Bahá’í News/Issue 274/Text
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| No. 274 | BAHA’I YEAR 110 | DECEMBER, 1953 |
THE GUARDIAN[edit]
PLANTING THE BANNER OF GOD'S TRIUMPHANT CAUSE[edit]
Announce (to) National Assemblies (of the) Bahá’í world (that the) three week interval since (the) close (of the) Holy Year witnessed planting (the) banner (of) God’s triumphant Cause (in) no less (than) twenty-one virgin areas (of the) globe, raising (the) total number (of) territories opened (to the) Faith (to) two hundred, representing well nigh (a) sixty per cent increase (in the) course (of a) little over half (a) year (in the) number (of) sovereign States (and) Dependencies included (within) its pale during (the) one hundred (and) nine years (of) its existence.
(The) seventy virgin areas, brought within (the) orbit (of the) swiftly expanding Bahá’í administrative order since (the) launching (of the) World Crusade, include twenty-one (in the) Americas; nineteen (in) Africa, nineteen (in) Europe (and) thirteen (in) Asia.
(The) following pioneers (have been) inscribed (on the) Roll (of) Honor since (the) last announcement: Gerald, Gail (and) Leeanna Curwin, Bahamas; Enoch Olinga, British Cameroons; Malcolm King, British Guiana; Peggy (and) George True, Canaries; Shirley Warde, British Honduras; Irving Geary, Cape Breton Island; Zunilda Palacios, Chiloé (Island); Edith Danielson, Cook Islands; Himatlal Bhatt, Diu (Island); Elinor (and) Robert Wolff, Dutch Guiana; Eberhard Friedland, French Guiana; Labib Esphahani, French West Africa; Adela (and) Salvador Tormo, Juan Fernandez (Island); Gladys (and) Benjamin Weeden, Leeward Islands; Frances Heller, Macao; Lionel Peraji, Mahé; Ola Powlavska, Miquelon and St. Pierre (Islands); Elsie Austin, Nosrat Shayesteh, ‘Abbás Muḥammad-‘Alí Jalali Rowhani, Ardekani Hasanzadeh Rafii, Morocco, International Zone; Bertha Dobbins, New Hebrides; Opal (and) Leland Jensen, Réunion (Island); Marie Ciocca, Sardinia; ‘Abbás Kamil, Seychelles (Islands); Emma Rice (and) Mr. (and) Mrs. Bagley, Sicily; Greta Lamprill (and) Glad Parke, Society Islands; Mr. (and) Mrs. McKay, Mr. (and) Mrs. Fleming (and) Miss Jenssen, Spanish Morocco; Muḥammad Mosṭafá, Spanish Sahara, Lillian Middlemast (and) Esther M. Evans, Windward Islands.
As few as two territories of Europe, six (in the) Americas, fourteen (in) Africa (and) twenty-two (in) Asia still remain unopened, excluding (the) Republics (and) satellites (of the) Soviet Union. May (the) opening year (of the) decadelong spiritual Crusade be victoriously concluded (and) befittingly celebrated (in the) course (of the) festivities (of) next Riḍván through (the) establishment (of the) nucleus (of the) Faith (in) each (of the) remaining forty-four territories, insuring thereby (the) virtual attainment (of the) foremost objective (of the) initial stage (of the) Ten Year Plan.
Haifa, Israel
November 11, 1953
COMMENTARY: NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY
FORTY-FOUR TERRITORIES NEED PIONEER SETTLEMENT BY RIDVAN, 1954[edit]
The Guardian’s cablegram of November 11 records throughout the Bahá’í World an impressive measure of achievement. From the end of Holy Year in mid-October to early November, pioneers settled twenty-one virgin areas—at the rate of one settlement daily for twenty-one days.
This notable accomplishment, the Guardian acclaims, raises to two hundred the number of sovereign States and political Dependencies wherein Bahá’ís are found. Here is an entirely new momentum within the Bahá’í world community, accelerating the march of the victorious host.
With reverence and gratitude we read the new names inscribed on the Guardian’s Roll of Honor, and we pray for their spiritual success in forming a Bahá’í community.
Today there is no terminal monument commemorating Bahá’í victory. The path of glory has no end; the responsibility can never be discharged. We move from task to task, opportunity to opportunity, in a mighty transformation of the life of humankind.
Actually, what Bahá’ís are doing in their service to the Ten Year Plan is to lay the foundation of a new World Order so firmly that even the utmost perturbation and ruin within the old order cannot destroy the new creation. We build a new Order for humanity in its hour of direst peril. This is a reasonable view for Bahá’ís to take of the real urgency and aim of the Guardian’s World Crusade.
Between now and Riḍván, 1954, there are forty-four virgin territories calling for pioneer settlement—two in Europe, six in the Western Hemisphere, fourteen in Africa and twenty-two in Asia (outside the political control of the Soviet Union). All the National Assemblies involved, their committees and their volunteer pioneers, will surely concentrate upon this immediate task.
NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY[edit]
LITERATURE IN GOAL AREA LANGUAGES NEEDED[edit]
Believers who have extra copies of Bahá’í literature in any languages other than English, French, German, Italian or Spanish, which they are not using in their present teaching efforts, are requested to donate them for immediate use in the World Crusade. Send all books or pamphlets as soon as possible to:
- The National Spiritual Assembly
- of the Bahá’ís of the United States
- 536 Sheridan Road
- Wilmette, Illinois
NEW DELHI NOTES[edit]
The New Delhi Conference proceedings were duly recorded by the permanent Secretary, and this material in one form or another will no doubt be made generally available. The sessions were so varied, so dramatic and altogether appealing that these brief notes are offered to the friends who did not attend.
Last month the more formal actions and episodes were reported and the pageantry of East-West is now depicted as vividly as possible in items chosen from hastily written notes.
Our departed brother, Siegfried Schopflocher, Hand of the Cause, was eulogized during the first session, and a prayer chanted in the Arabic tongue.
The first roll call by countries gave a count of 351 Bahá’ís from thirty lands.
Few formal talks were given, though the Agenda listed many titles. Instead we enjoyed firsthand experiences related by pioneers who had established communities in Oriental lands. These experiences seemed to link us with the earliest and bloodiest days of Bahá’í martyrdom — an uninterrupted history of opposition and denial which the West has not suffered as yet.
At the request of the National Spiritual Assembly of India, Pákistán and Burma, the office of Conference chairman was assumed in daily rotation by representatives of the participating Assemblies. The final sessions, however, devoted to the Bahá’í community of India, and the concluding hours of the Conference were conducted by our host in the persons of Mr. Abbas Ally Butt, Chairman, and Mr. A. Rahman, Secretary.
Greetings were recorded from Mr. Leroy Ioas, Mrs. Amelia E. Collins, Misses Jessie and Ethel Revell, of Haifa; Mrs. Corinne True, Hand of the Cause, Wilmette, Illinois; the Canadian National Spiritual Assembly; Dr. Hermann Grossmann, Hand of the Cause, Germany; from the Assembly of Anchorage, Alaska; and from Mr. and Mrs. Jameson Bond, Arctic Bay — northernmost point of the Bahá’í world, a letter addressed to the Guardian and read at New Delhi at the Guardian’s request. Greetings also arrived from the National Spiritual Assemblies of Írán, ‘Iráq, Italy-Switzerland, United States, South America, British Isles, Germany-Austria, Australia-New Zealand, Egypt-Sudán, Central America, the Asia, European and Africa Teaching Committees of the United States, the British Asia Teaching Committee, and the Assemblies of Rome, Sydney, Auckland, Copenhagen, Benghazi (Libya), Tunisia, Beirut, Rangoon, Thailand, Karachi, Colombo (Ceylon), Kolapol, Cawnpore, Istanbul — thrilling in their evidence of the world-wide character of the Faith.
Among the subjects expounded was, “World Crusade — Its Character and Purpose,” following the subject — “Celebration of the Centenary”. These subjects were presented by Mr. Featherstone, Mr. Giachery, Mr. Khádem and Mr. Holley.
Saffa Kinney’s musical rendition of the Greatest Name was chanted at the opening of one of the sessions.
A rare occasion was created when eleven pioneers assigned to Asian posts were presented to the Conference, 38 volunteers came one by one to the microphone and announced their names and countries of origin.
The memorial gathering held in honor of Sutherland Maxwell was very impressive, with eulogies by John Robarts, Ugo Giachery and Mason Remey.
A radio program was carried out during the Conference by Mason Remey and Dorothy Baker.
All present were happy to greet the Bahá’í from East Africa (Uganda) who arrived after the Conference was convened.
Jináb-í-Fáḍil who made two visits to America years ago, reported that his completed history of the Faith in Persia has been sent to the Guardian in manuscript form. Reference was made from the floor to a Bahá’í of Baghdád who had collected lost Writings of the Báb and sent them to the Guardian.
A great response was made in cash and jewelry to the appeal for funds to finance pioneer projects. One offering was made in memory of Keith Ransom-Kehler.
Mr. Furútan chanted a prayer for the most recent Bahá’í martyr of Persia.
The Conference voted an expression of grateful thanks to Mrs. Amelia E. Collins for her contribution made for Temple land in Haifa, as reported in the Guardian’s cable to the Conference.
A moving statement was made by Mr. Furútan to the pioneers who go out after the Conference, quoting from the Master on the spiritual significance of pioneering, and likening events today to the early days of Christianity.
One session was devoted to a memorial gathering in honor of Mr. Fathé-Azaam, the martyred Persian Bahá’í.
Mention is due the exhibit which the National Spiritual Assembly of India, Pákistán and Burma arranged especially for the Conference, consisting of photographs of the Shrine and Gardens, the Remey Temple model, the Wilmette House of Worship, and Hands of the Cause.
