The Bahá'í Faith will hold its 45th National Convention in Apia this week. The convention will be attended by delegates from Samoa and American Samoa. It will be officially opened with a prayer service at the Bahá'í Temple at Tiapapata on Thursday evening 24 of April 2014, before its consultative sessions that will continue until Sunday.

The Chairman of the Bahá'í governing council Fepulea’i Simanuafoa Titi Nofoagatoto’a explained that “the National Bahá'í Convention that is held annually has a twofold purpose: the election of nine individuals who will serve for a year as members of the Bahá'í National Spiritual Assembly (the governing body of the Faith for Samoa and American Samoa), and consultations on issues and programs for the development and well-being of the people and communities of both countries.”

Nofoagatoto’a added that “the main aim of every Bahá'í believer is to serve the progress of humanity in any kind of praiseworthy service. Therefore the purpose of consultations at the convention is to consider effective ways to increase the capacities of individual Bahá'ís and their institutions, to serve the social and spiritual development of our two nations.”

A special guest to the National Convention this year is an advisor for the Bahá'í Faith in this part of the world, Counsellor U’ileiuluwehi Pimental from Hawaii, who will address and officially open the gathering on Friday morning.

The Bahá'í Faith first arrived in Samoa in 1954, and this year marks its 60th anniversary.

TAUAOFIA FONOTELE A LE FA’ATUATUAGA BAHA’I

O le vaiaso nei o le a tauaofia ai i Apia le Fonotele lona 44 a le Fa’atuatuaga Bahá'í. O le a auai i lenei fonotaga sui usufono filifilia mai Amerika Samoa ma Samoa nei. O le a amataina le fonotele i se sauniga lotu i le Maota Tapua’i Bahá'i i Tiapapata i le afiafi o le Aso Tofi, 24 o Aperila 2014, ona fa’aauau ai lea o lenei mafutaga se’ia fa’ai’uina i le afiafi o le Aso Sa.

Na fa’aalia e le Ta’ita’ifono o le Fa’atuatuaga Bahá'í, le Afioga Fepulea’i Simanuafoa Titi Nofoagatoto’a e fa’apea, “e lua lava sini autu o lenei Fonotele: muamua o le palotaina lea e usufono o sui e to’aiva o le Fono Fa’atonu e fa’atautaia galuega a le Fa’atuatuaga i Samoa nei ma Amerika Samoa (lea e ta’ua o le Fono Fa’aleagaga Tau Atunu’u), i le ma le soalaupuleina o mataupu ma polokalame mo le soifua manuia o tagata ma nu’u i le fa’aletino ma le fa’aleagaga”

Na saunoa fo’i le Ta’ita’ifono, “o le fa’amoemoe autu o so’o se Bahá'í o le tautuaina lea o tagata soifua e ala i so’o se galuega lelei na te faia e manuia ai tagata lautele. O le sini autu la o felafolafoa’iga i le fonotele, o le talanoaina lea o auala ma metotia e fa’aleleia ai ma si’itia agava’a o tagata Bahá'í ta’ito’atasi ma ana tinopulea, ina ia ausia ai lenei fa’amoemoega.”

O le malo fa’aaloalogia i le Fonotele o lenei tausaga o se tasi lea o faufautua fa’apitoa a le Fa’atuatuaga Bahá'í i lenei itulagi, le tama’ita’i Konesula o U’ileiuluwehi Pimental mai Hawaii, lea o le a saunoa e tatala aloa’ia le fonotele i le taeao o le Aso Faraile.

Na ulua’i taunu’u mai le Fa’atuatuaga Bahá'í i Samoa i le 1954, ma o le tausaga nei na atoa i ai le 60 tausaga talu ona fa’avaeina lenei tapua’iga i o tatou laufanua.

Source: Bahá'í governing council media release