Baha'i Administration

There is no clergy in the Baha'i Faith. Each member of the Faith has a responsibility to investigate the Faith for themselves as well as contribute to the teaching efforts of the Faith.

Baha'i communities are defined by their municipal boundaries which is why this website represents the Baha'is of the Township of Stirling-Rawdon. Whenever the number of members of a community reach 9 or more a Local Spiritual Assembly is formed by an election. The election process is much different from what is traditionally seen in the democratic system of North America. There are no nominations and no campaigning is allowed by any individual. All Baha'is of the community in good standing are eligible to be elected and all Baha'is of the community in good standing are eligible to vote. When the election takes place each individual submits the names of nine people they feel are best suited to serve on this Institution. The nine individuals that receive the most votes become the Local Spiritual Assembly. Elections take place every year.

In the Spring of 1999 history was made in the Baha'i community of Stirling-Rawdon when the first Spiritual Assembly was elected. The Local Spiritual Assembly is responsible for governing the affairs of the local Baha'i community. The individual members have no authority over any other Baha'i. The only time a member of the Assembly has any authority is when the Assembly has gathered for consultation regarding the matters of the community. All decisions made are decisions of the Assembly and the information of who said what during consultation is never disclosed. A key element of consultation is that it takes place in a Spiritual atmosphere. All meetings begin and end with devotions to set the tone for the discussions and decisions to be made.

Similar annual elections are held nationally to form National Spiritual Assemblies for each nation with sufficient numbers of Baha'is. The National Spiritual Assemblies govern the affairs of their nations Baha'i community. All the National Spiritual Assemblies around the world gather every five years to hold elections for the Universal House of Justice which is the governing body of the world Baha'i community. Both the National Spiritual Assemblies and the Universal House of Justice consist of 9 elected members each.