HAIFA, Israel — The conference of the Continental Boards of Counsellors, which commenced on 29 December, came to conclusion earlier today with a message of the Universal House of Justice addressed to the Baha'is of the world.

Over the past five days, the conference enabled a global conversation about the next stage of the development of Baha’i communities around the world.

The Counsellors consulted on the path of development that unfolds as Baha’i communities learn, together with others, how Baha’u’llah’s teachings apply to a vast array of social settings, from the remotest of villages to sprawling urban centers, and across diverse cultural realities.

Their consultations, stimulated by a message of the Universal House of Justice addressed to them for the occasion, touched on a number of themes, including how an educational process that builds capacity for service to humanity can be strengthened and its reach extended, how increasingly formal organizational arrangements emerge as a growing numbers of people participate in community-building endeavors and as complexity increases, and how the devotional character of a community can be enhanced as gatherings for worship, open to all, take root in communities and multiply, kindling a desire to be of service to the common good.

The discussions also explored how efforts to contribute to the revitalization of communities in thousands of localities across the planet and to the betterment of society as a whole could be intensified in the coming years.

Some 80 Counsellors from 60 countries attended the conference. The consultations were translated into six languages simultaneously throughout the meeting.