Midstate Baha'i Followers a Diverse Group

December 5, 2009

Author: Andrea Castillo

Source: The Macon Telegraph

http://www.macon.com/religion/story/941508.html

On a Friday night, a group of eight people of the Baha’i faith from Macon and Fort Valley have gathered in the living room of the home of Mahin Pouryaghma for their weekly meeting of prayer and study.

They begin their meeting with each person around the room reading or reciting a prayer.

“Thy name is my healing, O God,” said Parvis Moshtael of Macon.

“Help me to be meek and lowly,” said Pouryaghma.

“The source of all learning is the knowledge of God,” said Fereydoun Jalali, a former electronic engineering technology professor at Fort Valley State University.

After that, they take turns reading aloud, paragraph by paragraph, from the second volume of Adib Taherzadeh’s “The Revelation of Baha’u’llah,” a book of commentary about the writings of the religion’s founder.

With no clergy in the Baha’i faith, this meeting stands apart from worship services conducted by mainstream religions, with local Baha’is coordinating meetings and services among themselves according to the needs and demands of their communities.