Bahá'ís around the world are engaged in local grass-roots experiments in devotional gatherings. Devotion, prayer, meditation, and reflection lie at the heart of spiritual life. Without ritual or dogma, Bahá';ís in hundreds of communities across Canada come together, inviting friends and neighbours to attend small prayer sessions, sometimes in intimate gatherings in homes, sometimes in more public venues, for the purpose of meditating, reading spiritual writings, and worshipping in creative and personally satisfying ways. These devotional gatherings are open to all and are intended to embrace that attitude of prayer and practice of devotion that is universal to all religions.

Prayer and meditation are the focus of Bahá'í devotional gatherings. Without ritual or rite, sometimes more informal, sometimes more formal, these gatherings are journeys taken together to explore the principal ways by which we can learn to commune with the divine. We offer prayers of thanks, ask for mercy, compassion, courage, and resolve, pray for peace and justice on earth, and generally deepen our appreciation of grace and our attitude of detachment, reliance on God, contentment, and submission. Drawing on a variety of religious traditions, with extensive use of the words and tablets of Bahá'u'lláh and 'Abdu'l-Bahá, whose prayers are among the most beautiful in the world, Bahá'í devotional gatherings represent an experiment in universal worship and are open for all to experience.

Prayer

O God! Refresh and gladden my spirit. Purify my heart. Illumine my powers. I lay all my affairs in Thy hand. Thou art my Guide and my Refuge. I will no longer be sorrowful and grieved; I will be a happy and joyful being. O God! I will no longer be full of anxiety, nor will I let trouble harass me. I will not dwell on the unpleasant things of life. O God! Thou art more friend to me than I am to myself. I dedicate myself to Thee, O Lord.
- 'Abdu'l-Bahá

Sacred Moments

A time of prayer, readings, reflection, music and songs, conversation, and hospitality. Join us on a spiritual journey. Refresh your mind and spirit.

Take a moment to enjoy and reflect on the inspiring words of the Holy Scriptures of the Divine Religions. Reconnect to the Divine through the music and songs of the human family.

"There is nothing sweeter in the world of existence than prayer."
- 'Abdu'l-Bahá