Bahá’í World/Volume 20/Beatrice Newman
 | The text below this notice was generated by a computer, it still needs to be checked for errors and corrected. If you would like to help, view the original document by clicking the PDF scans along the right side of the page. Click the edit button at the top of this page (notepad and pencil icon) or press Alt+Shift+E to begin making changes. When you are done press "Save changes" at the bottom of the page. |
BEATRICE NEWMAN
1898—1989
Grieve passing of the maidservant of God Miss Beatrice Newman. Her devoted serVices to the Cause of God stretching over three decades are fondly remembered. Her zeal and enthusiasm in teaching the Faith in Wales, her exemplary pioneering activities undertaken at an advanced age in England and Ireland, her deep love for Baha’u’llah Wthh dominated her life, all have considerably contributed to the advancement of the Faith in the British Isles. Praying at the Holy Shrines for the progress of her radiant soul in the Abba Kingdom. Universal House of Justice 7 September 1989
Beatrice Newman was born in 1898, one of seven children, in Pontypridd, Wales, a land of music, literature and poetry. The Welsh are a deeply religious people, and in the middle of the nineteenth century religious fervour in Wales was heightened by a strong conviction that the return of Christ was imminent. To focus attention on this, Big Tent Missions were set up. As the movement grew, more permanent accommodation was needed, and throughout Wales stone chapels were erected, often several in each town or Village. Each had a date inscribed into the stonework and many were dedicated “To the Glory of God”. The dates ran from the late 1840s to the early 18903. A revival in 1904 produced even more chapels.
It was into such a background that Beatrice was born. Both her father and mother were Deacons of the Welsh Baptist Chapel in Cilfynydd, a mining village on the outskirts of Pontypridd. In time, Beatrice too became a Deacon of the Chapel. Having trained as a teacher she began a career in education, eventually becoming headmistress of the Hawthorn School near Cilfynydd.
In such a coal mining community joy was often mixed with sadness as mining disasters
[Page 938]
938
were not uncommon. The pit at Cilfynydd was a deep one and it was not spared its share of calamity. Thus Beatrice developed a deep sense of compassion and love for those around her and an awareness of the omnipresence of God. Along with this she also developed a delightful wit and sense of humour.
Beatrice first heard of the Faith in 1948. The Local Spiritual Assembly of Cardiff, Wales, had been formed, and Claire Gung (later to be a Knight of Baha’u’llah for Southern Rhodesia and designated the Mother of Africa by Shoghi Effendi) was undertaking extension teaching in Pontypridd. To gain financial support, Claire was working as a seamstress and was recommended as such to Beatrice. The Welsh are often eager to know as much as possible about the people they meet, and Beatrice was no exception. With each Visit, the amount of dressmaking diminished so that more questions could be answered about the Faith and the return of Christ.
Beatrice was enchanted with the beauty of the Message and the way in which longcherished prophecies had been fulfilled. However, there was one serious impediment. If one agreed to serve as a Deacon of the Baptist Chapel, it was a lifetime commitment. Also her mother, in the closing years of her life, would never be able to understand if Beatrice changed her Faith, to say nothing of the members of the Chapel who were her close friends.
Claire Gung left for Africa, and for a time she and Beatrice lost touch with each other. Nonetheless, the spark she had ignited in Beatriee’s heart was still there when next she saw the name Bahá’í eight or more years later. The Cardiff Assembly had been holding a series of meetings and teaching in Pontypridd, and Beatrice noticed that a friend of hers was reading an introductory pamphlet 0n the Faith. Asked if she could see it, the friend gave it to Beatrice saying that “it was no use to him”. An address and phone number on the back was that of Dr. Ernest Miller,
THE BAHA’t WORLD
the chairman of the Cardiff Assembly, and a conversation with him revealed that there would be a weekend school in Porthcawl in a week’s time. Beatrice decided to go, receiving a warm welcome from a delighted Cardiff community who found that she already had an excellent knowledge of the teachings of the Faith.
