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| Bahá’í News | November 1984 | Bahá’í Year 141 |
The Mother Temple of India
On the cover: As this photograph taken in September indicates, concreting of the inner petals of the lotus design on the Bahá’í House of Worship near Delhi, India, has been completed and deshuttering of the dome has begun. Although not shown in this photograph, concreting of two of the Temple’s entrance leaves also has been completed.
Bahá’í News[edit]
Photographs convey joy, excitement of dedication of Temple in Samoa | 1 |
Bahá’í-operated School of Nations grows, flourishes in Brasília, Brazil | 4 |
From Canada, guidance to help Spiritual Assemblies grow, develop | 7 |
Around the world: News from Bahá’í communities all over the globe | 12 |
Bahá’í News is published monthly 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. Manuscripts submitted should be typewritten and double spaced throughout; any footnotes should appear at the end. The contributor should keep a carbon copy. Send materials to the Periodicals Office, Bahá’í National Center, Wilmette, IL 60091, U.S.A. Changes of address should be reported to the Office of Membership and Records, Bahá’í National Center. Please attach mailing label. Subscription rates within U.S.: one year, $12; two years, $20. Outside U.S.: one year, $14; two years, $24. Foreign air mail: one year, $20; two years, $40. Payment must accompany order and must be in U.S. dollars. Second class postage paid at Wilmette, IL 60091. Copyright © 1984, National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. World rights reserved. Printed in the U.S.A.
Samoa[edit]
Photographs of Temple’s dedication[edit]
On Saturday, September 1, the Mother Temple of the Pacific was dedicated in a gala ceremony at Apia, Western Samoa, at which the Universal House of Justice was represented by the Hand of the Cause of God Amatu’l-Bahá Rúḥíyyih Khánum. She was received at the airport by the head of state, His Highness Malietoa Tanumafili II, who is a Bahá’í. Also present at the airport to greet their honored guest were the Prime Minister of Western Samoa, Tofilau Eti, cabinet ministers, diplomatic and government officials, and Bahá’ís from all over the world. In all, more than 1,000 Bahá’ís from 45 countries and islands were present at the dedication ceremony. Afterward, a traditional Samoan sua ceremony was held during which Amatu’l-Bahá Rúḥíyyih Khánum presented to His Highness the Malietoa a model of the Temple which was sent as a gift by the Universal House of Justice. The ceremony also included the exchange of traditional gifts of roast pigs, fine mats, tapa cloth and food among all the high officials who were present. On the following pages we present our own “gift” in the form of a series of photographs depicting the joyous and heart-stirring dedication ceremony.
[Page 2]
Above: Bahá’ís and their guests stream
from the Mother Temple of the Pacific
following the dedication ceremony
September 1. Above right: The Hand
of the Cause of God Amatu’l-Bahá
Rúḥíyyih Khánum and His Highness
Malietoa Tanamufili II watch the traditional Samoan sua ceremony. Right:
One of the Samoan elders addresses the
assembled dignitaries. Below: One of
several roast pigs which were exchanged as gifts during the ceremony
in Apia, Western Samoa, is carried forward by six muscular young Samoans.
Fair skies and warm weather prevailed
during the entire dedication ceremony.
[Page 3]
Above: A view of the audience at the
dedication ceremony for the Mother
Temple of the Pacific. Right: Samoan
women make frangipani garlands to
decorate the Temple site. Below: His
Highness Malietoa Tanumafili II
speaks during the dedication ceremony.
Brazil[edit]
‘School of Nations’ marks fourth year[edit]
On September 1, 1984, the Bahá’í-operated School of the Nations in Brasília, Brazil, which is better known by its Portuguese name, Escola das Nacões, celebrated its fourth anniversary.
Looking back, it hardly seems possible that this thriving institution of 140 students representing 30 nationalities including children from families with the Brazilian state department, and served by an international teaching staff of 20, should have had such a modest beginning.
The idea for a school in Brazil operated by Bahá’ís was born at the 1979 Bahá’í National Convention in Belo Horizonte. A group of educators at that Convention saw an opportunity in which they could, by joining together, create a school based on Bahá’í principles that would provide a desired education for their own children while spreading word of the Faith in action throughout the non-Bahá’í community.
Within a year four of these Bahá’ís, Jacques and Suzanne von Frasunkiewicz and Jim and Jeannine Sacco, had moved from the extreme south and north of Brazil to the center of the country so that they could be within consulting distance of each other. In their planning, it was decided that the kind of school that could best be undertaken, given previous international school experience in Brazil and the desire to attract prominent people and authorities to the Faith, would be a high-quality bi-lingual elementary school in the capital city, Brasília.
From out of the blue, the Bahá’ís were offered three rooms in which to begin the school, and were introduced to a nucleus of families ... who were impressed by the nature of the school these Bahá’ís were planning to establish.
Exactly how this was to be accomplished had to be left to the Supreme Concourse as these Bahá’ís were unknown in Brasília and had no financial backing. Indeed, there was already a lovely and prestigious American school that had served Brasília’s high-strata international community for years without any competition. But encouraged by letters from the Universal House of Justice, the small group of educational pioneers continued to pray and to plan.
Mysteriously, within a few months, the doors began to open. First, the American School of Brasília found itself torn apart by an internal crisis of great proportions. The school’s director, who was well-liked by the international community, was replaced by one whose vision was considerably less world-embracing. As a result, the Brazilian staff and students and those from Third World countries felt that their language, culture and value as human beings was much less appreciated. This discrimination especially affected members of the Brazilian Department of State, many of whose children attended the school. The crisis grew to nationwide importance with newspapers reporting the incidents taking place at the school over a period of months. Truly, the need for a school in Brasília based on universal values had become urgent.
But to establish that new school for the “family of man,” many obstacles had to be overcome. For example, because of a strict Federal District zoning ordinance that places limits on school locations, it was all but impossible to rent an adequate building. The authorities were unable to help, and efforts to rent at least part of an existing school were unsuccessful. Finally, at the point of greatest discouragement, the Bahá’ís were invited to attend an inauguration party for a new English-language center, and it was here that a breakthrough was made which caused them to offer prayers of praise and thanksgiving to Bahá’u’lláh. From out of the blue, the Bahá’ís were offered three’ rooms in which to begin the school, and were introduced to a nucleus of families from the Brazilian State Department who were impressed as to the nature of the school these Bahá’ís were planning to establish. As the inaugural ceremony came to an end, several of these families promised that they would enroll their children in the Escola das Nacões, should it become a reality.
