Bahá’í News/Issue 146/Text
| ←Previous | Bahá’í News Issue 146 |
Next→ |
 Proofread onceReturn to PDF view
|
| No. 146 | YEAR 98, BAHÁ’Í ERA | SEPTEMBER, 1941 |
This Sacred Trust[edit]
To the Spiritual Assemblies, Communities and Groups of the Bahá’ís of the United States and Canada.
Beloved Friends:
In the July issue of Bahá’í News we considered the teaching task throughout North America to be accomplished during the three remaining years of the Seven Year Plan. Now let us turn to the other American peoples and republics of Central and South America. The teaching task there is even more varied and demanding, for the Guardian has called for the establishment of a definite group, a nucleus of believers, in each nation of Central and South America by 1944. “Would to God every State within American Republic and every Republic in American continent might ere termination (of) this glorious century (i.e., Bahá’í century) embraces (the) light (of the) Faith of Bahá’u’lláh and establish structural basis of His World Order,” the Guardian cabled on May 1, 1936, to the Annual Convention. “The promulgation of the Divine Plan, unveiled by our departed Master in the darkest days of one of the severest ordeals which humanity has ever experienced, is the key which Providence has placed in the hands of the American believers whereby to unlock the doors leading them to their unimaginably glorious Destiny,” he declared in his letter dated November 14, 1936. “The seven year plan which it has sponsored and with which its destiny is so closely interwoven, must at all costs be prosecuted with increasing force and added consecration.” Thus, on November 25, 1937, Shoghi Effendi sealed his explanation of the mission entrusted to the American Bahá’ís.
By 1939 the Inter-America teaching work had attained the stage of “progressive, systematic penetration” as was emphasized by the Guardian’s cablegram to the Convention held that year. “Upsurge (of) Bahá’u’lláh’s impelling Spirit can not, will not, be stemmed (nor) impeded. Methodical advance along (the) line traced (by) pen (of) ‘Abdu’l-Bahá irresistible . . . Though politically unsettled, religiously intolerant, socially backward (and) climatically inhospitable, these unexplored territories hold forth inestimable prizes (for) audacious adventurers (in the) path (of) Bahá’í service . . . Appeal all believers, white and Negro alike, (to) arise (and) assume rightful responsibilities.”
A NEW WORLD[edit]
Our teaching activity has reached the point where, to follow the development of current plans, the believers should have recourse to maps of North and South America. On such maps we can begin by noting the States and Provinces of North America still lacking an Assembly, and the republics of Central and South America where pioneer settlement is still open. In The Advent of Divine Justice, twenty republics are mentioned.
The National Assembly is happy to announce that one of the remaining areas, Peru, will soon receive Miss Eve Nicklin as its pioneer Bahá’í. Guatemala has a group but no resident American teacher. Honduras is in the same status. Venezuela has had pioneers but lacks an active teacher at present. Mrs. Eleanor Adler has accomplished much in Bolivia, but her obligation to return to the United States leaves the new group in need of experienced direction. Brazil, that immense empire, has a number of American workers, and an Assembly at Bahia was formed a year ago, but the field calls for more pioneers, just as more can be used in Panama.
This Inter-America teaching is not merely an enlargement of our teaching area—it stands for a new spiritual world to be won for Bahá’u’lláh. Deathless glory goes to every worker who contributes to such a glorious victory!
THE MANDATE CONFERRED
- BY ‘ABDU’L-BAHÁ
Indeed, the more we contemplate
the nature of this unique mission,[Page 2]
the more we come to realize the fact
that the Inter-America teaching
field is a solemn responsibility laid
upon the American Bahá’ís. The
structural basis of Bahá’u’lláh’s
World Order must be formed by
1944, and in the whole world the only
workers free to undertake the task
are members of our own Bahá’í community.
When the Báb arose in
Persia, His mission attained its public
influence only after the Letters
of the Living had penetrated into the
spiritual world created by their Lord.
Similarly, there are potent blessings
and powers still latent in the Revelation
of Bahá’u’lláh, awaiting the capacity
of our community to make
right use of such heavenly gifts, as
evidenced by our sacrifice and heroism
in settling the twenty republics
of Latin America.
The work already done is miraculous. We have the memory of Martha Root’s journey to South America; we have the infinite blessing of May Maxwell’s martyrdom; we have a growing company of heroic souls laboring in the field; we have the services of a committee in constant touch with all teachers and groups, a committee whose experience and facilities are becoming each year, more adapted to its challenging task; we have the cooperation of three active Spiritual Assemblies which represent Latin American believers; and we have, above all, the Revelation itself available in an increasing number of Spanish, Portuguese, French and other translations.
“I, for my part,” the Guardian assured us in his letter of May 22, 1939, “am determined to reinforce the impulse that impels its members forward to meet their destiny. The Founders of their Faith survey from the Kingdom on high the range of their achievements, acclaim their progress, and are ever ready to speed their eventual triumph.”
- Faithfully yours.
“Indeed, the essential prerequisites of admittance into the Bahá’í fold of Jews, Zoroastrians, Hindus, Buddhists, and the followers of other ancient faiths, as well as of agnostics and even atheists, is the wholehearted and unqualified acceptance by them all of the Divine origin of both Islam and Christianity, of the Prophetic functions of both Muhammad and Jesus Christ, of the legitimacy
|
Advise cable American Consulate (in) Cairo authorizes on behalf American National Assembly transfer remains (of) Lua Getsinger to Bahá’í Cemetery through the Egyptian National Bahá’í Assembly. SHOGHI RABBANI
Cablegram received June 15, 1941 |
of the institution of the Imamate,
and of the primacy of St.
Peter, the Prince of the Apostles.
Such are the central, the solid, the
incontrovertible principles that constitute
the bedrock of Bahá’í belief,
which the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh is
proud to acknowledge, which its
teachers proclaim, which its apologists
defend, which its literature disseminates,
which its summer
schools expound, and which the rank
and file of its followers attest by
both word and deed.
“Nor should it be thought for a moment that the followers of Bahá’u’lláh either seek to degrade or even belittle the rank of the world’s religious leaders, whether Christian, Muslim, or of any other denomination, should their conduct conform to their professions, and be worthy of the position they occupy.”—SHOGHI EFFENDI, in The Promised Day Is Come.
