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No. 370

BAHA’I YEAR

JANUARY, 1962

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The Unprecedented Challenge of the Crusade’s Fleeting Hours

By this time the Bahá’ís throughout the East and the West have received a copy of the Fifth Annual Message of the Hands of the Cause issued from the Mansion of Bahjí on November 5, 1961, announcing the place, time and manner of the election of the Universal House of Justice, the dates and place for the eagerly awaited World Congress, and the time of the annual election of the fifty-six national spiritual assemblies for the Bahá’í year 120, all of which will synchronize with the Centenary of the Declaration of Bahá’u’lláh in the Riḍván period of 1963.

While thrilled with the opportunity that will soon be ours to participate directly or indirectly in these three momentous events, we must soberly consider the fact that We will have nothing to celebrate in London or any other place unless we fully discharge the few remaining tasks of the World Crusade enumerated by the Hands in their magnificent message. Failure in any one of them, they tell us, may have “repercussions on the evolution of not only the present national Bahá’í communities, but indeed the spiritual and material welfare of mankind itself for generations to come.”

These “paramount duties,” three in number, are:

1. To bring the Message of Bahá’u’lláh “to the waiting masses” ready to be enrolled “under His banner ‘in troops’ as foretold by Abdu’l-Bahá.”

2. To win the remaining goals on the home fronts in the “long-established, much loved national communities” entrusted with the “unique and priceless honor” of achieving “the spiritual conquest” of the entire planet.

3. To provide “an uninterrupted and greatly amplified flow . . . of material resources without which construction of the Mother Temple of Europe and other vast undertakings . A . will either cease to go forward, come to a standstill, or . . . stand in danger of losing the precious ground won through so much heroic effort and sacrifice” on the part of the past as well as the present generation of Bahá’ís around the world.

“The wings of time are beating at our door as one of the most momentous epochs in the entire range of Bahá’í history moves to its close.” “The challenge confronting the standard-bearers of Bahá’u’lláh in every continent of the globe, in every field of Bahá’í activity, in these swiftly passing hours, is unprecedented; the opportunities lying within their reach are of such magnitude that only future generations can comprehend their glory and their significance in the majestic unfoldment of Bahá’u’lláh’s World-Redeeming Order.”

In stirring words such as these, the Hands of the Cause of God, in the name of our beloved Guardian, make a final plea to the believers throughout the world “to arise unitedly for one last supreme effort . . . to crown with victory" the Guardian’s “mighty Global Crusade” and to earn thereby the glory and joy of celebrating “in the city which enshrines his infinitely precious remains” the “Most Great Jubilee,” “the last of the great gatherings of the Bahá’ís to be summoned by Shoghi Effendi” for the “consummation of ten years of unprecedented work and superb achievements” in laying the foundation for the Kingdom of God on earth.

—U.S. NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY

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Glimpses of Rúḥíyyih Khánum’s Visit to Countries of Southeast Asia

In the middle of last September beloved Hand of the cause ‘Amatu’l-Bahá Rúḥíyyih Khánum dedicated the Mother Temple of the Antipodes, near Sydney, in a series of both private and public ceremonies. But she did more than that, both coming and going, as she traveled to a number of points in southeast Asia and gave of herself in numerous gatherings such as teaching conferences, public meetings, receptions, and intimate talks with groups of believers. With her throughout the rigorous tour was Miss Jessie Revell, member of the International Council.

A Strenuous Journey of Devotion

Arriving in Singapore from Haifa on the last day of August, Rúḥíyyih Khánum and Miss Revel] left again on the following morning for other Malayan objectives: Kuala Lumpur, Mantin and, thereafter, Port Dickson, where a teaching conference and numerous other functions were held. Then the travelers returned to Kuala Lumpur and Singapore for further gatherings, made a brief stop in Djakarta, Java, to greet and be greeted by many of the Indonesian friends. and flew on to Australia for the Temple dedication.

After that great event they returned to the Asian area late in September, visiting Bangkok in Thailand, and Saigon and other localities in Vietnam. Toward the end of their journeying they flew to Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and then on to Bangkok where, on October 8, they boarded a plane for the Holy Land.

A Wish Becomes a Prayer

Everywhere there had been endless evidence of the planning and preparation done by Hands of the Cause, Auxiliary Board members, the regional and local assemblies and teaching committees; endless evidence of love, devotion and Crusade zeal on the part of the believers and rapt attention on the part of the public audiences. It had been a strenuous time both for the distinguished travelers and for the body of the believers, but a time without regrets for anyone. As beloved Rúḥíyyih Khánum walked to her plane at Saigon

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for the start of the trip back to Haifa, she is reported to have said, “I wish I could come back!” In the hearts of the southeast Asia friends those words became a fervent prayer.

Pictures, clockwise from bottom left on opposite page:

‘Amatu’l-Bahá Rúḥíyyih Khánum, right of center, enjoying a campfire get-together in Port Dickson, Malaya.

