HOW DO WE MANIFEST LOVE IN OUR COMMUNITY? .....LET US COUNT THE WAYS..... ********************************************************************* This list was prepared by Linda Meccouri, United States. (Submitted by Frankie Shaw, Ontario, Canada who attended a workshop held at Louhlelen Baha'i School, U.S.A., from December 27, 2001 to January 1, 2002, where Linda Meccouri was speaking about the transformative power of prayer to transform our lives, our service and teaching, and our communities.)
1. Recognize and point out the virtues in others.
2. Blind yourself to other's shortcomings, yet recognize our own
. 3. Host a fireside or feast
. 4. Start a tutoring program for school children.
 5. Invite your neighbours for a purely social gathering ( e.g. a movie, a cup of tea).
6. Implement a Virtues Project in your local school.
7. Raise happy children.
 8. Become a volunteer at a Baha'i school.
 9. Help a senior citizen or disabled person (e.g. take them grocery shopping or to a doctor's appointment, or give them a ride to a Baha'i meeting).
10. Invite the children's classroom teachers to Holy Day celebration. 11. Organize a Teachers Appreciation night at your child's school. Make plaques for the teachers. (The following is a great quote for a plaque: "The education and training of children is among the most meritorious acts of humankind...for education is the indispensable foundation of all human excellence...", 'Abdu'l-Baha, Selections from the Writings of 'Abdu'l-Baha, p. 129).
12. Create an adult-child/youth mentorship program to organize deepenings.
13. Make a visit, phone call, e-mail, or send a card to someone you are thinking of.
 14. Be a listening ear for someone who needs to talk. (And listen actively.)
15. Give help in a way that is meaningful to the receiver.
16. Encourage others to serve in ways that express their unique talents and abilities.
17. Remember that work is worship. Use your trade or profession to benefit mankind.
 18. Treat children like real people. Talk to them. Listen to them
. 19. Accept the level of growth present in each individual or situation. Create nurturing environments so that healing and growth can occur.
20. Pray and meditate.
21. Provide guidance, structure and supervision for the children.
 22. Nurture and grow the love in your home (e.g., with your spouse and children)
23. Reach out to a forgotten Baha'i in your community.
24. Host fun programs for your community. Make a barbeque!
 25. Give someone a hug.
26. Be willing to extend yourself into a new situation that may take you out of your comfort zone.
27. Send a prayer or thought to someone you are thinking of.
28. Welcome new people who have just moved into your community.
29. Become a host for someone new to this country (e.g. new Baha'i family, exchange student).
30 Run an errand for someone who needs one (e.g. a working mother).
31. Make an extra serving of a meal and share it with another family. 32. Take on a community service (e.g. Habitat for Humanity)
33. Knit someone a scarf or some mittens.
34. Take up a collection to buy books for children who cannot afford them.
35. Offer baby sitting service to someone who needs it.
 36. Support the Baha'i club at your local college or university.
 37. Start a homework hotline. Use the talents and training of adults in your community to help children with questions about their homework.
38. Hold an interfaith devotional meeting.
 39. Home an inter-community Holy Day, using ideas of community clustering.
40. Create a Mom-to-Mom exchange.
 41. Serve as a literacy volunteer for an adult education program.
42. Support a pioneer, financially or through prayers.
 43. If you are a business owner, dedicate one day to provide complimentary services to someone who has served your community. (e.g. a spa in Oklahoma City provides free massages to rescue workers after bombing.)
44. Donate Baha'i books to your local library.
45. Start a dance workshop in your community.
 46. Help the youth in your community to organize a session for children at feast, including prayers, stories, etc as a service.
47. Organize a help group for getting things done in your community (how long has your neighbor been talking about painting that den?) 48. Organize a coffee morning for your neighbors to discuss subjects of topical interest, virtues, etc.
49. Take your pets on a visit to your neighbourhood senior centre. 50. Give a Naw-Ruz card and/or gift to someone you know.
51. Pray for your assembly members. Write them a love letter. Or bake them some cookies

. ************** "That one indeed is a man who, today, dedicateth himself to the service of the entire human race. The Great Being saith: Blessed and happy is he that ariseth to promote the best interest of the peoples and kindreds of the earth." (Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 250) "You must consider all His servants as your own family and relations. Direct your whole effort toward the happiness of those who are despondent, bestow food upon the hungry, clothe the needy, and glorify the humble. Be a helper to every helpless one, and manifest kindness to your fellow creatures in order that ye may attain the good pleasure of God. This is conducive to the illumination of the world of humanity and eternal felicity for yourselves." ('Abdu'l-Baha, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 469)