Bahá’í News/Inserts/Issue 375/The Year of the Ten Thousand/Text

The Year of Ten Thousand

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The Year of the Ten Thousand

NSA Sets Goal of 10,000 New Believers by Riḍván

Dear Friends:

The National Spiritual Assembly wishes to share with all believers in the United States the following post-convention cable from the Hands of the Faith residing in the Holy Land:

DELIGHTED (BY THE) LARGE ATTENDANCE (AND THE) WONDERFUL SPIRIT (AT THE CONVENTION). (WE ARE) CONFIDENT (THAT THE) REMAINING YEAR (OF THE) CRUSADE WILL ADD FRESH LAURELS (TO THE) CROWN (OF THE) AMERICAN (BAHÁ’Í) COMMUNITY.

(Signed) HANDSFAITH

To meet the challenge expressed in this cable and to maintain and accelerate the enthusiastic momentum which led to unprecedented victories on the home front this Riḍván, the National Assembly is immediately announcing plans for teaching, consolidation and proclamation during the final year of the Crusade:

I. Crusade Goals for Completion — (primary consideration)

A. Bring goal groups to assembly status and consolidate newly formed and weak assemblies, to assure “300 firmly grounded, well informed, actively functioning” assemblies by Riḍván 1963.

B. Proclamation of the Faith “through the press and radio throughout the United States of America.”

II. Other Goals for Consideration

A. Focus effort on teaching minority peoples.

B. Focus effort on possible mass conversion areas.

Raise Number of Local Assemblies

Having attained a net of 302 local assemblies as reported at the Convention, the first and most immediate task is the formation of sufficient new local spiritual assemblies to assure that no less than 300 assemblies will form at Riḍván 1963.

To guarantee this result, the National Assembly has instructed the American National Teaching Committee to aim for the formation of no less than eight new local assemblies by September 1, 1962, and to consolidate all new and inexperienced assemblies so that on or before the September deadline there will be a total of at least 310 assemblies in continental United States.

Since, under the instructions of the Hands, assemblies may now be formed at any time between now and Riḍván 1963, all goal groups should concentrate on greatly accelerated teaching activity to enroll new believers in sufficient numbers to assure assembly status as soon as possible.

The National Assembly announces the following preferred goal groups which will be offered special assistance, both in teaching and in the movement of settlers:

CALIFORNIA El Cajon J.D. Monterey North Sacramento J.D. Redding San Bernardino J.D.	MISSOURI Joplin
CONNECTICUT Bridgeport	NEW HAMPSHIRE Hinsdale
DELAWARE Newcastle County	NEW MEXICO McKinley County
FLORIDA Orlando North Miami	NEW YORK Babylon Township Huntington Township
IDAHO Nez Perce County	OHIO Kettering
ILLINOIS Decatur Elmhurst Park Ridge	TEXAS Amarillo Castle Hills
MINNESOTA Olmsted County	VERMONT Brattleboro
	WYOMING Cheyenne

The American National Teaching Committee is to be responsible for the processing and movement of pioneers on the home front. Many more settlers are needed to consolidate goals already won and to assist in raising goal groups to assembly status. Anyone who can move to a goal without endangering an already existing assembly is urged to contact either the American National Teaching Committee or the National Spiritual Assembly for a home front pioneer application form which he then should fill out and mail to the American National Teaching Committee, 534 South Elm, Suite E, Webster Groves 19, Missouri. If financial assistance is needed to effect a move to a goal city, application should be made to the American National Teaching Committee setting forth the nature and amount of the budget required. The National Assembly hopes there will be no delay in filing these applications. Time is of the essence.

Consolidate Existing Prizes

At the same time, the friends are reminded that the spiritual prizes already won must be preserved and consolidated. The National Assembly therefore announces the following principles which should be observed implicitly: [Page 2] 1. There should be no unorganized movement of Bahá’ís out of established communities or goal cities. By this is meant that before any Bahá’í plans a move to another locality, even if it is made necessary for business, health, retirement or other reasons, he should consult with either the National Assembly or the American National Teaching Committee, in order to determine how such move can contribute to the establishment or consolidation of a local assembly. Bahá’ís in small communities (fifteen or under) and goal groups are urged to remain at their posts. If a move becomes unavoidable for any reason, consultation with the NSA or the ANTC may save an assembly or help establish a new one. Here again, time is of the essence.

