Bahá’í News/Issue 534/Text

←Previous

Bahá’í News Issue 534

Next→

Proofread onceReturn to PDF view

[Page -1]

Bahá’í News

September 1975

Bahá’í Year 132

International Women’s Year: the Bahá’í impact

[Page 0]

Illuminated (decorated) Prayers and Passages of Bahá’u’lláh for teaching and deepening make welcome gifts, provide inspiring wall decoration, and aid in memorization. Illuminated Prayers and Passages of Bahá’u’lláh Preservation and consolidation of the victories won: This is one of the three major objectives of the Five Year Plan as the Cause of God goes “from strength to strength” throughout the worldwide Bahá’í community. We can do this even in the face of rising global chaos if we use the strengthening serenity of our Sacred Texts, the Creative Word of God, to deepen and consolidate Bahá’ís. For this purpose, several short, simple, powerful quotations of Bahá’u’lláh have been chosen and are now available in large type, illuminated by dignified artwork. These attractive, brief prayers and meditations are suitable for framing or other kinds of display. Ten different quotations have been printed on 8.5 by 11-inch paper — large enough for wall or window display, yet small enough to be carried in a notebook. Members of teaching, proclamation, conference, and consolidation committees might want to pay particular attention to this set for possible use at summer schools, institutes, and children’s classes. They are excellent for complementing normal teaching materials or for gifts to participating individuals at Bahá’í gatherings. The large type and easy-to-handle pages also make the material useful for persons with poor eyesight or for beginning readers, either children or adults, who are not yet accustomed to Bahá’í literature. In addition, these passages are generally brief enough so that students can memorize them without difficulty. The entire set of ten can be bound into a new believers’ booklet either as they are or mounted artistically on colorful heavy paper. Further decorative illumination can then be added, limited only by the artist’s imagination. In this way, homemade albums can be tailored to a variety of indigenous cultures. Other possible uses include mementos for friends on special Bahá’í occasions or gifts for the sick or shut-in. These ten quotations by Bahá’u’lláh are available either in complete sets or as individual prayers and meditations in multiples of ten. How to Get the Illuminated Prayers and Passages of Bahá’u’lláh Your local Bahá’í librarian or authorized Bahá’í distributor may have them in stock or may be able to supply you with prices and ordering information. If, however, you cannot find them in your area, you may send your inquiry to the International Bahá’í Audio-Visual Centre, 1640 Holcomb Road, Victor, N.Y. 14564, U.S.A., for forwarding to the proper organization.

[Page 1]

Contents

International Women’s Year	2
The Bahá’í impact on the World Conference and the Tribune
Teaching the Cause	8
The story of Mrs. Isabella Brittingham
Solving the Christian enigma	12
By the Hand of the Cause of God George Townshend
Around the world	14
Australia, Canada, Chile, Malawi, Netherlands, Portugal, United States

page 8

page 15

page 17

Bahá’í News has returned to consecutive numbering of the issues. This issue is No. 534. February 1975 was No. 527. Please make the following changes: March should be No. 528, April should be No. 529, May should be No. 530, June should be No. 531, July should be No. 532, and August should be No. 533.

Bahá’í News is published monthly for circulation among Bahá’ís only by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States, as a news organ reporting current activities of the Bahá’í world community. Manuscripts submitted should be typewritten and double spaced throughout; any footnotes should appear at the end. The contributor should keep a carbon copy. Send materials to: Bahá’í News Editorial Office, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091, U.S.A.

Change of address should be reported directly to Office of Membership and Records, National Bahá’í Center, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091, U.S.A

Subscription rates: one year, US $8; two years, US $15.

Second class postage paid at Wilmette, Illinois 60091.

Copyright ® 1975, National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. World Rights Reserved. Printed in the U.S.A.

[Page 2]

Women’s year:

The Bahá’í impact
on the World Conference
and the Tribune

[Page 3] Bahá’í women were in Mexico City from June 19-July 2 to attend the first major intergovernmental conference ever held to discuss the role of women in society and a related non-governmental organization tribune at which a wide spectrum of women’s groups discussed the problems of achieving equality with men.

Dorothy Nelson and Shirin Fozdar represented the Bahá’í International Community at the International Women’s Year World Conference, to which the Bahá’í Faith contributed a statement on the education of women. A ‎deletation delegation‎ of eight, headed by Elsie Austin, represented the Bahá’ís at the Tribune. They were, in addition to Dr. Austin, Counsellor Carmen de Burafato, Catherine Mboya, Jyoti Munsiff, Shomais Afnan, Edris Rice-Wray, Jane Faily, and Sheila Banani.

The international conference and the tribune were authorized by the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations as a part of the observance of International Women’s Year 1975.

The goal of the conference, held at the Mexican Foreign Ministry and attended by governmental delegations, was to adopt a world plan of action specifying regional, national, and international steps to be implemented in the ensuing decades to enhance the status of women. The plan adopted stresses the need to increase the role of women in the development process, ensuring that they be granted a substantive voice in decision-making, and that they share equitably in the fruits of development.

The Tribune, held concurrently with the conference, provided a forum for a wide range of non-governmental organizations for a discussion of issues relating to the equality of men and women. However, participation was restricted.

The Bahá’í International Community, a non-governmental organization at the UN, was invited to send two delegates to the world conference itself, as well as eight to the Tribune, because of its special consultative status with the Economic and Social Council.

Five major topics were on the agenda for the Women’s Year Conference:

1. The objectives and goals of Women’s Year;
2. The involvement of women in establishing peace and in eliminating racism and racial discrimination;
3. Developing trends affecting the status of women, and major obstacles to be overcome in ‎achieveing achieving‎ equality;
4. The integration of women on an equal basis with men in the process of world development;
5. The scope and content of the world plan of action.

The Bahá’í delegations to both gatherings met prominent men and women, discussed with them teachings of the Faith, and made substantive contributions during official deliberations. Despite the fact that no provision had been made for non-governmental organizations to be heard at the world conference, Mrs. Fozdar was permitted on June 26 to make a brief presentation on education before the major committee developing action proposals on points under discussion at the plenary sessions.

At the Tribune, held at the National Medical College in Mexico City, despite the intense competition for time available, all of the Bahá’í delegates were able to briefly address the gathering on various questions. Most were able to speak more than once. Dr. Austin, for example, was able to speak on three instances. Dr. Rice-Wray on four. It was reported that after each presentation by a Bahá’í there followed always an appreciable round of applause.

[Page 4] Quantities of Bahá’í literature, notably a new Bahá’í International Community brochure, Equality of Men and Women: A New Reality, and Women: Attaining Their ‎Brithright Birthright‎, a pamphlet by Constance Conrader, were available to the more than 5,000 persons attending the conference and tribune.

Several thousand copies of a special International Women’s Year issue of World Order, which carried statements on the status of women submitted to the United Nations by the Bahá’í International Community, were presented to selected delegates. The contents reportedly were of such interest to some delegates that translations into Spanish were made immediately, with copies soon in circulation.

A display on the equality of men and women, designed for the conference by the Bahá’í Information Office of the United States, was well received. Many people remarked that it was the most effective display at the conference, Dr. Nelson said in a post-conference report. The three-panel bilingual display—each panel showing a bird in flight—used brief quotations from the Bahá’í writings—white letters on a field of black—to emphasize the Faith’s relevance to the multiple concerns of the conference: equality, development, and peace. The placement of the display was opportune. It was given space along the main passageway, just a few feet from the delegate’s coffee and tea station.