So with promises of enrollments and one month in which to begin, a family had to be moved to Brasília, staff interviewed and hired, students registered, materials purchased, and the curriculum, already in the planning stages for more than a year, readied for immediate use.
| This article detailing the history and present operations of the Bahá’í-run School of the Nations in Brasília, Brazil, was written for Bahá’í News by two members of the school’s staff, Jeannine B. Sacco and Suzanne von Frasunkiewicz. |
The Escola das Nacões opened September 1, 1980, with emotions running high as though a new and beautiful space vehicle which had undergone tedious planning and preparation had finally been launched.
From the beginning the curriculum was international in emphasis and bilingual in form, tailored to meet the needs of its multi-cultural clientele. It sought to convey a strong appreciation
[Page 5]
of Brazilian culture and language as
well as those other cultures represented
at the school, and an in-depth immersion in English as an international
medium of communication. Thus, half
of each school day was taught in Portuguese and the other half in English.
Materials used were those that had previously been purchased over several years with the intention of someday starting a school. Since then the program has been continuously refined and the process of re-evaluation goes on. Additionally, special emphasis is being given to teaching manners and morals, and underlying themes of the school such as brotherhood, unity in diversity, and world citizenship are highlighted during the school’s annual United Nations Week in October, Friendship Week (near Valentine’s Day in February), in a program honoring all religions (near Christmas), and during Family Week (near Mother’s Day). Programs at these times are used to accent Bahá’í principles which are taught throughout the year.
Special activities have included visits to other schools and to the local UN office, bazaars for such worthy causes as UNICEF (which have been televised nationally and have included presentations by the children in their national dress). Such programs have helped give the school a reputation of being in the forefront in moral education and universal social consciousness. Impressed by the school’s UN Week observances, the Brasília office of the United Nations has supported it with materials and its personal participation. Bahá’í prayers and songs are incorporated into the daily program with wonderful acceptance by parents and children alike.
The Escola das Nacões now includes far more Bahá’í participation than that of the original founders. From the outset, Auxiliary Board member Qudrat Soltani supported the school as a partner and even donated a large tract of land in a nearby rural area for a future rural development project. As the student body expanded from 17 to 35 by April 1981, then to 75 that August, and now to 140—there is a waiting list until larger facilities permit expansion—it also required additional staff to serve the growing number of students.
Jairo Dechtiar was the first Brazilian Bahá’í to join the staff. Next came Helen Shapin who soon became Mrs. Dechtiar. In 1981, Bob and Zl Walker moved to Brasília from the east coast of Brazil, and in 1982, Jo Kuntz, a teacher who had worked at the U.S. Bahá’í National Center in Wilmette, Illinois, joined the staff. Finally, in March 1984, a new teaching couple from the U.S., Paul and Rebecca Mitchell, arrived with their four children.
While the school’s growth has produced gratifying advances, it has not been without its drawbacks. Having doubled the number of its students after a short time in the English Center, the school was forced to leave its original home of three small classrooms. Larger quarters were found at the Presbyterian Institute, but it soon became apparent that the move created some special problems of its own. The landlords of the building which until recently housed the Escola das Nacões were not entirely pleased by the success of the school. In short, they were unable to understand why the school of their non-Christian renters prospered while their own school next door was forced to close its doors.
Peter Greaves, who heads Brazil’s UNICEF office, is shown with students at the Bahá’í-operated Escola das Nacões (School of the Nations) in Brasília in November 1982 when UNICEF was given a $200 check by the school to help support its efforts on behalf of the world’s underprivileged children.
[Page 6]
Pictured (left to right) are eight members of the staff of the Escola das Nacões (School of the Nations), a Bahá’í-operated elementary school in Brasília, Brazil: Rebecca Mitchell, Jacques von Frasunkiewicz, Jeannine Sacco, James Sacco, Sue von Frasunkiewicz, Paul Mitchell, Zl Walker, Jo Kuntz. Not pictured is Ilma Ferreira Nascimento who joined the staff in September 1984.
As a result, they progressively took away the rights to use the playground, meeting hall, and other facilities. Finally, one month before the end of the current school year, the landlords refused to renew the rental contract, saying they wanted the building within 30 days or legal proceedings would be initiated. Miraculously, at almost the same time the school received the news that its four-year-old petition to buy land was approved, and the school was being offered a handsome plot by the government land agency. Remarkably, the plot provides not only room for a school, but includes the rare designation that a religious building and its dependencies can also be constructed on it. The way was thus opened for the Bahá’í community of Brasília to at long last build a local Bahá’í Center as well as, at the national level, a public relations office, a victory that was impossible before because of the unavailability of land with this unusual zoning.
In December 1983 the National Spiritual Assembly of Brazil, recognizing the unique character of the school and its clientele, and the need for the Bahá’ís to make contact with prominent people and those in authority, resolved to do everything in its power to help the school acquire the land offered by the government. At the 1984 Bahá’í National Convention, an appeal for support was made by the National Assembly with that body itself contributing a sizable amount of money. As a result of that appeal, the school was able to make a down payment on the land it so desperately needs to continue to exist. An amount still must be raised, however, to complete payment for the land, and more funds are needed to begin construction.
The School of the Nations now operates under the aegis of the National Spiritual Assembly of Brazil which oversees all details of its administration. Besides its current activities, there are plans to use the Escola das Nacões to pilot socio-economic projects such as rural school development. Property that was acquired earlier will be used to build a model rural school at which teachers will be trained, staff housed, and special educational materials published for use in other areas of Brazil and even other countries. With plans for expansion, new staff will have to be hired, especially experienced elementary level teachers. Later, high school teachers will be required. Anyone with the necessary qualifications and interest is invited to send a letter of introduction and a curriculum vitae to Escola das Nacões, Caixa Postal 7093, Brasília, D.F. 71600, Brazil.