2. Newly formed or inexperienced assemblies should immediately make plans for consolidation. Both an unprecedented increase in numbers and fuller understanding of Bahá’í Administration are called for. This means that effective teaching programs for the enrollment and deepening of new believers should be launched. In addition, the assembly should acquire such knowledge of the administrative principles of the Faith as will enable it to effectively discharge its duties as a divine institution ordained by Bahá’u’lláh as an instrument through which must flow the love of God to all humanity.

Assistance in learning to correctly apply administrative principles is available through the American National Teaching Committee. The National Assembly urges that this assistance be requested and scheduled as soon as possible.

3. Assemblies and goal groups should adopt and put into operation local teaching objectives at their next meeting. As a guide, the National Assembly has announced the goal of doubling the membership on the home front by Riḍván 1963. If every believer will be responsible for teaching and enrolling one new believer, this goal will be attained — but many are capable of setting much higher individual objectives. At the very minimum the individual should aim at mentioning the Faith to at least one new contact, on the average, each day and should hold a fireside in his own home at least once each Bahá’í month. Assemblies should adopt a local teaching plan to supplement individual effort, and, in consultation with the Area Teaching Committee, should offer extension teaching assistance wherever possible.

Proclamation of the Faith

Proclamation of the Faith “through the press and radio throughout the United States of America,” as called for by the beloved Guardian is another major objective for the coming year. Two well-defined and complementary programs have been announced.

The first to be executed, insofar as possible by June 30, is the commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s visit to America. Plans for this observance have already been announced.

The second is aimed at encouraging every Bahá’í community to proclaim the coming of Bahá’u’lláh through press and radio during the coming year. Based on the experience gained in the experimental programs conducted last year in the Salt Lake City, Dallas-Fort Worth, and Milwaukee areas, the National Assembly has selected five large communications centers (New York-New Jersey, Miami, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle) as areas for major concentration of the effort from the national level.

All Bahá’í communities are urged to plan their own stepped-up proclamation and teaching programs within the limit of their financial resources. Kits of materials for proclamation and teaching, including sample press, radio and public meeting programming aids, are available. Information about these can be obtained through the American National Teaching Committee.

Teaching Minority Groups

Other goals include focusing effort on teaching minority peoples and on possible mass conversion areas. The National Assembly urges that every local assembly consult and survey possibilities and take action whenever practicable to reach minority groups (Negroes, Indians and Spanish-speaking peoples) in their localities. In this connection, the National Assembly has approved a plan for a conference to be called “Different Races Gathering with Prayer” at Pine Springs, Arizona, on June 2-3 particularly designed to proclaim the Faith among the American Indians. Both the Interracial Service Committee and the American Indian Service Committee are being requested to submit suggestions and information which will assist the National Assembly in projecting further programs to reach minority groups. Local Assemblies are urged, whenever possible, to demonstrate the Bahá’í principle of the oneness of mankind by including the participation of representatives of minority groups in public meetings.

Mass Conversion

Two possible mass conversion areas have already been indicated — Hawaii and Puerto Rico. Both areas are scheduled for special attention and focus of teaching activity.

In their Annual Message to the Convention the Hands of the Faith have proclaimed: “Forces over which we have no control are now sweeping us into an era of expansion breath-taking in its possibilities . . . The handful of teachers and administrators, laboring in Asia, Europe, the Americas, Africa and the Pacific suddenly find themselves called upon, for the first time in the history of this Cause, to receive and welcome not a few hundred souls eager to enlist in the Army of Bahá’u’lláh but many thousands, and perhaps, in the near future, many hundreds of thousands. . . .”

Let us all arise in this hour of glorious victory and while there is yet time lay our contributions, great and small, on the altar of Bahá’í sacrifice so that no one can be heard to say that he has not heard of the coming of Bahá’u’lláh.

Faithfully, NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY