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No. 340

BAHA’I YEAR 116

JUNE, 1959

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This Crucial Hour

Beloved Friends:

The U.S. National Assembly calls your attention to this important message cabled to our recent convention by the Hands of the Faith in the Holy Land:—“IMPELLED APPEAL NAME BELOVED GUARDIAN TO AMERICAN BELIEVERS TO CONCENTRATE PARTICULAR ATTENTION ON THE URGENT NECESSITY TO RAISE A SECOND ARMY OF PIONEERS TO GO FORTH AND ESTABLISH NEW ASSEMBLIES IN EUROPE AND LATIN AMERICA, THE ESSENTIAL FOUNDATION OF THE FUTURE PILLARS OF THE UNIVERSAL HOUSE OF JUSTICE. CRUCIAL HOUR REQUIRES UNPRECEDENTED SACRIFICIAL OUTPOURING OF FUNDS ON THE PART OF THE CHIEF EXECUTORS OF THE DIVINE PLAN4 LIKEWISE APPEALING TO FRIENDS GATHERED AT CONVENTION IN CRADLE OF FAITH TO RESPOND TO THE NEED THROUGH GENEROUS SUPPORT OF DEPUTIZATION PROJECT. URGE FRIENDS JOIN PRAYERS FOR SUCCESS OF HISTORIC UNDERTAKING IN THE EAST AND THE WEST.” (signed) HANDSFAITH.

This appeal is directed to every individual believer, every local assembly, every group, and every area teaching committee It is to be pondered by every follower of Bahá’u’lláh in America, discussed at Nineteen-Day Feasts. and reprinted with appropriate comment in local and area bulletins.

What the Hands in the Holy Land express so vigorously in this brief text actually concentrates the essence of those passages in their written Convention message (enclosed with the May issue of BAHÁ’Í NEWS) pertaining to the American Bahá’í community.

1. “Impelled appeal . . . American believers to concentrate particular attention on urgent necessity to raise a second army of pioneers to go forth and establish new assemblies in Europe and Latin America as the essential foundation of future pillars of the Universal House of Justice.”

2. “Crucial hour requires unprecedented sacrificial outpouring of funds on the part of the chief executors of the Divine Plan.”

3. “Likewise appealing friends gathered in Convention at cradle of Faith (that is, Persia) to respond to the need through generous support of deputization project.”

4. “Urge friends join in prayers for success of this historic undertaking in East and West.”

Mission of the American Bahá’ís

That they followed their written message with this urgent appeal clearly indicates the urgency of our service to the Crusade at this time.

Turning now to the Convention message addressed to all annual Bahá’í conventions held this year throughout the world, we note these salient passages pertaining to the mission of the American Bahá’ís:—

“This past year has witnessed the steady onward march of the Cause of God in every field. When we recall how grievous and shattering was the blow we received in November 1957, we cannot but marvel at the evidences, so clear for friend or enemy to behold, of the indomitable strength of this Cause which the Guardian knit so firmly together, and the foundations of whose Administrative Order he laid so securely during his lifetime that the earthquake of his passing neither shattered the unity nor shook the confidence of the Community of the followers of the Most Great Name. Let us bow our heads humbly in gratitude to the Author of our Faith for His protection and manifold mercies showered upon us during these days of supreme test and suffering.”

“The number of countries, islands, and dependencies where the Standard of Bahá’u’lláh has been unfurled now totals two hundred and fifty-five, as a result of the settlement during the past year of a pioneer in Spitzbergen, the one remaining Virgin goal outside the Soviet orbit. This feat, achieved by the Knight of Bahá’u’lláh Paul Adams, brings the total number of new territories opened to the Faith since the inception of the Ten-Year Plan to one hundred and twenty-seven.

“At the end of the sixth year of the Crusade the number of localities included within the pale of the Faith has reached the impressive total of over five thousand[Page 2] two hundred, fulfilling the wish of Shoghi Effendi, expressed in his last Riḍván Message that ‘. . . strenuous efforts must be exerted for the purpose of multiplying the existing groups and isolated centers in all the continents of the globe, insuring thereby the early attainment of the goal of five thousand Bahá’í centers in the Eastern and Western Hemispheres.’ Such a signal achievement represents an increase of almost seven hundred centers since his passing, centers referred to by him as pivots of Bahá’í teaching and administrative activity, and which have more than doubled since the launching of the World Crusade in 1953.”

New National and Local Assemblies Formed

“The formation during the current Riḍván period of the new National Spiritual Assemblies of Austria, Burma, and Turkey, and the Regional National Spiritual Assembly of the South Pacific, as specified by the beloved Guardian himself, brings the total of these forerunners and future pillars of the Universal House of Justice to thirty-one. sixteen of which are now incorporated, four having achieved this status during the past year. The total number of local spiritual assemblies established throughout the world, and constituting, in the words of our Guardian, ‘the foundation of a rising Administrative Order,’ is now nearly twelve hundred and seventy-five, almost two hundred more than the number reported in last year’s Convention Message.”

“The number of languages into which Bahá’í literature has been translated now totals two hundred and sixty-one, an increase of one hundred and seventy-two in six years. over ninety of which represent supplementary languages added since the inception of the Crusade.

“The acquisition of the Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds in Caracas, Venezuela, and the endowment in Brussels, Belgium, during the past year completes the list of such properties originally specified as goals of the Ten-Year Crusade. In addition to these, located in the capitals and chief cities which are or will be the seat of the national and regional assemblies to be established by 1963, a significant number of Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds have been acquired in recent years. . . .”

