Bahá’í News/Issue 282/Text
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| No. 282 | Bahá’í Year 111 | August, 1954 |
THE GUARDIAN[edit]
THE GUARDIAN EXPECTS AN UPSURGE OF ACTIVITY[edit]
As the Guardian cabled the entire Bahá’í world at the time of the Conventions, he hopes that the dynamic spirit which was generated during the first year of the Plan will be augmented during the second year of the Plan, and all the Bahá’ís arise everywhere with renewed effort in order to spread the Glad-Tidings. This year must mark a very substantial increase in the number of Bahá’ís throughout the world — on the homefronts, in the consolidation areas, and in the virgin areas. Particular attention should be paid to the home fronts and the consolidation areas. As the Guardian indicates, he is expecting “an upsurge of activity which, in its range and intensity, will excel the exploits which have so greatly enlarged the limits, and noised abroad the fame, of the Cause of God.”
The Guardian urges that all the Bahá’ís center their complete attention on the obligations of the Ten Year Crusade. He feels that no new activities should be undertaken of any type, whether of a local or a national nature. The friends must concentrate on the goals of the Ten Year Crusade, which are principally national and universal. For instance, no local Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds should be considered during the Ten Year Crusade, no projects on a national scale should be considered which do not definitely relate themselves to the prosecution of the Ten Year Crusade. Funds should not be used for any purpose except the objects of the Ten Year Crusade.
We are embarked upon the greatest spiritual drama the world has ever witnessed; and it is going to require the sacrifice of every individual, every community and every Assembly, whether local or national, in order to reach the goals. The Guardian feels they can be reached if we will concentrate, and not allow our attention to be diverted for a moment for any purpose whatsoever.
(The excerpts published above were taken from a letter written on behalf of the Guardian by his Assistant Secretary, dated May 6, 1954.)
COMMENTARY: NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY
Beloved Friends:
The foregoing message from Haifa is a call to our “dynamic spirit” — the spirit generated during Jubilee and the first year of the World Crusade. Shoghi Effendi expects nothing less than an “upsurge” of activity representing devotion to the Plan. The Plan is within the realm of our capacity, but we must concentrate our time, energy, thought and resources upon its task and not dissipate them on secondary matters.
This concentration can be expressed over a wide field of important work: pioneering in a virgin goal, pioneering in a consolidation area, proclamation of the Faith, specialized efforts among Indians and Negroes, — service in the continental areas and service on the home front.
Let us learn how to center our complete attention upon the obligations of the Ten Year Crusade, and by daily prayer and meditation attain a renewal of life within the blessed spiritual realm in which the Guardian is the radiant Interpreter of the divine Will and the conqueror of the Kingdom. We must count our resources by pennies and our time by minutes. Nothing is too small to be used for the World Crusade!
DESIGNS WANTED FOR MASHRIQU'L-ADHKAR TO BE BUILT IN PERSIA[edit]
National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States and National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Canada
Dear Bahá’í Friends:
Very active consideration is now being given to the erection of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár for Persia. The Guardian has asked the Persian Bahá’ís to submit plans for this noble edifice. They have provided him with some plans.
Owing to the great importance of this unique structure, the beloved Guardian feels submissions should be made by Bahá’í architects from many parts of the world; and he is therefore asking your Assemblies to inform the friends that he would value any suggestions or plans which any of the Bahá’ís may wish to submit for this sacred enterprise. Will you please let the friends know that the Guardian will appreciate any submissions anyone might wish to make.
In height, the building should be not more than 70 meters, although he feels perhaps a building 65 meters high is sufficient. The building should be wider than the Temple in Chicago, so as to accommodate more people. The interior plans should be so set up as to develop a spaciousness.
Of course, it is understood by that the building should be circular in shape, and nine-sided.
The Guardian does not wish detailed blueprint drawings, but he would like a general drawing of the proposals which anyone wishes to submit.
It is probably best that the friends submit their proposals to the National Assembly, so that the National
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Assembly may in turn send them
on directly here to the Holy Land.
The Guardian sends you his loving greetings,
(signed) Leroy Ioas, Asst. Secy.
COMMENTARY: NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY
Beloved Friends:
The letter written on behalf of the Guardian by his Assistant Secretary brings to our attention a Bahá’í project of intense historical interest and spiritual significance.
To think that we are drawing near to the blessed hour when a House of Worship can be constructed in Bahá’u’lláh’s native land — the cradle of the Faith as the Guardian has termed Iran — is to realize with what majestic, what awful Power the divine Will is manifested in the Day of God. For in that empire all things resisted the Dawn of the Sun of Truth. Life itself was organized as a denial of the light of faith — then with incredible swiftness the dark clouds are banished and the fitful Dawn becomes the luminous Day.
The appeal is particularly directed to believers who can prepare architectural plans — a general drawing of the proposals. This general drawing and any other relevant data are to be submitted to the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States by American believers, and the National Assembly in turn will transmit all suggestions to the Guardian.
Here indeed is a theme to inspire the creative architect!
THE MOST IMPORTANT THING FOR BAHA'I SCHOOLS[edit]
He (the Guardian) thinks the less time spent on such topics as “Current Events in the light of the Bahá’í Faith” and “The Bahá’í Faith and Modern Science” the better. There is no harm in having an evening lecture by a qualified speaker once on each of these subjects, but he certainly does not feel that much time should be spent on them, for the very simple reason that there is so little that can be said on the subject. The Bahá’ís are not scientists, and cannot very well go into details of the relation of the Bahá’í Faith to Modern Science; and “Current Events in the Light of the Bahá’í Faith” is also a topic which can be dealt with briefly.
He feels that the most important thing for the Bahá’í Schools all over the world at present to do is to strongly impress upon the Bahá’í attendants the urgency of arising not only to fulfill pioneer goals and to consolidate the work on the home front, which is getting weaker every year instead of stronger, but also to bring home to the friends the necessity of dispersing.
He is quite serious in stating that he believes that even in the large cities, such as New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington, Baltimore, etc., the Cause would not suffer if the membership were reduced to fifteen. The Bahá’ís, who have been struggling for practically fifty years to attract people to the Faith in these immense cities, have been wholly unsuccessful, when one considers the slight numerical increase in the voting lists. He therefore feels that they had better go out and teach in towns and villages. They will be safer, in case war should break out, and they will be better off spiritually, away from these centers of intense materialism, where so much time is wasted on trivialities and non-essentials.
The Bahá’ís must realize that they belong to a world-wide Order, and not an American civilization. They must try and introduce the Bahá’í atmosphere of life and thought into their Summer Schools, rather than making the Summer School an episode and a pleasant vacation period, during which they learn a little more about the Faith.
COMMENTARY: NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY
The excerpts published above were taken from a letter written on behalf of the Guardian by his Secretary dated May 23, 1954. They represent, therefore, the latest word from the Guardian concerning the function of the Bahá’í School in the World Crusade.
Since so many believers attend the Schools, the National Spiritual Assembly feels that these excerpts have wide interest, particularly as they give us in written form some of the strong statements we have heard orally from recent pilgrims.
Thus, while the letter was addressed to one of the Schools, its contents have direct application to the life of the friends in their local communities.
NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY[edit]
THE QUESTION OF DISPERSAL[edit]
Views of the National Spiritual Assembly[edit]
Beloved Friends:
What is this about dispersal? What are the pilgrims bringing back from the Guardian? What are we expected to do?
These and many similar questions are now being raised in the American Bahá’í Community. A spirit of uncertainty and anxiety can be discerned here and there.
In order to place the situation before the friends with all available facts and on the sound basis of loving devotion to the best interests of the Faith, the National Spiritual Assembly presents its views for consideration by the friends.
We recall the emphasis laid during Jubilee by ‘Amatu’l-Bahá Rúḥíyyih Khánum, the Guardian’s representative, upon the need for dispersal by Bahá’ís from larger communities for pioneer service in America or abroad. The institution of the local assembly, she pointed out, could be maintained by a dozen or so members, making it possible for the remaining Bahá’ís to disperse and pioneer. In her talks the Guardian’s representative spoke plainly about the destructive forces threatening the larger American cities.
In essence, except for the element of timing, these statements were not new and revolutionary warnings. In many passages the Bahá’í literature available for years has forewarned the world of the meaning of the Day of God. “Beseech ye the one true God to grant that all men may be graciously assisted to fulfill that which is acceptable in Our sight. Soon will the present-day order be rolled up, and a new one spread out in its stead.” Or: “So blind hath become the human heart that neither the disruption of the city, nor the reduction of the mountain in dust, nor even the cleaving of the earth, can shake off its torpor. The allusions made in the Scriptures have been unfolded, and the signs recorded therein have been revealed, and the prophetic cry is continually being raised. And yet all, except such
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Between Haifa and ‘Akká lies the Shrine at Bahjí, here seen from the air. The small room with the pyramidal roof, situated on the near corner of the group of buildings is the Tomb of Bahá’u’lláh.
as God was pleased to guide, are bewildered in the drunkenness of their heedlessness.” Moreover, in The Promised Day Is Come, Shoghi Effendi dramatically expounded the whole thesis of the fatality of our time in terms of the rejection of the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh by church and state. For years we have been prepared for the climax of that divine action whose purpose is to cleanse and purify the world and establish the Christ-Promised Kingdom among men. Therefore, when pilgrims bring later statements of the Guardian, these statements conform to the meaning of things already known. They fit into the pattern of truth already possessed. What is new is not fact but awareness that the Divine action will not forever be deferred but operates at its own appointed and mysterious hour.
What have we of truth assured beyond debate?
First, the tasks of the World Crusade itself which call for the dispersal of a great body of pioneers to virgin and to consolidation areas throughout the world. The needs of the Ten Year Plan are at present far, far from being met. Second, the spiritual glory and reward of arising voluntarily, leaving one’s home, and settling in some new city out of loving sacrifice for the Faith. Third, the undoubted truth that the call for dispersal of American Bahá’ís lays a great moral responsibility upon us all. It is more than an opportunity or invitation — dispersal represents a moral obligation to each who can respond and therefore a failure involving spiritual suffering for those who do not respond. As far as the National Assembly can discern, hundreds and hundreds of American Bahá’ís had been expected to disperse before now. Each later pilgrim brings sterner warning that the Day of God is a reality — the world will be purged of its godless materialism and its tyrannical superstitions, and the hour is at hand. Fourth, that our response as Bahá’ís is not that of panic but of devotion. We are not trying to flee to some refuge, but we are trying to offer the Teachings to a new body of people and build up a new community here or abroad. This matter of right motivation is of paramount importance.
Finally, the Home-Front Teaching Plan lists a large number of American cities where settlers are urgently needed. These goals have been selected as fairly representative of the distribution of population throughout the United States. The Ten Year Plan calls for 300 local assemblies by 1963. It is possible for a far greater number of American Bahá’ís to settle in another town in their own country than abroad. Thus, the feeling of profound urgency (which is being felt outside as well as inside the Bahá’í community) now stirring the hearts of devoted believers, can express itself in a common plan the success of which will vastly strengthen the Faith in America. The goal cities were not chosen because they are all immune to destruction in war or other catastrophe. But every existing Assembly must be preserved, as the
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Guardian informed the convention.
Beloved friends! There is no doubt but that these are fateful days. No man knows what tomorrow will bring. But the Bahá’í knows that the Divine purpose is to purify the world and establish the Kingdom. He recalls the mighty roll of martyrs who consciously yielded up their lives under torture because they would not disavow their precious faith. The Bahá’í has supreme assurance of immortality. These being the fundamentals of life he can with conviction meet the great issues of the current time and, without the fear or the hysteria which overtake non-believers, make his greatest contribution to the triumph of the new world order of Bahá’u’lláh.
Our first and last responsibility remains the achievement of the Ten Year Plan. “He, verily, will aid every one who aideth Him, and will remember every one who remembereth Him.”
TEACHING COMMITTEES AND THE WORLD CRUSADE[edit]
Beloved Friends:
Do the American believers realize that our whole collective administrative effort to carry out the projects of the World Crusade assigned to the United States is channeled through five Teaching Committees? That these Committees are an organic institution for concentrating facilities and direction upon five great areas of the world?
1. American National Teaching Committee. This Committee (with its Area Committees to help) has responsibility for maintaining all established local Assemblies, developing groups to Assembly status, placing pioneers in goal cities, assisting the pioneers to form groups — all with the ultimate aim of three hundred Assemblies by 1963.
To visualize this degree of responsibility — at the end of the first year of the Ten Year Plan we elected nine new Assemblies, restored two old ones, but lost fourteen — a net loss of three!
2. Africa Teaching Committee. Study again the African territories allotted to the United States in the Guardian’s Ten Year Plan. Realize how far away, how varied, how new the conditions which this Committee meets and deals with in the performance of its great task. The high drama of pioneer settlement evolves into the epic story of consolidation, with the arrangements subject to unexpected change from time to time from sources beyond Bahá’í control. The work of this Committee during the first year of the Ten Year Plan was arduous but its results superb.
To settle in any U.S. African area, apply to:
- Africa Teaching Committee
- Mrs. Sylvia Parmalee, Secy.
- 4700, 47th Street, N.W.
- Washington 16, D.C.
3. Asia Teaching Committee. The other four Committees had foundations of prior experience upon which to build. The Asia Committee occupies a new field in which American believers had no administrative participation before the Crusade began. Much of its territory has special restrictions of travel and settlement, housing, jobs, etc. Despite these obstacles, pioneers went forth to nearly all United States areas, and pioneers are actively trying to enter those not yet occupied on account of travel and settlement restrictions.
To adventure in the Asia territory submit your application to:
- Asia Teaching Committee
- Miss Charlotte M. Linfoot, Secy.
- 156 Nova Drive
- Piedmont 10, California
4. European Teaching Committee. This Committee entered its field in 1946 and had attained signal results in the ten countries of Western Europe when the World Crusade began. It has maintained a European office in Geneva, has developed Italy and Switzerland to National Assembly status, raised up local Assemblies and groups in other countries, conducted the Third Intercontinental Teaching Conference in Stockholm, and now under the Ten Year Plan widens its area of effort. There are languages into which Bahá’í texts are to be translated, virgin goals to fill, Temple sites to acquire, Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds to be bought or built, new National Spiritual Assemblies to establish, etc. Here is a firm and solid foundation on which the new world order can be raised.
