The American Bahá’í/Volume 11/Issue 11/Text
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Mahmud Hasanzádih
Azízu’lláh Zabíhíyán
‘Ali Mutahhari
‘Abdu’l-Vahháb Manshádí
Jalál Mustaqím
Núr’u’lláh Akhtar-Khavárí
Fíraydún Farídaní
Martyrdoms in Iran: a lesson in heroism[edit]
James F. Nelson, chairman of the National Spiritual Assembly, speaks at a memorial service held September 27 at the Bahá’í House of Worship in Wilmette, Illinois, for the seven Bahá’í martyrs of Yazd, Iran. Nearly 1,000 Bahá’ís from the Chicago area and elsewhere filled the auditorium at the House of Worship to pay tribute to the heroic sacrifice made by their fellow-believers in the Cradle of the Faith. Media coverage was extensive with an article in the Chicago Sun-Times, wire service mention and news items on two of Chicago’s leading television stations among the immediate results.
U.S. believers must sacrifice to redeem these innocent lives[edit]
To gaze at the blessed faces of the seven believers who laid down their lives at dawn on September 8 in Yazd, Iran, causes one to question his own degree of dedication to the Cause, and to ask what can now be done to redeem the loss of those precious lives.
For the past two years the Bahá’í world has watched with dismay the unfoldment of tragic events in the Cradle of the Faith—events that parallel the sufferings and persecutions experienced by the Dawn-breakers.
THE AVOWED enemies of the Faith, released from all restraints in the wake of the Iranian Revolution, have once again attacked the Persian Bahá’í community. Their calculated and malicious intent is to extinguish the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh.
Attacks have been ruthlessly launched against the believers, destroying hundreds of homes and businesses, subjecting many individuals to beatings and demands that they recant their Faith.
At one time, more than 2,000 believers including children were forced, homeless, into the deserts and mountains. Over the course of time, many were also imprisoned.
The next stage in the attacks on this precious community came with the systematic efforts of financial strangulation. The Umana Company, which held all the properties in Iran on behalf of the Faith, was taken over by non-Bahá’í management.
Other Bahá’í businesses and
| What’s inside
MORE THAN 30 Southeast Asians are enrolled in the San Diego, California, area. Page 10 NINETY-SIX declarations are recorded in “Project Olinga” teaching campaign in Joliet, Illinois. Page 11 RECORD attendance of 1,298 at 20th annual Green Lake, Wisconsin, Conference. Page 14 THIRTY-NINE Bahá’í youth attend a “Touchstone” teaching session at the Green Acre School in Eliot, Maine. Page 16 THE NATIONAL Youth Committee devises a new National Youth Plan designed to win the Seven Year Plan goals for youth. Page 17 |
History month is postponed to Sultan
It was announced last month in The American Bahá’í that the National Spiritual Assembly had designated the month of Sharaf (December 31–January 18) “Bahá’í History Month.”
However, to give the National Education Committee sufficient time to prepare and distribute a study outline and other materials, the observance has been postponed until the month of Sultán (January 19–February 6).
The purpose of the month-long observance is to encourage the Bahá’í community to appreciate more fully the history of the Faith, and thus to enhance its understanding of the present crisis in Iran.
Local Spiritual Assemblies, Bahá’í Groups and individual believers are requested to set aside some time during the month of Sultán to study and discuss Bahá’í history.
Final six months—a matter of priorities[edit]
The beloved Master, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, often pointed out to the friends that this is a Day in which “important things” must often be sacrificed for “the most important thing.”
“If ye be truly united,” He said, “if ye agree to promote that which is the essential purpose ... I swear by Him Who causeth the seed to split and the breeze to waft, ... your power will penetrate the realities of all things ... your spirit will encompass the whole world of being.”
DESPITE the impressive victories that the Bahá’í community has won in the past, all now depends upon the attainment of our teaching goals.
The first question to be asked of
The following chart outlines the status as of September 30 of the goals assigned to the American Bahá’í community by the Universal House of Justice for the first two-year phase of the Seven Year Plan. It shows the number of Local Spiritual Assemblies in the U.S. including those on Indian Reservations, the number of localities opened to the Faith, the number of Assemblies with extension teaching goals, and the number of enrollments in the special final stages
| 1980 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GOAL | APR | MAY | JUNE | JULY | AUG | SEPT | |
| LOCAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLIES | 1650 | 1454 | 1455 | 1457 | 1460 | 1463 | 1467 |
| INDIAN RESERVATIONS | 35 | 34 | 33 | 34 | 34 | 34 | 34 |
| LOCALITIES | 7200 | 6949 | 6941 | 6941 | 6959 | 6966 | 6993 |
| EXTENSION TEACHING GOALS | 700 | 400 | 403 | 403 | 407 | 428 | 430 |
| ENROLLMENTS | |||||||
| CALIFORNIA | 7000 | 408 | 424 | 454 | 480 | 527 | 624 |
| ILLINOIS | 2500 | 364 | 376 | 383 | 401 | 428 | 437 |
| NEW YORK | 1800 | 132 | 139 | 143 | 146 | 156 | 161 |
| DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA | 125 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 |
| MASSACHUSETTS | 900 | 79 | 84 | 85 | 88 | 92 | 98 |
| TOTAL | 3875 | 4089 | 4233 | 4417 | 4693 | 4993 | |
[Page 2]
THE FUNDS
Editorial
The test of deeds[edit]
Bahá’u’lláh has written: “The essence of Faith is fewness of words and abundance of deeds.”
When put to the test, the Persian martyrs visibly demonstrated the depth of their devotion to the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh by yielding up their lives.
THERE IS A DEED that every Bahá’í in this country is called upon to perform to help redeem the sacrifices of the martyrs and thus prove the degree of his or her commitment to the Cause—namely, contributing sacrificially to the National Fund every Bahá’í month.
The beloved Guardian wrote:
“Contributions to this Fund (National) constitute ... a practical and effective way whereby every believer can test the measure and character of his faith, and prove in deeds the intensity of his devotion and attachment to the Cause.” (From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi dated July 29, 1935)
The designation “spiritual descendants of the Dawn-breakers” bestowed upon this community by the Guardian carries with it a weighty obligation to match the heroic deeds of our spiritual ancestors.
In a direct-mail appeal in late October, and in a taped message at the Feast of Qudrat (November 4), the National Spiritual Assembly has challenged every believer to live up to his noble birthright.
The letter of appeal enclosed nine detachable coupons, each with the name and date of one of the nine Bahá’í months remaining until Riḍván.
THE NATIONAL Spiritual Assembly has asked for a united demonstration of sacrifice for the National Fund as one way to redeem the suffering of the martyrs.
It is hoped that every month between now and Riḍván will witness a flood of coupons being returned to the National Assembly with contributions that have involved some element of self-denial on the part of the contributor.
An overwhelming response to this appeal from the National Spiritual Assembly will demonstrate, by an “abundance of deeds,” the degree of our faith in the Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh.
U.S. budget won’t be slashed[edit]
Dear Bahá’í Friends:
It was a thrilling experience to participate in the recent memorial service for the seven martyrs of Yazd held at the House of Worship in Wilmette.
|
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. |
The auditorium was filled with more than 1,000 Bahá’ís, local dignitaries, friends of the Faith, press reporters and photographers.
AT THE conclusion of the service, the dome reverberated as everyone sang “The Remover of Difficulties.” One visitor made his declaration, and subsequent coverage on Chicago television sparked an increase in inquiries about the Faith.
This highly successful event was orchestrated by the National Spiritual Assembly’s Public Affairs Office, working with the public relations firm of Hill and Knowlton.
Our public relations activities have increased substantially since the outbreak of persecutions in Iran, and now cost approximately $250,000 annually.
|
Might—‘Izzat
137 B.E. National Bahá’í Individual Participation “... unless the flow of donations is regularly maintained ... by all the believers ... the National Fund will never be able to meet the needs and requirements of the Cause ...” Shoghi Effendi
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Martyrs[edit]
Continued From Page 1
properties also were seized, personal fortunes were confiscated, and Bahá’ís were forced from their jobs.
Properties taken were often destroyed or desecrated, including Bahá’í cemeteries.
Most criminal of all the acts perpetrated against the Faith was the destruction of the holiest Bahá’í Shrine in Iran—the House of the Blessed Báb in Shiraz.
FINALLY came the outrage of seizure of the members of the National Spiritual Assembly of Iran and, even more appalling, the martyrdom of nine believers.
Two members of the Local Spiritual Assembly of Tabriz and, most recently, seven believers in Yazd, including two Auxiliary Board members, preferred to face a firing squad rather than capitulate to the demand that they recant their Faith.
The willingness of those brave men to lay down their lives serves as irrefutable proof of the validity of the Cause of God. Bahá’u’lláh wrote of those who offered their lives in the path of the Báb:
“Have these companions been seekers after power or glory? Have they ever yearned for riches? Have they cherished any desire except the good-pleasure of God?
“If these companions, with all their marvellous testimonies and wondrous works, be false, who then is worthy to claim for himself the truth?
“I swear by God! Their very deeds are a sufficient testimony, and an irrefutable proof unto all the peoples of the earth, were men to ponder in their hearts the mysteries of divine Revelation.” (The Kitáb-i-Íqán, p. 226)
THESE FIERCE and merciless persecutions have welded the Persian Bahá’í community into a single unit, joined in their eagerness to serve Bahá’u’lláh, Who is their only refuge.
During this time of crisis the American Bahá’í community, due to the political conflict between the U.S. and Iranian governments, has been severely limited in its ability to help its sister community.
An increase in proclamation efforts and frequent contact with leaders of thought have resulted from the persecutions in Iran.
Likewise, an increase in the flow of funds to the Holy Land from America has helped, in part, to offset the loss of financial support from the Iranian community.
Yet, the Universal House of Justice has called upon the believers in the Cradle of the Administrative Order to redeem the sufferings of those in the Cradle of the Faith.
At what point, though, can we consider this sacred responsibility to have been fulfilled? What price could ever be set upon the life of an 85-year-old man falsely accused of spying for foreign nations?
In a similar instance, when the believers in Iran were being subjected
[Page 3]
THE FUNDS
Concerted effort needed to win 7 Year Plan goals[edit]
Continued From Page 2
to a systematic campaign of persecution and martyrdom, the beloved Guardian made it clear what the response of the American Bahá’í community must be. He wrote:
“FACED WITH this organized and vicious onslaught ... the American Bahá’í community cannot at this hour relax for a moment in the discharge of the multiple and sacred responsibilities it has pledged itself to fulfill ... and must indeed display a still greater degree of consecration and a nobler spirit of self-sacrifice in the pursuit of the goals it has set itself to achieve.” (Citadel of Faith, p. 136)
We would do well, then, to evaluate at this point in time our progress in relation to the goals of the current Seven Year Plan.
When believers in Iran are making the ultimate sacrifice, we, the spiritual descendants of the Dawn-breakers, should be exceeding every goal given to us by the Universal House of Justice.
But judging ourselves in the harsh light of the present status of our goals, we can come to no other conclusion than that we have been resting on our oars during the first year and a half of the initial two-year phase of the Plan.
Of the 7,200 localities called for, we have 7,004 (as of the end of September).
Of 1,650 Local Assemblies and 700 Assemblies with extension teaching goals, we have 1,466 and 430 respectively.
IN THE STATES that are aiming to double their numbers by Riḍván 1981, all are presently at less than 20 per cent of that goal.
And how are we doing with the funds needed to carry out these activities?
Although contributions to the National Fund have risen slightly over the past year, the demands on this Fund have expanded greatly as a result of the crisis in Iran.
The National Spiritual Assembly pledged a $600,000 increase (a total of $1 million a year) to the International Fund. Services such as public affairs, a Persian Affairs office, and increased security measures are now required, further stretching the limited resources of the Fund.
The result is that our present needs now exceed expected income this year by about $850,000!
Is our record in the arena of sacrifice for teaching and the Fund one of which the American Bahá’í community can be proud?
We are the spiritual descendants of the Dawn-breakers! Where are there to be found examples of American believers who are willing to lay down their very lives for their Beloved?
FOR EVERY tombstone smashed in a Bahá’í cemetery in Iran, we should build a new local Center in this country! For every Bahá’í home burned to the ground in Iran, we in America should build or refurbish a Bahá’í school! For every innocent life taken, we should enroll a thousand believers!
During the past two months the Bahá’ís in one of our sister communities, Honduras, have more than doubled the number of believers in their country in response to the Iranian persecutions.
“Let those who are men of valor,” the House of Justice urged the Bahá’í world, “follow in their footsteps.”
The friends are inclined to turn to their Local or National Spiritual Assembly and ask: “What are you going to do about all this?”
But the fact is, it is the individual believer alone who has the power to win the goals of the Seven Year Plan, or any Plan.
Assemblies can organize, plan, advise, encourage and stimulate, but it is up to the individual to carry out the work of building the new World Order.
WHAT, THEN, is expected of every Bahá’í if the American community is to redeem the sacrifices of the martyrs?
First, we must get ourselves in motion, and we must do so without the slightest delay.
The Universal House of Justice has provided a checklist of activities that every Bahá’í must undertake. They are:
- Pray.
- Teach the Faith.
- Fight his own spiritual battles.
- Contribute to the Fund.
These are simple things, the basics of being a Bahá’í. There isn’t one of us who cannot do these four things, but until we begin doing them together in love and harmony we will not receive the full measure of divine assistance promised us when we achieve universal participation.
Of all the goals yet to be reached, winning the goals of the National Fund should be the easiest for us.
The Universal House of Justice said that the needs of our budget could be met without sacrifice if only every believer would contribute to the National Fund.
THIS GOAL should be won immediately so that our efforts in teaching and proclamation won’t be hindered.
At present, there simply is no money available for important projects. For example, the entire staff at the National Center will soon be moving into the new administrative office building (which was itself a gift from God, as it was purchased through the estate bequest of an individual believer).
For years our community has prided itself on its ability to help with the purchase of Temple sites and Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds for many other national communities around the world.
Now, however, things are in such a state that we do not even have enough money to buy furniture for the building in which we will henceforth be conducting our business with the public.
Another example of an activity that is suffering greatly for lack of funds is the District Teaching Committees, which are crying out for more money this year. But the funds simply are not there.
The concrete apron around the House of Worship is presently being repaired at a cost of $570,000. This project has been delayed for 10 years, and must now be completed!
A TIDAL WAVE of public relations opportunities is upon us in the wake of the Iranian situation, and there is presently a staff of only three to meet these pressing needs.
Another major project that needs funding is the Louhelen School in Michigan.
This facility was closed by the National Spiritual Assembly in 1974 because it had fallen into disrepair. The decision has now been made to rebuild the school to realize its potential as envisioned by the Guardian.
The National Assembly is confident that the material resources needed to complete this important project will become available as the American believers become fired by the spirit of the martyrs.
This country stands on the verge of a tremendous breakthrough in the teaching field.
The price paid by the martyrs in Iran brought, in a single day, more publicity to the Faith than could have been purchased with our entire $5 million budget.
The sudden enrollment of Laotian and other Southeast Asian believers in various parts of the country is another sign that the spirit of the martyrs is at work.
AS IGNOMINIOUS as these executions may have seemed in the eyes of the world, we will forever remember these days as a time of triumph for the Faith. We must arise to do our part to demonstrate that our comrades have not died in vain.
Following the execution of one of the martyrs in Yazd, his widow was approached by prison officials who presented her with a bill for the food he had eaten while in prison, and for the bullets that had taken his life. Words to describe such an action are not fit to print!
We, too, have been presented with a bill to redeem the martyrdom of those seven believers in Yazd: 184 new Local Spiritual Assemblies, 196 more localities opened to the Faith, $4.25 million to meet the financial needs of the Cause in America, and $1.8 million to rebuild the Louhelen Bahá’í School.
We can, and we must, make good on these spiritual commitments to redeem the heroic sacrifices of the seven martyrs of Yazd!
Television news photographers film the memorial service held September 27 at the Bahá’í House of Worship in Wilmette, Illinois, for the seven Bahá’í martyrs of Yazd, Iran.
Expenses[edit]
Continued From Page 2
The Iranian crisis has affected expenses in other areas as well. For example, we greatly increased our budget allocation for the Bahá’í International Fund, created a Persian Affairs Office, and doubled security measures at the House of Worship.
We estimate that, directly or indirectly, the persecutions in Iran have increased our expenses by $1 million a year.
This increase has now caught up to us. We began the year with a $200,000 deficit, and contributions have since fallen $450,000 short of the budgeted goal. The result is that we could be more than $850,000 in debt by the end of the current fiscal year!
DEAR FRIENDS, the world is in turmoil, and the opportunities for teaching the Faith have never been greater. The time has come for some plain talk.
There are those who will say that the easiest way to get out of a financial crisis is to declare a period of austerity and slash expenses to balance the budget. The National Spiritual Assembly stands firmly opposed to such a move at this time when believers are giving their very lives for the Faith in Iran.
This is the time to expand our activities, not to cut services and programs. We must set our national community’s finances back in order immediately!
Not another month can be allowed to pass with contributions short of the goal. Isn’t there something you can do to help? With loving Bahá’í greetings.
of the Bahá’ís of the United States
Dorothy W. Nelson, treasurer
[Page 4]
THE FUNDS
NTRs return to communities, stand ready to lend assistance[edit]
More than 100 believers, fresh from the fourth National Treasurer’s Representative Institute, held in Wilmette during the Labor Day weekend, are now offering their services to local communities.
The National Treasurer’s Representative program was begun five years ago. The purpose of the NTRs is to educate believers about the unique principles of the Bahá’í Fund through special deepening programs.
DURING NOVEMBER the NTRs are holding a series of Fund workshops for all believers.
These workshops are primarily geared to local Treasurers and Assembly members, since the program provides detailed guidance about the proper administration of the local Fund.
Yet the chances are good at this time in the Faith that any believer will have an opportunity to serve on an Assembly, thus becoming a trustee of the local Fund. A proper understanding of the principles and administrative duties associated with the Fund are, therefore, essential for every Bahá’í.
Fund workshops include a variety of topics such as accounting procedures, basic principles of the Fund, the responsibility of the Assembly, the local audit, how to present an inspiring and informative Feast report, the role of the Assembly and the Treasurer in educating the believers about the Fund, and how to encourage and stimulate participation in giving to the Fund.
While many believers have previously attended one or more workshops, they can still benefit through the opportunity to share methods and ideas with past and present Treasurers.
Because the National Fund is presently experiencing a serious shortfall, the Office of the Treasurer encourages every believer to attend the Fund workshops hosted by the NTRs in their area this month.
THE BASIC topics of Fund education and participation are vital to the present and future strength of the American Bahá’í community.
These topics will be highlighted at the workshops. Each community, if not already informed of the date for a workshop in its area, should contact the nearest NTR for information.
Throughout the year NTRs will continue to offer their services to the friends. In addition to the Fund workshops, NTRs have a series of deepening materials that can be offered to local communities.
Among those are tapes such as “Stories on the Spirit of Sacrifice” with William Sears and Peter Khan; filmstrips such as “The Greatest Undertaking” (depicting the building of the Seat of the Universal House of Justice) and “Rich Ones on Earth” (the stories of Amelia Collins and Martha Root); and study courses including “The Surest Way” (on the Fund and materialism), “The Secret of Wealth” (concerning family finances and budgeting procedures) and “The Mystery of Sacrifice” (the latest exciting course from the Office of the Treasurer).
The memorial service for the seven Bahá’í martyrs of Yazd, Iran, began on the lawn of the Bahá’í House of Worship in Wilmette.
Martyrs’ deaths bring spiritual power to Cause[edit]
Among the first signs of the divine influence exerted by the Manifestation of God are the martyrs, who renounce everything in their love for Him.
The deaths of the martyrs introduce a spiritual power into the Cause, and serve to teach us about the mystery of sacrifice.
ONE DAY, when visiting with the believers in the U.S., ‘Abdu’l-Bahá told the story of Mírzá ‘Abdu’l-Vahháb-i-Shírází.
This young believer had met Bahá’u’lláh only once, but was filled with so much love for Him that he set out from Shíráz to find Him.
‘Abdu’l-Vahháb searched for Bahá’u’lláh in Tihrán just after the Blessed Beauty had been arrested and placed in the Síyáh-Chál. The young man, when identified as a Bábí, was thrown into that dungeon and chained next to Bahá’u’lláh. He was united with his Lord.
The time eventually came when the guards sought to lead ‘Abdu’l-Vahháb to the place of execution.
Once unchained, he first laid his head at the feet of Bahá’u’lláh. He then embraced his fellow-believers. Bahá’u’lláh, noticing that ‘Abdu’l-Vahháb had no shoes, gave His own shoes to the young man.
As he was led from the room, ‘Abdu’l-Vahháb began to dance, snap his fingers, and sing with joy. In this manner he was led to his death.
JULIET Thompson was one of the early believers who heard that story from ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. She later reported His reaction as He told the Story:
“Suddenly ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s whole aspect changed. It was as though the spirit of the martyr had entered into Him ...
“With His head thrillingly erect, snapping His fingers high in the air, beating on the porch with His foot till we could scarcely endure the vibrations set up—such electric power radiated from Him—He sang the martyr’s song, ecstatic and tragic beyond anything I had ever heard.”
When ‘Abdu’l-Bahá had finished He sank back into His chair. Juliet Thompson said:
“His eyes were unmistakably fixed on the Invisible. They were as brilliant as jewels and so filled with delight that they almost made His vision real to us.
“A smile of exultation played on His lips. Very low, so that it sounded
In many ways, National Fund ‘fuels’ the Faith[edit]
Many services and programs that reach out to the Bahá’í and non-Bahá’í world are supported by the National Bahá’í Fund. Those are vital activities that help to strengthen the community and promote the Cause of God.
Among the services included in this year’s budget are:
Bahá’í International Fund: Includes the Building Fund for the Seat of the Universal House of Justice and the International Deputation
National Teaching Committee: Stimulates and coordinates teaching activities throughout the country
Public Affairs: Equips local communities to deal with local press, works directly with national press to provide accurate information about the Faith
Periodicals: Publishes The American Bahá’í, Bahá’í News
House of Worship Activities Committee: Administers the functions of the great “silent teacher”
Persian Affairs Office: Assists newly arrived Persian believers to become integrated into the American Bahá’í community
Permanent Bahá’í Schools: Maintains and staffs Green Acre, Bosch and the Louis Gregory Institute
National Education Committee: Develops vital educational programs such as the “Personal Transformation Program,” “Assembly Development Program” and “Child Education Program”
Grounds: Beautifies National Center properties, especially the gardens surrounding the House of Worship
Security: Protects the House of Worship and other National Center properties
This is only a partial listing of the services that draw upon the National Fund. These are the minimum amounts needed to fulfill the duties indicated in each category.
