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March, 1943
Bahá’í Era
| BAHÁ'Í |  |
NEWS |
Messages From the Guardian[edit]
1. To the N.S.A.
Door and valued co-workers:
The recent response of the American friends to my appeal for pioneers to go forth and settle in virgin territories and places where the need is greatest has raised a load from my heart, and mightily reinforced the hopes and expectations which their past achievements have aroused within me. We stand at the threshold of the last year of the first Bahá’í century. The unfinished tasks, however much they have been reduced, are still formidable. The Temple is as yet unfinished. The initiation of a nation-wide publicity campaign, intelligently directed and energetically pursued, utilizing to the full the advantages gained in recent years in so many fields of Bahá’í activity still remains to be undertaken. Measures for a befitting celebration of the centennial anniversary of the Faith must be carefully considered and duly executed. The aims and purposes of our beloved Cause, the achievements of its heroes, martyrs, teachers, pioneers and administrators, the unity of its followers, the character of the institutions they have reared, should, one and all, be ably presented, widely broadcast, carefully explained in publications, through the radio and the press. There is no time to lose. A great responsibility rests on the elected representatives of the most envied community in the Bahá’í world, whose advantages are unique, whose capacities are incomparable, whose vision, courage, tenacity, resolution and loyalty are exemplary; which has amply demonstrated its worthiness to be the recipients of the countless favors showered upon it by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, and of the specific bounty conferred upon the rulers and presidents of the continent of which it is a part by no one less than Bahá’u’lláh Himself, in His Most Holy Book. To His “Apostles,” as testified by the Center of His Covenant, I direct my fervent plea that they establish, beyond the shadow of a doubt, in these concluding months of the first Bahá’í century, their indisputable right to be designated by so exalted a title, and vindicate their ability to execute the mission with which that title has invested them.
January 8, 1943
The following passages were written by the Guardian through his Secretary, in the same communication of January 8:—
The Guardian approves the using of the words of the Bahá’í marriage service by the believers in communities which have not acquired the legal capacity to conduct a marriage ceremony, provided it does not become an established rule, to be rigidly carried out by the Bahá’ís.
At the present time, when he is weighed down with his own cares and problems, the determination and devotion, loyalty and enthusiasm manifested by the American believers greatly helps and sustains him. He is praying for unprecedented victories to crown their labors, and he feels certain that, in these remaining months, before the Century draws to a close, your Assembly, as well as the believers, will rise to such heights of service as shall befittingly crown their past labors and bring the century to a successful consummation.
The following excerpt is from a letter written by the Guardian, through his secretary, on January 30, 1943:—
He does not feel that the Bahá’í News letter, published monthly for the information of the Bahá’ís, should be reduced in size, as it is read with deep interest by the believers everywhere, and the information it contains of the activities of the friends is a great stimulus to the work everywhere.
The re-establishment of disbanded Spiritual Assemblies in States and Provinces already possessing an Assembly forms no part of the Seven Year Plan. Concentrate attention and resources on virgin territories.— February 8, 1943.
Temple pamphlet received. Highly satisfactory. Deepest appreciation. Advise widest distribution to the public and to Bahá’í Centers of East and West. — March 1, 1943.
The two preceding messages were signed by the Guardian.
2. To Individual Believers
The following excerpts are from letters written by the Guardian through his secretary to individual believers, and are reprinted with the Guardian’s consent.
“This Cause, although it embraces with equal esteem people of all ages, has a special message and mission for the youth of your generation. It is their charter for their future, their hope, their guarantee of better days to come. Therefore the Guardian is especially happy that the young Bahá’ís are active in the pioneer work.”
“The formation of your first Spiritual Assembly in Honduras was a source of great joy to him, and he hopes that you will do all in your power to strengthen it and help it to function smoothly. It is the nucleus of all community life, and requires often adjustment and sacrifice from all concerned, until they learn how to function according to the higher laws of Bahá’u’lláh.
“The Guardian found the publicity you had received very sympathetic in tone. If the South Americans have the courtesy, kindness, and warmth expressed in these papers, as well as the deep capacity for faith and steadfastness, so characteristic of the Latins, they should indeed make wonderful Bahá’ís.
“The Guardian would advise you
to be very careful about associating
with Orientals and preferably avoid
them. They are sometimes connected
with Covenant-breakers, whether
they know it or not, such as one of
those whom you mention in your letter,
[Page 2]
who is the son-in-law of a well known
Covenant-breaker here.”—To
John Eichenauer, Jr., June 16, 1942.
“Regarding the whole manner of teaching the Faith in the South: the Guardian feels that, although the greatest consideration should be shown the feelings of white people in the South whom we are teaching, under no circumstances should we discriminate in their favor, consider them more valuable to the Cause than their Negro fellow-southerners, or single them out to be taught the Message first.” To pursue such a policy, however necessary and even desirable, it may superficially seem, would be to compromise the true spirit of our Faith, which permits us to make no such distinctions in offerings its tenets to the world. The Negro and white races should be offered, simultaneously, on a basis of equality, the Message of Bahá’u’lláh. Rich or poor, known or unknown, should be permitted to hear of this Holy Faith in this, humanity’s greatest hour of need.
