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| No. 193 | March, 1947 | YEAR 103 | BAHA’I ERA |
Panama Conference Demonstrates Unity[edit]
“The Panama Conference was a tremendous success. The pervading spirit of fellowship and consecration and the marvellous triumphs which we achieved, inebriated with joy the delegates and the Bahá’ís of Panama and have left us in raptures,” writes Julie Regal from Panama City concerning the first congress of the Northern Latin Americas held January 19th to 25th. The purpose of the Conference, like that of Buenos Aires for South America in November, was to build a new consciousness of unity among the friends of Central America, Mexico and the West Indies, to serve as a foundation for the National Spiritual Assembly to be elected in the northern area in April, 1951. The splendid report sent by Sra. Natalia Chávez of Tegucigalpa, Honduras, on the work and consultation of the delegates, including their recommendations for forwarding the Teachings, together with the fine over-all report of Mrs. Gayle Woolson, show that this objective was truly attained.
One of the high points of the congress was the inter-racial platform at the big public meeting in the Inter-American University. The first speaker was Dr. Tu Yuen-Tan, Minister of China to Panama; and those who followed included Sr. Jorge Corgas, an Indian from the San Blas Islands; Sr. Sidney A. Young, editor of the Panama Tribune and representative of the Negro race; Mr. Harold Sosted, Superintendent of Instruction of the Canal Zone schools; Sr. Isaza Calderón, professor at the University, and Mrs. Gayle Woolson, traveling pioneer. This combination of races was a proof of the power of the Faith, for in Panama there is as much racial prejudice as we find in our own southern states. Sr. Carlos Porras of Panama, formerly of Costa Rica, added to the pleasure of all with his beautiful songs. Next to the speakers’ stand was an exquisite bust of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, made in honour of the occasion by Sr. Antonio del Villar of Caracas, Venezuela. Sr. del Villar, who knew the Master when he visited this country in 1912, has contributed the piece of sculpture to the Temple.
Delegates included Sr. Carlos Vergara, Mexico City; Sr. Alejandro Baldizón, Guatemala City; Srta. Ofelia Montalvo and Dr. David Escalante,
Many Volunteer for European Teaching[edit]
The most recent appeal of the Guardian to the American Bahá’í Community for an increase in the number of pioneers for Europe, has brought forth a magnificent response on the part of the believers. This response has been such that the E.T.C. will be able in the next few months to send abroad many new pioneers and settlers to reinforce those already in the field. This means that the number of teachers in each of the goal countries will be increased, and thus a strong nucleus will be set up everywhere to work toward the establishment of the “Spiritual Prizes” set forth in this second Seven Year Plan.
At the moment, arrangements for the departure abroad of this increased number of pioneers and settlers are being consummated, and the Committee will give names, places and definite dates in our next report. We wish to state that plans are also being made to send several wonderfully equipped itinerant teachers to the European field during this spring, summer and fall.
A great momentum has been set in motion; the response has been truly wonderful. Let us keep constantly in our minds and hearts the vital needs of this European Teaching Campaign as cherished by the Guardian, and do our utmost to accelerate the tempo of this teaching work.
All offers for pioneering should be sent direct to the European Teaching Committee, 418 Forest Avenue, Wilmette, Illinois.
| “Bahá’u’lláh’s Resistless, World-Redeeming Order”
(signed) SHOGHI
From cablegram received January 30, 1947. |
Bahá’í Statement Submitted to United Nations[edit]
A statement entitled “A Bahá’í Declaration of Human Obligations and Rights” has been submitted by the National Spiritual Assembly to the Human Rights Commission of the Economic and Social Council of United Nations. This Commission, headed by Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt, is engaged in the preparation of a world bill of rights which the United Nations will sponsor and endeavor to have adopted by the governments of the participating nations.
A copy of the statement, and a press release concerning it prepared by the Public Relations Committee, has been sent to the local Assemblies, Regional Teaching Committees, and the national committees which conduct campaigns.
The release was also sent direct to newspapers and magazines.
Panama Conference[edit]
San Salvador; Sra. Natalia Chávez, Tegucigalpa, Honduras; Dr. Antonio Bonilla and Dr. Robert M. Hooker, Managua, Nicaragua; Sra. Isabel Porras, San José, Costa Rica; Sr. James Facey, Colón, and Sra. Blanca de Campos, Panama; Srta. Mabel Schneider and Sr. Alfred Osborne, Canal Zone; Sr. Santos de la Torre, Havana, Cuba; and Sr. William Mitchell, Kingston, Jamaica. Visiting believers included Sr. Pablo Bonilla, Cali, Colombia; Sr. Antonio del Villar, Caracas, Venezuela; Mr. Charles Mason Remey, Washington, D.C.; Mr. Artemus Lamb, Santiago, Chile; Miss Evelyn Larson, now in Managua, Nicaragua, and Mrs. Woolson. Mrs. Marcia Steward visited the Conference but was obliged to return to San José, Costa Rica, because of the pressing demands of the nationwide correspondence teaching campaign which she has recently initiated there, and which she reports is bringing very fine results.
Correspondence Teaching in Latin America[edit]
| Bahá’í Addresses
Treasurer’s Office:
Bahá’í Publishing Committee:
|
As a part of the Guardian’s plan to carry the Faith to the masses, correspondence teaching is being gradually expanded until it will include all nineteen countries of Latin America. It was first applied to Bahá’í teaching in Colombia by Gerrard Sluter a little more than two years ago. His efforts resulted within a year’s time in the formation of a second Assembly in Mogotes, a group in Contratación, two Bahá’ís in Cartagena, one in Medellin and interested responses from half a dozen or more other cities. He was then obliged to return to Canada before the work could be carried further. At the present time 1800 of each lesson of the series for new contracts are being distributed from Cuba to Chile, and more requests are coming in daily. Two hundred and forty-four Masonic lodges have been
Left, Miss Madeleine Humbert, pioneer to Belgium, sailing on the Noordam, Holland American Line, January 29th, 1947. Right, Mary K. Sprague, member of the European Teaching Committee.
circularized in Cuba, Venezuela and
Ecuador at their own request. Letters are now beginning to come in
from some of these lodges asking that
copies of the lessons be sent to every
member for their study. Col. Arturo
and Sra. Yvonne de Cúellar of La
Paz, Bolivia, are writing a part of
this series.
Col. Cúellar is also assisting with translating by preparing “God Passes By” for publication in Spanish. He has also translated “Foundations of World Unity” and about half of “Gleanings,” which will be published later. Sra. Josefina Plá de Campos is now translating “The Divine Art of Living” for immediate publication. She also did the new translation of “Some Answered Questions” which is going to press in Buenos Aires. Sra. de Cúellar is making a six weeks’ teaching trip to Sucre, goal city of Bolivia, and Col. Cúellar is assisting her there for two weeks, while convalescing from a serious illness.