Call for Teachers[edit]
A little more than two years ago our hearts were stirred by an urgent and overwhelming call from our beloved Guardian—a call for “nine holy souls who, independently or as deputies, will promptly, fearlessly volunteer (to) forsake (their) homes, cast away (their) attachments (and) definitely settle (in) these territories. . .” What then occurred is history in our Cause and eternal glory to dauntless ones who, without any hesitation, responded to win for the American community these virgin States and Provinces. The Guardian had asked for nine pioneers. There were eighty-one who volunteered to go, whose blessed privilege it was to evoke in the Guardian’s heart “feelings of overpowering gratitude (at) the response of so many pioneers to the call of teaching. . .”
Beloved friends, are we to say that those thrilling days are past, that opportunity comes no more to waken and seize us? Or rather, are we not already overwhelmed by a new task, a hundred times greater and more challenging in its magnitude? Is not the prospect now before us, since the Guardian’s cablegram to the Convention, charged with a weightier responsibility?
To your Committee, faced with the facts of an initial survey, the Guardian’s two-fold assignment to the American believers seemed at first crushing and beyond our strength. With less than three years remaining, we are to establish Local Spiritual Assemblies in twenty-eight States and Provinces, which number includes two of the fourteen Assemblies recently disbanded and now to be promptly reinstated! Need we remind ourselves that the Faith first penetrated this continent over forty years ago, and yet the job is only half done!
This time success can be assured not alone by the ardent response of individual believers. Indeed, we need such response desperately, for these States and Provinces must have additional teachers—teachers of every kind, pioneer, resident, circuit, and visiting—to assist the devoted friends already living there. We must gain a solid foothold and put down our roots. But after that, the Cause must be extended, numbers increased, believers confirmed, Assemblies trained and elected. If every State and Province is to have its delegate at the centennial Convention of 1944, then we must elect these Assemblies by 1943!
Such prodigious effort calls for a heroic response from us all, not as individuals alone, but as an American community. Into this battle we must throw our every resource. “To launch the bark of the Faith, to implant its banner, is not enough.” says Shoghi Effendi. “Support, ample, organized and unremitting, should be lent, designed to direct the course of that work and to lay an unassailable foundation for the fort destined to stand guard over that banner. . . This is my plea, my supreme entreaty.” (April 17, 1939)
Beloved friends, let us pledge ourselves
to the months ahead! Let us
act with unity, prayer, and utmost
endeavor, through the instruments
of our national and regional committees,
our local Spiritual Assemblies,
the sacrifice of funds, the burning[Page 3]
energies of believers everywhere.
Under the leadership of the
National Spiritual Assembly and the
guidance of our beloved Guardian,
we are summoned to surpass all our
past and finest triumphs.
Your committee is anxiously and eagerly waiting to hear how it may assist you in this immensely urgent task.
NATIONAL TEACHING COMMITTEE
Inter-America News[edit]
“They that have forsaken their country for the purpose of teaching Our Cause—these shall the Faithful Spirit strengthen through its power. A company of Our chosen angels shall go forth with them, as bidden by Him Who is the Almighty, the All-Wise. How great the blessedness that awaiteth him that hath attained the honor of serving the Almighty! By My Life! No act, however great, can compare with it, except such deeds as have been ordained by God, the All-Powerful, the Most Mighty. Such a service is, indeed, the prince of all goodly deeds, and the ornament of every goodly act. Thus hath it been ordained by Him Who is the Sovereign Revealer, the Ancient of Days.”—BAHÁ’U’LLÁH, in The Gleanings, page 334.
Paraguay
The reports from Paraguay will bring great joy to the Bahá’i community of North America. Miss Cheney writes: “Next week we open the class for deeper study of the Teachings in preparation for Bahá’í membership. There are 15 in the adult class who have expressed their intention of taking this course. Will you help me pray that, if it is the will of Bahá’u’lláh, Paraguay may have an Assembly, one truly confirmed and well grounded in the Faith? It is a serious thing to take the name Bahá’í in a new land, especially one that suffers from such turmoil as Paraguay. These people must be able to really live the life, to demonstrate the power of Bahá’u’lláh through their actions every day. If at least nine can really do this, then I feel that the Cause will grow here by leaps and bounds, and that new members coming in later will have a bulwark upon which to lean.
“The Youth Group was born two weeks ago in the midst of our latest
|
Share deep grief (of) bereaved community (at) passing (of) Elizabeth Greenleaf, beloved handmaid (of) Bahá’u’lláh. Her radiant spirit, staunch loyalty, noble character, effective teaching method (were) distinguishing features (of her) consecrated life. Praying abundant blessings (in) life beyond. SHOGHI RABBANI
Cablegram received August 7, 1941 |
revolutionary attempt. The group is growing and the revolution seems over for the time being.
“Perhaps it is not altogether surprising that I lack physical strength after making a total change of hemispheres, food and surroundings, and living for four months in an intensely humid climate with an average temperature of 110° F., often creeping up to 120° F. in the afternoons. We have had only three or four days of cooler weather, though March and April are supposed to be the beginning of fall. The people say it has been an unusually hot season even for Paraguay, a land of torrid climate, for the most part low-lying and 1200 miles from the nearest sea breeze. There is so much humidity that, even with the sun’s rays boiling down, furniture, my typewriter case and kid gloves locked away in a clothespress for protection, become moldy.”
Another letter from Miss Cheney from which we also quote: “The young people have asked for classes in English as a service, since almost no one in this country can speak English. These classes proved so popular that there was a demand for adult classes also. At present, I have four English classes a week. Each lesson is built around a story concerning ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, or Bahá’u’lláh, or a Bahá’í principle. I use Lydia Zamenhof’s method of illustrating words with actions and objects, and after the class has recognized the meaning of each, then I tell the story, pointing to the words in turn, and they translate it into Spanish. In this way, some 20 people are getting a taste of the Bahá’í Cause. Just how it will work out as a means of attracting them to further study, still remains to be seen, since it is quite a new experiment.”
Chile
Mrs. Atwater writes from Chile: “We are madly studying the English ‘Procedure.’ Our chairman, Dr. Leibenschein, is a master linguist. Our Group is so universal that he has to translate in four languages, Spanish, German, French and English. Many new people of capacity are being attracted now that we have a fine nucleus—for of course it is the power of unity that attracts.”
