The American Bahá’í/Volume 1/Issue 7/Text
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[Page 1]
“... proclaim unto all who are in heaven and on earth this holy, this exalted, and all-highest Name.”
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B a h á’ u’ l l á h |
The Glory of God
‘It’s Just The Beginning’
New Youth Film Proclaims Faith[edit]
A new proclamation film on the Bahá’í Faith entitled IT’S JUST THE BEGINNING, is now available for loan from Modern Talking Picture Service, Inc.
Modern has 50 copies of the film which is available on free loan to schools, groups, churches, clubs, etc. In addition, Modern has 25 copies of the film for use over television stations across the United States. It is expected that some 5 million people will see the film over television during the next 12 months.
IT’S JUST THE BEGINNING is a 16mm, color, sound, 24-minute film made at the National Bahá’í Youth Conference in June 1970. The film was made by Kiva Films, Inc. of New York City, which has produced films for the television series, “Sesame Street”, and a 60-minute color documentary, “Indian Circle on the American Indian”, which was awarded second prize at the American Film Festival 1970. Kiva Films has also produced television spot announcements, and a documentary film on “Myths and Education” for the 1970 White House Conference on Children. Mark Sadan, President, and David Walker, Vice-President of Kiva Films, are both Bahá’ís. Kirk Smallman, another Vice-President, also worked on the production of the film.
Since the film was made at the Youth Conference, the conference itself provides a backdrop for the film. In the main, the film features individual Bahá’í youth explaining who Bahá’u’lláh is, His Mission, the teachings
(continued on page 3)
A PIONEER WRITES...
“What this country needs desperately is American pioneers”[edit]
Sue Foreman, along with her teen-aged son Matt, have recently left their Colorado home to pioneer in Malawi. This small country in southern Africa is a banana-shaped strip of land bordered by Tanzania on the north, Zambia on the west, Mozambique on the south, and the Azanian Sea to the east. In a letter received recently, Sue says...
“It is no wonder that you had little information available about Malawi. There is none to be had in published form, and after having been here 6 weeks with that specific purpose in mind. I’m not able to tell you much.
Blantyre-Limbe is two cities 5 miles apart with Limbe 800 feet higher in elevation than Blantyre. They have separate post offices, bank branches, etc. However, the government has proclaimed this whole area, together with the area surrounding to a distance of about 8 miles from the outskirts of each town, to be one city — Blantyre. Within this complex are many African “villages”, semi-independent concentrations of dwellings (mud-hut type) in which no Europeans live, and few ever enter. When we drive into one of these places, we really arouse interest. I think it’s conceivable that the smaller children have never seen an automobile, and even the adults have never seen white people emerge from one and go into an African home, meeting and taking tea with their neighbors. We create quite a sensation — and they are so thrilled to see us. These beautiful, beautiful Malawians! They are so desperately poor, they suffer so much, and their smiles are so ready and so brilliant! The most-used word in their language is “Zikomo” — “Thank you”. They thank us for accepting their hospitality (and I’m sure using the food allowance for the whole day in eating their bread and butter and tea).
Magdalene Carney New NSA Member[edit]
Miss Magdalene Carney of Canton, Mississippi, was elected in the by-election held November 11, 1970, to fill the vacancy on the National Spiritual Assembly resulting from the departure of Mr. Jack McCants to pioneer in the U.S. Trust Territory in the Pacific.
Miss Carney became a Bahá’í in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1960 and has since served the Faith in a wide range of capacities. She served on the Spiritual Assembly of Nashville, was appointed to the National Teaching Committee in 1965, moved to her present home in Canton, Mississippi, for the express purpose of bringing about large-scale enrollments there.
Key West: Consolidating & Expanding[edit]
Our dear and valuable co-worker, Mrs. Erma Hayden from Ann Arbor, Michigan has been in Key West for more than three weeks assisting all the Bahá’ís with the teaching and consolidation work. Together with the pioneers who sowed the first seeds and the many traveling teachers who helped spread the Message, Mrs. Hayden has been contacting the new declarants. The following are some comments excerpted from a recent letter from Mrs. Hayden which describe the initial steps in consolidating a victory:
“Some people I have been unable to see because of their working hours, various material pursuits, or of the irregular pattern of their lives. We continue to notify them of meetings, write them, telephone or make pop-calls (the Jehovah’s Witnesses are constantly visiting them also). Some of the problems are the result of the intense materialism and the military base being close at hand. All of the big city vices are here.
“The teaching opportunities that continue to appear are many. For example, as a result of looking for a declarant, we came upon a lady who seems to have some interest. I have an appointment to see her Friday afternoon. A young proprietor of a small downtown store is now doing some reading with the intention of discussing it with me in a day or two.
“The Bahá’í Group here has had many prayer and deepening sessions to aid the consolidation work, and it certainly has helped.
“In Key West, as in so many other fast-growing areas, we find these words of guidance and wisdom from the Universal House of Justice’s letter, “Teaching the Masses,” very helpful:
‘...Visiting pioneers or teachers may find, in some places, newly-enrolled believers not so enthusiastic about their religion as expected, or not adjusting to standards of Bahá’í life, or they may find them thinking of material benefits they may hope to derive from their new membership. We should always remember that the process of nursing the believer into full spiritual maturity is slow, and needs loving education and patience...The friends must not stop expansion in the name of consolidation...’ ”
EDITOR’S NOTE:[edit]
It seems that Bahá’u’lláh has provided in each moment of each day an opportunity to grow in the Cause while we serve our fellowman. The teachers learn from the students and the students learn from the teachers. The victory in Key West, like all victories throughout the world, has far greater implications than just so many new believers. It offers to all mankind the special gift of hope and renewed faith in a world united by genuine bonds of brotherhood in the love of God. So Key West represents, in not at all exaggerated terms, the challenge the world faces in its struggle for peace: can people, divided for centuries by the false barriers of race, color, creed, caste, economic standing, education, etc., be united?
The Bahá’ís of Key West are now involved in preparing to lay the cornerstone (a Local Spiritual Assembly) in that God-inspired process of establishing His Kingdom on this earth. Yá Bahá’u’l-Abhá!
Miss Helen Henry, Choctaw Indian believer voting at Mississippi State Convention.
This World...
