THE BULLETIN OF THE NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY
OF THE BAHA’IS OF THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA
Office of the Secretary
P. O. BOX 139, STATION D, NEW YORK CITYTHE MEANING OF THE NINETEEN-DAY FEAST[edit]
Talk by ’Abdu’l-Bahá at the Time of the Meeting of International Peace Arbitration Committee, Given at a Nineteen-Day Feast in London, December 29, 1912.
Those delegates who have gathered in the Peace Conference are like merchants; each strives to compete for victory with his rival. Even if peace were established it would be but temporary. Years ago, there was an international peace agreement, but wars have continued notwithstanding. If such conferences were endowed with the power to establish an enduring peace, the world would have been at rest long ago.
Praise be to God, souls have assembled here with pure intention. That which is the means of love and fellowship in the world of humanity is acceptable at the divine threshold, and that which is conducive to the warfare of mankind, or any movement which brings a rancor, hatred and animosity, is not acceptable.
All the holy and inspired messengers who have appeared in the history of the world have, as the fulfillment of their mission, the promotion of love and amity in the hearts of the people. In order that the members of the world of humanity might associate with each other, these divine souls have utilized every means, for it has been the aim of all the prophets of God to bring about reconciliation and fellowship among the sons of men. The divine philosophers and scholars of history strove with all their power to bring about this ideal condition. In this highway, they have given up wealth, property and possessions. For this, central principle of peace more than twenty thousand in the Orient have given up their lives. While under the sword of execution, their great desire was this fulfillment; while in the pillory they longed for the effulgence of the Holy Spirit; while actually being hewn asunder, they went to death with the greatest joy and felicity, knowing that their martyrdom hastened the millennium. Consider to what an extent they were self-sacrificing. They were happy and ready to give up everything, even to life itself.
There are certain souls whose aim is equally lofty, their desire is also an affinity between members of the human family; but they practice it only to the extent of verbal demonstrations. They are not ready to give up their lives for its accomplishment. There is a great difference between the man who rests on the bed of luxury and selfishness, and the man who in the arena of activity willingly sacrifices all for the attainment of a sacred object.
Philosophers and those who see visions, dream safely in the security of their own houses, but the faithful servants of the Almighty did not merely dream high ideals in homes of comfort. In order to prove their sincerity, they gave up their houses and lives. The earth became crimson with their blood; the cross adorned their holy temples; their bodies and their heads decorated the points of spears. Thereby we can judge of their sincerity. This is the station of sacrifice. This is the station of martyrdom. The man who desires the improvement of the human race must ever be ready to sacrifice his honor, glory and life. In this century the Bahá’ís have sacrificed their lives so that fellowship and affection may become realized in the hearts, so that the world of humanity may become radiant, the children of men be resuscitated with a new life, and the earthly world becomes a mirror reflecting the divine world. When a holy and divine messenger appears on earth, this power of unity and agreement is made possible.
One of these means of unity and agreement is made possible in this very meeting. The Nineteen Day Feast was inaugurated by the Báb and ratified by Bahá’u’lláh, in His holy book, the Akdás, so that people may gather together and outwardly show fellowship and love, that the divine mysteries may be disclosed. The object is concord, that through this fellowship hearts may become perfectly united, and reciprocity and mutual helpfulness be established. Because the members of the world of humanity are unable to exist without being banded together, cooperation and mutual helpfulness is the basis of human society. Without the realization of these two great principles no great movement is pressed forward.
It is an established fact that this plant, or that palm tree, can grow and develop alone. Some animals live in the solitary life, but not so man. He does not live and grow up by himself. It is beyond the range of his ken and ability to live independently of his fellow men. For example, he cannot at the same time engage in agriculture, cook his own food, make and sew his robe, and gather the materials to build his house. The human cry is for cooperation and reciprocity.
There are two kinds of cooperation: material and spiritual. Cooperation in the material world will insure happiness and fellowship, and will facilitate the progress of humankind; but the ideal. The most real and virtuous cooperation is spiritual. That is realized
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of the Bahá’is of the United States and Canada
P.O. Box 139, Station D, New York City Address for telegrams Horace Holley, 129 East 10th Street New York City Office of the Treasurer 1821 Lincoln Street Evanston, Ill. “The NEWS LETTER which you have lately initiated fulfills a very vital function and has been started admirably well. I would urge you to enlarge its scope, as much as your resources permit, that in time it may devote a special section to every phase of your activities, administrative, devotional, humanitarian, financial, educational and otherwise. That it may attain its object, it must combine the essential qualities of accuracy, reliability, thoroughness, dignity and wisdom. It should become a great factor in promoting understanding, providing information on Bahá’i activity, both local and foreign, in stimulating interest, in combating and safeguarding the institutions of the Cause. It should be made as representative as possible, should be replete with news, up-to-date in its information, and should arouse the keenest interest among believers and admirers alike in every corner of the globe. I cherish great hopes for its immediate future, and I trust you will devote your special attention to its development, and by devising well–conceived and world-wide measures transform this NEWS LETTER into what I hope will become the foremost Bahá’i Journal of the world.”—— SHOGHI EFFENDI |
when people gather together to investigate and discuss principles impartially, to talk over the divine and philosophic principles of the age and to assist each other in pursuit of divine knowledge and wisdom. This real cooperation and mutual assistance is the foundation on which the super-structure of material reciprocity is based. Through this spiritual inter-assistance the prosperity of the world of man is unveiled.
