Czech Republic – Greg Akehurst-Moore

Greg has spent some six years teaching at the Townshend International School in the Czech Republic. He writes:

It has been quite some time since you received news from here in South Bohemia in the Czech Republic. So what has been going on here? Well, the three core activities of course, but not only those. Many people comment on the feelings of solidarity and unity engendered by knowing that all around the world, Bahá’í communities are engaged in the same activities And they are quite right, of course. However, a big question here and in other communities around the world is, “Should we concentrate all our energies and time only on the core activities? Answers naturally vary and probably there is no set or “right” answer. Here in South Bohemia, assorted activities have been held apart from the core activities and this is a short report of what has happened lately.

Amongst other things, our community has been donating books to public libraries. Right now we are concentrating on university departmental libraries, so we look for Bahá’í books with themes which are relevant to the particular specialisations of the departments. We continue to hold English discussion clubs in the local university and at a cinema in Hluboka. In the planning stage is an exhibition in the local science library, to coincide with the two UN International Days of the Family and Children. We also held two teaching weeks not long ago which were apparently very successful.

Obviously it is up to each individual and community as to how much time is spent on the core activities. Experience here, however, has shown that other forms of teaching can have pay-offs for the core activities. Training Institutes are described by the House of Justice as “engines of growth”. How to attract members of the public to these vital activities?

Here in Czech Republic, many people are warm and spiritual – you could say, “receptive”. At the same time, they may be slow to attend or join something new. They can be very careful, even suspicious of something which they perceive as possibly confining to them, which applies new rules or limits freedoms. This is a natural outcome of living under communism for 40 years. The “non-core” activities have proven to be very helpful in reaching out to people in a way which is not threatening. For example, the two teaching weeks included such activities as videos, discussions, pot-lucks, singing and devotionals and were quite well-received. Many of the evenings did not have a specifically Bahá’í theme. And having an event every night in the week gave a chance for people to come to something, as they were able to fit them in with their own schedules. The events were publicised in advance, so people could choose to come to whichever activity most interested them. It's true that a whole week of activities was quite demanding for the planners, but it seemed to have paid off and it is important that those who attended were able to get a taste of the Bahá’í spirit.

The idea of a week of activities is not new! Hand of the Cause Dr. Muhajir often suggested that members of communities should hold weeks of firesides in their homes, one after another. Planning and holding these activities generated quite a lot of attention and excitement, and many members in the community rallied around to support these events. Amongst the fruits of these evenings, were one person who now wants to come to study circles, and several others who are attending firesides and/or devotional meetings. It is a slow process which needs patience but which also is enjoyable, and which has many rewards.