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The National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís
of the United States and Canada
General Office: Evergreen Cabin, West Englewood, New Jersey
“UNITED WILL AND CONCERTED ACTION”[edit]
Words of Shoghi Effendi to the Chairman of the National Spiritual Assembly
“I am deeply conscious of the many obstacles that stand in the path of the American believers in their stupendous endeavor to attain their goal—a goal on which our dearly beloved Greatest Holy Leaf had set her fondest hopes. I cannot, however, overlook, much as I sympathize with them in their financial tribulations and anxieties, the mysterious power that resides in the united will and concerted action of all the members of that self—sacrificing community—a community which, since the passing of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, has put an impetus to the advancement of the Cause out of all proportion to its numerical strength, its youthfulness, and experience of the powers latent in this sacred Faith. What an untold wealth of blessings will flow out of a renewed, an irrevocable resolution, representing the combined will of all the steadfast lovers of the Cause of God in that land, to carry out in its entirety during the few remaining months a Plan on which so much that is vital to its world-wide interests depends! The American believers, the stout-hearted supporters of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh, have already given too many evidences of their preponderating influence in the direction of its affairs to allow the slightest disappointment to mar the radiance of their past achievements. Their will to succeed must eventually triumph.”
Haifa, Palestine, October 27, 1932.
PRESENT CONDITION AND FUTURE NEEDS OF TEMPLE CONSTRUCTION
The work of the preparation of the dome ornamentation of the Temple has gone ahead with encouraging speed and success at the plant of the John J. Earley Studio at Rosslyn, Virginia. We wish that it were possible for each and every believer in America to visit the plant at this time and to see the remarkable demonstration that Mr. Earley and his associates are making in the preparation of the models for the dome panels and ribs.
During the summer a wooden frame-work was erected at the plant so as to reproduce exactly in shape and size the outer structural framework of one panel of the Temple dome. As soon as this frame-work was completed a set of templets were made and these were taken to Wilmette and checked up with the existing steel structure of the dome. Astonishingly slight deviations were found and allowances have been made for these discrepancies in the wooden structure at the plant.
The accompanying illustrations will show the frame-work and four plaster of Paris models of a dome panel in place. As these plaster of Paris models are completed, they are set in place so as to check them up for size and appearance as regards percentage of openings, lighting, shadows, etc.
Each section of a dome panel is first modeled in clay in the Studio. A plaster cast is then made from the clay model and the plaster of Paris model is cast in the rough from these molds. The rough plaster of Paris models are then carved to their final shape and form. These plaster of Paris models serve as the basis for the preparation of the architectural concrete sections which will form the ornamentation to be erected on the present dome structure. A set of molds will be made of plaster of Paris from each model and each set of molds will he used for the casting of the 27 sections of the dome ornamentation. As each dome panel will be made up of 9 parts or sections there will be 243 pieces or sections in the entire field of the dome.
The ribs will similarly be made up of parts or sections, each rib being composed of 14 sections and as there are 9 ribs, it will be necessary to prepare 126 parts or sections.
The entire work is being done at the Rosslyn, Virginia plant and when completed the sections will be shipped to the Temple and erected in place.
An interesting phase of the work is the design of the light structural frame-work necessary to support the architectural concrete sections on the present structural frame-work of the dome. A careful investigation is being made to secure a non-corrosive and enduring material. After the sections are in place, it will be impossible to paint this supplemental structural frame-work and hence it is necessary to secure a non-ferrous alloy material that will not be affected by the alkali of the concrete, or by climatic conditions. It is likely that some such material as stainless steel will be used for the preparation of the special shapes and fastenings.
Research is being made to secure a suitable surface material for the architectural concrete. This material must be white in color, opaque and have a high reflecting surface. We have decided upon a particular type of quartz and it is now necessary to find a sufficient deposit of this material in this part of the country. We are visiting many quarries and outcroppings of quartz material through the Piedmont region of the South. It is likely that we will find a suitable and sufficient quantity near Washington.
The estimated cost of the construction
of the ornamentation for the dome
panels and ribs is approximately
$150,000.00. Our estimate for the
dome panels is $82,300.00 and for the
ribs $67,700.00. This estimate includes
the preliminary work which
will probably be completed at a cost
of about $30,000. Each of the 27
dome panels will cost about $2,440.00.
As each dome panel is divided into 9
[Page 2]
parts, there will be 243 pieces or sections
and each section will cost about
$270.00. Similarly each of the 9 ribs
will cost about $6,020.00. As each rib
is divided into 14 sections, there will
be a total of about 126 sections and
the cost of each section will be about
$430.00.
