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

Bring a friend to one of these October sessions!

October 10-12: Insights: Young Adults &

Young Professionals Conference

with Nevin Jenkins and Angelica Johnson

What is an Insights Conference? It is a conference for young adults and young adult professionals who provide inspiration to each other through the sharing of experiences, ideas, and the Writings of our Faith about careers, family life and spiritual life during the Five Year Plan. Come to this exciting conference where musicians, entrepreneurs, doctors, and other professionals spark each others’ creativity for service to humanity through the Cause of Baha’u’llah. Recommended ages from 22-35. Friends interested in the Baha’i Faith are welcome. (Additional Conference Fee: $15.00)

Nevin Jenkins and his wife, Mercy, are active young adults in the Shaker Heights, Ohio Baha'i community. He is a new father and a math teacher in the Cleveland area and uses creative presentations to engage his students. His web site, www.mathremix.com, uses personal stories and engaging music in order to motivate students to learn about math. In 2004, Nevin along with another young adult created the Insights Young Adult Conference at Louhelen Baha'i School. Since then, it has occurred annually at Bosch, Louhelen, and Green Acre. Nevin enjoys networking young adults together to create pathways for success, both personally and community wide. He will assist in creating a fun filled reunion style weekend. The topic will be "How to grow up, while still having fun."

Angelica Johnson lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina where she works as a Program Coordinator for a teen pregnancy prevention program.  Presently, her goal is to support consolidation efforts by providing home visits and teaching children's classes.  

October 17-19: Empowering the Human Spirit

with Ron Matthews & Martha Elliot

`Abdu’l-Bahá says "The Reality of Man is his thought... If a man’s thought is constantly aspiring towards heavenly subjects then does he become saintly; if... his thought does not soar... he grows more and more material...." Since our thought is our reality, it follows that we create what we think about. In the Five Year Plan we are being called to greater levels of service than at any other time in recent history. How many times do we find ourselves having the desire to teach but lacking the confidence to take that first critical step? Imagine being able to step forward and confidently deliver the Message of Bahá’u’lláh in any situation. Through numerous references to the Sacred Scriptures and interactive exercises, we will learn methods for taking control of our thoughts and emotions and turning them into coherent action. (Includes Classes for ages 3 – 14)

Martha Elliott currently resides in Brockton, MA with husband, Burnis and son Mtalika. Her professional field is web development. In her Baha'i community she serves as the growth analyst for the Bristol/Plymouth Cluster. While working as web master for the NSA, she was a member and choir director of three One Human Family choirs. She has always been interested in the power of the human spirit and has spent many years studying the power of thought and the law of attraction.

Ron Matthews and his wife, Diane Burke, are active members of the Marlborough Massachusetts Baha'i Community. After spending the first 30 years of his adult life as an electrical engineer and ardent martial arts student, Ron has become an Energy Medicine Practitioner with certifications in the Eden method and the Emotional Freedom Technique. In addition, Ron is a certified Master Practitioner of Neuro-Linguistic Programming. This unique combination of skills has lead Ron to a personal realization of Abdu'l-Baha's assertion that "The Reality of Man is his thought, not his material body."

October 24-26: Pioneer Orientation

with the U.S. Office of International Pioneering represented by Alex Blakeson

The Universal House of Justice, in its letter of March 9, 2007, said of pioneering, “they who cast away their attachments and forsake their homes for the love of God are assured of divine assistance.” Prepare yourself to serve the Faith in the international field at a Pioneer Orientation. The core of the Pioneer Orientation features participatory study of the Writings through a course on pioneering, teaching and service. Also included is a panel discussion with veteran pioneers and training in the practical aspects of effective international pioneering, including cross-cultural adaptation. Before registering please contact the Office of International Pioneering at (847) 733-3511 or pioneer@usbnc.org.

October 24-26: Baha'i Communications in the Internet Age with Glen Fullmer & Thane Terrill

Note: Webcasts of this weekend are archived at www.bahaiwebdev.net

and may also be seen at http://www.mogulus.com/BahaiCommunications

Led by the staff of the Baha'i National Center's Office of Communications, this session will be of interest to webmasters, bloggers, Public Information Officers and any Baha'is interested in communications and the Internet.

Thane Terrill, a member of the Baha'i Internet Agency, will join us as we review recent guidance from the Baha'i World Center pertaining to Baha'i activity on the Internet and look at actual local Baha'i websites, blogs, social networking sites and other forms of teaching and individual initiative online, to analyze what works and what could be improved.

Bring your laptops if you would like to set up a blog and get started, or let us know what you are working on and we will set up a peer learning session on Saturday evening.  The Office of Communications recently launched a Ning site to host www.bahaiwebdev.net, a network for Baha’i web developers to share resources and ideas. Baha’i web developers are encouraged to join.

To prepare for the conference, we suggest that participants review the Baha'i Internet Agency documents available on the BCCA website at: www.bcca.org/bia.

Glen Fullmer is the director of the Office of Communications at the Bahá'í National Center and lives in Evanston, Ill. He has served Bahá'í institutions in the communications arena for nearly 10 years. From 1999 to 2001, he served as an information officer at the Bahá'í World Centre, assisting with publicity for the Opening of the Terraces on Mount Carmel and the launch the Bahá'í World News Service. Mr. Fullmer holds a Master’s degree in journalism from the University of Maryland. He was born in Costa Rica and speaks Spanish fluently.

October 31 -November 2: Structure of Kitab-i-Aqdas

with Nader Saiedi

This course deals with the complex question of the "order of Aqdas" and "order of Baha’u’llah" by locating the Kitab-i-Aqdas in the sacred history of revelation. The course will argue three fundamental propositions: 1) the logic of Aqdas is primarily a mystical dialectics. In this context we will compare the logic of the Bab and Baha’u’llah to both dialectical and dialogical philosophies (Hegel and Buber for example). 2) For the first time in sacred history, "abstract theology" has turned into "concrete theology". This is particularly a discussion of the beginning and end of Kitab-i-Aqdas and 3) The meaning of true liberty. The course deals with complex and exciting issues but it will address them in an accessible and understandable way. Everyone who is seriously interested in a deeper study of the Faith, regardless of previous background, will benefit.

Nader Saiedi, Ph.D., has taught at the University of Wisconsin, UCLA, University of Virginia, and Vanderbilt. He currently teaches courses in classical and contemporary social theory, social stratification, sociology of religion, and the Middle East at Carleton College in MN. Born in Iran, he brings a global perspective and a Middle East background to his teaching.

Details on these courses and more may be found at

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