Mrs. Atwater reports having been invited to speak before several clubs and to contribute articles for a newspaper.
Montevideo
Mr. Wilfrid Barton writes enthusiastically of the progress of the Cause in Montevideo and of the interest of a number of influential people, which has opened the way for wide spread publicity. He reports that Uruguay is one of the most liberal countries in South America in regards to its attitude towards religion. Weekly classes are being held in his apartment.
Cuba
The Inter-America Committee has received with joy two new registration cards from Havana, and together with the Bahá’í community welcomes Sra. Divina Pastora Gonzalez and Nadji S. Haim as new friends.
Haiti
A recent letter from Mr. and Mrs. Blackwell encloses a registration for Mr. Willis Lubin. We are happy to welcome Mr. Lubin into the Bahá’í Cause.
Mr. and Mrs. Blackwell report that the classes being held at the home of Mr. and Mrs. McBean are attracting more and more persons.
Bolivia
Mrs. Eleanor Adler writes that the opportunities to tell of the Cause in Bolivia are very great. She tells of an educator from the United States who mentioned Bahá’u’lláh and His teachings before an audience of several hundred persons. He is reading a number of the books and has evinced great interest. Mrs. Adler planned to sail from Lima, Peru on the sixteenth of July for the United States.
Remarks on Publicity by a Pioneer Teacher[edit]
During four years, this servant was editor of a daily newspaper, and for three and a half years served as news service committee chairman of the Bahá’í group in Lima, Ohio. As a result of editorial work, I attained a wholesome respect for publicity and its power over the public mind, but as news service chairman, and while doing pioneer teaching for three years in cities within reach of my home, I gained a new slant on this subject. More recently, during six months as a pioneer in Paraguay, additional angles of the publicity problem have come to my attention, and it has been suggested that I share my conclusions with other Bahá’ís.
When I came to South America the end of December, I found a new set of problems to be met. The Roman Catholic Church is powerful and jealous of the entrance of any other spiritual teaching. It no longer possesses the power to teach love and brotherhood and to maintain peace, but it has quite sufficient power to crush new movements, if its opposition is attracted. Also, many of the Latin American countries, even when ostensibly republics, are ruled actually by various dictatorships, whether the dictator is an individual, as in Brazil and the Argentine, or is the power of the local army, as in Paraguay. Such governments are incapable of understanding the new world order.
I found that in Rio publicity had been used, with the result that Bahá’í meetings were forbidden by the government, and later were permitted only on a very restricted basis in the form of friends dropping in for tea and discussing spiritual subjects. The substitution of the word “universal” in place of “international” had helped to clear up some of the problems there.
In Buenos Aires I found a strong, active group meeting in the apartment of Philip Sprague, a champion pioneer teacher, and growing through personal contacts. Later, when a public Bahá’í center was opened and publicity was used by this group, the government promptly suspended the meetings, and closed the center. After a short time, however, meetings were again permitted, pending obtaining a government
Main Story Ornamentation No. 5, August 2, 1941.
license. Word arrived from
Buenos Aires recently that this
license has at last been granted.
I arrived in Asunción, Paraguay, during the aftermath of a particularly bad revolution, to discover that the people to whom I had letters of introduction from friends in other countries, were now political prisoners or exiles. When I called upon one, who was still available, he looked at me with tears in his eyes, and said quite frankly, “This is the strangest time in my life. I do not expect to live more than 24 hours. I know that God has sent you to me.” To people living in the comparative security of the United States, the social turmoil in a country such as this one, which has suffered from some 65 to 70 revolutions in its 128 years as a republic, is practically unimaginable.
A brief investigation showed that
meetings of the Theosophical Society
here had been suspended by government
order, following the opening
of a public meeting place and
the use of publicity. All Bahá’í work
in Paraguay has been done through
prayers for guidance and personal
contacts, one person sending me to
another, until on January 28 classes
opened in my pension, with 30 persons
attending, representing some
of the most prominent and highly
regarded people of the city in educational,
artistic and business fields.
The members include the three most
outstanding authors and poets of
Paraguay, a noted portrait painter,
a fine sculptor, three university
professors and a former public minister
of education, high school teachers,
the owner of the principal commercial
airline, a scientist, the general
manager of the railroad, and[Page 5]
other well known people. Five have
asked for Bahá’í membership and
a special class is being conducted
for deeper study in preparation for
such membership, with 15 attending.
During the first weeks there was one case of opposition, in which the local priest called upon the owner of the pension and protested against the display in my rooms of the picture of a “strange temple” and against a “new teaching” going out from her house. I had already taken care that Sra. Leonor de Morinigo, a woman of good family, who operates the pension, should be acquainted with the Bahá’í principles. She replied to this protest with spirit, “There is nothing in the Bahá’í Teachings that is contrary to the truth in Catholicism. They are beautiful and I believe they are true.” It is my feeling that, as long as Bahá’í teaching is kept to the basis of friends coming to discuss spiritual subjects, and publicity and public meetings are avoided, there will be great protection, and opportunity for a group to grow strong enough to meet the problems which may arise later.
Based on experience and observation, it would be my advice to all pioneer teachers in North America and especially in South and Central America, to strictly avoid the use of publicity until after they have become well entrenched in the cities where they settle, have become acquainted with conditions there, and have the means of judging whether publicity will help or hurt their work. It is my belief that they will always find the method of personal contacts productive of far better results in the forming of new groups on both continents. Personal contacts attract people of high caliber and avoid wasting time with the idly curious and those who lack capacity. This method also avoids attracting unnecessary opposition.
In most of the cities of North America teaching began in little private groups in the homes of individual believers. In the United States the Faith has gradually evolved for some forty years. At first we had only the spiritual teachings, and it was quite recently that we were given Bahá’í administration and the new world order. It is scarcely reasonable to expect our Latin American brothers and sisters to assimilate in a moment all the
MEMORIAL TO MAY MAXWELL[edit]
View of Model Of Monument Designed by W. S. Maxwell and Approved by Shoghi Effendi. To be Erected in Buenos Aires.
things that we have required some
forty years to learn.