“This does not mean that we should go against the laws of the state, pursue a radical course which will stir up trouble, and cause misunderstanding. On the contrary, the Guardian feels that, where no other course is open, the two races should be taught separately until they are fully conscious of the implications of being a Bahá’í, and then be confirmed and admitted to voting membership. Once, however, this has happened, they cannot shun each other’s company, and feel the Cause to be like other Faiths in the South, with separate white and black compartments.
“Even in places where the two races can meet together in the South, he feels it would be, in certain cases, preferable to teach them separately until they are fully confirmed and then bring them together.
“ ‘Abdu’l-Bahá Himself set the perfect example to the American believers in this matter — as in every other. He was tactful, but the essence of courage, and showed no favoritism to the white people as opposed to their dark-skinned compatriots. No matter how sincere and devoted the white believers of the South may be, there is no reason why they should be the ones to decide when and how the Negro Southerner shall hear of the Cause of God; both must be taught by whoever rises to spread the Message in those parts.” — To Mrs. Mabel Ives, July 5, 1942.
“Now that they (the American believers) have erected the administrative machinery of the Cause they must put it to its real use — serving only as an instrument to facilitate the flow of the spirit of the Faith out into the world. Just as the muscles enable the body to carry out the will of the individual, all Assemblies and Committees must enable the believers to carry forth the Message of God to the waiting public, the love of Bahá’u’lláh, and the healing laws and principles of the Faith to all men.” — To Eleanor Kepfer, July 6, 1942.
“Deep as are family ties, we must always remember that the spiritual ties are far deeper; they are everlasting and survive death, whereas physical ties, unless supported by spiritual bonds, are confined to this life. You should do all in your power, through prayer and example, to open the eyes of your family to the Bahá’í Faith, but do not grieve too much over their actions. Turn to your Bahá’í brothers and sisters who are living with you in the light of the Kingdom.
“Indeed, the believers have not yet fully learned to draw on each other’s strength and consolation in time of need. The Cause of God is endowed with tremendous powers, and the reason the believers do not gain more from it is because they have not learned to draw fully on these mighty forces of love and strength and harmony generated by the Faith.” — To Roan Orloff, received July 31, 1942.
This Crucial Year[edit]
Progress Report No. 7 Issued by the National Spiritual Assembly for the period February 1-28, 1943
40. The reports of membership in the local communities received from the local Assemblies in connection with the Annual Convention provide an occasion for presenting important statistical information concerning the American Bahá’í Community. The following data may be compared with the figures presented in the bulletin entitled “Teaching in North America” published as an insert in Bahá’í News of January, 1942. To simplify the statistics, they are presented in several classifications, as follows:
A. As of the end of February, 1943, there are 98 Spiritual Assemblies in the United States and Canada with communities qualified for representation in the Thirty-Fifth Annual Convention.
B. The entire membership reported by these 98 Assemblies is 2662, representing the adult, voting Bahá’ís.
C. The number of isolated Bahá’ís—believers, not associated by residence with other believers, and therefore not part of even a small group—is 984.
D. The total number of believers who at the end of February were members of local groups of various sizes is 932.
E. The total number of groups (from two believers up) is 220.
F. To show the make-up of the groups from the point of view of their relative numbers, we have the following data:
Number of groups with minimum of two believers, 67; with three believers, 46; with four believers, 27; with five believers, 24; with six believers, 17; with seven believers, 13; with eight believers, 12.
G. The number of groups with nine or more Bahá’ís, thus qualified to form an Assembly on April 21, is 14. These groups are located as follows: Portsmouth, N. H., Brookline, Mass., Akron, Ohio, Wilmington, Del., Louisville, Ky., Pittsburgh, Pa., Maywood, Ill., Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Green Bay, Wisc., Colorado Springs and Denver, Colo., Albuquerque, N. M., Burbank and Huntington Park, Calif.
