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| No. 133 | YEAR 96, BAHÁ’Í ERA | February, 1940 |
“THE SEAL OF COMPLETE TRIUMPH”[edit]
Letter From Shoghi Effendi[edit]
Dear co-workers:
The association of the First Mashriqu’l-Adhkár of the West with the hallowed memories of the Purest Branch and of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s mother, recently re-interred under the shadow of the Báb’s holy Shrine, inaugurates a new, and at long last the final phase of an enterprise which, thirty years ago, was providentially launched on the very day the remains of the Forerunner of our Faith were laid to rest by our beloved Master in the sepulchre specifically erected for that purpose on Mt. Carmel. The birth of this holy enterprise, pregnant with such rich, such infinite possibilities, synchronized with, and was consecrated through, this historic event which, as ‘Abdu’l-Bahá Himself has affirmed, constitutes the most signal act of the triple mission He had been prompted to perform. The site of the Temple itself was honored by the presence of Him Who, ever since this enterprise was initiated, had, through His messages and Tablets, bestowed upon it His special attention and care, and surrounded it with the marks of His unfailing solicitude. Its foundation-stone was laid by His own loving hands, on an occasion so moving that it has come to be regarded as one of the most stirring episodes of His historic visit to the North American continent. Its superstructure was raised as a direct consequence of the pent-up energies which surged from the breasts of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s lovers at a time when His sudden removal from their midst had plunged them into consternation, bewilderment and sorrow. Its external ornamentation was initiated and accelerated through the energizing influences which the rising and continually consolidating institutions of a divinely established Administrative Order had released in the midst of a community that had identified its vital interests with that Temple’s destiny. The measures devised to hasten its completion were incorporated in a Plan which derives its inspiration from those destiny-shaping Tablets wherein, in bold relief, stands outlined the world mission entrusted by their Author to the American Bahá’í community. And finally, the Fund, designed to receive and dispose of the resources amassed for its prosecution, was linked with the memory and bore the name of her whose ebbing life was brightened and cheered by those tidings that unmistakably revealed to her the depth of devotion and the tenacity of purpose which animate the American believers in the cause of their beloved Temple. And now, while the Bahá’í world vibrates with emotion at the news of the transfer of the precious remains of both the Purest Branch and of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s mother to a spot which, watched over by the Twin holy shrines and in the close neighborhood of the resting-place of the Greatest Holy Leaf, is to become the focus of the administrative institutions of the Faith at its world center, the mere act of linking the destiny of so far-reaching an undertaking with so significant an event in the Formative Period of our Faith will assuredly set the seal of complete triumph upon, and enhance the spiritual potentialities of, a work so significantly started and so magnificently executed by the followers of Bahá’u’lláh in the North American continent.
The Plan which your Assembly has suggested to raise the sum of fifty thousand dollars by next April, which will enable you to place the necessary contracts for the final completion of the entire First Story of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár, meets with my unqualified approval. It was specially in order to initiate and encourage the progress of such a plan that I felt impelled to pledge the sum of one thousand pounds in the memory of these two glorious souls who, apart from the Founders of our Faith and its Exemplar, tower together with the Greatest Holy Leaf, above the rank and file of the faithful.
The interval separating us from that date is admittedly short. The explosive forces which lie dormant in the international field may, ere the expiry of these fleeting months, break out in an eruption that may prove the most fateful that mankind has experienced. It is within the power of the organized body of the American believers to further demonstrate the imperturbability of their faith, the serenity of their confidence
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and the unyielding tenacity of
their resolve.
We stand at the threshold of the decade within which the centenary of the birth of our Faith is to be celebrated. Scarcely more than four years stand between us and that glorious consummation. No community, no individual, neither in the East nor in the West, however afflictive the circumstances that now prevail, can afford to hesitate or falter. The few years immediately ahead are endowed with potencies that we can but dimly appreciate. Ours is the duty and privilege to utilize to the full the opportunities which these fate-laden years offer us. The American Bahá’í community, already responsible, over such a long period, for such heroic acts, under such severe handicaps, cannot and will not hesitate or falter. The past is a witness of their splendid triumphs. The future will be no less a witness of their final victory.
- Your true brother.
- SHOGHI.
- Your true brother.
- December 30, 1939.
LETTER FROM THE GUARDIAN[edit]
| “DUAL, VITALLY URGENT OBLIGATION”
(Signed) SHOGHI RABBANI.
|
Dear Bahá’í brother:
On behalf of the Guardian I gratefully acknowledge the receipt of your communications written at the direction of the N. S. A. and dated July 3, 11, 17, 18, August 3, 3, 11, 21, September 20 and November 16 (two letters), together with their enclosures, and of various other materials sent under separate cover, all of which reached him safely, and for which he wishes me to heartily thank your Assembly.
Illness, and his pressing duties and preoccupations, have unfortunately delayed his acknowledgment of your welcome communications. The multitudinous duties that have pressed upon him have become so complex, urgent and vital that he finds it difficult, at times, to cope with his correspondence with the believers and the Assemblies.
He wishes me to specially convey to you and your fellow-members his deep sense of appreciation and gratitude for the message you had, in response to the suggestion made by the local Assembly of New York, been prompted to convey to him, expressing the earnest hope of the American believers that he would undertake a visit to the United States. He is profoundly touched at this fresh evidence of the close ties of loyalty and devotion that so inseparably unite the American Bahá’í community with him, and will pray that the passing of years may further strengthen this bond and increasingly deepen in the hearts of our dear American friends their sense of responsibility for the well-being and protection of the Faith at its world center in the Holy Land.
The Guardian particularly welcomes the appointment by your Assembly of a new Race Amity Committee, and fervently hopes that this will enable the friends to make the fullest possible response to his vital call for interracial amity and understanding, and specially to his instruction regarding the treatment of colored minorities within the Community.
It was also a matter of deep gratification to him to know that the number of recognized local Spiritual Assemblies throughout the United States and Canada had reached eighty-eight on the 21st of April of last year, and would urge that special effort be exerted by your Assembly to increase that number to one hundred by the next meeting of the Annual Convention.
With reference to the permission granted by the Marriage License Bureau of the City of Chicago to the Chicago Assembly to perform Bahá’í marriages, the Guardian considers this indeed as an historic achievement, and trusts that it will open the way for the accordance of a similar recognition to other local Bahá’í Assemblies throughout the States. He would certainly approve that all incorporated local Assemblies make similar representations to their respective civil Marriage Bureaus for the legal recognition of Bahá’í marriage ceremonies. In the performance of a Bahá’í marriage, the chairman and secretary of the local Assembly should act as its representatives. The ceremony itself must be very simple. The marriage certificate, copies of which in Arabic and Persian are published in the Bahá’í World, and which bears the signatures of both parties and of their parents, should be translated and adopted by the American friends. This is indeed a tremendous step forward in the ultimate adoption and enforcement of the laws of Bahá’u’lláh in the West.
With regard to Muníríh Khánum’s account of her life, concerning which certain questions have been raised by one of the believers; what has been written by Muníríh Khánum herself in that account, and also the references to the subject made by Nabíl in his Narrative should be taken as the accurate standard and not what has been reported in Dr. Esslemont’s book.
