980 5538
Passcode: 738064

⋅Online Connecting and Prayers

Hosted by the Luxions and held 9:00 am every Sunday on Zoom.

Zoom Link:

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81902451023?pwd=TG43ZjRVbGRjZmJmaHJ2aUdZMkVlQT09

Meeting ID: 819 0245 1023
Passcode: 322109

Pizza & Social Justice

⋅First Tuesday Conversations

Tuesday, April 2, 6:30pm – 8:30pm at Peoples Community Church, 650 Lambert Rd. Glen Ellyn, IL 60137

Link: https://zoom.us/j/664704223

⋅First Friday Conversations

Friday, April 5, 6:30pm-8:30pm at the McKee residence. 

For the address contact Nancy@PizzaAndSocialJustice.org

Link: https://zoom.us/j/326557993

⋅Third Monday Conversations

 Monday, April 15 6:30-8:30 

1st Congregational Church
535 Forest, Pilgrim Hall
Glen Ellyn, IL.
Zoom Link https://zoom.us/j/168998487.
Meeting ID 168 998 487

If you feel ready to engage in meaningful conversations about racism, what it looks like in the world and in ourselves, and what we must do to begin rooting it out, this is the place to come.

We will be serving pizza, followed by discussion on a topic related to Racism/Social Justice.
The doors open at 6:30 with the meeting starting at 7:00 pm. Zoom will be active at 6:45 for those who wish to stay home or are to far away to join us in person.

Our goal is building a stronger community through sharing and conversation.

Pizza Served at 6:30 pm Meeting Start time: 7:00 pm

The Race Amity Movement

In 2023, the DuPage County Board officially proclaimed Race Amity Day and work is in process for the Board to make the proclamation again in 2024. Resolutions to proclaim June 9, 2024, as Race Amity Day and to support local activities for this day are currently being considered in both the Illinois State House and Illinois State Senate. The proclamation will also be presented to Governor Pritzker later this spring. Plans are also being made to approach the towns where members of our collaboration of grass-roots organizations reside.

Some events to be held to celebrate

⋅Race Amity Day Festival in the Village Green Park starting at 4 pm with a drum circle and potluck supper. Sponsored by Northbrook Bahá'ís

⋅Race Amity Day Picnic in the Madison Meadow Park Pavillion 12:00-3:00pm

Please see the Save the Date flyer for more information. If you are interested in assisting us or want more information, please feel free to contact Illinois Citizens for Race Amity at ILCit4RAD@comcast.net .

Upcoming Service Project

Narratives

Consort With the Followers of all Religions

If my email history is to be believed, I’ve been attending women’s programs and gatherings at the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in Glen Ellyn for about ten years. Some events are only for women, and sometimes the men are invited too - like this time! Saturday night we attended a Ramadan Iftar program amongst perhaps 250-300 people and as always, the mosque was permeated with love, friendliness and fellowship. Several local elected officials spoke as well as the Imam, echoing each other in their words of mutual support, how much we’ve all learned from each other in the twenty years since the mosque was built, reflecting on the changes in society over those years, and pledging continued support for each other into the future. It was a demonstration of Baha’u’llah’s instructions: “Consort with the followers of all religions in a spirit of friendliness and fellowship.” We prayed together, had meaningful conversations, shared yummy foods, and came away knowing that others besides the Baha’i community are on the path - promoting justice and peace worldwide, and showing locally what it looks like to do so.

Walk a Mile in Her Shoes

Next week, a friend of mine Rachelle Zola, will begin her 754-mile “one-woman march” from Chicago to Montgomery, AL. Rachelle is white. She is 75. And she is embarking on this journey to confront the pervasive realities of racism and amplify the voices of those who have been marginalized and silenced. If you can do so, please support her endeavor.

Even if you do not reside along the corridor where she will be walking—Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Alabama—you or your network of friends and contacts, may be able to support Rachelle’s effort in one or more of the following ways:

· Host her one-woman play, “Late: A Love Story”. Rachelle tells her personal story with race and the stories of many people of color in a dynamic one-woman play (3 hours including intermission and audience discussion) which can be hosted in a community space seating as few as 12-25 people. She developed the play at Theater Y, a social justice theater company on the west side of Chicago. See her performance. Join the conversation.

· Walk a mile in her shoes. Not literally, but she welcomes people who can walk with her for whatever distance suits their physical condition and schedule. It is a way to support her, keep her safe, and amplify the message of her journey to the cradle of the Confederacy.

· Publicize her six-month pilgrimage to Montgomery, AL. Montgomery, as many of you know, is a former hub for the domestic slave trade, the current site of the National Memorial for Peace and Justice commemorating the more than 4,000 people lynched by racial terrorists, the home of the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Equal Justice Initiative’s Legacy Museum. See press release attached.

· Volunteer your time or financial support. Contact Rachelle’s team and find the ways that you can support her effort. Her media contact, Rachel Zargo, can be reached at 404-542-8848 or rachelzargo@gmail.com ; or at Rachelle’s website, www.latealovestory.com .

Each step of her 754-mile journey is a testament to the resilience and strength of the human spirit and our collective journey toward healing and understanding. Thanks for any part you can play.

She’s white. She’s 75. She’s Walking 754 Miles—Chicago IL to Montgomery AL (1:58)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FhRkGODsLwQ

LATE: A Love Story & Pilgrimage from Chicago IL to Montgomery AL (4:26)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMzQEbp93N8

Please send in any events, narratives, pictures, or arts that you would like shared! You can reach us at Newsletter Submissions

Northern Illinois Baha'is

2N500 Bernice Ave.
Glen Ellyn, IL 60137
United States of America