“From the moment of its completion, the exhibit became a major publicity attraction,” Dr. Austin later wrote. “Outstanding in its simplicity and charm, it was unique and was repeatedly photographed by press and radio representatives and by the delegates.”

She said it had an eye-arresting simplicity and stood out from the clutter that characterized many of the other exhibits. “Beneath each wing on each panel, in white printing against the dark background, were the beautiful quotations from the Bahá’í writings.... These words seemed to capture the eye and the mind of each passer-by. Each stopped to read and continued to move from panel to panel reading the Creative Words.” So many people came to the table for literature that the friends attending the display had to continually replenish it, Dr. Austin said.

The Bahá’í delegation combined to host a reception for important participants of the two events, after many inquiries about the Faith had been received. Approximately 150 invitations were issued for a reception on June 26, held at the El Presidente Hotel in a tastefully appointed circular banquet hall. The refreshments—melons, cheeses, cakes, sweets—were arranged colorfully on a massive round table. The guests began arriving at 8:30 p.m., and by 11 p.m., they were still coming. Roughly 130 of those invited appeared, notwithstanding that it was stormy in Mexico City that night. Among the guests were Mildred Persinger, chairman of the UN Tribune Committee, officials of the UN Tribune, and members of delegations from many countries.

Representatives from several non-governmental organizations attended, among them: United Church Women, the International Council of Women, the National Girl Scouts Association, and the National Council of Negro Women.

A local television news team circulated at the reception conducting interviews, which were broadcast on Saturday, June 28, as part of a more comprehensive program on the Bahá’í Faith done by one of Mexico’s celebrated television personalities.

“The interviewer was excellent,” Dr. Nelson reported. “He let us all (de Burafato, Munsiff, Austin, Mboya, Nelson) speak and emphasize certain points.... The unity in diversity of the teachings was truly demonstrated.”

A number of the Bahá’í delegates attended Embassy parties given during their stay in the Mexican capital. In addition, several were interviewed by members of the international press. Mrs. de Burafato, Dr. Austin, and Dr. Nelson, for example, were recorded for television by a CBS correspondent. Dr. Nelson was interviewed by ABC television and was invited to write a series of articles about the conference for the Los Angeles Times.

A public meeting was held during the second week of the conference at a convenient downtown hotel. It became a semi-official Tribune event when news of it was published in Xilonen, the official conference publication. More than 100 persons attended. Dr. Nelson and Mrs. Fozdar were speakers. Their theme: “The Challenge of the Twentieth Century.” A translation was provided by Counsellor Paul Lucas.

[Page 5]

Statement by Bahá’í International Community

In a post-conference session to summarize their collective impressions, the Bahá’í delegates, in consultation, agreed that the significance of the Mexico experience was that, for the first time, a commitment to equality for women had been certified by the community of nations. The delegation believed that its presence served to heighten interest in the Faith and its teachings and provided opportunities for presenting information to officials and delegates attending both assemblies.

The Bahá’í International Community, comprising Bahá’í communities in 335 countries and territories, expressing through its members—men and women representing 1,600 tribes and ethnic groups—a worldwide unity in diversity, welcomes this opportunity to make a contribution to the World Conference for International Women’s Year.

Bahá’í communities have found that education must go beyond intellectual development or the acquisition of skills. An

Below is a scene at the International Women’s Year Tribune, which was held concurrently with the World Conference.

The display at left was designed for the International Women’s Year World Conference by the Bahá’í Information Office of the United States. The sketch above shows how the display was arranged. Each panel showed a bird in flight and used brief quotations, in English and Spanish, from the Bahá’í Writings to emphasize the Faith’s relevance to the concerns of the conference: equality, development, and peace.

[Page 6] essential characteristic of such an education, the experience of the Bahá’í International Community for over a century suggests, is a wider and deeper understanding of the ‎prupose purpose‎ and value of human life. A sense of worth, assurance, and courage, as well as a sense of direction, are dependent upon the attainment of spiritual as well as material goals. If human beings are to realize fully their potentialities and be willing to contribute their talents and skills to aid others in attaining happiness, then “progress,” frequently understood exclusively in terms of physical ‎well-bing well-being‎, and “development,” defined as the use of human resources to achieve a higher standard of living, should have broader and deeper dimensions.

The full commitment of women—and men—to the advancement of society, the Bahá’í International Community has found, demands a source of belief powerful enough to effect, through life-long education, a transformation in the goal and the quality of life so that each person will contribute steadily to the development of his own country and of a world society. Bahá’í communities operate on the belief that such power and pattern have been released in the world in this new stage of human evolution, and that we can all become attuned to this constructive force.

A study entitled “Preliminary Enquiry into the Status of Women in the Bahá’í World Community,” made available to the Commission on the Status of Women indicated that all Bahá’í communities teach equality of the sexes and act to eliminate prejudice and discrimination against women; and that within the Bahá’í International Community “great advances have already been made towards equality of the sexes.” As the “Enquiry” suggests, women already participate actively in voting for local and national Bahá’í administrative bodies—an easy process for them since there is no electioneering or nominations, and the ballot is secret; and they are elected to serve on such bodies. Women take part also in consultation—the process by which decisions are arrived at in Bahá’í community affairs—since they are able to rid themselves of feelings of inferiority and lack of worth brought about by an overemphasis on material values, through their understanding of the spiritual nature of human life. The development of the mind, through an unfettered investigation of knowledge, and the welcome expression of each individual’s views in the process of consultation, have been two vital ingredients in the social and administrative structure of Bahá’í communities that have made possible the participation of women and men in all areas of community life.

In the Bahá’í world community, the education of women has high priority. Although universal compulsory education applies to both sexes, the education of women, because mothers are the first teachers of the child, is considered more important than that of men. Therefore, if parents, who have the primary responsibility for the education of their ‎chidren children‎, are not able to fulfill their duty to educate both boy and girl in a family, preference is given to the girl. In no way does this choice suggest that women are to be limited to the rearing of children and to household duties; for it is vital that women develop all their talents and skills so that they may achieve through their constructive activities recognition of complete equality.

This realization of equality, however, does not relate to roles ‎ro or‎ to the different functions and qualities of women and men. The importance of a balance between forceful and aggressive qualities and the attributes of mental alertness, intuition, love, and service, in which women throughout history have been strong, is becoming recognized; and the deep-seated inclination of women to peace and their great reluctance to sacrifice their children to war is recognized in Bahá’í communities as holding great promise for the future. Further, as prejudices of sex, as well as of creed, race, class, and nationality, are abandoned, in a spirit of dedication to the unity of mankind, the necessary motivation for the establishment of peace can take place in both men and women.

---

International Women’s Year World Conference delegates

Dr. Dorothy Nelson, head of the delegation, from the United States.

Dr. Nelson is Treasurer of the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States.

She is a lawyer and is currently a professor of law in the University of Southern California’s Faculty of Law. She was also the first woman dean of an accredited law school in the United States. In 1975 she published Judicial Administration and the Administration of Justice.

In 1969 she was chosen “Woman of the Year” by the Los Angeles Times.

Married to Judge James Nelson of California, and the mother of two children. Dr. Nelson is an example of a woman’s ability to have a well-rounded career.

---

Mrs. Shirin Fozdar, from Singapore.

Mrs. Fozdar was born of Iranian parents in India. Her career has meant a life of active public service, particularly in those areas relating to the improvement of the status of women. As a worker for recognition and opportunity for women, she has attained international fame and recognition. She was elected as a representative for Asian Women to the League of Nations in 1934. She worked for the emancipation of women and to remove the burden of caste discrimination in India.

