The American Bahá’í/Volume 10/Issue 8/Text
| ←Previous | The American Bahá’í August, 1979 |
Next→ |
 Proofread onceReturn to PDF view
|
Situation in Iran Grows More Ominous[edit]
To all National Spiritual Assemblies
Dear Bahá’í Friends,
Further to the letter of the House of Justice to you of May 23rd, the situation in Persia continues to be a cause for deep concern and the friends and Holy Places in the country are in serious danger.
We have been directed by the House of Justice to inform you of the following developments in the Cradle of the Faith:
1. AN ORDER has been issued by the authorities requiring the Umana Company to cease functioning under its Bahá’í manager and to operate henceforth under a new non-Bahá’í management. This company holds on behalf of the Bahá’í community all the properties of the Faith, including the Holy Places. This step is ominous in its implications as it forebodes total confiscation of all our properties, including Bahá’í cemeteries. A similar step has been taken in respect of the Bahá’í hospital in Ṭihrán, known as the Missaqiyyih Hospital.
2. As a result of the recent disturbances, local revolutionary committees in Iran have instigated, in rural areas, the looting of the homes of several hundred Bahá’í families and the deprivation of their means of livelihood. Although a partial restitution of these properties has taken place, adequate compensation for the losses sustained by the Bahá’ís has yet to be made.
3. EFFORTS ARE being made to silence the religious conscience of the Bahá’ís, as they are threatened with dismissal from their jobs and loss of
‘God Has Put Us to Test,’ Mr. Kavelin Tells Friends[edit]
H. Borrah Kavelin, a member of the Universal House of Justice, began an historic month-long visit to key North American cities June 23, telling an overflow audience at the National College of Education in Wilmette, Illinois, that “God has providentially put us to the test” through the crisis besetting the Bahá’ís in Iran—a test, he said, that is “more spiritual than material.”
Among those who heard Mr. Kavelin’s address on the first leg of his North American visit were the members of the Continental Board of Counsellors in North America, the U.S. National Spiritual Assembly, and several Auxiliary Board members.
|
Inside ... THE TREASURER’S office explains the nature and purposes of the four Bahá’í Funds. Page 3 A BELIEVER in Iran writes of the cruel oppression in that country and the unquenchable spirit of the friends. Page 4 THE ‘YOUTH WORKSHOP’ enjoys remarkable success on its cross-country tour. Page 5 AN INSIDER’S view of a Pioneer Training Institute in Wilmette. Page 6 ONE-ON-ONE teaching results in steady growth in Missoula County, Montana. Page 8 VOLUME XVI of The Bahá’í World is now available through the Publishing Trust. Page 9 WOMEN’S CONFERENCE in Evanston, Illinois, draws 300 participants from seven states. Page 10 |
MR. KAVELIN was sent to North America and Europe by the Universal House of Justice to explain the full implications of the recent political upheaval in the Cradle of the Faith that has left many Bahá’ís homeless, stripped them of their possessions and means of livelihood, and seen most Bahá’í properties including Holy Places, cemeteries and private businesses seized by the revolutionary government.
His visit marks the first time the Supreme Body of the Faith has sent one of its own members on such a mission to the United States and Canada.
With the Seven Year Plan barely under way, said Mr. Kavelin, the worldwide Bahá’í family has been crippled by the inability of one of its strongest members to function.
“WE ARE a family,” he said. “And if a member of our family is crippled, what are we to do about it? Can we allow them to bear this burden by themselves?”
With the situation in Iran becoming more critical with each passing day, Mr. Kavelin urged every believer to “search his heart and decide what his spiritual priorities are to be.”
During the first two years of the Seven Year Plan, he said, the World Centre needs a minimum of $20 million to underwrite the work that must be done to meet the goals of the Plan.
This includes completion of the Seat of the Universal House of Justice on Mount Carmel, construction work on the Mashriqu’l-Adhkárs in India and Samoa, restoration of the House of ‘Abdu’llah-Pasha and monies to support those National Spiritual Assemblies that must rely on the Universal House of Justice for financial assistance.
BEFORE THE revolution in Iran that toppled the Sháh and brought the Ayatollah Khomeini to power, said Mr. Kavelin, that country’s Bahá’í community had committed itself to supplying 60 per cent of the World Centre’s budget needs and 90 per cent of the funds for construction of the Seat of the House of Justice.
With the Iranian Bahá’í community now “in a state of paralysis, financially,” he said, it is up to the rest of the Bahá’í family to make up for this critical loss.
Referring to the Seat of the House of Justice, Mr. Kavelin said: “What Bahá’í would want to deny himself or herself the bounty and privilege of contributing to the construction of this historic edifice, which symbolizes the majesty of our Faith.”
His primary emphasis, however, was not on the funds needed to carry on the teaching and other work around the world, but rather on the extraordinary spiritual challenge which the grave situation in Iran presents to every follower of Bahá’u’lláh.
THE PERSONAL sacrifices made each day by the friends in Iran, he said, are reminiscent of the heroes and heroines who first established the Faith in that land.
“Their greatest ordeal, their greatest agony,” he said, “is not the suffering they are undergoing, but the fact that they are unable to fulfill their commitment to the Universal House of Justice.
“They are greeting their own ordeal with thanksgiving, because it is a part of the Plan of God.”
His mission to North America and Europe, said Mr. Kavelin, “was the result of careful and prayerful consideration by the Universal House of Justice.
“I left Haifa with the full assurance of the House of Justice that this mission must be successful.”
The Supreme Body, he said, “is confident that the friends everywhere will arise to demonstrate that we truly are one Bahá’í family, united, and will make any sacrifice to redeem the ordeal now being suffered by our beloved friends in the Cradle of the Faith.”
From Illinois, Mr. Kavelin traveled to New York City before continuing on to other cities on the U.S. East and West Coasts and making several stops in Canada. His visit ended July 30 in Alberta, Canada.
H. Borrah Kavelin, a member of the Universal House of Justice, outlines the urgent need for Bahá’ís in the U.S. to make even greater sacrifices to help ‘redeem the suffering’ of their Bahá’í brothers and sisters who are undergoing cruel persecutions in Iran.
Members of the National Spiritual Assembly elected at the 70th Bahá’í National Convention in April are (front row left to right) Richard D. Betts; Dorothy W. Nelson, treasurer; Magdalene Carney, assistant secretary; Soo Fouts; Daniel C. Jordan, and (back row left to right) Glenford E. Mitchell, secretary; Firuz Kazemzadeh, vice-chairman; James F. Nelson, chairman; Franklin Kahn.
|
Editorial H. Borrah Kavelin’s visit to the United States and Canada on behalf of the Universal House of Justice is of historic significance. For the first time, the Supreme Institution of the Faith has sent one of its members to convey a message to the Bahá’ís of North America. THAT MESSAGE, delivered by Mr. Kavelin with such authority, grace and eloquence, has stirred all who have heard it to the core of their beings and may well mark, as history judges in retrospect, a new stage in the spiritual development of the American Bahá’í community. The recent turmoil in Iran has thrown the entire Bahá’í world into a state of crisis. The seizure of Bahá’í Holy Places, properties and companies; the dismissal of Bahá’ís from their jobs; the confiscation of personal wealth; the coercion of Bahá’ís to recant their faith, often by threat of rape or injury to their families and loved ones, amount to nothing less than a full-scale attack on the Iranian Bahá’í community. The ordeal the Iranian Bahá’ís are undergoing presents the entire Bahá’í world with a new test of faith. It calls for resources different in kind but equal in spiritual significance. The oppressed must respond with staunchness of faith and radiant acquiescence. We who are free must respond in two ways to redeem their suffering: namely, through the sacrifice of our material resources, and the intensification of our effort to spread the Cause of God. MR. KAVELIN has pointed out that the real suffering of the Persian believers is not caused by the persecutions they face, but rather by their inability to fulfill their pledge to provide 90 per cent of the funds needed to complete construction of the permanent Seat of the Universal House of Justice, to help underwrite construction of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkárs of Samoa and India, and to support 60 per cent of the National Spiritual Assemblies throughout the world. This means that the first two-year phase of the Seven Year Plan calls for a large outpouring of funds from the West, principally from the United States. Ours is now the task to prove to the beleaguered Iranian believers and the entire world that their suffering has not been in vain. This is our test of faith, and our response to it will determine in large measure how well we fulfill our own Seven Year Plan goals on the homefront. IT MAY ALSO indicate how well we will fare when the clouds of oppression gather and settle over the American Bahá’í community, as they are destined to do. “Ere long,” ’Abdu’l-Bahá predicted, “shall the clamor of the multitude throughout Africa, throughout America, the cry of the European and of the Turk, the groaning of India and China, be heard from far and near. One and all, they shall arise with all their power to resist His Cause.” Our response to the crisis we now face will prepare us to respond to crises of greater magnitude in the future. Our salvation lies in arising to meet the challenges that God, in His Almighty Wisdom, providentially bestows upon us now. The current crisis also raises another important question for the followers of Bahá’u’lláh: What does it really mean to be the spiritual descendants of the Dawn-Breakers? |
The Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Palm Desert, California, was formed January 11, 1979. Its members are (front row left to right) Carol Chandler, Sandra Mussenden Smith, Barbara Stahl, Farzaneh Mosayyeb, and (back row left to right) George Chandler, Keith Stahl, Robin Vedovi, Kamran Naraghi, Nosrat Mosayyeb.
Assemblies Receive Two Compilations[edit]
Two compilations recently prepared by the Universal House of Justice have been sent to all Local Spiritual Assemblies in the U.S. by the National Spiritual Assembly.
One of the compilations, on “Consultation,” includes passages from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, extracts from the writings and utterances of ’Abdu’l-Bahá, passages from the writings and letters of the Guardian, and messages from the Universal House of Justice.
The second compilation, entitled “The Local Spiritual Assemblies,” is based on extracts of communications from the Universal House of Justice.
The two compilations, the National Spiritual Assembly wrote in a letter dated May 18 to Local Spiritual Assemblies, “will be of great use to you in your preparations for the first phase of the Seven Year Plan.
“The compilation on consultation gives us valuable information on how to make sound decisions, both in our personal lives and as members of administrative bodies.
“The compilation on the Local Spiritual Assemblies provides a useful framework for basic activities and planning. We urge you to draw upon it in planning your work.”
The National Assembly advised Local Assemblies in its letter “to establish study classes or institutes for the study of these compilations.”
The Bahá’í Publishing Trust will carry both compilations in booklet form in the near future.
COMMENT
To Build a House, First Gather Bricks[edit]
By VAHID HEDAYATI
Not long ago my parents left the land they love and cherish, the country for whose progress and well-being they hope and pray, the place they know as the homeland of their Lord, Bahá’u’lláh.
They left that “dawning-place of revelation” to serve their Beloved at a pioneer outpost in a far distant land.
MY FATHER, who is wise and content while I am sometimes headstrong and impatient, noticed that I was troubled and inquired as to the source of my perplexity.
I hadn’t wanted to say it out loud, but I was frankly worried about the large numbers of new believers who were entering the Faith, many of whom appeared to have little knowledge or understanding of its principles.
Of course, I couldn’t very well doubt their faith, their sincerity, or the spark of love and spirit they undoubtedly felt when contacted by the believers.
Still, I wondered if it was worth spending so much time and money on the “mass teaching” effort.
I HAD KEPT these concerns to myself, as I did not wish to be disobedient or to upset my father. Sensing my mood, however, he took me aside and shared the following story:
|
Is there something you’d like to say? We would welcome your opinion on any subject of your choosing, and would be happy to consider it for publication in this space. Address your typewritten, double-spaced manuscripts (no longer than four pages) to The Editor, The American Bahá’í, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091. Articles are subject to editing, and none can be returned. |
“Once long ago an old man went to plant a fruit tree, knowing all the while that the angel of death was near and would not allow him to enjoy the fruits of the tree.
“As the old man struggled to place the tree in the ground, a younger man, strong and proud, happened by. Laughingly, he taunted the old man: ‘Do you really think you’ll live long enough to eat from the fruits of that tree, my friend?’
“Slowly, the old man lifted his shaking head. ‘No,’ he replied softly. ‘Others planted trees, and I ate of their fruit. Now I plant so that others may enjoy the fruit.’
“THE YOUNG man, suddenly chastened by the older man’s spirit of love and sacrifice, said not a word, but lowered his head and began to plant his own tree.”
When my father had finished the story, I asked him if he would please explain the relationship between the old man and his fruit tree and the thousands of new believers who come into the Faith each year seemingly unprepared to understand or accept its Teachings.
His answer was clear and direct:
“To build a house, one needs bricks, mud, wood, nails, and so forth. What we are doing now is gathering the raw materials.
“We must have these materials before we can build, and we must have a building before we can decorate it.
|
This month’s article, “Little by Little, Day by Day,” was written by Vahid Hedayati, a native of Yazd, Iran, who lives with his wife and two daughters in Graham, Texas, where he is chief petroleum engineer for an independent oil company. Mr. Hedayati, who came to the U.S. in 1964 and earned a master’s degree in mechanical engineering at the University of Texas-Arlington, has served on Local Spiritual Assemblies and District Teaching Committees. |
“LITTLE BY little, day by day, we must continue to gather and build, my dear one, for we are building the Kingdom—and it takes everything we have, all our effort.”
Then to ease my mind, he said: “You aren’t old enough to remember, but I remember some of the first Assemblies in our village of Aliabad or Housinabad in Iran.