Artemus Lamb and Jamshid Fozdar contributed to the addresses by pioneers on their personal experiences, Mrs. Shirin Fozdar told about pioneering in Singapore and Dr. Munji spoke on his pioneering among Hindus.
In connection with the references to Ugo Giachery and Leroy Ioas included in the Guardian’s cable, Mildred Mottahedeh told us about Mr. Giachery’s work for the Shrine, and Dorothy Baker reported on the work done by Mr. Ioas.
The Conference was plunged into grief by information from Baṣra that a Bahá’í has recently been martyred there—the first Bahá’í to be confirmed from the John the Baptist community. A eulogy was delivered by Kamil ‘Abbás.
Other pioneers who shared their experiences: Saeed Nahvi (Pondicherry), Mr. Ilmi (Pákistán), Alvin
[Page 3]
Fourth Bahá’í Intercontinental Teaching Conference, convened by the chairman, Mr. ‘Abbás Ally Butt of the National Spiritual Assembly of India, Pákistán and Burma
Bahá’í public meeting held at the Constitution Club during the Conference at New Delhi, India. Mr. Mason Remey, Hand of the Cause and the Guardian’s representative at the Conference addresses the assembled guests
Blum on technics of pioneering, Dr. Lukmani on teaching in India and Ceylon, Mrs. Baḥíyyih Nadeiri presented greetings from a Bombay Bahá’í pioneering in Zanzibar, Mrs. Salisa Kirmani (Karikal) spoke on pioneering there.
The moving picture films showing the completed Shrine of the Báb, the Gardens, and the Shrine of Bahá’u’lláh, transported the hearts to the spiritual and administrative World Center of our Faith.
A believer from Thailand told us that after twenty fruitless days of pioneer effort he attended a moving picture show and saw the Master’s picture and a view of the Temple in Wilmette. He thereupon handed out literature to those leaving the theater. Later he was questioned at the Police Department and his literature approved. There are now seven Bahá’ís!
Dorothy Baker outlined the teaching methods used in establishing the Faith in Latin America. This was followed by the experience of an ‘Iráqí Bahá’í who pioneered in Aden and overcame great resistance from Islám.
A cable received from Harlan Ober recalled his journey to India with Hooper Harris many years ago. This message was much appreciated.
The Conference was informed that twelve pioneers have gone forth from Nairobi and thirty-five from Uganda.
The Vice Chairman of the Indian National Spiritual Assembly spoke on the Bahá’í School at Panchgani, which the Guardian has said will become a University. At present there are 83 children living there and attending classes in Bahá’í and academic subjects. 75,000 rupees (about $16,000) are needed now for a new school building, and 35,000 rupees for equipment, laboratory and general repairs to the existing plant. Contributions were made for this purpose and a good sum realized. Mr. Furútan spoke on the subject of Bahá’í education. Mrs. Mildred Mottahedeh outlined the Bahá’í activities in relation to United Nations. Particularly enjoyed was her remark that the Non-Governmental Organization Conference in Istanbul was conducted in the palace of the Sultán who persecuted Bahá’u’lláh. Artemus Lamb spoke on the Non-Governmental Organization Conference held in Nicaragua, and Stanley Bolton described the Conferences held in Indonesia and Manila. Ugo Giachery depicted the Conference recently held in Geneva.
The National Spiritual Assembly of India requested the Bahá’í United Nations Committee to appeal for India as the site of the next United Nations Conference in Asia.
The Conference hailed the outgoing pioneers whose plans were completed since the first group of pioneers were presented at an earlier session.
This historic gathering terminated with a celebration of the Nineteen Day Feast, and this event signalized likewise the end of Holy Year.
The Well Being of Mankind[edit]
“... The well-being of mankind, its peace and security, are unattainable unless and until its unity is firmly established. This unity can never be achieved so long as the counsels which the Pen of the Most High hath revealed are suffered to pass unheeded.”
- Mission of Bahá’u’lláh—page 12
- Jubilee Pamphlet
|
NOTICE TO ALL ASSEMBLY AREA TEACHING COMMITTEE, AND GROUP SECRETARIES, AND ALL ISOLATED BAHÁ’ÍS Report all enrollments, transfers, changes of address, marriages performed by a Local Spiritual Assembly, and deaths promptly to the National Spiritual Assembly, so that records can be kept accurate and up to date. This will insure regular delivery of BAHÁ’Í NEWS and other correspondence, and will save large sums of money for the National Fund — money which is urgently needed for carrying on the important work of the Ten Year Crusade. |
WORLD CRUSADE[edit]
SOUTH AMERICA REPORTS PIONEER ARRIVALS[edit]
A letter from the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of South America gives the date some of the pioneers cited in the Guardian’s cable (page 1) arrived at their posts.
Gladys and Ben Weeden arrived in the Leeward Islands October 14.
Mrs. Esther M. Evans and Mrs. Lillian Middlemast arrived in the Windward Islands October 14.
Zunilda Palacios arrived in the Island of Chiloé October 18.