In Singapore she organized a council of Women of Singapore which has united Chinese, Malay, and Indian women in an effort to ‎acheive achieve‎ equal rights and end discrimination against women.

In recognition of her services toward the progress of women, Mrs. Fozdar was invited to China. She has also been the recipient of leadership grants from the United States.

[Page 7]

International Women’s Year Tribune delegates

Dr. H. Elsie Austin, head of the delegation, from the United States.

Dr. Austin holds a Doctor of Jurisprudence degree from the University of Cincinnati and two honorary degrees in recognition of her career in law and public service. She has combined a legal and diplomatic career. As the first black woman graduate of the University of Cincinnati’s College of Law, she went on to become the first woman of her race to serve as assistant attorney general of the state of Ohio. Thereafter she continued her legal career in Washington, D.C., serving as a senior attorney with federal agencies. She entered the Foreign Service in 1960, becoming the first Regional Women’s Affairs Attaché for Africa. Working in 13 countries, she developed programs of organization on assistance and leadership training for African women leaders and their organizations. Recently retired, she now serves as a part-time field consultant with the Domestic Education Assistance Program of the Phelps-Stokes Foundation.

Dr. Austin is the editor of a French-English Edition of The Community Service Handbook, published by Nouveau Horizons Press and widely distributed in African and Asian countries. She has also written an article on African Women and Challenge and Change, which was published as a part of a series on Problems of National Development.

Mrs. Shomais Afnan, from Iran and England.

Mrs. Afnan is a fifth-generation Bahá’í who was born in Iran. Her professional studies were done in England, where she has served as director of health education for a county. She has lectured widely on health studies and social studies.

She serves as the Bahá’í member of the Religious Advisory Committee of the United Nations Association of the United Kingdom. She has also participated in U.N. seminars on the Role of the Family in Changing Society.

Mrs. Sheila Banani, from the United States.

Mrs. Banani works with the University of California’s School of Public Health in the Graduate Division of Population, Family, and International Health. She is currently working with a joint rural health project which the university co-sponsors with the University of Ghana Medical School. She holds a recent degree in urban planning, specializing in social development. Mrs. Banani is currently teaching at Santa Monica College in California.

Senora Carmen de la Vega de Burafato, from Mexico.

Senora de Burafato is an outstanding Mexican Bahá’í who serves as a Counsellor for the Faith in Mexico, Central America, Panama, and the Antilles. Fluent in Spanish and English, she has both written and lectured for the Faith in many areas.

Professionally, Senora de Burafato has served several important business firms in public relations and administrative services.

Dr. Jane Failey, from the United States.

Dr. Failey is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Michigan who is currently serving as a professor in the Department of Psychiatry on the medical faculty of the University of North Carolina. Dr. Failey has done graduate work at Harvard University, Atlanta University, and the Sorbonne. Her professional specialization has been in community mental health and group psychotherapy.

Dr. Failey is an Auxiliary Board member who has traveled and spoken widely for the Faith in many areas of the United States and the Islands of Micronesia.

Mrs. Catherine Mboya, from Kenya, East Africa.

Mrs. Catherine Mboya is an African Bahá’í from Nairobi, Kenya. She has served on administrative bodies of the Faith in her country. She is treasurer of the Nairobi Bahá’í Assembly.

Mrs. Mboya is a professional accountant and has studied at the University of Nairobi. With her professional career, she has interested herself deeply in movements relating to the progress of women. She has served as an officer of Maendeleo Ya Wanawake, Kenya’s largest women’s organization. She has also served as an international vice president of the Associated Country Women of the World, a widely-known organization that sponsors programs and seminars for women in the developing countries.

Miss Jyoti Munsiff, from England.

Miss Munsiff is Indian by birth. She has pursued a legal career in England, where she was the youngest woman to qualify as a solicitor in that country. She was also the first Indian woman to attain this profession. Currently, she is a solicitor and legal advisor to a petroleum company.

A third-generation Bahá’í, Miss Munsiff has combined her personal ‎acheivement achievement‎ with service to the Faith.

Dr. Edris Rice-Wray, from Mexico.

Dr. Rice-Wray is a medical doctor who has specialized in family planning and population studies. An American by birth, she moved to Mexico in the interest of extending knowledge of the Bahá’í Faith and its Teachings.

In Mexico, she has acquired a reputation for professional excellence. Currently, she is a professor of population studies at the University of the Americas in Puebla, Mexico. Dr. Rice-Wray was a pioneer in Family Planning studies. She established the first Family Planning Clinic in Mexico. She has also done special research in Oral ‎Concraceptives Contraceptives‎ and has published more than 50 scientific articles on this research. She is a recognized authority on the subject and has lectured in many countries.

[Page 8]

Teaching the cause

The story of Mrs. Isabella Brittingham

by O. Z. Whitehead

[Page 9] Born on Feb. 21, 1852, Mrs. Isabella D. Brittingham had a distinguished ancestor. Her great grandfather, John Morton, was a signer of the Declaration of Independence. Her father was an Episcopal clergyman. In 1886, she married James Brittingham.

She attended the first Bahá’í class held in New York City in 1898. She realized that Jesus Christ and the Messengers before Him had often described in symbolic terms the coming of Bahá’u’lláh.

Not long content to serve the Cause in just one city, she soon made the first of her many teaching trips to other parts of the United States.

In 1899, her niece, Miss Elizabeth Stewart, completed her studies to be a nurse at the Medico-Chirurgical hospital in Philadelphia.

During that same year, Mrs. Brittingham spoke of the Cause to this deeply spiritual girl. Almost immediately convinced of its truth, she only asked her aunt one question: “Are there any martyrs in this Cause?”¹

Early in the evening of August 20, 1901, just after ‘Abdu’l-Bahá had returned to Akka from Bahji, where He had spent the afternoon, the governor informed Him that He and His brothers, by the decree of Sultan Abdul-Hamid, would again be strictly confined within the city limits of Akka and would no longer be allowed to walk in the countryside.

A few weeks later, Mrs. Brittingham arrived in Akka to visit the Master.

In her scholarly, instructive essay, The Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh, she related her experience there in these words: “Within the walls of the city abides One upon Whom the thoughts of the world are centering; some consciously, and others unconsciously. A preparation is going on in all hearts. The vibrations from this great Center are quickening and vitalizing all intellectual forces and spiritual powers. Having made a great and holy Pilgrimage to that city of spiritual Light, Love, Joy, and Peace, it is my privilege to bear the Fragrance of its blessed consummation unto all.”²

With deep conviction, she stated that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá is the Center of the Covenant of God, that “He knows no station save that of servitude, humility and lowliness to the beloved of El-Baha,” that “recognition of this Station is the Life of every soul,” and that “in the Holy Hands of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá is the Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh.”³

As a result of her precious meetings with ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, on her return to America, Mrs. Brittingham served the Cause with even more spirit than before.

During February of 1902, The Bahá’í Publishing Society, then located in Chicago, published The Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh.