Sra. M. C. Claudet, member of the Assembly of Guayaquil, Ecuador, is planning to take the Faith to French East Africa, where she will settle in Marrueco Frances. Sra. Chávez will assist Evelyn Larson for a few days in Nicaragua en route homeward from a second visit to Panama for a needed operation. She will then undertake to teach a new goal city in Honduras.
Colombian Village Eager for the Faith[edit]
Artemus Lamb describes his fascinating experience as the first Bahá’í ever to visit the remote, mountain town of Mogotes, Colombia, whose delegate to the Buenos Aires Conference was the first member of their Community ever to see a Bahá’í other than the members of their own group. Artemus describes the feudal conditions under which they live and some of their sufferings as well as their spiritual hunger. He writes, “It is in reality a little feudal village living the life of the Middle Ages. We are giving public lectures in my room in the hotel. As there are only three chairs, all stand, but everyone seems to be happy and to want more. At their urgent, almost tearful request I have agreed to stay until Tuesday.
Bahá’í News
Bahá’í News is edited by the National Spiritual Assembly by its Bahá’í News Editorial Committee: Garreta Busey, chairman, John Ashton, Alice Simmons Cox, Marzieh Gail, Doris Holley, Annamarie Kunz Honnold, Eleanor Sweney Hutchens, Mabel Hyde Paine, Margaret Swengel. Editorial office: Miss Garreta Busey, 503 West Elm Street, Urbana, Illinois. Please report changes of address to which Bahá’í News is to be sent and other matters pertaining to its distribution to the Bahá’í National Office, 536 Sheridan Road, Wilmette, Illinois. |
“This has been a most remarkable experience. I feel as if I have seen a vision of a new world. We have met many new people, some of them the ‘big shots’ of Mogotes. Sunday night a conference was given in the the theater as a result with a great many attending. The talk was on the New Era and such an attentive audience I have never before witnessed. The next morning we had another meeting to take photographs and ten new people, most of them young men, insisted upon signing cards of entrance to the Cause. I frankly did not know what to do. The members of the Assembly obtained these signatures and they are going to meet this week and pass on them. Obviously, these people still need to learn many of the things that we require, but it is also obvious that they have been completely prepared to be Bahá’ís. They know without any persuasion that the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh is the only possible answer, when it is merely presented to them. They say that with another pioneer there for a while they could have a community of two hundred, and while it seems fantastic, after what I have experienced, I believe it.”
Public Meeting at Baltimore[edit]
The Baltimore Public Meeting was held in the Rainbow Room of the Pythian Hall, on January 21st at 8 p.m. In spite of it being one of the coldest nights of the winter, the Baltimore friends report an attendance of 325.
The hall was beautifully decorated with flowers. Attractive displays were arranged with Temple pictures and literature. The speaker’s fine compliment—“You are to be congratulated on the perfect coordination, the smooth production, and the perfect taste and surroundings in which it was held” express the result of the efforts of the Baltimore friends in a few words.
A four week radio program was used, on Sundays at 4:15 p.m., prior to the meeting. The transcriptions used were, “A New Interpretation of History,” “Meet Mr. Justice,” “Mr. Justice Returns,” and “This is My Faith,” over station WFBR. Spot announcements were also used.
Music was furnished by the Baltimore Fellowship Choir, an interracial group of soloists, singing the “Song of Peace” by Sibelius with solo numbers by two of its members. Further demonstrating “beauty in diversity” the ushers were composed of an interracial group
Mr. and Mrs. Anders Neilsen, pioneers to Denmark, who sailed October 18th, 1946, on the Drottningholm.
Mr. and Mrs. Ugo Giachery, pioneers to Italy, sailing on the “Saturnia” February 10, 1947, with a group of friends wishing them God-speed.
of youths, and this important phase
of activity was executed perfectly
under the capable direction of Mary
Jane Langrall.
Publicity was a bit disappointing to the friends, but the advertisements in the three local papers were excellent. A large Temple picture was on display the week before the meeting in an art dealer’s window.
Summing up, the report states: “The success of the meeting can be attributed to our excellent speaker, William Sears, charming chairman, Annamarie Honnold, and fine Field Representative, Marguerite Sears. The individual cooperation of the entire community, the fine teamwork of the committees, and the sincere devotion of the prayer squads was a shining example of the true Bahá’í spirit and loving unity.” The National Public Meetings committee would be much amiss if they did not add to this, the efficient manner in which the secretary of the Baltimore Public Meeting Committee, Albert E. Dorrida, handled his part of the work.
The balance of this year’s Key City meetings are:
Miami, March 7th: Birmingham, March 16th: and Nashville, March 23rd with Harlan Ober as speaker in all three cities. Cleveland, March 27th with Dorothy Baker; Pittsburgh with Kenneth Christian on March 29th and San Francisco, also on March 29th, with Elsie Austin as speaker.
Public Meeting at Salt Lake City[edit]
Salt Lake City reports an attendance of 225 or more at their public meeting held on December 16th, with Helen Bishop as speaker.
On Saturday evening preceding the lecture, Mrs. Bishop was interviewed over the air, using the prepared script supplied her by the Public Meetings Committee. The following morning two of the radio transcriptions released by the National Radio Committee, were broadcast. These transcriptions brought forth very favorable comments from the radio staff.
Sunday an introductory dinner was given to present the speaker to Press and Radio representatives. All the members of the Bahá’í community were present and after the dinner Mrs. Bishop spoke briefly on “Peace at Christmas—Peace of mind and Peace among nations” with quotations from the Bahá’í writings.
The public meeting on Monday evening was held at the Ladies Literary Club. A model of the Temple and literature display in the lobby, greeted the people coming to the meeting. Prominent people in the educational fields and all walks of life were present. The Governor, unable to attend, but mindful of his promise to do so, sent a delegate from his staff who said Mrs. Bishop’s
Right, Miss Honor Kempton, pioneer to Luxembourg, departing November 10, 1946 on the Queen Elizabeth. Left, Miss Isabel Locke, en route to Scotland.
[Page 4]
Waiting for ice cream to be served at the children’s school, Green Acre, 1946.
address was the finest he had
ever heard. In talking to Mrs. Bishop he said he was in complete
sympathy with the Bahá’í basis for
World Order and Peace, adding: “I
have read ‘God Passes By’ and intend to become familiar with all the
literature.”
Mrs. Bishop reports: “The genuine religious calibre of the citizens of Salt Lake City makes it possible to give them the claim that the order and happiness of the world depends upon the acceptance of the Manifestation and the Message God has sent.” Mrs. Bishop further reports the splendid work done by the Bahá’ís themselves, in efficiently arranging every little detail. The chairman’s introduction was splendid as was the prayer read by the chairman’s son. The musical program was beautiful and soul-lifting.