While every believer is free to designate the purpose of his contribution, it is important to remember when seeing a list of specific activities that the beloved Guardian called upon the believers to make contributions without excessive earmarking of funds. He wrote:
“...although individual friends and local Assemblies are absolutely free to specify the object and purpose of their donations to the National Spiritual Assembly, yet, in my opinion, I regard it of the utmost vital importance that individuals as well as local Assemblies ... should... contribute freely towards the upkeep and the increase of the National Bahá’í Fund, so that the members of the National Assembly may at their full discretion expend it for whatever they deem urgent and necessary.” (Bahá’í Administration, p. 54)
[Page 5]
THE FUNDS
Now is time to rebuild at Louhelen[edit]
In 1930, a middle-aged couple named Lou and Helen Eggleston bought a farm near Davison, Michigan.
From the very beginning it was their plan to transform their newly-acquired property into a Bahá’í school. Year after year, the Louhelen School grew in popularity with Bahá’ís and non-Bahá’ís alike.
REGRETTABLY, the National Spiritual Assembly was forced to close the school in 1974. The original buildings that had served their purpose well for more than 30 years could no longer be considered safe for occupancy, and funds were not available at that time for restoration or reconstruction.
Lou Eggleston died in 1953, Helen in 1979, but neither of them ever lost sight of the vision that the school would one day become a leading center of Bahá’í education.
The world in which Lou and Helen Eggleston conceived their plan of a Bahá’í school was not so different from our present world.
The nation was in the midst of a severe Depression. Jobs were scarce and finances were as tight as they have ever been in the country’s history. World affairs were taking a darker and darker course as war loomed on the horizon. The Bahá’í Faith itself was being assaulted from within and without by its avowed enemies.
The response of the Egglestons was not to retreat, but to advance. They chose to illumine the growing darkness of their world with the Light of Bahá’í education.
WE ARE FACED with the same choice the Egglestons faced in 1930. Do we retreat because of the uncertainty tomorrow holds, intimidated by the forces of doubt and distrust that characterize much of our present society, or do we advance confidently into the future, assured that the establishment of an educational institution based on divinely-inspired principles will help light the way to a new World Order?
In deciding to rebuild the Louhelen Bahá’í School, it is clear that the National Spiritual Assembly has chosen the latter course.
And it has invited each Bahá’í to reaffirm and support its bold action by providing financial support to begin construction of the school as soon as possible.
With contributions in excess of $70,000 and a loan commitment of $100,000 for the Louhelen reconstruction project having been received even before the offering of an investment program through promissory notes, it is evident that the Bahá’í community faces the future with an assurance, even a serenity, not shared by our non-Bahá’í brothers in those troubled times.
Finding a balance to reverse Fund deficit[edit]
1. The problem facing the National Fund is that expenses (which will be about $5 million this year) exceed expected income by about $1 million.
2. If the National Spiritual Assembly were to try to reduce expenses, it would mean cutting vital services. The $5 million budget already represents a greatly reduced agenda of activities from those originally planned. Such a cut would mean retreating from the challenges facing the Cause at a time when believers in Iran are giving their lives for the Faith.
3. What is needed is increased income to support the current budget. This can only come about through the assistance of every individual believer.
4. The spiritual principles by which we can solve every financial difficulty are: universal participation of every Bahá’í in contributing regularly to the National Fund, and a spirit of self-sacrifice motivating each gift.
The Guardian himself encouraged the believers to contribute regularly to the National Fund on an individual basis as well as through their local Bahá’í Group or Assembly.
5. The Universal House of Justice wrote that universal participation is “...the dedicated effort of every believer in teaching, in living the Bahá’í life, in contributing to the Fund, and particularly in the persistent effort to understand more and more the significance of Bahá’u’lláh’s Revelation... The participation of every believer is of the utmost importance, and is a source of power and vitality as yet unknown to us.” (Wellspring of Guidance, pp. 37–38)
Left: Nearly 1,000 Bahá’ís file into the auditorium at the House of Worship for the memorial service honoring the seven Bahá’í martyrs of Yazd, Iran. Above: Relatives of the martyrs are interviewed by Chicago TV newsman John Drummond (right).
[Page 6]
VIEWPOINT
Editorial
Prayer, Writings key to transformation[edit]
For Americans, one of the most difficult aspects of the Bahá’í Teachings to acquire is the devotional pattern of Bahá’í life: the saying of the daily Obligatory Prayers, reading the Creative Word at morning and evening, fasting during the month of ‘Alá.
Beyond these basic laws are the injunction to make one’s trade or profession a vehicle for the worship of God, relying on the power of the Holy Spirit, and reciting the Greatest Name 95 times each day.
WHILE THE LATTER is not binding on Bahá’ís in the West, it nonetheless is indicative of the devotional discipline Bahá’ís are to develop.
To many Americans, prayer has little meaning. It is something young children do before going to sleep at night, and to which adults turn only under the most dire of circumstances.
Upon becoming a Bahá’í there is the initial romance with prayer and the Creative Word. Like a shower of fresh, clear water, the Word bathes the soul and gives it new life.
But as time goes by, the romance fades and the habit drifts away. Caught in the throes of day-to-day existence, most of us rely on our own powers and the meager knowledge of the Writings we first acquired.
In doing so, we do ourselves a grave injustice.
Just as the body must have food to function, so the soul needs the Creative Word to survive.
Not having been raised on a steady diet of the Word, we are used to living without it. But the truth of the matter is that we are blind to the blessings we are missing.
AND YET WE would be among the first to testify to the power of the Holy Spirit and the Omnipresence of God’s pervasive Will.
“Immerse yourselves in the Ocean of My Words,” Bahá’u’lláh enjoins, “that ye may unravel its secrets, and discover all the pearls of wisdom that lie hid within its depths.”
“Every verse,” He has proclaimed, “which this Pen hath revealed is a bright and shining portal that discloseth the glories of a saintly and pious life, of pure and stainless deeds.”
Daily prayer and reading the Holy Text are the most important habits a person can acquire. They will influence the progress of his or her soul throughout eternity.
Moreover, it is quite likely the one thing that, if adopted widely by the believers, would rejuvenate our community, empower us to win all our goals, and make us truly distinctive.
The key to personal and collective transformation has been given to us in a bountiful measure. Do we not owe it to ourselves and humanity to partake?
Representatives of the National Spiritual Assemblies of Alaska, Canada and the U.S. met September 19-21 in Anchorage, Alaska, to consider ways to sustain the momentum generated by the recent North American Bahá’í Native Council and its subsequent ‘Trail of Light’ teaching campaign. Shown are (front row left to right) John Sloan (Alaska), Maynard Eakan (Alaska), Ruth Eyford (Canada), Jetta Brewer (Alaska), Georgia Haisler (Alaska), Eugene King (Alaska), Hussein Banani (Canada), and (back row left to right) John Kolstoe (Alaska), Robert Putnam (Alaska), Daniel C. Jordan (U.S.), Tod Jones (Alaska), Jamison Bond (Canada), Franklin Kahn (U.S.), James F. Nelson (U.S.), Dwight W. Allen (U.S.), Donald Anderson (Alaska).
3 National Assemblies meet in Alaska[edit]
OCCASION JOINT MEETING ALASKA SEND ASSURANCE PRAYERS SHRINES THREE ASSEMBLIES THEIR EVERY GUIDANCE HOLY SPIRIT VITAL CONSULTATIONS FURTHER ACCELERATING GREAT EXPANSION EVER DEEPER CONSOLIDATION CAUSE BLESSED BEAUTY NORTH AMERICA. LOVING GREETINGS.
•
Representatives of the National Spiritual Assemblies of Alaska, Canada and the United States met September 19-21 in Anchorage, Alaska, to discuss cooperative endeavors designed to continue and accelerate the momentum generated by the second North American Bahá’í Native Council held July 11-13 in Wilmette and its subsequent “Trail of Light” teaching campaign.
Present at the meeting were all nine members of the National Spiritual Assembly of Alaska, three members of the National Assembly of Canada, and four members of the National Assembly of the U.S.—Dwight Allen, Daniel C. Jordan, Franklin Kahn, and James F. Nelson.
THE CANADIAN representatives were Hussein Banani, Jamison Bond, and Ruth Eyford.
The conference produced a number of recommendations that were to be taken to the respective
Comment
Teaching Faith to Christians: some practical steps[edit]
By STEVEN SCHOLL
In the February 1980 issue of The American Bahá’í, Theodore Heizer offered the American Bahá’í community some thoughtful suggestions regarding the delicate matter of teaching Christians.
Mr. Heizer’s observation that it requires a thorough knowledge of the Bible to engage Christians in a meaningful dialogue is well taken.
HOWEVER, there appears in his article no practical guidance as to how Bahá’ís might go about this important task.
Mr. Heizer concludes that “to understand that the prophecies have been fulfilled” is the key to achieving a thorough knowledge of the Bible as a means of teaching the Faith to Christians.
This statement, then, stands as the closest thing to a method for reaching that state extolled by the Master wherein one is “better versed in the fundamentals of Christianity than the Christian priests themselves” (The Secret of Divine Civilization, p. 36).
My comments are concerned with how Bahá’ís might go about studying Christianity, along with a brief word about the nature of Christian-Bahá’í dialogue.
I think it is safe to say that most Bahá’ís have taken the “Thief in the Night” approach when teaching Christians. That is to say, Bahá’ís are fond of extracting from the Bible “prophecies” that “prove” Bahá’u’lláh is the Glory of God, the promised Redeemer.
While this approach may be successful with a handful of Christians who are open to such interpretations, the vast majority of Christians usually find these Bahá’í interpretations unsatisfactory.
FOR EXAMPLE, the 11th and 12th chapters of the Book of Revelation, so wonderfully explained by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, have been interpreted in radically different ways by Hal Lindsey in his several best-selling books on Bible prophecy.
What we are confronted with is the fact that prophecy is a very fluid phenomenon. Biblical scholars now recognize that most prophecies were initially either a response to “current events” during the seer or prophet’s lifetime, or that they were written “after the fact.”
The Book of Revelation is a good example of “current events” prophecy, while the Book of Daniel is regarded as prophecy written after the fact.
| This month’s article was written by Steven Scholl, a recent honors graduate in religious studies from the University of Oregon who is presently enrolled at the Institute of Islamic Studies at McGill University, Montreal, Canada. |
The Book of Revelation is now commonly accepted as a document written to certain Christian communities during the reign of emperor Domitian (reigned 81-96 A.D.).
On the other hand, the Book of Daniel, which appears to have been written during the Babylonian captivity of the Hebrews (6th century B.C.) is now considered as having been written sometime between 167 and 164 B.C., during the uprising of the Maccabeans against the Romans.
To appreciate “prophetic oracles”—especially those found in apocalyptic books—one must begin by acknowledging their original meaning and purpose.
THIS DOES NOT mean that prophecies are confined to their own time and place. On the contrary, those prophecies that continue to be a source of inspiration and guidance for succeeding generations are written in such a manner as to leave their interpretation open to each generation.
Norman Perrin has noted how the Book of Revelation has been “...an unending source of inspiration precisely because it uses images of immense evocative power. Early Christian apocalyptic does not challenge us to gather on a hillside to await the coming of Jesus as the Son of Man, or to identify the Beast; it challenges us to recognize the importance and significance of the myths and symbols it uses so dramatically to express hope in the midst of despair.”
For these reasons, I believe a more fruitful path to trod in teaching Christians is to de-emphasize, though not eliminate, the use of prophecy.
It is interesting to note that in Some Answered Questions (p. 45), ‘Abdu’l-Bahá says that the use of prophecy is a traditional proof, as distinct from logical, historical or spiritual proofs.
Therefore, to obtain a clear idea as to what the fundamentals of Christianity are, the studies of modern biblical scholars on the origins and evolution of Christianity should be utilized to a greater extent by Bahá’ís.
There are numerous ways Bahá’ís can go about this. Most universities offer courses in ancient Near Eastern religion and history. Such courses usually place the Old and New Testament writings in their cultural and historical context, as they relate to similar and contrasting Near Eastern religious traditions.
Also, there is a vast amount of literature on the subject, much of it good, some of it digestible.
An excellent and quite readable book is Harry Emerson Fosdick’s A Guide to Understanding the Bible: The Development of Ideas Within the Old and New Testaments (Harper and Row, paperback, $4.95).
Two books by German scholars worthy of investigation with respect to Israelite religion during the Old Testament period are Otto Eissfeldt’s The Old Testament: An Introduction (Harper and Row, paperback, $10) and Georg Fohrer’s History of Israelite Religion (Abingdon Press, cloth, $10.95).
For obtaining a better comprehension of early Christianity and the New Testament, one need look no further than Norman Perrin’s The New Testament: An Introduction (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, paperback, $8.95).
[Page 7]
LETTERS
Bahá’í calendar offers a unique new ‘time-world’[edit]
To the Editor:
From time to time I have mused over the Bahá’í calendar, and have some thoughts about it I would like to share.
As Horace Holley writes in Religion for Mankind, human beings throughout history have measured time and recorded events according to calendars based on the appearance of the great Prophets.
HE REFERS to these calendars as “time worlds,” and as higher creations in which our “lives unfold and our cultures evolve.”
Of the Bahá’í calendar in particular, he says that it “inaugurates a new social rhythm whose full implications cannot yet be realized.”
Our “time world”—our calendar—is one of our many bounties. It has great spiritual significance with the names of the months and days of the week bearing names of the attributes of God that serve to remind us of the necessity of acquiring divine virtues.
It also gives us a new perspective of time. In our “time world,” a day ends and another begins at sunset when the majority of us are still consciously going about our daily activities.
Under the Gregorian calendar, we are deprived of the consciousness of a new day beginning because a day ends and another begins at midnight when most human activity has reached a low ebb, or as Horace Holley points out, when “nothing in the cosmic or spiritual world has its beginning.”
The Gregorian time world renders a sense of finality between the end of the daylight hours and midnight, and it, therefore, tends to cast a psychological “shadow” over this part of the day and one’s activities.
IN CONTRAST, the Bahá’í concept of the day ending and beginning at sunset has an energizing influence on one’s activities during the “shadow” hours.
Merely an awareness that sunset is the beginning of a new day, be it Beauty, Perfection, Grace, or whatever, has a positive psychological influence and motivates one to truly rejoice in knowing that at the end of our day’s work, there’s a new beginning, corresponding to that glorious one that awaits us at the end of our earthly journey, giving us a sense of timelessness, or a feeling of the oneness of time, in the vast reaches of our material and spiritual existence.
And ... the thought just occurred ... what a fresh and material dynamic a conscious, daily awareness of our “time world” might lend to Assembly, committee, and Group meetings, as well as all other Bahá’í gatherings.
Let’s try it!
Red Bank, New Jersey
To the Editor:
The purpose of this letter is to express the Assembly’s concern over the tone of the letters to the editor in The American Bahá’í.
It seems that many of the letters are “preachy” and authoritarian in tone and give the impression that “everyone should ...” while much of the subject matter deals with items that each Assembly and/or community must decide for itself.
SUCH AN ITEM, for example, is how to handle children at Feast.
We believe that if ideas on such topics were offered in a more loving, unifying way with an attitude of “here’s how we handled the problem” or “here’s an idea that worked for us,” the ideas themselves would be more acceptable to many and less divisive within communities.
On many of those questions there is more than one way of handling the matter, but when a solution is put forth as authoritative, it leads many Bahá’ís to believe that this is the “official” and, therefore, the only way in which to handle it, and that it has the National Spiritual Assembly’s approval or the letter wouldn’t have been published.
In this sense, such letters diminish the authority of the Local Assembly to decide such issues in a way that will work best in its own community.
To the Editor:
I am writing to comment on your recent article on Seals and Crofts (The American Bahá’í, July 1980). I would publicly like to thank them for their work.
| 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. |
I am a fairly new Bahá’í with two school-age children. My children have studied the Faith and have embraced it with no hesitancy or doubt, but they are at the age where peer pressure and the idea of being “different” somehow frightens them.
Having two performers like Seals and Crofts to identify with has been very important to them.
My children love their music and feel a definite sense of pride whenever the names Seals and Crofts are mentioned.
Somehow it makes them feel very special when they can explain the beautiful lyrics to a friend who has admired a song by Seals and Crofts but wasn’t aware of its meaning.
I know that my children will make their own decisions as to whether they’ll accept the Faith and all the challenges and opportunities it presents, but Seals and Crofts have been a wonderful teaching tool for me in their education, and I am eternally grateful that they have chosen to be such divine forces of example.
Colts Neck, New Jersey
To the Editor:
We know that the power released by a new Manifestation of God results in the inception of new social movements and ideas.
Indeed, Shoghi Effendi has encouraged us to associate with “clubs, exhibitions, and societies” that are compatible with the Teachings of the Faith (The Advent of Divine Justice, p. 43).
YET I HAVE noticed that Bahá’ís who have received professional training sometimes find it difficult to incorporate many of the Bahá’í principles into their professional work, or even to recognize new developments in their special fields that are compatible with Bahá’í Teachings and guidelines.
To give an example, the Writings on health and healing repeatedly state that illness is due to two causes, material and spiritual, and that the method of treatment must be chosen accordingly.
Yet how many Bahá’í health care professionals have actually used prayer as a spiritual cure?
How many have tried to experiment with treatment through diet, or to use uncompounded medications?
In recent years a holistic health movement has arisen that incorporates many, if not all, of those elements.
This is not to say that the holistic health approach (or any other movement) embodies all the Bahá’í concepts or ideals.
However, such movements do include people who are touched by a new spirit, many of whom are interested in learning about the Bahá’í Faith.
ADDITIONALLY, they can give us insights and encouragement to help us incorporate the Bahá’í perspective into our practice.
With all of mankind experiencing a spiritual quickening, such progressive movements can be found in virtually every field of endeavor.
In economics, for example, proponents of the “new international order,” as embodied in the recent Brandt Commission report, are advocating the need for more equitable distribution of the world’s wealth, and greater coordination of its resources.
In linguistics, the World Esperanto Congress continues to be active, and recently submitted a proposal to the United Nations to translate all its proceedings into Esperanto.
In law, some leading jurists have begun to question the adversary system practiced in the U.S. International lawyers are laying the foundations for a smoothly functioning world government.
Women throughout the world have become increasingly assertive in their attempts to receive adequate recognition and compensation for their work in the home and at the office.
The White House Commission on the Family recently hosted a conference to assess ways in which federal policies and procedures can be revised to help strengthen family bonds.
Recreation specialists have devised “new games” that encourage cooperation instead of competition among children.
Musicians and artists are designing their work around spiritually-inspired themes of the oneness of mankind as well as mystical reflections.
Many similar movements exist that are unconsciously inspired by Bahá’í concepts. Bahá’ís in all areas of endeavor should associate with and contribute to such forward-thinking and progressive endeavors.
Birmingham, Alabama
Teaching, proclamation rise in Miami Beach community[edit]
The Spiritual Assembly of Miami Beach, Florida, re-formed last Riḍván after having been lost in 1972, has recently undertaken several activities designed to teach and proclaim the Faith in that area.
The Assembly is sponsoring two monthly firesides—one in Spanish, and one in English. Six seekers were present at the first Spanish-language fireside, held in July.
The Miami Beach community is coordinating the establishment of a Spanish Teaching Committee to serve the rapidly growing Spanish-language population in south Florida that has increased by more than 50,000 in recent months.
The Assembly has adopted three goal areas to open to the Faith: Indian Creek, Bal Harbor, and Bay Harbour Islands.
The Miami Beach community has succeeded in setting up a Bahá’í College Club at Miami Dade Community College beginning with the fall 1980 semester.
Each Sunday, the Miami Beach Assembly sponsors a Bahá’í booth at the Lincoln Road Mall. The booth includes free Bahá’í literature in English and Spanish.
|
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 |
[Page 8]
TEACHING
Teaching Chinese: overcoming feelings of fear, inadequacy[edit]
Almost seven years ago the Asian American Teaching Committee sponsored an institute in New York City on teaching Asian Americans.
At that Institute the following personal remarks were made by Anne Carpenter about her own experience as a participant in a teaching project in New York City’s Chinatown.
These insightful remarks are being shared with readers of The American Bahá’í now as they may still be helpful in aiding the friends in their own efforts to reach and to teach Asian peoples, whether Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Cambodian, or Laotian.
•
“I thought it might be valuable to share some of my feelings with you today because I thought I had gone through a number of transformations as Bahá’u’lláh says we are capable of as Bahá’ís.
“Still, I was uneasy with actually going out and teaching in Chinatown, because that meant meeting people and speaking to them on very intimate terms on something that is very close to me, something I care about.
“IT MEANT opening myself up to being accessible, removing much of the protective feelings that I usually carry around, particularly because I have to be in New York City every day. In my mind, that calls for defense mechanisms and protective devices.
“I was raised in New York and spent most of my childhood and young life in Harlem. It’s a very closed society, and one of the strong beliefs that we had was that we did not trust people who were different from us.
“There were some Orientals living in Harlem as there are today, but they had over a period of time become accepted because they were there and didn’t make a lot of trouble.
“Basically, I, like so many other black people, grew up believing that there were strong differences between our group and theirs; of course, you knew ours was better, and if anything went amiss it was always on the other side, never on ours!
“As a Bahá’í I had to deal with ideas that were impressed upon me at an early age; for example, meeting Southern whites. This happened almost as soon as I joined the Faith.
“As a result of confronting that problem and dealing with it successfully, I felt very superior and blessed. Going to Chinatown, however, put things in a different light because I was afraid.
“I HAD HEARD, but never tested, that there was a great deal of prejudice among the Chinese against blacks. That made me feel insecure about going out, teaching, and making personal contact with strangers.
“I’ll never forget the first day I did it. I said to Soo Fouts, ‘I feel very awkward because I’m not sure what’s going to happen.’
“She said, ‘None of us knows what is going to happen. We have to say prayers and trust in God.’
“I remembered the quotation from the Words of Wisdom that I had read at Green Acre: ‘The source of all courage is the promotion of His Word and steadfastness in His Cause.’
“I kept repeating that to myself, hoping it would work out for me, and it did!
“It wasn’t a miraculous thing where all of a sudden I got out, was able to stop people and say, ‘Well, have you heard ...’ I was quite timid at first and was hesitant about offering materials.