In the first chapter of this stimulating, historic work, Mrs. Brittingham has explained: “Jesus Christ used physical illustrations in order to impart the highest knowledge of God. Since our environment is material in character, every Messenger and Prophet from God has made use of material figures in order to convey to our understanding certain spiritual realities. Thus the appearance of the Founder of each Dispensation is the Sun of Truth, newly arising upon the horizon of the darkened spiritual heavens, and bringing forth a New Day of Light.”⁴

In the fourth and last chapter, she has concluded: “In this day the veil is to be removed from the entire earth.... Until today the sacred books of all religions have been sealed. Today their seals are broken. Therefore it is the cycle for teaching and for bringing every religion into knowledge of an accord with all others.”⁵

The Master revealed these words to Mrs. Brittingham about her essay: “Blessed art thou that thou hast compiled in the name of Thy Lord, the Clement, a treatise comprising evident proofs regarding the appearance of the Kingdom of God in this sublime age.”⁶

Mrs. Brittingham taught constantly. Whenever she succeeded in helping to lead someone into the Cause, she would enclose in a letter which she sent to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá that person’s declaration of Faith. The Hand of the Cause of God Hasan Balyuzi, has written that the Master, much pleased with the results of her efforts, had “Said laughingly: ‘Mrs. Brittingham is our Bahá’í-maker.’ ”⁷

Although Dr. Susan Moody had already attended Bahá’í classes for some years in Chicago, she did not become a confirmed believer until 1903 when she made an intensive study of the Faith with Mrs. Brittingham in New York. Dr. Moody, named by the Master, Amatul-A’la, the Handmaid of the Most High, and often extolled by the Guardian throughout a long career of heroic Bahá’í service, mostly spent in Tehran, as a doctor, educator, and bearer of God’s Message for this day, often expressed her gratitude to Mrs. Brittingham for her invaluable instructions.

The Master revealed many Tablets for Mrs. Brittingham. In the spring of 1904, He answered one of her numerous questions in these words: “Thou hast written regarding the tests and trials to be manifested in the American countries. Know this, that hardships and misfortune shall increase day by day, and the people will be distressed. The doors of joy and happiness shall be closed upon all sides; terrible wars shall happen, disappointment and the frustration of hopes shall surround the people from every direction, until they are obliged to turn to God. Then the lights of great happiness will enlighten the horizons, so that the cry of ‘Ya Baha-El-Abha!’ may arise upon all sides. This will happen!”

(Signed) ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.⁸

In 1906, shortly after the much-loved Mary J. Revell, a resident of Philadelphia, had come into the Bahá’í community, Mrs. Brittingham spent several months in that city. During part of this time, she made the first of her frequent visits to Mrs. Revell’s home. Situated around the corner from the railway station, her home was the only one which the Master went to in June of 1912 when He spent three days in Philadelphia.

Mrs. Brittingham’s husband, James, was a firm, active Bahá’í. He worked in

Mrs. Brittingham taught the Cause to many seekers during the early 1900s. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá referred to her lovingly as ‘our Bahá’í-maker.’

[Page 10] the office of a railroad company in New York City. As a result, he was unable to accompany his wife on her teaching trips, but he gave her whatever assistance he could.

In 1909, he published The Message of the Kingdom of God, a moving, persuasive talk that he had given at a public meeting in New York City. As his wife had done in a more comprehensive work, he related a short history of the Cause and explained with pertinent quotations from both the Old and New Testaments that the promise made by Jesus Christ has now been fulfilled.

In a powerful, closing passage, he asserted: “The Light of Knowledge hath appeared, before which the darkness of every superstitious fancy will be annihilated. The Hosts of the Supreme Concourse are descending to assist all those who rise up to serve their Lord, to subdue and gain the victory over the city of the hearts, to proclaim the Glad Tidings of the Coming of God and to unite the souls of His creatures.”⁹

In October of that same year, Mrs. Brittingham made her second pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Although ‘Abdu’l-Bahá had been released from the prison house about a year and two months before as a result of the “Young Turk” Revolution and was no longer confined to the city limits, He had not yet moved from ‘Akka to Haifa.

Among her notes, she recorded the following statement by the Master: “Human-kind has come to the world in innumerable numbers and passed away; their physical bodies and that which belonged to them passed away with them. Their health and disease both passed away. Their rest and hardship both vanished. Their wealth and poverty ended. Their honor and misery terminated. But the reality of man is immortal. The spirit of man is everlasting. It is the spirit to which importance is to be attached. The difference (between spirit and body) is this: that one will enter the realm of enlightenment whereas the other will fall into the world of darkness.”¹⁰

On March 10, 1910, Mrs. Brittingham and her niece, Miss Elizabeth Stewart, were appointed to the newly established Unity Band. The stimulating task of each member was to correspond every month with one of the 12 Women’s Assemblies of the Orient. Mirza Aziolah Khan of Tehran, to whom the women of the West addressed their letters, assured them of the great happiness which these letters gave to “their dear sisters of the East” and earnestly requested the ladies of the West to continue writing to them.

In 1909, Dr. Susan Moody left the United States to live in Tehran to serve the Cause of God in that country. By now, a well trained, skillful doctor, she was able to establish in Tehran a much-needed medical practice, particularly among the poor. Two years later, she invited Elizabeth Stewart to come there and be her assistant. These two ladies, working under the most difficult circumstances, not only saved hundreds of lives but also helped to bring the Bahá’í communities of Persia and the United States closely together.

Except when it became impossible during certain periods of World War I, Mrs. Brittingham and her niece wrote to each other regularly.

In April 1911, while He was visiting Egypt, several months before He had begun His travels to the West, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá revealed a Tablet for Mrs. Brittingham which included these remarks: “If the believers of God in New York and other cities of America establish in a befitting manner, union and harmony, with spirit, tongue, heart, and body, they shall find ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in their midst. Unless this union is brought about, the Breath of the Holy Spirit shall not have any effect, for the physical body must find capacity so that the life of the Spirit may breathe through it.”¹¹

On November 5, 1916, in Chicago, Mrs. Brittingham gave a stirring address entitled, The Turning of the Pages of the Book of the Covenant.

She asserted that nine days after the Ascension of Bahá’u’lláh, His Will and Testament were read in His Most Holy Tomb before a company of believers whom ‘Abdu’l-Bahá had brought there, that in 1893 the “Message of the Kingdom” was first publicly mentioned in America, that several years later some American believers first visited ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in ‘Akka and returned home to confirm the glad tidings, that from then onwards a proclamation of those wonderful glad tidings was carried on throughout the United States with increasing intensity, that in 1912 ‘Abdu’l-Bahá made a journey to America which changed the face not only of that country but also of the world, and that just recently ‘Abdu’l-Bahá revealed five great Tablets for the community of North America.¹²

She described these Tablets as the greatest call that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá had ever given the American Bahá’ís to summon those who are spiritually asleep to the Kingdom of God. In conclusion, she urged all of the believers to make a superhuman effort to respond without delay to His great command.

Early in 1917, Mrs. Brittingham spent several months in Arizona. On her arrival in the city of Douglas, a newly declared believer arranged for Mrs. Brittingham to address an open forum in the club room of the Young Women’s Christian Association. During her visit to Douglas, which lasted two weeks, she taught individuals and groups at the home of this same believer. These beautiful meetings resulted in the formation in Douglas of the first Spiritual Assembly of Arizona.

During this trip, she gave the message to about 150 people. She thought, however, that her work had merely broken the ground in Arizona for future teachers to achieve there great results for the Cause.

Early in 1919, Mrs. Brittingham wrote

She makes a second pilgrimage to the Holy Land and is appointed to the Unity Band, a group of women who wrote regularly to ‘their dear sisters of the East.’

[Page 11] to Albert Vail the following information about herself for inclusion in his article for Star of the West called “The Teaching Campaign”: “Since January 1917, I have raised the call of the Kingdom in Arizona, Southern California, Oregon, Washington, Wyoming, Utah, and very briefly in Reno, Nevada. I have given the Message in one church in Arizona and three in California, to employees of the lunchroom of the Great Northern Shipping Dock, Seattle, to army boys at Fort Wright, Spokane, in the State Prison, Salt Lake City, and to Metaphysical, Theosophical, and many other gatherings in halls and homes, having thus addressed up to January 1, 1919, one hundred and thirty-three assemblies.”¹³

She often taught by correspondence receptive individuals whom she could not meet regularly.

