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| No. 428 | BAHA’I YEAR 123 | NOVEMBER, 1966 |
Birth of Bahá’u’lláh November 12, 1817[edit]
Mírzá Husayn ‘Alí, Who afterwards assumed the title of Bahá’u’lláh, was the eldest son of Mírzá ‘Abbás of Núr, a Vazír or Minister of State. His family was wealthy and distinguished, many of its members having occupied important positions in the Government and in the Civil and Military Services of Irán. He was born in Tihrán, the capital city of Irán, between dawn and sunrise on the 12th of November, 1817. He never attended school or college, and what little teaching He received was given at home. Nevertheless, even as a child He showed wonderful wisdom and knowledge. While He was still a youth His father died, leaving Him responsible for the care of His younger brothers and sisters, and for the management of the extensive family estates.
From childhood He was exceedingly kind and generous. He was a great lover of outdoor life, most of His time being spent in the garden or the fields. He had an extraordinary power of attraction, which was felt by all. People always crowded around Him. Ministers and people of the Court would surround Him, and the children also were devoted to Him. When He was only thirteen or fourteen years old He became renowned for His learning. He would converse on any subject and solve any problem presented to Him. In large gatherings He would discuss matters with the ‘Ulamá (leading mullas) and would explain intricate religious questions. All of them used to listen to Him with the greatest interest.
When Bahá’u’lláh was twenty-two years old, His father died, and the Government wished Him to succeed to His father’s position in the Ministry, as was customary in Persia, but Bahá’u’lláh did not accept the offer. Then the Prime Minister said: “Leave Him to Himself. Such a position is unworthy of Him. He has some higher aim in view. I cannot understand Him, but I am convinced that He is destined for some lofty career. His thoughts are not like ours. Let Him alone.”
Quotations above are from Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era by J. E. Esslemont.
The second selection is a statement by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.
Universal House of Justice Announces Three More National Assemblies to Be Formed During Riḍván 1967[edit]
On September 1 the Universal House of Justice sent the following message to all National Spiritual Assemblies, asking the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States to publish it in BAHÁ’Í NEWS as soon as possible:
Joyfully announce formation at Riḍván 1967 additional new National Assemblies Belize seat Belize, Laos seat Vientiane, Sikkim seat Gangtok. Calling upon National Assemblies Guatemala, Thailand, India respectively call first conventions election National Assemblies. Sikkim Assembly supplementary achievement Nine Year Plan. Changed situation Cambodia requires postponement formation National Assembly that country. Addition above National Assemblies raises total throughout world to eighty-one whose members will participate second International Convention. Offering prayers of gratitude Bahá’u’lláh supplicating divine confirmations expansion consolidation these territories assuring solid foundation future pillars Universal House of Justice. (Signed) Universal House of Justice.
COMMENTARY:
With the addition of the three new National Spiritual Assemblies named in the foregoing message to the eight others to be formed next Riḍván as announced in the Riḍván 1966 message from the Universal House of Justice, there will have been added to the fifty-six National Spiritual Assemblies in existence at the end of the Ten Year Crusade twenty-five more, all eighty-one to participate in the second International Bahá’í Convention for the election of the Universal House of Justice. There now remain only twenty-seven additional National Assemblies to be formed between Riḍván 1967 and 1973 to bring the total to the one hundred and eight National Assemblies called for in the Nine Year Plan. Since the formation of new National Assemblies is dependent upon the increase of local Assemblies in the countries and areas still to achieve National Assembly status, it follows that there must be rapid increase in membership and consolidation of the localities where Bahá’ís reside. As the Universal House of Justice has pointed out, expansion and consolidation of the Faith must go hand in hand. Pioneers are still urgently needed in many areas both to maintain and accelerate the momentum of winning new followers to the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh.
Passing of Faithful Maidservant Anne Lynch[edit]
Notified of the passing of Mrs. Anne Lynch in Bern, Switzerland on September 17, the Universal House of Justice cabled the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States on September 19 as follows:
“Grieved news passing faithful maidservant Bahá’u’lláh Anne Lynch. Her tireless efforts response guidance beloved
Guardian encourage small band believers
Switzerland during isolation Second World
War and service nearly thirty years International Bahá’í Bureau Geneva testify her steadfast devotion Cause. Advise
hold befitting memorial service Temple.
(Signed) Universal House of Justice.
Mrs. Lynch served at the International Bureau in Geneva, Switzerland, from 1928 to 1957 under the direct guidance of Shoghi Effendi, until the Bureau was closed on the formation of the National Spiritual Assembly of Switzerland in 1957. For eight years, from 1929 to 1937, Mrs. Lynch was the only Bahá’í in Geneva, and throughout that period she kept in touch with Bahá’í activities around the world, reporting them to the beloved Guardian and through bulletins to the National Spiritual Assemblies. The story of her services in the International Bureau is told in BAHÁ’Í NEWS, No. 320.
A memorial service for Mrs. Lynch will be held in the Bahá’í House of Worship on November 19 at 8 p.m.
September-October 1967 Centenary Plans in Process[edit]
In its Riḍván 1965 Message the Universal House of Justice announced the Centenary Period and called the Bahá’í world to six Inter-Continental Conferences and “to prepare national and local plans for the befitting celebration of the centenary of Bahá’u’lláh’s proclamation of His Message in September/October, 1867, to the kings and rulers of the world,” revealed in the “mighty and awe-inspiring words addressed by Him to the kings and rulers collectively in the Súriy-i-Mulúk.”
The opening of this centenary period is to be celebrated in September and October 1967. It will begin with the Feast of Mashíyyat in September, when a few appointed representatives of the Bahá’í world will visit the site of the house in Adrianople where the historic Súriy-i-Mulúk was revealed. This will be followed by six Inter-Continental Conferences held simultaneously on October 5, 6, 7 and 8, in Panama City, Wilmette, Sydney, Kampala, Frankfurt and New Delhi. A Hand of the Cause of God will go from Adrianople to each of the six conferences, sharing with the friends their memorable visit.
The National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States is called upon to be host and convener of the Conference to be held in Wilmette. Its plans are already being developed, and articles, as well as announcements, regarding the celebrations will be in each issue of BAHÁ’Í NEWS or the U. S. SUPPLEMENT between now and next October.
It is now time for the believers to begin making their plans to attend one of the Conferences, which are the first inter-continental conferences held since those called by the beloved Guardian in 1958. The “three-fold purpose of the Conferences,” as stated by the Universal House of Justice, “is to commemorate the Centenary of the opening of Bahá’u’lláh’s own proclamation of His mission, to proclaim the Divine Message, and to deliberate upon the tasks of the remaining years of the Nine Year Plan.”
The program will include inspiring commemorative events as a befitting observance of this historic period. Proclamation will be another highlight of the Conferences, followed by deliberations on achieving the remaining goals of the Nine Year Plan.
Bahá’ís who have had the privilege and blessing of attending the Inter-Continental Conferences of 1953 and 1958, called by Shoghi Effendi, will recall the joyous spirit that exhilarated the hearts of all believers on those momentous occasions. Those newer Bahá’ís who have not yet had the opportunity to participate in such an event will experience the strengthening of the bonds of their faith in the fellowship and inspiration that becomes theirs on such unique and historic occasions.
Latin America Plans for Centenary[edit]
Several National Spiritual Assemblies of Latin America are already actively preparing for the Centennial celebration of the Proclamation of Bahá’u’lláh in September of 1967. In Panama the National Spiritual Assembly visited the President of the Republic and plans to contact all the diplomatic corps represented in the country. Guatemala is concentrating on the press and other publicity media as well as the utilization of posters in public places.
The National Proclamation Committee of Ecuador, in collaboration with Auxiliary Board member Mrs. Gayle Woolson, is preparing a prestige pamphlet which will be sent to newspapermen and intellectuals. The pamphlet will be made up of three parts: the first consists of declarations by well-known leaders, pointing out the need for a world religion and a spiritual renovation of civilization. The second contains appreciations of the Bahá’í Faith by noted people. The third part is a résumé of the life and teachings of Bahá’u’lláh. Upon publication this pamphlet will be sent to each Spanish-speaking National Spiritual Assembly.
