To the Friends Gathered in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of
the Congo, for the Dedication of the House of Worship
Dearly loved Friends,
Our joyful hearts turn towards you who have gathered in the city of Kinshasa for an occasion that is of great significance in the history of your community: the dedication of the first House of Worship in your country, the first national House of Worship to be raised in the Bahá’í world. We send you loving greetings and wish for you a celebration that will join together your hearts and souls in praise and thanksgiving for the divine bounty represented by the erection of this House of Worship in a nation that is in the heart of Africa.
The edifice whose doors open today represents an institution inaugurated by Bahá’u’lláh Himself in His Most Holy Book. Charging His followers with building “houses of worship throughout the lands in the name of Him Who is the Lord of all religions”, He exhorted them to make these Temples as perfect as possible and, “with radiance and joy, celebrate therein the praise of your Lord, the Most Compassionate.” This worship and praise of God finds its highest expression in its translation into dynamic and disinterested service to humanity. The House of Worship raised in this Congolese metropolis is thus dedicated to uniting the worship of God and service to humanity, both vital to the regeneration of the world. It emerges, in the words of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, as a “collective centre” for all souls. Open to the followers of all religions, it enables all who inhale the sweet savours of its spirit to become “harmoniously attuned one to another”.