Thus the School of the Nations forges ahead, proving the power of Bahá’í consultation and the wonderful attracting power of the universal principles of the Faith when applied in the education of Bahá’ís and non-Bahá’ís alike. A note from the Parent-Teacher Association which was attached to a floral spray and sent to the school on its anniversary summarizes the feelings of all who are closely involved with the Escola das Nacões. The note reads:
“Planted with love, growing with love, ever increasing in numbers these flowers of the school’s Universal Garden. Congratulations!—PTA Escola das Nacões”
Canada[edit]
Assemblies: ‘Taking counsel together’[edit]
Shoghi Effendi has said, “The Bahá’í Faith, like all other Divine religions, is ... fundamentally mystic in character. Its chief goal is the development of the individual and society, through the acquisition of spiritual virtues and powers.” (Directives from the Guardian, p. 86)
He has further said that “... the core of religious faith is that mystic feeling which unites man with God.” We can understand from this that all the outward activities in the Bahá’í Faith must have their roots in the hearts of the believers: “Laws and institutions, as viewed by Bahá’u’lláh, can become really effective only when our inner spiritual life has been perfected and transformed. Otherwise religion will degenerate into a mere organization, and become a dead thing.” (Directives from the Guardian, p. 87)
The heart of man is the only ultimate receptacle of God’s spirit on earth: “That the heart is the throne, in which the Revelation of God the All-Merciful is centered, is attested by the holy utterances ... ‘Earth and heaven cannot contain Me; what can alone contain Me is the heart of him that believeth in Me, and is faithful to My Cause.’ ” (Gleanings, p. 186)
Manifestations previous to Bahá’u’lláh have taught individuals how to “practice the presence of God”—to become effective instruments for God’s spirit. (Even if only a few followers of the Manifestation actually put into action His teachings and spiritualized their lives, the fact that many ordinary people became saints
A social order that expresses the will of the people may avoid the tyranny inherent in unspiritualized autocratic rule, but if the people’s will is itself unspiritual and materialistic, then so will be the democratic order based on that will.
and won for themselves a lasting place in religious history shows that the power for individual transformation was present and available to all.)
It is primarily through the influence of such enlightened persons that the Divine Spirit has, in the past, influenced the collective life of man. Even the most spiritually inclined followers of religion did not dare to conceive of the possibility of groups generally becoming collective instruments for God’s spirit. Social and group activity tended to be organized around authoritative and charismatic personalities: parents and grandparents in the family, elders in the tribe, etc. The group personality became an extension of the personalities of charismatic figures within the group.
Such forms of social organization are highly charged with personal, human characteristics. We might say that they are personalized forms of social organization. When the charismatic or authoritative personalities were spiritualized, things went well. But when these figures were demonic, then so were the social orders that expressed their personalities.
In modern times, and in certain highly industrialized countries, this traditional, personalized form of social organization has been largely replaced by its extreme opposite—a depersonalized, dehumanized social order created by democratization and scientific, technological efficiency without spiritualization.
A social order that expresses the will of the people may avoid the tyranny inherent in unspiritualized autocratic rule, but if the people’s will is itself unspiritual and materialistic, then so will be the democratic order based on that will.
The challenge we face as Bahá’ís, then, is to establish, for the first time on earth, collective instruments for God’s will, collective channels for His spirit. These collective instruments and channels are our Local Spiritual Assemblies.
The Local Assembly is a new creation which is sustained and animated by the Divine Spirit and which is designed to enjoy the positive benefits of previous forms of administration while eliminating their imperfections and limitations. In this connection, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá has said:
“The Spiritual Assemblies to be established in this Age of God, this holy century, have, it is indisputable, had neither peer nor likeness in the cycles gone before. For those assemblages that wielded power were based on the support of mighty leaders of men, while these Assemblies are based on the support of the Beauty of Abhá. The defenders and patrons of those other assemblages were either a prince or a king, or a chief priest, or the mass of the people. But
| This article on the development and functioning of Local Spiritual Assemblies, “Becoming Instruments for the Spirit,” is reprinted from Bahá’í Canada, May-June, July-August, and September-October 1983. |
these Spiritual Assemblies have for their defender, their supporter, their helper, their inspirer, the omnipotent Lord.” (Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, p. 82)
To fulfill their God-given potential, our Assemblies desperately need the input of members who have undertaken to develop spirituality in their individual lives. Otherwise, as Shoghi Effendi has stressed, religion will become
[Page 8]
a “mere organization,” a “dead thing.”
But these Assemblies cannot become collective instruments of God’s will if they are dominated, controlled or manipulated, however subtly, by charismatic or authoritarian personalities, spiritualized though such personalities may be as individuals.
At the same time, these Assemblies must attain in their functioning to an efficiency that is characteristic of the best of a scientific administrative practice, but without becoming cold, austere or unloving. An efficient and well-run system in which everyone suffers from hurt feelings and impersonality is hardly better than the multiple intrigues and manipulations of a personality-ridden, inefficient administration.
Perhaps, then, one of the keys for our Assemblies to become instruments of the spirit of God is that of striking a proper balance between the exigencies of the personal, the human, and the heart-felt on the one hand, and the requirements of justice, objectivity, efficiency, and productiveness on the other. It is the persistent tension between these two poles of efficiency and compassion that Shoghi Effendi seems to express in the following statement:
“Nothing short of the spirit of a true Bahá’í can hope to reconcile the principles of mercy and justice, of freedom and submission, of the sanctity of the right of the individual and of self-surrender, of vigilance, discretion, and prudence on the one hand, and fellowship, candor, and courage on the other.” (Principles of Bahá’í Administration, p. 43)
Avoiding personalization[edit]
As individuals we naturally seek to express Our personalities in everything we do, and in particular in our work for the Faith. It sometimes happens that we can serve the Faith in a manner which enables us to express our personalities in a way that is satisfying to us. But it is not realistic to expect this to happen all or even most of the time. In our Assemblies, and indeed in all work for the Faith, it is the Faith that must be served and not ourselves. What is important is not so much how we can best serve the Faith, but rather, how the Faith can best be served.
Thus, one of the basic tasks we face as individual Assembly members is that of learning how to infuse our own developing spirituality into the Assembly process without contributing to an undue personalization of it. Since we are persons, this represents a unique kind of spiritual discipline never required in previous religious systems. But this discipline is clearly necessary if the Assembly is to become a collective instrument of the will of God.
In acquiring this discipline, it may be helpful for us to try to understand how we are liable to be perceived by others. We all have both weak and strong points that will be reflected in various aspects of our social and individual relationships.
If, for example, we are naturally articulate and uninhibited in group situations, we may have a tendency to dominate group discussions. If we are precise and logical in our expression of thought, we may become easily impatient with those who express themselves more intuitively, emotionally or vaguely.
If, on the other hand, we are shy and inhibited in group situations, we may prefer to allow ourselves to be dominated by others rather than to undertake the painful task of assuming a more active role in the group. We may, at the same time, feel resentment toward others who assume (rightly or wrongly) a more dominant role.
We have all been witness, at one time or another, to the situation that is produced when some members of an Assembly unthinkingly assume a too-dominant role while others become withdrawn, nursing hurt and resentful feelings. If such an imbalance in the Assembly is not corrected in its early stages, it may lead to a chronic and/or worsening block in the Assembly process.
