Fraser Valley Summer School: Building Vibrant Communities
With Study and Reflection on Guidance from the Universal House of Justice
Online Program Booklet
Please bookmark this page to check for updates.
First Aid and Emergency Information
Onsite First Aid – A medical team will be on site and available from 9:00 AM to 9:00 PM each day. During session times, please speak with a school organizer/volunteer (identified with blue name badge) or the First Aid personnel with a red name badge.
EMERGENCY CONTACTS
On-site Nurse – 9am – 9pm
Saturday – Fariba – (604) 290-2244
Sunday – Sanaz – (250) 797-6694
On-site Assistance Friday and Saturday nights – 9pm – 9am
Daver – (778) 229-3283
Sobhan – (778) 700-1811
Hoyaam – (778) 928-4696
For overnight emergencies (9:00 PM to 9:00 AM), please call 911 or go to the nearest hospital:
Ridge Meadows Hospital
11666 Laity Street, Maple Ridge, BC
Emergency Situations: Call 9-1-1 The Camp Whonnock address is 27660 Dewdney Trunk Rd, Maple Ridge, BC.
General Information/Housekeeping
Parent/Guardian Responsibility – Outside of daytime workshop times, children are the responsibility of their parents/guardians. Parents/guardians are responsible for their children during meals, breaks, recreation times, all ages programming times and during the nights.
If you haven’t already done so, please complete the Parental Consent Form below for all individuals below the age of 18.
Lake Whonnock – The Lifeguard team will be available during recreation times at the Lake. Parents/guardians are responsible for their children. It is encouraged that during sessions and workshops, friends should not go to the Lake. There will be a fire pit if campfires are allowed that weekend.
Registration Desk – Please check in and pick up your weekend package in the basement of the Main Hall. Ushers will be available to help you find the registration desk.
Cell phones – Please put on silent mode during workshop times.
Spirit of Volunteerism – We rely on the spirit of volunteerism and the proven theory that ‘many hands make light work’. Please help out where you see a need. Portable washrooms have been rented and are an area that requires constant upkeep. Please be sure to clean up after yourself – drying off the counter with your hand towel when you’re finished makes a big difference throughout the day. If you notice more supplies are needed, please let the school organizers know.
Service in the Kitchen – Our hardworking cook and her team need our assistance. Please share the load and sign up to prepare, serve or clean up for a lunch / dinner meal and snack time and to help with breakfast duties. Sign-up sheets are by the Registration Desk. Other than volunteers, the kitchen is off-limits to others due to Food Safe requirements. Those with special dietary needs will be served separately through the kitchen, next to the serving area.
Meals – At around 180 attendees, and a limited room capacity during meal times, please help elders, parents with small children, and kitchen helpers to the front of the line. If the weather is nice, you may take your plate outdoors but please return your dishes promptly for washing. If the weather is not nice, please be aware that some of us will need to eat and then make space for others.
What to Bring
- Bedding: If you are registered for a cabin, please bring your own bedding—such as a mattress, sleeping bag, pillow, and any other personal items—as well as towels for the lake and other activities.
- Please note that the cabins are very rustic: they have electricity only, with no heating, running water, or bathrooms.
- Tent: If you are registered for a tent spot, please bring your own tent, as tents will not be provided or available on site.
- Toiletries: shampoo, conditioner, soap, hairbrush, toothbrush, toothpaste, personal effects, etc.
- Sanitizing items: hand sanitizers, disinfecting wipes, etc.
- Flashlights and extra batteries
- Refillable water bottles for the whole family
- Reusable Coffee/Tea Mugs
- Runners/hiking shoes
- Water shoes: we’ll have access to Lake Whonnock
- Rain jackets including warm wear (if needed)
- Prayer Books
- Sunblock/Sunscreen
- Mosquito repellents
- Sports supplies: soccer ball, Frisbees, volleyball, etc.
- Modest clothing: We request all participants to please adhere to the high standards of our blessed Faith by wearing clothing that is modest in nature. We greatly appreciate your help in fostering an uplifting spiritual environment that allows us to immerse ourselves in our community with the least amount of distraction possible
- Last and most importantly, a joyful spirit!
- We also encourage you to bring:
- A heater if you’re staying in the cabins
- Camping chairs, extra towels, picnic chairs
- Quiet games (non-electronic) for kids during down times
- A journal/pen
- Reading material for downtime and before bed
- Musical instruments
- A copy of the Nine-Year Plan
- Recreational Equipment’s: football, frisbees, basketball, soccer balls, tennis & table tennis equipment.
- We request you to please leave video games, and/or any remote-controlled toys at home
Program Schedule
All adult programs (ages 15 and up) will take place in the Main Hall.
Children aged 5–10 are welcome to join the Children’s Class in the basement.