Consider the divine ones who lived in bygone ages. Consider the sacred souls and philosophers of the past. Of their knowledge and wisdom those contemporaneous until we are the inheritors. They left as a divine heritage for future generations lore gathered from the laboratories of nature. This is indeed spiritual cooperation, valid, age abiding, because the requirements of one age are passed on to other ages.
In brief, this is my hope: that the Nineteen Day Feast become the cause of great spiritual solidarity between the friends, that it may bring believers into the bond of unity, and we will then be so united together that love and wisdom will spread from this center to all parts. This Feast is a divine Feast. It is a Lord’s supper. It attracts confirmation of God like a magnet. It is the cause of the enlightenment of hearts.
Every day great feasts and banquets are being spread with the object of material enjoyment and relish of food. People partake of certain delicacies and waters from various fountains, that they may have a good time. Balls and dances follow. All these are for the body, but this fellowship is of the enjoyment of God, for the partaking of spiritual food, for the elucidation of spiritual subjects, for the discussion and interpretation of the teachings and counsels of God. It is absolute spirituality.
It is my hope that the Nineteen Day Feast may become firmly established and organized so that the holy realities which are behind this meeting may leave behind all prejudices and conflict, and make their hearts as a treasury of love. Even if there is the slightest feeling between certain souls —a lack of love—it must be made to entirely disappear. There must be the utmost translucency and purity of intention.
They must enjoy the love of God, acquire the power for the promotion of the happiness of mankind and the Word of God. With such high mention must this Feast become an established institution. When they gather in this meeting, all those present must turn their faces toward the Kingdom of Abhá, and from their hearts supplicate, invoke and entreat toward the lofty throne, beg for God’s forgiveness for all shortcomings, read the teachings and rise to His service.
Then spread the feast and give refreshments. Assuredly great results will be the outcome of such meetings. Material and spiritual benefits will be assured. All who are present will be intoxicated with the breezes of the Love of God, and the Breath of the Holy Spirit will with tremendous power inspire the hearts.
If this meeting be established on such a rock, it will become a power which will attract heavenly confirmations, be the means of the appearance of the Light of God, and the reality of every subject will become unfolded. Such a meeting will be under the protection of God. It is my hope that you will continually hold these meetings and that each time it will become more and more the center of all the virtues, the point for the effulgence of God.
- May your hearts be enlightened!
- May your faces become radiant!
- May your spirits be illumined!
- May your thoughts find wider range
of vision!
- May your spiritual susceptibilities be
increased!
- May the realm of God surround
you, and may your hearts become the treasury of heaven!
- This is my hope.
Letter from the National Assembly[edit]
To the Bahá’ís of the United States and Canada.
Dear friends:
The cabled messages from the Guardian published in these pages last month, and his words to a recently returned visitor at Haifa, gives us assurance of Shoghi Effendi’s confident hope that the American believers will achieve the goal, within a few months, so long set before us in the completion of the $400,000 required for the completion of the first storey of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár. He bids us not to relax for a moment in our determined endeavor but to press forward with joyous hearts and ever-increasing consciousness of the meaning of this vast undertaking.
Elsewhere in the present NEWS LETTER
you will find a complete and detailed
statement of the Budget adopted
by the National Assembly for the
maintenance of all activities this year.
The total expense ($32,000) is not
only one thousand dollars less than the
last annual Budget, but also contains
a considerable item in reserve, which
will not be used unless wholly
justifiable[Page 3]
and now unforeseen conditions
arise before the end of the fiscal year.
The saving on the total appropriation
of $32,000 should be very substantial.
At the close of the Convention the Treasurer reported a balance in cash and pledges of $306,000. On June first, with some of the pledges still to be paid, the National Fund had actual cash on hand of $304,000. During the Convention period alone, over $60,000 flowed into the Fund, but during the weeks following there has been a falling off of receipts from local Assemblies and individuals. This was only to be expected, for many believers had given their all. Now let us join together in complete unity and strive for the supreme victory.
We have engaged in an undertaking which must, from this period, continue steadily and without interruption until the fully completed Temple shines forth as the Beacon of the new day. In some minds there seems to lie the belief that either from the Orient or some other miraculous source a large contribution to our Fund will soon be made. Such an idea does not correspond to the reality of our Bahá’i life and tends to dampen the ardor and sacrifice of the friends. The task is ours —the believers in other lands have their own great destiny to fulfil. Moreover, quite apart from the present emergency of the Temple Fund, the National Bahá’i Fund must be understood as a permanent institution, the financial bedrock on which must rest the American National House of Justice in the future, and from which ever-increasing sums must be appropriated for the use of the Supreme House of Justice.
In the light of these facts, your National Assembly can only appeal to the enlightened loyalty, the conscious and well-established cooperation of the local Assemblies, the various Bahá’i communities, and the isolated believers. We are servants of Bahá’u’lláh, privileged to be His instruments in the founding of the new order. Now through His appointed Guardian He summons us to render Him that which is in reality His, and we have His assurance that “Verily, God will help all those who arise to serve Him. No one is able to deprive Him of His majesty, His dominion, His sovereignty, for in the heaven and in the earth, and in all the realms of God. He is the victorious, the conqueror.”
Yours faithfully, in service to Shoghi
- Effendi,
- The National Spiritual Assembly.
