The American Bahá’í/Volume 10/Issue 4/Text
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National Assembly Responds to Iran Crisis[edit]
The National Spiritual Assembly has responded vigorously in recent weeks to false and misleading statements about the Bahá’í Faith made by the nation’s news media in the wake of the political upheaval in Iran.
On Sunday, February 11, a quarter-page ad in The New York Times and Washington Post pointed out that the Faith is an independent world religion with followers in more than 300 countries, and outlined such basic Bahá’í principles as the unity of nations and races, the establishment of universal peace, the equality of the sexes, and the abolition of all forms of prejudice.
THE AD, which later was to be placed in more than 100 other influential newspapers, appeared three days after damaging and erroneous statements about the Faith were made by an Iranian college professor on the MacNeil/Lehrer Report, an evening news analysis program broadcast on public television stations.
As a further response to the program, the National Spiritual Assembly contacted Public Broadcasting System officials to request that Bahá’í scholars be invited to appear on the MacNeil/Lehrer Report to refute accusations that Iranian Bahá’ís are hostile toward Muslims, that they had engaged in torture on behalf of the Sháh, and that a Bahá’í was the head of SAVAK, the Sháh’s dreaded secret police.
On February 14, a Bahá’í delegation met with a top adviser to the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Andrew Young. As a result, Ambassador Young’s office took steps to inform the UN and various governments of the plight of Iranian Bahá’ís.
On February 16, Sen. Robert Dole (R-Kansas) sent a letter to President Carter, urging him to “issue a public appeal” to the Ayatollah Khomeini, “asking that a proclamation be made to assure minority groups of all creeds that they will be granted protection from violence and allowed freedom of religion.”
OF SPECIAL concern, said the senator, “is the fate of Iran’s Christian, Jewish, and Bahá’í communities. The latter two are especially vulnerable. Already, inflammatory statements have been issued concerning the Bahá’ís, who are considered to be heretics by the followers of the Ayatollah Khomeini.”
Meanwhile, the National Spiritual Assembly prepared a special issue of The American Bahá’í to help the friends deal with the rising tide of opposition to the Faith, and sent an information packet to U.S. senators and congressmen informing them of the difficulties faced by Bahá’ís in Iran.
Shortly afterward, the National Secretariat was contacted within a 24-hour period by The New York Times, the Cox newspaper group, and the CBS television network for information about the situation in Iran.
At its February meeting in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the National Spiritual Assembly decided to establish a special press office to take fuller advantage of the opportunities for publicity being created by the recent
National Spiritual Assembly members (left to right) James F. Nelson, Franklin Kahn and Daniel C. Jordan unroll a lovely ‘storm pattern’ Navajo rug during the Assembly’s February meeting in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Mrs. Mary Lou Ewing (second from right) made the presentation to the National Assembly on behalf of the Spiritual Assembly of Albuquerque.
World Centre Publishes Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá[edit]
A major World Centre goal of the Five Year Plan was won last December with the publication in England of Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.
The book, which was en route from England at press time, will be available in cloth and paperback editions at $10 NET and $5 NET (cloth, Catalog No. 7-06-25; paper, Catalog No. 7-06-26).
THE NEW volume is the third and largest (336 pp., 237 items) of three compilations of Sacred Text to be published during the Plan, the first two being Selections from the Writings of the Báb (Catalog No. 7-05-50, $5 NET) and Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh Revealed After the Kitáb-i-Aqdas (Catalog No. 7-03-21, $7.50 NET).
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On the Inside... A VICTORY for the National Bahá’í Fund would be a fitting climax to the already victorious Five Year Plan. Page 3 A MONTH-LONG teaching campaign in Southern Illinois helps raise four new Assemblies. Page 4 A TEACHING DRIVE in West Texas and Southern New Mexico opens 17 localities while bringing new spirit and life to the area. Page 4 FOUR YOUNG U.S. Bahá’ís traveling and teaching in the South Pacific file a second report. Page 5 NATIONAL INFORMATION Office maps a comprehensive promotional campaign for the International Year of the Child. Page 6 MORE THAN 200 Native Americans attend an Oklahoma Powwow sponsored by Bahá’ís. Page 6 THE BAHÁ’Í House of Worship Activities Office announces its Summer 1979 Special Visit Program schedule. Page 7 |
Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá is the first large compilation of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s letters to be published in English in more than 60 years. It contains many extracts not easily available—or even accessible—to the friends.
Most of the passages are retranslations of a large number of the Master’s letters to individuals and communities of both East and West. (Many of His letters to Western believers were published between 1909 and 1916 in the three volumes of Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, which have long been out of print.) A few passages in the book were not previously available in English.
The book also contains several prayers, including a prayer for husbands and a marriage prayer; some short poems; the passage about Christ written specifically for Dr. Esslemont’s book; and the Tablet of Visitation, which closes the volume.
THE SELECTIONS cover a wide range of subjects. In a number of Tablets the Master extols the greatness of this Day. He instructs the friends on how to “live the life.”
His letters shed new light on matters of interest to all Bahá’ís, including the Local Spiritual Assembly, Bahá’í meetings, the Nineteen Day Feast, the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár, the oneness of mankind, voluntary sharing and serving the poor, teaching the Cause, Bahá’í marriage, the education of children, physicians and healing, loss of loved ones and life after death, and Covenant-breaking.
Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was compiled by the Research Department of the Universal House of Justice and translated by a committee at the Bahá’í World Centre and by Marzieh Gail. Passages translated by the Guardian were used wherever feasible and are noted at the end of the book.
The Universal House of Justice concludes its preface with these words: “It is believed that publication of these Writings of the Master will serve to increase the fervour of His lovers in responding to His call and add to their perception of that wondrous harmony of the human and divine which He, the Mystery of God, so perfectly exemplified.”
Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá may be ordered from local Bahá’í librarians. Isolated believers and Bahá’ís in communities with no librarian may order directly from the Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 415 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091. Please enclose full payment.
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Editorial During his visit to the House of Worship last November, Counsellor Hedi Aḥmadíyyih of Central America commented on what he perceived to be a major weakness in the character of the American Bahá’í community. That weakness, he said, is the tendency of the individual to wait for specific guidance from the institutions of the Faith before acting in areas such as teaching which, according to the Holy Text, clearly lie within the individual’s sphere of responsibility. This tendency, Dr. Aḥmadíyyih observed, has caused us to lose many opportunities in the expansion of the Faith and is a principal reason why we have had such difficulty meeting our expansion goals. We concur with Dr. Aḥmadíyyih’s observation. There indeed seems to be an ambivalence on the part of the individual members of the Bahá’í community toward responsibilities they share with Bahá’í institutions. Teaching, deepening, and protecting the Faith are activities in which Bahá’ís and Bahá’í institutions alike must engage. While the institutions set the policies and determine the direction the community should take, the individual has a wide latitude in which he is free and, indeed, spiritually obligated, to operate. The beloved Guardian stressed the importance of individual initiative in the following passage found in The Advent of Divine Justice, p. 42: “It is the bounden duty of every American believer, as the faithful trustee of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Divine Plan, to initiate, promote, and consolidate, within the limits fixed by the administrative principles of the Faith, any activity he or she deems fit to undertake for the furtherance of the Plan...Let him not wait for any directions, or expect any special encouragement, from the elected representatives of his community, nor be deterred by any obstacles which his relatives, or fellow-citizens may be inclined to place in his path, nor mind the censure of his critics or enemies.” Perhaps the greatest lesson of the Five Year Plan is the realization that it is the initiative of the individual on which the advancement of the Faith truly depends. While the institutions direct and coordinate activity, it is the energy of the individual that propels the community forward. Teaching, deepening, protecting the Cause of God, giving to the Fund, even the work of the institutions themselves, are all dependent on the initiative of the individual who, while he always wants to act in conformity with the wishes of the institutions, need not—nay, should not—wait to be told what to do. Perhaps the source of our ambivalence lies in the difficulty we have in striking a balance between the need to give proper deference to institutions of authority on one hand and to exercise individual initiative on the other. This balance is unique to the Bahá’í way of life. Previous social systems have emphasized one over the other, and history has not yet seen a culture that blends the two as the Bahá’í system envisions. As in so many areas of Bahá’í life, we are at the earliest stages of understanding what is required of us and have a long way to go before we can say that we as a people have acquired a distinctive characteristic. Our experience during the Five Year Plan has brought us to a point at which we understand where we have been deficient. It is now our solemn duty to demonstrate that we have learned from our experience and have grown in spiritual maturity. “God hath prescribed unto every one the duty of teaching His Cause,” Bahá’u’lláh asserts. “Be unrestrained as the wind,” He further exclaims, “while carrying the Message of Him Who hath caused the dawn of Divine Guidance to break.” For us there need be no more precise a command, no more specific a directive. |
In honor of the United Nations International Year of the Child in 1979, the Bahá’í community of New Orleans, Louisiana, sponsored a parade last October 28 through the city’s famed French Quarter. The parade, led by the jazz band ‘Second Liners,’ attracted great attention and was carried on same-day newscasts on two local television stations. Bahá’ís distributed 500 flyers that included the UN Declaration of the Rights of the Child; one school copied the flyer and sent it to 419 households with its weekly bulletin to students.
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Jobs Are Available at National Center[edit]
A critical need exists to fill job vacancies at the Bahá’í National Center. Positions now open can lead to challenging careers for those believers who are willing and able to serve the National Spiritual Assembly in this capacity.
Resumés and work applications are now being accepted. For further information, please call Personnel at 312-256-4400.
Letters to the Editor
Feminine Qualities Can Enrich Every Profession[edit]
Dear Friends:
I am replying to the writer (January 1979) who said that careers such as teacher, nurse or secretary are more appropriate for women because, unlike careers such as doctor, school principal or executive that are administrative in nature, they are more people- and service-oriented and lend themselves to the spiritual qualities of love and service that women have.
Imagine the enrichment architects, engineers or educators will experience by including those qualities of love and service. What a wonderful contrast to the intellectualism, materialism and lack of loving support that pervade modern education.
AS A STUDENT in architecture, I had an opportunity to glimpse the possibilities involved. Our class had an assignment to redesign the waterfront at Plymouth, Massachusetts.
I had fun interviewing the merchants and town planners of Plymouth, and used many of their suggestions in my design. When I presented the design to the teachers for criticism, they said it showed I had the qualities of a true servant!
When we look at jobs and professions as a service to mankind, each one needing the qualities of love and service to help advance civilization, we will gain insight into the individual’s reciprocal relationship to society and know in what place to put such things as gender distinction. I don’t think we know yet.
We women can help bring into being that new civilization promised by Bahá’u’lláh only as partners, not as servants, to our brothers. When women attain their true birthright, men and women will realize they have more gifts than they ever dreamed possible, because the rearing of children will be in the hands of women (and men) who are truly educated, self-respecting, fulfilled human beings who are happy with themselves and are aware of and sensitive to another’s (the child’s) precious diversity.
Medford, Massachusetts
Dear Friends:
The letter (January 1979) commenting on the article titled “Sex Roles Shouldn’t Limit Job Choices” prompted me to re-read the article. After a second reading, I still felt positive about the challenges the author presented—mainly to women, but also to men.
I can fully appreciate the writer’s request to read articles that support the role of women as mothers (because I am a mother with an active toddler, and need all the help I can get!), but I feel that Bahá’ís should be cautious in seeking support for a singular, limited role “appropriate” to women and/or mothers to the exclusion of alternatives.
THIS “either/or” approach has created bitter division in the old world order between many feminists and those who support the doctrine that “woman’s place is in the home.”
The sources quoted by the writer do indeed testify to the unique privilege of women as the first educators of mankind, but conversely, these sources and those that follow do not, to my mind, impose or imply limitations as to which professions are more appropriate for women to pursue.
In Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era (p. 154), ‘Abdu’l-Bahá says that “humanity is like a bird with its two wings—the one is male, the other female. Unless both wings are strong ... the bird cannot fly heavenwards. According to the spirit of this age, women must advance and fulfill their mission in all departments of life, becoming equal to men.”
If, as the Master adds, “the new age will be an age less masculine and more permeated with the feminine ideals ... an age in which the masculine and feminine elements of civilization will be more evenly balanced,” I cannot help but wonder how this can be achieved if not in part through the efforts of spiritualized women moving into all departments and levels of society, bringing to those professions previously lacking in the feminine virtues the very qualities of love and service needed for the humanizing and civilizing of the world. Love and administrative skills are not mutually exclusive.
The “school principal, doctor, executive” must also acquire the virtues of love and servitude needed to fulfill their spiritual destiny. A direct result cannot help but be the humanizing of careers and professions that have been accused of mechanization and insensitivity to human needs.
Finally, it occurs to me that although women are presently strong in the areas of love and service, these are not exclusively feminine virtues, but rather human virtues. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá Himself was the perfect Exemplar of these qualities. Hopefully, by looking to the Master and returning again and again to the Writings, we will all deepen our understanding of this most important topic.
Oakridge, Oregon
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Victory for Fund Would Cap Plan In a few short days, we will come to the end of the Five Year Plan. How happy we are that we have achieved so many teaching victories for our beloved Universal House of Justice! It would be even more wonderful if the American community could end the year by winning one more victory—the annual Contributions Goal of the National Fund. We have seen the American Bahá’í community take great strides during these past five years. For example, when the Plan started in 1974, we had an annual budget of $2.6 million. By this past year, our budget had increased to $4 million! Perhaps the most exciting growth we realized was the increased participation of individuals contributing directly to the National Fund. AT THE START of the Plan, approximately 700 people were contributing to the Fund each Bahá’í month. As we near the close of the Plan, an average of 2,100 individuals are contributing directly to the National Fund each month. These are exciting statistics, for we know that it is the individual who determines whether or not we win our goal. A “final challenge” of the Five Year Plan now confronts us. We know that winning the Contributions Goal during the last month is possible. In April of 1977, an all-time high of 3,564 individuals contributed to the National Fund, enabling us to win the goal. In April of last year, contributions from a record 734 Assemblies helped put us over the top. Therefore, during these few remaining days, we are calling upon every individual, Bahá’í Group, and Local Spiritual Assembly to make the extra effort necessary to win the Contributions Goal. Let us add to the victories we have already won by ending the Five Year Plan with a victory for the National Fund! |
Believer’s Life Example Of Sacrifice for Faith[edit]
The Office of the Treasurer occasionally receives letters from people who are confused about the meaning of sacrifice. They are aware of the heroic deeds of the early martyrs, but they are not certain as to the meaning of “living sacrifice.”