H. The point of teaching concentration is in the key or goal cities, the cities where an Assembly is to be formed before the end of the Seven Year Plan so that there may be at least one Assembly in every State and Province of North America. The following list shows the present status of these vitally important groups:
| State or Province | Bahá’í Group | ||
| Alabama | Birminghnm, 8; | ||
| Tuskegee, 8; | |||
| Alaska | Anchorage, 4 | ||
| Alberta | Calgary, 5; Edmonton, 7 | ||
| Saskatchewan | Carmichael, 1; | ||
| Saskatoon, 1 | |||
| Prince Ed. Is | Charlottetown, 1 | ||
| Arkansas | Little Rock, 6; | ||
| Hot Springs, 4 | |||
| Colorado | “Colorado Springs, 12; | ||
| Denver, 13 |
| Delaware | Wilmington, 11 | ||
| Iowa | Cedar Rapids, 11 | ||
| Idaho | Boise, 7 | ||
| Kansas | Topeka, 5 | ||
| Kentucky | Louisville, 12 | ||
| Mississippi | Jackson, 7 | ||
| Nebraska | Omaha, 7 | ||
| Nevada | Reno, 6 | ||
| New Hampshire | Portsmouth, 9 | ||
| New Mexico | Albuquerque, 9 | ||
| North Carolina | Greensboro, 8 | ||
| North Dakota | Fargo, 6 | ||
| Rhode Island | Providence, 7 | ||
| South Carolina | No. Augusta, 4; | ||
| Columbia, 4 | |||
| South Dakota | Lead, 6; Sioux Falls, 4 | ||
| Vermont | Brattleboro, 7 | ||
| West Virginia | Charleston, 5; | ||
| Huntington, 4 | |||
| Wyoming | Laramie, 5 |
I. The known membership list of
the American Bahá’í Community as
of the end of February, 1943, including
members of communities, groups
and isolated believers, totals 4,578.
41. In the Inter-America field, it is hoped that new Assemblies can be formed this year in Guatemala, Chile, Ecuador and Panama, and the existing ten Assemblies can be continued, making a total of thirteen Assemblies.
42. The National Spiritual Assembly has been working for some time on a new general compilation of Bahá’í Writings to replace the compilation entitled “Bahá’í Scriptures” which appeared about twenty years ago. The Bahá’í Literature in English has been greatly extended by the Guardian’s series of translations, and today a clear distinction is made between authoritative Tablets and the written notes made by pilgrims. The new work, now on the press, includes five chapters or general subjects selected from Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, and four chapters or Subjects from Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. The intention has been to produce a representative selection of Bahá’í Literature in one volume, and by placing a large order, to be able to offer the book at a low cost. This notice reports an action taken and is not an announcement of the book. When ready, it will be announced by the Publishing Committee in the usual way.
43. From May 1, 1942, to February 28, 1943, contributions were made to the National Fund with a total of $91,199.48, on the annual budget of $150,000.00. The sum of $7,412.49 was received in February, from 72 Assemblies, 69 groups and 108 isolated believers. The expense in February was $16,943.74, including $10,359.75 for Temple construction
Bahá’í Book Exhibit, Gordian Book Store, Wilmette, on display
during the 1942 Convention sessions.
and on Temple loan, $1519 for
teaching in North America, $465.85
for Inter-America teaching, $1462.02
for administration, $1360.43 for
teaching literature, including the
illustrated Temple pamphlet, Temple
maintenance, $817.08, Green Acre
maintenance, $116.40, and on Committee
budgets, $333.71.
North America Teaching[edit]
As this report is written only two months remain in our “pivotal” and “crucial” year, while fourteen months away stands the “fateful milestone.” It is important now to record the progress we have won in 1942-43, more particularly in the past few months, and to ask ourselves whether the speed now gained is matching the speed of this swiftly-vanishing century.
The National Teaching Committee, in January, felt keenly the inadequacy of momentum in the teaching service of the friends. It therefore recommended to the National Assembly a new attack on five fronts of action, to bring to a maximum the upsurge of settlements called for by Shoghi Effendi. As a result, and surely through the power released with the completion of the Temple, the broad program of settlement and teaching for which the Guardian asked, is now unquestionably developing. Today it seems clear that we have passed the turning-point in the Seven-Year Plan. Nevertheless, if the goals are to be achieved, this momentum we have gained must be steadily continued.
The five-point program was inaugurated by the calling of National Area Conferences, January 22-25, by the National Assembly in the twelve most densely-populated Bahá’í centers. No longer could the American Community be satisfied with the efforts of a relatively few settlers, a few Assemblies, or Teaching Committees. The Area Conferences opened the chapter of united effort on a national scale; they gave a first-hand view of needs to the believers everywhere; they pointed out the road to unqualified victory. That road, in the latest words of Shoghi Effendi, is for “every hesitant believer, however unprepared and inexperienced, audaciously to arise . . . to reinforce the ranks of the trailbreakers of the Formative Age.”
Although complete results of the
Conferences are not yet available,
we know that at least forty volunteers
for settlement have stepped
forward. We know that, instead of
needing 83 additional Bahá’ís in
goal-cities of the Plan, on February
15th we lack but 58! We are assured
that on April 21 Spiritual Assemblies
will be elected in at least eight of
the twenty-five virgin States and
[Page 4]
Provinces, and that eight other
groups are nearing their goal.
Truly, “the area of the unfinished tasks
is visibly diminishing.”
The essential, however, is to maintain this unbeatable momentum. Four other fronts of action are indispensable to our national program.
First, settlers and believers in virgin areas must stabilize their residence. From October through January we had to record twelve losses of registered Bahá’ís in goal-cities, through moving alone. It is certain that the responsibility of all those on the pioneer front is very great. What they do to uphold the Plan may be a telling factor in the final score.