It is suggested that Bahá’í communities or believers may find it possible to take as an objective the furnishing of an entire dome panel or one or more sections of a dome panel or rib. By establishing a definite objective of service and sacrifice it will soon be possible to guarantee sufficient funds to proceed with the making of the architectural concrete sections without delay during the coming spring months. The funds in hand provide for the carrying on of the work until early in January, 1933. At this time Mr. Earley will be ready to go ahead with the casting of the sections of the dome panel and ribs, and funds must be available at the rate of $25,000.00 a month for five months in order to complete the work and have the Temple Dome Ornamentation in place by June 1, 1933, in accordance with the instruction of our Guardian.
- THE NATIONAL SPIRITUAL
- ASSEMBLY
- By: ALLEN B. McDANIEL,
“YOUR ENDEAVORS IN THE PATH OF DETACHMENT”[edit]
A Letter from the National Spiritual Assembly
Beloved Friends:
Those imbued with true conscious faith sacrifice their all for the sake of the Divine will. But when the inner and outer substance of their lives has been consumed on the alter of devotion, meager is their gift to the Cause in comparison to what they receive from the Treasury of the Merciful. And those who, by lack of faith, withhold their hearts, their lives and their fortunes, eventually lose all, and have nothing but emptiness and regret.
Consider the toll the world has paid for its blindness and selfishness during our own generation! The lives destroyed in war and revolution, the homes laid waste, the lands made desolate! Estimate, if possible, the fortunes that have melted away even in the past three years! Had there been faith and knowledge, every town and city in America could have had, with a fraction of this wasted wealth, a Mashriqu’l-Adhkár to attract the blessings of the highest heaven!
But under Providence, that was not to be. Instead, the little Community of the Greatest Name, that humble band of devoted believers, poor and insignificant, struggle valiantly to raise, stone upon stone, the Dawning-Place of the Remembrance of God in the heart of a vast continent!
Do we think the task easy, an undertaking that may be indefinitely deferred to a more convenient season, a responsibility that others will assume? Can we slumber and seek repose, trusting that when we awake the House of Worship to the Glory of God will, somehow, have been completed?
Beloved friend! Even as we delay, the forces of that final World Conflict foretold by all the Prophets plunge forward swiftly to their terrible consummation. When that hour comes, shall we have done our part by building, in the Temple, the “bulwark of Bahá’í administration,” that strong fortress of sacrifice which alone can protect the races, nations and tribes of earth from destruction?
Until the Guardian’s hopes have been fulfilled, and the external decoration of the Temple dome unit is completed in the allotted time, other Bahá’í matters must be given secondary importance. Our individual aspirations and hopes and means must merge and be completely unified in the unshakable intention that our collective loyalty is to be achieved.
Therefore the members of the National Spiritual Assembly request Local Spiritual Assemblies to emphasize, throughout their communities, the facts presented by our Chairman in the statement on “Present Condition and Future Needs of Temple Construction.” Let us no longer feel overwhelmed by the total Temple Fund of $150,000 required before June 1, 1933, but rather aim to make possible, one by one, the completion of the 27 dome panels at $2,440 each, and the 9 ribs at $6,020 each—each panel constituted of 9 parts, at $270 each, and each rib constituted of 14 sections, at $430 each. Surely, this division of total cost into small units enables each Local Bahá’í community, and each smaller group, to visualize the vital part it can play in contributing to the final result.
Failure in this undertaking, at such a crucial stage, is unthinkable for a single true follower of Bahá’u’lláh. As He declared in Hidden Words: “I bear witness. O friend! that the favor is complete, the argument fulfilled, the proof manifest and the evidence established. Let it now be seen what your endeavors in the path of detachment will reveal. In this wise hath the Divine favor been fully vouchsafed unto you and unto them that are in heaven and on earth. All praise to God, the Lord of all worlds.”
- Yours faithfully,
- THE NATIONAL SPIRITUAL
- ASSEMBLY
- By: HORACE HOLLEY,
- ASSEMBLY
A LETTER FROM THE INTERRACIAL AMITY COMMITTEE[edit]
Dear Bahá’í Friends: On this, the anniversary of the birth of His Holiness, Bahá’u’lláh, your Committee on Racial Amity extends you its greetings and best wishes. Acts and attitudes which create universal ties had marvellous exemplars in the great and Holy Ones who have successively led and administered the Divine Cause. Incidents in the lives of the Báb, Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, some of which the western world is now for the first time learning, gloriously impress both their personal and spiritual love to all the races of men. The Guardian has gone so far as to declare racial amity:
“The supreme injunction of Bahá’u’lláh, the unreserved acceptance of which, under the circumstances now prevailing in America, constitute the hall-mark of a true Bahá’í character.”