Publicity was good, reporters calling at Mrs. Bishop’s hotel to interview her. The friends themselves feel that their meeting was a tremendous success and that the press and radio brought undreamed of results.
Star of the West[edit]
Believers who have copies of Star of the West please note that in volume three an error appears on page 2 in the caption under the photograph of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. This caption should read “ ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in Loring Park, Minneapolis, September 20, 1912.”
New Braille Publications[edit]
In conformity with the theme of the whole public campaign of this year and with deep gratitude for the opportunities it conferred upon us, we are happy to advise the friends that the widely advertised booklets, World Order Through World Faith, and The World Faith of Bahá’u’lláh, A Summary of Its Aims, Teachings, History and Administrative Order, are now available in braille grade 2, at the cost of $1.25 for the set.
We particularly call the attention of those undertaking publicity and teaching work to the increasing value of braille books for window displays, book exhibits, and informal Bahá’í gatherings; as well as to the fact that, as World Order Through World Faith has received and is receiving such nation-wide publicity, its presentation in braille is bound to be a matter of great public interest to both the sighted and the blind.
We have attempted to present this booklet in such a form as to make a most attractive and arresting display when shown with the ink-print copy.
Please send orders to Mrs. Amédée Gibson, 616 N. Oxford Avenue, Los Angeles 4, California.
A Bahá’í Talking Book is now being recorded in the studios of the American Foundation for the Blind, and should be available before the Convention.
This Talking Book presenting on the six sides of three records “World Order Through World Faith” and the “Summary,” edition 1944, is to be offered to the twenty-seven libraries for the blind listed by The Library of Congress. Extra sets will be available for purchase by the friends.
Prayer Book in Braille. One hundred copies of Communion with God, in braille grade one and a half will be ready early in March. Due to the increasing demand for a prayer book in braille, we regret that it was not possible to have more copies of this prayer book printed in braille at this time.
Young Bahá’ís at Green Acre[edit]
The following account of the Youth Session at Green Acre comes to us from Harrison Langrell, one of the young Bahá’ís who was there:
“ ‘Hurry, Hurry, all Bahá’í Youth ... meeting in the recreation hall right away!” That’s how our vacation at Green Acre started last year. When Hormoz and Rusty had rounded us all up we were told that the Youth Week this year was to be run entirely by the Youth, and that in order to do this we must elect a Local Spiritual Assembly which would act as our governing body. Those of us who had come up for a vacation were in for a rude awakening, for from that time on we operated as a separate community from the older believers, and with the effort necessary for the operation of a community, together with the heavy class program cut out for us, our time for vacationing was out to a minimum. However, this does not mean that we didn’t have our fun. We did, and plenty of it. After the nightly meeting we had the rest of the night for dancing or whatever we wanted to do. The Youth Local Spiritual Assembly appointed a recreation committee to handle the recreation each night, and some of the programs planned were really wonderful. The two stunt nights, to which the entire school was invited, were howling successes, as well as the dances, trips to the beach and the flower picking expeditions in which some of the youth participated.
“However, as was mentioned before, it was not all play by far. The day started at seven when one of the Youth had charge of devotions. Following this, breakfast. (It might be noted here that the Youth were always in the front of the chow line
[Page 5]
at breakfast since they had devotions
in the room where the line formed.)
Then classes started. We had three
classes each day, some of which
were: Administration, Proofs of the
Bahá’í Faith, Character and Personality, Interesting Angles of Bahá’í
History, Questions and Answers, and
then the nightly classes given by the
Youth on the various religions of the
world. The instructors gave their
courses in such a manner that each
individual got the most out of it, and
since the courses were designed to
appeal especially to the Youth,
everyone thoroughly enjoyed each
class.
“For the first week we had Mr. and Mrs. Stewart Simms as advisors, whose understanding and cooperation in all matters were sincerely appreciated by all. Mr. and Mrs. Clarance Lear acted as advisors the second week and I feel sure all the youth were appreciative of their kind consideration.
“Rustam Payman, nicknamed “the Boss” by the Youth, was a sort of youth representative to the school committee and his undying patience as well as his wonderful personality netted invaluable rewards in the smooth operation. His work was continued nobly by Jessica Perry the second week and none of the Youth minded the change of administration one little bit.
“The entire program was intense, active, and full of fun, and while those of us who came up for a vacation were surprised at first we will all agree that there could be no finer vacation than working for the Kingdom of God on earth. Each youth took back with him a clearer idea of the individual’s part in the gigantic
Many notables including the Governor of the Province of Colón attended the banquet given at the close of the Panama Conference. There were also present many of all stations and races, presenting a complete cross section of western life.
task before the world community
today, as well as a little practical
experience in the operation of the
administrative order of Bahá’u’lláh.
I feel safe in saying that the words
of Jessica Perry express the feelings
of each youth who attended what
was without a doubt the best youth
session at Green Acre, when she
says, ‘The unity and joy surpasses
any experience most of us had
known. Green Acre is more than a
Summer School, it is an experience
which affected each of our lives with
a positive charge.’ ”
Display of New Braille Publications at the Regional Teaching Conference for Southern California. January 26, 1947.
Classes for the younger children
at Green Acre are now a well-established part of the program.
School for children from three to
fourteen opens every day, except
Sunday, at the Arts and Crafts Studio, at 9:30 a.m., and continues until
lunch time.
Last summer attendance was very good, particularly in the three-to-six and in the seven-to-eleven age-groups. The children had a short devotional period each morning, followed by a lesson from the Bahá’í teachings. Then came some handwork, and finally recreation, with the teacher still in charge. Recreation included walks in the woods, baseball, swimming, digging clay for modeling, singing, and other delightful activities.
There were two programs given by the children at the Arts and Crafts Studio—one at the end of July, the other at the end of August. A little play was given, prayers and “Hidden Words” were recited, and clay modeling, woodwork, painting, and drawing were exhibited.
A new feature added to the Green Acre School program this summer will be a ‘Junior Youth Week,’ for children from twelve to fifteen. The dates will be given on the program.
“Plead Ponder Afresh”[edit]
Cablegram from the Guardian[edit]
Acclaim with grateful heart evidences of steadily accelerating movement of pioneers, multiplication of conferences, consolidation of activities of national committees, progress in preliminaries of internal ornamentation of Temple, and formulation teaching policy southern states. Overwhelmed by tributes paid my own humble efforts by stalwart company whose championship of Faith of Bahá’u’lláh during last quarter century provided greatest support and solace enabling me to sustain the weight of cares and responsibilities of Guardianship. Impelled plead afresh to ponder responsibilities incurred in transatlantic field of service. Time is flying. First year of second Seven Year Plan is drawing to a close. Shadow of war’s tragic aftermath is deepening. Initial stage of colossal task undertaken in European continent still in balance. Urge stress for entire community extreme urgency to reinforce promptly, at whatever cost, however inadequate the instruments, the number of volunteers, both settlers and itinerant teachers, whom posterity will rightly recognize as vanguard of torchbearers of Bahá’u’lláh’s resistless, world-redeeming order to despairing millions of diversified races, conflicting nationalities in darkest, most severely tested, spiritually-depleted continent of globe. Prayerfully awaiting response by all ranks of community to supreme call to fuller participation in glorious enterprise.