The intervening years since her first contact with the Faith had seen remarkable changes. Her mother, now in her 908, was able to accept Baha’u’llah as a Messenger of God. The congregation of her Chapel had split into two opposing factions, each With its own minister insisting that he was the only one with the right to preach the Gospel there. Beatrice had decided to announce her resignation so that she could become a Bahá’í but had been dreading the moment. When it came, there was such a commotion and confusion between the two congregations that her voice was barely heard. She was at last able to make her declaration as a Bahá’í and she was accepted into the Faith in January 1959, becoming the first Welsh-speaking Bahá’í in Wales.
Such was Beatrice’s enthusiasm that by August of that year the local newspaper reported that there were now four declared believers there, including Mary Newman, one of Beatrice’s sisters. By Riḍván 1961 it was possible to form the first Local Spiritual Assembly of Pontypridd. At that time, the Assembly was unique in the British Isles as it had been formed entirely of local believers without any pioneer move to establish it. The Assembly included all three Newman sisters: Beatrice, Mary, and F10.
Beatrice’s love for Baha’u’llah inspired her to be ever active in His Cause. Apart from the many pioneering moves and teaching trips she made, she actively promoted the translation into the Welsh language of prayers and introductory literature. These were used extensively at exhibitions set up by the Welsh Bahá’í community at National Eisteddfods, many of which Beatrice attended.
[Page 939]
IN MEMORIAM
In J anuary 1961, she attended the dedication of the Mother Temple of the African Continent, in Kampala, Uganda, as one of the four representatives of the National Spiritual Assembly of the British Isles. These were, befittingly, one each from England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland. Beatrice took with her the precious gift from the National Assembly of the original cable from the beloved Guardian inaugurating the Africa Campaign for which the British Isles had ‘chief responsibility’.
In 1962, Beatrice and her sister Flo were the first Welsh Bahá’ís to go on pilgrimage from Wales. In 1963, Beatrice attended the World Congress in London. The year 1964 saw her pioneer to Inverness, Scotland, and also attend the dedication of the Mother Temple of Europe at Langenhain, Germany, near Frankfurt. In 1965, she pioneered to Southport and later that same year to Llandudno in North Wales.
The Pontypridd Assembly had grown by this time so that both Beatrice and Mary were able to pioneer to Winchester, the ancient capital of England, with two other pioneers from Wales to save the Assembly there. They were to have their home there for more than ten years, Beatrice serving as the Assembly chairman for several years. During this time she made many teaching trips, including those to Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, and Zanzibar.
In 1969, all three sisters pioneered for six months in Cork, in the Republic of Ireland. There, Beatrice arranged for and gave an illustrated talk, the first Bahá’í public meeting held in Cork. Nearly seventy people attended who were nearly all of Catholic background. Before leaving, Beatrice persuaded the carillonneur of Shandon Church to play Allah’u’Abhá on the church “bells while she prayed for the spread of the Faith in that country. The bells can be heard all over the city, and the carillonneur said that after they had left he would be glad to play the tune each day until the Birthday of Baha’u’llah.
939
Beatrice Newman
In September 1971, Beatrice attended the Oceanic Conference in Reykjavik, Iceland. In 1972, all three sisters made their second pilgrimage, and in March 1973 Beatrice and Mary made a teaching trip to Malta. Seeing the urgent need to form the Assembly, they decided to remain there as pioneers and so were members of the first Spiritual Assembly of Malta. When they were able to be released, they went back home to Winchester.
In 1975, Beatrice and Mary moved their home to Poole in Dorset, pioneering once again to save the Assembly. They were joined by Flo a year later. Despite her age, Beatrice continued to be very active and the home in Poole became a centre of attraction both for the local community and those interested in investigating the Faith.
Eventually, unable to take an active part in affairs, she kept in touch with her Bahá’í friends in the United Kingdom and overseas by correspondence. Always her warm friendliness and radiant personality remained with her until she passed away just before her 92nd birthday. There is no doubt that the Bahá’í community is poorer for her loss.
DAVID LEWIS