Secondly, teaching must be intensified in virgin States and Provinces. The National Teaching Committee is now working out circuit plans which will send vital teaching assistance to new groups everywhere, fortifying the efforts of our settlers and pioneers.
Thirdly, isolated believers, especially those living near goal-cities, have a wonderful chance to advance the Plan by transferring their residence to these key places. This is one of the most important types of settlement under the Plan.
Finally, the backbone of our program, its central drive, must be to multiply unceasingly the ranks of our settlers until victory is assured. Our goal is not only to reduce the unfinished tasks, but to eliminate them altogether. We are publishing with this report a Pioneer Roll of Honor, listing the names of all those friends who have moved into virgin areas and disbanded Assemblies since last Convention. It will be seen that several Bahá’í communities have contributed magnificently to the pioneer ranks this year, while others have not as yet seized their historic and priceless opportunities. The hours are rushing by in which, as communities and individuals, we can earn the bounties promised by Bahá’u’lláh.
The National Teaching Committee feels the friends may face the future months with confidence, for they are now demonstrating their ability to fulfill the Seven-Year Plan to its last requirement. Nothing must interfere with our new-found momentum!
Let us also record that not only in the direct tasks of the Plan has our all-important teaching work been carried forward. The subsidiary effort to reestablish disbanded Assemblies is likewise meeting with success. Regional and Extension Committees have been more diligent; believers have risen to settle in these cities; until now it seems certain that six or seven Assemblies will reorganize on April 21. While we now Know from Shoghi Effendi that the reestablishment of these Assemblies forms no part of the Seven-Year Plan, yet we recognize that this work, too, must surely be accomplished. What achievement could be more thrilling than to complete it in the first Bahá’í Century?
Beloved friends, let us hold closely to these words of the Guardian: “To his ‘apostles,’ as testified by the Center of His Covenant, I direct my fervent plea that they establish beyond the shadow of a doubt, in these concluding months of the first Bahá’í Century, their indisputable right to be designated by so exalted a title, and vindicate their ability to execute the mission with which that title has invested them.”
Pioneer Roll of Honor[edit]
Convention, 1942—February 15, 1943
VIRGIN STATES AND PROVINCES
| Name | Pioneer Front | Home City | |
| Evelyn Cliff | Calgary, Alberta | Vancouver, B. C. | |
| Anne McGee | Calgary, Alberta | Vancouver, B. C. | |
| Clifford Gardner | Calgary, Alberta | Vancouver, B. C. | |
| W. J. Christie | Charlottetown, P.E.I. | Nobel, Ontario | |
| Harmon Jones | Boise, Idaho | Spokane. Wash. | |
| Lorrol Jackson | Sioux Falls, S. D. | Butte, Mont. | |
| Ethel Thompson | Boise, Idaho | Rural Boise, Idaho | |
| Farrukh Ioas | Boise, Idaho | San Francisco, Calif. | |
| Sally Sanor | Boise. Idaho | San Francisco, Calif. | |
| Ruth Westgate | Denver, Colo. | San Francisco, Calif. | |
| Mildred Hiatt | Denver, Colo. | San Francisco, Calif. | |
| Gladys Bodmer | Reno, Nevada | San Francisco, Calif. | |
| Anita Ioas | Edmonton, Alberta | San Francisco, Calif. | |
| Jean Hendry | Omaha, Nebraska | San Francisco, Calif. | |
| William Sears | Jackson, Miss. | San Francisco, Calif. | |
| Marguerite Sears | Jackson, Miss. | San Francisco, Calif. | |
| Myrtle Robinette | Reno, Nevada | Ft. Ord, Calif. | |
| Eva Flack | Greensboro, N. C. | Los Angeles, Calif. | |
| Fred Dennis | Louisville, Ky. | Los Angeles, Calif. | |
| Mrs. Fred Dennis | Louisville, Ky. | Los Angeles, Calif. | |
| Nina Crouchley | Birmingham, Ala. | Los Angeles. Calif. | |
| Eleanor Adler | Reno, Nevada | Glendale, Calif. | |
| Charlotte Grover | Sioux Falls. S. D. | Glendale, Calif. | |
| Valeria Thornton | Laramie, Wyoming | Beverly Hills, Calif. | |
| Mary Bode | Reno, Nevada | Beverly Hills, Calif. | |
| Adrienne Ellis | Greensboro, N. C. | Phoenix, Ariz. | |