The National Assembly of Chile has sent a circular letter to all the local communities in Chile outlining the Plan of the Universal House of Justice in its Riḍván Message of 1965 and announcing the active participation of Chile in the monumental events anticipated in the Plan. The letter stresses that for the development of the activities surrounding the celebration of the Proclamation of Bahá’u’lláh, it is necessary to follow three distinct steps: (1) Preparation — plans and actions up to September 1967; (2) Proclamation — intense activity from September 1967 until August 1968; (3) Continuity — maintain this momentum and “reap the harvest” until 1973.
In July the Regional Teaching Committee for the South of Brazil asked the Bahá’ís in its area to attend a conference in the city of Curitiba to prepare the believers for the commemoration of the Proclamation of Bahá’u’lláh. As a result the most intensive publicity on the Faith ever to be attained was gained. The most important newspapers of the city published reports with photographs of the Bahá’í delegations which visited them. Two radio stations dedicated their most outstanding programs, forty-five minutes in all, to interviews with Bahá’ís attending the conference. The TV station interviewed two Bahá’ís for fifteen minutes. A public meeting held in the Bahá’í Center in Curitiba was well attended and most of the audience participated with questions on the Faith.
Auxiliary Board Sponsors Conference on “Heroes of God”[edit]
Two hundred Bahá’ís from ten different states gathered on the week-end of Sept. 10th-11th in Waukesha, Wisconsin, for a conference on “Heroes of God,” sponsored by the Auxiliary Board team for the Central States, Mrs. Velma Sherrill, Mr. William Maxwell, and Mrs. Beth McKenty.
Hands of the Cause Lead Consultation[edit]
Hand of the Cause Mr. Zikru’lláh Khádem addressed two sessions, including an open question and answer period when many subjects for discussion were raised by the Bahá’ís attending. He spoke of the great accomplishment of the thirty-six years of the Guardian’s life and repeatedly assured the friends that the death of the Guardian came only after his work on this earth was completed.
An unexpected bounty for the conference was the presence at the closing session of Hand of the Cause William Sears, who with his wife, Marguerite, had driven 1,600 miles in less than four days to be present at the session. Highlights of the current teaching program in British Columbia, Canada, and touches of humor from their experiences there, were shared with the delighted Bahá’ís, who rose to give a standing ovation as Mr. Sears walked to the front of the conference hall.
Dr. Daniel Jordan, chairman of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States, demonstrated musically at the Saturday evening session how notes of music can be so arranged that instead of dissonance and unattractive sounds, they unite to form a sonata. He drew the analogy between people of diverse interests and talents, who, through their love for Bahá’u’lláh, can so work with each other and develop unity that they can and will establish the kingdom of God on earth.
The Covenant Described[edit]
At the Sunday morning session, Dr. Jordan spoke on a “New Look at the Covenant”, drawing widely on his background in psychology and sociology as well as his many years’ experience as a Bahá’í, to show how the power of the Covenant is the source of all that is constructive and positive in the world today, and that turning away from the Covenant is voluntarily consigning oneself to a process of disintegration.
The pattern of Bahá’í history, with its cyclical repetition from crisis to victorious resolution and movement forward was vividly traced by Mr. Maxwell. He spoke also on pioneering in Korea and the joy of learning the power of Bahá’u’lláh to weld together people who had been separated by artificial prejudices for centuries.
Speaking on the Covenant, Mrs. Sherrill reminded her listeners that no previous dispensation has brought with it such a gift as the unique gift of the Center of the Covenant, to maintain unity following the death of the Prophet. She outlined the guidance given the believers from the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh through ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and Shoghi Effendi, concluding with the necessity in this day for turning in total and loving obedience to the Universal House of Justice, “the source of all good and free from all error.”
Hands of the Cause William Sears and Zikru’lláh Khádem at Conference in Waukesha, Wisconsin, September 10, 1966.
The Call to Youth[edit]
Commenting on “Youth, Hamlets and the Nine Year Plan”, Mrs. McKenty chose highlights from the message of the Universal House of Justice to the Bahá’í youth, in June, 1966, and cited ways to implement the suggestions for service in the message.
Speaking on the great need for leaving cities and carrying the love of Bahá’u’lláh to rural areas, she urged youth attending to consider enrolling in smaller colleges for some of their education, and to seek an education suitable to maintain them in pioneering and service positions later in their life.
An informal supper was served in the conference building Saturday evening, especially enjoyable in the lovely setting of the glass-walled meeting hall facing a small river with many trees along its banks. The Bahá’í youth of the area sang following the Sunday morning devotional period. All in the audience who had pioneered were called to the platform to speak briefly.
The Local Spiritual Assembly of Waukesha was the host community, and Dr. Jack McKenty, chairman of the Local Spiritual Assembly of Shorewood, Wis., was chairman.
It was indeed a gathering of friends bound together by their love for Bahá’u’lláh.
Bahá’ís Hold Institute
Dedicate Center in Lima, Ohio[edit]
Over one hundred twenty Bahá’ís and their friends gathered on September 17 and 18 to hold an institute, dedicate their Center and proclaim the Bahá’í message to the public. The occasion was blessed and uplifted with the presence of Hand of the Cause Mr. Khádem who gave messages of love and inspiration at the meetings on both Saturday and Sunday. An unexpected bounty was the presence of Dr. Moyyad of Írán, who was at one time the personal physician of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.
The dedication of the Center, which took place on Sunday morning brought joy and inspiration to all who attended. Music was provided by the singing of Mrs. Florence Zmeskal of Toledo, Ohio.
The dedication as well as the public meeting on World Peace, held Sunday afternoon, was well announced in newspapers and on the local radio station.
A New Way of Life for Australian Aborigines[edit]
Editorial Note: In 1955, Mrs. Pearce of Adelaide, Australia, became the first teacher of the aborigines in the Victor Harbour area. She had heard Shoghi Effendi’s call to take the Bahá’í teachings to the aborigines, and the following story is a slightly briefed version of the story of her experiences in this field and the result of her dedicated effort.
In 1955 I went to Goolwa (South Australia) where I rented a house and spent my time between Goolwa and Adelaide for five or six years. I joined the Women’s Agriculture Bureau and went to the R.S.L. clubrooms to play bridge. Every Sunday I attended the Methodist Church, but I noticed that aborigines were absent from both of these functions. I saw many in the township so I inquired where they lived. I was given Mrs. Sumner’s address so I visited her. I told her I was living at Liverpool Road and did she have any grandchildren that would accept discarded toys. I mentioned that I belonged to the Bahá’í Faith and we believed in deeds and not words, and this is all that was said regarding religion.
Mrs. Sumner and I became close friends and she would come to my home where we discussed the joys and sorrows we experienced in life. We both had a lot in common as to the rearing of children, as she had reared eight and I six.
My aboriginal friends were welcome to come and stay at my home in Adelaide for one or two nights if they were in Adelaide on business or just visiting the city. Two of my younger aboriginal friends, Marjorie Tripp and her cousin, Joseph Egan, spent their weekends and their school holidays at their grandmother’s in Goolwa, as they lived in Victor Harbour twelve miles away. Both children spent many happy hours at my home in Goolwa.
I started a Sunday School in Goolwa and eight aboriginal children attended. As I did not want to confuse the children, I did not ask the ones already attending a Church. I read stories from God’s Messengers and gave them pictures to color. They played games for an hour or so, and when they were tired off home they would go.
First Bahá’í Youth[edit]
Marjorie Tripp, nine and half then, later became the first aboriginal Bahá’í youth. It was eighteen months after I had started the Sunday School that I met Marjorie Tripp’s parents. They came to drive her back to their home in Victor Harbour. They waited outside my home and tooted their horn. I could see that they were not anxious to come and meet me, so I decided to go out to them. Marjorie had talked of me at home and the parents had said not to take any notice of Mrs. Pearce because she is a white, and white people do not want us. After meeting and talking with me they said “Our little girl is right, Mrs. Pearce is a good woman.”
I became good friends with Mr. and Mrs. Tripp and they would come to Adelaide and stay at my home and bring their aboriginal friends to meet me.
I own a tape recorder and they loved to record their own songs. Ephriam would play the guitar as accompaniment. The aborigines do not read music but they are very gifted. Each time they came they would bring different aborigine friends to hear and enjoy the recording of their voices. One thing that interested me was the playing of a gum leaf. They would go outside and get a gum leaf and by folding the gum leaf in a special way they produced good and enjoyable music.
