You may view this eNewsletter online at
http://www.bahai.us/newsletter/greenacreDECEMBER2008.html

BRING A FRIEND TO GREEN ACRE

Winter/Spring Sessions 2009

Registration Opens on December 3rd for the early winter sessions listed below. Please use the new and improved online registration process as of that date, and let us know what you think of it! Until then, Winter School registration is still an option. While there is a waiting list, it is common to have openings occur before Winter School starts.

Online Registration for All Courses:
http://www.greenacre.org/programs.aspx

December 26-31

Winter School: The Spiritual Requisites of Teaching
and the Example of the Hands of the Cause

Jane Faily and Brett Gamboa

This year’s winter school will explore how to attain the qualities necessary for transformation within a decadent society and how to produce the spiritual fire necessary to set ablaze the worlds. Throughout a week of interactive sessions, we will frequently refer to the examples of the Hands of the Cause and how they embodied the attributes we seek as Bahá’í teachers, taking inspiration not only from the spiritual traits and devotion which marked their time on earth, but also from their examples of sustained and systematic action in support of the Divine Plans. With our paths ahead illumined by their stories, we will meditate upon how we can undertake our own process of transformation that we may live lives of systematic and courageous action through the activities of the current Plan, lives to which we are lovingly summoned by the House of Justice. (Includes Classes for ages 3 – 17)

Dr. Faily is a psychologist with degrees from Harvard and the University of Georgia.  She was a pioneer to France in the Ten Year Crusade, and has served as an Auxiliary Board Member for Protection in the southern region and an NSA member in Canada.  She traveled extensively for the Faith in Africa.  She is currently in private practice in Marietta, Georgia.

Brett Gamboa has recently become a resident of New York City, having moved this past summer from Cambridge, MA where he continues as a doctoral candidate at Harvard University. His writing and teaching focus is on Renaissance and other dramatic literature, especially Shakespeare, whose plays he directs for the theater. Brett also engages in studies of the Arabic Language and of the Baha'i Revelation. He recently served as the Auxiliary Board Member for Protection in New England and he and his wife Gladys are currently preparing for the birth of a baby girl.

December 26-31

Youth Program - Releasing the Power of Junior Youth - Animator Training with

Aniela Costello

In this seminal class, learn how to nurture the immense capacities of the Junior Youth by engaging them in ’programs that seek to enhance their spiritual and intellectual capacities and prepare them to participate effectively in the affairs of their communities.’ The Universal House of Justice calls this a "most significant act of service." We will vigorously pursue these goals as animators: 1. Enhance the power of expression in our Junior Youth 2. Identify the capabilities that help youth recognize moral issues underlying everyday decisions 3. Identify the moral implications of speech and action. From our Beloved Master, "The period of youth is characterized by strength and vigor and stands out as the choicest time in human life." Come and learn how to inspire and empower youth to effectively channel the desire to "transform the world."

Aniela Costello is a licensed Homeopathic Practitioner (LHP) and has been in clinical practice for 19 years specializing in the family dynamic. As a certified Life Coach and Virtues Project Facilitator, Aniela works with non-profit organizations merging spiritual principles with practical applications. Her area of interest includes facilitating workshops entitled "Honoring the Teenage Spirit" and the "Spiritual Parent" and by far, capitalizing upon the excitement and momentum of her learnings from Book 5, "Releasing the Power of Junior Youth" has only enriched these secular classes. Aniela serves as Vice President of ACT Women, a successful socio-economic development project whose aim is to advance the spiritual education and empowerment of women. She serves various Institutions of the Faith, has finished the sequence of institute courses (looking ever forward to go through them again and again) and has been blessed with 23 years of marriage and is a mother to five incredible Bahá'i men.

Details on these courses and more may be found at

http://www.greenacre.org/programs.aspx