The American Bahá’í/Volume 11/Issue 10/Text
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Tribune article recounts Iran persecutions[edit]
(The following article about the recent persecution of Bahá’ís in Iran appeared in the Chicago Tribune on Monday, August 25.)
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By JAMES YUENGER
In May of 1979, three months after Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini took power in Iran, the nation saw the beginnings of a reign of terror that masqueraded as an Islamic “cleansing.”
Despite insistent denials by the regime that religious repression was being practiced, particularly against Jews and Bahá’ís, the signs of persecution were overwhelming.
AT THAT TIME, more than 100 Bahá’í religious centers were occupied by armed goons, the homes of numerous Bahá’ís had been burned or damaged, and two Bahá’ís had been killed in rioting in the central Iranian town of Shiraz.
Since then, according to a variety of reputable sources inside and outside the country, the treatment of Bahá’ís in Iran—where the sect originated in the 19th Century—has degenerated into systematic savagery.
Trumped up charges have been employed again and again in an attempt to provide a veneer of legitimacy for gun-barrel justice.
The murders continue, and due process is a mockery; among accusations against two leading Bahá’ís who were executed in the street on July 14 was one that they had “run the Bahá’í center in Tabriz.”
Another, more ominous charge against them—“collaborating with Israel”—cuts closer to the real thinking of the Iranian authorities because it illustrates, despite the regime’s repeated denials, that the essential character of its persecution is religious rather than political.
The Shi‘ite Moslems who constitute
National Assembly of Iran is arrested[edit]
WITH HEARTS BURNING INDIGNATION DISTRESS ANNOUNCE ALL MEMBERS NATIONAL ASSEMBLY IRAN TOGETHER WITH TWO AUXILIARY BOARD MEMBERS FORCIBLY AND PEREMPTORILY TAKEN FROM MEETING IN PRIVATE HOME ON EVENING 21 AUGUST TO UNKNOWN DESTINATION. VIEWING RISING TIDE PERSECUTIONS STEADFAST HEROIC LEADERS HARASSED COMMUNITY HAD ALREADY ANTICIPATED POSSIBILITY SUCH AN UNWARRANTED ACTION AND HAD MADE ARRANGEMENTS FOR NINE ALTERNATIVE MEMBERS ASSUME RESPONSIBILITIES NATIONAL ASSEMBLY IN CASE THEY WERE UNABLE FUNCTION. NINE MEMBERS APPOINTED BODY NOW AT HELM DETERMINED DISCHARGE SACRED DUTIES FOLLOW IN FOOTSTEPS THEIR COURAGEOUS PREDECESSORS, REMINISCENT SPIRIT EVINCED UNDAUNTED HEROES FAITH DURING MEMORABLE EPISODE BĀRFURÚSH. NEW NATIONAL ASSEMBLY TOGETHER WITH WIVES CLOSE RELATIVES ARRESTED FRIENDS HAVE APPEALED AUTHORITIES FOR RELEASE LAW-ABIDING CITIZENS. THROUGH THEIR CONSTANCY AND VALOUR PERSIAN FRIENDS HAVE ONCE AGAIN SET AN EXAMPLE OF SERVITUDE AT SACRED THRESHOLD WORTHY EMULATION ALL FRIENDS EVERY LAND PARTICULARLY THOSE PRIVILEGED SERVE ACTIVELY ON BAHÁ’Í INSTITUTIONS. CALL ON FRIENDS EVERYWHERE JOIN US IN FERVENT PRAYERS THAT SELF-SACRIFICE PERSIAN BRETHREN MAY AT LAST YIELD GOLDEN FRUIT THEIR RELEASE FROM YOKE TRIBULATION OPPRESSION SO NOBLY BORNE IN PATH HIS LOVE MORE THAN ONE CENTURY. WILL INFORM NATIONAL ASSEMBLIES AS EPISODE UNFOLDS ACTION TO BE TAKEN IN RESPONSE THIS LATEST WAVE PERSECUTION FAITH LAND ITS BIRTH.
August 24, 1980
Bulletin! 7 martyred in Yazd, Iran[edit]
ANNOUNCE WITH DEEP SORROW HEARTRENDING NEWS MARTYRDOM ON MORNING MONDAY SEPTEMBER 8 IN YAZD SEVEN DEVOTED STEADFAST BELIEVERS TWO OF WHOM WERE AUXILIARY BOARD MEMBERS AND FIVE PROMINENT BAHÁ’ÍS YAZD INCLUDING ONE SEVENTY-EIGHT YEAR OLD BELIEVER. LOCAL REVOLUTIONARY GUARDS WHO PERPETRATED THIS DASTARDLY ACT CHARGED INNOCENT FRIENDS ON LOCAL RADIO WITH FALSE IMPUTATIONS SUCH AS SPYING AND SUBVERSIVE ACTIVITIES. THIS EPISODE WILL GO DOWN IN HISTORY AS ANOTHER EVIDENCE PATIENCE LONG-SUFFERING INNOCENT PERSIAN BRETHREN IN FACE OF UNABATED HATRED VIRULENT MALICE INVETERATE ENEMIES FAITH.
September 9, 1980
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Five prominent members of the Bahá’í community of Yazd, Iran, and two Auxiliary Board members were executed September 8 in Yazd.
Those put to death were Nuru’llah Akhtar-Khavari, Firaydun Faridani, Mahmud
| What’s inside
LOUHELEN construction project has target date of August 1981 to raise needed funds. Page 4 NATIVE American believer coproduces new TV series, “Images of Indians.” Page 6 15-YEAR-OLD Bahá’í wins world AAU wrestling championship. Page 7 BELIZE hosts large-scale international teaching campaign. Page 13 NATIONAL Teaching Committee is profiled in National Center series. Page 15 ASSEMBLIES that have adopted extension teaching goals are listed. Pages 31-35 |
‘Trail of Light’ campaign blazes in North America
Sixty-two declarations in Saskatchewan, Canada, including 35 on one Indian Reservation, and the possible formation of a Spiritual Assembly on the Lummi Reservation in northwest Washington state are among the preliminary results of a ‘Trail of Light’ teaching campaign that followed the historic second North American Bahá’í Native Council held July 11-13 in Wilmette, Illinois.
At the close of the Native Council, three “Trail of Light” teaching teams were formed to visit native communities on Indian Reservations and in cities, towns and villages in Alaska, Canada and the U.S.
THE TEAM that traveled to Saskatchewan included Henry Bainbridge, a Navajo believer from Teec Nos Pos, Arizona; his 9-year-old son, Dennis; and Ernestine Moore, a Paiute-Washoe from Reno, Nevada.
The six-member team that visited villages in Alaska included three American Bahá’ís: Tina Salomon, an Osage-Cherokee from Sparks, Nevada; Regina Steffes, a Navajo-Oneida youth from Fontana, California; and Chester Kahn, a Navajo from Houck, Arizona.
Doris Eckroth, a Cherokee from Malone, New York, was the only U.S. believer on the eight-member teaching team that visited Indian Reservations in Washington state, Oregon and Idaho.
That team reported five declarations on the Lummi Indian Reservation north of Seattle, according
A tree-planting was held September 1 at the Louhelen Bahá’í School near Davison, Michigan, to inaugurate the $1.8-million construction project to renovate the school. Shown manning the shovel is Counsellor Peter Khan of Australia. Looking on (left to right) are John Nash of the Spiritual Assembly of Flint, Michigan; Sam Clark, a member of the Louhelen Project Committee; Tolu Avaregan of the Louhelen Council; and David Smith, secretary of the National Education Committee. More than 350 people attended the ceremony at which $1,600 was raised to aid the project. (Related story on Page 4)
Joliet project sees 50 new declarants[edit]
Fifty residents of Joliet, Illinois, declared their belief in Bahá’u’lláh during the week of August 16-23 as a result of an ongoing teaching project named in honor of the Hand of the Cause of God Enoch Olinga.
The goals of “Project Olinga” are to double the number of believers in Joliet and to raise Assemblies in other nearby goal localities. Financial help and prayers for the success of the campaign have come from communities and individuals in 10 central states.
Watch for more details of “Project Olinga” in the November issue of The American Bahá’í.
Youth direct successful teaching campaign among Laotian people[edit]
DELIGHTED EFFORTS TEACHING SOUTHEAST ASIAN GROUPS CALIFORNIA CONGRATULATIONS ALL PARTICIPANTS. PURSUE TEACHING TRAIN NEW BELIEVERS TO BE ENTHUSED AND RISE TEACH CAUSE THEIR FELLOW COUNTRYMEN. ASSURE PRAYERS.
August 11, 1980
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Thirty Laotian refugees who now live in the San Diego, California, area have recently declared their belief in Bahá’u’lláh, and declarations by another 30 or more Southeast Asians are expected soon, according to a spokesperson for the National Teaching Committee.
The new enrollments came as a result of a teaching campaign in San Diego’s substantial Asian refugee community that was initiated and led by Bahá’í youth.
THE SAN DIEGO Youth Committee planned a week-long proclamation program following the Regional Youth Conference June 20-22, one of seven such conferences sponsored by the National Youth Committee.
[Page 2]
COMMENT
Editorial
The persecutions in Iran[edit]
Once again our beleaguered Bahá’í brethren in the Cradle of the Faith are facing cruel and merciless persecution and harassment.
Bahá’ís in Iran have been driven from their homes, their properties confiscated, their civil rights routinely violated, and some have even given up their lives in this latest wave of senseless violence directed against the heroic and stainless followers of Bahá’u’lláh.
IN THIS MOMENT of extreme distress, reminiscent of the earliest days of the Faith when so many staunch and valiant believers offered their lives in the Path of God, the believers in Iran are sustained solely by their unwavering faith in the Revelation set forth by the Messenger of God for this Day, and turn for guidance and inspiration to the exhortations of His Son and appointed Successor, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá:
“O ye loved ones of God! Be ye firm of foot, and fixed of heart, and through the power of the Blessed Beauty’s help, stand ye committed to your purpose.
“Serve ye the Cause of God. Face ye all nations of the world with the constancy and the endurance of the people of Bahá, that all men may be astounded and ask how this could be, that your hearts are as well-springs of confidence and faith, and as mines so rich in the love of God.
“Be ye so, that ye shall neither fail nor falter on account of these tragedies in the Holy Land; let not these dread events make you despondent.
“AND IF ALL the believers be put to the sword, and only one be left, let that one cry out in the name of the Lord and tell the joyous tidings; let that one rise up and confront all the peoples of the earth.”
The Bahá’ís of Iran, faced with adversity such as few others must endure, have arisen with courage and audacity to proclaim the Message of Bahá’u’lláh throughout that troubled land, unmindful of the threat of persecution, banishment or even death.
Can we, who are blessed with freedom and the capacity to teach His Cause “to all who are in heaven and on earth,” afford to do less in this calamitous day when the clouds of darkness and ignorance have encompassed the earth and threaten to shield the eyes of men from His holy and redeeming Light?
Sharaf designated ‘Bahá’í History Month’[edit]
To encourage the Bahá’í community to appreciate the history of the Faith and increase its understanding of the present crisis in Iran, the National Spiritual Assembly has designated the month of Sharaf (December 31–January 18) “Bahá’í History Month.”
Look for further details in the November issue of The American Bahá’í.
Virginia town welcomes friends from Norfolk[edit]
The Spiritual Assembly of Norfolk, Virginia, responding to a request from Richard Temura, a non-Bahá’í who lives in Boykins, an unopened locality near the North Carolina border, held a picnic June 1 in Boykins at which local townspeople could meet Bahá’ís and “expand their views a little.”
The friends were greeted warmly by Mr. Temura who introduced them to residents of the town of about 800. As mealtime approached, Mr. Temura gathered everyone in a circle and had them introduce themselves.
He expressed the great joy he felt whenever various races and religions gathered together in unity, and offered a prayer of thanksgiving for the fellowship that was being enjoyed.
By the end of the day, the residents of Boykins had invited the Bahá’ís to return and hold meetings, with some offering their homes to Bahá’ís who wished to remain overnight.
The Spiritual Assembly of Norfolk, impressed by the warmth and hospitality of the people of Boykins, adopted the town as an extension teaching goal.
A second picnic was held in Boykins on July 6, again as a result of a request by Mr. Temura.
On July 17, several residents of Boykins traveled one and one-half hours to attend a fireside in Norfolk.
Glenford E. Mitchell, secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly, received an honorary Doctor of Letters degree August 16 during the summer commencement at the National College of Education in Wilmette, Illinois. Mr. Mitchell is shown as he was invested with the hood, symbolic of doctoral honors by Dr. Jack Sturch, administrative assistant to the president of the college and associate dean for Special Programs and Continuing Education.
Comment
Strong community fabric can help transform world[edit]
By CHRIS S. CHOLAS
Educators and social scientists increasingly lament the lack of a “sense of community” in our cities and towns. Many experts have said that the only way in which to redeem society from its present ills is through grassroots community interaction.
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This month’s column, “Developing Bahá’í Community Life,” was written by Chris S. Cholas of Belen, New Mexico. |
While Bahá’ís usually applaud and support such efforts, we know that no matter how beneficial they might be, they cannot compare with the power we have through Bahá’u’lláh’s Revelation to unite the hearts of humanity.
THE UNIVERSAL House of Justice’s message to the Oceanic Conference held in Palermo, Sicily, in August 1968 is of particular importance to us as Bahá’ís.
In that weighty message, the Supreme Body advances two main themes. One is that only the Bahá’í Revelation can ultimately transform the world:
“That the violent disruption which has seized the entire planet is beyond the ability of men to assuage, unaided by God’s revelation, is a truth repeatedly and forcibly set forth in our Writings. The old order cannot be repaired; it is being rolled up before our eyes. The moral decay and disorder convulsing human society must run their course; we can neither arrest nor divert them.”
Second, the message emphasizes the characteristics that must distinguish Bahá’í communities from all other communities:
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The American Bahá’í
(USPS 042-430) Published monthly by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091. Second class postage paid at Wilmette, IL. Editor: Jack Bowers The American Bahá’í welcomes news, letters and other articles of interest from individuals and the various institutions of the Faith. Articles should be written in a clear and concise manner; black and white glossy photos should be included whenever possible. Please address all materials to The Editor, The American Bahá’í, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091. Copyright © 1980 by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. World rights reserved. Printed in the U.S.A. |
“Wherever a Bahá’í community exists, whether large or small, let it be distinguished for its abiding sense of security and faith, its high standard of rectitude, its complete freedom from all forms of prejudice, the spirit of love among its members, and for the closely knit fabric of its social life.”
Herein lies a warning and a promise. A warning of where the old order is headed; a promise of what Bahá’í communities can accomplish. The Universal House of Justice further explains in that same message:
“THE ACUTE distinction between this and present day society will inevitably arouse the interest of the more enlightened, and as the world’s gloom deepens the light of Bahá’í life will shine brighter and brighter until its brilliance must eventually attract the disillusioned masses and cause them to enter the haven of the Covenant of Bahá’u’lláh, Who alone can bring them peace and justice and an ordered life.”
Because this promise is so vast and far-reaching in its implications, it would do our communities well to look closely at those characteristics alluded to by the House of Justice.
An Abiding Sense of Security and Faith
As we look at our Bahá’í communities, we must ask ourselves: Do we feel secure in them?
Do we feel a part of the activities and affairs of the Faith in our community? Do we feel that divine protection that the local Bahá’í community has to offer us? Does our community feel that if it were suddenly to be cut off from the rest of the Bahá’í world it would continue to grow and develop?
‘Abdu’l-Bahá has defined faith as “first, conscious knowledge, and second, the practice of good deeds.” (Bahá’í World Faith, p. 383)
As we develop a conscious knowledge about Bahá’u’lláh’s Revelation, and reflect that knowledge in our actions, we spiritualize ourselves.
A LETTER written on behalf of the Guardian to Melba King, the first Eskimo Bahá’í, says in part, “The Bahá’ís seek to lead people back to a knowledge of their true selves and the purpose for which they were created, and thus to their greatest happiness and highest good.” (High Endeavours: Messages to Alaska, p. 7)
As we draw nearer to God, we draw closer to our true selves. Consider the power our communities can release when we simultaneously and consciously begin to practice our Faith.
A High Standard of Rectitude
Conforming to the Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh reveals latent attributes within us, as ‘Abdu’l-Bahá has written: “It is certain that man’s highest distinction is to be lowly before and obedient to his God; that his greatest glory, his most exalted rank and honor, depend on his close observance of the Divine commands and prohibitions.” (The Secret of Divine Civilization, p. 71)
A high standard of rectitude is really the underlying theme of The Secret of Divine Civilization. It is the secret.
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Arise! |
As we learn from our experiences, the soul that rebels against the laws of God remains
[Page 3]
LETTERS
Iranian persecutions must spark service to Cause[edit]
To the Editor:
I am sure that Bahá’ís everywhere are deeply grieved and shocked by the letter from the National Spiritual Assembly for the Feast of Kamál regarding the senseless killing of Bahá’ís in Iran.
It seems to me only proper that we feel outraged and appalled by this tragic news from the Cradle of the Faith; unless, however, we turn that outrage and sorrow into positive actions, those deaths will have lost much of their meaning.
THE GUARDIAN warned the American believers repeatedly that the freedom to teach the Cause we now enjoy will be replaced in the future by severe opposition (please see pp. 17–18 of The World Order of Bahá’u’lláh).
While we are able, we must make a commitment to serve our beloved Faith as fervently as we can.
It’s easy to say “I can’t give more to the Fund” or “I can’t possibly pioneer,” for whatever reason.
There is no doubt that increasing our contributions to the Fund or pioneering, on the homefront or overseas, involves a certain amount of sacrifice, but what is more praiseworthy or glorious than sacrifice?
Our Persian brothers and sisters are making the ultimate sacrifice, a sacrifice that we in America are not presently called upon to make.
But this does not mean we do not have an obligation to serve the Cause with the same steadfastness and stewardship as they.
Until we give our lives, there is always more that we can give for the inestimable privilege and bounty of living in the Day of God.
Albuquerque, New Mexico
To the Editor:
I am a homefront pioneer who until recently was isolated from other Bahá’ís.
Now our waiting souls have been found here and enrolled in the Faith.
None of them can speak, read or write English. Thank you for the Spanish page in The American Bahá’í. Please keep it up without fail.
King City, California
To the Editor:
The Spiritual Assembly of Jamestown, North Dakota, wishes to acknowledge the gift of The American Bahá’í that is sent to all American believers on a regular basis.
The newest member of our community, a Persian, has told us how in Iran the Bahá’ís must pay for all such publications.
The information confirms for us again the importance of giving regularly to the National Bahá’í Fund, without which such a gift would not be possible.
To the Editor:
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The American Bahá’í welcomes letters to the editor on any subject of general interest. Letters should be as brief as possible, and are subject to editing for length and style. Please address letters to The Editor, The American Bahá’í, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091. |
When I think about the sacrifices that are being made daily by the friends in Iran, it fills me with shame to read the National Treasurer’s monthly plea for funds.
Always there are thanks for the generosity shown in supporting the Fund, and yet when the letter is opened further it shows our collective failure to reach our goal.
WHEN I entered the Faith nine years ago, my Bahá’í education began with the glories of The Dawn-Breakers and stories of the Master told by a Persian woman whose tearful eyes and joyous smile I always remember whenever I close my eyes in prayer.
If I had a thousand lifetimes it still would not be enough time to express my gratitude to God that I have the bounty to be a Bahá’í in America—in a country that recognizes my right to choose my own religion, to congregate with my fellow Bahá’ís, and to teach my Faith to those who will listen.
But Bahá’u’lláh does not ask for a thousand lifetimes of gratitude. He only asks that I give Him one. And at the moment, He isn’t even asking that I give up my life. He only asks that I give up those things that He in His grace has given me.
And He doesn’t even ask for all of it—only for what I don’t need!
We always speak of the Faith as being in the embryonic stage of development. Years ago, the Guardian used those words to describe our community.
Isn’t it about time we emerged from the embryo and faced our responsibility with all its awesomeness and glory?
The martyrdoms in Iran are calling us to maturity. Let each of us re-evaluate his needs, and then let us give our all that the world may receive the bounties and blessings of our Beloved.
Harrisonburg, Virginia
To the Editor:
Our Assembly would like to express its appreciation for the efforts you have made to include a Spanish-language page in The American Bahá’í.
In communities like ours, where a predominant number of the friends are Spanish-speaking, it is an additional consolidation and deepening tool. We can never have too many of those!
We only wish that this sorely needed addition to the paper can become a monthly occurrence.
If the Spanish-speaking friends can come to expect this section every month, we think that in the long run it will not only reach a greater number of the Spanish-speaking Bahá’ís, but will become a habit-forming relationship besides.
of Watsonville, California
To the Editor:
This is a plea that you not neglect the “Hispanic page” in The American Bahá’í.
The Persian pages are appreciated. They are very helpful to our brothers and sisters who are new to this country.
However, The American Bahá’í is probably the only medium we can depend on that reaches the fast-growing numbers of Spanish-speaking believers.
There has been much positive feedback from Spanish-speaking Bahá’ís about the Spanish page.
Belen, New Mexico
National Assembly acquires 205-acre Conifer Hill school[edit]
The National Spiritual Assembly has acquired ownership of 205 acres of land at the site of the Conifer Hill Bahá’í School about 24 miles northwest of Boulder, Colorado.
The land was presented as a gift to the National Spiritual Assembly by its owner, Rose Jean Harris of Sterling, Colorado.
Dr. Daniel C. Jordan, a member of the National Spiritual Assembly, accepted the deed to the property on its behalf during a special ceremony held July 5 as a part of this summer’s Conifer Hill session.
The wooded property, which includes a 2 1/2-acre lake, is about 8,000 feet high in the Rocky Mountains. There presently are no buildings on the land.
Ownership of the donated property remains subject to leases on portions of the land held by individual Bahá’ís, according to Stephen Koehl, general manager of NSA Properties Inc., a nonprofit corporation created by the National Spiritual Assembly to hold and manage its properties.
Some of these believers, says Mr. Koehl, already have relinquished their leases to the National Assembly.
Dr. Daniel C. Jordan, representing the National Spiritual Assembly, accepts a deed to the 205-acre Conifer Hill Bahá’í School property northwest of Boulder, Colorado, from its former owner, Rose Jean Harris of Sterling, Colorado, during a ceremony July 5 at the school.
W. Hollywood holds ‘Community Day’[edit]
On Sunday, July 20, the Bahá’í community of West Hollywood, California, observed its monthly “Community Day” with many non-Bahá’ís attending.
The gathering, at West Hollywood Park, included “An Afternoon of Sharing Poetry.”
ORIGINAL poems were shared by members of John Angelo’s Dramatic Workshop, and of a group called The Poet’s Gathering.
Selma Salomon, a member of The Poet’s Gathering, read her poems, as did Gloria Dorian, a Bahá’í from Los Angeles.
The performance also included a Bahá’í prayer interpreted in movement choreographed by Mr. Angelo, who is a member of the West Hollywood Bahá’í community.
Afterward, the performers and audience—a total of about 75 people—enjoyed a potluck dinner at the West Hollywood Bahá’í Center.
Forty people, many of them seekers, remained for a fireside that followed the dinner. The speakers were Tim and Cindy Macy of Huntington Beach, California.
Logo contest slated[edit]
The Green Acre Council is sponsoring a contest to design a logo for the Green Acre Bahá’í School.
The logo should be simple, of one color, distinctive, in keeping with the dignity of a Bahá’í school, and should include the words “Green Acre Bahá’í School.”
Please send ideas and entries to the Green Acre Bahá’í School, P.O. Box 17, Eliot, ME 03903, before December 1, 1980.
All entries become the property of the Green Acre Council.
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You are invited to Come and Sing!
This appealing collection of songs will assist your children to understand and develop the attributes of God. Produced by Warren Kime and Susan Engle for the Bahá’í Publishing Trust. Catalog No. 6-35-21 LP Album $7.50 |
[Page 4]
THE FUNDS
$1,800,000-Reconstruction[edit]
Louhelen fund-raising has August 1981 target date[edit]
The project to reconstruct the Louhelen Bahá’í School in Michigan was recently explained to Bahá’ís in that state by David Smith, secretary of the National Education Committee.
In a trip through the state that included stops in Portage, Muskegon, St. Joseph and Wayland (the site of this year’s Louhelen Summer School), Mr. Smith outlined for the friends details of the $1.8 million undertaking.
THE PLAN for the reconstruction of the Louhelen school near Davison, Michigan, was accepted by the National Spiritual Assembly at its meeting May 31.
The new facilities will include classrooms, lodging units, and a school center containing a cafeteria, bookstore and library.
The project will be financed by contributions and the sale of promissory notes, available to the Bahá’ís in 26 states starting this fall.
While savings in over-all construction costs can be made if sufficient funds are raised by this fall, the goal is to raise the entire amount by August 31, 1981.
A great step forward was taken recently when the Davison Township Board approved construction of the school. A conditional use permit was issued, allowing construction in an area that was previously zoned for agricultural and residential use.
The Township Board also approved the extension of sewer facilities to the school site. Sewer construction is expected to begin in the spring.
SOME INITIAL steps in preparing the Louhelen campus have already been taken. Small cabins next to the Eggleston house have been removed, and the Pullman building, which served for years as a dormitory, has been demolished.
Other buildings such as the library, Louhelen building, and auditorium will be restored and will serve as archives, maintenance shop, and storage area, respectively.
The project continues to gather momentum. The Offering Circular for the promissory notes has been sent to the states for registration, after which sale of the notes will begin.
Information about the Offering Circular or contributions to the project can be obtained from the National Treasurer’s Office, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091. Phone 312-256-4400.
Sam Clark of Ferndale, Michigan, a member of the Louhelen Project Committee, shares plans for rebuilding the school with Bahá’ís who gathered at Louhelen on June 15. Standing at the left is Bruce Reynolds, a member of the Louhelen Bahá’í School Council.
The library at the Louhelen Bahá’í School in Michigan will be preserved and used as an archives building.
These cabins, long a part of the landscape at the Louhelen Bahá’í School in Michigan, no longer exist. They have been demolished to make room for newer and more modern facilities soon to be built there.
Vahíd’s life a lesson in Bahá’í love, detachment[edit]
“The essence of detachment is for man to turn his face towards the courts of the Lord, to enter His presence, behold His countenance, and stand as witness before Him.” (Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 155)
These words of Bahá’u’lláh describe one of the most important qualities that every servant of God must attain. For as the old world order is rolled up, those who place their affections upon it will also be lost.
In the same way, we can never fully serve the Cause of God, never really fulfill our purpose, if we cling to the material world.
THOSE WHO have experienced martyrdom for the Cause are shining examples of believers who have learned the essence of detachment.
These individuals, even to the present day, have offered their all in the path of God.
The stories of these souls are many, and can be found throughout the literature of the Faith. Their sacrifices serve, by Bahá’u’lláh’s own testimony, as a proof of the validity of the Manifestation, and as an element for the spread of His Teachings.
Among these examples of detachment is the story of Siyyid Yahyáy-i-Dárábí, known as Vahid.
Vahid was one of the most learned men of his time, and was highly respected by the Shah. He was renowned throughout Persia, and held pre-eminence among the leading figures of the day.
It was Vahid whom the Shah confidently sent to investigate the claims of the Báb.
Vahid eagerly set out on his journey, determined to inquire into and possibly refute the Báb’s teachings.
DURING THE COURSE of three meetings with the Báb, however, Vahid’s feelings of superiority and pride were completely dispelled, and with great joy and humility he embraced the Báb’s Cause.
Vahid immediately arose to serve the Báb. Unable to join the defenders of Fort Tabarsí, he was able to stay for a time with Bahá’u’lláh.
Vahid continued in his teaching efforts across Persia, moving from town to town, staying long enough to touch the hearts of the inhabitants with the Message of the New Day, but moving on before arousing the hostility of the enemies of the Faith.
Finally, however, his great teaching successes were interrupted by the plotting of his enemies at his home in Yazd.
As his enemies gathered, Vahid dispersed the Bábís and sent his wife and children to the home of her father. He asked his wife to leave behind whatever was his personal property.