Regarding the time for the holding of the Nineteen Day Feasts and elections; the Guardian would advise your Assembly to urge the friends to hold such gatherings on the prescribed day before sunset. If impossible, then it is permissible to hold them on the preceding day. In connection with the nine holy days, however, the friends should consider it obligatory to celebrate them on the prescribed day before sunset.
The Guardian wishes your Assembly to abandon the practice of appointing associate members to some of the committees, as reported in the July news letter. Such a practice, he feels, tends to create confusion and misunderstanding. Those already associate members, however, may at the discretion of the N.S.A. be added to the full membership of the committees.
In connection with the request received by your Assembly from a Chicago believer for permission to be married in the Temple, Shoghi Effendi
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wishes your Assembly to abide by his
directions on the subject as contained
in his letter of January 29, 1939.
The news of the donation of two hundred copies of the last issue of the Bahá’í World made by our very dear Mr. Schopflocher to various national and local Assemblies outside of the United States was received with deepest appreciation by the Guardian, who feels confident that this action will create widespread enthusiasm throughout the Bahá’í world, and will also considerably help in giving due publicity to this invaluable international record of the Faith.
He also wishes me to express his deepfelt appreciation of the increase recently made by the N.S.A. in its monthly contribution to the International Fund. He will pray that your Assembly may be richly rewarded for this truly generous assistance you are extending towards the promotion and safeguarding of the interests of the Cause at its world-center in the Holy Land.
Regarding the construction of a memorial dedicated to the late Miss Martha Root at the cemetery in Honolulu: Shoghi Effendi highly approves of your Assembly’s proposal, and hopes that the contribution of one hundred pounds he has already cabled through Mr. Wilhelm for that purpose will serve to stimulate the friends to send in further donations that would enable the N.S.A. to erect a befitting monument in honor of our departed sister. He wishes you to impress upon the friends the necessity of their acting promptly and generously in this matter. He is eagerly awaiting for a copy of the design of the proposed monument.
Bahá’í Exhibit, New York State Fair, Syracuse, 1939
As to the design itself he prefers to
leave it to the discretion of the N.S.A.
With reference to the matter of the consent of the parents to a Bahá’í marriage: as this is a vital binding obligation, it is the duty of the Assemblies to ascertain, before giving their sanction, that the consent obtained has been given freely by the parents themselves.
The Guardian approves of the recommendation made by the editors of World Order to publish in that magazine hitherto unpublished material from the Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, and hopes that in response to your request he will also be able to send you, from time to time, any such material he can gather from the Sacred Writings.
- December 24, 1939.
“VIGOR AND SPIRITUAL HEALTH OF THE COMMUNITY”[edit]
On January 19 the National Spiritual Assembly received from the Guardian a cablegram containing this significant instruction: “Urge Assembly focus attention (at its) forthcoming meeting (upon the) dual, vitally urgent obligation: (the) conservation (of the) vigor (and) spiritual health (of the) community and (the) intensification (of) effort aiming (at) realization (of) recently approved Temple Plan. Sleepless vigilance (to) ward off subtle attacks (of) enemies (is) first prerequisite (to) sound unfoldment (of the) processes (of the) enterprise already operating ...”
The believers in all lands are under the supreme favor of guidance from on High. They strive to uphold day by day, ideals and principles which relate to their own development and the illumination and harmony of mankind. But on the other hand, to aid the endeavors of those who outwardly claim allegiance but secretly try to destroy the Divine Edifice through enmity to its leader, would manifestly be the most grievous of errors.
Historically such disloyalty, synchronizing with the expansion of the Faith, had its appearance when some who were professedly loyal to the Báb, disobeyed His Covenant by refusing to accept Bahá’u’lláh as the expected One of the Beyan. They were urged on by a sordid ambition which brought them ignominy, oblivion and loss. Later the same condition became apparent after the ascension of Bahá’u’lláh when a few corrupt people violated His solemn Covenant by refusing to accept its Center, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. Again, a diminishing few, urged on by vaulting ambition and an obvious desire to organize within the Cause, a group that would circle around themselves, have refused to acknowledge the station of our beloved Guardian, Shoghi Effendi, and the New World Order of administration called into being by the Will of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.
Under the authority of the Guardian, the time has now come to act against these “insidious adversaries” who have even gone so far as to flout the Beloved’s Will and Testament, the very pillar of our unity, by claiming the right to use the term “Bahá’í” to designate their personal activities. The matter is therefore being taken to the courts, and as soon as possible their excuses will be made a matter of public record. It will be seen whether the present enemies of the Faith can succeed any better than those enemies who have preceded them: Subhi-Ezel, Mohamet Ali, Kheirella and their like, whose denial of the Truth became historic facts beyond recall.
In connection with this legal action, we have this message from Shoghi Effendi in his cablegram of January 23: “Praying victory similar (to the) one recently won (over) Covenant-breakers (in) Holy Land be achieved by American believers over insidious adversaries (in) City (of the) Covenant.”
Our community health and vigor consists of an abounding faith—a deep,
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immovable conviction as to the fundamental truths which constitute the Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh. These fundamental truths are precisely those which
the Guardian set forth as the qualifications of Bahá’ís:
“Full recognition of the station of the Forerunner, the Author, and the True Exemplar of the Bahá’í Cause, as set forth in ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Testament; unreserved acceptance of, and submission to, whatsoever has been revealed by their Pen; loyal and steadfast adherence to every clause of our Beloved’s sacred Will; and close association with the spirit as well as the form of the present day Bahá’í administration throughout the world ...”
Bahá’ís who have accepted these qualifications and not wavered in their devotion to them; Bahá’ís who realize that each individual believer should study and pray in order to remain in the spirit of the Faith, and whole-heartedly uphold the general activities of the Cause—these believers have health of spirit because they remain within the area of nearness where the Holy Spirit sends its beneficent rays.
Bahá’ís have this solid foundation for spiritual health: that their status as followers of Bahá’u’lláh and members of the Bahá’í community is safe and secure until they, themselves, create clear evidence that they do not accept the fundamental qualifications of a Bahá’í. Reflection upon this truth will reveal what a mighty blessing it is to belong within the Community of the Greatest Name. Every denier removes himself from the Cause.
Let us recall the Guardian’s words two years ago: draw nigh to Bahá’u’lláh, that He may draw nigh to us. Therefore prayer and meditation are an element of health; association with the Bahá’í community is an element of health; sacrifice for the promotion of the great objective of the Seven Year Plan—Temple completion and teaching throughout the Americas—this, too, is an element of health. Finally is to be cited the mysterious truth that to retain spiritual health we must not associate with any person who has ever been definitely pronounced a violator of the Divine Covenant.
The Báb’s holy words to the Letters of the Living whom He was sending on their missions—these words are of the essence of health. Or turn again to page 63 of The Advent of Divine Justice, where the Guardian directs our attention to passages in the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh which “cannot fail to produce on the minds and hearts of any one ... who approaches them with befitting humility and detachment, such powerful reactions as to illumine his entire being and intensity tremendously his daily exertions.”