While no one can determine sacrifice for another, sometimes it helps to hear a story about a person who did sacrifice, whose life was an example of what it means to “weep away your life drop by drop.”
NOT LONG ago, a letter was received from a Bahá’í in Florida, sharing the story of a woman whose life was a loving tribute of sacrifice for her Faith.
Elizabeth Ripley Wigfall was the daughter of William and Anna Ripley, early believers in Washington, D.C., who had hosted the Master when He visited Washington. The Ripleys later pioneered to central Florida where Elizabeth became a staunch and active Bahá’í teacher.
Among her many services to the Faith was her devotion to the Fund. During the Depression, the National Fund was carrying out the task of building the House of Worship. There were many appeals for funds, and Elizabeth always responded. She was a landlady and was usually unable to collect rents during this period, but whatever she did collect went to pay her taxes and to the National Fund.
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A Touching Gift “Indeed the splendid spirit that animates the American believers these days is a great source of joy and inspiration to the Guardian and, as the good news comes in of new victories won and new sacrifices made, one can see his spirits rise and a wave of new strength sweep over him—tired and overburdened as he so often is. “In this connection the letter you so thoughtfully enclosed from that dear Bahá’í who gave the difference in the price of a cheap or expensive coffin to the Fund of the Cause, greatly touched him. Such sacrifices prove the caliber of the friends and insure the very foundations of the Faith.” (From a letter written on behalf of the Guardian, dated May 4, 1941, to the Treasurer of the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States and Canada, Bahá’í News No. 144, pp. 2-3) |
Throughout her life, Elizabeth kept little for herself. A friend once commented on the poor condition of her car—the floorboards had rotted away years before and one could see the street when driving.
ELIZABETH replied that, although the car was 20 years old, it had a fine engine. She was certain any money for a new car could be better used by the National Fund. That same car was parked in her driveway at the time of her passing.
The National Fund was always on Elizabeth’s mind. She would frequently return a newly-purchased item to the store so that she could send more money to the Fund.
As time passed, Elizabeth’s property holdings became more valuable. Once again, she saw an opportunity to serve the Faith. She considered it a privilege to sell a piece of property occasionally, in order to send an extra contribution to the Fund. Over the years, the National Spiritual Assembly received many such unanticipated gifts from Elizabeth.
Elizabeth’s example of sacrifice continued even beyond her death. Through her Will, she continued to contribute, for she bequeathed a large portion of her estate to the National Bahá’í Fund.
In her daily life, and even in death, Elizabeth Wigfall exemplified the spiritual qualities of moderation, detachment and sacrifice.
Elizabeth Ripley Wigfall. As a child, she spent many happy hours in the company of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, who was a guest in the Ripley home in Washington, D.C.
Fund Provides an Opportunity To Prove Spiritual Faithfulness[edit]
(EDITOR’S NOTE: The following excerpts are from a letter written by Horace Holley, former secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly. The letter was printed in the December 1924 issue of Bahá’í News.)
“That there exist in this country many hearts already prepared to join in the task of erecting an edifice to the Glory of God and the brotherhood of man; that there is even at this hour more than sufficient funds to give embodiment to the ideal of the Most Great Peace—and that these unknown brothers and sisters are as anxious to work side by side with us as we are to increase our own numbers—this is a fact of which we cannot have the slightest doubt.
“But neither can we have the slightest doubt that this assistance will be given us in but meager measure until we have fulfilled the conditions of sacrifice and love which alone can attract and convince the waiting souls.
“THE OUTER and visible point of unity corresponding to that inward and invisible oneness to which we, as Bahá’ís, have been called, is the National Fund. The institution of this central Bahá’í Fund is yet so new and so unprecedented that we have failed to grasp its entire significance.
“In one aspect ... the Bahá’í Fund is our opportunity to prove our spiritual faithfulness upon the plane of practical affairs as upon the plane of mind and heart. By the supreme witness of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s own life, we know that faithfulness is a way of living which embraces the whole of life.
“Our first response to the opportunity offered us by the National Fund should be a reconsideration of our daily lives in every detail, so that they may become controlled by a sense of order and inspired by a new purpose. The effect of our understanding of the National Bahá’í Fund should be to cultivate our every resource to the utmost, for not otherwise shall we be able to feel any pride in our capacity to serve this aspect of the Cause.
“It is for each believer to determine for himself what portion of his income can be allotted to the Fund; it is for each believer to determine for himself just where to draw the line between economy and extravagance—the standard of giving has been set for us once and for all ...”
Rahim Milani and his daughter, Mitra, perform during a talent show held at the Minnesota Bahá’í Winter School last December. Bahá’í Winter Schools are held at several locations each year and provide the friends with a wonderful way to spend the winter holidays far from the distractions of the outside world.
Southern Illinois Drive Nets 4 New Assemblies[edit]
Four new Local Spiritual Assemblies were formed, 12 localities opened to the Faith, and nearly 60 new believers enrolled during a month-long teaching campaign in February centered in and around Pulaski County at the southernmost tip of Illinois.
Bahá’ís from Illinois, Wisconsin, Tennessee and South Carolina participated in the teaching effort that began the first weekend in February and led within three weeks to Assemblies in Mounds, Sandusky, Ullin and Cairo. The campaign was sponsored by the Southern Illinois District Teaching Committee.
About 20 people were involved in the teaching work each weekend and three to four during weekdays. Most of the project took place in zero-degree weather or worse.
WEEKEND teaching was preceded by training sessions for the participants. Two-member teams were used to canvass communities door-to-door. After dark, teachers returned to the Bahá’í Center in Mound City to share experiences and deepen in the Writings of the Faith.
John Conkling, secretary of the National Teaching Committee, spent a weekend in Pulaski County and was an active participant in the teaching effort.
Three of the newly-enrolled believers joined the teaching effort on a fulltime basis. Another member of the teaching team, from South Carolina, had taken a year off from school to teach the Faith full-time.
“We realize this is only one way of teaching, and it’s very direct,” said a member of the teaching team. “We saw ourselves as Bahá’ís with a precious Message that we wanted to give to the people.
“If people weren’t interested, which happened in some cases, our obligation was complete. At least we had offered it to them.”
Near the end of the month, teachers hosted a party for the newly-enrolled believers at which two of the children recited Bahá’í prayers from memory.
The spirit of the teaching campaign in Southern Illinois is evident in these candid photos of seekers and believers there.
Small Texas–New Mexico Effort Explodes[edit]
What began as a two-week teaching project in West Texas and Southern New Mexico last December with the modest goal of opening four localities to the Faith and reopening a fifth evolved into a month-long campaign that led to the opening of 17 new localities, the establishment of one Local Spiritual Assembly, and the enrollment of more than 70 new believers.
The direct teaching campaign, sponsored by the District Teaching Committee of Southern New Mexico/West Texas, and using the new teaching booklets and methods advocated by the National Spiritual Assembly and National Teaching Committee, took place in an area that had only 31 localities open to the Faith as of December 1 and had opened only two since Riḍván 1978.
THE NEWEST Local Assembly, bringing to 10 the total number in the District, is in Deming, New Mexico. The District Teaching Committee says Groups raised in Moon City, Texas, and Columbus, New Mexico, are well on the way toward achieving Assembly status too.
These events took place following a District Teaching Committee meeting at which it was decided that a direct teaching effort was needed to try to spark the sort of victories that were being reported in Southern Arizona and elsewhere.
The campaign was to last from December 23–31. Its announced goal was to open four new localities to the Faith and reopen a fifth.
The National Teaching Committee provided a supply of teaching booklets and someone to conduct an orientation meeting at which the friends were acquainted with the methods of direct teaching used earlier with much success in Georgia, South Carolina, Arizona and other areas.
FOUR BAHÁ’ÍS came from Colorado and two from Arizona to join the two-week campaign. Combining forces with the friends from Texas and New Mexico, teaching got under way with eight teams in the field on Saturday, December 23.
The result that day was one enrollment, and one new locality opened. The following day, a second enrollment opened another locality.
Teaching resumed on Tuesday, December 26, with two additional localities opened. In only three days of teaching, the goals of the project had been won!
The two-week totals included the establishment of the new Spiritual Assembly in Deming; 13 localities opened to the Faith, four more raised to Group status, and more enrollments than the District had experienced since the start of the Five Year Plan.
The District Teaching Committee decided at that point to continue the campaign for another two weeks, setting goals of raising two more localities to Assembly status and five to Group status.
ON SUNDAY, January 7, teaching teams went to nine localities. The results of that effort included 16 enrollments, four localities raised to Group status, and two others—Moon City, Texas (four enrollments) and Columbus, New Mexico (six enrollments)—well on the way toward Assembly status.
The District Teaching Committee could look forward confidently to winning each of its goals quickly and then moving “from strength to strength” toward even greater victories for the Cause in the opening months of the Seven Year Plan.
“When we’re out direct teaching,” the committee said in a report to the National Teaching Committee, “Bahá’u’lláh has already determined who are the waiting Bahá’ís.
“We are not walking around looking to give people something; we are looking for those souls who are ready to give their hearts to God and Bahá’u’lláh ...
“The essential focus of such teaching must be to appeal to the person’s heart ... If the heart leads, the mind will naturally follow ...”
California Steps Up Activities as Plan Nears Close[edit]
In a final headlong drive to win the state’s Five Year Plan goals, the Bahá’ís in California have been active on many fronts in recent weeks. Some of their activities include:
- Project EBT (Entry By Troops) in the Los Angeles area.
- A large-scale teaching campaign in and around Calexico.
- A lecture series on “The Reality of Man” presented by the Bahá’í community of Del Mar.
- Formation of the first Local Spiritual Assembly on an Indian Reservation in the state, the Pala Reservation north of San Diego.
- Stepped-up participation in the National Education Committee’s Comprehensive Deepening Program
Project EBT, which is concentrating on reaching Spanish-speaking people in the greater Los Angeles area, got under way in January with the first of a series of “fiesta” teaching events to which the families and friends of Spanish-speaking Bahá’ís are invited.
THE FIRST of these social events, an international potluck dinner January 27, drew 100 people including about 30 non-Bahá’ís. A dozen families have asked for Bahá’í teachers to come to their homes and speak to their relatives about the Faith.
In Calexico, just north of the Mexican border, Bahá’ís from California have been conducting wide-ranging teaching and consolidation activities.
The project began February 15, and within a week had led to 36 enrollments and the formation of a Spiritual Assembly in Calexico. The majority of the new believers are neighbors who live within a two-block area of Calexico.
The Del Mar community, near San Diego, opened its lecture series January 26 at the Del Mar City Hall in honor of World Religion Day. Dr. Amin Banani, a professor at UCLA, spoke on “Unity and Divergence in Islamic Culture.”
THE LECTURE series will continue at least through next October, with many notable Bahá’í speakers scheduled to participate. The local newspaper announced the lecture series to the public and included some principles of the Faith in its article.
The Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the Pala Indian Reservation was elected Wednesday, January 10, following a potluck supper in honor of the occasion.
The Pala Assembly brought to 28 the number of Local Assemblies on Indian Reservations in the U.S. California’s goal is three, and work toward the other two is continuing on the Hoopa, Miwuk, and Campo–Manzanita Reservations.
Several California communities have taken part recently in the Comprehensive Deepening Program, a 10-week-long pilot project that concentrates on the development of habits and activities that are in accordance with God’s purpose for man.
Friends and seekers enjoyed an international dinner January 27 at the Los Angeles Bahá’í Center, the first social event held as a part of California’s ‘Project EBT’ (Entry by Troops). About 100 people attended the event.
Tellers count the ballots during the election January 10 of the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the Pala Indian Reservation, the first Local Assembly ever formed on an Indian Reservation in California.
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VANGUARD Youth News |
‘Youth Energy Zone’ a Dynamic Learning Experience[edit]
Approximately 50 young people from across the country participated last December 17–23 in “Youth Energy Zone,” a pilot project for Bahá’í youth and pre-youth at the University of Southern California School of Music and the Arts (ISOMATA) in Idyllwild, California.
The Bahá’í school, for young people ages 13–16, was designed by a special task force to enable participants to explore as fully as possible the Bahá’í Faith and their relationship to it in a loving and supportive environment.
TEN STAFF members participated as cabin counselors and teachers in the various classes.
Two core courses were offered: “Going Through Some Changes,” an adaptation of the Comprehensive Deepening Program for this age group, and “Dare to Be Different,” an intensive course on specific problems facing Bahá’í youth as they interact with their peers.
Two other courses were offered for half the week each: “Adapt,” a class in cross-cultural studies with emphasis on the family, and “We’re Almost There,” a presentation of the role this age group can have in building the World Order of Bahá’u’lláh.
Music, arts and crafts, and dance classes also were offered.
SPECIAL activities included disco dancing, a slide show of photos taken through an electron microscope, and a “secret pal” program designed to allow everyone, students and staff, to communicate anonymously with someone else until the end of the week.
A special treat came from the ISOMATA cooking staff who prepared an international menu. Each day, meals were served from a different part of the world, ranging from chapatis from India to the tangy and delectable dishes of Mexico.
The menu changes offered students and staff an opportunity to confront their own adaptability in coping with such changes as diet when traveling or pioneering to other countries.
The positive atmosphere at the school and the exciting curriculum left many of the students enthusiastic and eager for the next YEZ program.
Approximately 50 young people from across the country participated last December in ‘Youth Energy Zone,’ a pilot project for Bahá’í youth and pre-youth at Camp ISOMATA in Idyllwild, California.