“This palatial residence,” Vahid is reported to have said to her, “I have built with the sole intention that it should be eventually demolished in the path of the Cause, and the stately furnishings with which I have adorned it have been purchased in the hope that one day I shall be able to sacrifice them for the sake of my Beloved.
“THEN WILL friend and foe alike realize that he who owned this house was endowed with so great and priceless a heritage that an earthly mansion, however sumptuously adorned and magnificently equipped, had no worth in his eyes; that it had sunk, in his estimation, to the state of a heap of bones to which only the dogs of the earth could feel attracted.
“Would that such compelling evidence of the spirit of renunciation were able to open the eyes of this perverse people ...”
Vahid was forced to leave Yazd. He continued teaching until he reached Nayriz. There, he and a small band of fellow-believers were forced to take refuge in the fort of Khájih.
They defended themselves against the attacks of a much larger, well-trained force. Only through a false promise, sworn to on the Qur’án by the enemy leaders, were the defenders removed from the fort and scattered, many suffering martyrdom.
Vahid was led through the streets of Nayriz, with a wild mob pursuing him and finally taking his life. After his death, the enemies rounded up the adherents of the Faith in that city, and through the most atrocious tortures, put most of them to death.
Speaking of those who have offered their lives in the path of God, Bahá’u’lláh wrote:
“These Essences of being are the shining Exemplars of sacrifice. They have offered, and will continue to offer up their lives, their substance, their souls, their spirit, their all, in the path of the Well-Beloved.
“By them, no station, however exalted, could be more dearly cherished. For lovers have no desire but the good-pleasure of their Beloved, and have no aim except reunion with Him.” (The Kitáb-i-Íqán, p. 129)
The Office of the Treasurer recently received a letter from a 10-year-old Bahá’í, Hoda Somadam of Arden Hills, Minnesota, which said in part: ‘Three months ago I started a penny collection for the Fund. Each day my family puts all their pennies in the jar. Today we took them to the bank and my father wrote a check. Already I have more pennies in the jar.’
[Page 5]
THE FUNDS
Mr. Robarts participant in NTR Institute[edit]
The Hand of the Cause of God John Robarts participated August 28–September 1 in the fourth Training Institute for National Treasurer’s Representatives sponsored by the Office of the Treasurer and held at the National College of Education in Wilmette, Illinois.
More than 100 NTRs from across the country heard Mr. Robarts speak on “The Spirit of Sacrifice” and “The Bahá’í Fund—A Spiritual Institution.”
OTHER SPEAKERS were Dr. Magdalene M. Carney, assistant secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly; Dr. Floyd Tucker, director of Personnel Affairs at the Bahá’í National Center; and Dr. John Hatcher of Temple Terrace, Florida.
The training institute included sessions for newly-appointed NTRs as well as a “veteran NTR workshop.”
Sessions on effective public speaking, how to educate local treasurers, and the present status of the Bahá’í Fund were offered.
The NTRs were introduced to the newest audio visual program developed for their use by the National Treasurer’s Office.
The program, entitled “The Mystery of Sacrifice,” is now available to local communities who request it from their NTR.
Other audio-visual programs available to local communities are “A Call to Remembrance,” focusing on the life of Bahá’u’lláh; “Rich Ones on Earth,” which chronicles the lives of Amelia Collins and Martha Root; “The Greatest Undertaking,” describing construction of the Seat of the Universal House of Justice; “Material Man,” unveiled at this year’s National and District Conventions; and “A Testimony of Love,” which traces the history of the Bahá’í Fund in the U.S.
IN ADDITION to offering these programs, NTRs are trained to present two major deepening courses: “The Secret of Wealth,” a practical course on personal financial management, and “The Surest Way,” focusing on how to deal with the excessive and destructive forces of materialism in the U.S.
Bookkeeping procedures for local Bahá’í treasurers and deepening programs on the role of the Bahá’í Fund in community life are also provided by the Treasurer’s Office for use by NTRs.
Classes on the Funds were an integral part of the NTR Institute held over the Labor Day weekend in Wilmette, Illinois.
Above: The Hand of the Cause of God John Robarts addresses participants at the NTR Institute. Below: Bob Amerson (standing) of Waukesha, Wisconsin, conducts a class on ‘The Secret of Wealth’ for new National Treasurer’s Representatives.
Spirit of love, encouragement among friends is real secret behind universal participation[edit]
This is the fifth and last article in a series prepared by the Office of the Treasurer on the basic principles of the Fund.
•
Universal Participation ...
“The real secret of universal participation lies in the Master’s oft-expressed wish that the friends should love each other, constantly encourage each other, work together, be as one soul in one body, and in so doing become a true, organic, healthy body animated and illumined by the spirit.” (The Universal House of Justice, Wellspring of Guidance, pp. 38–39)
Some Bahá’ís lack the material means to make substantial contributions to the Faith and have expressed reluctance to make a small contribution, saying that processing such an insignificant sum is more trouble than it’s worth.
To them we reply that it is God Who judges the worth of a contribution, not man.
The Cause of God does not derive its strength from a few people who give large sums, but from a great number of believers who willingly give their support, be it large or small.
The importance of participation in giving by all Bahá’ís has been emphasized by the Universal House of Justice:
“The backbone of the Fund must be the regular contributions of every believer. Even though such contributions may be small because of the poverty of the donors, large numbers of small sums combine into a mighty river that can carry along the work of the Cause. Moreover the unity of the friends in sacrifice draws upon them the confirmations of the Blessed Beauty.” (Messages from the Universal House of Justice: 1968–1973, pp. 59–60)
Every contribution an individual believer makes—whether in the form of a monetary gift, time spent typing a newsletter for his community or writing an article for the paper, gasoline expended driving believers to Feast, or accomplishing a mission for the Local Assembly—helps spread the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh and build the Kingdom of God on earth through the development of the new World Order.
The strength of the Bahá’í Fund, the “lifeblood” of the institutions that will bring about this world-wide transformation, lies in the hands of every individual believer.
|
VOTE UNIPAR
CAST YOUR BALLOT FOR UNIVERSAL PARTICIPATION! |
Guidelines offered for direct giving to overseas Funds
Because the Office of the Treasurer has received a number of inquiries about direct contributions to the International and Continental Bahá’í Funds from individual believers, in addition to the amounts contributed to these Funds by local communities, we offer the following quotations by the Guardian and the Universal House of Justice that clarify this issue:
“Emergence of independent sovereign state in Holy Land, synchronizing with the rise and consolidation of the Administrative Centre of the World Faith of Bahá’u’lláh ... demand henceforth reorientation and necessitate increasing financial support by Bahá’í National Communities of East and West, through curtailment of national and local budgets.
“The extent of appropriations from national and local budgets of communities in both hemispheres is regarded as a spiritual obligation and left to the discretion of the elected representatives of the believers.
“Moreover, participation of individual believers, through contributions directly transmitted to the Holy Land are imperative and beyond the scope of the jurisdiction
[Page 6]
THE MEDIA
Native believer repairs Indian’s ‘image’[edit]
The inaccurate portrayal of American Indians in Hollywood films is the theme of “Images of Indians,” a five-part Public Broadcasting Service television series that was co-produced by Phil Lucas, a Choctaw Indian believer from Issaquah, Washington.
“Images of Indians,” narrated by American Indian actor Will Sampson, an Academy Award nominee for “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” made its debut in July on the PBS station in Seattle, Washington, and was broadcast in September by PBS stations in Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco. It is being telecast this month in New York City.
DEBUNKING the myth of the “savage Indian” has been a longtime ambition of Mr. Lucas, who is chairman of the Spiritual Assembly of Issaquah and a performer whose work can be heard on the album “Fire and Snow” that is available from the Bahá’í Publishing Trust.
“The history (of American Indians) that is learned by most people is false,” he says. “It exalts the wrong kinds of heroes.
“The real heroes were those who wouldn’t compromise their morality, and there were plenty of them throughout history.”
Noting that both ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and the beloved Guardian, Shoghi Effendi, referred to historians and held them in high regard, Mr. Lucas says he is taking advantage of his involvement in film-making to show history from the Indian’s point of view.
“That is something,” he says, “that hasn’t been done before in this country.”
The present series, he adds, is part of an educational process that has to take place if people in our society are ever to be brought together in love and unity.
“YOU CAN’T grow up with lies all your life,” says Mr. Lucas, “and then expect to have a valid picture of what is going on, how you fit into society, and how you can accomplish something.”
Mr. Lucas is now involved in raising funds for a proposed miniseries based on the book Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, which covers the history of the American West during the last half of the 19th century from an Indian perspective.
While he hopes to be able to help Native Americans through his film-making efforts, he is quick to acknowledge the enormity of the task.
“This is my craft and I apply it,” he says, “but I’m not making any grandiose claims about what I’ll be able to accomplish.
“I don’t know that Wounded Knee is going to do it. It’s simply one more piece in a giant jigsaw puzzle.”
The series “Images of Indians” fits some of those pieces solidly into place by examining the Indian’s warrior image in “The Great Movie Massacre”; looking at the doctrine of Manifest Destiny (the white man’s “right” to territory) in “How Hollywood Wins the West”; dealing with the stereotype of the “noble savage” in “Warpaint and Wigs,” and pointing out the erroneous portrayal of Indian religions in “Heathen Injuns and the Hollywood Gospel.”
THE FINAL segment in the series looks at the effect of the Hollywood image of Indians on their own self-image.
The high rates of suicide and alcoholism among Native Americans, Mr. Lucas points out, might possibly be reduced by correcting false ideas about Indian history and providing a more correct and positive Indian identity.
“My efforts, and those of others like me,” he says, “may give Indian children the hope they’ve never had before.”
One of the more telling scenes in “Images of Indians” occurs during the second episode when a group of Indian children, watching the movie “Stagecoach” on television, cheer the U.S. cavalry as it rides to the rescue of a group of whites who are besieged by Indians.
At that point an adult Indian in the room turns off the TV set and takes the children into another room to discuss what they have seen.
“When I wrote that piece into the series,” says Mr. Lucas, “I did so because that’s exactly what happened to me when I was about 12 years old. I suddenly found myself rooting for the cavalry! It really affected me, and has stayed with me all these years.”
Mr. Lucas, a Bahá’í since 1964, was a professional entertainer on the West Coast before attending college and starting his career as a producer.
He served as an Auxiliary Board member while pioneering in Nicaragua, and was among the performers at the second North American Bahá’í Native Council held in July at the House of Worship in Wilmette.
PHIL LUCAS
Co-Producer of PBS Series
Phil Lucas (right), co-producer of the television series ‘Images of Indians,’ gives actor Larry Gibbs’ make-up a final touch before filming one of the series’ episodes. The five-part PBS series examines the inaccurate portrayal of the American Indian in Hollywood films.
Phil Lucas (right) discusses script changes with actor Will Sampson, host-narrator for the television series ‘Images of Indians,’ which Mr. Lucas co-produced. The five-part series examines the inaccurate portrayal of the American Indian in Hollywood films.
‘Christian Century’ article describes Bahá’í repression, martyrdoms in Iran[edit]
An article about recent developments in Iran in the August 13-20 issue of “The Christian Century,” a weekly ecumenical magazine, includes a two-page report of the repression of Bahá’ís in that country.
Of all the religious minorities in Iran, the article by Linda Marie Delloff states, the Faith “stands out as being the most subject to continual harassment,” since it is “regarded by Muslims as a heresy—a particularly galling one that has prompted more than a century of repression against the group.
“THE MUSLIMS do not believe that Bahá’u’lláh was the Promised One, whom they still await, and for them the Bahá’ís’ claim is a constant irritant.”
The present conditions in Iran, the article continues, are seen to be even worse than those in 1955, when the government issued orders for the suppression of the Faith.
The decree was followed by riots “in which Muslims looted the homes and temples of Bahá’ís and drove them from their communities. The violence also included arson, rape, desecration of graves and mutilation of exhumed bodies.”
The article mentions the destruction by mobs of the Holy House of the Báb in Shíráz, and says that “thousands of Bahá’ís have been turned out of their homes, have lost their jobs and had their properties confiscated.
“Their schools and other centers have been taken over, along with their Tehran headquarters.
“Their executive officer (they have no clergy) has been kidnapped, and his whereabouts is unknown. On July 15 the New York Times reported that two Bahá’ís were put to death in the northwestern city of Tabriz. Charges against them included ‘running the Bahá’í center’ in that city.”
THE ARTICLE catalogs other charges ordinarily made against Bahá’ís, including “aiding Israel,” plotting against the state religion, and “immorality.”
“Ironically,” the section on the Faith concludes, “Iran, as its country of origin, holds a special place in the writings of (the Faith) and is dear to the Bahá’í faithful worldwide.”
About Iran itself, the article says, “Whether one sees in Iran a nation on the brink of disintegration, a fascist revolution, or a healthy struggle toward fulfillment, the present situation holds out little hope for religious minorities.”
47 U.S. regional deepenings slated by Counsellors[edit]
The first in a series of 47 regional Auxiliary Board Team Deepening Conferences sponsored in 31 states and the District of Columbia area by the Continental Board of Counsellors for North America was held August 30 in St. Paul, Minnesota.
The regional conferences, which resulted from consultation between the Counsellors and National Spiritual Assembly, have as their theme “The Impending Challenges.”
Topics to be covered at each gathering include “The Covenant and Opposition,” “Teaching and the Quality of Bahá’í Life,” and “The Bahá’í Electoral Process: Its Significance.”
Each of the conferences is being conducted by an Auxiliary Board member. Members of the Board of Counsellors will be present at some of the meetings, and members of the National Spiritual Assembly also have been invited to attend.
The conferences are to continue each weekend through November 15, when the final gathering will be held in Fresno, California.
[Page 7]
YOUTH NEWS
SEAN SMITH
Young Bahá’í captures world wrestling title[edit]
Sean Smith, a 15-year-old Bahá’í from Longview, Washington, won a world Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) wrestling championship in August in competition at Stockholm, Sweden.
Young Sean, who began wrestling four years ago, won three of four matches in Stockholm in his weight class (he weighs 83 1/2 pounds) to become one of only two American champions in Greco-Roman wrestling.
In 1977, wrestling for the Kelso Youth Club, Sean won 59 of 69 matches in the 11-12 age group and captured the Greco-Roman championship at the AAU Zone Meet in Hayward, California.
In 1978 he was unbeatable, winning the 13-14 age group title in the federation’s equivalent of a Zone Meet in Tumwater, Washington.
Last year Sean qualified for the Northwest Cultural Exchange wrestling team that toured Japan for three weeks.
Because of the tour, however, he missed training for the AAU’s grand national championships. He competed anyway and finished sixth.
Sean fared much better this year, winning seven straight matches in the AAU Nationals at Lincoln, Nebraska, to qualify for the trip to Stockholm.
14 youth participate in work/study effort[edit]
Fourteen Bahá’í youth from across the U.S. participated August 17-24 in the 17th Youth Work/Study Project at the Bahá’í National Center.
These projects, currently being held three times each year, give younger believers a unique opportunity to observe and participate in administrative operations at the National Center, to deepen, and to attend special activities.
THE YOUTH heard presentations by Glenford E. Mitchell, secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly, and by representatives of the various national committees.
They toured the House of Worship and attended daily classes on the Administrative Order.
The youth also worked as volunteers in various offices and departments including the Bahá’í Publishing Trust, National Archives, National Teaching Committee, International Goals Committee, National Education Committee, Bahá’í Periodicals, National Treasurer’s and Persian Affairs offices, and the Department of Community Administration.
Participants served as guides at the House of Worship, attended a party hosted by the North Shore Bahá’í Youth Council, and a pig roast sponsored by the National Spiritual Assembly for members of the National Center staff and their families.
“The unity developed among youth attending a work/study project is very strong,” says Linnea Brush, who helped coordinate the project and worked closely with the youth, “and the friendships that develop are long-lasting.
“For most youth, of course, simply coming to the House of Worship is an unforgettable experience in itself.”
Fourteen Bahá’í youth participated August 17-24 in a Youth Work/Study Program at the Bahá’í National Center in Wilmette, Illinois.
Youth Committee’s goal: Double Bahá’í youth[edit]
Plans for a National Bahá’í Youth Conference in the summer of 1981 are being discussed by the recently-appointed National Youth Committee.
The committee has two new members, Dawn Haghighi of Rocky River, Ohio, and Charles (Cap) Cornwell of Plantation, Florida, the committee secretary.
THE OTHER committee members are Chairman Walter Heinecke of Berkeley, California; Vice-Chairman Karin Ryan of San Diego, California; Sharon Allen of Decatur, Georgia; and Edward White of Newton, Massachusetts.
Consultation at the committee’s organizational meeting July 25-27 focused on the goal of doubling the number of Bahá’í youth in the U.S. by Riḍván 1981; solidifying plans for Bahá’í college and youth clubs, and discussing the basic steps to be taken in preparation for holding a National Youth Conference next year.
The conference would be an integral part of the National Spiritual Assembly’s plan for winning the goals of the Seven Year Plan.
National Youth Conferences are to be held in alternate years with Regional Youth Conferences such as the seven gatherings held last June 20-22 and June 27-29.
According to Mr. Cornwell, the committee is centering its attention on reaching foreign students at American colleges and universities.
Freshmen are another target group being suggested by the committee to Bahá’í college clubs.
“We’re looking to instill a renewed enthusiasm in all of the youth clubs,” says Mr. Cornwell.
AS A PART of its emphasis on college clubs, the committee plans to encourage campus proclamations and to work on the possibility of having classes on the Faith offered in schools.
Most of the college clubs, says Mr. Cornwell, have sought the sponsorship of an Assembly.
“Every youth club and college club should be sponsored by an Assembly,” he says, “and should have the benefit of guidance from that institution.”
District Teaching Committees, he says, “no longer are responsible for sponsoring local youth clubs or district youth committees.”
The National Youth Committee’s objectives include revitalizing all of the local youth clubs and committees as well as establishing more of them.
The committee is organizing a task force to help plan a National Bahá’í Children’s Conference on Peace tentatively scheduled to be held in 1982. Other future plans include the development of teacher training institutes for youth in various parts of the country.
The committee will meet with the National Teaching Committee in Wilmette every other month, according to the committee secretary.
Members of the recently-appointed National Youth Committee are (left to right) Sharon Allen of Clarkston, Georgia; Charles (Cap) Cornwell (secretary) of Plantation, Florida; Karin Ryan (vice-chairman) of San Diego, California; Edward White of Newton, Massachusetts; Walter Heinecke (chairman) of Berkeley, California; Dawn Haghighi of Rocky River, Ohio.
Participants in a workshop session held during a Bahá’í youth conference May 3-4 for youth in southern Minnesota. Workshop topics included planning and organizing one’s life, and the importance of upholding Bahá’í moral standards.
Southern Minnesota youth gather for two-day deepening conference[edit]
A group of 20 Bahá’í youth from southern Minnesota participated May 3-4 in a weekend conference that included an evening of social activity.
The conference, planned and hosted by the Olmsted County Bahá’í Youth Club in cooperation with the District Teaching Committee of Southern Minnesota, was designed to bring youth together in fellowship and to help organize a District Youth Committee.
Guest speakers William Harley and Douglas Samimi-Moore of South St. Paul, Minnesota, discussed techniques for planning and organizing one’s life, and the importance of youth upholding Bahá’í standards of morality.
Participants enjoyed an evening meal at a Rochester, Minnesota, park and a party at the home of one of the participants.
The youth also participated in a deepening session conducted by the Bahá’í community of Olmsted County.
[Page 8]
PROCLAMATION
Ga. Bahá’ís host author-educator Stanwood Cobb[edit]
Dr. Stanwood Cobb, a noted Bahá’í educator, author and lecturer, spoke at two meetings in June at the University of Georgia that were sponsored by the Bahá’í communities of Athens and Clarke County.
Dr. Cobb, who will be 99 years old on November 6 and has been a Bahá’í since 1906, is the founder of the Chevy Chase Country Day School near Washington, D.C.
HE HAS authored approximately 20 books dealing with religion including Tomorrow and Tomorrow, Security for a Falling World, Discovering the Genius Within You, and The Importance of Creativeness.
In 1918 Dr. Cobb founded and was later president of the Progressive Education Association.
He was invited to Georgia to lecture to students and faculty at the university on progressive education, and to speak at a public meeting.
Upon learning of his acceptance, the Spiritual Assembly of Athens contacted the School of Education at the University and the professional education fraternities, Phi Delta Kappa and Kappa Delta Pi, who not only welcomed the idea of Dr. Cobb’s visit but agreed to help underwrite the cost.
It was later noted by Dr. H. Hawn of Phi Delta Kappa that Dr. Cobb’s visit marked the first time the three organizations had ever cooperated in helping to sponsor a campus event.
More than 200 people, most of whom were students and faculty members, packed the auditorium June 26 for Dr. Cobb’s lecture on “The Story of Progressive Education.”
DR. COBB stood at the podium for more than an hour, presenting a lucid and moving talk.
Two days later, about 100 people including many seekers and several others who had attended his first talk heard Dr. Cobb address a public meeting at which his topic was “Universal Spiritualization: Key to World Progress in the Coming Age.”
After the talk, Dr. Cobb was given a standing ovation.
His visit, the Bahá’ís of Athens report, was marked by unity and close cooperation among all the friends in that area.
Some designed and mounted posters announcing the events; others helped send 192 personal invitations to educators and others; and many unselfishly devoted their photographic, media and audio skills so that the visit could be remembered and shared with others for years to come.
Dr. Stanwood Cobb, a noted educator and author who will be 99 years old on November 6 and has been a Bahá’í since 1906, delivers an address on progressive education at the University of Georgia in Athens during a visit there June 26–28.
Believer celebrates 79th birthday teaching Cause[edit]
On August 1, Mrs. Lillian Dake of Medina, Ohio, celebrated her birthday the way she always does—by teaching the Faith.
This year Mrs. Dake spent a part of her 79th birthday helping to man the Bahá’í booth at the Medina County Fair, marking the fifth year in a row she has served in that manner.
MRS. DAKE, who was a Sunday school teacher and an active member of her church before becoming a Bahá’í in 1940, collaborated in 1975 with another isolated believer, Mrs. Emma Roepke, to use the county fair as a proclamation vehicle for the Faith.
Since then the Bahá’í booth has been an integral part of every fair. Its theme this year was “Let the Religions Agree.”
Official estimates placed the attendance at this year’s six-day fair at about 130,000.
Before it opened, local newspapers carried articles announcing that Bahá’ís would be there. One of them, on the religion page, included a large photo of the Bahá’í House of Worship.
Mrs. Dake recalls how, as an 11-year-old, she had heard a minister say he felt it was about time for Christ to return.
On her way home from church that day, she remembers having said to herself, “I’ll know Him when He comes.”
IN 1940 she attended a Bahá’í meeting at the home of Mrs. Anna Beach, and realized immediately that her childhood promise to herself had at last been kept.
“I kept saying over and over to my husband (Frank Dake), ‘This is it! This is it!’ ” she recalls.
Among the high points of her 40 years in the Faith, she says, was the visit in 1953 with her sister and brother-in-law to the public dedication of the Bahá’í House of Worship in Wilmette.
Asked about the impact of the Faith on U.S. society since she became a Bahá’í in 1940, Mrs. Dake says, “People are somewhat more tolerant of others, and of religious beliefs too. This was quite noticeable at this year’s fair.”
For the past year, Mrs. Dake has hosted a weekly study class attended by Bahá’ís and guests from as far away as 35 miles.
Next year’s Medina County Fair runs from July 28 through August 2. And, God willing, Lillian Dake will celebrate her 80th birthday in the usual way—teaching the Faith she knew she would one day find and embrace.
MRS. LILLIAN DAKE
Another ‘Ordinary’ Birthday
2 Arkansas newspapers feature Faith[edit]
The two major statewide newspapers in Arkansas have recently given widespread publicity to the Faith.
In May, the Arkansas Democrat included on its editorial page a column headed “The Bahá’í Approach” that dealt with the unique aspects of the Bahá’í electoral process.
The article concluded with this statement: “At a time when it is critical that the nation unify its approach to solving monumental problems, perhaps the Bahá’í election process is worth thinking about.”
In July, the Arkansas Gazette printed two articles about the Faith side-by-side on the front page of its “Omnibus” section, considered to be the most widely read page in the state.
The first of these articles dealt with the background, history and teachings of the Faith, and was continued inside for nearly half a page.
The second article was based on an interview with Dr. Allan L. Ward, vice-chairman of the Spiritual Assembly of Little Rock.
Under its main headline, “Leader Discusses Change Freely,” appeared the sub-head, “What’s a German Baptist Like You Doing in a Faith Like This?”
Both articles, written by the paper’s religion editor, were accurate and balanced in their approach. They help to fulfill a goal of the Little Rock Assembly to better acquaint the public with contributions the Faith is making through the activities of its members.
Participants in the fifth Archives Training Institute held August 13–17 at the Bahá’í National Center gained valuable experience organizing and handling archival materials under the guidance of National Archivist Roger Dahl. The seven participants at this year’s Institute organized the personal papers of Louis Bourgeois, architect of the Bahá’í House of Worship in Wilmette. Participants are (clockwise from left) Ross Sapp of Port Angeles, Washington; Leighton Rochester, archivist for the Bahá’í community of Bermuda; Carolyn Henderer of Peoria, Illinois, a member of the National Archives Committee; Janet Stout of Palmer, Alaska, the archivist for the National Spiritual Assembly of Alaska; Mr. Dant Gisu Muhájir of Cambridge, Massachusetts; Ann Keehner of Urbana, Illinois; Mary Lou Martin of Batavia, Illinois.
Md. believers attend interfaith service[edit]
On June 28, the Spiritual Assembly of Frederick City, Maryland, and the Bahá’í Group of Frederick County participated in an interfaith ecumenical service sponsored by Trinity United Methodist Church.
The theme of the service was “A Celebration of Brotherhood” whose purpose was “a gathering of all races and religions to reaffirm man’s common brotherhood in unity and love.”
Community response was enthusiastic, with eight religions represented: Hindu, Buddhist, Confucian, Taoist, Hebrew, Christian, Islamic, and Bahá’í.
About 200 people attended the service, which was well publicized in the local newspaper. The service also was covered by news media in Washington, D.C., and Baltimore.
Because of the large community response, the City Council in Frederick has declared the last Sunday in June “Brotherhood Day.”
Bahá’í House of Worship Wilmette, Illinois
Winter Hours: October 15 to May 14
- Auditorium
- 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. (Open for worship)
- 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Open to visitors)
- Visitors Center (Foundation Hall)
- 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Book Shop
- 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Sunday Activities
- Devotional Program—3 p.m.
- Public Meeting—3:40 p.m.
Information on transportation, food and lodging is available from the Bahá’í House of Worship Activities Office, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091.
[Page 9]
HOMEFRONT PIONEERING
HOUSSEIN AND MERTAJ ROUHIPOUR
Teaching: No obstacle too big[edit]
by JAMES MOCK
Throughout the history of the Faith, individuals have struggled to overcome numerous obstacles and difficulties in an effort to spread the Glad Tidings brought to us by Bahá’u’lláh.
By scanning the literature, we can see the sacrifices made by early believers as they raised an infant Faith from obscurity to recognition as an independent world religion.
THIS HEROISM, shown to us so vividly by those early Dawn-breakers, continues to pervade and influence our teaching, as a new generation of selfless, devoted believers arises to carry forward the Banner of Bahá’u’lláh.
Houssein and Mertaj Rouhipour of Niles, Illinois, are shining examples of such heroism.
Since their arrival in the U.S. from Iran, the Rouhipours have continually sought to overcome the barriers that hold them back from teaching.
Having little knowledge of the culture, and no knowledge of the language, they nevertheless were determined to spread the Message of Bahá’u’lláh.
Though he could speak almost no English, that could not stop Mr. Rouhipour from saying, simply, “I am Bahá’í.”
After settling in Niles as homefront pioneers, the Rouhipours enrolled in English classes at the local high school and at a nearby church.