MEETINGS OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY[edit]
April 24 and 25, 1929
A summary of the last three meetings held by the National Assembly is published here for the information of the believers. A cablegram was received from Shoghi Effendi requesting a copy of the Declaration of Trust certified by the British Consul for registration in Palestine. This was done as soon as possible and the copy sent. Another cable from the Guardian requested the Assembly to cable and write the Secretary General of the League of Nations expressing the gratification of the American Bahá’is at the spirit of fairness accorded the petition submitted by the Spiritual Assembly of Iráq in connection with the Houses of Bahá’u’lláh. A third cablegram from Shoghi Effendi instructed that the amount of $400,000 being raised for the Temple Fund includes all items of expense for the first level, and that no expense must be undertaken until the full amount has been received. VOTED to approve the request of the Persian National Assembly that we send specially bound copies of The Bahá’i World to a number of prominent Persians. The Treasurer presented his annual report and this was approved and accepted with appreciation. Details of the forthcoming Convention were discussed. VOTED that henceforth if any believer offers to finance an activity which has been approved, but which cannot be financed directly from the National Fund, the National Assembly shall accept such an offer without permitting any change in the conditions under which the activity in question should be carried on in accordance with the principles and methods of Bahá’i administration; and that the believer shall turn such a donation over to the National Fund and not pay the expenses direct, so that the responsibility shall rest upon the National Assembly. VOTED to accept the recommendation of the Finance Committee that in view of all the conditions that surround the donation of real estate made to the National Assembly, the Assembly at the first possible moment shall endeavor to establish a general principle controlling the acceptance and disposition of such donations.
April 28 and 29, 1929
The incoming Assembly elected its officers: Chairman, Vice-Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer. Miss Edna True was appointed Countersigning Officer and Mr. A. F. Matthisen, Accountant. It was the sense of the meeting that the objectives of the Assembly for the coming year shall be first, a budget, representing the utmost economy and efficiency; second, concentrated on the completion of the Temple Construction Fund of $400,000; third, seeking guidance and instructions from the Guardian before undertaking any new plans. Cablegrams received from the Guardian at this meeting were published in the NEWS LETTER for May, 1929. In connection with the recognition and approval of newly established local Spiritual Assemblies, the Secretary was instructed to submit in each case a blank form to be filled out by the local community, formally recording their acceptance of the Declaration of Trust and By-Laws as the legal structure of the Bahá’i Cause in the United States and Canada. Committees were appointed for the year, as per list published elsewhere in this NEWS LETTER.
June 8 and 9, 1929
VOTED that the action of this body
in appointing a Temple Maintenance
Committee be rescinded and struck
from the minutes, and the appointment
of such Committee and the exercise
of its functions be referred to the
Trustees under the Temple Indenture.
A cablegram stating that the silken
carpet had been shipped was received
from Shoghi Effendi. A letter from the
Guardian dated May 7, 1929, was presented
stating that the rug is to be a
gift from the religious shrine in Haifa
to the Bahá’i Temple in this country.
Accompanying this was a letter from
Mr. Mountford Mills, writing in the
Guardian’s behalf, informing us that
the rug is worth from five to six thousand
dollars in Persia and should have
many times that value in America.
The hope at Haifa is that one of the
believers may purchase the rug, that
the sum realized may increase the
Temple Construction Fund. An instruction
from Shoghi Effendi to the
Temple Program Committee was read
and ordered published in the NEWS
LETTER. Mr. McDaniel reported on
conversations with a member of the
State Department on the subject of
addressing the Egyptian Government
in order to assist the Egyptian N. S.
A. to obtain recognition as having the
status of a religious tribunal. The
Treasurer and Finance Committee reported
a proposed Budget for the current
year. This is published elsewhere.
VOTED that the Publishing
Committee, before printing any new
book or pamphlet, shall obtain from
this body a specific and final authorization.
[Page 4]
VOTED that each National Committee
shall be requested and instructed
to render to this body monthly
report of its activities, including its
current financial statement. VOTED
that each National Committee shall
render its annual report to this body
on or before March 15 in order that
a suitable summary and extracts of all
committee reports may be placed in the
hands of delegates in time for them to
secure a full consultation with the members
of their local Bahá’i communities
before attending the Convention. The
Treasurer reported cash on hand June
1, 1929, was $304,279.56. VOTED to
appoint Mrs. Corinne True a Committee
of one to make an Index of Tablets
in the Archives, and prepare manuscript
for a Volume Four of the Tablets
of ’Abdu’l-Bahá. VOTED that
the entire matter of making the Convention
Agenda correspond to the exact
instructions of the Guardian be
made a special order of business as
soon as possible. VOTED to send
free copies of The Bahá’i World to
a list of prominent people furnished
by the National Assembly of Egypt.
VOTED to approve Mrs. Louise
Gregory’s recommended that a copy
of The Bahá’i World be sent to the
Prime Minister of Turkey. The next
meeting will be held at West Englewood,
N. J., July 20 and 21, 1929.
Guardian’s Instructions Concerning Meetings in Foundation Hall[edit]
The following letter was written by Shoghi Effendi to Mrs. Corinne True, member of the Temple Program Committee last year, in reply to a report received by him from the Committee. It is published here for the information of all believers, inasmuch as these instructions seem to apply to all public meetings held under Bahá’i auspices and entirely controlled by Bahá’i influence.