Ephriam Tripp Becomes First Bahá’í[edit]
It was after knowing the Tripps for four or five years that Ephriam called on me in Adelaide and said he wanted to become a Bahá’í. I asked why. I said, “I have not given you much of the Bahá’í Faith.” He told me that it was the Bahá’í friends he had met through me. So Ephriam Tripp became the first aboriginal Bahá’í. Harry Carter, known as Uncle Harry, stayed with the Tripp family often at their home in Victor Harbour. It was more than a year later before Beril Tripp and Uncle Harry accepted the Bahá’í Faith.
Beril, Ephriam and Uncle Harry told their aboriginal friends about the Bahá’í Faith. They went to Port McLeay and spread the teachings to their friends who lived there. Kath Harris and I heard about Bertha Dobbin coming home from the Hebrides where she had been spreading the teachings of the Bahá’í Faith. We hired a school bus and a small bus load of us went to hear her speak of the experiences she had while away. Kath Harris lived in the cottage in Goolwa and took over the teaching of the Bahá’ís and their friends from 1958 until 1961.
Deeds Not Words[edit]
Harry Carter still comes and visits me in Adelaide and brings his friends. He will go with his friends into the hotel and have a lemonade, and this is how he has been able to give the Bahá’í teachings to his friends. He does not preach on the religion, but his friends have seen the different life he leads since he has become a Bahá’í, a different Harry Carter to what they knew years ago. “Let deeds, not words, be your adorning.” That is Uncle Harry’s teaching.
Ephriam Tripp’s main book is the Book of Certitude. He knows more than I do and can teach me well. His wife, Beril, is also a good teacher. As I am not able to go out as much as I would like, my aboriginal friends still come and visit me at my Adelaide home. They bring many aboriginal friends. Because of Mr. and Mrs. Tripp and their daughter Marjorie I have had a lot of pleasure and enjoyment in teaching the aborigines of Australia a new way of life.
Australia Launches Dynamic Teaching Institutes[edit]
The Teaching Institute held on August 14-15 at the Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds in Sydney, Australia is the first of a series planned by the National Teaching Committee to embrace the whole country. These will be graduated in their materials and techniques according to the needs and resources of individuals and areas. It used some of the experimental material of the convention school and, although shorter, was more intense and at a deeper level. Eight people attended: J. Chittleborough of South Australia; J. Rodwell of Queensland; Mrs. M. Handley and K. Morgan of Victoria; Miss P. Ringwood and G. Daynes of the Australian Capital Territory; and Mrs. M. Bourke and J. Stevenson of New South Wales. Our dear Effie Baker shared the brightness of her spirit with us over the weekend, joining the group for meals. (Bahá’ís will recall that many years ago Miss Baker was responsible for the photographs used in The Dawn-Breakers, as acknowledged by Shoghi Effendi in that extraordinary text by Nabil, translated by Shoghi Effendi.)
Messages of Guardian, Universal House of Justice Featured[edit]
Programming featured the messages of Shoghi Effendi and those of the Universal House of Justice. Each member was furnished with a special handbook containing excerpts from the Writings in order to continue with the study on a more systematic level later. The course began with a short study on “How To Meditate” which developed into a lively workshop. Short periods of meditation throughout the program were of great value in spiritual refreshment. Saturday morning included a revision of basic facts and went on to discuss “How to Study” and “How to Read Bahá’í Literature.” This latter workshop was based on Eunice Braun’s Know Your Bahá’í Literature and in the course of this, a project yielded results of an unexpectedly high standard. Each member produced a six-week study program for a Local Spiritual Assembly, based on this book and it is hoped to implement these programs. Out of this grew steadily a deeper appreciation of the Guardian’s advice on individual deepening in a systematic manner. This formed the basis of a study of quotations from the Writings which was notable for its honesty and sincerity of discussion. The afternoon session was on the psychological approach to teaching various personality types.
Saturday ended with a study of the Universal House of Justice Messages on Universal Participation and concluded with readings from Hand of the Cause William Sears’ letters on pioneering (printed in BAHÁ’Í NEWS, No. 280). An evening of deep spiritual intensity was brought to a fitting conclusion by a midnight prayer service at the Temple. Although this involved a three hour journey, the beauty and serenity of the Temple, the privilege of saying individual prayers and the loveliness of the bush at night, made this a most treasured memory.
Joyful Reward of Group Action[edit]
A Sunday Workshop on “Group Dynamics” included both theory and practical work in the analysis of a tape recorded discussion. A constructive weekend concluded with the moving experience of a reading of the Tablet of Visitation of Bahá’u’lláh.
Not only were immediate projects launched but the mature consultation, the added confidence elicited by increased knowledge and the practice of group support (to be continued by correspondence) resulted in a fuller realization of teaching responsibilities and sent the attendants joyfully back committed to their challenging tasks.
Hawaiian Summer School, 1966, with Dr. Giachery, Hand of the Cause.
The Most Meritorious Service[edit]
Africa[edit]
They that have forsaken their country, for the purpose of teaching Our Cause — these shall the Faithful Spirit strengthen through its power.... Such a service is indeed the prince of all goodly deeds and the ornament of every goodly act.
With this call Bahá’u’lláh stirred the hearts of His followers nearly a century ago. Armed only with faith they carried the new Revelation to many lands, including the far-away countries of Burma, India, Pakistan and parts of Africa, fifteen in all, including the two countries that had heard the call of the Báb during His ministry of 1844 to 1853.
For twenty-nine years, after the passing of Bahá’u’lláh in 1892, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá continued to exhort and encourage the believers that they “... should be engaged in educating the souls and should become instruments in aiding the world of humanity to acquire spiritual joy and fragrance.” Twenty more countries raised a banner to the light of the “oneness of the world of humanity” in the Master’s period of service.
During much of the thirty-six years of the guardianship of Shoghi Effendi, his pen seldom ceased to exhort the friends to “the most vital, urgent and meritorious” of all services, pioneering in a foreign land. At the end of the Ten Year Plan, inaugurated by Shoghi Effendi in 1953, another 224 countries and territories (and island groups) had responded to the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh brought to them by scores of eager pioneers.
The Nine Year Plan[edit]
Now we are in the third year of a Nine Year Plan given to us by the Universal House of Justice. The goals are specific, the needs have been carefully delineated. But the call is the same and the spiritual reward is the same, given by the pen of Bahá’u’lláh: “Whosoever quickens one soul in this Cause is like unto one quickening all the servants....”
“I thank the Prophet, Baha’u’llah”[edit]
From such a quickened soul has come a joyful tribute to the work of the pioneers. Although it is not possible to publish all such letters, the following one (first published in the West Central African Newsletter) gives meaning to the Master’s words to “become instruments in aiding the world of humanity.” It is a typical expression of those who have received that “spiritual joy.”
After explaining something of his religious background, his departure from belief in traditional religions, John Akuete, a new Bahá’í from Niger has written: “... a friend whom I knew well, also a seeker like myself, told me that he had got to know a team of pioneers and that they should interest me very much. So it was that one evening in company with my friend, I went to visit this team of pioneers. I tell you sincerely that I was very surprised, not only by the warm welcome which was given to us, but also by the spirit of the conversation and the educational ideas. That evening I imagined that I would be accepting an invitation which I would find quite useless for the reason I have already stated. When I left the pioneers, I had the idea that I was leaving, instead, a great school which had permitted me, for the little time that I had spent there, to learn many things which I had never had the opportunity to know since I was born.
“Since that day, I have not once missed going to the Bahá’í classes which are held every evening by the Bahá’í team. I have read the books about the Faith and I am so convinced that I have become a follower, and have signed my card with joy and love to serve this Cause which is a new light for us Africans. Everybody knows that our continent has great need of teachers to liberate us from ignorance and to give us an education of perfection. In the Bahá’í Faith it is important to underline that not only do the Teachings make the people good servants of God, but also good servants of their countries. So it was that, as I read certain paragraphs of Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era, I came to understand that in the Bahá’í Faith, some of the Teachings are consecrated to the unity of the people of the world and to the eventual establishment of such conditions in the world that it will be normal for men to live in peace on earth.