Those who feel dominated may build up a fund of unexpressed resentment that finally explodes. Such explosions often carry much more emotion than is justified by the initial problem, and others may feel that the emotions expressed are unnecessarily strong, unfair or out of proportion to the situation. This makes the re-establishment of harmony much more difficult than it would have been had the problem been addressed in its initial stages when it was first perceived.
The fund of negative emotions now felt by some Assembly members may itself become the focus of the problem, obscuring the imbalance that originally caused it. Those who have exploded may afterward feel guilty about having caused such a storm, while others may have their feelings hurt by the strength of the outburst, and the original cause of the situation may never, in fact, be treated.
A possible suggestion for avoiding such episodes is for the Assembly members to be alert to such imbalances and to redress them as early as possible, before strong feelings of resentment have had time to build. A sensitive and tactful chairman can often perceive an imbalance and redress it by drawing out the shy or reticent person during consultation while lovingly but firmly limiting the contributions of the dominant, talkative Assembly members, especially when they involve obvious digressions or repetitions.
But every Assembly member, not only the chairman, has an obligation to maintain the integrity and quality of the consultation. Thus, each one can help by monitoring his own contributions to the consultation, and by striving to create an atmosphere of love and trust that makes shy or withdrawn members feel at ease.
One sometimes hears Assembly members complain that their Assembly is dominated by the chairman, or the secretary, or some other strong personality. It is, after all, the Assembly itself that elects its officers. If a majority of its members vote unreflectively for a strong personality as chairman, they have only themselves to blame. Moreover, it is clearly impossible for one person to dominate eight others without their tacit consent.
It sometimes happens that Assembly members are reluctant to broach the problem of a dominant member because they are afraid of the reaction it may provoke. We must then remind ourselves that courage is a spiritual virtue and that we are complicit in sabotaging the Assembly process if we refuse to face a genuine problem, hoping it will simply disappear.
Talking privately with an Auxiliary Board member or assistant about the problem may be helpful, but ultimately the Assembly will have to deal with the situation or it will simply reappear. A
[Page 9]
person who is allowed to dominate an
Assembly, and who resists subtle and
indirect hints that his actions are
bothersome to others, will probably
continue to act out his dominant role
indefinitely.
An imbalance in the Assembly may also occur in which there are one or more withdrawn members without there being any dominant members at all. This problem likewise has to be addressed, directly if necessary.
Thus, one important key to avoiding undue personalization of the Assembly process is to achieve a balance and harmony in which there are no dominant Assembly members and none who are withdrawn. This does not mean that one’s basic personality cannot contribute positively to the Assembly, and indeed the special talents and abilities of each member are potentially extremely useful to the Assembly process. But such individual talents can become truly useful only in the context of the relaxed and trusting atmosphere that is established when each member consciously subordinates his personality and its needs to the overriding needs of the Assembly.
Spiritual efficiency[edit]
If the Assembly members have made the necessary effort to spiritualize their individual lives, and if the proper balance and harmony have been achieved within the Assembly itself, then spiritual power will be released through the Assembly process. But this is only half of the task of making the Assembly an instrument of the will of God. The other half is learning how to use this spiritual power effectively and efficiently.
We might have anticipated that becoming instruments for God’s will would involve a stage of passivity in which further effort was unnecessary, in which things proceeded relatively automatically. But apparently, such is not the way God has chosen to work. In our private spiritual lives we learn that prayer, meditation and study of the Writings are indispensable prerequisites to action, but not substitutes for action.
In the same manner, we learn in our Assembly experience that without vigorous action and intelligent execution of decisions, the most unified and inspired consultation is ultimately fruitless. Indeed, in her invaluable account of Shoghi Effendi’s life, The Priceless Pearl, Amatu’l-Bahá Rúḥíyyih Khánum shows us how even the Guardian, who was vouchsafed infallibility, nevertheless experienced periods of agonizing search and effort before the matter at hand became clear and the way was opened to him.
Undoubtedly, our initial conception that a truly spiritual process must be generally smooth, automatic, uncom-
If the Assembly members have made the necessary effort to spiritualize their individual lives, and if the proper balance and harmony have been achieved within the Assembly itself, then spiritual power will be released through the Assembly process.
plicated and spontaneous represents a certain immaturity on our part. Once we realize this, we can relinquish all our preconceptions and seek with true humility a more mature and adequate vision of our task. (We can perhaps reflect that, were the task too easy and effortless, we might easily fall prey to arrogance and pride, thereby subverting the Assembly process.)
But if we try to maintain and justify our expectation of effortless success in the face of continued evidence and experience to the contrary, we will certainly become deeply discouraged and will probably begin to doubt the truth of the strong promises of divine assistance contained in the Writings. Such a nagging sense of doubt can become a powerful block to the successful prosecution of a spiritually efficient Assembly process, involving as it does both effective consultation and decision-making, and effective execution of decisions.
One symptom of spiritual inefficiency that has been frequently reported by those working with and on Assemblies is what might be called “overconsultation.” This occurs when the process of consultation on some particular matter is prolonged far beyond its point of usefulness. The matter at hand is simply discussed to death, often without any positive action resulting from the consultation.
Such overconsultation could result from a combination of several factors. Often we become fascinated with the process of consultation and (perhaps unaware of what we are doing) make it an end in itself. Having devoted so much energy toward creating the proper balance and spiritual atmosphere for successful consultation, we forget that consultation itself is merely a means to the end of making a decision on some course of action to be taken by the group. Consultation has a goal, and if that goal is not reached all of the spiritual energy used in creating a unified consultation will have been dissipated and lost.
There may also be an element of “spiritual laziness” or lethargy underlying the phenomenon of overconsultation. We all know that, when a decision is made, the next step is to implement it. We may dread the pressure of the responsibilities and work involved in implementing the decision. Overconsultation then becomes a sort of spiritual procrastination, a means of fleeing from or delaying an unpleasant task (unpleasant at least in anticipation).
We can eliminate overconsultation only by becoming aware of its causes and taking steps to eliminate them. It may also be helpful to focus on the distribution of responsibilities that results from Assembly decisions. Do they fall too often on the same handful of people? If so, then sooner or later those people may build up resentment against the unfairness of the situation, and the process of the efficient execution of Assembly decisions will be blocked.
Just as imbalance must be avoided in the decision-making part of the Assembly process, so it must be avoided in the implementation phase as well. The whole Assembly is responsible for implementing its decisions, as the whole Assembly is responsible for the quality of its consultation. The fact that some people may agree, for a certain time, to play a disproportionately large role in implementing Assembly decisions does not mean that it is fair for them to do so.
