Spiritual journey has led Larry and Deb Dwyer to the Baha’i faith

Larry and Deborah Dwyer married in 1969 in the log chapel on the campus of the University of Notre Dame in a very traditional Catholic ceremony.

Both came from strong roots in Christian beliefs — he was a Catholic and Deborah was raised Methodist. Today, their spiritual journey has led them to the Baha’i faith.

According to Deborah, who was the first of the couple to move toward what she sees as enlightenment with the teachings of Baha’i, the basic tenet is there is one God and all the prophets from all religious sects come from God. One of her first exposures to the inclusivity that Baha’i offers was reading the teachings of Buddha. She became a Baha’i in 1971.

“As a Baha’i, we are not in control of other people,” Deborah said. “We are to have love and respect for all religions and all prophets of God.”

Larry was not so sure about this spirituality. He had been raised a devout Catholic all his life, attending parochial schools and attending the University of Notre Dame.

“I had never heard of it,”

Larry said. “I thought it was some kind of cult.”

The teachings encourage daily prayer, the reading of Scripture, and selfless acts of service to the community. It took time — three and a half years — before Larry was ready to embrace the teachings of Baha’i.

“There are hundreds of quotations from the Bible that relate to the Baha’i faith,” Larry explained. “It fills the promise in the New Testament of Christ’s return. When I read the Bible now, it’s on a whole new level.”

Once a skeptic, Larry explained Baha’i as “Catholic is the true religion of Jesus and Baha’i is the successor of that.”

Their faith calls upon its believers to not engage in violence and that the answer to conflict or social woes is through peace, fairness and understanding, Deborah explained. And there is no clergy.

“You deal with people with love, respect and understanding, regardless of what their lifestyle may be,” Larry added.

The Dwyers are active in the local Baha’i community. There are three components to the Baha’i meetings — spiritual, consultation and fellowship. The South Bend community holds events for the community as part of their faith, such as Race Unity Day.

Service to the world is essential as a Baha’i, Deborah said.

“The focus is to be of service to the Baha’i faith and to the community,” she said, “to be of service to humanity.”

The Baha’i Center is open to everyone. So are the meetings on the Baha’i holy days, for study circles and for access to spiritual material encompassing many holy books.

In the scope of world religions, Baha’i is relatively new. The Baha’i Faith traces its origin to 1844.

The South Bend Baha’i Center is located at 1608 E. Mishawaka Ave., South Bend.