A Rose Garden[edit]
When a little flower is planted in a garden, it needs a loving gardener to look after it, give it the nourishment and water it needs, keep it free from choking weeds, see that it is protected from the harsh elements and give it a chance to develop into its own true beauty and strength.
It needs someone who cares.
Bahá’í Groups and isolated believers are like tender young flowers and the loving gardener is the State Goals Committee.
The State Goals Committee is appointed by the National Spiritual Assembly. Its purpose is to help the friends deliver the healing Message of Bahá’u’lláh to the people of its district who live in areas where there is no Assembly.
It becomes good friends with all the isolated believers and the Group members. It provides a bulletin so that the friends are informed of all Bahá’í activities. It plans social events, helping the friends to weave that closely knit fabric spoken of in the August 1968 Message of the Universal House of Justice. It sponsors deepening conferences, seminars, and training institutes - teaches the young flower how to turn its face to the life-giving sun of the Teachings of Bahá’u’lláh and how to stretch out its roots for the pure water of the Faith.
It cares.
The loving gardener must also be a wise gardener with a deep knowledge of the work to be done. If the work is done well the young flower blossoms into beautiful maturity - strong, healthy, radiating the spiritual fragrances of the Kingdom of Bahá’u’lláh - and establishes a smoothly-functioning, firmly-grounded, Local Spiritual Assembly.
But the State Goals Committee never rests, for there always are new little flowers springing up, needing love, attention, cultivation, and nourishment so that they, in turn, with the never-failing assistance of the loving gardener, may help to “turn this world into a rose-garden through the spiritual bounty.”
DID YOU KNOW...[edit]
that people who want to become Bahá’ís and who live in an area where there is no Assembly may be enrolled by either the State Goals Committee or a nearby Local Spiritual Assembly!
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THE AMERICAN BAHÁ’Í is published monthly by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, Illinois, 60091. Material must be received by the 15th of the month of its intended publication. Black and white glossy prints should be included with material whenever possible. Articles and news written in a clear and concise manner are welcomed from individuals as well as assemblies and committees. Address all mail to: The American Bahá’í Editorial Office, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, Illinois, 60091. |
Youth Film Proclaims[edit]
of the Bahá’í Faith, and what the Bahá’í Faith offers to a troubled world. In addition to many Bahá’í youth of different races and nationalities, the film also features Hand of the Cause of God Rúḥíyyih Khánum and the secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly, Mr. Glenford E. Mitchell. The film is a direct proclamation of the Bahá’í Faith. It has been shown to numerous college audiences, and has been received with wide acclaim. Bahá’í Communities, groups, and clubs can secure the film by writing to:
- Modern Talking Pictures Service, Inc.
- 2323 New Hyde Park Road
- New Hyde Park, New York 11040
In the order, indicate you wish a free loan of the 16 mm sound film IT’S JUST THE BEGINNING. Indicate the preferred date or dates you wish the film, and also give alternate dates. You will receive a confirmation of the selected dates well in advance. To avoid disappointment on securing the film, it is recommended that you mail your request as far in advance as possible. The film will be sent from one of the nearest Modern Film Libraries located in several of the major cities in the United States, Canada, Alaska, and Hawaii. There is no charge for the film. The user pays the nominal return postage only. Each time the film is loaned out, the National Bahá’í Headquarters pays approximately $3.50 to Modern Talking Pictures Service. Bahá’ís using the film may wish to contribute this amount to the National Fund when they use the film.
The film will not be handled by the Bahá’í Publishing Trust. After February 1, 1971, the film A NEW WIND will also be available only from Modern Talking Pictures Service, and can be ordered by the same procedure outlined above.
At present, Modern has been distributing A NEW WIND for four months now, and has had 1,000 showings of the film to clubs, schools, church groups, hospitals, etc. The copies of A NEW WIND presently being handled by Bahá’í Publishing Trust, will be transferred to Modern on February 1, 1971, to meet the demands that Modern has for the film. Bahá’í Publishing Trust will still continue to rent other films and video tapes including the CBS film AND HIS NAME SHALL BE ONE.
Silent Teacher
A PIONEER WRITES[edit]
“What this country needs desperately is American pioneers... You know, we gripe a lot in America about what race prejudice we do have, and are really guilt-ridden about it, but Americans don’t even know what prejudice is compared to Europeans in Africa. This is an accepted fact here. When we first moved into our flat, we were literally besieged with people wanting to work for us. We finally asked the Rhodesian chap next door if it’s always like that for new people and he said it was because the word had gone out among the houseboys that Americans were moving in and everyone knows they are the best “masters”. We thought it was the image of wealthy Americans, but he told us that wasn’t it. It’s that the Africans know that, as he put it, “Americans treat them just like anyone else — like they were real people!?!” Americans are miles ahead. When they become Bahá’ís, their potential for teaching in places like this where the requisite factor is being able to radiate that love across a language and cultural barrier, it is almost boundless. And this advantage is in addition to our priceless bounty of having been nurtured in the American Bahá’í community with its invaluable Administrative training and its priceless heritage of books. Oh, our beautiful books!! You may remember our debate and dilemma about our Bahá’í library when we could only bring 88 lbs. to Africa. We finally split the pounds in half and brought half books and half clothes and everything else. I will never be more thankful for any decision. I assume that in Salisbury and in Kampala there are Bahá’í libraries, but for the 1500 miles between, ours is by far the most complete library and almost the sole books of Scriptures ... To find that we have the only copy in Malawi ... of such books as Hidden Words, Seven Valleys, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, Gleanings, Bahá’í World Faith and all of the books of Shoghi Effendi’s messages is a real shock. Some of the believers have heard of the Scriptures of Bahá’u’lláh and want only to touch them if they can’t read. One of our outstanding believers in northern Malawi does what little bit of translation into Chewa (a tribal tongue) we have, and he is trying to arrange to come 300 miles to read some of the Words of Bahá’u’lláh. We have one friend who spends every day in our home, cooks most of our meals, arranges our firesides and translates for us. His name is Samson Nkkoma. We never wonder where Samson is — if he’s not with us, his nose is buried in one of the books. He found ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s address at the Bowery Mission in New York where he talks about the Manifestations having been sent among the poor and in every fireside since, Samson tells his people with great pride how lucky they are to be poor. These beautiful people.