To pioneer in the European area, address:
- European Teaching Committee
- Miss Edna M. True, Chairman
- 418 Forest Avenue
- Wilmette, Illinois
5. Western Hemisphere Teaching Committee. This Committee has responsibility for all pioneer areas assigned to the United States in the Western World, including the task of forming National Assemblies in Alaska and in the countries of Central and South America. This is the most stupendous task carried by the American Bahá’ís in the consolidation field under the Ten Year Plan. Many workers are needed to achieve this task — Spanish or Portuguese-speaking Bahá’ís — in addition to the gallant Bahá’ís in Central and South America.
Those who can work in the Western Hemisphere are to correspond with:
- Western Hemisphere Teaching Committee,
- Mrs. Katherine McLaughlin, Secy.
- 73 College Road West,
- Princeton, New Jersey
Our teaching efforts are now reinforced by those of the new Auxiliary Board of nine, each of whom will take circuits either in Canada, the United States, Central or South America, but the ultimate energy derives from the body of believers. More volunteers are needed in all areas!
MEMORIAL IN TEMPLE IN TRIBUTE TO MARION JACK[edit]
On Saturday evening, July 3, over two hundred believers gathered at the House of Worship in Wilmette to honor a pioneer, Marion Jack, on whom a very great station was conferred by the Guardian. Acting upon the advice of the Guardian, the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States, in association with the Canadian National Assembly and through the European Teaching Committee, prepared the program in tribute to this “Immortal heroine,” printed at the right.
In his opening remarks, the chairman, Mr. Paul Haney, Hand of the Cause, cited these words of the Guardian, cabled in 1947, which indicate Marion Jack’s steadfastness.
“Advise encourage extend assistance through European Teaching Committee beloved Marion Jack who over decade dauntlessly held fort exemplified spirit worthy emulation entire North American Bahá’í Community.”
Mr. Haney then read the Guardian’s
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cable received by the National
Assembly in March, 1954, which
said,
“Mourn loss of immortal heroine, Marion Jack, greatly loved and deeply admired by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, a shining example to pioneers of present and future generations of East and West, surpassed in constancy, dedication, self-abnegation and fearlessness by none except the incomparable Martha Root.
Her unremitting, highly-meritorious activities in the course of almost half a century, both in North America and Southeast Europe, attaining their climax in the darkest, most dangerous phase of the second World War, shed imperishable lustre on contemporary Bahá’í history. This triumphant soul is now gathered to the distinguished band of her co-workers in the Abhá Kingdom—Martha Root, Lua Getsinger, May Maxwell, Hyde Dunn, Susan Moody, Keith Ransom-Kehler, Ella Bailey and Dorothy Baker, whose remains, lying in such widely scattered areas of the globe as Honolulu, Cairo, Buenos Aires, Sydney, Ṭihrán, Iṣfáhán, Tripoli and the depths of s the Mediterranean Sea, attest the magnificence of the pioneer services rendered by the North American Bahá’í Community in the Apostolic and Formative Ages of the Bahá’í Dispensation...”
Mrs. Amelia Collins, Hand of the Cause, who was present when news of Marion Jack’s passing reached the Guardian, recalled that one of her first duties in Haifa had been to write a letter on behalf of the Guardian to Marion Jack in which “he poured out such love, such tenderness, such solicitude that it was overpowering.” The Guardian frequently would mention this devoted soul in connection with pioneering, saying, as Mrs. Collins recalled, “We have a pattern for the pioneers—a perfect pattern—Marion Jack.” Hearing about her passing, the Guardian was not grieved, but his face was radiant. In closing, Mrs. Collins said that if each pioneer can win just a little of the joy and solitude the Guardian has shown Marion Jack, they will have attained their stations.
Recalling Miss Jack’s life and services, Miss Edna True gave a warm picture of “Jackie”, as she was endearingly called by her friends. Marion Jack was born in St. Johns, New Brunswick, on
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MEMORIAL PROGRAM
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December 1, 1866, and ascended to the Abhá Kingdom in Sofia, Bulgaria, March 25, 1954. Art and music were her chief interests. Canadian by birth, she was educated in England and France. During her student days in Paris Jackie first heard of the Bahá’í Faith from Mason Remey. Mr. Remey, Hand of the Cause, wrote Miss True the following:
“My first remembrance of Marion Jack was when we were students in the Latin Quarter in Paris. She was studying painting, I, architecture and I used to see her in the ‘Quarter’ along the boulevard on Mont Parnasse. In the Quarter lived a Mme. Phillipe who kept a Pension where a number of girl students lived. Mme. Phillipe gave dancing parties at infrequent intervals. It was at one of these affairs, a fancy dress dance, that I met Marion. She was dressed in a fiery red costume that she had made herself of crinkled tissue paper topped off by an enormous ‘Merry Widow’ hat decorated with large yellow paper flowers... it was as we danced and sat out between dances that I told Marion of the Bahá’í Faith. She was, as many were in those early days, afire with the Faith then and there, all at once. Marion met the Bahá’í, came to meetings in my studio and elsewhere, and that was the beginning of her belief.”
In 1908, Mr. Remey met Marion Jack again in ‘Akká, where she was remaining for some time, teaching English to the Master’s grandchildren.
Just when she returned to North America is not clear but we know that she performed vitally important pioneer services in Alaska and the Yukon. Friends speak of meeting her in the Maxwell home in Montreal in 1914. Later, she spent considerable time in Green Acre helping with the teaching work and painting landscapes and portraits. Many friends remember this joyous, wholly dedicated soul from those days. Impressed by her gracious charm, her understanding, her twinkling sense of humor, everyone who recounts some acquaintance or association with her does so with a smile which seems to spring spontaneously from the mention of her name. Jackie, ageless in her complete “at-homeness” with young and old alike, was beloved wherever she went, drawing all to her and to each other through the quality of her faith, love and devotion to the Cause, and to her beloved Guardian.
Making the dissemination of the Faith her main purpose in life, consecrating all her energies and activities to this, she was one of the very first believers to respond to the Master’s call in His Divine Plan.
In 1930, Jackie again returned to Haifa. During this visit, the Guardian sent her to Sofia, Bulgaria, where she was to spend the remainder of her life. At the Guardian’s request, Mrs. Bolles and her daughter, Jeanne, visited Jackie in 1936 and found her holding frequent meetings, well-attended by doctors, professors and people of very evident capacity. From Sofia she attended the German Summer School several times * and taught the Faith in both Vienna and Budapest, always returning to her post in Sofia, despite the restrictions existing in Bulgaria.
With the first rumblings of World War II, everyone who could fled
* The photograph of Marion Jack, published on page 4 of the July issue of BAHA’I NEWS, was taken in 1953 on the terrace of the Bahá’í Summer School in Esslingen-Krummenacker, Germany, it has just been learned from German friends in Esslingen.
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from that threatened country but
Jackie refused, preferring, as she
put it, to “remain at the switch.”
