December
5, 2012
Talk
on Maxwell family proves to be a "marvellous therapy"
5:00 AM, the alarm clock sounds,
and another day begins for
David Smith, Avionics Engineer at the Department of National Defence in
Ottawa. At least that was David's daily
routine before he unexpectedly fell in his home and his life was turned
up side
down.
His injuries were severe and
David was, as
he puts it,
"taken out of action". Many things changed for David on that fateful
day in December of 2011, however as a long time member of the Bahá'í
Community, his passion for reading and study was
as keen
as ever. Recently David was able to attend a number of presentations
held at
the Ottawa Bahá’í Centre on a variety of Bahá'í related topics and
having just
completed reading the newly published two volume set "The Maxwells of
Montreal", David felt "it was time to get in the saddle myself and
give a talk on this remarkable family."
In
his well-prepared synopsis, David told the attentive
audience of how May Maxwell, regarded as “the mother of the Bahá’í
Community of
Canada”, along with her husband William Sutherland Maxwell, the famous
Canadian
architect, had established the first Bahá’í community in Montreal,
Canada in 1902. David
stated that the biography related the historical significance of the
Maxwell's daughter Mary
who later in life
became known as Amatu’l-Bahá Rúhíyyih
Khánum. Although
she was a world traveler, author, poet, lecturer, and film producer her
historical significance in the Bahá'í Faith became established when she
eventually married the Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith, Shoghi Effendi,
grandson of Bahá'u'lláh, founder of the Bahá'í Faith. David's talk
touched on many key historical facts about the Maxwell
family and
undoubtedly inspired many in attendance to study this comprehensive
biography.
Although the
road to recovery has been long and
challenging for David,
he said "This
talk on the Maxwell family proved
to
be a marvellous therapy and a great learning experience". He invites interested
people to learn more.
David can be contacted at: dsmith@trytel.com.
Read a History of the Bahá'í
Community of Canada and a Canadian Connection to the Faith here.
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