Miss Jessie Revell, member or me Internatioal Council, being introduced at e two-day teaching conference conducted at the Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds in Saigon, Vietnam. To the right are Rúḥíyyih Khánum and Jamshed Fozdar, Auxiliary Board member and chairman of the neuronal Assembly of South-East Asia.

The audience at a public meeting addressed by Rúḥíyyih Khánum at Port Dickson.

The beloved Hand of the cause is garlanded by a young believer at Mantin, Malaya.

Rúḥíyyih Khánum and Miss Revell landing from their plane Saigon just ahead of a rainstorm.

Rúḥíyyih Khánum with children and friends at the Bahá’í school in Nha-be, Central Vietnam.

Representatives of eleven local assemblies in Central and South Vietnam hear Rúḥíyyih Khánum at the Saigon teaching conference.

Part or me audience on a public meeting addressed by Rúḥíyyih Khánum in Saigon.

Another group at the Saigon conference representing five assemblies from communities surrounding the city. Included, at left in front row, are four members of are local assembly of Phuoc Long. Because the Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds cannot accommodate more than 150 people, separate days bad to be allotted to the friends.

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Hands Cable Special Request for Dedication to Task of Mass Conversion

“Mindful (of the) beloved Guardian’s emphasis (on the) pre-eminent sacred task (of) teaching (the) Faith (to the) multitudes and recent evidence (of the) mounting worldwide flood (of) enrollments (we) urge (the) believers (on the) occasion (of the) fortieth anniversary (of the) ascension (of the) Master (to) join us (in) ardent prayers (for the) acceleration (of the) process (of) mass conversion (and to) resolve (to) dedicate (their) individual efforts (to) assure resounding victories (in the) remaining months (of the) Holy Crusade. Airmail message (to) all National Assemblies.”

Received November 8, 1961 (Signed) HANDSFAITH

Fiftieth Anniversary of Masters First Visit to British Isles Celebrated in London

In September 1911 ‘Abdu’l-Bahá landed in England on his First visit to the British Isles. Last September 8 the fiftieth anniversary of this historic event, whose import the world as a whole does not yet even glimpse after half a century, was publicly commemorated in the theater of London’s Kensington Central Library,

The meeting was opened with music and with readings from the Scriptures of the Faith. Then the audience was addressed by revered Hands of the Cause Hasan M. Balyuzi and Leroy Ioas. As a fitting adjunct of the celebration, archives associated with the Master were on exhibition.

Believers who came together in Greensboro, North Carolina, for one of the thirty-five conferences sponsored over the United States last fall by the National Assembly. This one was led by Curtis D. Kelsey, member of the Auxiliary Board.

International News Briefs

Another victory in the constant efforts to gain recognition of the Faith occurred recently in Canada when Bahá’í Children in the Yukon Territory were granted permission to be absent from school on the Holy Days.

Last September 30, believers from ten communities of southern California took part in the forty-ninth annual Commemoration of the passing of Thornton Chase, the first American to embrace the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh. The memorial service, outlined for guests in a printed program, was held at the grave of Mr. Chase in Inglewood Park Cemetery.

Mrs. Margery McCormick, Auxiliary Board member, spoke to more than 800 students and faculty members of Gibbs Junior College, St. Petersburg, Florida, on October 26. Although the program was basically a United Nations commemoration, Mrs, McCormick’s talk was directly on the Faith. After the meeting she was taken to each department to meet the various faculty members, and was entertained at lunch by Mr. Cox, of the Social Science Department, who had invited her to speak, This unusual opportunity was the outgrowth of the UN meeting arranged by the St. Petersburg community featuring Mrs. McCormick as speaker. Mr. Cox was in the audience and publicly invited her to speak at his college the following day.

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200 Young People Crowd International Youth Summer School in Holland

An international summer school especially for youth was held from August 4 to 14 in Delft, Netherlands. The 200 young Bahá’ís and guests who taxed the capacity of the available facilities represented thirteen nationalities from fifteen countries, among them such faraway places as Hong Kong, Turkey and India. The group was welcomed by a representative of the city, and members of the press who attended the opening of the school gave it considerable publicity.

The prominent speakers and guests included Hand of the Cause Dr. Mühlschlegel, Auxiliary Board member Dr. Navidi and the well-known American Bahá’í author, Guy Murchie.

The spirit and power of the ten-day gathering was demonstrated by the fact that eight persons expressed their desire to become Bahá’ís. Among them were two youth from Germany and one from England.

Pakistan Believers Hold Their Filth Summer School in Sukkur

The Pakistan community conducted its fifth summer school in the city of Sukkur from October 14 to 20. Over fifty believers and a number of non-Bahá’í students came from twenty localities to share its benefits.