Before a month had passed, they had found an opportunity to teach the Faith. Responding to a question from the professor, Mr. Rouhipour professed that he is a Bahá’í.
UPON HEARING that, the professor told the class that the Bahá’ís are “very good people,” and then told them about the building the Bahá’ís have in Wilmette (the House of Worship).
At the next class, the Rouhipours gave literature to classmates who had inquired about the Faith, and invited the instructor to their home for a fireside/supper.
Since then, several of their classmates have attended firesides, both English instructors (from the high school and the church) have come to their home, and the principal of the high school has attended a fireside.
Now, nine months later, the Rouhipours host firesides every Saturday night. Although they still can’t speak English very well, this does not hinder them; they have learned to overcome such difficulties.
Mr. Rouhipour is constantly mentioning the Faith to those he meets. Since he has the freedom to teach openly here, which he did not have in Iran, he takes full advantage of that blessing.
The Rouhipours are excellent examples of individuals who truly dedicate themselves to the teaching work and use every resource and ingenuity to pursue that goal.
RECENTLY, when Mr. Rouhipour was hospitalized, he taught the Faith to doctors, nurses, fellow patients—even to a minister who came to see another patient. And he invited every one of those people to a fireside.
Several humorous stories come to mind when thinking of the teaching efforts of this devoted couple.
While in the hospital, Mr. Rouhipour had invited one of the nurses to come to his home for supper. But the day before she was to come, she phoned to tell him she couldn’t come because she had hurt her ankle.
Not understanding her well on the phone, Mr. Rouhipour misunderstood the word “ankle.” In his usually warm and hospitable way, he invited the nurse to bring her “uncle” too.
Even with their language problems, the Rouhipours make every effort to mention the Faith.
And if individuals such as the Rouhipours can overcome their serious cultural and language barriers to spread the Faith, surely those of us who don’t have such problems can overcome whatever minor difficulties face us.
NOW IS the time for every Bahá’í to “...arise with redoubled energy to pursue our mighty task, confident that the Lord of Hosts will continue to reward our efforts ...”
Houssein and Mertaj Rouhipour are examples for all of us. With only six months remaining in the first phase of the Seven Year Plan, each individual must follow their example, and, with absolute faith and unconquerable determination, pursue the teaching work as never before.
“By the Lord of the Kingdom! If one arise to promote the Word of God with a pure heart, overflowing with the love of God and severed from the world, the Lord of Hosts will assist him with such power as will penetrate the core of the existent beings.”
Institutes set in 9 cities for homefront pioneers[edit]
“The assemblies of the North American continent, constituting the base for the gigantic operations destined to warm and illuminate, under American Bahá’í auspices, the five continents of the globe, must, at no time and under no circumstances, be allowed to diminish in number or decline in strength and in influence.
“The movement of pioneers ... must, within the limits of homeland itself, be neither interrupted nor suffer a decline. The groups and isolated centers so painstakingly formed and established must, conjointly with this highly commendable and essential duty, be maintained, fostered and if possible multiplied.” (Shoghi Effendi, Citadel of Faith, p. 75)
YOU CAN BE A PIONEER. No passport needed. No visas needed. No shots needed.
You can move to a goal locality to either open it, bring it to Group status, bring it to Assembly status, or help save a jeopardized Assembly.
What is involved? How can it be done? What are the goals?
These and many other questions will be discussed and answered at a series of one day Homefront Pioneering Institutes to be held during November and December in the following cities:
Phoenix, Arizona; Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Francisco, California; Chicago, Illinois; New York City; Portland, Oregon; Dallas, Texas; Seattle, Washington.
Please fill out the form below and send it to the National Teaching Committee to let them know which of those institutes you can attend:
Friends labor to restore N.C. Assembly[edit]
Leah and Sigurt Schmidt from Austria and Glen Mommsen from Florida have pioneered to Boone, North Carolina, and are determined to restore Boone to Assembly status.
Toward the end of the Five Year Plan, Mr. and Mrs. Schmidt decided to settle in the U.S. They wanted to go where Bahá’ís were needed, and after consulting with the U.S. National Spiritual Assembly, decided to pioneer to Boone, whose Assembly was in jeopardy.
BOONE IS a college town in the mountains of western North Carolina where employment is scarce.
Mr. Schmidt, a portrait artist by profession, found little demand for such artists in Boone, and had to find other employment.
His present job pays very little, forcing the family to live at a subsistence level.
However, the Schmidts have made many friends in Boone, and have begun weekly personal awareness classes in their home using psychology and philosophy, and gradually introducing the Faith.
No fee is charged for these intimate discussion groups, and participants eventually are invited to a fireside.
As a result of these classes, two people have become Bahá’ís
HAVE YOU HEARD ABOUT OPERATION BEFRIEND?
[Page 10]
TEACHING
NOTHING ABOUT OPERATION BEFRIEND HERE!
It’s easy to be traveling teacher
In Wellspring of Guidance, page 76, the Universal House of Justice states:
“The challenge to the local and national administrative institutions of the Faith is to organize and promote the teaching work through systematic plans, involving not only the regular fireside meetings in the homes of the believers, ... but in addition through a constant stream of visiting teachers to every locality. The forces released by this latter process have been extolled by Bahá’u’lláh in these words:
“ ‘The movement itself from place to place when undertaken for the sake of God hath always exerted, and can now exert, its influence in the world. In the Books of old the station of them that have voyaged far and near in order to guide the servants of God hath been set forth and written down.’ ...”
But I’m not a good speaker and I don’t know all the quotes and references.
“The thing the world needs today is the Bahá’í spirit. People are craving for love, for a high standard to look up to, as well as for solutions to their many grave problems.
“The Bahá’ís should shower on those whom they meet the warm and loving spirit of the Cause, and this, combined with teaching, cannot but attract the sincere truth-seekers to the Faith.” (From a letter dated December 13, 1943, written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer. Printed in The Bahá’í Life, p. 10)
“Every Bahá’í, however humble or inarticulate, must become intent on fulfilling his role as a bearer of the Divine Message. Indeed, how can a true believer remain silent while around us men cry out in anguish for truth, love and unity to descend upon this world.” (From a letter of November 16, 1969, from the Universal House of Justice to the Bahá’ís of the world. Printed in Messages from the Universal House of Justice, p. 34)
“A ‘best teacher’ and an ‘exemplary teacher’ is ultimately neither more nor less than an ordinary Bahá’í who has consecrated himself to the work of the Faith, deepened his knowledge and understanding of its Teachings, placed his confidence in Bahá’u’lláh, and arisen to serve Him to the best of his ability.” (From a letter dated September 21, 1957, written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to the National Spiritual Assembly of the U.S. Printed in The Individual and Teaching, p. 40)
What does a traveling teacher do?
He or she visits Bahá’í communities for the purpose of assisting with the teaching work, such as by speaking at firesides.
“Unloose your tongues, and proclaim unceasingly His Cause. This shall be better for you than all the treasures of the past and of the future, if ye be of them that comprehend this Truth.” (Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 330)
Bend, Oregon, host to Dr. Janet Khan[edit]
Bend, Oregon, was among a number of Bahá’í communities visited in June and July by Dr. Janet Khan, vice-chairman of the National Spiritual Assembly of Australia.
Dr. Khan, who offered her services to the U.S. National Spiritual Assembly while on a sabbatical leave from her position as assistant professor of psychology at the University of Queensland, spoke at the Regional Youth Conference in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, and visited Bahá’í communities in Idaho, Oregon, Washington state, and Northern California.
While in Bend on June 25, Dr. Khan taped a television interview that was aired a week later on the evening news.
Dr. Janet Khan, vice-chairman of the National Spiritual Assembly of Australia, displays a map of her home ‘down under’ while visiting the Bahá’ís of Bend, Oregon, in June.
Northern Virginia believers sponsor ‘naming parties’[edit]
Several Bahá’í women in Northern Virginia recently sponsored “naming parties” for Bahá’í and non-Bahá’í children.
Fourteen women participated in the first of these events, which was for Bahá’ís only.
The second party, for a non-Bahá’í family, differed in format, as guests were mainly non-Bahá’ís from diverse backgrounds.
The Tablet regarding the naming of children (from Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, pp. 149-150) was read, followed by a Bahá’í prayer for unity, a prayer from the Torah, the Lord’s Prayer, guidance from the Qur’án, a Bahá’í marriage prayer, and a prayer for children.
Several Bahá’í songs for children were sung, after which delicious sweets were enjoyed in an atmosphere of warmth and fellowship.
211 attend Carolinas school[edit]
Two hundred eleven Bahá’ís and guests attended the Carolinas Bahá’í Summer School held June 29–July 5 at Lander College in Greenwood, South Carolina.
Participants came from Texas, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Florida, Alabama, New Jersey, New York, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland and the Carolinas.
The school theme was “Arise to the Challenge,” with adult classes developed and coordinated on that theme.
The faculty was composed of Soo Fouts, a member of the National Spiritual Assembly; Auxiliary Board member Elizabeth Martin; Dr. Wilma Brady; Dr. Robert Henderson; and Dr. Riaz Khadem.
There were five separate children’s classes grouped according to age. The youth attended adult classes.
There were also a few sessions in Farsi given for the benefit of the 55 Persian Bahá’ís present who were not yet fluent in English.
Evening programs featured entertainment, dancing, and dramatic presentations.
Saturday’s final session included all five adult faculty members who encouraged the friends to take the inspiration they had received from the school and arise to meet the challenge facing the Bahá’í community by serving Bahá’u’lláh with renewed vigor, zeal and determination.
The friends were moved to contribute $1,406.51 to the Bahá’í Funds.
|
TWO-YEAR PHASE GOALS Localities 7000
(6993)
7200
Assemblies 1400
1467
1650
Indian 25
34
35
Assemb. with 0
430
700
ENROLLMENTS Calif.
624
7000
Ill.
437
2500
N.Y.
161
1800
Mass.
98
900
D.C.
6
125
0
percent 50 fulfilled
100
|
[Page 11]
TRAVELING TEACHING
Texas couple combines service, teaching, traveling[edit]
Eldon and Judy Dennis of San Angelo, Texas, had two desires when they contacted the National Teaching Committee office in June.
They wanted to visit an old friend in Port Charlotte, Florida, and they wanted to be of service to the Faith.
Mr. and Mrs. Dennis had pioneered for 5 1/2 of the last seven years on the island of St. Helena, where Napoleon had been exiled, and in Liberia, Africa.
THEY KNEW the impact a traveling teacher can have on a community in stirring up personal teaching and providing opportunities for publicity.
Working in conjunction with the teaching office, a teaching trip was arranged that included nightly stops in some 13 communities on their way to and from Port Charlotte.
On the way, visits to San Marcos and Beaumont, Texas; Biloxi, Mississippi; and Tallahassee and Lakeland, Florida, were planned.
On the return, stop-overs were scheduled in Gainesville, Florida; Valdosta, Georgia; New Orleans, Louisiana; and Huntsville and Round Rock, Texas.
The Dennis’ arranged most of the details of the trip. The Teaching Committee provided the names of communities where their offer of service would be of greatest benefit, and Mr. and Mrs. Dennis put together a list of suggested discussion topics and biographical material complete with photos for publicity purposes and sent them to each community.
The suggested discussion items were provocative and topical, such as “Are Scientists Religious?” and “Are There Things We Can Do to Help Prevent World War III?”
MR. DENNIS had been involved in world-minded organizations as far back as the 1920s, long before he became a Bahá’í, and the Dennis’ drew on their personal interest in the Lesser Peace.
Regarding scientists and religion, Mr. Dennis is himself an example of a scientist who is religious.
He worked for about 24 years as a hydro-geologist for the U.S. Geological Survey, and taught geology at schools such as Brigham Young University, Texas Tech, Arizona State University, and the Engineering College of Baghdad, Iraq.
He also had served on various technical assistance missions for United Nations agencies that took him to Southern Rhodesia and Afghanistan, in addition to Iraq.
At some 14 public meetings about 22 non-Bahá’ís were in attendance. All but one of the meetings was publicized, most of them by posters, radio and newspaper. Mr. and Mrs. Dennis witnessed one declaration during their trip.
Upon their return home, they wrote:
“For us the trip was cloud nine from beginning to end, and the results were beyond our fondest expectations. Not a single jarring note occurred in any meeting, although there was the spark of lively differences of opinion in several.
“Even on the three stops where we stayed with personal friends or relatives, they showed an interest and participated in the Bahá’í activities.”
The secretary of one of the communities, Ann Haskell of Leon County, outside of Tallahassee, Florida, wrote to send a copy of the press coverage. She noted:
“Six non-Bahá’ís came to the meeting and we felt it was a success. Please contact us if there’s any possibility of any future travel teachers. Please pass on our thanks to Mr. and Mrs. Dennis.”
JUDY DENNIS
ELDON DENNIS
Vacation, teaching do mix[edit]
Vacations. Most people take them—one week, two—and some of us have three weeks or even more to devote to rest and relaxation, a trip to Yellowstone or Yosemite, or a visit to the relatives.
Vacation time can also be teaching time, however, with just a little advance planning.
Consider the case of the Kendalls, Ann and Dick and children, of St. Anthony, Idaho.
THEY HAD a month’s vacation coming, but couldn’t decide where to go.
Since they had their own motor home, the thought occurred to them to phone the National Teaching Committee, ask where there were Bahá’ís who needed visiting, then go and visit them.
The children wanted to see the West Coast, Bahá’í friends in Moscow, Idaho, wanted to have them visit for a day or two of teaching there, and there were relatives in Tacoma, Washington.
What Bahá’í communities could use traveling teachers between Idaho and the Washington coast, and down into Oregon and California?
Ann Kendall gave the National Teaching Committee a call.
“We’re delighted to know of your wish to combine your vacation with traveling teaching,” was the Teaching Committee’s response.
A list of 26 Local Assemblies and Groups was mailed to the Kendalls. Ann and Dick contacted the communities, offering their services and setting up an itinerary.
THE FRIENDS responded with invitations to come. The vacation/teaching trip was on.
“Just returned from month-long teaching trip,” Mrs. Kendall wrote when it was over. “We’d heard you receive more than you give when you do this, and we’ve found out that it’s really true. What a bounty! We hope to do it again next year.”
Dick handled the deepenings along the way. His subject was “Bahá’ís in a Materialistic World.” Ann presented the firesides on progressive revelation.
The Kendalls participated in two teaching events in Moscow and a deepening in Tacoma. Mrs. Kendall wrote: “Our son, who will be 15 in September and is spending his summer in Washington, met us there and signed his card.”
Visits to Aberdeen, Washington, and Astoria, Oregon, consisted of deepenings with the friends.
In North Bend, Oregon, the believers mustered some 14 Bahá’ís and four non-Bahá’ís for a combined fireside and deepening.
In California, the Kendalls conducted a deepening in Arcata, then participated in a proclamation in Fort Bragg that included Mr. Kendall’s half-hour radio interview on the local station.
WHILE IN Rohnert Park, the Kendalls had the interesting experience of meeting with a Bahá’í from Africa who had come to this country to attend school and had been here for three months without knowing there were Bahá’ís here too.
“He came into the Faith,” Mrs. Kendall wrote, “with 10 schoolmates while in high school as a result of a travel teacher who spent one month there.”
He attended the Kendalls’ fireside in Rohnert Park (his first opportunity to be with American Bahá’ís), and brought his roommate who was very receptive to the Message.
The Kendalls visited the San Francisco Bahá’í Center and spent two days at the Bosch Bahá’í School, their first visit there.
A deepening in Merced; a fireside in Sacramento; deepenings in Reno, Nevada, Alturas, California, and Ontario, Oregon—so many Bahá’í friends were visited and with such benefit to all.
One of the Bahá’ís in Ontario, new to the Faith, said the visit of the traveling teachers “confirmed my faith.”
The trip continued to have its effect on the Kendalls even after they arrived home.
“Personally, I could hardly wait to get back to our community to do more teaching and deepening,” Mrs. Kendall wrote. “I’ve been walking around town on cloud nine and made two new contacts in less than a week.
“We’ve met with the Rigby, Idaho, Group and made teaching plans to help both communities and are taking a seeker to their fireside tomorrow night, a psychologist who works with Dick.”
Boone[edit]
Continued From Page 9
while a third has expressed an interest in becoming a Bahá’í.
Glen Mommsen was graduated four years ago from Appalachian State University in Boone; but rather than leaving the town, as most graduates do, and despite criticism from family and friends, he stayed.
ALTHOUGH he had a degree in education, Mr. Mommsen was unable to find a teaching position in Boone.
But he was (and is) determined to stay in Boone to help form an Assembly, and has taken two jobs (one in a gift shop, the other in a delicatessen) to make ends meet.
Mr. Mommsen helped form an Assembly in Boone in 1976. But since Boone is a college town and most of the Bahá’ís were students, membership in the community fluctuated greatly, and in 1979 the Assembly was lost.
Leah and Sigurt Schmidt and Glen Mommsen have stayed at their posts in spite of many hardships. Mrs. Schmidt is physically handicapped, and finds that the weather in western North Carolina is not conducive to her health.
These pioneers could be in another city, earning more money, but they have decided to remain in the small mountain community of Boone, where they feel confident that with continued teaching the Assembly will be restored at Riḍván.
Thanks largely to their efforts, Boone now has an active Bahá’í community of seven adults with weekly firesides and other activities.
DOES ANYBODY KNOW ABOUT OPERATION BEFRIEND?
[Page 12]
IGC: PIONEERING
Letters ... from pioneers[edit]
The following are excerpts from a letter from Michael Stokes, a pioneer from the U.S. to Ecuador who has been working for Radio Bahá’í.
•
Beloved friends, we are witnessing miracles here every day. It is as though one were watching the visible progress of a house being built, brick by brick, to watch the advancement of the Faith here.
Just now a German couple is in Otavalo, a stop on a teaching trip that has taken them already to three other countries.
THEY TELL US that the progress of the Faith in this part of the world astounds them, but that in no other country have they seen as much activity as in Ecuador.
The amount of constant activity here is impressive. One of the centers of that activity, constantly being stimulated and encouraged by the World Centre, the National Spiritual Assembly, and the various national committees is, as one might suspect, Radio Bahá’í.
This dream of Counsellor Raúl Pavón has become a reality and is still largely nurtured by his guidance.
He recently reflected on why things take so long to bear fruit in other places, while here the acceleration is so rapid, and he concluded that it must have to do with harnessing the power of radio for the proclamation and teaching work.
Especially here in the north, but now more on a national scale with the new short wave frequency, we see how radio has opened the doors and facilitated the teaching work.
Radio Bahá’í has many, many tasks to accomplish to fulfill the high hopes held for it by the Universal House of Justice.
BUT LITTLE by little, we are tackling each one in order to better serve the Bahá’ís and those who have not yet accepted Bahá’u’lláh, even though they have learned to pronounce His sacred Name perfectly.
Pioneering is a wonderful experience—not easy, to be sure, but immensely rewarding spiritually, and a work on which I am completely sold. It is difficult now to imagine not being a pioneer.
Yes, it is true that a part of my enthusiasm comes from an enchantment with the Latin culture that makes me feel as though I should have been born here, and from a great love and respect for the Indigenous people who have such great dignity despite their tragic history.
Most of all, however, it has to do with the privilege of serving the Faith here in Ecuador.
Otavalo, Ecuador
More than 225 Bahá’ís and guests attended the Great Plains Bahá’í Summer School held June 30–July 6 near Aurora, Nebraska. Participants included 85 children and youth and 14 infants, one only two weeks old. There were six declarations at the school whose teachers included Auxiliary Board member Darrell Borland, assistants to the Auxiliary Board Charlotte Babcock and Ernie Ochsner, and Richard Hoff of Jacksonville, Illinois. Classes were held for children and youth.
Goals Committee answers pioneering goals questions[edit]
| (F) | French Antilles | 1 | ||
| (S) | Paraguay | 2 | ||
| (E) | Windward Islands | 4 | ||
| (E) | Botswana | 2 | ||
| (E) | Seychelles | 1 | ||
| (F) | Togo | 1 | ||
| (E) | Uganda | 2 | ||
| (F) | Zaire | 3 | ||
| (Dn) | Denmark | _1_ | ||
| 17 | ||||
| Total Status of U.S. Goals | ||||
| Goal | Filled | Open | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 76 | 59 | 17 | ||
Realizing the critically short time before Riḍván and noting that at least 17 pioneers still need to arise before then, we took some questions to the International Goals Committee and hope that its answers will stimulate and inspire more souls to arise and help win the remaining goals of the initial phase of the Seven Year Plan.
Question: Is the desire to pioneer enough?
IGC: A desire to pioneer is always the priority. The International Goals Committee exists primarily to give practical assistance to the friends who wish to fulfill that desire.
Question: But would I feel right about approaching the committee if I hadn’t first made some preparation myself?
IGC: The best way to prepare is to start planning as soon as you can, and the best way is to approach the International Goals Committee, which can help you start thinking about the real, rather than simply imagined, possibilities.
Question: I only speak English. What if I can’t speak the language of the country?
IGC: Most of our pioneers learn the language while at their posts. Since many of our remaining goals are in countries where French is the major language, it would be helpful to improve your French.
Question: I’m not sure I could live under some of the conditions I hear about in other parts of the world. Wouldn’t I need a lot of preparation before considering such a move?
IGC: The picture most Bahá’ís have of pioneering is exaggerated. Life isn’t easy in many places, of course, but most of our pioneers have the basic material comforts. It would be unrealistic to say there is no difference in the standard of living; however, any pioneer would tell you that the bounties of pioneering balance, if not outweigh, the growth-stimulating trials.
Question: I feel so alone when considering such a move. Is that realistic?
IGC: Don’t forget that there is an existing Bahá’í community in almost every overseas goal. Also, Bahá’u’lláh has promised that a company of His chosen angels would accompany you. There will be Bahá’í institutions to help you and other pioneers, and local believers to welcome you.
Question: That makes me feel better, but I still have a fear in my stomach. Can you tell me why?
IGC: That’s only natural. The unknown is always disquieting. Prayer and knowledge will lessen that fear. Pioneering will eliminate it.
Question: Can I use my studies to that end? Is it better to get a “good” degree here or transfer to a goal country and finish my studies as a pioneer?
IGC: Have you read the letter written by the Universal House of Justice in October 1968 to Bahá’í youth? Your question invites a wide answer, and that choice rests with the individual. Much depends on your training, and if you need training in an underdeveloped country your decision would be different than it would if you were getting a degree that required you to remain in one of the large urban centers in the West, for instance. Besides, in many of our goal countries it is possible to get a student visa while other kinds of long-term visas are difficult if not impossible to obtain.
Question: There is such a lack of permanence in the world today. What if I am unable to make a decision about the length of time I can stay? Does pioneering have to be an absolute commitment, or can I go for a few years, try it out, and perhaps decide to come back?
IGC: We have some strange and exaggerated notions of pioneering. We always think of it as a lofty ideal, and when we consider ourselves we say, “I couldn’t do that!” But how can there be a definition of a true pioneer any more than there could be of a true believer? Of course, it would be preferable if pioneers could remain for a lifetime at their post, but if they are able to establish a well-functioning Assembly or replace themselves with other capable and devoted Bahá’ís from the local community, then their leaving in one or two years would not necessarily handicap the community. Please don’t think there is only one kind of pioneer; one can pioneer for a lifetime or for a year and still be of great service to the Cause. What you are really doing is expanding the horizons of your mind while becoming a world citizen.
Question: Yes, but isn’t it a bit late now for Riḍván? I mean, you seem to need so much time to prepare for pioneering.
IGC: It can never be too late, any more than it can be too early. At whatever stage we are in our individual lives, at whatever time it is during the Plan, Bahá’u’lláh is calling on us to respond, for as we respond to His call, so will we
Dr. William Huitt, chairman of the Spiritual Assembly of Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, presents an award on behalf of its Bahá’í community to Mrs. Patricia Suplee (left), chairman of the board of the Family Support Center, and the Center’s director, Dr. Yvonne Fraley. The award was the first to be presented annually to an individual or group that has made a significant contribution to community life and demonstrated an attitude of service to humanity. The award received wide publicity in local newspapers and elsewhere.
[Page 13]
IGC: PIONEERING
Large-scale campaign spreads the Faith in Belize[edit]
LAUNCHING MOST ‘AUGUST’ UNPRECEDENTED CONSOLIDATION-TEACHING PROJECT 30 PROJECTEERS UNITED STATES PANAMA DEDICATE HEARTS BLESSED BEAUTY BELOVED MASTER CAUSE BELIZE. BESEECH PRAYERS MOST HOLY SHRINES. NSA BELIZE
•
The above cable was sent to the Universal House of Justice by the National Spiritual Assembly of Belize, requesting prayers for the success of a month-long international teaching project held in Belize in August.
The project, the first of its kind to take place in Belize, was the result of nine months of careful planning by the National Spiritual Assembly and National Teaching Committee of Belize and the U.S. International Goals Committee.
THE OBJECTIVE of the campaign was primarily consolidation: deepening and strengthening the believers and activating Local Spiritual Assemblies.
Its specific goals were:
- To attract 300 new believers at each base. Hold Feasts, public meetings, deepening classes, etc. Meet prominent people.
- To educate Local Spiritual Assemblies about their station and functions.
- . To raise the number of Local Spiritual Assemblies from 51 to 60 and to have 14 of them adopt extension teaching goals.
- To concentrate on teaching and consolidating the Indian believers.
- To encourage Belizian youth to participate in the project.
- To train at least one believer at each base to hold children’s classes.
- TO HOLD at least three regional Teacher Training Institutes.
- To prepare materials for radio broadcasts.
Although several Spanish and regional languages are spoken in Belize, it is the only English-speaking country in Central America.
The country has six districts, each of which is culturally and geographically unique. The population of 145,000 consists of Mayan Indians, Creoles, Garifuna Indians, Chinese, Europeans, and Lebanese.
The literacy rate in Belize is nearly 90 per cent. The people are extremely friendly, and the concepts of the unity of mankind and the harmony of religions are a natural part of their culture.
The Faith was established in Belize 27 years ago, and the National Spiritual Assembly was formed in 1967.
Today there are 51 Local Spiritual Assemblies, concentrated mainly in the northern and central regions of the country.
MOST BELIZIAN Bahá’ís were enrolled through mass teaching efforts, and the spirit of the Faith is kept alive in their hearts through weekly radio programs and the quarterly Bahá’í newsletter.
The radio programs have brought an awareness of the Faith as a distinct religion to the people of Belize. For that reason, it is felt that a great potential exists for the rapid development and progress of the Faith in that country.
Five towns in five districts were chosen for teaching and consolidation work in the August campaign: Corozal Town, Orange Walk Town, Burrel Boom, Dangriga, and Punta Gorda.
Groups of projecteers along with local Bahá’ís were assigned to a town, which then served as their base for the duration of the project.
Houses in each town were rented for the projecteers to live in. One team lived in Seine Bight, a town on an island accessible only by boat.
The first event in any town was a meeting with the Local Spiritual Assembly to consult about the best way in which to accomplish the goals in that town.
ALSO STRESSED at that initial meeting were the importance and functions of the Assembly, which was encouraged to plan Nineteen Day Feasts, initiate children’s classes, and urge the friends to contribute regularly to the local Fund.
After early prayers and breakfast, participants taught until lunch, then again until the dinner break at about 5:30 p.m. Evenings were devoted to public meetings or firesides.
At 9:30 each night, the team members would meet to discuss the day’s events and plan activities for the following day.
Teams also conducted children’s classes. One team, consisting of four men who had never before taught children’s classes, nevertheless had more than 50 children attending their classes in Punta Gorda.
In one village, a 10-year-old child proudly announced that he was a Bahá’í. His uncle was a Bahá’í, but other members of his family were not.
Team members accompanied the youngster to his home, where the others in his family accepted the Faith.
It was suggested that the projecteers in larger towns visit the local Bahá’ís and ask them to invite their non-Bahá’í relatives and friends to firesides or public meetings. In smaller towns, they were often able to gather everyone together for a meeting.
THE TEACHERS also sought out local Bahá’ís of demonstrated devotion and capacity who could later act as catalysts in that area, encouraging the friends to continue their Bahá’í activities.