Moreover, we have the unique bulwark of the Guardian’s successive World Order letters to surround us with protection against the ignorance or malice of non-believers and against our own negative suggestions. A distinct part of the aim and purpose of those Letters was to reveal the futility of the arguments of the deniers and violators. Thus, on the very first page of the first World Order letter: “I am indeed inclined to welcome these expressed apprehensions inasmuch as they afford me an opportunity to familiarize the elected representatives of the believers with the origin and character of the institutions which stand at the very basis of the World Order of Bahá’u’lláh. We should feel truly thankful for such futile attempts to undermine our beloved Faith—attempts that protrude their ugly face from time to time, seem for a while able to create a breach in the ranks of the faithful, recede finally into the obscurity of oblivion, and are thought of no more. Such incidents we should regard as the interpositions of Providence, designed to fortify our faith, to clarify our vision, and to deepen our understanding of the essentials of His Divine Revelation.”
This theme is developed further in passages to be found in The World Order of Bahá’u’lláh on pages: 4, 5, 8, 10, 15, 17, 18, 51, 73, 89, 90.
In conclusion, let us recall the Guardian’s summary of the first four decades of the history of the Faith in America, in America and the Most Great Peace. Therein Shoghi Effendi shows us how the Cause progresses and evolves through a succession of trials and tests, victories and achievements. Each time a test is met by the friends, they are prepared for a new and greater victory.
It may be that another period of test is being initiated. If so, let us meet it, not merely with courage but with the very flame of passionate devotion to Him, the Most Powerful, the Most Mighty, the Most Merciful!
TEACHING IN THE SOUTHERN STATES[edit]
Since receipt of the dynamic call to a higher level of Bahá’í Service by the beloved Guardian in his magna charta of the New Hour of the Faith, the National Assembly, with the assistance of various Committees, has been studying most carefully all the aspects of our teaching work under the Seven Year Plan.
Undoubtedly the most challenging issue in connection with our teaching work in this country is that of the expansion of the Faith in the Southern States. The National Assembly, therefore, has asked the Regional Teaching Committee for the Southern States, the Race Unity Committee, and the National Teaching Committee to study this problem anew in the light of the Guardian’s stirring appeal and instruction in The Advent of Divine Justice, and publish for the friends, the results of their survey to serve as a general basis for our immediate teaching work in that area.
It is axiomatic that within the circle of the Faith itself, no such thing as color distinction can exist. There is only one standard, that of devotion to Bahá’u’lláh, and of seeking His grace. Within any Bahá’í Community, worthy of its name, there can be no consciousness of division or cleavage of any type within its ranks. “Once its members have fully recognized the claim of its Author, and by identifying themselves with its Administrative Order, accepted unreservedly the principles and laws embodied in its teachings, every differentiation of class, creed, or color must automatically be obliterated, and never be allowed, under any pretext, and however great the pressure, of events or of public opinion, to reassert itself.”
To bring to the world at large, this ideal state of society, is the most delicate and difficult of our teaching tasks. After careful study, the three Committees find their concerted view to be that the method approved by Shoghi Effendi, in the following excerpt from his letter to the National Assembly of March 22nd, 1937, is still the best way to meet our serious responsibilities in this Section—
“Regarding the problem of teaching in districts of mixed colored and white populations, the Guardian fully approves of the policy adopted by the N.S.A. to the effect that the teaching work should be carried simultaneously with the two races in the south without the slightest discrimination. For the Teachings are obviously not intended for only one race or one class. Your Assembly’s suggestion that Bahá’í public meetings should henceforth be conducted separately for whites and colored and that study classes resulting from such meetings should likewise be conducted separately until individuals of both races are truly
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confirmed believers is splendid as it
will undoubtedly help in removing the
misunderstandings and obstacles that
have thus far stood in the way of the
expansion of the Faith in the Southern
States. To alienate either the white or
the colored race would be indeed unfair and unjustifiable. The solution proposed by your Assembly thus marks a
step in advance over the methods which
the friends have hitherto enforced in
their teaching work in the Southern
States. The Guardian therefore trusts
that it will be brought fully to the attention of the friends, and that they
will each and all arise to apply it in
their future teaching activities.
“In this connection, however, he wishes me to stress the fact that the two races should ultimately be brought together, and be urged to associate with the utmost unity and fellowship and be given full and equal opportunity to participate in the conduct of the teaching as well as administrative activities of the Faith. Nothing short of such ultimate fusion of the two races can insure the faithful application of that cornerstone principle of the Cause regarding the oneness of mankind.” (March 22, 1937. Bahá’í News No. 108, June, 1937).
In developing our public teaching work in this specific area, the National Teaching Committee and the Southern Regional Committees will take active steps to see that the directions of the Guardian that teaching should be carried forward simultaneously with both groups is carefully and rigidly adhered to.
The following concrete suggestions, approved by the National Assembly, are offered by the three Committees for the application of the Guardian’s instructions—
- Teachers shall work in close consultation with the Southern Regional Committees and shall undertake no public teaching projects without first receiving the Committee’s approval and cooperation.
- Teachers should be fully cognizant of the problems of the South.
- Before making final plans for public speaking, the Teachers should survey the Field of local race groups and liberal leaders, and contact them alike.
A Session of the Annual Conference of the Bahá’í Youth of the Central States, held at 536 Sheridan Road, Wilmette, January 6, 1940
- The general theme of public teaching should be the world ideal of the Faith as a whole, rather than one of the social principles, which might prove provocative, such as race union. The best results will be achieved if the Manifestation is established as rapidly as possible, as the Center of the Faith, and the Source of spiritual life today, as well as the Establisher of the true principles of living.
- The most effective method of teaching in new areas is the Fireside Gathering, and discussion with friendly groups, rather than public campaigns. When fireside gatherings grow into study groups, they should be developed in consultation with the Regional Committees.
- All public presentations of the Faith, such as radio talks, newspaper publicity, etc., should be developed through local Assemblies or Regional Committees.
“A NEW FAITH RISING ...”[edit]
Report of the National Teaching Committee[edit]
In 1853 an American lecturer, William Salter, anticipated with such remarkable clarity the rise of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh and the activities which characterize the Bahá’ís even today, that we are here reprinting his words, doubly interesting to us all because they were used to introduce Rowland Estall for his recent talk to the Unitarian Church in Winnipeg.
“I see a new faith rising in the hearts of men, and organizing itself in human society. It will have the human interests, the practical sense, the sanity of Confucius, but in the service of the grand ideals of a Marcus Aurelius or a Jesus; it will, with Buddha, loosen the cords that bind men so tightly to the earth, and master all other loves than the love of right and the love of love; and yet it will seek to organize right and love in the daily work of the world, and no service to man shall be so material or so low that it may not also be holy; it will, with Socrates, inspire to all science, but the darling effort of science shall be to find the way to those far and shining heights that shall be anew the object of the aspirations and worship of men—to ascertain the laws and true methods of advance. Under the stress of the new faith, wrought organically out of the present and the past, men will again look beyond themselves, will again be sanctified, will again feel a glow in the heart, and feel themselves happy in contributing ever so little to so divine a result.”
Certain it is that Mr. Estall was happy in his address to the combined Unitarian and Federated Icelandic Churches, on October 29, 1939. His subject was “A New World Order,” and he says: “I have never felt more inspired or free to speak without reservation of Bahá’u’lláh’s principles and plan for world regeneration.” About seventy-five Icelanders heard him, while the Icelandic weekly, Heimskringla, carried a three-column article on the Faith. Several other speaking dates resulted from this contact. Mr. Estall is most enthusiastic about these new friends, for, as he writes: “The Icelanders ... have a background of one thousand years of democracy and peace and it is evident in their lives
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Temple Model Displayed in Window of Red Bank Register, the Local Paper of Red Bank, N. J., 1939
which seem to have a strikingly noticeable spiritual refinement and integrity.”
His talk coincided with the publication
in Iceland of Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era, two pages of which arrived in
printer’s proof for the occasion! Mr.
Estall is also conducting a weekly study
class, has been asked to speak for the
Theosophical Society, and has again
resumed his business as manufacturer’s
agent.
The Regional Committee for Eastern Canada has forwarded a heartening account by Mrs. Emeric Sala of her visit to the Maritime Provinces from Nov. 14th to Dec. 8th. A highlight was her four-day stay in Halifax, N. S., where she was deeply impressed by the selfless devotion of our pioneers, Mrs. Beulah Proctor and her daughter Shirley. Each evening after work these two keep open house for all who wish to learn of the Faith, and there are many inquirers, especially as a result of the Halifax Exhibition. Other contacts are the officers from the warships in port. “As a naval base the city swarms with young French and English sailors. Beulah has contacted these young men over the counter. Though she is not permitted to speak of the Cause in the store, she invites them for tea ... She speaks of the Faith, giving them a Bahá’í book or pamphlet, writing in it the Greatest Name, explaining its meaning. She says, as I heard her say with such quiet dignity and spiritual power: ‘Call upon God by this Name if you should ever be in great danger and He will most assuredly help you. And if you must die, die with this word on your lips. You will be comforted and this comfort and protection will reach all those you love whom you leave behind.’ I was shown a grateful letter of thanks for her hospitality written by a young officer. Below his signature he had written, ‘Alláh’u’Abhá!’ Here in Beulah, as strong as her deep faith, is the safety-zone for Halifax ...”
Mrs. Sala then visited the Moncton, N. B., community. Three very active children’s groups (ages Five to fourteen), which include fourteen children, are led by three adults. The children celebrate the Feast days at their own meetings. Two members have had opportunities to teach the Faith as the fulfillment of the Bible, to Bible classes which they lead. “One of the ministers went so far as to say that should there be a fuller revelation of truth he did not wish to deprive his congregation or himself of it!” Mrs. Sala gave the initial talk to one of these groups. She also spoke for Moncton’s first public meeting. Part of the program was a panel discussion in which seven of the believers took part. Excellent publicity was obtained, one paper running well over a half-column.
The Committee also forwarded the report of a teaching visit to Sherbrooke last July, by Mr. Ernest Harrison and Mr. W. Suter, to contact two men who have been studying Bahá’í literature for some time. One of them has introduced the Faith to about fifty citizens of Sherbrooke, although he has had to work slowly because of the Church. The other is now ready to register as a believer.
In the far South our pioneers are progressing rapidly in New Orleans. Frederick Babo wrote on December 25th: “Last week I visited Dillard University and had a most interesting talk with the librarian and learned that the four Bahá’í books in the library are out most of the time ... The university is non-sectarian and the result of the contact was that the committee of public assemblies is going to act upon a lecture on the Bahá’í Movement before the entire student body ...” Mr. Babo, who is employed by a radio station as announcer, was able to broadcast Bahá’í radio scripts three nights a week for almost a month. This privilege was later withdrawn, but not until he had encouraging response from the audience. He and Mrs. Logelin are in close touch with the Theosophical group. They and Miss Berk have been recently reinforced by Eloise McAllister, a Bahá’í from Miami, to whom Mr. Babo was married on January 6th.
Louisville, Ky., has had several Bahá’í speakers this Fall through the help of Miss Virginia Taylor. These include Mr. and Mrs. Clarence La Rocque; Miss Davison, who spent a month in the city; Mrs. McCoy, Regional Committee member; and Mrs. Lorene Dustan of Cincinnati. A Bahá’í library has been established for the study class through a legacy from Mrs. Christine, to which the friends contributed in her memory.
Atlanta, Ga., now numbers seven believers, with a regular study class conducted by Mrs. Terah Smith. A lecture was scheduled for Mrs. Dorothy Baker on January 2nd.
Mrs. Emogene Hoagg has returned to Charleston, S. C., for the winter, while in Columbia, S. C., a weekly fireside has been started, since the arrival of Miss Maud Mickle and Miss Alta Wheeler, building on fine work done by a local believer, Mrs. Moore.
A Bahá’í Youth Group has been organized in Augusta, Ga., under the leadership of Miss Betty Shook. Many of these youth were first attracted to the Faith by Miss Alma Knobloch.
Recently a meeting was held in Chattanooga, Tenn., during the stay there of the Shetterlys. Several members of the Regional Committee for the South participated, and there are now seventeen contacts for future work.
Three new believers have registered in Raleigh, N. C., Mr. and Mrs. Harry Payne and Mrs. Elizabeth Bailey.
In Decatur, Alabama, Miss Martha Fettig, although closely confined by her
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work, is seeking radio openings and
maintaining contacts made there and in
Birmingham. She writes: “We do
need more pioneers in the South!”
Harold Hunt held the first of his weekly public classes in Huntington, W. Va., on December 21st.
Difficult business conditions have been the lot of Miss Nayan Hartfield in St. Louis, Mo.: “I will not be discouraged, however, and will continue in obedience to prayers.” Miss Opal Howell of Kansas City has spent a weekend in St. Louis, and several inquirers are studying the literature. The hardihood of our pioneers is reflected in these Words from Bahá’u’lláh, sent to us by Miss Hartfield: “It behoveth thee to consecrate thyself to the Will of God ... Do thou beseech God to enable thee to remain steadfast in this path, and to aid thee to guide the peoples of the world to Him Who is the manifest and sovereign Ruler....”
Winter in Alaska is no deterrent to our three Bahá’í heroines. Miss Janet Whitenack in Fairbanks has asked for literature and registration cards, as she anticipates a study group shortly. “The University Library near here and the Public Library have both agreed to place a set of Bahá’í books on their shelves. Through my bookstore, I think I shall have many opportunities to reach people who are ready to become believers when they understand the Faith. It will be a wonderful experience to me and I am looking forward to it eagerly.”
Miss Honor Kempton is deluged with opportunities to speak of the Faith in Anchorage. As proprietor of a bookshop she contributes a weekly article on books to The Alaskan and has been able to mention Bahá’í books occasionally; she has also spoken before the Women’s Club. At a formal dinner given by the U. S. Commissioner, she was able to discuss the Bahá’í view of racial prejudice, in connection with the move to bar Jewish refugees. She writes humorously: “Another thing is the surprise at myself—how positively fluent I am becoming in speaking of the Cause. I find myself waiting eagerly for a cue—it always comes ... It is a joyous experience and I am truly grateful for such privileges.” Several individuals are studying the Faith with deep attraction.
In Juneau Miss Betty Becker has been conducting a study group since early Fall; her problem is that regular residents are difficult to reach, and many of the students are transients. Two recent friends, however, have offered to arrange home meetings for her. On Christmas Day Miss Becker was invited to the Government Hospital for Indians, and a nurse there has taken literature to distribute. Other interesting contacts have included the President of the Federation of Women’s Clubs of Alaska, and the sister of Miss Green, former Bahá’í librarian of Juneau.
Teaching in Montana has had a renewed impetus this year. The Spiritual Assembly of Helena has opened a Bahá’í Center and sponsors weekly study classes which are well attended; a children’s class is also held. Arrangements have been made to exhibit the Temple model at the Placer Hotel. On November 3rd, six of the believers visited Butte for an inter-community day of great happiness to all. In October Harlan Ober did fine work in Helena. Mrs. Lorrol Jackson is carrying forward her indefatigable teaching in Butte and reports that a two-weeks’ book display in a downtown window has resulted in a number of inquiries.
Six new students of the Faith formed a study class last Fall in Laramie, Wyo., according to Raphael Lillywhite. Two of these have since asked to register as believers. There are already three adult believers in this city. Mr. Lillywhite is also assisting two students in Walden, Colo., with literature.
Mrs. Kathryn Frankland has returned to Texas and is now in San Antonio, where Mrs. W. C. Nichols is working with her for the establishment of a Bahá’í Group. Mrs. Mary Edson has established her home in Houston.
The Assembly in Albuquerque, N. M., was active even through the summer months, when three weekly classes were conducted by Dr. Lenore Morris. Six of the believers visited the Bressetts in Las Vegas for a fireside meeting in the Fall. Listing in the Religious Directory of the University of New Mexico has been obtained.
Several travelling teachers have sent most interesting reports, only the highlights of which can be summarized in our allotted space. Mrs. Ruth Moffett advised us in September that she had just given a series of lectures in Eagle River and had organized a youth group of twelve members. Somewhat earlier she placed Bahá’í books in the public libraries of Independence, Waterloo, Des Moines, Rhinelander, and Eagle River, presenting book reviews in each case to the librarians and local newspapers.
During the past months Miss Alma Knobloch has worked intensively in Georgia, at Augusta and Forest Hill; and in South Carolina, at Columbia, Spartonburg, Greenville, and North Augusta. She has been especially successful with youth in several of these communities.
During 1939 Miss Beatrice Irwin has assisted in the public teaching work of many Assemblies throughout the United States, particularly in New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Washington, Baltimore, Wilmette, and California. Twenty-one talks were given in the East. She is at present in Southern California, where she has been able to contact several important men.
Mr. Louis Gregory was able to lend his support to innumerable communities, during his journey to and from San Francisco for the October meeting of the National Spiritual Assembly. Talks were given in the Bay Region, Southern California, Denver, Kansas City, Evansville, West Virginia, and Philadelphia. He has recently spent some time in Wilmington, Del., where he addressed the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and spoke for three firesides in the Kalantar home.
From Fairbanks to New Orleans, and from Halifax to San Francisco, the followers of Bahá’u’lláh on this continent are pressing forward with unprecedented ardor and concentration. While the reports of this mighty effort must arouse, in each one of us, a certain confidence, our overwhelming sense is of humility, in the face of such responsibilities as only the Guardian can adequately describe: “What the American believers have, within the space of almost fifty years, achieved is infinitesimal when compared to the magnitude of the tasks ahead of them. The rumblings of that catastrophic upheaval, which is to proclaim, at one and the same time, the death-pangs of the old order and the birth-pangs of the new, indicate both the steady approach, as well as the awe-inspiring character, of those tasks.” (Advent of Divine Justice, page 9).
AFIELD WITH OUR REGIONALS[edit]
II. New England[edit]
The Regional Committee for Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island, consisting of Mrs. Amelia Bowman, Secretary, Mrs. Florence Morton, Mrs. Elsa Isaacs, Mrs. H. Chamberlain, Mr. Charles Paul, Mr. Duncan MacAlear, Mr. Lou Keller, and Miss Marjorie
[Page 8]
Wheeler, listed at its business meeting
in September fourteen Groups and
twenty isolated believers. Seven of
these Groups had been newly organized since summer: Portsmouth, Dover,
Salmon Falls, Portland, Providence,
Norwich, and West Haven. This rapid
expansion can be traced to the Committee’s constant emphasis on the importance of teaching in one’s own city.
As a consequence, many believers who
had been traveling from forty to sixty
miles as members of nearby communities, determined to pioneer at home;
the election of a Spiritual Assembly in
West Haven this April will be a major
result.
As its chief function, the Committee determined to aid these local Groups in several specific ways:
- By making available a series of four lectures, as follows: October—“The Pathway to Peace and Freedom”; November—“The Torch of Divine Guidance”; December—“The Promise of All Ages”; and January—“The Promised Kingdom”. We quote from the letter of announcement: “In these four talks it is hoped the entire picture of the New World Order will be unfolded and many new inquirers listening to these talks will be attracted to study and investigate and get a glimpse of the wonderful vision we have of the future, and ‘the approach of that recreated society, that Christ-promised Kingdom’.”
- By cooperation in arrangements for exhibits of the Temple model.
- By correspondence throughout the year. The first general letter, outlining these plans, was mailed to twenty-two believers and Groups on October 5th, and brought immediate replies.
The circuit of the Temple model throughout New England was most ably executed. During October the model was exhibited in Providence, R. I., in the Simmons Florist Shop, surrounded by a Persian garden; it attracted such notice that the proprietor was enthusiastic in his praise and assisted in publicity. It was then displayed at the Library in West Haven, Conn., from October 26th to November 3rd, “beautifully decorated with smilax and white asters and Bahá’í books encircling it.” Rutland, Vt., arranged the next exhibit, followed by Keene, N. H., in November. During the first week of December it was placed in a Nature Food Store in Springfield, Mass., and was then moved to Boston, to be exhibited at the Bahá’í Center until January 2nd. Portsmouth, N. H., next had the model for two weeks. Future plans include stops in Dover, N. H., Portland and Bangor, Me.
The Committee has been active in many other ways as well. Its plan for Vermont included placement of twenty-five copies of Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era in public libraries by Duncan MacAlear, who had previously carried out a similar project for the Library Committee in twelve libraries of New Hampshire. “Inasmuch as we hope in the future to have some radio broadcasts this seems very important groundwork to be done, for surely those who are interested will turn to their libraries for information too.”
Another successful enterprise has been the arrangement of Inter-Community Conferences, at Worcester in May, Springfield on June 18th, and Green Acre the last week of August (a Regional Teaching Conference). Then in November, the pioneers of Providence and Rutland met with the Salmon Falls Group, after which a second meeting was scheduled in Portsmouth, which all these friends attended.
The Committee is also undertaking to write to each name forwarded from the New York World’s Fair Exhibit.
An impressive feature of the work in this Region is the Committee’s effort to keep every believer, no matter how isolated, closely in touch with the activities of his fellows and the progress of the Cause. Many letters have been sent, informing the friends of the year’s plans, the services available through the Committee, asking them to correspond with pioneers, advising them of the Green Acre program, and of the New York Regional Conference and Louhelen Winter School. Full cooperation was extended to the National Radio Committee, whose chairman is also a Regional member, and the Green Acre Summer School was made to play a central role in the development of the entire area. As a direct result of attendance at School, three believers enrolled in Rhode Island, a pioneer state, and three in Portsmouth, to form new Groups.
No Committee has given more thoughtful consideration to the needs of pioneers; Miss Neysa Bissell and Mr. and Mrs. Don McNally have received every help and encouragement, and the remarkable growth of the Faith in Rhode Island, particularly, is attributable in a large measure to the cooperation between the pioneer teachers and the Regional Committee.
In estimating the accomplishment this year, it is plain that the New England Committee has excelled in spreading the Cause to new areas, through radio, publicity, library placements, and public or fireside talks. In addition, it has, through the consolidation of Bahá’í Groups, laid the foundation for future teaching and Administration, the uses of which must needs increase through such effective labors.
“Praise be to God, that the Northeastern states are in the utmost capacity. Because the ground is rich, the rain of the divine outpouring is descending. Now you must become heavenly farmers and scatter pure seeds in the prepared soil. The harvest of every other seed is limited, but the bounty and the blessing of the seed of the Divine Teachings is unlimited. Throughout the coming centuries and cycles many harvests will be gathered.”
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá in The Divine Plan.)
INTER-AMERICA TEACHING ACTIVITIES[edit]
From the Mexican Assembly comes our first copy of Bahá’í News in Spanish, (Novedades Bahá’ís). It is a six-page illustrated chronicle of their activities, which will be translated and sent to the Assemblies. We congratulate them on this splendid achievement.
They have recently entertained Clarence Iverson and his mother, and previous visits have been made by Miss Maria Bertha Bohman of Chicago, Illinois, Gerrard Sluter, and Antonio Roca. Printing, translating, and teaching takes all their time. Maria Luz Guinchard is planning to teach in Guadalapora, Jalisco, Mexico.
Mr. Gerrard Sluter writes that he is greatly restricted by governmental rules. He has been informed recently that no outsider can obtain employment in Guatemala, nor has he secured the hoped-for permission to hold public meetings, but he is carrying on his work in the Theosophical Society, which is naturally difficult.
It may be remembered that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá prophesied of the pioneers, “Many a test will be visited upon you. Troubles will befall you, and suffering afflict you.”
From San Salvador, where John Eichenauer, Jr., is in charge, comes overwhelming news. He has eleven Central American believers and our first Central American Indian. For the formation of an Assembly, he is awaiting Clarence Iverson of Phoenix, Arizona, who expected to arrive in San Salvador by January first.
Antonio Roca of Tegucigalpa, Honduras,
[Page 9]
hoped to display a Temple model
at the National Industrial Exposition,
but due to the character of the exhibit,
he could not accomplish it, so he had a
picture painted of the Temple, 3x5 feet.
This he has promised to photograph
and send to us.
To Nicaragua Mr. Mathew Kaszab was sent. On the Pacific Coast are two cities, Managua and Granada, separated only by thirty-five miles. He found these cities backward with illiteracy predominating, the people with no clothes, nor proper environment. By bus he crossed to Bluefields on the Atlantic side to look over the teaching field. His address is, care of Anna Crowdell, Bluefield, Nicaragua.
| OPPORTUNITY PRICELESS
—SHOGHI RABBANI.
Cablegram received December 26, 1939. |
Miss Gayle Woolson, 235 Fuller Avenue, St. Paul, Minnesota, has at last started for Costa Rica, where she will be joined by Mrs. Amelia Ford.
From Mrs. Louise Caswell and Mrs. Cora Hitt Oliver, who are attending the University of Panama, we have excellent reports: great interest in the faculty in the University; a recent trip throughout the Canal Zone; and the initial step taken towards a journey into the interior to teach the Indians.
Miss Margaret Lentz has reached her post in San Domingo, where her address is Pension Marti, Avenida Independencia 115, Ciudad Trujillo, Santa Domingo R. D., West Indies. She spent three days with Mr. and Mrs. Phillip Marangella in Cuba, where they are enthusiastically teaching the Faith.
Mr. and Mrs. Shaw from San Francisco are now in Jamaica. Their address is 45 Shorwood Drive, Constance Spring P. O., Jamaica.
Letters have been received from South America from Sr. Tormo in which he speaks of the growing group. Wilfrid Barton has been visiting Buenos Aires and will now return to Montevideo. Mrs. Stewart has given us an address, Mr. Charles O’Hanion in Rio de Janeiro, who will, she thinks, act as an agent in sending books through to Montevideo and Buenos Aires. Mr. Filipac took three Bahá’í Worlds on his recent trip to the city of Rio de Janeiro. He finds it difficult to get packages and books farther. Miss Leonora Holsapple has left Bahia to teach throughout Brazil. Mr. Wilfrid Barton of Winnetka, Illinois, has paid a visit to our group in Buenos Aires. He reports most enthusiastic and active teaching work. We have in Mr. Salvador Tormo a cultivated and very spiritual man in whom we have great confidence as a leader.
Loulie A. Mathews, Chairman.
FIRST MEETING IN HAZÍRATU’L-QUDS[edit]
The first meeting of the National Spiritual Assembly in its new National Office or Hazíratu’l-Quds took place on January 20, 21 and 22, 1940, and in order to give suitable recognition to the occasion in the light of the Guardian’s words concerning the conjunction of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár and Hazíratu’l-Quds, the members of the National Spiritual Assembly carried out a special program of readings. The first part of this program was conducted in the National Office, and the second part in the Auditorium of the House of Worship, on Saturday morning. On Sunday morning, the Regional Conference being held in the Foundation Hall added its prayers to those already recited in celebration of the new establishment.
This program of readings will be compiled and issued to the Assemblies and groups as a memorial of the occasion.
BAHÁ’Í CALENDAR[edit]
Under this title in Bahá’í News hereafter, the National Spiritual Assembly will list all Feasts, Anniversaries, National and Regional Meetings for the period of two months beginning with the date on that issue of Bahá’í News. For example, in the present issue dated February, 1940, the Calendar lists all events of February and March.
Since it would not be feasible to include meetings of a merely local character, the regional classification will cover all meetings which concern three or more neighboring local Assemblies (Inter-Assembly meetings) as well as all such regional meetings as concern the entire area of any region.
National Committees, Regional Committees and local Assemblies should report items for the Bahá’í Calendar by the twentieth of the month preceding date of issue (i. e., February 20 for March, March 20 for April, etc.).
Nineteen Day Feasts: February 7, Dominion; March 2, Loftiness; March 21, Splendor.
Anniversary: March 21, Feast of Naw-Ruz.
Period of Fasting: Nineteen days beginning March 2.
Meeting of the National Spiritual Assembly: February 23, 24, 25, 536 Sheridan Road, Wilmette; March 29, 30, 31, West Englewood, N. J.
TRUTH AND RUMOR[edit]
A society as large and diversified as the American Bahá’í Community will from time to time inevitably encounter the problem of rumors about happenings and personalities.
The National Assembly points out that there is a way by which every believer can determine whether a story involving the Cause is true or false. Through what channel has the story come? If international in scope, then the only authentic source of information is the Guardian. If national, the channel is the National Assembly. If local, it is the local Assembly.
By applying this simple test, believers can concentrate upon fact and truth and avoid the waste of energy which results from reliance upon unfounded rumor and gossip.
EXPLANATION OF TRANSFER OF MEMBERSHIP[edit]
Questions are frequently asked about the details of the proper transfer of membership when a believer changes his residence.
1. From a community to a community. When a believer moves from a
[Page 10]
city which has a Spiritual Assembly to
another city which also has an Assembly, his local Assembly of the city he
is leaving should give him a letter addressed to the Spiritual Assembly of
the city where he is establishing his
residence, certifying that he has been
a voting member of that community.
This letter enables the Spiritual Assembly in the city of his new residence
to enroll him as a voting member without questioning his Bahá’í status. Both
the Assemblies concerned in such transfers should report them to the National
Assembly.
