Bahá’í World/Volume 27/Conference of Bahá’í Counsellors

Bahá’í World/Volume 27 Conference of Bahá’í Counsellors

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[Page 49]This article reports on the Conference of Bahá’í Counsellors held 3-6 May 1998 in Haifa, Israel, following the Eighth International Bahá’í Convention.

CONFERENCE of BAHÁ’Í COUNSELLORS

ince Ridḍván 1996 the Bahá’í world community has been ously undertaken the systematization of the approach taken to the development of its human resources. The process began with a single letter. On 26 December 1995, the Universal House of Justice addressed the members of the Continental Boards of Counsellors gathered at a special conference in the Holy Land, informing them of the imminent inauguration of the Four Year Plan and outlining the goals that the Bahá’í world would be pursuing for the final four years of the twentieth century. "The development of human resources on a large scale," the House of Justice said, "requires that the establishment of institutes be viewed in a new light." The time had come for the Bahá’í world to extend its planning work into the field of community education.

The Plan, as called for by the Universal House of Justice, has as its primary goals the training of Bahá’ís to manifest more completely the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh in their daily lives, to create vibrant, unified Bahá’í communities "characterized by tolerance and love and guided by a strong sense of purpose and collective will," [Page 50]and to stimulate the maturation of Bahá’í institutions, whose purpose is to further these processes of growth with wise, loving guidance. On 3 May 1998, under the aegis of the International Teaching Centre, seventy-six members of the Continental Boards of Counsellors gathered again in the Holy Land to evaluate the progress of the goals outlined in the December 1995 letter and to consult on ways of consolidating and expanding the victories achieved in the first two years of the Four Year Plan. Held immediately following the Eighth International Bahá’í Convention, the six-day-long conference was an opportunity for the Counsellors to engage in intensive consultation with their fellow Counsellors in the field, members of the Universal House of Justice, and the International Counsellors serving at the World Centre, and to visit the Shrines and holy places at the Bahá’í World Centre.

The members of the Continental Boards of Counsellors serve as vital channels of stimulation and advice to the rank and file of the Bahá’í community. They offer encouragement to individual Bahá’ís and communities, consult and collaborate regularly with National Spiritual Assemblies on matters related to community development, and act as representatives of the Universal House of Justice at inaugural National Conventions and other special occasions. Counsellors are in a unique position to identify trends and opportunities, assess often quickly changing conditions, and share their observations with National Spiritual Assemblies and the Bahá’í World Centre. Living and serving all over the world, they come from a wide range of racial and ethnic backgrounds, as do the Bahá’í communities they serve. Their effectiveness is further enhanced by the fact that one third of all Counsellors are women. The International Teaching Centre, based at the Bahá’í World Centre, coordinates the activities of the Continental Counsellors and serves as the liaison between the Counsellors and the Universal House of Justice.

In a 3 May 1998 letter addressed to the Counsellors’ conference, the Universal House of Justice praised the "ardor and effectiveness" of the Counsellors’ response to the Four Year Plan, citing the proceedings of the Eighth International Bahá’í Convention and the

1. See pp. 39-47 of this volume for an account of the Eighth International Bahá’í Convention. [Page 51]

CONFERENCE OF BAHÁ’Í COUNSELLORS

"clarity and vigor with which the National Spiritual Assemblies are addressing the tasks of the Plan" as proof of a dramatic advance in the capacity of the Bahá’í world community to undertake systematic planning and action. The House of Justice also advised that the Bahá’ís must "take advantage of the momentum thus achieved," noting that every measure must be taken to ensure that training is undertaken by the Bahá’í community on a scale commensurate to its expanding needs.

Consultation at the Counsellors’ conference centered around the work of Auxiliary Board members and their assistants, how the relationship between the International Teaching Centre and Counsellors in the field could be profitably developed, and the defense of the Bahá’í community from those inimical to it. A significant amount of time was spent analyzing different training methods and curricula used in Bahá’í communities and correlating lessons learned in one part of the world to those in another. Attention was also given to administrative details related to the Counsellors’ jurisdiction and functioning. One of the emphases of the Four Year Plan is on systematic planning that, in the words of the House of Justice, goes "beyond the mere enumeration of goals to include an analysis of approaches to be adopted and lines of action to be followed." The Counsellors’ conference was an opportunity to evaluate the success of various approaches of systematization used around the world and to consider how the capacities and needs of different regions affected these goals. Consultation during the conference was greatly aided by a document on training institutes—dated 8 April 1998, given to all Counsellors and delegates to the Eighth International Convention, and prepared under the auspices of the Universal House of Justice—which deals specifically with questions of regional planning and systematization in the institute process.

Hands of the Cause of God Amatu’l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khánum, Mr. ‘Alí-Akbar Furútan, and Dr. Alí-Muhammad Varqá—themselves members of the International Teaching Centre—attended the conference and contributed to its proceedings. Dr. Varqá, as Trustee of the institution of Huqúqu’lláh, was particularly interested in hearing about the Bahá’í community’s evolving response to the law of Huqúqu’lláh and the development of its administration. [Page 52]In the December 1995 letter to the Counsellors announcing the Four Year Plan, the House of Justice called upon the Continental Counsellors and National Spiritual Assemblies to deepen their consultative relationship, especially in the organization and operation of training institutes. Training institutes are to be agencies of National Spiritual Assemblies, but their planning and operation will benefit from the advice of the Continental Counsellors and cooperation with Auxiliary Board members, who, through their intimate relationship with local and regional communities, are in a unique position to assist in the development of institutes. The fact that more than 344 training institutes have already been established and more than 70,000 Bahá’ís have completed institute courses provides ample testimony to the strengthened relationship between Counsellors and National Spiritual Assemblies and the organizing power of the institute boards.

International Bahá’í Conventions also mark the time that the Universal House of Justice renews the membership of the International Teaching Centre. Ten days after the start of the Counsellors’ conference, the House of Justice announced that Mr. Kiser Barnes, Mr. Rolf von Czékus, Mr. Hartmut Grossmann, Mrs. Violette Haake, Dr. Firaydoun Javaheri, Mrs. Lauretta King, Mrs. Joan Lincoln, Dr. Payman Mohajer, and Dr. Penelope Walker would constitute the Counsellor members of the International Teaching Centre for the next five years, and thanked outgoing members Mr. Shapoor Monadjem, Mr. Donald Rogers, Mr. Fred Schechter, Mrs. Kimiko Schwerin, and Mrs. Joy Stevenson for their services.

Newly appointed members of the International Teaching Centre with Hands of the Cause Amatu’l-Bahá-Rúhiyyih Khánum and ‘Ali-Akbar Furútan.