115th National Convention: Delegates from across the Nation arrive at the Baha’i House of Worship in Wilmette Illinois

115th Annual Convention Coverage

US BAHÁ’Í NATIONAL CONVENTION — Some 171 delegates and Counselors representing groups and regions from all over the continental US have arrived in Wilmette, Illinois on May 18th to participate in the Bahá’í National Convention, an electoral gathering that takes place every year at the administrative and spiritual center of the US Bahá’í community.

During National Convention, these delegates–Bahá’í women and men from diverse backgrounds representing their communities and a cross-section of humanity–will participate in consultative sessions and elect the national governing body of the Bahá’í Faith, the National Spiritual Assembly.

Consultations will explore how the Bahá’ís and their friends can intensify efforts to contribute to humanity’s movement toward peace. These efforts involve educational programs that build capacity for community-building, as well as social action and participation in societal discourses.

The delegates who attend the National Convention are members of the electoral units that annually elected representatives to participate in this process. This spiritually-based process is done without electioneering and partisanship. Those who serve as delegates and those they elect serve the community and help guide the advancement of the community as they learn to put into practice the teachings of the Faith.

This year the Convention runs May 18th to 21st and is following the International Convention which elected the nine members of the Universal House of Justice for a five-year term, which took 29 April to 2 May.