“It was a good thing I was with Soo because she is very strong and definite, yet she allowed me to find my own way.
“THE FIRST DAY we went out there was a foul-up in communications and we were alone for the first two hours. Standing on the corner of Canal and Mott, it looked like the entire world was passing by us in the onrush of faces and people.
“Everyone seemed intent on going about his own business. As we stood there longer we began to recognize faces—people going and then coming back with armloads of groceries, or with children pulling them along.
“The first 15 minutes or so was spent in a kind of meditation, watching and observing people’s faces. All were walking purposefully; no one was lingering around.
“There wasn’t anyone who looked at us and said, ‘Do you have something to tell me?’ or ‘What is that paper in your hand?’
“They seemed to march along and not want to be interrupted. This didn’t give us the experience that other Bahá’ís have had where people come up to them seeking the Message.
“We could gain a rhythm from the community. From observing, we saw people walking along busily; they seemed to be rather calm and serene. They didn’t walk with open hostility or frowns, or things you might expect to find in any areas of the city.
“This gave me some courage. A group of three or four young boys passed by and Soo said to them, ‘Wait, I have something for you.’ I thought, ‘Oh, I’ll never be able to do that.’
“ ‘HERE, THIS is for you,’ Soo said. ‘Please read this and think about it because this is a great opportunity for you.’
“One of the boys looked at it and said, ‘Oh, is this religion?’ She replied, ‘Yes, it is. Now you may not think you need it, but take it home and read it and give this Message to your parents.’
“The boy said, ‘Oh ... all right.’ But he took it! Soo also was surprised that he took it.
“I learned things by degree... how to give this air of confidence, or openness, or security. Timidly, I tried it. At first I didn’t say anything; I merely stuck the pamphlets out. Soon people began to take them.
“Then I would say, ‘Would you like to take one?’ and people responded. Some smiled and said, ‘Yes, thank you.’ A few said, ‘I don’t read English.’ That gave us a clue for further preparation.
“Some people looked at me and went right by. After awhile I said to myself, ‘Well, they’re not ready
This group of Bahá’ís, most of them representing the International Goals Committee, Asian American Teaching Committee and Vietnamese Teaching Committee, was among the more than 200 participants in the ‘Unity in Diversity Festival’ August 30-September 1 at the Green Acre Bahá’í School in Eliot, Maine. Participants included a large number of non-Bahá’í Vietnamese from the Boston, Massachusetts, area. Shown here (left to right) are Khai Dolinh, secretary of the Vietnamese Teaching Committee; James Fischer, secretary of the Asian-American Teaching Committee; Pei-Lu Fischer, recording secretary of the Asian American Teaching Committee; Joe Ilengelkei of Washington, D.C.; Mary Louise Suhm, secretary of the International Goals Committee; Albert Cheung, a member of the Asian American Teaching Committee; Robert Imagire, chairman of the Asian-American Teaching Committee.
HAVE YOU HEARD ABOUT OPERATION BEFRIEND?
Teaching ... questions and answers[edit]
Beginning with this issue, the National Teaching Committee Office will feature a section in The American Bahá’í entitled “Questions and Answers” to respond to the concerns of the American Bahá’í community.
The column will focus on aspects of teaching as related to the country, the local community or the individual. If you have questions about teaching, proclamation or administrative procedures, please write to the National Teaching Committee at 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091.
This issue of “Questions and Answers” addresses the changes in the functions of the District Teaching Committees since their mandates were modified.
Q.: Since the District Teaching Committee is no longer working with Local Assemblies and I live in an Assembly area, can the District Teaching Committee ask me to assist in its projects?
A.: Yes. The District Teaching Committee may ask the friends living in an Assembly area to help with its projects. The Assembly itself will not be responsible to the District Teaching Committee, but must focus its attention on its own extension goals. Individuals, however, are quite free to offer their time and services to the District Teaching Committee.
Q.: Can the friends contribute directly to the work of the District Teaching Committee, and does the District Teaching Committee have the right to solicit funds?
A.: Yes to both questions. The friends may contribute directly to the District Teaching Committee to help support its projects, but such contributions should be over and above their contributions to the other Funds.
Q.: Can the Assembly ask the District Teaching Committee for assistance with its goals?
A.: The new mandate for the District Teaching Committee gives as its major responsibilities the opening of new localities to the Faith and raising Groups to Assembly status.
The National Teaching Committee office now works directly with those Assemblies that require assistance. There are some exceptions in those areas where the District Teaching Committees will continue to assist Assemblies until they are strong enough to function on their own. Therefore, if your Assembly needs help, please write or phone the National Teaching Committee office at the Bahá’í National Center.
[Page 9]
TEACHING
Teaching, consolidation focus of S.C. conference[edit]
Teaching and consolidation plans in South Carolina were the subject of a meeting September 7 at the Louis G. Gregory Bahá’í Institute near Hemingway, South Carolina.
The meeting, called by the National Teaching Committee, was attended by all but one of its members.
ALSO PARTICIPATING were National Spiritual Assembly members Dwight W. Allen and Glenford E. Mitchell; Auxiliary Board members Elizabeth Martin and William Tucker; members of the South Carolina Regional Teaching Committee; Nabil Hanna, administrator of the Gregory Institute; and Charles Thomas Jr., a member of the District Teaching Committee of South Carolina-East.
The discussion dealt with methods for reaching all strata of society in South Carolina, and the need to identify people of capacity among the native believers and to provide them with the training necessary to become effective teachers.
Other items on the agenda included the importance of helping functionally jeopardized Assemblies; the need for additional assistants to the Auxiliary Board members in South Carolina; the use of the Louis Gregory Institute as a place for teacher training, and the role of the District Teaching Committees in expansion and consolidation.
South Carolina, the most populous Bahá’í state with more than 11,000 believers, has 200 Local Assemblies, with 120 of them having been formed at the end of the Five Year Plan.
Mr. Mitchell, the secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly, presented a brief history of the growth of the Faith in South Carolina over the past decade.
The time has come to reexamine that growth, he said, and to look at where South Carolina is now for the purpose of assisting the National Assembly to produce a new mandate for the state if one is called for at this time.
REFERRING to news of the arrest of the National Spiritual Assembly of Iran, Mr. Mitchell pointed out the need to take full advantage of the extraordinary opportunities presented to the friends in the U.S., where we remain free to teach the Faith.
Mrs. Gertrude White, secretary of the South Carolina Regional Teaching Committee, pointed out the need for more help in assisting functionally jeopardized Assemblies in the state.
These Assemblies, she said, require regular deepening to learn how to function properly.
As a result of the meeting, the increased use of radio as a teaching and deepening tool is being investigated, along with the production of radio programs to reach all strata of society.
The National Teaching Committee is encouraging homefront pioneers to settle in areas of South Carolina where there are Assemblies that show the potential to begin functioning by the end of the opening phase of the Seven Year Plan.
Additional traveling teachers are being directed to the state, and youth there will be assigned specific teaching activities so that they will become an integral part of the teaching and consolidation work.
DWIGHT W. ALLEN
GLENFORD E. MITCHELL
Goals[edit]
Continued From Page 1
every activity is, “Will it contribute to winning the goals?”
The same strict criterion should be adopted at the local level. Plans and programs must be subjected to the closest possible scrutiny to determine if they are contributing to winning the goals of the Seven Year Plan.
As of the end of September, we have 1,467 Local Spiritual Assemblies in the U.S. We need 183 more Assemblies to reach the goal of 1,650 by Riḍván 1981.
We have presently established the Faith in 6,999 localities, and need an additional 201 to reach the goal of 7,200.
We are to aim at doubling the enrollments in the states of California, Illinois and New York, and in Washington, D.C.
CALIFORNIA has had 629 enrollments and needs an additional 6,371 to win its goal of 7,000; Illinois has enrolled 496, and needs an additional 2,004 to win the goal of 2,500; New York has had 163 enrollments, and needs another 1,637 to win its goal of 1,800; and Washington, D.C., has had only seven enrollments and needs an additional 118 to reach its goal of 125.
The plan calls for at least 700 Assemblies to adopt extension teaching goals by the end of the first phase of the Plan. This means that an additional 270 Assemblies must do so to ensure winning that goal.
These figures indicate the magnitude of the task that is facing us. We know that it is possible to win the goals without compromising on principle, if we will teach the Faith with conviction. The Bahá’ís must be willing and eager to teach the Faith.
Each Local Spiritual Assembly and each District Teaching Committee must undertake the specific tasks related to its area of responsibility—but the key to victory lies, as always, in the hands of the individual believer.
Teaching the Cause is, in the words of the beloved Guardian, “primarily a task that concerns the individual believer … Neither the local nor national representatives of the community, no matter how elaborate their plans, or persistent their appeals, or sagacious their counsels, nor even the Guardian himself, however much he may yearn for this consummation, can decide where the duty of the individual lies, or supplant him in the discharge of that task.”
The vital question, then, in these few remaining months of the initial phase of the Seven Year Plan, must be, “Will it help win the Plan?”
Let each of us arise with complete confidence to teach the Cause with all the fervor of our love for Bahá’u’lláh.
The Bahá’í Faith teaches:[edit]
- One God
- Oneness of mankind
- Independent investigation of truth
- Common foundation of all religions
- Essential harmony of science and religion
- Equality of men and women
- Elimination of prejudice of all kinds
- Universal compulsory education
- Spiritual solution of the economic problem
- Need for a universal auxiliary language
- Universal peace upheld by a world government
New outline available for weekend study[edit]
The National Teaching Committee has made available an outline for Weekend Teaching Institutes for small groups.
The outline includes a proposed schedule of events, guidelines for the facilitator, quotations for study and discussion, and additional materials of interest.
This weekend institute is designed to study the Writings on teaching. The program is set up to allow adequate time for deepening and open discussion for sharing insights, opinions and experiences.
Its aim is to bring the friends together in a warm, small group atmosphere to share in the beauty of the Writings and learn through the exchange of thoughts and teaching experiences.
If you are interested in obtaining this outline, please write to the National Teaching Committee at 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091.
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
Editorial
Influx of Asians presents challenge
Until recently there were no Bahá’ís in Ashton, Illinois, population 1,100.
The two believers whose recent move to Ashton opened the community to the Faith had come a long way to a new home in the Illinois heartland—all the way from a refugee camp in Thailand.
Davanh and Vanida Thammavongsa are sisters from Laos who came to Ashton to join an aunt and her family who already were living there.
THE SISTERS had become Bahá’ís in Laos. “I came to admire the character of the Bahá’ís I had met,” says Vanida.
Their faith was nurtured in the refugee camp by regular visits from Bahá’í traveling teachers sent by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Thailand.
Upon their arrival in the U.S., they wondered what kind of response they would receive from the Bahá’ís here.
In fact, that response was good. And it deserves telling.
Within a matter of days after a letter from the sisters telling of their presence in Ashton was received at the Bahá’í National Center, a Bahá’í family was sent by the National Teaching Committee to visit them.
Also, the National Teaching office notified by phone the secretary of the nearest Assembly, in Rockford, Illinois, of the Lao sisters some 25 miles away.
Not every community may have been so ready to respond; however, it so happened that the Rockford community already had some familiarity with Laotian refugees.
TWO YEARS before, a Bahá’í family of refugees from Laos had arrived in Rockford and become members of its community. As a consequence, the Assembly in Rockford knew of the resources available to the newly-arrived refugees.
On her own initiative, the Assembly secretary, Judy Moe, had become involved in the local Rockford area assistance agency for Southeast Asian refugees.
In short order the secretary had phoned the sisters to welcome them and invite them to Rockford to attend the observance of World Peace Day.
She also phoned an isolated believer who lives close to Ashton, asking that she get in touch with the Thammavongsa sisters to offer them a ride to the Rockford meeting that weekend.
On the evening of the observance the friends in Rockford gathered with the Laotian friends, and the other Lao family presented them a gift of Laotian foodstuffs purchased from a local Oriental grocery.
The Rockford Bahá’ís were ready for the arrival of Southeast Asians, Bahá’ís and non-Bahá’ís, in their midst. With several hundred thousand refugees from Southeast Asia now in this country, the chances of other Bahá’í communities learning suddenly of the presence of refugee Bahá’ís are fairly good.
How many of these communities are truly prepared to bring our newly-arrived brethren into the mainstream of their community, and, equally important, to spread the Message to those waiting souls from Southeast Asia who are not yet Bahá’ís?
[Page 10]
TEACHING
NOTHING ABOUT OPERATION BEFRIEND HERE!
Letter from Iowa recounts blessings of teaching trip[edit]
“Let those whose time, resources and means allow, travel throughout the length and breadth of that vast continent ... and, fired with enthusiasm and detachment, hand on the torch of God’s undying flame to the waiting multitudes of a sadly-stricken world.” (Shoghi Effendi, Bahá’í Administration, p. 88)
•
Throughout the Writings of our Faith, the importance of individual effort in teaching the Cause is continually brought to light, reminding us of our duty to the Cause of God in this day.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá admonished the believers to turn toward God, and with a detached heart and mind, arise to spread the Message of Bahá’u’lláh.
HE TOLD the friends to leave their cities and homes to travel to all areas and proclaim the Glad-Tidings of this new Day of God.
In its Seven Year Plan message, the Universal House of Justice called for a continued increase in traveling teachers and stated that the interchange of these teachers “...contributes so importantly to the unity of the Bahá’í world and to a true understanding of the oneness of mankind ...”
With that thought in mind, the National Teaching Committee would like to share with you a letter from a husband and wife from Iowa, Curtis and Cindy Mickunas, about their recent traveling teaching trip.
We noticed the letter in the District Teaching Committee bulletin for Iowa and felt that it would be of interest to the friends throughout the country:
Dear Friends,
Travel-teaching reaps many blessings, as my husband, Curtis, and I discovered on a recent DTC-sponsored trip that took us to various Iowa towns.
Our first stop was Fairfield, June 7, and each succeeding day brought us a new locale until we had visited the following cities: Burlington, Muscatine, Marion, Dubuque, Cedar Falls, Boone, Fort Dodge, and Waverly.
WE WERE busy, with something new and wonderful happening each day. Greatly rejuvenated, I determined while on the trip to sustain the effect beyond our return home.
This letter helps me in this, and what more could we hope for than if by sharing our gains we could inspire others to greater happiness and service?
Among the blessings that travel-teaching attracts is an expanded awareness and renewed perspective of oneself, one’s life, and the organic unity of the Cause.
I was amazed at how uplifted I felt. In most of the towns we visited the Bahá’ís were new to us, yet upon meeting them we always found unity, a love-bond, fellowship, and fruitful conversation—immediately! This must be one of God’s miracles (and how much more miraculous when such
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.
More than 30 Asians enrolled in San Diego, California, area[edit]
Since the Regional Youth Conference was held in San Diego in June, that community has witnessed more than 30 enrollments.
That kind of growth would be remarkable in almost any community, but the increase is all the more remarkable when one notes that 28 of the recent enrollees are Southeast Asian refugees.
CLEARLY, the Regional Youth Conference was a catalyst.
A proclamation effort had been scheduled for the following week whose culmination was to be a musical presentation by Bahá’ís at a junior high school in an ethnically diverse neighborhood known as Linda Vista.
That neighborhood, in which the San Diego Bahá’í Center is located, is the home of many Southeast Asians.
Bahá’ís from several communities in San Diego County were joined by 13 youth who remained after the conference to help in the proclamation effort. Going house to house in Linda Vista, the friends extended an invitation to everyone to attend the Bahá’í concert.
A Laotian refugee named Khomsavay Keomorakot, a youth of 19, instantly recognized the word “Bahá’í” when he was given an invitation. He had heard of the Faith in a refugee camp in Thailand.
Welcome to the Bahá’í community[edit]
This is a partial list of Asian Americans who have been enrolled in the Bahá’í community in recent months. They represent Cambodian, Korean, Laotian and Vietnamese nationalities.
Sierra Vista, Arizona: Dung Hue Van, Chau Hue Van.
San Diego, California: Chue Khai Her, Bounsouanet Thomphoumy, Cha Hu, Mai Her, Vue Cha, Phonesak Chomethanath, Payia Cha, Khao Cha, Xaysetha Viriyavong, Chao Yang, Vone Vongphasouk, Khomsavay Keomorakot, Bounsouane Khamphoumy, Srioudom Thatsakank, Sov Yik Seng, Sov Horn Uink, Sov Kay Kheng, Phong Chauv, Ha Hiep Van, Ha Bay Van, Doan Tao Thi, Chia Xion Cha, Sia Vang, Chong Yer Cha, Thor Lee Cha, Va Seng Cha.
Los Angeles, California: Thi Quit Nguyen, Quoc Dung Vuong, Thi Hgoc Vuong, Thi Hong Vuong, Hung Quoc Vuong, Hwan Soon Kim, Kun Ho Kim.
Long Beach, California: Savoeun Chea, Shong Leng Xiong.
Ashton, Illinois: Davanh Thammavongsa, Vanida Thammavongsa.
Portland, Oregon: Chong Khue Cha, Chue Blong Cha, Khua Cha, Ko Yang Cha, Say Chou Cha, Sua Lee Cha, Vang Kru Cha.
Again, welcome to the Bahá’í community!
Vone Vongphasouk, another Laotian youth in that neighborhood, not only recognized the word, he showed an avid interest in the Faith.
After a brief discussion with the Bahá’í teachers, he said he wanted to become a Bahá’í. The friends promised to return that evening for a fireside.
IT WAS a Feast day. The Bahá’ís made a presentation on the proclamation effort during the Feast at the Bahá’í Center, and said they would have to leave early to give a fireside for the interested Asians to whom they had spoken. The news had a great emotional impact on the Bahá’í community.
When the friends arrived at Vongphasouk’s home, they were pleasantly surprised to find Keomorakot there too. As it turned out, he was a close friend of Vongphasouk.
Altogether, six Laotians came to learn about the Faith. Before the evening was over, four of them had declared their belief in Bahá’u’lláh: Keomorakot and Vongphasouk, and their friends, Srioudom Thatsakank and Bounsouane Khamphoumy.
The Bahá’ís celebrated with the new Laotian believers at a party the following Saturday night at the home of Karin Ryan, a member of the National Youth Committee who lives in the neighborhood.
Musicians John Ford Coley and Leslie Bulkin were at the party and sang a few songs. Khamphoumy sang a song he had written about the Faith.
That same week a Vietnamese family was brought to the Bahá’í Center for a fireside. Despite a language barrier, the friends learned that the family had been Bahá’ís in Vietnam.
Later that week a Cambodian family attended a Bahá’í picnic at a Linda Vista park. The family was subsequently enrolled.
After the proclamation, a week of firesides was held to maintain the teaching momentum. In their further contact with refugees, the friends found another Bahá’í, Cha Chia Chong of the Hmong tribe in Laos.
He shared pictures of the Spiritual Assembly on which he had served, and pictures of himself with the Hands of the Cause Rahmatu’lláh Muhájir and A.Q. Faizí.
Chia Chong was taken to the Bahá’í Center where he was warmly welcomed by the Spiritual Assembly of San Diego.
Teaching house to house, the youth projecteers came upon Cha Hu, in whose home the Greatest Name was prominently displayed together with a picture of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. He and his family were also Hmong people who had become Bahá’ís in Laos.
By the end of the week following the proclamation, members of four Southeast Asian ethnic groups—Vietnamese, Lao, Cambodian and Hmong—had either embraced the Faith or been found and welcomed into the U.S. Bahá’í community for the first time.
MANY BAHÁ’ÍS helped in the overall effort. Grant Suhm and Geesoo Javanmardi, youth from the University of California-Davis, spearheaded the teaching effort.
Another out-of-towner who stayed after the youth conference was Ramin Yavrom of Suisun City, California. Many of the friends in San Diego, including Karin Ryan and her mother, Rosemary Ryan, a member of the Spiritual Assembly of San Diego, supported the accelerating teaching efforts.
Tek Sing Lee, a Bahá’í of Chinese descent who speaks Chinese, a language understood by many Cambodians, and also speaks Thai, which is understood by most Laotians, was asked to serve as translator and to host deepening classes for the new friends.
The teaching effort continues. The Spiritual Assembly of San Diego has formed a committee to help in the consolidation of the new believers and to continue the expansion of Asian teaching.
The Center is a hub of activity, used as a site for firesides, deepenings, and social events especially for the new believers.
Increased participation by members of the San Diego community, including many of the Persian friends, has been noted.
There is no doubt that there are many more Bahá’ís waiting to be discovered and rediscovered among the Asian refugees, especially among the Hmong people from Laos where large numbers came into the Faith some years ago.
The San Diego community intends to continue probing its fertile area to find all of them.
How to contact foreign students[edit]
- Get in touch with foreign student advisers and foreign student campus organizations for information about students from different countries.
- Enroll in Asian language and cultural courses; often this is a good opportunity to make friends with Asian American students.
- Make a special effort to become acquainted with people of Asian American descent and get to know them as personal friends.
- Invite your Asian friends to regular firesides, discussions or meetings on campus. Among Asians, serving refreshments is
[Page 11]
TEACHING
Declarations reach 96 in Joliet’s ‘Project Olinga’[edit]
KINDLY CONVEY LSA JOLIET, ILLINOIS, DEEP SATISFACTION EFFECTIVENESS PROJECT OLINGA. WARM WELCOME NEW ADHERENTS CAUSE PRAYING SHRINES COMMUNITY’S CONTINUING SUCCESS EXPANSION. LOVING GREETINGS.
September 4, 1980
•
Two months after the start of “Project Olinga,” the Spiritual Assembly of Joliet, Illinois, reported that 96 residents of the city had declared their belief in Bahá’u’lláh, raising the number of believers in Joliet to 115.
Planning for the teaching campaign, named in honor of the Hand of the Cause of God Enoch Olinga, began last January. The effort itself has been extended until Riḍván 1981, the end of the first two-year phase of the Seven Year Plan.
PROJECT Olinga began July 5 with training sessions aimed at proper use of the teaching booklets.
Each weekend, according to Donna Kime Barbre, one of two coordinators of the project (the other is Ann Arp), four to six Bahá’ís from Joliet, along with an occasional traveling teacher, met at the Bahá’í Center in Joliet for role-playing in preparation for direct teaching.
“Teams of two to three believers went into all parts of the city,” she says, “and found people on their porches, at restaurants, or were invited into their homes.
“Presenting the Message in a simple way is part of the key to teaching in Joliet. In fact, it is much like teaching in rural towns and villages.”