Other dedicated believers are either on their way to goal areas or completing plans for early departure to their posts. Of these settlements, the letter states:
“The settling of these territories has been a wonderful example of
[Page 4]
close cooperation between the North
and South American Committees,
and we are deeply grateful to the
North American and Australian pioneers who have come to help us open
these areas to the Faith. Truly in the
Bahá’í World there are no frontiers
and the unity of all in the service of
Bahá’u’lláh must gladden the heart
of our beloved Guardian.”
PIONEERING FROM INDIA, PAKISTAN AND BURMA[edit]
Bahá’í News Letter, issued by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of India, Pákistán and Burma, reports the date of arrival at their posts of some of the pioneers cited in the Guardian’s cable of September 20. (BAHÁ’Í NEWS, November, page 2).
Ghulam Ali Kurlawala reached Daman June 21.
Mrs. Feroze Gushtasp Yaganegi and Miss Roshan Aftabi arrived in Goa July 1.
Mr. Saeed Nahvi arrived in Pondicherry July 21, followed by Mr. Shyam Bihari Lal on August 4.
Mr. Uday Narain Singh arrived in Gangtok, Sikkim, August 4.
Other pioneers are preparing to leave for virgin goal areas, while applications for pioneering continue to be received as believers arise to their responsibilities under the World Crusade.
AFRICAN TRANSLATIONS UNDERTAKEN[edit]
The translation of Bahá’í literature into the African languages specified by our Guardian as essential for the World Crusade has been started. Work is proceeding with all possible speed and it is hoped that the first of these brochures may be produced in the near future.
SEARCH FOR HAZIRATU'L-QUDS SITE IN LONDON[edit]
One of the objectives to be achieved during the first two years of the World Crusade is the establishment of the Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds for the British Isles in London.
A fund has been established and negotiations have been opened for the purchase of a suitable property. Many agents are looking for premises but it is both difficult and expensive to get freehold property in London of the kind required. Prayer and earnest endeavor are being brought to bear on the removal of difficulties, that this goal may speedily be realized.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS[edit]
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND[edit]
Yerrinbool Summer School[edit]
Beginning with the Feast of Sharaf, December 31, the Yerrinbool Summer School sessions will continue through January 10. The programming centers around intensive study to equip believers for the tasks they are to undertake in the World Crusade. One week-end will be devoted to a sharing of experiences with friends returning from a tour of the Bahá’í world, who will report on the Intercontinental Conferences and on activities at the World Center of the Faith.
CANADA[edit]
Home Front Crusade Plans[edit]
At least thirty new assemblies are to be established in Canada during the Ten Year Crusade. Preparatory to the launching of a sustained campaign for the development of thirty chosen outposts to assembly status, the National Teaching Committee of Canada has directed attention to consolidation needs in the existing assemblies, which are to serve as bases from which to launch Operation “Dispersal.”
The Canadian Bahá’í News states:
“The difference between eight or nine believers on a base is not one believer but an assembly. An assembly is our smallest collective cell, to impair it is to block the lifeblood of a living organism ...”
Plans are going forward that the first of the year shall see Canada’s virgin area goals settled, its bases consolidated and the Crusade on the home front solidly launched.
INDIA, PAKISTAN AND BURMA[edit]
The New Era School[edit]
In Panchgani, India, the New Era School, which is owned and operated under the auspices of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of India, Pákistán and Burma, has celebrated the Ninth Anniversary of its founding. The Committee for the school recently purchased a large piece of land, creating a vast property about the five buildings which house the school. More than eighty boarder-students are in residence and the school is operated as a year-round, established institution.
SOUTH AMERICA[edit]
All-Brazil Study Conference[edit]
During the week-end of October 31 to November 2, representatives of the Bahá’í Communities of Bahía, Rio de Janeiro, Santos-São Vicente and São Paulo conducted a highly successful Study Conference. Held in São Paulo’s new downtown center, the meetings were devoted to an intense analysis of the Guardian’s Ten-Year Crusade Plan and how it affects the activities of the Bahá’ís of Brazil. As the significances of the Guardian’s messages penetrated the hearts of the assembled believers, offers were made to start teaching activities in new places. A serious resolve was made and measures were taken to survey Brazil’s own virgin territories and to start work on a serious, sustained, rational program leading toward the accomplishment of the goals of Brazil: a National Spiritual Assembly, a National Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds and the establishment of the Latin-American Publishing Trust in Rio de Janeiro. A spirit of complete harmony and cooperation characterized the Conference’s deliberations and all present felt that they had truly experienced the guidance and inspiration of Bahá’u’lláh.