“I thank the Prophet, Bahá’u’lláh, for having guided my intelligence concerning the conduct of my life, and for having helped the whole world by His Teachings. I also thank the team of Bahá’í pioneers in Niger and I wish them every happiness during their stay among us.”
(Note: The quotations used above are taken from Gleanings, Bahá’í World Faith and Citadel of Faith.)
Latin America[edit]
Tierre del Fuego, southernmost pioneering post in the world. Recently Rodolfo Flecha, Paraguayan Bahá’í, responded to the call of the Universal House of Justice to help fill remaining goals.
[Page 8]
Mapuche Indians at the Sixth Annual Convention, 1966,
in Santiago, Chile, together with Auxiliary Board member Mercedes Sanchez, and some Bahá’ís from Santiago.
The National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Chile,
elected at Riḍván 1966 are, back row, left to right:
Carlos Martinez, Eduardo Roe, Edmundo Fuchslocher,
José Rodríguez (treasurer) and, front row, left to right:
Alejandro Reid (secretary), Leticia Franchino (recording secretary), Ricardo Bañados, Emma Cabezas (chairman) and Sergio Aparico (vice-chairman).
Mapuche Indian Delegates Enthuse Chile Convention[edit]
The Sixth Annual Convention of the Bahá’ís of Chile took place April 22-24 in Santiago. The convention was privileged to have as a guest Auxiliary Board member Mercedes Sanchez.
For the first time in the history of the Faith in Chile the Araucanos Indians, or Mapuches as they are generally called, were represented at the annual convention. Three Mapuche delegates participated with great enthusiasm in the proceedings and in the election of the new National Spiritual Assembly: Norberto Antivil from Cardal, Francisco Alchao from Millapray and Ambrosio Paillalef from Aguas Tendidas.
There are about 300,000 Mapuche Indians in Chile, concentrated mainly in the provinces of Arauco y Cautin in Southern Chile. They live mostly in small villages with a typical Indian organization. Otherwise they are completely incorporated into the life of the nation, a majority of them being able to read and write.
Two goals of the Nine Year Plan have been met, twenty-five Local Assemblies and eighty Bahá’í centers having been established in this narrow country 4,200 kilometers long. The goals set for this year were also fulfilled, all pioneers having reached their posts, as mentioned in the report on page two of the July BAHÁ’Í NEWS.
A Promising Field—Where are the Pioneers?[edit]
One of the tasks of the Nine Year Plan, which the National Spiritual Assemblies of Colombia and Venezuela share, is the development of the Faith in the Guajira area which covers parts of both countries. Close to 60,000 Indians of one culture and one language live in this area where preparational work so rich and promising has been taking place for the last three years.
The plan now is to organize a Unified Teaching Committee (International) for Guajira. Each country will name two teachers for this committee. Two zonal committees were formed, one in Riohacha, Colombia and the other in Los Mochos, Venezuela. Venezuela now has a Jeep for teaching services and Colombia plans to buy a brick-maker. The teachers will then move rapidly among the numerous villages building schools and holding zonal congresses to increase the number of native teachers, to deepen the believers, and to integrate them into the life of the Bahá’í Community. Maps of the whole area have been made in order to plan the teaching in the best way possible.
A pioneer in Venezuela who has spent considerable time teaching the Guajira Indians has recently written: “Almost all free weekends I spend on teaching trips in the Guajira area, but the task is so immense and the time I can devote to this wonderful work is so short, that progress is very slow. These lovely Indians have such spiritual capacity and we could win them all for the Faith if we had the personnel available to serve as pioneers in this area ... we hope that others will soon be with us to share the joy of planting, cultivating and harvesting the spiritual fruits which will inevitably result from this fertile soil.”
President of Bolivia Commends Bahá’ís[edit]
The National Spiritual Assembly of Bolivia met on September 3 with the president of Bolivia, General René Barrientos Ortuño. A letter from the National Assembly states: “In that meeting, we have presented in Official form the principal points of the Bahá’í Faith to the president and we have asked his collaboration in the teaching and alphabetization programs for the Bahá’í Bolivian Indians. The president was very happy with our visit and he promised us his help in our tasks.”
El Diario, the principal newspaper in the city of La Paz, Bolivia, published a photograph of this meeting and an article. It mentions that the president congratulated the Bahá’ís on the educational work they are doing in Bolivia.
Meeting of the National Spiritual Assembly of Bolivia with President General René Barrientos Ortuño of Bolivia on September 3, 1966.
Dominican Republic Holds Teaching Institutes[edit]
The National Teaching School, Local Teaching Committees, the National Spiritual Assembly and the National Teaching Committee met in Moca, Dominican Republic, August 15-16, for the purpose of aiding consolidation. The responsibilities of local assemblies and groups were studied, such as the scheduling of regular meetings of the local assembly, holding the Nineteen Day feasts, and at least one study class or other meeting a week. Representatives from Santo Domingo, Moca, Santiago, Tamboril, San Juan de la Maguana and San Francisco de Macoris communities were present. A wonderful spirit of enthusiasm and determination to overcome all obstacles was evident.
On the evening of the 15th, Sheila Rice-Wray gave a talk, followed by slides of Haifa and the Bahá’í Congress in London. The Bahá’ís and their guests were enchanted. Members of the teaching committee from Dajabón (the Haitian frontier) said they hadn’t realized before the vast extension of the Faith and that now the world was truly one for them.
The school ended the afternoon of August 16 with a party in which all took part in an atmosphere of loving friendship.
Teaching Institute held in Moca, Dominican Republic, on August 15-16, 1966.
Another school was held September 10 and 11 in San
Francisco de Macoris with great success and enthusiasm. The majority of the Bahá’ís there are youth, and
two young ladies entered the Faith during the school.
Conventions[edit]
Sixth Annual Convention April 29 - May 1, 1966 held in Moca, Dominican Republic.
Sixth Annual Convention of the Bahá’ís of Ecuador, held April 30 and May 1, 1966 in Quito.
Puerto Rican institute Spurs Teaching Efforts[edit]
The first Bahá’í Institute, shown at the right, held in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico over Labor Day weekend brought renewed enthusiasm to those who attended. Twelve believers from San Juan, Ponce, San German and Mayaguez heard keynote speakers, Auxiliary Board member Ellsworth Blackwell and Mrs. Ruth Blackwell from Haiti on the theme, “Teaching with Spiritual Confidence.”
Morning, afternoon and evening sessions were conducted for three glorious days in an inspired spiritual atmosphere, deepening and teaching methods being especially stressed.
The Institute, held at the home of Miss Vivian Taylor, was so successful that it was decided to hold continued sessions every two months, alternating between the cities where believers reside. Other institutes and activities are being planned in cities where there are as yet no believers.
Victories in Asia and the Pacific[edit]
Left to right:
Bahá’ís of Vientiane, Laos, responding to the government’s call for assistance in the recent, devastating floods.
First Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Taboiaki
Village on the Island of Beru in the Gilbert & Ellice
Islands, elected April 21, 1966. Standing: Bwenawa Io,
secretary; Tebiria Teborau, treasurer; Tekare Teoti,
chairman; Matamwena Kamrona, vice-chairman; Banian Tion, Kaitara Mariko. Seated: Terema Beniata,
Tekariki, and Nauti Temea.
National Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds of the Gilbert & Ellice Islands, a prefabricated building shown as it was being assembled on Tarawa.
The Caribbean Islands[edit]
Guests at the 1966 observance of the Martyrdom of the
Báb held on St. Vincent Island. Visitors to the Island at
this time included Mr. and Mrs. Joe Noyes, Erica Reich
and Bob Kegan and the Bahá’í teaching team of Miss
Jean Norris and Miss Barbara Smith. The latter spent
several weeks on St. Vincent with gratifying results for
the Faith.
New Local Assemblies in Europe[edit]
Left to right:
The first Local Spiritual Assembly of Santa María de Barbará in Cataluña, Spain, formed April 1965. Seated, left to right: Mrs. Rosario Puigcercos; Mrs. Rezvanieh Forghani; Mrs. Gloria Fuentes and Mrs. Ines Gispert. Standing, left to right: Djalal Forghani; Gabriel Vila: Narciso Cerdan; Baudillo Fuentes and Rafael Acacio.