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‘Youth on Way’ to Return Yes, there are more “Youth on the Way!” Be sure to watch the May issue of The American Bahá’í for another profile of a Bahá’í youth whose life exemplifies spiritual characteristics. In the meantime...do you know someone who strives to live “a pure, a virtuous, an active and truly exemplary life”? A friend, a member of your community, even yourself? Please send a photo and information about Bahá’í activities, school activities, career preparation, interests, and any other pertinent facts to the National Youth Committee, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091. |
Two young Bahá’ís entertain during Talent Night at ‘Youth Energy Zone.’
Don’t forget to order your ‘World Citizen’ T-shirts! They’re available in adult sizes for $6.25 and children’s sizes for $5.25 from the Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 415 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091.
Young Bahá’ís Find S. Pacific Fertile Teaching Area[edit]
Last month we presented the first part of a report from four Bahá’ís from the U.S. who are spending about four months traveling and teaching in the South Pacific.
The team’s itinerary has included stops in Fiji, New Hebrides, the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea. Its members are June Ritter, Mark Sisson, James Isham and Darral Pugh.
Here is the teaching team’s second report of its activities:
“To finish the news from New Hebrides we need to speak about Tanna and the Youth Conference.
“WE ARRIVED in Tanna by airplane, and later that day met the Bahá’ís at the local Center, a native-built house with the top half of the side walls open.
“That night a public meeting attracted about 20 people to the Center. Afterward, we drove to the bush country—encircled by a forest.
“The local chief came from the forest, a mat or two under each arm, followed by several other people. Before the place of honor was prepared we were surrounded by at least 100 people, squatting or standing. Many of them presented us with gifts.
“We gave our talks to about 200 people or more. They seemed really interested. They would discuss things among themselves before the appointed speaker for the group asked a question. One man declared. We hope this paves the way for more declarations.
“The next day we went by truck and on foot to Greenhill. Resting under the shade of a banyan tree, we soon were joined by 30 other people. We spoke to them simply and directly about the Faith.
“A SUDDEN rainstorm sent many of them into the tall grass. About 10 of us ran to a shelter, where the talks continued. We were given a grand farewell, shaking hands with everyone, before climbing back down the hill where our truck was waiting at a designated spot.
“Our next stop was at Whitesands, which was to be our home base for the next three days. We met the next morning with residents of a nearby village near the top of another mountain. There were 70 or 80 people there including the children.
“In Sulphur Bay we were received by an honor guard and a raised American flag, then escorted to the meeting place. The people of Tanna are wonderful. It was difficult leaving them, and leaving New Hebrides.”
A letter from another team member supplies additional information about their travels:
“WE ARE now in the Solomon Islands. Everyone is fine, though we’re a little fatigued. We are housed at the National Center until tomorrow, when we leave for Malaita to begin our teaching trip.
“While we were in Fiji, I would estimate that we proclaimed the Faith to between 350 and 500 people.
“We were able to impart some of the Bahá’í spirit through our music. Being Americans also was helpful in our teaching. I am impressed with the Bahá’ís of Fiji, especially the women, who are quite dedicated.
“In New Hebrides, we visited the islands of Efate, Espiritu (Santo), Malekula, and Tanna.
“Public meetings were held in Port Vila, New Hebrides, on our first and last nights there. We were greeted warmly by the Bahá’ís, many of whom were at the airport. I think almost everyone knew we were Bahá’ís by the time we left there.
“WE SPOKE about the Faith to at least 1,000 people in New Hebrides. There were three declarations while we were there. In Fiji there were 13 declarations, all of which took place in a village where we were not present.
“In Santo, on the island of Espiritu, our first meeting drew about 150 people. We proclaimed the Faith in cities, villages, and in the bush country. The people are most generous and kind, even those who live in great poverty.
“There were about five youth who escorted me around town. They are proud to be New Hebrideans, proud of their cultural heritage. I think they will become Bahá’ís, provided others can contact them to tell them more about the principles and aims of the Faith.
“Wherever we taught, the people were happy to receive us. They even liked our singing! In one village, where we’d been told there was some hostility toward Bahá’ís, we were welcomed with open arms. I think our being black was advantageous in that situation.
“ONE YOUNG man there declared his belief after asking many interesting and intelligent questions.
“In Tanna, we were met by Tony Deamer, an Australian whose brother, Bren, had been our host at Norsup. Like his brother, Tony translated our talks into pidgin English and escorted us to our designated teaching areas.
“Also accompanying us in Tanna was Cathy Smeal, who was a great asset because of her knowledge of the people and her ability to impart the Teachings in a way that the people could readily understand.
“Returning to Vila, where Mark (Sisson) was representing the team at the first National Youth Conference, we gave our last public meeting in New Hebrides. Afterward, we were given a farewell party.
“Arriving in the Solomons, we were briefed by the National Teaching Committee and given our teaching schedule. We met Timoce Serevi, a Bahá’í from Fiji, again—he had been our escort throughout our visit to Fiji, and is now traveling and teaching in the Solomons.
“Our love to everyone in the States.”
Information Office Slates ‘Year of Child’ Campaign[edit]
A major promotional campaign for the United Nations Year of the Child (1979) has been planned by the Bahá’í National Information Office in cooperation with the Bahá’í Publishing Trust.
Following the theme, “Love That Child,” materials will be made available to local Bahá’í communities and individuals that will include:
- A booklet of 10 camera-ready ads for newspapers
- Ten-, 30-, and 60-second radio spots
- Thirty-second television public service announcements
- Billboards
- Posters
- Bookmarks
- Balloons
- Ballpoint pens
- Window decals
- Folders
- Brochures for government officials, clubs, etc.
- T-shirts
- Bumper stickers
The campaign also has its own theme song.
A special publicity kit will be mailed to all Assemblies and Groups with instructions on how to use the materials for proclamation. The kit will include sample press releases and sample letters.
The friends will be asked to distribute the special materials to various government and public officials, civic and educational groups and organizations, as well as to radio and TV stations where public service announcements will be placed.
Price lists and order forms for the materials will be included in the publicity kits so that local communities will be able to order materials immediately.
For more information, please contact the Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 415 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091, or the Bahá’í National Information Office, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091.
Several U.S. Believers Attend W. Africa Women’s Conference[edit]
Several Bahá’ís from the U.S. were among the more than 200 people who attended the West African Bahá’í Women’s Conference last December 28–31 in Monrovia, Liberia.
The U.S. National Spiritual Assembly was represented at the conference by Jene Bellows of Skokie, Illinois. Mrs. Bellows was accompanied by her mother, Mrs. Rose Gronseth of Wilton Manors, Florida.
Also traveling to Monrovia for the conference were Judy Cole of Sun Valley, California, and Hilda Robinson of Tuskegee, Alabama.
JOHN McGimsey of Morganton, North Carolina, who was on a teaching trip to Liberia, attended the conference, as did several Americans who are pioneering in that West African country.
The featured speaker at the conference was a former U.S. resident, Dr. Jane Faily, a clinical psychologist at the University of Ottawa, Canada, and consultant to the Bahá’í International Community’s representative to the United Nations.
Sixteen countries, including the U.S., Germany, and Spain, were represented at the conference. A total of 23 languages were spoken by those in attendance.
The conference theme was “The Spiritual Education of Women—The Foundation of a New Human Society.” Its primary focus was on the expanding role of village-dwelling women of Africa in today’s changing world.
The President of Liberia, Dr. William R. Tolbert Jr., sent a message to the conference. Several high-ranking government officials were active participants.
Included on its busy agenda were a unity feast, workshops, a showing of a part of the film The Green Light Expedition, and a public meeting.
Publicity was excellent, with extensive coverage in newspapers and magazines as well as on radio and television.
The Bahá’í communities of Mt. Airy and Surry County, North Carolina, entered a float in the annual Christmas parade there last November 18. Its theme was ‘One Planet, One People Please.’ The float was preceded by two Bahá’ís carrying aloft a large banner on which was written ‘Bahá’í Faith.’ The Bahá’ís riding on the float, dressed in international costumes, sang Bahá’í songs and gave away candy and balloons. Shortly after the parade in Mt. Airy, the Bahá’ís of Greensboro, North Carolina, used the same banner and globe for their Christmas parade float. They won a second prize of $100 and donated it to the International House fund that provides money for foreign students in the U.S. during the Christmas holidays.
Nassau County, New York, Executive Francis T. Purcell (center) displays a proclamation designating January 21, 1979, World Religion Day in the county. With Mr. Purcell are members of the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the Town of Hempstead, New York (left to right) Vito Benenati, Carmela Shure, Elsie Anderson, Simona Nobile. On January 18, Bahá’ís representing the Town of Hempstead and Village of Hempstead met with presiding Supervisor Alfonse D’Amato for the proclamation of World Religion Day. Photos taken at that meeting were published in several local newspapers. Both public officials were presented with the book Call to the Nations.
D.C. Community Given Historic Letters[edit]
Highlighting a recent conference in Washington, D.C., conducted by members of the Continental Board of Counsellors and Auxiliary Board was the presentation to the Washington Bahá’í community of an historic “message to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá” signed in 1904 by members of the first Bahá’í community in the nation’s capital.
The gift was presented by Dr. Nasir Bashirelahi on behalf of his uncle, ‘Abdu’l Hussain Bashirelahi of Vienna, Virginia.
There actually are two letters to the Master, one signed by the men of the Washington community, the other by the women. The message has been in the Bashirelahi family for more than 60 years, the elder Mr. Bashirelahi’s father having carried it throughout Persia and to pioneer posts in other countries.
The message will now become a part of the national Bahá’í archives in Wilmette, Illinois.
Speakers at the conference included Counsellor Sarah M. Pereira and Auxiliary Board member Katherine McLaughlin. It was chaired by Auxiliary Board member Albert B. James.
Oklahoma Powwow Draws 200-Plus Native Americans[edit]
Upwards of 300 people, including more than 200 Native Americans, were at the Crutcho Armory in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, last November 18 for a Powwow co-sponsored by the Bahá’í community of Bethany, Oklahoma, and the Cheyenne Veterans Association.
A featured speaker at the Powwow was Charlene Winger-Bearskin, a Bahá’í from Salamanca, New York, and a native of eastern Oklahoma. The Powwow included a potluck supper for which the Bahá’ís brought food, and traditional Oklahoma Indian dancing.
THE FRIENDS were greatly assisted in publicizing and conducting the Powwow by Sammy (Tonekei) White of the Native American Center in Oklahoma City.
Besides suggesting the site for the Powwow and serving as its master of ceremonies, Mr. White, who is not a Bahá’í, interviewed Chester Kahn, a Navajo Bahá’í from Houck, Arizona, on his weekly radio and television programs. The programs have a large following among Native Americans in western Oklahoma.
The day after the Powwow, Mrs. Winger-Bearskin and her husband, Michael, were special guests at a Cluster Teaching event in Midwest City.
On November 25, the Bahá’í community of Norman hosted a public meeting as a follow-up to the Powwow. Eight days earlier, Mr. Winger-Bearskin had spoken at a public meeting at the University of Oklahoma in Norman.
One Indian youth declared his belief in Bahá’u’lláh at the Powwow, while many other Native Americans had an opportunity to become acquainted with the basic principles of the Faith.
Native American dancing was among the highlights of a Powwow last November at Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, that was attended by more than 300 people, including more than 200 American Indians.
[Page 7]
Participants in last August’s Special Visit Program in the foyer of the new
National Bahá’í Administration building.
June 14 to 17
July 5 to 8
August 2 to 5
August 23 to 26
Special Visit Programs: Summer 1979[edit]
- Make the Bahá’í House of Worship your home for three full days.
- Participate in a tour of the entire Bahá’í National Center.
- Deepen on Bahá’í Administration from a national perspective.
- Read a prayer in the Holiest House of Worship.
- View a special showing of the National Archives.
- Learn about the history of the Bahá’í Faith in America as reflected in the construction of the ‘Mother Temple of the West.’
- Make new Bahá’í friends from across the country.
Among the many places of interest seen by last August’s Special Visitors to Wilmette were the Office of the Treasurer (top), the Bahá’í Home (center), and the National Teaching Committee office.
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This is the second in a series of articles under the title “Family Unity Nights” (FUN) that are appearing in The American Bahá’í as a part of the American Bahá’í community’s observance of the International Year of the Child, 1979. Each of these articles centers on a different topic and will offer practical suggestions for strengthening family unity and making the family a building block for a world civilization. EACH FAMILY should decide how the theme will help strengthen its family unity, and whether the suggested activities are the best way to implement the theme, or if other activities of their own creation would be more successful. When reviewing an article, each family should consider the following:
The National Education Committee would be delighted to hear from your family and learn how the FUN activities have been of benefit to you and how they have been observed. Please write. We are looking forward to hearing from you. |
Reverence, Courtesy Order Family Life[edit]
In this Day, we have the bounty and privilege of being instruments through whom a new creation—a New World Order—is being born, an entity whose scope, potential, and character lie beyond the reach of our imagination.
A profound transformation is occurring at every level of society as the values of a moribund age give way to those of the Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh.
The institution of the family (the “nation in miniature”)1 reflects this upheaval; thankfully, however, Bahá’u’lláh has given us the guidance to enable us to find our way safely through this maze-like path of change.
HE HAS taught us to recognize the family as a divine institution. The Bahá’í Writings show us how to order our family life so that it becomes a magnet attracting the Holy Spirit—the power of spiritual evolution.
How does the family become a magnet for this power?
There is one way, and there are many ways. The one way is to love Bahá’u’lláh; the many ways are to do the things He asks us to do.
Bahá’u’lláh exhorts us to reverence and courtesy. In this article, we will explore how practicing these virtues magnetizes the family so that it attracts and is influenced by the Holy Spirit.
First, we should define our terms.
REVERENCE is “1. a feeling or attitude of deep respect, love, and awe, as for something sacred; 2. a manifestation of this; specifically, a bow, curtsy, or similar gesture of respect; obeisance.” (Webster)
As Bahá’ís, our respect, love, and awe before God is expressed through special veneration of places, books, objects, and institutions associated with Bahá’u’lláh’s Revelation. And because every created thing is endowed with a sign of God, we are reverent before the whole of creation as a mirror of the Divine.