The courses not only covered all phases of the Faith but also comparative religion, and included as well an additional study of the Book of Aqdas. The Birthday of the Báb was fittingly celebrated, and a showing of color slides provided an absorbing reminder of the dedication of the Kampala Temple last January.

Climaxing the sessions was an inspiring cable sent by the Hands in the Holy Land in reply to an earlier message from the assembled friends.

Some of the believers and guests who attended Pakistan’s fifth summer school, held in Sukkur last October.

Luxembourg Believers Launch Six-Month Teaching Program

A carefully planned six-month teaching program has been inaugurated by the National Consolidation and Teaching Committee of Luxembourg, and is being carried out with the support of the four Bahá’í communities in the Grand Duchy.

The project was launched early in October with two successive public lectures and a follow-up session, all held in Luxembourg-Ville. Another series of meetings was scheduled for Esch-sur-Alzette in November, to be followed by monthly public functions in the other goal cities.

This teaching plan is a part of the over-all consolidation work being carried out in Europe in advance of the formation of eleven new national assemblies at Riḍván —one of the great remaining tasks in the Crusade. The effort was no doubt greatly reinforced by an inspiring talk by, and consultation with, Hand of the Cause Dr. Adelbert Mühlschlegel in Luxembourg-Ville prior to its inauguration.

Teaching of Indians in Canada Brings Impressive Results

Teaching among the Indians continues to be one of the highlights of Canadian Bahá’í activity. From September 1 to October 17 almost fifty new Indian believers were welcomed to the Faith. The majority of them live on Reserves in Saskatchewan and in the Yukon Territory.

Well-attended firesides for Indians in various parts of Canada promise further results, and the interest among the youth is particularly encouraging.

National Spiritual Assembly of the United States, 19611962. Left to right, seated: Dr. David Ruhe (vice-chairman), Arthur Dahl (treasurer), Miss Edna True (recording secretary), H. Borrah Kavelin (chairman), Miss Charlotte Linfoot (assistant secretary), Hugh Chance (secretary), Dr. Sarah Pereira. Standing: Amoz Gibson, Mrs. Velma Sherrill.

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American Youth on the Crusade Home Front

In these waning months of the World Crusade there are numerous examples of how American Bahá’í youth are carrying out the oft-given double injunction to perfect themselves and help to spread the Faith. Many of these efforts take the form of serious and effective conferences. Noted here are some of those held last summer and fall.

A Simple but Far-Reaching Theme

At the well-known Gimlin Ranch, in the beautiful Verde Valley of Arizona, a group of youth plus adult advisers participated in a stirring experience of study and recreation. The simple but comprehensive theme was “Example,” involving an analysis of the life of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá as the perfect example of how to live the life and proclaim the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh. The studies were conducted in workshop sessions shared by two non-believers. A special stimulus for the conference was the presence of representatives of several races, including the first Zuni Indian youth to accept the Faith.

In Wyoming a week—end conference was held at the mountain cabin of a Casper Bahá’í' couple. Here seventeen Wyoming and Colorado youth thrived in an atmosphere of study, discussion, prayer and physical activity. The Casper community sponsored the affair and furnished the noon meal on Saturday but the program was planned and conducted by the young people.

California Groups Use Multiple-Choice Questions

On a summer Saturday the Bahá’í groups of Covina, West Covina and Glendora, California, sponsored their third large youth event of the year: a conference at a Bahá’í home in Manhattan Beach. Fifty youth and fifteen adults responded. Following early recreation and lunch, the youth formed into seminar groups, coordinated by adults but presided over by youth chairmen. Each group discussed ten multiple-choice questions on various phases of personal conduct, attempting to find solutions by applying standards agreeable to the members jointly. The Bahá’í viewpoints presented were accepted by the non-Bahá’í guests with gratifying regularity.

At top: The Wilmette youth conference in session at the House of Worship.

At left: The Saturday night fireside at the national Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds included a relaxing song session.

On opposite page: The group gathered before one of the Temple exhibits.

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An early summer conference at the home of Mrs. Mary Wolter of Dexter, Michigan, had as its keynotes: “Getting to Know You” and “The Importance of the Role of Bahá’í Youth.” Between thirty and forty young people from five states attended. As a complement to discussion on the scheduled topics, letters from two former youth now pioneering abroad were read, and typical situations of Bahá’í youth in contact with nonbelievers were dramatically portrayed under the direction of Powell Lindsay, Detroit author and playwright.

Classes in Lieu of Conferences

The youth of Clayton, Missouri, launched a somewhat different project in the form of Sunday morning classes in which youth of surrounding communities were asked to participate. The procedure follows these steps: Subjects for discussion are chosen and dates set. Following this, the members study one of the subjects in the Bahá’í Writings, Great Books of the Western World, and current newspapers and periodicals. In the class each member reports and all the information is correlated. The first two subjects were “Prejudice and Its Relation to Justice” and “Religion, Essential and Nonessential.”

