Frederick Prays

This Facebook group is primarily focused on encouraging people of all faith traditions to pray and share their inspiring thoughts and prayers with others in hopes of bringing forth a more spiritual community.

This post, focuses on how individuals can arise, face the ultimate challenge of recanting their faith or be executed.

“On 18 June 1983 — 40 years ago this month — 10 Baháʼí women were taken to a square in Shiraz, Iran, under the cloak of night. After months of torture and imprisonment, they were mass executed without the knowledge of their families. One was 17, most in their 20s. Their crime was their belief in a faith that promoted gender equality — absent and criminalized in Iran — justice and truthfulness. They were hanged one by one, each forced to watch the next woman’s death in a harrowing attempt to coerce them into renouncing their faith. None did.”

The women executed on this date were:

Mona Mahmoudnejad, 17;
Roya Eshraghi, 23, executed along with her mother Ezzat-Janami Eshraghi;
Simin Saberi, 24;
Shahin (Shirin) Dalvand, 25;
Akhtar Sabet, 25;
MahshidAkhtar Sabet - Executed by hanging in Shiraz on 18th June 1983 | Archives of Baha'i Persecution in Iran Niroumand, 28;
Zarrin Moghimi-Abyaneh, 29;
Tahereh Arjomandi Siyavashi, 30. Her husband, Jamshid Siavashi, was executed two days earlier;
Nosrat Ghufrani Yaldaie, 46. Her son, Bahram Yaldaie, was executed two days earlier;
Ezzat-Janami Eshraghi, 57, along with her daughter Roya, 23. Her husband, Enayatullah Eshraghi was executed two days earlier.

Article on prayer in the Frederick News Post:

Prayer refreshes our spirits When considering all the seasons of the year, our spiritual needs change just as the seasons do. As we grow, we are able to adapt, with God’s guidance, to help

The essence of faith is fewness of words and abundance of deeds; he whose words exceed his deeds, know verily his death is better than his life.
The essence of true safety is to observe silence, to look at the end of things and to renounce the world.
The beginning of magnanimity is when man expendeth his wealth on himself, on his family and on the poor among his brethren in his Faith.
The essence of wealth is love for Me; whoso loveth Me is the possessor of all things, and he that loveth Me not is indeed of the poor and needy. This is that which the Finger of Glory and Splendor hath revealed.

🌹Bahá'u'lláh

When you meet those whose opinions differ from your own, do not turn away your face from them. All are seeking truth, and there are many roads leading thereto. Truth has many aspects, but it remains always and forever one.
Do not allow difference of opinion, or diversity of thought to separate you from your fellow-men, or to be the cause of dispute, hatred and strife in your hearts. Rather, search diligently for the truth and make all men your friends. Every edifice is made of many different stones, yet each depends on the other to such an extent that if one were displaced the whole building would suffer; if one is faulty the structure is imperfect. - Abdu'l-Bahá

The most acceptable prayer is the one offered with the utmost spirituality and radiance; its prolongation hath not been and is not beloved by God. The more detached and the purer the prayer, the more acceptable is it in the presence of God.

- The Báb

A beautiful reminder for these times, by Elizabeth Gilbert (writer):
“Some years ago, I was stuck on a crosstown bus in New York City during rush hour. Traffic was barely moving. The bus was filled with cold, tired people who were deeply irritated with one another, with the world itself. Two men barked at each other about a shove that might or might not have been intentional. A pregnant woman got on, and nobody offered her a seat. Rage was in the air; no mercy would be found here.

But as the bus approached Seventh Avenue, the driver got on the intercom. *'Folks,'* he said, *'I know you have had a rough day and you are frustrated. I can’t do anything about the weather or traffic, but here is what I can do. As each one of you gets off the bus, I will reach out my hand to you. As you walk by, drop your troubles into the palm of my hand, okay? Don’t take your problems home to your families tonight, just leave them with me. My route goes right by the Hudson River, and when I drive by there later, I will open the window and throw your troubles in the water.'

It was as if a spell had lifted. Everyone burst out laughing. Faces gleamed with surprised delight. People who had been pretending for the past hour not to notice each other’s existence were suddenly grinning at each other like, is this guy serious?

Oh, he was serious.

At the next stop, just as promised, the driver reached out his hand, palm up, and waited. One by one, all the exiting commuters placed their hand just above his and mimed the gesture of dropping something into his palm. Some people laughed as they did this, some teared up but everyone did it. The driver repeated the same lovely ritual at the next stop, too. And the next. All the way to the river.
We live in a hard world, my friends. Sometimes it is extra difficult to be a human being. Sometimes you have a bad day. Sometimes you have a bad day that lasts for several years. You struggle and fail. You lose jobs, money, friends, faith, and love. You witness horrible events unfolding in the news, and you become fearful and withdrawn. There are times when everything seems cloaked in darkness. You long for the light but don’t know where to find it.

But what if you are the light? What if you are the very agent of illumination that a dark situation begs for?. That’s what this bus driver taught me, that anyone can be the light, at any moment. This guy wasn’t some big power player. He wasn’t a spiritual leader. He wasn’t some media-savvy influencer. He was a bus driver, one of society’s most invisible workers. But he possessed real power, and he used it beautifully for our benefit.

When life feels especially grim, or when I feel particularly powerless in the face of the world’s troubles, I think of this man and ask myself, What can I do, right now, to be the light? Of course, I can’t personally end all wars, or solve global warming, or transform vexing people into entirely different creatures. I definitely can’t control traffic. But I do have some influence on everyone I brush up against, even if we never speak or learn each other’s name.

No matter who you are, or where you are, or how mundane or tough your situation may seem, I believe you can illuminate your world. In fact, I believe this is the only way the world will ever be illuminated, one bright act of grace at a time, all the way to the river.” ~ Elizabeth Gilbert

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Frederick Prays updated their info in the about section.

Kindness is King. RIP

You and your family are warmly invited to a community initiated Interfaith Devotions. All are welcome and we would love for you to share a prayer from your faith, or if you have no faith, come and help build a community of souls united in a common bond of fellowship, community and spiritual growth.

We will meet each Wednesday night at 8pm EST. Initially through Zoom and then when conditions allow, arrange in person gatherings where we can help build stronger relationships in our immediate communities.

Why?

Themes will include: Praising God, Forgiveness, Aid and Assistance, Service, Community Building, Building Strong Hearts and Minds, Erasing Racism, Responsible Citizenship, Oneness of Religion, Virtue Development and other topics focused on spiritual and practical development for the individual and community.

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88631128802?pwd=cjZ6bkZhQW15eS9JVU1lRWppWk0vdz09

Join Us This Wednesday! https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88631128802?pwd=cjZ6bkZhQW15eS9JVU1lRWppWk0vdz09

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Frederick Prays updated their website address.