One helpful approach to this problem may be for the Assembly to establish a system of portfolios and committees. In this way, the various responsibilities for the ongoing work of
[Page 10]
the Assembly can be objectively and
fairly distributed, with each person’s
responsibility and role clearly defined
and understood.
For example, there are permanent obligations such as Feasts and holy days. Instead of spending large amounts of Assembly time at the last minute trying to arrange for the celebration of a holy day, a permanent holy days committee would come to the Assembly with specific proposals which could then be approved, modified, or, if necessary, changed completely by the Assembly. A committee could be formed to deal with personal problems. Such a committee would meet initially with the individual or individuals involved, ask relevant questions and gather information which is then presented to the Assembly for its consideration. The Assembly can also form an ad hoc committee for the execution of a specific task such as arranging a public meeting.
Moreover, most of these committees can involve non-Assembly members. This has the doubly positive effect of decreasing the burden on Assembly members while involving the non-Assembly members in the work of the community. In fact, it is even possible for many of these committees to function without any Assembly member at all.
Flexibility and imagination both are needed if the Assembly is to function efficiently. The point is that true efficiency (as opposed to the impersonal bureaucratic variety) is a spiritual quality. It makes administration less burdensome for all concerned and thus increases its rewards and benefits.
Undoubtedly, it is a great challenge to produce an Administrative Order that is efficient without being heavy-handed and impersonal. But we have the advantage of knowing that it is possible to achieve such a spiritual administration because God has endowed our institutions with the power to become collective instruments for His will.
Assembly officers[edit]
In the Seven Year Plan, great emphasis has been placed on the activities of local Bahá’í communities. At the axis of these activities are the Spiritual Assemblies which, in the words of the Universal House of Justice, “should develop as rallying centres of the community.” (From a letter dated April 17, 1981, to all National Spiritual Assemblies, published in The Seven Year Plan, p. 36)
“The local assemblies should inspire confidence in the individual believers,” the Guardian explains, “and these in their turn should express their readiness to fully abide by the decisions and directions of the local assembly; the two must learn to co-operate, and to realize that only through such a co-operation can the institutions of the Cause effectively and permanently function.” (From a letter written on the Guardian’s behalf to an individual believer dated October 28, 1935, and published in The Local Spiritual Assembly, p. 19)
One element in inspiring confidence in the friends and attracting their co-operation is the degree to which the Assembly is able to function efficiently. In the midst of a culture that places a high value on efficiency in its material affairs, we might ask ourselves what “efficient functioning, in the true spirit of the Faith” requires of us as members of Bahá’í institutions.
The Universal House of Justice has written that the efficient functioning of a Local Spiritual Assembly depends largely on its officers properly carrying out their responsibilities:
“In the courses for Local Assembly members special attention should be paid to ... the functions and duties of the Assembly’s officers, especially those of the secretary, upon the proper discharge of whose responsibilities the efficient functioning of the Assembly largely depends ...” (From a letter dated April 17, 1981, to all National Spiritual Assemblies, published in The Seven Year Plan, p. 33)
It is not difficult to understand why the officers exert such a major influence on the Assembly’s efficient operation. Many of us have had the experience of consulting for long hours, and then finally arriving at a course of action which, for a variety of reasons, is never carried out. Our hours of work thus bear no visible results, and the Assembly’s minutes, rather than being the seed that gives birth, for example, to a wonderfully successful proclamation program, become instead merely a catalog of good intentions.
What is more difficult to see is the way in which the Assembly, as an institution, can determine if the officers are in fact properly carrying out their responsibilities. The Assembly itself, after all, is responsible “to be alert and carry out the work adequately.” (Directives from the Guardian, p. 7) Too often, an Assembly will continue its meetings week after week with no way of checking whether its decisions have been carried out. As with any other aspect of its functioning, it is helpful if the Assembly consults and agrees on a method for doing so.
Some Assemblies, for example, at the beginning of each meeting, make a point of reviewing the tasks assigned at the previous meeting and receiving a quick progress report from those responsible for carrying them out. If a member has forgotten about a particular assignment or for some reason has been unable to take it in hand, the Assembly will have an opportunity to see whether that individual feels he can still carry out the task, whether he might need assistance, or whether it would be more effective for someone else to take it on. By agreeing on some such method, the other Assembly members are not placed in the position of seeming to mistrust their fellow members and officers by taking it upon themselves to ask whether particular assignments have been completed.
Whatever method is settled on, the Assembly members should use it as a channel through which to provide loving support and encouragement to their colleagues rather than as a period of stern scrutiny and judgment. Our Christian background often predisposes us to feel endlessly guilty for our failures in service to the Cause. It is not surprising that we sometimes turn this tendency on the other Assembly members, focusing on their shortcomings instead of overlooking them.
There can be no more dispiriting experience for the secretary, treasurer or chairman of an Assembly than to receive comments from his fellow members only on what he has failed to do or what he could or should have done in a better way, rather than also on what he has accomplished.
In our efforts to emphasize the supreme role of the institutions Bahá’u’lláh has created to guide the affairs of His Faith, we may be disinclined to recognize the role of particular indivi-
[Page 11]
duals. It may surprise us, then, to realize the extent to which the Guardian
singled out Horace Holley, secretary of
the U.S. National Spiritual Assembly
from 1923 until 1949, with such words
of praise and encouragement as the following, written in 1932:
“... your active share in the administrative activities of the Cause, your splendid letters of appeal in connection with the Plan of Unified Action, your wise leadership of the New York Assembly—all testify to your marvelous efficiency and your high spiritual attainments.”
As with any other attribute, we cannot separate efficiency from other facets of spiritual development. Horace Holley’s accomplishments testified to his “high spiritual attainments.” In its Riḍván 1983 message, the Universal House of Justice sets out a cause-and-effect relationship between inner spiritual development and the harmonious, vigorous and efficient functioning of Bahá’í Assemblies:
“At present we must complete the objectives of the Seven Year Plan, paying great attention to those inner spiritual developments which will be manifested in greater unity among the friends and in National and Local Spiritual Assemblies functioning ‘harmoniously, vigorously and efficiently’ as the Guardian desired.” (From a letter dated Riḍván 1983 to the Bahá’ís of the world)
It sometimes happens that officers of Local Assemblies become so burdened with administrative work that they have little appetite or energy for attending to their own inner spiritual development. The Assembly that elects as its secretary a mother with small children who lives in the only home available for Bahá’í meetings might usefully consult with her to see what help she may need to properly discharge her responsibilities.