“The original Crusade goal calling for the acquisition of eleven Temple sites was fulfilled more than a year ago, with the purchase of the site of the future Mashriqu’l-Adhkár in Stockholm. In anticipation of the day when Bahá’í Houses of Worship will be built, not only in every continent. but in many different countries, the beloved Guardian included the purchase of additional Temple sites in the subsidiary Plans which he assigned to the new national and regional assemblies formed since 1953. Seventeen of these supplementary sites have now been acquired throughout the world, eight during the past year, in Colombia, Ecuador, Haiti, Honduras, Paraguay, and Uruguay in Latin America; New Zealand in the Antipodes; and in Tunisia on the northern fringe of the African Continent.”

Evidences of Expansion of Bahá’í Institutions

‘Throughout’ the Western Hemisphere, the Community of the Most Great Name now comprises over nineteen hundred Bahá’í centers. In Central and South America and the neighboring islands, where a total of twenty new national spiritual assemblies must be formed before 1963, there are nearly two hundred and forty centers, sixty-five of which have their own local spiritual assemblies. Since the beginning of the World Crusade, contact has been established with nearly sixty Indian tribes in North, Central, and South America, of which nearly thirty are now represented in the Faith. The steady advancement in this field, to which the beloved Guardian attached so much importance, is evinced by the formation of the second all-Indian Local Spiritual Assembly in South America last Riḍván in Vilakollo, Bolivia. Among many other evidences of the expansion of Bahá’í institutions throughout the Americas during the past year may be mentioned the inauguration of the first Summer School in Alaska; the beginning of active publication by the newly-established Bahá’í Publishing Trust in Buenos Aires; the first dependency of the Mother Temple of the West, the Bahá’í Home for the Aged, was officially opened a few months ago, an event of undoubted historic importance exemplifying those institutions of humanitarian service which Bahá’u’lláh Himself specified should cluster about the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár in every city—and demonstrate the spirit of His Teachings.”

“The last three of the five mighty Intercontinental Conferences, called for by the beloved Guardian at the mid-way point of the World Crusade, were held in Chicago, Frankfurt, and Singapore, and proved the vehicles for a communion of heart amongst the sorrowing believers the world over such as had never before been experienced in Bahá’í history. Over six thousand of the followers of Bahá’u’lláh attended these conferences.”

“Although the work before us may be less spectacular than that already accomplished, there can be no doubt in anyone's mind that upon its successful conclusion depends the ultimate triumph or failure of the entire Crusade. It constitutes no less than the bedrock of future Bahá’í activities for centuries to come, for upon it depends the erection, on a firm and lasting foundation, of those new national assemblies which are to be among the first pillars of that mighty institution of Bahá’u’lláh, the Universal House of Justice. The task is a two-fold one: In the republics of Latin America and the ten Goal Countries of Europe immediate action must be taken to reinforce and bring to Assembly status those groups which are at the present time the most promising nuclei for new assemblies, and without the multiplication of which the new independent national assemblies will lack the foundation the Guardian specified as pre-requisites for their election.”

A Second Army of Pioneers Needed

“Careful consideration of the nature of the work facing the Bahá’í world during the coming four years reveals that the paramount need, one might almost say the sole need, is to raise a second glorious all-conquering army of pioneers, who will arise and go forth with the same rapidity, dedication, and zeal as did that first glorious army in the opening years of the Crusade, and this time conquer, not new territories and islands, but new cities, towns and villages in the Western Hemisphere, Europe, Asia, North Africa, and the Antipodes.”

“This presents to each and every Bahá’í a tremendous personal challenge. Is he or she going to have a part, before it is too late, in the Guardian’s[Page 3] Global Crusade, the purpose of which is primarily to lay that lasting foundation for the Universal House of Justice created in His Most Holy Book by Bahá’u’lláh? There is no longer time for hesitation, the sands of the Crusade are rapidly running out and with them each one’s own great personal opportunity, never to recur. Every single believer must hold before himself the goal of either personally being responsible for the attainment of these objectives, through arising to pioneer himself, or through assisting his fellow-Bahá’ís to do so, and thus be instrumental in insuring that by 1963 the followers of Bahá’u’lláh will be found in firmly grounded, well informed, actively functioning communities in every area where a national regional assembly exists. and in many of the territories and major islands where His Cause has been established during the World Crusade.”

“It is, we firmly believe, the supreme duty of all national and regional assemblies to concentrate their undivided attention during this particular year of the Crusade on procuring new pioneers and settling them, with no delay whatsoever, in these spots where their presence in the chosen objectives abroad or in the goal cities of the various homefronts will enable new assemblies Do be formed next Riḍván. There can be no doubt that upon the success of such steps taken immediately depends the fortunes of our Cruardian’s Crusade, a Crusade which in its world-embracing scope, has carried the Divine Plan of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá a mighty step forward in its unfoldment, and which must inevitably lead to the spiritual conquest of the entire planet.

“The financial resources of the Bahá’í world must be mustered and expended at this time for the attainment of this mighty purpose. We can do no better than appeal to each and every individual believer in the Guardian’s own words: ‘Let them resolve, instantly and unhesitatingly, to place, each according to his circumstances, his share on the altar of Bahá’í sacrifice, lest, on a sudden, unforeseen calamities rob them of a considerable portion of the earthly things they have amassed.’ ”

Here we have before us the fuller exposition of this “Crucial Hour,” which carries the promise of Bahá’u’lláh Himself that the unification of mankind in one faith and one order is now to be achieved. The Bahá’ís advance through no pathless jungle of uncertainty to an unknown future, but stand in the very heart of victory. This we must realize with all our spirit. because without the sacrifice of the lower self to the spirit of faith, the irresistible force of that victory cannot inspire us. To manifest the spirit of faith, we must fulfill the Guardian’s Ten-Year Plan. There is no faith it there is no realization and no sweeping flood of joyous self-sacrifice.