Local Spiritual Assembly of Würzburg, Germany, established at Riḍván 1966.
The Local Assembly of Mons, Belgium was formed
on Riḍván 1966 as a result of the relentless work of one
Brussels and two Persian pioneers. This Assembly is
not only new as an institution but its members also are
young in years — one of them reaching twenty-one on
the day of forming the Assembly. They are, left to right:
(seated) Claudine Ruelle, Jacqueline Smith, Jeanne
Duelz, Parvine Fallahzadeh and (standing) Rouhollah
Fallahzadeh, Mehran Faez, Fredy Regnault, Hubert
Gilson and Sirous Foroughi.
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Youth attending the First National Youth School held in Valencia, Spain during July 24-25, 1966.
Spanish Youth Hold First School in Valencia[edit]
The First Bahá’í National Youth School was held in Valencia during the days of July 24 and 25, 1966, with approximately sixty attending. This was the first time that a teaching activity was organized in Spain by the Spanish youth. It was clear demonstration of youthful hope and spiritual vitality, proving how capable they are of serving the Cause.
National Youth Committee of Spain who planned the
first Spanish Youth School, standing, left to right: Miss
Carmen Sanchez (chairman); Mr. Emilio Egea (secretary) and seated, left to right: Miss Aurora López
(treasurer); Miss Amparo Egea (librarian).
The youth speakers who appeared before the public
for the first time, astounded the audience with their
ease of speech and extensive knowledge of the Faith.
The following talks were given: “Education and Self-education of the Youth” by Miss Vida Missaghian of Palma de Mallorca; “The Youth’s Past and Present” by Emilio Egea from Cartagena; “The Youthful Messenger” by Deyhim Foroughi of Granada; “Features by Which Bahá’í Youth Should Exceed Themselves” by Miss Carmen Sanchez of Sabadell, Barcelona.
Adults who took part in the conference were Emilio Egea, representative of the National Assembly; R. Mehrabkhani, of Valencia, who spoke about “Youth and the Faith” and Mrs. Juana Ortuño who spoke on “Cooperation and Consultation in the Bahá’í Faith.” Miss Sara Tiffón, Auxiliary Board member, acted as representative of the Hands of the Cause.
The school had a deep spiritual effect on all who attended and evoked special gratitude from these youth who are the promise for a better world.
International News Briefs[edit]
An August news bulletin from the Hands of the Cause of South and East Asia states that Agnes Alexander, Hand of the Cause who fell a number of months ago and has been hospitalized, is much improved, “her spirit as radiant as ever” and she is able to move around a little. She is a source of inspiration to all of the friends who come to visit her. The bulletin also reports that Mr. T. Samandari, who was in the presence of Bahá’u’lláh and is now approximately ninety years of age, is continuing to fulfill the Guardian’s request to serve the Cause until his last breath. He has been undertaking teaching journeys to Pakistan, India, Ceylon, Thailand and Malaysia in recent months that have brought many new believers into the Faith.
Recently an outstanding journalist from Malaysia, chosen with a group of others by the U.S. State Department for a special tour of the United States, was met and entertained by Bahá’ís in Honolulu. S. J. Tilak, of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, was introduced by the State Department Reception Center in Honolulu to Dr. & Mrs. C. V. Caver and was entertained for dinner at their home. Since the occasion fell on the evening of
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Two views of the Orange County, California, Bahá’í school. Held weekly for the past two years, this school has been a successful intercommunity project supported by the local assemblies and groups in the county. Details of the program and plans for the future are given in the November-Dee ember issue of Child’s Way.
International News Briefs[edit]
their regular home fireside, Mr. Tilak was given an opportunity to meet a good cross section of the Bahá’í community, and also received an introduction to the Bahá’í Faith.
Born in India and educated at the University of Madras, Mr. Tilak is now a citizen of Malaysia and is the representative and correspondent for the Penang Daily, The Straits Echo, and for Newsweek Magazine. Conversation with him quickly revealed that he had met Mrs. Shirin Fozdar on numerous occasions at the time of her lecture visits to his University, and had a limited but favorable understanding of the Teachings. He had also visited the World Center in Haifa and was familiar with some of the Bahá’ís of Malaysia.
A Bahá’í School was held in Asunción, the capital city of Paraguay, July 14-17. Hand of the Cause Jalal Khazeh and two members of the Auxiliary Board, Hooper Dunbar and David Baral attended. The objective of this school, which was successfully attained, was the spiritual comprehension of the present responsibilities of a Bahá’í community. The Hand of the Cause appealed to the Bahá’ís of Paraguay to dedicate their attention to the work already begun with the Chaco Indians who live in the desert in complete poverty. A great number of Bahá’ís from Paraguay attended this school.
Two training courses for traveling teachers have been held in Cuenca and Quito, Ecuador, with the objective of studying the last two Messages of the Universal House of Justice and putting them into action. Ten teachers who travel to country villages attended these two courses. In this way the directives of the Universal House of Justice were presented to the First Indian Teaching Congress held in Otavalo the second half of July. Deepening Institutes were held in Guayaquil and Quito the end of August until the first part of September. Mrs. Louise Caswell came from Guatemala as one of the instructors for these Institutes.
Mrs. Betty R. Reed, secretary of the National Assembly of the British Isles, gave two public lectures, in Panama City and Colon, while returning from an official trip to South America. John Burdette from Australia showed colored slides of the construction of the Temple in Sydney on his eight-day visit to Panama recently. He visited the indigenous school and made a trip to the Darien Indians.
Passing of Marcia Steward de Matamoros[edit]
On August 29 Mrs. Marcia Steward de Matamoros, well known to many Bahá’ís, passed away in Tegucigalpa, Honduras where she had served the Faith for a number of years.
Mrs. de Matamoros, as Mrs. Marcia Atwater, entered the pioneer field in the beginning years of the Second Seven Year Plan and from then until her death she carried on teaching activities in various parts of Central America except for short intervals when she was pioneering elsewhere, notably in the Marshall Islands at the beginning of the Ten Year Crusade.
Mrs. de Matamoros was an excellent teacher and her devotion to the Faith will be immortalized in the Karbila School which she founded and left to the Honduras Bahá’í community. Although suffering for a long time from an incurable disease she continued her teaching work to the very end.
Annual Pow Wow Attracts Large Attendance[edit]
More than 250 Indians and their friends met on August 27 and 28 with Bahá’ís from several states at the familiar site of Lake Eucha, Oklahoma for the sixth annual Prayer Pow Wow among the Cherokees and their friends. The gathering was sponsored by the Rogers, Arkansas Bahá’í community with the cooperation of the Delaware County Assembly of Oklahoma. Since the Cherokees are great lovers of music, the voice and guitar of John Cook, member of the American Indian Service Committee, added greatly to the joyousness of the occasion. There was also music by a seven-piece Indian band, some of whose members travelled fifty miles to be present. One of the spiritual high points was the distribution of Bahá’í prayers printed in Cherokee.
Following the Saturday session at Lake Eucha, the friends met in the City Park in Jay, Oklahoma where breakfast was served to the early comers. Following group singing led by John Cook and the reading of messages of greeting, a short talk was given by Miss Judy Phillips on the coming of the Spirit, on the “roundness” and the need for all to know that all are brothers and members of one family.
As the friends left to return to their homes many of them who had attended previous gatherings of this kind expressed the feeling that “this was the best Pow Wow yet.”
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Canadian Bahá’í Summer School near Banff, Alberta. Held August 14-20 at the School of Fine Arts of the University of Alberta believers from Western Canada and United States gathered for sessions of devotions, study, and discussions as well as to enjoy the physical beauty of their surroundings. Among teachers at the School was Auxiliary Board member, William Maxwell.
Green Acre Sessions Bring Spiritual Bounties[edit]
Green Acre was truly a “Green ‘Akká” for the spirit during the nine weeks the school was in session. Hearts overflowed with love as the friends attended courses of lecture, study and discussion on ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, the Guardianship, Bahá’í Laws, Administration, Education, Indexing, Group and Individual Application of Teachings to Daily Life, and Pioneering. Daily singing kept spirits soaring.
