In the early 30s Mother, who was divorced from her first husband, Theodore…
bahaistories.com archive · Read original
Studio narration for this story is coming — it’ll be generated by the cloud-TTS pipeline (voice: auto-selected from the source author).
When in Bahá'í history
Boston (today: Boston, Massachusetts, USA)
In the early 30s Mother, who was divorced from her first husband, Theodore Obrig, married the Reverend Reginald G. Barrow. The wedding ceremony was performed by her father Howard Colby Ives. It is family history that they spent their wedding night on a park bench, as they could not obtain a room in a hotel in Boston. Bishop Barrow, was a man of color, who was born in the West Indies.
Source: Reginald Grant Barrow, Mother's Stories: Stories of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and Early Believers told by Muriel Ives Barrow Newhall to her son, p. 5
Collected from bahaistories.com (Subject: race-unity).
Discuss this story
For adults
- Read the closing lines once more. What single phrase stays with you?
- What does the setting of this account contribute to its meaning?
- If you were to share this story aloud at a devotional gathering, which sentence would you read first?
For teens
- If you were in Howard Colby Ives's place, what might you have done?
- What does this story teach about unity?
Reflection
- Sit quietly for a moment after reading. What does this story stir in you?
- If you could bring one quality from this story into your next conversation, what would it be?
- What single image from this story will stay with you?
Comprehension quiz
Which source is "In the early 30s Mother, who was divorced from her first husband, Theodore…" drawn from?
Where does this story take place?
What period of Bahá'í history does this story belong to?
Which historical figure is featured most prominently in this story?
Which virtue does this story most clearly illustrate?
Cite this story
Various. *bahaistories.com archive*. https://bahaistories.com/subject/race-unity
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