Let the non-believing world continue its vain effort to create peace with the fabric of war, and to attain wealth by multiplying the sources of poverty and ruin. It is for every Bahá’í to fulfill his true destiny in giving his all to fulfill the destiny of a divine Cause.

Sincerely,

—U.S. NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY

Teaching Conference and Winter School held at Bangalore, India, from December 24 to 31, 1958.

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Indian Conference of UN Non-Governmental Organizations Stresses Need for Realization of

Bahá’í delegates and observers to the second Indian National Conference of Non-Governmental Organizations on the United Nations Information, held at New Delhi, India, from April 3 to 6, 1959: Left to fight: R. R. Williams, P. C. Auplish, Dr. K. K. Bhargava, and Mrs. Shirin Fozdar.

THE Second Indian National Conference of Non Governmental Organizations on United Nations Information was held at Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi, from April 3 to 5, 1959. This Conference was opened by the Prime Minister, Shri Jawaharlal Nehru, with an address advocating the idea of the oneness of nations of the whole world, thus attaining the federation of all nations.

He exhorted the people to live in peace, harmony, and unity, and to abolish all prejudices, and added that it is high time that mankind realize we are all basically one, and only one, in this world. We should think, plan, and work for each other’s welfare, he said.

The Under-Secretary of the UN, Mr. Subramaniyam, who represented the Secretary-General at the Conference, also stressed the significance and the importance of the oneness of all the nations of the world.

There were about one hundred non-governmental organizations of India represented at this Conference, which included political, semi-political, non-political, social welfare, trade unionist, and some religious organizations. The International Bahá’í Community of India was represented by Mrs. Shirin Fozdar, Dr. K4 K. Bhargava, R. R. Williams, and P. C. Auplish.

The Conference was divided into three working groups: Information about UN, Teaching about UN, and UNO as an Instrument of Peace. Bahá’ís were represented in all three of these groups.

These working groups held discussion on their respective subjects, and placed their reports before the Plenary Session of the Conference on April 5, for discussion and approval by the full house.

Several resolutions regarding propagation and popularity of the UN principles were passed by the Conference. Through these resolutions it was recommended to the UN that every possible step be taken for publicizing the UN Charter and its principles enunciating the oneness and unity of mankind, and the methods to achieve lasting peace. The non-governmental organizations were requested to inculcate the UN spirit among the people they represented.

Among the most important resolutions passed by the Conference on peace, universality. military pacts, total disarmament. universal education for peace, and a world language, the Bahá’í delegates sponsored several resolutions that were also passed, including annulment of the veto clause in the UN Charter, UN recognition to the federations of peoples of different states as well as to their governments, and admission of all sovereign states to the UN, with other states that have not reached a sovereign status under direct trusteeship of the UN.

On the evening of April 5 a symposium on Peace was organized, and many speakers took part. They emphasized the need for a new world order and unity among all the nations to bring everlasting peace.

Dr. V. K. R. V. Rao, vice-chancellor of Delhi University, said that the time has come for the world to be united under one religion, since the old religions, due to their static and impracticable status, have become outdated.

This new religion, Dr. Rao said, should be based on the realization of the oneness of mankind, so that the problems of world peace might be solved, and there would come maximum understanding of each other through common bonds of love and unity.

Dr. Rao was immediately reminded of the Bahá’í Faith and its teachings given to the world by Bahá’u’lláh. The Bahá’í delegates presented the Bahá’í plan for peace to the speaker and to the audience. The Bahá’í Message was also given to the participants of the Conference. and it was fully commended by the other delegates.

All National Assemblies Endorse United Nations Genocide Convention

Two representatives of the Bahá’í International Community, H. Borrah Kavelin and Mrs. Mildred R. Mottahedeh, presented to the President of the Human Rights Commission. Ambassador Gunewardene of Ceylon, an endorsement of the Genocide Convention by all its national and regional assemblies, representing more than eighty countries and territories, on April[Page 5] 10, 1959, in New York City. These endorsements came from Bahá’í assemblies located in North and South America, Europe. Africa, the Orient, Australia and New Zealand.

Representatives of the Bahá’í International Community greeting the President of the Human Rights Commission of the United Nations, Ambassador Ratnakirti Gunewardene, after presenting an endorsement of the Genocide Convention by all the Bahá’í national and regional assemblies.

The Genocide Convention has been ratified by fifty-nine countries, the largest number of ratifications obtained by any Convention adopted under the auspices of the UN. Genocide is defined as the international crime of destroying national, racial, or religious groups.

Mr. Kavelin, chairman of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. made the following statement: “Mr. President, I have the honor and the privilege to present to you, as the keeper of the conscience of the United Nations and therefore of the world at large, documents which represent an act of conscience of my fellow co-religionists of more than eighty countries and territories.

“The resolution they have adopted reads: ‘Since the teaching and practice of the oneness of mankind is the cornerstone of the religion revealed by Bahá’u’lláh, His followers throughout our jurisdiction recognize the vital importance of the Genocide Convention for assuring the protection of small and helpless races and peoples.

“The Bahá’ís of the world have endorsed the Genocide Convention as an expression of their firmly-held conviction of the oneness of mankind and of the human race.

“Nations, races, and religious groups are called upon to enrich, through their own inherent gifts, the common treasury of civilization. Therefore the destruction of any one of them impoverishes the whole of the human race.