She took the Master’s advice even on such matters as diet.

On the last afternoon of my pilgrimage in January of 1955, as we were talking together in her sitting-room, The Hand of the Cause of God Amelia Collins said to me with much amusement: “Once Mrs. Brittingham came to stay with my husband and myself in California before he had met many Bahá’ís. The morning after her arrival, I made a particular effort to prepare what I thought would be a delicious breakfast.

“After she had come into the dining-room and looked at the table, she said with some distress. ‘Oh! but the Master told me to eat apples.’

“My husband politely suggested to her: ‘Perhaps you would be more comfortable in a hotel.’ ”

The distinguished Bahá’í writer, Marzieh Gail, mentioned in a letter that Mrs. Brittingham used to share with the friends this suggestion by the Master: “When you eat an orange eat a little of the peel.”¹⁴

In a Tablet revealed for the dear, selfless Revell sisters, Jessie and Ethel, translated by Aziz Ullah S. Bahadur on December 20, 1920, the Master asked the sisters to give Mrs. Brittingham this message: “O thou harbinger of the Kingdom of God! If thou hast time and no obstacle exists, thou mayest take a trip to Philadelphia so that thou mayest impart joy to the friends and spread the breaths of God .... ”¹⁵

During one of her last visits to the Revell home in that city, Mrs. Brittingham gave a series of radio talks on the principles of perfect justice.

Without mentioning His Name, in a forceful address entitled “Progress,” she clearly explained the only way to establish the divine principles throughout the planet. In part, she said: “Thou must be a Spiritual Wave to assuage the thirst of the hearts of humanity, sensitizing all to a higher Divine Law. This will create the ultimate foundation which, instead of dividing, will lift the denizens of this world to the standard of that reality which will forever discard all that separates! For separateness belongs to impermanent phases of material civilization, while the effulgence of and from God, shining in the hearts, burns away every barrier in that universal divine establishment which will make of this world another world and convey enduring happiness to all of humankind. It must be the institution of the Kingdom of God upon earth..... Nothing less will bring about the Most Great Peace.”¹⁶

Late in the evening of January 28, 1924, she died at the Revell home. On this same evening, she dictated 11 letters each one for a believer to Jessie Revell. She has written: “Those who have known Mrs. Brittingham have known her wonderful smile. But the night she went home her smile was one that did not belong to this earth.”¹⁷

A few weeks afterward, a charming photograph of her appeared in Star of the West. “As she sits with hands folded resting on her knees, she looks directly in front of her. The calm, thoughtful expression on her kind, sensitive face, and her warm, penetrating eyes surely reflect a great and noble spirit.”¹⁸

In January of 1908, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá said to Helen S. Goodall and her daughter, Ella Goodall Cooper, while they were visiting Him in ‘Akka: “Give Mrs. Brittingham my best love and greetings and tell her that her services which she renders to this Cause are always before my eyes. They are written in the Book of the Kingdom, in the Heavenly Books and will never be forgotten; and before long they will be written in the pages of the world in glorified writing, which shall be read by all people.”¹⁹

Her photograph hangs among those of some other eminent Bahá’ís in the Mansion of Bahá’u’lláh at Bahji.

The Guardian acclaimed her “immortal services.” He named her a disciple of Bahá’u’lláh.²⁰

References

1. The Bahá’í Magazine, Vol. 17, November 1926, p. 263.
2. The Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh, compiled by Isabella Brittingham, Bahá’í Publishing Society, p. 25.
3. Ibid.
4. The Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh, compiled by Isabella Brittingham, Bahá’í Publishing Society, p. 1.
5. The Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh, compiled by Isabella Brittingham, Bahá’í Publishing Society, p. 32.
6. Star of the West, Vol. XIV, March 1924, p. 376.
7. H.M. Balyuzi, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, George Ronald, p. 96.
8. Star of the West, Vol. XII, Aug. 1, 1921. p. 148.
9. James F. Brittingham, The Message of the Kingdom of God, second edition, p. 13.
10. Star of the West, Vol. XIV, April 1923, p. 11.
11. Star of the West, Vol II, June 1911, p. 13.
12. Star of the West, Vol. VII, November 1916, p. 129.
13. Star of the West, Vol. X, March 1919, p. 6.
14. Unpublished letter from Marzieh Gail to O.Z. Whitehead, September 10, 1974.
15. Star of the West, Vol. XII, October 1921, p. 201.
16. The Bahá’í Magazine, Vol. XVI, June 1925, pp. 460-461.
17. Star of the West, Vol. XIV, March 1924, p. 376.
18. Star of the West, Vol. XIV, March 1924, p. 354.
19. Star of the West, Vol. XIV, March 1924, pp. 376-377.
20. Bahá’í World, Vol. IX, Bahá’í Publishing Trust, p. 605.

Praised by the Master and the Guardian for her devoted service, Mrs. Brittingham’s photograph hangs among those of some other eminent Bahá’ís in the Mansion of Bahá’u’lláh at Bahji.

[Page 12]

Solving the Christian enigma

By the Hand of the Cause of God George Townshend

The following article, reprinted from the August 1956 Bahá’í News, presents a point of view of interest to Bahá’ís in their work with Christian seekers. Mr. Townshend was appointed a Hand of the Cause of God by the beloved Guardian in 1951. He passed away in 1959.

No Christian objection to the claims of Bahá’u’lláh is made more commonly or more confidently than the statement that the Revelation of Jesus Christ is final and absolute, that the Spirit of Truth came at Pentecost or that Christ is the “Promised One of All Ages,” “the Lord of Hosts,” and the object of all the great titles, “the mighty God,” “the everlasting Father,” “the Prince of Peace,” and the rest in Isaiah ix, 6, and that therefore there is no need or room for a further revelation or a new prophet, whether Bahá’u’lláh or any other.

But no objection is more easily refuted from the pages of the Bible itself than is this. The followers of every world religion (except that of Bahá’u’lláh) claim finality: without being able to give any proof of it. Christ, however, says positively, “Other things I have to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now,” thus revealing in one breath that His teaching is neither final nor absolute, but is measured to the capacity of the hearer, and that more is to follow. There is nothing in history to indicate either that the Spirit of Truth spoke to the disciples at Pentecost or that the Christian Churches have since then been guided unto all truth.

Christ Himself never made the assertion that He was the “Promised One of All Ages” or “the Lord of Hosts,” nor did any of the apostles, nor indeed is it to be found in the Bible. Peter’s mighty declaration of faith on which the Christian Church is built (Matthew xvi, 16) is simply that “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God.”

Furthermore, Jesus expressly denied that He was the “Prince of Peace” when he said (Matthew x, 34), “Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.” He denied that

[Page 13] “the government shall be upon His shoulder ... to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice, from henceforth even for ever” (Isaiah ix, 6-7) when He said (John xviii, 36) “My kingdom is not of this world.” He disclaimed that He was the “everlasting Father” when He said “my Father is greater than I” (John xiv, 28) or that He was “the mighty God” when He affirmed that “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son” (John iii, 16). Yet again, Moses’ great prophecy in Deuteronomy xxviii, 63-68; xxx, 1-5 makes it plain that Jesus Christ is not to be identified with him whom Isaiah described in ix, 6-7, for when the Restorer of the Jews came to earth Moses predicted He would find that the kingdom of the Jews had been utterly destroyed in Palestine, that it had been plucked out of the land, and that the Jewish people for their sins and crimes had for long ages been scattered in misery and degradation among the nations of the earth. Then, Moses continued, the Lord would regather His ancient people in compassion, as soon as they had learned to believe in the one true God, would establish them in peace, prosperity, and honor in the home of their forefathers forever. But when Jesus Christ appeared in Palestine the Jews were still settled securely in the country. Their scattering did not begin till after the fall of Jerusalem in the year A.D. 70.

