“His life is one of the most magnificent examples of courage which it has been the privilege of mankind to behold,” French writer A.L.M. Nicolas said of the Báb (“gate” in Arabic).

The Báb—born Siyyid `Alí-Muhammad in Shiraz, Persia (now Iran)—announced on May 22, 1844, that He was the bearer of a Divine Revelation which would prepare humanity for the advent of the Promised One of all religions.

On the evening of May 22, Baha’is throughout the world commemorate the Declaration of the Bab, which took place in this room (pictured) in the Persian city of Shiraz in 1844. That Promised One, the Báb declared, was destined to usher in the age of justice, unity and peace promised in Judaism, Christianity, Islam and all the other world religions. Bahá’u’lláh, one of the Báb’s leading advocates, announced in April 1863 that He was the Divine Messenger the Báb had promised.

The Báb’s announcement in the middle of the 19th century came at a time when many Christians were expecting the return of Christ based on their reading of Biblical prophecy. Simultaneously, half way around the world, in the Middle East, many followers of Islam were also expecting their Promised One to appear.

It seemed as if a new spiritual age was about to begin.

Those who had met the Báb were struck by the beauty of His being and grace. His voice, particularly, when chanting the tablets and prayers He revealed, possessed a sweetness that captivated the heart.

Against the backdrop of widespread moral breakdown in Persian society, the Báb’s assertion that He was the Bringer of a new Revelation from God and His call for spiritual and social renewal aroused both hope and excitement among the masses and hostility among the religious and political leaders of His day.

He quickly attracted thousands of followers.

Soon the Báb and His followers were persecuted by the religious and political leaders. The Bab was imprisoned, exiled, beaten and finally executed. The followers, by the thousands, were tortured and martyred.

Their extraordinary moral courage in the face of persecution was noted by a number of Western observers, such as Leo Tolstoy and Sarah Bernhardt, who were deeply affected by the spiritual drama that was unfolding in what was regarded as a darkened land.

Despite the opposition, the Báb’s religion survived. Most of the Báb’s followers embraced Bahá’u’lláh’s announcement that He was the One promised by the Báb. The religion, known as the Bahá’í Faith after Bahá’u’lláh’s declaration, continued to expand although persecutions also continued.

Today, the Bahá’í Faith has more than five million followers from every part of the world, drawn from every class of society and nearly every religion. In the United States, the Bahá’í Faith now has about 160,000 adherents.

Bahá’ís celebrate the anniversary of the Báb’s declaration through prayers and programs where the story of His declaration may be retold. It is one of nine holy days in the Bahá’í calendar when Bahá’ís suspend work or school.

The website 239 Days, traces ‘Abdu’l-Baha’s travels day by day through stories of the people who came to meet Him and hear His message. You can subscribe to the site to receive a new story each day for the duration of his trip.

"Material things that we want or desire are not usually a path to happiness," says Tierney Sutton in the liner notes to her album, "Desire." Tierney Sutton, whose previous two albums each won Grammy nominations, says she has wanted for years to do a record challenging the modern tendency to exalt material wealth and self-gratification over humanity’s higher, spiritual nature.

Tierney Sutton, a Baha’i and a five-time Grammy nominated jazz vocalist will be performing in Portland on April 30, 2012:

PDX Jazz, the presenting organization of the Portland Jazz Festival, in partnership with Jimmy Mak’s, announces five-time Grammy nominated jazz vocalist Tierney Sutton as part of their ongoing series, PDX Jazz @ Jimmy Mak’s. The revered vocalist and her band will make their Portland debut, and perform songs from their most recent Grammy nominated album, American Road.

The Tierney Sutton Band consists of Sutton, Christian Jacob (piano), Ray Brinker (drums), and bassists Kevin Axt and Trey Henry. They have been performing together for over 19 years and have released nine critically acclaimed albums, with American Road being Sutton’s fourth consecutive Grammy nominated album as “Best Vocal Jazz Album”. It contains songs from George Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess, Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sonheim’s musical, West Side Story, as well as transcending versions of traditional songs like “Wayfaring Stranger” and “Oh Shenandoah”.