Received January 30, 1947
National Spiritual Assembly[edit]
The National Budget[edit]
At the beginning of this Bahá’í year, when plans were being made to set in motion the Guardian’s four objectives of the second Seven Year Plan, a budget of $250,000 was adopted. The definite allocation of funds to each project was decided, and the itemized budget published in the pamphlet which carried the details of the work to be accomplished this year.
The budget amounted to double the average budgets met in recent years, calling for an increase in the average donation made by every Bahá’í.
Now the scope of the work laid down by the Guardian’s cable to the 1946 Convention, particularly in relation to the settlement of pioneers in the European countries, has been enlarged. To meet this intensified national effort, the annual budget will not only have to be met in full but a surplus of some $10,000 may be required. The enlarged schedule represents our duty to humanity, as only the Guardian can define it and put it into deeds. The National Assembly, therefore, appeals for a great response from now until the Convention begins. The special contributions to the Temple Fund made in honor of the Guardianship were a magnificent token of loving devotion.
We express the confident hope that the receipts of the National Fund in general will be not less impressive during the few remaining weeks of this crucial year.
Annual Convention[edit]
The 1947 Convention will be held Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, May 1, 2, 3 and 4, in Temple Foundation Hall. The Foundation Hall will be open Wednesday evening for delegates and visitors who arrive before the opening session Thursday A.M.
The matter of housing still continues to be the most difficult problem. The Housing Committee will do its utmost to meet requests for accommodations in homes or hotels. Write the committee as soon as possible, state your needs clearly, and try and give the committee an alternative arrangement if the accommodations you wish cannot be supplied. Believers who receive accommodations are expected and urged to notify the committee if plans are changed and the accommodations are cancelled.
Convention Housing Committee—Mrs. Mineola Hannen, Chairman, 110 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, Ill., Mrs. May Scheffler, Secretary, Mrs. Mary Haggard, Mrs. Edna Colman, Mrs. Parepa Franklin.
Convention agendas will be sent to the delegates with ballots and other information early in April. Brief annual reports prepared by national committees will also be supplied to delegates before the Convention dates. The usual complete Annual Reports will be printed and mailed to all the believers after the end of the administrative year, April 30.
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 conferreth the gift of everlasting life.
- Mr. William R. Llewellyn, Park Ridge, Ill. January 6. 1947.
- Miss May Williams, Geneva, N. Y. May 15, 1946.
- Mrs. Grace Farkas, Los Angeles, Calif., Feb. 2, 1947.
- Mrs. Mary Kluge, Chicago, Ill., December 13, 1946.
Glimpses of Bahá’í Life[edit]
From a Persian Pioneer[edit]
(Some months ago the following story was received from one of the young Persians pioneering in an Eastern country. “I have often thought,” she writes in an enclosed letter, “that our dear brothers and sisters in the West would be interested to know how the Message of Bahá’u’lláh is being taken to virgin territories in the East and to get some idea of pioneering work in these parts.” She asks that her name be withheld, as well as the name of the city mentioned, in order not to endanger the friends there.)
The sun had just set, and I was preparing the tea, which is so welcome after a day’s fasting, when I heard a knock on the front door. My husband does not usually knock, and I wondered who it could be. I asked who it was before opening the door (as is the custom here), and a stranger’s voice answered in an undertone, just loud enough for me to hear, that he had come from our friends in...
We had stopped all correspondence with these pioneers ever since we ourselves had been known as Bahá’ís here, for we knew what it would mean if they were discovered to be friends of ours; and, after a rumor had reached us that we were suspected
[Page 7]
of being in touch with someone in ..., we were even more
careful not to mention that we knew
anyone in that city. My first reaction, therefore, to this unknown voice
was a strange feeling of hope and
suspicion, for, although we longed
for news from these dear friends
who had so bravely ventured to establish the Cause in the most fanatical city of the East, I knew I
should not trust any stranger who
claimed to have come from there.
My suspicion increased upon seeing the owner of that voice in long, flowing robes with their glittering decorations, which showed him to be a native of ..., and I was glad the customs of the place would not permit me to receive him, my husband being out. The sensation, however, did not last long, for his greeting came quick and clear, “Alláh-u-Abhá!” It was so sudden, so unexpected, that I cannot possible describe its effect. These two beautiful words, so sweet to the ears of those of us, especially, who are not privileged to hear them often on other lips, made me forget for a moment all the customs and formalities of my environment and, before I knew what I was doing, I had invited the visitor to come in. As he followed me to our little sitting room, I had time to think again, and my suspicions came back. Could he have come to gather information about our friends in ...? Hadn’t he, through his manner of greeting, tried to gain my confidence? I decided to be careful, and prayed that my husband would come to my help.
My guest removed his shoes at the threshold and to my little daughter, who came to him across the room, he repeated, “Alláh-u-Abhá!” I asked him to take a seat and expressed my regret that my husband was not at home. Could he come again in the morning? He said he was not sure he could pay us a second visit and considered himself lucky to have been able to meet one of us at least. He then asked me if we had recently received any letters from Mr. A ... and the other Bahá’ís in ... I had never felt more embarrassed, as I asked, “From whom, did you say?” hoping that some miracle would happen and he would change the subject. Instead, he repeated the names. “Perhaps my husband would know them,” I managed to say, and in my heart
“Wholly for Thy Sake”[edit]
Praise be to Thee, O Lord my God! I beseech Thee by this Revelation whereby darkness hath been turned into light, through which the Frequented Fane hath been built, and the Written Tablet revealed, and the Outspread Roll uncovered, to send down upon me and upon them who are in my company that which will enable us to soar into the heavens of Thy transcendent glory, and will wash us from the stain of such doubts as have hindered the suspicious from entering into the tabernacle of Thy unity.
I am the one, O my Lord, who hath held fast the cord of Thy loving-kindness, and clung to the hem of Thy mercy and favors. Do Thou ordain for me and for my loved ones the good of this world and of the world to come. Supply them, then, with the Hidden Gift Thou didst ordain for the choicest among Thy creatures.
These are, O my Lord, the days in which Thou hast bidden Thy servants to observe the fast. Blessed is he that observeth the fast wholly for Thy sake and with absolute detachment from all things except Thee. Assist me and assist them, O my Lord, to obey Thee and to keep Thy precepts. Thou, verily, hast power to do what Thou choosest.
