Scottish Summer School, St. Andrews

Usually the report on the summer and winter schools gives just an overall impression of the week. This year, however, we have been lucky enough to receive a detailed report from one of those attending the school and have included it to give those who have not attended a school a feeling for what happens in more detail than usual.

This year’s summer school ran from the 29th of July to the 5th of August 2006. It was an amazing week attended by about a hundred people in the town of St. Andrews. The theme of the school was "The healer of all thine ills is remembrance of Me" and many speakers came to talk about different aspects of the faith.

The first day (Saturday)

After the journey from Glasgow, I was so excited when we finally reached Madras College where the summer school would be held for the next week. From two in the afternoon people started arriving, and as more came I could feel the spiritual connection between them all.

The program started at half past six with prayers, followed by the first session, in which Dr. Shirin Fozdar spoke about ‘Gathering Momentum’, along with her thoughts on it. After her talk, I knew that the rest of the week would be inspiring. We then headed off to our lovely beach-side apartments; nothing could have made the first day any better.

Sunday

We rose to a sunny morning. The school started at 9.30 with a beautiful devotional session planned by the Afnán and Morrissey family, after which we separated into three groups: children, junior youth and adults.

The first adult session, presented by Shirin Fozdar (photo), was about junior youth. She told us about how, in the light of the new Five Year Plan, the junior youth are our future and their education is of great importance. (In 2000 the Universal House of Justice stated that they have specific needs.) A major point was that the junior youth lack material means and need our support. The session was an hour long, and was followed by the first of many half hour breaks, during which light refreshments and drinks were nicely served by different volunteers each day.

Dr. Fozdar also took the following session, ‘A Spiritual Enterprise’, during which she encouraged us to support the junior youth and to help them to move forward. As they move forward on their spiritual path we need to show that this path is never ending and show them that, if they ever need help with answers to questions, somebody will always be there for them.

Following lunch Dr. Ramin Khadem (photo) presented a that showed the story of the life of Bahá’u’lláh, from His childhood to His eventual exile to ‘Akká. It also showed the ‘light and glory and praise’ of people who were committed to the Cause and how they came to be hte way they were. One of the stories was about a devoted person who was martyred in front of his son. (It demonstrated that this it is not a way of living.)

Paddy O'Mara took the next session in which he spoke about the Guardian of the Cause of God and about Huqúqu’lláh. He talked inspiringly about the life of Shoghi Effendi, and how he had love and respect for everybody around him. As he spoke about the connection between Shoghi Effendi and his grandfather ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, one could more fully appreciate the Guardian's devotion to the Faith and the degree of his love for Bahá'u'lláh.

After a long lunch break, Dr. Khadem concluded his talk on the Institution of the Hands of the Cause of God, by speaking of the final appointments, made by Shoghi Effendi. He then played a video, made in 1951, which included footage of 12 of the Hands of the Cause. The day concluded with evening entertainment, including a karaoke in which people could show their talents, singing to hits from the past. The program finished at ten in the evening, after which we returned to our accommodation. This year, there were two places where people were staying: David Russell, where late night sessions were held, and Albany Park were people would come together after the program finished and socialise with each other.

Monday

Touched by an astonishing devotional meeting organised by the Froughi family, I attended one of the junior youth sessions, facilitated by Carmelia, Matt and Taraneh. The speaker for the session was Paddy O'Mara, who spoke about the Guardian. As I had attended the same talk in the adult section I knew what the content was likely to be but was keen to see how he would approach the same subject with a younger age-group. There were about twenty junior youth present who listened eagerly to the talk. There was more time given to stories than information in the session, which helped to grab the participants' attention. Later, as Paddy asked for feedback, you could feel the warm and comfortable atmosphere in the room. I felt that the talk was very inspirational, and one could see that the junior youth were very interested in the topic.

The next session I attended was about the mighty Law of Huqúqu'lláh. Talking about the Law made me think about giving to the Faith as Dr. Khadem pointed out that when we give money to Huqúq'ulláh we should be ‘free from all attachments,’ and showing humility. When we give the money, we should do so with ‘utmost joy, radiance, praise and acceptance’.

Tuesday afternoon and Ian Fozdar reviewed the progress made in Scotland duringthe recently finished Five Year Plan.

In the afternoon session, we had a further delightful talk from Paddy O’Mara about Shoghi Effendi. He explained how the choice of words that Shoghi Effendi made when translating the Writings was in itself an act of interpretation, as he often clarified which meaning of the original word had been intended. However, he also emphasized the fact that the Guardian never added a single word to Bahá'u'lláh's Writings. Even though Shoghi Effendi had much suffering inflicted upon him by his own family, you could see he was a perfect artist.

During the second afternoon session, I was again with the junior youth to see how they would go about the task of making a film. The session was prepared by Naysun Carew and Robert Mackenzie, and, once again, about twenty people attended. Asking around, I was told that the junior youth had written the script themselves, with some assistance from Naysun and Robert. While I was watching them I could see that everybody was helping each other and no one was left out. The junior youth were very active, adapting to their roles with many laughs in the room and great work going on at the same time. You could see that the film was going to be a big success!

After dinner, Paddy O'Mara again approached the subject of the Guardian, explaining some of the attributes Shoghi Effendi had. As we heard about the Guardian's tender and generous heart and his gentle sense of humour. I could feel the enormous love the Guardian had for the Faith and felt thankful for all his service in spreading the word of God.

The evening entertainment was a 'Family Fortunes' quiz, prepared and hosted by a very funny Sana Donald. Two teams battled it out against each other with many questions relating to everyday life. The result was a draw, but it was an exciting contest nonetheless.

Day Four

A lovely devotional meeting, prepared by the Fox family, created a harmonious atmosphere as everyone was refreshed by the wonderful readings. Following on from this, Paddy O'Mara talked about the trouble caused to the Guardian by the many Covenant-breakers in the Holy Land. His own family actively opposed the Faith, even, on one occasion, taking possession of the keys to the Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh. While trying to take care of everything he was distressed by actions of his members of his family.

In the evening, we were blessed by a talk from Ms. Simin Ruhani, in which she spoke of her experiences during her time in the Far East. Although Ms. Ruhani is blind, her one wish had been to visit the Bahá’í community there, in spite of her family's reservations. When she got a call from a far east community, it was like a sign to her that Bahá’u’lláh wanted her to go. She told many stories from her time there. For the evening entertainment Allan and Saba Forsyth had organised a quiz night; people were divided into groups of seven to ten and called themselves by strange team names. Each group had to answer questions on different subjects, such as culture and faith. Luckily I was in a group with many knowledgeable people (well done to everyone) and we came first.