Mr. Gustav Lowe, one of her devoted students who came into the Faith through her says this of the obstacles she encountered with the approach of war:
“When World War II broke out she had to discontinue her meetings: Sofia became the center of European systems. Neither she nor I (A German citizen of secondary quality) could dare to be seen together. I kept contact with her through ‘neutral’ Bulgarian citizens. She was in financial difficulties because her funds did not get to her, but her spirit was unbroken.
“In October 1940, when I finally got my visa for the United States, I dared to call her on the phone and even to see her. She had moved to a cheaper hotel. Her room was probably too small for two people and we met in the lobby. I told her of my plans to go to the United States and ... invited her to come along and promised that I would take care of her. But she declined. She told me that the Guardian had permitted her to go to Switzerland rather than wait for the German invasion of Bulgaria that was expected daily. She considered it her duty to stay in Sofia and would neither seek security in Switzerland nor in her native Canada nor in the United States.
“We exchanged letters until Bulgaria became part of the Iron Curtain and she indicated that it was too dangerous to receive my letters and to write to me.”
Though soft-spoken, extremely kind, loving and friendly, Marion Jack possessed a courage and indomitable spirit which merited the special nickname, “General Jack”, lovingly bestowed upon her by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. Serene, assured in her complete faith, she never swerved from her chosen service to the Faith which she loved far better than life itself. Now, resting among British soldiers in the English Cemetery in Sofia, her spirit will continue to pour out its bounties upon the land she loved so well.
These words from a letter our beloved Guardian wrote to the European Teaching Committee in May, 1954, give the most poignant glimpse of the true quality of Marion’s services to the Cause and the heroic conditions under which she lived and worked.
“Young or old could never find a more inspiring pioneer in whose footsteps to walk than this wonderful soul.
“For over thirty years, with an enlarged heart and many other ailments, she remained at her post in Bulgaria. Never well-to-do, she often suffered actual poverty and want; want of heat, want of clothing, want of food, when her money failed to reach her, because Bulgaria had come under the Soviet zone of influence. She was bombed, lost her possessions, she was evacuated, she lived in drafty, cold dormitories for many, many months in the country, she returned, valiant, to the capital of Bulgaria after the war and continued, on foot, to carry out her teaching work.
“The Guardian himself urged her strongly, when the war first began to threaten to cut her off in Bulgaria, to go to Switzerland. She was a Canadian subject and ran great risks by remaining, not to mention the danger and the privations of war. However, she begged the Guardian not to insist, and assured him her one desire was to remain with her spiritual children. This she did up to the last breath of her glorious life. Her tomb will become a national shrine, immensely loved and revered, as the Faith rises in stature in that country.
“He thinks that every Bahá’í, and most particularly those who have left their homes and gone to serve in foreign fields, should know of, and turn their gaze to, Marion Jack.”
Closing that portion of the program held in Foundation Hall, Mr. Horace Holley, Hand of the Cause, recalled Marion Jack as he knew her in Green Acre, an artist. He said:
“How Marion Jack was able to lay aside the being of the artist and assume more and more that of saint and martyr is what we should contemplate.”
He then cited the Tablet of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá (Bahá’í World Faith, pages 354-55) in which He reaffirmed Bahá’u’lláh’s promise that holy and inspired souls would arise to labor ceaselessly for the Faith of God.
Drawing attention to the significance of the Guardian’s identifying Marion Jack with “The distinguished band of her co-workers in the Abhá Kingdom—Martha Root, Lua Getsinger, May Maxwell, Hyde Dunn, Susan Moody, Keith Ransom-Kehler, Ella Bailey and Dorothy Baker,” Mr. Holley said of these pioneers:
“All had made the transition from the animal being to the human, where the laws are reversed, where we acquire things by giving them up, where we ascend by being humble. All these shared one quality, the ability to respond to the true inner spirit of the Cause of God.
“It is we,” he continued, “who should be considering life and death for ourselves, not for Marion Jack and that distinguished band. It is we who must realize that we stand in the moment of the greatest bounty and the greatest peril that man has ever faced.” Mr. Holley pointed out that all these souls had, through faith and service, acquired a new and certain orientation so that each, in his hour, responded to the most vital need. It is for us to acquire that orientation, respond to the crucial need of the present hour, and make the decisions about our own pioneering in the light of love and assurance, not in a spirit of desperation. The source of assurance must be made known to the people of our time, and it is the joyous task of the handful of Bahá’ís to point the way.
In closing, Mr. Holley quoted this passage from Gleanings:
“The Book of God is wide open, and His Word is summoning mankind unto Him. No more than a mere handful, however, hath been found willing to cleave to His Cause, or to become the instruments for its promotion. These few have been endued with the Divine Elixir that can, alone, transmute into purest gold the dross of the world, and have been empowered to administer the infallible remedy for all the ills that afflict the children of men.”
The program in Foundation Hall concluded, the entire assemblage went reverently to the Auditorium of the House of Worship for readings dedicated to the “distinguished band” of which Marion Jack was one. The evening ended with all standing, united, for the reading of the Tablet of Visitation.
RECOGNITION OF HOLY DAYS[edit]
The Spiritual Assembly of Dumont, N.J., has reported that the Public School System has given permission for Bahá’í children to be absent from classes on Bahá’í Holy Days.
WORLD CRUSADE[edit]
TRANSLATIONS REPORTED FROM AUSTRALIA[edit]
Progress with Translations[edit]
Translation of a Bahá’í booklet into Mentawei has been completed and printed through the Local Spiritual Assembly of Djakarta. A translation into Samoan of the pamphlet which has had great success in Africa is ready to be printed. Niue and Tongan translations are being completed.
ALASKAN HAZIRATU'L-QUDS[edit]
The Anchorage and Anchorage Recording District Bahá’í Communities have appointed an inter-community committee to take practical steps toward securing the site for the future Alaskan Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds. Replying to the question of this committee as to whether the National Center could be located on 20 acres of Bahá’í property now held, a letter from the Guardian said, “He feels that the Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds should be inside the city limits. Ten miles from the town is too far out to be practical.” He said further, regarding Point Barrow, beyond the Arctic Circle, “He feels that there is a great significance in having believers serving so far north; and he hopes that one of the friends will be able to secure some employment there, and proceed to act as a pioneer in this highly meritorious field.”
PIONEER LETTERS[edit]
The National Spiritual Assembly wishes to share the following passages from pioneer letters, in keeping with its policy of keeping the Bahá’í world informed of the spirit and some of the incidents which characterize the unfoldment of the World Crusade.
Excerpts from Pioneer Letters to the Western Hemisphere Teaching Committee[edit]
From Nina Matthisen
Nassau, Bahamas, June 25, 1954[edit]
First of all, you will be delighted as we are, that the Curwins have been given permission to stay here another year. Right now, Mr. Curwin is in Miami earning some money for them to live on; but will soon return and has a job lined up here for when he returns.
At the three Firesides held on
Main entrance of Stanford School in Santiago, Chile. The Bahá’ís who own and
operate this institution offer “primary
and high school education in English,
room, board and love” to the children
of pioneers who are leaving for posts
where it would be impracticable to take
children. The only expense would be for
clothing and personal allowances for the
children. Prospective pioneers who are
interested in this offer should write their
respective National Spiritual Assemblies for details of the plan. (See BAHA’I
NEWS, March, 1954, page 9.)
Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday evenings respectively, the regular attendants, at this writing, can be listed as 10, and 6 others attend the various classes intermittently.
For two consecutive weeks a family of seven, who are Seventh-Day Adventists, attended the Wednesday evening Fireside. A series of evening meetings in their own church have, they have explained, kept them from coming again, but they seem interested and we are planning to have a special evening for them as it has to be tied up with the Bible. Fortunately, Gail Curwin has made a deep study of the Bible and is well equipped to handle such a group.
Our real prize, who is already a flame for Bahá’u’lláh, is a young 22-year-old Nassau policeman who, with about twenty others on the police force, was recruited from Barbados. Some are also from Trinidad. He is well educated and a student and is getting the Teachings principally through his own reading. Mr. Curwin contacted him first and talked to him about the Faith with, he says, apparently no response. Then one evening he dropped in at the Wednesday evening Fireside when the lesson subject happened to be “Prayer.” He stayed on after we had all left and said to Mrs. Curwin, “Won’t you teach me how to pray?”
He lives at the police barracks and is telling every one of his fellow-policeman who will give him an ear, about the Teachings. One Sunday evening he called the Matthisen home by phone and said, “This is urgent. Can you come over to the barracks as I need help in telling someone about the Faith.” Needless to say, Mr. Matthisen jumped into the car and was off. The man he had interested was a diesel engineer on a boat from Barbados, which makes regular trips to Nassau and other islands. The next evening they came to the Matthisen home and spent the time reading and talking about the Faith. The engineer, before leaving Nassau, requested another copy of the New Era for his assistant engineer. And thus the message spreads!
The young policeman comes from Anglican background but he told us he never could make himself join the church. When leaving for the Bahamas his mother asked him if he didn’t think he ought to join the church, and even then he couldn’t bring himself to do it. He said recently, “Now I know why!” We are not pushing him in any way — just giving him more books whenever he asks for them. He is now reading Some Answered Questions and his comment expressed a few days ago “Isn’t it wonderful” tells his reaction. Before his day off he calls and says: “I’m off tomorrow, I would like to come out” and he spends the whole day with us, reading and resting. He also drops in at the Curwins for a chat ever so often.
We are happy to report that we now have a weekly column in the week-end edition of the daily newspaper The Guardian which had its inception in 1844. Our column is called “The Treasure Chest” compiled by A. Channel, the pen name used by Nina Matthisen, who compiles it. In it different subjects are used each week with quotes from various sources on the particular subject chosen for the week. It has been running now for three weeks and we hope and pray it will continue and gradually under various names we will introduce Bahá’í precepts, but we are being very patient and going very slow on it. So far the subjects used have been “Life”, “The World”, “A Friend” and gradually such subjects as Prayer, Work, Liberty, Pain, Education, Tests,
[Page 8]
will be used. Eventually we will submit “The Golden Rules” of all religions, but are biding our time on
that.
On June 13th, we inaugurated a regular Sunday afternoon Worship Service at 3:30. The readings are selected each week by a different member of our group. In time we will be able, we hope, to invite non-Bahá’ís to attend, but for the present we feel it is another step in attracting the confirmations from on high.
Excerpts from Pioneer Letters to the Asia Teaching Committee[edit]
From Harry Clark
Brunei, March 31, 1954
Friday afternoon we went on a very interesting trip with the inspector of schools, visiting three schools and spending the night in the teacher’s house in Bokok. At Baru Baru we watched the preparation of dried shrimp and drank plentifully of green coconut water, an ambrosial refreshment. At Bokok we learned that the school and house for the teacher were built by the kampong people because they wanted education for their children ...
Going up stream from Bokok we came to a little clearing, and from there a Chinese man guided us down a short jungle trail to a Dyak longhouse, the village of Simbatang. We climbed the traditional notched log to the entrance and were introduced to the headman, who did not look as if he had ever taken a head in his life. To the rhythm of two gongs, one of the men did a slow graceful dance pantomime. The light in the longhouse was not bright enough for pictures but the Dyaks were delighted to pose in the sun.
So far teaching looks very difficult. Many people in the town know there are three Bahá’ís in their midst, but aside from a little idle curiosity as to how some of the laws of the Faith compare to Islám, no one has given the matter any more thought.
Brunei, April 30.
Brunei is an exceptionally honest community and state. It is well governed and the citizens are attached to the Sultán who is a fine man ... To us the country seems quite backward but the people are putting forth effort to catch up. The principal social problem is boredom. The Sultán is very religious and has attributed Brunei’s immense good fortune to God. The foundations for a four million dollar mosque are now being built.
From Charles Duncan
Brunei, May 21, 1954. Things are rather quiet now. It is the month of Ramaḍán. In June there will be a three-day celebration of Queen Elizabeth’s birthday at Kuala Belait. If we can arrange accommodations we will attend. We get very little news, but John (Fozdar) hears from his mother who is in Saigon. She recently had a talk with one of the Buddhist leaders who was so impressed that he said he would do anything she suggested. She asked permission to give a lecture. In her address to 500 she said the Indians had brought Buddhism to Indo-China centuries ago and now she comes from India with news of the greater Buddha. A young Bahá’í who teaches school there has gone up tremendously in public esteem since her talk and now everyone stops him on the street to shake his hand.
From Virginia Breaks
Truk, Caroline Islands, April 6, 1954. Sunday I had guests (compatriots) for brunch and in the afternoon Nor and Kiosi (Micronesian boys) brought two girls to call. Mostly they wanted me to take their pictures. The girls are extremely shy — wouldn’t say a word in English — so you can imagine that conversation was a bit difficult. However, they were all smiles when I invited them to come to see some transparencies Friday night. The girls are from the Mortlocks, have never been out of Truk atoll, and would like to see pictures of the other islands of the United States. I can see making friends with girls here will be quite a problem. Although Nor was somewhat shy at first, now we are old friends and he is quite at ease here.
Truk, April 18, 1954. Gradually the people I’m associated with find out that I am a Bahá’í. There are several who have asked and whom I’ve told as much as possible. Last Sunday I talked more to Nor, but there doesn’t seem to be much progress with him. Maybe I haven’t found the right approach yet. At least he talked more than before, if that means anything. I often think of what a friend said to me about finding out first what the people really want, what they are seeking. It is still a hard question for me. Many of them, like Nor, who are around the American bases, want more material things. They naturally take up, superficially at least, American ways.
With Nor, I keep trying to give him the feeling of our closeness to all parts of the world and to all peoples. I have talked to him about what man is, what makes us different from animals, and I have identified these things as teaching of Bahá’u’lláh. I have tried different things, unity of the Prophets especially. He had never heard of Muḥammad until I told him. Also I’ve told him at various times about the principles. Do not think that I limit my efforts to this boy — it is just that making friends and gaining confidence of the people is slow.
We have an arrangement here so that we can get some magazines by air mail from Guam. The rest of the time I’m here I’m going to get Life and Holiday because I find these two are most interesting to the students. Illustrated articles are what they like. They have practically worn out the issues of Holiday I brought with me, and the Life with the article about coral reefs and atolls is literally in pieces. They cannot understand the words in these but they do pretty well.
When I speak of pioneering I take it for granted that you know I do use the prayers constantly, and read. I feel your prayers. I know we are working together.