| Kathryn Frankland | Albuquerque, N. M. | San Antonio, Texas | |
| Martha Fettig | Birmingham, Ala. | Decatur, Ala. | |
| Elsa Steinmetz | Sioux Falls, S. D. | Minneapolis, Minn. | |
| Lauretta Voelz | Regina, Saskatchewan | Kenosha, Wis. | |
| Clair Gillespie | Laramie, Wyoming | Forest Hills, Ill. | |
| Faye Roberts | Omaha, Nebraska | Chicago, Ill. | |
| Frances Allyn | Albuquerque, N. M. | Urbana, Ill. | |
| Alice Dudley | Fargo, N. D. | Detroit, Mitch. | |
| Lois Newman | Portsmouth, N. H. | Kittery, Maine | |
| Maude Mickle | Brattleboro, Vt. | Eliot, Maine | |
| Alta Wheeler | Brattleboro, Vt. | Eliot, Maine | |
| Jessie Higman | Brattleboro, Vt. | Petersham, Mass. | |
| Marie Hopper | Brattleboro, Vt. | Portchester, N. Y. | |
| Flora Valentine | Portsmouth, N. H. | Saratoga Springs, N. Y. | |
| Muriel Stilson | Sioux Falls, S. D. | Yonkers, N. Y. | |
| Richard Walters | Albuquerque, N. M. | Brooklyn, N. Y. | |
| Mrs. Richard Walters | Albuquerque, N. M. | Brooklyn, N. Y. | |
| Sara Ellen Peake | Louisville, Ky. | New York, N. Y. | |
| Cynthia Powell | Wilmington, Del. | New York, N. Y. | |
| Dorothy Champ | Wilmington, Del. | New York, N. Y. | |
| William Doull | Providence, R. I. | New York, N. Y. | |
| Mrs. Wm. Doull | Providence, R. I. | New York, N. Y. | |
| Mary Bower | Providence, R. I. | New York, N. Y. | |
| Frances Jones | Birmingham, Ala. | New York, N. Y. | |
| Helen Anderson | Charleston, W. Va. | New York, N. Y. | |
| Mary Bachman | Brattleboro, Vt. | Philadelphia, Pa. | |
| Mildred Elmer | Charleston, W. Va. | Baltimore, Md. | |
| Doris Lohse | Wilmington, Del. | Washington, D. C. | |
| Caroline Stewart | Wilmington, Del. | Washington, D. C. | |
| Adah Schott | Charleston, W. Va. | Washington, D. C. | |
| Adah Schott | Charleston, W. Va. | Washington, D. C. |
DISBANDED ASSEMBLIES
| Ella Duffield | Pittsburgh, Pa. | Los Angeles, Calif. | |
| Thurman Jack | Burbank, Calif. | Los Angeles, Calif. | |
| Asher Goodrick | Hungtington Park, Calif. | Los Angeles, Calif. | |
| Mrs. Goodrick | Hungtington Park, Calif. | Los Angeles, Calif. | |
| Ernest Schiemann | Alhambra, Calif. | Los Angeles, Calif. | |
| Mrs. Ernest Schiemann | Alhambra, Calif. | Los Angeles, Calif. | |
| Mayme Glass | Alhambra, Calif. | San Diego, Calif. | |
| Fred Kluss | Huntington Park, Calif. | Chicago, Ill. | |
| W. E. Holsinger | Pittsburgh, Pa. | Chicago, Ill. | |
| Florence Holsinger | Pittsburgh, Pa. | Chicago, Ill. | |
| Ella Rice-Wray | Akron, Ohio | Ft. Wayne, Ind. | |
| Rose Steinberg | Findlay, Ohio | Columbus, Ohio | |
| Margaret Newman | Akron, Ohio | Westport, Conn. |
In addition to those listed above, who have settled in virgin areas and disbanded
Assemblies, between Convention, 1942, and February l5, 1943, the following believers
have contributed intensive teaching in virgin areas:
| Marcia Atwater | Dorothy Baker | Virginia Camelon | |
| Sylvia King | Ruth Moffett | Elsie Austin | |
| Eleanor Adler | Mabel Ives | Florence Holsinger | |
| Rosemary Sala | Philip Sprague | Annie Romer | |
| Emeric Sala | Glenn Shook | Ruth Cornell | |
| Doris McKay | Stanwood Cobb | Margaret Ellis | |
| Willard McKay | Helen Inderlied | Orcella Rexford | |
| Grace Geary | Marion Mills | Alta Kruger | |
| Harlan Ober | Peggy True | Bee Rainboth | |
| Rowland Estall | Zenobia Dorsey | Mark Tobey | |
| Muriel Warnicker | Joy Earl | Artemus Lamb | |
| Doris Skinner | Anna Kunz |
Many others have made weekend and short visits, while Regional Secretaries
and members have traveled extensively in virgin States and Provinces.
Inter-America News[edit]
News pours in from our pioneers and thrills us as we receive more and more registration cards! One of the items of keenest importance is the decision of the National Assembly to arrange for the publication of all approved Spanish translations in Buenos Aires in collaboration with a newly appointed Publishing Committee of that Community. This will greatly facilitate the prompt and safe distribution of books and pamphlets and also no doubt effect an economy.
Uruguay
Letters from Mrs. Mary Barton bring the news of successful classes which she has inaugurated which will no doubt increase the membership in the Community of Montevideo.
