{"id":1244,"date":"2011-09-27T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2011-09-27T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/index.php\/news\/community-day-concludes-temples-birthday-celebrations\/"},"modified":"2017-10-14T04:48:40","modified_gmt":"2017-10-14T04:48:40","slug":"community-day-concludes-temples-birthday-celebrations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/index.php\/community-day-concludes-temples-birthday-celebrations\/","title":{"rendered":"Community day concludes Temple\u2019s birthday celebrations"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Community
Readers for the children’s service in the Baha’i Temple.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

During a week of 50<\/strong>th<\/strong><\/sup> birthday celebrations, the Baha\u2019i Temple in Sydney played its ongoing role as a spiritual host for the local community.<\/strong><\/p>\n

At the weekend, when the golden anniversary festivities came to a climax, more than 1,100 visitors from the local community and beyond participated in services, tours and other activities.<\/p>\n

On Saturday, visitors joined guided tours in which they participated in a mini-service and explored the ground and upper floor of the Temple.<\/p>\n

They also examined exhibits in the museum, strolled through parts of the surrounding bushland and visited the picnic space and Baha\u2019i bookshop.<\/p>\n

On Sunday, visitors attended three services, the first two of which had the theme of gratitude for the development and success of the Baha\u2019i Temple during the last 50 years.<\/p>\n

Selections from the Baha\u2019i, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jewish, Islamic and Zoroastrian scriptures were read.
\nFormer members of the Baha\u2019i Children\u2019s choir sang as a \u201creunion\u201d choir at one of the services.<\/p>\n

At another service, the choir sang in multiple languages. The conductor of the Samoan Youth Choir, Ruz Tuiletufuga, chanted the Lord\u2019s Prayer in Samoan. Andrew Dyer was another guest soloist and sang during the choral segments of the service.<\/p>\n


\nChildren\u2019s service <\/strong>At a special service conducted by children, the readers were aged between eight and twelve. Some were pupils who attend Baha\u2019i Education in State School and Baha\u2019i Education in the neighbourhood (Hills Shire District).<\/p>\n

Pooneh Sedghi, who coordinated the readers, said the children were happy to be part of the celebrations.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey brought their learning about devotion and service into fruition by participating in such a momentous occasion,\u201d Ms Sedghi said.<\/p>\n

Other events for children included peace-building activities such as creating a \u201cvirtue\u201d garden and making a community quilt combining images from a community into a whole. More than 900 artworks by children were on display.<\/p>\n

The young artists were from local schools as well as from Baha\u2019i Classes in State Schools in New South Wales and inter-State.<\/p>\n

Visitors were also able to participate in devotional meetings and study circles and have a taste of the community service activities of the Baha\u2019i community.<\/p>\n

Rotary and local businesses provided food stalls.<\/p>\n

Among the visitors during the week were Bob and Margaret Brownly from Balgowlah Heights.<\/p>\n

They had decided to visit the Baha’i Temple after reading an article in their local newspaper, the Manly Daily.<\/p>\n

Another visitor was Margaret Ford from Cherrybrook\/Pennant Hills, who joined the services during the mid-week noon celebrations.<\/p>\n

\u201cI always enjoy the services at the Baha\u2019i Temple because of the variety of contributions – including the Christian ones,\u201d Ms Ford said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love the building itself – it\u2019s just so pure. I just like the fact that there are contributions from all faiths and the simplicity of the service,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI never get over the hospitality. I am always welcomed on my arrival each and every time I visit.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhenever I come to the Baha\u2019i Temple, I feel cleansed and I always want to keep coming back. I want to bring others with me in the future visits to come.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mahvash Mehdizadeh, from Adelaide, who came to the Baha\u2019i Temple 10 months ago as a volunteer staff member, completed her last day of service as guide on the final day of the celebrations.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I spoke to visitors, they said they have a lot of admiration for the Baha\u2019i Teachings,” Ms Mehdizadeh said.<\/p>\n

One couple who lived nearby said they had often passed the Temple but decided on Sunday they would attend the celebrations and so attended the 1pm service, which they enjoyed, returning after to the Visitors’ Information Centre to watch a video on the Temple and the Baha’i Faith.<\/p>\n

Others came after hearing about the anniversary events on TV and radio or reading about it in newspapers or in flyers.<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for the Australian Baha\u2019i Community, Venus Khalessi, said the Temple is open for private visits for all members of the public all year from 9am to 5pm daily.<\/p>\n

Group bookings are also available by calling the Visitors Information Centre on (02) 99989221, Ms Khalessi said.<\/p>\n

Read about the opening reception with community leaders and opening service for the 50th Anniversary. <\/a><\/p>\n

Read about the interfaith service for the International Day of Peace<\/a> and TV coverage by Channel 10<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

During a week of 50th birthday celebrations, the Baha\u2019i Temple in Sydney played its ongoing role as a spiritual host for the local community.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1244","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-media-releases","category-uncategorised"],"yoast_head":"\nCommunity day concludes Temple\u2019s birthday celebrations - Australian Baha'i Community<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/index.php\/community-day-concludes-temples-birthday-celebrations\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Community day concludes Temple\u2019s birthday celebrations - 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