Joliet, in northeastern Illinois about 35 miles southwest of Chicago, is a city of 85,000 with large Spanish-speaking and black populations.
Consolidation activities include visits to new believers on weekends and two evenings each week.
THE FRIENDS in Joliet have found it important to wait until the new believers have been visited in their homes several times before inviting them to the Bahá’í Center.
The Joliet Center plays an important part in Project Olinga, says Mrs. Barbre, because it serves as the training center and meeting place for all of the activities.
Because Joliet is less than a two-hour drive from the Bahá’í House of Worship, consolidation plans include visits to the Temple with groups of new believers. Buses may be rented for such trips on special occasions.
The Spiritual Assembly of Joliet is grateful to those who have participated in Project Olinga, either directly or with prayers or financial help, and invites those friends who have not yet participated to consider doing so.
For information about Project Olinga, the friends are invited to phone Mrs. Barbre at 815-723-8488, or Mrs. Arp at 815-727-9739 or 815-744-6950.
Some of the new Bahá’ís in Joliet, Illinois, joined fellow-believers for a recent visit to the Bahá’í House of Worship in Wilmette.
Among the Bahá’ís performing during the ‘Project Olinga’ teaching campaign in Joliet, Illinois, were members of the Unity Bluegrass Band.
Donna Kime Barbre, one of the organizers of the ‘Project Olinga’ teaching campaign in Joliet, Illinois, also lent her singing talents to the campaign that saw 96 declarations in its first two months.
Michael Yeager (left), a member of the intercommunity Bahá’í children’s class of Broward County, Florida, presents a handmade gift during a visit by Bahá’í children last April to a home for the profoundly mentally handicapped. The visit was part of a recent series of classes on the exceptional child in which the Bahá’í children were taught that every child has a need to know about the world around him and a need to be loved.
Letter[edit]
Continued From Page 10
bonds cross racial and cultural barriers).
Meeting new Bahá’ís each day as one continues on a teaching trip cannot help but inspire and confirm. I sense new strength and comfort as I see that although daily circumstances and responsibilities may differ, each of us is struggling to develop spiritually, and we all have very similar feelings.
In Lamoni, our feelings of inadequacy fade as we discover that although we are only three, many others are working closely with us.
Now, when I consider Lamoni’s prospects, my mind casts back to Fairfield, where Judy and Peter Ashelman and two children are progressing patiently, or to Dubuque, where Jan Freese and her children courageously face the challenges offered to the only Bahá’í family in such a town—or I think of the friends in Marion, who are dedicating themselves to the greater solidarity of their community. The list goes on.
THUS WE FIND ourselves bolstered by a broader picture, and a deeper sense of community than any picture can give!
Another blessing that accompanies travel-teaching is that spiritual effects are wrought in both travel and host.
The traveling teacher is constantly active: speaking, praying, serving in some way (washing dishes, running a taxi, etc.). This uplifts him; renews him. And when tests arise, he wants to meet them nobly, and this in turn leads to some manner of detachment.
Travel-teaching helps one to expand, to discover abilities once unknown or dormant. (In me, the effect was one of increased confidence.)
“If the friends always waited until they were fully qualified ... the work ... would be at a standstill! But the very act of striving to serve, however unworthy one may feel, attracts the blessings of God and enables one to become more fitted for the task.” (From a letter dated May 4, 1942, written on behalf of the Guardian and published in the compilation, “The Individual and Teaching,” pp. 24-25)
And as for the host communities, it’s well known that a visit from the outside can create new opportunities, give a broader perspective, and have a generally beneficial effect on community life, as all rally around this “special event.”
Finally, the traveling teacher, lending his own special talents and fresh approach to the projects of his neighbors, attracts souls to meetings and elsewhere who might not have been touched otherwise, and while there, offers whatever he may possess as a teacher. This is also a blessing of travel-teaching.”
Lamoni, Iowa
DOES ANYBODY KNOW ABOUT OPERATION BEFRIEND?
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NEW!
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History[edit]
Continued From Page 1
Dr. Firuz Kazemzadeh, vice-chairman of the National Spiritual Assembly and professor of history at Yale University, has been asked to prepare a study outline for the month on the National Assembly’s behalf. The outline will appear in the December issue of The American Bahá’í.
We present here an interview with Dr. Kazemzadeh concerning the importance of knowing and understanding Bahá’í history and its relationship to more recent events in Iran.
•
“The Bahá’ís are aware of the seriousness of the persecution of believers in Iran in view of the martyrdom of seven Bahá’ís in Yazd, two in Tabriz, and a scattering of other martyrdoms here and there, along with the arrest of the National Spiritual Assembly of Iran and two Auxiliary Board members.
“This brings to mind a parallel to the great events of the 19th century, events we now refer to as having occurred during the ‘Heroic Age’ of the Faith.
“IN A SENSE, we are returning to that period. This is why the National Spiritual Assembly invites the friends to look at the Heroic Age and receive from it inspiration and assurance.
“The Iranian Bahá’í community has a history that provides many examples of enmity and fanaticism on the part of world forces that have tried to suppress the Bahá’í Faith, and the Bábí Faith, at their inception.
“Because the bloodshed, the martyrdoms, and especially the heroism displayed by the Bahá’ís in the 19th century comprise some of the most outstanding pages in the religious history of mankind, the National Spiritual Assembly feels that the Bahá’ís, when they are once again exposed to similar attacks, should look back for inspiration and for assurance of ultimate victory to the ways of their spiritual ancestors, the Dawn-breakers.
“The National Assembly strongly encourages the friends throughout the country to take time to look to their own origins, to read about Bahá’í history in Nabil’s narrative, The Dawn-breakers; in Shoghi Effendi’s masterful work, God Passes By; in the passages about Bahá’í history so eloquently penned by Bahá’u’lláh Himself in Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, or in the books by the Hand of the Cause of God Hasan Balyúzí, and to derive inspiration from all these sources.
“Different Bahá’í communities will no doubt handle this reexamination of Bahá’í history during this month in their own way.
“Some may want to hold special meetings. Some may plan a weekend seminar. Others may wish to put on dramatizations of Bahá’í events, or present special readings. This is entirely up to each community, depending on its resources and capacities.
“IT WOULD BE wonderful if throughout the country during this particular month, all of the Bahá’ís were to realize how great is their heritage, and that these recent attacks on the Faith that are gathering momentum in the land of its birth mark yet another episode that brings forth heroism, devotion and dedication from the friends.
“Far from inflicting permanent damage on the Faith, these persecutions will serve once again to bring the Faith to the attention of the world in a most favorable light.
“By restudying the history of the Heroic Age of the Faith, one can see clearly the patterns of persecution and how these patterns are being repeated.
“Today in the U.S., when the believers feel that the Faith is being persecuted, they have a difficult time understanding how this could be.
DR. FIRUZ KAZEMZADEH
“In past persecutions conducted by the Iranian clergy of the last century, and by the Shah, one sees precisely how a completely innocent community, dedicated to the highest ideals, can be perceived as seditious and dangerous, and with what total ruthlessness its enemies can attempt to exterminate that community.
“It is precisely these attacks on the believers that renew the Bahá’í spirit. We already have the evidence with the Bahá’í community in Iran. It has never been stronger, healthier or more united.
“THE DEDICATION and bravery that the Bahá’ís are demonstrating is evidenced by their response to the arrest of the members of the National Spiritual Assembly.
“After the arrest of the members of that Institution, a new National Spiritual Assembly sprang instantly into being—not underground, but openly.
“The new National Assembly addressed letters to the Iranian government, requesting the release of the former members of the Assembly. This kind of action is very inspiring, and is actually a ‘replay’ of what happened at the very beginning of our Faith.
“Persecutions, far from dampening our spirits, far from debilitating us, are a source of inspiration and strength.
“In fact, the advertisement that the persecutions give to the Faith—the number of people who for the first time will become aware of the existence of the Bahá’í community, who will for the first time investigate it and read Bahá’í books, and who will be accepted into the Faith—is going to increase dramatically because of these persecutions.
“In early Christianity it was said that the blood of the martyrs watered and nourished the seed of faith planted by Jesus. This is true for every religion that is persecuted. The blood of the martyrs strengthens the seed of the community.
“That is what must be kept uppermost in our minds as we view the depressing and deplorable series of events now taking place in Iran.”
Teaching Asians[edit]
Continued From Page 8
for the Message,’ and didn’t waste any more time thinking about it.
“I thought that was a tremendous accomplishment for me because it gave me the courage and inspiration to come again, and to keep on going back. By the end of the day I was saying whole sentences to people!
“ONE IMPORTANT thing I learned ... sometimes we, because of our own prejudices, color a situation and expect the wrong thing. Or, we limit our expectation so that we limit ourselves and don’t push ourselves enough to do what we really want to do.
“We’re all here because we want to teach. We shouldn’t be turned aside by a person in the street whom we stop, who is very busy, who may have many problems he can’t even articulate, or who may indeed reject us simply because of our color or because we are from a different culture.
“We never know when that same person may have the occasion to look back and at the end of the day, when emptying his pockets or cleaning out a shopping bag, come across a pamphlet or flyer announcing a Bahá’í meeting and as a result come to hear the Message; or, this person may be instrumental in passing it on to someone else.
“Once I was able to come out of myself, I accomplished what I had set out to do—to plant a seed, to give the Message and no more, because there is no more I’m capable of doing.
“It meant overcoming the fears I had from the previous conditions in which I had lived, addressing the problems of this day, and seeing how far I could go in giving the Message of Bahá’u’lláh to anyone I met regardless of his background or his attitude.
“I can only try, and if I don’t try, then the only reason he hasn’t gotten the Message is because Anne Carpenter failed; not that he rejected it, but that I didn’t even make an attempt!”
[Page 13]
EDUCATION COMMITTEE
Special Green Lake program trains 23 educators[edit]
Twenty-three specially selected Bahá’í educators from across the U.S. participated September 13-14 in a training program at the Green Lake (Wisconsin) Bahá’í Conference to prepare them for service as children’s program directors at Bahá’í schools.
Seventeen of the 21 Bahá’í schools in the U.S. will benefit directly from the program, according to David Smith, secretary of the National Education Committee.
THE EDUCATION Committee sponsored and conducted the training program.
The Green Lake Conference children’s program was chosen as the site for the Education Committee’s training program because it has served for the last several years as a model of excellence in children’s programming, said Mr. Smith.
“The Green Lake Conference offered an outstanding ready-made environment,” he said, “in which to train directors for other Bahá’í schools.”
The primary purpose of the training program, according to the secretary, is to make available to Bahá’í schools educators with organizational and administrative skills who will work closely with Bahá’í school councils and committees and serve as directors for children’s programs.
The trainees assisted the Green Lake children’s program in addition to attending auxiliary sessions pertaining to their responsibilities as program directors.
Those sessions were conducted by Bud and Victoria Polk, directors of the Green Lake Conference children’s program, and by members of the National Education Committee staff.
A REQUIREMENT for participation in the training program was a commitment to serve for at least two years as a children’s program director at a particular Bahá’í school.
During that two-year in-service period, Mr. Smith explained, each director will train, in apprentice fashion, at least one other person in the director’s responsibilities.
This training will thus increase the resource base of people with this specialized training who are available to Bahá’í schools.
The directors’ responsibilities including recruiting teachers, assessing children’s program space, purchasing materials, setting curriculum guidelines, and supervising the overall children’s program while it is in progress.
“These administrative tasks,” said Mr. Smith, “must be taken care of to free the teachers to plan classroom activities, prepare the classroom itself, and interact with the children so that a positive educational experience takes place.
“The role of the director is essential to a high quality children’s program,” he said.
Most of the participants in the training program paid their own travel expenses to Green Lake. Fifteen of the 23 director trainees are also education consultants trained by the National Education Committee.
“OUR BAHÁ’Í schools offer unique opportunities for young Bahá’ís to experience the Faith in special ways,” said Mr. Smith. “The children’s program director training will play an increasingly important role in realizing our educational goals.”
Participants in the training program were Pat Baerwolf of Allen Park, Michigan; Tom Behrendt of LaGrange, Illinois; Sandra Cott of Butte, Montana; Iris Danonberg of Fallbrook, California.
Also, Connie Driver of Cul de Sac, Idaho; Debbie Ferguson of Exeter, New Hampshire; Richard Hastings of Vista, California; Priscilla Hofert of Council Bluffs, Iowa; Georgia Howardell of Blacksburg, Virginia.
Also, Alton Kendall of Huntsville, Alabama; Linda Martin of Cambridge, Minnesota; Melanie Martinez of Tolleson, Arizona; Toni Mayor of Plantation, Florida; Irma Nyby of Rochester, Washington.
Also, Emily Pane of Kalamazoo, Michigan; John Rhoades of Greenfield, Indiana; Meredith Ring of Sugar Grove, North Carolina; Ann Rowley of Athens, Georgia; Ann Samuelson of Roanoke, Virginia.
Also, Sandra Swanson-Scott of Santa Cruz, California; John Skoog of Onamia, Minnesota; Joanne Thunborg of Loomis, California; Barbara Trotter of Portland, Oregon.
A training session for the 23 Bahá’í educators who attended a special National Education Committee program September 13-14 at the Green Lake Bahá’í Conference to prepare them for service as children’s program directors at Bahá’í schools.
Above: Some of the nearly 200 Bahá’ís and their guests who attended the Minnesota Summer School at Frontenac. Below: The friends gather for dawn prayers at the Minnesota Summer School.
Nearly 200 attend annual Minnesota Summer School[edit]
Nearly 200 Bahá’ís and their guests attended the Minnesota Bahá’í Summer School held August 3-8 at Frontenac. This year’s theme was “Shielding the Unity of the Family.”
Speakers included Auxiliary Board member Stephen Birkland; Dr. Khalil A. Khavari, an assistant to Auxiliary Board member D. Thelma Jackson; and Dr. Khavari’s father, Ardeshir Akhtarkhavari.
PARTICIPANTS included more than 80 children and youth along with many Persian believers now living in the U.S.
Dr. Khavari, a faculty member in the psychology department at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, presented a five-hour session entitled, “Dimensions of Well-Being: Harmony of the Soul, Intellect and Body.”
He discussed aspects of spiritual health, especially as they apply to Bahá’í family life.
Paul Lample, a staff member at the National Treasurer’s Office, presented that office’s newest audio-visual program, “The Mystery of Sacrifice.”
Sessions titled “Living the Life” and “Relating to a Non-Bahá’í World” demonstrated the impact of our conduct as individuals and as Bahá’í families on the non-Bahá’ís around us.
Green Acre has record summer meet[edit]
The Green Acre Bahá’í School in Eliot, Maine, held perhaps its most successful summer session this year.
Record crowds attended many of the programs, and attendance was high throughout the summer with a total of more than 1,300 people participating.
AVERAGE weekly attendance was 141 including 81 adults, 24 youth and 36 children.
The teaching staff included five Auxiliary Board members and Bahá’ís from throughout the U.S. and Canada.
Students came from many countries including Australia, Belgium, Canada, Colombia, Dubai, France, Holland, Hong Kong, India, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, the Netherlands Antilles, Palau, Panama, Switzerland, the U.S., Vietnam and Zambia.
The summer season began with a special “Homecoming Weekend” attended by many “old-timers,” some of whom first came to Green Acre as many as 40 years ago.
For the third year in a row, special language institutes for prospective pioneers were offered.
This year’s expanded program included courses in “Cultural Awareness and Adjustment” and “Preparation for Learning any Foreign Language,” as well as intensive classes in French and Spanish and “Teaching English as a Second Language” that drew an overflow enrollment including several non-Bahá’ís.
COURSES prepared by national committees and courses taught by their members were among those on the schedule.
Shown here are some of the participants in the ‘Unity in Diversity Festival’ that brought the summer session at Green Acre Bahá’í School in Eliot, Maine, to a resounding and successful conclusion.
[Page 14]
GREEN LAKE
20th Green Lake Conference salutes our ‘highest hopes’[edit]
A record attendance of 1,298 that included about 270 Persians and more than 100 non-Bahá’ís marked the 20th annual Green Lake Bahá’í Conference held September 12-14 in Green Lake, Wisconsin.
Among the guest speakers at the conference were Dr. Iraj Ayman, a Continental Counsellor for Western Asia; Glenford E. Mitchell, secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly; Auxiliary Board member Stephen Birkland, and Dr. William Smith, chairman of the Race Unity Committee.
THIS YEAR’S expanded children’s program was attended by 210 youngsters who were divided into appropriate age groups and taught by a faculty of 31 volunteer teachers.
The friends at the conference contributed or pledged a total of $5,227 to the Bahá’í Fund, a record amount for a Green Lake conference.
Contributions ranged from two pledges of $1,000 each to that of a youth who pledged one week’s baby-sitting money to the Fund.
The conference theme, “Our Brightest Visions ... Our Highest Hopes,” was taken from the Naw-Rúz message from the Universal House of Justice.
The agenda included workshops on a variety of topics: family finance, single adult Bahá’ís, nurturing children, the workings of the Bahá’í National Center, personal transformation, merging the cultures of Persian and American believers, and life decisions and the Bahá’í standard of success.
Workshop leaders included the secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly, an Auxiliary Board member, members of the Persian Affairs Committee, a member of the National Education Committee staff, a psychiatrist, an accountant, and a child psychologist.
Conference presentations were interspersed with musical entertainment by members of the Milwaukee Area Learning Fair Troupe including Susan Engle and Jean White Marks who perform on the new record album “Come and Sing” that is being distributed by the Bahá’í Publishing Trust.
A SPECIAL guest performer, Shokouh Rezai Davis of Minneapolis, Minnesota, recited portions of the Writings in Persian and chanted poems in that language, some of which were written by the renowned Bahá’í poetess, Táhirih.
Mrs. Davis is a well-known broadcast personality in her native country, having appeared many times on Iranian radio and television.
Mr. Mitchell shared news of the recent persecutions in Iran including the executions in Yazd of five members of its Bahá’í community and two Auxiliary Board members.
Mr. Birkland and one of his assistants, Douglas Moore, presented a humorous one-act play, “On Fire With the Faith,” about teaching the Cause on a golf course.
Stephen Jackson, assistant to the National Treasurer, described the Louhelen Bahá’í School reconstruction project and its implications for Bahá’í education.
Expanding on the theme of recent developments in the Cradle of the Faith and their spiritual implications, Counsellor Ayman said that what is happening in Iran today is exactly what was happening when the Faith was born in that troubled country.
“It is the employment of these external forces,” he said, “that will ultimately change the nature of man.”
THAT IS WHY, he said, Bahá’u’lláh labeled calamity “My Providence” and longed for calamities, describing them as “a crown on My head.”
In the same way, said Dr. Ayman, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá praised calamities and spoke of them as most precious and important.
Hidden deep within calamities and tribulations, Dr. Ayman pointed out, are dynamic and constructive forces—which is why the steadfast and courageous believers in Iran are happy.
“None of them,” he said, “is lamenting what he has lost in terms of earthly possessions or loved ones. They are all eager to do more for the Faith before the short time each of them has is taken away.”
What is required here and now, said Mr. Mitchell, is a fighting spirit that will gain fresh victories for the Cause and win over its enemies.
Citing the individual as the key to action, he said, “We need fire in our veins to burn away the dross of apathy in the Bahá’í community. Unless the individual responds, nothing can happen.”
Dr. Smith, speaking on “Approaching Solutions to the Most Challenging Issue,” said Bahá’ís need to recognize that a problem in race relations exists within the Bahá’í community.
“We don’t often have the chance to get toe-to-toe and talk about these gut issues,” he said. “Now, the pressure is truly on us because we’ve waited so long.”
REMINDING his audience that a culturally and racially diverse but wholly unified community attracts others to us, Dr. Smith said dealing with racial prejudice must begin with the acknowledgement that a problem exists.
As a case in point, Dr. Smith confided that he must watch his own “automatic suspicion” of whites, including Bahá’ís, a suspicion, he said, that has “traditionally been bred into me through my family.”
The net result of such suspicion, he added, is to keep the individual apart from his fellow Bahá’ís and the community as a whole.
Dr. Smith urged the friends to avoid becoming so callous that they are hindered in caring or thinking of others.
“The white middle-class culture predominates even in the American Bahá’í community,” he said, “and as a result there are some people in our community who are really suffering.”
Next year’s 21st Green Lake Conference will be held the weekend of September 11-13.
Top: Glenford E. Mitchell (left) and Counsellor Iraj Ayman at Green Lake. Left: A teaching session in Persian and English. Above: Mrs. Shokouh Rezai Davis entertains. Below: An outdoor session on the lawn at Green Lake.
Susan Engle (left) and Jean White Marks were among the entertainers at the 20th Green Lake Conference in September.
Folk dancing was an integral part of an Auxiliary Board Team Conference held July 25-27 at Salisbury, North Carolina. The conference was one of 47 in the U.S. sponsored by the Continental Board of Counsellors for North America.
160-plus at N.C. Board conference[edit]
More than 160 adults attended North Carolina’s Auxiliary Board Team Teaching Conference held July 25-27 at Livingstone College in Salisbury, North Carolina.
The conference, one of 47 throughout the U.S. sponsored by the Continental Board of Counsellors for North America and its Auxiliary Boards, featured presentations on teaching by Counsellor Sarah M. Pereira, Auxiliary Board members Sam McClellan and Adrienne Reeves, and Dr. Anne Carpenter, a member of the Race Unity Committee.
The Bahá’í Media Committee of the Carolinas, sponsored by the Spiritual Assembly of Charlotte, North Carolina, presented an audio-visual program developed to aid teaching and consolidation.
District Teaching Committees shared reports of their goals, progress, and new developments in teaching methods.
The conference also included folk dancing, special programs for children and youth, and the presentation by Dr. Pereira of a plaque to Livingstone College honoring the 100th anniversary of its founding.
[Page 15]
NATIONAL CENTER
Treasurer’s Office serves Fund through education[edit]
The National Treasurer’s Office has, in addition to its expected list of financial responsibilities, another important and unusual function.
Like treasurer’s departments in almost any other business or organization, the National Treasurer’s Office receipts and disburses funds for the National Spiritual Assembly, performs the accounting, prepares financial statements and budgets, takes care of various tax matters, administers insurance programs, prepares payrolls, and in general keeps the National Assembly informed on all financial matters.
IN ADDITION, however, the Treasurer’s Office has a unique educational aspect, according to Stephen O. Jackson, assistant to National Treasurer Dorothy W. Nelson.