The people of South America, who have spiritual capacity, are very sincere and warm-hearted. As they grow in understanding, they will make great contributions toward the growth of the Cause in the Americas. They have the hearts of poets, lovers and martyrs. But because of this very enthusiasm, this swiftness in being attracted, they need time to grow and very careful guidance in developing a strong foundation for their Faith, in order that they may not lose it, when the winds of trials assail them.
Bahá’í teachers, coming from the
north into these southern countries
among people whose civilization,
whose life experience and ways of
thought are totally different from
our own, should make a careful study
of their new environment and the
people whom they are to teach and
assist by the grace of God to find
the Beloved of the worlds. Such
teachers, if they have any pride in
their native country, must forget
this, and develop a deep appreciation
and love for the people and
the country, where Bahá’u’lláh has
sent them. Because of the arrogance
of the average North American in
foreign lands, South Americans are
always watching for some of this to
appear in all of our people. Only
profound humility and perfect love
[Page 6]
on our part, can disarm their fear
and open a path to their hearts.
Programs should be formulated only after real study and observation of the people, their capacities and their needs. In a majority of Central and South American countries, the teaching of world order must be kept on a definite universal plane, in order to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings. It is better to begin with spiritual subjects, and to use this angle in dealing with universal peace, the unity of mankind and the unity of all faiths under God.
The most important thing for a pioneer teacher to remember twenty-four hours per day, is the fact that in himself he is nothing. If teaching is done in that spirit, then whatever comes is good. The other three essential requisites for such a teacher are universal, love, constant and gentle persistence and unfailing patience. He must love all with a pure spirit, and teach the friends how to love one another and appreciate the perfections in one another, even when they are people who are not naturally attracted to each other. He must be persistent and yet never push. He must be unfailing in his efforts, and yet never in too great a hurry in performing spiritual tasks. He must have wisdom and patience to listen as well as to speak. He must deal with the most personal and intimate problems of those whom he teaches. He must learn to accept everyone at the point where he now is, without judgment and without blame, and with perfect love assist that soul to grow toward God. Only the wisdom of Bahá’u’lláh is sufficient for this task, and His unfailing guidance always comes through prayer.
Regional Teaching Activities[edit]
Our Guardian has, in his Challenging message to the 1941 Convention, disclosed a vast new phase of the teaching program for North America, which calls for a display of heroic persistence in these next three years surpassing all our former efforts. We dare not relax until a Spiritual Assembly has been assured for every State and Province. As “resolute upholders (of the) Divine Plan.” Shoghi Effendi tells us,
Group of distinguished men and women who assisted Mrs. Marcia Atwater on the
occasion of her Conference held before a large audience in the Salón de Honor of
the University of Chile at Santiago. The lecture was delivered in Spanish the title
being “El Ideal De La Fraternidad Humana,” on May 12th, 1941.
- The above photograph was taken the evening before the Conference in the
- Office of the Chilean newspaper “La Nación”
we “will, indeed cannot but persist (in) ordained task (to) propagate flame, enlarge administrative limits, strike deeper roots (of the) world-encircling, world-redeeming Faith (of) Bahá’u’lláh.”
Acting on this exhortation, many of the Regional Teaching Committees of the U. S. and Canada have been conducting conferences during June and July, in the South at Vogel Park, in the North at Vancouver and Montreal, in the East at the Green Acre Bahá’í School, and in the West at the Geyserville School, designed to focus the thoughts and energies of all the friends can their two-fold teaching mission.
“The responsibility of each member of the region in the completion of the Seven-Year Plan, and the establishment of an Assembly in three of the four Provinces of the region,” comprised the first part of the Conference held at Vancouver, B. C., early in June, followed by discussion of qualifications and training of teachers, purpose and policy of the Regional Committee, materials and teachers available, and methods of pioneering for the communities of that area. Mrs. Moscrop, Miss Cliff, Miss McKenna, Miss Wylie, Mrs. Liddell, and Mrs. China led the discussion on the various topics and Bruce Hogg spoke at a public meeting in the evening.
In Montreal there were 25 representatives attending the Conference from the Eastern Provinces. The program of the five-day session, June 28 to July 2, included discussion on “The Promised Day Is Come;” and the Bahá’í attitude towards the World: Morals and Character, Bahá’i Administration, Bahá’í attitude toward Christianity, Justice, and Post-War Reconstruction. Each believer attending was asked to prepare a fifteen-minute talk suggesting how to comply with the Guardian’s wish for the fulfillment of the Seven-Year Plan. Picnics at the Salas’ in St. Lambert and the Schopflochers’ in Montreal were also a part of the program. Rowland Estall, pioneer from Winnipeg, and Mr. and Mrs. Emeric Sala, just returned from Venezuela, assisted with the conference.
At the week’s session of the Vogel
Park Teaching Conference in Georgia,
June 14-21, there were study
courses in the morning on “Some
Answered Questions” given by Mrs.
H. Emogene Hoagg, and “The Master
Key to Life” led by Mrs. Mabel
Ives and Mrs. Terah Smith. At the
[Page 7]
afternoon sessions the youth conducted
round-tables and “spent hours together
discussing different phases
of the Teachings.” Thirty-one persons
attended the meetings with a
regular attendance of nineteen
through the week. Four Regional
Secretaries of the South collaborated
in planning the Conference, including
a special discussion of teaching on
opening day, conducted by Miss
Charlotte Linfoot.
On July 6, a Regional Conference was held at the Green Acre Bahá’í School with 49 representatives from eighteen communities and groups, including many isolated believers. Music by Lois Keller and Henry Austen was followed by an “excellent talk on teaching techniques by Mr. and Mrs. Herbert LeVey of Boston.” A panel discussion of Bahá’í Attitudes toward World Affairs was then led by Miss Lorna Tasker, chairman of the School Committee.
At the Geyserville Bahá’í School, July 19, a teaching conference was conducted by the Regional Committee for California and Nevada, in conjunction with the National Teaching Committee and the School Committee. Mr. Leroy Ioas spoke of the tasks which the Guardian has set before the Bahá’í Community for the coming year, and Miss Marion Holley outlined the National Teaching program. Mr. Artemus Lamb then presented the needs of the region, which resulted in a general discussion. At the close Mr. Ali Yazdi, chairman of the School Committee, analyzed the contributions of Geyserville to the teaching work.