A Conference at the House of Worship

Fifty youth from six states came to a conference held on October 23 and 29 in the children’s room of the House of Worship in Wilmette, Illinois. Believers in the Temple area contributed food and funds for three of the week-end meals, and the youth were lodged in Bahá’í homes.

An opening discussion of Bahá’í administration as related to youth in the Crusade brought out that to help reach Crusade goals no one need necessarily move a great distance or give up an accustomed way of life. Nevertheless, an intensely individual challenge confronts every youth, and each must answer it for himself on the basis of administration and obedience to the Hands of the Faith.

Specific Recommendations to Youth

A three—member panel discussing “Youth in Action” made these specific recommendations: Wear the Bahá’í ring and seek permission to be excused from school on the Holy Days, as means of focusing attention on the Faith. Emphasize the significance of the Faith to Christians as the return of Christ. Give the Message in a way that will excite a response. Do not give literature to contacts without first preparing to speak of the Faith to them. Give to the Fund or, if unable, contribute services such as transporting people to meetings or making posters.

A talk on “Being a Bahá’í,” based on “The Advent of Divine Justice,” pointed out that youth must first regenerate their own lives and then help regenerate the life of the nation and the World.

Examples of personal and group devotion were given by S. Y, Noonoo, treasurer of the Persian National Assembly, who recounted the inspiring progress of the Faith in his country despite 115 years or persecution; by Carl Schefiler, who spoke of the early days of the Faith in the United States: and by Tse-Kia Tcheng, member of the local Assembly of Vientiane, Laos, now studying at an American university so that he may work more effectively with his people.

In a final session on Sunday the group consulted on “Bahá’í Youth in Motion,” based on the oneness of mankind — the coming together of all people through love in the sense of unity of the spirit. It was agreed that all youth must help to put this principle “into motion” in accordance with the exhortations, often addressed specifically to young people, of the principal Figures of the Faith.

Cables Exchanged with Hands in Holy Land

The group sent a cabled message of love and dedication to the Hands in the Holy Land, and before the conference closed received a grateful reply. As a final act in a busy week end, the conference sent a contribution to the International Bahá’í Fund.

(NOTE: Much specific help for young believers is provided in the booklet, “What It Means to Be a Bahá’í Youth.” priced at $.30 per copy. Order from National Bahá’í Administrative Headquarters, in Linden Avenue, Wilmette, Ill.)

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Top right: The six traveling teachers at the start at their trip through 200 Italian Villages.

Tap left: Discussing the Faith in a sidewalk cafe.

Middle picture, above: Befriending field hands on a farm.

Directly above: Deeds as well as words. Three of the students help Italian laborers smash mountain rock for a new road; a fourth tells the foreman of the Faith.

Thousands of Italians Hear the Message from Migratory Persian Students

A team of Persian students walked and talked “Bahá’í” for hundreds of miles in central Italy last July and August.

The ambulating teachers visited about 200 villages hidden in the valleys, forests and mountains. Heeding ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s advice to travel light, the young believers, who are studying at an Italian university, carried little more than blankets, spare clothing and walking sticks. They washed their clothes and bathed in rivers, slept under the trees and stars, and ate bonfirecooked rice, spaghetti and kebab. And throughout their wanderings they strove to follow the counsel of Bahá’u’lláh: “Be unrestrained as the wind while carrying the Message of Him Who hath caused the dawn of Divine Guidance to break.”

New Friends for the Faith

Whenever and wherever they met people, they talked about the Cause of God. On farms, in rocky mountain glens, in village squares and hillside vineyards, outside service stations and schools, they made friends and spoke of the teachings that Bahá’u’lláh gave to all mankind.

It is too early to know the results of this migratory teaching, but one thing can be taken for granted: when the young Persians left a village, the Italians no doubt talked happily about “those simpatico students and their good religion.”

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Bolivian Believers Hold Unique Summer School on Their Tract of Virgin Land

The Bahá’ís of Bolivia held their 1961 summer school during the last week end in October on two million square meters of Bahá’í-owned virgin land in Meguilla, Los Yungas.

Because of a transportation tie-up only forty-five were able to attend, but what the students lacked in numbers they offset in energy and devotion. In addition to attending classes they did their own cooking, and started clearing the land by cutting and burning. The cleared plots were planted to corn, beans, avocados, bananas, oranges, tangerines and yucas (a long, hard-skin type of potatoes). Meanwhile, practical cleanliness was taught by bathing twice a day in the crystal-clear river which runs through the property.

A Moving Farewell at the National Center

At the close of the school the beloved Indian believers were transported 110 miles to LaPaz to visit their national Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds. Here they held a moving farewell gathering, with many giving speeches of gratitude for what they had learned from attending this first school in Meguilla.

A pioneer couple are planning to settle permanently in Los Yungas in order to conduct a school for Indian instructors. These in turn will teach the Faith in their home communities.

