Greta and John Perrine
Flint, Michigan
Baha'is since 2005

From talking to friends, Greta and John Perrine of Flint, Mich., assumed Louhelen was a place to go for good food. Yes, the Louhelen Baha'i School in nearby Davison, did, and does, serve up flavorful offerings. But what it’s known for are its spiritual offerings, which the Perrines discovered after attending a wedding there.


Greta and John Perrine “The minute we drove into the parking lot we felt such peace without even knowing anything about the Baha'i Faith,” Mrs. Perrine says. After learning a little about the religion, the couple joined a Baha'i study circle and became Baha’is in July 2005.

Mrs. Perrine was particularly moved to learn Baha’u’llah was imprisoned in heavy chains. Mr. Perrine was impressed at “how gentle Baha’u’llah was with everybody. He passed that attribute on to His son, Abdu’l-Baha and it snowballed through the Faith.”

Both loved that “everyone at the study circle was so kind and accepting without questioning our backgrounds,” Mr. Perrine says.

Both Mr. and Mrs. Perrine were raised in the Catholic Church, but “we didn’t connect with it,” Mrs. Perrine says. “We both were looking for something else throughout our lives.”

Alanon, where the two met, gave them a form of spirituality, but it didn’t replace religion. So they continued to search. When they married, “I did the spiritual shopping for both of us,” Mrs. Perrine says.

Joining the Faith has helped her become a better person, Mrs. Perrine says. “I view people with more patience and compassion. Backbiting (forbidden in the Baha'i Faith) “doesn’t feel good in my heart,” she says. “I didn’t realize how much of it I did.”

Mr. Perrine says becoming a Baha'i gave him “a true connection to God.” His wife says “he blossomed,” and, if he could, would “talk to everyone about the Faith.”

Both agree that consultation, the non-adversarial form of collective decision-making that Baha’is use, has brought them closer in their marriage, the second for both.

“If our government and churches would practice consultation,” Mrs. Perrine says, “imagine how much better things would be.”