“Many of the new believers in those days were barefooted and illiterate; some could hardly remember their own names.
“I’ve been to Assembly meetings in the early days when the snoring of those who had fallen asleep kept the others awake.
“I RECALL well how they used to smoke their pipes at Assembly meetings, not to mention how some of them would drink a little wine to warm themselves.
“Until the ministry of the beloved Guardian, Shoghi Effendi, we in Iran had no clear understanding of Assemblies, Feasts, and so on.
“But little by little, day by day, the believers built upon that early foundation, and what you see today is the result.
“Wherever there are strong and healthy Assemblies, they have grown through the tireless efforts of many thousands of dedicated believers who once stood where you now stand.
“MY SON, you must pick up your bag and put it on your shoulder, take your tools in hand and start building, if you wish to be a true descendant of those Dawn-Breakers and early heroes of God.
“The world has a place for lofty sentiments and beautiful speeches, but tongues can never do what hearts, minds, hands and feet can.”
My father was right, of course. We Bahá’ís are in the business of building the foundation of what some day will be the Kingdom of God on earth.
There is only one way to do it. As the Master, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, used to say, “Kam kam, rooz b-rooz”—little by little, day by day.
Thank you, father, for easing my mind and erasing my doubts. From now on, I’m a builder!
Nature and Purposes of Funds Outlined[edit]
Following the recent visit of H. Borrah Kavelin, a member of the Universal House of Justice, the American Bahá’í community has become even more acutely aware of the pressing needs of the International Fund.
Undoubtedly, the recent emphasis on the International Fund has caused many Bahá’ís to wonder how much and to which Funds they should be giving.
It is important to review some of the general principles governing contributions to the four major Funds, and to understand the purposes of each of them.
Many Bahá’ís think of giving to the Fund as a “voluntary” act. This is only partly true.
Giving to the Fund is an obligation as important as praying or fasting. What is voluntary is the nature, the amount, and the purpose of one’s contribution.
No Bahá’í can be told what to give, or for what purpose to give. We are free to choose the manner and the use of our contributions.
The most important thing to remember about the act of giving is the principle of regularity—just as prayer is to become our daily habit, so should giving to the Fund become a habit.
The ideal is to use the Fund as a regular means to demonstrate devotion to the Cause of God, and to acquire spiritual attributes through sacrifice.
Every Bahá’í Institution is supported by a Fund. The Guardian said that the believers should contribute “individually and collectively” to meet the needs of these Funds.
The following list describes the various Funds and their purposes:
THE BAHÁ’Í INTERNATIONAL FUND (Address: P.O. Box 155, Haifa, Israel 31-000).
This Fund supports many activities throughout the Bahá’í world. Some National Spiritual Assemblies depend upon its support. The Seat of the Universal House of Justice, the Holy Shrines, properties at the World Centre, and all the administrative activities of the World Centre receive assistance from this Fund. In addition, many of those serving internationally receive deputization from the Bahá’í International Fund.
CONTINENTAL BAHÁ’Í FUND (Address: 418 Forest Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091).
The Continental Board of Counsellors and its Auxiliary Boards and their assistants are enabled to perform their mission of protection and propagation of the Faith with these contributions.
NATIONAL BAHÁ’Í FUND (Address: 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091).
This Fund supports the efforts of the National Spiritual Assembly to direct, stimulate and coordinate Bahá’í activities throughout the country. It provides major support to the Bahá’í International Fund as well as assistance in the fulfillment of overseas goals assigned by the Universal House of Justice to the United States. The Holiest House of Worship is maintained by this Fund, as are other Bahá’í properties, such as national Bahá’í schools. The American Bahá’í and numerous programs and administrative services are supported by the National Fund.
LOCAL BAHÁ’Í FUND (Local Address).
This Fund is designed to support the teaching, consolidation, and administrative work of each local Bahá’í community. It can also provide support to the International, Continental and National Bahá’í Funds.
| CONTINENTAL FUND | NATIONAL FUND | ||
| INTERNATIONAL FUND | LOCAL FUND | ||
| I need to water them all regularly if I want a good harvest! | |||
The “Persian Relief Fund” is a special project administered by the National Spiritual Assembly of Iran to offer humanitarian assistance to those believers victimized by the recent upheavals there. Contributions for this project should be sent either to the Bahá’í International Fund or the National Bahá’í Fund for proper handling.
Contributions toward construction of the Seat of the Universal House of Justice may also be sent to the Bahá’í International Fund or to the National Bahá’í Fund with the appropriate earmarking.
Every individual must ultimately decide how much to send to each of these Funds and how frequently.
The important things to keep in mind are the urgent needs of the hour as stated by the various Bahá’í Institutions, and the Guardian’s guidance that we should include all the Bahá’í Funds in our plans for giving.
Economic Chaos Outward Sign of Spiritual Illness[edit]
To the American Bahá’í Community
Dear Bahá’í Friends:
Times are tough. Inflation is nibbling away at our paychecks; energy costs are rising rapidly; talk of a recession is in the air. Everyone is affected by these conditions.
Such problems cannot rage on indefinitely, but where are the solutions?
Some people suggest that everything would be corrected if we didn’t have to pay so much for fuel. Others consider balancing the federal budget our chief concern.
No matter which way we turn, we find people eager to spell out their widely-differing solutions to the country’s economic problems.
Bahá’u’lláh tells us that problems in the material world are signs of a much deeper spiritual illness.
Before economic disruptions will cease, we must solve the underlying spiritual problems brought about by greed and injustice.
The healing Message of Bahá’u’lláh will eliminate such problems, but we need a strong American Bahá’í community and a strong National Fund to bring this Message to America and to the world.
Therefore, even though we are hurt by inflation as much as everyone else, we must fight the temptation to reduce our contributions to the Bahá’í Fund.
By practicing economy in our personal lives, following the example of the Master and the recent guidance of the Universal House of Justice, we can maintain and perhaps even increase our level of contributions.
As difficult as they are, these current economic tests provide us with a splendid opportunity for demonstrating materially our faith in Bahá’u’lláh.
With loving Bahá’í greetings,
The Bahá’ís of the United States
Dorothy W. Nelson, Treasurer
Massachusetts Auction Raises $925 for Fund[edit]
In Brookline, Massachusetts, an auction whose theme was “sacrifice” raised $925 for the National Bahá’í Fund early in May.
Prior to the two-hour-long event, a letter was sent to Assemblies in the area and personal calls made to individuals urging them to select personal effects for the auction that would require a sacrifice to part with.
The result was the donation of items that included exquisitely embroidered “Greatest Names” from Korea and Iran; hand-crocheted slippers; mementos from the new Seat of the Universal House of Justice; antiques; finely-crafted housewares, and pottery made by the community’s newest believer.
Fourteen people participated in the auction. Some of the Persian friends set an example of sacrifice by purchasing items and donating them to be auctioned again.
As in similar events in other communities, the spirit was heightened by those who bought items and then presented them as gifts to others who were outbid.
Letters Tell Moving Story of Sacrifice[edit]
The National Spiritual Assembly’s letter of March 26, 1979, to the American Bahá’í community triggered the greatest outpouring of funds ever recorded in a single Bahá’í month.
The Office of the Treasurer received many touching stories of sacrifice during this time—some of the most inspiring coming from older believers struggling with a fixed income to meet the rapidly rising cost of living and yet making an extra effort to send more to the Fund. Here are two examples:
“DEAR FRIENDS: In response to your letter I am enclosing an extra donation. I am deeply sorry that it is not more, but I have committed myself to a monthly donation of $85, and have stretched my budget to the limit to do this.
“As we are now retired and living on Social Security and a small retirement allowance, I am only able to do this by shopping very carefully, and making most of my own clothes. We were able to send some money to the Persian Relief Fund, and also a special donation to our local media committee; and we pray that we can do more.”
•
“Dear Friends: I received your letter in which you make an appeal for the National Bahá’í Fund. I am very much aware of the circumstances we are facing. Our beloved Iranian Bahá’ís have been more than generous toward the Fund for the Universal House of Justice.
“I TRY many times to make an impression on the friends that contributions to the Faith should be one of their first thoughts when they receive their income. Also, I think we must be thrifty in spending the local Funds so that there will be more for the National Spiritual Assembly.
“I am an older Bahá’í; I’ve been in the Cause since 1934. My only income is a monthly Social Security check which I keep for my daily necessities. In my younger days I saved in case a day would come when the cost of living would be very high.
“Thanks to ’Abdu’l-Bahá Who, when He was in New York in 1912, gave the believers this warning, I am now prepared to face this day. From my little savings I manage to do my part for the Fund. In the future I will send more to the National Spiritual Assembly.”
|
The Fund is the Life-Blood of the Faith 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091 |
The National Spiritual Assembly was deeply moved by all such special contributions made at the end of the Five Year Plan. These sacrificial efforts on the part of the believers will gradually change this world into another by helping to establish the Kingdom of God on earth.
|
Don’t forget to attend your District Convention on Sunday, October 7. Look for further details in the September issue of The American Bahá’í. |
As we enter the new global Plan given to us by our beloved Universal House of Justice, we pray that the American believers will be given the strength and material resources needed to accomplish its goals and objectives.
Crisis in Iran[edit]
Continued From Page 1
their retirement allowances if they refuse to recant their Faith.
4. Shirkat-i-Nawnahálán, a commercial company of sixty years’ standing, in which over 15,000 Bahá’ís have shares and investments, is occupied, its assets frozen, and its staff prevented from work, and denied their salaries. This action contradicts public proclamations of the new regime as well as accepted international standards.
5. The proposed drafts of the new constitution as published in the press recognize three religious minorities but omit mention of the Bahá’ís, in spite of the fact that they are the largest religious minority in the country.
6. THE TRUE AIMS and principles of the Faith are being maliciously misrepresented by a group of fanatical Shí’ih fundamentalists, formed over twenty years ago, and one of whose chief aims has been and is to harass the Bahá’í community in Iran. This group is presently spreading false allegations against the Bahá’ís, unjustly accusing them of being enemies of Islam, agents of Zionism and political tools of the previous regime. Such allegations have aroused the passions of uninformed mobs, and created misunderstandings with the authorities. As the Bahá’ís are not a recognized entity in Iran, they have no opportunity to deny or disprove these false accusations.
The points outlined above are being given to you so that you and the friends in your area may be informed of these developments.
It may be necessary for certain National Spiritual Assemblies to conduct a new and intensified publicity campaign based on the above points, in which case the House of Justice will specifically cable you to this effect.
One of the Persian friends has written to the House of Justice a eulogy of the spirit of his fellow-believers at this moment of deep agitation and turmoil in the Cradle of our Faith. A copy of extracts from his letter is enclosed.
With loving Bahá’í greetings,
Department of the Secretariat
June 15, 1979
About 10,000 people in New Jersey had an opportunity to learn about the Faith on Sunday, June 10, as the Bahá’ís of Jersey City participated for the fourth year in the annual ‘City Spirit Cultural Arts Festival’ at Journal Square in Jersey City. The friends set up a table with Bahá’í literature and a separate display panel. The Spiritual Assembly of Jersey City was listed in the festival program with other organizations that participated.
‘No Day Passes Without Tears of Blood’[edit]
Extracts from a report of one of the friends in Persia:
•
The enemies of the Faith, filled with hatred and cruelty, have once again attacked the wronged and homeless believers and the Bahá’í properties. They are truly the return of their bloodthirsty predecessors.
The friends have encountered such persecution and have manifested such courage and steadfastness that in every detail they have become the return of the martyrs and the heroes of the Cause of God.
THE EVENTS of history have become alive once again and are reoccurring. No day passes without the shedding of tears of blood and the anguish of hearts.
The news of sad events, like a weighty hammer continually descends upon the Bahá’ís. No pen is able to describe the degree of afflictions and difficulties inflicted upon these wronged believers.
About 2,000 men, women, children and youth have sought refuge in the mountains and deserts and live in tents. They have spent many cold and rainy days in the caves of the mountains.
Many are injured with broken arms and legs. The small children have lost their ability to talk, having been frightened so much because of the incidents, and the milk of the nursing mothers has dried up.
THESE BELIEVERS, without having any means of livelihood, pass their days with utmost difficulty and are banished from place to place.
When the believers, hungry and grief-stricken, had gathered together in the wilderness, the enemies sent them chilaw-kabáb (kabáb with rice) to win their hearts. But those beloved ones did not accept the food and returned it.
It is easy to say or write these words, but the bearing of these afflictions is only possible through the power of God.
Those few who have denied their faith have escaped to Isfáhán, crying and lamenting that they were threatened with the raping of the women of their households. They sit and cry for hours saying they did not know what else to do.
THIS IS only a glimpse into one incident. Every day, from every corner, there is another cry of grief.
The Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds of Abádih, where the heads of the early martyrs of the Faith have been buried, has been leveled to the dust. Many other Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds have been destroyed.
The number of Bahá’ís in prison for one reason or another has increased to 20. Many have been discharged from their jobs. Many have lost their retirement allowances.
The Ministry of Education has officially sent a circular that those Bahá’ís who do not deny their faith should be immediately discharged.
FACING these difficulties, in the midst of the darkness of this oppression and tyranny, are the illumined faces of the National Spiritual Assembly members: the sources of hope.
Truly, they are angels of God; no, more exalted. Every minute of their lives deserves the reward of a martyr, and each one of them, the reward of a thousand martyrs.