COURTESY is “courteous behavior, gracious politeness” (Webster). The word itself is derived from the French and Latin words for the “court” of sovereigns, referring to behavior expected of those who were members of the court.
Bahá’u’lláh is the Divine King, and we seek the court of His nearness. We are building His kingdom on earth. Courtesy to a Bahá’í is the practice of relating to others as our King commands, with the consciousness that we are ever in His presence.
In the Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh, courtesy is given an exalted station:
“O people of God! I exhort you to courtesy. Courtesy is, in the primary station, the Lord of all virtues. Blessed is he who is illumined with the light of courtesy, and is adorned with the mantle of uprightness! He who is endowed with courtesy is endowed with a great station. It is hoped that this oppressed One, and all, will attain unto it, adhere to it, hold unto it, and observe it. This is the irrefutable command which hath flowed and is revealed from the Pen of the Greatest Name.”2
COURTESY and reverence are central to the life of the family. Reverence is the quality that should govern its relationship to God; courtesy is the quality that should govern its internal relationships and those with the rest of humanity.
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Where to Phone For reporting new localities and information about jeopardized Local Assemblies, call the National Teaching Committee Office toll-free at 1-800-323-4390. Lines are open weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Central Standard Time. |
As we develop reverence and courtesy in individual families, we will find unity of principle (as expressed in the Writings) and diversity of expression (as each family reflects these qualities according to its unique character).
The Importance of Habit
“Water gradually makes for itself a channel; as it flows, the channel deepens and widens ... Habits are channels in our way of living, and they may be good or bad. We may have sloppily allowed our personalities to follow every line of least resistance—the way water does—and encumber us with a host of bad habits, or we may have pushed our characters into good ways; whichever it is, the mere fact that human beings, like every other form of life, are intensely habit-forming is a great asset to us ... The easiest time, naturally, for people to begin forming habits is in their childhood. The brook, never having flowed anywhere, just bubbling up fresh out of the ground, is ready to flow in almost any direction opened for it.”3
Principles of Reverence
1. Prayer inspires reverence. “The wisdom of prayer is this, that it causes a connection between the servant and the True One...”4
2. Studying the Creative Word develops reverence. Spiritual vision or insight is a power that requires training to function according to the Divine Standard. The Bahá’í Writings teach us to train our faculties so that we will know, see, hear, and think of none save God.
“... Blind thine eyes, that is, to all save My beauty; stop thine ears to all save My word; empty thyself of all learning save the knowledge of Me; that with a clear vision, a pure heart, and an attentive ear thou mayest enter the court of My holiness.”5
AS WE immerse ourselves in the Ocean of Bahá’u’lláh’s Revelation, we will be filled with reverence as we receive the vision of celestial perfection within the Word of God and witness its transforming power.
3. Actions express reverence. “Therefore strive that your actions day by day may be beautiful prayers. Turn towards God, and seek always to do that which is right and noble.”6
4. The physical environment expresses reverence. With simplicity and love, we can arrange the humblest home to express reverence. As we recognize that everything we have is entrusted to our care as a gift from God, to be used in service to Him, we learn to treat material things with care and respect.
Principles of Courtesy
1. Courtesy is the outward expression of reverence. When our hearts are filled with the love of God, they radiate its life-giving qualities to others. The practice of such courtesy—the effort toward that goal—produces an environment that nurtures spiritual growth and transformation.
2. Courtesy nurtures growth. It involves respect for the nobility struggling to become manifest in each soul.
THE ROLE of courtesy is most delicate and most crucial in the family, where rough edges are most exposed, vulnerability is deepest, and the consequences of respect or disrespect for individual dignity are most far-reaching.
3. Courtesy guides discipline. The purpose of discipline is to guide spiritual growth. Parents have the sacred duty to discipline and encourage their children in the path of God. Courtesy is essential to this process, for it helps the parents to focus away from personal reactions and feelings and toward the goals of awakening the children to areas of needed growth and winning their cooperation to strive toward perfection.
4. Courtesy adorns obedience. It helps children to fulfill their “sacred duties” toward their parents. Through obedience to parents, children learn obedience to God.
“There are also certain sacred duties of children toward parents, which duties are written in the Book of God, as belonging to God. The (children’s) prosperity in this world and the Kingdom depends upon the good pleasure of parents, and without this they will be in manifest loss.”7
5. Courtesy fosters intimacy. At a time when psychology tries to justify man’s lower qualities (such as anger, blame, and hostility), and to limit him to the metaphors of the animal and machine, Bahá’u’lláh has given us the tools for developing an intimacy of souls in which noble qualities are shared and the veils of lower qualities are permitted to drop away through constructive actions focused toward truth. Courtesy is that quality that enables us to respond to this process with care and delicacy.
6. COURTESY is an element of true hospitality, a quality enjoined upon us in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá gives us a standard of courtesy for hosting the Feast, a standard that may be applied to receiving any and all guests in one’s home:
“The owner of the house must personally serve the beloved ones. He must seek after the comfort of all and with the utmost humility he must show forth kindness to every one.”8
Even the youngest children can share in this expression of love, and when they do, they will experience the confirmations of the Holy Spirit. How much more so when the family is united in such actions!
In exhorting us to reverence and courtesy, Bahá’u’lláh has not imposed upon us a mere set of rules, but has unsealed the “choice wine” with which to make our hearts one and guide us to the court of the nearness of God.
As each soul obeys God through practicing reverence and courtesy, he learns to make his inner and outer life a magnet attracting the Holy Spirit, that will envelop his soul and protect it from all the powers of the earth. What greater gift could a family share than this?
- FOOTNOTES
- The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 151
- Bahá’í World Faith, p. 175
- Prescription for Living, p. 94
- The Divine Art of Living, p. 7
- The Hidden Words, p. 25
- The Divine Art of Living, p. 33
- Bahá’í Education: A Compilation, p. 50
- Bahá’í Meetings: The Nineteen Day Feast, p. 20
Hobby Aids Fund[edit]
A Bahá’í youth in Kokomo, Indiana, has found a unique way to use her creative talent to benefit the National Bahá’í Fund. Teresa Kinsey, a junior in high school, makes parchment greeting cards that include a quotation from the Bahá’í Writings. All the money she makes from selling the cards goes to the Fund.
An article on Teresa appeared in the local newspaper, in which the Bahá’í Faith was mentioned. Her hobby not only supports the National Fund, it also proclaims the Faith to those who buy and receive the cards.
Nature: A Perfect Antidote for Boredom[edit]
Janie was bored. She and her mother had come to the Oregon coast to visit with Aunt Bess who lived in a house overlooking the Pacific Ocean. For a week, Janie and Mary, who lived nearby, had enjoyed climbing rocks, wading, running along the beach, and riding their bicycles.
It had been a happy week, but today was different. Mary was away, visiting her grandmother. Janie’s mother and aunt were busy making jam in the kitchen, and a tire on Janie’s bike was flat. Janie had absolutely nothing to do.
DOWN THE path that led from their house to the beach stood a weather-beaten old shack that looked as though it had grown from the hillside. The back was covered with Scotch broom that grew everywhere; glass balls hung from the sagging front porch; cans, pans and other containers overflowed with rocks, shells and other objects picked up from the beach over the years.
Janie had noticed the old man who lived in the shack sorting his collections on the porch, and had asked Aunt Bess about him. Her aunt said he was a beachcomber, and no one ever called him anything except “the hermit.” He eked out a living by gathering shells and making all sorts of articles for local merchants to sell to tourists each summer.
Today might be a good time to meet “the hermit,” Janie thought as she walked down the path. She stopped in front of the shack. The old man wasn’t on the porch. Should she knock on the door? Janie hesitated. Did she really care what those silly old glass balls were? No, she decided, she would just go down to the beach and throw rocks at the waves.
When Janie got to the beach she found that the tide had gone out farther than she had ever seen it. Left behind were pools of water among the rocks.
ONE POOL, she found, was large enough to wade in. Picking up a piece of driftwood, she began to stir the water in the pool. Janie was so fascinated by her new game that she failed to notice that someone had approached the pool and was standing behind her.
Suddenly a gruff voice startled her: “Child, you are disturbing that pool. Put down your stick!”
Turning angrily, Janie found herself looking at a friendly, smiling face. It was “the hermit.”
“I couldn’t let you hurt any of the small creatures who live in that pool before you even knew they were there,” he said softly. “That’s why I had to speak so sharply.”
“I don’t see anything alive in this old pool,” Janie said, a defiant tone in her voice.
THE OLD man’s expression was unchanged. “Look more closely, child,” he said. “Get down on your knees, stay still, and watch. You’ve disturbed everything with your noise and wading. Be still for a moment. That’s the way to learn about nature.”
He hasn’t any right to tell me what to do, thought Janie. She considered leaving, but her curiosity got the better of her, and so she bent down and peered into the pool.
To her surprise, it wasn’t long before one of the tiny shells in the pool moved. A claw emerged from the shell, followed shortly by a second. Two small eyes appeared, and finally the front legs of a hermit crab scrambled for freedom.
Then what Janie had thought was simply a knobby old rock began to bloom in a dozen places as sea anemones opened their petals. “Oh!” she gasped. “They look just like little flowers!”
“They’re animals, though,” said the old man. “They use their petals to capture food.”
A TINY flat fish rose from the sand and settled in another part of the pool. A baby crab skittered sidelong from one rock to another. Janie watched with fascination as one tiny creature after another journeyed across the pool. This is more fun than a television show, she thought.
“Come, child. We must leave the pool. The tide will soon cover it again,” said the old man.
Janie arose reluctantly. She and the hermit began to walk along the beach. Janie was ashamed that she had doubted the old man, and wanted to thank him for showing her the wonders of the pool.
Unable to form the words of an apology, she asked instead: “Where did you get all those glass balls hanging from your porch?”
“Those are floats from Japanese fishing nets that were lost in a storm at sea,” he replied. “They traveled all the way to this beach, where I picked them up.”
JANIE could picture the glass balls bobbing on the waves across the Pacific Ocean. She imagined how it might feel to be one and bob across the world.
“I’m sorry I was sassy to you,” she said softly. “I honestly didn’t think there was anything in that pool but water. I thought I had really looked at it!”
The old man smiled. “I know,” he said. “It isn’t easy to learn to see clearly if we don’t expect to be amazed.”
The statement surprised Janie. “What do you mean, expect to be amazed?” she asked.
“When I first came here from the east,” the old man replied slowly, “I was just like you. I didn’t see all the life that had been put here for me to enjoy.
“I HAD been ill. The doctor suggested that I come here to breathe the clean, fresh air, walk the quiet beaches and rest. I liked his advice so well I decided to stay.”
The old man laughed. “It was here that I learned reverence. I found beauty in the most unexpected places—like that pool you were playing in. I learned the true secret of sight, and I learned to be grateful for it all.”
“Could you show me more things like the pool?” Janie asked as they neared the hermit’s shack.
“Now that you’ve learned the secret of how to look, you won’t need me to show you, child,” he said. “You’ll find interesting things going on around you all the time if you’ll only remember to look closely and listen carefully.”
To illustrate his point, the old man pointed toward the beach where sandpipers were marching to and fro in perfect rhythm with the lapping waves.
Janie understood. She promised herself she would really watch the birds and animals around her, listen carefully to the sounds they made, and remember to be grateful to God for the wonder and beauty of His Creation.
“Thank you,” she said to the old man.
Later that afternoon, as Janie skipped merrily homeward, she realized that she hadn’t been bored at all!
Discussion Questions:
- Bahá’u’lláh wishes us to be reverent. Why?
- How did the old man learn about reverence?
- What did he tell Janie to do so she could find “hidden beauty”?
- When is it most important to listen and see? At Feast? During prayers? At school? How would practicing reverence help us?
- Do you think being bored is a good thing sometimes? Why?
Try These Family Activities To Promote Reverent Spirit[edit]
1. Transforming the Physical Environment. Choose a room or an area in your home as a special place for prayer and meditation. As a family, design the area to express quiet reverence. You could choose sacred pictures, make a special place for Bahá’í books, design book covers for prayer books, grow plants for decoration, or set up a bulletin board where family members could take turns making displays of pictures and quotations for meditation. Choose a special time for family prayers, and consult about ways to make it a special experience of sharing.
2. Preparing an Environment of Reverence for Feast. As a family, plan a Feast in which you try to make each element an expression of reverence. As you do this, gather stories that relate to these elements. For example, someone might read aloud the story of Mishkin Qalam, the calligrapher, while others write and decorate cards with readings for the Feast. Candles might be used, with a card telling of how the Báb had no light, not even a candle, when He was confined in the fortress at Mah-kú. Consult together about ways in which each member of the family can express courtesy and reverence during the Feast.
3. Daily Reading. Place a bulletin board near where the family has its meals. Take turns placing quotations on it that relate to your family’s experience. Share one at the beginning of dinner.
4. Expedition in Search of Reverence. As a family, go to a place of natural beauty. Photograph (draw, or write about) scenes and objects that inspire reverence. Link your pictures with quotations from the Writings and make a book or slide presentation.
5. An Evening of Reverence. Choose one evening each month to share activities that inspire reverence. Let each family member take a turn choosing an activity such as listening to music, making music, studying some form of art, reading, or exploring an area of science. Libraries have many resources for such projects including films and filmstrips.
6. Dynamics of Courtesy Activity.
- Make a “what do I do?” box for the family. When a family member sees a situation that needs to be spiritualized, he or she may put that on a card in the box. (A young child can ask someone to write it for him.) For example, a mother whose child wants to answer the phone but needs help learning what to say may write, “The phone rings. What do I do?”
- At the time for family consultation, take out the cards. Let each person tell what he or she would do. Search for stories or quotes that would help, and arrive at a solution that incorporates all members’ positive contributions.
- Make a family book in which to describe situations in general terms, quotations and stories that relate to them, and the family’s creative solutions.