For example, the Assembly might arrange for practical help such as regular babysitting each week, so that she has time to do her Assembly work. If no competent volunteer help is available, the Assembly might decide to hire a paid clerical assistant for the secretary, if the work requires it. This assistant need not be a member of the Assembly but should enjoy its confidence. Another means of help the Assembly might offer would be to arrange for this mother’s family responsibilities to be looked after for a day or a weekend so that she could have some time to herself to replenish her spiritual resources.
As the Faith enters a period of rapid growth and increasing opposition, we may underestimate the pressures that will be directed toward members of Assemblies, and especially their officers. Recalling that Shoghi Effendi required a period of time away in the mountains of Switzerland to prepare himself spiri-
The important thing to realize is that no method of operation will work well indefinitely. The needs of the institution, its array of responsibilities, and the circumstances of particular members will inevitably develop and change.
tually and mentally for his role as Guardian of the Faith, some of us may from time to time need such retreats for prayer and meditation so as to be better able to draw on that mysterious power in the Cause which ‘Abdu’l-Bahá tells us is the real administrator of its complicated affairs: “There is a power in this Cause—,” He assures us, “a mysterious power—far, far, far away from the ken of men and angels; that invisible power is the cause of all these outward activities ... It administers the complicated affairs of the Cause.” (The Covenant of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 70)
Recognizing that the officers must carry out their responsibilities properly and that the Assembly must assure itself in a loving way that they are doing so, many Assemblies will want to know exactly what tasks each of their officers are supposed to carry out and how. If one reviews the guidance available to us from the Central Figures of the Faith, from the Guardian, and from the Universal House of Justice, he notices that the vast majority of it deals with the institution of the Spiritual Assembly itself and with the responsibilities of the members—all of them, rather than simply those of the officers. Relatively little has been written about the specific ways in which the officers of an Assembly are to function. One is thus led to conclude not that the duties of the officers are unimportant, but rather that the spiritual principles and attributes related to the Assembly and its members are far more important. Another obvious conclusion is that the precise way in which the officers function is a secondary matter that is left largely to the discretion of the particular Assembly.
Here again an Assembly is wise to consult and decide what tasks it would like the secretary to assume and what can be given to other Assembly or community members; what duties it wants the treasurer to carry out and which could be assigned to a committee or to another believer; how it would like the chairman to function and whether it would like to have a roster of rotating chairmen for Assembly meetings for a period of time.
The important thing to realize is that no method of operation will work well indefinitely. The needs of the institution, its array of responsibilities, and the circumstances of particular members will inevitably develop and change. An efficient Assembly is one that can accommodate these developments without any serious disruption in the harmony and vigor with which it functions. Such an Assembly will enjoy not only the confidence of its community, but will also find, as the Universal House of Justice desires, that it is “cherished, nurtured, loved, assisted, obeyed and prayed for.” (From a letter dated Naw-Rúz 1974 to the Bahá’ís of the world, published in The Seven Year Plan, p. 16)
The world[edit]
Media promote Faith in El Salvador[edit]
Recent publicity for the Faith in El Salvador has included telecasts from May until late July and again in September on the country’s national educational TV station of the series of half-hour programs titled “Crece con Nosotros” (Grow with Us).
The same station also telecast another Bahá’í program on the “Camino del Sol” (Trail of Light) which was given to it by Lauretta King, a member of the Continental Board of Counsellors for the Americas who recently visited El Salvador.
Radio Mundo offers the Bahá’ís nine 30-second radio spots each day at no charge. The Public Relations Committee has been providing the station with materials for these announcements and has placed newspaper ads to promote the Bahá’í television series.
On August 10, two articles relating to the Faith were published in the newspaper La Prensa. One described the Bahá’í Youth Committee’s plans for United Nations International Youth Year, while the other explained the general goals of the Faith.
One hundred seventy-five people from 20 communities attended a National Bahá’í Teaching Conference last July 15 in El Salvador.
Among the speakers was Auxiliary Board member Soheil Shahadinizad who spoke about the Seven Year Plan goals, the Bahá’í attributes of faithfulness and truthfulness, and the Raúl Pavón Deepening Project.
El Salvador’s 10th annual Bahá’í Education Conference (formerly called a Children’s Conference) was held last August 26 and attended by many families.
Included were a deepening on the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, memorization of passages from The Hidden Words and Bahá’í prayers, and classes on the importance of schooling and proper nutrition for children, and the avoidance of intoxicants.
Separate sessions were held for the children of those attending the Education Conference.
Much has been accomplished since the conference to help new Spiritual Assemblies in El Salvador. A recent report indicates that one new Assembly has held four meetings along with regular children’s classes and has started collecting contributions to the Fund.
Dr. Hidáyatu’lláh Aḥmadíyyih, a member of the Continental Board of Counsellors for the Americas, visited the friends in El Salvador last June 8-10.
During his visit, the Counsellor attended a teaching conference in Santa Tecla and met with the National Spiritual Assembly, Auxiliary Board members, the National Teaching Committee, National Youth Committee, National Public Relations Committee, and with pioneers to El Salvador.
Gabon[edit]
Members of the first National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Gabon, elected last Riḍván, are shown with Dr. Húshang Ahdieh, a member of the Continental Board of Counsellors for Africa (front row center) who represented the Universal House of Justice at Gabon’s National Convention.
Brazil[edit]
The Hand of the Cause of God Amatu’l-Bahá Rúḥíyyih Khánum will take part next January 10-13 in the first International Teaching Conference of the Amazon Region to be held in Manaus, capital of the state of Amazonas, Brazil. The conference will bring together Bahá’ís from all the countries of the Amazon Region as well as from other countries around the world to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the historic Green Light Expedition which marked the beginning of the spiritual conquest of that great region. It will be dedicated to the memory of the beloved Counsellor Raúl Pavón whose untiring services for the Blessed Beauty in the Amazon Region continue to bear fruit. The conference will be held in the ‘Teatro Amazonas,’ the world-famous Opera House of Manaus, a city of about one million situated in the heart of the Amazon jungle at the confluence of the rivers Solimoes and Negro where the mighty Rio Amazonas is formed. The city has a tropical climate and is surrounded by the natural beauty of the jungles and rivers. The primary objective of the International Conference is to lend a great impetus to the establishment of the Faith in the region and to the increasing expansion and strengthening of Local Spiritual Assemblies. It will also witness the start of the Amazon Project, a comprehensive plan for the social and economic development of the region which has for some time been the object of study and consultation by the National Spiritual Assembly of Brazil with a view toward the settlement of an increasing number of pioneers in this important area. His Excellency the governor of the state of Amazonas has confirmed his presence at the opening ceremony of the conference. The Bahá’ís of the Amazon Region are happy to invite their co-workers in other countries to participate in the conference and to help write the history of the Faith in this region. A special appeal is made to youth to participate in this inaugural event of the International Year for Youth. More information about the conference can be obtained from the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Brazil.