They are the personification of steadfastness, courage, and sacrifice, with nothing but the service of the Cause in their hearts and souls.
Whenever I looked upon the faces of these illuminated and beloved ones in the meetings of the Assembly, my tears would uncontrollably pour from my eyes.
THERE ARE many such examples amongst the Auxiliary Board members, members of the Assemblies and the youth.
Truly, the new creations of God are beyond our imaginations. Unless one witnesses such events in person, the extent of the sacrifice and steadfastness that these friends have manifested cannot be comprehended.
Whenever I witnessed what befell these believers, the words of God would find meaning in front of my eyes.
I had looked up the meaning of these words in the dictionaries, but I did not know that in addition to their obvious meaning they describe, or better even, create new realities.
NOW THAT the tempest of trials and afflictions has encircled the community of the beloved ones, the believers who have remained behind and who steadfastly and firmly are bearing the burden of this storm, only can sing the eternal epic of the second century of the Faith.
Truly, all of them are the children and descendants of those who watered the tree of the Faith with their pure blood. This tree is still bearing fruit, is still growing! What a glory! What a glory!
There is so much to say and tell, but the mental anguish is so severe, the conditions are so dark and confused, and the outpouring of the difficulties so abundant that my tongue is not able to utter a word and my mind is bewildered. I can only cry.
May my soul be sacrificed for the faithful followers of Bahá’u’lláh who have created the greatest epic in the history of the second century of this new Day.
ONE OF THE guards who had gone to the house of one of the friends had told her that he could not believe the forbearance and patience of the Bahá’ís and had asked her how we could ever do it!
These are events to remember. Whenever the bloodthirsty enemies or others have returned a part of the looted belongings of the Bahá’ís, they have refused to accept them, crying that they will not take back what they have given in the path of God.
One of the friends of Shíráz, who was a wealthy man, after the incident of Shíráz lost absolutely everything, and, refusing the help of the Assembly on the grounds that there were many more needy than he, started to work as a laborer to make a living for his family.
He could not bring himself to accept any help whatever from non-Bahá’ís, or to tell of his situation to friends. A friend related that when he saw him, he was so touched that his knees could no more bear the weight of his body.
AND YET another story. A believer who had incurred a loss of Rls. 170,000,000, wrote on the questionnaire form of the Assembly that he did not need any help! When everything is gone with the wind, only faith remains.
At present thousands of friends in Iran have lost everything, or have lost their jobs and are meeting their expenses by the sale of their belongings.
And then there are those who are fleeing from one place to another and in grave danger. This is only the beginning of the journey of love, and its end is not known.
For five months the National Spiritual Assembly has been meeting at least three or four times a week, for about six to eight continuous hours each time, and devotes 90 per cent of its time to discussion of urgent matters relating to the situation.
THE STAFF of the Nawnahálán Company have not received their salaries for three months now, and about 40 families are affected by this situation.
Many other families who had given whatever they had to the Nawnahálán Company and were dependent on the interest received to pay for their expenses, are left without any income.
All petitions and complaints have remained unanswered. Whatever was lost is lost and nothing has been recovered.
God willing, I will write a book instead of a letter and present it to you so that perhaps a drop of this ocean of difficulties may be recorded.
The request of this servant and every one of the believers is to express our servitude and beseech the House of Justice for its prayers in the Holy Shrines.
From whomever I asked whether they had any special request to be conveyed to you, I was told to beg for your prayers that God may give them the power and worthiness to accept and bear the difficulties.
Bahá’í children from Fullerton, Newport Beach and Costa Mesa, California, ride the Bahá’í float in the annual Costa Mesa Fish Fry parade held June 2. The Bahá’í float, whose theme was ‘The International Year of the Child,’ won first prize for best religious float. The parade was seen by thousands of people in Orange County.
October Goal: 75 Pioneers[edit]
The International Goals Committee announced after its recent meeting that it has adopted the goal of placing 75 pioneers in goal areas by October 20, 1979 (the mid point of the first year of the Seven Year Plan and the anniversary of the Birth of the Báb) and an additional 75 pioneers by Riḍván 1980.
The committee hopes that believers who are contemplating the possibility of pioneering in the near future will keep these goals in mind. They are encouraged to write quickly for further information or assistance.
Write to the International Goals Committee, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091.
|
VANGUARD Youth News |
Youth Workshop Is Big Hit on U.S. Tour[edit]
The Bahá’í Youth Workshop, a performing group of about 30 young people from Northern and Southern California, toured major cities in the West, Midwest and South during June and July.
The Workshop, sponsored by the National Youth Committee, uses comedy, drama and dance to convey the Message of Bahá’u’lláh. The group is a unified blend of black, white, Mexican-American and Asian-American youth.
THE 14-CITY TOUR began with a benefit performance in Culver City, California, where about 650 Bahá’ís contributed $2,500 toward the expenses of the trip.
On June 15 the group left Los Angeles for Phoenix, Arizona, the first stop on its tour.
The performance in Phoenix drew about 200 people. Twenty-eight interest cards were signed and there were four declarations including the producer/host of a local talk show on which the group appeared.
At Oklahoma City, the group performed for 130 people including about 40 non-Bahá’ís. Among those who attended were 12-15 women from a nearby correctional institution, one of whom said she wished to become a Bahá’í.
THE GROUP received a pleasant surprise in Kansas City, Missouri. Following a standing ovation by about 200 people—more than 100 of whom were non-Bahá’ís—the Spiritual Assembly of Kansas City donated $3,000 to the group to help pay for the tour!
June 22 found the group performing to an appreciative audience in St. Louis. By this time, the driver of the Workshop’s chartered bus—not a Bahá’í—was falling in love with the group.
This young man, who had been hesitant to drive a religious group cross-country, was so impressed by its example of love and unity that he indicated his desire to become a Bahá’í.
In Chicago from June 24-26, the youth were able to tour the Bahá’í House of Worship in Wilmette, many for the first time.
ABOUT 150 people attended the group’s Chicago performance, several interest cards were signed, and there was yet another standing ovation.
From Chicago, the Workshop went on to perform in Baltimore, Maryland; Richmond, Virginia; Spartanburg, South Carolina; at the Louis Gregory Institute; in Montgomery, Alabama; Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Houston and Dallas, Texas, and Albuquerque, New Mexico, before returning to California on July 18.
The Bahá’í Youth Workshop, directed by Oscar and Freddie DeGruy, has been performing together for about four years.
The group originated in the Los Angeles area and presently works out of Redding, California.
Parents have expressed pleasure at the positive example the group presents for their children (members of the Workshop range in age from 13 to 23).
And as one member of the group says, the Workshop is “one of the best things that has ever happened to me.”
The Los Angeles Bahá’í Youth Workshop tapes a television show during the Juneteenth celebration in Phoenix, Arizona.
Members of the Bahá’í Youth Workshop kick up their heels during a rehearsal session that preceded their June 25 appearance in Chicago.
‘Youth on Way’ a Forum for Sharing[edit]
In the creation of the series, “Youth on the Way,” the National Youth Committee had hoped that it could help create a kind of “peer group” for many youth who have few other Bahá’í youth to whom they can relate.
The committee had hoped that this series would allow youth to know that others share the same difficulties of school, career preparation, personal and inter-personal uncertainties, and the general problem of trying to live a Bahá’í life in a fragmenting world.
YET IT HAS reached us that many youth are not pleased with this format because it is considered by some to be “conceited” and “egotistical” to write about oneself.
Conceit or egotism are problems of attitude and sincerity; they are not synonymous with a willingness to share how one is dealing with problems and trying to succeed as a Bahá’í in this society.
“Youth on the Way” is not a public forum in which to brag about oneself; rather, it is a chance to participate in a national correspondence about “This is how I am coping with living a Bahá’í life; how do you cope and succeed?”
What we need and want are letters about youth from all parts of the country, suburban and rural; from Bahá’í families and isolated youth; from all ethnic and economic backgrounds.
In other words, we need to hear and be heard, to teach and to learn about what it means to be a Bahá’í youth in these difficult times.
Please write to the National Youth Committee and let us know how you are dealing with this most important theme.
Houston Youth Plan, Host Weekend Deepening Retreat on Gulf of Mexico[edit]
On the weekend of April 13-15, the local Bahá’í Youth Club of Greater Houston, Texas, hosted a deepening retreat at a private beach house in Surfside, Texas, on the Gulf of Mexico.
Attending the retreat were nine Bahá’í youth and seven adults.
Deepenings on “Prayer and Meditation,” “Peer Pressure,” and “Education and Pioneering” and a workshop on “Personal Discoveries of the Faith”—how each youth became a Bahá’í—were conducted by the youth.
In addition, several meetings were held during the retreat to develop the constitution of the Greater Houston Youth Club.
“Equally important as the deepenings and meetings,” said one youth, “was the fellowship and recreation. It was through fellowship that we created greater unity among the youth.”
The adults also were impressed with the weekend, and said they were pleased with the way it was totally planned by the youth.
|
Arise! |
The success of the retreat has prompted the Greater Houston Bahá’í Youth Club to plan another one, perhaps on a larger scale, for the near future.
| Henry Herman
by Robert Clifton
SOY BAHÁ’Í
A MI ME GUSTA |
HI HENRY
HI CINDY WHAT ARE YOU DOING?
|
PLANNING MY SUMMER TEACHING TRIPS. SI! YO SOY BAHÁ’Í
|
Pioneers Put ‘Feet on Ground’ at Institute[edit]
Beneath the Greatest Name at the apex of the dome of the Bahá’í House of Worship, 35 believers gather in prayer:
“O my Lord! Make Thy beauty to be my food...” “O my God! O my God! Unite the hearts of Thy servants and reveal to them Thy great purpose...”
In their midst sits young Steve Angell. The day before, he had driven his parents’ station wagon on the seven-hour trip from Midland, Michigan, to Wilmette, Illinois, where he would attend the first Bahá’í Pioneer Training Institute of the Seven Year Plan.
ALOUD, he prays: “O God, refresh and gladden my spirit, purify my heart...”
“What is it you’re going to take to those lands?” asks Magdalene Carney, assistant secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly, as she greets the prospective pioneers on the first evening of the Institute, June 7.
A dedication to living the life, a commitment to non-involvement in politics, a distinctive Bahá’í character that reflects a high standard of morality, she says, are all a part of the answer.
The next morning, after prayers at the House of Worship, Steve walks with other members of the group to the National College of Education on Sheridan Road where much of the Institute is being held.
EVERYONE is excited. A young woman looks forward to pioneering in Tanzania. Another is on her way to the Dominican Republic. A young man hopes to go to the Sudan where he would study African history.
Some are veteran pioneers, eager to return to the faraway places they now call home.
Steve is preparing to go to Tapachula, Mexico. In January, he learned from a friend of an opportunity to teach English at the Instituto de Inglese Javier McKeever.
He applied for the position and was accepted. He says they didn’t ask much about him; it seemed as though his being a Bahá’í was enough to guarantee him the job.
WHY HAS he decided to pioneer, someone asks.
“What else is one to do?” he replies.
At the College of Education, Steve and the others listen with rapt attention as the Hand of the Cause of God Zikrullah Khadem speaks of pioneering:
“When a Bahá’í enters a village,” says Mr. Khadem, “the Light of God enters.”
He mentions the growth of the Faith around the world, and emphasizes the importance of the Guardian’s plans. Without them, he says, nothing could be accomplished.
MR. KHADEM holds up a copy of The Advent of Divine Justice, describing it as the most important reference. In it, he says, is everything a Bahá’í community needs to know.
Wherever the pioneers are, he adds, “May Bahá’u’lláh be with you.”
Following a break, a member of the International Goals Committee staff organizes a role-playing session.
A mock Assembly is formed, with one member of the group playing the part of a newly-arrived pioneer.
THE THEME of the session is, “But back in the States, we always did it this way.”
The session reminds Steve of his declaration. Seven weeks after hearing of the Faith at the University of Wisconsin, he attended a potluck supper on the anniversary of the Birth of Bahá’u’lláh.
“It’s funny now,” he recalls, “but I had thought of taking a bottle of wine as my contribution to the supper!”
Instead, he took apples and pears, and later that evening asked what one does when he decides to become a Bahá’í.
“SIMPLY notify us,” he was told, “and we’ll go through the necessary procedures.”
“Consider yourself notified,” said Steve. The next morning, he met with the secretary of the Spiritual Assembly of Madison and signed his request for enrollment.
Although he describes himself as dogmatic, overzealous, self-righteous, Steve finds that his attitudes are changing and softening since his arrival at the Institute. He is, he says, becoming more detached.
The lesson in detachment, he says, began the very first evening, “when I asked for a definition of fanaticism, and was told that we become fanatical when we are no longer willing to question our own methods of teaching.”
STEVE SAYS he has become aware of that same element in the role-playing, when the pioneer refuses to recognize his own faults or does not understand the difference between Bahá’í administration and procedure.
“It’s a lesson in humility,” he says, “because you want to do what’s best for the Faith, even if it means giving up your own ideas of right and wrong.
“God forbid,” he adds, “that I should take that kind of blind attachment to my opinions with me as a pioneer.”
That afternoon, Dr. Betty Fisher, general editor of the Bahá’í Publishing Trust, outlines the history of Bahá’í publishing in America.
PIONEERS shouldn’t be discouraged, she says, by the state of publishing in some other countries, but should welcome the opportunity to get in on the “ground floor” and help to improve it.