Since it’s impossible to get the Blantyre Bahá’ís together — at least so far — we’ve been taking the teaching trips to them. About 3 evenings per week after school we go to a different African village within the Blantyre complex and have a fireside in someone’s home — usually a non-Bahá’í. Our audience usually fills the tiny house and spills over into the yard. They listen so intently to the message of the love of God and the coming of Bahá’u’lláh... and they believe us — because we are there and no other white man has been before. As each person comes in, he shakes hands with each of us and says “Zikomo” for our coming. At this stage they touch hands shyly — not too sure that we’re real — or that we’d be willing for them to touch us. After we have had the ritual of tea — with cups and spoons having been borrowed from everyone in the vicinity — and it’s time to leave, they are all clustering around to touch our hands once more — this time with confidence — and love. They want us to come back again, but they are afraid to ask for such a bounty twice — and so they pull Samson, who is always with us, aside and ask him to ask us. We come away from those meetings with hearts so full we can scarcely speak to each other, so grateful to God for the bounty of being the ones to give these radiant people the news of a glorious new day, and so humbled in the face of the living proof of the awesome power of Love.
I can’t think even these meetings surpass our neighborhood “cook’s firesides”. In Malawi, every European has at least one servant who is a houseboy-cook-launderer combination. We live in a court of flats — this means there are a large number of servants and they are all buddies and have quite a grapevine. It
Victories on Indian Reservations[edit]
The flickerlog of light on the Indian Reservations is beginning to burst into flame. Two promising new committees, the North Plains Indian Committee and the Navajo Reservation Committee report an upsurge in activities and enrollments.
Three mass teaching conferences have been held in the North Plains area and yielded exciting new victories. Two conferences were held in Montana, one near the Blackfoot Reservation in Browning and the second in the Poplar area of eastern Montana. The third conference was held on the Fort Totten Reservation in North Dakota. A fourth conference is planned for the Nez Perce Reservation in Idaho. Most of these conferences were characterized by a direct approach to reaching the American Indian with the Message of the Coming of the Promised One. Team teaching was used in Montana and proved most effective, particularly in the Poplar area which promises to yield an Assembly by Riḍván.
The Navajo Reservation Committee reports the first permanent mass teaching institute in America. The building is located near the center of the reservation in Na-Ba-Tee canyon and will open its doors for teaching the Navajo people over the weekend of November 28th. A training institute is planned for every weekend in December as enrollments continue to increase on the Navajo Reservation. The committee reports that with hard work and many prayers they anticipate the formation of thirteen local Spiritual Assemblies on the Navajo Reservation by Riḍván 1971.
ALL-BAHÁ’Í TOWN IN SOUTH DAKOTA[edit]
The friends in North Dakota and South Dakota are not easily discouraged. While they were aware that the Message of the Coming of the Promised One can be taken directly to the people of the South, they realized that the South is noted for its warm climate which makes travel and communication relatively simple — not so in northern North Dakota in late November. In fact there was a blinding snowstorm on the weekend of a Mass Teaching Conference planned for the Fort Totten Reservation on November 21-22. But the friends did not turn back, in spite of overwhelming obstacles, not the least of which was the late, late arrival of a film promised to the waiting seekers. In fact the film did not arrive until midnight Saturday, too late to be shown. However, the following day the seekers were regathered to see the film and the Message of the Coming of Bahá’u’lláh was given to them. Between 30 and 40 new souls were attracted to the Faith and seemed anxious to pursue further study. There were three enrollments and with these declarations came the news that Ralph, South Dakota, population three (3) was now an all-Bahá’í town.
Perhaps even more important, the North Dakota and South Dakota friends and members of the North Plains Indian Committee in attendance were thrilled with the spirit of the conference and the warmth and receptiveness of the Indian people in the Fort Totten area. Warmth in a blinding snowstorm? There must be! Why else would the Dakota friends plan to do it again, this time in December?
Enrollment of Spanish Speaking People Increasing[edit]
Thanksgiving weekend the Colorado State Goals Committee and the Spanish-Speaking Teaching Committee took the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh directly to the Mexican-American residents of southern Colorado.
New Mexico and west Texas friends will work with the Amarillo Assembly to open up rural areas near Amarillo. Arizona has several Spanish-speaking teaching committees now making plans to move into Spanish areas. They have each set goals for Locality and Assembly goals and each team has pledged to enroll 100 new believers of Mexican-American descent by March 21, 1971.
Already the communities have experienced an expansion in enrollments. One young Christian Bahá’í explained, “The Catholic stronghold is not impregnable; in fact, it’s not even a stronghold. All we have to do is meet the people you teach and explain to them that this is what we have all been waiting for, that we are all one family and that obedience to Christ is recognition of Bahá’u’lláh, the Glory of God, as the return of the Christ Spirit.”
The Summer School Spirit[edit]
There are many memories in the minds of those who have attended at least one session at one of the Bahá’í Summer Schools. The shrieks of surprise upon meeting one’s old friends unexpectedly, the stimulation of interesting and informative classes, the memories of swimming parties and picnic outings — these all last far beyond one all-too-soon-completed week. But ask anyone a half-year or so later what he remembers most vividly about his week at Bahá’í School, and almost always he’ll answer, “Why the spirit, of course!”
What is this ephemeral Summer School spirit that is felt so deeply, and from what does it arise?
In USA, 1970, our homes are surrounded by neighbors in whose eyes we may range from queer mystical cultists to isolated paragons of civic virtue and brotherly love. Our public school systems not only frown on religious instruction, but expressly forbid it. Our places of gainful employment are strictly “old-world” profit and competition oriented. Our PTA’s, social clubs, and town meetings are convened and conducted according to Robert’s Rules of Order, not Bahá’u’lláh’s.
True, we attend Feasts and there intermingle with our spiritual families. And we may attend other Bahá’í gatherings during the year where we spend a few hours, or a day, together for the consideration of some worthy, sharply pinpointed purpose.
There is in today’s fast-paced whirl, however, one complete opportunity each year for trying our Bahá’í wings: the Summer Schools. For a full week we face the challenge of rising for dawn prayers
A Letter From Jack McCants[edit]
Kolonia, Ponape Island
Eastern Carolina Islands
To the Bahá’ís of the United States:
Dear Friends:
The beauty of this island and its people is impossible to communicate, as is the spirit of devotion burning in the hearts of the friends here.