“This has to do with promoting the Fund and its basic principles,” he says, “as given to us by the beloved Guardian, Shoghi Effendi.
“These principles are communicated to the friends in a myriad of ways,” he adds. “Through the monthly Treasurer’s letter, the various courses developed for National Treasurer’s Representatives, and through skits, plays and special audio-visual programs.”
There are presently more than 100 National Treasurer’s Representatives (NTRs) who work with the approximately 2,300 local treasurers in Bahá’í communities across the U.S.
Treasurers of Assemblies and Bahá’í Groups attend workshops presented by the NTRs to help them carry out their local responsibilities.
“Some local treasurers have no background in keeping any kind of books,” says Mr. Jackson, “so we’ve developed a simple course in accounting and bookkeeping to help them.”
THESE WORKSHOPS, based on the handbook “Accounting Procedures for Bahá’í Treasurers,” are open to all believers, as are the three deepening courses prepared by the National Treasurer’s Office and available from the NTRs.
Daniel Ware and his assistant, Paul Lample, are the staff members responsible for administering the NTR program and producing the training and deepening courses and their audio visual components.
One of these programs, “The Surest Way,” incorporates filmstrips and tapes to describe materialism in America and to discuss how we as Bahá’ís can function within a materialistic society.
The five-hour course also examines the history and principles of the Bahá’í Fund.
“The Secret of Wealth” is a course on family finance that took six years to develop. It explains a basic budgeting tool for families, but is placed in the context of the purpose of life from a Bahá’í perspective.
Mr. Jackson lists “The Secret of Wealth” as being among the important accomplishments of that office during his nearly nine years as assistant to the National Treasurer.
THE NEWEST deepening course, “The Mystery of Sacrifice,” was introduced to the NTRs during their annual training institute August 29-September 1 at the Bahá’í National Center.
Producing these programs, says Mr. Ware, is exacting and demanding work, but the rewards are great.
“On ‘The Day of God’ (a slide presentation for NTRs on which he is presently working),” says Mr. Ware, “I had to cloister myself away for two solid weeks.
“I had mounds of books around me, and was scribbling quotations and listening to the music, which is a very important part of the presentation.
“I try to match the music with the words to enhance the overall feeling.”
In doing so, he calls on his experience in theatre and as a former member of a musical teaching team, “Daystar,” in eastern Washington state.
Probably the busiest and most important activity in the Office of the Treasurer is the receipt of the daily contributions to the National Bahá’í Fund.
To facilitate this task, the National Center’s computer is used to keep track of the contributions and to print receipts for each one.
These receipts are the self-mailer type and have saved the staff considerable time and effort.
Since only Bahá’ís can contribute, every contribution must be checked to correspond with the ID number of an enrolled member of the Faith.
This is the main reason the Office of the Treasurer encourages everyone to use his Bahá’í ID number with every contribution.
The staff makes certain that only contributions from Bahá’ís are accepted, and that each one is accurately recorded as quickly as possible.
ALONG WITH their contributions, some Bahá’ís send notes apologizing for the amount enclosed.
“The important thing is to contribute,” says Mr. Jackson. “No apology is ever required for having taken the step of contributing to the Fund.”
Some believers contribute gifts of art, jewelry, coins, rugs, and so forth to the National Fund.
“We gladly receive these gifts-in-kind,” says Mr. Jackson, “and sell them to benefit the Fund.”
The Office of the Treasurer also manages a loan program in which individual Bahá’ís make loans to the National Spiritual Assembly.
Another important program is the Planned Giving Program, now one and one-half years old and growing.
This program, says Mr. Jackson, deals not so much with a person’s current day-to-day cash flow as it does with assets that the friends may wish to make available to the National Fund, either while they are alive or in the form of an estate bequest.
Stephen Jackson, assistant to the National Treasurer, checks his appointments calendar with Treasurer’s Office secretary Shelrita Montgomery.
A computer print-out draws the undivided attention of Treasurer’s Office staff members (left to right) Steve Brisley, Shirley Holmstrom, and Lee Ho.
Comptroller Geoffrey Wilson talks things over with veteran Treasurer’s Office staff member Lauretta Voelz, who has worked in that office for 34 years.
Selecting the proper slides for Treasurer’s Office presentations on the fund is serious business for staff member Dan Ware (leaning forward) and his assistant, Paul Lample.
“IN ANOTHER five years,” Mr. Jackson predicts, “the revenue from this program could equal that of contributions to the National Fund.”
The Treasurer’s Office already has received a number of properties and has worked to set up several trusts. Mr. Jackson and his staff provide believers with suggestions for estate planning.
A quarterly newsletter on the Planned Giving Program is mailed from the National Treasurer’s Office.
Another aspect of the office’s responsibilities is fund-raising for special projects.
An example is the present project of replacing the concrete apron around the steps of the Bahá’í House of Worship and redesigning the entrance to Foundation Hall.
This is a $570,000 project, says Mr. Jackson, and the friends need to know about it so they can contribute toward its completion.
ANOTHER SPECIAL fund-raising effort that has been taking a good deal of Mr. Jackson’s time recently is the $1.8-million Louhelen Bahá’í School reconstruction project.
The project is being financed in part through the sale of promissory notes to individual believers. The notes are available in 26 states.
An important part of the project, says Mr. Jackson, is to make sure that everyone knows about it and how he or she can participate.
(Details concerning the offering of promissory notes for the Louhelen project can be found on Page 32 of this issue of The American Bahá’í.)
Lauretta Voelz is one staff member in the Treasurer’s Office who has seen first hand how the Fund is the “lifeblood” of the Faith.
During her 34 years in the Treasurer’s Office, she has been involved in the purchase of many Temple sites acquired during the Ten Year Crusade, as well as the construction of the Shrine of the Báb, the formation of many National Spiritual Assemblies in Central America and elsewhere, and the establishment of Bahá’í Publishing Trusts around the world.
“Some people have the idea that working with money in a Treasurer’s Office is somehow dull,” she says, “but it’s not, and never has been, because you get involved in all aspects of the Faith’s growth and development.”
OTHER STAFF members are comptroller Geoffrey Wilson, accounting supervisor Lee Ho, Steve Brisley, Shirley Holmstrom, receptionist Shelrita Montgomery, and part-time administrative aide Hazel Noave.
Great strides have been made in the believers’ understanding of
[Page 16]
YOUTH NEWS
39 youth attend Green Acre ‘Touchstone’ session[edit]
Thirty-nine youth between the ages of 12 and 15 participated in “Touchstone—An Experience for Junior Youth at Green Acre” held June 28-July 3 at the Bahá’í school in Eliot, Maine.
Youth from California, Connecticut, Florida, Massachusetts, Maine, Missouri, New Brunswick (Nova Scotia), New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Quebec, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin attended the conference that was planned especially for them.
THE PROGRAM was designed to meet the specific needs of this age group. It focused on helping the youth to:
- Experience functioning in a Bahá’í environment.
- Increase their awareness of themselves and others.
- Expand their ability to find assistance in the Bahá’í Faith.
The importance of relying on the Bahá’í Writings and how to go about doing this was the main theme of a class given by Dr. John Hatcher.
Seminars were also offered on careers, teaching and pioneering, Bahá’í heroes and heroines of the past and present, and Bahá’í marriage.
An intensive seminar led by Carrie and Craig Lewis dealt with solving problems with family and friends in a Bahá’í manner and overcoming peer pressure in a positive way.
All of these topics were suggested by the youth themselves on their conference applications, or by youth who had attended previous conferences.
IN KEEPING with the Guardian’s directive that Bahá’í summer schools should combine devotion, study and recreation, an extensive program of outdoor activities and fellowship was planned.
Stressing cooperation rather than competition, the students were put through a “ropes course” that emphasized group planning, consultation and mutual support as well as individual responsibility and introspection.
Cooperative games and team sports also were utilized to achieve those ends.
Evening programs combined informative and thoughtful aspects with light-hearted fun.
Georgie de Garcie and Manny and Janet Reimer, who have been involved with the school for years, shared stories of the early days at Green Acre and other Bahá’í memories, giving their young listeners another generation’s perspective on life.
Living in other cultures as a Bahá’í pioneer was the theme of a slide presentation by Mrs. Carole Allen.
Silent films and popcorn filled another evening with laughter and entertainment.
The dedication and spirit of the youth at the conference, as well as that of all youth who have attended the school, offers abundant proof that the future of the Faith is in good hands.
The following excerpt from a letter written by a 16-year-old Bahá’í at Green Acre should serve as an example of faith to all of us:
“The magnanimity of our glorious Faith sometimes shocks me, like the reflection of the sun in a silver mirror.
“I lie back, completely dumbfounded, totally enraptured by the fact that our Faith has so much power. All the heavens and the earth are on our side.
“Does that not shock you? Just imagine what that statement implies.
“The next thing that shocks me Please
Some of the 39 Bahá’í youth who attended a special ‘Touchstone’ teaching session this summer at the Green Acre School in Eliot, Maine.
Members of Bahá’í communities in Idaho’s Upper Snake River Valley donated a mountain ash tree in August to the Ashton Memorial Hospital to replace a tree and shrubbery that were removed to repair an adjoining street. Participating were Bahá’ís from St. Anthony (14 miles from Ashton), Rigby and Idaho Falls including (left to right) Ann Kendall, Bernita Picker, Sherry Perking and Nancy Picker. Also in the photo, which appeared in the local newspaper, are (from right) hospital administrator Howard Bergman, Ashton Mayor James Harrell, and CETA maintenance worker David Watson.
Eleven Bahá’í youth from four communities attended a weekend youth conference August 15-17 in rural Kermit, West Virginia. The conference included daily dawn prayers; discussions on topics such as marriage, problems facing Bahá’í youth, and teaching; and social activities such as hiking and volleyball. The unity and enthusiasm generated at the conference has sparked numerous youth activities ranging from formal and informal firesides to an international potluck dinner party and a ‘youth movie night.’
‘World Citizen’ readership passes 650[edit]
The new magazine, World Citizen, published by and for Bahá’í youth, already has attracted more than 650 subscribers.
The magazine’s editorial staff is composed of Bahá’í youth and young adults from the Houston, Texas, area. Their efforts have drawn praise from every level of Bahá’í administration, including that of the Universal House of Justice.
While many delays and setbacks have been experienced in the publication of the first two issues of World Citizen, plans are under way to publish the magazine on a regular bi-monthly basis.
The staff welcomes the submission of essays, articles, photo studies, poems and art for publication.
Subscriptions to World Citizen are available by sending a check or money order for $8 (per year) to World Citizen, 10110 Margate Drive, Houston, TX 77099.
Youth essay winners are announced[edit]
The National Youth Committee has announced the 10 winners of the National Youth Essay Contest.
The competition required entrants to submit an essay on the topic, “Why Should I Be a Bahá’í?”
Winners, who were selected by the Youth Committee, each will receive a gift copy of Bahá’u’lláh: The King of Glory by the Hand of the Cause of God Hasan M. Balyúzí.
Copies of the winning essays also will be submitted to the editorial staff of World Citizen for possible publication in that magazine.
The 10 winners are:
Craig Colt, age 16, Butte, Montana; Dale Fat’he-Aazam, age 19, Irvine, California; Brendon Hanna, age 15, Orangeburg, South Carolina; Debra Lindstrom, age 19, Astoria, Oregon; Bernice Lucero, age 19, Marana, Arizona.
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Teaching Fever Is |
Also, Katrina L. Vallicella, age 17, Yucaipa, California; Matthew Weinberg, age 19, Cambridge, Massachusetts; Kathleen Williams, age 18, Warrenton, Oregon; Duke Travis Willis, age 19, Happy Camp, California; Andrea Zavari, age 16, Waldwick, New Jersey.
[Page 17]
YOUTH NEWS
CHARLES (CAP) CORNWELL
Youth office, secretary to be in Florida[edit]
The recently-elected secretary of the National Bahá’í Youth Committee, a subcommittee of the National Teaching Committee, is Charles (Cap) Cornwell, who will be carrying out his duties as secretary from Florida where he operates an industrial painting and cleaning business.
Mr. Cornwell says he expects to spend about one-half of his time working on National Youth Committee business on a volunteer basis.
HE WILL BE helped by an office assistant, Mrs. Karen Pritchard.
“I wasn’t able to come to the National Center in Wilmette at this time,” said Mr. Cornwell, “but was able to offer the use of my office facilities in Fort Lauderdale to the Faith.”
The 31-year-old Mr. Cornwell, who became a Bahá’í in 1968, has been active in youth pursuits and as a homefront pioneer in Pocatello, Idaho, and in Florida.
He has served on District Teaching Committees in Idaho and Florida, and as an assistant to Auxiliary Board member Benjamin Levy.
Mr. Cornwell is chairman of the Spiritual Assembly of Plantation, Florida, and was a delegate to this year’s Bahá’í National Convention.
New youth plan aims to help win goals[edit]
At a meeting early in September, the Bahá’í National Youth Committee developed a new National Youth Plan designed to stimulate activity in the youth community during the remaining months of the first phase of the Seven Year Plan.
The new plan, approved by the National Teaching Committee and unveiled at District Conventions early in October, was developed as a tool to help win the goal of doubling the number of Bahá’í youth in the U.S., a goal adopted by the Youth Committee in 1979.
THE COMMITTEE’S consultation resulted in a two-part program aimed at both the individual youth and the various college, high school and local youth clubs as well as District Youth Committees.
Individual youth are asked to take special measures to teach their peers with a specific goal of telling someone about the Faith each week and welcoming at least one fellow youth into the Cause before Riḍván 1981.
Under this new plan, the youth are to place primary emphasis on reaching members of minority groups.
The plan calls on Bahá’í youth to complete a reading assignment: The World Order of Bahá’u’lláh, pages 1–26, and The Advent of Divine Justice. The deadline for completion is the Feast of Sharaf, December 30.
“If every Bahá’í youth in the country would read and study those vital messages from the Guardian,” said Charles C. Cornwell, secretary of the National Youth Committee, “we feel certain that a wave of revitalizing energy would sweep across the American youth community.
“When this surge of energy is directed to the teaching work, the goal of doubling the number of our youth will be readily achieved.”
ONCE EACH YOUTH has completed the reading assignment, he or she is asked to notify the National Youth Committee so that the names of those who accomplish this personal goal may be officially recorded and recognized.
A coupon for reporting to the committee is included in this issue of The American Bahá’í.
The goals established for college clubs and other youth organizations are activity-oriented.
In explaining the background of the plan, Mr. Cornwell noted that “there is a vast network of Bahá’í youth in this country. Many of the youth are members of college clubs, high school clubs, District Youth Committees, or local youth clubs, and each of these groups has been given a specific role to play in the successful completion of the youth plan.”
The committee is calling for the formation by Riḍván 1981 of at least 500 such clubs or committees.
These functioning groups, operating under the guidance of Local Spiritual Assemblies, are asked to: (1) Sponsor a minimum of four teaching events. Suggested ideas include firesides, teaching trips, and social events that will be attractive to seekers. (2) Enroll at least four new Bahá’í youth, with a special emphasis on reaching minority youth, and, on college campuses, foreign students.
DISTRICT Youth Committees are asked to plan a minimum of 10 teaching trips within their district. The deadline for achieving all of these goals is Riḍván 1981.
“We feel certain that these activities will serve not only to inspire the youth to new heights of service to the Cause,” said Walter Heinecke, chairman of the National Youth Committee, “but will also create new opportunities for seekers to share in the fun of being a Bahá’í.
“The Youth Committee hopes that both the individual youth and the network of clubs and committees will strive to share the spirit of the Faith with their peers, along with the principles and tenets that guide our lives.”
To measure the progress of the plan, the youth clubs and district committees are being asked to report their victories to the National Youth Committee.
Spiritual Assemblies that are serving as sponsors and advisers for the youth organizations are asked to provide the necessary assistance for the successful completion of the tasks outlined in the plan.
Other items discussed by the Youth Committee at its September meeting included plans for a National Youth Conference to be held next summer, revision of the Work/Study Program offered semi-annually at the Bahá’í National Center, and development of a new program designed to enhance leadership qualities for Bahá’í youth.
The meeting, which was the second held by the recently-appointed committee, was convened in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, the site of the National Youth Committee’s new administrative offices.
The phone number of the new office is 305-462-1919.
Wanted: Alive![edit]
Bahá’í youth are needed who are ready to be bold, audacious, to stand out and stand up for the Cause of God and to share the Message of Bahá’u’lláh with their fellow youth throughout the U.S., thus helping to fulfill the youth goals.
Interested youth are urged to contact the Bahá’í National Youth Committee by phoning 305-462-1919 (the new phone number of the National Youth Committee office in Fort Lauderdale, Florida).
Youth Committee publishes new College Club information[edit]
A newly-designed packet of information for Bahá’í college clubs has been published by the Bahá’í National Youth Committee.
The materials were developed for a two-fold purpose: (1) to guide existing clubs in their activities for the school year and to clarify the role of the sponsoring Assembly in relation to the clubs, and (2) to streamline the steps necessary for the formation of new clubs.
Under new policy, college clubs will be guided by Local Spiritual Assemblies.
Included in the revised kit is a list of suggested activities that clubs may organize.
These activities include service, academic, recreational and social events that will provide a diverse program of teaching and proclamation on campuses.
The packets were sent early in September to all clubs listing current addresses of sponsors.
Clubs that have not received their kit, or students who are organizing new Bahá’í clubs and do not have the new packet, should contact the National Youth Committee for a copy.
Write to the committee at 200 S.W. 20th St., Fort Lauderdale, FL 33315.
Touchstone[edit]
Continued From Page 16
so greatly is the fact that I have been blessed with the knowledge of the Blessed Beauty, the Glory of God. That is frightening.
“I have something the whole world yearns for, and I have the responsibility of teaching this to the world over. I do not take this burden lightly. It frightens me that I have this responsibility.
“Yet, although I am frightened, I am sure that I can and will do it! Because I love Bahá’u’lláh. I love my Lord.”
Above: Some of the more than 65 youth who frolicked in the Florida sun September 12–14 in Melbourne. Below: There was entertainment indoors too with skits and songs.
More than 65 Bahá’í youth, guests enjoy weekend of surf, sun, spirit[edit]
More than 65 Bahá’ís and their guests enjoyed a weekend of surf, sun and spiritual growth during a Bahá’í beach camp-out held September 12–14 in Melbourne, Florida.
The outing, hosted by the District Youth Committee of South Florida, included dawn prayers, swimming, games and a special deepening series.
Each youth attending was given goals to be reached during the weekend: to memorize the prayer for youth, to learn a new Bahá’í song, to be able to relate the story of Quddús, and to acquire new teaching skills from classes on the early life of Bahá’u’lláh and the sacrifice of Táhirih.
Among those attending were 25 adults and 40 youth and pre-youth, 15 of whom were seekers.
[Page 18]
RACE UNITY
“When the racial elements of the American nation unite in actual fellowship and accord, the lights of the oneness of humanity will shine, the day of eternal glory and bliss will dawn, the spirit of God encompass and the divine favours descend.” (‘Abdu’l-Bahá, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 54)
Editorial
Who is Ron Taylor and why was he running?[edit]
In this day-to-day world of racial negativism, a marvelous thing has happened. An act of heroism has occurred that can serve to revitalize the lovers of humankind and give them a modern-day point of reference in their efforts to promote race unity in our troubled land.
This brings us to the title of our editorial—“Who Is Ron Taylor and Why Was He Running?”
IN MARCH of this year, 19-year-old Michael Doherty, who is white, was at a subway station in the Dorchester area of Boston when he saw several white youths beating a black man. When he tried to intervene, the youths chased Mr. Doherty onto the Southeast Expressway where he was struck by a car and killed.
Reaction to Mr. Doherty’s valiant deed was and is slow. The Boston Globe ran several well-written articles about the incident, one of which shamed the Boston political, religious and lay community for its near non-response to this unparalleled event in Boston’s history.
Enter Ron Taylor.
“Once I read about what happened to Michael (Doherty) last March, I couldn’t get it out of my mind,” said Ronald Taylor, panting as he tried to catch his breath after completing the last leg of his 100-mile Run for Racial Harmony.
Ron, who grew up in Boston and now lives in Brattleboro, Vermont, said he “wanted to do something to bring a lot of people together.”
“It might be just a beginning, something to prevent what happened to Michael from happening again.”
So he organized, with the cooperation and blessing of Mr. and Mrs. Doherty, whom he had never met, the 100-mile Run for Racial Harmony from Brattleboro to the Boston Common, an historic center city park.
THE PURPOSE of the run was to raise money for a scholarship fund at Boston’s Northeastern University in Michael Doherty’s name.
The scholarship will be given to a Boston high school senior who “has best exemplified the spirit of racial harmony.”
The fall sun shone warmly on the two men as they made the turn from Commonwealth Avenue toward the Boston Common. Ron Taylor had been joined by Jesse Parks for the final 12-mile leg from Lexington, Massachusetts to the Common.
Invitations to President Carter, Governor King of Massachusetts, and Mayor Kevin White of Boston to join the run went unanswered, although Mayor White did appear at a press conference held a few minutes after the runners arrived.
A group of about 30 people, mostly family members, and representatives of the press greeted Ron and Jesse with applause.
The interest of so small a number of people in a human drama of such positive spiritual proportions is truly frightening. In spite of the meager turnout, Mr. Doherty said he hopes the Run for Racial Harmony can become an annual event.
PERHAPS IT IS to be expected that support for Ron’s run and Michael’s death should be slow in coming. It is all too simple, too unembellished, too close to what human relations should be about... A young white man simply saw a racial injustice and tried to set it right. It cost him his life.
A young black man saw the importance of that sacrifice and ran 100 miles in the hope that it would never happen again.
This presents an excellent opportunity for the Bahá’í community in Massachusetts and across the country to participate on the ground level of an activity aimed at the reaffirmation of our beliefs through service and ecumenical interaction.
Here are some suggestions about how this can be done:
1. Contact the Spiritual Assembly of Boston for guidance and cooperation in contacting the Doherty family to help them plan, organize and carry out the annual Run for Racial Harmony.
2. Organize similar Runs for Racial Harmony that could be held across the country on the same day and would be sponsored by local Bahá’í communities with proceeds donated to the Doherty scholarship fund.
In the Bahá’í community, where we must make every effort count toward promulgating the Teachings of Bahá’u’lláh on world unity, isn’t it a double bounty that we’ve heard about Michael Doherty and Ron Taylor.
