Bahá’í Chaplain

Mead Simon

Phone:778.433.5911
Email:bahai@uvic.ca

Office Hours:
Mon 9am to 12nn

Please call for appointment

Mead Simon has been very involved in the interfaith movement for many years, serving with people of all faith backgrounds in different capacities. Recognizing that all traditions come from the same Creator, his passion is helping others recognize the divine origin of both themselves and their chosen path.

As there are no clergy in the Baha'i community, the work of the Baha'i Faith is done by volunteers from all walks of life. Mead is an artist and a writer, currently writing for his own blog, One Baha'i, as well as the Times-Colonist's blog, Spiritually Speaking

About the Bahá’í's

"The earth is but one country and mankind its citizens."

Bahá’u’lláh

Bahá’í's are members of the Bahá’í Faith, the youngest of the world's independent religions. They live in 235 countries and territories throughout the world. They come from over 2,100 ethnic, racial, and tribal groups and number some five million worldwide. Founded in Iran in 1844, the Bahá’í Faith was introduced to Canada in 1898. There are now some 30,000 Canadian Bahá'ís, living in local communities spread throughout every province and territory.

For more than a century Bahá’ís in Canada and around the world have been working to eliminate prejudice of all kinds, contributing to a new model of global society characterized by unity and harmony, justice and peace. 

Bahá'u'lláh, the Founder of the Bahá’í Faith, taught that there is one God Who progressively reveals His will to humanity. Each of the great religions brought by the Messengers of God - Moses, Krishna , Buddha, Zoroaster, Jesus, Muhammad - represents a successive stage in the spiritual development of civilization. Bahá'u'lláh (1817-1892), the most recent Messenger in this line, has brought teachings that address the moral and spiritual challenges of the modern world. 

Bahá'u'lláh's message that humanity is one single race, and that the time has come to establish the unity of our global society, provides a powerful perspective that enables us to understand current history. God, Bahá'u'lláh said, has set in motion forces that are breaking down traditional barriers of race, class, creed, and nation and that will, in time, give birth to a universal civilization. The principal challenge facing the peoples of the earth is to accept the fact of their oneness and to assist the processes leading humanity to unity.

Bahá'í principles include the oneness of humanity and the oneness of God, and that all the great religions of the world are divine in origin and one in their essential message of love. Bahá'í teachings encourage world-mindedness, and promote the development of international institutions of world governance capable of managing the global challenges that confront humankind today. 

The equality of women and men, the harmony of science and religion, universal education, and the eradication of all forms of prejudice are among Bahá’í social principles. Prayer and the development of one's capacities and talents in service to humanity, the pursuit of knowledge, and the practice of a profession or trade are among those principles vital to personal and family life, and the healthy development of the soul towards a future life beyond our physical existence. 

Bahá'ís place great emphasis on the importance of developing vibrant local communities devoted to principles of unity, service to others, education of children and young people, and the central role of knowledge and the arts. Just as the Bahá'í International Community has consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council, working with UN agencies and non-governmental organizations at the international level, the Bahá'í Community of Canada collaborates closely with government and organizations of civil society in this country. 

Adapted from “The Bahá’í World” Website, official site of the Bahá’í International Community, www.bahai.org .

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BahÁ’í Representative

Bahá’í Chaplain

Mead Simon

About the Bahá’í's

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