“My dear co-worker: The meetings in the Temple Foundation Hall should be primarily devotional in character, and any addresses delivered there must be of a strictly Bahá’i character. The Teachings must be referred to, quoted, explained and amplified, and if non-Bahá’i subjects are referred to, they should be considered in the light, and in confirmation of, Bahá’i principles and teachings. We must preserve the identity and purity of the Faith, without restricting it to a rigid and exclusive dogma.
- Your true brother and well-wisher,
Haifa, Palestine
May 1, 1929
COMMITTEES OF THE NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY[edit]
1929-1930
Archives
- Charles Mason Remey, Chairman.
- Miss Gertrude Buikema, Secretary,
1827 W. Roosevelt Road, Chicago, Ill.
- Albert R. Windust.
Bahá’i Magazine
- Stanwood Cobb, Editor, 17 Grafton
St., Chevy Chase, Md.
- Mrs. Mariam Haney.
- Mrs. Allen McDaniel, Bus. Mgr., 7
Grafton St., Chevy Chase, Md.
Finance
- Mrs. Nellie S. French, Chairman,
501 Bellefontaine St., Pasadena, Calif.
- Siegfried Schopflocher.
- A. F. Matthisen.
Green Acre
- Louis G. Gregory, Chairman, Green
Acre, Eliot, Maine.
- Albert R. Vail.
- Philip Marangella.
- Mrs. Henry R. Green.
- Mrs. Harlan Ober
- Mr. Glenn A. Shook.
Interracial Amity
- Louis G. Gregory, Chairman.
- Mrs. Shelley N. Parker, Secretary,
6816 Langley Avenue, Chicago, Ill.
- Mrs. Agnes S. Parsons
- Mrs. Louise Boyle.
- Mrs. Mariam Haney.
- Dr. Zia Bagdadi.
- Dr. Alain Locke.
- Mrs. Loulie Mathews.
- Miss Alice Higginbotham.
Legal
- Allen B. McDaniel, Chairman, 7
Grafton St., Chevy Chase, Md.
- Louis G. Gregory.
- Carl Scheffler.
- Horace Holley.
- Siegfried Schopflocher.
Library
- Charles Mason Remey, Chairman.
- Miss Elizabeth Hopper, Secretary,
P. O. Box 1319, Washington, D. C.
- Mrs. Amelia E. Collins.
Pacific Coast Summer Community
- John Bosch, Chairman.
- Leroy C. Ioas, Secretary, 640 46th
Ave., San Francisco, Calif.
- George Latimer.
Publicity
- Horace Holley, Secretary, 129 E.
10th St., New York City.
- Alfred E. Lunt.
- Dale S. Cole.
Publishing
- Mrs. Raymond Little, Secretary,
485 Park Avenue, New York City.
- Mrs. Loulie Mathews.
- Roy C. Wilhelm.
- Miss Bertha Herklotz.
- Horace Holley.
- Mrs. Marie B. Moore.
Research
- Mrs. Keith Ransom-Kehler, Chairman,
c/o Vassar Club, 130 E. 57th St., New York City.
- Hooper Harris.
- Edward B. Kinney.
Reviewing
- Mr. Frank D. Clark, Chairman,
9231 Alexander Avenue, South Gate, Calif.
- Mrs. Rosa V. Winterburn.
- Mr. and Mrs. Dexter Lamb.
- Mrs. Frank D. Clark.
Teaching
- Charles Mason Remey, Chairman.
- Mrs. May Maxwell, Secretary, 1548
Pine Avenue, West, Montreal, Que.
- Leroy C. Ioas, Vice-Chairman.
- Harlan Ober.
- Mrs. Raymond Little.
- Mrs. Doris McKay.
- Mrs. Reginald Collison.
- Mrs. Helen Bishop.
- George Latimer.
- Stanley Kemp.
- Mrs. Shanaz Waite.
Bahá’i Temple Unity
- Carl Scheffler, Secretary, 1821 Lincoln
St., Evanston, Ill.
- A. F. Matthisen.
- Allen McDaniel.
- Siegfried Schopflocher.
- Alfred E. Lunt.
- Mrs. Amelia E. Collins.
- Mrs. El Fleda Spaulding.
- Munroe Ioas.
- Albert Windust.
Temple Program
- Willis Hilpert, Chairman.
- Mrs. Shelley N. Parker, Secretary,
6816 Langley Avenue, Chicago, Ill.
- Mrs. Sarah Walrath.
- Dr. Wm. F. Slater.
- Mrs. Ed. Struven.
Thornton Chase Memorial
- Willard P. Hatch, Chairman, 3440
Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, Cal.
- John Bosch.
Year Book
- Albert R. Windust, Secretary, 6707
Parnell Avenue, Chicago, Ill.
- Wanden Mathews.
- Horace Holley.
- Mrs. Victoria Bedikian, Photo Editor.
- Abdul Hossein Dehkian.
- Dr. Hermann Grossmann.
- Mrs. J. Stannard.
- Miss Martha Root.
- George P. Simpson.
- Soheil Afnan.
- Hashmatullah.
- Mrs. H. Emogene Hoagg.
SPECIAL COMMITTEES Countersigning Officer
- Miss Edna True.
Accountant
- A. F. Matthisen.
Indexing and Editing Tablets
- Mrs. Corinne True.
