French Bahá'í Summer School, Angers
On 19-26 August 2017, I participated in the French Bahá'í Summer School at
La Pommeraye south of Angers, in the west of France. The 300 participants of
all ages included many children and youth. I was able to catch up with many
old friends. We were 14 to study Ruhi Book 9 on the Ancient Covenant, which
explored the foundations of spiritual belief and the role of religions and
the Manifestations of God in teaching us the divine attributes that we
should try to reflect in our lives. Our tutor, Bernard Benghozi, also taught
us some calligraphy as an art form often used to express spirituality.
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The group photo; mealtime on the terrace
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The spacious gardens allowed for informal conversations; the junior
youth at devotions
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Our study of Book 9 was very intensive
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One evening there was a play about the early history of the Faith,
featuring a dialogue between 'Abdu'l-Bahá's sister and daughter
The final evening, many groups presented the results of their work in some
form of artistic expression
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The children; part of the audience
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The junior youth called for a Baha'i house of worship to be build in
France, and surprised everyone by marching in with a model of the future
temple
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The junior youth, youth, and some adults composed and sang songs
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Our group showed its illuminated calligraphy and poems on the theme
of the book we studied; my calligraphy
Music and dancing continued after the show
Everyone learned a lot, build new friendships, and returned with enthusiasm
to their local communities.