There is no God but Thee, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise. Praise be to God, the Lord of all worlds.
I prayed over and over again, “Please, God don’t let him ask any more questions.” He seemed greatly surprised. “But surely,” he said, “you must know them too. A ... and M ... and K ...?” All that I knew of the merits of truthfulness rushed to my mind, yet I had not the courage to speak out the truth, for I knew that if this was not a friend, one word from me might cost the Bahá’í in ... their lives. He next told me that the friends in ... had heard of the difficulties we had been confronted with and were very anxious about us, especially as they had not received any news from us for such a long time. I was only too eager to avoid any more questions and started to relate in full all that had happened here when people came to know of our Faith.
I was half through when I heard my husband open the front door. I went out to meet him and told him
Wide lawns and beautiful gardens are a feature of the first Latin American Bahá’í summer school opened at Azeiza, near Buenos Aires, Argentina. The gardens have been lovingly planted and tended by Sr. Salvador Tormo and his wife, who have donated them to the Cause. The picture shows some of the delegates to the Buenos Aires Conference meeting at Azeiza. The first formal summer school sessions were held there in January.
[Page 8]
in a few hurried words that some
one had come from ... who claimed
to be a Bahá’í but I had not confessed that I knew anyone there.
Our guest rose up as soon as my
husband entered the room and embraced him so tenderly that I felt
ashamed of having doubted his sincerity; yet my husband too, was in
no hurry to disclose his friendship
with anyone in ... until he had asked
our guest to introduce himself. (In
the East people do not introduce
themselves until asked to do so, and
it is not polite to ask anyone to
introduce himself immediately after
greetings.) I did not have the slightest hope that knowing the name of
this stranger would help us in any
way to tell whether he was indeed
a friend, and our joy can be imagined
when my husband knew him as the
son of an old Bahá’í who had settled
in ... in the days of the Ancient
Beauty!
There was one amongst us, however, who had known the stranger as a friend from the very beginning. My two-year-old daughter had silently crept onto his lap almost immediately after his arrival and there she sat all this while, as happy as could be, playing with the golden threads that hung from his shoulder. Her little heart had known no doubt, and now, when we too at last had found in him a dear friend, I noticed through my tears of joy, that she was kissing the palm of his hand.
I was not slow in asking him to forgive me for all the precautions I had taken against him, but he assured me that, coming from ..., he realized only too well how necessary it was for us to be careful in speaking to strangers, if we wished the safety of our friends.
We had many questions to ask and he had a great deal to tell. The happiest news he brought was that the Guardian had sent a letter to the pioneers in ... telling them that the time had come for them to start teaching our beloved Cause there, but of course with great wisdom. The hours thus passed with the first Bahá’í we had met for a long time, except our own little group, were the happiest we had known in years. We begged our friend to come again, but he said that the fact that we were known as Bahá’ís here, made it difficult for him to do so. Yet if he was lucky enough to get away from those who had accompanied him from ..., he would come to see us once more when the call for the early morning prayers was raised.
It is past midnight already, and in a few more hours our friend may be coming.
Bahá’í Census[edit]
The following figures describe the make-up of the Bahá’í Community of the United States and Canada as of February 20, 1947.
| 1. Adult voting Bahá’ís of the United States | 5,174 |
| 2. Adult voting Bahá’ís of Alaska, Hawaii, Canal Zone and Puerto Rico | 97 |
| 3. American pioneers in Latin America | 21 |
| 4. American pioneers in Europe | 12 |
| 5. Adult voting Bahá’ís of Canada | 270 |
| 6. Bahá’í youth | 147 |
| _____ | |
| Total Bahá’í Community | 5,720 |
Of the voting believers of the United States, 3,239 are members of communities; 843 are in groups; 871 are isolated; 221 are in transit (present address unknown).
Of the voting believers in Canada, 182 are in Communities; 42 are in groups; 46 are isolated.
Of Bahá’í youth, 79 are in Communities; 35 in groups; 33 isolated.
The largest number of believers in one state, California, is 835: the smallest number, 12, is in West Virginia.
There is less than one enrolled youth per local community in North America. While we are striving to increase the number of Assemblies, we should strive not less efficiently to create a much larger body of enrolled youth.
Enrollments by Assemblies[edit]
Cleveland 6, Milwaukee 2, Regina 1, Denver 2, Pasadena 1, Indianapolis 2, Chicago 2, Los Angeles 1, 1 youth, Richmond Highlands 1, Wauwatosa 1 youth.
Regional teaching areas, 15.
Sacrifice and Growth in India[edit]
“Is it aught but the love of God that can cause a man to sell a flourishing business, wander for months without an income, draw on his limited resources to maintain a large family, be buffeted here and there, and finally transfer his home, at the NSA’s request, from a locality famed as a health resort to one which for almost half the year has an unbearable climate?...
“Is it aught but trust in God that inspires one battered community to make a cash contribution towards the progress of another so that their essential oneness may be demonstrated? Instances like these might be multiplied.—Bahá’í News Letter of India and Burma.
A new Bahá’í Center of over sixty believers has recently been founded in Burma. Two new groups will become Assemblies next Ridván. A new Assembly at Twante is progressing rapidly. Five members of the Daidanaw Assembly have settled for six months in Kyigon in order to establish an Assembly.
This year’s quota in the pioneering field is the conversion of twelve groups into Assemblies, the creation or consolidation of eight groups and the development of three Assemblies.
Deepening in the Cause[edit]
To deepen in the Cause means to read the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh and the Master so thoroughly as to be able to give it to others in its pure form. There are many who have some superficial idea of what the Cause stands for. They, therefore, present it together with all sorts of ideas that are their own. As the Cause is still in its early days we must be most careful lest we fall into this error and injure the Movement we so much adore. There is no limit to the study of the Cause. The more we read the Writings, the more truths we can find in Them, the more we will see that our previous nations were erroneous.—SHOGHI EFFENDI
Correction[edit]
In our December issue we stated that the Guardian had sent 10,000 pounds to be devoted to relief, teaching work, expansion of literature and renting or purchasing of an adequate house for a National Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds in Frankfurt, Germany. This statement was based on the cable sent by the Guardian to the German NSA just after its election. The exact statement about the money was, “Will transmit 10,000 pounds collected for national fund (for relief, teaching work etc.) as soon as possible.” In all probability, the 10,000 pounds has not yet been transmitted on account of international political barriers.
A Word for Local News Reporters[edit]
The Bahá’í News Committee has been gratified to receive so many fine reports from local news reporters. A considerable amount of this material has been edited, but, much to our regret, even some of that has had to be omitted in the end because of lack of space. We ask that news reporters send in only the most important news, such as the most outstanding events, new or unusual teaching techniques and reactions of the public. Please bear in mind that we want news and not reports.