“Upon the preservation of this basic noble principle depend all the other efforts of the United Nations. By endorsing the Genocide Convention the Bahá’í: express, through us. the hope that all the nations of the world will rally around this great Convention.”

Ambassador Ratnakirti Gunewardene replied as follows: “Mr. Kavelin and Members of the Bahá’í International Community: I am greatly impressed by the endorsement of the Genocide Convention by eighty national and regional assemblies of the Bahá’ís, coming as they do from countries and territories from all over the globe. This is a most powerful expression of world opinion. It makes us feel that our work here in the United Nations is supported indeed, not only by the governments, but by the peoples themselves.

“The Genocide Convention is a treaty by the people and for the people. It has been ratified by an impressive number of fifty-nine parliaments for the purpose of protecting not the Governments but the peoples themselves. It is people who provide the backbone of human history, and by destroying them history itself is interrupted. Millions of innocent men and women perished from genocide throughout the ages, but death did not silence their voices. These voices have awakened and nourished our conscience. It is with the ink of their blood that the Genocide Convention was written by the United Nations. We have now in this Convention a meaningful compact between East and West for the preservation of mankind.

“The Genocide Convention has already made an impact on human consciousness. The world ‘genocide’ carries in itself a moral judgment which the world will not suffer to be circumvented or weakened. To weaken a treaty which deals with the protection of life would mean undermining life itself. It is for this reason that nations have been unwilling to let the Genocide Convention lose its forcefulness, by having its concept included in other documents which are not enforcible. We hope that more nations will ratify the Genocide Convention and will adopt domestic laws against genocide. Let us rededicate ourselves to an affirmation of our belief in this great Convention which is so basic to civilization.”

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869 Delegates and Visitors Find Renewed Inspiration at Fifty-First U. S. National Convention in Wilmette

UNCONQUERABLE joy, zest, and resolution in the face of tasks still unfinished—this was the spirit that promptly enveloped the Fifty-First Annual Convention of the Bahá’ís of the United States as it opened in Wilmette on April 23, 1959, for four prayerful days of deliberation and inspiration.

Reverence tempered the eager excitement oi delegates and visitors in the Temple’s Foundation Hall when Chairman Borrah Kavelin hallowed the convocation with the simple words, “May this Convention be inspired by the spirit of the beloved Guardian.” Then a quick climax was reached with the reading of the message addressed by the Hands of the Cause in the Holy Land to all of this year’s thirty-one national conventions.

In this historic document the revered Hands summarized many recent and current advances and victories, including the formation of four new national and regional assemblies during Riḍván. In contrast, they pointed out that the success of our beloved Guardian’s Crusade, and the consequent assurance of early establishment of the Universal House of Justice, stil.l depended upon a triumphant conclusion. In this connection the paramount need, and the foremost challenge to every believer, is a “second army” of pioneers to conquer, not new territories, but additional cities, towns, and villages in the Western Hemisphere, Europe, Asia, North Africa, and the Antipodes.

Balloting for the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States for 1959-1960.

Hands of the Cause William Sears, Corinne True, and Horace Holley on the platform at the Fifty-First U.S. Convention.

To help implement this “mass migration,” the beloved Hands proposed, to the National Spiritual Assemblies of Iran and of the United States, a joint deputization project whereby Persian Bahá’ís, eager but hampered in going forth, can give financial assistance to North American believers able to reach the places so urgently in need of teachers and settlers.

Pioneers Urged to Remain at Their Posts

Heavily stressed, along with this great plan, were pleas that all present pioneers, abroad and on the homefronts, remain at their posts at all costs, and that, as implored by the beloved Guardian, believers everywhere place “on the altar of Bahá’í sacrifice” their share of the needed financial resources.

Singularly appropriate after the reading of the message was a brief address, by revered Hand of the Cause and secretary of the Convention Horace Holley, on the institution of the Hands. Particularly impressive was his reminder that, through one inspired sentence designating the Hands as “chief stewards,” Shoghi Effendi gave continuity to the Faith after his passing, when no national assembly could have taken the initiative in order to assure this.

The message from the Hands in the Holy Land brilliantly illuminated the theme that had been set for the Convention: “This Crucial Year of the World Crusade.” Further confirming the direction and tone of the Convention were two statements by beloved Hand of the Cause William Sears, who is functioning as an American Hand for the remaining Crusade years. First he appealed for that greater love, among ourselves and toward all mankind, that will transform the world.

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Subsequently he added a ringing, energizing declaration: “We are the people; this is the hour,” a slogan which permeated all the consultation that followed, and which gave the Convention a “wonderful spirit of action,” as Mr. Sears himself later described it.

Exemplifying that spirit was the Convention’s cabled acknowledgment of the message from Haifa:

CONVENTION DEEPLY GRATEFUL FOR MESSAGE OF HANDS OF CAUSE DEPICTING ONWARD MARCH OF FAITH AND PROVIDING BASIS FOR CONVENTION CONSULTATION AND ACTION. HUMBLED AND INSPIRED BY PROPOSAL OF JOINT DEFUTIZATION PROJECT UNITING EAST AND WEST. DEEPLY APPRECIATE ASSIGNMENT TO WESTERN HEMISPHERE OF HAND OF CAUSE WILLIAM SEARS WHO FIRES US WITH RENEWED LOVE AND ENTHUSIASM. AWARE OF VAST SCOPE OF UNFINISHED TASKS BUT PRAY AND BELIEVE WE WILL PROVE WORTHY OF SUPREME CONFIDENCE PLACED IN US BY OUR BELOVED GUARDIAN. UNITED WITH YOU IN LOVE FOR THE FAITH OF BAHÁ’U’LLÁH.