Another Regional Committee reports that “the Bahá’ís of Western Michigan held an Inter-Community meeting at the home of Mrs. Mary Frazer in East Fruitport which was so successful they decided to hold one once a month to get together for consultation on their problems. Mrs. Thomas Collins gave a talk on the national teaching program and Edna True on the Inter-America work, so the believers were able to get a picture of the teaching program as a whole,—local, national, and Inter-American.”
A three - day Inter - Community meeting was held on July 4-6 at the home of Mrs. Beth Holden in North Miami, Florida, with an attendance of fifteen to twenty-three. Joel Marangella was present from Camp Blanding and consulted with the friends on plans for giving the Teachings to the men in Camps.
Plans are under way for additional inter-community conference in August at Milwaukee; over the Labor Day holiday at Vernon, B. C., and Lake Chelan, Washington; and on September 6 at Foundation Hall, Wilmette.
Many successful picnics have also been arranged by Local Assemblies. At Springfield, Mass., the 15th Annual Bahá’í Picnic was held at Forest Park on June 15 with the over sixty present. Wm. Kenneth Christian spoke on “The Promised Day Is Come.” At Syracuse the Upper New York picnic was held at Green Lake Park and talks were given by Mr. and Mrs. Christian and Mr. and Mrs. Harry Ford. “Two new believers resulted.” An Inter-National Picnic was given at Queenston by the Toronto Assembly to which fifty New York State and Ontario Bahá’ís and their friends came. Speakers during the afternoon were Mr. Fred Reis, chairman, Victor Davis. Amy Putnam, Button Dezendorf, Mary Collison, Helen Inderlied, and Doris McKay.
Santa Paula’s annual picnic sponsored by Mr. and Mrs. G. E. Carpenter on June 15 drew a crowd of over eighty from Southern California, San Francisco and Berkeley. Speakers were Mrs. Sylvia King and Mrs. Marion Yazdi. Open house at the Carpenters’ climaxed a gala day.
A fruitful technique for attracting newcomers to the Faith has been devised and successfully applied by Mrs. Sylvia King in two, inter-racial, inter-faith song fests at Fresno and Bakersfield, Calif., to commemorate respectively Naw-Ruz and the Declaration of the Báb. For each occasion Mrs. King, with the assistance of the Regional Committee and isolated believers, especially Mrs. Edna Tillyer, was able to enlist the voluntary cooperation of many community groups, resulting in programs rich and diverse in interest, in exceptional attendance (about 250 in Bakersfield), and almost no expense. Participating groups or representatives included the High School Mixed Chorus, Mt. Zion Baptist Church, Mennonite Brethren Church, Japanese Christian and Buddhist groups, Lighthouse Full Gospel Choir, A.M.E. Church, and the Chinese group. Under Bahá’í
Group of Students of the Faith in
Managua, Nicaragua, June, 1941.
leadership and with a keynote Bahá’í
speaker, the program “resulted in a
great many people becoming interested
in finding out more about
the Cause, and in fact stirred up
the whole city. . . Because of the
great success of the affair, all the
local newspapers gave us wonderful
publicity afterward.” Mrs. King has
suggested the plan as especially
adapted for Bahá’í fete days, when
“Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Zoroastrians,
Muhammadans and Hindus. . .
may be gathered together
to celebrate with beautiful and lofty
music and with the Creative Word,
and with prayer and spiritual greetings
from leaders, the general
theme of ‘The Oneness of Mankind’
and ‘The Fundamental Harmony of
Religions’. . . Thus the Bahá’í Faith
may be proclaimed to the assembled
throngs. . . brought together by the
love of God and the Message of
Bahá’u’lláh.”
In these and a hundred other ways the Faith is moving forward at the present crucial hour. Happy indeed are the children of Bahá’u’lláh who, in the midst of confusion and sorrow, have found their constructive, eternally-unfolding work!
“Not ours, puny mortals that we
are, to attempt, at so critical a stage
in the long and checkered history of
mankind, to arrive at a precise and
satisfactory understanding of the
steps which must successively lead
a bleeding humanity, wretchedly oblivious
of its God, and careless of
Bahá’u’lláh, from its calvary to its
[Page 8]
ultimate resurrection. Not ours, the
living witnesses of the all-subduing
potency of His Faith, to question,
for a moment, and however dark
the misery that enshrouds the world,
the ability of Bahá’u’lláh to forge,
with the hammer of His Will, and
through the fire of tribulation, upon
the anvil of this travailing age, and
in the particular shape His mind has
envisioned, these scattered and mutually
destructive fragments into
which a perverse world has fallen,
into one single unit, solid and indivisible,
able to execute His design
for the children of men.
“Ours rather the duty, however confused the scene, however dismal the present outlook, however circumscribed the resources we dispose of, to labor serenely, confidently and unremittingly to lend our share of assistance, in whichever way circumstances may enable us, to the operation of the forces which, as marshalled and directed by Bahá’u’lláh, are leading humanity out of the valley of misery and shame to the loftiest summits of power and glory.” —SHOGNI EFFENDI, in The Promised Day Is Come.
Race Unity[edit]
The National Race Unity Committee concluded its public programs for the season as guests of the Cincinnati Assembly. The friends of this city held a dinner on March 29 at the Cincinnati Y.W.C.A., with a number of visiting guests as participants. The following evening a large, mixed group met at the Center to hear Mr. Louis Gregory speak on “The Races, One or Many,” and Mrs. Dorothy Baker, on “The Bahá’í Peace Plan.”
An unusual blessing was bestowed upon the Convention this year, during the period of consultation on racial unity, when, through the efforts of Mr. Clarence Niss of that Committee, thirty Oneida Indians of the Wisconsin area visited the Convention and were introduced on the floor. Mr. Eli Powlas, the first of their number to actually join the ranks of the faithful band of followers of Bahá’u’lláh, assisted in introducing these friends and making them feel at home. Mr. Niss conducted, for delegates coming from locations near reservations, a seminar on techniques of approach to the American Indian. The committee feels that a great beginning has been
Exhibit of Temple Model in Yazdi Shop,
Berkeley.
made in this field, and expresses the
hope that those friends having helpful
suggestions will write in often.
Work with the great Negro minority of America has also gone steadily forward. The Bahá’í Faith has been presented this year to nineteen Negro schools and colleges, as well as to a number of adult Negro organizations.