By the end of the Institute, Steve owns every book recommended by the International Goals Committee as a basic library except The Promised Day Is Come, which is temporarily out of print.
He has included a prayer book and Some Answered Questions in Spanish.
The next speaker is Auxiliary Board member Javidukht Khadem. To be an Apostle of Bahá’u’lláh, she says, one must be firm in the Covenant—and today, our Covenant is the Seven Year Plan.
AFTERWARD, Steve says he knew the Covenant was a promise, but hadn’t understood until now its deep significance to a Bahá’í.
After supper, the friends see a tape of the Hand of the Cause of God Amatu’l-Bahá Rúḥíyyih Khánum discussing pioneering. Steve stays up past midnight reading The Advent of Divine Justice, and arises before dawn prayers on Saturday to study prayers in Spanish and English.
Later that morning, Glenford Mitchell, secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly, speaks about the situation in Iran and its worldwide effects.
In the wake of the persecutions, he says, people at all levels of society are becoming more receptive to the Faith.
STEVE IS eager to pioneer, but confesses that he has doubts about his ability.
“How,” he asks aloud, “am I ever going to learn enough? Suppose I’m elected to a Local Assembly? Or a National Assembly?”
The Institute is nearing its end. A pioneer to Thailand, Louise Taylor, explains how she taught by improvising in a country with no publishing trust; a song written by a pioneer traces the stages of pioneering, from euphoria through tests and suffering to understanding and dedication.
“How do we know when you’ve reached your post?” asks Mary Louise Suhm, secretary of the International Goals Committee.
“YOU SIMPLY send us a cable: ‘Bahá’í Wilmette Illinois: FOG,’ and your name.”
FOG, she explains, means “Feet on Ground.”
The afternoon is spent on specifics: what provisions to take, how to conduct oneself, what not to eat, what to do in an emergency, and any other questions that need answering.
Steve skips supper. At the House of Worship, he wrestles with self-doubt. Is he detached enough? Can he possibly learn enough? When people turn to him for answers, will he have them?
Perhaps not, he concludes. But he can be a pioneer anyway if only he can learn to place his trust in Bahá’u’lláh and the Divine Institutions and remember that guidance is always there when needed.
SUNDAY morning. Counsellor Edna True is the speaker, inspiring the friends with the depth of her knowledge. As she calls to mind the words of the Master, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, “Look at Me. Follow Me. Be as I am,” Steve feels his self-confidence growing.
Suddenly the Institute is over. The friends say their goodbyes, exchange addresses, promise to write. They are eager to go, yet sad that they must part.
For Steve Angell, the three days have been a time of inner growth and profound change. He knows now that he can be a pioneer, that Bahá’u’lláh is always with him.
He remembers the words of the Universal House of Justice in its Naw-Rúz message announcing the new Seven Year Plan:
“We are the bearers of the Word of God in this day, and however dark the immediate horizon, we must go forward rejoicing in the knowledge that the work we are privileged to perform is God’s work and will bring to birth a world whose splendour will outshine our brightest visions and surpass our highest hopes.”
“We are the bearers of the Word of God in this day...” Steve pauses for one last lingering look at the House of Worship.
I can be a pioneer, he says to himself. I will be a pioneer. I am a pioneer!
Role-playing sessions are an important part of each Pioneer Training Institute, giving prospective pioneers an opportunity to test their reactions in ‘real-life’ situations.
[Page 7]
June Ritter addresses more than 600 students who heard the four-member team of Bahá’ís from the U S. speak at a school in Rabaul, Papua New Guinea.
U.S. Team Spreads Faith In Papua New Guinea[edit]
(The following is another in a series of reports by a four-member team of Bahá’ís from the U.S. who recently completed a four-month teaching trip to the South Pacific.)
•
Following a hectic but fruitful tour of the verdant Solomon Islands, the team arrived on March 6 in the beautiful city of Rabaul on the island of New Britain, just east of the main island of Papua New Guinea.
We were warmly received at the Rabaul airport by a small group of pioneers including one from Iran by way of India, another of Mexican descent from the U.S., and a third from Australia.
WE WERE GIVEN one day to wash our clothes, write our letters and generally prepare for the series of activities arranged for us by the Spiritual Assembly of Rabaul.
While in Rabaul the team was interviewed by Papua New Guinea’s national newspaper. The article that resulted said the Faith had come to bring unity to the people of Papua New Guinea and to the world.
Other interviews were held with the local newspaper and radio station. The radio interview was sent to the Papua New Guinea national station in Port Moresby and rebroadcast during the Bahá’í National Convention held the last weekend in April.
We spoke to more than 600 students and faculty at a high school in Rabaul where the response was enthusiastic.
LATER, Darral Pugh had a chance to speak to more than 2,000 people at a hospital maternity ward benefit concert in a local park.
On March 11, the team left Rabaul for the city of Lae, seat of the National Spiritual Assembly of Papua New Guinea.
Team members visited several schools including the University of Lae, and presented Bahá’í literature to the dean of the university and the assistant superintendent of schools.
In addition, James Isham and Darral Pugh were able to meet with the Provincial Secretary and Provincial Planner, each of whom greeted them warmly and accepted gifts of Bahá’í literature.
LEAVING LAE, the team was flown by Auxiliary Board member Noel Bluett a few hundred miles down the coast to the town of Popondetta where we found that receptivity to the Message was excellent.
The Premier, Provincial Secretary and Provincial Planner of Popondetta received us and accepted booklets.
We addressed about 680 students at a high school in Popondetta. The talk was arranged by the superintendent of schools who even drove us to the meeting.
LATER, we were interviewed for 30 minutes on the local radio station, and were guests on a 15-minute women’s program and a newscast.
One of the radio announcers asked if we would speak at the Agricultural College, and even offered to drive us there.
As school was already out for the day, we weren’t able to speak, but the headmaster accepted a booklet.
Popondetta was a Group when we arrived, but by Naw-Rúz there were more than enough believers to form an Assembly.
Team member Mark Sisson discusses the Faith with a group of interested students in Rabaul, Papua New Guinea.
Houston Youth Set to Launch New Magazine[edit]
A magazine for and by Bahá’í youth has long been an idea in the minds of many Bahá’ís.
The National Youth Committee is pleased to announce that after three years of planning and working, the idea is to become a reality with the publication of World Citizen, a magazine produced by Bahá’í youth in Houston, Texas.
The purpose of the Bahá’í youth magazine, according to editors Shervin Bahi Hawley, 16, Shiidon Bahi Hawley, 18, and Cindy Leonard, 18, is to facilitate communication among Bahá’í youth in the U.S.
They also feel it will serve as a focal point for Bahá’í youth so that they may express and exchange ideas, and that it will foster a sense of cohesiveness among Bahá’í youth.
World Citizen will contain articles and other features by youth from around the country. It will attempt to include most topics of interest to Bahá’í youth, such as a calendar of events, photo-essays, youth club information, news from around the country, biographies of prominent Bahá’ís, articles on careers, religion and teaching, plus stories and cartoons. Youth are strongly encouraged to contribute to the magazine.
In addition to the editors, the magazine has an editorial staff of eight youth and young adults. The National Youth Committee is acting as an adviser for the magazine.
The premier issue of World Citizen will be out before the end of the year. The subscription price is $8 for the six issues to be published each year.
Youth or adults who would like more information about the magazine should contact Shervin Bahi Hawley, 10110 Margate Drive, Houston, TX 77099, or phone 713-933-0903.
S. Dakota Children Lay ‘Cornerstone’[edit]
On May 16, a special children’s class was held at Fort Thompson, South Dakota, to lay the cornerstone for a symbolic Bahá’í Center.
Five teachers and two children gathered at the foot of a hill overlooking the Missouri River to recount the story of how the Bahá’í House of Worship in North America grew from a single stone blessed in 1912 by the Master, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.
Two of the friends contributed a rock from their pasture. Children and teachers carried it to the top of the hill along with a colorful banner that read, “Unity With Diversity—In the Bahá’í Faith.”
After prayers, a teacher turned the first shovelful of earth “on behalf of all races, nationalities and religions,” and a child moved the rock into place.
The ceremony ended with the words of the Master uttered at the groundbreaking ceremony for the House of Worship 67 years ago: “The temple is already built.”
Dr. Ward Named Outstanding Teacher[edit]
Dr. Allan L. Ward, author of the recently-published book, 239 Days: ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Journey in America, has been presented the 1979 Donaghey Outstanding Teacher Award at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.
Dr. Ward, an associate professor of speech communication and an acknowledged authority on ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s travels in this country, was given a plaque and a $1,500 grant at the annual UALR alumni luncheon.
He teaches semantics and group dynamics at the university, and is coordinator of Vox Pop, a program in which speech students visit area high schools and community organizations to discuss issues of current interest.
To help celebrate National Nursing Home Week in May, members of Gallup, New Mexico’s Bahá’í children’s class visited the Extended Care Home at Gallup’s McKinley Manor. Here 6-year-old Helen Russell serves cookies to Mrs. Ida Ben and other residents at the home. All the Bahá’í children took part, and Dr. Gordon Tong presented a musical program. The visit was warmly appreciated by the residents and staff at the home.
[Page 8]
‘A Critical Time of Transition’ was the theme of a Bahá’í Youth Conference sponsored by the South Carolina Regional Teaching Committee that was held June 8-10 at Greenwood, South Carolina. Eighty Bahá’ís and seekers, nearly all of them youth, from all over the state attended. Ten workshops covered such topics as ‘The Difference Between Love and Sex’ and ‘How Can I Be a Bahá’í and Be Successful in Business?’ Speakers were Auxiliary Board member Elizabeth Martin, Robert Henderson of the National Teaching Committee, and Mrs. Johnnie Brown of Savannah, Georgia. Top left, one of the outdoor conference sessions; above, the conference photo: left, Mrs. Alberta Deas (fifth from left), a member of the South Carolina Regional Teaching Committee, introduces some of the Bahá’í youth who served the Faith throughout the Five Year Plan.
In Missoula, Steady Teaching Means Steady Growth[edit]
(EDITOR’S NOTE: Over the past three years the Bahá’í community of Missoula County, Montana, has averaged 14 declarations a year with more than nine out of 10 new believers becoming active members of the community. In this report, the Spiritual Assembly of Missoula County sets forth its teaching methods and outlines the reasons for its success.)
•
We have found, in this area, that individual teaching is the most fruitful. Our one-to-one teaching efforts have produced slow but steady progress.
In addition, there has been extensive advertising in the form of invitations to proclamation events and firesides, quotes from the Writings in the “personals” columns of newspapers, and up to 300 personal invitations to specific Bahá’í functions from individuals.
WE HAVE HAD newspaper, radio and television coverage. Even though there have been few direct responses to this, we have saturated the area with the names of Bahá’u’lláh and the Bahá’í Faith.
The Spiritual Assembly of Missoula County sponsors regular Thursday evening firesides.
A fireside coordinator is responsible for selecting hosts and topics (which are subject to change according to the needs of the seekers should that need be felt).
We teach anywhere—in restaurants, laundromats, on street corners. While we don’t practice “old world order” behavior, we aren’t shy about going to the people to reach them with the Message.
ALONE, in pairs, or in groups, community members pray silently in restaurants, grocery stores, and other places where they have gone to teach.
Sometimes we drive around the county singing Bahá’í-oriented songs and saying prayers.
Once, when teaching was going slowly, we gathered at regular intervals to say 500 “Remover of Difficulties.” The results were astonishing!
Parties and other gatherings at which seekers are present are marked by informality and spontaneity. We try to befriend non-Bahá’ís, dropping hints here and there about the Faith until we are asked, “why” or “what” or “how.” This approach has been quite successful.
WE USE music extensively in teaching, at firesides, in parks, or any other places we happen to be.
When live music isn’t available, we sometimes use a stereo to play uplifting background music.
At Feasts we end the business portion by sharing teaching stories, new ideas about teaching, and ways in which to support each other’s teaching activities.
Pamphlets are provided by the Assembly for distribution to seekers. Teaching materials are available from the community library, 24 hours a day.
Last year alone, more than $2,000 worth of literature was sold by our community library.
Despite this, some of our more active teachers have relatively small stores of Bahá’í books, because they give so many of them away.
It isn’t unusual for community members to have books returned by total strangers from other states, to find a stack of Bahá’í books lying one day in the mailbox, or to receive a call from the public library asking them to “please come in and pick up your Bahá’í books.”
A two-member “New Believer Deepening Committee” is on call 24 hours a day, ready to meet with anyone who is ready to declare his belief in Bahá’u’lláh.
The Assembly has purchased deepening packets for new believers, and the packet produced by the National Spiritual Assembly is available at the community library. If the new believer cannot afford to buy this packet, it is presented as a gift.
After each declaration, the New Believer Deepening Committee informs him or her of the Central Figures of the Faith, its laws and Administrative Order, and presents the deepening packet. The declarant is then welcomed into the Faith.
Since many declaration cards are signed between midnight and 6 a.m., there have been many sleepless nights ending with dawn prayers and the happy feeling of having a new believer in the Bahá’í Faith.
A favorite prayer in Missoula County is the one that begins, “How can I choose to sleep, O God, my God, when the eyes of them that long for Thee are wakeful because of their separation from Thee; and how can I lie down to rest whilst the souls of Thy lovers are sore vexed in their remoteness from Thy presence ...” (Bahá’í Prayers, p. 28)
Teaching the Faith has become the driving force in the lives of most of us, and no one has expired yet from lack of sleep!
