The Light of Unity DVD

How many times have you faced the impossible task of answering the question, in 25 words or less, "What is the Bahá'í Faith?" because the situation didn't allow you time to give a more complete and effective answer?

You're in line at the store, or at a venue on vacation, or on the bus and the next stop is where you or the person gets off. You've got maybe two minutes to answer and not much chance of reconnecting with them for a meaningful conversation. Of course, you can give them a card with the principles and your phone number, but how often has that generated a return call? Especially when they live on the other side of the country. Giving them the 800-22-UNITE number might be better, but the odds are that they have not gotten enough exposure to the Faith to pursue it further.

And what about at work? You know you can't (or shouldn't) take work time to talk about the Faith, but you also can't seem to get any other time with that interested person--not to mention the constant interuptions when you do try--phone calls, customers to be served, co-workers interupting, the boss calling for you.

What though, if you could give these people something that would present the Faith in a dignified and engaging way and even encourage them to get back in touch with you?

The Light of Unity is a 21 minute video DVD that is modeled after the successful Solution to the Problem of Violence presentation developed by the San Antonio, TX Spiritual Assembly. It gives a brief ,yet comprehensive, overview of the Faith by answering commonly asked questions in an informal, conversational style, utilyzing graphics and pictures in much the same way you might if you had the time and the materials at hand. Brief quotations from the Writings are used where appropriate to expose viewers to the Creative Word without beating them over the head with them.

Most importantly, you can be fairly certain that they won't dump this disk in the trash like they might a card or brochure or even a computer program on a CD. Would you put a CD from a stranger in your computer? Why would you expect that the seeker you just met would?

People, however, watch DVD's all the time. They are safe and easy to use. You just put it in the player and sit back in the comfort of your own home and watch it without being concerned that it has a virus that will attack your computer or steal your identity information.

The disk label has the 800-22-UNITE number and U.S. web site address as well as a place for your personal contact information so the recipient has several ways to follow up. You can use a rubber stamp or handwrite the information with a felt pen.

If the viewer wants to review a section, they find the question in the chapter menu and press play, just as they would any commerically available movie.

The Light of Unity is suitable for Firesides and Public Meetings, with or without a designated speaker. It also fits comfortably into direct teaching. It can be used as the introduction to the Faith you show when visiting for the first time and can be left with the person when you leave. It can also be used in combination with other presentations, such as Anna's Presentation from Ruhi Book 6. It can even be left with those who choose not to hear a presentation at the time you visit, if they are willing to accept such a gift to view later on their own.

But these uses weren't the primary reason we developed The LIght of Unity. Its generating inspiration was the situations described at the beginning of this page and our frustration at missing an opportunity to properly introduce someone to the Faith. We have found ourselves in those kinds of situations countless times for years, if not decades. Finally the technology is available to make a professional quality DVD presentation inexpensively enough to give away.

Which is why we put it on 3 inch Mini-DVD disks. Think of it as the new business card. They are easy to carry. Two fit very comfortably in a pants or jacket pocket. Though they might get lost in some purses, they don't take up much room there either. Our experience with these mini-DVD's has also shown that there is a very positive "wow" type of reaction when you hand someone the mini-DVD because of its novel size. And yes, 3 inch DVD's will play in just about any DVD player with a slide-out tray made in the last 3-4 years. They don't work in slot-loading players, such as those on laptop computers. That's why we also offer the standard 5 inch DVD disks.

Assemblies may find The Light of Unity an excellent "literature" choice for certain events, such as World Religion Day. Either size disk works quite well in these situations.

For a gift to local dignitaries who are being honored, such as at a Human Rights Award event, we have created a "Presentation Package" that is more formal and traditional. It consists of the 5 inch DVD in a standard DVD case. Click here to see the case cover. There are many other ways to use this package, such as the copy that is given to libraries that offer DVD's to take home, the DVD that is kept at the Bahá'í Center for Firesides, your own home library copy, any occasion or place where a full size standard DVD package is preferable.

We will print your contact information on both the case cover and the disk at no extra charge. This imparts a more professional and dignified appearance that makes the package more acceptable in these situations. We urge you to take advantage of this free service so that your gift will give the dignified impression of the Faith you desire. Just send an email with the information you want printed on the cover and the disk when you order.

Because these Presentation Package DVD's are prepared specifically to your order, please allow two to three business days for us to produce and print your order.

If you had trouble watching this clip demo, you probably need to download and install QuickTime player. Use these links to get the latest version. It's free.

If you're still wondering if you should order this DVD, please consider this unsolicited review:

And now we get to one of The Light of Unity's best features--its price. For as little as $2.00 you can give someone a fresh, relaxed, and inviting introduction to the Faith with a means for them to follow up on it. The Light of Unity is the new, more enticing, more effective business card you've always wanted to have in your pocket. And now you can.

If you do not receive a confirmation e-mail from us, please check your spam, bulk, or junk mail folders. If you find the e-mail there, your ISP or your own software spam-blocker or filters are diverting our e-mail. If you have the option to set exceptions in your spam filter, set an exception to accept shipping@schoolmarmwood.org.

ORDER 3 INCH MINI-DVD'S

ORDER 5 INCH STANDARD DVD'S

If you prefer to pay by check, please order using the Mail Order Form.

If you have questions, suggestions, comments, etc., please contact us.

Refund/Return Policy