2. From a community to the isolated list. When a believer moves from a city which has a Spiritual Assembly to a city which has no Assembly, his Assembly should report this fact to the National Assembly, and give the believer’s new permanent address. The National Assembly then requests the Teaching Committee to send the believer an enrollment card applying for recognition as an isolated believer. When the record is completed, the believer will receive Bahá’í News from the National Assembly direct. In this connection the word “isolated” is used whether the believer is alone in the city or whether the city has a group. The Local Assembly is to report this transfer to the National Assembly.
| PRAYING VICTORY
(Signed) SHOGHI RABEANI.
|
3. From the isolated list to a community. Any believer moving into a city which has a Spiritual Assembly, should apply to the National Assembly for a letter certifying that he has been enrolled as an isolated believer, and this letter when presented to the local Assembly will enable the Assembly to enroll the believer as voting member of the community without questioning his Bahá’í status. The Local Assembly is to report this transfer to the National Assembly.
4. Travelling believers. A travelling believer should carry credentials from his local Assembly if he is a voting member of an organized community, or from the National Assembly if an isolated believer. All American Bahá’ís, however, who travel outside the United States and Canada, should have credentials from the National Assembly. Travelling believers, if members of an organized community, receive their copies of Bahá’í News from their own local Assembly; if isolated, from the National Assembly.
BOOKS ON RACE RELATIONS[edit]
“O contending peoples and kindreds of the earth! Set your faces towards unity, and let the radiance of its light shine upon you. Gather ye together, and for the sake of God resolve to root out whatever in the source of contention amongst you. Then will the effulgence of the world’s great Luminary envelop the whole earth, and its inhabitants become the citizens of one city, and the occupants of the same throne ... There can be no doubt whatever that the peoples of the world, of whatever race or religion, derive their inspiration from one heavenly Source, and are the subjects of one God.”
- —BAHÁ’U’LLÁH, Gleanings, p. 217.
The need for racial unity is perhaps
more apparent today than at any other
time in the world’s history. Bahá’ís
everywhere are engaged in working for
true brotherhood among all the races
of the world. In our work we discover
that one of the biggest obstacles to
understanding between the various
races is ignorance of each other. The
White race knows very little about the
actual accomplishments of the Negro
race. The Yellow race is uninformed
about the achievements of the White
race. It is believed by many students
of race problems that greater harmony
and good-will cannot exist between the
various races until they are better acquainted with each other’s peculiar
cultures. We must study the background, history, progress, accomplishments, and peculiar problems of every
race. Only then can we achieve a deep
and lasting appreciation for each other.
Only then will we have a strong foundation on which to build race unity.
We are fortunate today to have many books from which we can learn much about other races. This month we shall mention a few books which will give us considerable insight into the Negro race.
In a small book called Negro Americans What Now? by James Weldon Johnson, the author calls attention to the fact that white people must be educated to an understanding of their Negro brothers. These are his words: “The ignorance of white people concerning us constitutes one of our greatest obstacles.—The greater part of white America thinks of us in stereotypes; most of these stereotypes coming to them second-hand by way of the representation of Negro life and character on the stage and in certain books. In the main they are exaggerated, false, and entirely unlike our real selves ... White people must be educated. They must be taught the truth about us ... White America must not only be made thoroughly conscious of the handicaps, injustices, and wrongs under which Negro Americans struggle, it must also be made familiar with the elements of strength and of excellency possessed by the race. And white Americans must learn not only about the material but also about the artistic and spiritual contributions that Negro Americans have made to our common cultural store.”*
In the book the Negro Genius by Benjamin Brawley we get a good picture of the artistic and spiritual contributions of the Negro race. Mr. Brawley describes the works of Paul Lawrence Dunbar, William S. Braithwaite, W. E. C. DuBois, Countee Cullen, Roland Hayes, Marian Anderson, and other Negroes of rare talent and genius. Race Relations by W. D. Weatherford and C. S. Johnson is a large volume giving many concrete facts and statistics about the achievements of the Negro people. The following paragraph telling of their recent progress is an example of what may be gleaned from this book: “In 1863, the year of emancipation, from between 8 to 15% of the Negroes were able to read and write. In 1930, less than 18% were unable to read and write. In 1870 there were 3,300 schools for Negroes with 149,581 pupils enrolled. In 1930 in eight southern states there were in the public elementary schools 2,133,353 Negro students, in the high schools, 106,275, and in the colleges approximately 25,000. In 1911 there were 5,000 Negro graduates of colleges and nine doctors of philosophy; in 1933, the number of these graduates had mounted to 16,000 and the doctorates in philosophy to 90. There are 89 Negroes listed in Who’s Who in America. Up to 1930 Phi Beta Kappa had elected 116 Negroes to membership. Since 1890 the number of Negroes in the
_____
* Johnson, J. W., Negro Americans What Now? pp. 52, 53.
[Page 11]
professional class had increased from
32,879 to 137,263, or 417.4%. This
number includes 3,805 doctors, 56,829
teachers, 430 artists and art teachers,
210 librarians, and 425 authors and
editors.†
America’s Tenth Man (published by Conference on Education and Race Relations, 710 Standard Building, Atlanta, Georgia) is a pamphlet describing the Negro’s part in American history. Figures are given showing what advancement Negroes have made in the Fields of industry, education, business, religion, music, literature, art, and health. This is a pamphlet which every Bahá’í should own.
What the Negro Thinks by R. R. Moton is a very poignant portrayal of the discriminations, insults, humiliations, and abuses suffered daily by Negroes in theatres, restaurants, barber shops, hotels, and swimming pools. In politics, housing, employment, law courts, and in government, they are not given their full rights as American citizens. Likewise in railroads, street cars, elevators, waiting rooms, the Negro is usually given poorer accommodations than white travellers. Moton makes us aware of the problems of the Negroes. We cannot overlook these, but rather we must be informed of them and then strive to correct them.
It is the hope of the Race Unity committee that every Bahá’í will be stimulated to read some of these books.
Bahá’u’lláh says: “Close your eyes to racial differences, and welcome all with the light of oneness.”
PARENTS AND TEACHERS[edit]
Books Around the World[edit]
“The world is one country, and mankind its citizens.”
This month we have received from Miss Flora Hottes of Kenosha a well-selected book list. “For at least ten years or more,” writes Miss Hottes, “children’s books have been reflecting, in ever-increasing measure, the deepening world awareness of the fundamental unity of human kind. Now, a great and growing number of children’s books, dealing with life in different countries, are real story books of high literary merit, exquisitely illustrated. These depict, with sympathetic knowledge, the racial spirit, national cultures, and religious faiths, not as antagonistic, but as essentially human and fundamentally similar. This is indeed a sign of the times.”
_____
† Weatherford & Johnson, Race Relations, pp. 454, 455.
