REVIEW

“FIRESIDES”

 

by Catherine Samimi Published by George Ronald, Available from the Bahá’í Publishing Trust, price £6.95

“The friends must realise their individual responsibility. Each must hold a Fireside in his or her home, once in 19 days, where new people are invited, and where some phase of the Faith is mentioned and discussed. If this is done with the intent of showing Bahá’í hospitality and love, then there will be results”. (Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer 6th March 1957, quoted in Lights of Guidance).

We have in our Faith a rich and growing treasury of literature, and English-speakers are particularly blessed. Nonetheless there is one area that remains relatively weak and this book is particularly welcome as it fills a gap in this, the range of material dealing with practical detail and offering advice and training. Not so much “Dear Friends, we must…”, more “This is how to…”

Firesides is firmly based on the Writings and other guidance, which are shared with the reader, but its main focus is on the practicalities. What is a fireside? What form can and should it take? Above all, how does one actually go about generating successful firesides?

The author leaves one in no doubt that not only is a regular home-based fireside the basic means whereby our Faith is spread, and that it is the duty of all Bahá’ís and not just those regarded as “gifted teachers”, it is within the reach of virtually all believers to hold these. The fireside meeting is the normal focus of teaching activity, which is appropriate as the word “focus” is Latin for hearth. Just as people naturally congregate around a roaring open fire, so will they be attracted to its spiritual equivalent.

Christine Samimi’s approach is grounded in the Writings but her book is based solidly on experience, her own and others’. She explains what makes a successful fireside and the variety of forms it can take. She shows how some activities we tend to regard as firesides are nothing of the sort, although they may be useful in other ways. She deals with scenarios that will  be familiar to most Bahá’ís, including the frequently-asked awkward questions, and how one can approach them so as not to derail the teaching. And she is especially good on inviting people to embrace the Cause.

I can visualise (not least because I experienced it myself) many longstanding Bahá’ís reading this book with a growing sense of familiarity: “Yes, been there, done that! Oh dear, yes, done that too, perhaps that’s why it wasn’t successful!”  “Yes, we used to do that in the past, when I was enthusiastic, well, I’m not too old or stale to go back to it.”

Please take note:  Every single Bahá’í should read this book

It should be made clear that the book is not preachy, does not talk down to the reader, and is readable, friendly, informative and stimulating. Let me therefore close this review with a statement I have never before made in more than fifteen years of writing book reviews: every single Bahá’í should read this book. Indeed every Bahá’í should get his or her own copy so as to be able to go back and read it again from time to time. If we learn from it and put it into action there will be no stopping us or our teaching.

Dr Iain S Palin