OZ Whitehead Firesides

About OZ Whitehead Firesides

Series of informal zoom meetings called the OZ Whitehead Firesides, where we discuss topics related to discourses in society affecting humanity from a Baha’i perspective.

Publisher

OZ Whitehead Firesides

Category

religion & spirituality

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

24 Dec 2020

Latest episode

23 Apr 2021

Latest episodes

39 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   23 Apr 2021

   “The Rise and Fall of the Baha'i settlements in the Jordan Valley, 1880-1950" by Dr Shay Rozen

   Among the many religious groups that were active in nineteenth-century Palestine, the Baha'i community was one of the smallest. Since 1868, this religious community has established its presence around the bay of Haifa. The Baha'i' Holy Places in Haifa and the western Galilee were announced as "world heritage sites", by UNESCO, in 2008. Unlike many of the Baha'i properties in Palestine, the story of the Baha'i settlements in the Jordan valley is almost unknown. During the 1880 three settlements were established at the eastern and southern shores of Lake Tiberias: Umm-Jūna, Es-Samrā and Nuqeib. A fourth settlement, El-Adasiye, was established, at the first years of the twenty century, near the Yarmuk River. Since the beginning of the twentieth century, portions of the Baha'i's land in the Jordan valley were sold to the Zionist organizations and the kibbutzim of Deganya aleph, Deganya beth, Ein Gev et cetera were built on these lands. During the 1948 war, the Baha'i settlers of Nuqeib were ordered by the local HaHagana commander to evacuate. Since they weren’t allowed to return to these lands after the war ended, they were compensated by land near Acre. The Baha'i lands of Es-Samrā, that were part of the demilitarized zones, were bought by the Israeli government and their owners left the state. The inhabitants of El-Adasiye, the last Baha'i settlement in the area, left the village in 1960 and spread all over Jordan and the Baha'i settlements in the Jordan valley become an unknown part of both local and Israeli history. I received my PhD from the University of Haifa. My research field for both M.A & PhD is the Baha'i community and its presence in the land of Israel between 1868-1968. In recent years, I've presented papers at international conferences (Association for Israel Studies, Irfan Colloquium for Study of the Baha'i Faith, International Society for Iranian Studies, Association for Baha'i Studies, Royal Geographical Society, Conference of Historical Geographers et cetera) all over the world and published articles on different topics related to my research field.

2. 

   8 Apr 2021

   Stars in the Skies of God’s Compassion: How an Expanding Concept of Service Has Reshaped Our Reality

   Bahá’is will recognize, in 2021, the centenary of the passing of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá (son of the Faith’s founder). Starting in the springtime, many will commemorate the significance of this year by more consciously striving to emulate His exemplary life. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s call to arise and serve as “stars in the eyes of God’s Compassion” distills its own meaning for each reader who views it from their vantage point in history. Now, more than a century after He wrote the passage, our discussion will examine three aspects of this call to serve: · A century of work that served the best interests of humankind; · Current contexts for work as worship; and · Tailoring personal communications and acts of compassion to the exigencies of our time. Dr. Teresa Henkle Langness is an author in multiple genres, an educational development specialist, and founder of the Full-Circle Learning model. She serves on boards concerned with education, human relations, the arts, the environment and has met wonderful friends and collaborators along the way. She claims as a source of matchless inspiration the fact that this year, she has been a Baha’i for exactly half a lifetime.

3. 

   2 Apr 2021

   "Nurturing a healthy human spirit in the young" by Vivian Bartlett

   Working with Fidelma Meehan, supported by a team of wonderful Bahá'í friends in Swindon, a programme was developed to help disaffected/vulnerable young people in the wider society. Aware that many young people are beset by a host of fears, worries, anxieties and insecurities along with superficial and discouraging relationships the team developed two special environments/experiences - the Tranquillity Zone and the Discovery Zone - to help them engage in rewarding personal and social behaviour - A host of aberrant, anti-social and various disorders experienced by youngsters were addressed in these two Zones with a programme that revolved around two passages from Bahá'í texts - that 'man is a mine rich in gems of inestimable value' and that all children are 'potentially the light of the world and at the same time its darkness.' In brief, the programme aimed at empowering individuals to transcend their disaffection with spiritual understandings. The programme was welcomed by 27 schools in Swindon, primary and secondary, with their most disaffected youngers identified as needing a novel intervention. A cohort of teachers and learning mentors were trained to deliver the programme. Viv Bartlett's book, Nurturing a Healthy Human Spirit in the Young, outlines this experience. Born in Cardiff, Viv Bartlett began searching for answers to life’s problems after a tragedy struck, when his 14-year-old younger brother accidently electrocuted himself. Finding answers in religion he became a member of the Bahá’i Faith in 1966. After serving an engineering apprenticeship in ‘Tiger Bay’ Cardiff, he later travelled the world as an engineer in the merchant navy. Returning home, he married (Rita Bridge) in 1970 and gained a B. Ed Honours degree in Education as a mature student. He then taught in secondary education in S Wales. Viv Bartlett, whilst pioneering in S Wales, served on several national Bahá’i committees until 1976, when he was appointed an Auxiliary Board Member in the UK serving for over 20 years with a special interest in the empowerment of young people. Since then, he has served on the Bahá’i Training Institute for Wales and then on the first elected Bahá’i Council for Wales. He was a Bahá’i representative on the first Interfaith Council for Wales established in 2003 serving until recently. He is a founder member of the Swindon Young People’s Empowerment Programme (SYEP), a programme inspired by Bahá’í Teachings to help vulnerable, disaffected young people. A total of 27 primary and secondary schools have employed this programme. Viv has authored three books, with a fourth in process. His beloved wife, Rita, died of cancer 7 years ago, prior to which they parented three children and were foster carers.

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