The National Teaching Committee of Belize pointed out that successful follow-up to the project would depend upon whether the momentum generated in August were maintained in the months to come.
A few of the projecteers plan to pioneer to Belize. Another couple plan to return there this month and devote a month to continuing the work begun in August.
“There is no time to lose. There is no room left for vacillation. Multitudes hunger for the Bread of Life. The stage is set. The firm and irrevocable Promise is given. God’s own Plan has been set in motion. It is gathering momentum with every passing day. The powers of heaven and earth mysteriously assist its execution.
“Such an opportunity is irreplaceable. Let the doubter arise and himself verify the truth of such assertions. To try, to persevere, is to insure ultimate victory and complete victory.” (Shoghi Effendi, Messages to America: 1932–1946, p. 17)
Above: The going wasn’t always easy for teachers on the Belize project; sometimes roads and bridges were literally washed away. Below: Counsellor Hedi Ahmadiyyih briefs the teachers prior to the start of the campaign.
Above: Belizian Bahá’ís and believers from the U.S. and Panama participated in the month-long teaching campaign in Belize in August. Below: A Bahá’í children’s class in the village of Punta Gorda, Belize.
Pioneering[edit]
Continued From Page 12
grow. And remember that after all the information, the advice and the consultation that the committee can share with prospective pioneers, the decision about whether to go or not rests squarely with you. You are free to choose, for your commitment is ultimately between you and Bahá’u’lláh.
Question: How soon may I attend a Pioneer Training Institute?
IGC: Preparation can be smoother and less harried if you attend a Pioneer Training Institute a year, or even two, before you plan to leave the country. Certainly, you should attend one sometime before you pioneer, but the sooner and the more often, the easier it should be for you. Traveling teachers also are welcome to attend. Institutes are held every two months in various parts of the country, so phone the committee at 312-256-4400, or write to 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091 and ask to be invited to the one that is most convenient for you.
[edit]
Robert Muller, a ranking United Nations official, shares memorable anecdotes from his life and years of experience in the international struggle for peace in an autobiographical book entitled Most of All, They Taught Me Happiness.
The book, published by Doubleday & Company of Garden City, New York ($7.95), includes a foreword by Norman Cousins.
Mr. Muller, a native of Belgium, has been with the UN for more than 30 years, and is presently director and deputy to the Under-Secretary General for Inter-Agency Affairs and Coordination.
The book offers a vibrant account of Mr. Muller’s positive philosophy of life and his years of striving to help bring about a lasting peace on earth.
Autographed copies are available from the United Nations Bookshop, United Nations, NY 10017.
San Diego Laotian community proves fertile teaching ground[edit]
Continued From Page 1
A group of five youth who had come to San Diego for the conference remained after its close to visit residents of the city’s Asian community. Their warm reception led to a six-week teaching effort.
“We were limited only by time and transportation,” said Grant Suhm of Davis, California, one of the five youth who were initially involved in the teaching.
The other youth who helped initiate the campaign were Sousan Parvin of Bethany, Oklahoma; Ramin Yavrom of Chico, California; Julie Longaker of La Mesa, California; and Geesoo Javanmardi of Davis, California.
Four Laotian residents of San Diego declared their belief in Bahá’u’lláh on the first day.
One of them, 19-year-old Srioudom Thotskang, who first heard of the Faith in Laos, later visited the Bahá’í National Center and met with Glenford E. Mitchell, secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly, while on a trip to see relatives in the Chicago area.
THE SIZE of the teaching team in San Diego grew larger as youth from that community joined the effort.
Daily visits to the Asian community were made by the Bahá’ís. Firesides were held several evenings each week, and deepening classes for new declarants were begun.
Children’s classes also were started. The number of Laotians at the Bahá’í Center swelled to 70 in one evening.
During the teaching campaign, a Laotian family of Bahá’ís was found living in San Diego’s Asian refugee community.
Meanwhile, in Portland, Oregon, more than 100 Laotian Bahá’ís were located over a nine-month period by members of that city’s Bahá’í community.
One of the refugees, Chong Khue Cha, had been a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of Laos.
Many of the Laotian Bahá’ís are related, and many are members of the Hmong tribe.
“THEY ARE incredibly beautiful people in every way,” said Jan Klutke, secretary of the Spiritual Assembly of Portland.
Because most have not been in this country very long, she said, language is still a big problem.
The Assembly in Portland contacts the Laotian believers each Bahá’í month and visits them before each Nineteen Day Feast.
“Sometimes one or two of the Laotians will join the Portland community at Feast,” said Mrs. Klutke.
The Laotian Bahá’ís have asked the Spiritual Assembly of Portland for help in finding a suitable place for them to meet, and the Assembly has been looking for such a place.
“Right now,” said Mrs. Klutke, “it’s a matter of being patient while the Laotian friends here learn English, which many of them must do while holding several jobs.”
Srioudom Thotskang (right), a newly declared believer from San Diego’s Laotian community, talks with Glenford Mitchell, secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly, during a recent visit to the Bahá’í National Center in Wilmette.
The first Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Bedford, Texas, was formed at Riḍván. Members are (seated left to right) Dinah Afsahi, Guity Yeganeh, Afsaneh Missaghi, Mitra Precht; and (standing left to right) Frouzan Afsahi, Bijan Yeganeh, Ronald Precht, Dennis Koskelin, Diane Koskelin.
‘Light’[edit]
Continued From Page 1
to Cathy Cook, secretary of the American Indian Teaching Committee and a member of the Continental Indigenous Council that organized the “Trail of Light” campaign.
The “Trail of Light” originated during consultation earlier this year among the National Spiritual Assemblies of Alaska, Canada and the U.S.
A further inspiration for the effort was the “Pacific Rim” teaching concept for indigenous peoples described two years ago by the Hand of the Cause of God Raḥmatu’lláh Muhájir.
WHILE ON the Umatilla Reservation in northeastern Oregon, the U.S. team was joined by Auxiliary Board member Paul Pettit. A 30-minute interview on a local radio station was among the results of this stop on the teaching trip to the Pacific Northwest.
Six declarations resulted from the team’s visit to the Yakima Reservation in Washington, where there are presently three Indian Assemblies, said Mrs. Cook.
While on the Yakima Reservation, she added, the team received 17 interest cards, several of which were filled out by Spanish-speaking residents of Yakima.
Another result of the U.S. team’s teaching efforts, according to Mrs. Cook, was the opening of a new locality to the Faith—Kamiah, Idaho, on the Nez Perce Indian Reservation.
This was the second “Trail of Light” teaching campaign, the initial one having followed the first North American Bahá’í Native Council held in October 1978 on the Yakima Reservation in Washington state.
That first spontaneous teaching effort took the native believers to communities in British Columbia, Canada.
These most recent “Trail of Light” endeavors were more carefully planned and followed a three-day training and deepening program at the Bahá’í House of Worship in Wilmette.
Funds[edit]
Continued From Page 5
of National and local Assemblies. Upon the response of the privileged builders of the World Order of Bahá’u’lláh depend the nature and the rapidity of the evolution of the World Administrative Centre designed to culminate in the erection of the last unit crowning the structure of the embryonic World Order of Bahá’u’lláh.” (Shoghi Effendi, Messages to the Bahá’í World, pp. 13–14)
“Urge the initiation of five Continental Bahá’í Funds which, as they develop, will increasingly facilitate the discharge of the functions assigned to the Boards. Transmitting five thousand pounds as my initial contribution to be equally divided among the five continents. Appeal to the twelve National Assemblies and individuals to ensure a steady augmentation of these Funds through annual assignment in National Budgets and by individual contributions.” (Shoghi Effendi, Messages to the Bahá’í World, p. 59)
“It should therefore be the aim of every local and national community to become not only self-supporting, but to expend its funds with such wisdom and economy as to be able to contribute substantially to the Bahá’í International Fund, thus enabling the House of Justice to aid the work in fruitful but impoverished areas, to assist new national assemblies to start their work, to contribute to major international undertakings of the Nine Year Plan such as oceanic conferences, and to carry forward the work of beautifying the land surrounding the holy shrines at the World Centre of the Faith.
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“Nor should the believers, individually or in their assemblies, forget the vitally important continental funds which provide for the work of the Hands of the Cause of God and their Auxiliary Boards. This divine institution, so assiduously fostered by the Guardian, and which has already played a unique role in the history of the Faith, is destined to render increasingly important services in the years to come.” (The Universal House of Justice, Wellspring of Guidance, p. 20)
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Jalil Mahmoudi’s Concordance to The Hidden Words of Bahá’u’lláh will help you locate any passage quickly. Lists almost every word in the book and every phrase in which the word appears. Foreword by the Hand of the Cause of God A. Q. Faizí. Catalog No. 7-68-52 Paper $5.00 |
[Page 15]
NATIONAL CENTER
Teaching Committee aids, stimulates vital endeavor[edit]
Teaching, according to the Writings of the Faith, is the primary spiritual obligation of every believer.
Encouraging, stimulating and assisting the Bahá’ís in this most important work is the constant challenge and goal of the National Teaching Committee and its office at the Bahá’í National Center.
ONE OF THE primary means for the committee and its staff to accomplish its task is to keep well informed about the current condition and needs of the American Bahá’í community.
“We must know the state of the community at any given time,” says Rose Lopez, the National Teaching Committee secretary. “If we understand what the friends are thinking and feeling, we can better provide them with the proper plans or ideas as channels through which they can win the goals.”
Winning the goals is more than a matter of statistics and record-keeping for the National Committee office.
The committee strives always, says Mrs. Lopez, to learn all it can about the Bahá’í community—why, for example, some areas are vital and functioning well while others are not.
“There are times,” she explains, “when you think that what the friends really need is to be encouraged and inspired rather than given specific plans. We must know when it is better to concentrate on consolidation than on expansion.
“We know you can’t expand all the time. At some point you have to breathe in and consolidate, but always with the knowledge, of course, that expansion and consolidation go hand-in-hand.”
THE TEACHING Committee and its staff see themselves in very human terms.
“We’re not a committee working here and the community is somewhere out there,” says Mrs. Lopez. “We see ourselves as a part of the community while we’re working together with it. We want to be responsive to the community, not simply directive.”
Staff member Ginny Gregg is one of three regional coordinators.
Mrs. Lopez and her six-person staff interact and collaborate on a regular basis with other committees and offices at the National Center, especially the National Education Committee, the Office of Community Administration, and the Bahá’í Publishing Trust.
Carol Allen, the newest member of the National Teaching Committee staff, who worked with Assemblies in the Office of Community Administration, continues to provide help to Assemblies in her present position.
Mrs. Allen’s primary responsibility is to assure that all jeopardized Assemblies and those that have adopted extension teaching goals are given assistance. She also is in charge of the homefront pioneering program and the new traveling teacher program.
Under that new program, believers who have been trained as master trainers for the Assembly Development Program are being asked to serve as traveling teachers.
THE NEW cadre of traveling teachers are to visit specific Assemblies including those that have taken on extension teaching goals and those that are jeopardized. They use the Assembly Development Program, adapting it to fill particular needs.
Homefront pioneers are being directed to open new localities, to help raise an Assembly in a goal area, or to help save a jeopardized Assembly.
Neither of these programs stands alone, says Mrs. Lopez. They are part of a coordinated program of teaching activities that includes increasing enrollments as well as forming, nurturing, strengthening and saving Assemblies.
The District Teaching Committees now concentrate wholly on forming Groups and raising them to Assembly status, while the National Teaching Committee works directly with Assemblies.
Ginny Gregg, Robert James and George Dannells are the Teaching Committee staff members who work with District Teaching Committees in the Central and Northeastern, Southern, and Western regions of the country, respectively.
As regional coordinators, they act as a liaison between the District Teaching Committees in their areas of responsibility and the National Center.
The recently appointed National Teaching Committee plans to alter the specific assignments of its staff members.
ONE MEMBER will work full-time with the four minority teaching committees—the American Indian Teaching Committee, the Asian Teaching Committee, the Vietnamese Teaching Committee, and the Spanish Teaching Committee.
Jan Uebel, the office’s administrative secretary, helps prepare agendas and minutes for National Teaching Committee meetings. She also is responsible for travel and meeting arrangements.
Rose Lopez (left), secretary of the National Teaching Committee, meets with staff members (left to right) Carol Allen, George Dannells, James Mock and Jan Uebel.
National Teaching Committee staffers such as Bob James spend hours each day on the telephone.
In addition, she helps other staff members in monitoring membership on the 88 District Teaching Committees.
Information about the status of the Seven Year Plan goals is supplied to James Mock who is responsible for preparing statistical reports.
That information provides the Teaching Committee and its staff with an overview of the condition of the American Bahá’í community.
By examining the statistics, the staff can determine where the teaching work is going well and study the reasons for such progress, as well as determine where assistance is needed most.
“What is needed in one place is often not what is needed in another,” says Mrs. Lopez. “Besides providing us with a tally of where we are with respect to the goals, statistics give us help in formulating an effective plan of action.”
ANOTHER of Mr. Mock’s responsibilities is responding to inquiries about the Faith from visitors to the Bahá’í House of Worship.
Visitors to the Temple often fill out cards that are provided there, indicating a desire to acquire Bahá’í literature, attend a class on the Faith, or even to become a Bahá’í. Mr. Mock responds according to the level of interest expressed.
This involves writing letters, phoning inquirers, and contacting Bahá’í communities to inform them about residents in their areas who are interested in learning about the Faith.
Copies of letters sent to seekers are sent also to Assemblies in their home towns or to the District Teaching Committee. This allows local communities to follow up.
For those individuals who expressed a desire to become a Bahá’í, Mr. Mock writes to the Assembly to learn what has happened to that person, and whether he or she was enrolled.
“We feel that answering inquiries is an important teaching function,” says Mr. Mock, “not simply one in which we can send a quick response.”
MRS. LOPEZ is in daily contact with Glenford E. Mitchell, secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly, reporting all events of consequence.
Mr. Mitchell receives copies of all National Teaching Committee correspondence and weekly updated statistical reports that are shared with the Continental Board of Counsellors.
The National Spiritual Assembly has asked that the National Teaching Committee hold its meetings on the same weekend as the National Assembly so that they might consult together on a regular basis.
Mrs. Lopez speaks by phone at a scheduled time each week with Charles (Cap) Cornwell, secretary of the National Youth Committee, a subcommittee of the National Teaching Committee.
Mr. Cornwell lives in Florida where the Youth Committee office is maintained. Because of this physical separation, it is essential that the two secretaries keep in touch regularly.
The National Teaching Committee anticipates that youth will become increasingly active in teaching, especially among minorities.
The effectiveness of youth in teaching was demonstrated recently with the declaration of about 30 Asians now living in San Diego, California, and the pending enrollment of at least 30 more.
MOST OF THE new believers in San Diego are Laotian refugees who were contacted during a teaching effort undertaken by Bahá’í youth.
“We feel that the youth are more audacious and open to teaching minorities,” says Mrs. Lopez. “We’d like to pursue that, using their special vitality in this area of teaching.”
The secretary has been consulting with the Publishing Trust about obtaining Bahá’í literature in the Vietnamese, Cambodian and Laotian languages to help in deepening the newly enrolled believers and for use in teaching other Asians.
The National Teaching Committee, says Mrs. Lopez, is now sending out less mail and relying more heavily on The American Bahá’í to communicate with the friends.
“We don’t feel we have to send a flood of letters to the community,” she points out. “We are sending teachers. We have District Teaching Committees across the country, and we are using The American Bahá’í.”
Two major messages, she says,
[Page 16]
RACE UNITY
Little Rock Assembly plays key role in race talks[edit]
Members of the Spiritual Assembly of Little Rock, Arkansas, are playing key roles in citywide discussions sponsored by church leaders concerning interracial communication and harmony.
Last fall, the superintendent of public schools in Little Rock spoke of the need for bold leadership to stop the “white flight” to areas outside the city that was in effect “re-segregating” public education there.
A COMMITTEE was appointed to investigate what could be done to help.
The committee felt that a “day of consultation” among 50 key people from government, education, religion and elsewhere might result in the organization of task forces to meet the multiple needs involved in better interracial communication.
The committee asked Albert Porter, chairman of the Spiritual Assembly of Little Rock, to serve as keynote speaker at the consultation, and to identify the spectrum of needs in the community.
Mr. Porter’s presentation, summarizing Shoghi Effendi’s description of “the Most Challenging Issue” and the ways to deal with it, had an electrifying impact on the group.
The roundtable asked the vice-chairman of the Assembly, Dr. Allan L. Ward, to organize and develop the task force, in his capacity as a communication consultant.
Also invited to participate was B. L. McCoy, a member of the Bahá’í community who serves in the Cabinet of Governor Bill Clinton of Arkansas.
THE STORY of the meeting was broadcast on radio throughout the state, and by the end of the week the local newspaper had featured an editorial emphasizing the positive aspects of the conference.
At a meeting called to plan further steps, a roundtable officer said that without the direction given by the Bahá’í participants, the activity never could have been carried out.
The Little Rock Assembly now has permanent representation on roundtable along with the opportunity to address many other social and religious issues.
Another activity in which the Bahá’ís have been involved was a program last winter known as “Sweeping Away the Cobwebs of Religious Prejudice.”
As its name implies, the program brought together concerned people of several religious backgrounds to strive toward a deeper understanding and appreciation of one another’s beliefs through unbiased investigation and study.
Shirley Pleasant, a member of the Bahá’í community of Little Rock, requested at one of the meetings that the Bahá’í Faith be included in the program as one of the religions worthy of further study.
Through activities such as these, the Little Rock Bahá’í community is striving to fulfill the desire of the Universal House of Justice, as stated in the Seven Year Plan, that Bahá’ís become more active and visible in every phase of community life.
Twenty-four adults and 12 children celebrated Race Unity Day in June at the home of Mrs. Helen Legault, a member of the Tribal Council on the Eastern Pequot Indian Reservation in Ledyard, Connecticut. Shown here (left to right) are Chief Atwood Williams of the Eastern Pequot Tribe, Mrs. Legault, and Kay Garland.
‘Child’s Way’ devotes issue to race relations[edit]
The Race Unity Committee is delighted that the March–April 1980 issue of Child’s Way magazine is devoted to better race relations.
We present the following excerpt from the Parents’ Page in the hope that you will read this editorial in its entirety and use it as a basis for thought, discussion and action:
“...The value to the child of frequent and ed. intimate association at this age (school age) with those of a different race cannot be understated.
“It is most unfortunate for Bahá’í families that in America families of different races and cultures do not live close to one another. We can remedy this difficulty for our families by choosing to live in racially mixed neighborhoods, or by transporting our children to and from their friends, or by actively seeking out friends of other races, or by encouraging frequent attendance at Bahá’í schools, institutes, and meetings where many races gather.
“It is not enough even, however, to enjoy proximity; if our children do not learn to negotiate the very real conflicts which emerge from racial and cultural differences—with good models and active diplomacy on behalf of parents—how can they lead the world in this example?
“Are we really living up to the high standard raised for us by Bahá’u’lláh? The oneness of mankind cannot be for us only a principle—it must be so fundamental an expression of our daily life that our children will imbibe it from the very atmosphere of our homes.”
Guidelines for rating children’s books[edit]
Young children are constantly exposed to racist attitudes in books. These attitudes insidiously distort their perception until myths and stereotypes about minorities become accepted as reality.
The Race Unity Committee offers these guidelines as a starting point in evaluating children’s books:
1. Check the Illustrations
Look for stereotypes. Are there oversimplified generalizations about particular groups? For example, are blacks shown as happy-go-lucky, watermelon-eating types? Are Native Americans represented as naked savages or primitive craftsmen? Do Mexicans appear as bandits or sombrero-wearing, fiesta-loving “macho men”?
Look for tokenism. Do minority characters look just like whites, but with tinted or colored-in skins, or are they shown as genuine individuals with distinctive qualities?
See who does what. Are minorities shown only in passive or subservient roles? Who takes roles of leadership and action?
2. Check the Story Line
Standard for success. Do minorities have to “act white” to get ahead? Is white approval the only ideal? To become accepted, do minorities have to be “superpeople”—the fastest runner, the smartest child in class, etc.?
Resolution of the problem. Are minority characters considered to be “the problem”? In black-white interaction, does the black forgive and understand more than the white? Does the minority character succeed only through the goodwill and intervention of a white character?
3. Examine the Lifestyles
Are minority persons shown in unfavorable ways—living in a ghetto, barrio or migrant camp—exclusively? Are differences depicted as negative? Are cultural differences accurately portrayed?
4. Assess the Relationships Between People
Do whites possess the power, take leadership, make the important decisions? Are minorities shown mainly in supporting roles?
5. Note the Heroes
Are only the “safe,” generally approved minority heroes referred to? Do the minority heroes avoid conflict with the white establishment? Whose interests do the minority heroes really represent?
6. Consider the Author’s or Illustrator’s Background
What are his qualifications to deal with a minority theme? Does he have special experience that recommends him as a creator of this book?
7. Watch for Loaded Words
Are there words with insulting overtones? Are words such as savage, primitive, backward, wily, crafty, docile, carefree and childlike used in minority contexts? Are there subtle descriptions that achieve the same result?
8. Evaluate the Author’s Perspective
No author is completely objective. Does this book reflect the author’s cultural and personal bias to such a degree that the overall theme is marred by omissions or distortions?
9. Consider the Book’s Effect on a Child’s Self-Image
Are standards established that limit a minority child’s self-esteem and aspirations? Does a white child see himself as the ultimate in beauty and ability as a result of this book?
These guidelines are based on a pamphlet published by the Council on Interracial Books for Children.
Boston area Assemblies host Race Unity Day conference[edit]
More than 100 people attended a Race Unity Day conference and public meeting June 8 sponsored by the Spiritual Assemblies of the Greater Boston, Massachusetts, area.
The events were organized by the Spiritual Assembly of Arlington, Massachusetts, and co-sponsored by the Spiritual Assemblies of Boston and Cambridge.
ABOUT 55 people attended a conference on “The Most Challenging Issue” at which the speakers were Dr. Richard Thomas of East Lansing, Michigan; William Barnes of Arlington; and Mary Hatcher of Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
Dr. Thomas, a professor at Michigan State University, delivered the keynote address, “American Race Relations: An Historical Perspective.”
Mr. Barnes’ topic was “Racial Harmony: Problems and Prospects for the Future.”
After workshop sessions, Mrs. Hatcher closed the conference with a talk describing her personal experiences in dealing with racial discrimination.
During the conference one person declared his belief in Bahá’u’lláh.
Later, more than 100 people heard Dr. Thomas give a public talk on “The Most Challenging Issue: America’s Need for Racial Unity.”
Music at the meeting was provided by the New Light Ensemble.
That evening, Dr. Thomas was a guest on a radio talk show heard in 37 states, and answered questions about the Faith phoned in from around the country.
Prayer for unity suggested as aid to boost diversity[edit]
Dear Bahá’í Friends:
Are we not thankful to God for endowing us with His blessings and bounty in giving us the excitement of living in diversity?
|
Teaching Fever Is CONTAGIOUS!— |
Let us therefore try to say the prayer for unity at least once a day so we can go on having and enjoying the beauty and productiveness of diversity.
Poland Bahá’í Group
Poland, Ohio
[Page 17]
RACE UNITY
“When the racial elements of the oneness of humanity will shine, the day American nation unite in actual of eternal glory and bliss will dawn, the fellowship and accord, the lights of the spirit of God encompass and the divine favours descend.” (‘Abdu’l-Bahá, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 54)
Editorial[edit]
How many of us have heard the remark, “Oh, I’m color blind when it comes to race. I just don’t see color. When I look at a person, I see him as an individual, not as a member of a racial group or category.”
There was a time in America when people of good will urged one another to develop this point of view as a solution to race prejudice.
SINCE AMERICAN racism is based largely on color, they thought that if everyone strived to become “color blind,” race prejudice ultimately would be eliminated.
This thinking developed as a natural corollary to the “melting pot” concept—that is, if various races and nationalities were melted down and blended together into a common human soup, there would be no basis for either exalting or abasing any race, cultural group or nationality.
Such ploys obviously haven’t been effective; race prejudice remains an inherent characteristic of American life. Now, as Bahá’ís, we see that these methods, aside from being ineffective, are not even desirable.
The Bahá’í Writings teach the explicit value and beauty of diversity and distinction.
Whereas in the past, unity was sought in an attempted sameness and blurring of differences, we now understand the importance of recognizing and appreciating contrasts as we seek unity in diversity.
Far from being color blind to differences of race—skin color, hair texture, facial contours, body type, etc.—we are encouraged to develop visual acuity and appreciation in all instances of human intermingling.
RATHER THAN USING racial differences as a means of excluding groups and shutting individuals out of activities, we Bahá’ís take these distinctions into account in our efforts to include all groups while advancing individual growth and development.
Our keenness of vision therefore discerns and appreciates racial distinction; it acknowledges physical facts and leads to spiritual growth as we recognize and cherish a God-created phenomenon.
At least two declarations and a large number of interest cards were among the results of two recent performances in Davis, California, by the Los Angeles Bahá’í Youth Workshop. The group’s second performance was necessitated by a capacity audience of more than 200 for its first performance with long lines outside the theatre. Transportation costs for the group’s 400-mile trip to Davis were paid by the Los Angeles Bahá’í community.
Master found racial differences unique, beautiful[edit]
The delightful story about a group of boys who came to visit the Master in New York City shows that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was not “color blind.” Rather, He found racial differences a thing of beauty.
The boys had been invited to come after they started following the Master when He was on His way to speak to the men gathered at the Bowery Mission. No doubt the sight of a group of Orientals adorned in robes and turbans had attracted their attention.
A WOMAN in the Master’s party, embarrassed by what she considered the boys’ rude behavior as they followed along, dropped behind to speak with them and tell them Who ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was.
She went so far as to extend an invitation to them to come to her home in a few days to be with the Master. She hardly expected that they would accept it.
But at the appointed time the boys appeared, all tidied up for the occasion.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá greeted each of them at the door—perhaps with a handshake or an arm placed lovingly on the boy’s shoulder—but always with boyish laughter and a warm smile.
His happiest welcome, however, seemed to be directed toward a little 13-year-old at the end of the line.
The boy’s skin was dark—would he too be welcome? The Master beamed when He saw him, and in a loud voice that all could hear, exclaimed with delight that “here is a black rose.”
Silence fell across the room. The other boys looked at their companion with a new awareness. He was black—and beautiful!
THE MASTER did not end the simple lesson in race relations there.
He had asked that a five-pound box of chocolates be brought in. With this He walked around the room, giving chocolates by the handful to each boy.
Finally, with only a few left, He picked out a very black piece, walked across the room, and held the chocolate next to the cheek of the little black boy.
The Master was radiant as He lovingly put His arm around the boy, whose entire attention was drawn to this Man Who saw his color and found it a thing of beauty and delight.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s heart was free from hostility and prejudice. He delighted in human differences, for were not all people part of God’s beautiful human garden?
The Master was not “color blind”—He saw differences in skin color and found them beautiful.
(The above story appears in the book Portals to Freedom by Howard Colby Ives.)
The Bahá’í community of Paradise, California, recently placed signs representing the Faith on each of the two main highways leading into and out of that city. The Bahá’í signs are of pine wood, 27 inches long, with lettering painted by one of the local believers.
‘Diversity should cause love, harmony’[edit]
“Behold a beautiful garden full of flowers, shrubs, and trees. Each flower has a different charm, a peculiar beauty, its own delicious perfume and beautiful colour. The trees too, how varied are they in size, in growth, in foliage—and what different fruits they bear!
“Yet all these flowers, shrubs and trees spring from the selfsame earth, the same sun shines upon them and the same clouds give them rain ...
“Thus should it be among the children of men! The diversity in the human family should be the cause of love and harmony, as it is in music where many different notes blend together in the making of a perfect chord.