If haply there be any doubts on this subject, all of them will be resolved into certainty and absolute assurance with a perusal of the mighty and overpowering declaration found on pages 119 to 121 of the volume Bahá’í Administration. Your attention is reverently invited to this clear standard of excellence and efficiency in service. Dangers will make braver the soldiers of God and the arrows of fate will but increase the zeal of those who are striving to do the Master’s will. The consciousness of human unity is deepening its hold upon the thinkers and workers of the world. Those who know the divine origin of this wonderful spirit should feel the elation of a victory that is certain if our efforts do not flag. While the task is tremendous, greater by far is the Supreme Power.
Our days are brightened by news of activities and progress. The chairman of our committee, Mrs. Loulie A. Mathews, is making a tour of the far West, moved by intense activity in scattering the seeds of unity and progress as she contacts various racial groups. Her specific purpose is to awaken and rally the forces of amity.
Mrs. Mabelle L. Davis of Detroit,
one of our most active members, has
[Page 3]
presented to the National Spiritual
Assembly her interesting scrap-book
on race relations, a treasure that has
been put at the service of this committee.
From the Michigan metropolis
monthly reports are sent, showing
well nigh ceaseless activity in contacts
with persons, groups and organizations,
in the effort to overcome prejudices
and to widen the vision of humanity.
Liberal members of the clergy
are lending aid to the amity workers
and many hearts are gladdened by
these cooperative endeavors.
The Chicago and Wilmette friends are happily united in amity meetings which largely center around the residence of Mrs. Fanny Lesch, chairman of the Chicago amity committee, and she has the cooperation of Dr. Zia M. Bagdadi of this committee. From time to time these meetings find larger expressions and audiences in the new Bahá’í Center, one of the largest and best equipped to be found among the American friends. It is our suggestion that these capable workers will, in cooperation with the Temple Program Committee, arrange periodically an Amity Congress in the basement of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár, the sacred monument to human understanding, and in such meetings have the cooperation of nearby Assemblies.
Mrs. Sara E. Witt, our far western member, writes a letter bubbling over with happiness and amity news, accounts of activities which give a picturesque coloring and radiance to the Los Angeles friends. The Olympic games, the program of Japan night, honoring the Japanese officials, the schedule of the international soirée, under the auspices of the Chinese Club of Los Angeles, the work of reconciliation between the white and colored, all give play to the devotion of our very able committee member, who is stalwartly supported by her husband, Dr. Charles R. Witt and members of the local Amity Committee. May their joys increase.
The benefit concert arranged by the Bahá’ís of West Englewood, N. J., to aid the unemployed was a brilliant success. Mr. Chauncey Northern and his Negro Art Group, Mr. Hans Helms, described as a unique musical entertainer, Mr. Nicholas Marangella, concert accordionist, were the noted contributing artists. A substantial sum was raised for humane service and this has served to strengthen the bond of love and understanding for the Cause among the people of that section. The widely circulated program contained the majestic words:
“The poor among you are My trust:
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“See how through national hatreds, economic shortsightedness and racial prejudice the world is reaching the verge of ruin. Should we stay our hand and fail to apply the Divine remedy Bahá’u’lláh has prescribed in His Writings, all the people of the civilized world will perish.” —From a letter written by the Guardian, through his secretary, to Mr. C. G. Nordquist, Seattle, dated Haifa, Palestine November 15, 1931. |
Guard My trust.”—Bahá’u’lláh
Such accounts happily illustrate ways in which the friends apply the Divine teachings of racial amity so as to heal the ills of the world. Contacts with individuals, races and groups through the sociability of homes, welfare endeavors and teaching have a full measure of value and achieve limitless results.
That form of activity which seems especially favored, however, is the Racial Amity Conference, initiated and organized under the Master’s direction and guidance. There has yet been no record of a single failure among undertakings of this sort. The program, social features and expenses may be varied and adapted to suit time and place; but the great principles that govern are eternally set. Commingling of various racial groups in such meetings has its psychology as well as spiritual attraction. It is our hope that all the centers, despite the pressure of the times, will fully appraise the value they can render by such a service. The awakening of the world is apparent. Shall we not seize the opportunity to bring balm to countless souls? The Supreme Commander bids us march!
With Abhá love and high hopes,
- THE NATIONAL RACIAL AMITY
- COMMITTEE
- By: LOUIS G. GREGORY,
- COMMITTEE
- November 12, 1932
IN MEMORIAM[edit]
The prayers of the friends are besought for the following believers who have entered the spiritual Kingdom.
Frederick Huether, Bloomfield, New Jersey.
William R. Ripley, Orlando, Florida.
PHOTOGRAPH
(New Series) No. 2
Four dome panel sections on framework at the Earley Studio.