Ever since leaving Georgia, confirmations too numerous to mention have showered their blessings upon my poor efforts to serve Bahá’u’lláh. It would be an easy matter to write a book about this trip as an example of God’s mercy to anyone who arises to pioneer in this final stage of the Nine Year Plan, but the promises have already been recorded in the Holy Writ long ago, and amplified by the statements of the Master, the beloved Guardian, and in this day by The Universal House of Justice. Thus, there is little anyone can say, except to bear witness to the fulfillment of the promises already given each of us.
One matter strikes a golden chord in my heart as I sit here amid thatched huts and the colorfully dressed souls who inhabit this island. If each American believer could realize just for a moment how much his contributions to the Fund in this great hour of need meant to the teaching work all over the world, he would gladly give his all to this sacred Cause—his money as well as his time and service. Jobs here are hard to get, salaries are low, and prices high, but ready souls stand waiting with happy hearts to receive the holy gift of spiritual life, which comes to anyone who recognizes Bahá’u’lláh in this day. How sweet and delightful the people are compared to those caught up in the feverish tempo and pace of the western world. Only the American believers can provide the manpower and the money to get the ‘sailors’ on board the ‘ark’ and trained to man their posts before the great storm about to engulf ‘the last refuge of a tottering civilization’ deprives us of such opportunity. It is much better to give our all before some calamity deprives us of the means to sacrifice, and, in my opinion, we don’t have a long time left in which to act, and act decisively. ‘Where a man’s money is, there his heart is also,’ is as true now as it was centuries ago. The American believers have never failed to reach a major goal assigned them by the World Center of the Faith. Surely now that the opportunity to arise to the station of sacrifice is offered them by way of supporting the Fund, pioneering and teaching, they will not fail! Has not the Master called them “God’s elect,” and the beloved Guardian referred to them as ‘the dawnbreakers of a new world order’? No one would want to call them ‘the breakers of the budget.’ Nevertheless, has not God said, “You say you believe and think you shall not be tested. Persevere in the hour of trial in your faith.”?
With all my heart and strength I join my prayers with those believers laboring in the pioneer fields around the globe...praying for total victory this Riḍván, including the Fund. May Bahá’u’lláh touch the pocket-books as well as the hearts before it is too late. No doubt ‘He doth whatsoever he willeth’ for ‘no man’s faith is conditioned by any other man,’ but it is conditioned by the response of the individual heart to the Word of God. In this day faith is conscious knowledge plus action; faith is but another word for obedience. Truly the House of Justice has written that the American community’s problem is spiritual, not material. Perhaps the battle cry from now until all the victories are won this Riḍván should be, ‘let deeds, not words, be your adornment.’
Warmest love and Abhá greetings from the Ocean of ‘Peace’, i.e., Pacific. You are always in my heart and prayers.
JACK McCANTS
PERISCOPE[edit]
The “Head Start Prayer” for NEVADA is a Bahá’í prayer: “O Lord, educate these children...” It was distributed to 7 Centers in the state.... And every day, from 12 ’til 2, Bahá’ís at the University of Nevada await seekers in the Student Union Building; they have not been disappointed yet.
One Bahá’í talk can lead to another: After a speech at Carroll College in Helena, MONTANA, another invitation came to tell a summer class about the Faith. Then opportunities arose to speak at the high school, and the librarian requested books.
Art exhibits by Ann Kraus in Geneva, NEW YORK, and at the University of Rochester, show the influence of the Bahá’í Teachings on her paintings.... In Rhinebeck, at the County Fair, people waited in lines 4 and 5 deep to talk to someone about the Faith.... And each Bahá’í month a Bahá’í of the Town of Hempstead organizes his own Proclamation. Many new people are reached through letters to individuals selected from the telephone directory, announcements in the high school, and communication with a drug rehabilitation group.
From Nashua, NEW HAMPSHIRE, comes a plea for promptness, with a reminder that, “The Most Courteous One was always punctual” (The Chosen Highway).
The Youth of Inglewood, J.P., CALIFORNIA, held a party for Pre-Decs... And a family reunion in Fresno, CALIFORNIA, attracted 37 members—35 of them were Bahá’ís! The ancestors of the Clan, Mr. and Mrs. Charles Ioas, recognized the Faith in 1898.
New NSA Member[edit]
Magdalene Carney was subsequently appointed to the Deep South Committee in 1969 and was elected its secretary. In the late spring of 1970, the Southern Office of the National Teaching Committee was opened and, as an Administrative Assistant to the National Teaching Committee, Miss Carney has conscientiously and tirelessly promoted the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh throughout the South. She, her fellow co-workers on the Deep South Committee, and all the valiant warriors of Bahá’u’lláh in the South are now engaged in the glorious task of winning the goals of the Deep South Committee’s Three-Month Plan (see November 1970 issue of The American Bahá’í).
Friends gathered at a Teacher Training Institute in Henderson, North Carolina. Miss Magdalene Carney is second person from right. Taking part in this Institute are members of the North Carolina State Goals Committee (Mr. Charles Bullock and Mr. Fereydoun Jalali) and a member of the National Teaching Committee, Mrs. Soo Fouts.
SUCCESSFUL CAMPUS TEACHING SEMINARS LAUNCH 1970-71 PLAN[edit]
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To have the consciousness of Bahá’u’lláh’s coming sink into the hearts, minds, and souls of every member of every high school and college community (students, faculty, and staff) where there is a Bahá’í campus hub, by June 1971— |
Through the night they arrived; 200 in the ptic suburbs of Chicago, 200 in the California rain, 200 in the cold Massachusetts eager to learn, eager to share—how to spread the healing Message of Bahá’u’lláh onto campus.
Then the sessions —prayers and singing— You and the Divine Plan, the incredible realization, all of history for this moment. What is our part? The Nine Year Plan and its subsidiary, the Five Year Youth Program. This year it’s the campus—college and high school. Teach them—now. We discussed; what is a Bahá’í club; what is its purpose: how can it best fulfill its job to reach campus people? We discussed: how do we deal with the Most Challenging Issue, politics, ecology, women’s lib? The Guardian and the Universal House of Justice guide us. There is only one issue in reality: BAHÁ’U’LLÁH has come. And as we discussed, role-played, and understood, questions became answers, uncertainty became audacity. The directive stood shining: TEACH, not apologetically but with conviction. BAHÁ’U’LLÁH—the answer. With that love, that awareness, the plan was launched—to reach every member of the campus community by June 1971. Each Bahá’í club departed well armed—posters, pamphlets, awareness, declaration cards. The love of Bahá’u’lláh in their hearts, His name on their lips. Singing and praying and praying. Ready to do their part.