“If you meet those of different race and colour from yourself, do not mistrust them and withdraw yourself into your shell of conventionality, but rather be glad and show them kindness. Think of them as different coloured roses growing in the beautiful garden of humanity, and rejoice to be among them.” (‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Paris Talks, 9th ed., 1951, pp. 52–53)
“The only difference lies in the degree of faithfulness, of obedience to the laws of God. There are some who are as lighted torches, there are others who shine as stars in the sky of humanity.
“The lovers of mankind, these are the superior men, of whatever nation, creed, or colour they may be. For it is they to whom God will say these blessed words, ‘Well done, My good and faithful servants.’ In that day He will not ask, ‘Are you English, French, or perhaps Persian? Do you come from the East, or from the West?’
“The only division that is real is this: There are heavenly men and earthly men; self-sacrificing servants of humanity in the love of the Most High, bringing harmony and unity, teaching peace and goodwill to men. On the other hand there are those selfish men, haters of their brethren, in whose hearts prejudice has replaced loving kindness, and whose influence breeds discord and strife.” (‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Paris Talks, pp. 148–149)
“In every century a particular and central theme is, in accordance with the requirements of that century, confirmed by God. In this illumined age that which is confirmed is the oneness of the world of humanity. Every soul who serveth this oneness will undoubtedly be assisted and confirmed.” (Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, p. 114)
“The Bahá’ís are commanded to establish the oneness of mankind; if they cannot unite around one point how will they be able to bring about the unity of mankind?” (Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, p. 209)
“Think ye of love and good fellowship as the delights of heaven, think ye of hostility and hatred as the torments of hell.” (Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, p. 245)
“But there is need of a superior power to overcome human prejudices; a power which nothing in the world of mankind can withstand and which will overshadow the effect of all other forces at work in human conditions. That irresistible power is the love of God.” (‘Abdu’l-Bahá, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, Vol. I, p. 65)
[Page 18]
BAHÁ’Í PUBLISHING TRUST
New Materials for You![edit]
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| Selections from the Letters of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá: NEW Persian edition Now available in paper edition. This handsome volume contains many priceless selections from ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s voluminous correspondence with individuals and communities in the East and West. Has extensive table of contents. 309 pp. |
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Paper | 7-15-66 | $1.50 |
| Centers of Bahá’í Learning: NEW Booklet For those interested in Bahá’í schools and institutes of all kinds—here is a stimulating compilation on Bahá’í summer schools and teaching institutes. Covers importance, purpose, administration, courses, curriculum, teaching the public, attracting ethnic minorities, youth activities, pioneers, pioneering, and prospects for the future. Compiled by the Universal House of Justice. 5½ × 8½ inches. 20 pp. |
Paper | 7-15-58 | $1.50 |
| Circle of Unity: NEW Booklet A handsome presentation piece prepared as a tribute to the original inhabitants of America. Contains a brief common history and presentation of the Bahá’í Faith; extracts from the Bahá’í writings; a short discussion of the National Spiritual Assembly and profiles of its members; representative Indian activities; and a list of American Indian tribes represented in the Bahá’í Faith. Illustrated with many photographs. 8½ × 8½ inches. 14 pp. |
Paper | 7-41-09 | $1.00 |
| The Bahá’í Faith Teaching Booklet: Revised Edition For your teaching and consolidation programs. A newly revised and redesigned edition of the English version of the popular “green teaching booklet.” Contains more text and many new photographs. Let Counselor Aḥmadíyyih and the National Teaching Committee help you and your local community teach the Faith. Each 10 booklets accompanied by guidelines for using the booklet. 24 pp. |
Paper | 7-67-02 | $1.00 12/$10.00 |
| Sunflower Books, Set of 4: NEW Includes My Bahá’í Book, My Favorite Prayers and Passages, God and Me, and Our Bahá’í Holy Places. All books are written in the first person from the child’s point of view. Each book invites the child’s participation and encourages interaction between parent and child. Each contains a Message-to-Parents insert containing general comments on the purpose of the series and suggestions about the individual book. Text and design by Deborah Christensen. Illustrations by John Solarz. 8½ × 11 inches. 16–19 pp. |
Paper | 7-53-05 | $7.50 |
| Gift ideas for the holidays coming in November | |||
| The Birth of the Bahá’í Faith: NEW for Consolidation A brief illustrated history of major events in the Heroic Age of the Bahá’í Faith, from the time of the Báb to the passing of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. Attractive line drawings and straightforward text provide meaty material for lively discussions at deepening classes and Bahá’í schools. Excellent for teaching and deepening youth and new Bahá’ís of all ages. Text and illustrations by Debbie D. Wittman. 7 × 10 inches. 23 pp. |
Paper | 7-52-55 | $1.25 |
| My Baby Book: NEW Book An excellent tool for reinforcing your small child’s sense of Bahá’í identity. My Baby Book provides you with a handy place for keeping records of your child’s physical and spiritual growth. For your child it is a book to which he can return again and again for a personalized account of his first years. 8½ × 11 inches. 32 pp. |
Cloth | 7-52-53 | $14.00 |
| Forging an Eternal Bond: Building and Maintaining the Institution of Marriage: NEW Thinking of getting married? Plan an evening with Geoffry and Amy Marks drawing upon the Bahá’í writings and their own experiences as they share some insights on building and maintaining the institution of marriage. 60 minutes. |
Cassette | 6-31-67 | $6.50 |
| In Search of the Supreme Talisman: A Bahá’í Perspective on Education: NEW Pamphlet In a companion piece to the popular Becoming Your True Self Dr. Daniel C. Jordan surveys the forces that have brought a crisis in culture and education. After analyzing the effect of these forces on individuals, he proposes that the education of man—the “supreme talisman”—hinges on the emergence of a culture in which spiritual values dominate. Cover design by Pepper Peterson. 3⅝ × 8½ inches. 17 pp. |
Paper | 7-40-77 | D |
| Back in Stock | |||
| The Reality of Christ (formerly Manifestation—Not Incarnation) | Pamphlet | 7-40-33 | D |
| Women: Attaining Their Birthright | Pamphlet | 7-40-73 | G |
| The Meaning of Worship | Pamphlet | 7-40-34 | D |
| The Faith of Bahá’u’lláh | Pamphlet | 7-40-19 | D |
| Becoming Your True Self | Pamphlet | 7-40-15 | D |
| Thief in the Night | Paper | 7-31-61 | $2.50 |
| Bahá’í Writings: A Concordance | Paper | 7-68-31 | $8.50 |
| Bahá’í History | Cassette | 6-30-88 | $6.50 |
| Can’t You See the New Day | Cassette | 6-31-13 | $6.50 |
| Commentary on the Kitáb-i-Aqdas | Cassette | 6-30-51 | $6.50 |
| The Gift/El Regalo | Cassette | 6-31-23 | $6.50 |
| World Unity with Security | Cassette | 6-30-73 | $6.50 |
| 1981 Calendars | |||
| 1981 Bahá’í Date Book: NEW Need to keep track of all your appointments and meetings, Feasts, and Holy Days? The 1981 Bahá’í date book is a must. Includes 15 months (January 1981–March 1982), larger squares for each day, and Gregorian and Bahá’í days of the month. Weeks begin on Sunday, end on Saturday. New gatefold cover allows you to mark the month or carry extra notes. Metallic silver cover features filigree ornamentation on Wilmette House of Worship. 3½ x 6½ inches. |
Date Book | 6-69-31 | $1.50 |
| 1981 Bahá’í Wall Calendar: NEW New format features a 10-inch picture of the Seat of the Universal House of Justice (suitable for framing) and an 8½ x 11-inch, 15-month calendar that is easier than ever to read. The type is larger than last year’s. Feasts and Holy Days are color coded, and Bahá’í months for the year 138 alternate in white and yellow. Hang the calendar on the wall for easy reference and a conversation piece; fold picture over and carry to meetings. 8½ x 11 inches, folded. |
Calendar | 6-69-41 | $1.00 |
| 1981 Bahá’í Pocket Calendar: NEW Fits conveniently in purse or billfold. 2¼ x 3½ inches. |
Calendar | 6-69-61 | $.10 |
| 1981 Bahá’í Memo Pad Calendar: NEW Back again! A 15-month calendar pad with one Gregorian month per tear-off sheet. Indicates all Bahá’í Holy Days and Nineteen Day Feasts. Includes ample space for writing in dates of your appointments, meetings, and firesides. Use flat on desk, hang on wall, or carry in three-ring binder. Perfect for use at committee and Local Spiritual Assembly meetings. 8½ x 11 inches. |
Calendar | 6-69-91 | $1.50 |
| For Your Fall Deepenings | |||
| Bahá’í Laws: Star Study Program | Booklet | 7-64-60 | $1.00 |
| Bahá’u’lláh: Star Study Program | Booklet | 7-64-50 | $1.00 |
| The Local Spiritual Assembly: Star Study Program | Booklet | 7-64-58 | $1.00 |
| Spiritual Teachings: Star Study Program | Booklet | 7-64-56 | $1.00 |
| A Special Measure of Love: The Importance and Nature of the Teaching Work Among the Masses | Booklet | 7-15-47 | $1.50 |
| The Individual and Teaching: Raising the Divine Call | Booklet | 7-15-60 | $2.00 |
| The Greatest Gift: A Community Enrichment Program on Teaching the Cause of God | Booklet | 7-65-07 | $1.50 |
| A New World Order: Deepening Portfolio No. 1 | Booklet | 7-65-10 | $1.50 |
| A New Race of Men: Deepening Portfolio No. 2 | Booklet | 7-65-11 | $1.50 |
| The Suffering of Bahá’u’lláh: Deepening Portfolio No. 3 | Booklet | 7-65-12 | $1.50 |
| Deepening Packet for New Believers | Packet | 7-65-15 | $4.00 |
| The Local Spiritual Assembly | Booklet | 7-15-40 | $1.50 |
| The Trusted Ones of God: The Local Spiritual Assembly | Booklet | 7-68-13 | $.50 |
| Guidelines for Local Spiritual Assemblies | Paper | 7-68-37 | $4.00 |
| The Development of Local Spiritual Assemblies | Paper | 7-68-39 | $4.00 |
| Set of two: Development LSAs/Guidelines LSAs | Paper | 7-68-40 | $6.00 |
| The National Spiritual Assembly | Booklet | 7-15-42 | $3.00 |
| Special Poster Close-Out Sale | |||
| Bahá’í Faith: Equality of Men and Women, 18 x 24 | Close Out | 658-75 | C |
| Bahá’u’lláh, 24 x 36 green | Close Out | 6-58-29 | C |
| Bahá’í Faith Unifies Mankind, 11 x 17 purple | Close Out | 6-59-04 | A |
| Bahá’í Faith Unifies Mankind, 11 x 17 red | Close Out | 6-59-05 | A |
| Bahá’í Faith Unifies Mankind, 11 x 17 blue | Close Out | 6-59-06 | A |
| Bahá’í Faith Unifies Mankind Asst. of three colors | Close Out | 6-59-07 | B |
| “Consort with the followers of all religions ...” English, 10 x 13 | Close Out | 6-56-77 | B |
| “Consort with the followers of all religions ...” Spanish, 10 x 13 | Close Out | 6-58-78 | B |
Coming!
A new series of Bahá’í greeting cards for all occasions
[Page 20]
PERSIAN PAGE
[Page 21]
PERSIAN PAGE
[Page 22]
PERSIAN PAGE
[Page 23]
Construction began June 12 on a new four-room student housing facility at the Bosch Bahá’í School in Santa Cruz, California. Construction of the 1,300-square-foot structure that will accommodate eight guests and include full access for wheelchairs in entrance, halls, bedrooms and bath was made possible by a contribution from one of the Bahá’í friends. Along with the new cabin, the school also received county approval to build an 800-square-foot crafts building, the construction of which should begin in the near future.
Bosch School adds new programs to its schedule[edit]
The Bosch Bahá’í School in Santa Cruz, California, has announced its program schedule for the fall and winter of 1980-81.
In an effort to better serve the Bahá’í community, the Bosch School council has increased the number of programs to be presented. All told, the council will present a total of 20 different sessions throughout the year.
The complete fall-winter-spring schedule:
October 10-13—“Bahá’í Parenting.” Adults, 15 and older.
November 27-30—“The Impulse of Sacrifice.” Adults, 15 and older.
December 20-22—“All Forces Propel the Faith Forward.” Adults, 15 and older.
December 24-28—“Oh God! Increase My Astonishment.” General, classes for all ages.
December 31-January 4—“All Forces Propel the Faith Forward.” Adults, 15 and older.
February 13-16—“Bahá’í Marriage.” Adults, 15 and older.
April 15-19—To be announced. General, classes for all ages.
May 22-25—“Bahá’í Marriage.” Adults, 15 and older.
The Bosch Bahá’í School is in the Santa Cruz mountains, about 17 miles northeast of the city of Santa Cruz.
Students are housed in semidormitory style in 14 cabins that can accommodate five to seven people apiece. Each cabin has a central bath. The maximum student capacity is 88.
The 67-acre campus is densely populated with large stands of coastal redwood, madrone and oak trees.
To register for one of the sessions, a deposit of $15 per person should be sent to the Registrar, Bosch Bahá’í School, 500 Comstock Lane, Santa Cruz, CA 95060. Include your name, age, sex, home address and phone number.
Your receipt for the deposit, along with confirmation of the reservation(s) and other instructions, will be sent by mail.
Idea Exchange[edit]
The Spiritual Assembly of Bosque Farms, New Mexico, sponsored a day-long seminar on the compilation on marriage and divorce issued recently by the National Spiritual Assembly. They used skits, dramatic readings, small and large discussion groups, and thought-provoking question-and-answer sessions to explore the compilation. They report that many misconceptions and questions were cleared up, and those attending felt that they had achieved a much better understanding of the importance of marriage.
•
The Spiritual Assembly of Linn County, Oregon, suggests that a “share-a-ride” service be incorporated in the planning of conferences, conventions and similar gatherings of a statewide or regional nature. Using one central phone number to receive offers of and requests for transportation, the “share-a-ride” coordinator can then match rider and driver as calls come in (an especially good idea for youth conferences)!
•
To help plant more firmly its historical roots, the Bahá’í community of Green Bay, Wisconsin, planned a picnic honoring the founding members of that community. The history of the Faith in Green Bay was shared with the friends, and a tour around the city was made with stops at places with historic significance for the Faith. Photos were taken at the picnic and tour, and a scrapbook was compiled for the community archives. Donations to the Universal House of Justice were made by the community in honor of two founding members still serving in the community.
•
The 50th anniversary of the Faith in Binghamton, New York, was celebrated with a large reception at a civic center. Guests came from as far away as Italy, and from the neighboring states of Massachusetts and Pennsylvania, to hear an Auxiliary Board member, Nat Rutstein, and a former member of the Spiritual Assembly of Binghamton, Ida Noyes Hawley, speak. There was a large, interesting display of Assembly archives, including a letter from the beloved Guardian written in response to a letter telling him about the founding of the Bahá’í Group in Binghamton.
•
Roseville, Minnesota, sponsored a luncheon conference to assess the interest of women in forming a Women’s Committee. Using ideas suggested at the luncheon, a yearly plan was designed with monthly activities. These included a study of current events, quilting classes, a ceremony honoring the Greatest Holy Leaf, a Bargello pillow class, and a class on vegetarian cooking. All of the events were open to non-Bahá’ís, and more than 70 people attended some of them.
•
In an effort to counteract the effects of William Miller’s book that attacks the Faith and is in its college library, the Spiritual Assembly of Mount Airy, North Carolina, obtained a reprint of Douglas Martin’s review of Mr. Miller’s book from World Order magazine and plans to have it bound and presented to the college library. It will be on the same shelf as Mr. Miller’s book, and will give non-Bahá’í readers an excellent critique of this error-ridden work.
•
In areas where there are few Bahá’ís and the response of the non-Bahá’í community has been apathetic, Judy Orloff of Foxboro, Massachusetts, suggests that we try reversing the situation. If they won’t come to you, go to them! Have a bake sale and donate the money to a charitable project in town; visit churches; offer to play the piano regularly at nursing homes; offer to help with a service project at the local YMCA; give weekly devotions at a campground; tutor children in schools. BE OUT THERE WHERE THE NEEDS ARE! Invite the interested people you meet to firesides, and take full advantage of media opportunities that are generated.
•
Do you know of an idea (teaching, deepening, proclamation, or other) that has worked well in your community? We’d like to hear about it. Please write to The Idea Exchange, in care of the Department of Community Administration, Bahá’í National Center, Wilmette, IL 60091.
Auxiliary Board member D. Thelma Jackson addresses the Southern Illinois Bahá’í Community Life Conference held June 7 in Bloomington.
150 attend 2nd S. Illinois meet[edit]
About 150 Bahá’ís attended the second Southern Illinois Community Life Conference held June 7 in Bloomington.
Among the speakers were Counsellor Edna M. True, Auxiliary Board member D. Thelma Jackson, and Mary K. Yntema, an assistant to the Auxiliary Board.
Miss True spoke of her meetings with ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in Chicago in 1912 and in Haifa in 1919, and recalled that the Guardian, Shoghi Effendi, was the guide during her pilgrimage that year.
Two auctions conducted during the conference raised $940.45 for the District Teaching Committee.
The third and last in this series of conferences was to be held August 16 in Carbondale.
Longtime editor dies in Hawaii[edit]
Mrs. Shirley Colman Lombard, who served for nearly 17 years as editor of the Hawaiian Bahá’í newsletter, Light of the Pacific, died March 31 at her home in Kamuela on the Big Island.
A woman of varied talents and interests, Mrs. Lombard had been a cashier, governess, hotel manager, dramatics teacher, color film technician and x-ray technician.
She was an accomplished pianist and organist, an artist in oils and watercolors, and a poet whose published works included a volume of her poems about Hawaii.
‘Secret in Garden’ a warm, enchanting children’s story[edit]
The Secret in the Garden, a delightful book for 5- to 10-year-olds and all the young in heart, written and illustrated by Winifred Barnum Newman, was recently released by the Bahá’í Publishing Trust.
A warm, realistic story enhanced with four-color and black-and-white illustrations that reveal layers of meaning, The Secret in the Garden tells the story of an old woman who sets out to bring happiness to a troubled village.
THE SELF-CENTERED villagers are intrigued by the happiness she brings, but miss the secret she has to share. That secret is found by a young girl who eventually wins the villagers’ attention by her deeds.
Because of the book’s indirect presentation of a Bahá’í principle, it is excellent for gifts to non-Bahá’í relatives and friends and for presentations to school and public libraries.
Winifred Newman, an artist, writer and designer, is an instructor in the program for the gifted at Trinity University.
Her drawings, paintings, sculptures and murals can be found in private collections throughout the U.S. and Mexico. The Secret in the Garden is her first published book for children.
Also released with the book was a cassette recording of The Secret in the Garden, narrated by Susan Engle who also sings a song created for the book. The cassette has a musical background provided by Collins Trier and sound effects.
The Secret in the Garden (Catalog No. 7-53-13) is priced at $5. The cassette (Catalog No. 6-32-05) is $5. The book and cassette (Catalog No. 7-53-15) are available together at a special price of $9.
To order either the book or cassette, see your local Bahá’í librarian or order directly from the Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 523 Green Bay Road, Wilmette, IL 60091.
Please include 10 per cent to cover postage and handling on orders under $100.
WINIFRED S. NEWMAN
Why Deepen?[edit]
- “The Sacred Literature
- of the Bahá’í Faith
- conveys enlightenment.
- It inspires life.
- It frees the mind, it disciplines the heart.
- For believers, the Word is not
- a philosophy to be learned,
- but the sustenance of being
- throughout the span of mortal existence.”
- — Horace Holley,
- Religion for Mankind, p. 64
[Page 24]
CLASSIFIEDS
CLASSIFIED notices in The American Bahá’í are printed free of charge as a service to the Bahá’í community. Notices are limited to items relating to the Faith; no commercial or personal messages can be accepted for publication.
•
THE BAHÁ’Í National Center is in need of qualified office personnel to assist with typing correspondence, minutes and reports, researching information, and compiling statistics. Expertise in many areas of daily office operations is required. For more information, please contact the Office of Personnel Affairs, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091, or phone 312-256-4400.
THE NATIONAL Spiritual Assembly of Paraguay desperately needs a single Bahá’í pioneer or family, preferably self-supporting, to serve as resident(s) at the Bahá’í Institute in Mariscal Estigarribia, Chaco, and to help deepen the 18 Indian Local Spiritual Assemblies in that region. The area is a hub of indigenous teaching with a desert climate that is ideal for adventurous Bahá’ís who do not mind being relatively isolated. For more information please contact the International Goals Committee, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091.
AN EXCELLENT opportunity exists to become the manager of quality assurance at a Rockwell International plant in Texarkana, Arkansas. The job requires an engineering background with QA/QC experience in steel fabrication and precision machining and assembly (mechanical metrology). A Bahá’í could open Texarkana, Arkansas, to the Faith while assisting the Spiritual Assembly of Texarkana, Texas. Please phone Fuad Akhtar Khavari at 214-792-2545 or send a resume to 2300 Cedar Hill, Texarkana, TX 75503.
ZION, Illinois, needs you! The community presently includes six adults; three more are needed to maintain its Assembly. Zion is a city of about 19,000 midway between Chicago and Milwaukee, only 35 miles north of the Bahá’í House of Worship. There is a wide variety of jobs in the area. For information, write to the Bahá’ís of Zion, P.O. Box 482, Zion, IL 60099.
WANTED to buy: The Bahá’í World, Volumes I, III, IV, V, VI, VIII, IX, X, XII. My daughter and granddaughters are Bahá’ís, and my library will be passed on to my children. Please write to Mrs. Jene Bellows, 9018 Niles Center Road, Skokie, IL 60076, or phone 312-677-3663.
AN OPPORTUNITY exists to teach the Faith and help form an Assembly where there has never been one before. King City, California, opened to the Faith by a single believer at the end of the Five Year Plan, now has a functioning Group of five adults (with eight small children). These newer Bahá’ís are Spanish-speaking, quite poor, and often move from place to place to harvest crops. Needed to help assure a strong Assembly by next Riḍván are: 1. a retired couple or other adult Bahá’ís to settle in King City and have English-language firesides in their home; and 2. someone who can speak both Spanish and English and can help bring the community together. King City, in the lovely Salinas Valley, is an ideal place to live, with special advantages for senior citizens, excellent schools, and dozens of jobs in every category for those who speak Spanish and English. For more information, please write to Alice V. Lovejoy, P.O. Box 954, King City, CA 93930.
BAHÁ’Í preschool teacher wanted to assist Bahá’í day care director in a non-Bahá’í school. Prefer training in early childhood education. Possible salary and live-in situation available. For more information, please contact Sue White, 8386 N. 95th St., Longmont, CO 80501, or phone 303-772-2678.
WANTED: Retired couple or two retired gentlemen who would like to serve the Faith as pioneers and live RENT FREE in peaceful, beautiful surroundings to become caretakers at the Martha Root National Bahá’í Institute in Yucatán, Mexico. Vehicle preferred; some Spanish helpful. For more information, please contact the International Goals Committee, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091; phone 312-256-4400.
HOMEFRONT pioneers and prayers are needed to help bring our numerically jeopardized Assembly back to full strength. You can take your choice of city living, suburban living, or country living in Sarpy County, Nebraska, adjacent to Omaha. Sarpy County is within 10 miles of the metro Omaha area, where there are employment possibilities in the medical field (two medical centers and many hospitals in Omaha), as well as clerical, social work, and industry. There are two large universities and many smaller colleges and tech schools in Omaha. If you can’t pioneer, please say prayers for us. If we should get an excess of pioneers, there are two Groups in the Omaha area with six members each that could use you, too. Please write to Laurie Mason, secretary, Spiritual Assembly of Sarpy County, P.O. Box 766, Omaha, NE 68123, or phone Dave Clarke, 402-291-0275.
TWO HOMEFRONT pioneers are needed to help save the Spiritual Assembly of Petaluma, California, a lovely city of 32,000 about 38 miles north of San Francisco and near the University of California–Sonoma and several junior colleges. Petaluma has good schools and a mild climate with local employment in dairying, agriculture, manufacturing, transportation, construction, retail trades, government and service industries. Also easy to commute to the San Francisco area. For more information, please write to the Bahá’ís of Petaluma, P.O. Box 23, Petaluma, CA 94952, or phone Kathy or Tim Kraft at 707-763-4022.
COME TO FOOTVILLE, Wisconsin, a town of 750 near a city of 45,000. A Bahá’í Group of two adults with one child requests racially diverse homefront pioneers of Persian or other backgrounds to enrich our community. Ideal for a retired couple. Will help in finding employment and housing, if needed. Near several colleges. ESL (English as a Second Language) instruction is available in Footville. If interested, please contact the Bahá’ís of Footville, P.O. Box 292, Footville, WI 53537, or phone 608-876-6926.
SCHOLAR seeking more sources for a Bahá’í chapter in a forthcoming book, The Lost Christianity of Peter (on the Ebionites). Especially need pilgrims’ notes beyond those listed in the Spring 1979 issue of World Order magazine. Also seeking relevant Persian or Arabic sources in the Writings on Peter, Paul and James. All contributions will be acknowledged. Write to Christopher Buck, P.O. Box 2341, Bellingham, WA 98225.
LOOKING FOR a challenging homefront pioneer post? A pioneer is needed to move onto or near the Ute Indian Reservation in eastern Utah to help deepen the Bahá’ís there, form a Group, and eventually establish a Spiritual Assembly. Plenty of oil-drilling-related jobs are available, e.g., drillers, rig, pipe, construction, and clerical. Housing is tight, but some apartments are being built. For more information, please contact the District Teaching Committee of Utah, 5634 Whispering Pine Circle, Murray, UT 84107.
FILMS, videotapes, scripts and other materials are being sought by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Liberia and Guinea for a proposed series of television and radio programs for children. Programs would be 15-30 minutes long, and broadcast by the Liberian Broadcasting Corporation either monthly or every two weeks. Please air mail materials to the National Spiritual Assembly of Liberia and Guinea, P.O. Box 735, Monrovia, Liberia.
BAHÁ’Í STUDENTS are welcome at Montana State University in Bozeman, which offers a comprehensive university curriculum in a rural setting. Bozeman, a city of 25,000 at an altitude of 5,000 feet, is in south central Montana, about 90 miles from Yellowstone National Park and minutes away from summer and winter recreational areas. The Bahá’í College Club at MSU welcomes you to the challenge of teaching the Faith on campus and in the community. Please contact the Spiritual Assembly of Bozeman, P.O. Box 1991, Bozeman, MT 59715, or phone 406-587-9321.
BAHÁ’Í FAMILY (parents and two teen-age sons) returning from pioneering in Ponape, a Pacific island, need to relocate in the U.S. in October or November. Job requirement: Community development, administrative, office management, planning, community organization. Thirty years of employment and volunteer experience in various fields in the U.S. and abroad; most jobs have been with agencies that serve people, such as community action, medical rehabilitation, housing services, etc. A complete resume is available from the International Goals Committee, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091. Phone 312-256-4400.
CONSOLIDATE! A mature, well-deepened Bahá’í, preferably Spanish-speaking, is needed to help the District Teaching Committee of Texas Central No. 2 consolidate a community of 23 adult believers. If you are willing to move to a West Texas community of about 30,000 population, please contact the District Teaching Committee, c/o Wig De Moville, secretary, 1626 South Monroe, San Angelo, TX 76901.
WE HAVE an extra copy of Vol. IV (1930-32) and one of Vol. XIII (1954-63) of The Bahá’í World. We need Vol. I to complete our set. Please contact the Spiritual Assembly of Providence, Rhode Island, c/o Elmer P. Carpenter, librarian, 70 Miller Avenue, Providence, RI 02905, or phone 401-461-7904.
THE GREEN ACRE Council announces a contest to design a logo for the Green Acre Bahá’í School. The logo should be simple, of one color, distinctive, in keeping with the dignity of a Bahá’í school, and should include the words “Green Acre Bahá’í School.” Please send ideas and entries to the Green Acre Bahá’í School, P.O. Box 17, Eliot, ME 03903, by December 1, 1980. All entries become the property of the Green Acre Council.