Junior Youth (ages 11–14) will also have their programs in certain blocks in the basement.
Children aged 1–4 may be in the basement play area but must be accompanied by a parent at all times.
Children and Junior Youth will be taken from the Main Hall by their teachers at the start of their classes at each workshop/class Block. They will be returned to the Main Hall by their teachers at the end of each workshop/class Block to be reunited with their parents/guardians.
FRIDAY What Makes a Community Vibrant
| 5:00-6:00pm | Arrival and Registration |
| 6:00-7:30pm | Dinner |
| 7:30-8:30pm | Welcome and Devotions Announcements about the weekend Participatory Arts – Negin Etemadi Music – Shadi Toloui-Wallace |
| 8:30-9:30pm | Campfire and Connection Time |
| 10:00pm | Quiet Time |
SATURDAY Co-Creating a Vibrant Community
| 7:00 am | Dawn Prayers – meet at main hall |
| 8:00-9:30am | Breakfast |
| 9:30-9:45am | Morning Devotional |
| 9:45-11:00am | Keynote presentation – Tabasom Eblaghie “Family Life: The Foundation of Unity – Cooperation, Mutual Support, and Reciprocity” |
| 11:00-11:30am | Break |
| 11:30-12:30pm | Group Activity – Scavenger Hunt |
| 12:30 – 1:30pm | Lunch |
| 1:30-2:00pm | Music with Sarah Mohebiany |
| 2:00 – 5:00pm | Activity – Bus Departure to Lake Whonnock |
| 2:15 – 5:00pm | Study of the Universal House of Justice Message March 19, 2025 for those who prefer to stay indoors |
| 5:00 pm | Bus Departure from the Lake to Camp Whonnock |
| 5:15 – 5:45pm | Free Time |
| 5:45-6:00pm | Group Photo |
| 6:00 – 7:30pm | Dinner |
| 7:30 – 8:30pm | Devotions and Musical Presentation by Shadi Toloui-Wallace Followed by open mic for songs and stories |
| 8:30 – 9:30pm | Campfire and Connection Time |
| 10:00pm | Quiet Time |
SUNDAY Putting Unity into Action
| 7:00 am | Dawn Prayers – meet at main hall |
| 8:00-9:00am | Breakfast |
| 9:00-9:15am | Morning Devotional by Children and Junior Youth |
| 9:15-11:30am | Keynote Presenter – Arezou and Borna Noureddin |
| 11:30-12:30pm | Lunch |
| 12:30-12:45pm | Music & Devotional with Sasan Ihsan and Choir |
| 12:45-1:00pm | Golru Azizi-Ashraf, Deputy Trustee of the Right of God for Canada – introduction to workshops |
| 1:00-2:10pm | Choice of Workshops: The Right of God – Youth (15-25) – “Wealth, Work and Service” with Golru Azizi-Ashraf and Cheryl Vinchoff The Right of God – Adults – “Living a Life with Spiritual and Material Coherence” – with Golru Azizi-Ashraf and Mehran Azizi Arts Workshop – “Arts as a Tool for Vibrant Communities” – with Negin Etemadi |
| 2:15-5:00pm | Activity – Bus Departure to Lake Whonnock |
| 2:15-5:00pm | Study of the Universal House of Justice Message March 19, 2025 for those who prefer to stay indoors |
| 5:00pm | Bus Departure from the Lake to Camp Whonnock |
| 5:15pm | Devotional by Sasan Ihsan and Choir followed by Closing Remarks |
| 6:00-7:30pm | Dinner |
| 7:30-8:30pm | Clean-up and farewell |
Workshop Descriptions
SUNDAY MORNING
Based on the main theme of the Summer School “Building Vibrant Communities”, this session explore each word of the theme as follows:
Building: A constructive path in a destructive world
Community: Peace through many havens
Vibrant: The special role of youth
It will draw on message of the Universal House of Justice, as well as the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh and `Abdu’l-Bahá and the letters of the Guardian.
The session will include a presentation and group discussion and collective art activities.
The aim is to help us understand better how the Divine Plan addresses the needs of our time in history, and what our families can do in this next year to build the kind of communities that can finally bring peace to the world.
Presenter Biographies
Arezou and Borna Noureddin
Arezou and Borna have been married for 30 years and have been learning to raise children for 25 years. They have lived in Victoria and the Lower Mainland during those years, except for a year as pioneers in Lesotho, and have travelled to several countries. Arezou studied biology, is a professional artist and photographer, and works at a local elementary school. Borna studied engineering and is currently faculty at BCIT and serving as a member of the Continental Board of Counsellors in the Americas. Together with their children, they are striving to learn how cultivating a materially and spiritually coherent family life, earning a livelihood and engaging in an occupation can be integrated while keeping service to the Cause, their local community and humanity at the centre.
Map of Camp Whonnock and Information