7. Family Goals and Family Rewards. Establish a few general objectives to help your family develop reverence and courtesy. Make charts and visual decorations that show the goal and progress made toward it. When a family attains, say, five stars toward the goal, reward the family in some way as a unit.
8. Consultation on Reverence and Courtesy. As a family, consult on principles in the accompanying article on reverence and find ways in which to apply them to your life together.
New Books Readied for 70th Convention[edit]
Delegates and visitors at this year’s Bahá’í National Convention, April 26-29, will be treated to an impressive array of new books and special materials from the Bahá’í Publishing Trust.
The new items will be available in two Bahá’í bookstores—one at the Bahá’í House of Worship and one at Convention headquarters, the Ramada O’Hare Inn.
FOREMOST among the new books will be Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, the new compilation of the Master’s written works just published by the Universal House of Justice. ($10 NET cloth; $5 NET paper. See article on Page 1.)
The Bahá’í World, Volume XVI, 1973-1976 is another World Centre publication expected to arrive the week of the Convention. The volume surveys the expansion of the Bahá’í Faith from the end of the Nine Year Plan through the first two years of the Five Year Plan. ($17.50 NET, cloth)
The Publishing Trust’s major new release will be 239 Days: ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Journey in America, by Allan L. Ward.
239 Days is a detailed account of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s sojourn in the U.S. and Canada between April 11 and December 5, 1912. The author has been gathering information on ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s journey here for more than 20 years. His book is full of precious glimpses of the “Mystery of God” in America. (Tentative price $7.50 NET, cloth)
NEW FROM George Ronald will be Counsels of Perfection: A Bahá’í Guide to Mature Living, by Genevieve Coy. The author explains how each of us can turn the principles of religion into a way of life. ($2.15 NET, paper)
Another new item at the Convention will be the 10-piece “Bahá’í Words” mobile. It features the words “joy,” “love,” “peace,” “equality,” “justice,” “unity,” “Bahá’í,” and “faith” printed on brightly-colored cardboard stock. The mobile is printed and assembled in Thailand. (Price $1 NET.)
A new Bahá’í House of Worship Presidential Art Medal will be available for sale at the Convention bookstores. The medal features an engraving of the Bahá’í House of Worship in Wilmette on one side, and, on the other, a nine-petaled rosette encircled by two quotations from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh. A booklet introducing the Bahá’í Faith is included.
The medal can be used as a gift from Spiritual Assemblies and individuals for both Bahá’ís and non-Bahá’ís. ($7.50 NET)
Some items planned for display at the Convention bookstores are sold only in Wilmette. These include the new alpaca Greatest Name wall hangings, which range in price from $30 to $100 each.
Further information on most of these new items will be available from Bahá’í librarians and in later editions of The American Bahá’í.
Alabama Assembly Sponsors Bahá’í Display at Museum[edit]
The Spiritual Assembly of Montgomery County, Alabama, recently sponsored a Bahá’í display at the Tumbling Waters Museum in downtown Montgomery. As a part of its presentation entitled “Symbols of Devotion,” the museum invited the public to offer articles representative of their religion.
The Bahá’í display, a circular stand covered with red satin, included the Holy Books of nine religions and a quotation from each reflecting the Golden Rule.
A model of the Bahá’í House of Worship in Wilmette stood atop the display. Behind the stand was a backdrop with Bahá’í posters, principles of the Faith, and excerpts from the Bahá’í Writings.
The intent was to demonstrate that while the specifics of religion may vary from age to age, the spirit remains the same.
A Montgomery newspaper described the Bahá’í exhibit in these words: “The Bahá’í display has tied together the different strands of the exhibit into a center of interest from which viewers can follow the various threads and ‘make their own discoveries along the way.’ ”
The museum’s curator was impressed by the attention paid to the Bahá’í display, and commented on its simplicity and beauty.
The Bahá’ís of Montgomery County, Alabama, sponsored this display at a local museum as a part of the museum’s exhibit entitled ‘Symbols of Devotion.’
Believer Finds Faith Alive and Well in S. Carolina[edit]
(EDITOR’S NOTE: Bob James, a Bahá’í from Arlington Heights, Illinois, and staff member at the National Teaching Committee office, recently spent a part of his vacation in South Carolina, helping the teaching and consolidation work there. It was a homecoming of sorts for Mr. James, a native of Nashville, Tennessee, who filed the following report with The American Bahá’í after returning from the Deep South.)
As a part of the teaching plan for South Carolina, the Bahá’ís there are hosting institutes for new believers every month. At these gatherings, the friends concentrate on increasing the spirit of love and unity among the newly-enrolled believers and heightening their devotion to the Faith.
The weekend gatherings consist mostly of group singing, prayers and fellowship, with less emphasis on information. Gaining specific knowledge about the Faith is something that will take time.
A meeting January 13-14 at the Louis Gregory Bahá’í Institute at Hemingway attracted around 50 Bahá’ís, many of whom were new to the Faith. The institute February 10-11 was attended by more than 100 people throughout the weekend. The spirit and excitement at these get-togethers was high.
Shortly after my arrival in South Carolina, we went to visit Bahá’ís in the town of Dufford.
AT A HOUSE where one of the believers lived, our knock on the door was answered by a woman who said her son, the man we had come to see, was at work. When we said we were Bahá’ís and had come to see him for that reason, her face brightened and she warmly invited us inside.
We visited her mother, an invalid, sang Bahá’í songs and read prayers.
“I really don’t know your ways or your songs,” said our hostess. “I’ll just sit back and observe.”
After we had sung a few songs, she sang one for us. There were tears in her eyes. Referring to the words of the song, she said she didn’t want to walk in vain; she wanted to be a Bahá’í.
We went to other homes in Dufford to visit the Bahá’ís. Most of these houses are on unpaved roads. As we reached each house, we would pinpoint its location on a hand-drawn map so future teachers would know where to find the Bahá’ís. Everywhere we stopped, we left the gift of a quotation from the Writings.
THE ORIGINAL South Carolina plan was to visit every community at two-week intervals. But owing to a shortage of manpower, this has been changed to a three-week interval.
In January the Bahá’ís in Dufford attended a meeting that had been planned three weeks earlier. Even though the community is new to the Faith, the friends said they would like to elect a chairman so the Bahá’ís in the community would have someone to contact in advance of future meetings, and so the community could plan meetings of its own.
We found this request thrilling, because it represents a level of community participation we hope every community will achieve as time goes by. We were happy to learn that the friends in Dufford are ready to plan events, and want to meet together as a Bahá’í community.
In the nearby town of Society Avenue, visiting Bahá’ís recently contacted a woman, Dorothy Richardson, who had become a Bahá’í during the Nine Year Plan but hadn’t seen any Bahá’ís for nearly seven years.
SHE HAD waited patiently, praying that the Bahá’ís would return someday. When they did, she was overjoyed, and was ready and willing to serve the Faith. She is now one of the most staunch and active believers in that area.
Mrs. Richardson recently was elected a delegate to the 70th Bahá’í National Convention to be held later this month in Wilmette.
She took us to the homes of some of her friends in Society Avenue. As we spoke to them and showed them the teaching booklet we used to explain the Faith, she told them how much she loves the Faith and what great fun she’d had at the monthly institutes at the Gregory school. Her friends were most receptive. She’s a great asset to the teaching work.
Even though Society Avenue is a relatively new Bahá’í community, it already has adopted the goal of helping to stimulate teaching and consolidation in the neighboring town of Hartsville.
I was impressed with the meeting we had in Society Avenue. The new believers found a meeting place, invited their relatives, friends and fellow Bahá’ís, prepared the refreshments (a light dinner) and led the singing—all with no outside help.
We were heartened by the warmth and spirit of the new believers in South Carolina. It remains an area of great potential for the growth of the Faith.
Auxiliary Board member Nancy Phillips (second from right) consults her assistants during a special ‘strategy session’ in February to map plans in the Navajo-Hopi District of Arizona and New Mexico. A central point of discussion was the proposed Navajo Bahá’í Institute. Others in the photo (from left to right) are Benjamin Kahn, Rick Wadleigh, Helen Kiely, Jeff Kiely, and Elizabeth Dahe.
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Do you like to design cartoons? The National Youth Committee would like to have cartoons appear each month in the “Vanguard” youth section. If you have ideas for cartoons giving the “lighter side” of Bahá’í youth subjects, please submit samples of your work to the National Youth Committee, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091. |
Martha Heber, Country’s Oldest Bahá’í, Dies at 107[edit]
Martha Heber of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, believed to be the oldest Bahá’í in the U.S., passed away Sunday, January 21, at the age of 107.
Miss Heber, who was born in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, on September 6, 1871, only six years after the end of the Civil War, became a Bahá’í in New York City in 1911. An older sister, Susan, also was enrolled in the Faith at that time.
IN 1936 the Heber sisters traveled to Eliot, Maine, to spend the summer at the Green Acre Bahá’í School. They decided to remain there, and Miss Heber lived for 40 years in Eliot before moving to a nursing home in Portsmouth.
In 1977, Miss Heber was named Citizen of the Year by the Portsmouth Council of Senior Citizens. In addition to messages from the Universal House of Justice and U.S. National Spiritual Assembly, she received congratulatory letters from President and Mrs. Jimmy Carter and Vice President Walter Mondale, among others, and a resolution honoring her was passed by the New Hampshire state legislature.
Well before the turn of the century, Miss Heber worked in a brokerage firm in New York City and later as a secretary at the American Can Company. In the late 1880s she and her sister, Susan, bought a copying service there that turned into a lucrative business for them.
Miss Heber was proud of a heritage that reached deep into the roots of the American democracy.
AMONG HER ANCESTORS on her father’s side was Asa Haynes, who fought in the French and Indian Wars; Job Smith, a cavalryman and aide to Gen. George Washington; Col. Thorpe, a paymaster in the War of 1812, and Dr. Stephen Smith of New York City, the country’s first public health officer.
Miss Heber was an early suffragette who never lost her keen interest in women’s rights. She often attributed her longevity to never having smoked tobacco, drunk alcohol, tea or coffee, taken medicine of any kind, or overeaten.
As a tribute to her memory, residents of the nursing home where she lived her final days have hung on a wall of the chapel there one of her favorite prayers, revealed by Bahá’u’lláh.
Martha Heber (second from right), who died January 21 at the age of 107, is shown at a banquet in May 1977 honoring her as Portsmouth, New Hampshire’s Citizen of the Year. The luncheon, attended by 400 people, was sponsored by the Portsmouth Council of Senior Citizens. With Miss Heber, who is believed to have been the oldest Bahá’í in the U.S., are (left to right) a nephew, Col. Malcom M. Heber; his wife, Joanne; and the Hon. John Wholey, mayor of Portsmouth. Miss Heber and a sister, Susan, became Bahá’ís in 1911.
Response[edit]
Continued From Page 1
opposition to the Faith.
On February 22, the Universal House of Justice cabled the National Center that many Bahá’í Holy Places in Ṭehrán and some other provinces in Iran had been occupied by armed men who claimed to belong to the Revolutionary Council of the Khomeini government.
Although most of the Bahá’í properties were returned a day later, remarks made by the Ayatollah during his exile in Paris and published February 25 in the Chicago Sun-Times made it apparent that the future of the Faith in Iran remains fraught with peril.
The interviewer, Jim Cockroft, asked the Ayatollah: “Will there be either religious or political freedom for the Bahá’ís under an Islamic government?”
His reply: “They are a political faction; they are harmful; they will not be accepted.”
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The Ayatollah then was asked: “How about their freedom of religion and religious practices?”
His one-word answer: “No.”
Archives Training Institute Scheduled[edit]
The National Bahá’í Archives Committee is planning to hold its fourth Archives Training Institute July 21-25 at the Bahá’í National Center in Wilmette, Illinois.
Those who are interested in attending the program should submit to the Archives Committee by May 15 a brief statement of their background and why they would like to attend the institute.
The institute is designed to introduce believers interested in the archival field to the nature and functions of a Bahá’í archives. Attendance will be limited to eight persons.
Write to the National Bahá’í Archives Committee, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091.
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New Bahá’í Special Materials Shown actual size Presidential Art Medals Wilmette House of Worship
Presidential Art Medal and Booklet Does your community need a distinctive proclamation gift to present to the mayor? A gift for a new Bahá’í? Are you looking for a birthday or anniversary gift? The new House of Worship Presidential Art Medal and Booklet may suit your needs exactly. The cast bronze medal (see photograph) has the look and feel of quality. It weighs a substantial 2.5 ounces, measures 1-3/4 inches in diameter, and is neatly packaged in a sturdy burgundy-colored cardboard box. Accompanying the medal is an attractive 16-page booklet summarizing the history and basic teachings of the Faith. (The booklet is adapted from the pamphlet Bahá’í: World Faith for Modern Man.) The illustrations and quotations on the medal are fully explained in the booklet. The medal and the booklet make an excellent proclamation gift. Because they are produced by a non-Bahá’í firm, they can help build a prestigious image for the Faith in the eyes of local officials. The medal can also be used as an award for distinguished service to the Bahá’í community, as a gift for new Bahá’ís and new Local Spiritual Assemblies, and as a birthday and anniversary gift. (6-40-02) $7.50 NET
Bahá’í Publishing Trust Bahá’í Planning Calendar 136 B.E. Planning ahead? Most of us need to, and the new 136 B.E. Bahá’í Planning Calendar is designed to help. This year’s calendar, completely redesigned, extends from March 21, 1979 to March 20, 1980. The new format makes it easier to use than in previous years, and the red, white, and blue colors make it an attractive wall decoration. Local Spiritual Assemblies and committees can refer to the calendar during consultation, using it as a creative tool to help make the best of the year ahead. Individuals and families can post the calendar in kitchen or family room, making it an “information center” for coming events, appointments, meetings and outings. Printed on white stock. Shipped in mailing tube. 25 x 38 inches (6-694)9) $5.00 NET How to order: Order through your local Bahá’í librarian if possible. Isolated Bahá’ís and Bahá’ís in communities with no librarian may use the coupon order form below. |
A Sense of Order Helps Children To Learn[edit]
(EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the last in a series of six articles on children and learning written by Deborah H. Christensen of London, Ontario, Canada. Mrs. Christensen has a master’s degree in education, specializing in early childhood, and has served on the U.S. National Education Committee.)
