Befriended Stranger

O mankind! Be careful of your duty to your Lord Who created you from a single soul and from it created its mate and from them twain hath spread abroad a multitude of men and women.
(Islam, The Qur’an, Sura   4 – Women)

Know thou, O handmaid, that in the sight of Baha, women are accounted the same as men, and God hath created all humankind in His own image, and after His own likeness. That is, men and women alike are the revealers of His names and attributes, and from the spiritual viewpoint there is no difference between them.
(Baha’i Faith, Abdu’l-Baha, Selections from the Writings of Abdu’l-Baha, p. 79)

Dear friends!

We’ll also say prayers for anyone in need, so if you can’t join us and would like to request prayers please contact me.

Honour thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise; That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.
(Christianity, Holy Bible, Ephesians, 6:2-3)

Thy Lord hath commanded that ye worship none, besides Him; and that ye shew kindness unto your parents, whether the one of them, or both of them attain to old age with thee.
(Islam, Holy Qur’an, 17:23)

Say, O My people! Show honour to your parents and pay homage to them. This will cause blessings to descend upon you from the clouds of the bounty of your Lord, the Exalted, the Great.
(Baha’i Faith, Bahá’u'lláh, from a Tablet-translated from the Arabic)

Dear friends!

What nurtures your soul? What makes your heart tender? Prayer, music, fellowship, food cooked with love, tea poured in peace, cake shared with smile? Whatever the answer might be, sharing prayers with friends gets us all closer to the Creator and recharges us for the week ahead.

This Monday, February 22nd, I invite you and your loves ones to the interfaith Prayer Station in Arlington on the theme of “Honoring one’s parents“. We’ll start at 7:30 pm with light refreshments followed by reading, at 8:00 pm, of selected Holy Writings and Prayers. I have many books of prayers from different faith traditions but if you wish, feel free to bring your own prayer. We’ll also uplift and refresh our souls with music, and we’ll conclude with tea and sweets.

We’ll also say prayers for anyone in need, so if you can’t join us and would like to request prayers please contact me.

And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call.
(Judaism / Christianity, Holy Bible, Joel, 2:32)

O LORD! Thou art the Remover of every anguish and the Dispeller of every affliction. Thou art He Who banisheth every sorrow and setteth free every slave, the Redeemer of every soul. O Lord! Grant deliverance through Thy mercy and reckon me among such servants of Thine as have gained salvation.
(Baha’i Faith, The Bab, Selections from the Writings of the Bab, p. 193)

Dear friends!

We’ll also say prayers for anyone in need, so if you can’t join us and would like to request prayers please contact me.

For thy power standeth not in multitude nor thy might in strong men: for thou art a God of the afflicted, an helper of the oppressed, an upholder of the weak, a protector of the forlorn, a saviour of them that are without hope.
(Christianity, Deuterocanonical Apocrypha, Judith)

All that is in Heaven and all that is in Earth is God’s! God is a sufficient protector!
(Islam, The Holy Qur’an, Sura   4 – Women)

We must consider all as the leaves, branches and fruit of one tree, children of one household; for all are the progeny of Adam. We are waves of one sea, grass of the same meadow, stars in the same heaven; and we find shelter in the universal divine Protector.
(Baha’i Faith, Abdu’l-Baha, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 174)

Dear friends!

We’ll also say prayers for anyone in need, so if you can’t join us and would like to request prayers please contact me.

Tao is without beginning, without end. The material things are born and die, and no credit is taken for their development. Emptiness and fullness alternate, and their relations are not fixed. Past years cannot be recalled; time cannot be arrested. The succession of growth and decay, of increase and diminution, goes in a cycle, each end becoming a new beginning.
(Taoism, Tao, Chuangtse)

He Who is both the Beginning and the End, He Who is both Stillness and Motion, is now manifest before your eyes. Behold how, in this Day, the Beginning is reflected in the End, how out of Stillness Motion hath been engendered. This motion hath been generated by the potent energies which the words of the Almighty have released throughout the entire creation.
(Baha’i Faith, Baha’u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u'llah, p. 168)

Dear friends!

This Monday, January 25th, I invite you and your loves ones to the interfaith Prayer Station in Arlington on the theme of “New Beginning“. We’ll start at 7:30 pm with light refreshments followed by reading, at 8:00 pm, of selected Holy Writings and Prayers. I have many books of prayers from different faith traditions but if you wish, feel free to bring your own prayer. We’ll also uplift and refresh our souls with music, and we’ll conclude with tea and sweets.
We’ll also say prayers for anyone in need, so if you can’t join us and would like to request prayers please contact me.

Today, every wise, vigilant and foresighted person is awakened, and to him are unveiled the mysteries of the future which show that nothing save the power of the Covenant is able to stir and move the heart of humanity, just as the New and Old Testaments propounded throughout all regions the Cause of Christ and were the pulsating power in the body of the human world.
(From the Baha’i Holy Writings, Selections from the Writings of Abdu’l-Baha, p. 223)

Dear friends!

I invite you and your loved ones to the second of two devotional discussions on the Eternal Covenant of God. The first one focused on how the Baha’i Faith fulfills God’s covenant with humanity. The second one, this Monday, Jan 11th, will focus on what is humanity’s role in fulfilling its part of the Covenant with God.