Thus the march of the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh continues in this South American area of mass conversion.

Top left: Living quarters of the summer school.

Top right: A class out in the open air.

Middle picture. above: In foreground, soup being prepared for lunch; in background, students clearing the land.

Directly above: With the river running high on the day of departure, participating members or the National Assembly ferried the women and children across.

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Special Recorded Program Aids Widespread UN Day Observances

From Maine to Hawaii the Faith was proclaimed on United Nations Day, to a great extent through the two modem-day teaching vehicles of radio and television. Assiduous efforts on the part of the believers enlisted the cooperation of stations in thirty—six states an unprecedented achievement for the Bahá’ís of the United States.

Instrumental in this mass proclamation of the Message of Bahá’u’lláh was a professionally produced quarter-hour record sponsored by the believers’ U.S. United Nations Committee in cooperation with United Nations Radio, and entitled “United Nations—Prelude to a New Age.” Among the voices heard on the record were those of UN Ambassador Adlai Stevenson and the late Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjold; also Bahá’í representatives H. Borrah Kavelin and Mrs. Lee Blackwell.

Because the recorded program was so beautifully produced, it accomplished an important feat: it opened broadcasting doors for the believers that heretofore were closed. Not only did many stations which once refused to use Bahá’í material play the UN Day record. but they also promised to use Bahá’í material in the future. Following are a few specific examples of results from use of the record.

250 Telephone Calls in a California City

In National City, Calif., the record caused 250 people to call the broadcasting station, and helped to attract 105 persons to a public meeting.

The Green. Bay, Wis., friends were granted three hundred dollars’ worth of time on a TV station and two radio stations, entirely without cost.

The Tacoma, Washington, believers had the only religions display among many UN Day exhibits.

Because of its success in having the record accepted for broadcast, the Mt. Clemens, Mich., group has decided to continue using radio in proclaiming the Faith.

Fortified with the special record, the Eugene, Ore., local Assembly obtained publicity results on two TV stations and six radio stations.

In Healdsburg, Calif., the stations that used the UN Day recording promised to use the other side of the record, which deals with Human Rights Day.

The record was played on three stations in Detroit, Mich., and in that same state the mayor and city manager of Marysville heard the program and attended the public meeting which followed.

This latest Bahá’í accomplishment in the broadcasting field proved two important points: (1) Excellent material produces excellent results, and (2) It is distinctly worthwhile to proclaim the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh via radio and television.

Special Record Spurs on Believers in Planning Observances

Local spiritual assemblies, Bahá’í groups and isolated believers cooperated wholeheartedly in the unique opportunity offered by the record. By far the largest number of UN Day observances reported included broadcasts of this recorded program, followed by a public meeting. Firesides were used both as the initial meeting and as follow-up to the public meeting. Social gatherings, some held while the record was being broadcasted, proved to be very successful in many cities as a means of winning the friendship of people interested in the concept of a united world. Booths and displays publicized to thousands of people the work

The Des Moines, Iowa, Assembly showed this display in a florist’s window throughout United Nations Week.

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Green Bay, Wisconsin’s window exhibit stressed United Nations, two Bahá’í books and radio programs.

of United Nations and of the Bahá’í Faith. In some instances, there was intercommunity cooperative planning in order to derive the greatest benefit from the proclamation.

All activities were keyed to publicize the Faith; some more specifically were definite attempts to gain new contacts, and all bore evidence of the excellent planning and the devotion of the American Bahá’í community.

In Hawaii, a Broadcast and Prayers

The believers of Maui, Hawaii, reported a radio broadcast of the special recording, as well as spot announcements and newspaper advertisement announcing the broadcast. The Kauai group persuaded the local radio station to broadcast prayers from the major religions each night during UN Week, and two Bahá’í prayers were used. In addition this group received radio announcements and good newspaper publicity for its public meeting and follow-up fireside, and displayed a UN exhibit in the business section.

The Bahá’ís of Quincy, Ill., Clinton Township, Mich., St. Petersburg, Fla., Baton Rouge, La., Corvallis, Ore., Ventura, Calif, Waterloo, Iowa, Yonkers, N.Y., and Toledo, Ohio, all obtained broadcasts of the record, followed by public meetings or firesides, many of the latter being, publicized also through newspapers, mailings of invitations, and spot radio announcements. About 120 persons attended the meeting in St. Petersburg, which presented a non-Bahá’í speaker and Mrs. Margery McCormick, Auxiliary Board member. In Baton Rouge there was some unfavorable reaction to the broadcast, expressed through telephone calls and a letter to a newspaper. The Toledo meeting featured a talk which was recorded on tape and presented again later the same evening on television.

Intercommunity Observances Provo Successful

Five nearby communities cooperated with the Healdsburg, Calif., Assembly in a public meeting announced by radio and held at the Geyserville Bahá’í School. Publicity included seven newspaper releases, and the Santa Rosa radio station broadcasted the UN record.