Politics, negativism, and partisanship are, happily, not a part of this event. Ron Taylor ran for racial harmony, nothing else, and if Ron Taylor is running, shouldn’t Bahá’ís be running too?
Next month: Report from Massanetta Springs[edit]
In the December issue of The American Bahá’í, we’ll have a complete report on the second Massanetta Springs (Virginia) Conference that was attended by some 800 Bahá’ís and their guests. Watch for it!
An early lesson in human relations[edit]
An Iranian Bahá’í family lives in a white middle class neighborhood in a city in the western U.S.
There are no blacks in that city, and thus there are none in the Bahá’í community there.
Since this particular family rarely visits other Bahá’í communities, its four-year-old son has had little opportunity to come in contact with black people.
One evening a black African friend was invited to their home. Other Bahá’ís also were present on that occasion.
The small boy politely greeted everyone except the different-looking stranger.
When he came to the African friend, the boy drew back. His father asked, “Why don’t you greet him too?”
“Is he a Bahá’í?” the youngster asked.
“Yes,” said the father.
Whereupon his son’s eyes widened in wonder, and he said, “He can’t be a Bahá’í.”
Patiently, the father explained to his son that the man was indeed a Bahá’í, that the only difference between him and the others was the color of his skin, and that there are many different-colored Bahá’ís all over the world, but not in their community.
Upon hearing that, the boy warmly embraced his guest and shook hands with him.
Soon they had become fast friends, playing and laughing together all evening. When the time came to end the gathering, the boy did not want his black friend to leave their home.
Your Turn: Dr. Carpenter’s address well-received in N.C.[edit]
(The following is excerpted from a letter to the Race Unity Committee from the Bahá’í Media Committee of the Carolines, sponsored by the Spiritual Assembly of Charlotte, North Carolina.)
•
“We had the bounty of hearing Dr. Anne Carpenter address the Bahá’ís at a conference in Salisbury, North Carolina, last week.
“It was good to hear such frank acknowledgement of the issue of race unity and the challenge (it presents) to us all.
“Our Spiritual Assembly is considering approaching the black leaders in our community, and this committee specifically would like your permission to republish in part or whole in our local papers editorials or articles in editorial form as taken from the articles you will be writing in The American Bahá’í.
“This, we feel, will give us an excellent chance to really be of service and to show the public how serious we are about the issue.
“It surely would lead to the six-year program which you are developing for the Bahá’í community to be given or offered to the public here with some change as would perhaps be necessary because of the fact that it would not be directed purely toward or within the Bahá’í community.
“We at least could ‘capitalize’ on needed publicity with this bold action that is really overdue.”
School[edit]
Continued From Page 13
Another session provided participants with practical advice on how to present a fireside.
Mr. Akhtarkhavari shared some of his experiences from a 45-day period in the Holy Land when he had the bounty of being in the presence of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.
Mr. Akhtarkhavari’s nephew, Nuru’llah Akhtar-Khavari, was one of the seven believers who were martyred September 8 in Yazd, Iran.
SESSIONS for youth focused on the Bahá’í Writings and the present world situation, along with a class entitled, “Getting Specific—A Reference to Youth in the Bahá’í Faith.”
The children’s program included stories about the Central Figures of the Faith, and a class on working together in the family and translating spiritual qualities into action.
The annual talent show provided a wonderful evening of entertainment.
Four people declared their belief in Bahá’u’lláh during the week-long school.
[Page 19]
PUBLICATIONS
Publishing Trust hosts children’s books seminar[edit]
A seminar for writers and illustrators of children’s books and special materials was held September 20–21 at the Bahá’í Publishing Trust in Wilmette, Illinois.
The primary purpose of the seminar was to give participants an overview of the Publishing Trust’s publishing program for children and youth, as well as to share specific information about writing and illustrating children’s materials from a Bahá’í point of view.
AMONG THE the 35 people who attended the seminar were Glenford E. Mitchell, secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly, and Dr. Magdalene M. Carney, assistant secretary of the National Assembly.
The conference was opened with brief remarks by Dr. John Bustard, the general manager of the Publishing Trust.
Formal presentations included:
- “The Bahá’í Writings, Educational Theory, and Implications for Bahá’í Materials,” by Debbie Christensen of Cornwall, Ontario, Canada.
- “Growth and Development of Children,” by Dr. Susan Theroux of Fredonia, New York.
- “Child Education: A National Education Committee Perspective on Publication Needs,” by Dr. Donald Streets of Escondido, California.
- “The Bahá’í Publishing Trust: Where We’ve Come From, Where We Are, and Where We’re Going,” by Dr. Betty J. Fisher, general editor of the Publishing Trust.
- “WRITING for Children and Youth,” by Lily Ayman of Chicago.
- “Do’s and Don’ts: Elements for Successful Writing for Children,” by Constance Conrader of Oconomowoc, Wisconsin.
• “The Text and Illustrations,” by Winifred B. Newman of San Antonio, Texas. • “Preparing Artwork for Publication,” by two representatives of Lehigh Press, Pennsauken, New Jersey.
The seminar also included workshops on “Writing for Young Children Through 11‑Year‑Olds,” conducted by Mrs. Christensen; “Writing for 11‑ to 15‑Year‑Olds,” conducted by Mrs. Ayman; and “Illustrations and Graphics: The Aesthetic and Practical Sides,” conducted by Mrs. Newman.
In addition, panel discussions were held on “Teaching Children About the Faith: The Direct Approach and the Indirect Approach” and “Writing and Illustrating Books Without Racial, Sexual or Cultural Bias.”
Seminar participants came from California, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Washington State and Wisconsin.
“We feel the seminar was an unqualified success,” said Dr. Fisher. “We were able to share with a large group of writers and prospective writers and illustrators the Publishing Trust’s priorities and needs for children’s materials.
“They’ve been given a lot to think about, and it’s our feeling that the seminar will bear rich fruit as these talented people digest and begin to utilize this wealth of information.”
As one immediate result of the seminar, Jocelyn Boor of Shorewood, Wisconsin, agreed to serve as a “clearing‑house” for information for an informal newsletter to be sent periodically to the participants.
The Publishing Trust, said Dr. Fisher, is considering hiring an editorial assistant who would specialize in children’s materials.
Mrs. Debbie Christensen of Cornwall, Ontario, Canada was one of the speakers at the seminar on children’s literature held September 20–21 at the Bahá’í Publishing Trust.
Dr. Betty J. Fisher, general editor of the Bahá’í Publishing Trust, spoke about the Trust’s past, present and future.
Thirty‑five Bahá’ís participated in the Bahá’í Publishing Trust’s seminar on children’s literature September 20–21.
Trust to release first 12 volumes of ‘The Bahá’í World’[edit]
Have you been searching for years for early volumes of The Bahá’í World? Search no more.
Have you recently become aware of The Bahá’í World volumes and been longing to have a set of these priceless books? Long no more.
BEGINNING February 1, 1981, the Bahá’í Publishing Trust plans to release, three volumes at a time, a reprinting of Volumes 1 through 12 of The Bahá’í World (including Volume 1, which was called Bahá’í Year Book).
The prepublication price of the entire set of the 12 volumes (Catalog No. 7‑33‑00), through midnight January 31, 1981, will be $150 NET.
Pre‑publication orders of individual volumes will also be accepted through midnight January 31.
The pre‑publication prices of individual volumes are as follows:
Volume 1 (Catalog No. 7‑33‑01), $8; Volume 2 (Catalog No. 7‑33‑02), $10; Volume 3 (Catalog No. 7‑33‑03), $10; Volume 4 (Catalog No. 7‑33‑04), $13.50.
Volume 5 (Catalog No. 7‑33‑05), $17; Volume 6 (Catalog No. 7‑33‑06), $18.50; Volume 7 (Catalog No. 7‑33‑07), $16; Volume 8 (Catalog No. 7‑33‑08), $24.
Volume 9 (Catalog No. 7‑33‑09), $24; Volume 10 (Catalog No. 7‑33‑10), $23; Volume 11 (Catalog No. 7‑33‑11), $17.50; Volume 12 (Catalog No. 7‑33‑12), $21.50.
AS OF FEBRUARY 1, 1981, the price of Volumes 1 through 12 will be $176 NET. Orders for individual volumes will not be accepted after January 31, as those orders must be included with the initial print runs.
Volumes 1, 2 and 3 will be shipped on February 1, 1981; Volumes 4, 5 and 6 on May 1; Volumes 7, 8 and 9 on August 1; and Volumes 10, 11 and 12 on November 1.
The reprinting of the 12 volumes will include the entire text of each volume as well as all color and fold‑out photos and frontispieces. It will not include maps that were in the pockets of several of the volumes.
The books will be bound in navy blue linen and have been designed to match Volumes 13, 14, 15 and 16 prepared by the Universal House of Justice.
The first 12 volumes of The
‘Bahá’í Canada’ invites readers[edit]
The new Bahá’í Canada is now available by subscription.
The new magazine format is published bilingually in French and English each calendar month.
Bahá’í Canada is devoted to the rapid reporting of the progress of the Seven Year Plan in Canada and around the world.
Each issue also includes editorials and other articles designed to aid in deepening.
Subscription rates are as follows: Air mail—one year, $9; two years, $17.50. Second class—one year, $6; two years, $11.50.
To subscribe, send a check or money order in Canadian or American funds to Bahá’í Canada Committee, 7200 Leslie St., Thornhill, Ontario, Canada L3T 2A1.
Can’t find that passage in ‘The Hidden Words’ that you want to share with a friend?
|
Can’t find that passage in The Hidden Words that you want to share with a friend?
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. Faizi. Catalog No. 7‑68‑52 Paper $5.00 |
[Page 20]
PERSIAN PAGE
[Page 21]
PERSIAN PAGE
[Page 22]
PERSIAN PAGE
Bahá’í calendars for 1981 are ready for distribution[edit]
Bahá’í calendars for 1981 are now ready for distribution, according to Gil Muro, manager of the special materials department at the Bahá’í Publishing Trust.
The 1981 Wall Calendar features a new format that makes it even more attractive than in the past for decorating home or office.
THE NEW 15‑month calendar, unfolded, measures 8 1/2 x 21 inches.
At the top is a 10‑inch picture of the Seat of the Universal House of Justice (suitable for framing at the end of the year).
Below the picture is an 8 1/2 x 11‑inch calendar. The type is larger than on last year’s calendar, and Feasts and Holy Days are color coded.
Bahá’í months for the year 138 B.E. alternate in white and yellow, making a striking contrast against the deep green background.
Two additional features make the calendar easy to use:
To find more details on Bahá’í Holy Days you simply lift the bottom part of the calendar to read information printed on the back side; it is not necessary to remove the calendar from the wall.
For ease in carrying the calendar to meetings, the picture folds over to make an 8 1/2 x 11‑inch carrying package. The 1981 Wall Calendar (Catalog No. 6‑69‑41) is still a bargain at $1.
The Bahá’í Memo Pad Calendar (Catalog No. 6‑69‑91; $1.50), a popular item last year, is available again.
The 15‑month calendar pad features one Gregorian month per tear‑off sheet. All Bahá’í Holy Days and Feast Days are clearly marked.
The memo pad calendar has ample space for writing in dates of your appointments, meetings, and firesides.
The three‑hole punched memo pad calendar may be used flat on a desk, hung on a wall, or carried in a three‑ring binder. It is excellent for students and for committee and Spiritual Assembly meetings. It can also be used as a yearly planning calendar.
The 1981 Bahá’í Date Book (Catalog No. 6‑69‑31; $1.50) is perfect for your handbag, pocket, or briefcase.
It allows you to keep track of all appointments and meetings. The clearly marked Feasts and Holy Days help you avoid conflicts in scheduling your busy life.
THE 15‑MONTH calendar (January 1981 through March 1982) has squares larger than those on previous books for recording your appointments. Both Bahá’í and Gregorian dates appear.
A new feature—a gatefold cover—allows you to mark the month or carry extra notes. The metallic silver cover features a portion of the filigree ornamentation of the House of Worship in Wilmette.
For your wallet, the 1981 Bahá’í Pocket Calendar (Catalog No. 6‑69‑61; 10 cents; 10/90 cents; 100/$7.50) is once again available.
The pocket calendar, featuring dark green type on white background, fits conveniently into a purse or billfold.
Other new fall releases from the special materials department include 14 new Bahá’í greeting
National Assembly to sponsor Dec. audio‑visual conference[edit]
The National Spiritual Assembly is sponsoring an Audio‑Visual Conference to be held next January 16–18 at the Bahá’í Center in San Fernando, California.
Among the guest speakers will be Raúl Pavón, a Continental Counsellor for South America, who has been a guiding force behind the development of Radio Bahá’í in Ecuador.
THE NATIONAL Spiritual Assembly will be represented by one of its members, Dr. Dwight W. Allen.
The conference, which is being organized by Prism Productions, is the first of its kind in the U.S.
Its primary purpose, according to Parks Scott, public affairs officer for the National Spiritual Assembly, is to identify believers who have specific talents in the mass media and to formulate plans for utilizing those talents.
Attendance at the conference will be limited to 100, with applications from media professionals given first priority. Others interested in the mass media will be welcomed on a space‑available basis.
K. Dean Stephens, a Bahá’í from Puerto Rico who is the consulting engineer for Radio Bahá’í and a technical adviser to the Audio‑Visual Department of the Universal House of Justice, also is scheduled to speak at the three‑day conference.
Afterward, Mr. Stephens will remain in San Fernando to offer a month‑long course in radio techniques that will earn graduates a third‑class radio engineering license.
Attendance at that course, to be held from January 20 through February 20, will be limited to 30.
The cost is $300 per person plus other expenses such as food and lodging. To register for the course, please send a $50 deposit to the address on the coupon below.
The Bahá’ís of Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania participated last July 26–28 in the city’s Great Garage Sale, an annual community fair that draws approximately 50,000 people. The friends set up a display of posters and pamphlets, and distributed more than 1,200 free balloons with the message ‘One Planet, One People ... Please.’ The Spiritual Assembly of Pittsburgh helped in the proclamation effort, and other help was received from surrounding communities. Publicity included articles in the Pittsburgh Press, the Mt. Lebanon newspaper, and an interview on Pittsburgh’s KDKA radio. Shown here (left to right) are Bahá’ís Janice Auth, Steve Joseph, Charlie Auth, and Naomi Auth of Mt. Lebanon.
Trust releases booklet in Laotian language[edit]
For the friends teaching Southeast Asians the Publishing Trust has just released a small booklet in Lao entitled Prayers and The Hidden Words.
The booklet of prayers and Hidden Words (Catalog No. 7‑97‑01) sells for $1. It contains 54 pages of text and has an attractive mustard‑colored cover printed in black.
The Universal House of Justice air mailed a copy of the booklet to the U.S. so that it could be reprinted and made available as quickly as possible to aid in the teaching work among the Laotians.
Additional literature in Lao will be made available, as well as literature in Vietnamese and Cambodian. Please watch for future announcements.
To order Prayers and The Hidden Words in Lao 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; minimum order is $1.
Assemblies[edit]
Continued From Page 6
National Spiritual Assemblies for deliberation. They included:
- Closer sharing of materials and resources to help win the goals of the Seven Year Plan, along with more economical and effective use of media resources among the three national communities.
- Collaboration in organizing and hosting a series of Continental Youth Conferences to be held first in the U.S., and later in Alaska and Canada.
- Closer coordination in the development and implementation of public relations strategies and materials in light of the recent crises in Iran.
In addition to the fundamental purpose of carrying forward the momentum of the North American Native Council and the “Trail of Light” campaign, consultation was held on proper steps to take in countering opposition to the Faith, and on sharing resources for deepening and consolidation of the respective Bahá’í communities.
Slides of the Native Council were shown, while Saturday evening was spent sharing reports with many of the friends from Alaska about the progress of the Faith in each of the three Bahá’í communities.
Master[edit]
Continued From Page 4
like an echo. He hummed the martyr’s song. ‘See!’ He exclaimed, ‘the effect that the death of a martyr has in the world. It has changed my condition.’ ”
THIS IS the spirit of sacrifice that has established and propagated the Cause of God, that has raised its buildings and monuments, and that will continue to propel the Faith forward in the future.
This spirit of sacrifice goes beyond any limit or question of “how much?” It is a spirit that springs from one’s love for Bahá’u’lláh, and a desire to serve Him.
Although we are not called upon at this time to give our lives, it is this spirit of sacrifice in the path of God that is the goal that each of us strives for as a Bahá’í.
[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.
•
APPLICATIONS are being accepted at the Bahá’í National Center for the following positions: Cook, Bahá’í School—Requires experience in food planning and preparation for 40–50 people. The job includes some housekeeping and maintenance work. Editorial Assistant—Writes, edits, proofreads copy at all stages of preparation. B.A. required; must type at least 45 wpm. Executive Secretary—Requires superior secretarial skills, typing 70‑plus wpm, shorthand 100‑plus. Must have proven ability to work with confidential information, and to work well under pressure and with limited supervision. Must be mature, discreet and well organized. Program Coordinator—Under direction of the National Teaching Office, acts as a liaison with minority teaching committees. Coordinates programs, activities and volunteer services. Must be fluent in Spanish and English; supervisory skills required. Project Engineer—Degreed Civil Engineer. Licensed construction trade inspector preferred. Will supervise all work performed by outside contractors relating to construction, repair or modification of Bahá’í National Center buildings. Requires at least 12 years experience in concrete and/or steel. Program Coordinator—Under the direction of the National Teaching Office, works directly with Local Spiritual Assemblies, traveling teachers and homefront pioneers to help meet expansion goals. Must demonstrate strong planning and coordination skills, and have extensive Bahá’í administrative experience. Secretary—Requires two years office experience, typing at least 55 wpm, strong organizational skills. For more information about any of these positions, please contact the Personnel Office, Bahá’í National Center, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091, or phone 312‑256‑4400.
NEEDED: A resident pioneer and teacher for a Teaching Institute in Tanzania. The pioneer will live at the Institute and conduct deepening classes. For further information please contact the International Goals Committee, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091, or phone 312‑256‑4400.
THE DISTRICT Teaching Committee of Southern New Mexico–West Texas joyfully announces its third annual Winter Holiday Teaching Project, beginning the weekend of December 20–21, 1980, and continuing for two weeks through January 4. The previous two projects resulted in more than 200 enrollments! Especially needed are Spanish‑speaking Bahá’ís, since more than half the people who have responded in the past are Spanish‑speaking. Goals include opening new localities and raising up at least two new Local Spiritual Assemblies. If you are Spanish‑speaking and would like to teach in an increasingly receptive area, please make plans to participate by contacting the District Teaching Committee of Southern New Mexico–West Texas, c/o Richard Gurinsky, secretary, P.O. Box 230, Mescalero, NM 88340, or phone 505‑671‑4640.
THE NATIONAL Bahá’í Archives Committee is seeking to locate, at the request of the Universal House of Justice, original Tablets from ‘Abdu’l‑Bahá to the following individuals: Mrs. Paul K. Dealy, Arthur Pillsbury Dodge, Col. Nathan Ward Fitz‑Gerald, Dr. Rachel Halloran, William B. Hoar, Arthur James, Annie L. Parmerton, Margaret B. Peeke and Benjamin R. Taylor. The originals or photocopies of these Tablets are needed by the Universal House of Justice in its efforts to study and compile the Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. Anyone having information regarding the whereabouts of any of these Tablets is requested to contact the National Bahá’í Archives Committee, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091.
HELP WANTED for the South Alabama Teaching and Consolidation Project, December 21–27, sponsored by the South Alabama District Teaching Committee. The goal is to re‑form three lost Assemblies. No previous experience required. Most meals provided along with sleeping bag space. Please contact Mrs. Sara Ray, 223 Liberty St., Monroeville, AL 36460, or phone 205‑575‑3790.
SPANISH‑English bilingual pioneer is needed in Framingham, Massachusetts, a bustling, many‑faceted city with a receptive Spanish‑speaking community. A mature, deepened bilingual pioneer is sought to advance the teaching work in this untapped “stratum.” Varied job opportunities are available in surrounding towns and in Boston (especially in the electronics field). Will help in relocating. Please contact Barbara Fowlkes, secretary, Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Framingham, 6 Learned St., Framingham, MA 01701, or phone 617‑875‑6054.
WANTED: Alive! Bahá’í youth who are ready to be bold, audacious, to stand out and stand up for the Cause of God, and to share the Message of Bahá’u’lláh with their fellow youth throughout the U.S., thus helping to fulfill the youth goals. All interested youth, please contact the Bahá’í National Youth Committee by phoning 305‑462‑1919. (That’s the new number of the Youth Committee office in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.)
NEEDED: One or two black families to homefront pioneer to Mount Airy and Surry County, North Carolina. Mount Airy has had a stable, family‑oriented Bahá’í community since the early ’70s; but while there are five nationalities represented in the greater Mount Airy area, we have no black Bahá’í families. Our community enjoys excellent relations with the local black community and the NAACP; we work with them on various projects during the year, and we feel that one or two black Bahá’í families could make a great difference between people being merely interested in the Faith and actually becoming Bahá’ís. Mount Airy, with 15,000 people, is at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains near the Virginia border. It has a good climate, good schools, plenty of local industry, relatively low‑cost housing, and is within easy driving distance of the Winston‑Salem, Greensboro and High Point area. Interested persons should write to John Bradley, 339 Country Club Road, Mount Airy, NC 27030, or phone 919‑789‑3930.
AGRONOMISTS are urgently needed in South Africa. For information, please contact the International Goals Committee, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091, or phone 312‑256‑4400.
WHERE IS the first Bahá’í family of Orange County, Virginia? Am writing a Bahá’í history of this locality and would love to find these people, whom I believe lived in Mine Run in the late 50s or 60s—I met a member of the family once, but can’t remember the name. Could it be you? Or do you know them? Do you have any other information about this lovely locality pre‑1970? If so, please contact Chris McNett, Route 2, Box 474, Orange, VA 22960, or phone (collect) 703‑854‑4019.
YOU ARE INVITED to Hammond, Louisiana—home of the best strawberries in the U.S. and a fisherman’s paradise—to help form a Spiritual Assembly by Riḍván; three adult Bahá’ís are needed. Hammond, a small but developing town within an hour’s drive of New Orleans and Baton Rouge, is the home of Southeastern Louisiana University, which offers 11 baccalaureate and advanced degrees in fields from arts and business to science and education, as well as two‑year associate degrees in six areas. Housing is not difficult to find; jobs are available, as is the possibility of investment. Please write to the Bahá’ís of Hammond, P.O. Box 3341, S.L.U., Hammond, LA 70402, or phone 504‑542‑4066.