Houston World Fellowship Meetings[edit]
The Houston Bahá’ís report a successful series of World Fellowship meetings. “Our policy has been to interest as many people of different backgrounds as possible—and by asking a speaker from a minority group, it has been possible for us to increase our contacts—because invariably the speaker will bring a friend or two. The Bahá’í chairman speaks briefly on a point nearest the subject of the speaker...
“It may appear that this is not the time for indirect teachings. Yet, in Houston—with our particular community, it is helping us to get the name “Bahá’í” before the public. During January we received nine notices of our meetings in three different newspapers, and spot notices on the radio. There were twenty-four people who were inquirers ... that came to the meetings.
Some Bahá’í Marriages[edit]
Dr. Mary E. Coffin of Pittsburg and Mr. C. W. Ketcham of Miami were united in Bahá’í marriage at the Bahá’í Center, Miami, Florida, on December 19, 1946. The wedding was Miami’s first performed without civil observance and the many non-Bahá’ís attending found the ceremony decidedly impressive.
Mr. Reginald King and Martha Jane Ladson were married November 29 in the second Bahá’í wedding to take place in Boston under the new Massachusetts ruling.
Miss Elva Wilson of the Pawtucket group and Mr. Donald Lister were married Nov. 23.
Mr. and Mrs. W. Irving Frederic were married on September 7 in Toronto. After the church ceremony, necessary as Toronto has not yet obtained legal status for such ceremonies, a Bahá’í wedding took place in the Bahá’í Center.
Mrs. Dorothy Stotts of Lima and Frederick D. Hoffman of Brattleboro, Vt. were united in marriage at the Lima Bahá’í Center on January
Dorothy Stotts and Frederick Hoffman at the time of their marriage in the Lima Bahá’í Center. With them are David Wolf and Mrs. Marjorie Brown, chairman and secretary of the Lima Assembly.
18. David Wolf, chairman of the
local Bahá’í Spiritual Assembly, read
the service. The Bahá’í marriage
tablet was read by Mrs. Marjorie
Brown, Assembly secretary.
The first Bahá’í marriage to be solemnized under the new marriage amendment of the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts was that of Miss Mary Corea of Woburn and Mr. John Neilson of Boston, Massachusetts, September 1. Mr. Charles Krug, chairman of the Boston Assembly, presided at the ceremony.
Funerals of Bahá’ís Interest Inquirers[edit]
The Los Angeles Bahá’í Journal tells of the passing of Mrs. Inga Illescas on November 1, 1946. The Bahá’í ceremony was of such a nature that some of the persons who attended the funeral who before were only curious, and others who were decidedly against the Faith, have become interested inquirers. The words Mrs. Illescas said to her husband on the morning of the day she departed are such as to inspire us all: “’Octavio—all for the Cause—don’t mourn—don’t tarry—carry on the work—I from there—you from here—till we meet again.”
From Butte we learn of the passing on of Mr. Matthew Caldwell, one of the first Bahá’ís in Montana, on November 30, 1946. Mr. Caldwell had previously written down the services that he desired to have. This included a prayer for guidance for all his friends gathered on the occasion. He desired the nine pointed star in white flowers and no others. His ceremony was so beautiful that several service men and other non-Bahá’ís who had not heard of the Faith before were sufficiently impressed to call the chairman and ask about the Bahá’í Message.
Chicago Inter-Race Symposium[edit]
The Chicago Bahá’í Assembly sponsored a symposium on The Future of Race Relations, January 23, at their Center, 116 So. Michigan Ave. The speakers were John Yancy, a national representative of the C.I.O., Madeleine Morgan Stratton, well known authority in the field of public education, Russell E. Babcock, Director of Public Information and Education for the Mayor’s Commission on Human Relations, Dr. Homer S. Jack, Executive Secretary of the Chicago Council Against Racial and Religious Discrimination, and Horace Holley, Secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States and Canada, an eminent authority in the field of the religions of the world and the high ideals expounded by them.
Growing Interest Shown in Winnetka[edit]
The Winnetka (Ill.) Group reports great success from a Bahá’í display and booth during the annual three hour reception for newcomers to this village of 14,000 population. The annual event which is sponsored by civic, club and educational groups held on Sunday, November 24th, in the village community house drew an attendance of a few thousand besides the hundred or more persons manning the exhibits. It is estimated that, while most visitors saw the Bahá’í display in passing, at least 10% stopped to read the Bahá’í posters and to view the two large photographs of the Bahá’í House of Worship.
[Page 10]
So many walked into the booth
to ask questions on the Faith that
for periods groups were kept waiting.
Notes from Local Reports[edit]
The Indianapolis Bahá’í Spiritual Assembly has planned a series of public lectures for fall and spring, which will take place on the second Sunday of each month. The Sunday following each meeting a follow-up gathering is held in the home of one of the Bahá’ís to which the visitors of the previous public meeting are invited. Classes for beginners and “for deepening in the Bahá’í Cause” are also being conducted. A youth program has been inaugurated with a party at which views of the Bahá’í House of Worship were shown to a decidedly interested group of eight youngsters, ranging from eight to sixteen years of age.
In Charlottetown Dorothy Baker gave an ad lib broadcast on New World Order points in October. This was really quite a departure in local radio station policy and the idea was not at first enthusiastically received by the owner, but afterwards brought fine comment from him. His wife too liked it and made it a point to call the station immediately to tell Mrs. Baker so. It is another real indication of the relationship of trust that has been established between the Bahá’ís as a group and the station. Beginning November 28 the Assembly has been sponsoring a series of nine firesides on topics from The Divine Art of Living.
The Houston Post of November 1 printed a four-inch notice about plans of the Bahá’ís for a work-shop for writing, speaking and radio. The friends of Houston have placed listings of their activities with both the Better Business Bureau and the Chamber of Commerce. They were able to get a listing with the Southwestern Bell Telephone Company for an additional 25c, plus tax, per month, obtained by one of the members releasing her contract with the telephone company in favor of the LSA and requesting an additional listing for herself. This was the only way in which the Houston LSA could get a listing, and they were most grateful for the permission to do this.
The Columbus Community was host to the Rainbow group of the Theosophical Society on November 12. Members of this group presented the history, goal and summary of their belief, and the Bahá’í chairman spoke on the Manifestation of this Day. A class for the study of the Fundamentals for Bahá’í Membership was held with four new applicants. In November again 50 Temple reprints were mailed out to artists and civic leaders of the city.