As in learning any other attribute, the virtue of orderliness must be stressed in various ways according to the child’s age (that is, his stage of development).
A toddler, for example, should know that his toys have a proper place, and should observe basic limits (“We draw on paper, not on walls.”); but he can’t be expected to put everything away neatly. A four-year-old, on the other hand, usually can.
The important thing is to help each child develop orderly (or cooperative, or loving, or confident) habits appropriate to his capacities.
GROUND RULES that everyone follows help a child learn because they provide order in his world. He knows what he can expect and what he is responsible for.
For example, rules like picking up and putting away toys after use mean that a child can expect to find what he wants. Rules specifying quiet areas, noisy areas, and individual property rights serve the same function.
The introduction of novelty is another principle that parents can use.
To introduce novelty means to somehow change the environment so that it catches or redirects the child’s interest. It can be a new toy, a recycled toy, moving a piece of furniture, inviting a friend over, a special project, etc.
TOO MUCH change over-stimulates children and too few changes mean a child is bored. The wise parent has only a few of a child’s toys available to him at any one time and the rest put away until he wants a change. Special activities stored away in a parent’s mind and closet can prove invaluable on rainy days or when a child is sick.
Children benefit from a variety of activities: quiet things to do and times and places to be loud, chances to engage in messy play, opportunities to play with many children, a few children, and by themselves.
Conclusion[edit]
To learn means to develop a capacity. Even though these articles have been far too brief for anything more than a few highlights of the learning process and examples of how parents can help it, it should be clear by now that we are exploring something that is complex, challenging, extraordinary, and only partially understood.
Learning involves every aspect of human nature: physical, mental, and spiritual. It begins at conception and continues through all the worlds of God. It is His gift to us and our obligation to Him:
“O ye beloved of God and the maidservants of the Merciful! Teaching and learning, according to the decisive texts of the Blessed Beauty, is a duty. Whosoever is indifferent therein depriveth himself of the great bounty.” (‘Abdu’l-Bahá, in Bahá’í World Faith, page 399)
Although our understanding of how people learn is still in its infancy, parents can, at least, glean a few basic principles to guide them.
WE KNOW that learning builds on itself and that sequence and timing are important factors. We know that human beings are born with a desire to learn. We know that one of the most important keys to learning is active involvement in a rich, varied, supportive environment.
Learning is one part of the larger process known as human development. Educators have now learned enough to describe roughly many of the developmental stages through which children pass.
This, in turn, has given insight into their growing capacities: what they can and cannot do, what should and should not be emphasized, and, therefore, how to help them.
Finally, we have looked at a handful of the many techniques available to parents who wish to support their children’s learning. These include the power of example, developing good habits, the use of analogy, capitalizing on “teachable moments,” using television properly, letting children teach other children, communicating effectively, and some thoughts on play.
BAHÁ’Í parents face an overwhelming responsibility to help their children learn. It is placed upon them by the Bahá’í Writings, confirmed by the research showing the importance of a child’s early years, and amplified by a disintegrating society whose schools are increasingly unable to address the true potential of a human soul.
Faced with such a challenge, parents should certainly deepen themselves in the Teachings of Bahá’u’lláh and take advantage of what insights science has to offer. They should not, however, be discouraged if they fail to become experts overnight.
The most important qualities of good parents do not depend on university degrees. They are attributes such as love, patience, compassion, and trust in God, and techniques such as prayer, truth-seeking, and the joyful sharing of God’s gifts.
Building on this firm foundation, Bahá’í parents can use their own ideas and the suggestions contained in this article and other publications to help create a haven for their children where, safe from the tempests of this age of transition, the “gems of inestimable value” can be mined and these young lights can learn to shine ever brighter.
- Beadle, Muriel, A Child’s Mind. New York: Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1971.
- An enlightening survey into research on how children learn from birth to five years—heavier reading than some.
- Brazelton, T. Berry, Doctor and Child. New York: Delacorte Press, 1976.
- Brazelton, T. Berry, Infants and Mothers: Differences in Development. New York: Dell Publishing Company, Inc., 1969.
- Brazelton, T. Berry, Toddlers and Parents: A Declaration of Independence. New York: Delacorte Press, 1974.
- Three helpful and informative books by a well-known pediatrician.
- Caplan, Frank, ed., The First Twelve Months of Life. New York: Grosset and Dunlap, 1973.
- Month-by-month account of human development—good in combination with Brazelton’s Infants and Mothers.
- Dodson, Fitzhugh, How to Father. New York: New American Library, 1974.
- Dodson, Fitzhugh, How to Parent. New York: New American Library, 1970.
- A down-to-earth writing style, a well-informed author and an excellent resource list for choosing toys make these well worth reading.
- Fraiberg, Selma, The Magic Years. New York: Scribner’s and Sons, 1959.
- A classic in handling the problems of early childhood; the author effectively communicates the child’s point of view.
- Ginott, Haim G., Between Parent and Child. New York: Avon Books, 1965.
- A practical guide to communication skills.
- Gordon, Ira J., Baby Learning Through Baby Play: A Parent’s Guide for the First Two Years. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1970.
- Excellent idea books for activities to support the young child’s learning.
- McDiarmid, Norma, Loving and Learning. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1975.
- A lovingly written, informative, and practical guide to the intellectual and emotional development of the child from birth to three years.
- Marzollo, Jean, and Lloyd, Janice, Learning Through Play. New York: Harper and Row, 1972.
- A good idea book for preschool activities.
- Sharp, Evelyn, Thinking Is Child’s Play. New York: Avon Books, 1969.
- Excellent, easy-to-read book explaining Piaget’s concepts, including good activities for parents and teachers.
- White, Burton L., The First Three Years of Life. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1975.
- A fascinating book based on years of study by the author into the development of learning competence, with good practical suggestions as well as insightful parenting strategies.
Five members of the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Mission Viejo, California, and three of their guests are shown at the Recognition Ceremony held January 24 for the Mission Viejo Assembly. In the front row (left to right) are Assembly members Kathy Dighton (chairman), Mary Ann Fleck (vice chairman), and Nancy Kidd (treasurer). In the back row (left to right) are Ken Jeffers, chairman of the Spiritual Assembly of South Orange County; Auxiliary Board member Fred Schechter; District Teaching Committee representative Miriam Toufiq; and Assembly members Pham Van Lien and Steve Dighton (secretary).
The Bahá’í Club at San Diego State University in California sponsored this booth on campus in December to help publicize a United Nations Human Rights Day meeting whose speaker was Dr. Amin Banani, a professor at UCLA. Samieh Labib (seated at left), president of the Bahá’í Club and a graduate student in journalism at SDSU, was interviewed recently on two local television stations. During these interviews, which were aired four times in January, she was able to point out that the Faith is an independent world religion, and to correct some erroneous reports about the Faith that have appeared in American news media.
14 Seekers at New Jersey World Religion Day Meeting[edit]
Thirty-three people including 14 non-Bahá’ís braved snow and freezing rain January 10 for a World Religion Day public meeting sponsored by the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Middletown Township, New Jersey.
Publicity included display ads in two newspapers, each of which was run twice; newspaper listings under “Lectures” and “Coming Events”; letters to the editor in two papers; announcements on four local radio stations, and posters and invitations distributed by Bahá’ís throughout the county.
The speaker was Ben Kaufman, an assistant to the Auxiliary Board. Several people who expressed a desire for more information about the Faith were given literature and invited to firesides.
Salt Lake City Youth Conference Set[edit]
The Youth Committee of the Bahá’ís of Salt Lake City is planning a Youth Conference especially for you! The mountain canyons outside of Salt Lake City, Utah, will be the site for the conference beginning the evening of May 4 and ending on Sunday, May 6.
The theme will be “Look at Me, Follow Me, Be as I am” with emphasis on ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and the Seven Year Plan.
The cost for food and lodging (dorm-style—sleeping bags are advisable) will be $12.50 for the whole weekend.
If you’re interested in attending, contact Ms. Mana Derakhshani, 305 Douglas St., Apt. 3, Salt Lake City, UT 84102, giving your name, address and age. The Youth Committee of Salt Lake City hopes to see you there!
Classified Ads[edit]
CLASSIFIED ADS in The American Bahá’í are intended as a service to the U.S. Bahá’í community and are printed free of charge.
FROM TIME TO TIME there are personnel requirements at the World Centre in Haifa that must be filled, and the Universal House of Justice wishes to build up its file of individuals or couples who possess specific skills and who would be willing and able to serve in the Holy Land on a temporary or permanent basis. Here is a list of job classifications of special interest: Archivist/Conservator; Construction and Maintenance (carpenter, chief maintenance engineer, electrician, mason, painter, plumber); Custodian; Finance (accountant, bookkeeper); Indexer; Janitor; Librarian (librarian’s assistant); Mail Clerk; Night Watchman; Publishing (editor/writer, proofreader); Printer-Offset; Secretary/Typist/Clerk (dictaphone secretary, executive secretary, Persian/English secretary, receptionist/switchboard operator, records analyst, statistical records clerk, typist); Translator (from English to Spanish/French/Persian, Persian/English, office assistant). Bahá’ís interested in being considered when such openings occur should submit information about themselves, their qualifications and experience to their National Spiritual Assembly for forwarding to the World Centre.
WE NEED ONE MORE! Ponca City, Oklahoma, Assembly, formed last Riḍván, has raised its extension teaching goal to Assembly status, but now finds itself in jeopardy. Ponca City is a community of 45,000, two hours from three large cities and 45 minutes from Oklahoma State University. A part-time job is guaranteed in a Bahá’í-owned bicycle-moped-skateboard business. We’ll help with any details to facilitate your move. Write to the Bahá’ís of Ponca City, P.O. Box 1814, Ponca City, OK 74601, or phone 405-762-5529.
ENGLISH-LANGUAGE TEACHERS are needed in Finland from pre-school level to higher grades. In some cases, an apartment is provided for the teacher to live in. Jobs are demanding, but offer an excellent opportunity for prospective pioneers to secure work and residence permits. For more information contact the International Goals Committee, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091.
THE SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY of Mount Prospect, Illinois, needs you to help maintain its Assembly status. Inexpensive housing available; good employment opportunities; 15 minutes from airport, 45 minutes from Bahá’í House of Worship and National Center. For more information, please write to Gail Haller, P.O. Box 401, Mount Prospect, IL 60056, or phone 312-439-0650.
KEYLINE ARTIST needed to do layout, keyline, paste-up, and design work in the production department of the Bahá’í Publishing Trust. The position may also require typesetting, so the qualified applicant should have experience in phototypesetting or be a good typist who can be trained. Interested persons should send a resumé immediately to the Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 415 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091, or phone the Publishing Trust at 312-251-1854 for an application.
CONIFER HILL Summer Camp, just south of Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado, needs three employees for this year’s three one-week sessions scheduled from June 15 through July 5. The positions are work boss, cook, and assistant cook. Work Boss—This person needs to be an organizer, a jack of all trades, and above all must be able to relate to fellow campers as a supervisor and friend. The work boss is in charge of the work period each day from 9 a.m. to noon. Projects he’ll supervise include repair and maintenance of the property, tree cutting and spraying for pine bark and beetle destruction, road repair and safety (Conifer Hill has never had an accident). Salary is $75 plus room and board. Cook—Plans and prepares meals in a rustic kitchen. Responsible for three meals a day, drinks for adults during class breaks, snacks for children, and an evening snack. The cook prepares meals, but does not wash dishes. The cook supervises the washing of pots and pans, scrubbing of floors, and garbage disposal by volunteer campers. He or she must be able to cook with natural foods and grains, fresh vegetables and fruits. The usual number of people to cook for during the two-week work/study sessions is 17-25, with the family camp having 40-60. Salary is $75 plus room and board. Assistant cook—Helps the cook with anything the cook feels is necessary. The assistant cook is responsible for staff meals between camp sessions. There are four meals in that time period. Salary is $25 plus room and board. To apply for any of these positions, please write to Mrs. Marilyn Fisher, secretary, Conifer Hill Bahá’í School Committee, 437 Pine, Boulder, CO 80302.
ATTENTION, all members of our northern Bahá’í family. Are you sick and tired of wintry winds and blustery cold weather? The Miami Beach, Florida, Bahá’í community invites you to come to our sunny shores where sun and surf, convenient shopping, and pleasant fellowship await you, with an opportunity to share the bounty of forming a Local Spiritual Assembly! Our correspondent will be happy to furnish whatever information you need to join us. We look forward to hearing from you soon! Write to the Bahá’í Group of Miami Beach, 909 Euclid Avenue, Miami Beach, FL 33139, or phone 305-538-4836.
HAVE ASSEMBLY, will incorporate—if you can move here! The Bahá’í community of Santa Maria, California, invites you to come to this salubrious spot in the central coastal area of California to help win the important goal of Assembly incorporation. Santa Maria, a thriving community of 35,000 people of many races and nationalities, is ripe for harvesting, but more harvesters are needed. Agricultural and aerospace industries predominate, but there are smaller businesses too. Two-year programs are offered at Allan Hancock College. Homes are readily available. For information, please write to Mrs. Mary Moore, secretary, P.O. Box 1611, Santa Maria, CA 93456, or phone 805-925-9658.
TEACHING OPPORTUNITY! A Finnish couple seeks a trade of homes this summer. They offer their summer home, apartment and motorboat for a family home in the U.S. July is preferred. Interested? Please contact the International Goals Committee, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091.
