...the flourishing of the community, especially at the local
level, demands a significant enhancement in patterns of behaviour: those
patterns by which the collective expression of the virtues of the individual
members and the functioning of the Spiritual Assembly are manifest in the unity
and fellowship of the community and the dynamism of its activity and growth.
This calls for the integration of the component elements—adults, youth and
children—in spiritual, social, educational and administrative activities; and
their engagement in local plans of teaching and development... It involves the
practice of collective worship of God. Hence, it is essential to the spiritual
life of the community that the friends hold regular devotional meetings in
local Bahá'í centres, where available, or elsewhere, including the homes of
believers.
- The Universal House of Justice (Ridvan 1996 message; compilation:
‘Selected Guidance Concerning Devotional Gatherings’, prepared by the research
department of the Universal House of Justice, 2001)