IF YOUR community wishes to raise money for the Bahá’í Funds and have a great time doing it, try an auction! And if you need an auctioneer with experience in Bahá’í auctions, please contact Cyrous Heydarian at 405‑751‑6385.
HOMEFRONT pioneers are needed immediately in Carson City, the capital of Nevada, to save an endangered Assembly that was incorporated one year ago. Carson City, at the foot of the beautiful Sierra Nevada mountains, is a wonderful place to retire with a mild climate, friendly rural atmosphere, clean air and pure mountain water. State government offices, a community college, county hospital, many small industries, and an influx of tourists supply many opportunities for employment. Wages and the cost of housing are both relatively high. Interested? Please write to Ira and Laura Ford, P.O. Box 1029, Carson City, NV 89701, or phone 702‑883‑6703.
NEED WORK? We need Bahá’ís! Come join a growing Group of four in Angola, Louisiana. Correctional officers are needed at the Louisiana State Penitentiary. Starting salary is $950 a month. No experience is necessary; males or females may apply. For more information please contact David Meswarb, P.O. Box 159, Angola, LA 70712.
BAHÁ’Í COUPLE is willing to relocate to a rural community where needed to open a locality, form a Group with others, or help establish an Assembly. Prefer Northwest or western states. Would need to find a position as rural manager‑caretaker to provide income. Have background in most kinds of rural work. If your community or goal area needs Bahá’ís, and the locality supports this kind of work, drop a line to Marvin Kedalo, Route 1, Box 161, Enterprise, OR 97828, or phone 503‑426‑4730.
THE BAHÁ’Í community of Carnation, Washington, offers its help to anyone who would like to come to the beautiful Snoqualmie Valley in western Washington state. Several nearby towns (Snoqualmie, Duvall, North Bend, Preston) must be opened to the Faith, while two communities (Fall City, Upper Preston) need additional believers to form Assemblies. Please write to the Spiritual Assembly of Carnation, P.O. Box 126, Carnation, WA 98014, or phone 206‑333‑4590 or 206‑333‑4935.
HOMEFRONT pioneers are urgently needed in Orange and Orange County, Texas. The county has a population of 83,000 with only one Bahá’í. There is wide diversity with whites from north and south, a large black community, a rapidly growing Hispanic community, a small group of Native Americans, and a large number of Orientals. The climate is quite hot and humid. The standard of living is the second highest in Texas, with the economy built around shipbuilding and petrochemicals. There are employment opportunities in the health field, for engineers, secretaries and welders. For more information, please write to Andre’nea M. King, 2025 International Drive, Apt. 58, Orange, TX 77630, or phone 713‑886‑4853.
TO SAVE its Spiritual Assembly and incorporated status, Gallup, New Mexico, desperately needs homefront pioneers. If possible, we would like to have with us retired people with an independent income. For those who need work, we will do our utmost to help them find employment. Please write to Mrs. Roan Stone, secretary, 627 North 5th St., Gallup, NM 87301, or phone 505‑863‑6701.
AN ARCHIVAL file on the theme “Wilson/Bahá’í” is being prepared for presentation to three of the Bahá’í Archives (Haifa, Wilmette, London). The file is a repository of information, hearsay or factual, relative to the possibility that President Woodrow Wilson had read Bahá’í books, or that he had partially formed his famous “14 Points” from Bahá’í principles. Please send any relevant information on the subject to Paul Pearsall, 74 Jordan Avenue, Jersey City, NJ 07306.
HELP SAVE a jeopardized Assembly in Winston‑Salem, North Carolina. Free room and board in a condominium in Winston‑Salem is available for a mature Bahá’í woman to live with two teen‑age girls who are attending a private school in that city. No baby‑sitting or guardianship responsibilities. Please contact Lola Schappell, 2421 Inverness Road, Charlotte, NC 28209, or phone 704‑523‑5209.
MANY OPENINGS are available for teachers in elementary and secondary schools and colleges in North Dakota, several of which are near Indian Reservations in and around the Bismarck area where homefront pioneers are urgently needed. For more information please contact Bonnie Kadrie, Box 89, 3315 South Airport Road, Bismarck, ND 58501, or phone 701‑222‑4131.
CALLING ALL ARTISTS! A giant Art Festival traveling to teach the Faith starts in Sacramento, California, on March 21, 1981. Fine arts, crafts, paintings, sculpture, and performing arts are to be included. For information and entry blanks, please write to the Spiritual Assembly of Sacramento, Box 161252, Sacramento, CA 95816.
LIVE‑IN companion needed for elderly woman in good health at the Green Acre Bahá’í School in Eliot, Maine. Duties include cooking, cleaning a four‑room apartment, shopping, companionship. Receive a free heated room plus salary. Time would be available for an additional part‑time job. Car necessary. Ideal situation for a single woman or a couple without children. Please phone Dick Grover, director, Green Acre Bahá’í School, 207‑439‑0256.
Service for Blind
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 (Vols. 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 25]
After four years without a formal name, the weekly inter‑community Bahá’í school sponsored by the Spiritual Assembly of Carmichael, California, was officially designated the ‘New Era Bahá’í School’ during ceremonies held earlier this year. A ‘name‑the‑school contest’ held among children attending the classes was won by Micheline Keppel (right) of Roseville, California. The runners‑up were (left to right) Serena Khan and Nicolle Nilsson of West Sacramento, Ruth Ellis of Fair Oaks, and (in front) Dash Turner of Broderick. Each of the children was given a Bahá’í book for participating. The New Era School, now entering its sixth year of operation, is supported by 10 neighboring Bahá’í communities. Marc and Sara Platz of South Sacramento serve as its volunteer directors.
Green Acre[edit]
Continued From Page 13
Committees represented included the Asian Teaching Committee, Spanish Teaching Committee, Bahá’í House of Worship Activities Committee, International Goals Committee, National Education Committee, National Teaching Committee, National Treasurer’s Office and Race Unity Committee.
Strengthening Bahá’í family and community life was stressed in such courses as “Integration of Children and Youth into Bahá’í Community Life,” “The Loving Community,” “Characteristics and Dynamics of Bahá’í Marriage” and “The Spiritual Essence of Bahá’í Community Life.”
A special course on “team teaching” taught effective methods of door‑to‑door teaching. The class ended with students handing out invitations to firesides in the town of Eliot, an effort that was met with favorable response from the non‑Bahá’í community.
Perhaps the most joyous time of the summer occurred during the “Green Acre Unity in Diversity Festival” held on the final weekend.
Many said they had never before seen so many races and nationalities together at one time.
The programs included Indian music and dancing, Polynesian dancing, Vietnamese songs, western classical music, Persian santour music, Spanish songs, and square dancing.
The blessings that come to any such gathering of the human family were deeply felt, and a more appropriate ending to the summer session could not have been imagined.
Treasurer[edit]
Continued From Page 15
the National Fund, according to Mr. Jackson, just as great progress has taken place in the development of the Faith itself.
More and more individuals are making a habit of contributing regularly to the Fund, and of course, he adds, “this is exactly what we are trying to encourage.”
Individuals phone the National Treasurer’s Office from all over the country with questions ranging from tax problems to how to go about making special gifts.
The staff make themselves available to answer all these questions from the friends.
The assistant to the National Treasurer sees a continued gradual growth in the level of contributions to the Fund.
An increase in the number of Bahá’ís in the U.S. is certainly needed, he says, and would enhance the size and health of the Fund.
“But even with our present membership,” he adds, “the potential to meet our goals is there. It’s almost like an untapped resource.”
The size of the national budget could double or triple almost overnight, he says, if the spiritual principles of giving were to penetrate the hearts of the believers and be applied.
“It’s important to recall,” Mr. Jackson points out, “that the Universal House of Justice has said we are capable of meeting our goals without sacrifice.”
Loss of rights is announced[edit]
The National Spiritual Assembly wishes to advise the friends that _______, formerly of Massachusetts, has been deprived of his rights of membership in the Bahá’í community.
The friends are further advised to observe caution in becoming involved in any financial transactions with _______. His present whereabouts are unknown.
Comment[edit]
Continued From Page 6
which contains an excellent bibliography for further reading excursions on specific biblical topics.
Finally, I would like to offer a few words about the nature of Christian–Bahá’í dialogue and our attitude and conduct when dealing with Christians, especially “fundamentalist” Christians.
While it is undeniably true that we must speak with wisdom and a sincere love and concern for the person(s) to whom we convey the Message, I do not believe that we should shrink from our responsibility to proclaim, without compromise, the Station of Bahá’u’lláh and the verities of His religion.
TOO OFTEN, we flounder in our teaching of Christians because we don’t wish to be contentious and thus cause bad feelings or animosity.
I’ve often heard Bahá’ís say they no longer try to teach Christians—except those who belong to minority Christian churches such as the Quakers, Unitarians or other liberal denominations—because the discussions always seem to lead to arguments.
Yet we are told that opposition to the Faith will come from the bastions of orthodoxy, and that this will be a welcome sign of the growth, progress and vitality of the Cause of God.
Thus it is not heated debate we should shrink from, but fruitless debate that begins and ends in mere words.
It is our attempt to “prove” Bahá’u’lláh to Christians through biblical prophecy, which by its very nature is susceptible to individual interpretation, that usually leads to profitless dialogue.
In summary, there are two points that should be emphasized. First, that opposition and even animosity are not necessarily evils to be avoided.
In fact, if the Faith is not perceived by the public at large as being breathtakingly fresh in its departure from the gloomy doctrines of orthodox Christianity, we are probably failing in our presentation of the Faith to the Christian world.
Second, teaching Christians can be much more exhilarating and provocative if we study the history of Christianity and works on Old and New Testament criticism, so that we can engage Christians in meaningful dialogue on the fundamentals of Christianity.
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———SPECIAL——— Volumes 1 through 12 $150NET
The Bahá’í World, Volumes 1 through 12, covers the years 1925 through 1954, almost the entire period of the Guardianship. For a limited time, through midnight January 31, 1981, you can purchase Volumes 1 through 12 of The Bahá’í World at the special pre‑publication price of $150 NET.
You can also reserve individual volumes of The Bahá’í World in a special pre‑publication offer, through midnight January 31, 1981. After February 1, 1981, individual volumes will not be available. Volumes will be printed and shipped three at a time:
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Tennessee Institute draws more than 320 believers[edit]
More than 320 Bahá’ís gathered at Monteagle, Tennessee, over the Labor Day weekend for the first statewide Tennessee Bahá’í Institute.
The institute, which evolved from a recommendation made at the 1979 District Convention, addressed the theme “What Lies Ahead in This Crucial Hour?”
GUEST SPEAKERS for the three‑day program were Dr. Iraj Ayman, a Continental Counsellor for Western Asia; Glenford E. Mitchell, secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly; Larry Miller of Roswell, Georgia; and Mrs. Kathy Reimer of Asheville, North Carolina.
A remarkable spirit was evidenced at the conference. News of the steadfastness and courage of the friends in Iran, who installed a new National Spiritual Assembly following the arrest of all National Spiritual Assembly members by revolutionary guards, and then took the audacious action of cabling the Iranian government to make their presence known, galvanized the friends at the conference and deepened their commitment to teach the Cause.
Children’s classes were held for the approximately 120 children at the conference. Afternoon workshops for adults included a session on personal problem solving, and two special sessions in Farsi for the Persian Bahá’ís who comprised more than half of the institute’s participants.
Proclamation was an important aspect of the institute. Radio stations and newspapers were contacted and local dignitaries were invited, including the mayor of Sewanee, Tennessee (who is also vice‑chancellor of the University of the South), several other mayors, and the president of the Franklin County chapter of the NAACP.
Visits with these community leaders included the presentation of the booklet, “The Structure of Unity,” and a personal invitation to a public meeting held Saturday, August 30, at which Mr. Mitchell spoke.
AT THE UNIVERSITY of the South, Dr. Ayman spoke about the Faith to a class on the religions of India, and Mrs. Mary K. Radpour spoke to a class on comparative religions.
The town of Monteagle (population about 900) welcomed the Bahá’ís with greetings on motel and restaurant marquees.
Although there are no Bahá’ís in Monteagle at this time, the area has an interesting history with regard to the Faith.
Before embracing the Faith, the Hand of the Cause of God George Townshend taught at the University of the South in Sewanee, and the late Winston Evans—a well‑known Bahá’í writer and speaker—lived in the Monteagle area for many years.
More than 320 Bahá’ís attended the first statewide Tennessee Bahá’í Institute held over the Labor Day weekend in Monteagle, Tennessee.
About 120 youngsters were kept busy and happy in special classes during the Tennessee Bahá’í institute held over the Labor Day weekend in Monteagle, Tennessee.
Kathy Reimer of Asheville, North Carolina, was one of the speakers at the first Tennessee Bahá’í Institute held over the Labor Day weekend in Monteagle, Tennessee.
Campus[edit]
Continued From Page 10
an important part of hospitality.
- Attend meetings and become a member of international campus organizations or foreign student clubs. Support their activities.
- Invite Asian friends to join the Bahá’í Club.
- Invite speakers from Asian American Study or Foreign Language departments to address the Bahá’ís on Asian American subjects.
- Co‑sponsor activities with Foreign Student Clubs, especially holy day observances and Asian American holidays (for example, Chinese New Year).
- Celebrate Bahá’í Holy Days on campus and plan special activities for special observances, e.g., United Nations Day, World Religion Day, UN Human Rights Day.
- Organize panel discussions on eastern philosophy, religion or history.
- To be more visible to the Asian students on campus, set up a display showcase with pictures of Asian Bahá’ís and indicate the names of their countries.
- If your flyers, posters and newspaper ads include Asian words, they will be more attractive and visible to Asian students.
- Encourage the school library to buy Bahá’í literature and to subscribe to World Order magazine, or donate some Bahá’í books in Asian languages.
- Sponsor and attend international potluck dinners, folk festivals, cultural exhibits, slide or film presentations. Have your own Asian or Oriental Film Festival with free films from a library or other source (Asian embassies and consulates love to give out information about their own countries). Also, the university’s Asian Studies Program should be able to direct you to local sources. Many campuses have numerous foreign student associations that may be happy to help.
- Encourage Bahá’ís in nearby communities to join the school’s host‑family program designed for foreign students. Its purpose is to befriend a foreign student (without any obligation, it can be for a short time or a long time) by inviting him or her into one’s home and showing him American customs and family life. It is also possible to invite a foreign student to your home to share a holiday vacation, such as a Thanksgiving weekend. (Information should be available at the Foreign Student Adviser’s office.)
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.
Archives gains poet Hayden’s papers[edit]
The National Bahá’í Archives has received the personal papers of Robert Earl Hayden, the well‑known and widely acclaimed Bahá’í poet who died February 26 at the age of 66.
The archival collection, which consists of 13 boxes of Mr. Hayden’s personal correspondence and drafts of his poetry, was presented to the Archives in August by Mr. Hayden’s widow, Erma Hayden.
ACCORDING TO Roger Dahl, the National Center’s full‑time archivist and secretary of the National Archives Committee, the collection is of interest to non‑Bahá’í researchers as well as to Bahá’ís.
“Having Mr. Hayden’s personal papers,” says Mr. Dahl, “will definitely increase the prestige of the National Bahá’í Archives.”
Mr. Hayden, the author of more than half a dozen books of poetry, was a frequent contributor to World Order magazine and served on its editorial board.
He served for two years (1976–77) as consultant in poetry to the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., and last January was among a group of prominent American poets honored at a White House reception hosted by President and Mrs. Carter.
Two weeks before his death, Mr. Hayden was honored for his contributions to American poetry by the Center for Afro‑American and African Studies at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, where he was a professor of English.
Mr. Dahl estimates that it will take about a year to arrange and catalog the materials in the Hayden collection so that they are ready for use by researchers.
THE NUMBER of manuscripts (personal papers of believers along with institutional records of the National Spiritual Assembly and its committees) added to the National Archives during the last seven years, says Mr. Dahl, equals the number collected during the previous 70 years.
This growth, he says, can be explained in part by the natural growth of the Faith, but much of it is due to the revised collection policies of the National Archives over the last several years.
“We’ve been going out and actively searching for manuscript collections for the Archives,” says Mr. Dahl. “Manuscripts are one of our largest research sources. The more we have, the more valuable our collection will be to historians.”
The National Archivist reports that a growing number of researchers are using the Archives as a reference source for biographies.
The increased number of manuscript collections at the Archives, he says, has created a temporary storage space problem that will be resolved in part by the move to the National Center’s new administrative office building in Evanston, Illinois.
BAHÁ’Í POET ROBERT EARL HAYDEN
[Page 27]
ICG: PIONEERING
26 U.S. Bahá’ís aid overseas teaching campaigns[edit]
Two highly successful international teaching projects utilizing the talents of 26 believers from the U.S. and two Bahá’í youth from Panama took place during July and August.
Bahamas Summer Project
July 19–August 17, 1980
Eight Bahá’ís from the U.S. participated in the Bahamas teaching campaign.
The projecteers went door-to-door on the island of New Providence using a questionnaire as their tool. At each house they asked whether and how the people had heard about the Faith.
More than 500 people were contacted during this survey. Most of them had heard about the Faith from radio or television or from another Bahá’í.
The project received good newspaper coverage in the Bahamas, and for the first time the plight of the Bahá’ís in Iran was mentioned on Bahamian television news.
Belize Summer Project
August 4–31, 1980
On August 4, traveling teachers from the U.S. and Panama, accompanied by Bahá’ís from Belize, set out in groups of two to seven from the capital city, Belmopan, for six towns to help the Bahá’í communities in Belize organize consolidation and teaching programs.
The months of planning by the National Spiritual Assembly of Belize and the U.S. International Goals Committee, coupled with the sacrificial efforts of the projecteers, bore rich fruit for the Cause of God in this unprecedented teaching effort.
AMONG THE results of the campaign were 256 declarations of belief in Bahá’u’lláh including 192 in Dangriga.
Other localities visited were Corozal, Orange Walk, Burrel Boom, Seine Bight, and Punta Gorda.
The Universal House of Justice sent a cable that read in part: “Fervently supplicating Holy Threshold guidance assistance participants August Teaching Project enable them accomplish vital objectives. ...”
For many of the friends the campaign marked their first experience in mass teaching and consolidation; some had left their homes for the first time to journey to a foreign land.
“The spirit and the actions of the projecteers have left a permanent impression in the hearts of the friends and populace of Belize,” reported the National Teaching Committee of Belize.
“Believers from diverse culture, race, religion and society coming together as one family for the fulfillment of one objective was itself an example of the Bahá’í spirit which was a silent teacher.”
In Corozal, a Spanish-speaking district, activities were centered on consolidation of the Bahá’í community, visiting the friends, holding firesides, and encouraging the Spiritual Assembly to carry out its functions. A one-day Regional Teacher Training Institute was held at the Bahá’í Center and was well attended. There were three declarations.
CHILDREN’S activities proved most effective in Orange Walk, also a Spanish-speaking district. Firesides and deepenings were held and the Assembly was strengthened. There were 27 declarations.
Consolidation activities in Burrel Boom and surrounding villages were carried out, with firesides and other teaching activities in Hattieville.
The Burrel Boom project was culminated with a weekend Regional Teacher Training Institute in which 75 people participated.
In Seine Bight, a small, remote village in southern Belize, the Bahá’ís spent nine days helping to consolidate the community, which is composed mainly of people of Carib and African descent. A few days were spent in nearby Mango Creek. There were 11 declarations.
In Dangriga, teaching activities were directed by the Spiritual Assembly whose members actively participated with other members of its Bahá’í community.
The emphasis was on deepening, with highly successful children’s classes held daily. Consolidation in nearby villages also was carried out.
A TWO-DAY institute was held at the Dangriga Bahá’í Center. It was supported and attended by believers from Punta Gorda and the Cayo district. This phase of the project saw 192 declarations.
Activities in Punta Gorda, in the southernmost part of the country, were concentrated in the town itself, and consisted primarily of deepening and re-teaching the believers.
Children’s classes were effective and well attended. A marked receptivity to the Faith was shown in some villages by the East Indians. There were 23 declarations in this area.
Over-all, the campaign was carried out smoothly and efficiently. The projecteers soon found that each small step taken for the Faith was magnified, and the effect of each small deed quadrupled.
The August project proved to be not only an experience in mass teaching and consolidation, but an experience in total reliance on Bahá’u’lláh as the best provision for one’s journey.
“It behooveth whosoever willeth to journey for the sake of God, and whose intention is to proclaim His word to bathe himself with the waters of detachment and to adorn his temple with the ornaments of resignation and submission. Let trust in God be his shield, and reliance on God his provision, and the fear of God his raiment. Then will the Concourse on High sustain him. Then will the denizens of the Kingdom of Names march forth with him.” (‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Messages to America, pp. 25–26)
Huddlestons promote Faith in Africa[edit]
The Huddleston family, John and Rouhi, and their children, Keith and Mary, undertook a five-week teaching and proclamation trip to Africa during the summer.
The Huddlestons visited Tanzania, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Lesotho, Mauritius, Seychelles and Kenya.
BECAUSE of Mr. Huddleston’s work with the International Monetary Fund, the Bahá’ís arranged interviews for him with many United Nations officials.
During these meetings, he would discuss the relationship of the Bahá’í Faith to the UN. Some of the highlights of the Huddlestons’ trip:
In Zimbabwe 300 students, resplendent in colorful school uniforms, waited for the Huddlestons to arrive.
The students presented a spectacular singing program, then listened attentively for two hours to Bahá’í talks.
The Huddlestons also attended a large gathering at the National Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds at which many local believers came from Greater Salisbury, while the Huddleston children entertained the friends with stories of Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.
The solidarity of the family was demonstrated and stressed by Mr. Huddleston.
The schedule in Kenya was a busy one. On Sunday morning the Huddlestons spoke at the Bahá’í Center. On Tuesday Mr. Huddleston toured the UN Development Office and UN Information Center, after which he met again at the Bahá’í Center with the friends.
HE ALSO CALLED on the secretary of the Central Bank and was among a Bahá’í delegation that called on the speaker of the country’s National Assembly. That afternoon, he was interviewed on radio.
In Mauritius, Mr. Huddleston, accompanied by two members of the National Spiritual Assembly, called on the UN Development Program representative. The meeting lasted more than half an hour, with the conversation centered around the Bahá’í-UN relationship.
Later that day, Mr. Huddleston called on the Minister of Foreign Affairs and was able to acquaint the minister personally with details of the persecution of Bahá’ís in Iran.