Please don’t miss your opportunity to enjoy one of the world’s preeminent jazz vocalists. Find out more at Tierneysutton.com.

PDX Jazz @ Jimmy Mak’s presents:
Tierney Sutton
five-time Grammy nominated jazz vocalist
Monday, April 30th
Two shows: 7:00pm and 9:00pm
Advanced Tickets:
$22 Reserved Seating/ $18 General Admission
Available at www.ticketsoregon.com

Up to this point, Baha’u’llah, who was born into a noble Persian family in 1817, had dedicated His life to improving the world and helping others. He became one of the foremost followers of the Bab, for which He was imprisoned, tortured and banished from His native land.

After spending 10 years in exile in Baghdad, Baha’u’llah was ordered to Constantinople (present-day Istanbul) for another period of exile. Before leaving Baghdad, He spent 12 days in a garden on the banks of the Tigris River. The garden later was named Ridvan, meaning “Paradise” or “good pleasure” in Arabic.

As His followers gathered around Him, Baha’u’llah announced that He was the Promised One of all earlier religions — “Him Whom God shall make manifest.” His declaration marks the beginning of the Baha’i Faith.

“Surely there could be no greater bliss than to stand in this spot, at this Hour, with the Promised One of God!” author, Druzelle Cederquist, writes on her Luminous Realities blog.

Baha’is suspend work on the holiest days of Ridvan – the first (April 21), ninth (April 29) and twelfth (May 2). These mark the day of Baha’u’llah’s arrival in the garden, the arrival of His family and the group’s departure for Constantinople.

Throughout Ridvan, Baha’is gather for devotions and attend social gatherings. It is also during this time that elections take place for Baha’i governing bodies.

This year, Baha’is in the Portland Metro area are celebrating Naw Ruz in a big way with a metro-wide event full of music, dance and entertainment. Come and join us for an evening of joyous celebration.

Naw Ruz Gala
Saturday, March 24, 2012
6:45 pm
Arts & Communication Magnet Academy (ACMA)
11375 SW Center St
Beaverton,OR 97005

Ladder For the Soul Choir performed at the Portland Zoo's December "Zoolights" display.

The Ladder for the Soul choir continues to evolve and hone its ability to perform in a wide variety of venues and circumstances. The choir recently performed at the Portland Zoo’s December “Zoolights” display. The intrepid performers found their way to the “Elephant Plaza” on a cold, drippy evening. The “stage” was set under a metal roof next to the Zoo Train tracks. This made for interesting acoustics as a rain storm pummeled the roof, a hardy wind blew past the open-sided venue, and every few minutes the train chugged past, blowing its horn!

The gift of rain brought people seeking shelter together, to listen to the exquisite writings of Baha’u’llah. The audience, most likely anticipating Christmas carols, listened attentively to each song.

Two weeks later, the choir once again performed musical outreach at a twelve-hour chant for peace sponsored by the Portland Zen Buddhist community. During this interfaith event, different faith communities led participants in one-hour chant sessions. The choir members led chants for “Ya-Baha’ul-Abha,” “God is Sufficient Unto Me” and an interfaith chant that incorporated “Allah-u-Abha” along with Jewish, Muslim, Christian and Buddhist phrases. Choir members remained afterward to talk with participants and support other faith-based chant groups.

The choir also continues to sing for more reverent occasions, including memorial services, musical firesides, Holy Day observances and devotional gatherings. Choir members are actively involved in the Sunday morning devotions at the Portland Baha’i Center and perform as a group on the second Sunday of each month. Several choir members have recently committed to adding the fourth Sunday for live music during devotions. The Sunday devotions are open to everyone and people of many different beliefs attend.

Sunday devotions start at 10:30 AM at the Portland Baha’i Center (8720 N. Ivanhoe Street, Portland, 97203) and fellowship follows at 11:15 AM. We hope to see you there!

Grace Eagle Reed was the first interviewee of the The Pansophy Project.

Portland Baha’i Grace Eagle Reed was honored to be the first guest of a new Chicago community internet radio program, “The Pansophy Project.” Ms. Eagle Reed introduced her most recent book, “Negotiating Shadows – Journey to the Sun,” on the program. During the interview, she found the opportunity to speak about the National Baha’i Temple, located in the Chicago area, and touch briefly on the Baha’i Faith.