We will start with a light dinner at 7:30 pm to be followed by an opening prayer and the discussion itself.

Feel free to invite anyone who might be interested in learning more about the Baha’i Faith and its promise for humanity. Letting me know if you plan on coming would make it easier to plan the refreshments but not letting me know should not prevent you from joining me on.

I bear witness to Thy unity and Thy oneness, and that Thou art God, and that there is none other God beside Thee. Thou hast, verily, revealed Thy Cause, fulfilled Thy Covenant, and opened wide the door of Thy grace to all that dwell in heaven and on earth.
(From the Baha’i Holy Writings)

Dear friends! May your new year be a healthy and happy one!

I invite you and your loved ones to the first of two devotional discussions on the Eternal Covenant of God. The first one, this Monday, Jan 4th, will focus on how the Baha’i Faith fulfills God’s covenant with humanity. The second one, next Monday, Jan 11th, will focus on what is humanity’s role in fulfilling its part of the Covenant with God.

We will start with a light dinner at 7:30 pm to be followed by an opening prayer and the discussion itself.

Feel free to invite anyone who might be interested in learning more about the Baha’i Faith and its promise for humanity. Letting me know if you plan on coming would make it easier to plan the refreshments but not letting me know should not prevent you from joining me.

As rain does not make its way into a well roofed house, so passion does not make its way into a reflecting mind.
(Buddhism, Dhammapada – Sayings of the Buddha)

Cleanse the mirrors of your hearts from the dross of the world and all that is therein, that they may reflect the resplendent light of God.
(Baha’u'llah, The Summons of the Lord of Hosts, p. 208)

Dear friends!

What nurtures your soul? What makes your heart tender? Prayer, music, fellowship, food cooked with love, tea poured in peace, cake shared with smile? Whatever the answer might be, sharing prayers with friends gets us all closer to the Creator and recharges us for the week ahead.

This Monday, December 28th, I invite you and your loves ones to the interfaith Prayer Station in Arlington dedicated to our Reflections on the past year. We’ll start at 7:30 pm with light refreshments followed by reading, at 8:00 pm, of selected Holy Writings and Prayers. I have many books of prayers from different faith traditions but if you wish, feel free to bring your own prayer. We’ll also uplift and refresh our souls with music, and we’ll conclude with tea and cake.

We’ll also say prayers for anyone in need, so if you can’t join us and would like to request prayers please contact me.

Though (by his learning and sanctity) he may be entitled to accept presents, let him not attach himself (too much) to that (habit); for through his accepting (many) presents the divine light in him is soon extinguished.
(Hinduism, Laws of Manu)

The most important thing is to polish the mirrors of hearts in order that they may become illumined and receptive of the divine light.
(Baha’i Faith, Abdu’l-Baha, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 14)

Dear friends!

What nurtures your soul? What makes your heart tender? Prayer, music, fellowship, food cooked with love, tea poured in peace, cake shared with smile? Whatever the answer might be, sharing prayers with friends gets us all closer to the Creator and recharges us for the week ahead.

This Monday, December 14th, I invite you and your loves ones to the interfaith Prayer Station in Arlington which will be dedicated to the topic of Divine Light as reflected in different religious traditions. We’ll start at 7:30 pm with light refreshments followed by reading, at 8:00 pm, of selected Holy Writings and Prayers. I have many books of prayers from different faith traditions but if you wish, feel free to bring your own prayer. We’ll also uplift and refresh our souls with music, and we’ll conclude with tea and cake.

We’ll also say prayers for anyone in need, so if you can’t join us and would like to request prayers please contact me.

Those whose minds are thoroughly practiced in the factors of enlightenment, who find delight in freedom from attachment in the renunciation of clinging, free from the inflow of thoughts, they are like shining lights, having reached final liberation in the world.
(Buddhism, Dhammapada – Sayings of the Buddha)

If ye seek God, it behooveth you to seek Him Whom God shall make manifest, and if ye cherish the desire to dwell in the Ark of Names, ye will be distinguished as the guides to Him Whom God shall make manifest, did ye but believe in Him. Verily then make your hearts the daysprings of His exalted Names as recorded in the Book, and ye shall, even as mirrors placed before the sun, be able to receive enlightenment.
(Baha’i Faith, Selections from the Writings of the Bab, p. 131)

Dear friends!

What nurtures your soul? What makes your heart tender? Prayer, music, fellowship, food cooked with love, tea poured in peace, cake shared with smile? Whatever the answer might be, sharing prayers with friends gets us all closer to the Creator and recharges us for the week ahead.

This Monday, December 7th, I invite you and your loves ones to the interfaith Prayer Station in Arlington which will be dedicated to the topic of Enlightenment as reflected in different religious traditions. We’ll start at 7:30 pm with light refreshments followed by reading, at 8:00 pm, of selected Holy Writings and Prayers. I have many books of prayers from different faith traditions but if you wish, feel free to bring your own prayer. We’ll also uplift and refresh our souls with music, and we’ll conclude with tea and cake.

We’ll also say prayers for anyone in need, so if you can’t join us and would like to request prayers please contact me.