The first Bahá’í border conference involving the friends from Brazil, Guyana and Venezuela was held last February 11-12 in Boa Vista, Brazil.
Consultation was focused on teaching, proclamation, economic and social development projects for Indian people, and translations of the Writings into Indian dialects.
On the opening day, representatives of each of the three National Spiritual Assemblies reviewed the progress of the Faith in their respective countries.
St. Lucia[edit]
About 50 people including Counsellors Peter McLaren and Ruth Pringle and representatives of 17 National Spiritual Assemblies in the Caribbean basin and Latin America as well as Japan attended a conference for Auxiliary Board members that was held last August 15-19 in St. Lucia, West Indies.
Its purpose was to introduce and study materials prepared at the Ruhi Institute in Colombia which comprise a deepening program designed especially for indigenous believers.
Immediately after the conference, the Bahá’ís of St. Lucia hosted a weeklong Summer School that was attended by area believers and by several of those who had taken part in the conference for the Auxiliary Board.
In addition to attending classes on Bahá’í family and community life, the Covenant, Bahá’í administration, and Christian topics, teams of Bahá’ís spent their afternoons in several villages where they taught the Faith, offered to conduct children’s classes, and helped deepen the friends on the Ruhi Institute materials.
Taiwan[edit]
Jan Huang, a U.S. pioneer to Taiwan, and her husband, David, who is secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly of Taiwan, address an audience of more than 75 during a recent proclamation event at the local library in Chung Hsing New Village. The Huangs spoke about their intercultural marriage and made it clear during their presentation that they are Bahá’ís. One of the non-Bahá’ís in the audience, eager to learn more, attended several firesides and, on the day before Riḍván, declared his belief in Bahá’u’lláh, thus becoming the ninth Bahá’í in the village. The entire Taiwanese Bahá’í community celebrated this victory in the city in which the Taiwanese government has its seat and where the Faith has grown very slowly.
Australia[edit]
The Spiritual Assembly of Malvern, Victoria, Australia recently sponsored four service-oriented teaching activities including an exercise class, cooking demonstrations, prayers for world peace, and a seminar on health and healing.
All were advertised in local newspapers in an ad which mentioned that numbers were limited. Each activity soon was fully booked and a waiting list was formed for those interested citizens who called too late.
The six-week exercise class, held at the local Bahá’í Center, resulted in one enrollment.
When one of the non-Bahá’ís attending the international cooking demonstrations found that the Bahá’ís would accept no money from those taking part in the program, she insisted on inviting all of the cooks to her home where she cooked for them.
The same woman then invited more than 30 of her friends to her home and asked one of the Bahá’ís to come and speak about the Faith.
Representatives from the United Nations office and the office of the premier of Victoria attended the prayer service for world peace.
Forty non-Bahá’ís, most of them health professionals, attended the seminar on health and healing at the Malvern Bahá’í Center.
Sierra Leone[edit]
Sixty-five Bahá’í youth from 16 localities in three countries attended a National Youth Conference last April 6-8 in Freetown, Sierra Leone.
Speakers included two Auxiliary Board members, the country’s minister of social welfare, and a United Nations representative.
The message to youth from the Universal House of Justice served as a source of great inspiration.
Sikkim[edit]
When His Excellency Shri Homi J.H. Talyarkhan, governor of Sikkim, paid a recent visit to the administrative offices of the government’s publicity department, he noticed many uniformed children in the welcoming crowd. When the governor asked about them and was told that they are students at a Bahá’í school next to the government offices, he decided to visit the school.
The secretary of the government’s publicity department had asked that the children from the Bahá’í school join the crowd so there would be enough people present to properly welcome the governor.
During a two-hour visit to the Bahá’í school, Governor Talyarkhan enjoyed a performance by the children, toured the library, had tea with the school staff, and asked many questions that indicated his keen interest.
In an address to the students, the governor said that education is the only means of progress, adding that all should take the “Each One Teach One” program seriously.
At the end of his visit, the governor was presented a copy of the book A Cry from the Heart by the Hand of the Cause of God William Sears.
A newspaper article which described the governor’s visit to the school quoted him as saying, “Pride in our country should be created in the minds of tiny tots through education by cultivating the habit of truth and faith in the universality of religion,” and “service to the rural poor and economically needy is service to the nation and the need of the hour.”
Liechtenstein[edit]
The first Spiritual Assembly of Vaduz in the Principality of Liechtenstein was established last June 2. In reporting the long-awaited event, the National Spiritual Assembly of Switzerland noted that the members of the new Assembly reflect the diversity of the Bahá’í community.
Two of its members are from Liechtenstein, two are Peruvians, two are Swiss, one is German, one is from Mozambique, and one is from Iran.
New Zealand[edit]
The Faith was proclaimed to nearly 2,000 lawyers from British Commonwealth countries at a Triennial Law Conference held last April in Rotorua, New Zealand.
Two Bahá’ís from New Zealand who are lawyers attended the conference and spoke about the Faith to many of their colleagues.
In addition, a Bahá’í exhibit consisting of free-standing panels presented the Faith’s history, its present world status, the structure of its administrative order, and principles of particular concern to lawyers such as obedience to the law, justice for everyone, the elimination of prejudice, equality of men and women, and world peace upheld by a world government.
A part of the Bahá’í booth displayed examples of media response to the persecution of Bahá’ís in Iran. Video tapes of the American television program “20/20,” which devoted a recent segment to the persecutions in Iran, was shown with another video tape entitled “Unity in Diversity.”
During the conference itself, the attorney general of Australia made reference to religious intolerance and to the plight of Bahá’ís in Iran. A lawyer from India also drew attention to the Faith during an interview broadcast by New Zealand’s national radio network.
Pictured are members of the first Local Spiritual Assembly of Waimea County, New Zealand, at the northwestern tip of the country’s South Island. They are (standing left to right) John Maxwell, Lyn Boyce, Frank Boyce, Trudy Culling, Harry Hancock, George Snowden, and (kneeling in front) Carol Snowden, Alan Culling, Trish Lamorie. Mr. Hancock was one of three original pioneers to the South Island and has lived there for more than 20 years.