It is in the Bahá’í Era, not the Christian, that Moses’ prophecy of the restoration of the Jews is being fulfilled. The year 1844 is an important date in the progress of the emancipation of the Jews and their regathering into Palestine. It is the date of the great “Declaration of Independence.” The Jews ever since have been in the process of their restoration, which will be completed, as Moses foretold, when they have learned to accept Bahá’u’lláh as their true Messiah.

All these commonly made objections to the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh are merely human traditions which it is impious to accept when they contradict the word of God itself.

From this fantastic delusion that Christ Jesus is not only the Son of God but also the Father in heaven has flowed another consequence, not the less mortal, perhaps, because it is often overlooked altogether by both pew and pulpit.

It has secularized human history for centuries past, and has materialized and demoralized the whole atmosphere of Western action.

The way in which such a result has come about is as follows:

The role of God has disappeared from modern history

The Old Testament reveals human history as being concerned not only with Man but with Man and God too; and with God as no secondary figure. God is the creator, man his creature; God is master and man his servant; God is all-dominant, man has to learn to obey and submit.

These two figures are bound together by the terms of an inescapable Covenant that really constitutes the shaping, directing, driving force of all history. It enshrines a promise that God will one day give to mankind the supreme blessedness of a redeemer who shall be the everlasting Father, the mighty God, on the performance of certain conditions.

We are shown through the prophets of Israel definite glimpses of what the Kingdom will be like—glimpses of something that has really already happened in the eternal world but has not taken form on earth yet. A Bible Prophecy (of, say, Isaiah’s) is not merely a prediction; it is a true vision of something quite real which the prophet’s seership enables him to oversee.

When Jesus, the Son of God, is identified with the Father, the Covenant is fulfilled. The Great One promised is come. The Covenant has no longer a place in the progress of mankind. History begins to follow a new principle. In the time of Moses and of Christ, there was among all true monotheists only one kind of history. God through His Covenant designed and carried out the destinies of man. Now in this Christian era, there appears another kind of history. The dictionary distinguishes “sacred history,” which deals with the events in the Bible narrative, from “secular history,” which deals with the events in the Bible times. In “secular history,” the Covenant is dropped. God is no longer dominant, acting the major part of the story as all-powerful, the judge and arbiter of men and kings and nations. God is no longer the omniscient, the omnipotent designer of events and their outcome; He is no longer the jealous, watchful overlord, the King of kings who rewards or punishes his vassals, condemns them or acquits, deposes or exalts according to His will and determination. On the contrary, events are estimated on a purely human basis. Kings, governments, and statesmen no longer seek to act and live according to the Covenant. The fear of God has disappeared as a deterrent from wrong action. The historians of Christendom write on the same basis as did those of Greece and Rome; as Herodotus or Livy or Tacitus, Edward Gibbon or Macaulay, Grote and Lecky and the rest, with the world historians and the national historians and continental historians—all treat history as a merely secular affair. None of them is able to see any meaning or plot or progress in the pattern of human happenings. Some of them confess and comment on this inability. “I can see,” says one of the most learned of them all, H. A. L. Fisher, in his History of Europe, “only one emergency following upon another as a wave follows upon wave, only one great fact with respect to which there can be no generalizations, only one safe note for the historians; that he should recognize in the development of human destinies the play of the contingent and the unforeseen.”

And religious history and church history—are they not from the Covenant point of view, secularized too?

The broad result has been that not only the Covenant but the role of God himself has disappeared from modern history. For all who read in schools and college the works of historians, life is secularized.

Meantime the Covenant of God proceeds upon its course as declared by the Bible. Mankind moves upon his appointed road towards the Kingdom. Unseen by the secular historian, and by every reader who accepts his point of view, Jesus Christ is succeeded by Muḥammad, Muḥammad by the Báb, the Báb by the Lord of Hosts, the Everlasting Father himself; and Christendom at last has come to a dead end and finds itself lost. No secular historian can explain the crisis or bring comfort. Sacred history alone can solve the enigma. The Bible holds the key. But the only people who can trace the real course of the Covenant are those who (as the Bahá’ís) have not misidentified Christ with the Father but in simple Faith have regarded all history as sacred history, as ruled by the everlasting Covenant, as designed, directed and controlled by the changeless will of the one omniscient and omnipotent God who is the creator of all and the Master of all.

[Page 14]

Around the World

Australia

Local Spiritual Assembly Conference is held

A member of the Continental Board of Counsellors for Australasia, two Auxiliary Board members, and three members of the National Spiritual Assembly of Australia participated in a Local Spiritual Assembly Conference in Malvern, Victoria.

About 35 Bahá’ís, most of them officers of Spiritual Assemblies, attended the Conference on July 27. The purpose was to discuss consultation, the roles of the chairman, vice chairman, secretary, and treasurer, and how to solve problems.

Counsellor Howard Harwood; Auxiliary Board members Mahvash Master and Dr. John Davidson; and Dr. Iradj Master, Andrew Gash, and Grenville Kirton, members of the National Spiritual Assembly, addressed the Conference.

Traveling teaching team finds seekers

In 1974, there were two Bahá’ís in the Warrnambool, Victoria, area. Now there are 13, thanks to teaching efforts.

This traveling teaching team went to the area recently in an effort to reach the Aboriginal people. Team members included Auxiliary Board member Mahvash Master, Philip Lanley, Katherina Lapp, and Noel and Noan Comley.

Canada

Mr. Sears introduces new deepening approach

A deepening conference, unusually enjoyable in its methods and effective in its results, was held the first weekend of August at Port Hope, Ontario, Canada, with the Hand of the Cause of God William Sears introducing a new approach to deepening.

Held at “The Gathering,” a spacious building on the property of Canadian Bahá’ís, Mr. and Mrs. David Hadden, the conference was highlighted by reports from all the major committees of the National Spiritual Assembly of Canada, following greetings from Ed Muttart, a member of the National Spiritual Assembly.

Throughout the conference, Mr. Sears conducted question-and-answer sessions on Bahá’í history, based on material from God Passes By.

In opening the conference, Mr. Sears cited three passages from The Tablets of the Divine Plan: “It has often happened that one blessed soul has become the cause of the guidance of a nation,” “One soul can be the cause of the spiritual illumination of a continent,” and “One soul of great capacity can set a continent ablaze.” He declared that the purpose of the conference was to search for one or more souls such as those quotations describe, to win the goals of the Five Year Plan.

Each Bahá’í attending was given a number in sequence. All the even numbers then formed one team, and the odd numbers, the other. On each side of the room, elaborate geographical markings had been set up. Two Bahá’ís were chosen to be the couriers for each side; whenever a correct answer was given, the courier would move forward from the beginning point to the next destination, with each side attempting to arrive at its final destination before the other.

Each participant rose when his number was called, and the Bahá’í seated on either side also arose to assist in consultation for a correct answer. In the midst of serious questions, recalling the days of the Dawnbreakers, an occasional lighthearted question would be asked. For example, “What book would you offer to a disconsolate fisherman returning without having made a catch? Answer: “Not Every Sea Hath Pearls.”