AT THE REQUEST of the Universal House of Justice, the National Bahá’í Archives Committee is seeking to locate original letters from the Guardian to the following individuals: Ralph C. Browne, Pearl Burke, Helen Campbell, Dorothy Dent Dopieralske, Walter Guy, Priscilla Hassan, and Laura D. Walsh. Originals or photocopies of these letters are needed by the Universal House of Justice in its efforts to study and compile the letters of the Guardian. Anyone having information regarding the whereabouts of these letters is requested to contact the National Bahá’í Archives Committee, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091.
BEAUTIFUL southwestern Washington is alive and well! Mt. St. Helens is no longer a threat. We need homefront pioneers in McCleary, Cosmopolis, Rochester and Tenino (to join isolated believers), and in Kalama, Woodland, Lewis CCD No. 1, and Wahkiakum County (with Groups). These goals are all near Assemblies, and the District Teaching Committee promises regular teaching assistance. A homefront pioneer consultant will help in finding jobs for pioneers and in making a survey of general living conditions and costs in the goal areas. Please send your personal and career goals with a resume to Barbara Haluapo, 111 Nob Lane Drive, Kelso, WA 98626, or phone 206-423-3354.
THE SPIRITUAL Assembly of Grand Junction, Colorado, is sponsoring a three-day conference on Self, Psychology and the Spiritual Being October 31-November 2. The conference is open to Bahá’ís and non-Bahá’ís, but registration is limited to 75. Non-Bahá’ís will attend as guests. Limited hospitality is available. The format includes workshops on 18 subjects, six general sessions, panel discussions, and question-and-answer sessions. To register, please send $5 per person to the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Grand Junction, Box 2805, Grand Junction, CO 81501.
THE BAHÁ’Í Mass Media Committee of the Carolinas needs materials suitable for presentation to radio and television stations in the two states. Interested only in quality works that have been approved by some Bahá’í administrative body and including short public service announcements and 15- and 30-minute Bahá’í proclamation and consolidation materials. Please contact Elwin Howard, 1420 Sumter St., Columbia, SC 29201.
BAHÁ’ÍS who are relocating to the New York City area are asked to consider settling in the Town of Oyster Bay, Long Island. Oyster Bay, a bedroom community about 30-35 miles from New York City, has good recreation and shopping. It includes the eastern end of Nassau County and runs from the Atlantic Ocean north to Long Island Sound. The Assembly presently is jeopardized. Please contact Mrs. Barbara B. Fox, secretary, 7 Harbour Lane, Apt. 3-A, Oyster Bay, NY 11771.
AN INTERNATIONAL Bahá’í Summer School will be held December 21-28 in the Seychelles, a group of islands in the Indian Ocean about 1,000 miles east of Kenya that are noted for their wide variety of flora and fauna. The school will be held at a government training school that has living accommodations for students. For further information, please contact the International Goals Committee, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091.
FRANTIC in the Big City? Come down home to the Magnolia State. Homefront pioneers are needed in Oxford, Mississippi, the birthplace of James Faulkner, and in Hinds County. Oxford, home of the University of Mississippi, would be an ideal educational setting for a Bahá’í undergraduate or graduate student. Hinds County, which surrounds Jackson, the state capital, has an unorganized Bahá’í Group. It is a semi-industrial area with a garment industry
National Assembly fills two key posts at National Center[edit]
ARTHUR CONOW
PARKS SCOTT
The National Spiritual Assembly recently filled two key positions at the Bahá’í National Center, naming Arthur Conow of Hacienda Heights, California, assistant to the secretary for planning and coordination, and Parks Scott of Birmingham, Alabama, public affairs officer.
Mr. Conow, who was a quality engineer and member of the senior technical staff at Teledyne Systems Company, assumed his new post at the National Center on August 1.
Mr. Conow is presently involved in coordinating the changeover to the National Center’s new computer system and the Bahá’í Publishing Trust’s change to computer inventory control and order filling.
The forthcoming move of National Center personnel to the new administrative office building in Evanston, Illinois, is another of his areas of involvement.
Mr. Conow has served as chairman of the National Bahá’í Public Information Committee (in 1972), as a member of the Spiritual Assembly of Hacienda Heights, and as an assistant to Auxiliary Board member Joyce Dahl.
He also served for four years as chairman of the California State Goals Committee.
MR. CONOW and his wife, Betty, are the parents of a son, John, and a daughter, Mrs. Linnea Conow Brush.
Mr. Scott, who came to the National Center on September 2, was Birmingham manager of public relations for South Central Bell Telephone Company.
The new public affairs officer has served as a member of the Spiritual Assembly of Jefferson County, Alabama, as an assistant to Auxiliary Board member Sam McClellan, and as chairman of the Birmingham-Jefferson County Bahá’í Media Committee.
He and his wife, Peggy, live with the two youngest of their five children, 14-year-old Parks Jr. and 12-year-old Amy.
Newspaper recounts persecutions[edit]
Continued From Page 1
the majority in Iran view the Bahá’ís as Islamic renegades because of their belief that Mohammed was not the sole true messenger of God.
IN ADDITION, the deeply nationalistic Persians cannot abide Bahá’í preachments in favor of the oneness of mankind, the essential harmony of all religions, and the equality of the sexes.
Moreover, it is far more widely recognized in Iran than here that the holiest shrines of Bahá’í are in Israel, where its Founder died in exile in 1892.
The Bahá’ís have been asserting for more than a century that their special brand of one-worldism and the brotherhood of man is rigorously non-political. For the most part, those assertions have fallen on deaf ears.
That is especially true in today’s Middle East, where a wave of Islamic fundamentalism has been sweeping aside any hint of modernism or tolerance.
Added to that, suspicion fanned by Iran’s revolutionary fervor has aggravated the case—no matter how spurious—against “renegade” beliefs.
That fervor seems to overlook the inconvenient fact that the Bahá’ís, whose 500,000 members in Iran make it that nation’s largest non-Moslem religious minority, were enthusiastically persecuted both by the late shah and by his father, Reza the Great, a brutal cossack who wrested power from the ruling dynasty in the mid-1920s.
PERSECUTION reached its height in 1955, when Moslem clergymen, with the government’s tacit support, whipped up an anti-Bahá’í campaign characterized by robbery, murder, and rape.
It lessened temporarily after a worldwide pressure campaign spearheaded by the late Dag Hammarskjold, then United Nations secretary-general.
From time to time after that, repression was reinstituted under the shah, even though some of his children were tutored by Bahá’ís.
His wrath redoubled in 1975 when Bahá’ís refused to join his puppet Rastakhiz (Resurgence) Party, the only party permitted in the country.
Bahá’í marriages could not be registered, more than 30 of their schools were closed, their literature could not be circulated, and many were denied jobs.
It is a testament to their singular steadfastness that some Bahá’ís were nonetheless able to win a measure of economic power and to obtain high government positions.
Since the revolution, all those gains have been wiped out with a vengeance. Some recent examples:
- ABOUT 50 Bahá’ís in Tehran, Tabriz, and Shiraz were imprisoned without charge. Companies in which thousands of Bahá’ís had invested were dismantled and their assets confiscated.
- Old people were turned out of a branch of a Bahá’í hospital where, ironically, doctors had treated people injured in street riots during the revolution early last year.
- The holiest Bahá’í center in Iran, known as the House of the Báb, was razed. Other holy places and community centers were confiscated.
- In February, 50 Bahá’ís were summarily purged from their jobs in a provincial education ministry. Its director threatened to turn them over to the revolutionary courts unless they converted to Islam.
An ayatollah named Sadoughi, in a sermon on June 20 in the town of Yazd, proclaimed that he had documents proving the Bahá’ís were “plotting” against the regime. He asked the faithful to turn over the Bahá’ís they knew to the authorities. A wave of arrests reportedly followed.
It was especially distressing that the ayatollah’s remarks were reprinted by the newspaper controlled by Iran’s beleaguered president, Abolhassan Bani-Sadr.
So the Bahá’ís in Iran have themselves become hostages to an uncertain fate.
Some people in the U.S., when they think about it at all, think the Bahá’ís are somehow “odd,” that their beliefs are quirky, and that what they practice is at best quasi-religious.
But the Bahá’ís haven’t hurt anyone. And there is something far more disturbing about murder.
(Copyright © 1980 the Chicago Tribune. All rights reserved.)
For the second year in a row, the Bahá’ís of Beacon, New York, were asked to participate in June in the Strawberry Festival, an annual event supporting the cleaning and preserving of the Hudson River. Shown at the Bahá’í booth are (left to right) Reanie Tomanio and Pete McCornish.
Habib Hosseiny (at blackboard) was one of the teachers in a week-long program on teaching English as a second language held in July at the Green Acre Bahá’í School in Eliot, Maine.
Green Acre hosts 3rd annual language preparation institute[edit]
For the third year in a row, the Green Acre Bahá’í School in Eliot, Maine, held a special institute on language preparation for pioneers.
This summer, the institute was expanded to include five programs over a five-week period.
ON JULY 12-13, a dozen people attended a weekend session on cultural awareness and adjustment conducted by Randie Gottlieb.
Twenty-five people were present for the third annual week-long program on teaching English as a second language (TESL). The program was presented by Dr. Thomas Sousa of Concord, New Hampshire, assisted by Habib Hosseiny, Andrew DiMauro and Nancy Ackerman.
More than a dozen people attended a course July 19-20 taught by Dr. Sousa that dealt with learning any foreign language.
Finally, from July 21-25, intensive week-long classes were held in French and Spanish.
The French class was taught by Mrs. Helen Sousa, and the Spanish by Lionel Gonzales, a member of the Spanish Teaching Committee, assisted by Juan and Braulia Caban.
Fourteen people were enrolled in the French class, 13 in the Spanish.
Several non-Bahá’ís took the course on English as a second language, while several others were enrolled in the French class.
Service for the Blind[edit]
AVAILABLE NOW:
In Braille or on tape—
- Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh
- The Priceless Pearl
- Selections From the Writings of the Báb
- The Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh (Volumes 1 and 2)
PLUS more than 80 other titles
For a printed catalog write:
- Bahá’í Service for the Blind
- 3110 East Lester St.
- Tucson, AZ 85716
[Page 26]
PUBLICATIONS
Trust has wide variety of films to assist friends[edit]
Have you thought of renting films to add variety and interest to your fall and Winter teaching, deepening and proclamation activities?
The Bahá’í Publishing Trust now has 13 color, 16 mm films for rent, according to Gil Muro, manager of special materials at the Trust.
Three of the films—Bahá’í Jubilee Samoa, And His Name Shall Be One, and Sands of Time—are designed for television, public meetings, and civic, religious or college groups.
Bahá’í Jubilee Samoa, a new film produced by Ciné Bahá’í in Canada, is a half hour documentary based on the laying of the cornerstone of the Bahá’í House of Worship in Samoa. Film rental fee D applies (see details at the end of this article).
And His Name Shall Be One, a 30-minute CBS presentation about the Faith, features scenes of the World Centre, views of the Bahá’í House of Worship in Wilmette, and an interview with Mrs. Mildred Mottahedeh who was the United Nations representative for the Bahá’í International Community at that time. Film rental fee B applies.
Sands of Time focuses on the accomplishments of David Villaseñor, a Bahá’í artist who developed the art of permanent sand painting.
In the 28-minute film, the artist discusses the harmony between Indian and Bahá’í teachings and demonstrates the art of sand painting. Film rental fee B applies.
Five films, one in Spanish, are suitable for teaching and deepening as well as for proclamation. These include Blessed Is the Spot, Have You Heard the News, My Friend?, Step by Step, Paso a Paso, and It’s Just the Beginning.
Blessed Is the Spot, like Bahá’í Jubilee Samoa, highlights the laying of the cornerstone of the Bahá’í Temple in Samoa.
The film provides a charming glimpse of Samoan village life and an opportunity to become acquainted with the Samoan Bahá’í community.
His Highness Malietoa Tanumafili II and the Hand of the Cause of God Amatu’l-Bahá Rúḥíyyih Khánum both make brief statements about the central theme of the Faith—unity. Film rental fee D applies.
Have You Heard the News, My Friend? documents Bahá’í teaching activities in the Deep South and during the Bahá’í Caribbean Conference held in Jamaica in May 1971. Film rental fee C applies.
Step by Step takes the viewer to yet another part of the globe, depicting the growth of the Bahá’í Faith among Indians, blacks, and Latins in Mexico, Honduras, El Salvador, and Panama.
The film records the views of a number of Bahá’ís from diverse backgrounds on such widely varied topics as prophecy, the unity of mankind, world peace, universal governing bodies, and a divine civilization. Film rental fee B applies.
Paso a Paso, a Spanish-language version of the same 29-minute film, is excellent for expanding the teaching work among Spanish-speaking seekers and Bahá’ís. Film rental fee B applies.
It’s Just the Beginning was filmed at the first National Bahá’í Youth Conference in Wilmette in 1970. It shows Bahá’í youth of different races and strata of society as they offer their views on such topics as peace, unity, and justice in the world.
The 24-minute film includes talks by the Hand of the Cause Rúḥíyyih Khánum and Glenford E. Mitchell, secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly. Film rental fee C applies.
Four films—The Dedication, El Alba, Invitation, and Retrospective—are primarily for Bahá’ís. A fifth film, A New Wind, is recommended for Bahá’ís and seekers who are acquainted with the Faith.
The Dedication is an inspiring film showing the simple beauty of the Panama House of Worship and recreating the sights, sounds and uplifting atmosphere of its dedication in April 1972. Film rental fee C applies.
Bahá’í pioneers and Japanese believers in a scene from the film A New Wind.
El Alba, a Spanish version of the same 15-minute film, is also available. Like Paso a Paso, it can be helpful in deepening Spanish-speaking Bahá’ís. Film rental fee C applies.
Invitation was filmed by Ciné Bahá’í in Montreal, Canada, on the occasion of the commemoration in 1975 of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s visit to Canada in 1912.
The guest of honor at the event was the Hand of the Cause of God Rúḥíyyih Khánum, whose distinguished parents welcomed the Master to Canada nearly 60 years ago.
The 60-minute film brings the viewer a warm and personal interview with Rúḥíyyih Khánum, in her former home, as she shares anecdotes from the Master’s visit and reminisces about the life and times of her family in Montreal. Film rental fee A applies.
Retrospective is a 50-minute film tribute to the Hand of the Cause of God John Robarts on the occasion of his 40th anniversary in the Faith.
In his inimitable style, Mr. Robarts shares anecdotes and reflections on major events of the past four decades of Bahá’í history: the Ten Year Crusade, the passing of the beloved Guardian, the trusteeship of the Hands, and the emergence of the Universal House of Justice. Film rental fee A applies.
A New Wind is a 30-minute film showing scenes of the Bahá’í World Centre as well as of Bahá’í communities in India, Japan and the U.S.
It illustrates the unity and diversity of the Bahá’í community and portrays the scope of a fast-growing, worldwide religious community. The documentary was produced by George C. Stoney. Film rental fee C applies.
Film rental fees are as follows:
Rental fee A is $29 for three days for three showings; fees for three additional showings are $11 each.
Rental fee B is $25 for three days for three showings; fees for three additional showings are $10 each.
Rental fee C is $15 for three days for three showings; fees for three additional showings are $6 each.
Rental fee D is $35 for three days for three showings; fees for three additional showings are $12 each.
To rent any of the 13 films listed here, send a letter to the Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 523 Green Bay Road, Wilmette, IL 60091, with the following information: (1) the name of the film; (2) your first, second and third choices of dates desired; and (3) the number of showings planned up to a maximum of six.
Letters concerning film rentals should not be mailed with other orders to the Publishing Trust. They should be mailed at least one month in advance of the first choice date.
Full payment, plus 10 per cent for postage and handling on orders under $100, must accompany your rental order.
For immediate film rental information, phone the Bahá’í Book Shop at 312-256-4400, extension 166, any working day between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Central Time.
General manager, operations head named at Publishing Trust[edit]
DR. JOHN BUSTARD
KEITH CORNELISON
The National Spiritual Assembly has named Dr. John Bustard of Urbana, Illinois, general manager of the Bahá’í Publishing Trust.
Dr. Bustard, whose previous position as principal of the Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School in Urbana was profiled in The American Bahá’í last April, assumed his new duties at the Publishing Trust on August 4.
DR. BUSTARD and his wife Margaret, a retired school teacher who is now working in the Department of Community Administration at the National Center, have served as members of the Spiritual Assembly of Urbana.
Dr. Bustard also served on that community’s Bahá’í Center and finance committees.
The Bustards have two grown children—a son, James, and a daughter, Marian.
Shortly after arriving at the Trust, Dr. Bustard named Keith Cornelison of Evanston, Illinois, as manager of operations and finance.
Mr. Cornelison’s responsibilities range from guiding book manuscripts and special materials through the various stages of production to stocking warehouse shelves and mailing materials to fill orders received. Mr. Cornelison, who has served as a member of the Spiritual Assembly of Evanston, was district manager and a member of the strategic planning committee of the Illinois State Chamber of Commerce.
He and his wife, Marie, reside in Evanston with their 17-year-old daughter, Beth, and 9-year-old son, Jonah.
Trust slates large number of important new releases[edit]
During the coming months the Bahá’í Publishing Trust plans to release a number of important new titles, according to Dr. Betty J. Fisher, general editor of the Trust.
Among these is the first full-scale biography of the Hand of the Cause of God Louis G. Gregory, Gayle Morrison’s To Move the World, scheduled for publication early in 1981.
Three extracts from the book appear in the Summer 1979, Fall 1979, and Winter 1979-80 issues of World Order magazine.
ANOTHER WORK in preparation is Marion Yazdi’s recollections of the early days of the Bahá’í Faith in Stanford and Berkeley, California.
The book will appeal to those interested in the development of the Faith in that state. It will be of particular interest to youth, as the author recounts her college days at Stanford University and the University of California.
The East Coast also is represented in forthcoming works. The memoirs of Nancy Douglas Bowditch tell the story, in a life-and-letters format, of a long-time New England Bahá’í who came from a distinguished family of painters.
Sarah Jane Farmer, by Douglas Martin, will tell the fascinating story of the founder of Green Acre
[Page 27]
PUBLICATIONS
‘The Secret in the Garden’
Compilation on Bahá’í schools headlines Trust’s fall releases[edit]
Centers of Bahá’í Learning, a new compilation on Bahá’í schools and institutes, heads the list of fall releases from the Bahá’í Publishing Trust.
Centers of Bahá’í Learning (Catalog No. 7-15-58, $1.50), compiled by the Universal House of Justice, covers the importance, purpose, administration, courses, and curricula of Bahá’í schools, as well as prospects for the future.
THE 20-PAGE booklet also covers teaching the public, attracting ethnic minorities, youth activities, and pioneers and pioneering. It will be useful to everyone interested in Bahá’í schools and institutes.
Other fall releases include Spiritual Foundations: Prayer, Meditation, and the Devotional Attitude; In Search of the Supreme Talisman; Becoming Your True Self; A Concordance to the Hidden Words of Bahá’u’lláh; and The Secret in the Garden.
Spiritual Foundations (Catalog No. 7-15-66, $1.50), compiled by the Research Department of the Universal House of Justice, is designed to help Bahá’ís attain a goal of the Seven Year Plan—nurturing the spiritual life of the Bahá’í community.
The 20-page pamphlet contains many passages previously unavailable.
In Search of the Supreme Talisman (Catalog No. 7-40-77, 50 cents; 10/$4; 25/$8; 100/$25) is a companion piece to the popular Becoming Your True Self.
In the new booklet, Dr. Daniel C. Jordan surveys the forces that have brought a crisis in culture and education. After analyzing their effect on individuals, Dr. Jordan proposes that the proper education of man—the “supreme talisman”—hinges on the emergence of a culture in which spiritual values predominate.
Becoming Your True Self (Catalog No. 7-40-15, 50 cents; 10/$4; 25/$8; 100/$25) is now available in a revised edition that features an attractive new cover design by Pepper Peterson.
The pamphlet describes the nature of human potential and explains how the Bahá’í Faith enables the individual to release his potential.
A Concordance to the Hidden Words (Catalog No. 7-68-52, $5), compiled by Dr. Jalíl Mahmoudi, includes a foreword by the Hand of the Cause of God A.Q. Faizí.
The concordance lists alphabetically almost every word in The Hidden Words. Then each phrase in which the word appears is listed under that word. Arabic or Persian Hidden Word numbers guide the reader to the passage he is seeking.
The Secret in the Garden (Catalog No. 7-53-13, $5), written and illustrated by Winifred B. Newman, is a warm, realistic story about an old woman who sets out to bring happiness to a troubled village.
When the villagers fail to discover the woman’s secret, a young girl determines to share the secret, and ultimately wins the villagers’ attention by her deeds. The book is for 5- to 10-year-olds.
A cassette recording of The Secret in the Garden may be purchased with the book or separately. The cassette is narrated by Susan Engle, who wrote a song for the book.
The cassette alone (Catalog No. 6-32-05) is priced at $5. The book and cassette purchased together (Catalog No. 7-53-15) are $9.
To order any of these titles, see your Bahá’í community librarian or order directly from the Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 523 Green Bay Road, Wilmette, IL 60091.
Please include 10 per cent to cover postage and handling on orders under $100 (minimum $1).
New concordance will aid in finding ‘Hidden Words’[edit]
Have you always wished for a handy and efficient way to find your favorite Hidden Word to share with a friend?
If so, A Concordance to the Hidden Words of Bahá’u’lláh, compiled by Dr. Jalíl Mahmoudi and recently released by the Bahá’í Publishing Trust, should be of great interest to you.
THE CONCORDANCE, Dr. Mahmoudi notes, “was prepared to aid the reader in finding quotations easily.” It is the first concordance devoted to a single Bahá’í book.
Almost every word in The Hidden Words is listed in alphabetical order in the concordance. Then every phrase in which the word appears is listed under that word. Arabic or Persian Hidden Word numbers direct the reader to the passage he is seeking.
Articles, conjunctions, and most common prepositions such as “the,” “a,” “an,” “by,” “to,” “as,” “of,” and the like are not listed.
The foreword to the concordance was written by the Hand of the Cause of God A.Q. Faizí.
A Concordance to the Hidden Words is available in a paper edition only. It is the same size as The Hidden Words, and its overall design complements that of The Hidden Words.
Dr. Mahmoudi is professor emeritus of sociology and language at the University of Utah and is an Auxiliary Board member for protection in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming.
He has published a number of books, monographs, and articles. His book The Story As Told (Catalog No. 7-32-24, $6) was released earlier this year.
To order A Concordance to the Hidden Words of Bahá’u’lláh (Catalog No. 7-68-52, $5) or The Story As Told, see your local Bahá’í librarian or order directly from the Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 523 Green Bay Road, Wilmette, IL 60091.
Please include 10 per cent for postage and handling on orders under $100.
Mailing reminder[edit]
Whenever an Assembly or Group does not receive mail from the Bahá’í National Center for more than a few weeks, there is most likely a mailing problem. If this happens, please contact the Office of Membership and Records, Wilmette, IL 60091.
Trust releases ‘Come and Sing’ as record album, cassette tape[edit]
Come and Sing, a new record album for children and their families, is being released by the Bahá’í Publishing Trust as a cassette as well as a 33 1/3 rpm record.
“For the first time, the Publishing Trust is introducing a stereo cassette in addition to an album because of the demand for cassettes.
“WE’VE HAD several letters requesting that our albums be made into tapes for pioneers and for the growing number of people who use cassette decks at home and in their cars,” says Gil Muro, manager of special materials.
“We’re going to see what response this cassette brings. If it sells well, we’ll bring out Flight, The Hidden Words, The Lote Tree and Happy Ayyám-i-Há in stereo cassettes too.”
The Publishing Trust hopes that the release of an album and cassette at the same time will give more people the opportunity to make use of this charming collection of songs and prayers.
Both are suitable as gifts for non-Bahá’í family and friends and are attractively packaged with a full-color cover depicting happy children gathering to sing in a verdant garden.
Lyrics for all of the selections are included with the album.
Come and Sing (Catalog No. 6-35-21) is priced at $7.50. The stereo cassette tape (Catalog No. 6-32-20) is $8.
To order, see your local Bahá’í librarian or order directly from the Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 523 Green Bay Road, Wilmette, IL 60091.
Please include 10 per cent for postage and handling on orders under $100.
World Order sets 2nd Gregory article[edit]
The second in a three-part series of articles by Gayle Morrison about the Hand of the Cause of God Louis G. Gregory highlights the Fall 1979 issue of World Order magazine.
Other articles include “Aesthetics and Spiritual Education” by Glen A. Eyford; “Entities of a New Creation” by Julie Oeming Badiee; and “Coming to Terms with a Technological World,” a review by Carlos Martin Pereira of Guy Murchie’s book, The Seven Mysteries of Life: An Exploration in Science and Philosophy.
Also in the Fall issue is a poem, “Louis G. Gregory: 1874–1951,” reprinted from Roger White’s book of poetry, Another Song, Another Season.
|
What is the secret in the garden?
Winifred Barnum Newman’s winning book about an old woman’s secret and the observant young girl who shares the secret with the mystified village is a must for 5–10 year olds, friends, and libraries. Illustrations also by Winifred Barnum Newman. Catalog No. 7-53-13 Cloth $5.00 |
New releases[edit]
Continued From Page 26
Bahá’í School.
A biography of the Hand of the Cause Martha Root, by Mabel Garis, is yet another work in preparation. The Guardian referred to Martha Root as “that archetype of Bahá’í itinerant teachers and the foremost Hand raised by Bahá’u’lláh. ...”
Another early believer—Juliet Thompson—will be the focus of a fifth work. The Publishing Trust plans to release an edition of Ms. Thompson’s diary, which includes many accounts of the time she spent in the presence of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.
TWO DELUXE, coffee-table books also are being prepared. Bruce Whitmore’s The Dawning-Place will tell the story of the Bahá’í House of Worship in Wilmette, while Paul Slaughter’s book on the Shrine of the Báb will evoke the essence of that Bahá’í landmark in text and photographs.
The release, over a period of a year, of the first 12 volumes of The Bahá’í World will be welcome news to those who haunt used-book stores looking for missing volumes.
Volume 1 will be released in January 1981. Subsequent volumes will become available monthly on a subscription basis.
A number of compilations of the Bahá’í Writings are also in preparation.
Selected Writings of the Báb and Selected Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá will round out the series of small, blue pocket-sized books begun several years ago.
Selected Writings of Bahá’u’lláh and Selected Writings of Shoghi Effendi already are available.
The Continental Boards of Counsellors, a lengthy compilation of letters concerning this important institution of the Faith, will be released in December.
TWO COMPILATIONS by the Universal House of Justice are planned—Bahá’í Funds and Contributions and Bahá’í Writings on Music.
A compilation of messages from the Universal House of Justice between 1973 and 1978 is also planned. The format will be similar to that of Messages from the Universal House of Justice: 1968–1973.
The Chalice of Immortality will be welcomed by those interested in life after death. The compilation will be the most extensive yet published on the topic.
Bahá’í Answers, compiled by Olivia Kelsey, will make available a variety of Bahá’í quotations in a question-and-answer format.
Two publications of works by Mírzá Abdu’l-Fadl are planned, as is an anthology of articles from World Order.
New deepening materials will include a nine-chapter book that includes the nine major categories covered in the Star Study Program.
The five Star Study booklets already published will be included in the new book, along with four others not yet published.
A SERIES of 19 daily-devotional booklets, also part of the Star Study Program, are scheduled for release next spring. Each booklet will include a devotional passage for each day of the Bahá’í month.
The National Teaching Committee is completing work on a deepening and consolidation booklet to be used as a follow-up to the popular orange (formerly green) teaching booklet.
For parents, Beacon of Light will provide practical advice, based on the Bahá’í Writings, on rearing children.
A modular handbook for parents also is being planned, as is a book of crafts and games for Bahá’í Holy Days.
Revised editions of God’s Great Plan and the Bahá’í House of Worship picture booklet will be released. A new edition of Know Your Bahá’í Literature will include a section on special materials.