Publishing Trust Slates Fall Harvest of Books[edit]
A bountiful harvest of new books, revised editions, and new special materials is in store this fall, the Bahá’í Publishing Trust has announced.
Two books from the early days of the Faith—one of them by the Master—will be published in revised editions.
The two are A Traveler’s Narrative: Written to Illustrate the Episode of the Báb, written by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and translated by orientalist Edward Granville Browne, and Daily Lessons Received at ‘Akká: January 1908, pilgrim’s notes by Helen Goodall and Ella Goodall Cooper.
Among the never-before-published books scheduled for the fall is Ramona Allen Brown’s Memories of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá: Recollections of the Early Days of the Bahá’í Faith in California.
Also, the Publishing Trust will begin distributing a new collection of poetry by Roger White entitled Another Song, Another Season, which is being published by George Ronald (London).
Selected Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, the compilation that until now has been available only in paperback, will be published in a clothbound gift edition. The new edition is designed for easier reading, with larger type, larger pages, and about one selection per page.
The Promised Day Is Come, by Shoghi Effendi, will be published in a revised edition. Written in 1941 but more meaningful with each passing day, this letter to the Western Bahá’ís explains in forceful terms that the reason for the present worldwide moral and social chaos is man’s rejection of Bahá’u’lláh.
The Open Door, the booklet that contains selections from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá on life after death, will soon be available in a revised edition.
The new edition, like the previous one, will be sold with envelopes so that it can be mailed as a “sympathy card.”
Special materials planned for the fall include new embossed Greatest Name plaques, several stereo LP’s, and other recordings.
Prices and publication dates for all the new books and materials will be announced by Bahá’í librarians and in The American Bahá’í.
These happy faces belong to children attending the Horizon School Bahá’í Classes, sponsored by the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Oakland, California. The school is an intercommunity undertaking involving several nearby Bahá’í communities.
Volume XVI of ‘Bahá’í World’ Is Available[edit]
The Bahá’í World: An International Record, Vol. XVI, 1973–1976, published by the Universal House of Justice earlier this year, is now available from the Bahá’í Publishing Trust. (740 pp., illustrated, clothbound, catalog No. 7-33-16, $17.50 NET)
This latest volume covers the three-year period from the end of the Nine Year Plan through the first two years of the Five Year Plan.
ONE OF THE many historic developments it records is the establishment of the International Teaching Centre; another is the acquisition, in 1975, of the House of ‘Abdu’lláh Páshá, the property in ‘Akká where “some of the most poignant, dramatic, and historically significant events of the Heroic Age of our Faith” took place.
The volume also covers the launching of the Five Year Plan, with a feature article on “the greatest single undertaking” of the Plan, the construction of the permanent Seat of the Universal House of Justice.
At a time when the Bahá’ís in Iran are suffering so greatly, it seems significant that Volume XVI opens with a brief compilation of passages from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh about His sufferings.
“If tribulation touch thee for My sake,” Bahá’u’lláh wrote, “call thou to mind My ills and troubles, and remember My banishment and imprisonment.” An essay on “The Sufferings of Bahá’u’lláh and Their Significance,” by George Townshend, is included in this volume.
ALSO FEATURED in the book are passages from the Writings of the Báb and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, and from Shoghi Effendi’s The Promised Day Is Come; reports on the progress of the Faith around the world; the complete text of From Strength to Strength, Eunice Braun’s moving history of the growth of the Bahá’í Faith throughout the world from 1921–1973; a history of the famed New Era High School in India; the short obligatory prayer in 320 languages; and verse and music by Bahá’ís around the world.
Bahá’ís have been reading and collecting The Bahá’í World volumes since the first one, covering 1925, was prepared under the direction of Shoghi Effendi. In addition, the volumes have always been and continue to be used for proclamation.
The Guardian placed great emphasis on the use of the first Bahá’í World volume for proclamation. In a letter dated December 6, 1928, he wrote:
“I EARNESTLY request you, dearly-beloved friends, to exert the utmost effort for the prompt and widespread circulation of a book that so faithfully and vividly portrays, in all its essential features, its far-reaching ramifications and most arresting aspects, the all-encompassing Faith of Bahá’u’lláh.”
This latest volume can be presented to local dignitaries and opinion leaders and to libraries of all kinds.
Other volumes of The Bahá’í World still available include Volume XIII (1954–1963), Volume XIV (1963–1968), and Volume XV (1968–1973), which are priced at $15, $12.50, and $15 (NET), respectively.
To order The Bahá’í World, Vol. XVI or any of the other three volumes, see your local Bahá’í librarian.
Isolated Bahá’ís 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 a check or money order for the full amount for postpaid shipment in the U.S.
If the book is not in stock at the time your order is received, the Publishing Trust will cash your check and send the book when it arrives, unless otherwise requested.
National Center Seeks to Ease ‘Critical’ Shortage of Personnel[edit]
With the Seven Year Plan now under way, the Bahá’í National Center faces critical personnel shortages in several areas.
Most urgently needed are individuals with personnel experience, and those with typing and other secretarial skills.
The Personnel Department is actively seeking Bahá’ís experienced in personnel recruitment and placement, staff training, employe benefits, employe-management relations, and personnel records management.
Bahá’ís who can type with speed and accuracy and are familiar with filing systems can provide a much-needed service at the National Center.
Also needed for executive secretarial positions are individuals with office experience in information processing and work-flow management.
Those who are qualified for any of these positions and are willing and able to serve at the National Center are urged to contact the Personnel Department at once for more information and/or applications.
Write to Personnel at 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091, or phone 312-256-4400.
A number of special materials have been developed using the theme of ‘Love That Child’ for use during the International Year of the Child and are available from the Bahá’í Publishing Trust. Above, some of the friends show off their ‘Love That Child’ sweatshirts. Made of 92 per cent cotton and 8 per cent acrylic and silk-screened with colorful red and blue lettering, the sweatshirts are priced at $8.50 in adult sizes (small, medium, large, extra large) and $7.50 in children’s sizes (6–8, 10–12, 14–16). Two infant-size sweatshirts are planned and will be announced. At left is a special display of ‘Love That Child’ materials that can be used as an exhibit by local communities. All ‘Love That Child’ materials are available through local Bahá’í librarians or from the Bahá’í Publishing Trust.
Mr. Khadem to Be Speaker At Massanetta Conference[edit]
The Hand of the Cause of God Zikrullah Khadem will be the featured speaker at the first Massanetta Springs Bahá’í Conference August 31–September 2 at the Massanetta Springs conference center near Harrisonburg, Virginia, in the Shenandoah Valley.
The Spiritual Assembly of Staunton, Virginia, is hosting the conference whose theme is “Spiritual Enrichment and Self-Dedication,” based on the emphasis in the Seven Year Plan on the development of Bahá’í community life and inner spiritual growth as the best preparation for overcoming tests and difficulties.
SPEAKERS in addition to the Hand of the Cause will include Auxiliary Board member Javidukht Khadem, Dr. Allan Ward, Bahá’í United Nations representative Dr. Wilma Brady, Dr. Dwight Allen, Carl Reynolds, and assistants to the Auxiliary Board Greg Dahl and Robert Imagire.
Besides speaking in English on “Our Duty in the Seven Year Plan,” Mrs. Khadem will address a separate session in Persian on “Sacrifice and Service, Pioneering and Leaving the Cities.”
Mr. Dahl will speak on the same topic in English.
Dr. Ward, author of 239 Days: ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Journey in America, will speak on “ ‘Abdu’l-Bahá: The Master Teacher” and “ ‘Abdu’l-Bahá: Footsteps to Follow.”
Dr. Brady will speak on “Family Life in the International Year of the Child” and “Facing the Tests Ahead: Specific Guidance for Spiritual Survival.”
MR. REYNOLDS and Mr. Imagire will conduct a workshop on “An Evaluation of Teaching Techniques.”
Dr. Allen will speak at a special public meeting Saturday evening on “Mining the Richness of Inner Diversity.”
In addition to the talks and workshops, there will be a slide presentation on teaching.
Facilities at the conference center include semi-private rooms, a large dining hall, and tennis and basketball courts in a secluded rustic setting.
Conference fees (including lodging and meals) are $38 for adults, and $19 for children ages 2 through 9. Children under 2 may attend free of charge.
For further information contact Frank Stewart, registrar, 7103 Hickory Hill Road, Falls Church, VA 22040, or phone 703-534-3760.
Evanston Women’s Conference Draws 300[edit]
Some 300 women and men attended a Bahá’í Women’s Conference at Kendall College in Evanston, Illinois, June 23 sponsored by the Spiritual Assembly of Evanston.
The conference, planned in less than three months by an ad hoc committee of three women, had three specific goals:
- SHARING knowledge in areas of personal need.
- Uniting the Bahá’í women in the Evanston area.
- Releasing latent teaching potential.
A special effort was made to involve as many local believers as possible in conducting the conference. As a result, several workshops were led by individuals who had not often been called upon before.
As word of the conference spread, many people became excited about the prospect, and what began as a local gathering grew rapidly to include participants from seven states.
The child-care program, with more than 30 children attending, was handled entirely by men in the Evanston area.
THE CONFERENCE was dedicated to Bahíyyih Khánum, the Greatest Holy Leaf, whom Shoghi Effendi described as “foremost among the members of her sex in the Bahá’í Dispensation.”
She was a woman who never married, had no children, did not pursue a professional career, never traveled widely to teach the Faith—in fact, never did any of the things we ordinarily think of when we call a woman “successful.”
Yet through her courage, her purity of heart, her steadfastness and her unfailing service to the Cause of God, she became the standard for all Bahá’í women.
The keynote address by Mrs. Eileen Norman of Wilmette, Illinois, set the tone for the conference by presenting a warm and vivid “portrait” of this most remarkable woman.
MOST OF THE conference was comprised of workshops on such topics as consultation in the family, courtship and chastity, proper nutrition, overcoming prejudice, the single parent, and beauty as an attribute.
Exclaimed one participant: “I’d like to attend every workshop! We should have a conference on every one of these topics.”
One of the purposes of the gathering, as explained by its final speaker, Mrs. Jene Bellows of Skokie, Illinois, was to provide ideas for women on how best to fulfill the directive of the Universal House of Justice that Bahá’í women “...exercise to the full their privileges and responsibilities in the work of the community...,” how to teach themselves, their children and their neighbors.
It was therefore especially fitting that one young woman who had arrived that morning as a seeker left in the afternoon as a declared believer in Bahá’u’lláh.
The Evanston Women’s Conference featured workshops on subjects ranging from courtship and chastity to nutrition, overcoming prejudices, the single parent, and beauty as an attribute.
The men had their hands full caring for the more than 30 children present at the Bahá’í Women’s Conference held June 23 in Evanston, Illinois.
200 Attend Annual Northern Virginia Camp-out[edit]
About 200 Bahá’ís and guests gathered at the Prince William Forest National Park over the Memorial Day weekend for the annual camp-out for the Bahá’ís of Northern Virginia, Washington, D.C., and Maryland.
This year’s event was sponsored by the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Fairfax County (Virginia) South.
Classes this year covered a wide range of topics from administration to meditation, prophecy and the Bahá’í in contemporary society.
Included was a session led by Auxiliary Board member Albert James on launching the Seven Year Plan.
Many of the non-Bahá’ís who attended said they were particularly impressed by the spirit of love and unity, with everyone pitching in to help with kitchen work, serving, clean-up and other tasks.
Park personnel also were impressed, and several asked questions about the Faith.
Counsellors, Auxiliary Board Sponsor Maryland Conference[edit]
“Challenge to Scale Nobler Heights of Heroism” was the theme of a daylong conference May 20 at Towson, Maryland, sponsored by the Continental Board of Counsellors and its Auxiliary Board and hosted by the Bahá’í community of Baltimore City.
Among those attending the gathering at the Baltimore Bahá’í Center were Counsellor Sarah M. Pereira and Auxiliary Board members Albert James and Katherine McLaughlin.
Dr. Pereira, who brought greetings from the Counsellors in North America, spoke on “Our Glorious Mission” and said that during the new Seven Year Plan we must show the world a new standard of Bahá’í morality.
We must continue to sacrifice, she added, to contribute more to the International Fund to offset the loss of material resources occasioned by the persecution of the friends in Iran.
Talks by Mrs. McLaughlin on “The Challenge and the Promise of Tomorrow’s World,” and by Mr. James on “We Are God’s Chosen Instruments” were followed by workshops.
Participation in a workshop for Persians who had recently arrived in the U.S. was encouraged by their having their own discussion group in Persian.
James Long (left), a member of the Bahá’í Group in Havre, Montana, and chairman of the Bahá’í Club at Northern Montana College, presents a copy of The Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh to Mrs. Elaine Kipp, NMC reference librarian, as Bill Thackaray, the club’s faculty adviser, looks on.
Montana Bahá’í Group Doubles in Size[edit]
In less than a year, the Bahá’í Group in Havre, Montana, home of Northern Montana College, has doubled in size and now boasts eight members and a Bahá’í Club at the college.
The Group’s accomplishments during the past year include the following:
- Presentation of Bahá’í World Faith to the mayor of Havre.
- A REGULAR program on the campus radio station, KNOG, hosted by James Long, a student at the college and chairman of its Bahá’í Club.