“Verily your light shall illumine the whole world, your spirituality shall affect the heart of things. You shall in truth become the lighted torches of the globe. Fear not, neither be dismayed, for your light shall penetrate the densest darkness. This is the Promise of God, which I give unto you. Rise! and serve the Power of God.”
INTERNATIONAL NEWS[edit]
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND[edit]
Winter School[edit]
The Yerrinbool Bahá’í School will hold a Winter session from August 29 to September 6. The theme for
[Page 9]
teaching is to “Equip believers for
the Ten Year Crusade”. The session
is to be run on a community basis.
FRANCE[edit]
Teaching in France[edit]
New efforts to reach the French populace are being initiated in response to a recent letter from the Guardian, through the Secretary-General of the International Council. After urging the Paris Bahá’ís to pioneer, at least in the goal cities of France, he adds:
“The Guardian would like to again direct your attention to the great importance of teaching the Faith to the French population. He hopes that soon many new friends will enter the Faith and that most of them will be French. These French could then teach and confirm other French. This is the goal in all countries: that the native peoples become Bahá’í in order that they may teach the Faith to their compatriots.” (Translated from the French Journal Bahá’í)
GERMANY[edit]
Convention Report Summary[edit]
As a summary of Bahá’í experience common to all at the end of the fateful first year of the Ten Year Crusade, we quote the concluding paragraph from the Annual Convention report of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Germany and Austria.
“The first year of the Ten Year Crusade, now just ended, has made it clear that, within this gigantic Plan, all that is petty and trivial must be absolutely laid aside in the path of service to the Holy Cause; that as a national Bahá’í Community we are inseparably bound with the Bahá’í World Community; that the tasks assigned to our community will be shared by the believers of all lands; and we are forced to realize that we must more and more think and conduct ourselves in all our undertakings and planning, within the framework of the great undertaking. The year has given us certainty that the Spirit of Bahá’u’lláh activates the religious awakening, that the unfoldment of the oneness of mankind through the spirit of the new Revelation runs ahead of and travels in the midst of all other striving toward the uniting of humankind.”
'IRAQ[edit]
First Year Achievements[edit]
In ‘Iráq, as throughout the world, the story of the first year of the Ten
Members of the newly incorporated
Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of
Elmhurst, Illinois. From left to right,
standing: Charlotte Freitag, Alvero Jensen, Rouholah Zargarpur, Evelyn Vincent. Seated: Phyllis Rachau, Willard
Vincent, Laura Gartley, Walter Deppe,
Vera Deppe.
Year Crusade is one of triumph over the forces of many circumstances. Although much remains to be done, there are many reasons to rejoice in the victories already won.
In the virgin areas of Hadhramaut and Kuria-Muria Islands, Bahá’ís are established. Although the pioneer who opened the Seychelles Islands was forced to leave, he was able before his departure to teach the Word of Bahá’u’lláh to a native teacher.
Consolidation pioneers, including many from Persia, have assured two local assemblies in the Trucial Sheikhs and another in Kuwait, where the community numbers over fifty believers.
On the island of Cyprus and in Tripoli, Libya, and Izmir, Turkey, ‘Iráqí pioneers have established themselves to serve under other National Spiritual Assemblies.
LIBYA[edit]
The Means for Progress[edit]
One avenue of pioneering open to nearly everyone is that of giving the funds needed in building the world society of tomorrow. It may surprise some of the friends remaining at home to learn that many in the field are contributing to the support of home-front activities.
The pioneers who have gone from a half-dozen countries to settle in Libya do not seek publicity but their record of giving might be an inspiration to other believers. The friends in Libya have not received any financial assistance from any national assembly but they have made donations to no less than three national spiritual assemblies. In addition, they have sent money directly to Haifa and both local assemblies have initiated the African Fund which is under the direction of the Hand of the Cause in Kampala. These pioneers have also given or loaned more than one thousand dollars to unemployed settlers in Africa.
SOUTH AMERICA[edit]
Publicity in Peru[edit]
Teaching work in Huancayo, Peru, is accompanied by excellent publicity from a sympathetic press. Ultima Lora in its July 4 issue carried in its entirety one of the Guardian’s telling statements on the character and purposes of the Bahá’í Faith, as a two-column article with a half-inch headline.
NATIONAL NEWS[edit]
AMERICAN INDIAN SERVICE COMMITTEE[edit]
The recent survey of Assemblies and Area Teaching Committees, seeking information on Indians now members of the Faith, the tribes they represent, and the names of tribes contacted, was occasioned by a request of the Guardian for information, and by the inclosed excerpt from a letter from Leroy Ioas, Secretary-General of the International Bahá’í Council, Haifa, April 7, 1954:
“The Guardian stated he was gratified to see the large number of tribes which had been recently contacted in connection with the teaching of the Faith. However, he is very anxious that these contacts be changed into converts for the Faith. As you know, he attaches the utmost importance to the teaching of the American Indians; and he hopes your Committee will concentrate to see that actual converts are made among these tribes, so that the converts themselves can in turn teach their own people. He hopes that you will be able to give him in the near future a further report of conversions which have been made amongst these various tribes.”
It is sincerely hoped that those Assemblies and Area Teaching Committees who have not yet reported, will do so speedily, and that all the friends will take to their hearts the expressed wish of the Guardian, that among these splendid contacts there may become converts to our Faith. News of such success is eagerly awaited.
WESTERN HEMISPHERE TEACHING COMMITTEE[edit]
The Western Hemisphere Teaching Committee would like to place two facts before you:
- The recurrent theme of the beloved Guardian: the call to us, the Bahá’ís, to disperse.
- The tremendous need for consolidation workers in Latin America.
There appears to be a mistaken idea on the part of many Bahá’ís that the Latin American work is finished. It has just begun.
Do you realize that 20 National Spiritual Assemblies must be established in that area in less than 9 years? Do you know that the number of local assemblies must be more than doubled? Do you know that many countries have only one local assembly, and that one often extremely weak? Can you imagine the amount that must be done to build a National Assembly in a country where there is only one weak assembly?
Do you know that more National Spiritual Assemblies must be established in the Western Hemisphere than in any other part of the world—21 National Assemblies. (Today there are 12 in the entire world.)
Can you not see the need for pioneers to strengthen existing assemblies, to build new assemblies, to open virgin areas?
Some countries—goals for National Assemblies—have no consolidators, nor activities, and are losing their assemblies. Only consolidators can do the permanent type of work needed desperately in these areas if the former work is not to be lost and the goals of the World Crusade gravely jeopardized.
In describing “the alarming reality” and “appealing for the dispatch of consolidators urgently needed to fulfill the difficult goals”, the National Teaching Committee of Central America writes, “We are wondering if the friends in the States do not realize the importance and urgency of this work and for that reason do not feel impelled to make the efforts and sacrifices necessary, or what is the trouble? ... Perhaps they do not think of Central America as true pioneer territory but rather as a place to set up private life ... We urge speed, speed and more speed, and sacrifice, courage and determination on the part of the volunteers, or we fear for what will happen ... We are praying fervently that something will happen soon ...”
The most needy countries in Central America, in the order of their urgency, are:
- Nicaragua
- Honduras
- Guatemala
- Mexico
- Cuba
In addition, Martinique, a consolidation goal, has not a single believer on the entire island.