In Muskegon Esperanto classes are being held once a month. In Little Rock a forum on “Can the United Nations Organization Build a World Federation” was conducted with Mr. Will G. Akers, prominent local attorney, and Mrs. Alvin Blum, Bahá’í, participating. Mr. Akers dealt with the legal and historical angle while Mrs. Blum approached the subject from a moral and spiritual viewpoints. The Boise Community was able to secure time for a regular radio program with the opening of a new station, KGEM. The use of the series of transcriptions obtained through the National Radio Committee has been of invaluable assistance in providing program material, and the program director at the station spoke of it as “high quality material.”
Charleston was delighted with a response from the article on the Faith which appeared in the December 18 issue of the Pathfinder. (This article, which includes pictures of the Temple and of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, was prepared by one of its editors from material supplied by the Public Relations Committee.) A couple appeared at a Sunday Public Meeting, having seen the article. The woman said, “I cannot imagine anyone reading that article and not taking every step to investigate the Faith immediately.” Mind Digest has accepted an article on “Wise Be Your Choice” by Marian C. Lippitt. Several allusions to the Faith are contained therein. The article was reviewed and approved by the local Assembly.
Honolulu reports the Second Annual Summer Session of Bahá’ís of Honolulu which was held in August with as many as thirty-two at one session. The friends in this city would be most happy to receive copies of talks given on the mainland, which they feel would be of invaluable help to them for perusal and discussion. Their isolation on the Islands prevents their close contact with other Bahá’ís.
On January 12 the Bahá’ís of Greater Milwaukee gave a Bahá’í Radio Broadcast, the fourth appearance within fifteen months on the Inter-Faith Hour in which participants included more than twenty of the largest Protestant faiths, Catholics, Jews, Bahá’ís and the Salvation Army.
In Greensboro a series of meetings has been planned to which outside speakers are being invited. Mr. Victor Serunian was the first such speaker at the Bahá’í Center on January 17. He was born of Christian Armenian parents (his father is a Presbyterian minister), who had lived in Persia many years. He spoke on the culture and religion of modern Persia. He said, “In all the years that there have been Christian missionaries in Irán, probably not more than fifty Mohammedans have become Christians. Today there are more than a million Bahá’ís in Persia (in not much longer time)—there must be something in Bahá’í—if that many Mohammedans have become Bahá’ís!”
The Cleveland Spiritual Assembly enjoyed the unique pleasure of voting into membership at one meeting six applicants. Stepping stones leading to this happy accomplishment were the regular Public Lectures, the completion of a systematic course of study in a fireside study class which met weekly for ten weeks, and the inspiring fellowship with the local Bahá’ís.
On January 26, Mrs. Charles Reed Bishop spoke to a capacity audience of 180 persons in the Round-up Room of Hotel Adams in Phoenix. Recorded instrumental music accompanied the seating of the guests and provided a dignified prelude to the program. Mrs. Bishop spoke on “The Meaning of Crisis.” Memo cards were placed on all seats announcing the question-answer meeting to be held the following evening. Thirty-five inquirers attended, along with twenty Bahá’ís. For a week Mrs. Bishop did much teaching work, which included speaking to forty students in a class in International Relations at Phoenix Junior College. A study class was begun after her intensive work.
In Moncton meetings combining Esperanto lessons and Bahá’í fireside discussions have been held. Children’s Classes have taken place after school on Friday afternoons. The youngsters purchased two pairs of
[Page 11]
new shoes from their weekly collections to be sent with a box of used
children’s clothing to the Philippines.
Mr. and Mrs. Irving Geary spoke
jointly at a meeting on “The Need
for a Fresh Revelation.” It was felt
that their working as a team would
enable them to make further valuable contributions to the Faith.
In Chicago we now have a Bahá’í University Fellowship Committee. Weekly meetings are held in Room 200, Swift Hall at the University of Chicago. This group has been formed around a nucleus of three Bahá’ís now at the University in response to a growing demand for an opportunity to learn more about the Bahá’í Faith.
In Santa Barbara, Mr. J. V. Matteson, retired architect’s draftsman, has built himself a house, almost entirely with only his own two hands. This house is dedicated to the teaching work and the Assembly meets there. A newspaper clipping shows the Greatest Name above a charming fireplace.
Lima wants the friends to know that for the last two years during the summer months Sunday morning prayer services were held on the bank of a scenic lake in a beautiful local park. Each person attending read a prayer. Light breakfasts followed the services. These have proved so successful that the friends wanted to pass the idea along.
Los Angeles scheduled a training class for chairmen at public meetings, which must have proved most helpful.
Several Bahá’í children in Montreal, Canada, obtained special leave of absence from school on November 12 in order to observe the birthday of Bahá’u’lláh. As part of their commemoration the children prepared and presented small gifts personally to the Children’s Memorial Hospital.
British Bahá’ís Summoned to Pioneer[edit]
“More believers must arise and, putting their trust in Bahá’u’lláh, do their duty to the Faith they believe in and love so dearly.... The consummation of their present task ... will signalize the inauguration of a great epoch in the history of the Faith in their land ... In the future we may well look back upon these present days and see that in them lay our greatest chance to build for the future and to can the people to the Faith while they were still deeply impressed with the tragedy and futility of war, and before they became too engulfed in post-war problems, or too bitterly disillusioned by trend of world affairs to even seek a solution.”
With such words the Guardian summons the British Bahá’ís to pioneering, telling them that “the only hope for a stable world is in the spread of the Cause.” Spurred by this challenge the call goes out in the January Bahá’í Journal (British) for more and more pioneers. Already, between January and December 1946 the total number of Bahá’ís in their goal towns has doubled. The Guardian now urges them to focus their attention, after the attainment of their present goal, which is the doubling of the number of Spiritual Assemblies in the British Isles, on Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
Young Chinese Enthusiastic Over the Faith[edit]
Bernice Wood, who has been working in China under UNRRA, has interested several Young Chinese in the Faith. Seven were meeting together in Shanghai in August, and she has sent literature to interested people in Hangchou, Nanking and Hankou. Bernice writes. “Captain Chu and Lieutenant Chou have lots of enthusiasm and that’s what it takes.”
Bernice expects to return from China in the spring when UNRRA
Fireplace of the home of Mr. J. V. Matteson, 3002 Paseo del Refugio, Santa Barbara, Cal. Built by Mr. Matteson with his own hands. Meeting place of Santa Barbara Assembly.
[Page 12]
is over and will travel via the Middle East. Mrs. Hansen, Secretary of
the Arlington, Va. Assembly, has
sent us this news and has asked
the NSA to give Bernice addresses
of Bahá’ís in India, Írán, Iráq and
Egypt and has suggested she ask for
permission to visit Haifa on her return trip.
Brief Notes from Other Lands[edit]
In Germany an exceptionally fruitful, deeply spiritual Bahá’í youth gathering took place in December at Neckargemund. 53 believers were present, representing twelve cities.