PRELIMINARY ANNOUNCEMENT[edit]
Bahá’i Summer School for 1929 Geyserville, California
The Third Annual Session of the Bahá’i Summer School will be held in Geyserville, California, from August 4 to August 15, inclusive, opening with the Annual Unity Feast, Sunday, August 4, at noon. The scope of the school has been greatly enlarged this year to include courses that will complement the study of the fundamental and universal principles of the Bahá’i Cause, thereby making the two weeks interesting and profitable in appeal to both Bahá’is and their friends.
There will be three classes of study each morning.
- 1. Professor E. A. Rogers, head of
the Montezuma School, will conduct a course on Popular Science and its relationship to the Spiritual Truth.
- 2. Professor W. J. Meredith of the
Montezuma School will conduct a course in Sociological History covering ((a) Social Evolution; (b) Education As An Element In Human Evolution; (c) Philosophy As the Interpretation of Diversified Human Thought.)
- 3. Competent Bahá’i Teachers will
give a course of study on the principles of the Bahá’i Cause with their application and adoption in the world today.
- 4. There will be an informal study
class in Esperanto. Program of classes will be issued in due time.
Sunday, August 11, beginning with a feast under the Bahá’i Tree at noon —an informal Teaching Conference will be held, which will give opportunity for discussion of teaching plans, Inter-Assembly work, and coordination of our efforts to produce the greatest possible results for the Cause.
Arrangements are being made to serve three simple and inexpensive meals each day in the “Cook House.” In order to make this undertaking successful all students are requested to take their meals there. Increased housing facilities have been made. In case of an overflow, reasonable hotel accommodations at Cloverdale and Healdsburg and rooms in nearby farmhouses will be provided and a daily bus service will be arranged between these places and the school. Camping facilities will also be available. It is very important for everyone planning to attend the Summer School to notify, as soon as possible, Mr. John D. Bosch, Box 101, Geyserville, so that accommodations may be reserved.
There will be ample opportunity for rest and recreation, including tennis, swimming, boating, mountain hiking and trips to the petrified forest and Skaggs Springs. The purpose of the committee is to combine study and recreation in their proper proportion, in order to maintain the spontaneous, progressive and spiritual atmosphere of the past two seasons. Special meetings and all teaching work will be under the sole supervision of the committee of the Bahá’i Summer School. Suggestions will be welcomed by this committee.
Report of Green Acre Committee
Green Acre, blessed by the presence of ’Abdu’l-Bahá during His visit to America in 1912, and called by Shoghi Effendi “the focal center of the Cause in America until the erection of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár,” combines a place of rest and recreation for friends and inquirers in summer, with a center from which the Light of the Divine Cause radiates to all parts of America and the world. Its great purpose as stated by ’Abdu’l-Bahá is the study of Reality. It was founded in the years immediately following the World’s Parliament of Religions in Chicago in 1893, and was instituted by its great founder, Miss Sarah J. Farmer, to be a continuation of the effort to unify the world’s religions.
Shortly after this Miss Farmer received the Bahá’i message which she accepted. In the early days, Mirza Abu’l-Fadl, the most renowned of all Bahá’i teachers, taught at Green Acre, and increasingly its friends became drawn to the Cause, until in 1913, they were able to organize Green Acre along the broad constructive lines taught in the universal ideals and principles of the Cause. This change was fraught with many difficulties, but has resulted in steady growth, justifying in every way the wisdom and wishes of the Master. The fact that Green Acre was not originally founded as a Bahá’i enterprise and has during the years always had workers of various faiths identified with it, has required great wisdom and insight in its administration.
Although its direction has meant expense to the National Fund, yet the amount of property involved, variously estimated at from fifty to one hundred thousand dollars, now entirely an asset of the Cause, as well as the great future outlined for Green Acre, in which it is clearly indicated by ’Abdu’l-Bahá that in the future, it will be the site of a great university, and that the second Mashriqu’l-Adhkár in America will be within its precincts, would indicate its sacredness as a center of real education and amply justify the sacrifices made necessary in its maintenance.
The present Green Acre Committee has served, but two months, and therefore can give but an incomplete report of the past year’s activities. We are happy to say, however, that the past season’s varied activities upheld the best traditions and ideals of the past and augmented the luster and fame of this shining center.
Among the notable lecturers were four professors in the leading universities of America, who unfolded the wonders of the social sciences. A number of people of culture and real capacity came to Green Acre and these gave willing ear to the Bahá’i teachings, which were presented by Mr. Albert Vail, Mrs. Keith Ransom-Kehler, Mrs. Grace Ober, Mr. William H. Randall, Mr. and Mrs. S. Schopflocher, Mr. Horace Holley and others. An interesting feature of the work was the classes arranged for Bahá’i youth, an effort which always nowadays evokes a ready response.
A severe loss to Green Acre came through the passing of Mr. William H. Randall, the Chairman of the Green Acre Committee of last season. The life and service of this great and heroic servant are co-extensive with the progress of Green Acre and the expansion of the Divine Cause East and West during the past two decades. At all times he fearlessly upheld the great principles of the Cause in word, deed and life, overstepping all racial, religious and national barriers in his glorious services to humanity. His fortune, his powers of body, mind and soul were devoted to this great end and there are many who deplore his passing and pray the advancement and eternal evolution of his spirit in Heavenly worlds.
“Wert thou to see the immortal kingdom, thou wouldst abandon the mortal possessions of earth. Yet there is a wisdom in the former being concealed and in the latter being manifest. But this is known only to hearts that are pure.” Hidden Words of Bahá’u’lláh.