South America, to whose Convention the Guardian cabled “Urge redouble efforts pioneering and multiplication of centers”, writes, “The countries where we need pioneers most urgently are Ecuador, Bolivia and Paraguay, since there is only one assembly in each of them.
“A person with an income of $100 per month could live very well in the following cities: La Paz, Sucre and Cochabamba, Bolivia; Córdoba, Mendoza and Rosario, Argentina; Osorno and Punta Arenas, Chile; they could live comfortably in Arequipa, Cuzco and Trujillo, Peru; they could live modestly in Quito, Ecuador and Asunción, Paraguay.
“Anywhere on the Continent, North Americans could earn their living teaching English after a month or two to get started ...”
It was to the believers of North America that the Tablets of the Divine Plan were addressed. To volunteer for a Latin American country, or any other of the 56 goal areas of the Western Hemisphere, contact the National Spiritual Assembly or:
- Western Hemisphere Teaching Committee,
- Mrs. Katherine McLaughlin, Secy.
- 73 College Road West,
- Princeton, New Jersey
THE BAHA'I WORLD[edit]
Call for Material, Volume 1954-56[edit]
The Guardian especially emphasizes the importance of Bahá’í World “as it is placed in so many libraries the world over, and as it is the only thing of its kind which presents to the public an idea of what we are accomplishing and what we stand for.” These volumes contain material which, as the Guardian says, “... faithfully and vividly portrays, in all its essential features, its far-reaching ramifications and most arresting aspects, the all-encompassing Faith of Bahá’u’lláh.”
The Bahá’í World provides an international record of the Faith which is of increasingly vital importance to Bahá’ís of every part of the world, not only in the United States. In the words of the Guardian: “This unique record of world-wide Bahá’í activity ... stands unexcelled and unapproached by any publication of its kind in the varied literature of our beloved Cause.”
All material for this international record of the progress of the Faith is assembled by the Editorial Committee for submission to Shoghi Effendi, who makes final selection of the contents for each volume. So that this material may be brought together for presentation to the Guardian, The Bahá’í World Editorial Committee for the volume 1954-56 requests the following kinds of material:
- Articles: on Bahá’í topics or universal topics closely related to the Faith, written by Bahá’ís or sympathetic non-Bahá’ís who are outstanding in a particular field. Articles should not exceed 5,000 words in length.
- Accounts of Special Bahá’í Events: such as, regional or international conferences, pioneer experiences in opening new territories, stories showing how the Bahá’í Faith is being recognized by the non-Bahá’í world.
- References to the Bahá’í Faith in magazines and books:
- By non-Bahá’í writers
- By Bahá’í writers in non-Bahá’í publications. Please give the complete and exact reference, including title, name of publication, date and page. If possible, send clippings or reprints.
- Appreciations of the Bahá’í Faith: Published statements by prominent personages, concerning the Faith.
- Documents relating to the expanding institutions of the Faith:
- Certificates of Incorporation of Assemblies
- Official recognition of Bahá’í Holy Days, such as permission to be absent from work or school for such observances.
- Licenses to perform Bahá’í marriages.
Please send two clear photostatic copies of each document.
- Photographs: Three clear glossy prints of each picture are requested, no smaller than 5x7 inches,
if possible.
- Conferences
- Conventions
- Summer Schools
- First Assemblies
- Newly-incorporated Assemblies
- Outstanding Bahá’í exhibits, arranged for special occasions.
Wherever appropriate and possible,
[Page 11]
show Bahá’ís in action, rather than
in posed attitudes.
All written copy should be typed, double-space, and submitted in duplicate, the original and first carbon. Send material of all kinds to:
- Bahá’í World Editorial Committee
- Mrs. Beatrice Ashton, Secy.
- P. O. Box 285
- Waukegan, Illinois, U.S.A.
AREA CONFERENCES[edit]
The East Central States Area Teaching Bulletin reports a successful Area Conference at Mansfield, Ohio. A two-day Conference was held July 10-11 at the Louhelen Bahá’í School, at which Mrs. Margery McCormick, member of the American Auxiliary Board and the National Spiritual Assembly, presented a part of the program. Another Conference is to be held at Louhelen on September 4 and 5.
The Southwest Area Teaching Committee has scheduled an Area Conference at Geyserville Bahá’í School for July 17. Mrs. Florence Mayberry, member of the Auxiliary Board of the American Hands of the Cause, will be a featured speaker.
BAHA'I ON THE AIR[edit]
Station KBTV, Denver, Colorado, interviewed Mr. Jamshed Fozdar in a fifteen-minute program on the subject “Women’s Rights in Southeast Asia”. Mr. Fozdar’s mother, one of three most outstanding women in southeast Asia, is a Bahá’í. In this connection it was possible to mention the Faith several times.
Mr. Reginald King gave a fifteen-minute talk on the Faith over station KOLO, Reno, Nevada.
A fifteen-minute script on “A World Religion”, keyed to observance of the anniversary of the Martyrdom of the Báb, was presented the evening of July 8 over station KBOW, Butte, Montana.
NATIONAL NEWS BRIEFS[edit]
An Anchorage, Alaska, Bahá’í has assumed the costs of printing 2000 copies of an Eskimo-English teaching pamphlet. Publication of this teaching aid, blocked last year for lack of funds and now proceeding with the approval of the National Spiritual Assembly and the Western Hemisphere Teaching Committee, marks a big step forward in reaching the people native to Alaska.
The Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Bahá’í Group has initiated a Children’s
Fairbanks Alaska, Bahá’ís and guests at
the Feast of Ridván. Among those participating in the program were two Eskimos.
Hour with the study of God and His Messengers.
The Butte, Montana, Bahá’í Community observed the Souvenir of 'Abdu’l-Bahá in one of the Forest Service parks near the city. Directional signs guiding friends to the site also brought the name “Bahá’í” to the attention of motorists on a much-traveled highway.
Denver, Colorado, Bahá’ís have scheduled a series of study classes, based on Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era, to be held in various parks of the city through the summer months. Printed schedules of these classes were sent to all contacts. This activity is in addition to usual summer activity such as picnics in the mountains with talks on the Faith. Regular firesides in homes throughout the city continue.
Flagstaff, Arizona, Bahá’ís report the establishment of a regular children’s study class.
From New York City comes news of the passing of Dr. Alain Locke, Bahá’í, noted Negro educator and author, the first American Negro Rhodes scholar. In the early 1920’s Dr. Locke visited the Guardian in Haifa and wrote an article about his impressions of that visit for Volume I of the Bahá’í World. Quotations from the Bahá’í Writings and Bahá’í Prayers were read at Dr. Locke’s funeral.
In Reno, Nevada, a talk was given by a Bahá’í speaker on the “Oneness of the World of Humanity” before a luncheon meeting of United Nations Association members. Also in Reno, as a result of cooperation with the Inter-Racial Teaching Committee program, several Negroes have become interested in the Faith.