WANTED: Dedicated homefront pioneers to help in the development of a newly-restored and numerically jeopardized Assembly, San Luis Obispo J.D. No. 5. Pioneers also are needed to help strengthen and open neighboring goal areas. This largely rural, pollution-free area is halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco, California, in northern San Luis Obispo County. There are jobs in agribusiness, for medically talented persons interested in working at a state mental hospital, nursing home, or small general hospital, and in business. A junior college and state university are within easy commuting distance. Housing is scarce in some areas, but local believers will do whatever they can to help in finding housing and employment. For more information, please write to the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of San Luis Obispo J.D. No. 5, P.O. Box 827, Templeton, CA 93465, or phone Gary Ellison (805-434-2300) or Carol Shuler (805-434-1515).
TWELVE BAHÁ’Í YOUTH are needed to serve as counselors for junior youth June 22-29 at the beautiful Bosch Bahá’í School in California’s Santa Cruz Mountains. To apply, write to the program director, Bosch Bahá’í School, 500 Comstock Lane, Santa Cruz, CA 95060.
PUERTO RICO: Woman with modest independent income (at least $150 a month) needed to serve as a pioneer, grandmother, companion and housekeeper for young mother and daughter. For more information, please contact the International Goals Committee, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091.
KING CITY, a lovely agricultural city of 6,000 in the heart of California’s lush Salinas Valley (Monterey County), has one homefront pioneer and needs several more to help raise it to Assembly status. King City has an excellent high school, a hospital and clinic, splendid downtown area, a beautiful park and a golf course. In addition to agriculture, the motel business is quite good. You are cordially invited to find out more about King City by contacting Lydia McCarter, secretary, California Central District Teaching Committee No. 1, 26609 Gading Road, Apt. 201, Hayward, CA 94544, or Alice Lovejoy, 226 Vivian St., King City, CA 93930 (phone 408-385-4932).
GREEN ACRE Bahá’í School needs many good people for its summer program. Among those needed are teachers, aides and counselors for the youth and children’s programs. Degrees aren’t necessary, but wisdom and enthusiasm are. There are also many paying jobs available: innkeeper, cook, kitchen helper, snack bar manager, librarian, housekeeper, registrar, night watchman, and directors of adult, youth, and children’s programs. Please apply to Green Acre Bahá’í School, Box 17, Eliot, ME 03903.
GRADUATE STUDENTS interested in critiquing Bahá’í books and writing brief articles and book reviews, please write to the Bahá’í Publishing Trust, c/o Dr. Betty J. Fisher, general editor, 415 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091.
ARE YOU THINKING of relocating? Largo, Florida, on the state’s Gulf Coast near Tampa and St. Petersburg, needs three adult Bahá’ís to re-elect its Local Spiritual Assembly. Largo offers many job opportunities, especially in tourist and health-related fields: there are several hospitals in the area. For more information, please contact Joanne Main, 13125 Wilcox Road, Apt. 5B1, Largo, FL 33540, or phone 813-595-1365.
FULL-TIME TEACHERS are needed for a teaching project currently under way in western New York State working toward the goal of “entry by troops” in that area. The project is under the direction of the Ad Hoc Teaching Committee of Monroe County. Volunteers should preferably be skilled in mass teaching or door-to-door teaching. Funds are available to help with transportation to New York State and with housing and living expenses. For more information phone Harlen Whitling at 716-334-7561 anytime.
THE BAHÁ’ÍS of Radnor Township, Pennsylvania, need at least two more adults in the community to form a Local Spiritual Assembly by Riḍván 1979. Radnor Township is in the northwestern suburbs of Philadelphia, about 30 minutes from Center City. There is easy access to colleges and universities; excellent public and private schools are available. There are two major hospitals and one nursing home in the area. Apartments are available to rent. For more information please contact the Bahá’í Group of Radnor Township, P.O. Box 47, Radnor, PA 19087.
WANTED: The musical teaching team Talisman needs a Bahá’í trap-drummer. We have been together as a proclamation team and professional band for five years. Please contact Talisman, 161 North Bloomfield, Star Route, Nevada City, CA 95959, or phone 916-265-4773.
FILL A GOAL of the Five Year Plan. Move to Clayton, California, to open a locality. Clayton is an unincorporated residential community in the foothills of Mt. Diablo in the San Francisco Bay area. Commuting to downtown San Francisco or other cities in the Bay area is possible by Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) and major traffic routes. Home prices range from $75,000 to $200,000, with most in the $90,000-$135,000 range. There are many active Bahá’í communities nearby. For more information write to the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Concord, P.O. Box 42, Concord, CA 94522.
TV AND FILM script writers, TV technicians and engineers: Please let us know who you are, where you are, what your experience is, and what inexpensive resources you can make available to the Bahá’í Publishing Trust for the production of high quality audio-visual programs. Write or phone the Bahá’í Publishing Trust, c/o Gil Muro, audio-visual producer, 415 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091 (312-251-1854). Script writers: Please send a sample of your work and a resumé.
MATH/SCIENCE TEACHERS needed in the Cameroon Republic. For more information contact the International Goals Committee, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091.
BAHÁ’ÍS ARE NEEDED to help form a Spiritual Assembly in Derry, Pennsylvania, 50 miles east of Pittsburgh and 15 miles from Indian College. Please contact Sabetullah Sobhani, RD No. 1, Box 330, Derry, PA 15627, or phone 412-694-2816.
FOUR ADULT BAHÁ’ÍS are needed in Post Falls, Idaho, to save the Local Spiritual Assembly. Two Assembly members have left and two more were to leave in January. Post Falls, a small town some 30 minutes from Spokane, Washington, is 15 minutes from Coeur d’Alene in the midst of trees and mountains with lakes nearby. Employment is available in construction or lumber mill work. For more information, please contact the Spiritual Assembly of Post Falls, P.O. Box 134, Post Falls, ID 83854.
COME TO THE LOVELY seacoast and mountain area of Port Angeles, Washington, and help save its smoothly functioning but numerically jeopardized Spiritual Assembly. There are employment opportunities in local mills and logging concerns, education at a local junior college, and numerous recreational and retirement possibilities. Skiing areas are only 30 minutes away. For information, please contact the Spiritual Assembly of Port Angeles, P.O. Box 173, Port Angeles, WA 98362.
TAIWAN: English-language teachers can easily get jobs that will adequately support pioneering efforts and leave ample free time to serve the Faith. For teaching in universities or private school a B.A. (in anything) is preferred, but not necessary. For more information contact the International Goals Committee, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091.
HOMEFRONT PIONEERS are needed in Chicago Heights, Illinois, a Bahá’í community of six adults. Chicago Heights is 40 minutes south of downtown Chicago and about an hour’s drive from the House of Worship in Wilmette. Daily commuter trains are available to the city. Students can avail themselves of either Prairie State Junior College or Governor’s State University, both in Chicago Heights. Houses and apartments range from $200-$400 a month. The community conducts its own Bahá’í children’s classes. Interested? If so, please contact Erwin and Kristen Bringe, 392 West 15th Place, Chicago Heights, IL 60411, or phone 312-754-4046 evenings or weekends.
PEOPLE WHO were pioneers or traveling teachers in Germany during the Nine Year Plan and/or the Five Year Plan and who plan to attend the 70th Bahá’í National Convention are invited to a “dutch treat” dinner during the Convention. For further information please contact Haynes or Rosann McFadden, 1472-J Raintree Drive, Roswell, GA 30076 (phone 404-992-9929).
DEL MAR, California, needs at least two adult believers to save its jeopardized Assembly. Del Mar, about a half-hour drive by car from downtown San Diego, is an academic center with schools for people of all ages. It houses the fifth largest medical center in Southern California. Apartments and good jobs are available. For information about homefront pioneering to this lovely city on the Pacific coast with easy access to the desert, contact the Spiritual Assembly of Del Mar, c/o Mrs. Ruth Rosenwald, secretary, 2819 Camino Del Mar, Del Mar, CA 92014, or phone 714-755-5644.
NEEDED: ONE TEACHER for a proposed mobile deepening institute for Puerto Rico. The volunteer should be single, self-motivated, able to drive, Spanish-speaking, and willing to give at least 10 months to this project. Living expenses will be provided for a suitable person. This is an unusual opportunity to pioneer without facing the employment and visa uncertainties common to other posts. For more information contact the International Goals Committee, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091.
THE GREEN ACRE Bahá’í School Children’s Committee is looking for talented and experienced people to teach children’s classes during the summer of 1979. We are interested in patient, sincere people who love children. Interested persons should send resumes to Sally Eiler, program director, Green Acre Bahá’í School, Eliot, ME 03903.
THE SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY of the Bahá’ís of Moscow, Idaho, is in jeopardy. Moscow is the home of the University of Idaho—known for its schools of agriculture, architecture, forestry-wildlife, and education. Even with out-of-state tuition, fees at U of I are quite low—$819 per semester (excluding room and board). Opportunities for wilderness activities are excellent all year ’round. For more information contact the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Moscow, Box 3068, University Station, Moscow, ID 83843.
PIONEER or pioneer family needed in Brawley, California. New Assembly will soon lose one member. Brawley, an attractive town of 17,000, is 20 minutes from El Centro and offers various kinds of employment. Ability to speak Spanish would be helpful. For information, contact Jesse Mayer, secretary, 1536 River Drive, Brawley, CA 92227.
Bremerton, Washington, Launches IYC Campaign[edit]
A proclamation designating 1979 as International Year of the Child was presented to Mayor Glenn Jarstad of Bremerton, Washington, by Tahirih Kennedy and Linda Liska, Bahá’í children representing Bremerton’s International Year of the Child Committee, at a meeting of the Bremerton City Council last December 26.
The IYC Committee includes the Bahá’í Education Committee of Bremerton, the director of the Regional Library, a juvenile officer from the Bremerton Police Department, and instructors from the local elementary school and college.
The committee has received excellent support from the Department of Health, Education and Welfare’s Area 10 representative for IYC, as well as from the mayor’s office. The mayor invited the committee to prepare a display for inclusion in an International Exhibition April 13–22, 1979, at Turin, Italy, sponsored by the World Town Cooperation Center and the European Municipality Association on the theme of “Towns and Children.”
A year-long series of events was initiated January 27 with an “open house” at the local library featuring displays and a filmstrip, “The Rights of Children.”
Some of the other activities scheduled are a music workshop, a mime and drama workshop, a Red Cross basic safety workshop for children, a culture test, arts festival, aerospace science workshop for children, parents’ seminar, and workshop on comparative religions for children. The workshops are being conducted by professionals in each area of study.
Mayor Glenn Jarstad of Bremerton, Washington, receives a proclamation designating 1979 the International Year of the Child from Bahá’í children Tahirih Kennedy (left) and Linda Liska, on behalf of Bremerton’s International Year of the Child Committee.
A Bahá’í Winter School at Davison, Michigan, or Eliot, Maine? No. Believe it or not, these friends cavorting in the snow were attending classes at the Bosch Bahá’í School near Santa Cruz, California, when an unusual spell of winter weather there early in February dumped three inches on Santa Cruz, giving students and staff an opportunity to welcome a ‘new believer’ who seems to be right at home in that sub-freezing climate.
Convention to Offer Splendid Activity Program for Children[edit]
Children who attend the 70th Bahá’í National Convention with their parents will participate in many “highlight” activities including a visit to the Bahá’í House of Worship, according to the Convention’s children’s program task force.
A children’s program staff of 35 to 40 teachers and assistants will serve the needs of children through 16 years of age in the activity-oriented program. Parents attending the Convention who are not delegates will be expected to donate at least one three-hour session-block of time (there will be five such session-blocks during the Convention) to help in the program.
In addition to a comprehensive activity program for children ages 4 through 11 years, separate programs are planned for nursery age children (0–36 months) and pre-youth (12–16 years).
The nursery program will include child care combined with a parent-cooperative. The pre-youth/youth program will have special deepening exposures made possible by the nature of the event and its location at the National Center.
The children’s program staff, composed of Education Consultants and trained teachers, mostly from Illinois and six adjacent states, hopes to provide Convention program experiences that will help the children to love their Faith and identify with its Teachings.
Youth Committee Presents Reminders for Young People[edit]
The following is a list of things anyone can do right now or over the next several months. They aren’t goals to set for yourself; they’re little activities that will help remind you of your purpose in life as a Bahá’í and thus prepare you for living the kind of spiritual life that is the ultimate goal of every believer.
As you read these suggestions, think of your own; let your spirit move you toward a Bahá’í life that is particularly YOU!
- Say the Medium Obligatory Prayer—it’s very refreshing!
- Buy or make a gift for your mother (or father) after she (or he) has had a particularly rough day.
- Wake up in the morning with a smile on your face.
- Start keeping a journal and record your thoughts about the Faith daily.
- Do something nice for yourself: At the next Feast, order a book, poster, tape, or pamphlet you’ve always wanted.
- The next time you feel like complaining, stop yourself and think about something happy you’re going to be doing soon instead.
- Read pp. 46–48 in The Sheltering Branch (especially the last sentence).
- Sit down with a friend and really discuss religion.
- The next time you watch your favorite TV program, think about how it does or does not reflect Bahá’í principles.
- Find an article in The American Bahá’í that interests you and write a letter to The American Bahá’í commenting on it.
- Ask your community to sponsor the Comprehensive Deepening Program.
- Right now—meditate on the word moderation. How might you apply this principle today (e.g., eating, clothes, speech, etc.)
- Bring a copy of The Hidden Words to school, and read one or two between each class.
- Buy lunch for a friend.
- Think about your future.
- Go through all your old notes, programs, handouts, etc. from past Bahá’í conferences, schools and other events and organize them. Who knows? You might get some good teaching or deepening ideas in the process!
- Tell your parents you love them.
- When you go to bed at night, think about the most “Bahá’í-like” thing you did or said during the day.
- If it’s a nice day, go outside, look up at the sky, close your eyes, and contemplate the fact that you’re a Bahá’í and what this means to you.
- For your next work or school assignment, vow to do an extra special job.
- Start a Bahá’í Bulletin for your community.
- The next time you go to a non-Bahá’í party or social activity, concentrate on one divine attribute and make a point of exemplifying it.
- Read The Dawnbreakers.
- Have a talk about the Faith with a Bahá’í whose experience and knowledge you respect.