- Interviews on Mr. Long’s program with the state’s lieutenant governor, the mayor of Havre, and a representative from the German Embassy.
- Presentation of The Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh to the college library, the first time it has had a Bahá’í book.
The Bahá’í Club’s constitution was accepted without change by the school administration. The college’s vice president and some student council members said it was the best constitution for a campus club ever received at Northern Montana.
After having grown from four members to eight, the Havre Group is working hard to reach Assembly status.
Bahá’ís Enter Parade[edit]
This year, the Bahá’ís of College Park, Maryland, entered the annual College Park Boys Club Parade for the fourth time.
The friends carried banners reading “Bahá’í Faith” and “International Year of the Child: Children, the Flowers of Humanity.”
Bahá’í children gave away 200 bookmarks on which were printed Bahá’í Teachings relating to children.
Teaching Committee Requests Reports on Minority Teaching[edit]
“Expand the teaching work among those of Armenian, Basque, Chinese, Greek, Japanese and Spanish-speaking background; develop special expansion and consolidation projects among Indian tribes ...” Five Year Plan
“Intensify the teaching work among the minorities ...” Seven Year Plan
The Five Year Plan witnessed significant teaching among Indian tribes and Spanish-speaking people in the U.S., although as with any teaching activity, more can and will be done.
The National Teaching Committee would like to know more about teaching efforts that took place in local communities during the Five Year Plan, and about those that are currently planned to expand the work among the other minorities listed.
To assist with future work, the committee makes the following requests:
1. Reports from individuals, Assemblies and District Teaching Committees about teaching efforts and enrollments among minorities listed in the Five Year Plan that took place during the Plan.
2. Notation on the enrollment card of the minority being represented when known to the teachers. (When the designation “Spanish-speaking” is noted on the cards, a welcome in Spanish will be sent to new believers.)
Thirty-nine children and 45 adults from 15 communities in three states attended a garden party for Bahá’í children and their friends June 2 in Three Rivers, Massachusetts. The age range was remarkable, with the youngest person at the party only 11 days old, and the oldest some 80 years of age. The six-hour-long party at the Chamberlin home included games, music, and refreshments.
As a part of their Intercalary Days celebration, children of the Brattleboro, Vermont, Bahá’í community presented Child’s Way magazine to the children’s department of Brooks Memorial Library in Brattleboro. Other activities included a sleigh ride and party and an international potluck supper. Shown here are (seated left to right) Travis West, Craig Coughlin, and (standing left to right) Imam Hosseiny, children’s librarian Joyce Drew, Amy Coughlin, Kevin Guthrie, Mona Hosseiny, Kenneth Guthrie.
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.
•
THE NEED IS URGENT at the Bahá’í National Center for persons with secretarial skills. Bahá’ís who are skilled in typing and/or filing can offer valuable service to the Cause. Also needed are individuals with office experience in information processing and work-flow management. Those who possess these skills and would like to consider working at the National Center are urged to contact the Personnel Department at once for further information and/or applications. Write to the Personnel Department, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091, or phone 312-256-4400.
THE SPIRITUAL Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Laramie, Wyoming, would like to sponsor approximately three Bahá’ís to teach full-time this summer in Laramie. This would be a two-week project with the option of extending it for a longer period. Hospitality (room and board) is available for single males or females, or for married couples. More information will be provided on request. If interested, please contact the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Laramie, Laramie, WY 82070.
THE FLORIDA Agricultural and Mechanical University in Tallahassee could be an ideal school for Bahá’ís interested in learning career skills while settling in an area that needs adult Bahá’ís to bring the Spiritual Assembly of Leon County up to strength. Hospitality is available until arrangements can be made for job, housing, etc. For more information please phone 904-385-5053 or 904-386-8550.
|
Don’t forget to attend your District Convention on Sunday, October 7. Look for further details in the September issue of The American Bahá’í. |
EMPLOYEES with extensive personnel experience are needed at the Bahá’í National Center to help carry forward the work of the National Spiritual Assembly. Specifically, Bahá’ís are needed who have experience in personnel recruitment and placement, staff training, employee benefits, employee-management relations, and personnel records management. Anyone with 6 to 10 years’ experience in these areas who is willing and able to work at the National Center is urged to contact the Personnel Office at once for further information and/or applications. Write to the Personnel Department, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091, or phone 312-256-4400.
TAOS, NEW MEXICO, a center of three cultures—Spanish, Indian and Anglo-American—nestled in the mountains some 7,000 feet above sea level, needs homefront pioneers. The area has been a haven for artists since the turn of the century. It offers a tremendous challenge for teaching the Faith. Employment is scarce, but there are good opportunities for those with enterprise and initiative who can establish their own business. Anyone with construction experience would have a good chance of finding work. For more information please contact the Spiritual Assembly of Taos, Box 402, Ranchos de Taos, NM 87557, or phone 505-758-2198.
ATTENTION Bahá’í music lovers in New England and the northeastern states: Bahá’í operatic and concert soprano (classical singer) with piano accompanist will perform solo recitals for Bahá’í proclamation/cultural teaching functions and other special community events and occasions. Previous appearances include soloist at Foundation Hall during the 1969 Bahá’í National Convention (accompanied by Dr. Daniel C. Jordan); mini-recital at the Hotel Orrington, Evanston, Illinois, in 1973 following a banquet that closed the Nine Year Plan; soloist at the Bahá’í Youth Conference in Oklahoma City, June 1973; soloist at the first National Bahá’í Conference of the Five Year Plan at St. Louis, Missouri, in 1974; plus numerous summer solo vocal recitals at Green Acre Bahá’í School, Eliot, Maine. Contact Mary Louise Creekmore, 163 Colonial Village, Amherst, MA 01002, or phone 413-253-7352 to make the necessary arrangements.
CLARK COUNTY Commissioner’s District No. 3 in Washington State has a growing Bahá’í Group with five adult members and a lot more to offer: an ideal location (60 miles from the mountains, the ocean, etc.) with lush vegetation; numerous job opportunities; hospitality for jobseekers, and many apartments available in this semi-rural community only 10 minutes from Portland, Oregon. There are educational opportunities too—law schools, a medical school, dental school, chiropractic schools, and a university. An added bonus: the lowest utility rates in the country. For more information please write to the Bahá’í Group of Clark CCD No. 3, Christine Olson, correspondent, 8008 NE 58th St., Vancouver, WA 98662, or phone 206-256-1864, 206-696-9605, or 206-694-1975.
HELP MAINTAIN Assembly in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, only 20 minutes from Philadelphia. Male Bahá’í, 32, needs male roommate to share two-bedroom apartment. Rent approximately $170 a month. Contact Frank Wilf, 325 Dartmouth Avenue, Apt. I-6, Swarthmore, PA 19081, or phone 215-328-1906.
THE ARCHIVES Committee of the Oakland, California, Bahá’í community wishes to complete its collection of editions of The Bahá’í World and needs Vols. VII, IX, X, XII and XIV. If you can help, please write to: Oakland Bahá’í Archives Committee, c/o Mrs. Betty Garcia, 8072 Winthrope St., Oakland, CA 94605, or phone 415-568-4467.
GREENE COUNTY, Tennessee, which has a four-member Bahá’í Group, would like to become an Assembly and in addition to local teaching efforts is looking for homefront pioneers to help achieve that status. Wayne and Marilyn Wilder have a mountain farm and would share it with someone who brought his own trailer; they’d also share good farm food, milk and honey. There are urban employment possibilities nearby. For information write to Wayne and Marilyn Wilder, Wilderberry Farm, P.O. Box 95, Bulls Gap, TN 37711, or phone 615-235-6214 (no collect calls please).
COUPLE ONLY (preferably Spanish-speaking) needed as homefront pioneers for consolidation of a “mass-taught” area. Dunkirk, New York, is on scenic Lake Erie, 45 miles southwest of Buffalo. There is plenty of work in this ethnically diverse area in industry or farming. There is a college nearby, and a Spiritual Assembly almost next door. For more information write to the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Fredonia, 56 Curtis, Fredonia, NY 14063, or phone 716-673-1634.
KING CITY, California, a delightful town in the lush Salinas Valley, needs homefront pioneers, at least one of whom should be Spanish-speaking. A retired couple would find the area a paradise. There are many recreational facilities, and a number of small business opportunities. The climate is excellent. Medical facilities include a clinic and hospital. For more information please phone Alice Lovejoy, 408-385-4932, or Lyle Hill, 408-847-3165.
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED to act as caretakers at Mexico’s two National Bahá’í Institutes, in the states of Puebla and Yucatan. A conscientious caretaker with maintenance skills could help these Institutes become attractive Centers. Anyone filling these posts would also be fulfilling a pioneer goal of the Seven Year Plan. Volunteers should be economically self-sufficient. For more information, please contact the International Goals Committee, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091.
BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY. Restaurant for sale in Arnold (Calaveras County), a small town in the mountains of California. Fully equipped; seats 40 people with room for expansion. Great location; long-term lease available. Arnold is crowded with tourists in summer, skiers in winter. For more information phone Debby or Steve Hart at 209-795-9981 (business) or 209-795-3836 (residence).
A SPLENDID OPPORTUNITY to serve the Cause is waiting for a homefront pioneer in Fort Pierce, Florida. Jobs are available in many fields; housing with a Bahá’í family is a possibility. Members of minority groups are especially needed. Contact the secretary, Olivia DeBello, 5904 Papaya Drive, Fort Pierce, FL 33450, or phone 305-464-9986.
FOUR ACTORS (two men, two women) are needed to help form a children’s theatre company in the Denver, Colorado, area. Actors with musical, design, technical, and management skills are preferred. Must enjoy working with children. The company will tour elementary schools in Colorado and assist with Bahá’í proclamations and conferences. Company members can help meet Assembly and locality goals by living in communities around Denver. Modest salaries are available. For more information write to the Children’s Educational Theatre of Colorado Inc., c/o Katherine Yaffe, 7179 W. 84th Way, Apt. 1712, Arvada, CO 80003, or phone 303-420-6542. Auditions will be held August 11-16 in New York City.
DANCER WANTED: Norbert DuBois wishes to collaborate with a female dancer-choreographer who is well-trained in modern dance and ballet and experienced in adagio partnering to build a dance concert repertoire for performances at special Bahá’í events, colleges, community centers, etc. Please write to Norbert DuBois, Apt. 19, 319 E. 91st St., New York, NY 10028, or phone 212-534-8735.
|
The Fund Is the 112 Linden Avenue |
NEW YORK STATE Certified Distributive Education teacher wants to be a HOMEFRONT PIONEER. Does your community need believers to reach Assembly status? Do nearby communities need to be opened to the Faith? A phone call to your local board of education can be the first step in getting us together. Jack Leonard, 212 East 54th St., New York, NY 10022. Phone 212-752-2147 or 914-782-8590.
[Page 12]
Book Reviews
Reviewer: ‘239 Days’ Not Long Enough[edit]
(239 Days: ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Journey in America, by Allan L. Ward. Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 1979. Cloth, catalog No. 7-32-05, $7.50 NET. Reviewed by Sidney E. Morrison, a graduate of UCLA who has taught U.S. history and English to high school students in Torrance, California, for the past seven years.)
•
Allan L. Ward’s 239 Days: ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Journey in America is a product of considerable research and thought; and there is a need for a book that examines ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s interactions with the press, audiences, and early believers during his historic trip in 1912.
Unfortunately, 239 Days is far too short. In only 300 pages, Dr. Ward tries to account for almost every day of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s journey; as a result, dates, names, public and private meetings pass all too quickly.
PEOPLE ARE not characterized, places are not described, and important events are only mentioned in quoted, unexplained headlines. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s impact seems less impressive because his times remain unclear.
This passage is typical: “The newspapers reported a ‘wave of revolt’ over Belgium and an internal war in Cuba against rebels. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá went to the Unity Club on Wednesday to speak to a children’s affair at which various civic leaders and statesmen, and Admiral Peary, were also present. He spoke that evening at the Women’s Union on the education of women. On Thursday, June 6, one newspaper carried an article headed ‘Tracing Darrow Fund’...”
A reference to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s ride in a park in Brooklyn, New York, immediately follows.
WITH MANY passages such as this, surrounded by quotations from newspapers that sometimes are as long as three or four pages, 239 Days becomes very difficult to read from beginning to end. It is more an outline than a probing analysis of a remarkable journey.
The book’s greatest value, then, should be as a reference. Names, dates, and titles abound. But there is no index. This is a regrettable omission for researchers or Bahá’ís who may wish to use it for deepening.
There are points of interest in 239 Days. The newspapers’ misunderstanding and misinterpretation of the Bahá’í Faith make fascinating reading.
One writer believed, for example, that there were 40 million Bahá’ís in 1912. Countless papers called ‘Abdu’l-Bahá a prophet.
BUT THE BOOK’S greatest asset is ‘Abdu’l-Bahá Himself: His love for mankind, His patience, His wisdom, His sense of humor, His gift for storytelling—these have an endless fascination, and the anecdotes about Him are like jewels. However, the jewels are in a rather drab setting.
As a reader, I hungered for more detailed narratives, not hurried anecdotes, however interesting, mentioned in passing because the journey’s itinerary had to be complete.
There are a few such stories in the book. Unfortunately, these stories, told with considerable style, dramatic pacing, and searching analysis, appear mainly in the last two chapters of the book. By then, pleasure has been tempered by frustration.