The 1970-71 plan for campus teaching and proclamation (including High School clubs) consists of the following minimum program (minimal in that all clubs should perform at least these activities - many of you will do much more):
- All clubs will launch a week or more of direct proclamation using primarily the posters and newspaper ads of Bahá’u’lláh’s Name. This campaign will be in preparation for campus-wide teaching events and should occur by or before December 1970.
- All clubs are asked to initiate, sustain and follow up on an issue-oriented teaching campaign. The materials for this teaching campaign will be the five sample posters already produced by Youth and Student Activities, plus any materials the individual club might wish to produce. The orientation of these campaigns will be around Bahá’u’lláh and the ability of His Revelation to answer the needs of the individual and society.
- Each club will sponsor a leaflet campaign. The objective will be to give every member of the university community the news of Bahá’u’lláh’s coming plus an announcement of teaching events scheduled to follow the leaflet campaign. Youth and Student Activities will coordinate this event on a nationwide scale so that all clubs will be united in prayer and action on the day. Youth and Student will also provide all clubs with a model leaflet. All clubs will be notified well in advance of the day chosen.
- Office of Youth and Student Activities
- 112 Linden Avenue
- Wilmette, Illinois 60091
[Page 7]
What have we learned, how shall we know? Each seminar found out. Saturday night they taught. Triton—rock band and firesides all over, and the film “It’s Just the Beginning” 3 times—and declarations. Santa Cruz—redwoods can’t hide waiting souls. Five Teaching teams swarm the campus. Hundreds come to hear the music and see the film. Spirit soars and all are amazed—and declarations. Amherst—the forces increased a hundredfold, teaching teams spread over the campus and town; every soul learns. “It’s Just the Beginning” overwhelms; the auditorium sways with their rejoicing. All teach what they have learned—and declarations. Tears and joy and awe! The declarations begin and then we see it; the wisdom of the guidance, the transforming power, the fruits of obedience and audacity. People are ready—they are ready on the campus—Just tell them—Bahá’u’lláh has come!
Treasurer’s Corner[edit]
Hi there! My name is Uni Par. That’s short for Universal Participation. I represent the individual gifts of money from all of the Bahá’ís in the United States when they give each month to the National Bahá’í Fund.
Sometimes I am 25 cents from a widow in Aurora or a youth in Dakota City. Sometimes I am $5 or even $100 from a school teacher in Monroe or a baker in Centralia. The amount I am from each Bahá’í is not the important thing, however. The important things are that each Bahá’í understands:
- that a gift to the Bahá’í Fund is a spiritual obligation and privilege which he accepted when he accepted Bahá’u’lláh as the Manifestation of God for this day.
- that he gives regularly (no matter how much he gives), and
- that if every Bahá’í gives, then the Nine Year Plan goal of Universal Participation is being fulfilled.
I thought you might be interested in knowing some of the things which happen at the National Bahá’í Center when Uni Par goes into action. Each month I am going to tell you a story of how the money you give is used under the direction of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States.
One of the adventures of Uni Par was the making and distribution of the one-minute film, “Challenge to Youth”. I hope you have seen the film—it’s really great! You might even recognize someone you know - I did! Did you know that this film was sent, free of charge, to every color television station in the United States? In fact, Uni Par paid a lady $16 to type all of the address labels to put on the containers to mail the film to all of these stations. It cost Uni Par (that means you) only 5 cents per film to mail it to more than 700 stations.
First, of course, arrangements had to be made with a television film producer and several companies were asked to submit a cost bid. The Midwest Film Productions Company was chosen. This company made the spot for about $3,000. This included their equipment, employees taking lots of film footage, and the printing and packaging of the film. The personnel in the Bahá’í Public Information Office chose the scenes they wished to use and ordered the copies at $6 each. The only thing that was free of cost were the “actors”, most of whom were Bahá’ís happy to do anything they could for their beloved Faith.
Well, more clerical time was taken to mail the spots. The bills were then paid, totaling about $3,500 (actual cost, not including the personnel services of the Public Information Office). The project was marked “complete” and I sat back to watch the results. Soon the reports began to come in: Bahá’í spot seen in Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, New Orleans, Seattle, New York, and Atlanta, as well as many, many smaller towns, north, south, east, and west.
WOW! Do you know how much the average cost of one minute of television advertising is? Well, it ranges between $150 and $10,000 a minute for prime time (most viewers) down to $10 for limited viewing time. Do you know how many television sets there are in the United States? Nine out of ten homes have a television set! (More families have TV sets than they have telephones or vacuum cleaners.) Each set is used on an average of 5-6 hours each day. In an average month, more than 13.5 million people are watching daytime TV, and at night, as many as 21 million people tune in a program. What a way to proclaim the Faith! At a cost of $5,000 a minute - if the spot is shown just one time - we have already had advertising time worth the cost of making and distribution, AND we know it has been used many more times than that. In fact, we have received nearly $1,000,000 worth of free viewing time already!
See what Uni Par can do? Bahá’ís have the Guidance, the plan (Nine Year Plan, that is), and the personnel to assist in doing the work of proclaiming the Faith. So much that needs to be accomplished depends on money. That’s where Uni Par comes in! You and I, Uni Par, giving everything we can, and more, to the National Bahá’í Fund.
See you next month!
- Uni Par
P.S., you can write Uni Par at this address:
- National Bahá’í Fund
- 112 Linden Avenue
- Wilmette, Illinois 60091
School Spirit[edit]
together, followed, perhaps, by the further challenge of waiting our turn for the limited bathroom facilities. Challenges? But yes! After all, do we graciously give ground? Do we perform our ablutions promptly or do we dally, forgetting momentarily those waiting their turn? And do we leave the fixtures cleaner than we found them?