Chile
Mrs. Marcia Stewart Atwater has now returned to her work in Santiago, where she accomplished such splendid results which, we understand, have been highly commended by the Guardian, as has also the success of the friends in Costa Rica whose letter from the Guardian they have shared with this committee. Miss Orbison is also doing wonderful work in Santiago.
Costa Rica
Speaking of Costa Rica we regret that through an oversight, we have failed heretofore to mention that they now have established themselves with the Government, which enables them to carry on their work legally and with full Government permission. This is indeed a great accomplishment. One of the members of the Spiritual Assembly, conscious of the need for further pioneer teaching in some of the other Republics since the passing of Mathew Kaszab left Nicaragua as yet unorganized, has volunteered to render services under the direction of this Committee.
Ecuador
John Stearns writes that he now has “only one to go” which means that they now have eight members and we are confident that the ninth as required for the formation of an Assembly will soon be enrolled. John’s Radio Programs are continuing and we are hoping to assist in providing suitable material for his splendid programs.
Bolivia
Flora M. Hottes has returned to La Paz after a month’s sojourn with Miss Eve Nicklin in Lima, Peru. She writes enthusiastically of her visit and of the contacts made both in Peru and Bolivia.
Argentina
Buenos Aires also has a Radio connection which is presenting the Teachings in a more effective manner and we have only splendid news regarding the spread of the Faith there.
Paraguay
We hope very soon to announce the settlement of a pioneer teacher in Asuncion. Ever since Elizabeth Cheney was obliged to leave Paraguay we have hoped for someone to go there to assist those lovely souls who have responded to the call of Bahá’u’lláh and now our hopes seem to be realized.
Venezuela
We marvel at the initiative displayed by our pioneers among whom Miss Sholtis shines brilliantly. She now has taken rooms in the center of the city and is teaching both the Cause and English.
Lack of space deprives us of mentioning further details about the other countries, but we are none the less conscious of the outstanding efforts of our faithful pioneers in every center.
Publishing Committee[edit]
Two Shall Appear, A Religious-Historical Drama in Five Acts, by Olivia Kelsey. This dramatic presentation of the early days of the Faith, approved by the Reviewing Committee a few years ago, has recently been published, and the Publishing Committee can fill orders at the rate of $0.75 per copy. The author’s Foreword states that the “principal source of data is The Dawn-Breakers by the Persian historian, Nabil.”
Address Bahá’í Publishing Committee, 110 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, Ill.
Among the Colleges[edit]
The College project opened this
year with a fall trip through the
Southwest, during which Dorothy
Baker visited twenty-seven new
schools. Four of these were Negro,
four Indians, and the remaining number,
white. Books were left in all
School libraries, and pamphlets by
Shoghi Effendi distributed to all students.
In ninety or more Colleges,
over a period of two years, Mrs.
Baker has yet to see A single Bahá’í
pamphlet on the School grounds
or in any condition of discarding.
Classroom visits following the
Chapel talks revealed the fact that
[Page 6]
young people are definitely interested
in Shoghi Effendi. One youth, at
the close of a discussion period,
came forward and said. “Where
does the Guardian live? I am to
be inducted next week. Perhaps I
shall go to Africa and be able to
cross over to Haifa! Perhaps I shall
see the Guardian of the new Civilization
before You do!”
One College represented a very interesting religious minority, the Latter Day Saints. Here the students took copious notes in Chapel, and the Dean himself mentioned having heard ‘Abdu’l-Bahá speak in Washington in 1912. “I have wondered,” he said, “where you Bahá’ís have been, and why you have not long ago visited the Colleges.”
Another unique institution to hear the message of the Guardian was the Spanish-American Normal College in El Rito, N. M. These students speak Spanish and English equally well, and supply teachers to all of that mountainous region. They were fiery, ardent young people, who felt keenly the Guardian’s view of America’s spiritual leadership. One young woman said, “After the war we might be able to travel, as you do, and go about in Southern countries, speaking these things in Spanish!”
There are no amusements, not even moving pictures, in the vicinity of these young Latins, surrounded as they are by jagged peaks that look for all the world like a giant ice-palaces. Some day a teacher will remain there and build great Bahá’ís.
At Pine Bluff, Ark., on the campus of the State Negro University, the members of the faculty came forward at the close of Chapel, and talked for almost an hour, losing entirely, it afterward appeared, their lunch period. The Bahá’í principles, interested them not at all, but they were held by the thought that a spiritual commonwealth had been born, indivisible in its nature, and committed to a unified racial life in its essential pattern; that it could never be rent apart religiously, and that its unique organism, under the Guardian, was already an actual, living, breathing civilization, slowly growing up. This was no hollow promise, but a tested Reality.
The second stage of the College project fell into the hands of Louis G. Gregory, who made a follow-up
Bahá’ís in Regional Conference, Lenape Park, West Chester, Pa.
tour of Tennessee, Mississippi, and
Alabama, late in the fall of 1942,
and in the winter toured West Virginia,
Virginia, and North Carolina.
To the Negro Colleges he took the
message of the spiritual importance
of the coming of Bahá’u’lláh, and
to the white Colleges he gave the
Bahá’í teachings on race relations.