Evening programs at the conference featured slide programs by Mr. Sears, one on his visits to Bahá’í historic sites in Iran, and another on the Bahá’í World Center, in Haifa. Mrs. Marguerite Sears spoke on “The Local Spiritual Assembly and the Individual,” and T. Finley Hollinger on “Radio and Mass Media.”

Each day of the conference stressed a particular aspect of the Five Year Plan. For the first day, it was “Hold All Prizes Won!”; for the second, “A Vast Expansion,” and for the third, “The Bahá’í Life!”

The Hand of the Cause of God William Sears is shown (upper right) in the midst of Bahá’ís attending a deepening conference at Port Hope, Ontario. Above, Mr. and Mrs. Sears are in the first row standing (third and fourth, respectively, from the left) in this picture taken between sessions.

[Page 15] Chile

Pioneers from California only Bahá’í group at Punta Arenas festival

The singing group of Chandler, Siegel, and Edwards performs at the Patagonia Music Festival in Punta Arenas recently.

The trio was the only Bahá’í group to participate in the festival, one of the largest in Chile.

The group, which is made up of three pioneers from California, also appeared for almost three hours on radio broadcasts.

Netherlands

Women’s Year booth success at Emancipade

Visitors examined literature at a Bahá’í booth sponsored by the National Spiritual Assembly at Emancipade, an exhibition devoted to the theme of International Women’s Year.

The National Assembly reported that the booth was successful in proclaiming the Faith.

---

Malawi

Training session held for traveling teachers

A group of Bahá’ís attended a special four-day training session in August to develop traveling teachers.

The sessions were held at the Bahá’í Center in Blantyre and sponsored by the Teaching Committee of the Spiritual Assembly of Malawi. Purpose was to train the teachers to go to a Local Spiritual Assembly with a specific job to do for a set number of days.

Several of the classes concentrated on the use of visual aids, how to make them from simple materials, and how to use them for both teaching and deepening.

[Page 16] Around the World

Portugal

Hand of the Cause Ugo Giachery speaks at the first National Summer School

About 60 adult Bahá’ís attended the first week-long National Summer School August 10-16 in a small mountain mining town in north-central Portugal.

The highlight of the school was the appearance of the Hand of the Cause of God Ugo Giachery, who was accompanied by his wife, Angeline. Dr. Giachery gave inspiring talks on the Five Year Plan, the importance of unity, and his recollections of the beloved Guardian.

Many youth, children, and sympathizers of the Faith also attended the school. Many of the youth slept in rented tents and enjoyed the beautiful countryside.

United States

Increase in proclamation activities has national, international benefit

“Worldwide proclamation, the unknown sea on which we must soon sail, will add another dimension to our work, a dimension that will, as it develops, complement and reinforce the twin processes of expansion and consolidation.” Message of The Universal House of Justice, Riḍván, 1967, Wellspring of Guidance, p. 112.

Headlines such as “Gentle Bahá’í Faith Marks 50th Anniversary” and “Bahá’í Faith Seeks Unity of Man and End of His Prejudice” have been appearing nationally and internationally this summer, following Associated Press and United Press International articles on the Bahá’í Faith sent over their wires to more than 1,000 participating newspapers.

These articles are part of a recent increase in proclamation evident on all levels in the American news media, with the effect felt in many other countries. Bahá’ís in Ireland, Japan, Venezuela, and Mexico have reported seeing these articles in their major newspapers, with clippings still coming in from other countries, as well as hundreds of local communities within the United States.

Extensive proclamation of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh, both internationally and nationally, has been steadily developing in the past year, with a response evident both from persons of influence and unknown seekers. Materials used to assist in these proclamation efforts include the special issue of World Order magazine containing articles on the rights of women, (spring, 1975) the commemorative booklet published for the fiftieth anniversary of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States, a pamphlet on ecology and the human environment, as well as a full-page color advertisement in the Bicentennial issue of Life magazine.

PROJECT FORWARD ’76, an ecumenical effort to gather representatives of almost 200 religions in Washington, D.C., to discuss participation in Bicentennial events across the nation during the coming year, provided an opportunity for Bahá’í literature to be included in the package given to each delegate at the registration desk. The special issue of World Order magazine and the pamphlet on

Continued on Page 20, Col. 3

[Page 17]

A Token of our Highest Hope

When the French-Canadian architect Louis Bourgeois conceived the nine-sided Bahá’í House of Worship, he dreamed of a new world order in which America would play a significant part. His dream was inspired by Bahá’u’lláh, founder of the Bahá’í Faith, who proclaimed over a century ago the advent of the unity of mankind.

Rising on the shores of Lake Michigan, in Wilmette, Illinois, amid exquisite formal gardens, the Bahá’í House of Worship welcomes all people to a haven of unifying thought and experience within its nine doors. This unusual edifice, recognized worldwide as structurally unique, represents a major architectural achievement of America’s two hundred years. Yet the ideal it expresses—the oneness of mankind—remains among the unfinished business of the democratic experiment which began in 1776. It stands, then, as a token of the highest hope of the peoples of the United States and the entire world—the hope for universal peace and unity.

The members of the Bahá’í Faith in over 5,000 localities throughout the Republic salute the nation on its Bicentennial and are proud and happy in sharing this worthy token of unity with all Americans.

All are especially invited during this Bicentennial year to visit the Bahá’í House of Worship, just north of Chicago, in the heart of America.

For further information write: Bahá’í Information Office, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, Illinois 60091

This is a two-color version of the full-color ad which appeared in the Bicentennial edition of Life magazine. The ad, which is expected to be seen by three million persons, is part of the proclamation efforts of the National Spiritual Assembly.

[Page 18] Around the World

Television plays role in Assembly training

The National Spiritual Assembly has added television to the growing list of teaching tools.

A series of videotape programs has been recorded for use in the Local Spiritual Assembly Development Program. The programs, which reinforce written materials, were taped by Counsellors Edna True and Sarah Pereira of the Continental Board of Counsellors for North America, and by most members of the National Spiritual Assembly.

They will be shown through videocassette players during the training of Local Spiritual Assemblies.

Twenty two-member teams completed the first phase of the Local Spiritual Assembly Development Program at the National Center in August. In addition to the course material, the trainers learned how to operate the videocassette players.

Each team trained in August will, in turn, train 15 teams around the country. As the new trainees complete the course, they will begin work with Local Spiritual Assemblies. It is anticipated that 1,000 Assemblies will be trained before the end of the Five Year Plan.

Glenford Mitchell (above), National Spiritual Assembly secretary, and Daniel Jordan (below), National Assembly vice-chairman, address trainees.

Pioneers stirred by early believers

The Hand of the Cause of God Dhikru’lláh Khádem and Auxiliary Board member Thelma Jackson offered loving encouragement for a group of more than 40 Bahá’ís at a Pioneer Institute in August at the National Center.

Mr. Khádem fired their enthusiasm with accounts of the early believers sent out by His Holiness the Báb and rewarded for their efforts with an immortal place in Bahá’í history.

Faces alternately broke into smiles and glistened with tears as the unforgettable names and accomplishments of earlier pioneers were brought to mind by Mr. Khádem and Miss Jackson.

The entire membership of the National Spiritual Assembly came into Foundation Hall during one session of the Pioneer Institute and visited with the participants.

The Hand of the Cause of God Dhikru’lláh Khádem (in coat and tie) with pioneers at Institute.

And Counsellors of the Continental Board of Counsellors for North America, meeting in Wilmette at the same time, joined the pioneers for morning prayers in the auditorium of the House of Worship.