And then breakfast together. Some eyes are still puffy with sleep; do we see the same radiance of Bahá’í love there as was evident the night before? On the serving line, do we demand a double grapefruit juice or complain because someone dawdles? At the tables, do we join with someone newly met, or do we seek out our well-known friends from the home community?
After breakfast, the housecleaning. What do we do now? It is pleasantly easy to find something terribly important to talk about off to one side while others do the community clean-up. Can it be that we haven’t yet discovered the privilege of serving our fellow Bahá’ís? Tests, tests, tests! And so subtle, so all-pervasive, so unexpectedly apropos! But before the week is out, we feel the prick of conscience, and the last few days find us industriously trying to make up for lost time.
Community devotions. Classes. Workshops. Seminars. Library research. General Assembly. So much going on that there is scarcely time to absorb it all before something else is scheduled. Dinner over, spontaneous group meetings, games, or a lecture by an interesting visitor. Songs around a campfire. Prayer rounds. Joyful pilgrim and pioneer stories by the light of the stars. And then—oh, no! not already!—the bell for bedtime.
Family units. Dormitory beds. The buzz of reluctantly attenuated bits of conversation from wakeful, spiritually stimulated youth. The clomp of someone’s boots, the slam of a door just as we drop over the thin edge of sleep. At last—all quiet.
Shoghi Effendi expressed the hope that the schools “...may serve as a testing ground for the application of those ideals and standards that are the distinguishing feature of the Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh.” Where in the whole wide world is there any other such opportunity for Bahá’ís to try in the fire of true community life our Teachings on Living the Life?
Where else can we find relief from the tensions of competitive life, from the national, racial, and religious animosities with which the world assails us? Where else can we express so completely in a community setting the standards of moral conduct, the chaste and holy life which was promulgated by the One to Whom we turn for guidance?
And, as Shoghi Effendi reminded us, “...the maintenance of such a high standard of moral conduct is not to be associated or confused with any form of asceticism, or of excessive and bigoted puritanism. The standard inculcated by Bahá’u’lláh seeks, under no circumstances, to deny anyone the legitimate right and privilege to derive the fullest advantage and benefit from the manifold joys,
[Page 9]
GENERAL COMMENTS GLEANED FROM THE PROGRESS REPORTS SENT TO ALL LOCAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLIES AT THE BEGINNING OF SEPTEMBER:
Personal comment of secretary: I hate your questionnaires. But I praise God that you send them, because they point out so clearly what we should have been doing, and after each one, we strive to put them into practice, so please keep them coming. Maybe the day shall come that the question shall be easy to answer because we had been doing what your question pertains to. I feel they are one of the best teaching aids we have for community life.
We are very grateful to all the Bahá’ís that formerly lived in this area who worked so patiently and lovingly for we are beginning to reap their harvest.
When the friends understand that teaching will take care of our problems, and putting the Faith first, everything else will fall in its place.
WE HAVE NO PROBLEM IN ENCOURAGING FRIENDS TO HOLD FIRESIDES. WE WANT OUR CONTACTS TO ATTEND REGULARLY.
At present, you can call us a retirement community!
We have improved since the last progress report.
No problems, just lack of interest and inactivity.
Makes our faces turn crimson! Appreciate it - makes us honestly look at ourselves - don’t like what we see.
We are in the process of a great REBIRTH!
WE HAVE OUR WORK CUT OUT FOR US.
We wish to express our appreciation for this progress report. It gave our assembly a chance to consult on the different areas of teaching.
We did more than we thought we did!
We are confused. The dates on the front page indicate past activities, while the questions indicate interest in future plans? Could you choose one area or the other next time?
We would love to officiate at a Bahá’í wedding.
WE HAVE FOUND OURSELVES, AND WE ARE PROGRESSING AS NEVER BEFORE!
These reports are good for self-evaluation and redirection.
Thank you for stimulating us!
Your questions are too mechanical - Our teaching efforts do not fall into these preconceived categories.
We need two “alive” Bahá’ís.
Prior to filling out this report we have done some very serious soul-searching and hope to become a much better community.
100% PARTICIPATION IN THE FUND.
We unitedly agree that our teaching efforts are not what they should be.
No problems.
No comments.
HELP!
A PIONEER WRITES[edit]
seems that Alfred, who works for us, had told them about our going to African homes to talk about God. I’m not sure they really believed that we associated on a par with Africans, but they knew we always spoke to them and waved back when they waved at us—and smiled as though we meant it. At any rate, one day we answered a knock at the door to find a whole group of them there, and the spokesman (without too much confidence, I’m afraid) said, “We have come to talk about God, please?” Yá-Bahá’u’l-Abhá! We had a glorious fireside with them. It must have sunk in because they pop in for a visit and a few words about God whenever they have a little spare time. Two of them in particular—one of them Moslem and the other Christian—are good friends, but love to argue religion. At all sorts of odd hours they appear at the door wanting us to settle some dispute and see what Bahá’u’lláh had to say about it. These little impromptu firesides are one of the brightest spots in our life. These are our friends.
“The NSA has a teaching institute at Amalika—15 miles the other side of Limbe—and the villages of Amalika and Nkaombe, both of which have LSA’s, use it for their Sunday morning meetings. The NSA asked us to go down once in a while to support their meetings because they were getting discouraged. No wonder! They were just meeting because the NSA said to. No one could teach because none of them knew anything to teach each other. These poor people don’t even have a copy of the Noon-Day Prayer. We decided to go every week and try to teach them something and then practice having them teach it back to us. Two weeks ago we had a session on the Feast and told them each community must hold the Feast on Wednesday of that week and that they should plan for Bahá’u’lláh’s birthday. We got volunteers to host both Feasts. They seemed interested but I wasn’t too optimistic about their actually holding them. When we went last Sunday there were more than usual there. Their grins were brighter and their greetings happier. They sang with more gusto and sat up straighter with real pride. When they reported that both communities had held their Feasts, I knew why. Amalika believers will ask for the Holy Day off from work and together go to see the sick in the villages. Nkaombe is buying a goat and preparing a feast for the poor in honor of Bahá’u’lláh. They hadn’t been holding Feasts because no one had a calendar. All it took was a reminder. One of them said it all: “Please don’t let us forget again. It feels big to be a real Bahá’í.”
“Alláh’u’Abhá, friends. Please pray for us. You see we have to stay here.”