The Arts and Crafts Committee, Miss Agnes O’Neill, Chairman, secured the services of Miss Neueisinger as a teacher in pottery. The exhibition of the work of the class elicited much admiration at the close of the season.
Mrs. Grace Ober proved a very congenial hostess at Fellowship House, improving its attractiveness by her deft touches and conveying to visitors the reality of Bahá’i hospitality.
Among the outstanding features of the season was Portsmouth Day, arranged by the Portsmouth Bahá’i Assembly. The Mayor and other prominent citizens of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, were present, brilliant addresses of welcome and response were made, beautiful music rendered, and the bond of harmony between these two communities greatly strengthened by the effort, which promises to be an annual event hereafter.
Later came Eliot Day, in which the leading citizens of Eliot, the village in which Green Acre is located, joined in a program of attractiveness and charm in Fellowship House. At both of these gatherings refreshments were served and in the fine spirit of Bahá’i hospitality many ancient misunderstandings and causes of inharmony were removed. The publicity of the season was greatly enhanced by Portsmouth Day. The Herald of that city contained a long illustrated news article besides a leading editorial about the spirit and work of Green Acre, which served to spread its spirit far and wide.
What was thought by some to be the most notable event of the season was the annual convention for amity between the races, now an established feature of Green Acre.
The anniversary of the founder, Miss Sarah J. Farmer, was fittingly observed by services of prayer at the tomb and a memorial meeting in the evening.
The anniversary of the visit of ’Abdu’l-Bahá to this memorable spot was observed at a meeting conducted by the Eliot Assembly, which revived many bright memories and was an occasion of spiritual refreshment. Addresses in the nature of memorials and teaching were delivered by Messrs. Randall, Marangella, Ober and others.
The annual Mashriqu’l-Adhkár meeting was conducted by Dr. Walter B. Guy and resulted in a substantial contribution for the Temple.
The Green Acre Fellowship has been preserved as a voluntary organization which will continue out of respect for past traditions and as a means of rallying non-Bahá’i workers, even when its value as a legal entity will pass, through the transfer of its powers into the National Spiritual Assembly and the effectiveness of Bahá’i organization. The meeting of the Green Acre Fellowship is known as the Green Acre Annual Meeting. This gathering was the occasion of many warm tributes to Green Acre by outsiders, among the most notable of which was the address of Dr. Herbert Adams Gibbons, distinguished author, lecturer, world traveler and formerly professor of Princeton University.
In view of the sacrifices now needed for the Temple, the plan for Green Acre for the coming season, as projected by the National Spiritual Assembly, contemplates no activity that will not be self-supporting. Green Acre will be conducted especially for the promulgation of the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh and the training of Bahá’i teachers, a work which is very dear to the heart of our Guardian. Although the economy may necessitate the temporary closing of the Green Acre Inn, yet ample accommodations, at popular prices, will be found at the Fellowship House, the Green Acre cottages, the community kitchen, the Tea House and various private cottages. The Green Acre Committee is not authorized to open the Inn unless it finds circumstances practically certain to involve no financial losses and then only upon consent and approval and obtained by a vote of the National Spiritual Assembly. This readiness of one activity to sacrifice for the good of another happily illustrates the unity of the Bahá’i Cause and the spirit regnant which makes the onward progress of the Cause as a whole ensured.
For Green Acre on the beautiful Piscataqua, the River of Light, founded by the Spirit of the Age, devoted to the study of Reality and the diffusion of the religion of God, sanctified by the footsteps of the Master, famous through the services of celebrities of all races, exalting the emancipation of women and shining with increasing luster throughout the years, we bespeak on the part of all the friends of God an attitude of helpfulness, prayers and cooperation in every possible way.
Green Acre Committee
- ALBERT VAIL
- GRACE OBER
- GLENN SHOOK
- HELEN GREEN
- PHILIP A. MARANGELLA, Secretary
- LOUIs G. GREGORY, Chairman
Report of National Treasurer
In presenting the report of the financial status of the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States and Canada this year, I am moved with a desire first to express the thanks and the appreciation of the National Spiritual Assembly for the splendid cooperation that has been given. There could be no greater expression of confidence than the gifts that have been sent to the Fund. To try to mention specific instances or contributions would not be possible, but any one would be filled with admiration for some of the souls who, with the greatest happiness, gave what I know was their all. But large or small, I would not be able to select between the gifts. It has been a pleasure to have served as the recipient of these moneys this past year.
If the correspondence that the treasurer has been carrying on with the friends in various parts, if the letters that accompany the contributions are any indication, it is certain that the entire attitude of the friends toward what seemed an almost hopeless task a few years ago has changed to one of courage and faith. Is not this task that we have before us in the Temple, but a test of our spirit and faith? Certainly the new note of confidence that has entered the expression of the believers is not just the result of the gatherings of a larger fund. I am inclined to say it is the cause of the larger fund. I also am inclined to think that we all together have entered upon a new day in the Cause in America that is a part of the great spiritual outpouring that has been showered upon the world by the Master. But to some extent the manifestation of this is dependent upon us.
This day marks the end of the third year of the Plan of Unified Action, already extended a few months by the action of the Convention last year. At the end of the second year we faced failure, for the entire amount available for the Temple at that time was less than ten thousand dollars.