Ms. Eagle Reed’s newest book is dedicated to AA and the Baha’i Faith, both credited for saving her life. The book talks about pulling oneself out of the dark shadows of addictive behavior, into the
light of sobriety and faith. The book is currently featured on the Global Poetry Project website: www.globalpoetry.net and is available for purchase on Grace’s website: www.negotiatingshadows.com.
You can hear Ms. Eagle Reed once a month on KBOO Community Radio, 90.7 FM. She is one of the hosts of “Prison Pipeline,” a program about prison reform and social justice, airing Mondays, 6:30
– 7:00 PM.

Upon finally receiving a settlement from the insurance company, the Assembly ordered a new sign. Although the sign is fabricated of metal, it was designed to resemble marbled stone. Elegant and sturdy, the new sign is now installed at the left-front side of the building, facing N. Ivanhoe Street. It will identify the Portland Baha’i Center for many years to come.

In June 2012, Dr. John Ng will become the first male co-chair of the Women in Academic Medicine Committee at the Casey Eye Institute of the Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU). Dr. Ng, who is an Associate Professor in the Department of Ophthalmology, is also a Baha’i and an active advocate for the rights of women. Read the full article in OHSU School of Medicine News.

Dancing and fun activities unify people of all ages and cultures.

In November, Portland Baha’i Karen Thomas and William Thomas responded to an invitation from the Vue Family of Portland, OR. This reporter accompanied them. The invitation was announced in early November to the Baha’is of Portland to attend the Annual Family “Noj Tshiab” Dinner set for Margaret Scott Elementary on Sat., Nov. 19. (“Noj Tshiab” is Hmong for New Year’s Eve Dinner.) Guests were asked to bring their “dancing shoes”.

Karen and William arrived in the school gym and soon discovered the sumptuous buffet of rice, vegetable salad, salad roll, Pa Thai noodle, exquisite dishes made with fresh beef, topped off by “na va” dessert.  Live musicians were playing lively, danceable music and the dance floor at one end of the gym was equally alive with young dancers. Everyone — young and old, was moved by the music to join in each dance …little children, too! With his guitar, Long Vue (one of the hosts) eagerly joined in the music.

Youth enjoying the food and the music.

Koneng Vue, a member of the hosting family, shares cultural background of the Hmong people:

“In the Hmong culture, New Year is celebrated at the end of December to early January. Historically Hmong New Year starts with a New Year Eve dinner, followed by several weeks of community fun activities. New Year Eve dinner is when family prepares food and share with other families and friends to celebrate the hard year’s work, and hope for a more prosperous year. Today, with busy schedules and no “free space” to host the traditionally weeks-long celebration, the combined family “Noj Tshiab” dinner and entertainment symbolizes cherished traditional values as well as create an environment for both young and old to come together. “Noj Tshiab” dinner is the least that today’s Hmong community can do to educate their children about treasured Hmong culture, bring youth and adults together through fun dinner activities, and preserve the value of families (binded by clan name or relationships) helping each other to purchase and prepare food, and share with the larger community – friends and families from near and afar – at no cost to the guests, except a curious intention to enjoy…each other’s presence (life), what are on the dinner table, the air, and the laughter of youth and adults harmonizing the differences (or “gap”) of growing in a different time and place.”

Karen and William Thomas join the dancing.

In Koneng’s description can be seen the light of unity promised by Abdu’l-Baha in London, England in 1911-12. At the age of 67, He made His journey from Akka (the prison city of the Ottoman Empire) to western Europe and North America to advance the unity of all peoples. He promised that:

“The darkness of suppression will disappear and the light of unity will shine. We cannot bring love and unity to pass merely by talking of it. Knowledge is not enough. Wealth, science, education are good, we know: but we must also work and study to bring to maturity the fruit of knowledge.”

(Abdu’l-Baha, Abdu’l-Baha in London, p. 54)

Music in any culture is music to the mind and joy to the heart!

With gratitude to the Vues and their extended families, we share with you and many readers this celebration of unity.

A Happy Hmong/Mong New Year to all!