United Nations Day Meetings[edit]
Implementing the Guardian’s injunction to “reinforce the ties binding the Bahá’í World Community to the United Nations”, the Bahá’í Community of Rio de Janeiro celebrated United Nations Day, October 24. The theme of “The Bahá’í Faith and World Peace” was developed in four talks entitled:
- “Bahá’u’lláh’s Tablets to the Kings and Rulers”
- “The Bahá’í Peace Program”
- “The Lesser Peace and the Most Great Peace”
- “Peace Organizations Throughout the Ages, and the United Nations”
[Page 5]
The National Spiritual Assembly of India, Pákistán and Burma, under whose auspices the Fourth Intercontinental Teaching Conference was planned and conducted
Public Bahá’í meeting, held in the Town Hall, New Delhi, India, during the Intercontinental Conference
NATIONAL NEWS[edit]
WESTERN HEMISPHERE TEACHING COMMITTEE[edit]
The Western Hemisphere Teaching Committee was thrilled and awed by the response of volunteers to the Guardian’s appeal that a superhuman effort be made to raise the number of countries, dependencies and islands opened to the Faith to as close to 200 as possible before the end of the Holy Year. Through their selfless dedication and determination to overcome all obstacles, seven additional goals were won. The Canadian island of Anticosti, however, still needs a pioneer. The Committee will gratefully welcome any suggestion for the settlement of this post.
We must support the pioneers in every way and one way possible to every believer is that of prayer. Letters from the virgin areas attest the need ... “Please include this pioneer in your prayers ... There is a great power in feeling such a real dependence on God and His help.”
With all of the work which was done in Latin America during the two Seven Year Plans, some believers may think that the need for pioneers to these lands is not urgent. This is far, far from the truth. Bahá’í centers are sparsely scattered from Mexico, through all of Central America, the Caribbean islands and the whole continent of South America. In this vast area, spanning 90 degrees of latitude, over 2½ times the size of the United States, inhabited by more than 120 million souls, twenty National Spiritual Assemblies must be established in less than ten years. To build these assemblies, the existing foundations must be greatly broadened and strengthened, starting now. Virgin cities must be won, existing communities must be strengthened and made firm, local assemblies and groups must be multiplied. Expansion and consolidation are the key words.
The Guardian has assigned to the Bahá’ís of the United States the task of aiding our sister Communities in this work. Among these warm-hearted people, in a culture differing from ours, many Bahá’í workers and pioneers are needed. The Committee asks those who can go now or in the future to write to:
- The Western Hemisphere Teaching Committee
- Mrs. Katherine McLaughlin, Secretary
- 73 College Road West
- Princeton, New Jersey
Intending pioneers who cannot leave now but who plan to go in the future are urged to study Spanish and to find employment that will lead in the direction of Latin America. The Committee further suggests that those who cannot go themselves deputize someone who can, and that all Bahá’ís give as much as possible to the National Fund, the stream of lifeblood which will enable the work to go forward.
AMERICAN INDIAN SERVICE COMMITTEE[edit]
The American Indian Service Committee reports that an Indian teaching pioneer, Mrs. Kit Goldstein, is undertaking graduate work in Indian anthropology and art at Arizona State College in Flagstaff. This makes possible teaching work among the Hopi and Navajo Indians of this area.
INTERRACIAL TEACHING COMMITTEE[edit]
The Interracial Teaching Committee has been given the following assignment by the National Spiritual Assembly.
“To contact American Negro leaders; to encourage Local Assemblies and Groups to emphasize teaching among Negroes; to develop activities which will increase contact with Negro populations; to foster wider understanding of the teachings on the principle of the oneness of mankind.”
At the present time, the Interracial Teaching Committee is organizing a mailing project to present the following pamphlets:
- A Pattern for Future Society
- Bahá’í Teachings for a World Faith
- Man One Family
Local Assemblies have been requested to assist in this effort by sending addresses and information about Negro leaders in their communities to the Committee. These leaders will then be contacted from the National Committee level and receive pamphlets and follow-up.
[Page 6]
Data regarding such leaders should
be forwarded to:
- Bahá’í Interracial Teaching Committee
- Miss Lydia J. Martin, Secretary
- 11529 Helton Avenue
- Cleveland 6, Ohio
The cooperation of every local community is needed to launch this program.
TEMPLE GUIDING COMMITTEE[edit]
A total of 514,667 people have visited the Bahá’í House of Worship in Wilmette from the time that a record was first kept of visitors to the temple (June, 1932) until the end of October, 1953.
After the Dedication and the Intercontinental Teaching Conference, the number of visitors increased greatly over other years: 81,075 from May 6 to October 31. The largest number in any one month was 19,743, in August.
Comparisons between figures for 1952 and 1953 illustrate this development. Shown in the tables below are statistics for Labor Day Weekend and a month by month study of visitors.
| Labor Day Weekend | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Saturday | Sunday | Monday | Total |
| 1952 | 233 | 1,166 | 635 | 2,034 |
| 1953 | 813 | 2,200 | 3,186 | 6,199 |
Month by Month Study
| ||
|---|---|---|
| Month | 1952 | 1953 |
| January | 1,192 | 1,805 |
| February | 1,799 | 2,733 |
| March | 1,783 | 3,207 |
| April | 2,102 | 3,383 |
| May | 2,436 | 7,591 |
| June | 3,622 | 9,765 |
| July | 4,535 | 16,120 |
| August | 7,814 | 19,743 |
| September | 8,433 | 18,052 |
| October | 6,238 | 9,804 |
| ——— | ——— | |
| Total | 39,954 | 92,203 |
Since the first of the year, 90 groups have arranged for special tours of the building, among them many church groups consisting of young people accompanied by adults, often by the minister. The largest of these tours was the International Walther League, 750 youth from Lutheran churches throughout the world.
