Mirror of Light
Published by the Newsletter Task Force of the National Spiritual Assembly
of the Bahá’ís of the Philippines
No. 45 | 2 JUNE 2008
Baguio City
There are 21 new Book 1 graduates who are mostly new Bahá’ís. Also, an additional children’s class was conducted and five new study circles formed with 26 participants.
Central Benguet
There are 22 new Book 1 graduates and 22 in Book 7. Two study circles and two children’s classes have been formed. Two tutors from the San Jose City Cluster assisted Central Benguet last April in facilitating study circles from Book 4 to Book 7 in an intensive manner. The Central Benguet cluster launched its IPG last April 19 with the following: “Pyramid” of human resources (88, 50, 37, 34, 2, 26, 24), Four core activities of 17 DMs with 72 participants, four BCCs with 39 children, two JYGs with nine junior youths, and five SCs with 19 participants. Cluster administration was formed with Miss Prescila Canam appointed as Cluster Institute Coordinator. The CTC and CDF were also appointed.
Nueva Ecija
In Talavera, there are six new Book 1 graduates and the friends have established two junior youth groups.
Nueva Vizcaya
A junior youth animators training was crowned with success in the Solano-Bayombong Cluster, which went through for several weeks. The participants included many youths from “A” clusters and the application of their learning was done in visits to communities within the cluster.
Pangasinan
Simultaneous with the devastating force of Typhoon Cosme sweeping central and western Pangasinan, spiritual bounties were pouring on the struggling Bahá’í communities of Binalonan Cluster.
Expressed concerns over the progress of the Cause and sincere initiatives to accelerate it by individual believers of the cluster, specifically of Villasis and Balangobong localities, were met with encouragement, To page 2 guidance and action from Auxiliary Board members, and this combination attracted divine confirmations for the priority cluster.
A handful of individual believers from Balangobong community joined with the few Bahá’ís of Villasis to form a core group intent on advancing the growth process. On May 10, they gathered at Feliz Academy, set goals for the cycle and identified their needs for achieving them. At the invitation of the Auxiliary Board members, a Council member, Mr. Altair Carpio, and a Training Institute board member, Mrs. Lani Carpio, came to join in the consultation and to lend assistance in the execution of the plan in the months ahead. The plan was to visit the homes of the new believers who enrolled in the last cycle, to hold devotional meetings with them, conduct deepening and start a number of study circles, and hold Bahá’í classes for children and junior youth groups. To help in the work, the Bahá’í Council and the Training Institute mobilized two youth pioneers from San Jose City Cluster, Miss Cathy Diamsay and Miss Mary Ann Gutierrez, to join the cluster’s own dedicated collaborators. Also, two of assistants to the Auxiliary Board member, Mrs. Lita Yadao and Miss Diane de Ocampo, gave the greater part of their time to the campaign in Balangobong and Villasis, respectively. The Local Spiritual Assembly of Balangobong, for its part, met to determine how to assist the action plan of the teachers; some of the members later personally led and joined the teachers in the home-visits and core activities.
Only two weeks into the plan, Lani Carpio, who was in Balangobong with the local teachers and the two short-term pioneers teaching with them and tutoring study circles, reported the following for the cluster: Fifteen have completed Book 1, five Book 2, five Book 3 and two Book 4 all in the month of May; Two Books 1 ongoing with 13 participants; Seventeen Bahá’í Children’s Classes completed; Two BCCs ongoing with 12 children; Fifteen JY completed; One ongoing JY with six junior youths; Home-visits 10 families; and 25 individuals are teaching Alamin, seven of them are in.
Book 1.
A couple of days later, Mr. Vladimir Meriales of Villasis reported about activities that Diane, Federico Santiago, Vladimir’s two nieces and a nephew have been doing every day in barangays Caramutan and San Blas. It said, “Villasis group two BCCs and two JY classes end today with a simple ceremony at Feliz Academy grounds. Please offer prayers for Villasis core group headed by teacher Fred that our hearts will continue to burn with loving kindness and desire to be of service to the Faith in our own little way. Let’s also pray for Diane’s health because she is doing a great job here.” So impressive has been the transformation in the behavior and character of their children and junior youths from taking the classes that a number of parents would be overcome with emotion when trying to express their observations. Vladimir himself became convinced of the effectiveness of the junior youth program that he did not hesitate to incorporate it in this year’s summer program of his Bahá’í-inspired preschool.
On May 31 Diane joyfully reported that in Villasis the four youths —Vladimir’s brother, nieces and nephew — who have been giving the Bahá’í classes for children and animating the junior youth classes every day, have just finished their Book 4, after having completed Books 1, 2 and 3 with her as tutor within the past month and a half. They said they found studying the courses to be very meaningful and self-transforming, perhaps because they were doing the acts of service along with or even a little prior to the study of the Ruhí books.
The friends in Villasis report of success in their three-month plan citing 10 Book 1 graduates, six graduates in Books 2 and 3, two children’s classes graduates and two JYs.
Meanwhile, in Alaminos, there are six new Book 1 graduates who are all new Bahá’ís.
And, in Balungao, the pioneer and another tutor have effectively increased activities in the area. There were 39 new Book 1 graduates (most of whom are new Bahá’ís), 10 Book 2 and seven Book 3. They also have established children’s class, two groups of junior youths and three study circles.
San Jose City
In the San Jose City Cluster, which is on its 11th cycle, the friends have formed an additional 10 children’s classes with 185 children, and six junior youth groups with 58 junior youths. The formations of core groups in the two main communities of Pinili and Bagong Sikat have been initiated but not yet established. Mrs. Madge P. Viernes, and then later Miss Alva Parocha, were appointed to serve as CIC of the cluster.