In reply, the revered Hands reemphasized the original message’s peak points applying to the tasks of the American Bahá’ís:

IMPELLED (TO) APPEAL (IN THE) NAME (OF THE) BELOVED GUARDIAN (TO THE) AMERICAN BELIEVERS (TO) CONCENTRATE PARTICULAR ATTENTION (ON THE) URGENT NECESSITY (TO) RAISE (A) SECOND ARMY (OF) PIONEERS (TO) GO FORTH (TO) ESTABLISH NEW ASSEMBLIES (IN) EUROPE AND LATIN AMERICA, (THE) ESSENTIAL FOUNDATION (FOR THE) FUTURE PILLARS (FOR THE) UNIVERSAL HOUSE (OF) JUSTICE. (THIS) CRUCIAL HOUR REQUIRES (AN) UNPRECEDENTED SACRIFICIAL OUTPOURING (OF) FUNDS (ON THE) PART (OF THE) CHIEF EXECUTORS (OF THE) DIVINE PLAN. (WE ARE) LIKEWISE APPEALING (TO THE) FRIENDS GATHERED (IN THE) CRADLE (OF THE) FAITH (TO) RESPOND (TO THE) NEED THROUGH GENEROUS SUPPORT (OF THE) DEPUTIZATION PROJECT. (WE) URGE (THE) FRIENDS TO JOIN (IN) PRAYERS (FOR THE) SUCCESS (OF THE) HISTORIC UNDERTAKING (OF) EAST AND WEST.

Self-Examination Reveals Shortcomings and Progress

Relating this newly depicted future to the recent past, the representatives of the American Bahá’í Community reviewed its shortcomings in a true spirit of self-examination. It became evident that if the last year had to be reckoned as one of meager general growth in the United States, this was at least partially offset by the definite and progressive acceleration of youth activities and enrollments. Furthermore, there were many other facets of promulgation that reflected notable advances or that gave promise for the near future.

Among these were the earnest consideration and planning of expanded teaching among our beloved friends, the Negroes; the growing effectiveness of the teaching among the equally dear American Indians; the burgeoning activities of the College Bureau: the continued strengthening of relations with the United Nations on both national and international levels, in accordance with the beloved Guardian’s wishes; the constant, out-

Hands of the Cause Horace Holley and William Sears.

H. Borrah Kavelin, chairman, and Arthur L. Dahl, treasurer, of the U.S. National Spiritual Assembly.

William de Forge, chairman of the Western Hemisphere Teaching Committee, and Rexford Parmalee, chairman of the U.S. Africa Teaching Committee.

Francis Johnson, chairman, and Mrs. Nancy Phillips, secretary, of the American Indian Service Committee.

Mrs. Etta Woodlen, chairman of the International Teaching Committee, and Ronald Hauck, secretary of the National Bahá’í Youth Committee.

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standing advances in the field of child education; the further expansion of public proclamation through the press and other media, including new or recently revised literature designed to meet every need; the closer orientation of the summer schools to the Crusade goals; and the forward-looking reorganization of the significant audio-visual facilities.

Also to be counted as a positive factor was the encouraging response, among the believers themselves, to the National Spiritual Assembly’s current homefront campaign to support our blessed Guardian’s triple plea for “spiritual reinvigoration, administrative expansion, and material replenishment.” Admittedly the response had not been far-reaching and fast enough to prevent, among other things, a considerable deficit in the past year’s budget. However, a growing awareness of our responsibilities will probably improve the financial situation to the point of covering this deficit as well as the newly approved budget, somewhat smaller than last year's as a result of the completion of certain projects. similarly, the National spiritual Assembly’s devoted and continuing efforts in the reorientation campaign will no doubt bear fruit in the other fields of our endeavor.

National Spiritual Assembly Elected

In the midst of its consultation the Convention paused, as always, for the solemn fulfillment of its other principal purpose: the election of the new national administrative body. The roster, following election of officers, stands as follows: Chairman, Borrah Kavelin; Vice-Chairman, Charles Wolcott; Secretary, Horace Holley; Assistant Secretary, Charlotte Linfoot; Recording Secretary, Edna True; Treasurer, Arthur Dahl: and Ellsworth Blackwell, Katherine True, and Florence Mayberry.

With this sacred duty prayerfully performed, the delegates resumed their consideration of the principal challenges that face the Bahá’í world, and particularly the American community, including those in Africa, Asia, and Europe.

Convention delegates and visitors gathered on the steps of the House of Worship for the official convention photograph.

First and foremost, obviously, comes the tremendous need and opportunity for 200 to 300 pioneers of the “second army” for Central America and Europe—100 of them needed immediately, in response to a special appeal from the Hands in the Holy Land. Closely coupled with this is a critical need for settlers to release other homefront Bahá’í: who can move to Latin America on a self-supporting basis. Both of these projects will serve the transcendant task of establishing, world-wide, thirty-four more national assemblies, of which eleven in Europe and twenty in the Western Hemisphere are the American community’s responsibility. In addition, and despite these drains on their present numbers. the American believers must still form, or reconstitute, about 100 more local assemblies as soon as possible, to reach the needed total of 300, and must incorporate sixteen.

Some of the fifty American Bahá’ís that volunteered to pioneer at the Fifty-First Convention.

