Youth Soaring in Seattle Area

A story shared from the Baha’is in the Seattle community:

The idea for our youth nights in Seattle started three years ago when our community was coming out of the pandemic. I remember attending the first in person community-wide Feast and noticing that the junior youth/youth were not interacting with each other. It occurred to me that the last time they interacted with each other was two years prior – when some were in children’s classes. Now, some of these youth were finishing middle school or in the early years of high school – which meant that they had missed important years to deepen bonds of friendship in study and service through the spiritual empowerment program. And so we started the youth nights with the purpose of creating a space for Bahá’í youth and their friends to socialize, build friendships and have meaningful conversation!

Although intended for the youth in our community, the word quickly spread to neighboring communities and now the youth nights regularly attract youth and their friends from multiple clusters (40-60 total regularly attending, including nearly 15 youth from the wider community per month). After three years, we are seeing many other clusters creating similar spaces to suit the needs of their own communities!

The program is youth-organized and youth-led; it includes pizza dinner, musical devotions, a brief introduction of the Bahá’í Faith presented by one of the youth participants, study of the Writings or guidance from the Universal House of Justice on the given theme, and many times includes the arts. What has been an essential component at every youth night is for the youth, when studying the Writings or guidance, to consider its application in their personal and collective lives.

My son shared with me: “I personally like youth night because it allows me to have meaningful conversations with people my age. In today’s society, I don’t see many conversations that extend past surface level in my school and other settings, and youth night allows me to actually have those deeper talks with youth my age on relevant topics.”

Youth building capacity

One main development has been the significant increase in the number of youth from the wider community attending over the last two years. It took about a year for the Bahá’í youth to rebuild and strengthen friends amongst themselves and trust in each other and the space before inviting others to join them. At the same time, these youth were advancing through the institute courses and arising to serve as children’s class teachers, animators and hosting their own devotionals. The burgeoning capacities developed through the institute process and service gave them the skills to have meaningful conversations with their friends and invite them to the space. Youth are now inviting friends from school, their neighborhoods and their junior youth groups. It has been a great portal for youth who are not yet involved in other community building activities as well as those who are involved to now meet more youth and realize they are a part of a greater movement of youth working to transform their communities. It was interesting to observe that it only took one Bahá’í youth to start inviting his friends; his example provided the inspiration and courage for others to do the same! A more recent observation has been that youth from the wider community who come with a Bahá’í friend the first time, then come again bringing their own friends with them the next time!

Making language more accessible  and inclusive

There’s also been a nuanced change in the language and approach the youth are taking to developing the program as they have gained experience in conversing with friends from the wider community. Whereas before one youth used to decide on the topic and find quotes, with the increasing number of friends from the wider community, now the Bahá’í youth who are bringing their friends collectively reflect on the conversations they’re having with their friends and the kinds of questions their friends are asking to help inform the next topic, materials and facilitation. Sometimes even these non-Bahá’í youth are involved in facilitating the material as was the case when a group came together to study and prepare for the facilitation of the May 2024 letter from the House of Justice to the participants of ISGP. The Bahá’í youth are now starting to employ more inclusive and accessible language, instead of saying “the Faith” I observe them saying “Bahá’u’lláh’s vision for humanity” when giving the brief presentation on the Bahá’í Faith or facilitating the discussion, which allows everyone to see themselves as a protagonist and a part of this collective enterprise to better their communities and transform society.