COUNTRY |
AUTHOR |
BOOK
|
| AFRICA | *Singer | Boomba Lives in Africa |
| Stevens | Lion Boy | |
| ALASKA, | Mallette (Alaska) | Chee-cha-ko |
| and points FARTHEST | ||
| NORTH | *Sperry (North) | One Day with Tuktu |
| and SOUTH | *Carroll (South) | Luck of the Roll and Go |
| ARABIA | French | Lance of Kanana |
| AUSTRALIA | Ross | Back of Time |
| *Wiese | Buddy the Bear | |
| AUSTRIA | *Bemelmans | Hansi |
| *Morley | Donkey John of the Toy Valley | |
| BALKANS | Davies | Boy in Serbia |
| Dragoumis | Under Greek Skies | |
| Miller | Pran of Albania | |
| Miller | Young Trajan (Rumania) | |
| Shannon | Dobry (Bulgaria) | |
| CANADA | *De Angeli | Petite Suzanne |
| O’Brien | Silver Chief | |
| CHINA | *Handforth | Mei-Li |
| Hollister | Beggars of Dreams | |
| CZECHO- | Hess | Castle Camp |
| SLOVAKIA | *Trinka | Jenik and Marenka |
| ENGLAND | Kipling | Stalky and Co. |
| Ransome | Swallows and Amazons | |
| FINLAND | Adams | Vaino, Boy of New Finland |
| FRANCE | Brink | Anything Can Happen on the River |
| *Emerson | Jacques at the Window | |
| GERMANY | *Hill | Rudi of the Toll-Gate |
| Peck | Young Germany | |
| HUNGARY | *Petersham | Miki |
| Seredy | Good Master | |
| INDIA | *Bose | Totaram, a Village Boy |
| Mukerji | Jungle Beasts and Men | |
| IRAN | *Singer | Ali Lives in Iran |
| Ratzesberger | Jasmine | |
| IRAQ | *Ratzesberger | Camel Bells |
| ITALY | Angelo | Nino |
| *Wheeler | Giotto Tended the Sheep | |
| JAPAN | Coatsworth | Cat Who Went to Heaven |
| *Wood | Great Sweeping Day | |
| MEXICO | *Bannon | Manuela’s Birthday |
| *Simon | Popo’s Miracle | |
| NETHERLANDS | Troelstra | Afke’s Ten |
| *Van Stockum | Day on Skates | |
| PALESTINE and | Rihbany | Hidden Treasure of Rasmola |
| SYRIA | Rubinstein | Adventuring in Palestine |
| POLAND | Kellogg | Girl Who Ruled a Kingdom |
| *Kelly | Christmas Nightingale | |
| RUSSIA (U.S.S.R.) | Daugherty | Broken Song |
| Fischer | Palaces on Monday | |
| SCANDINAVIA | Burglon (Sweden) | Children of the Soil |
| *D’Aulaire | Children of the Northlights | |
| Hamsun | Norwegian Farm | |
| Owen | Denmark Caravan | |
| SCOTLAND | Atkinson | Greyfriars’ Bobby |
| *Leaf | Wee Gillis | |
| SOUTH AMERICA | *Steen | Red Jungle Boy |
| Tschiffely | Tales of Two Horses | |
| SPAIN | Irving | Tales from the Alhambra |
| Sawyer | Tono Antonio | |
| SWITZERLAND | Cormack | Jacques the Goat-Herd |
| *Spyri | Heidi |
_____
* Books for younger children, through fourth grade.
COUNTRY |
AUTHOR |
BOOK
|
| UNITED STATES of | *Peck | Young Americans from Many |
| America | Lands | |
| *Kyser | ||
| (Afro-Americans) | Little Cumsee in Dixie | |
| Means | ||
| (Afro-Americans) | Shuttered Windows | |
| *Buff (Indians | Dancing Cloud | |
| *Sperry America) | Little Eagle | |
| *Stong (north) | Honk, the Moose | |
| Govan (south) | Those Plummer Children | |
| Waller (east) | Daughter of the Rich | |
| *Wilder (middle west) | Little House on the Prairie | |
| James (west) | Smoky |
| ONE GREAT FELLOWSHIP | |
| Cottler | Heroes of Civilization |
| Hagedorn | Book of Courage |
| Hulbert | Cease Firing |
| Taylor | Men Are Brothers |
_____
* Books for younger children, through fourth grade.
PUBLIC MEETING AND REGIONAL CONFERENCE[edit]
The concluding public meeting and regional conference of the current Bahá’í year were conducted by the National Spiritual Assembly with the assistance and cooperation of the Spiritual Assembly of Chicago on January 19 and 21, 1940.
The public meeting was held in Kimball Recital Hall, 306 South Wabash Avenue, Chicago. The program, under the title of “World Crisis and Universal Peace,” included a talk on “The Spirit of the Americas” by Mrs. Dorothy Baker; on “Religion Plays Its Part” by Leroy Ioas; and on “The Structure of World Peace” by Louis G. Gregory. Harlan Ober presided as chairman of the meeting. A large audience of Bahá’ís and non-Bahá’ís, the former from many different cities, contributed to the spiritual importance of the occasion.
The Regional Conference was held in Temple Foundation Hall, Sunday, January 21, from 10:00 A. M. to 1:00 P. M., Miss Sophie Loeding presiding. Among the subjects considered were: Teaching (Community, Pioneer, Regional, Youth); and National Fund in relation to the aims of the Seven Year Plan. Despite the severe weather, Assemblies, groups and isolated believers in the area were well represented. Each topic was first briefly presented by a chosen representative, then opened for general discussion.
I, MARY MAGDALEN[edit]
| “THE SPIRITUAL POTENCIES OF THAT CONSECRATED SPOT”
|
| NOTICE TO DELEGATES
|
| ANNUAL COMMITTEE REPORTS
|
The friends are informed that the book by Juliet Thompson, references to which by Shoghi Effendi have previously appeared in Bahá’í News, will be published during February, 1940, by Delphic Studios, New York.
Orders may be placed through the Bahá’í Publishing Committee at the Pre-publication subscription of $2.50 per copy.
As long ago as July 31, 1935, the Guardian wrote Miss Thompson through his secretary: “Shoghi Effendi is pleased indeed to learn of the possibilities of having this work published very soon. Its importance, as he has already assured you, as an indirect medium for the spread of the Teachings is very great and will surely be appreciated by the believers. It is hoped that with their whole-hearted support and cooperation this little volume will reach many circles and will serve to draw the attention of many distinguished and spiritually-minded people towards the beauty, power and effectiveness of the Message.”
IN MEMORIAM[edit]
Death proffereth unto every confident believer the cup that is life indeed. It bestoweth joy, and is the bearer of gladness. It confereth the gift of everlasting life.—BAHÁ’U’LLÁH.
- Mr. Walter L. Bacon, Jacksonville.
- Mrs. Harry Prutting, Brooklyn.
- Mrs. Grace Krug, New York.
- Mrs. Lura Ackerman, Montclair.
- Mr. Magnus Poulson, Racine.
- Mrs. Cora Reed, Lansing.
- Mrs. Fannie Gadson Tombs, Augusta.
- Dr. Elizabeth Ambrose, Washington, D. C.
- Dr. Clara Sterling, Chicago.
- Mr. J. H. Pacquin, San Francisco.
- Mr. George E. Ostburg, Boston.
ENROLLMENTS AND TRANSFERS[edit]
Miami, four. Los Angeles, sixteen and one youth. Chicago, seven. San Francisco, six. New York, seven. St. Lambert, one and one youth. Muskegon, one. East Cleveland, one. Washington, one. Cabin John, one. Augusta, one. Binghamton, three. Helena, four. Indianapolis, one. Jacksonville, one. Milwaukee, one. Pasadena, one youth.