Perseverance, Effort Opens New Locality[edit]
What does it take to open up a new locality to the Faith? It takes patience, perseverance, effort, a positive attitude, and prayer.
The events leading up to the opening of a new locality in Desert Hot Springs, California, are not in themselves spectacular, but they do demonstrate the power of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh.
Events began with the decision of the Spiritual Assembly of Palm Springs to hold a World Peace Day observance in a park in Desert Hot Springs. This sparked a lengthy discussion by the board of directors of the Recreation and Park District as to whether or not they might be fostering a riot by allowing this unknown group to use the park for a “peace rally”. The pastor of the First Baptist Church assured the board of the peaceful intent of the Bahá’ís and supported their right to use the park. The sheriff’s department agreed, saying that it could be on hand in case of any “trouble”.
So the great day arrived. Fear and trembling seized the board of directors - was a riot imminent?
Nobody came to the meeting. BUT, the newspaper coverage of the Board of Directors meeting and the observance itself publicized not only the name of the Faith but provided a clear outline of its Teachings.
As a consequence of follow-up publicity, a second meeting in Desert Hot Springs was attended by approximately 40 persons, many of them local residents. A series of follow-up meetings were planned and two homefront pioneers moved in as residents to officially open up the city to the Faith!
What does it take to open up a new locality to the Faith? It takes patience, perseverance, effort, a positive attitude, and prayer.
Child-Naming[edit]
Because of the many inquiries received on this subject, we bring the following to your attention:
“Thou hast asked regarding the naming of children: When thou wishest to name a babe, prepare a meeting therefor; chant the verses and communes, and supplicate and implore the Threshold of Oneness and beg the attainment of guidance for the babe and wish confirmated firmness and constancy; then give the name and enjoy beverage and sweetmeat. This is spiritual baptism.”
We have permission to print the following letter dated September 7, 1966 from the Universal House of Justice to the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States:
Dear Bahá’í Friends,
We have your letter of August 22, 1966 inquiring whether “naming ceremonies” for children should be encouraged as a community activity. In a letter to an individual believer, dated December 20, 1938, the beloved Guardian said:
“Regarding your question whether there is any special ceremony which the believers should perform when they wish to ‘name’ a baby; the Teachings do not provide for any ceremony whatever on such occasions. We have no ‘baptismal service’ in the Cause, such as the Christians have. There could be no objection, however, for the friends to come together on such happy occasions, provided they do not hold an official public ceremony, and provided also they strictly avoid any uniformity and rigidity in all such practices...”
We feel that this activity should be left to the discretion of the parents.
THE UNIVERSAL HOUSE OF JUSTICE
O SON OF BEING!
With the hands of power I made thee and with the fingers of strength I created thee; and within thee have I placed the essence of My light. Be thou content with it and seek naught else, for My work is perfect and My command binding. Question it not, nor have a doubt thereof.
School Spirit[edit]
beauties, and pleasures with which the world has been so plentifully enriched by an All-Loving Creator.”
And yet there is more—more—and still more.
Many dedicated Bahá’ís are working long evening and weekend hours in committees, preparing educational programs for this year’s Summer Schools. Through their loving, prayer-assisted labors the schools are growing, just as Shoghi Effendi expressed hopefully, into “...well-established organizations that will train innumerable young men and women to go out into the world and spread the message of Bahá’u’lláh.” By their efforts the schools are meeting the challenge of a greatly increased population of education-seeking Bahá’ís.
Attending a Bahá’í Summer School is most certainly not to be compared to watching a television soap opera, wherein once you have taken in the first episode or two you can be reasonably certain that the rest will be a facsimile thereof. Each year’s student body not only derives its individual and collective benefits but contributes to the growth of the following year’s curriculum. Each session is unique.
Our beloved Guardian reminded us that “The world is undoubtedly facing a great crisis and the social, economic and political conditions are becoming daily more complex. Should the friends desire to take the lead in informing the world, they should start by educating themselves and understand what the troubles and problems really are which baffle the minds of men...”
Nor is spiritual deepening overlooked by those hard-working school committees. They seek to bring together in an atmosphere of devotion and reverence those individuals who inspire others to study, and those who desire to grow and develop an ever-deepening spiritual awareness.
If we attend a Summer School, “...and” said Shoghi Effendi, “everyone without exception is urged to take advantage of attending it—let him consider such an occasion as a welcome and precious opportunity so to enrich, through lectures, study, and discussion, his knowledge of the fundamentals of his Faith as to be able to transmit, with greater confidence and effectiveness, the Message that has been entrusted to his care.”
The Spirit present at Summer School cannot be reduced to mere words. But it is there, in the degree that, we gather in expression of our highest ideals.
We know you will feel it this year when you attend the Summer (or Winter) School of your choice.
CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEARS[edit]
The Bahá’í attitude toward the traditional non-Bahá’í Holy Days was defined by the Guardian in a statement published in Bahá’í News of March 1940:
“As regards the celebration of the Christian holidays by the believers; it is surely preferable and even highly advisable that the friends should in their relation to each other discontinue observing such holidays as Christmas and New Year’s, and to have their festival gatherings of this nature instead during the intercalary days and Naw-Rúz...”
An Appreciation For Pioneering[edit]
- The Old Jerusalem where believers dwell
- Each trying as hard as he thinks he can
- But
- Each trying as hard as he thinks he can
- Stifled and occasionally wrung with anxiety.
- Who were these few teachers who always radiated the love of God?
- Hands of the Cause, Pioneers, Bahá’ís —
- Then who are we?
- The voice of Bahá haunted me:
- “Only when
- The Lamp of Search,
- Of earnest striving, of longing desire,
- Of passionate devotion, of fervid love, of
- RAPTURE
- AND
- ECSTASY
- Is kindled — within the seeker’s heart.
- And the breeze of His loving-kindness is wafted
- Upon his soul, will the darkness of error be dispelled...”
- The Lamp of Search,
- Then I began to search — I knew the goal — “RAPTURE”
- My tools and means He had given me:
- His prayers, service to the Friends, sacrifices for the Fund, And the Cup of the Law,
- My tools and means He had given me:
- My thoughts drove me West to pioneer —
- Then East to face the tests from which I had run.
- Then West again, much poorer this time by worldly standards,
- To fulfill a promise,
- Then East to gain the trade I had ignored.