- Take out your photographs of Bahá’ís and Bahá’í events you’ve attended and remember the good times.
- Recite the “Tablet of Visitation” of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.
- Make a “prayer list”—including, for example, your family, friends, your community, the Iranian believers, and others.
- If you’re a member of a local Youth Club, invite another Youth Club to participate in a game of basketball, volleyball, or some other sport.
Rochester School Offers 6-Week Course on Faith[edit]
A six-week introductory course on the Bahá’í Faith was begun March 19 at St. John Fisher College in Rochester, New York.
The course, presented each Monday evening from 7 to 8:30, is co-sponsored by the Regional Teaching Committee of New York State.
The college asked Raymond Jeffords, a Bahá’í and member of its faculty, to teach the course. Mr. Jeffords, a certified public accountant and professor of accounting at St. John Fisher, is chairman of the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Webster, New York.
The course is described in the college catalog as “a beginner’s guide to a new, independent world religion,” and was prepared specifically for non-Bahá’ís. The course text is John Ferraby’s book, All Things Made New, supplemented by pamphlets and other materials.
On April 2, Glenford E. Mitchell, secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly, addressed the class. His topic was “The Spiritual Nature of Bahá’í Administration.”
Class participants also are viewing a series of slide-tape programs, each relating to an aspect of the Faith such as world unity, progressive revelation, or the history of the Faith, that have been prepared over a period of years by Mr. Jeffords and his wife, Carla.
‘Gathering Strength’ Is Theme Of Annual Conifer Hill Camp[edit]
As the American Bahá’í community moves into the first year of the new Seven Year Plan, the theme of this summer’s Conifer Hill Summer Camp in Colorado is “Gathering Strength.”
There will be three weeks of camping this summer, divided into the two work/study camps from June 15–21 and June 22–28, and the family camp from June 29–July 5.
The work/study camps are especially designed for young adults who are seeking the fulfilling and lasting experience of working, studying and playing together in a wholesome outdoor environment.
The popular family camp features a wealth of activities for all ages. Children’s classes will include a study of Bahá’í Holy Days, plus a special topic, “Getting to Know Me.” Children also will be involved with nature crafts, hiking, and campfire storytelling.
If you’d like to know more about Conifer Hill, a slide show has been prepared that includes pictures of the camp facilities, campers working, devotions, study, and meals. Also included are several shots of the majestic Rocky Mountain scenery that is nearby.
If you wish to inquire about the school, or the slide show, please write to Mrs. Martha V. Bitts, 5513 South Prince, Littleton, CO 80120.
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Materials in Spanish The National Teaching Committee wishes to remind the friends that a “welcome” letter and information packet for new believers who need to have material in Spanish is available. If those who enroll new believers will simply note on the enrollment card, “send Spanish material,” this will alert the offices at the Bahá’í National Center so that the material can be mailed to the new believer. Remember too that interest cards in Spanish are available through the Office of Membership and Records, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091. |
Plan to Attend 70th Convention
Remember that the 70th Bahá’í National Convention will be held April 26–29 at the Bahá’í House of Worship in Wilmette, Illinois, and the Ramada O’Hare Inn near Chicago’s O’Hare Airport. Reservations are on a first-come, first-served basis; hotel reservations should be made directly with the Ramada O’Hare Inn while Convention reservations must be made through the National Spiritual Assembly. Come and celebrate the successful conclusion of the Five Year Plan and the beginning of the new Seven Year Plan!
Fredonia, New York, Elects Assembly After Teaching Push[edit]
The Bahá’ís of Fredonia, New York, elected their first Local Spiritual Assembly last October 30 as a result of the efforts of homefront pioneers and a street teaching project that started in that area August 1.
“We have 11 Bahá’ís now in Fredonia,” said Linda Gillette, the teaching project coordinator and a homefront pioneer to Fredonia. “Nine have been enrolled since August, and two are homefront pioneers.
“There’s been no letdown in the momentum since we got started,” Ms. Gillette added. “It hasn’t been the world’s biggest street teaching project, but it’s been regular and sustained.
“WE HAVE a full-time coordinator. We’ve had traveling teachers come through and spend two or three weeks at a time. We’ve had different people—particularly from the Buffalo area—who commit themselves once or twice a week to come here and teach for the whole day.”
Fredonia is a combination farming community and college town, and declarations have come from both sectors of the population.
“We had a college club here, but we lost it,” recalled Ms. Gillette. “We’ll be reinstating it very soon, though.”
The teaching project has also netted another four declarations and enrollments in nearby Dunkirk, where the District Teaching Committee hopes another Assembly will be formed soon.
“WE’VE collected at least 50 interest cards from the whole area,” said Ms. Gillette. “The response to the teaching has really been quite good. Those who have asked for information, of course, have been supplied with pamphlets and materials.
“There are several individuals who have asked for teachers to visit them, so we meet them in their homes regularly and study with them. There are several people who are studying the Faith, and who, I feel sure, will eventually become Bahá’ís.”
The Spiritual Assembly of South Arlington, Virginia, was formed last December 17. Members are (front row left to right) Dallas Motlagh, Mehri Mottahedian, (middle row left to right) John Russo, Mathew Burns, Laura Nabili, and (back row left to right) Nader Namder, Badiullah Teymouri, Sohail Dianat, Homayoun Motlagh.
Alachua Bahá’ís Present Rights Award[edit]
On December 10, the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Alachua County, Florida, presented its 1978 Human Rights Award to the Alachua County Council on Child Abuse at a public meeting. Nominations for the award were solicited from the community via letters and a newspaper article.
The Bahá’í community was represented earlier that same day at a social sponsored by the local United Nations Association. Invitations were offered to organizations working toward carrying out the principles embodied in the UN Declaration of the Rights of the Child.
The only prayer read at the social was from the Bahá’í Writings, and the only child participating was a young Bahá’í, Maisha Closson. More than 50 people attended the event.
On December 9, the Gainesville Bahá’í community sponsored a kite-flying contest in observance of the Year of the Child. Approximately 22 people participated, and each one received a ribbon for taking part.
The Faith received a total of 15 inches of newspaper coverage for these events.
In Memoriam[edit]
- Ramez Al’i
- Arlington, Va.
- December 26, 1978
- John W. Banks, Sr.
- LaPorte, Texas
- January 12, 1979
- J.L. Bradley
- Manning, S.C.
- Date Unknown
- Mrs. Minnie Brockington
- Andrews, S.C.
- Date Unknown
- Willie Brown
- Smoaks, S.C.
- Date Unknown
- Jimmy Charles
- Manning, S.C.
- 1977
- Eugene Daniels
- Cottageville, S.C.
- January 1979
- Mrs. Elizabeth V. Daugherty
- Westerville, Ohio
- Date Unknown
- Mrs. Barbara Davis
- Los Angeles, Calif.
- February 11, 1979
- David Fulmore
- Cades, S.C.
- Date Unknown
- David F. Goodwin
- Manchester, N.H.
- January 17, 1979
- Mrs. Earline Green
- Jacksonboro, S.C.
- 1972
- Mrs. Barbara Harris
- Pompano Beach, Fla.
- January 19, 1979
- Mrs. Alder Jackson
- Marshall, Maryland
- December 24, 1978
- Henry Jones
- Fort Meade, Florida
- January 13, 1979
- Henry Jones
- Douglasville, Georgia
- Date Unknown
- Robert Foster Kellogg
- Los Angeles, Calif.
- January 29, 1979
- Scott Koonse
- Booneville, Missouri
- December 1978
- Mrs. Willie Mae Leroy
- Bishopville, S.C.
- 1975
- W.R. Mack
- Bishopville, S.C.
- 1975
- Mack McCain
- Detroit, Michigan
- 1978
- David Lee Minney
- York, Pennsylvania
- October 6, 1978
- Mike Mitchell
- Jacksonboro, S.C.
- Date Unknown
- Mrs. Tuba Naficy
- Monterey, Calif.
- February 4, 1979
- Harold Pardue
- Greenwich, Connecticut
- January 5, 1979
- George Perry
- Columbia, S.C.
- October 11, 1978
- Henry Player
- Cades, S.C.
- Date Unknown
- Jonas Redfair
- Bishopville, S.C.
- Date Unknown
- Mrs. Edna Scott
- Moncks Corner, S.C.
- Date Unknown
- Keto Slator
- Bishopville, S.C.
- December 1978
- David Smith
- Lynchburg, S.C.
- Date Unknown
- Ronald L. Sorrells
- Medford, Oregon
- January 25, 1979
- Robert W. Sparks Jr.
- Bellaire, Texas
- January 23, 1979
- Aulden Tilley
- Suffolk, Virginia
- January 25, 1979
- James Tucker
- Columbia, S.C.
- September 5, 1978
- Mrs. Agnes Van Meer
- St. Cloud, Minnesota
- January 21, 1979
- Warren Witherspoon
- Manning, S.C.
- 1978
[Page 16]
Careers for Youth
Law Career Requires Proper Planning[edit]
(EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the second of two articles on law as a career for young people by Dr. Dorothy W. Nelson, dean of the University of Southern California Law School and treasurer of the National Spiritual Assembly.)
In recent years, increased interest in law as a career has resulted in intense competition for places in law school classes. It is therefore important to plan ahead and develop a strategy that will aid in your being offered a place in the entering class of a law school.
Pre-law education
In almost every case, a college education is a prerequisite to law school admission. So one should take college preparatory courses in high school.
There is no standard pre-law curriculum to be followed in high school or college. The important thing is to take courses that stimulate the intellect and develop skills in careful reading and exact writing.
Nearly all law schools require a degree from an accredited college or university as a condition for admission.
Development of skills and habits that enhance one’s reasoning ability is more important than specific subject matter. My preference is to suggest a major in English because reading and writing skills are most specifically addressed in English courses.
However, a major in government, mathematics, sociology, American history, economics, etc., may be equally valuable if well taught. As suggested in a pamphlet printed by the Law School Admission Council, college courses should be geared to the development of:
- A broad cultural background.
- Habits of thoroughness, intellectual curiosity and scholarship.
- The ability to organize materials and communicate the results.
- Verbal skills.
Courses in literature, language, speech, composition, logic and semantics are directly concerned with cultivation of the necessary skills, but as already mentioned, a well-taught course in any discipline will serve the same purpose if it offers:
- A variety of reading assignments selected from well-written books and articles.
- A large amount of well-directed class discussion.
- Ample opportunity to prepare and criticize written and oral reports.
- Independent research projects and essay examinations.
Admission to law school
Most law schools require an undergraduate degree for admission, although there are some that will accept students who have completed three years of undergraduate study.
All law schools require at least three years of law, with four years being the time usually required for completion of part-time or evening school programs.
Some schools have programs allowing for work toward a law degree and a masters degree in subjects such as business, economics, public administration, sociology or social work at the same time with an extra summer or two of work.
One’s undergraduate record and the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) are the two major items considered first by law schools when evaluating an applicant for admission.
The Law School Admission Test is an aptitude test administered by the Educational Testing Service in Princeton, New Jersey. Information about the test and details about dates and places for taking it are available from ETS.
In evaluating one’s undergraduate record, some schools take into consideration, in addition to the over-all grade point average, the flow of progress, and any improvement the student may have made in his or her grades.
Many law schools make an effort to consider employment, community activities, extracurricular activities, and letters of recommendation in the admission decision. Prospective students should check the bulletin of schools to which they are applying to determine what information to submit.
Choosing a law school
You should go to the best educational institution you can find. If you can combine an education with homefront pioneering, you should do so, but you should seek the very best education first so that you may be better equipped to serve the Cause when you graduate.
You should consider going to a school only if it is accredited by the American Bar Association unless there are compelling reasons not to do so. The ABA has established minimum standards that a law school must satisfy to be approved.
A school that is “best” for one person may not be best for another. Some have greater programs in clinical education, offering students an opportunity to handle real clients under faculty supervision. Others place more emphasis on “public” law courses such as criminal or international law.
You should check the bulletins of schools in which you are interested to find out what, if any, are the differences among them, along with their requirements for entrance in grades and LSAT scores.
My advice would be to apply to three schools where you don’t think you have a chance for admission, three that you think may accept you, and three more that you know or have good reason to believe you qualify for.
Costs and financial aid
Tuition and fees range from about $350 a year (for state residents) at state-supported law schools to more than $5,000 at certain private institutions. This does not include room and board.
Scholarships and student loans are available to most students. Such aid is described in law school bulletins. Some law schools have a limited number of work/study positions available, plus other forms of state aid. Inquiries should be made directly to the State Office of Education.
Several organizations support a program of assistance for economically or educationally disadvantaged individuals who are interested in pursuing a legal education. Information about the program may be obtained by writing to the Council on Education Opportunities (CEO), 818 18th St., N.W., Suite 940, Washington, D.C. 20006.
Financial aid in law schools is limited, and anyone considering attending law school should have some personal resources available.
Rules for admission to the Bar
These vary from state to state, and admission to the Bar or to law practice in one state does not automatically entitle one to practice in another state.
Most states require law school graduates to pass a Bar examination before a license to practice law is issued. Accurate information about Bar admission is available from the Board of Bar Examiners in the capital city of each state.
Brief bibliography
1. Pre-law Handbook published by the Association of American Law Schools and the Law School Admission Test Council. Available from the Law School Admission Test Council, Educational Testing Service, P.O. Box 944, Princeton, NJ 08540 (revised annually). $3 ($4 if purchased at a college bookstore). It includes a discussion of pre-law and law study and a list of schools, giving some information about each.
2. How to Get Into Law School by Rennard Strickland. New York: Hawthorne Books Inc., 1974; 194 pages, $6. Gives an inside view of the workings of law school admissions offices and policies on admission. Offers suggestions on such items as planning one’s undergraduate curriculum and strategies of application to law school.
3. Going to Law School: Readings on a Legal Career by Ehrlich and Hazard. Boston: Little Brown & Company, 1975.
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Don’t forget to order your ‘World Citizen’ T-shirts! They’re available in adult sizes for $6.25 and children’s sizes for $5.25 from the Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 415 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091. |