A PRECIOUS GIFT
In 2012, it was announced by the Universal House of Justice, the Supreme Governing Body of the Baha’i Faith that the community building initiatives by the Baha’i friends across Papua New Guinea were well advanced to warrant raising up a House of Worship. A precious gift for the people of PNG, fully funded by the PNG and worldwide Baha’i Community - a space of unity, reverence and devotion where people of all faiths would come together to commune with their Creator.
PLACE OF WORSHIP FOR ALL
“It is a place for the deepest contemplation on spiritual reality and foundational questions of life, including individual and collective responsibility for the betterment of society.”
– The Universal House of Justice
The House of Worship serves as a universal place of worship to God, for prayer, meditation and reflection. It is open and welcoming to all people, irrespective of religion, background, political affiliations, ethnicity and gender. Men and women, children and youth, are all considered as equals.
In this peaceful place individuals can pray silently and reflect, seek spiritual nourishment or partake in collective devotion. There are no sermons or speeches. It is free from rituals and ceremonies, where only the Sacred Writings from the Holy religions are read.
WORSHIP & SERVICE
Service and worship are at the heart of the pattern of community life that Bahá’ís in Papua New Guinea and indeed, around the world are trying to bring into being. They are two distinct, yet inseparable elements that evolve and grow as the life of the community continues to mature. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá writes:
“Success and prosperity depend upon service and worship of God”.
- Abdu’l-Bahá
The concept of service is central to the pattern of Bahá’í life, both individual and collective. “God has given us eyes, that we may look about us at the world, and lay hold of whatsoever will further civilization and the arts of living. He has given us ears, that we may hear and profit by the wisdom of scholars and philosophers and arise to promote and practice it. Senses and faculties have been bestowed upon us, to be devoted to the service of the general good; so that we, distinguished above all other forms of life for perceptiveness and reason, should labor at all times and along all lines, whether the occasion be great or small, ordinary or extraordinary, until all mankind are safely gathered into the impregnable stronghold of knowledge”.
The integration of devotion and service finds expression in the institution of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár, or House of Worship. The central structure forms the focal point of worship, and over time, dependency services dedicated to the provision of education, healthcare and others concerned with the social and economic progress of the whole community will come to light.
STRENGTH IN UNITY
The House of Worship is a symbol of unity. Its design reflects weaving, an art form and technique that resonates deeply throughout Papua New Guinea’s rich diversity of indigenous cultures. Moreover, it highlights the process of building unity in diversity. Each individual strand comes together to form something infinitely stronger than the object’s constituent parts, and ultimately the whole draws on the contributions of each individual strand.