The National Spiritual Assembly of New Zealand reported that “a breakthrough in proclaiming (the Faith) to the judiciary was achieved, not only for New Zealand, but also for Australia, India and England.”
The 300 people who attended a Bahá’í National Teaching Conference last June 3 in Palmerston North, New Zealand, included Maoris, Europeans and Pacific Islanders.
Switzerland[edit]
The 1984 Swiss Bahá’í Summer School was held at the recently purchased meeting place in Landegg, about an hour from Zurich at the corner of Switzerland, Austria, Germany and Liechtenstein.
Costa Rica[edit]
Sixteen Bahá’ís participated last August 1-12 in an experimental Teacher Training Institute that was held at the Artemus Lamb Institute in Costa Rica’s Guanacaste Province.
The three-fold purpose of the gathering was to improve the physical condition of the Institute, train participants in teaching, and carry out some direct teaching to strengthen Bahá’í communities in the area.
For seven days, participants worked each morning improving the Institute property, then rested and read prayers before attending classes. Public meetings were held each evening.
Inspired by the beauty of the gardens at the Bahá’í World Centre in Haifa, the believers cleared land around the Institute and created a nine-pointed star in each of the three areas in front of the building. They trimmed the rest of the Institute property and planted vegetables. The building itself was screened and repaired.
As a result of direct teaching carried out during the second week of the Institute with help from members of the National Spiritual Assembly, 30 people declared their belief in Bahá’u’lláh.
Another result was a tape recording made with the Bri-Bri Indian Bahá’ís who participated in the Institute. It was to be broadcast later on a daily five-minute Bahá’í radio program.
Participants in an experimental teacher-training institute held last August 1-12 clear property around the Artemus Lamb Institute in Guanacaste Province, Costa Rica, before planting vegetables and creating three nine-pointed star designs on the property in front of the main building.
Participants in the Teacher-Training Institute also were able to visit the new Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds in nearby El Llano where they improved the building’s grounds with help from new believers in that area.
The friends also conducted a public meeting at El Llano’s not-yet-dedicated Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds.
Pictured are some of the 16 Bahá’ís who participated last August 1-12 in an experimental teacher-training institute at the Artemus Lamb Bahá’í Institute in Guanacaste Province, Costa Rica. The two Bahá’í youth at the left are Bri-Bri Indians.
The Gambia[edit]
Bahá’í women in The Gambia were among the participants in a recent Seminar on the Role of Women in Development that was organized by the African Adult Education Association.
Arrangements for Bahá’í participation in the seminar were made by the National Women, Children and Education Committee of The Gambia, acting on information from Joan Hanlon, a Bahá’í who works for the Non-Formal Education Service Unit which hosted the meeting with the Women’s Bureau of The Gambia.
Mrs. Hanlon, who was introduced as a Bahá’í, had many opportunities to make friendly contacts and to answer questions. Some seminar participants purchased Bahá’í books from the small selection she brought with her.
A paper titled “Women in Development: A Bahá’í View,” based on publications by the Bahá’í International Community, was read by another Bahá’í woman and evoked some lively questions.
Peru[edit]
Delegates and guests at the 1984 Bahá’í National Convention in Peru learned that the country’s goal of 350 Local Spiritual Assemblies had been exceeded by 154, bringing the total number of Assemblies in Peru to 504.
The Quechua-Aymara indigenous region of Puno State has 313 Local Assemblies, followed by Cuzco State, the ancient Inca capital, with 103.
One-half of the 30 delegates to the National Convention were indigenous believers.
The National Spiritual Assembly of Peru reported last June that 25 new Assemblies had been elected in the country’s campaign to compensate for the loss of Assemblies in Iran.
The new Assemblies are in Cuzco, Apurimac and Madre de Dios, and each is named in honor of a non-functioning Persian Spiritual Assembly.
Of the 500 Local Assemblies elected in Peru last Riḍván, 313 are in Puno, the area around the Bahá’í radio station.
United Kingdom[edit]
The question of the persecution of Bahá’ís in Iran was raised last July on the floor of the Assembly of Northern Ireland which was meeting at the Parliament building in Belfast.
Gordon Mawhinney, an Assemblyman from South Antrim, was moved by news of the persecutions in Iran which he had heard from local Bahá’ís.
Although the Assembly is officially limited in its deliberations to the affairs of Northern Ireland, Mr. Mawhinney made a moving speech in which he compared the right of freedom of worship in the United Kingdom to the denial of that right in Iran.
Mr. Mawhinney was supported by the comments of a second Assemblyman.
Because the remarks concerned themselves with international rather than local matters, the Speaker of the Assembly had to rule them out of order, but because he too is sympathetic to the plight of the Iranian believers he waited until the comments had been made before so ruling.
Trinidad/Tobago[edit]
Pictured are some of the 150 children and parents who attended an Ayyám-i-Há celebration February 26 in Phillipine, Trinidad. Members of the Bahá’í children’s classes from Phillipine and neighboring Diamond Village opened the program with songs, prayers and an explanation of Ayyám-i-Há. Entertainment included professional singers, musicians and clowns. Each child received a gift of a coloring book featuring a Bahá’í lesson and a letter for his parents on Bahá’í teachings and family life.
Shown is one of the Bahá’í banners used during a ‘Bahá’í Week’ observance last March 17-25 in Trinidad and Tobago. Street banners such as this one are seen by thousands of people and
have proved to be one of the most successful proclamation aids in the country.
The Hand of the Cause of God H. Collis Featherstone (third row center) and his wife, Madge (second from right in second row) are shown with Bahá’í youth during the Featherstones’ visit last April 21 to the Bahá’í National Center in Port of Spain, Trinidad.
for children 8 to 80—
AWAY HOME |
|
STEVEN BRET BRENEMAN is a poet and an author, an English teacher, and a peripatetic from Hawaii who has lived, among other places, in England, Singapore, Japan, and the Eastern Caroline Islands. CAROL JOY is a freelance artist who has also illustrated another Bellwood Press book, B.J. and the Language of the Woodland. |
Two courageous sparrows and Lorne, a ladybug with more on his mind than flying away to the home of the schoolchildren rhyme, seek answers to a haunting dream. |
- Ages 8—80 years
74 pages, 5½ x 8¼ inches
ISBN 0-87743-183-3
Softcover Cat. No. 353-021 $450*
- Ages 8—80 years
- *Available from Bahá’í Publishing Trust, Wilmette, IL,
- U.S.A., at $4.50 plus 10% for postage and handling.
- Or order through your National Bahá’í Distribution
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