THE NON-POLITICAL CHARACTER OF THE BAHA’I FAITH[edit]
A Statement by the National Spiritual Assembly
The evolution of the great body of the Cause during recent years has proceeded under the guidance of Shoghi Effendi as expressed in four general letters: “The World Order of Bahá’u’lláh,” dated February 27, 1929: “The World Order of Bahá’u’lláh— Further Considerations,” dated March 21, 1930; “The Goal of a New World Order,” dated November 28, 1931; and “The Golden Age of the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh,” dated March 21, 1932.
Through these messages of our inspired
leader, the true and sincere adherents
of the Faith find themselves
parts of a world body whose existence
is protected by a Providential power
and whose future path amid the confusions
and disturbances of a disordered
aged is laid down in accordance
with Divine will. Nothing is more
essential to believers at this crucial
time than clear and intimate knowledge
of the Guardian’s considered
statements to the Bahá’í world, and
firm resolve that both locally and nationally
the affairs of the Cause shall
be conducted in the light of his highest
hope.[Page 4]
Now, in the swift movement of human
affairs, the time has come for
Bahá’ís to take one more forward step
in our progress as the community of
the Greatest Name—one more step in
the direction of separating the Bahá’í
body from the negative influences and
disintegrating forces working for
destruction throughout the world.
This step consists in the conscious realization of the fact that our Faith is non-political in character, raised above the plane of worldly ambition and selfish competition, striving to establish the pure spirit of Bahá’u’lláh’s Word, and forever apart and and different from other movements which would “fish in troubled waters” and directly or indirectly seek to benefit by the difficulties and sufferings of their fellow men.
The friends will recall that in the letter published as “The Golden Age of the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh,” Shoghi Effendi declared, “I feel it, therefore, incumbent upon me to stress, now that the time is ripe, the importance of an instruction which, at the present stage of the evolution of our Faith, should be increasingly emphasized, irrespective of its application to the East or to the West. And this principle is no other than that which involves the non-participation by the adherents of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh, whether in their individual capacities or collectively as local or national Assemblies, in any form of activity that might be interpreted, either directly or indirectly, as an interference in the political affairs of any particular government.”
This instruction raised among American believers the important question whether the act of voting, in the normal pursuance of the function of citizenship, should be construed as a participation in political matters. The question was referred to the Guardian by the National Spiritual Assembly, and the following explicit reply has now been received.
The reply is dated Haifa, Palestine, October 22, 1932, and consists of a letter written by Shoghi Effendi through his secretary, with a postscript in the Guardian’s own hand. “As regards the participation of the friends in general elections, Shoghi Effendi
TEMPLE CONSTRUCTION PHOTOGRAPH
(New Series) No. 3
The dome panel sections in profile.
has written about it in his letters explaining his views on the subject. He strongly feels that the friends should abstain from any election that is along party lines. In elections that are not political the friends can enter but not when it is in any way political. The Assembly can judge best as to what is political and what is not.”
The postscript: “The Bahá’í Faith as it forges ahead throughout the western world and particularly in lands where the political machinery is corrupt and political passions and prejudices are dominant among the masses, should increasingly assert and demonstrate the fact that it is non-political in character, that it stands above party, that it is neither apathetic to national interests nor opposed to any party or faction, and that it seeks through administrative channels, rather than through diplomatic and political posts to establish, beyond the shadow of a doubt, the capacity, the sane patriotism, the integrity and high-mindedness of its avowed adherents. This is the general and vital principle; it is for the National representatives to apply it with fidelity and vigor.”
Your National Spiritual Assembly feels a great responsibility in applying the principle to all the detailed situations that can arise among the local communities. The following statement, however, summarizes the Assembly’s understanding of this new instruction. Whatever incident or situation that may arise not covered by this statement should be referred to the National Assembly for further consideration.
1. Recognized believers of the United States and Canada shall not hereafter take part in any local, provincial or national election conducted by political parties, where votes are to be cast for one of two or more rival candidates.
2. Recognized believers shall not run for an public office as candidate of any political party, nor take part, directly or indirectly, in the promotion of any party or party platform.
3. Political issues of a partisan character shall not be discussed at Bahá’í meetings.
4. Recognized believers shall abstain from affiliation with movements of a radical and disruptive character, whether avowedly political in nature or, while non-political in name, advocating social changes that presume partisan political action.
5. Bahá’ís are loyal to the government of their country and will obey the laws of that government.
6. Believers who speak on Bahá’í platforms shall refrain from making negative and critical statements about any particular Government or National policy
7. Every Local Spiritual Assembly shall be responsible for the carrying out of these instructions by the believers in their respective communities. Local membership lists shall include only the names of those believers who faithfully preserve the non-political character of the Faith.