Some visitors express a receptivity to the Faith which those who are privileged to guide find very rewarding. A man from New South Wales said, “These are things that were born in my heart, but I am hearing them for the first time today.” A visitor, told that she would miss her ride back to Chicago on the bus with her group unless she hurried, replied, “For what I’ve found here today, I would gladly walk back to Chicago.”
The temple has been open long hours; from 10:30 A.M. until 9:00 P.M. up to October 15. It is now open from 1:00 P.M. until dark during the week and from 10:30 A.M. on Sunday. Many of the guides come from long distances at great sacrifice of time and energy. “Open ye the gates of the Temple to all mankind!” ‘Abdu’l-Bahá exhorted the friends. Guides, following this injunction, reap many bounties. As one guide said, “It has been my greatest spiritual experience.”
It is a privilege to guide, to serve in any capacity at the Bahá’í House of Worship, “the most hallowed Temple ever to be erected by the followers of Bahá’u’lláh.” Bahá’ís interested in learning how to prepare themselves for guiding, please contact:
- The Temple Guiding Committee
- Mrs. Margarite Ullrich, Chairman
- 219 Forest Avenue
- Oak Park, Illinois.
|
HAVE YOU MOVED RECENTLY? Perhaps these two facts go hand-in-hand. If you are a member of a community — and contemplating a change of address—be sure to notify your Local Assembly secretary immediately. If you are isolated, send this information directly to the National Bahá’í Administrative Headquarters, 536 Sheridan Road, Wilmette, Ill. Your prompt cooperation is necessary to keep the address files of the National Bahá’í Office up to date and accurate. |
LOUHELEN WINTER SESSION[edit]
The Louhelen School Committee has announced that the Winter Session will be held from December 26 to January 2. The theme of the session is “Spiritual Preparation for the World Crusade.”
Room, board and tuition cost $3.75 a day. Only dormitory accommodations are available.
Send reservations to:
- Mrs. Rebecca Wideman
- 3196 S. State Road
- Davison, Michigan
BAHA'I ON THE AIR[edit]
The Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Bahá’í Community participated in the regular radio broadcast, on October 4, of the Inter-Faith Committee in conjunction with the Milwaukee County Council of Churches, on time made available by radio staton WTMJ. In addition to a talk on “The Bahá’í World Faith”, music was provided by the Milwaukee Bahá’í Chorus.
Madison, Wisconsin, Bahá’ís have arranged the broadcast of a series of fifteen-minute weekly talks on the Faith, using tape recordings available through Bahá’í News Service. (BAHÁ’Í NEWS, July, 1953) Two employees of the station who read the scripts before they were presented on the air expressed interest in the Faith and spot announcements of the broadcast throughout the week led to further inquiries.
The New York City Public Relations Committee arranged for the appearance of Dr. Firuz Kazemzadeh on Barry Gray’s November 14, radio program. Barry Gray, a well-known news columnist and reporter, has been presenting the point of view of various religions on his show recently.
The Birthday of Bahá’u’lláh, being celebrated throughout the world that week, was made the occasion for presenting the Bahá’í Faith. Forty-five minutes of the two-hour show was given over to questions by the interviewer and from the studio audience. Many people have phoned the Bahá’í Center since the broadcast to seek further information about the Faith. It is estimated that the program reached 1½ million people.
BAHA'I ON THE CAMPUS[edit]
The University of Arizona Bahá’í Club reports a steady increase in attendance and interest at their regular Friday evening meetings. There is a good representation of races and nationalities at these gatherings.
The Bahá’í Club of Northwestern University was represented in the brochure “Religion at Northwestern” sent by the University to all new students this fall. A half-page article giving the aims of the Club and the principles of the Faith appeared, together with a picture of the Bahá’í House of Worship in Wilmette. Recently, the Club presented thirteen Bahá’í books to Deering Library, the university library, a gift
[Page 7]
made possible through the generosity of the Evanston Bahá’í Community. The books were of immediate
use to Journalism students assigned
to write articles on the Bahá’í Faith
as part of their course work. A news
item in the school paper announced
the gift.
The Stanford Bahá’í Club is endeavoring to promote a religious emphasis week at Stanford University. In addition to well attended weekly meetings, the group has held two highly successful public meetings this fall.
BAHÁ'Í BOOTHS AT FAIRS[edit]
Fall is Fair time in the United States. At state and local Fairs across the country this year Bahá’í exhibits provided a means for more widespread proclamation of the Faith.
For the fifth year the Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Bahá’í Community managed a booth at the Sioux Empire Fair. About 50,000 people went through the building, according to a local reporter, and more than 700 pieces of literature were given to interested inquirers.