Highlights of Convention

All of the foregoing typifies a consultative ebb and flow that probably develops in every Bahá’í Convention: tasks accomplished versus things to be done; victories against reverses; poignant soul-searching followed by reviving joy. Over against recurring realization of multiple goals yet unattained stood the happiness of sending a message of gratitude and love to blessed ‘Amatu’l-Bahá Rúḥíyyih Khánum; the appearance before the Convention of the clearly cherished Hand of the Cause. Mrs. Corinne True; the joyous and arresting address given by William Sears as part of the intervening Riḍván Feast: the radiant gathering of some fifty volunteers for the new “army,” representing themselves and ten more; a notable talk by Miss Flora Emily Hottes on “Living the Life and the World Crusade”; the long-awaited news of government permission to build the Temple in Germany; the coming forward of Mrs. Charlotte Gillan, who helped to dedicate the Temple foundation stone in 1912 in the name of Alaska, and who in spite of her ninety years now wishes to pioneer there; the heartening messages from points far and near; the thrill of inspecting the recently opened Bahá’í Home, beautiful first accessory of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár; and the chanting of a prayer by a young Persian girl as she[Page 9] and her fiancé made public announcement, before the Convention, of their betrothal.

Many were the inspirational and cogent phrases that rang in the minds of the 869 delegates and visitors as the great convocation drew toward its close: The rank and file must learn to teach. Go to the churches and study our competition. Don’t send the children to church Sunday school; it only builds a foundation that will have to be torn up. Give full support and obedience to the administrative institutions; don’t waste energy in wondering about their decisions. The present emergency, wholly spiritual in character, requires superhuman effort. We have been given all we need to carry out our tasks; draw on the Power. We must reach a state of universal love which rises above personality. To be truly integrated in the Faith, we must study daily, so as to really know the teachings and apply them to ourselves. Look to the Writings for inspiration, and to our fellow-believers for stimulation. Teach the soul as well as the mind. Concentrate on the power and help of prayer. There is strength only in unity! And, climaxing all, the Master’s pearl of divine wisdom, “Spirituality is love in action.”

Final Plea for Renewed Spirit at Home

With uplift outweighing regret, and dedicated resolve overshadowing all else, the fifty-first American Convention took its place in Bahá’í history; but not before Chairman Kavelin had voiced a final plea to “renew at home the spirit caught here,” and beloved Hands Horace Holley and William Sears had offered their final strengthening words to everyone present.

Reluctantly each goes his own way, his inner eyes and ears still filled with sights and sounds. The warm vista of all the friends in Foundation Hall. The world’s holiest House of Worship wreathed in blending light and ethereal nighttime fog, The exaltation of the Revelator’s prayer, Sweet-Scented Streams, sung by the choir to Charles Wolcott’s undying music. And finally, a throbbing residue of sound that is almost silence. Is it a mental persistence of echoes from the Convention’! Is it the departing wayfarer’s own crowding pulse? Is it, possibly, a sensing of the first muffled footfalls of the promised “troops,” setting out at long last on their quest for their Lord’!

—P. R. AND S. B. MEINHARD

First South Pacific Teaching Conference at Suva Precedes First Convention

The first teaching conference ever to be held for the Bahá’ís of the South Pacific took place in Suva, Fiji Islands, on April 22, 1959, as a prelude to the first annual convention of the Bahá’ís for that area, which was to follow during the next three days. Thirty-four believers from five island groups were present—cook, Fiji, Samoa, Solomon, and Tonga—and from the national Bahá’í communities of Australia, New Zealand, and the United States of America. Among them were Hand of the Cause H. Collis Featherstone, five Auxiliary Board members, and five Knights of Bahá’u’lláh.

Mr. Featherstone acted as chairman of the conference, and Miss Margaret L. Rowling served as recorder and provided an excellent report from which this account has been prepared.

Miss Rowling reported that the spirit of the conference, which consulted on ways and means to carry forward ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Divine Plan and to complete the Guardians Ten-Year Crusade, could best be expressed in the words of Bahá’u’lláh: “Verily, We behold you from Our realm of glory and shall aid whosoever will arise for the triumph of Our Cause with the hosts of the Concourse on high and a company of Our favored angels.” (Gleanings, p. 39.)

Following opening prayers in English, Samoan, and Fijian, the program for the forenoon session included in addition to the greetings by Mr. Featherstone on behalf of the Hands of the Cause in the Holy Land, from the Hands of the Cause in the United States, as well as from Mrs. Clara Dunn and himself as Hands of the Cause in Australia, greetings from Mrs. Margery McCormick on behalf of the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States and its Asia Teaching Committee, a stirring account by Mr. Featherstone of the rapid growth of the Faith in the South Pacific since the announcement of the World Crusade by Shoghi Effendi in October 1952, and reports of accomplishments from all of the island groups represented. These reports opened up the consultation that was to follow during the remainder of the conference on these subjects:

Marker at the Temple we of India at Bahapur, New Delhi. The site is 30,000 square yards in area, on top of a hill facing both Delhi and New Delhi. There is adequate land for the Temple and its dependencies.

The best methods of spreading the Faith to island peoples; providing transportation to assembly meetings and Nineteen-Day Feasts for widely scattered members, translation of Bahá’í literature from English into[Page 10] the many languages spoken in the Polynesian, Melanesian, and Micronesian areas? incorporation of local spiritual assemblies; child education; establishment of Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds; meeting the need for the stimulating effect of outstanding visitors and traveling teachers; handling the opposition of the sections of other religions that are established in the islands; finding employment for members who wish to transfer to other islands to establish the Faith: obtaining recognition of Bahá’í Holy Days; providing good grounding for new believers in the spiritual teachings and administrative requirements of the Faith, so that they will not only be able to withstand the pressures brought to bear on them by other religious organizations, but also to enable them to teach effectively among their own people.

The afternoon session opened with the Báb’s prayer for the removal of difficulties recited in eight languages: Hindustani, Kwaraae (Solomon Islands), Tongan. Rarotongan, Maori, Fijian, English, and Samoan.

