A Baha'i Perspective

Sarah is a Baha'i whose work is clearly a service to humanity. She is currently the assistant executive director of fund development for HAP, a non-profit, Housing Partnership organization.

Like other folks I interview, Lars Patenaude has more to tell than one hour can allow. In this first telephone interview segment Lars describes his journey that lead him to becoming a Baha'i. It includes dropping out of college, going back to college, being a rock'n'roll band manager, and going to graduate school.

A Baha'i who graduated from the University of Wisconsin with double majors in physics and philosophy, and double minors in psychology and math. He then went to NC to go to graduate school, and it is in NC where Steven met his wife, Sally. He now provides computer support for a school system. He and Sally have been involved in a number of service organizations, and Steven is a wikipedia enthusiast. Steven mentions two works by Baha'u'llah in the interview, "The Seven Valleys" and the "Kitab-i-Iqan" which means the Book of Certitude in English. Steven also makes reference to a 12 step organization called Baha'is In Recovery Fellowship or BIRF for short.

A Baha'i and executive director of the Center for Diversity in the Communication Industries at Emerson College. In this interview, I barely scratched the service of Dr. Smith's life. In one hour we covered the very interesting story of how he ran into the Baha'i Faith in high school, while living in a very rough neighborhood. I'll invite Dr. Smith back to talk about his many accomplishments including, founding a video, film and multimedia company called ComTel Productions; founding a non-profit organization called Pupil of the Eye: Vision for Unity in Education; and writing and producing the award winning documentary film "The Invisible Soldiers: Unheard Voices", which aired on PBS; and many, many other endeavors.

A Baha'i who holds a masters degree in Oriental Studies and a PhD in history. She is currently an associate professor of history at Jackson State University in Mississippi.

John Greer talks about his service at the Baha'i World Center in Haifa, Israel. This is a story of personal growth, service and a love story with a happy ending.

A Baha'i of Mohegan descent who lives in Uncasville, CT, where she helps to restore the nearly lost language of the Mohegan people. Her story begins in Hawaii where we learn that Stephanie's ancestry also includes Chinese, Hawaiian, African, and Irish heritage, along with her Native American ancestry. Once she married and became a Baha'i at 18, she and her husband Dwayne, started their life together by going to Africa, after a chilly start in North Dakota. Her life adventures take her to such places as Nigeria, Lousiana, Colorado and then to her Native American roots in Uncasville, CT.

A Baha'i friend of mine, Mike Andros, gave me a cassette tape labeled 1977/1978. When I listened to it, it was a recording of a dialogue between Jimmy Seals, Dash Crofts and their producer Marcia Day after a Seals and Crofts recording session, talking about the Baha'i Faith. Seals and Crofts are best known for the '70s hits Summer Breeze and Hummingbird.

Jennifer tells her story of her spiritual transformation. She begins her story by describing her constant moving from place to place during primary school. By the age of 18 she had become the mother of two children and trying to deal with a failing marriage. She describes her spiritual flowering as she endures these trials and tribulations.

A Baha'i from Chattanooga, TN who found out she had cancer in 1994 and has written a book "Slapped Awake: Living with Breast Cancer; Journey in Poetry and Prose". Deborah mentions an article that she wrote that is an excerpt from her book. You can find that article here: http://www.curetoday.com/backissues/v5n2/departments/readers/index.html

A 92 year old Baha'i from Lima, OH, now living in Norwich CT, who in the 1940s lost her daughter, Carrie, in a car accident when her daughter was only 11 1/2 years old. Her daughter, Carrie, had become a Baha'i by hearing about it from their neighbor. Before Carrie died, Bobbie happened to pick up one of Carrie's Baha'i books and got interested in the Baha'i Faith too. In the interview, Bobbie refers to a well known Baha'i historical figure named Dorothy Baker, and Baker's husband Frank. They lived in the same Baha'i community in Lima. If any one is interested in learning more about Dorothy Baker, I recommend the book "From Copper to Gold: The Life of Dorothy Baker" by Dorothy Freeman. You'll hear background voices periodically in the interview. Bobbie always leaves her apartment door open, so once in a while hallway chatter comes through.

A graphic designer that started his career & family in Ireland then returned to the US and established himself in CT. He joined an industrial design firm in Farmington, CT and ended up buying the firm with a partner.

A Baha'i who grew up in the Hartford, CT area. When Sharon finished high school a year early, she went to Yale to study economics. She now works for the CT State Treasurer's Office. In the interview, Sharon refers to the Baha'i peace statement. The document is entitled "The Promise of World Peace". You can find the document here: http://reference.bahai.org/en/t/uhj/PWP/pwp-1.html#pg1.

A Baha'i and author of the book "Partners in Spirit: What Couples Say About Marriages That Work." We also find out in the interview that she is a poet and has other works in the pipeline for publication.

A Baha'i from the south side of Chicago. She moved to Hartford, CT when she started working at Travelers Insurance Co. She soon got married and became a stay-at-home mom in New London, CT, where she became a neighborhood activist. She got involved with the Multicultural Coalition of Southeast CT and the Institute for the Healing of Racism. Now she is a social worker for the state of CT.