If only the entire book were like Chapters 17 and 18, I thought. Of course, the book would have been at least twice as long, but I would have read it all and enjoyed it far more.
Because new Bahá’í books are rare, they are anxiously awaited, advertised with great fanfare, and purchased eagerly. Nevertheless, potential buyers need to be warned that beyond the good intentions of Dr. Ward, the simple but arresting cover, the easy-to-read print, the exquisite photographs, and a superb preface is a book that does not fulfill its purpose.
Church Welcomes Raleigh Believers[edit]
When the Bahá’ís of Raleigh, North Carolina, received an invitation from a local church to attend a Memorial Day “Prayers for Peace” program, they inquired about the possibility of presenting Bahá’í views on world peace at the event.
As a result, they were able not only to participate in the program and distribute Bahá’í literature, but also to take part in a press conference several days before the event.
Afterward, the sponsoring church asked the Bahá’ís to assist in planning a series of bi-monthly activities focusing on world peace.
A church member who helped plan the Memorial Day event said she was impressed because the Bahá’ís were the only group that responded to the church’s invitation to attend.
Bahá’í Guest on Radio[edit]
Blake Browning, a member of the Cupertino, California, Bahá’í community, was a guest June 3 on “Religion on the Line,” a weekly two-hour program on KXRX Radio in San José.
Mr. Browning’s presentation of the Faith was followed by a phone-in question-and-answer session during which many calls were received.
Don Welsh, the announcer who conducted the program, said it was one of the best programs since the series began on KXRX.
The Spiritual Assembly of Fallbrook-S.D., California, formed last January 14, held its Recognition Ceremony on May 12. Its members include (left to right) Margaret Alvarado, Tom Owen, Mildred Danenberg, Jeff Streiff, Iris Danenberg, Betty Gardner, Louise Hullihen. Not shown are Assembly members Barbara Barnhill and Sue MacLauchlin.
If You Have Creative Talent, Publishing Trust Wants to Know[edit]
The Bahá’í Publishing Trust is compiling a list of Bahá’ís who have been given the gift to create.
Since creativity is an abstract, all-encompassing word, the list is designed to cover all art forms and should be quite long. Thus we plan to prepare a directory that will be made available to Bahá’ís.
The directory should help to create a stronger sense of unity among creative believers by providing the opportunity for musicians, actors, writers, television and radio technicians, photographers, artists, dancers, filmmakers, set designers, and so on to correspond, meet, and perhaps even work together.
It will also serve as a resource for those wishing to tap our national community’s talents for various teaching activities. For those believers seeking spiritual communion with other Bahá’ís in their field, the directory will be a great service.
If you have artistic or technical talents that you pursue either as a vocation or hobby, please fill out the form below and send it by September 30, 1979, to Gil Muro, Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 415 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091.
[Page 13]
The McPhersons, a five-member family singing group from California, perform during the Juneteenth celebration in Phoenix, Arizona.
Arizona Bahá’ís Participate In Annual ‘Juneteenth’ Program[edit]
Bahá’í communities in the greater Phoenix, Arizona, area participated June 15–17 in the annual “Juneteenth” celebration that commemorates the arrival in the Southwest on June 19, 1865, of news of the Emancipation Proclamation.
Bahá’í involvement in the program began when a news media contact requested that Bahá’ís serve on the Juneteenth advisory committee.
The Bahá’í contribution assumed major proportions when the Bahá’í Youth Workshop, a dance and drama group; the McPhersons, a singing group; comedian Stu Gillam and author George Hill arrived from California to take part.
With the help of these talented people, plus a booth and float put together by local believers, the Message of Bahá’u’lláh was proclaimed as never before in South Phoenix, a predominantly black community.
In all, 28 interest cards were signed that weekend, with two declarations. One of the declarants was the media contact who had suggested that the Bahá’ís participate in the celebration.
‘Four Corners’ Teaching Drive Helps Form 2 New Assemblies[edit]
The “Four Corners Teaching Campaign,” launched in recent months by the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the Southern Ute Reservation in Colorado, had resulted by the end of June in more than 50 declarations and new Local Assemblies at the Shiprock Chapter of the Navajo Reservation and the Jicarilla Apache Reservation, both in New Mexico.
The new declarants are from many backgrounds—Apache, Navajo, Ute, Paiute, Spanish-speaking—and range in age from 16-year-old youth to a 97-year-old medicine man.
In addition to the two new Assemblies, Pagosa Springs, Colorado, was in the process of forming its first Assembly as June drew to a close.
Four District Teaching Committees have assisted the teaching effort, while many of the friends in nearby communities have arisen to help with teaching and consolidation.
Auxiliary Board members Dennis Jenkyns and Ernest Bruss have been in close contact with the teaching work and have been a source of encouragement and stimulation.
Follow-up work, using the guidelines for consolidation furnished by the National Teaching Committee, has proved to be a positive experience.
Regional Committees Abolished[edit]
On May 1, the Regional Teaching Committees in California, Illinois, and New York state, established to help win the goals of the Five Year Plan, were phased out of existence.
As of that date, the National Teaching Committee and its staff began once again to work directly through the District Teaching Committees in those states, as it does in most other states in the continental U.S.
One Regional Teaching Committee remains, that in South Carolina, where nearly 200 Local Spiritual Assemblies were formed at Riḍván.
The National Teaching Committee, in informing District Teaching Committees of the structural change, said it was “grateful for the initiative, dedication, and achievements” of the Regional Teaching Committees during the Five Year Plan.
200 Children Attend Race Unity Fest[edit]
About 200 children were on hand June 10 for the third annual Race Unity Day festival sponsored by the Bahá’í communities of Santa Ana and Tustin, California, at Prentice Park in Santa Ana.
The children were treated to free admission to the zoo and were entertained by a clown. The Bahá’ís provided them with 50 pounds of popcorn, 20 gallons of pink lemonade, 400 balloons, and two piñatas.
Approximately 70 adult Bahá’ís discussed the Faith with their many guests and presented Bahá’í literature in English and Spanish to those who requested it.
Bahá’í communities in the Phoenix, Arizona, area set up this display at the city’s annual Juneteenth celebration June 15-17.
Participants in the June ‘Special Visit Program’ at the Bahá’í National Center were (front row left to right) M’Kormik Hanson, Laura Hanson, Sydney Hanson; (second row left to right) Bruce Whitmore, manager of the Bahá’í House of Worship Activities Office; Mary Corrigan, Jane Kershner, Patricia Seibert, Leslie Seibert, Virginia Martin, Leslie Volz, Linda McCormick; and (back row left to right) Keith Seibert, Robert Hanson, Bill Forgarasi, Steve Cook, Sheryl Cook, and Michael Carr, House of Worship Activities Office coordinator. The visitors came from Arkansas, Illinois, Maryland, Montana, Rhode Island, Texas, and Wisconsin.
In Memoriam[edit]
- Mrs. Edith E. Allison
- Anaheim, California
- May 8, 1979
- Frederick Babo
- Novato, California
- May 27, 1979
- Mrs. Johnnie Brown
- Bronwood, Georgia
- February 1979
- Mrs. Mattie L. Brown
- Pinehurst, Georgia
- May 13, 1977
- Paul H. Brown
- Topeka, Kansas
- April 3, 1979
- Curtis C. Casanova
- Gulfport, Miss.
- May 24, 1979
- Miss Rosa Mae Cooper
- Athens, Georgia
- Date Unknown
- Harry L. Fiedler
- Holly Hill, Florida
- May 14, 1979
- Valaro Harvey
- Enterprise, Oregon
- 1978
- Austin King
- Greenwood, Miss.
- Date Unknown
- Mrs. Mercedes Matellanes
- San Diego, California
- 1978
- Mrs. Sedera Mendiola
- Laredo, Texas
- April 1979
- Mrs. Louise Milkovic
- Gaithersburg, Md.
- May 14, 1979
- Charlie Montgomery
- Thomaston, Georgia
- October 1978
- Mrs. Bessie Moore
- Augusta, Georgia
- October 1978
- Miss Louise Patchett
- Rock Springs, Wyoming
- Date Unknown
- Miss Glena A. Pollard
- Ipswich, Mass.
- May 15, 1979
- Mauro Rendina
- Tacoma, Washington
- April 7, 1979
- David Rogers
- Cuthbert, Georgia
- February 1979
- Tippy Thomas
- Clewiston, Florida
- April 1979
- Mrs. Norine M. Ward
- Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- May 18, 1979
- Mrs. Velma Whiteman
- Rosebud, S. Dakota
- Date Unknown
- Mrs. Magnolia Wise
- Athens, Georgia
- Date Unknown
Publishing Trust Announces Price Rise[edit]
Due to inflation, prices of most books and materials produced by the Bahá’í Publishing Trust increased 7 per cent, effective July 1. The increase did not affect most imported items.
•
Since March of this year, the Publishing Trust has been shipping most parcels via United Parcel Service. The change from the U.S. Postal Service to UPS means that customers within the continental U.S. receive their orders much faster—usually within three to four days of the date the parcel leaves the warehouse.
•
The Hidden Words of Bahá’u’lláh has been reprinted with a new cover design similar to that of its companion volume, The Seven Valleys and the Four Valleys.
The Hidden Words contains the essence of all revealed truth expressed in brief, penetrating meditations. Bahá’u’lláh revealed the verses on the banks of the Tigris River around 1858. The cloth and paper editions are now priced at $3 (catalog No. 7-03-05) and $1.85 (7-03-06), respectively.
•
The Secret of Divine Civilization, by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, is once again available (7-06-06 cloth $7.50). Written in 1875, it consists of a message to the rulers and people of Persia, whose once-glorious civilization had been reduced to pitiful weakness.
The Hand of the Cause of God Horace Holley asserts in the introduction to the book that “never has the spiritual character of true civilization been revealed under such extraordinary circumstances by an author so qualified as in this text by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.”
The book is of particular interest at this time when, as the Universal House of Justice wrote in its message on the Seven Year Plan, “The decline of religious and moral restraints has unleashed a fury of chaos and confusion that already bears the signs of universal anarchy.”
•
Buddha Maitrya-Amitabha Has Appeared, by Jamshed K. Fozdar, was reviewed in the Spring 1979 issue of the Journal of the Sevashram Sangha, London Branch.
In the book, Mr. Fozdar examines prophecy in Buddhist texts and Hindu scriptures and concludes that the Buddha Maitrya, the Promised One of all faiths, has appeared in the Person of Bahá’u’lláh.
The reviewer, Indologist and Buddhist Dr. Ruth Reyna, characterized the work as “an amazing book, scholarly written in every detail, well-researched and poignantly expressed.” After summarizing the contents of the book, the reviewer concluded: “...although I disagree with Shri Fozdar’s premises and findings, his method of arriving at them is certainly intriguing.” (Cloth catalog No. 7-32-25, $16 NET; paper 7-32-26, $12.50 NET).
•
1979 Bahá’í calendars are now available from the Publishing Trust at reduced prices.
1979 Bahá’í date books are now 65 cents each (10 cents off); wall calendars are 35 cents each (10 cents off), and pocket calendars are 10 cents each (5 cents off).
The Bahá’í Desk Calendar for 135 B.E. (last year’s calendar) now sells for $1 each ($2 off). The twenty photographs in this calendar can be used in Bahá’í children’s classes and as gifts for Bahá’ís in areas where mass enrollments are taking place.
•
Reminder: To order materials from the Publishing Trust, see your Bahá’í librarian or send a check or money order directly to the Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 415 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091. On orders under $5, please add 75 cents to cover postage and handling.
•
Correction: An article in the May issue of The American Bahá’í stated that the art print of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá distributed by the Publishing Trust was produced using a “new technique” called “dyttographics.” This technique, more commonly known as “dot drawing,” is not new. The Publishing Trust regrets the error.
•
A reminder: To assure delivery by Universal Children’s Day in October, send your order for “Love That Child” materials to the Publishing Trust by August 15, 1979.
Letters to the Editor
Caution Urged in Giving Phone Numbers[edit]
Dear Friends:
I would like to ask that you as fellow Bahá’ís help to protect others from the destructive outside influences of the society we live in.
In particular, we must be careful about giving the phone numbers of our Bahá’í friends to others. I don’t feel this should be done without first receiving permission from the person in question.
I am a young woman who recently didn’t give my phone number to a man at the Bahá’í House of Worship because he was trying to pick me up.
Unfortunately, someone else gave him my number after I had left because he said he wanted to talk to me about the Faith.
Since then he has called me almost every day, often at odd hours, and hasn’t yet brought up the Faith. He also doesn’t listen when I say I’m not interested in the kind of relationship he has in mind.
I know things will work out and I’ll be all right, but there may be other young women who would have trouble handling such a situation.
Please, be careful about who you give addresses and phone numbers to—and to be really safe and sure, get the person’s permission first.
Winnetka, Illinois
Dear Friends:
In your April editorial, I was distressed to read that “Counsellor Hedi Ahmadíiyyih 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.”
You further concluded that “our experience during the Five Year Plan has brought us to a point at which we understand where we have been deficient.”
IF COUNSELLOR Ahmadíiyyih said we have a weakness in our character, then I beg the National Spiritual Assembly to invite him to return so that I might introduce him to some of the lion-hearted believers in Illinois—believers who have been arising since the outset of the Plan and who will continue without ceasing “though the forces of heaven and earth be arrayed” against them.