Reports on The Promulgation of Universal Peace and Some Answered Questions having been sent to the Universal House of Justice, it is hoped that revised editions of these two volumes will be available in 1981. A revised edition of Message to America is also planned.
NEW CHILDREN’S books will include a simple prayer book for one- to three-year-olds and four more Sunflower Books for three- to seven-year-olds.
Two character-development stories by Gail Radley are also being designed—Zahra’s Journey and The Eagle’s Wings. These will appeal to seven- to eleven-year-olds.
Details on all of these new and revised titles will be announced to all Bahá’í librarians and published in The American Bahá’í as they are released.
Andrew A. Ken (right), a Bahá’í from the Pacific island of Yap in the Carolines, chats with George Dannells, a member of the National Teaching Committee staff, during a visit August 18 to the House of Worship in Wilmette. Mr. Ken, an assistant to the Auxiliary Board in the Caroline Islands and former member of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Mariana Islands, was in the U.S. as part of an around-the-world trip that included a pilgrimage to the Holy Land and stops at every Bahá’í House of Worship including the Temple sites in India and Western Samoa.
The Spiritual Assembly of Kalamazoo Township, Michigan, sponsored this exhibit that was seen by approximately 600 people at the recent Kalamazoo Women’s Festival at Kalamazoo Valley Community College. Bahá’í introductory pamphlets and pamphlets on the equality of men and women were offered to visitors at the Festival. The exhibit, mounted in an excellent location, was conceived, designed and executed by local Bahá’ís.
Comment[edit]
Continued From Page 2
restless and full of anxiety. Contentment involves conquering our inner agitation, the satisfaction of accepting what God has given us.
If He deems through His chosen Manifestation that what we enjoy is forbidden, we will conform happily; and if He commands us to do that which we don’t like, we will unhesitatingly respond, because by such rectitude we remove the worldly chains from our souls and taste the fruits of “true liberty”.
SUCH RECTITUDE nurtures human interactive qualities such as trust, love, honesty, charity, forbearance — qualities that enhance human relationships.
It is on the plain of rectitude that Bahá’í communities are able to distinguish themselves from the non-Bahá’í world.
Complete Freedom from All Forms of Prejudice
Bahá’u’lláh has revealed:
“He Who is the Eternal Truth hath, from the Day-Spring of Glory, directed His eyes towards the people of Bahá, and is addressing them in these words: ‘Address yourselves to the promotion of the well-being and tranquillity of the children of men. Bend your minds and wills to the education of the peoples and kindreds of the earth, that haply the dissensions that divide it may, through the power of the Most Great Name, be blotted out from its face, and all mankind become the upholders of one Order, and the inhabitants of one City. Illumine and hallow your hearts; let them not be profaned by the thorns of hate or the thistles of malice. Ye dwell in one world, and have been created through the operation of one Will. Blessed is he who mingleth with all men in a spirit of utmost kindliness and love.’ ” (Gleanings, pp. 333–334)
Learning to “mingle with all men” is the key to eliminating prejudices that exist in our lives and our communities.
We must strive to emulate the example set by believers such as Martha Root, who mingled with all strata of society to become known, in the words of the Guardian, as “first finest fruit Formative Age Faith”.
The Spirit of Love Among Its Members
In radiating a spirit of love, we become the embodiment of these words of the Master:
“HOW GOOD it is if the friends be as close as sheaves of light, if they stand together side by side in a firm unbroken line ... therefore must all souls become as one soul, and all hearts as one heart.
“Let all be set free from the multiple identities that were born of passion and desire, and in the oneness of their love for God find a new way of life.” (Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, p. 76)
What is the atmosphere like when we meet one another? Are we like the thirsty one coming at last to the fountain of water?
‘Abdu’l-Bahá asked that we become “an attractive force”. (Bahá’í World Faith, p. 323) One definition of attraction is “a force acting mutually between particles of matter (or bodies) tending to draw them together, and resisting their separation”. Between Bahá’ís, the spirit of love is the attracting force.
The Closely Knit Fabric of Its Social Life
The strength of our Bahá’í communities’ social fabric is the real test of our unity. It reveals how well we have established the other characteristics.
If we feel that we have a healthy Bahá’í community, but lack a closely knit social fabric, we probably need to re-evaluate our progress and development.
OUR SOCIAL LIFE as Bahá’ís clearly distinguishes us from the sick world around us. Through that social fabric we demonstrate how Bahá’u’lláh has raised us up and cemented our hearts together, how He has brightened our lives in a world of deepening gloom.
There is a direct correlation between the strength of any Bahá’í community and the closeness of its social fabric. We cannot attract people to the Cause of God and nurture them in His Word if we are socially distant from one another.
The Universal House of Justice writes:
“Our task is to build the Order of Bahá’u’lláh. Undeflected by the desperate expedients of those who seek to subdue the storm convulsing human life by political, economic, social or educational programs, let us, with single-minded devotion and concentrating all our efforts on our objective, raise His Divine System and, sheltered within its impregnable stronghold, safe from the darts of doubtfulness, demonstrate the Bahá’í way of life.” (Messages from the Universal House of Justice: 1968–1973, p. 12)
[Page 29]
The Bahá’í community of Wyckoff, New Jersey, sponsored this window display for the entire month of April at the Wyckoff Public School library. It marked the second year in a row in which the Wyckoff community was able to place such a display.
The first Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Sandy, Oregon, was formed this year. Shown are (front row left to right) Sabrina deCoteau, James Connet, Michael Lauderback; (second row left to right) Irene Knight-Weiler, Melody Gunter; and (back row left to right) William Knight-Weiler, Donald Gunter, Barry Bevan, Schuyler Lininger, Jane Lininger.
Bill and Elsa Meyer, Bahá’ís from Harlem Township, Illinois, celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary this year. Mrs. Meyer’s mother, Mrs. Mollie Anderson of Kenosha, Wisconsin, became a Bahá’í in the early 1900s, and Mrs. Meyer remembers ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s visit to Kenosha in September 1912. Mr. Meyer has been a Bahá’í since 1932. The Meyers have raised four children, two of whom—Mrs. George Dezek of Spooner, Wisconsin, and Mrs. Astrid Bundle of Rockford, Illinois—are Bahá’ís. Harlem Township, where the Meyers have lived since 1945, formed its first Spiritual Assembly in November 1978.
Traveling[edit]
Continued From Page 10
Do I pay my own expenses?
Yes. Since the condition of the National Fund is critical, the friends are being called upon to volunteer their services.
In many instances hospitality can be provided by the local Bahá’í community, and in some cases financial assistance for gasoline can be provided. This can be determined on an individual basis.
You know, maybe I could be a volunteer traveling teacher. How do I volunteer or apply?
Simply fill out the Volunteer Traveling Teacher Information Form, cut it out and send it to the National Teaching Committee, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091. Then be prepared to discover the exhilaration and confirmation experienced by sharing the healing Message of Bahá’u’lláh with people throughout the country.
Remember, anyone can be a traveling teacher, even if he or she only has one day to offer.
‘Spiritual being’ conference set[edit]
The Spiritual Assembly of Grand Junction, Colorado, is sponsoring a three-day conference on Self, Psychology and the Spiritual Being to be held October 31–November 2.
The conference is open to Bahá’ís and non-Bahá’ís, with registration limited to 76. Non-Bahá’ís will attend free as guests of the Assembly.
The format includes workshops on 18 subjects, six general sessions, panel discussions, and question-and-answer sessions.
Limited hospitality is available.
Martyrs[edit]
Continued From Page 1
Hasanzadih, ‘Abdu’l-Vahhab Kazimi Manshadi, Jalal Mustaqim, ‘Ali Mutahhari, and ‘Azizu’llah Zabihiyan.
ACCORDING to a report received at the Bahá’í National Center in Wilmette shortly after the executions, the families of the seven prisoners in Yazd were invited on Sunday, September 7, to see the prisoners.
The families were given to understand that the prisoners were to be moved to another prison.
At 4 a.m. the following day the prisoners were executed.
Three hours later Radio Yazd announced the executions, citing as charges against the Bahá’ís cooperation with the previous regime, spying for the U.S. and Israel, and “corruption on earth.”
These latest killings bring to 12 the number of known executions of Bahá’ís in Iran in the last few months.
In July two members of the Spiritual Assembly of Tabriz, Yad’u’lláh Astání and Farámarz Samandarí, were shot to death in that city.
Earlier, Bahar Vujdani of Mahabad, Ghulam-Husayn A‘zami of Sangsar, and Asadu’llah Mukhtari of Birjand were martyred in those cities.
FOLLOWING the radio report of the executions in Yazd, the Bahá’ís there sought to find the bodies of the executed men and were told the bodies were at the cemetery.
The Bahá’í cemetery at Yazd was confiscated and destroyed sometime during the past two years. The bodies of the executed prisoners were dumped on ground adjacent to the Zoroastrian cemetery.
During that day some 500 Bahá’ís of Yazd went to the scene and buried their dead.
While they were doing so, gunmen from the “Komiteh” (representing the local government of Yazd) came to view the proceedings and confiscated cameras to prevent the taking of photographs.
Coming next month: Green Lake wrap-up[edit]
Watch for a complete report of the historic 20th annual Green Lake (Wisconsin) Bahá’í Conference in the November issue of The American Bahá’í.
The conference, held September 12–14, was the largest in its history.
The Bahá’ís of Lincoln, Nebraska, designed and constructed this self-propelled float for the 1980 Independence Day celebration in Seward, Nebraska, an extension teaching goal. Its theme was ‘Mankind Is One.’ Music by the Bahá’í Victory Chorus was amplified by speakers hidden under the globe atop the float. A photo of the Bahá’í House of Worship in Wilmette was on the front with a sign that read ‘Bahá’ís of Lincoln.’
More than 60 attend Naw-Rúz dinner in Montgomery, Alabama[edit]
More than 60 people, about half of whom were non-Bahá’ís, attended an international dinner sponsored by the Bahá’ís of Montgomery, Alabama, to celebrate Naw-Rúz.
The guest speaker was Jack Perrin, a Bahá’í from Atlanta, Georgia.
A highlight of the evening was the presentation by the Bahá’ís of a human relations award to Joel Sanders, a state employee who has been active in refugee resettlement.
In his acceptance speech, Mr. Sanders praised the efforts of the Bahá’í community in promoting better human relations, and said he was deeply touched to be honored by an organization with such high ideals.
The buffet supper was enjoyed by guests of many nationalities representing the Jewish, Christian, Hindu and Buddhist religions.
Press coverage included an article announcing the meeting, and another the day afterward that included a photo of the award presentation.
[Page 30]
More than 25 Bahá’ís and friends in the Town of Brookhaven, New York, gathered recently for a surprise baby shower for four women in the community who are preparing to welcome new children this fall and winter. The four are Irene Bush, a Bahá’í who recently moved to Brookhaven, Marie McNair, the secretary of the Spiritual Assembly, Fahimeh Rouhani, who will be a mother for the first time, and Marge Scheidet, a relatively new Bahá’í. The celebration, held outside at the home of John and Marie McNair, opened with the reading of the prayer for expectant mothers by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, and included a buffet breakfast.
Classifieds[edit]
Continued From Page 24
and other companies. For information, please write to the District Teaching Committee of Mississippi, Route 1, Box 300-A, Starkville, MS 39759, or phone 601-323-3900.
YOUTH AND ADULT students needed to strengthen a northern Minnesota community and help reactivate a college club at Bemidji State University, Bemidji, Minnesota. The university offers undergraduate and advanced programs in a variety of fields including Indian studies, education, and environmental studies. The cost of living is moderate, and there are a number of employment opportunities. Bemidji is four hours from Minneapolis in the heart of Minnesota’s beautiful north woods. Recreational, educational, and teaching opportunities abound. For more information, write to Marsha Qualey, P.O. Box 56, Bemidji, MN 56601, or phone 218-751-5765.
POETRY wanted for a collection of poetry on Bahá’í-related subjects. Please send as many poems as you wish (each on 8 × 10 paper, double-spaced) with a stamped, self-addressed envelope to Beau Rafaat, 301 Cortsen Road, Pleasant Hill, CA 94523.
NEEDED: Four adult Bahá’ís to help save a Spiritual Assembly in Huntington, West Virginia, home of Marshall University (specializing in education and other programs). Huntington is a city of 60,000-70,000 in a lovely mountain setting. Jobs are scarce, but some are available, especially in specialized fields. Huntington offers friendly people plus the convenience of a city with the beauty of the countryside. For more information, please contact Patricia Lynne Orr, secretary, the Spiritual Assembly of Huntington, P.O. Box 1361, Huntington, WV 25713.
Dr. Kazemzadeh outlines prospects for world order[edit]
Dr. Firuz Kazemzadeh, vice-chairman of the National Spiritual Assembly and professor of history at Yale University, addressed more than 60 members of the International Policy Institute (IPI) July 31 on the history and prospects for a world government and the Bahá’í vision of the future world order.
IPI is an independent organization designed to foster international education, investment, trade, culture and understanding.
IN A PRESENTATION cosponsored by the Bahá’í community of Washington, D.C., and IPI, Dr. Kazemzadeh traced the history of the concept of world government from Greek and Roman visions of world unity through conquest to the medieval and Renaissance Christian theory of European federation and the Muslim doctrine of unifying secular and spiritual authority in the Caliph or Imam.
The flowering of nationalism in the 19th century, he said, could only be celebrated by those who felt secure in the relative quiescence of a period that ended abruptly with the First World War.
Our growing sense of the vulnerability of civilization to world war, Dr. Kazemzadeh continued, together with the converging efforts of those who struggle against racism, ignorance and sectarianism, can help to promote world government.
But, he explained, we must channel spiritual energy into our efforts to unify mankind if we are to combat successfully the nationalism that has so long animated and ravaged the 20th century and realize fully the potential of human beings.
Bahá’ís work for such ideals, said Dr. Kazemzadeh, including the equality of men and women and the eradication of prejudice, and demonstrate in their community life the needed principles of world unity that serve as prototypes for the establishment of world order.
Participants in previous IPI seminars, held regularly since 1975, have included officials from the State, Defense, Commerce and Treasury Departments, members of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, members of Congress, and executives of multinational corporations and trade associations.
Dr. Kazemzadeh’s address generated a lively question-and-answer session and considerable interest in the Faith among IPI members.
Howard Larson, coach of the Rolling Meadows (Illinois) Bahá’í Track Club, is shown after placing fourth (third in the 20-29 age division) in the annual Meadows Miles for Muscular Dystrophy race. The club was formed a year ago as a means of proclaiming the Faith while engaging in a fitness program. Anyone interested in joining may contact Mr. Larson at 2702 St. James, Rolling Meadows, IL 60008.
Teaching[edit]
Continued From Page 15
have emerged from her conversations with believers across the country.
THE FIRST of these is the importance of the individual’s role, echoing the idea of “each one teach one.”
The other message that comes across is “let’s not talk about the goals; let’s win them.”
“Everyone is in the mood to get things done and not simply talk about it,” says Mrs. Lopez. “In other words, less paper work and more field work.”
The importance of the work carried out by the National Teaching Committee was emphasized by the Guardian, who described it as “the chief auxiliary institution” of the National Spiritual Assembly. (The Advent of Divine Justice, p. 44)
|
Revised edition now available in paperback!
The Promised Day Is Come is Shoghi Effendi’s authoritative perspective on current world events. This revised edition of the Guardian’s 1941 letter to Western Bahá’ís is indispensable—an eloquent and forceful analysis of the main trends of the last hundred years. Catalog No. 7-08-17 Cloth $10.00 |
In memoriam[edit]
- Miss Lillian Bell
- Anderson, S.C.
- January 30, 1974
- Miss Elizabeth Clark
- Ferndale, Washington
- July 28, 1980
- Mrs. Elaine Dixon
- Yucaipa, Calif.
- July 8, 1980
- Tom Easterling
- Wagram, N.C.
- July 27, 1980
- Arlen Estes
- Los Altos, Calif.
- April 29, 1980
- Mrs. Isadora Gardner
- Hobbs, New Mexico
- 1979
- Preston Giles
- Anderson, S.C.
- January 1975
- Howard T. Graham
- Mira Loma, Calif.
- Date unknown
- Mrs. Johanna H. Hall
- Newhall, California
- June 20, 1980
- Miss Ida Jurgensen
- Los Angeles, Calif.
- September 14, 1979
- David Logan
- Anderson, S.C.
- July 8, 1980
- Dr. Kurt Mueller
- San Gabriel, Calif.
- November 1978
- Mrs. Ailene Pearson
- Gaston, Oregon
- May 1980
- Mrs. Katie Reed
- Whittier, N.C.
- May 1, 1980
- Dure Nathaniel Reese
- Central, S. Carolina
- July 14, 1980
- Eugene Thomas
- Anderson, S.C.
- Date unknown
- Tom White
- Anderson, S.C.
- Date unknown
- Mrs. Lillian Williams
- Goldsboro, N.C.
- June 1980
- Mrs. Thursley Williams
- Ritter, S. Carolina
- July 12, 1980
List of Assemblies with extension teaching goals[edit]
The following is a listing of Assemblies that have adopted extension teaching goals. The Universal House of Justice has called for the adoption of such goals by a minimum of 700 Local Spiritual Assemblies during the first phase of the Seven Year Plan. Thus far, 418 Assemblies have adopted such goals. If your Assembly has adopted an extension goal but is not listed here, or if your community would like to adopt a goal, please contact the National Teaching Committee office.
•
| Assembly | Goal Locality | Open Locality | Form Group | Group/LSA | Help LSA | Help Locality | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CENTRAL REGION | |||||||
| ILLINOIS, NORTHERN 1 | |||||||
| Aurora | Oswego | X | |||||
| Glen Ellyn | Villa Park | X | |||||
| Joliet | Bolingbrook | X | |||||
| ILLINOIS, NORTHERN 2 | |||||||
| Chicago | La Grange Park | X | |||||
| Norridge | X | ||||||
| Evanston | Mt. Prospect | X | |||||
| La Grange | La Grange Park | X | |||||
| Park Forest | South Park Forest | X | |||||
| Wilmette | *Hanover Park | X | |||||
| *Hoffman Estates | X | ||||||
| *Prospect Heights | X | ||||||
| Rolling Meadows | X | ||||||
| ILLINOIS, SOUTHERN | |||||||
| Alton | *Wood River | X | |||||
| Belleville | Alorton | X | |||||
| Champaign | Fayette County | X | |||||
| Kankakee | X | ||||||
| Jacksonville | South Jacksonville | X | |||||
| Peoria | Galesburg | X | |||||
| +Washington | X | ||||||
| INDIANA | |||||||
| Bloomington | Nashville | X | |||||
| Owen County | X | ||||||
| Evansville | Henderson, KY | X | |||||
| Indianapolis | Beech Grove | X | |||||
| Lawrence | X | ||||||
| Speedway | X | ||||||
| Kokomo | Tipton | X | |||||
| Lafayette | Delphi | X | |||||
| Terre Haute | Vincennes | X | |||||
| West Terre Haute | X | ||||||
| IOWA | |||||||
| Cedar Rapids | Manchester | X | |||||
| Marion | X | ||||||
| Council Bluffs | Glenwood | X | |||||
| Davenport | Bettendorf | X | |||||
| Des Moines | Ankeny | X | |||||
| Iowa City | Coralville | X | |||||
| KANSAS | |||||||
| Hutchinson | Kingman | X | |||||
| Lyons | X | ||||||
| McPherson | X | ||||||
| Kansas City | Atchinson | X | |||||
| Edwardsville | X | ||||||
| Independence | X | ||||||
| Leavenworth | X | ||||||
| Topeka | Shawnee County | X | |||||
| Wichita | Bel Aire | X | |||||
| MICHIGAN, MAINLAND | |||||||
| Ann Arbor | Chelsea | X | |||||
| *Pittsfield Township | X | ||||||
| Plymouth Township | X | ||||||
| Detroit | Clinton Township | X | |||||
| Southfield | X | ||||||
| Flint | Grand Blanc | X | |||||
| Vassar | X | ||||||
| Grand Rapids | Holland | X | |||||
| Muskegon | Dalton Township | X | |||||
| Grand Haven | X | ||||||
| Fruitport Township | X | ||||||
| Saginaw | Vassar | X | |||||
| Ypsilanti Township | Romulus | X | |||||
| *Pittsfield Township | X | ||||||
| MINNESOTA, NORTHERN | |||||||
| Duluth | Proctor | X | |||||
| Superior, WI | X | ||||||
| MINNESOTA, SOUTHERN | |||||||
| Burnsville | Apple Valley | X | |||||
| Falcon Heights | Wright County | X | |||||
| Minneapolis | St. Louis Park | X | |||||
| Rochester | Austin | X | |||||
| Winona | X | ||||||
| Roseville | Arden Hills | X | |||||
| MISSOURI | |||||||
| Columbia | +Boone County | X | |||||
| Jefferson City | New Melle | X | |||||
| Springfield | Joplin | X | |||||
| Nixa | X | ||||||
| Rogersville | X | ||||||
| St. Charles County | New Melle | X | |||||
| St. Peters | X | ||||||
| NORTH DAKOTA | |||||||
| Fargo | West Fargo | X | |||||
| Grand Forks | Climax | X | |||||
| Crookston, MN | X | ||||||
| East Grand County | X | ||||||
| Grand Forks County | X | ||||||
| OHIO, NORTHERN | |||||||
| Akron | Austintown Township | X | |||||
| Bowling Green | Findlay | X | |||||
| North Baltimore | X | ||||||
| Cleveland | New Philadelphia | X | |||||
| Cleveland Heights | University Heights | X | |||||
| Lakewood | Oberlin | X | |||||
| Shaker Heights | Blackwood | X | |||||
| Elyria | X | ||||||
| Toledo | Fostoria | X | |||||
| Sylvania | X | ||||||
| WISCONSIN / MICHIGAN | |||||||
| Green Bay | Ashwaubenon | X | |||||
| Brown County | X | ||||||
| DePere | X | ||||||
| Oneida | X | ||||||
| WISCONSIN, SOUTHERN | |||||||
| Fond du Lac | Racine | X | |||||
| Sun Prairie | X | ||||||
| Madison | Racine | X | |||||
| Middleton | Waukahee | X | |||||
| Milwaukee | La Crosse | X | |||||
| Menominee Falls | X | ||||||
| New Berlin | Muskego | X | |||||
| Shorewood | *Brookfield | X | |||||
| Waukesha | Pewaukee | X | |||||
| Waukesha Township | X | ||||||
| Wauwatosa | Greenfield | X | |||||
| NORTHEASTERN REGION | |||||||
| CONNECTICUT | |||||||
| Bridgeport | Trumbull | X | |||||
| Greenwich Town | Port Chester | X | |||||
| Manchester | East Hartford | X | |||||
| Milford | Hamden | X | |||||
| New Haven | *Milford | X | X | ||||
| North Haven Town | X | ||||||
| West Haven | X | ||||||
| Vernon | Ellington | X | |||||
| West Hartford | Simsbury | X | |||||
| MAINE | |||||||
| Augusta | Farmington | X | |||||
| Eliot | Berwick | X | |||||
| *Kittery | X | ||||||
| South Berwick | X | ||||||
| York Town | *Kittery | X | |||||
| MASSACHUSETTS | |||||||
| Amherst Town | Sunderland | X | |||||
| Arlington Town | Everett | X | |||||
| Barnstable | Brewster | X | |||||
| Harwich | X | ||||||
| Beverly | Manchester Town | X | |||||
| Boston | Quincy | X | |||||
| Randolph Town | X | ||||||
| Assembly | Goal Locality | Open Locality | Form Group | Group/LSA | Help LSA | Help Locality | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cambridge | Reading Town | X | |||||
| Dartmouth Town | New Bedford | X | |||||
| Swansea | X | ||||||
| Gloucester | Rockport | X | |||||
| Malden | Everett | X | |||||
| Montague Town | Bernardston | X | |||||
| Everett | X | ||||||
| Greenfield Town | X | ||||||
| Northampton | Hatfield | X | |||||
| Somerville | Lincoln Town | X | |||||
| Waltham | Winchester Town | X | |||||
| Watertown | Belmont | X | |||||
| Westborough | Upton | X | |||||
| Worcester | Warren Town | X | |||||
| NEW HAMPSHIRE | |||||||
| Dover | Durham | X | |||||
| Rochester | X | ||||||
| NEW JERSEY | |||||||
| Bergenfield | Leonia | X | |||||
| Hamilton Township | Hightstown | X | |||||
| Jersey City | Bayonne | X | |||||
| North Bergen | X | ||||||
| Union City | X | ||||||
| Montclair | East Orange | X | |||||
| Verona | X | ||||||
| Piscataway Township | Highland Park | X | |||||
| Teaneck | +Paterson | X | |||||
| Willingboro | Riverton | X | |||||
| NEW YORK, EAST | |||||||
| Brookhaven | Bellport | X | |||||
| Patchogue | X | ||||||
| Greenburgh Town | Rockland | X | |||||
| Hempstead Town | Cedarhurst | X | |||||
| Garden City | X | ||||||
| +Rockville Centre | X | ||||||
| Hempstead Town North | +Glen Cove | X | |||||
| +Great Neck Plaza | X | ||||||
| Roslyn | X | ||||||
| Thomaston Village | X | ||||||
| Huntington | Huntington Bay | X | |||||
| Islip Town | Brightwaters Village | X | |||||
| Saranac Lake | Lake Placid | X | |||||
| White Plains | Harrison | X | |||||
| NEW YORK, WEST | |||||||
| Amherst Town | Stafford Town | X | |||||
| Williamsville | X | ||||||
| Buffalo | Cattaraugus | X | |||||
| Eden | X | ||||||
| Hamburg Village | Hamburg Town | X | |||||
| Ithaca Town | *Ithaca City | X | |||||
| Rochester | *Brighton Town | X | |||||
| Canandaigua | X | ||||||