According to Miss Rowling, a high note of enthusiasm was expressed in the consultation which followed on: “What is the best method of teaching the Faith?” “What books and pamphlets in English are most helpful in teaching the Faith in this area?" “What is the best way of having translations made?”

Mrs. Madge Featherstone, member of the Asian Teaching Committee of Australia. reported that, of the fourteen languages allotted to Australia by the Guardian for translation during the Ten-Year Crusade, thirteen had been completed and twelve additional translations had been achieved.

Mrs. Margery McCormick gave inspiring information and suggestions of teaching methods. She stressed the importance of visual aids, and illustrated certain types which she had personally found useful in the United States.

The conference adopted three recommendations to be presented to the first Regional Spiritual Assembly, which would be elected at the forthcoming convention, all having to do with the subject of translation and publication of teaching literature. One of the resolutions recommended a committee to simplify the language of the English text of certain widely-used basic pamphlets in order to meet the need of the less literate among the island peoples.

Many tributes were paid to the efficiency of the Asian Teaching Committee of the National Spiritual Assembly of Australia and the conference recorded its appreciation of all that had been done by this committee since the beginning of the World Crusade to help the pioneers in the South Pacific, including the monthly publication of Koala News which has been a constant source of inspiration and the means of keeping the pioneers and new believers throughout this vast region in touch with each other.

Other highlights were the references made to: the completion of the Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds in Apia, Samoa, during the recent Fast period; the summer school held over the Christmas period in the home of one of the chiefs of Samoa—the first Bahá’í summer school held in the South Pacific; and the establishment of Bahá’í schools in their own school buildings in the Gilbert Islands and in the New Hebrides. “Perhaps the greatest highlight of all,” Miss Rowling stated, “was the thrilling account of the consecrated work of the Knights of

Navajo reservation Bahá’ís and friends at the Naw-Rúz observance in Pinon, Ariz., on March 20 to 22, 1959, reported in BAHÁ’Í NEWS for May.

Bahá’u’lláh and those who have carried out consolidation work in each of the goals of the Ten-Year Crusade, which has resulted in sufficient local spiritual assemblies being formed to enable the Regional Spiritual Assembly of the South Pacific to come into being during Riḍván 1959.”

The conference concluded with a social evening, including the showing of slides of the Holy Land, providing the friends from this vast area with still another opportunity to become acquainted with each other and with the elected delegates who would convene the following morning for the most important business of all, the formation of the first Regional Spiritual Assembly in the South Pacific.

—U.S. ASIA TEACHING COMMITTEE

National Spiritual Assembly of France Attains Legal Incorporation The National Spiritual Assembly of France announces with great joy the attainment of its most important remaining goal of the Ten-Year Crusade. During its first year as a national pillar in the administration of our Faith‘ on December 19, 1958. the National Assembly of France received legal recognition of its national incorporation.

On January 13, 1959, the Journal Official carried the following notice: (translated) “December 19, 1953. Declaration to the Prefecture of Police. National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of France. Aim: Propagation of the Bahá’í Faith and Religion. Social center: 11 Rue de la Pompe, Paris.”

Ontario Summer Conference Scheduled An Ontario Bahá’í Summer Conference will be held from August 1 to 8, 1959, at the Geneva Park YMCA Camp on Lake Couchiching. Courses will include “Stirring Tales of the Early Dawnbreakers,” “The Relationship of the Individual to God through Bahá’u’lláh” and “Comparative Religion.”

For reservations and further information please write to: Ben Koltermann, 1693 Spring Street, Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada.

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Marshallese natives from Ebeye Island at the home of the Bahá’í pioneer in Kwajalein, Mrs. Muriel Snay, for a social time, during which they were shown slides of the Holy Land and the Bahá’í World Center.

Correspondence with Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt by the National Assembly of Írán Revealed

The National Assembly of frén has sent to the American National Assembly a copy of a letter addressed by the Assembly to Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt during her recent visit to Írán, and a photostatic copy of her acknowledgment.

“Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt

% American Embassy

Ṭihrán, Írán

Dear Mrs. Roosevelt:

“On behalf of the Bahá’í community, over one thousand centers in Iran. we wish to extend our most cordial and warmest greetings to you on your very short visit to Írán.

“The Bahá’ís of the world. particularly those in Írán, have great admiration and appreciation for your work and will never forget all you did on different occasions to help the persecuted Bahá’ís in this country.

“We shall always pray and wish for your success, health, and prosperity wherever you may be, as you are so precious for the welfare of mankind.

Respectfully,

A. Shahqúlí

Secretary, National Spiritual Assembly of the

Bahá’ís of Írán

March 19, 1959

Mrs. Roosevelt’s Reply

“Dear Mr. Shahgholi:

“Thank you so much for your great kindness in extending such a warm welcome to me upon my arrival here in Ṭihrán. I am pleased and honored by this mark of your regard as well as by your graciousness in presenting me with such a lovely gift.

“Sincerely yours,

(signed) Eleanor Roosevelt

Embassy of the United States of America

Ṭihrán, March 19, 1959”

Two Bahá’í Marriages in Malaya Give Wide Publicity to Faith

The first Bahá’í marriage in the Federation of Malaya and Singapore was performed on October 5, 1958, with the wedding of Antony Fernandez and Miss Betty Monterio.

Following the ceremony a reception was held at Capitol Hall, attended by the Chief Minister of State, the Secretary of State. local dignitaries. and over 500 other guests. Because of the great interest in this wedding, ‘Abu’l-Qásim Faizí, Hand of the Cause. gave a talk on the Bahá’í Faith to the assembled guests.