Another intercommunity effort was that of Evanston, Wilmette and Winnetka, Ill. The latter two towns have no radio station; therefore, the three communities co

All Bahá’í Communities in Jamaica observed UN Day. This Kingston gathering heard the special record.

operated in an Evanston radio program and in the public fireside held later.

Denver, Colo., sponsored a public meeting which included music, prayers, the recording, an address by a non-Bahá’í and refreshments. An item of interest was an exhibit of dolls of all nations, through the courtesy of the National Jewish Women. The nearby Jefferson County Bahá’ís and their contacts were invited to attend this meeting, held at the Y.M.C.A Some of the county believers opened their homes for special prayers on United Nations Day.

Recognition Through Protest

Over one hundred guests attended the meeting sponsored by the local Assembly of Escondido Judicial District, Calif. When the radio station broadcasting the UN record received about 250 telephone calls pro testing the program, the station owner offered free time the following evening for rebuttal, but no one accepted.

Two public meetings, a fireside and a radio program made up the observance by the Bahá’ís of Springfield, Ill., while a fireside featuring the special record was held in Waukesha, Wis.

The Salem, Ore., Bahá’ís participated in several observances during UN Week, including activities of other organizations in addition to their own public meeting and broadcast of the record.

A week-long display in the public library, a public meeting and use of the record made up the Duluth, Minn., celebration. The record, in addition to being broadcasted over two radio stations, was used in a local high-school senior class.

The English and history classes of the Palmer, Mass., high school and the Parent-Teachers Association were presented with the UN record and photographs of the five Bahá’í Houses of Worship.

Through the efforts of the believers, the Kiwanis Club of Redding, Calif., a high school and junior high school in Sarasota, Fla., and the Pinellas County, Fla., chapter of the National Council of Negro Women used the record in their UN Day observances. The Pinellas County community also sponsored a public meeting which won interested seekers for their firesides.

Minneapolis, Minn., sponsored a United Nations panel program by foreign students, prefaced with a brief talk on the Faith by a Bahá’í. The local Assembly[Page 12] also was successful in having the record broadcasted.

A Large Meeting with a UN Speaker

Nearly sixty people, representing several nationalities. attended the Cleveland, Ohio, Bahá’í observance, held in a downtown hotel. A guest speaker from the local UN association and the playing of the record were featured, Music and participation by the guests from other lands added special warmth and enjoyment. Two radio stations enthusiastically accepted the record for broadcasting. Newspaper publicity, more than 300 mailed invitations and posters announced the meeting.

A proclamation in connection with the observance of UN Day was issued by the mayor of Inglewood, Calif., as a result of his being invited by the local Bahá’ís to attend their meeting.

The Niagara Falls, N.Y., believers have made their annual observance a periodic rather than an isolated event. As a result of contact made last year with the high school, they presented the UN filmstrip on Human Rights to the several social-science classes and furnished UN literature. Also, a fourteen-foot downtown window was used for the second year for a display featuring UN activities as a “Prelude to a New Age,” Radio presentation of the record‘ was advertised in the newspaper and previously announced by the station.

For ten days an attractive window display on a busy corner in Memphis, Tenn., drew the attention of passers-by. The exhibit featured the Faith and the United Nations, and was made up of Bahá’í quotations, basic principles and pamphlets, as well as UN material that included an enlarged copy of the preamble to the charter.

In Memphis, Tennessee, a downtown window display combined materials on the Faith and United Nations.

An International Family Festival

As a part of “Little UN Day of san Jose” (Calif.), the Sunnyvale Assembly supplied a booth and presented the UN record at the civic auditorium. A world religions booth was manned by the believers of Hermosa Beach, Calif., in an International Family Festival at which the radio broadcast of the UN record was pre-announced. Another booth in Tacoma, Wash., had the distinction of being the only display by a religious group among the exhibits arranged in a leading hotel by the Tacoma UN Chapter, thus giving emphasis to religion for world peace.

A local merchant provided the space and various civic organizations loaned items for a display by the Issaquah, Wash., Bahá’ís. The record was played at special times and upon request, and Bahá’í literature distributed to one hundred people.

Widely Publicized Birthday Party

Among the social gatherings, an informative and entertaining program made up the United Nations’ Sixteenth Birthday Party of the believers and their friends in Houston, Tex., and also provided the subject for wide proclamation through newspapers and radio. Special announcements of the broadcast and meeting were mailed to press representatives, political-science and comparative-religion departments of the universities in Houston, directors or foreign students, and heads of the foreign divisions of oil companies.

The Bahá’ís of Berkeley, Calif., marked the day with a dinner dance which drew nearly one hundred guests and received publicity in the newspapers.

A supper with foods of different countries was sponsored by the Boulder, Colo., group and enjoyed by over thirty of their friends representing eight countries. A Bahá’í talk featured the evening's program.

