My Neighbor's Faith #3: Baha'i Center in Washington DC (Part 2): The People

The Baha'i Temple in Haifa, Israel

A WARM FELLOWSHIP

When I entered the Baha'i Center, I was greeted by a man who showed me to a place to sit where we chatted until other people began to arrive.  As they did, I met and chatted with more and more people.  They were so easy to talk to that one fellow and I were actually late to the beginning of the service.

This chatting continued for some time after the service adjourned.  By the end of it, I was rather well acquainted with 10 people.  I remember their names, know where some of them work and have email contact with three of them.  I've emailed all three, and all three have responded.  Needless to say, I spent a lot of time talking with people there.  Hours flew by socializing on chairs and cushioned benches.  I would have stayed longer if circumstances had allowed.

A DIVERSE COMMUNITY

It was, without any doubt, the most racially diverse group of people I'd ever seen in any location ever.  This is not an exaggeration.  And when I think of the fact that there were almost certainly less than 70 people present, I am still in shock as to how this is possible.  The number of men and women seemed about equal - as did their status within the group.  The attendees were a rainbow of different skin colors and no one pigment seemed to dominate.  Even the age of those present varied with plenty of children in attendance.  I've never seen anything quite like it.

RELAXED

Like most lively religious groups, the Bahais were happy to share their religion with another person, but it wasn't forceful.  "It's not our job to convert people," I was told.  They weren't even mildly condescending when I described myself as a Humanist - not a single one of them.  There are theological reasons for why this is so -

1.  They seem to see spiritual development as more important than dogma.  
2. he highest act of worship is service to humanity, what Christians call "Loving one's neighbor."  
3. They don't believe one person ought to control another.  It's their job to love, not to compel others into belief.  (Ironically, I found this rather compelling). 

Interacting with the Baha'i Community was refreshing to the point of it almost being weird.  I felt warm inside.