The Birmingham Bahá’í Community reports that its display at the Alabama State Fair has put the name BAHÁ’Í before a cross section of Alabama as never before, the finest publicity yet obtained in that state; 2,677 pieces of literature were given out, many to teachers and pupils who requested them for class discussion. A planned survey of the grounds and trash boxes failed to disclose one piece of Bahá’í literature discarded.
At the Washoe County Fair in Reno about 2000 people stopped to see the Temple slides projected. More than 2000 pamphlets were distributed. From this effort, already a few people have entered a study class. The Bahá’í Faith was the only religion to have a booth at the fair.
NATIONAL NEWS BRIEFS[edit]
The beginning of regular Bahá’í classes for children has been reported by the communities of Anchorage, Alaska; Green Bay, Wisconsin; Maywood, Illinois; and Brookfield Community, Wisconsin.
The Central Atlantic States Area Teaching Committee has contacted all women’s clubs in Delaware and Maryland, offering to provide a speaker to review the book Prescription for Living.
Bahá’í News Service press material about the celebration of the 60th Anniversary of the introduction of the Bahá’í Faith on this continent, lead to the appearance of an article on the Faith in El Mundo largest newspaper in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico.
The Local Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Los Angeles has established a Fund for members of the community who wish to contribute toward sustaining a pioneer.
Through the initiative of Bahá’ís of Quincy, Illinois, the officials of the Soldiers and Sailors Home accepted the gift of “Words for the World” for use over the institution’s public address system and in the assembly hall.
The Miami, Florida Bahá’í Community was host to Gerald, Gail and Leeanna Curwin when these pioneers stopped over in Miami en route to their post in Nassau, Bahama Islands.
Upon request by the Niles Township Bahá’í Group, the Niles, Michigan public school system has excused Bahá’í children from attendance at school on Bahá’í Holy Days.
United Nations Day was observed by the Miami, Florida, Bahá’í Community with a social evening which included the showing of two films released by the United Nations, “Our Shrinking World” and “The World is Rich”.
Bahá’ís of Madison, Wisconsin, had charge of a World Community Day program sponsored by the Madison Council of Churches, whose purpose is to promote interfaith understanding. A panel on comparative religion presented seven students, representatives of the world’s living faiths: Hindu, Jewish, Zoroastrian, Buddhist, Christian, Islám and Bahá’í.
The Inter-Bay Assembly Committee of the Bay Area in Northern California has made plans for public meetings during Brotherhood Week, to be held in February. Their theme: “Brotherhood in 1963.”
AUDIO-VISUAL EDUCATION COMMITTEE[edit]
Jubilee Recording Ready for Distribution[edit]
The Sound Department of the Audio-Visual Education Committee announces that a quality recording, taken at the Jubilee Celebration marking the Dedication of the Bahá’í House of Worship at Wilmette, is now ready for distribution.
Friends who purchase the record may now hear, in their own homes, the Guardian’s message written for that occasion as Rúḥíyyih Khánum, his special emissary to the All America Conference, presented it on May 2 of this year.
On the other side of the record, Bahá’u’lláh’s prayer, “From the Sweet-Scented Streams,” set to music by Mr. Charles Wolcott, is sung by the Northwestern University A Cappella Choir.
- Ten-inch, long-playing, microgroove, 33 1/3 RPM, double-faced, unbreakable vinylite recording (Record No. BLP-1) including:
- Introduction by Paul Haney and Address by Rúḥíyyih Khánum.
- “From the Sweet-Scented Streams.”
- Price, postpaid, per record ... $2.50
- Special prices to Assemblies
Three Wing Display Poster Available[edit]
The Committee further announces
the availability of the new Three
Wing Display Poster. This unit, four
feet long by twenty-two inches high,
includes three 11" x 14" recent pictures of the Temple, showing first
landscaping details. It is ready for
mailing to any part of the country.
Price, postpaid ................ $3.50
Send orders to:
- The Audio-Visual Education Committee
- 126 Evergreen Place
- West Englewood, N. J.
THE CHILD'S WAY[edit]
An interview by the National Child Education Committee with Dr. ‘Alí-Akbar Furútan, Hand of the Cause and an expert in education, appears in Vol. V, No. 1 of The Child’s Way. Single copies are available for twenty cents each. A subscription to The Child’s Way and The Children’s Page may be had for one dollar a year.
Send all subscriptions and orders to:
- The Child’s Way
- Mrs. Amy B. Dwelly, Editor
- 9400 Euclid Ave., Suite 20
- Cleveland, Ohio
PUBLICATIONS[edit]
NEW PUBLICATIONS[edit]
Bahá’í Temple Gardens. By Hilbert E. Dahl. Reprinted from Landscape Architecture, July, 1953. Story of the creation of the garden setting for the Bahá’í Temple, planned to blend with and enhance this universal House of Worship. The symbolic meaning of the Temple itself, and as an inspiration for the landscape setting. Useful as general, informative article on the Temple and grounds, as well as having prestige value for supplementary background material in presenting articles for press releases. Four illustrations. 8½ x 11. 8 pp. Self cover.
