Are you considering moving to Silver Spring, Maryland? Silver Spring is a vibrant community just outside Washington, D.C., with over fifty Baha'i families living in the immediate area around downtown Silver Spring. In recent years, Silver Spring has gradually transformed into an urban center in its own right, with dining, shopping, entertainment, work, and a rich variety of places to live and play.
As a part of the Silver Spring community, the structures that govern the rhythms and routines of Bahá'í community life are both flexible enough to a wide diversity of ethnicity, economics, and culture, and yet strong enough to maintain the essential unity of the Faith, which, unlike the world's other major religions, has resisted splitting into sects and sub-groups.
The result is a rich community life. Not only does the Silver Spring Baha'i community sponsor activities -- from social events to economic development projects -- but individuals Bahá'ís also find a joyful and supportive group of friends who, despite the sometimes wide difference in their backgrounds, find common ground in the high ideals and principles of the Faith.
Bahá'í community life is governed by the local Spiritual Assembly, a freely elected governing body of lay people who guide and administer the affairs of the community as a whole. In this way, governance in the Silver Bahá'í community springs from the grassroots. Community activities in the Silver Spring area include classes for the education of children, devotional services, study classes, discussions on global issues, social events, the observance of holy days, marriages, and funeral services.
The centerpiece of Silver Spring Bahá'í community life is the Nineteen-Day Feast. Held once every 19 days, the Feast is the local community's regular worship gathering -- and more.
Open to both adults and children, the Feast is the regular gathering that promotes and sustains the unity of the local Bahá'í community. The Feast always contains three elements: spiritual devotion, administrative consultation, and social fellowship. As such, the Feast combines religious worship with grassroots governance and social enjoyment.
Yet its program is adaptable to a wide variety of cultural and social needs. Music is often a component of its program, and such music often reflects our diverse Silver Spring population, incoprating everything from Gospel-style music to Asian pentatonic music.
The use of the word "feast" might seem to imply that a large meal will be served. That is not necessarily the case. While food and beverages are usually served, the term itself is meant to suggest that the community should enjoy a "spiritual feast" of worship, companionship and unity. Bahá'u'lláh stressed the importance of gathering every nineteen days, "to bind your hearts together," even if nothing more than water is served.
During the devotional program, selections from the Bahá'í writings, and often the scriptures from other religions, are read aloud. A general discussion follows, allowing every member a voice in community affairs and making the Feast an "arena of democracy at the very root of society." The Feast ends with a period for socializing.
While the Feast serves to bind Bahá'ís and their families more closely together, Bahá'í communities as a whole are not isolated from society at large. Indeed, Bahá'u'lláh encouraged His followers to be fully involved with the rest of humanity. And most Bahá'ís lead lives that would not seem out of place in their native society -- following their professions, raising families, participating in local affairs -- save perhaps for a strong commitment to the high moral and ethical standards that are encouraged by the Faith.
If you're thinking of living in Silver Spring, we know you can find a place and community here! Learn more about how to engage the Silver Spring Baha'is.