GARDEN CLUB AT TEMPLE[edit]
The June meeting of the Illinois Garden Club was held in Foundation Hall at the Bahá’í House of Worship in Wilmette, Illinois. A report on the meeting says:
“Another instance of the power of the Temple as a teaching medium, of which our Beloved Master, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, frequently spoke, was seen on June fourth when some members of the Illinois Garden Club met at the Temple for an illustrated talk upon the Temple Gardens. Hilbert E. Dahl, Landscape Architect of the Gardens, showed slides of the Temple, of the development of the gardens, and of the gardens as they now appear and, while speaking in his professional capacity upon a technical subject, the purpose and significance of the Temple as a spiritual institution was outlined as the motivating objective in the garden design. From whatever aspect the Temple is considered it stands vibrantly expressive of the universality and potency of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh.”
DEVOTIONAL PROGRAMS AT HOUSE OF WORSHIP[edit]
The Bahá’í House of Worship at Wilmette, Illinois is dedicated to the Unity of God, the Unity of His Prophets, the Unity of Mankind. In this spirit, public worship is conducted each Sunday at 3:30 P.M. in the auditorium. Readers at these devotional programs include Bahá’ís and guests. Choral selections are by the Bahá’í House of Worship A Cappella Choir.
The programs for the month of July follow:
Religion is the greatest of all means for the establishment of order in the world and for the peaceful contentment of all that dwell therein.
- BAHÁ’Í SACRED WRITINGS
- Bahá’í Prayers, p. 50
- The World Order of Bahá’u’lláh, pp. 186-187;
- Gleanings, pp. 94-96
- CHORAL SELECTION
- Let All the Nations Praise the Lord—Volckmar Leisring
- OLD TESTAMENT
- Isaiah 2:2-4; 9:6-7; 52:7-10
- NEW TESTAMENT
- Matthew 5:9-13; Revelation 21:1-7
- CHORAL SELECTION
- Glory to God in the Highest—G. B. Pergolesi
- BAHÁ’Í SACRED WRITINGS
- Gleanings, pp. 286-287; pp. 249-250; CXX. p. 254
- Bahá’í Prayers, p. 79
- CHORAL SELECTION
- In Solemn Silence—Ippolitof-Ivanof
Why is it that the advent of every true Manifestation of God hath been accompanied by such strife and tumult, by such tyranny and upheaval?
- CHORAL SELECTION
- Blessing, Glory and Wisdom and Thanks—G. Wagner
- What Tongue Can Tell Thy Greatness, Lord—G. Wagner.
- BAHA’I SACRED WRITINGS
- Prayers and Meditations, LXI, p. 96
- The Kitáb-i-Iqán, pp. 4, 5, 6
- Gleanings, pp. 56-58
|
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Make checks Payable to:
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|
- OLD TESTAMENT
- I Kings 19:9-14
- NEW TESTAMENT
- Luke 20 9-18
- QUR’AN
- Sura III:177-181
- CHORAL SELECTION
- Hear My Cry, O God—Alexander Kopyloff
- BAHA’I SACRED WRITINGS
- The Kitáb-i-Iqán, pp. 12-13, 14-15; pp. 217, 91-92, 93
- Prayers and Meditations, IV, p. 6
- CHORAL SELECTION
- Out of the Deep—Christoph W. von Gluck
Whoso keepeth the commandments of God shall attain everlasting felicity.
- CHORAL SELECTION
- If Ye Love Me—W. H. Monk
- BAHA’I SACRED WRITINGS
- Prayer of Bahá’u’lláh
- OLD TESTAMENT
- Deuteronomy 6:1-6; Exodus 20:1-8, 12-17;
- Leviticus 19:18
- NEW TESTAMENT
- Matthew 19:16-21; Mark 12:28-31; John 15:9-12
- QUR’AN
- Sura XXIV: 50-54
- CHORAL SELECTION
- Teach Me, O Lord—Thomas Attwood
- BAHA’I SACRED WRITINGS
- Gleanings, CXXXIII, p. 289; CXXXIV, p. 290
- The Hidden Words, From the Arabic, No. 39; Gleanings, pp. 333-334; CXI, p. 217
- Prayers and Meditations XI, p. 14
- CHORAL SELECTION
- Let Thy Holy Presence—P. Tschesnokoff
The readings for July 25 are the same as those presented on May 16.
PUBLICATIONS[edit]
NEW PUBLICATIONS[edit]
- The God Who Walks With Men
- By Horace Holley. A stirring new approach to the way God keeps His Covenant with man. Presented in lucid, imaginative prose, this pamphlet carries conviction in every line and induces conviction in the heart of its reader. Featured by the National Committee for intimate firesides and personal contacts.
(minimum order) 10 Copies | $ .75 |
100 Copies | $7.00 |
Price Reduced on Bahá’í World Set[edit]
Bahá’í World, Volumes II, III, IV, V, VI, VIII, IX, X and XI, constitute a set of those books still available. Bought singly, the set costs $49.50. The Publishing Committee now offers the 9 volumes for $44.50, a saving of $5.00, and will deliver them, at this reduced price, anywhere in the U.S. Here is an opportunity for communities and individuals to place vital documentation in their libraries at a saving.
Nine volume “set” (net) | $44.50 |
CALENDAR OF EVENTS[edit]
- FEASTS
- August 1, Kamál, Perfection
- August 20, Asmá, Names
- September 8, ‘Izzat, Might
- September 27, Mashíyyat, Will
- NATIONAL ASSEMBLY MEETINGS
- July 30, 31, August 1
- September 3, 4, 5, 6
- BAHÁ’Í HOUSE OF WORSHIP
- Visiting Hours
| Weekdays: | 10:30 A.M.—4:30 P.M. |
| 7:00 P.M.—9:00 P.M. | |
| Sundays: | 10:30 A.M.—9:00 P.M. |
- Service of Worship: Sunday at 3:30, lasting until 4:15. (No guided tours will be conducted during the service of worship.)
MARRIAGES[edit]
“Glory be unto Thee, O my God! Verily, this Thy servant and this Thy maid-servant have gathered under the shadow of Thy mercy and they are united through Thy favor and generosity. O Lord Assist them in this Thy world and Thy Kingdom and destine for them every good through Thy bounty and grace ...”
Berkeley, California—Miss Inez Lawson to Mr. Raymon Dones, May 16, 1954.
San Francisco, California—Miss Cecelia Ann Seals to Mr. Vernon Eugene Skovgaard, June 6, 1954.
Teaneck Assembly, West Englewood, New Jersey—Miss Caroline Marie Biedermann to Mr. Eric Opel, June 12, 1954.
Chicago, Illinois—Miss Ruth J. English to Mr. Lorenzo E. Moore, June 12, 1954.
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.”
| Mr. | Morris S. Bush |
| Buffalo, N. Y. | |
| December, 1953 | |
| Mr. | Henry L. Green, Sr. |
| Portsmouth, New Hampshire | |
| May 21, 1954 | |
| Mr. | Frank E. Kaley |
| Topeka, Kansas | |
| May 26, 1954 | |
| Mrs. | Albert D. (Rose) Robinson |
| Chicago, Illinois | |
| June 1, 1954 | |
| Mr. | Kenneth Calhoun |
| St. Augustine, Florida | |
| (no date given) |
BAHA’I NEWS is published by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States as a news organ reporting current activities of the Bahá’í World Community.
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 tenth 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 1954-1955: 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.
