Welcome to the website of the Bahá'í Faith in the Columbia River Gorge. There are several small Bahá'í communities scattered throughout the hills and valleys of this beautiful land. You probably know a few of us. We don't have any church buildings or clergy, and we usually meet in peoples' homes, but together we're working every day, alongside our neighbors, to build a future for this region that is balanced and prosperous both materially and spiritually.
What is the Bahá'í Faith?
The Bahá'í Faith is a system of belief and action based on the teachings of Bahá'u'lláh; that all people are essentially the members of one human family, that we must all learn to live in peace and harmony, and that this represents the next stage of God's purpose for humanity - a purpose that is progressively revealed to us, over ages and centuries, as our capacity allows.
In many volumes of writings, collected during a lifetime of imprisonment and exile, Bahá'u'lláh gave us insights and direction for dealing with the questions and problems of the modern world. Who is God? How can we understand God? Why are the religions different? What is the purpose of life? Is there hope for this world? How can we reconcile our differences and bring about peace? The answers to questions like these, from the writings of Bahá'u'lláh, inform our efforts to better ourselves as individuals and to contribute to our communities.
What do Bahá'ís do?
The Bahá'ís in the Gorge, like all Bahá'ís in the United States and around the world, work to apply the teachings of Bahá'u'lláh to the reality of our world:
- We offer classes for children that build spiritual values without preaching a particular religion.
- We support groups of youth that are seeking to unlock their boundless potential to transform society around them and become champions of justice.
- We develop our own capacity to serve these processes through training programs designed to help ordinary people contribute meaningfully to society, one day at a time.
- We pray together that God will assist and confirm all our efforts.