And the pioneers enjoyed a rare tour of the House of Worship conducted by Rex and Sylvia Parmelee.

[Page 19]

Youth work, study in Administrative Order

According to the National Youth Committee, one of the most successful activities of the Two Year Youth Program is the work/study project in which youth volunteer to come to the National Center to serve and study the Administrative Order.

The third work/study project since the beginning of the youth program in September 1974 was held at the National Center in August. For two weeks, a group of 20 youth spent part of each day working in various administrative offices and part attending classes given by Counsellor Edna True, Glenford Mitchell, and Charlotte Linfoot (secretary and assistant secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly, respectively) and members of the National Center staff.

Topics discussed included the history of the Faith, the Administrative Order, the role of youth in serving the Cause, the Fund, home front teaching, pioneering, the House of Worship, and planning a life of service.

One of the highlights of the project was an evening with the Hand of the Cause of God Zikrullah Khadem.

“The administration was a very scary, incomprehensible area,” one youth said as the program opened. “Now I feel that it is the most beautiful expression of Bahá’u’lláh’s love imaginable,” he said at the end of two weeks. “I have only begun to realize that without the Administrative Order, there really is no Faith.”

19 Bahá’í Summer Schools held

Colorado East Summer School at Pine, Colo.

Thousands of believers attended the 19 Bahá’í schools held this past summer.

They worshipped, learned, sang, played, and worked together. The studies included goals of the Five Year Plan and how to attain them, the distinctive character of Bahá’í life, deepening, and special child and youth programs.

All courses and activities at the schools had one primary goal: the spiritual transformation of individuals.

Council Fire held at Peace Gardens

The 93-year-old woman walked to the podium and told the friends in a firm voice that the work to remove all barriers of discrimination must continue.

Mrs. Martina Sherwood was one of the speakers at the Great Council Fire held Aug. 22-24 along the North Dakota-Canadian border in which Indians from 14 American tribes attended.

Mrs. Sherwood was one of the Indians.

The highlight of the Council Fire was the reading of a special message from The Universal House of Justice which said:

“LOVING GREETINGS FROM MOST HOLY LAND TO GREAT COUNCIL FIRE INTERNATIONAL PEACE GARDENS. MAY GREAT SPIRIT GUIDE INSPIRE YOU FILL YOUR HEARTS HIS LOVE ENABLING YOU CONTRIBUTE A WORTHY SHARE ADVANCEMENT INDIAN PEOPLES TOWARDS THEIR TRUE DESTINY ENVISIONED BY ‘ABDU’L-BAHA. UNIVERSAL HOUSE OF JUSTICE.”

[Page 20] Around the World

Enthusiastic response greets teachers

Traveling teachers land in a small village in Brazil

Summer traveling teaching projects took 25 Bahá’ís to Brazil, Bolivia, and Africa.

The projecteers reported an enthusiastic response everywhere they went. For example, seven youth declared at a Bahá’í exposition in Natal, Brazil.

The projecteers in Brazil (five adults and two youth) formed a singing group, “The Bahá’í Group,” which was an effective teaching tool. They used Bahá’í songs and American folk songs to carry a theme, quickly learning how to sing the Bahá’í songs in Portugese.

The projecteers went to six major cities and many small villages and often appeared on television and radio. They were also front-page news in the newspapers.

Similar success stories were reported by the projecteers (seven adults and one youth) who went to Bolivia.

Ten Bahá’ís (seven adults and three youth) were on the Africa trip, which took them to Togo, Dahomey, and Niger.

“The spirituality, the kindness, and the purity of the African people are truly an example for us all,” one projecteer said.

Brazilians gather for one of many conferences

Continued

Continued from Page 16

ecology were both reviewed and accepted by the conference officials and were referred to a number of times by church delegates at the meetings.

The International Women’s Year meeting in Mexico City provided a similar opportunity, with 2,000 copies of the special issue of World Order and other literature picked up so rapidly by delegates and visitors that the Bahá’í booth was constantly running short of printed material.

The same issue of World Order, sent to women’s editors of newspapers throughout the three goal states of the Five-Year Plan—California, Illinois, and New York— attracted sufficient interest that some communities have reported being contacted for additional information for a newspaper story.

A special list of women in news media positions throughout the country was used for a mailing of this magazine. A number of letters came, praising the quality of the articles and asking for extra copies for friends.

The commemorative booklet about the National Spiritual Assembly was widely used as a gift to public officials in the Wilmette area and Cook County, Illinois; to all the black newspapers in the three goal states; to all the editors of Indian magazines and newspapers in the country, and to religion editors and writers of major newspapers throughout the country. Again, response far exceeded expectations, for many newspaper clippings of stories about the National Spiritual Assembly’s anniversary were sent in following these mailings. Both letters and phone calls were received from editors interested in doing stories. The top half-page of the religion page in the Amsterdam News, the largest circulation black newspaper in New York, was devoted to this story, following requests for additional information from their religion editor, Zgamba Brown. A small weekly newspaper in Illinois expressed similar interest, and a lengthy article appeared.

One editor of an Indian publication in Florida sent a congratulatory letter when he discovered the presence of a Navajo Indian on the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States this year, with warm praise for the ethnic diversity of the body.

Perhaps most exciting to the Bahá’í community generally has been the appearance

[Page 21] of a full-page color advertisement featuring the House of Worship, in the Bicentennial issue of Life magazine. Since this magazine does not ordinarily carry religious advertising, it was essential that a low-keyed presentation of the Faith be made in this format. Letters from distant corners of the country are now arriving, requesting information about the Bahá’í Faith and mentioning this advertisement, which represents another “first” in the field of proclamation.

Since the advertisement also implemented an instruction from The Universal House of Justice that greater use be made of the Bahá’í House of Worship in Wilmette in proclamation activities, smaller versions of the Life advertisement were prepared in black and white for distribution to every Local Spiritual Assembly in the United States, with a request that, wherever possible, it be placed in a local newspaper during September.

The same advertisement was translated into Spanish, to appear in El Diario, the Spanish newspaper published in New York City with a large circulation nationally; into Estonian, to appear in Vabi Eesti Sona, the Estonian newspaper published in New York, as well as into Chinese, to appear in Sing Tao Jih Pao.

The New York Times ran a feature story July 30, on the visit of Dizzy Gillespie to Israel, mentioning several times his membership in the Bahá’í Faith and topped with a four-column headline declaring: “Gillespie, in Israel, is Performer and Pilgrim.” The article begins:

“With the single spotlight focused on his round, smiling face, Dizzy Gillespie stepped up to the microphone and whispered huskily: ‘This is for my Bahá’í brethren all over the world from the place where it all began.’ ”

In television and radio, as well, many interview shows have featured Bahá’ís, with a recent weekend news roundup show in Chicago inviting Glenford Mitchell, secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States; Joan Bulkin, secretary of the National Teaching Committee, and Ernest Lopez, grounds supervisor, to appear on a half-hour segment. Another Chicago television program, “Issues Unlimited,” with Hurley Green as moderator, showed slides of the House of Worship in Wilmette, and the World Center in Haifa during an interview with Ray Collins, director of temple activities at the House of Worship, and Beth McKenty, national information officer.

Since increased news coverage tends to generate further coverage, it is hoped that this beginning wave of proclamation will grow, assisting the world community to fulfill its goals in the Five Year Plan.

One of the most effective proclamations was the distribution to public officials, newspapers, and magazines of a commemorative booklet marking the 50th anniversary of the formation of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. The pictures below were included in the booklet which explains the origins, functions, and formation of the National Assembly and achievements of the Bahá’í community.