The Race Unity Committee deeply appreciates the noble and inspiring cooperation of the friends at large with these activities. Every Bahá’í is an unofficial member of such a committee. Already, numbers of the stalwart defenders of Bahá’u’lláh’s invincible standard have arisen to accept the cordial invitation of their Guardian: “Let any one who feels the urge among the participators in this crusade, which embraces all the races, all the republics, classes and denominations of the entire Western Hemisphere, arise, and, circumstances permitting, direct in particular the attention, and win eventually the unqualified adherence, of the Negro, the Indian, the Eskimo, and Jewish races to his Faith. No more laudable and meritorious service can be rendered the Cause of God, at the present hour, than a successful effort to enhance the diversity of the members of the American Bahá’í community by swelling the ranks of the Faith through the enrollment of the members of these races. A blending of these highly differentiated elements of the human race, harmoniously interwoven into the fabric of an all-embracing Bahá’í fraternity, and assimilated through the dynamic processes of a divinely appointed Administrative Order, and contributing each its share to the enrichment and glory of Bahá’í community life, is surely an achievement the contemplation of which must warm and thrill every Bahá’í heart.” (Advent of Divine Justice.)
World Order Magazine[edit]
The general make-up and plan of contents adopted last year has been continued in Volume VII, the friends having given such approval to the changes made in Vol. VI.
Believers not seeing the magazine regularly can judge of the variety of its contents of the articles published in the last three issues.
July, 1941: The Bahá’í Faith Otters; These Prophets and Chosen Ones, Bahá’u’lláh; Religion for Our Time, William Kenneth Christian; From a Panama Diary, V, Louise Caswell and Cora H. Oliver; The Báb, Grace Griffith Harris; Tests and Afflictions, Compilation; Study Outline on Reincarnation; With Our Readers.
August, 1941: Crime and the Treatment of Criminals, Chester F. Barnett; Song of the New World, Angela Morgan; Love and Unity, Compilation; The Kings of Earth, Shoghi Effendi (excerpts from The Promised Day Is Come); The Divine Way of Consultation, Alma Sothman; Living Religions and a World Faith, Book Review, Garreta Busey; The Báb, poem, Elizabeth Hackley; Study Outline on Muhammad, Prophet of God; With Our Readers.
September, 1941: A Scientific Approach to Religion, Howard Luxmoore Carpenter; The Crumbling of Religious Orthodoxy, Shoghi Effendi (excerpts from The Promised Day Is Come); Faith, Henry C. Beecher; Compensation, Virginia Moran Evans; What We Go Through, Julia Robinson; Abandon Not the Everlasting Beauty, Lorna Tasker; The Earth Is One, Opal Howell; How to Achieve Love and Unity, Compilation; Bahá’í Lessons; With Our Readers.
Of unusual interest to Bahá’ís is
the article by Julia Robinson in the
September number. It is a reprint of
an address given by Miss Robinson
at the Town Hall, San Francisco,
in opening the 1940-1941 lecture series.
In her remarks as chairman of
the meeting, Miss Robinson outlined
clearly and forcefully the Bahá’í
[Page 9]
principles as the basis of world
order.
The Editorial Committee wishes to appeal to the friends for a greater flow of material suitable for use in the magazine. Besides accurate and well written expositions of Bahá’í truths, the magazine needs statements of personal experience reflecting growth in faith, poems, treatments of topics like Bahá’í Summer Schools, Bahá’í Assemblies and other institutions in the Cause, and interesting incidents in the teaching field.
Address the Committee at 536 Sheridan Road, Wilmette, Ill.
Temple Teaching[edit]
In January, 1941 there were 289 visitors, or one visitor more than in January, 1940. These visitors were from nine states, and from Canada and Persia. The groups that attended in a body during January were:
14 colored girls from the Evanston
- Y.W.C.A.
28 members of the Young People’s
- Society, Oak Park Baptist Church.
29 soldiers from Fort Sheridan, Ill.
26 Girl Scouts, Evanston.
In February, 1941, there were 425 visitors from eleven states, and none from foreign countries. Large groups that attended in February were:
18 members Evanston Y.W.C.A.;
11 members Kappa Delta Sorority, Northwestern University Alumnae; 60 members of rural boards of education from Michigan, attending institute at Northwestern University; 55 members of rural boards of education from Michigan attending institute at Northwestern University.
The Temple is open every day from 10:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. from May 1 to October. We can’t stress too much the fact that there always is an urgent and great need for guides during the summer. For those who wish to prepare themselves for this important teaching work, there is a class for guides in the Temple every Sunday from 11:00 A.M. to 3:30 P.M. This study class is open to everyone who feels the obligation or who may wish to do so, to study and qualify as a guide. In this class can be acquired information about the Temple and answers to questions often asked by visitors during actual guiding.
There is no better way to benefit oneself or promote the spread of the
Spiritual Assembly of Berkeley, Incorporated April 11, 1941.
Teachings, than to guide in the Temple.
Think what a fertile field this
represents! Nearly 17,000 visitors
came through the Temple voluntarily
last year from all over the world.
Prepare now to guide your share
through the Temple in 1941.
- TEMPLE GUIDE COMMITTEE
Requests for Temple Models[edit]
The Bahá’í Exhibits Committee has received a number of requests for the loan of a Temple model. In order to supply models on a schedule which will permit the utmost use of each on a minimum cost for shipment, the Committee requests all believers who now have a Temple model on loan to report this at the earliest possible date. This request is directed to local Assemblies, groups, Regional Teaching Committees and pioneer teachers.
Kindly address your report to Carl Scheffler, Secretary, 1821 Lincoln Street, Evanston, III.
Youth Bulletin[edit]
The issue of June, 1941 was the second number in Volume VII. During its seven years of existence the Bulletin has been a powerful instrument in establishing the unity and understanding of Bahá’í youth in North America in action for the promotion of the World Order of Bahá’u’lláh.
Gratitude and appreciation is due the contributors and the successive editors and business managers whose service has contributed to the development of such an interesting and helpful organ for the National Youth Committee and the many local youth groups.