Beloved Hand of the Cause, Mr. Zikru’lláh Khádem, uplifted the hearts by visiting for nine nights and returning to address the final session on Labor Day Weekend. Various Auxiliary Board members, during seven weeks, contributed their efforts, deepening the believers in love of the Covenant.
A variety of weekend conferences and institutes acquainted the friends with the work of the National Goals Committee, American Indian Service Committee, United Nations Committee and the National Music Committee.
Public meetings each Sunday, well publicized in the surrounding area, drew inquirers to hear outstanding speakers, Bahá’í and non-Bahá’í. On August 7, Mr. Asdrubal Salsamendi, Deputy-Chief of UNESCO visited Green Acre, dined with the friends, and spoke for the public meeting. Mr. Gerard Morin, an Indian from New Hampshire, spoke on “Indians of the Northeast Woodlands” another weekend.
For the children, courses were given on “Signs of Life” for pre-schoolers, “Living the Life” for first and second graders, “Bahá’í History” for third and fourth graders, and “Manifestations of God” for fifth and sixth graders. Each week preparation courses for enrollment were given to Junior Youth, with a qualified instructor. Teachers of adult courses also spoke to the youth and children’s classes.
Roy Wilhelm’s grave was visited, a memorial service held, and the site cleaned by a youthful group of students. A memorial service was held for Louis Gregory, first Hand of the Cause of his race. Sarah Farmer’s birthday also was commemorated. Additional services were performed to maintain the physical facilities of the school.
Attendance peaked during the two Senior Youth Weeks when spirits crested on a high wave of enthusiasm. A Weekend Youth Teaching Conference discussed “The Letter to Youth” from the Universal House of Justice.
Green Acre, trodden by the footsteps of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, was truly blessed by His Presence in spirit this summer. A winter season from December 29 to January 1, sponsored by the Green Acre Council, will continue to keep the spirit of love, fellowship and unity, enjoined by Him, aglow in our hearts.
The Bahá’í Faith Comes to McMinnville[edit]
McMinnville, Tennessee, a town of 10,000 was first opened to the Faith in May, 1965 when Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Schwandes, of Shorewood, Wisconsin, moved there to make it their home and establish a Bahá’í Center. Newspaper publicity about the Faith began in McMinnville papers even before the new arrivals had settled, and for the next eight months they held firesides, told friends and acquaintances about their beliefs, attended churches and did everything possible to teach and attract ready souls.
In February, 1966 was held the first large public meeting with Jack McCants, Auxiliary Board member, speaking to an audience of 110 in the meeting room of the local public library. Three declarations followed soon after the meeting, two of the new believers being able to attend the Convention in Wilmette and bringing back enthusiastic reports of the House of Worship and the love and unity they experienced there.
The community, numbering five, began planning a youth project for the summer, with the goal of reaching every person in town with the message of the Bahá’í Faith. They decided to hold a public meeting with Auxiliary Board member William Maxwell as speaker and to take an invitation to this meeting to every home in McMinnville. The invitation eventually became part of a four page Bahá’í newspaper (shown here), which in itself contained much information about the Faith. A youth team of three boys, Jon Piff from Washington, Grant Rhode from New Hampshire, and Dave Handel from New York, not only took a paper to each home in McMinnville, but to practically every home in the county.
The public meeting was attended by over one hundred people and was a great success. William Maxwell’s talk and Van Gilmer’s singing created a wonderful atmosphere which affected everyone present. A few days before this meeting a youth, James Womack, became a Bahá’í and a few days after the meeting two more youths, Hattie Taylor and Gwen Etten, enrolled. These three youth were then able to go to Green Acre for a week.
Now, a little over a year after McMinnville was opened to the Faith, there are eight believers and many souls who are very close.
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Some of those who attended the West Texas Teaching Institute in September, 1966.
West Texas Teaching Institute[edit]
Bahá’ís from West Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona gathered in El Paso, Texas, from September 2 through September 5, 1966, to attend the first teaching institute of its kind to be held in the area, sponsored by the Local Spiritual Assembly of Odessa, Texas, with the help of the Bahá’í group of El Paso, and held at Hawthorne House, an off-campus dormitory near the Texas Western College.
The theme of the institute was the Divine Plan of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá with each teacher covering various aspects relating to it. Auxiliary Board member, Chester Kahn, talked about ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Dr. Edris Rice-Wray from Mexico City discussed the spiritual aspects and pioneering, and Fred Bell from Odessa, Texas, discussed the history and development of the Plan.
Teachers for the youth and children included Jim Collins of Midland, Texas, Mrs. Betty Nix and Mrs. Johnnie Tijerina from Odessa, Texas, and Mrs. Amy Dwelly from Santa Fe, New Mexico. In addition to teaching the adult classes, Mr. Kahn also conducted one class a day for the youth. Most of the evenings were filled with musical entertainment presented by the youth, and group singing participated in by all.
On Saturday evening, September 3, a public meeting was held at Hawthorne House, and Mr. Chester Kahn gave a very inspiring talk to a crowd of approximately 75, 29 of whom were non-Bahá’ís who had been attracted to the meeting by the extensive newspaper, radio, and TV publicity. A great deal of interest was shown by the inquirers and many stayed well after midnight discussing the Faith.
On one occasion Dr. Rice-Wray talked of pioneering in Mexico and more specifically in the Yucatan. She spoke of the conditions there and the great need for pioneers and teachers. The people are ready for the Faith and ready to become Bahá’ís, she said. All they need is more teachers to teach them. A group of the West Texas believers were so moved they are now looking into the possibilities of making a two or three week teaching trip into the Yucatan this year during the Christmas holidays.
This West Texas Institute was the fulfillment of a long hoped-for dream of the friends of West Texas and the success of the affair was far beyond their expectations. Altogether 79 adults and children were registered and attended the classes. With the assistance given to the institute by State Goals Committees, local Spiritual Assemblies and individuals, it was possible for many Bahá’ís to attend who could not have done so otherwise. Certainly the effort and the sacrifices made by all for the success of the occasion were well rewarded.
Each day the enthusiasm and spirit mounted, and highlighting the weekend was the summation talk given by Mr. Kahn on Monday morning, bringing the institute to a close.
Local Spiritual Assembly of Culver City, California, incorporated in July, 1966. Standing, left to right: Jack Gartner, Donald Grubb, Billie Vahdat, Hugh Lineberger (chairman), Charles Cornell (vice chairman). Seated, left to right: Ruthie Cornell, Pearl Cullison, Nancy Lineberger, Lois O’Neil.
A Productive Summer for Youth and Cooperating Communities[edit]
“In country after country the achievements of Bahá’í youth are increasingly advancing the work of the Nine Year Plan and arousing the admiration of their fellow-believers. From the very beginning of the Bahá’í Era, youth have played a vital part in the promulgation of God’s Revelation.” Thus wrote the Universal House of Justice in the June, 1966, message to the world’s young followers of Bahá’u’lláh.
During the summer months, small armies of American and Canadian youth continued their vital mission by arising to the plea of the beloved Guardian who urged their “intelligent, persistent and effective participation” in Bahá’í activity as a demonstration of the “youthful vitality and the vibrant power animating the life and institutions of the nascent Faith of Bahá’u’lláh.”
These youth devoted their vacation time to Summer Youth Projects, and with the “adventurous spirit, vigor, alertness and optimism” which the Guardian cites in The Advent of Divine Justice, they spread the word Bahá’í through several new towns and villages while also assisting Bahá’í communities.
Their activities have special import when viewed in the light of the Universal House of Justice’s June message which also stated: “Those who now are in their teens and twenties are faced with a special challenge and can seize an opportunity that is unique in human history.... During the lifetime of those who are now young the condition of the world, and the place of the Bahá’í Cause in it, will change immeasurably, for we are entering a highly critical phase in this era of transition” of the Cause from obscurity to that of challenging the Old World Order and proclaiming the solution to humanity’s ills.
Glendale, Arizona[edit]
Among the Bahá’í youth (“Upon whom must depend the future orientation” of the destiny of the Cause) are four, ranging in age from 15 to 22 years, who descended on the town of Glendale, Arizona, to accept the goal of personally inviting two-thirds of the city’s 30,700 residents to Bahá’í public meetings.
