Please join us for informational meetings this week about the Baha’i-inspired Junior Youth Spiritual Empowerment Program (JYSEP).

JYSEP materials on display at the recent CAFY (Community Awareness For Youth) event in Huntsville.

The Junior Youth Spiritual Empowerment Program (JYSEP) is dedicated to empowering Junior Youth (ages 11-14) to become positive and productive members of society. We, as youth and adults, recognize that the Junior Youth of today are faced with some of life’s most difficult challenges and often, they must face these obstacles before they are ready. This can often lead to bad decisions which encourage the Junior Youth to make even more bad choices.

We are looking for youth and young adults interested in being trained as junior youth animators to serve Huntsville junior youth. An “animator” is usually an older youth but not restricted by age, accompanies group members as they engage in a variety of activities which will help them to accomplish this goal. Together the group studies materials from a curriculum which has been developed to introduce critical moral concepts and simultaneously enhance the member’s power of expression.

This program has been developed as a world-wide response to the needs of this age group. Junior Youth all over the world are participating in this program, learning how to not only deal with difficult issues, but also how to become leaders and inspirations in their communities.

The JYSEP in Huntsville offers a space in which the junior youth can develop patterns of thought and behavior that will characterize them throughout their lives and understand the world around them.

The atmosphere of these groups strives to be joyous and friendly where the junior youth can enhance those qualities and attributes that a life of service to humanity requires. In such a setting, the members of the group, free from the fear of criticism or ridicule, can express their thoughts on complex questions.

They learn to listen, to speak, to reflect, to analyze, to make decisions, and to act on them.

A junior youth group is

a group of youth that meet regularly with the purpose of fostering each member’s spiritual development. Meetings are carried out in a supportive environment, allowing group members to voice their thoughts and opinions while at the same time learn to understand the wider implications of their beliefs.

A JYSEP “animator,” usually

an older youth but not restricted by age, who accompanies group members as they engage in a variety of activities which will help them to accomplish this goal. Together the group studies materials from a curriculum which has been developed to introduce critical moral concepts and simultaneously enhance the member’s power of expression.

Groups plan and engage in

service and social activities, allowing members to practice the concepts which they have studied, and to develop new skills. As the group members grow and develop, so too does the level and complexity of group activities.

For more information on the JYSEP in Huntsville, contact huntsvillebahais@gmail.com