Susan brought up a number of points, but for brevity I will
only respond here and there.
On Wed, 16 Apr 2008, Susan Maneck wrote:
> Dear Doug,
>
> We have known for quite some time how to get enrollments.
Although in the estimated two hundred Baha'i firesides I have attended,
two of which were of some years' running, I have seen few enrollments,
at least publicly. However, one point needs to be noted very strongly.
Most of the firesides I attended were not really for presenting the
Faith to non-Baha'is (personally I dislike being called a "Seeker").
The overwhelming majority of them (including the one I was asked to
co-present three times) were really deepening sessions for Baha'is. If
there were any non-Baha'is there for the first time, the speaker would
tend to give a cursory, even superficial, overview of the Faith -- and
sometimes not even say when the Central Figures lived! (A hundred years
ago? A thousand years ago? Last week?) -- and then the speaker was
off and running with the pre-announced topic, largely of interest to
those who were already Baha'is. Maybe my experiences at firesides in
my area were not typical of those in other parts of the world, but I
can understand why they did not draw in too many.
> [...] and adult study circles which ideally are held at the
> neighborhood level. That way when people enroll we are not faced with
> the logistical nightmare of trying to get these people to meetings.
> The meetings are held in their own neighborhoods, preferably in
> walking distance.
Certainly in densely populated areas this could be practical, but in
other areas not. When I was taking Ruhi Book One, my car was in the
shop one night. I am a great exercise-walker, but it took me three
quarters of an hour to walk to the session. Not many people are going
to do that many times.
> Among the skills taught in these study circles is
> how to conduct home visits to seekers, new believers or even inactive
> ones.
Home visits? That is a new one to me. I never heard of such a thing
in my area. At least not to inquirers. I fully admit that my locality
may not necessarily be typical, but there are supposed to be hundreds
of Baha'is just in my immediate suburban county, divided into various
communities (I wonder if they are too divided), so surely it cannot be
grossly atypical.
--
Paul Bartlett
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