In four weeks, and despite handicaps of 100-117 degree temperatures and high humidity, the youth met the goal of canvassing Glendale, held five firesides and a public meeting weekly, and were interviewed on radio. Because of Glendale’s large Mexican population, the 5,000 invitational cards distributed at residents’ doors were printed in both English and Spanish. No other literature was given nor were any teaching discussions held at the homes.
The firesides were the most successful aspect of the project with as many as 20 to 30 persons attending as the project progressed. Four persons (two adults and two youth) declared and the Glendale Bahá’í community reports “we have been strengthened and re-invigorated by the spirit of these youth.” The adults plan intensified follow-up efforts and hope “to maintain the same wonderful spirit and enthusiasm displayed by the youth.”
The youth, David Baumann, 17, Tempe, Arizona; Sohayl Sohrab, 22, Corvalis, Oregon; Tina Walters, 19, Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Wendi Worth, 15, Pasadena, California, began each day with group devotions, deepening and consultation, considered to have been very important to the progress of the project and the morale of the youth and their adult advisors.
Individuals responded to the invitations through canvassing, and daily several individuals voiced interest in the Faith. Many youth regularly attended the firesides from a town some 23 miles away.
Fargo, North Dakota[edit]
Meanwhile, three other youth had left their homes in Canada and were launching another youth project at Fargo, North Dakota. For two weeks Cathy Saxe, Paul Pettypiece and John Raynor conducted an extensive publicity campaign for a public meeting by distributing 275 posters, 475 invitations, and 50 basic fact sheets to 20 nearby towns. They also arranged spot radio and television announcements and appeared on an hour television interview and call-in show. One of the two most popular local television shows, it brought the Faith into an unknown number of North Dakota homes.
A “most successful” public meeting, titled “The Challenge Facing Youth” drew a dozen non-Bahá’ís. Six of them, all youth, came as a result of the publicity. In response to the youths’ efforts, old Fargo contacts were brought back in addition to the new ones made.
The youths’ explanations of their own spiritual growths are as significant as their teaching successes. They report: “The more Bahá’í activities I participate in, the more I realize I couldn’t live without the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh.” ... “It was an unforgettable experience both in knowledge acquired in teaching the Faith and in the many friendships gained.... It occurred to us while on the project that we were each learning so much individually that we felt guilty about not giving enough to the community.... As youth now, it is incredible for us to think that we can keep growing in the Faith at such a rate as we experienced together in those four weeks.... The experience of simply living in a Bahá’í home and beginning to understand what it really means to be a Bahá’í all the hours of the day was without a doubt one of the most obvious benefits derived from the summer.”
Sparks, Nevada[edit]
Some of the above comments were made by the four youth who composed a team which journeyed to Sparks, Nevada, primarily to assist four Bahá’í adult teachers in a Bahá’í-conducted remedial school for children from the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony. This was the second summer for the school and because of the efforts of Bahá’ís the previous summer, several Indians had become Bahá’ís.
The Faith was not mentioned while teaching and the youth and adults sought, instead, to show the Bahá’í spirit through actions rather than words. During the last week of school Melba King, an Eskimo Bahá’í and
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her husband offered the Indians “overwhelmingly successful” evening firesides.
The youth who served in Sparks, Pat Plecas, Thornton, Illinois; Tony Lee, Los Angeles, California; Joan Millar, Duxbury, Massachusetts, and Andy Hilton, Santa Barbara, California, also worked with a Bahá’í bookmobile, and participated in community activities such as feasts, firesides, public meetings, an LSA meeting and a Holy Day observance.
West Chester, Pennsylvania[edit]
Another youth project was undertaken by Steve Blair, Cincinnati, Ohio; Bill Webber, New York, and Harry Blackwood, Wilton, Connecticut, who assisted the West Chester Pennsylvania community. Their activities included publishing a “youth organization directory” which gave them abundant opportunities to meet the town’s youth leaders, and working at the town’s community center where they interested other workers in the Faith and brought several to firesides. As a result of the directory, a Lutheran student group has already requested a Bahá’í speaker.
Other Projects[edit]
A youth team also delivered 4,000 souvenir editions of “The McMinnville, Tennessee, Bahá’í Bulletin,” a newspaper telling the Bahá’í story, to every home in McMinnville, reaching ten thousand souls in that southern town. The newspaper preceded a mass proclamation meeting at which Auxiliary Board Member William Maxwell of North Carolina gave a Bahá’í introductory talk. Over one hundred persons attended.
Two other Southeastern youth teams, the Cherokee and the Conyers teams, in part converged on McMinnville to help with the meeting. Earlier the Cherokee team had also hosted a public meeting for Mr. Maxwell and the Conyer youth had conducted a children’s school for about 40.
Four youths (Judy Green, Marcia Harrison, Mark Johnson, David Jacobs) with Elaine Spies, advisor conducted a day camp in Edwardsville, Illinois from July 19 through August 5. Its purpose was to introduce the Faith to an integrated group of children as well as to provide these children with stimulating activities and to reach the parents as well as children in Bahá’í friendship, thereby demonstrating the principle of living the Bahá’í life. The group, varying in numbers from eight to fifteen was taught the Faith through stories, mural drawings and puppet shows and they were encouraged to memorize verses. Field trips and art lessons were included and the children gave a program for their parents showing aspects of the Faith which they had learned. It is hoped that Saturday classes can be continued for those of the group who are interested.
These Bahá’í youth projects, just a few of the several conducted during the summer months, were undertaken by many youth who would experience their first public teaching and administrative experiences. They bring to mind the beloved Guardian’s statement to the Bahá’í Youth of America in 1938, when he wrote, “I hope, and indeed pray, that such a participation [in teaching and administrative spheres] may not only redound to the glory, the power and the prestige of the Faith, but may also react so powerfully on the spiritual lives, and galvanize to such an extent the energies of the youthful members of the Bahá’í community, as to empower them to display, in a fuller measure, their inherent capacities and to unfold a further stage in their spiritual evolution under the shadow of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh.”
News Briefs[edit]
On August 28, 1966, Seattle, Washington held a follow-up meeting to Race Unity Day at the East Madison Y.W.C.A. which is located in the heart of the international district. The program consisted of prayers read by members of the Caucasian and Negro races. The topic was “One World-One People” which was exemplified by the participants: Japanese chairman and three speakers from Caucasian, Negro and Alaskan Indian backgrounds. Music was furnished by the Bahá’í singers. Free literature was available and Bahá’í books were on display. The program was announced over a local radio station and notices appeared in five Seattle newspapers including one which circulates principally among Negroes. Approximately fifty people attended.
The first Bahá’í marriage ceremony in Louisiana took place in Alexandria, Louisiana on August 28 when Miss Evelyn Wallace and Mr. Joseph A. Taylor were married at the home of Mr. John J. Towels in the Negro section of the city. The ceremony was witnessed by approximately seventy five persons of both the Negro and Caucasian races, only thirteen of whom were
Bahá’í booths at county fairs bring the Faith to the attention of thousands. Shown at the left is display at the San Mateo (California) County Fair and Flower Fiesta, August 5-13. Over 800 people stopped to inquire or take literature. At right is booth at the Benton County, Oregon, Fair, August 23-26. An unusual feature of this display was the showing of slides taken by Fred and Beth Laws, when they pioneered in Basutoland, Africa. The booth was planned and attended by the Corvallis Group.
News Briefs (continued)[edit]
Bahá’ís. During the reception that followed many questions were asked by the visitors about the Faith. While publicity was sent to all the daily papers, only the Negro press reported the marriage and carried a photograph of the couple and the official witnesses to the marriage.
The Bahá’í Community of Friday Harbor, Washington, assisted by the local Assembly of Edmonds participated in the San Juan County Fair at Friday Harbor August 25th through 27th. A float was prepared for the parade on August 27 from downtown to the fair grounds, and a booth was rented in the main exhibition hall. The theme of both was the Oneness of Mankind. The float consisted of two large side panels on a camper with a semi-circular panel above on which appeared in large letters the words “Bahá’í World Faith.” Below this on the side panels, in letters easily visible the words: “God is One,” Man is One,” Religion is One.” At the parade of floats in front of the Grandstand at the fair, the Mormon Bishop announced the float was self-explanatory, and after the fair was over the authorities expressed their thanks both for the booth and the float.