The purpose of this Plan was to establish
a fund to resume construction
of the Temple. It grew out of the report
on the Temple that was published
four years ago. In this report the
estimates given by the late Major Burt,
[Page 7]
the engineer employed by the National
Spiritual Assembly, appeared. The
figure given there to cover the cost of
the first storey of the structure is
$400,000.00. After the acceptance of
the report on the Temple the believers
cabled the Guardian asking for instructions
regarding the next move on
the Temple and he replied that the
next move was contingent upon our
raising $400,000.00.
Thereupon the Plan of Unified Action was formulated and the work of collecting the funds began. It started rather badly, for immediately it developed that the text of the Plan as published was misunderstood by many of the friends, so that the sum mentioned in the Plan as the amount that would be the pro rata of each individual if all were circumstanced alike was taken as the exact measure of the sacrifice that would have to be made.
The National Spiritual Assembly, too, found itself confronted with another difficulty in that in drawing up the Plan they did not anticipate a number of developments that presented themselves. Nevertheless, they accepted responsibility for the same without, however, actually knowing all that was involved or how the acceptance of these new responsibilities would be taken by the believers at large. I refer particularly to Green Acre. The consequence was that a portion of the friends felt that the Temple was being set aside and other interests advanced, the result a considerable lack of confidence that hurt the success of the Plan more than we can estimate. Naturally, there were other angles that entered into the situation. Suffice it to say we are happily out of it all and now well on the way to succeed in what we have undertaken. The experience of the past three years of the Plan of Unified Action, however, the major part of which period I have acted as treasurer should be of sufficient interest to all who are interested in the Cause in this country to warrant our reviewing same, so that perchance we may avoid the elements that were so near to bringing us to failure and to hold whatever may be found of value. . . . The activities of the Cause have for years been rapidly increasing. This is as it should be, for without activity there can be no growth or even life. It must be remembered, however, that every activity directly or indirectly affects the finances of the Cause. The believers in their interest to promote its progress are vitally concerned and particularly anxious about this or that enterprise, so that the administrative body, whose purpose, of course, is to advance every activity of the Cause, is sometimes hard pressed to maintain a balance between them. The treasurer’s office must always be consulted when a departure from an established course is taken, for most likely this departure will affect other things if we are living within a definite budget.
According to the Plan of Unified Action the National Spiritual Assembly limited itself to the expenditure of a definite amount of operating expenses. If you will consult the schedule of budget provision and expenditure you will see that the National Spiritual Assembly has exceeded the amount that was provided, but in the three years the total amount of this excess is only $6,358.47.
It can be readily seen from the experience of the past three years that the financial responsibility of the National Spiritual Assembly is a part of their spiritual responsibility and their success depends upon a thorough understanding of this fact. Confidence is built upon correct and proper action, and as the activities of the Cause increase the need for adequate administration grows day by day.
At the time of the formulation of the Plan the system of Bahá’i administration was not perfected. Now the Guardian has given a complete plan so that in future the conditions that made for uncertainty no longer exist. Now the National Spiritual Assembly is responsible for whatever happens, and they must place themselves in a position to actually handle every activity. The committees that are appointed must be made to realize their duty to adhere to the limitation placed upon them. For they must know that if restrictions are placed, it is to maintain a balance in the whole.
During the last year, i. e., up to March 31st, we received the largest amount ever received in any one year since the establishment of the Cause in this country. The total is $243,473.13, which amount when added to the balance on hand April 1, 1928, gives a grand total of $255,003.94. The total expenditures amounted to $40,773.84; of this, $13,272.19 are capital expenditures and $27,511.65 are operating expenses of all activities of the National Spiritual Assembly. . . .
. . . The contributions received during this year have, as will be seen by the report under cash receipts, been to a considerable extent labeled for Temple, but when we consider that in that amount is included $100,000.00 that came to the fund in one contribution the greater majority of the gifts are unlabeled.. . .
. . . Just a word before closing my statement regarding the manner in which the National Spiritual Assembly are handling the funds of the believers. I have been receiving and acknowledging receipts of all moneys. At regular intervals the National Spiritual Assembly has been turning over to the Temple Fund the bulk of the moneys, so that at the present writing $203,345.53 are invested in United States Certificates of Indebtedness, Liberty Bonds and stocks and bonds as described on the page devoted to the National Bahá’i Temple Fund. The balance of the money is deposited in banks and as fast as it accumulates the National Spiritual Assembly invests same. These securities are held in the safe-keeping department of the Northern Trust Company, bank, subject to the order of the trustees of the national Spiritual Assembly, and the checking accounts for the Temple, i. e., the moneys used for the Temple purposes and for the National Spiritual Assembly are controlled by having a counter-signature on the checks.
The Bahá’i Magazine
Star of the West
The most important news of the month is the statement of our Guardian, Shoghi Effendi, in his own handwriting, and which has recently been received, namely.
“The Star is decidedly improving in scope, style, and effectiveness, and I wish to congratulate you both on the progress already achieved. I will continue to pray for your efforts at the Holy Shrines, that the Star may grow to mirror forth in all their power and beauty the sublime and dynamic principles of the Bahá’i Faith.”
