This was the theme of a devotional gathering which took place on 7 and 21 February in Crystal Palace and Bromley respectively. During the evening participants read writings from all world leading religions which followed by a group discussion to deepen and reflect on this thoughy provoking theme. A moving exhortation by Bahá'u'lláh best captures the evening's sentiment:

"Ye are even as the bird which soareth, with the full force of its mighty wings and with complete and joyous confidence, through the immensity of the heavens, until, impelled to satisfy its hunger, it turneth longingly to the water and clay of the earth below it, and, having been entrapped in the mesh of its desire, findeth itself impotent to resume its flight to the realms whence it came. Powerless to shake off the burden weighing on its sullied wings, that bird, hitherto an inmate of the heavens, is now forced to seek a dwelling-place upon the dust."

Jacqui Lait MP, Beckenham

Following the unlawful persecution of Bahá'í leaders in Iran, members of the Bromley Bahá'í community wrote to their MPs to raise awareness and ask for support on a local level. Ms Bahiyyih Barnett, wrote to Mrs Jacqui Lait MP, Beckenham; Mr Clive King, contacted Mr John Horam MP, Biggin Hill; and Mr Anousha Vahdaty, approached Mr Robert Neil MP, Bromley & Chislehurst. "The Bromley Bahá'ís" states Clive King "are gravely concerned about the summary and unjust arrest on 14 May 2008 of six members of the group that informally coordinate the activities of the Bahá'ís in Iran".

From left: Kishan Manocha, Lembit Öpik, Bahar Tahzib, Barney Leith

The Prime Minister Gordon Brown has underlined the UK government's concern over the seven Bahá'í leaders being detained in Iran. Mr Brown's remarks were made at a meeting which took place this afternoon at the Prime Minister's office in the Houses of Parliament, attended by Lembit Öpik, MP for Montgomeryshire - who is Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Friends of the Bahá'ís group - and a delegation of three Bahá'ís, including two members of the national governing council of the Bahá'í Faith in the UK.

Cherie Blair on Iranian Baha'is

Cherie Blair QC - one of the United Kingdom's leading human rights lawyers and wife of former Prime Minister Tony Blair - is calling for Iran to ensure that seven leaders of the Bahá'í faith - held in prison for more than a year without charge or access to their legal counsel - be given a fair trial and a chance of justice.

Seated from left: Behrouz Tavakkoli and Saeid Rezaie, and, standing, Fariba Kamalabadi, Vahid Tizfahm, Jamaloddin Khanjani, Afif Naeimi, and Mahvash Sabet

The seven Baha'i leaders currently imprisoned in Iran are facing the anniversary of their arrest, after spending a year in jail without formal charges or access to their lawyer, Shirin Ebadi. "Despite their obvious innocence and the call by many for their immediate release, these seven men and women have been in legal limbo for a year now, against all international human rights standards," said Bani Dugal, the principal representative of the Baha'i International Community to the United Nations.

Russian President, Dmitry Medvedev

As envisaged by `Abdu'l-Bahá, at the meeting of G8 leaders in the Italian city of Aquila , on July 10 2009, according to Bloomberg, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev illustrated his call for a supranational currency to replace the dollar by pulling from his pocket a sample coin of a "united future world currency."

Ashkaan Golestani

Ashkaan Golestani, a 15 year-old Bahá'í, and a nephew of a member of Bromley Bahá'í community, sends this letter to The Times about the moral and social conditions of our society. He writes, "As a member of the generation who is to inherit the world in whatever state the current generation holding the reigns of power leaves it, I cannot help but see a disillusioned and bewildered humanity, which finds itself caught in a vicious spiral of crisis and oppression.