07 February 2022

Kamál, 02 Mulk (Dominion), 178 B.E._

Seen

Sunrise — how beautiful is that!

Done

Setup service categories for each of the four projects in the GAVNet TimeBank portfolio and posted “requests” that relate to the services needed as described in the project list on the website. Now, a member of any timebank in the hOurworld network who spends time responding to these requests can receive credit for it. Here’s an example:

Project: How’s the Weather?

Late in 2021, a group of seasoned veterans in community activism decided to express their concerns on a global stage about the urgency posed by the consequences of climate change and the inadequate measures taken thus far by governments and corporations worldwide to address them. To press their point, they targeted Earth Day (April 22), 2023 for a global “flashmob” whereby those who refuse to accept continued inaction gather in their localities and unite in their statement of resistance to this demonstrated lack of enthusiasm throughout much of the public and private sectors. The group distributed a letter that outlines five “immediate actions” they would like whoever reads it to take.

The GAVNet TB will credit you for the time you spend 1) distributing the “How’s the Weather?” letter to your contacts and 2) forwarding information to globalrebirth23@gmail.com about organizations whose purpose is to address the consequences of climate change for inclusion in the “Resources for Planetary Actions” document.

Services Category: How’s The Weather?

Next step is to reformat the home page to clarify the steps a timebank member takes in order to receive time credits for participating.

Noted

Astral Prospecting on Instagram and Astral Prospecting on Facebook

Marc Bosserman on Instagram Marc Bosserman on Facebook, and Marc Bosserman Music and Musings on YouTube

Tab’s Galaxy on YouTube

Quoted

Closely connected with the capacity for engaging in social action is a capacity for contributing to the discourses of society. At heart, this is simply a capacity for participating in a conversation about a matter that affects people’s lives and offering a perspective grounded in Bahá’í principles and Bahá’í experience. Viewed in this way, it is a skill which many Bahá’ís have the opportunity to practise almost daily, for instance in their studies or occupations, and which is cultivated through involvement in institute courses; in its more formal expression, it is central to the work of the Bahá’í International Community and national Offices of External Affairs. However, in relation to the release of the society-building power of the Faith at the grassroots, it is a capacity that comes into greater demand as closer association with a population, brought about through the work of expansion and consolidation, leads to increased consciousness of an area’s prevailing social problems, as well as of the aspirations of its people to overcome them. As the number of those participating in community-building activities rises, so does the need for the Bahá’í community to offer, as a unified body, its considered perspective on obstacles to social progress and on issues that weigh on the minds and spirits of those with whom it interacts. This has particular implications for Local Spiritual Assemblies. In places where the activities of the Plan have attained a degree of prevalence, the Assembly begins to be viewed more widely as a source of moral insight. Over time, efforts to contribute to societal discourses become more systematic, and Bahá’ís become adept at helping those around them to engage constructively in a discourse and find consensus. Opportunities are sought out to share the perspectives of the Faith with community leaders and figures in authority, and spaces are created in which representatives of various groups and interests can be assisted to reach a common point of view through consultation. We are pleased with the steps that have already been taken to learn how insights from the Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh and from the experience of Bahá’í communities can be brought to bear upon pressing social issues at the local level; much more is sure to be learned in this regard during the Nine Year Plan. ¹