A Teaching Conference dedicated to the 25th anniversary of the Guardianship was held in Manchester, January 5. This was followed by an intensive four evenings’ teaching Seminar in Leeds.
Miss Marion Jack, pioneer in Sofia, Bulgaria, would like French and German translations of selections from the Bahá’í writings or articles on religious or philosophical topics to give to those whom she is attracting to the Faith. (There is no Bahá’í literature in Bulgarian available.) This is a suggestion for those who may be tied at home and yet desire to assist in field work. Miss Jack’s address is 25 Boulevard Tzar, Osvoboditch 25, Sofia, Bulgaria.
Mrs. Prudence George has come from Canada to assist in the teaching work in England. Miss Isobel Locke from California is to help in establishing a nucleus in Scotland. Both Mrs. George and Miss Locke have the Guardian’s approval of their visit.
The Bahá’í community at Hamburg, Germany, was re-established last summer. It has sixteen declared believers and is, so far, the only community in the British Zone.
The NSA of Írán has started a vast teaching campaign embracing the neighboring countries of Afghanistan Baluchistan, ‘Iráq and India.
Australia and New Zealand have issued their first youth bulletin. Write for it to Mr. Stanley Bolton, Bolton Place, Yerrinbool, NSW, Australia.
Copies of “God Passes By” with “Appreciations of the Bahá’í Faith” were sent to the Bishops and Archbishops of the Anglican Church in Australia, twelve of whom sent acknowledgements.
The Frankfurt, Germany, community was started by Edith Horn in 1935. It now numbers 35 declared believers. Edith Horn had lived many years in the U.S.A. when ‘Abdu’l-Bahá told her to return to Germany to work for the Faith. She is now 67 and suffers from gout and “from the coarse food,” but is still active in Bahá’í work. She writes, “Believe me, we are all very appreciative of what the American and Persian believers are doing for us... We are glad to have Bruce Davison with us as he has helped us a great deal.”
Directory[edit]
Assemblies
- Boston, Mass. Miss Natalie Anderson, Sec’y, P.O. Box 261, Back Bay Annex P.O., Boston, 15
- East Orange, N. J. Mrs. Paul Wright, Secretary, 105 Leslie Street
- Wilmette, Illinois, Dr. Otto Zmeskal, Secretary, 105 Sixth Street
- Arlington, Virginia. Mrs. Marion Compton, Secretary, 1144 N. Vermont Street.
- Laramie, Wyoming. Mrs. Raphael Lillywhite, Secretary, P.O. Box 112
National Committees
- Archives and History:
- Mrs. Nelle Heath appointed
- Mr. M. D. Roach appointed
- Bahá’í Service for the Blind
- Mrs.Clyde S. Longyear appointed
- Public Relations
- Mr. Paul E. Haney appointed
Regional Teaching Committees
- Michigan: Mr. Gordon A. Frazer appointed. Mrs. Helen Thompson appointed
- Alaska: Mr. Jocelyn Gordon appointed
- Tennessee and Alabama:
- Mrs. Homer Dyer, Secretary, Rt. 5, Box 443, Birmingham, 6 Alabama.
- Mrs. Rose Brown retired.
- Ohio and Western Penna.;
- Mrs. Florence M. Reeb, Chairman
- Mrs. Gladys Lemmon, Secretary, 2583 Wexford Road, Upper Arlington, Ohio
- Dr. Mary Coffin Ketcham, retired
- Miss Nell Payne, retired
Committee on Teaching Equipment for Temple Guiding
- Miss Edna M. True, Chairman, 418 Forest Avenue, Wilmette, Ill.
- Horace Holley, Mrs. Dorothy Baker, Mrs. J. M. Haggard, Mrs. J. P. McCormick, Dr. Otto Zmeskal.
Temple Teaching Committee
- Miss Edna M. True, Chairman, 418 Forest Avenue, Wilmette, Ill.
- Mrs. Clarence Ullrich, Dr. Otto Zmeskal, Mr. E. W. Mattoon, Mrs. J. P. McCormick, Mr. Richard McCurdy, Mrs. J. M. Haggard.
Maintenance Committee for Quebec Property
- Mr. Emeric Sala, Chairman
- Mr. Siegfried Schopflocher, Vice-Chairman
- Mrs. Adline Lohse, Secretary, 3360 Ridgewood Avenue, Montreal, P.Q., Canada
- Mr. Ernest Sala, Mr. John de Mille, Mrs. E. N. Reed, Mr. Wm. Suter, Mr. Robert Tate.
Calendar[edit]
Nineteen Day Fast (from sunrise to sunset)
- March 2 through March 20.
- Nawruz—March 21st.
Nineteen Day Feasts
- April 9
- April 28
National Assembly Meeting
- March 14, 15, 16, 17.
National Convention May 1, 2, 3, 4.
| Page | Col. | |
| Words of Bahá’u’lláh | ||
“Wholly for Thy Sake” | 7 | 2 |
| Words of the Guardian | ||
“Bahá’u’lláh’s Resistless World-Redeeming Order” | 1 | 3 |
“Plead Ponder Afresh” | 6 | 1 |
Deepening in the Cause | 8 | 3 |
| National Spiritual Assembly | ||
The National Budget | 6 | 1 |
Annual Convention | 6 | 2 |
Bahá’í Census | 8 | 2 |
| Progress of the Seven Year Plan | ||
Panama Conference Demonstrates Unity | 1 | 1 |
Correspondence Teaching in Latin America | 2 | 1 |
Columbian Village Eager for the Faith | 2 | 2 |
Many Volunteer for European Teaching | 1 | 1 |
Public Meeting at Baltimore | 3 | 1 |
Public Meeting at Salt Lake City | 3 | 3 |
New Braille Publications | 4 | 2 |
Young Bahá’ís at Green Acre | 4 | 3 |
| News of Other Lands | ||
Glimpses of Bahá’í Life—From a Persian Pioneer | 6 | 2 |
Sacrifice and Growth in India | 8 | 2 |
British Bahá’ís Summoned to Pioneer | 11 | 1 |
Young Chinese Enthusiastic | 11 | 3 |
Brief Notes from Other Lands | 12 | 1 |
Correction | 8 | 3 |
| News from Communities and Groups | ||
Houston World Fellowship Meetings | 9 | 1 |
Some Bahá’í Marriages | 9 | 1 |
Bahá’í Funerals Interest Inquirers | 9 | 2 |
Chicago Inter-Race Symposium | 9 | 3 |
Growing Interest Shown in Winnetka | 9 | 3 |
Notes from Local Reports | 10 | 1 |
Bahá’í Addresses | 2 | 1 |
Star of the West | 4 | 1 |
A Word for Local News Reporters | 9 | 1 |
In Memoriam | 6 | 3 |
Enrollments | 8 | 2 |
Directory | 12 | 2
|