The friendly reactions of the white
Schools, in the light of existing prejudices,
are of deep interest to us.
Salem College, of West Virginia,
writes: “The students were well
pleased, and invited him to return.
I want to thank you for sending him
to us.” In the heart of Mississippi,
where race feeling runs so high as
to make such a subject well-nigh impossible,
the students waited in long
rows in the hall, to shake his hand
and wish him well. It was their first
adventure in receiving a colored
speaker, and only their second experience
with the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh.
This follow-up stage of extending the teachings to College will take the form of annual platforms, in order that the highly transient student body of America may have the fresh impact of the Faith each year. Unfortunately the lowered draft age will curtail temporarily this phase of the work.
The third stage of College development will move around the effort to establish permanent study groups in many of the Colleges. Mrs. Joy Earl, working under the Race Unity Committee, has this winter made a start in a few of the Schools. Particular success greeted her in Miles College, of Birmingham, and North Carolina University, at Durham, where members of the faculty are already making a close study of the Faith.
The intensive phase can be greatly assisted by resident students who watch for opportunities to bring speakers. We have recently heard from Jack Fatooh in Berkeley, that it may be soon possible to display the Temple and bring a talk to the campus that will deal with the new architecture.
The College Foundation Committee is happy to hear from the friends in Colleges everywhere.
National Youth Committee[edit]
This year young Bahá’ís throughout the world will meet on March 7 to celebrate the eighth annual World Bahá’í Youth Day. The challenging theme, “World Unity Is Our Goal,” has been selected from the Guardian’s letter, “The Unfoldment of World Civilization.” In spite of war and other unfavorable conditions, Bahá’í youth feel that this is one of their most significant opportunities to demonstrate to the rest of the world the unity and vitality of their Faith.
Regional Teaching Committees and Local Spiritual Assemblies are urged to respond to the questionnaires sent out by the National Youth Committee in October regarding youth activities and Bahá’í men in service. Failure to answer is depriving both youth and service men of the youth bulletin and correspondence.
The National Youth Committee
feels that contact with our Bahá’í
men in service is extremely important.
The Committee attempts to put
these service men in touch with the
nearest Bahá’í group or Assembly,
and it is hoped that a warm hospitality
[Page 7]
will be extended to them by
these groups.
Volume 8, Numbers 1 and 2, of the bulletin, Bahá’í Youth, have been published and mailed throughout the country. Youth who had not yet received their copies should ask for them from their Local Spiritual Assembly or Regional Teaching Committee.
French Book Needed[edit]
The National Spiritual Assembly is in need of a copy of the book by the late M. Hippolyte Dreyfus and will greatly appreciate the gift of a copy by any believer who owns the book in its Second Edition. It is the French and not the English translation of the book which is sought.
Application for Classification in Class IV-D of Selective Service[edit]
A notice has already appeared in Bahá’í News reporting that local Chairmen and Secretaries are eligible for preferred mileage. The procedure for these officers to follow is to apply to their local rationing board for B or C gasoline, books, presenting credentials to show their status as officer of the local Spiritual Assembly, and pointing out that recognition has been given by the National OPA Office in Washington and that a Certified list of all local Assembly officers is on file in that Office.
The National Spiritual Assembly has also applied to the Selective Service System for recognition as an independent religious faith, the official representatives of which, rendering the services discharged by ministers, should receive an allocation to Class IV-D under the draft. The Bahá’í petition has been placed on file for reference in case questions are raised by State draft boards in connection with applications received by local boards from individual believers for the IV-D classification.
The procedure is for the individual believer qualifying as discharging a ministerial function in the Bahá’í community to file a special petition with his local draft board, when called into the service, for allocation to Class IV–D, and explain that the National Office of the Selective
Temple Model Exhibit in Halliburton Building, Phoenix, Arizona, Arranged by
Mrs. Oni A. Finks.
Service System has the necessary
information on file. It has
not been made clear whether such
petitions from Regional Teaching
Committee members, in addition to
petitions from local Assembly Chairmen
and Secretaries, will be approved,
for unlike the OPA Office,
the Office of the Selective Service
System has not definitely accepted
a certified list of Bahá’í representatives
but will pass upon each case
on its own merits.
Bahá’í Directory[edit]
Last month it was reported that Mrs. DeMille was unable to serve as member of the Contacts Committee. This was due to change of residence, but the Committee has assigned her a new area for correspondence and her work as a member of the Contacts Committee is being continued.
Notice to Bahá’í Youth[edit]
The plans are again being made for Bahá’í Youth to record their activities in The Bahá’í World, Volume X. Will all youth groups and isolated youth please be on the look-out for material that will lend itself to publication in the World Book. We would like any of the following: (1) Reports of unique and unusual youth programs. (2) Accounts of the special efforts made by youth to assist towards completion of the Seven Year Plan. (3) Pictures of your group, of special gatherings, etc. (4) Articles, essays, and poems by any of your members. (5) Accounts of regional conferences held in your area. (6) The material regarding your Youth Symposium on March 7. (7) Information regarding any youth pioneer going out of your community. (8) Miscellaneous items relating to youth activities.