| Webster | X | ||||||
| Syracuse | Utica | X | |||||
| Victor Town | Farmington Town | X | |||||
| PENNSYLVANIA, EAST | |||||||
| Allentown | +Bethlehem | X | |||||
| Harrisburg | York | X | |||||
| Philadelphia | Ft. Washington | X | |||||
| -Swarthmore | Trainer | X | |||||
| PENNSYLVANIA, WEST | |||||||
| Erie | North East | X | |||||
| Pittsburgh | Ross Township | X | |||||
| RHODE ISLAND | |||||||
| Providence | *East Providence | X | |||||
| VERMONT | |||||||
| Burlington | Winooski | X | |||||
| SOUTHERN REGION | |||||||
| ALABAMA, NORTHERN | |||||||
| Birmingham | Green County | X | |||||
| Decatur | Lawrence | X | |||||
| Morgan County | X | ||||||
| -Homewood | Green County | X | |||||
| Huntsville | Athens | X | |||||
| Florence | X | ||||||
| Madison | X | ||||||
| Jefferson County | Blount County | X | |||||
| Mountain Brook | X | ||||||
| Walker County | X | ||||||
| ALABAMA, S/FLORIDA, NW | |||||||
| Mobile | Mobile County | X | |||||
| ARKANSAS | |||||||
| Little Rock | Commac Village | X | |||||
| Conway | X | ||||||
| Jacksonville | Jacksonville | X | |||||
| North Little Rock | X | ||||||
| Pine Bluff | X | ||||||
| Rogers | Fort Smith | X | |||||
| DELMARVA | |||||||
| New Castle County | Greater Newark | X | |||||
| Newark | X | ||||||
| FLORIDA, CENTRAL | |||||||
| Hillsborough County | +Lutz | X | |||||
| Orlando | Lakeland | X | |||||
| Polk County | Winter Haven | X | |||||
| West Pasco | Altus County | X | |||||
| Hernando County | X | ||||||
| FLORIDA, NORTHERN | |||||||
| Jacksonville | Nassau County | X | |||||
| Leon County | Quincy | X | |||||
| Tallahassee | Havana | X | |||||
| FLORIDA, SOUTHERN | |||||||
| Boca Raton | Del Ray Beach | X | |||||
| Sanibel | X | ||||||
| Broward County, Central | North Lauderdale | X | |||||
| Broward County, North | Sunrise | X | |||||
| Broward County, South | Sunrise | X | |||||
| Cape Coral | Parkland | X | |||||
| Dade County, Central | Dade County, South | X | |||||
| South Miami | X | ||||||
| Dade County, North | Hialeah | X | |||||
| Fort Lauderdale | Lauderdale | X | |||||
| Fort Myers | LaBelle | X | |||||
| Port Charlotte | X | ||||||
| Lauderdale Lakes | Plantation | X | |||||
| Miami | Miami Beach | X | |||||
| North Miami | Biscayne Bay | X | |||||
| El Portal | X | ||||||
| Palm Beach, North | Bryant | X | |||||
| Loxahatchee | X | ||||||
| Pompano | Coral Springs | X | |||||
| Pompano Beach | Oakland Park | X | |||||
| Wilton Manors | Parkland | X | |||||
| Davie | Cooper City | X | |||||
| GEORGIA, NORTHERN | |||||||
| Cobb County, North | Canton | X | |||||
| Cobb County, South | Austell | X | |||||
| Habersham | X | ||||||
| Carroll County | Carrollton | X | |||||
| Newman | X | ||||||
| De Kalb County, Central | Lincoln Park | X | |||||
| De Kalb County, North | Avondale | X | |||||
| Scottsdale | X | ||||||
| De Kalb County, South | Lithonia | X | |||||
| North Fulton | Rome | X | |||||
| Richmond County | Blythe | X | |||||
| Roswell | Fulton County, South | X | |||||
| GEORGIA, SOUTHERN | |||||||
| Albany | Dawson | X | |||||
| Savannah | Glynn County | X | |||||
| McIntosh | X | ||||||
| KENTUCKY | |||||||
| Lexington | Midway | X | |||||
| Nicholasville | X | ||||||
| Versailles | X | ||||||
| Winchester | X | ||||||
| LOUISIANA, NORTHERN | |||||||
| LOUISIANA, SOUTHERN | |||||||
| Baton Rouge | Hammond | X | |||||
| Scottlandville | X | ||||||
| East Baton Rouge | Hammond | X | |||||
| New Orleans | Kenner | X | |||||
| MARYLAND/DC | |||||||
| Baltimore | Frederick | X | |||||
| Baltimore County, East | Hartford | X | |||||
| Baltimore County, West | Reistertown | X | |||||
| Carroll County | Hampstead | X | |||||
| Manchester | X | ||||||
| MISSISSIPPI | |||||||
| Gulfport | Harrison County | X | |||||
| Jackson | Clinton | X | |||||
| Hinds County | X | ||||||
| Meridian | X | ||||||
| Assembly | Goal Locality | Open Locality | Form Group | Group/LSA | Help LSA | Help Locality | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Madison County | Philadelphia | X | |||||
| Vicksburg | Warren County | X | |||||
| NORTH CAROLINA, CENTRAL | |||||||
| Chapel Hill | Chatham County | X | |||||
| Durham | Durham County | X | |||||
| Greater Rowland | X | ||||||
| Roxboro | X | ||||||
| Mount Airy | Surry County | X | |||||
| Wadesboro | X | ||||||
| Orange County | Hillsboro | X | |||||
| NORTH CAROLINA, EASTERN | |||||||
| Raleigh | Apex | X | |||||
| Wake Forest | X | ||||||
| NORTH CAROLINA, WESTERN | |||||||
| Asheville | Madison | X | |||||
| Charlotte | Derita/Mallard Creek | X | |||||
| Monroe | X | ||||||
| OKLAHOMA, EASTERN | |||||||
| Mayes County | Muskogee | X | |||||
| Tulsa | Bixby | X | |||||
| Sand Springs | X | ||||||
| Sapulpa | X | ||||||
| OKLAHOMA, WESTERN | |||||||
| Bethany | Clinton | X | |||||
| Weatherford | X | ||||||
| Woodward | X | ||||||
| Yukon | X | ||||||
| Edmond | Enid | X | |||||
| Midwest City | Altus | X | |||||
| Moore | Lawton | X | |||||
| Norman | Lawton | X | |||||
| Oklahoma City | Enid | X | |||||
| Guthrie | X | ||||||
| Spencer | Altus | X | |||||
| Forest Park | X | ||||||
| The Village | Clinton | X | |||||
| SOUTH CAROLINA, CENTRAL | |||||||
| Columbia | Cayce | X | |||||
| Olympia | X | ||||||
| Richland County North | Irmo | X | |||||
| TENNESSEE, EASTERN | |||||||
| Chattanooga | East Ridge | X | |||||
| Hamilton County | X | ||||||
| Cookeville | Jackson County | X | |||||
| Knoxville | Harriman | X | |||||
| TENNESSEE, WESTERN | |||||||
| Memphis | Arlington | X | |||||
| Nashville | Columbia | X | |||||
| Franklin | X | ||||||
| Murfreesboro | X | ||||||
| TEXAS, CENTRAL 1 | |||||||
| Austin | Cedar Park | X | |||||
| Del Valle | X | ||||||
| Travis County | X | ||||||
| Bexar County | Clarendon | X | |||||
| Del Rio | X | ||||||
| Eagle Pass | X | ||||||
| Kerrville | X | ||||||
| Maverick | X | ||||||
| San Antonio | Marion | X | |||||
| New Braunfels | X | ||||||
| San Marcos | Luling | X | |||||
| Martindale | X | ||||||
| New Braunfels | X | ||||||
| TEXAS, EASTERN 1 | |||||||
| Addison | Farmers Branch | X | |||||
| Arlington | Grand Prairie | X | |||||
| Hamilton | X | ||||||
| Midlothian | X | ||||||
| Dallas | Duncanville | X | |||||
| Farmers Branch | X | ||||||
| Denton | Colony | X | |||||
| Flower Mound | X | ||||||
| +Gainesville | X | ||||||
| Fort Worth | Azle | X | |||||
| Mineral Wells | |||||||
| Riverside | X | ||||||
| Weatherford | X | ||||||
| Garland | Allen | X | |||||
| Rowland | X | ||||||
| Wylie | X | ||||||
| Irving | Grapevine | X | |||||
| Plano | Allen | X | |||||
| Richardson | McKinney | X | |||||
| Sherman | X | ||||||
| Texarkana | Altoona | X | |||||
| University Park | Parkwall | X | |||||
| Waco | Hewitt | X | |||||
| TEXAS, EASTERN 2 | |||||||
| Baytown | Anahuac | X | |||||
| Dayton | X | ||||||
| Bellaire | Fayette County | X | |||||
| Galveston | Lake Jackson | X | |||||
| Harris County NW | Borderville | X | |||||
| Woodlands | X | ||||||
| Harris County SE | League City | X | |||||
| Houston | Bunker Hill | X | |||||
| Hedwig Village | X | ||||||
| Hillshire | X | ||||||
| Hunters Creek Village | X | ||||||
| Piney Point Village | X | ||||||
| Spring Valley | X | ||||||
| Huntsville | Walker County | X | |||||
| La Porte | Jackson County | X | |||||
| Morgan’s Point | X | ||||||
| Livingston | Alabama Indian Reservation | X | |||||
| TEXAS, NORTHERN | |||||||
| Amarillo | Canyon | X | |||||
| Dumas | X | ||||||
| Vernon | X | ||||||
| TEXAS, SOUTHERN | |||||||
| McAllen | *Brownsville | X | |||||
| Edinburg | X | ||||||
| *Harlingen | X | ||||||
| Portland | Gregory | X | |||||
| Odem | X | ||||||
| Victoria | Port Lavaca | X | |||||
| VIRGINIA, NORTHERN | |||||||
| Albemarle County | Crozet | X | |||||
| Alexandria | Fredericksburg | X | |||||
| Arlington NW | Fauquier County | X | |||||
| Fairfax County North | Front Royal | X | |||||
| Fairfax County South | Manassas | X | |||||
| Fairfax County SE | Harrisonburg | X | |||||
| Rockingham County | X | ||||||
| Fairfax County West | Occoquan | X | |||||
| Falls Church | Harrisonburg | X | |||||
| Rockingham County | X | ||||||
| Greater McLean | Harrisonburg | X | |||||
| Rockingham County | X | ||||||
| Herndon | Purcellville | X | |||||
| Loudoun County | Leesburg | X | |||||
| Reston | Manassas | X | |||||
| Staunton | Highland County | X | |||||
| Rockbridge | X | ||||||
| Vienna | Front Royal | X | |||||
| Middleburg | X | ||||||
| Winchester | X | ||||||
| VIRGINIA, SOUTHERN | |||||||
| Newport News | *Hampton | X | |||||
| Norfolk | Boykins | X | |||||
| Portsmouth | |||||||
| Richmond | Farmville | X | |||||
| Powhatan | X | ||||||
| WEST VIRGINIA | |||||||
| Charleston | Belle | X | |||||
| WESTERN REGION | |||||||
| ARIZONA, NORTHERN | |||||||
| Flagstaff | Coconino County | X | |||||
| Mesa | +Gilbert | X | |||||
| Peoria | +El Mirage | X | |||||
| +Surprise | X | ||||||
| Phoenix | +Avondale | X | |||||
| Buckeye | X | ||||||
| +Peoria | X | ||||||
| Tolleson | X | ||||||
| Scottsdale | +Maricopa County North | X | |||||
| ARIZONA, SOUTHERN | |||||||
| Cochise County | Apache Junction | X | |||||
| Pinal County | Apache Junction | X | |||||
| Sierra Vista | San Xavier Reservation | X | |||||
| Tucson | Benson | X | |||||
| CALIFORNIA, CENTRAL 1 | |||||||
| Berkeley | Emeryville | X | |||||
| Carmel Valley | Seaside | X | |||||
| Concord | Brentwood | X | |||||
| Clayton | X | ||||||
| Assembly | Goal Locality | Open Locality | Form Group | Group/LSA | Help LSA | Help Locality | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Contra Costa County | JD | Pinole | X | ||||
| Cupertino | Los Altos Hills | X | |||||
| Daly City | Colma | X | |||||
| Fremont | Monte Sereno | X | |||||
| Gilroy | Hollister | X | |||||
| Los Gatos | Monte Sereno | X | |||||
| Marina | Seaside | X | |||||
| Milpitas | +Gilroy | X | |||||
| Vallejo | X | ||||||
| Monterey | *Pacific Grove | X | |||||
| Seaside | X | ||||||
| Monterey Carmel JD | *Carmel | X | |||||
| Mountain View | Los Altos | X | |||||
| Oakland | Piedmont | X | |||||
| Palo Alto | *Menlo Park | X | |||||
| Portola Valley | X | ||||||
| Pittsburg | Antioch | X | |||||
| Redwood City | Woodside | X | |||||
| Richmond | San Pablo | X | |||||
| Salinas | Salinas JD | X | |||||
| San Carlos | *Belmont | X | |||||
| San Francisco | Pacifica | X | |||||
| San Jose | Morgan Hill | X | |||||
| San Martin | X | ||||||
| San Mateo | Foster City | X | |||||
| San Mateo County S JD | *Menlo Park | X | |||||
| Santa Clara County SW | Monte Sereno | X | |||||
| Scotts Valley | X | ||||||
| Santa Cruz | Davenport | X | |||||
| Felton | X | ||||||
| Santa Cruz County South | Freedom | X | |||||
| Saratoga | Los Altos | X | |||||
| Sunnyvale | *Belmont | X | |||||
| Walnut Creek | Emeryville | X | |||||
| Walnut Creek/Danville JD | Moraga | X | |||||
| CALIFORNIA, CENTRAL 2 | |||||||
| Bakersfield | Bakersfield JD | X | |||||
| Taft County | X | ||||||
| Clovis | Reedley | X | |||||
| Fresno | Madera | X | |||||
| Merced | Atwater | X | |||||
| Stockton | Manteca | X | |||||
| CALIFORNIA, NORTHERN 1 | |||||||
| Carmichael | NW Sacramento | X | |||||
| Chico | Orland | X | |||||
| Fair Oaks/Orangeville | Folsom | X | |||||
| Nevada JD | Cedar Ridge | X | |||||
| Grass Valley | X | ||||||
| Nevada City | X | ||||||
| Redding | +Anderson JD | X | |||||
| Burney JD | X | ||||||
| +Central Valley JD | X | ||||||
| CALIFORNIA, NORTHERN 2 | |||||||
| Arcata | Arcata JD | X | |||||
| Eureka JD | Fortuna | X | |||||
| Novato | Sausalito | X | |||||
| Tiburon | X | ||||||
| San Rafael | San Anselmo | X | |||||
| Santa Rosa | Calistoga | X | |||||
| Sonoma County Central | *Sebastopol | X | |||||
| Sonoma County North JD | Cloverdale | X | |||||
| Healdsburg | X | ||||||
| CALIFORNIA, SOUTHERN 1 | |||||||
| Altadena | +Arcadia | X | |||||
| Burbank | +San Gabriel | X | |||||
| +Sierra Madre | X | ||||||
| Glendale | +San Gabriel | X | |||||
| Hawthorne | +El Segundo | X | |||||
| La Canada/Flintridge | +La Crescenta | X | |||||
| Lawndale | Lomita | X | |||||
| Los Angeles | unspecified | ||||||
| Newhall/Valencia | Acton | X | |||||
| Agua Dulce | X | ||||||
| San Fernando | Fillmore | X | |||||
| Kagel Canyon | X | ||||||
| Santa Monica | +El Segundo | X | |||||
| Hidden Hills | X | ||||||
| Malibu | X | ||||||
| West Hollywood | Walnut | X | |||||
| CALIFORNIA, SOUTHERN 2 | |||||||
| Anaheim | +Fullerton | X | |||||
| *La Habra | X | ||||||
| Carlsbad | Lakeside | X | |||||
| Costa Mesa | +Santa Ana | X | |||||
| Dana Point | +San Clemente | X | |||||
| El Cajon | Lakeside | X | |||||
| El Cajon JD | Lakeside | X | |||||
| El Centro | Leucadia | X | |||||
| Encinitas | Leucadia | X | |||||
| Fullerton | Brea | X | |||||
| *La Habra | X | ||||||
| Placentia | X | ||||||
| Huntington Beach | Stanton | X | |||||
| La Mesa | Lakeside | X | |||||
| Newport Beach | +Laguna Beach | X | |||||
| +Seal Beach | |||||||
| Oceanside | +San Clemente | X | |||||
| Orange County S JD | Capistrano Beach | X | |||||
| +San Clemente | X | ||||||
| Palm Springs | +Desert JD | X | |||||
| *Indio | X | ||||||
| Perris JD | Perris City | X | |||||
| Redlands | East Division JD | X | |||||
| Riverside | Capistrano Beach | X | |||||
| +San Clemente | X | ||||||
| San Diego North JD | Borrego | X | |||||
| *Pala | X | ||||||
| Palomar | X | ||||||
| Victor JD | +Victorville | X | |||||
| CALIFORNIA, SOUTHERN 3 | |||||||
| San Luis Obispo JD 4 | Oceano | X | |||||
| Simi Valley | Moorpark | X | |||||
| Thousand Oaks | Moorpark | X | |||||
| Ventura | Santa Paula | X | |||||
| COLORADO, EASTERN | |||||||
| Boulder | Lafayette | X | |||||
| Colorado Springs | Manitou Springs | X | |||||
| Monument | X | ||||||
| Denver | Commerce City | X | |||||
| El Paso County West | El Paso County East | X | |||||
| Englewood | Jefferson County | X | |||||
| Fort Collins | La Porte | X | |||||
| Lakewood | Edgewater | X | |||||
| Larimer County | Berthoud | ||||||
| Pueblo | Beulah | X | |||||
| COLORADO, WESTERN | |||||||
| Grand Junction | *Clifton | X | |||||
| Palisade | X | ||||||
| IDAHO, N/WASHINGTON, E | |||||||
| Coeur d’Alene, ID | Post Falls | X | |||||
| Spokane, WA | Cheney | X | |||||
| Spokane CCD 2, WA | +Millwood | X | |||||
| Walla Walla | College Station | X | |||||
| Dayton | X | ||||||
| Waitsburg | X | ||||||
| Yakima | Union Gap | X | |||||
| IDAHO, SOUTHERN | |||||||
| Boise | Ada County | X | |||||
| Nampa | X | ||||||
| Idaho Falls | Rigby | X | |||||
| Pocatello | American Falls | X | |||||
| Burley | X | ||||||
| +Fort Hall Reservation | X | ||||||
| MONTANA | |||||||
| Billings | Laurel | X | |||||
| Bozeman | Unspecified isolated locality | X | |||||
| Gallatin County | Park County | X | |||||
| Great Falls | Blackfeet Reservation | X | |||||
| Fort Belknap | |||||||
| Havre | X | ||||||
| Helena | East Helena | X | |||||
| Lewis and Clark County | X | ||||||
| Missoula | Cul Bank | X | |||||
| Missoula County | Clinton | X | |||||
| Milltown | X | ||||||
| Potomac | X | ||||||
| NEVADA, NORTHERN | |||||||
| Carson City | Douglas County | X | |||||
| NEVADA, SOUTHERN | |||||||
| Henderson | East Las Vegas | X | |||||
| Las Vegas | Winchester Town | X | |||||
| Paradise Town | +Sunrise | X | |||||
| NEW MEXICO, NORTHERN | |||||||
| Bernalillo County | Corrales | X | |||||
| *Santa Fe County | X |
| Assembly | Goal Locality | Open Locality | Form Group | Group/LSA | Help LSA | Help Locality | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NEW MEXICO, S/TEXAS, W | |||||||
| Las Cruces | +Dona Ana County | X | |||||
| OREGON | |||||||
| Albany | Lebanon | X | |||||
| Astoria | Clatsop County | X | |||||
| Seaside | X | ||||||
| Warrenton | X | ||||||
| Bend | +Deschutes County | X | |||||
| Clackamas North | Estacada | X | |||||
| Molalla | X | ||||||
| Coos Bay | Coquille | X | |||||
| Eastside | X | ||||||
| Corvallis | Monroe | X | |||||
| Eugene | Coburg | X | |||||
| +Prineville | X | ||||||
| Gresham | Fairview | X | |||||
| Troutdale | X | ||||||
| Wood Village | X | ||||||
| Jackson County | Jacksonville | X | |||||
| Rogue River | X | ||||||
| Lane County Central | Veneta | X | |||||
| McMinnville | +Polk County | X | |||||
| North Bend | Coquille | X | |||||
| Pendleton | Enterprise | X | |||||
| Umatilla County | X | ||||||
| Wallowa County | X | ||||||
| Portland | The Dalles | X | |||||
| Salem | Monmouth | X | |||||
| Washington County | Aloha | X | |||||
| UTAH | |||||||
| Ogden | Riverdale | X | |||||
| Salt Lake City | *Provo | X | |||||
| Salt Lake County | +Midvale | X | |||||
| Sandy | X | ||||||
| WASHINGTON, NW | |||||||
| Anacortes | +Mt. Vernon | X | |||||
| Sedro-Woolley | X | ||||||
| Bellevue | +Greater Bellevue | X | |||||
| Bellingham | Lynden | X | |||||
| Bremerton | Port Madison Res. | X | |||||
| Silverdale | X | ||||||
| Des Moines | Normandy Park | X | |||||
| Edmonds | Mukilteo | X | |||||
| Snohomish | X | ||||||
| Greater Bellevue | Black Diamond | X | |||||
| Enumclaw | X | ||||||
| Greater Renton | X | ||||||
| Kirkland | Bothell | X | |||||
| Kingsgate | X | ||||||
| San Lorenzo | X | ||||||
| Kitsap CCD | Poulsbo | X | |||||
| Silverdale | X | ||||||
| Makah Reservation | Hoh Res. | X | |||||
| La Push Res. | X | ||||||
| Queets | X | ||||||
| Taholah | X | ||||||
| Paradise Town | unspecified | ||||||
| Port Angeles | Clallam CCD 1 | X | |||||
| Clallam CCD 2 | X | ||||||
| Redmond | +Carnation | X | |||||
| Rose Hill | X | ||||||
| Sea-Tac | Tahoma | X | |||||
| Tukwila | X | ||||||
| Seattle | Lake Forest Park | X | |||||
| Snohomish CCD 1 | Arlington | X | |||||
| Snohomish CCD 2 | Snohomish | X | |||||
| Squak Valley | Pine Lake | X | |||||
| Vashon-Maury Island | Maury Island | X | |||||
| Woodinville | Duvall | X | |||||
| Carnation | Snoqualmie | X | |||||
| Kitsap CCD 2 | Poulsbo | X | |||||
| WASHINGTON, SW | |||||||
| Longview | Cathlamet | X | |||||
| Wahkiakum CCD 3 | X | ||||||
| Pierce CCD 3 | DuPont | X | |||||
| Steilacoom | X | ||||||
| Tacoma | *Pierce County Peninsula | X | |||||
| Ruston | X | ||||||
| WYOMING | |||||||
| Cheyenne | Laramie County | X | |||||
| KEY: | |||||||
| *denotes localities which had Local Assemblies prior to Riḍván 1980. | |||||||
| +denotes goals which have been accomplished. | |||||||
| –denotes Assemblies which had adopted an extension teaching goal, but has lost its Assembly status since. | |||||||
Participants in the July 31–August 3 Special Visit Program at the Bahá’í National Center are shown in Foundation Hall at the House of Worship. Front row (left to right) are Rosemarie Redwood, Naghmeh Tebyanian, Neshat Tebyanian, Cynthia Clarke, Laura J. Befort, Alberta Clarke; second row (left to right) are Zinat Tebyanian, Nelson Wallace Jr., Susan Wallace, Barakatullah Ramsharran, Sharon J. Ramsharran, Brent Kilgore; third row (left to right) are Pedetha Arrington, Shahrbanoo Rashidi, Hooshang Tebyanian, Dorothy Kozlik, Lee McAdam, Jim Honatke, Connie Ellis; fourth row (left to right) are Robin Thiem, Roger Ellis, Douglas McAdam, George Grimmett, John Kozlik. The visitors came from Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wisconsin.
Participants in the Special Visit Program held August 14–17 shown in front of the Bahá’í House of Worship in Wilmette are (first row left to right) Mari Brooks, Risa Brooks, Betty Lou Cave, Ramina Noorassa, Renni Bailey, Noshin Rohani; (second row left to right) Helen Kintz, Ruth Hallstrom, Jeanine Gunasekaran, Diann Boone-Wallis, Kourosh Rohani; (third row left to right) Kathy Johnson, Bill Cave, Christine Olson, Gunna, Don Boone-Wallis, Touran Rohani; and (fourth row left to right) Bruce Whitmore, manager of the House of Worship Activities Office; Roxanne Brooks, Gerry Brooks, Lynn Briggs, Ramesh Noorassa, Kamran Ruintan. The visitors came from California, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Mississippi, New Jersey, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin.
The first Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Frederick, Maryland, was formed June 16. Members are (seated left to right) Margaret Gorelick (recording secretary), Vivian Cook (corresponding secretary), Nahid Sabhani, and (standing left to right) Peter Gorelick (chairman), Fulton Caldwell (treasurer), Judy Caldwell (librarian), Sabet Sabhani (vice-chairman), Charlene Durairaj, Aqdas Payami Pour.
Teamwork keeps ‘Child’s Way’ moving forward[edit]
“Child’s Way,” the bi-monthly Bahá’í children’s magazine, offers its youthful readers original stories, craft and science projects, poetry, articles about the Central Figures of the Faith and early believers, letters from readers, a “parents’ page,” book reviews, music, and editorials.
The publication of “Child’s Way” is the responsibility of a five-member editorial committee.
THESE DEDICATED volunteers are assisted by believers around the country who regularly contribute articles, poetry and artwork.
“In addition to the friends who send in materials for ‘Child’s Way,’ we’re beginning to identify a number of people whom we can ask for materials that meet certain specifications for a particular issue,” says Mary K. Radpour of Hixson, Tennessee, the magazine’s editor for the past five years.
Other members of the editorial committee are its secretary, Janet Richards, of Yardville, New Jersey; art director Rita Leydon of Lahaska, Pennsylvania; Mildred (Mimi) McClellan of Danville, Kentucky, who contributes music for each issue; and Keith Boehme of Richmond, Indiana, who keeps the magazine’s financial records.
One of the more significant functions of the magazine, says Mrs. Radpour, is that it helps bolster a Bahá’í child’s sense of identity.
“There is a strong sense of I am a Bahá’í, and this is my magazine,” she says.
Bahá’í children can get this feeling, she explains, from seeing their stories, drawings and poems published in “Child’s Way” along with contributions from other Bahá’í children.
THE EDITOR carries on a voluminous correspondence with subscribers and contributors around the world.
The usefulness of “Child’s Way,” she says, goes far beyond the intended reading audience of 5- to 11-year-olds.
Mrs. Radpour’s mail includes letters from 13- and 14-year-olds as well as from younger children. She reports that many older children say they read the magazine thoroughly.
“Child’s Way” also provides Bahá’í pioneers to areas whose people are largely illiterate or semi-literate with easy-to-understand stories for use with adults. These stories, she says, are useful for deepenings and at the Nineteen Day Feasts.
Rita Leydon, art director of Child’s Way magazine, implements its layout at the direction of editor Mary K. Radpour and assigns the task of illustration to one of a group of 15 volunteer artists.
The National Spiritual Assembly, responding to a request by the editorial committee, recently placed “Child’s Way” under the jurisdiction of the National Education Committee.
“The committee felt that the magazine was too valuable a resource for the national community not to use it,” says Mrs. Radpour. “We believe that many more things can be done with the magazine by working in closer touch with the Education Committee.”
PUBLICATION of “Child’s Way” as a Bahá’í magazine for children was begun in 1969.
It was preceded by a newsletter-like publication entitled “Child’s Way; A Guide for Parents and Teachers” that was first published by the National Child Education Committee before it was turned over to the “Child’s Way” editorial committee in 1960.
The present editorial committee has a number of specific objectives. These include developing each child’s awareness of the oneness of humanity, increasing his awareness of his spiritual nature and the need for its development, and providing practical approaches to dealing with the problems encountered in one’s life.
Other goals include development of children’s reasoning powers, provision of a standard for love and justice, and assistance to parents and teachers in discovering and using the child’s hidden talents and virtues.
In spite of the magazine’s continual need for new materials, says Mrs. Radpour, it isn’t possible to use every article that is contributed.
“However,” she says, “we do feel a moral obligation to explain our reasons for not using a particular manuscript to the person who has submitted it. Not only do we write back, but we try also to suggest some options.”
THE PRODUCTION work associated with each issue of “Child’s Way,” once the responsibility of the Bahá’í Publishing Trust, is now carried out by the editorial committee.
Mailing and subscriptions continue to be handled by the Trust’s Subscriber Services branch.
The publication of the magazine entails a high degree of cooperation, since no two members of the editorial committee live in the same city.
Mrs. Radpour writes articles and edits whatever materials are sent to her.
She then plans the layout of articles and illustrations and sends that material along with instructions to Mrs. Leydon, the art director.
Mrs. Leydon assigns the creation of illustrations for each article to one of a group of 15 artists who have volunteered their services to the magazine.
While waiting for the illustrations to arrive, she has the printed materials typeset.
It was only a year ago that “Child’s Way” was first set in type. Prior to that, the editor typed copy for each issue on an electric typewriter.
“TYPESETTING is a welcome improvement,” says Mrs. Radpour, “because it allows more space for illustrations and more artistic freedom for the art director.”
Mrs. Leydon prepares the final version of each page for printing, which is done by a private printer working in his home.
The printing follows proofreading of the issue by Mrs. Richards, who lives within a reasonable driving distance of the art director.
When the job is complete, the printed copies are mailed to Subscriber Service in Wilmette for mailing to individual subscribers.
Mrs. Radpour says she’d like to see “Child’s Way” evolve into a monthly magazine that would include complete sections for each age group.
“Every section of ‘Child’s Way’ would then be able to provide craft activities, fiction, poetry, music and the like,” she says, “that would be entirely appropriate for a particular age group.”
Mary K. Radpour is editor of ‘Child’s Way’ magazine.