The second Bahá’í marriage in Malaya was performed on December 20, 1958, for Leong Ho Chiew and Miss Lee Lari Choong. This wedding was also instrumental in giving publicity to the Faith in Malacca. Among the guests were Hand of the Cause Raḥmatu’lláh Muhájir and Mrs. Shirin Fozdar. Mrs. Fozdar was given an opportunity to speak about the Bahá’í Faith and its progress in Malaya, particularly in Malacca.

Correspondence Course on Bahá’í History in Central and East Africa Widely Used

The Teacher Training Committee of the Bahá’ís of Central and East Africa announced on March 1 a correspondence course in “Bahá’í History” for African believers with a good knowledge of English. A limited number of students was assigned to each of the English-speaking territories of the region.

The response has been much greater than expected Over seventy-five students enrolled, representing eighteen places in Uganda, five in Tanganyika. six in Kenya, and Mahe in the Seychelles Islands.

The course consists of six lessons based upon the Teacher Training booklet An Outline of Bahá’í History, and about the same amount of additional material in the form of supplementary sheets.

Results of this first correspondence course have been so encouraging to the Teacher Training Committee that it plans another course on the “Teachings and Laws of Bahá’u’lláh,” to begin in a few months.

—CENTRAL AND EAST AFRICA BAHÁ’Í GAZETTE

Study How to Teach Children the Faith at Sioux Falls Parent-Teacher Conference

In order to help both the parents and teachers of Bahá’í children to arrive at a better understanding on how to teach children the Bahá’í Faith, the Child Education Committee of the Sioux Falls, S. Dak., Assembly conducted a three-hour “Bahá’í Parent-Teacher Conference” on April 19 which was attended by six of the Sioux Falls Bahá’ís. Following the opening address by the chairman, Mrs. Elnor Murray, which stressed the importance of religious education in the lives 01 children, the group consulted on nine questions. These questions included the following:

What basic Bahá’í teachings should be taught to the Bahá’í child?

Should there be a period of daily worship in the home?

[Page 12]

How can the importance of the Nineteen-Day Feast and Holy Days and their meaning be impressed on the child?

A suggested outline and reading material was provided for each person for further study and discussion.

“Release the Sun” by William Sears to Be Issued by U. S. Publishing Trust

So many inquiries have been received about William B. Sears’ book Release the Sun, that it seems necessary to inform the believers an American edition of this book will be available in the near future‘ Mr. Sears, with the assistance of the Bahá’í Reviewing Committee, is making necessary corrections and revisions of the Limited edition that was published hurriedly in India specifically for use in Africa, and he wishes distribution to wait upon the publication of the revised edition by the Bahá’í Publishing Trust. As soon as it is available it will be announced in BAHÁ’Í NEWS.

—U.S. NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY

Northeast Asia NSA Incorporated

The National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Northeast Asia received on February 13, 1959, from the Tokyo Judicial Affairs Bureau, Shinjuku-ku Branch Office, the Certificate of Incorporation under the Japanese name, “Hokuto Asia Bahá’í Zenkoku Seishin Cryoseikai.” The document states that the purpose of this body is: to propagate the Bahá’í Faith according to its doctrine and to carry on and conduct activities for the Bahá’í Faith. Thus another objective of the World Crusade has been accomplished.

National Bahá’í Addresses

Please Address Mail Correctly!

National Bahá’í Administrative Headquarters:

538 Sheridan Road, Wilmette, Ill.

National Treasurer:

112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, Ill.

Bahá’í Publishing Trust:

110 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, Ill.

Bahá’í News:

Editorial Office: 110 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, Ill.

Subscription and change of address: ll2 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, Ill.

Baha’i Publishing Trust

“Christian Century” Reprint Now a Self-Mailer

The Christian Century Magazine Reprint. Because of a continued demand for the reprint of the article entitled “Bahá’í: A Second Look,” written by Marcus Bach, a new printing has been made. The format has been changed to make it a self-mailer, using third-class postage and similar in design to I am a Bahá’í issued a few months ago. No envelope is necessary to mail these now, and another item (Basic Facts of the Bahá’í Faith, for example) can be enclosed at no extra postage. This is one of the most sympathetic and challenging articles written on the Faith by a non-Bahá’í writer, one who is known throughout the world for his books and lectures on religion. ‘This challenging article should be in the hands of as many people in the Christian churches as possible.

25 copies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$1.00

100 copies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$3.00

500 copies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$10.00

Minimum Mail Order, $1.00

BAHÁ’Í PUBLISHING TRUST

110 Linden Avenue

Wilmette, Illinois

Calendar of Events

FEASTS

June 5—Núr (Light)

June 24—Rahmat (Mercy)

HOLY DAY

July 9——Martyrdom of the Báb

U.S. NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY MEETINGS

June 12-14

Baha’i House of Worship

Visiting Hours

Weekdays

10:30 A.M. to 4:30 P.M. (Entire building)

7100 P.M. to 9:00 P.M. (Auditorium only)

Sundays and Holidays

10:30 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. (Entire building)

5100 P.M. to 9 P.M. (Auditorium only)

Service of Worship

Sundays

3:30 to 4:10 P.M.

BAHÁ’Í 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 first day of the month preceding the date of issue for which it is intended.

BAHÁ’Í NEWS is edited by an annually appointed Editorial Committee. The Committee for 1959-60: Mrs. Eunice Braun, Miss Charlotte Linfoot, Richard C. Thomas.

Editorial Office: 110 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, Illinois, U.S.A.

Change of address should be reported directly to National Bahá’í Office, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, Illinois, U.S.A.