The June number listed in its Contents the following titles: Bahá’í Youth Must Study, editorial; Book Review by Benjamin Kaufman of “The New World Order” by H. G. Wells; Faith Sustains Bahá’í Youth in England; Youth and the Bahá’í Summer Schools; Green Acre, by Joseph M. Noyes; Geyserville, by Adrienne Ellis; Louhelen, by Margaret Ruhe; Mondlingvo Por Mondordo, by Della C. Quinlan; San Francisco Youth Conference; With Young Bahá’ís in Central and South America; From Here and There; Important Notice Concerning The Bahá’í World, Vol. IX.
Publishing Committee[edit]
The Publishing Committee, acting
on a recommendation approved by
the National Assembly, has developed
facilities to make up and sell
two assortments of teaching literature
as listed below. The Committee[Page 10]
understands that there is a great
demand for assortments and is
pleased to be able to cooperate.
Assortment No. 1 includes five copies each of The World Religion, Bahá’í House of Worship, Destiny of America, Pattern for Future Society, Principles of the Bahá’í Faith, and one copy of Assurance of Immortality. Per assortment, $0.50.
Assortment No. 2 includes one each of seven titles as follows, Appreciations of the Bahá’í Faith, America’s Spiritual Mission, Bahá’í Prayers, The Image of God, Christians, Jews and Muhammadans, Radiant Acquiescence, Bahá’í Teachings on Universal Peace. Per assortment, $0.50.
Records of Pioneer Teaching for the Bahá’í World[edit]
In collecting data regarding pioneer services in Central and South America, the Editorial Committee of The Bahá’í World, Vol. IX, found that several of the pioneers had done memorable service in other countries as well, and this led to a general invitation to all who had pioneered in foreign countries, as well as those who had served in the Latin-American field, to write brief accounts of those services.
A letter received from the Guardian restricts these narratives to the teaching work done since the initiation of the Seven Year Plan in the year 1937. Those records, however, which deal with the period before the Seven Year Plan was inaugurated, will be used later as “historical material for future use” to quote the Guardian’s own words. With the permission of the writers of these narratives of earlier date, all such material will be sent to the Archives Committee with the accompanying photographs.
By: Nellie S. French, Chairman.
Child Education[edit]
Security
“In this marvelous cycle, the earth will be transformed and humanity arrayed in peace and beauty. Disputes, quarrels and murders will be replaced by harmony, truth and concord; among the nations, peoples, races and countries, love and amity will appear. Cooperation and union
Spiritual Assembly of Findlay, Ohio, Established April 21, 1941.
will be established and finally war
will be entirely suppressed.”—Some
Answered Questions.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá has told us that when we hear others speaking of war, we should think peace. How difficult it is to do that today when the discussion of war is on the lips of everyone we meet. However, let us protect our children from lengthy discussions of the subject and put the emphasis, more than ever, on the need of kindly relationships toward one another. Now of all times children must feel serene and secure. Child psychologists are preaching this need up and down the land. Even the youngest child (the babe in arms) can sense this feeling of unrest so prevalent today. In no home is there a greater opportunity to give children peace and tranquility than in a Bahá’í home. Here parents have the assurance of the Most Great Peace and they can look beyond these perilous days and know that Peace will come eventually when mankind is ready for this blessing.
It is as though you were walking down a long dark hall leading a little child. If you falter and are afraid then he too will stumble and be filled with your fears. However, if you walk along calmly and unafraid knowing full well that the lighted room lies ahead, then the child, holding your hand, will trudge along confidently even though he knows not whither he is going.
How shall we maintain this calm in the midst of the storm all about us? There are many ways. Perhaps the most important is prayer, in conjunction always with complete faith in the promises of Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and reliance upon Them. We must often turn to the Writings for help and inspiration and for the calm they bring to our own souls which we in turn can transmit to our children. The child himself may have a part in this spiritual program. On the mechanical side of life it is necessary to continue the child’s daily program, keeping it as nearly as possible as it has always been regardless of how much our own routine of life may be interrupted. This is important to good mental health. Children soon get a feeling of insecurity when the routine habits of their young lives are broken. Let us preserve the security and integrity that children need at all times but which they particularly need during such times as these. So with our children, we shall: “Rely upon God, thy God and the Lord of thy Fathers. For the people are wandering in the paths of delusion, bereft of discernment to see God with their own eyes, or hear His Melody with their own ears. Thus have We found them as Thou also dost witness.”—Tablet of Ahmad.
Our Bahá’í Schools[edit]
Louhelen Summer Session Takes on Latin Emphasis
The Eighth International Conference of the New Education Fellowship, held at Ann Arbor this season, has provided an ideal opportunity for contact with Latin American and other international leaders of education. Through the efforts of Mrs. Annie Romer, Mrs. Orcella Rexford Gregory and others, a number of foreign visitors have attended classes and public meetings held at Louhelen.
Foreign visitors during the vacation session alone represented a number of countries, among them Austria, England, Belgium, Holland, Korea, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Central and South America, and the Philippines. On Thursday, July 10th, Professor Edelberto Torres, Director of the Technical Council of the Ministry of Public Instruction of Nicaragua, spoke on “Latin American Relations with the United States.” On Sunday, July 20th, Mr. Kh-I-Hashimi, head of the Normal Schools of Iraq, addressed the friends on “The New Education in a Changing World.” The following Sunday, Mr. Alberto C. Leao, Instructor in English at the University of Rio de Janerio, spoke on “My Country, Brazil.” On August 3rd, an International Day was planned, with both Bahá’í speakers and guest speakers. Senora Ofelia Mendoza of Tegucigalpa. Honduras, spoke about our relation to Latin American problems and progress. Mr. Harry Whang and Mrs. Dorothy Baker introduced the Bahá’í Peace Plan, and a brief word was added by Mr. Jon Faily of Teheran, and Mr. Habib Kurani, of the American University at Beirut. Piano selections of South American Folk Songs were rendered by Senora Ortiz Aulestria, Director of Educational Publications tor the Minister of Education, Quito, Ecuador.
Library Committee Activities[edit]
The aim of the National Library Committee has always been to place our books in the libraries where they would attract the greatest number of readers. With that aim in mind, books have been presented to a number of State Libraries, Provincial Libraries and various Library Commissions and Traveling Libraries.
