First Friday Fireside: Monthly Series with Speakers from Around the Globe

Date: Friday December 2nd

When: 7:30 PM

What: Michael Sours will offer a fireside on the topic “Building Bridges between Atheists and Religious Believers”

Zoom Meeting Link: http://bit.ly/bahaifireside

Meeting ID: 874 7162 8681

Passcode: 502324

This event will not be available on YouTube

Do you have friends, colleagues, or family you have wanted to invite to a Bahá’í fireside? Here is a great opportunity!

Michael Sours is author of Preparing for a Bahá’í/Christian Dialogue series, The Station and Claims of Bahá’u’lláh, Without Syllable or Sound: The World’s Sacred Scriptures in The Bahá’í Faith, and The Tablet of the Holy Mariner: An Illustrated Guide to Bahá’u’lláh’s Mystical Writings in the Sufi Tradition. He has also contributed articles to the Journal of Bahá’í Studies and the Bahá’í Studies Review including “The Maid of Heaven, the Image of Sophia, and the Logos: The Personification of the Spirit of God in Scripture and Sacred Literature,” “Immanence and Transcendence in Theophanic Symbolism,” and “Bahá’í Cosmological Symbolism and the Eco-feminist Critique.” Sours has also contributed articles to the Bahá’í Encyclopedia project and “An Inclusivist Interpretation of John 14:6 through a Bahá’í Lens” to the publication, Global Perspectives on the Bible (Pearson, 2014). He is a winner of the Association for Bahá’í Studies Award for Excellence in Bahá’í Studies.

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Sunday Morning Devotions & Fireside

Date: Every Sunday

When: 10:30 – 12:00 Noon

What: Devotions (starting 10:30 AM) and Fireside (starting 11:00 AM)

Where: Austin Baha’i Center, 2215 E.M. Franklin Ave, Austin, TX 78723

Since mid-March, when we started back up in-person at the Center, we often have first time visitors to the Center on Sundays. The overall attendance is between 6 and 22 people and you are invited to come and bring even more joy to these intimate gatherings. Come see old friends and make new ones.

Our Sunday Morning Devotions Committee plans the devotions program the firesides are conducted by volunteers on a rotating basis.

The next few firesides are:

- Dec 4: Laura Tull will give a fireside on the topic “Animals”

- Dec 11: Chris Johnson will give another fireside on the well-received topic “Baha'i Community: Daring to be Different”

- Dec 18: Chris Bishop will give a fireside on a topic yet to be announced

- Dec 25: still need a volunteer!

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iACT’s Red Bench at the Baha’i Center

Date: Tuesday December 6^th

When: 6:30 PM

What: Meaningful conversations with friends from other faiths. The topic will be: Melting Pot/Salad Bowl

Where: Austin Baha’i Center

RSVP: Follow this Link

After a two-year hiatus, our Baha’i community is again hosting the Red Bench event!

The Red Bench is an ongoing dialogue program designed to address one of the most pressing needs of our time: improving interfaith understanding and civil discourse in our society.

Each conversation is centered on moderated small group discussions that are genuinely respectful and safe. No one has to be an expert. Individual participants are invited to share from their personal experiences and listen with their hearts. The format is structured and allows each individual to be heard. Each table is “hosted” by one or two table hosts. We frequently provide training for individuals who would like to be iACT Red Bench Hosts. Training does not obligate you to host but will deepen your experience as a participant. If you are interested in becoming a table host, please e-mail iact@interfaithtexas.org

Several years ago, renowned UT Professor Dr. Betty Sue Flowers recommended that organizations place red benches in public spaces. The idea was simple — by sitting on one of these red benches you were signaling to others that you were open to a conversation that really matters. The red bench is a symbol of a place for conversations that “cultivate peace and respect.”

Inspired by Dr. Flowers’ idea, iACT launched The Red Bench program in 2009 and it has quickly grown into a genuine community of sharing. We focus on ideas and issues that are addressed by all of the great wisdom traditions and “topical” subjects that face our community and nation.

We are also responsible for food and drinks. Please contact Ajit Giani if you are able to bring a dish to share. In the past, we have had between 30 and 75 people attending.

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Daily Noon Prayers and Devotions

Date: Every weekday (Monday-Friday)

When: 12:00 Noon

What: Weekday Noon Devotional that has been going on for almost 3 years!

Anyone is invited to attend.

Zoom Meeting Link: https://us04web.zoom.us/j/815838540?pwd=aXdxQnhKaTBPSWdPVEpBcFV4bmR3dz09

Meeting ID: 815 838 540

Passcode: 8bq0sm

Note from the organizer:

There is usually some fellowship and checking in on how we are doing at the first part of the meeting so the devotions, stories, and inspirational writings start about 12:15 PM in case anyone is in a hurry or with limited time. We can modify the timing of things to fit lunch hour pressures.

Anyone can come, even if only for 2 minutes just to say hello. There are no expectations.

There is a hard stop after 40 minutes because we use a free ZOOM account.

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Austin American Statesman

Austin’s Baha’is say racial justice is ‘an integral part of our faith’