The Greensboro, N.C., friends honored a group of foreign students in an evening of games, music and fellowship. and the UN record was used on two radio stations.

A Special Emphasis on Prayer

The Washington, Ill., group’s plans were designed to promulgate the principle of world unity, and to stress the importance of spiritual attitudes and prayer in solving world problems. The program of afternoon and evening social gatherings included a presentation about the United Nations and world peace, and a period of prayer which included contributions by the guests themselves. The response was very gratifying.

The Pleasantville, N.J., group received excellent newspaper publicity for their public meeting. Furthermore, announcement was made in the press of a Bahá’í home open each day for a week with everyone invited to gather for prayers for world peace. A special meeting for prayer was also held by the group of Erie Township, Mich.

The Charleston, W.Va., community worked hard to secure a TV interview for their speaker, Mr. Paul Harris, Bahá’í of Mattoon, Ill., and mailed 450 invitations, only to have a snowstorm cut off the electric power, making the interview impossible and preventing a record attendance at the public meeting. However, even this effort cannot be termed wasted, since hundreds of people heard of the observance and, along with it, the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh.

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Birthday of Bahá’u’lláh Celebrated by Believers in Vicinity of African Temple

The believers of Kampala and its environs celebrated the Birthday of Bahá’u’lláh on Kikaya Hill, in the shadow of the Mother Temple of Africa.

Everyone met just before noon and Went to the garden of the caretakers’ house on the Temple grounds. Here the friends held an enjoyable and happy picnic, which included singing and dancing. The Baganda ladies gave a demonstration of Kiganda dances, and all joined in singing songs in English and Luganda.

A Game Called “Your House Is Burning”

The children’s part of the entertainment comprised special games — English and African — including a local game similar to “Musical Chairs.” In each round the sudden cry “Your house is burning,” uttered in Luganda by the leader, results in a scramble which eliminates a pair of the children.

At four o’clock, the usual time tor the Temple service, the believers and their guests entered the House of Worship for the devotional program. Afterward everyone went on to one of the terraces below the Temple where a talk on the Faith was given.

Celebration Produces Favorable Weather

Two factors contributed substantially to the enjoyment of the celebration. The first was that well over a hundred people attended the picnic and subsequent devotional service, thereby providing the largest group to visit the Temple since its dedication. The second was that, while Uganda had daily been suffering from the heaviest torrential rains in living memory, on Bahá’u’lláh’s Birthday the weather pattern seemed miraculously changed. The effects of an early morning shower disappeared by noon, and the rain did not resume until the friends were in the Temple — and then it stopped again before it was time to come out.

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Notable Group of Japanese Spiritual leaders Visits Bahá’í National Headquarters

Eleven Japanese spiritual leaders, touring the United States to obtain firsthand information on America’s religious and social climate, spent the afternoon of Sunday, November 5, in Wilmette. They were guests at a luncheon held in the Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds, and at the public service of worship in the Mother Temple of the West. The visitors had been chosen by the international Inter-Faith Fellowship of Tokyo to represent a cross-section of the religious life of Japan.

During the luncheon each of the religious leaders was presented with a copy of the Bahá’í Peace Program to indicate the spiritual basis on which the followers of Bahá’u’lláh believe world peace can be built. Hugh E. Chance, secretary of the National Assembly, reviewed the efforts being made in the Crusade to lay this foundation and to establish an administrative order to implement it.

Dr. Marcus Each, well-known religious writer who visited the beloved Guardian and subsequently paid him a befitting tribute in one of his books, accompanied the group as tour host. During the service of worship Dr. Bach served as one of the readers.

Ten of the Japanese spiritual leaders who visited Wilmette on November 5, shown here with Hugh E. Chance, U.S. national secretary (left). The religious affiliations of the visitors were as follows: Protestant, Roman Catholic, Shinto, New Religions, Rissho Kosei Kai, Oomto, Konko, Itto En, Soto, Zen, and Honganji.

First National Spiritual Assembly of Mexico, 1961-1962. Left to right, front row: Mrs. Florence Mayberry, Samuel Burafato, Dr. Edris Rice-Wray, Sra. Carmen de Burafato. Back row: Mrs. Chappie Angulo, Earl Morris, Mrs. Anna Howard, Mrs. Valeria Nichols, Harold Murray.

BAHA’I IN THE NEWS

An excellent explanation of the spiritual springtime, as expounded in the Teachings of the Faith, appears on page 55 of Kamiti, by Richard St. Barbe Baker. (Duell, Sloan & Pearce, New York, 1958).

A sympathetic if not entirely accurate account of the Faith appears on pages 211 and 212 of the biography Zamenhof, Creator of Esperanto, by Marjorie Boulton (Routledge and Paul Keegan, London, England). The resumé is in a section of the book which deals with Lydia Zamenhof (a Bahá’í) and other members of Dr. Zamenhofs family who lost their lives in World War II.