Please let me share with you what these believers heard Counsellor Ahmadíiyyih say so that you may see the basis of a most great victory.
In his tapes, sent to us by the National Teaching Committee, the Counsellor referred to Shoghi Effendi’s titles for us—the “torchbearers of a Divine Civilization,” and the “spiritual descendants of the Dawn-Breakers.”
FURTHER on, he said, “What aches my heart is that the teaching work in South Carolina stopped.” To stop, he said, is wrong; to change the method, yes, but to stop, no.
So he brought us a better method and showed us how to use it. And the believers in Illinois, who would have sacrificed their very lives for Bahá’u’lláh in the Five Year Plan, listened and learned—and succeeded.
God willing, they will continue to succeed, because they saw no weakness in their own character; rather, they heeded not their weakness and frailty, but arose to serve the Cause, and the confirmations of the Holy Spirit descended upon them.
If there is any lesson to be learned from the Five Year Plan, I suggest that it is this: that the Guardian’s idea for “the national representatives of the believers in every land to utilize and combine both methods, the outspoken as well as the gradual, in such a manner as to secure the greatest benefits and the fullest advantage for this steadily growing Cause” be put into effect.
The concepts of “each one teach one” and “mass teaching” should go hand in hand. Proponents of each must learn to appreciate the value of the other and rejoice together in victory.
Now that we have learned successful methods for carrying out both these teaching methods, perhaps the Seven Year Plan will see our American democracy “become glorious in spiritual degrees even as it has aspired to material degrees.”
Decatur, Illinois
Dear Friends:
In the May 1979 issue of The American Bahá’í, in the article on Page 5 entitled “Boston ‘Walk’ Retraces Master’s Steps,” the following statement appeared:
“Tracking down the location of buildings and creating a map of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s travels in Boston had never been done before.”
The statement is incorrect. Locating many of the sites had been accomplished, and Boston had had a similar walk about 10 years ago.
Unfortunately, this was not realized until after most of the current research was finished.
|
On Funds and Taxes Contributions from individual Bahá’ís sent directly to the Bahá’í World Centre or National Spiritual Assemblies in other countries, or sent to the National Bahá’í Fund for forwarding, are generally not tax-deductible. Please refer to pages 148-150 of Guidelines for Local Spiritual Assemblies for more information on this subject. If you have any questions, contact your nearest National Treasurer’s Representative or the Office of the Treasurer. |
When I was interviewed on the telephone several months ago for this article, I said that such a walk had not been done to this extent before.
This distinction is rather important, as proper credit should be given to those who worked so diligently on the previous project.
Your help in rectifying the situation would be greatly appreciated.
Waltham, Massachusetts
(EDITOR’S NOTE: We regret the error, and hope the situation is now rectified.)
Kurt and Cynthia Heddock, homefront pioneers to Port Arthur, Texas, entertain during an intercommunity observance of the Ninth Day of Riḍván in Silsbee, Texas. Although a picnic was rained out, 13 adults, 11 children and one non-Bahá’í guest enjoyed songs and food indoors at the home of Randy and Keaton Landry in Silsbee.
Don’t forget to attend your District Convention on Sunday, October 7. Look for further details in the September issue of The American Bahá’í.
Houston’s ‘Year of Child’ Plan Spiced by TV Appearances[edit]
As a part of the observance of the International Year of the Child, Bahá’í children in the Houston, Texas, area are participating in the daily “meditations” at sign-on and sign-off on Houston’s KPRC-TV.
Reluctant at first to use children on the programs when approached by the Bahá’ís, station personnel were delighted with the results and asked the friends to return to tape more of the three-minute spots.
The two tapes produced at the first session were shown in March. Each was used twice, at sign-on and again at sign-off. They were scheduled to be repeated in June.
The Faith was identified on the screen, and two or three children, ages 5 to 15, appeared on each tape. One of the tapes included prayers in English, Spanish and Persian.
In a further effort to promote the Year of the Child, Bahá’ís asked that the Goodyear blimp be used to carry a reminder that 1979 is IYC.
Goodyear officials granted the request, but said they could not include the name of the Faith in such messages.
Members of the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Live Oak/Santa Cruz, California, include (front row left to right) Sharron Bassano, Annemarie DelCarlo, Mary Wills, Mike Baldinger, and (back row left to right) Virginia Brown, Cuba Roach, Craig Asplund, Warren (Gene) Wills. The ninth member of the Assembly is Naomi Fine.
Seventy Bahá’ís from several states gathered May 5-6 in Boulder, Colorado, for a conference on Bahá’í marriage, the ‘fortress for well-being.’ Speakers included Auxiliary Board member Dr. Jalil Mahmoudi, Dr. Peter Haug, Mrs. Jolie Haug, and Dr. George Larimer. Those who attended gained greater insight into the development of their own potential and that of the institution of Bahá’í marriage.
An Apology for Our Errors[edit]
The editor wishes to apologize for the many typographical errors in the June 1979 issue of Bahá’í National Review. He would also like to make the following corrections:
1. The headline on Page 5 should have read, “Public Kissing, Embracing Discussed.” Use of the term “Condemned” gives a misleading connotation.
2. On Page 4, in the statement on “Administering Bahá’í Marriage Laws,” the second sentence in the second paragraph of the section entitled “When Two Ceremonies Are Held” should have read: “The reason for this is that a Bahá’í marriage in the eyes of the Faith is not valid unless the couple are legally married, either during the ceremony itself or beforehand.” (Omitted words are bold face.)
3. The following extract from a letter written by the Universal House of Justice was omitted from the section entitled “Unreasonable Refusal to Grant Consent” on Page 5:
“...it should be understood that consent to marriage is all that is required from a parent. It is not necessary that the parents consent to a Bahá’í ceremony. However, if the reason the parent refuses to give consent is the fact that the parties propose to have a Bahá’í ceremony, then the marriage cannot take place.”
|
“The Hidden Words stands out as a mighty charter for the salvation of the human soul”
—Adib Taherzadeh
The Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh, 1853-1863
“Bahá’u’lláh, in this glorious period has revealed in Holy Tablets that singing and music are the spiritual food of the hearts and souls. Therefore... set to music the verses and the divine words so that they may be sung with soul-stirring melody in the Assemblies and gatherings, and that the hearts of the listeners may become tumultuous and rise toward the Kingdom of Abhá in supplication and prayer.” —‘Abdu’l-Bahá
Bahá’í World Faith
Now available with a new cover design. A favorite among Bahá’ís, The Hidden Words contains the essence of all revealed truth expressed in brief, penetrating meditations. Bahá’u’lláh revealed these verses on the banks of the Tigris around 1858. The new cover design, by John Solarz, is similar to that of The Seven Valleys and the Four Valleys. A thoughtful gift for seekers and new Bahá’ís. 52 pp. 7-03-03 cloth $3.00 7-03-04 paper $1.85 A Commentary on The Hidden Words of Bahá’u’lláh A fascinating commentary by the Hand of the Cause of God A. Q. Faizi on the historical background and significance of The Hidden Words of Bahá’u’lláh. Useful for personal and group deepening. 47 minutes. 6-30-97 cassette $4.55 The Hidden Words of Bahá’u’lláh Just released—a new stereo LP by Donna Kime, whose lyrical voice brings out the poetic beauty of Bahá’u’lláh’s Hidden Words. The subtle background of piano, guitar, dulcimer, bass, tambura, sitar, and other instruments helps provide a meditative setting for music and voice. These improvisational compositions were created after much prayer and meditation. Musicians and singer blend a flowing musical line with the Divine words to create a “spiritual food” that fills the heart and soul. 12 selections. Produced by Donna Kime Barbre in cooperation with the Bahá’í Publishing Trust. 6-35-14 stereo LP $7.50 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. |
Moral Education Requires Spiritual Base[edit]
(EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the third of six articles on moral and spiritual education by Dr. Susan Theroux of Fredonia, New York. Dr. Theroux received her Ph.D. in education at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst.)
•
Living in Accordance With Principle[edit]
The process of moral education consists of instilling in the child spiritual principles as a basis for decisions and action.
It involves the ability to identify the relevant spiritual principles in a given situation, examine one’s behavior in light of those principles, and change one’s behavior if necessary to conform to the principles.
THESE principles are no mere set of rules to regulate behavior, although some of them may be quite specific.
“Think not,” Bahá’u’lláh affirms, “that We have revealed unto you a mere code of laws. Nay, rather, We have unsealed the choice Wine with the fingers of might and power.” (Synopsis and Codification of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, p. 12)
He has pointed the way to the most glorious life and fulfillment that a soul can experience. The principles He has revealed are guidelines for behavior that, if applied by the individual to his own behavior, produce the results his heart longs for.
One cannot live by a set of rules, because no set of rules can account for every circumstance, as ‘Abdu’l-Bahá illustrates in the following passage:
“CONSIDER that the worst of qualities and most odious of attributes, which is the foundation of all evil, is lying. No worse or more blameworthy quality than this can be imagined to exist; it is the destroyer of all human perfections, and the cause of innumerable vices. There is no worse characteristic than this; it is the foundation of all evils. Notwithstanding all this, if a doctor consoles a sick man by saying: ‘Thank God you are better, and there is hope of your recovery,’ though these words are contrary to the truth, yet they may become the consolation of the patient and the turning point of the illness. This is not blameworthy.” (Bahá’í World Faith, p. 321)
Furthermore, each person can apply principles only as he sees the situation to be dealt with, and according to his knowledge of himself.
THE UNIVERSAL House of Justice describes this process in a letter to an individual (published in Bahá’í National Review, November 1975, No. 94, p. 2):
“It is neither possible nor desirable for the Universal House of Justice to set forth a set of rules covering every situation. Rather it is the task of the individual believer to determine, according to his own prayerful understanding of the Writings, precisely what his course of conduct should be in relation to situations which he encounters in his daily life. If he is to fulfill his true mission in life as a follower of the Blessed Perfection, he will pattern his life according to the Teachings. The believer cannot attain this objective merely by living according to a set of rigid regulations. When his life is oriented towards service to Bahá’u’lláh, and when every conscious act is performed within this frame of reference, he will not fail to achieve the true purpose of his life.”
It is thus clear that moral development is not simply a matter of teaching children rules of conduct; rather, children must be encouraged and guided to engage in the process of their own spiritualization, and thereby to overcome the material side of their nature.
THEY MUST be given conscious control of this process if progress is to be made and maintained.
Consciousness of the process involves more than the ability to recite the teachings of the Faith. It requires an outlook on life that allows one to interpret all experience in light of spiritual principles and a knowledge of one’s own needs and abilities that guides him to make decisions and take actions appropriate to a given situation.
Bahá’u’lláh declares: “Could ye apprehend with what wonders of My munificence and bounty I have willed to entrust your souls, ye would, of a truth, rid yourselves of attachment to all created things, and would gain a true knowledge of your own selves—a knowledge which is the same as the comprehension of Mine own Being. Ye would find yourselves independent of all else but Me, and would perceive, with your inner and outer eye, and as manifest as the revelation of My effulgent Name, the seas of My loving-kindness and bounty moving within you.” (Gleanings From the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 326)
Thus, conscious control of one’s own spiritualization implies an ability to apply the knowledge of spiritual principles and the knowledge of one’s own self to life’s circumstances—an ability that leads ultimately to independence from all else save God.
IT IS TOWARD this aim that parents and teachers are striving as they undertake the moral and spiritual education of children.
Justice: The Goal of Moral Behavior[edit]
Before discussing the means by which parents and teachers can facilitate this kind of development, it is important to mention that the source of spiritual principles is the Sacred Writings, and that the fundamental principle underlying all others is justice.
(See The Dynamic Force of Example for a full discussion of many of the spiritual principles involved. Numerous quotations from the Writings are included in this compilation.)
Bahá’u’lláh said, “The purpose of justice is the appearance of unity among men” (The Advent of Divine Justice, p. 23).
ELSEWHERE, He proclaims that the principle of unity is “the central purpose” of His Faith (God Passes By, p. 217).
Justice may be defined as the principle by which decisions are made and actions taken that consider the interests of everyone and that benefit all of mankind at the same time.
For example, in relationships between individuals, the golden rule is a principle that promotes justice. It requires the ability to take an objective view of everyone involved.
Ordinarily, one thinks of justice in connection with obedience to laws. However, civil laws are made to safeguard the people who make them, and aren’t always just.
SPIRITUAL or “divine” laws have been established by the Creator to safeguard all of mankind. Obedience to these laws leads to justice and unity.
A basic purpose of human life itself and of moral education in particular is the activation and development of the virtues inherent in every soul. They are essential to obeying spiritual principles and to establishing justice.
Courtesy, kindness, truthfulness, generosity, and all such by-products of love, are the expressions of justice in one’s relationships with others. They represent the ways in which one would like to be treated by others.
Of course, the value of justice needs to be impressed on a child’s consciousness, not merely by words but by events brought about or pointed out by his parents and teachers.
The child should be subjected to experiences that turn him away from purely egocentric (self-centered) concerns. The goal is to demonstrate to him the rewards of detachment and stir an interest in him to pursue that which will be of benefit to all humanity.
The final Pioneer Training Institute of the Five Year Plan was held March 22–25 at the Bahá’í National Center in Wilmette, Illinois. Some of the participants filled the remaining overseas goals of the Plan. These pioneers were to go to posts in the Marshall Islands, Zambia, Bermuda, Portugal, and Lesotho.
