One of the important outcomes of the Ridvan season is the election of new Assemblies from the local to the national level of Baha'i communities. There are no priests or ministers in the Baha'i Faith so it is the duty of each community to elect their own Assembly that has duties to plan events and consult with the community on various issues. In my own community the Baha'is elected a new Local Assembly. It was the forty sixth Local Assembly elected since 1973. There was also a National Convention held in Wilmette Illinois with delegates from all over the United States and a National Spiritual Assembly was elected. Also read: https://news.bahai.org/story/544/ Every five years an International Convention is held and delegates from the National Spiritual Assemblies elect members of the Universal House of Justice.
I thought I would add some additional information on the Local Spiritual Assemblies: There are no priests or ministers or ecclesiastical officials in the Baha'i Faith. While there are Baha'i Centers scattered around the country most Baha'is meet in each others homes. The Local Spiritual Assemblies of which there are almost 1200 in the United States function on the local level where Baha'is reside. Their function is to serve their community by sponsoring study circles, encouraging Feasts and Holy Days to be commemorated, consulting on issues facing the community: "The responsibilities of the Local Spiritual Assembly include promoting the spiritual education of children and young people, strengthening the spiritual and social fabric of Bahá’í community life, assessing and utilizing the community’s resources, and ensuring that the energies and talents of community members contribute towards progress. It is also responsible for organizing the Nineteen Day Feast, which is the cornerstone of Bahá’í community life. During the Nineteen Day Feast the friends living in a particular locality gather to pray and consult together, give suggestions to the Local Spiritual Assembly, and receive information from it. In addition, the Assembly is intimately concerned with the wellbeing of the wider community. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá has written that the discussions of a Local Spiritual Assembly “must all be confined to spiritual matters that pertain to the training of souls, the instruction of children, the relief of the poor, the help of the feeble throughout all classes in the world, kindness to all peoples, the diffusion of the fragrances of God and the exaltation of His Holy Word.”1 https://www.bahai.org/beliefs/essential-relationships/administrative-order/local-spiritual-assembly World wide there are estimated to be well over 11, 000 Assemblies. The Local Assemblies are the "bedrock" of the Cause. The next elected body above the Local Spiritual Assembly is the Reginal Assembly and the National Spiritual Assembly