25 copies ... $2.00
Bahá’í Calendar, 1954. Commemorating completion of the Shrine of
the Báb in Haifa, Israel. Beautiful
drawing by Carl Scheffler. Three colors on white. 14 x 8½.
The Meaning of Life. By Stanwood
Cobb. Emphasizes struggle as the
vehicle of achieving growth and
development in life, the cycle being repeated on ever higher levels
with each achievement. 22 pp.
blue paper cover, 4½ x 6½.
NEW EDITIONS[edit]
Religion Returns. By Dorothy Baker. Content is same as original booklet, but has new cover design in color.
Each | $ .05 |
100 copies | $4.50 |
(please change catalog group price)
Special World Religion Day Package[edit]
A special package of literature is being offered at a greatly reduced rate to assist all communities in World Religion Day literature plans. Book Sales Committees or Librarians should contact their World Religion Day committees for their needs so that orders may be shipped in time for mailing lists and handout literature at public meetings and firesides. This package consists of:
- 25—The Meaning of Worship (new pamphlet by Horace Holley)
- 25—World Order Through World Faith (addresses of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in America with foreword by Shoghi Effendi)
- 25—School of World Religion (red and green leaflet, brought out originally by Public Relations Committee some years ago, still appropriate for World Religion Day use).
- Total of 75 pamphlets — $3.50
- Three packages — $9.50
Out of Stock Items[edit]
Foundations of World Unity. Watch BAHÁ’Í NEWS for possible reprinting.
The Seven Valleys and the Four Valleys. (fab. edition only) Temporarily out of stock. Available about Jan. 15, 1954.
Out of Print Items[edit]
The following items have gone out of print and will not be carried in stock in the future. Please delete these items from literature catalog.
Bahá’í House of Worship (grey Temple folder). This is the old edition of the Temple folder, originally selling at 5 cents for many years and reduced to half price when the new edition (yellow) was made available some months ago. No longer available. Page 16 in catalog.
Challenging Requirements of the Present Hour. By Shoghi Effendi. Page 14 in catalog. No longer available.
World Order Unfolds. By Shoghi Effendi, page 21 in catalog. No longer available.
Religion: A Living Organism. By Shoghi Effendi. Page 15 in catalog. No longer available.
Bahá’í Answers. By Olivia Kelsey. Although this has been out of print for some time, and no longer listed in our catalog, we still receive orders. This is no longer available.
CALENDAR OF EVENTS[edit]
FEASTS
- December 12—Masá’il, Questions
- December 31—Sharaf, Honor
- January 19—Sulṭán, Sovereignty
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY MEETINGS
- December 11, 12, 13
- January 8, 9, 10
MARRIAGES[edit]
Albuquerque, New Mexico — Miss Beverly J. Beardsley to Mr. Donald K. McMillin, August 21, 1953.
Wilmette, Illinois — Miss Banu Hassan to Mr. Philip Green, November 15, 1953.
Washington, D.C. — Miss Jean Drew to Mr. Victor C. Lightfoot, Jr., no date given.
IN MEMORIAM[edit]
Death proffereth unto every confident believer the cup that is life indeed. It bestoweth joy and is the bearer of gladness. It conferreth the gift of everlasting life.
- Mrs. Mary Ford
- Greenwich, Connecticut
- September, 1953
- Miss Tena Levins
- Lakewood, Ohio
- October 1, 1953
- Mr. Albert P. Entzminger
- Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
- October 17, 1953
- Mrs. Ida Suhm
- Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- October 30, 1953
- Mme. Aurelia Bethlen
- St. Louis, Missouri
- November 6, 1953
- Mr. Charles Marshall
- San Francisco, California
- November 11, 1953
- Mr. Louis Sperlin
- New York, New York
- no date given
BAHA’I NEWS is published by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. Copies are sent without charge to Bahá’ís throughout the United States, and to Bahá’í administrative bodies in other lands. Its purpose is to keep members of the Faith informed of international national and local Bahá’í developments, and serve as an organ for the distribution of messages written by the Guardian of the Faith, the International Bahá’í Council, and the general announcements prepared by the American National Spiritual Assembly.
Reports, plans, news items and photographs of general interest are requested from national committees and local assemblies of the United States as well as from National Assemblies of other lands. Material is due in Wilmette on the first day of the month preceding the date of issue for which it is intended.
BAHA’I NEWS is edited by an annually appointed Editorial Committee. The Committee for 1953-1954: Mrs. Eunice Braun, Managing Editor; Mr. David Ned Blackmer, Assistant Editor; Mrs. Beatrice Ashton, Miss Edna True.
Editorial Office: 110 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, Illinois, U.S.A.
Change of Address should be reported directly to National Bahá’í Administrative Headquarters, 536 Sheridan Road, Wilmette, Illinois, U.S.A.