At the request of The Pages (girls) and The Earls (boys), of Washington High School, the Los Angeles Youth Committee sponsored a fireside on Sunday morning, August 28, with approximately fifty in attendance. The youth who attended were truly a Bahá’í garden, being of Oriental, Negro and Caucasian backgrounds. The visitors asked interesting and sincere questions and a beautiful spirit prevailed.
A picnic held at the Fruitport, Michigan home of Mr. and Mrs. L. Wyatt Cooper September 18 drew an attendance of some fifty Bahá’ís and near Bahá’ís from Fruitport, Muskegan, Grand Haven, Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, and Pentwater. Since Fruitport was one of the earliest Bahá’í communities in the United States and the first one in Michigan, and there are still resident in the area several believers who were members of the original community dating back to 1906, Mr. and Mrs. Cooper arranged the picnic primarily to honor these Bahá’ís and their families and to share with the younger believers some of the history of those early days.
The two Tablets written by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá to the Fruitport believers were read by two members of the original group while another recalled briefly her memory of being in the presence of the Master when He was in America. Miss Edna M. True, member of the National Spiritual Assembly, whose mother, Mrs. Corinne True, Hand of the Cause, introduced and taught the Faith in the area, spoke of the work of her mother both in teaching and in connection with the beginning of the Bahá’í House of Worship. Miss Charlotte Linfoot, also a member of the National Spiritual Assembly, spoke of the rapid spread of the Faith in the sixty years since the formation of the Fruitport group and the need today for the same spirit of dedication and enthusiasm that prevailed among the very early communities in the United States.
All present were immensely interested in an exhibit of photographs that had been arranged by Mr. Cooper showing the large groups of Bahá’ís who assembled from time to time in the very early years, several of whom were present at the picnic that day.
BAHA'I IN THE NEWS[edit]
Arthur and Lila Weinberg in their book, Instead of Violence, published by Grossman in 1963 include in Chapter 4 the address by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in Paris Talks, “The Pitiful Causes of War and the Duty of Everyone to Strive for Peace.” The authors cite the source of this talk and make the comment that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá deplores man’s descent to slaying.
A recent publication, in 1966, of the Christopher Publishing House in Boston, Christianity and Cosmopolitan Civilization, by Van Ness Bates states on page 359: “I maintain that we should, above all, respect the chosen Christs or ‘Concepts of Christ’ of our fellow-men as Socrates did; and ask only that they respect ours — whether the Christ be Bahá’u’lláh, or some other great Teacher in history or even humble Pastor Jones of ‘Erehwyna’, so long as he has some modicum of that Christ-Power to inspire us to the worship and service of God!”
In the book, The Road to Panama, by Selden Rodman, published by Hawthorne Books, Inc., New York City, the author mentions an interview with pioneer Fred Berest. After learning something of Mr. Berest’s background and his purpose in being in Panama as a Bahá’í pioneer, the author states: “We asked him to explain Bahá’í to us. ‘Imagine’, he said, ‘seven or eight glasses being filled from a pitcher of water. God, holding that pitcher, may be conceived of as pouring the Holy Spirit from age to age. Every five hundred or a thousand years, you know, religion takes a new name. If the first glass contains Krishna, the second Moses, and so on through Buddha, Christ and Mahomet, we come finally to the Persian seer, Bahá’u’lláh (1817-1892), who taught the oneness of all faiths and of all mankind. A progressive revelation, we call it. Just as the Indians of San Blas and Darien grasp intuitively the oneness of nature, so we in the larger world must reestablish this principle and break down the barriers of nationalism. Each in his own way, to the best of his ability.’
“We had no doubt, driving out, that Fred Berest is doing more than his share of what most of us are not doing at all.”
Morocco, Old Land, New Nation by Mark I. Cohen and Lorna Hahn, published in 1966 by Frederick A. Praeger, discusses briefly the exploitation of the Bahá’í Faith by a Moroccan political party, in an effort to dramatize a claim “to be the stanch defender of faith and country,” and the resultant persecution and imprisonment of several young Bahá’í men from Nador. Concerning the Faith, the authors write: “The attractiveness of the movement stemmed from its belief in world brotherhood (a factor in its recent appeal in certain parts of Africa), the dedication of its organizers, and the vitality of its discussions, which contrasted sharply with the small concern in Morocco with the possibility of modernizing Islám.” The reactions of various Moroccan leaders, newspaper publicity, and the final reversal of the convictions are noted.
Baha’i Publishing Trust[edit]
Bahá’í Wall Calendar, 1967. The new calendar has a springtime photo of the Bahá’í Temple in Wilmette not previously published. All of the Feast Days are depicted in one color and the Holy Days in another color for ready identification. Detailed information in respect to special observances are on the back.
It is suggested that all orders for overseas shipment be sent in as soon as possible so that they may be received by January 1, 1967.
Per copy | $ .25 |
10 copies | $2.00 |
25 copies | $4.50 |
50 copies | $7.50 |
[No standing orders are being sent on this item, except overseas.]
| Order from | Bahá’í Publishing Trust |
| 110 Linden Avenue | |
| Wilmette, Illinois |
Temporarily out-of-stock[edit]
All Things Made New by John Ferraby. The Publishing Trust regrets that due to current insurmountable delays in respect to a new printing of this title, being effected in England, our stock will be depleted for a period of time. The new edition, when completed, will carry updated information in respect to developments in the faith since the book was originally written, and will include information on the establishment of the Universal House of Justice at the World Center. Because of the indefinite situation that exists at this time, please do not order this title until it is again announced in BAHÁ’Í NEWS. As soon as the date is available for the new printing it will be published in BAHÁ’Í NEWS.
Baha’i Distribution and Service Department[edit]
Bahá’í Music — A long playing record which announces through song the advent of a new and thrilling call to world peace and unity, the Bahá’í Faith. The selections, many of which are original compositions, provide a variety which will satisfy many musical needs. The album was recorded in Southern California by the California Victory Chorus under the direction of Mr. Russ Garcia, well known arranger, composer and conductor in the recording, television and motion picture industries.
Monaural — 33-⅓LP — 12 inch record. Eighteen selections, nine on each side | $3.00 |
(Most of the selections included on the record are also in Music Packet #1 (Choral Music) and Packet #2 (Folk Music). Both packets available from this Department.) |
|
Music Packet #1 | $1.00 |
Music Packet #2 | $1.25 |
Bookmarks, interesting and unusual items for personal
use, teaching aids, and as gifts. These bookmarks
measure 8½ inches by 2 inches. With plastic covering,
one side has five color pictures of the Bahá’í buildings
in Haifa and the other side has an interesting flower
arrangement made from natural flowers from the Holy
Land, hand picked and pressed.
Each | $ .75 |
Protective Covers for Prayer Books.
Clear plastic covers to fit the blue or white Bahá’í
prayer books.
Each cover | $ .40 |
Opaque plastic covers to fit the book Communion With God, available in six colors—green, black, red, blue, brown, white
Each cover | $ .30 |
Order from: Bahá’í Distribution and Service Department; 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, Illinois 60091
Calendar of Events[edit]
- FEASTS
- November 4—Qudrat (Power)
- November 23—Qawl (Speech)
- HOLY DAYS
- November 12—Birth of Bahá’u’lláh
- November 26—Day of the Covenant
- November 28—Ascension of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
- (1:00 a.m.)
- U.S. NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY MEETINGS
- November 18-20 December 30-January 2
- U.S. STATE CONVENTIONS
- November 6
Baha’i House of Worship[edit]
- Daily
- 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (Entire Building)
- Sundays
- 3:30 to 4:00 p.m.
- Sundays
- 4:15 p.m.
BAHÁ’Í NEWS is published for circulation among Bahá’ís only by the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States, as a news organ reporting current activities of the Bahá’í world community.
BAHÁ’Í NEWS is edited by an annually appointed Editorial Committee: Mrs. Sylvia Parmelee. Managing Editor; Mrs. Eunice Braun, International Editor; Miss Charlotte Linfoot, National Spiritual Assembly Representative.
Material must be received by the twentieth of the second month preceding date of issue. Address: Bahá’í News Editorial Office, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, Illinois, U.S.A. 60091.
Change of address should be reported directly to National Bahá’í Office, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, Illinois, U.S.A. 60091.