Latin American Visitors at Louhelen School, August 3, 1941
We should like to call the attention
of the Bahá’ís to the following list
of libraries, which includes 21 State
Libraries, 3 Provincial Libraries and
the Library of Parliament in Ottawa,
Ontario. Any inquirers may contact
their local libraries in these states
and provinces and if books are not
available, ask their local librarians
to send for the books available in
the State Libraries: Alabama,
Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois,
Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland,
Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada,
New Jersey, New Mexico, Ohio, Oregon,
South Dakota, Texas, Virginia,
Washington, Wyoming; Provincial
Libraries of Quebec, British Columbia
and Manitoba; Library of Parliament,
Ottawa, Ontario. Books will
be placed in the remaining states
and provinces during the coming
year. We should appreciate it if the
friends will place requests for these
books both in the states already
supplied and in the remaining states
and advise interested inquirers at
their meetings to obtain books from
these important libraries and State
Library commissions.
The total number of books donated by this committee during the past three months is 392; these books were presented to 34 college and university libraries and to 115 public libraries. During this period the library work has increased vastly as can be seen through comparison with last year’s Annual Report with a total presentation of 482 volumes to 40 college and university libraries and 137 public libraries during the entire year.
Bahá’í World, Vol. 2 requested by Boston Public Library and Vols. 4, 5,6 by Crozer Theological Seminary to complete their files.
The copies of Advent of Divine Justice were given to 4 Jewish libraries, 8 negro colleges and Branch Libraries; 3 divinity schools and 1 public library (Boston).
The public libraries listed above included 7 Army Post libraries and 23 State libraries and 3 Provincial libraries; also the Library of Parliament in Canada. We hope to be able to place books in more of the state and provincial libraries during the coming year which will make our books available to many readers. The acceptance of books by the Library of Parliament will no doubt assist the Canadian believers in their local library presentations.
A complete set of pamphlets was given to the Chicago Public Library at their request; a subscription of the World Order magazine was donated to the Navy Y.M.C.A. Library at Bremerton, Washington; and 200 copies of Appreciations of the Bahá’í Faith have been mailed to 110 leading public libraries and 90 college and university libraries, including a number of theological seminaries.
Foundations of World Unity was sent to the University of Hawaii and to the Honolulu Public Library at the request of the Honolulu Spiritual Assembly.
A copy of Some Answered Questions (Spanish) was recently sent to the Head of the Foreign Language Department of Bradley College, Peoria, Illinois, to be used as required supplementary reading by students enrolled in the Spanish Courses.
The college and university libraries included 14 theological seminaries and a number of Departments of Religion in various universities.
Several splendid tributes were received from Army and Navy Chaplains and officers as previously reported.
- LIBRARY COMMITTEE
Bahá’í Directory[edit]
Revisions to August 1
Archives and History. Members added, Mrs. Mineola Hannen, Mrs. Doris Holley, Mrs. Florence Zmeskal, Harlan Scheffler.
Bahá’í World, Editorial. Omitted in List, Mrs. Ruth Brandt.
Contacts. Miss Marshall unable to serve as Chairman. New Chairman appointed, Ethel Revell, 2531 North 19th Street, Philadelphia, Pa.
Inter-America. Edna True, Chairman, Mrs. S. W. French, Secretary, 786 Chester Avenue, San Marino, Calif. John Keith, Recording Secretary.
Race Unity. Harry Whang unable to serve.
Green Acre. Omitted in list for 1941 Committee, Louis G. Gregory.
International School. Members added, Mrs. Florence Morton, Mrs. Marion Little, Philip Sprague.
- REGIONAL TEACHING COMMITTEES
British Columbia, etc., Anne Wylie added.
New Jersey, etc., Mrs. India Haggerty, Mrs. Ida Huff, Jessie E. Revell added. Mrs. David Ruhe unable to serve.
Kansas, etc., change of Secretary’s name and address, Mrs. Claude K. Winans, 421 North Spring Street, Independence, Mo. Mrs. Bertha Campbell unable to serve.
Inter-Community Teaching Conference at Frazer home, Fruitport, Mich., May 24, 1941.
Western Ontario. F. St. G.
Spendlove unable to serve.
North Carolina, etc. Mrs. Daisy Jackson Moore added.
Louisiana, etc. Mrs. David Ruhe added.
Oklahoma, etc. change of address, Mrs. Doris F. Corbin, Secretary, 1516 6th Avenue, Corpus Christi, Texas.
Wyoming, etc. Velma Vetter unable to serve. Pearl Ward added.
Montana, etc. Mrs. Helen Robinson added.
East Phoenix Township, Arizona— Mrs. Lorretta Engelder, R. 2, Box 394, Phoenix.
West Haven, Conn. — Douglas P. Hillhouse, 562 Forest Avenue.
Cabin John, Md. — Mrs. Margaret R. Patzer.
Correction of error in address. Mrs. Lionel Loveday, 36 S. Mast Street, Goffstown, N. H.
Bahá’í Calendar[edit]
Nineteen Day Feasts: Might, September 8; Will, September 27; Knowledge, October 16.
Anniversary: Birth of the Báb, October 20.
Meeting of the National Spiritual Assembly: at Wilmette, October 3. 4. 5, 6.
“The Promised Day” in Public Teaching[edit]
In response to inquiries, the National Assembly advises that the believers are free to make use of the Guardian’s letter entitled “The Promised Day Is Come” as a teaching medium, and the Assembly relies on their discretion in its use.
Indeed, the Guardian was requested to inform the National Assembly of his wishes, and on June 1 cabled as follows: “Approve selective public distribution according (to) judgment (of) National Assembly. Praying divine guidance.” The friends are requested to note that the Guardian wishes the NSA to employ a selective and not a general public distribution such as by radio or press.
Enrollments and Transfers[edit]
Vancouver, three. Chicago, four. Washington, two. Maui, two. Los Angeles, two and one youth. Wilmette, one youth. Hamilton, one. Jacksonville, one. Teaneck, one. Kenosha, one. San Francisco, one. New York, nine. Racine, one.
Fifteen enrollments of isolated believers were reported in July.
In Memoriam[edit]
I have made death a messenger of joy to thee; wherefore dost thou grieve?—BAHÁ’U’LLÁH.
Mrs. Jeanette Hiatt Nash, Portland, Oregon.
Mrs. Hasan Abas, St. Paul.
Mrs. Lida S. Marryott, Jacksonville.
Mrs. J. M. Eaves, Minneapolis.
Mrs. Elizabeth Greenleaf, Eliot.