- But through the storm I have found the beginnings
- Of happiness.
- I am no longer a string of thoughts — first here then there
- A mist upon the waters.
- Instead I am an organic being
- Immersed in the ocean of Bahá’u’lláh’s Will.
- He calls us all to the banquet saying:
- “Do ye know in what cycle ye are created and in what age ye exist?
- This is the age of the Blessed Perfection and this is the time Of the Greatest Name!”
- Come! Gaze up into the hills!
- And discover the truth of His words:
- “Within thee have I placed
- The essence
- Of My light. Be thou content with it...”
DO YOU HAVE 6 TO 10 WEEKS NEXT SUMMER TO SERVE
THE CAUSE OF BAHÁ’U’LLÁH IN ANOTHER COUNTRY?
Summer Project 1971
WRITE TO:
INTERNATIONAL GOALS COMMITTEE
112 LINDEN AVENUE
WILMETTE, ILLINOIS 60091
TALENT SEARCH[edit]
CAN YOU HELP FILL A VOID?[edit]
- Are you a writer or artist with the special talent for appealing to children by word or picture?
The Bahá’í Publishing Trust needs new books and stories for children of all ages, from pre-readers to early teens, for both direct and indirect teaching of the Faith.
The material needs to be fresh and imaginative, stories to stimulate a child’s curiosity, inspire his sense of wonder, widen his view of the world and mankind, or appeal to his love of laughter. It should reflect the universal qualities of childhood in a way that maintains the high standards of the Faith both in principle and in quality of execution.
If you think you could serve the Faith in this area, please send us your ideas, stories, or samples of illustration for our consideration.
In the case of factual material, all facts and historic figures should be accurately depicted through careful research. Any quotations must be exact. Writers and artists should bear in mind that the central Figures of the Faith—the Báb, Bahá’u’lláh, and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá—should never be characterized in fiction or portrayed in drawings. If you have any questions about this, please don’t hesitate to query us.
- Bahá’í Publishing Committee
- Mrs. Lois W. Goebel, Secy.
- 112 Linden Avenue
- Wilmette, Illinois 60091
Victory Conference Success[edit]
- TO NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY - 400 GRATEFUL BAHÁ’ÍS ASSEMBLED GEORGIA. INSPIRED PRESENCE COUNSELLORS BOARD MEMBERS. ALREADY ENROLLED 255 NEW SOULS. INCREASED FUND OVER $5,000. GREATER VICTORIES PROMISED. GRATEFUL YOUR PAST FUTURE PRAYERS HIS WORK.
- SOUTHERN BAHÁ’ÍS
- TO NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY - 400 GRATEFUL BAHÁ’ÍS ASSEMBLED GEORGIA. INSPIRED PRESENCE COUNSELLORS BOARD MEMBERS. ALREADY ENROLLED 255 NEW SOULS. INCREASED FUND OVER $5,000. GREATER VICTORIES PROMISED. GRATEFUL YOUR PAST FUTURE PRAYERS HIS WORK.
A vibrant, flowing, raw, tender, loving, joyous, momentous, fantastic meeting of the garden of humanity, the soldiers of God’s army. The cohesive togetherness of more than 400 souls totally united in love, in unity, in direction. Purity.
Purity of motive reflected in everyone’s eyes, fused through the might of Bahá’u’lláh’s Revelation. Exploding with song, pulsating, gyrating - a spirit emboldened and upheld in supplication and prayer. An outpouring of plans and designs perfectly tailored to reach “... the nameless and the traceless poor who are the leaders of mankind...” Words cannot capture nor render the gamut of emotions from crystal laughter to rivers of tears experienced at Fort Valley, Georgia. Victory! Victory! “Win increasing numbers!” Ya Bahá’u’l-Abhá!
Winter Schools & Institutes
| SOUTHWEST | ||
| Lake Bridgeport, Texas | GEYSERVILLE BAHÁ’Í SCHOOL | |
| December 26-31 | Registrar: | |
| Mr. Waldo T. Boyd | ||
| Secretary: | P.O. Box 86 | |
| Mrs. Arabelle Haywood | Geyserville, California 95441 | |
| Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73111 | ROCKY MOUNTAIN | |
| SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA | Colorado | |
| Contact: | Contact: | |
| Mrs. Sue Gilliland | Mr. Jim Harris | |
| Victorville, California 92392 | Greeley, Colorado 80631 | |
| GREEN ACRE BAHÁ’Í SCHOOL | DAVISON BAHÁ’Í SCHOOL | |
| Contact: | December 26-January 2 | |
| Mr. Donald Streets | ||
| Green Acre Bahá’í School | Registrar: | |
| Eliot, Maine 03903 | Davison Bahá’í School | |
| Phone: (207) 439-0019 | 3208 S. State Road | |
| Davison, Michigan 46423 | ||
| NORTH CENTRAL STATES | Phone: (313) 653-5033 | |
| Frontenac Methodist Camp | NORTHWEST | |
| Frontenac, Minnesota | Seabeck, Washington | |
| December 25-28 | January 1-3 | |
| Secretary: | Secretary: | |
| Mrs. Jeanette K. Brayton | Mrs. Virginia Martig | |
| Anoka, Minnesota 55303 | Shelton, Washington 98584 | |
| KANSAS STATE GOALS COMMITTEE TO SPONSOR ONE-DAY INSTITUTE | ||
| SECOND FLORIDA WINTER | ||
| THEME: FLAME OF FIRE | INSTITUTE | |
| January 2-3 | ||
| DATE: DECEMBER 27 | ||
| Camp Owaissa Bauer | ||
| PLACE: 4-H BUILDING | Dade County | |
| EL DORADO, KANSAS | ||
| Contact: | ||
| FOR MORE INFORMATION WRITE | Mr. Martin Roth | |
| OR CALL: | ||
| Mr. Wes Root, P.O. Box 571 | Miami Beach, Florida 33132 | |
| El Dorado, Kansas 67042 | Phone: (305) 371-5664 | |
| (316) 321-9158 | For further information |
The American Bahá’í
in this issue...
Introducing New Youth Film
Letter From Jack McCants
Home front Victories
A Pioneer Writes From Africa
|
FROM NAVAJO RESERVATION COMMITTEE - UNIVERSAL HOUSE OF JUSTICE
|