Please send all material to Mrs. Margaret K. Ruhe, 840 Cherry St., N. W., Atlanta, Georgia. Your cooperation will be greatly appreciated.
Enrollments and Transfers[edit]
Enrollment of new believers reported by local Assemblies:—
Detroit, three. Phoenix, four and one youth. Winnetka, two. Milwaukee, three. Honolulu, one. St. Paul, one. Jacksonville, two. Spokane, two. Oakland, one. Vancouver, one. Seattle, four. Madison, one and one youth. Springfield, Mass., two. Miami, two. Los Angeles, one. Rochester, one. Wilmette, two. Helena, one Kansas City, one.
Enrollments by transfer reported by local Assemblies:—
Chicago, five. Winnipeg, two. Philadelphia,
two. Los Angeles, four.
Flint, one. Binghamton, one. Beverly,
[Page 8]
one. Seattle, four. Wilmette, one.
Jersey City, one.
In December, fourteen enrollment cards were received from adults in regional areas; in January, the same number of enrollments was recorded. Fourteen enrollments were likewise received in February.
In Memoriam[edit]
. . .The true believers, whose existence and life are to be regarded as the originating purpose of all creation.— Bahá’u’lláh.
- Mrs. Edgar Meyer, Arvada, Colorado.
- Miss Marie Du Bedat, New York.
- Mr. Carl Rasmussen, Racine.
- Mrs. Alice W. Alexander, Upton, Massachusetts.
- Mrs. Eliza Lewis, Boston.
- Mr. Mathew Kaszab, Brownsville, Texas.
- Miss Esther Foster, New York.
- Mrs. Kate Morris, New York.
- Mrs. Mary Munson, Portland, Oregon.
- Mrs. Catherine Tweed, Portland, Oregon.
- Mrs. Elizabeth Sutherland, River Forest, Illinois.
- Mrs. Joseph Clevenger, New York.
- Mr. Hector Stevens, Topeka, Kansas.
- Mrs. Nicholas Marangella, Haworth, New Jersey.
- Dr. B. C. Smith, Atascadero, California.
Bahá’í Calendar[edit]
Nineteen Day Feasts: Loftiness, March 2; Splendor, March 21; Glory, April 9, Beauty, April 28.
Period of the Fast: Nineteen days beginning March 2.
Feast of Naw-Rúz: March 21.
Feast of Riḍván: April 21—May 2.
Meetings of the National Spiritual Assembly: March 5, 6, 7, 8. At Wilmette. April 28. At Wilmette.
Thirty-Fifth Annual Convention: April 29 and 30, May 1 and 2. Temple Foundation Hall.
Incorporated Assemblies[edit]
The incorporated Assemblies are requested to proceed with efforts to obtain civil recognition of their right
Temple Model Exhibit at Turner Art Galleries, Denver, arranged by
Raphael Lillywhite of the Bahá’í Group.
to conduct legal marriage, ceremonies,
a matter which was brought to
the attention of local Assemblies in
a bulletin last summer. If an Assembly
is unable to obtain the necessary
authority, it is requested to obtain
a copy of the State statutes dealing
with the subject and forward it
to the Legal Committee which will
endeavor to advise the Assembly
how to proceed.
The recognition of this legal right of a local Assembly to perform a marriage service is an important step in the development of the Bahá’í community as an independent religious body.
Literature for Men in Service[edit]
Literature can be obtained by men in service for reading tables of camps and training schools. Where permission is obtained from the chaplain or other officer in charge, a copy of Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era, Temple pamphlet, and Appreciations of the Bahá’í Faith will be supplied without cost on application to the National Teaching Committee. As the Library Committee also has a special project for military and naval stations, the believer is requested to check the Bahá’í literature already in the Camp Library before ordering in order to avoid duplication of material.
In cases where Bahá’í men in the service find requests for literature arising from talks they have been able to give, copies of A Pattern for Future Society will be sent free on request made through the National Teaching Committee.
New Believers[edit]
Local Assemblies are informed that whenever they report the names and addresses of newly enrolled believers, the National Assembly now sends each of such believers a letter of spiritual greeting and welcome, together with a copy of the Master’s Will and Testament.
Believers in Key Areas[edit]
The National Spiritual Assembly wishes to make a special appeal to all believers who live near one of the key cities where Assemblies are to be formed under the requirements of the Seven Year Plan. The appeal is to make every effort to transfer their residence to that town or city and thus make a direct contribution to the vital teaching objective established by the Guardian in North America. The list of these cities was printed in the bulletin entitled “The Guardian’s Summons to Teaching” issued in October, 1942.
It is the conviction of the Assembly that a good number of believers will find it possible to adjust their affairs so as to establish residence where voting believers are most urgently needed.