The Editors feel that there may be
writers among the friends not as yet
known. Therefore, through this medium
we are inviting those who feel
the urge, to begin at once to seriously
think of teaching through the printed
word in the Star, and submit articles
on the “sublime and dynamic principles
of the Cause.” Possibly such articles
could fit into the editorial plan
and policy of the Star. Many new
writers might be developed, if and providing
there is an innate capacity,
which can be developed, and we believe
that if we follow the instruction
of ’Abdu’l-Bahá which tells us “to turn
wholly unto the Kingdom of God, to
enter entirely into this wonderful
Cause, and to make our thoughts, remembrance
[Page 8]
and effort confined to the
education of character, the enlightenment
through the Light of Abhá, and
to guide the people to the Source of
the mercy of the Lord,” that the increased
capacity will be attained.
Several years ago the Master revealed in one of His Tablets these Words about the Star: “Its arena shall become broadened and it shall attain to such a station as to bring about the unity of the East and the West. Do not become discouraged, nor yet dis-spirited.”
And in a letter from Soheil Afnan to Mr. Dale S. Cole of Cleveland (with Shoghi Effendi’s handwriting at the bottom of the letter) we read:
“It has been a great pleasure to our dear Guardian to receive your letter and to learn of your close cooperation with the Star of the West.”
“It is to the Star of the West and the great and manifold services that it can render that Shoghi Effendi looks with the greatest expectations. . . . At this time of world-wide doubt and general perplexity, it is perhaps the greatest service to be able to breathe out in your writings what will ultimately prove to be the greatest solution for the troubles of today.”
One of the main objects in publishing the magazine is to edit it in such a way as to make it a “traveling teacher” for the Bahá’i Cause. Therefore, it is our desire to have every page of the magazine carry some quotation from the Revealed Holy Utterances or some reference to the Bahá’i Teachings. As a wonderful guidance on the path, we are keeping constantly before us the following from our Guardian which constitutes an all-inclusive instruction:
“We should strive in all our utterances to combine the discretion and noble reticence of the wise with the frankness and passionate loyalty of the ardent advocate of an inspiring Faith.”
Among many letters received recently, the following indicate how the magazine is being used as a teacher:
“Please send me if possible four extra copies of the May Star. It is one of the most valuable numbers for teaching, in my humble opinion, ever published.”
“A friend said recently that she had been forwarding her copy of the Star of the West to relatives in England with fine results. I, myself, have real joy in the articles in the Star.”
“The Bahá’i Magazine, Star of the West, always brings edifying and instructive material to me. Having not many hours for reading, I greatly appreciate these short articles so full of love and peace. . . . You have gained a humble friend of the good Cause so dear to you.”
Subscriptions: Shoghi Effendi is directing his attention also to this branch of the Star work for he said in one of his letters: “I will also pray that the number of its subscribers may steadily increase.”
The past month has brought to the Business Office of the Star many renewals and many new subscribers, as well as requests for extra numbers of the May Star. It has been one of the best months the magazine has had. We believe this is due (at least in a great measure) to the effective services of the friends in various parts of the country who have cheerfully offered to cooperate.
The plan of having a Bahá’i appointed in each center of the Spiritual Assembly, to act as personal representative of the Star, is working out encouragingly in actual practice and bringing results. The personal work done by these representatives who have executive ability, the gift of salesmanship, and who themselves have a true Bahá’i spirit, has been most marvelous.
The Magazine can come nearer being self-supporting if the friends recognize its needs, that it is a pure organ of the Cause free entirely from “Ads” and the consequent commercial aspects, and that to cooperate with it in every way possible is to help the National Bahá’i Fund for it will decidedly lessen any financial assistance the Star might have from said Fund. And this is the thought we wish to particularly emphasize at this time.
- Bahá’i Magazine Committee,
- STANWOOD COBB,
- MARIAM HANEY,
- Bahá’i Magazine Committee,
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY BUDGET—1929-1930
| Star of the West | $ 3,600.00 | ||
| Interracial Amity Committee | 500.00 | ||
| Temple Program Committee | 100.00 | ||
| Publishing Committee | |||
| (as one-half of the expense of the Year Book, Vol. 3) | 1,500.00 | ||
| Administration | |||
| Office expense of the national sec’y., rent, supplies, | |||
| postage, etc. | $1,150.00 | ||
| Secretary’s expense (2 months’ salary) | 600.00 | ||
| Office expense of the national treasurer, equipment, | |||
| supplies, postage, etc. | 1,000.00 | ||
| Legal work (estimated) for the services of attorneys in | |||
| connection with Temple and Green Acre | 1,000.00 | ||
| Convention | 500.00 | ||
| Traveling expenses | 1,600.00 | ||
| News Letter | 1,000.00 | ||
| Printing | 300.00 | ||
| Sundry | 100.00 | ||
| $7,250.00 | |||
| Library Committee | 200.00 | ||
| Archives Committee | 100.00 | ||
| Teaching Committee | |||
| Expenses of two teachers | $5,760.00 | ||
| General Expenses | 1,700.00 | ||
| $7,460.00 | $7,460.00 | ||
| International Contributions | $3,000.00 | ||
| Publicity Committee | 200.00 | ||
| Green Acre | |||
| Fixed charges | |||
| Taxes | $ 505.93 | ||
| Insurance | 662.10 | ||
| Water | 141.00 | ||
| Caretaker | 141.00 | $1,200.00 | |
| $2,509.03 | |||
| For Current Activities | 310.00 | ||
| $2,819.03 | $2,819.03 | ||
| Reserve for Emergency | $5,270.97 | ||
| Total Budget | $32,000.00 |
