September 16, 2003
2003 Spiritual Foundations: A Great Success

Nader Saiedi makes a point to the 2003 Spiritual Foundations students

Nine students from across the U.S. and as far as Korea gathered with eight faculty for the 2003 Spiritual Foundations for a Global Civilization summer session. This year the program focused on the theme of “An Ever-Advancing Civilization.” The unprecedented student/faculty ratio afforded students the opportunity of working closely with distinguished authors and lecturers in exploring the Bahá'í teachings for regenerating civilization and creating the kingdom of God on Earth.

Earlier in the year, the Wilmette Institute Board shortened the summer session to nine intensive days of study and service under the shadow of the Mother Temple of the West. Classes were held at the former Bahá’í Home for the Aged and students stayed in the dorms at the National-Louis University, both within a short walking distance of the Temple. Regular devotions at the House of Worship and the opportunity to serve as guides or assist in garden teaching complemented the summer session’s daily academic program. The slate of classes and workshops focused on the study of the Bahá'í social teachings including such subjects as the establishment of world peace, the oneness of humanity, global prosperity, and creation of a world administrative system. Other global issues, such as the environment and the harmony of science and religion, were considered as well.

Nader Saiedi guided students through the Bahá'í writings on global civilization and global prosperity and its relationship to Western social theory and modern sociological thought. Martha Schweitz’s courses on world peace complemented Saiedi’s by exploring the establishment of embryonic global institutions such as the International Criminal Court and Bahá'í involvement in the body politic. Jaleh Dashti-Gibson’s course built on the discussions in Saiedi’s and Schweitz’s courses to explore Shoghi Effendi’s writings on the movement toward a new political order.

In explorations of specific topics of broad social concern, Richard Thomas lead students through a day long study of the U.S. National Spiritual Assembly’s statement on gender equality, Two Wings of a Bird, and racial equality, The Vision of Race Unity: America’s Most Challenging Issue. Thomas challenged students to see these issues not as ones that compete for our time but rather as inextricably interrelated. Craig Loehle stimulated discussion among students about the relationship of science to religion.

Finally, Robert Stockman, Nancy Davis, and Morris Taylor rounded out the week by engaging students in their respective discussions of recent Bahá'í history, curriculum development, and approaches to teaching the Faith. Robert Stockman surveyed the years from the Guardian’s death through the ministry of the Hands of the Cause of God, the establishment of the Universal House of Justice through the first-half of the Five Year Plan on which we are now embarked. Nancy Davis worked with students in identifying the many different pedagogical approaches to learning and the range of methodologies available in the Bahá'í community. In the final class of the week, Morris Taylor conducted an interactive workshop on teaching the Bahá'í Faith. Activities in this workshop were designed to help each student identify their strengths in teaching and to devise strategies to improve in areas for which they feel further work is needed.

The summer session drew to a close on August 9, 2003, with the graduation dinner. Dr. David Young delivered the official greetings of the U.S. National Spiritual Assembly. Counselor Stephen Birkland, in his keynote address, enthralled students with stories from the early and recent days of the Faith, reminding them of how precious it is to be able to work so intimately in studying the Bahá'í writings. Student presentations included a dance performance, a poetry reading, and one student’s reminiscences of her trips to the House of Worship over the years and how those visits changed the course of her life. The program concluded by recognizing two students who completed all four years—Theresa Ganong and Pamela Solon received standing ovations as they were handed their diplomas, joining the ranks of alumni who have completed the Spiritual Foundations for a Global Civilization program.