The September issue of Change, an erudite monthly

The Bahá’í community of Phnon Penh, Cambodia, gathered to welcome Mr. and Mrs. Dempsey Morgan, recently arrived pioneers.

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A Mexico City children’s school class and its teachers.

magazine published in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, under the auspices of the Synergetics Society, included a three-page article entitled “A World Faith, in Accord with Science and Reason.” The author, Waldo T. Boyd, refers to the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh as “a View of religion which is uniquely inclusive in its tenets, which is, in fact a World Faith rather than a religion.” (“Synergetics” is related to the idea of cooperative action in improving conditions that surround us. The significance of the name of the magazine is reflected in Mr. Boyd’s view — in accord with the Bahá’í teachings — that, like everything else, religion must change; that is, evolve.)

In its issue of October 22 the Idaho Sunday Journal, published in Pocatello, Idaho, carried a feature story about an Iranian Bahá’í, Iraj Talebreza, who is studying at Idaho State College and at the same time helping to sustain a local assembly. The article bespeaks both a notably tolerant attitude in the town and an ingratiating approach on the part of the young believer.

Hand of the Cause Shu’a’u’lláh ‘Alá’í (fourth from left, second row) with the friends of Milan, Italy, July 1961.

As an outcome of the story, Mr. Talebreza was asked to speak on the Faith at a forum of religions other than Christian, sponsored by the Religious Council of Idaho State College. And, as a result of this meeting, the Pocatello Bahá’ís were invited to attend a local Jewish synagogue and to present Bahá’í literature to the college library.

While on a trip to eastern parts of the country, Robert Quigley of the Los Angeles (California) community had exceptional opportunities to proclaim the Faith in New York through mass-communication media. On November 14, he took part in Betty Furness’ WNTA television program, “At your Beck and Call,” through which over a million viewers in the metropolitan area alone received the Message. Responses by telephone and mail were beyond anything the station had ever experienced. He also had an interview with NEA (Newspaper Editors Alliance), which represents over a thousand papers, for a feature article by Ward Cannel, and topped off his efforts by means of a radio interview with Bob Dixon over CBS.

By dint of a quick response to an invitation sent to all organizations, the believers of Temple City, California, were awarded one of twelve display spaces on a great plaster of parts cake exhibited at the Los Angeles County Fair to symbolize the localitqfls first anniversary as a City, The outstanding “slice” contributed by the Bahá’ís is shown here as it appeared before being installed on the cake. Appropriately enough for the believers, each exhibit was intended to represent the sponsor’s “project for the year.” More than a million people visited the fair.

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Baha’i Publishing Trust

Important New Study Aid Prepared by the American National Teaching Committee

This timely book, invaluable to serious inquirers and believers alike, has thirty-two pages, 8½ x 11 inches, plus handsome glossy cover in royal blue and white. It should be ordered from the Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 110 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, Illinois. The price is $.75 per copy.

Invitation to Learning—The Bahá’í Faith. A study manual on the basil: teachings of the Faith. Its primary purpose is to provide an orderly and systematic presentation of information for those considering enrollment. The material has been arranged to include brief references under the various topics, with space on each page for writing in a summary of the reference content. When the student has completed study of all the material, he should have enough information to determine whether he wishes to become a Bahá’í, as well as to satisfy the requirements for enrollment.

The manual may also be used as a workbook for study classes, and as a guide for the individual believer who wishes to deepen himself in the spiritual and administrative principles and the laws of the Faith.

National Bahá’í Addresses

Please Address Mail Correctly!

National Bahá’í Administrative Headquarters:

536 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: 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, Ill.,

Bahá’ís of Tourane, Central Vietnam, gathered on October 20 for the celebration of the Birthday of the Báb. Over one hundred believers attended.

Calendar of Events

FEASTS

January 19—Sulṭán (Sovereignty)

February 7—Mulk (Dominion)

WORLD RELIGION DAY

January 21—Faith for an Evolving World

U.S. NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY MEETINGS

February 23-25

Baha’i House of Worship

Visiting Hours

Weekdays

1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. (Auditorium only)

Sundays and Holidays

10:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (Entire building)

Service of Worship

Sundays

3:30 to 4:10 p.m.

Public Meeting

Sunday, January 21 4:15 p.m.

BAHÁ’Í NEWS is published !or circulation among Bahá’ís only by the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States, as a news organ reporting current activities of the Bahá’í World Community.

BAHÁ’Í NEWS is edited by an annually appointed Editorial Committee: and Mrs. P. R. Meinhard, Managing Editors; Mrs. Eunice Braun, International News Editor; Miss D. Thelma Jackson, National News Editor; Miss Charlotte M. Linfoot, National Spiritual Assembly Representative.

Material must be received by the twentieth of the second month preceding date of issue. Address: Bahá’í News 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