Insights from Service Day

Friday 21st February 2020 marked the 4th service day since its inception. Organized by the National secretariat, service day takes place at the Baha’i National office of Uganda, the House of worship and its grounds. It happens once every quarter for the staff but it is open to the wider Kampala Baha’i community. Despite serving in various areas and capacities, there was a growing need for all the National office and House of Worship staff to serve as one intimate family, manifesting the true spirit of service a concept that is central in both the individual and collective Baha’i lives. Service day was introduced to allow the staff to serve in areas other than their usual areas of service. This provided the staff the opportunity to appreciate the contribution made by their fellow co-workers on their various paths of service. It gave the staff opportunity to draw closer to one another, to draw on the strengths and skills of one another through their interactions in the different departments. There is also a general feeling of spiritual rejuvenation following service day and a growing tendency for the staff to look forward to the next service day due to the spirit it evokes. Over the four quarters since the inception of service day, there has been great learning generated on the day can be utilized and there has also been wonderful stories and experiences from the friends who have participated in the service day. A number of offices and agencies have found service day very helpful in assisting them accomplish pending tasks or projects that would require more work force or specialized skills. Service day has provided an opportunity for friends to hold elevated conversations with one another as they carry on their tasks for the day. One such experience led to one of the staff declaring her Faith in Bahaullah at the end of the service day. Another inspiring experience from a member of the community was that since she started feeling incapable of doing some tasks due to advanced age, she has been feeling disconnected from the community and rather low spirited due to her inability to serve the cause in many ways. However, service day has rejuvenated her spirit and she had one of her best days in years serving as a temple guide and feeling useful to the Faith again.