In the evening he attended a Rotary Club meeting, during which he mentioned that although he is an official of the International Monetary Fund, he was visiting Mauritius as a Bahá’í.
Mr. and Mrs. Huddleston, accompanied by Continental Counsellor S. Appa and two members of the National Spiritual Assembly, visited His Excellency the Governor General of Mauritius and presented him with a copy of The Bahá’í World, Vol. XVI.
A view of the token Temple site for the Virgin Islands in Charlotte Amalie as seen from the roadway leading to the property.
Summer teaching effort set in Leeward, Virgin Islands[edit]
The International Goals Committee is accepting applications for a teaching project in the Leeward and Virgin Islands during the summer of 1981.
The purpose of the project is to teach the Faith to the youth in these islands. Racially mixed groups are especially needed for this teaching campaign.
He feels that teaching the Faith to the youth is of the utmost importance in these days, as they will not only become the workers of the future but will be able to widely spread the Message among their own generation. (From a letter dated March 12, 1944, written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer)
Those who are interested in learning more about this project should contact the International Goals Committee, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091, or phone 312-256-4400.
‘Retiree’ now busier than ever[edit]
Pauline Paul “retired” to go pioneering and now finds that she is busier than ever, holding deepenings, firesides and children’s classes each week in addition to hosting radio shows and giving music lessons.
Mrs. Paul pioneered to the island of Saba, in the Caribbean, in 1972. She came by way of Washington, D.C., after having lived for some years in California.
SHE KNEW not one soul on Saba, a mountain rising out of the sea. A small house was ready upon her arrival.
In spite of frequent ankle sprains, caused by the rough terrain, Mrs. Paul went for a daily walk, speaking to anyone and everyone she met.
She invited some of the women to her home for tea. With the parents’ permission, a children’s class was begun and continues to this day. Some of the children are now Bahá’í youth.
She also hosted a fireside for couples when some of the men became interested in the Faith.
Since there is a small radio station on Saba, Mrs. Paul found that she could have a 15-minute radio spot twice a week for only a few guilders.
She hadn’t done anything like that before, but went ahead anyway. The shows were so interesting that the station manager asked her to do a 15-minute Saba news program following the Bahá’í program.
She did the program, which meant visiting the hospital, airport and boats that visited the island to gather the local news.
LATER, she was asked to host a children’s program for the half-hour preceding the Bahá’í program.
In many articles written about Saba, Mrs. Paul’s name has been included as a prominent resident of the island.
The Sabans say they understand that she must return to the U.S. every so often to visit her family, but they miss her greatly and are extremely happy when she returns.
When one of the Sabans was told that her family would like Mrs. Paul to return to the U.S. to live now that she is 70 years old, he said that if anything were to happen to Mrs. Paul the islanders would take care of her, since “she is one of us.”
What a tribute to a pioneer!
[Page 28]
Idea Exchange
L.A. group discusses ‘World Order’[edit]
Endeavoring to foster the spiritual, intellectual and community life of the believers in the area, the Spiritual Assembly of Los Angeles, California, is forming a discussion group to discuss articles published in World Order magazine. The group will arrange seminars and round-table discussions about the articles, and may also submit letters to the editor of the magazine.
•
The Bahá’ís of Fort Collins, Colorado, tried another tactic to foster the spiritual and intellectual growth of their children by relating the fundamentals of the Faith to a popular movie. The community’s 7- to 10-year olds received a lesson in the Covenant when they went to see “The Empire Strikes Back.” Before going to the movie, they discussed the concept of the Covenant, and afterward they discussed how the antagonist, Darth Vader, by going over to the dark side of the Force, was, in effect, breaking a covenant. They also talked about how Luke Skywalker was being tested in his allegiance to the Force, much like we are tested in our loyalty to the Covenant; how we all have the freedom to choose whether we wish to stay within its shelter or remove ourselves from its protection; and how Luke Skywalker was helped and protected when he relied on the Force and how he became weak and vulnerable when doubts prevailed. Mrs. Jolie Haug, one of the teachers, reports that seeing the movie and talking about it helped some of the children grasp for the first time what the Covenant really means!
•
The Orlando, Florida, Bahá’í community has sponsored children’s classes for Persian-speaking children and English-speaking children. The Persian class was held weekly and studied morals while encouraging public speaking. The youth and children performed at several programs, prepared materials for the spiritual part of the Nineteen Day Feasts, and gave reports to the community during consultation. As a result of the classes for Persian children, some of the parents found it useful to have similar classes held for themselves.
•
Linda Somerhalder of Rockford, Illinois, suggests that ideas from the “Idea Exchange” concerning children be placed on index cards and filed for future reference. She further suggests that during events at which some children are present, such as Feasts, firesides, or other Bahá’í activities, an adult could help the children to prepare for the next Feast. They could use paper and crayons to draw a greeting to be hung around the refreshment table, as well as other decorations, and could take time while working to talk about the specialness of the evening or the importance of service. In addition, they could decide on the refreshments, and, if the adult is prepared, could make them then. A simple menu might include fruit salad (fresh fruits in season with yogurt), decorated cookies, fruit juice, and coffee.
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Thinking of ways to “find” money to give to the Fund, Judy Orloff of Foxboro, Massachusetts, suggests sending ideas to Parents magazine. The magazine includes a section in which parents can submit ideas that they feel would be of interest to other parents. There is often a payment of from $5 to $25 if the suggestion is used, and most ideas printed are “common sense” ideas. If you have such an idea, Judy says, submit it! You have nothing to lose but a 15 cent stamp. And if you get a check, she adds, it’s like “free” money to give to the Fund!
•
Several Bahá’í communities have found ways to be of service to the residents of their town by providing refreshments for local events sponsored by other organizations. Sometimes money is charged for lemonade or soft drinks, with the profits given to a local charity or charities. Or, if the expense is not too great, refreshments can be offered as a free service. In Imperial Beach, California, the Jaycees were sponsoring a Sun and Sea parade, and the Bahá’ís offered to provide lemonade and cold water for the event. The Bahá’ís built a cart to carry the drinks and decorated it with helium-filled balloons. The service was greatly appreciated by the Jaycees.
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.
22 seekers attend Iowa proclamation[edit]
Twenty-two non-Bahá’ís were among the 45 people present June 27 at a proclamation hosted by the Bahá’í community of Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
The open discussion of “Pain: Coping and Conquering” was conducted by the director, therapist and clinician from the University of Iowa’s Pain Clinic.
Seven of the seekers attended a fireside that followed the meeting.
Because of the success of the event, the Spiritual Assembly of Cedar Rapids plans to host more discussions on subjects of current public interest in the months to come.
Some of the more than 350 people who attended a conference September 13-14 in Columbus, Ohio, honoring the 50th anniversary of the establishment of that city’s Spiritual Assembly.
Columbus, Ohio, observes its Assembly’s 50th year[edit]
More than 350 Bahá’ís from eight states attended a conference September 13–14 that was held to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Spiritual Assembly of Columbus, Ohio.
Speakers at the conference were the Hand of the Cause of God Zikrullah Khadem and Auxiliary Board members Robert Harris and Javidukht Khadem.
EIGHTY-FIVE children attended a special children’s conference whose theme was “The Distinctive Character of Bahá’í Life.”
Music for the children’s program was provided by “Refuge,” a musical group composed of believers from the Columbus area.
Mr. Khadem spoke about ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s visit to the U.S. in 1912, focusing on the special position and responsibilities of American believers as the spiritual descendants of the Dawn-breakers.
Teaching and the quality of Bahá’í life, as well as our responsibility to the Administrative Order were discussed by Mr. Harris.
Mrs. Khadem described impending challenges to the Bahá’í community and our responsibilities in the Seven Year Plan.
The Seven Year Plan also was the subject of a panel discussion held during the conference.
A Saturday night banquet to honor the believers who have served the Spiritual Assembly of Columbus during the past 50 years was attended by 160 people.
The banquet ended with the presentation of the motion picture of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and recording of His voice made during His visit to North America.
Three people declared their belief in Bahá’u’lláh during the conference.
Auxiliary Board member Robert Harris (center) teaches a game to some of the 85 children who attended a conference September 13-14 in Columbus, Ohio, honoring the 50th anniversary of the Spiritual Assembly of Columbus.
United Nations subcommission okays resolution censuring Iran persecutions[edit]
On September 10, a resolution expressing concern for the condition of Bahá’ís in Iran was approved by a United Nations subcommission composed of expert advisers to the UN Commission on Human Rights, which is a subsidiary commission of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).
Here is the text of that resolution, UN Document E/CN.4/Sub.2/L.759:
The Subcommission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities, recalling its longstanding concern for the eradication of religious intolerance, as evidenced by its work for many years to draft an instrument to combat discrimination and intolerance on the basis of religious belief, bearing in mind Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which asserts the fundamental right of everyone to “freedom of thought, conscience and religion,” as well as Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which provides for freedom of religion including “freedom to have or to adopt a religion or belief of his choice, and freedom either individually or in community with others in public or in private to manifest his religion or belief in worship, observance, practice and teaching,” and further, “that no one shall be subject to coercion which would impair his freedom to have or to adopt a religion or belief of his choice,” having now heard statements regarding the serious violation of human rights and fundamental freedoms being experienced by the Bahá’í community in Iran, expresses its profound concern for the safety of the recently-arrested members of the elected national administrative council of the Bahá’ís of Iran, as well as that of all members of this community, both as individuals and collectively, and requests the Secretary-General to transmit this concern to the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and to invite that government to express its commitment to the guarantees provided in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, mentioned earlier and ratified by that State, by granting full protection of fundamental rights and freedoms to the Bahá’í religious community in Iran, and by protecting the life and liberty of the members of the Bahá’í community.
[Page 29]
The Marietta, Georgia, Bahá’í School sponsored a ‘Summer Fun Week’ August 11–15 for children ages 3–10. Twenty children from six Bahá’í communities attended with seven non-Bahá’í children. The theme of the classes, which were held at a local park, was ‘Unity in Diversity,’ with different topics each day such as family unity, equality of the races, etc. Crafts and nature study were included, as well as ample play time. The ‘fun week’ ended the first year of operation for the Marietta Bahá’í School. Fall classes began September 7 with about 30 children expected to attend. The highest Sunday attendance last year was 42 children and 30 adults at a deepening. The school is sponsored by the Spiritual Assembly of Marietta with support from the four other Assemblies in Cobb County on an inter-community education committee.
Seventy-seven people participated September 26–28 in a Pioneer Training Institute at the Bosch Bahá’í School in Santa Cruz, California. Auxiliary Board member Fred Schechter, a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh, was a guest speaker. Those attending the Institute were making plans to pioneer to Nigeria, Kenya, Zaire, Seychelles Islands, Bophuthatswana, the Windward Islands, Chile, Bermuda, the Bahamas, Bolivia, Alaska, Denmark, Austria and the South Pacific. One family was preparing for a three-year around-the-world traveling teaching trip. A woman at the Institute was preparing for a teaching trip to Tonga, the Fiji Islands and New Zealand. Five Spiritual Assemblies and two California District Teaching Committees sent representatives to the Institute. Also attending was an American couple who have pioneered to Sierra Leone.
Trust seeks tapes, photos of Hands[edit]
The Bahá’í Publishing Trust is seeking tapes and photos of Hands of the Cause of God for use in a series of cassette tapes entitled “Legacies of Service.”
If you have recorded talks and/or photos of any of the Hands of the Cause, please send them to the Publishing Trust to help in the development of these cassettes for the friends.
The following are the names of those Hands of the Cause about whom there is very little material available to the Trust at this time:
Louis G. Gregory, John E. Esslemont, Keith Ransom-Kehler, Martha Root, Roy C. Wilhelm, John Henry Hyde-Dunn, Clara Dunn, Dorothy B. Baker, Amelia Collins, Mustafa Rúmí, ‘Abdu’l-Jalíl Bey Sa‘d, Hájí Abu’l-Hasan, Muhammad Taqíy-i-Isfahání, Hermann Grossmann, William Sutherland Maxwell, George Townshend, Valíyu’llah Varqá, Músá Banání, Adelbert Mühlschlegel, Siegfried Schopflocher, Corinne K. True, Hasan M. Balyúzí, John Ferraby.
Please send photos and/or tapes to the Bahá’í Publishing Trust, special materials department, 415 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091.
Calendars[edit]
(Continued From Page 23)
cards and a new line of jewelry, all of which are described in detail in the color catalog insert in this issue of “The American Bahá’í”.
The cards are designed for Bahá’í Holy Days, Ayyám-i-Há, celebrations, rites of passage, and notes to friends.
The jewelry includes new lapel pins and a new pendant. Both feature the Bahá’í ringstone symbol and are available in silver plate and gold plate. The pendant also is available in sterling silver.
A final fall release is Come and Sing, an appealing collection of songs created to help children understand and develop the attributes of God.
Come and Sing is available as an LP album (Catalog No. 6-35-21; $7.50) and as a stereo cassette (Catalog No. 6-32-20; $8).
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The Fund Is the Life-Blood of the Faith 112 Linden Avenue, |
To order any of these materials see your local 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 for postage and handling on orders under $100.
DR. DANIEL C. JORDAN
Dr. Jordan named outstanding teacher[edit]
Dr. Daniel C. Jordan, chairman of the department of education at National University in San Diego, California, has received the Faculty Award, given annually to the outstanding professor at the university as chosen by faculty and students.
Dr. Jordan, a member of the National Spiritual Assembly, was given the award during summer graduation exercises August 17.
The commencement ceremony was opened with a prayer by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, read by Sara Jackson, a Bahá’í who was receiving a master’s degree in education.
Howard Garey of North Haven, Connecticut, presents three books on behalf of the North Haven Bahá’í community to Patty Ardito, reference librarian at the North Haven Memorial Library. The books are The Heavens Are Cleft Asunder by Huschmand Sabet; The Light Shineth in Darkness by Udo Schaefer, and The Seven Mysteries of Life by Guy Murchie. The presentation was made in July.
Each calendar month, the Bahá’í Group of Lake Elsinore, California, proclaims the Faith by renting a booth at a well-attended ‘swap meet’ called Peddler’s Village. The booth is decorated simply but attractively with crepe paper streamers, a model of the Bahá’í House of Worship, and a large placard that says ‘Bahá’í Faith’ and includes a nine-pointed star. The Writings of the Báb, Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá are displayed along with numerous Bahá’í pamphlets. The Group includes four adults: Ruth Mott, Diane Gunther, Martha Tracy, and her mother, Mary Anne Tracy.
Knight of Bahá’u’lláh, pioneer John W. Allen dies[edit]
John W. Allen, a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh who left a thriving automobile business in San Francisco to pioneer to Swaziland and spent the next 26 years teaching the Faith in Africa, died August 31 at Stanford University Medical Center in Palo Alto, California.
Mr. Allen and his wife, Valera, had returned to the U.S. to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary August 9 with the Allen family.
THE ALLENS have three sons, Dr. Dwight W. Allen, a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of the U.S.; J. Kenton Allen, a member of the U.S. National Teaching Committee, and Dale Allen, a pioneer to Swaziland.
Shortly after the funeral services for Mr. Allen, Mrs. Allen returned to their pioneer post in Swaziland.
Mr. Allen was known as a stalwart community leader in San Francisco before leaving for Africa in 1954.
He chaired the Northern California Automobile Dealers Association, revolutionized auto loan programs enabling lower income customers to buy cars, helped develop youth programs, and promoted Boy Scout activities in the city’s Mission district.
Once the decision to pioneer was made, Mr. Allen packed the trunk of one of his cars with groceries and a tent and put the car on a boat to Swaziland.
Some months later the Allen family arrived there and quickly set about offering the Message of Bahá’u’lláh to its people.
MR. ALLEN served for several years as an Auxiliary Board member for protection in Southern Africa, among the first group appointed during the Guardian’s lifetime.
In 1956 he was elected to the first Regional Spiritual Assembly of South and West Africa with jurisdiction over 15 countries.
In 1967 he began serving on the National Spiritual Assembly of Swaziland, Lesotho and Mozambique, which in 1978 became the National Spiritual Assembly of Swaziland.
Mr. Allen was a member of that National Assembly until the time of his passing.
Among Mr. Allen’s more memorable accomplishments in the field of pioneering in South Africa and Swaziland was his assistance in the purchase of land for Temple sites and Hazíratu’l-Quds.
In Swaziland three Teacher Training Institutes were built, one a National Center that includes a beautifully developed site for a future Bahá’í House of Worship in that country.
John W. Allen, a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh who was a pioneer in Africa for 26 years, is shown with his wife, Valera, in this photo taken about two years ago.
On June 13, Bahá’ís (left to right) Saba Mahanian, Anita White and Andrew Allen had a 15-minute meeting with Dr. Richard C. Lyman, president of Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, during which ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s visit to Stanford in 1912 was discussed. Dr. Lyman, who has since left the university to head the Rockefeller Foundation, expressed amazement that 2,000 people had come to hear ‘Abdu’l-Bahá speak, as that represented the entire faculty, staff and student body of the university along with some of the leading citizens of Palo Alto. Dr. Lyman was then apprised of the Bahá’í principles of the unity of religions and the unity of mankind, which he agreed are sadly lacking in present day society.
In memoriam[edit]
- Sam Armour
- Somerville, Tenn.
- Date Unknown
- Willie Benson
- Clemson, S.C.
- June 27, 1980
- Leroy Bishop
- Somerville, Tenn.
- Date Unknown
- Herbert Brown
- Somerville, Tenn.
- Date Unknown
- August Correa
- Walnut Creek, Calif.
- Date Unknown
- Thomas E. Courtwright
- Puyallup, Washington
- February 21, 1978
- Miss Lucinda K. Farmer
- Terre Haute, Indiana
- Date Unknown
- Mrs. Melanie Jo Hara
- Lincoln, Nebraska
- August 10, 1980
- Mrs. Alma Kassens
- Menomonee Falls, Wis.
- September 1, 1980
- Harold Koch
- San Diego, Calif.
- August 3, 1980
- Gene Koppel
- Bonita, California
- July 17, 1980
- Mrs. Sothie Maier
- Riviera Beach, Fla.
- 1980
- Mrs. Porter L. Nygren
- Terrell, Texas
- August 6, 1980
- Thomas Sanders
- Sulphur Springs, Texas
- Date Unknown
- Mrs. Catherine Smith
- Santa Paula, Calif.
- May 15, 1980
- Mrs. Marie L. Weaver
- Ventura, California
- February 14, 1980
The first Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Prairie Village, Kansas, was elected July 29. The members are (seated left to right) Dr. William Gitchell (vice-chairman), Mrs. Marcia Gitchell (secretary), Mrs. Carla Fanaian (chairman), Evaz Fanaian (treasurer), and (standing left to right) Dr. Daniel Jolly, Mrs. Paula Jolly, Mrs. Manijeh Massarat, Miss Glenna Coldsmith, Dr. Parviz Massarat.
Mrs. Dixon, homefront pioneer[edit]
Elaine Dixon, a homefront pioneer to Yucaipa, California, for more than 25 years, died July 8 at the age of 55.
Mrs. Dixon was a member of the Spiritual Assembly of Yucaipa and secretary of the District Teaching Committee of Southern California.
She was born May 22, 1925, in New York City, where she became a Bahá’í more than 25 years ago.
She was a 14-year 4-H Club leader and was employed by the San Bernardino County Agricultural Extension Service as a 4-H youth assistant.
Mrs. Dixon is buried near the grave of Thornton Chase, the first Bahá’í in the U.S., in the Inglewood, California, cemetery.
American Bahá’í announces copy, photo deadlines[edit]
Here are copy and photo deadlines for The American Bahá’í for January–June, 1981:
January issue—Copy deadline, November 24; photo deadline, December 1.
February issue—Copy deadline, December 22; photo deadline, December 30.
March issue—Copy deadline, January 27; photo deadline, February 2.
April issue—Copy deadline, February 24; photo deadline, March 2.
May issue—Copy deadline, March 24; photo deadline, March 31.
June issue—Copy deadline, April 21; photo deadline, April 27.
Please submit articles, letters and other materials to The Editor, The American Bahá’í, Wilmette, IL 60091.
Bahá’í House of Worship Wilmette, Illinois[edit]
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 31]
For three years, Richard and Mavis Creager were members of the Brown County, Wisconsin, Bahá’í community, a suburb of Green Bay. Last August they left to pioneer to Japan, and last February they received a lovely handmade ‘friendship quilt’ from the Bahá’ís of Green Bay and Brown County. Twenty-three families in those communities worked together on the quilt, which now hangs on the dining room wall of the Creagers’ apartment in Machida City (Tokyo). A photo of the quilt was carried in the local Green Bay newspaper before it was sent. The Creagers are shown here (standing) with other members of the Machida City Bahá’í community.
Bahá’í children from Central City, Cedar Rapids, Marion, Stanwood and Fairfield, Iowa, accompanied by eight adults, spent August 4 at Palisades-Kepler State Park, southeast of Cedar Rapids. The children, who ranged in age from 3 to 13, enjoyed games, a picnic-wiener roast (in the photo above they’re helped by adult Bill Willis), and a ‘trust walk’ nature hike through the park led by Rose Snell of Cedar Rapids. On the ‘trust walk,’ participants paired up, with one of them blindfolded and led by the other. Another event was ‘Learn to Know Your Acorn’ in which children identified acorns by sight and feeling, then tried to find the same acorn in a pile, first by sight and then blindfolded. The five communities began intercommunity children’s classes September 20 for 20 children in four age groups, and plan to establish a nine-year curriculum for an ongoing Bahá’í school with a goal of providing training from post-infancy to a youth’s declaration of faith.
The Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Hamblen County, Tennessee, was formed last Riḍván. Its members are (seated left to right) Brian A. Cote, Zia Ahmadzadegan, Carla Abbott, Eddie Little Jr. and (standing left to right) Linda S. Cote, Mehdi Rahmanian, Janice Houston, Shokoufeh Ahmadzadegan, Clarence Abbott.
N. Carolina paper spotlights Bahá’í[edit]
Dr. Masoud Ahdieh, a Bahá’í from New York City who recently moved with his wife and two children as homefront pioneers to Hamlet, North Carolina, was the subject of a front page feature article August 4 in the Richmond County, North Carolina, Daily Journal.
The 34-year-old Dr. Ahdieh, a pediatrician, came to the U.S. following his graduation from medical school in Iran in 1972.
In the article, he explains his reasons for moving to Hamlet, along with his religious and humanitarian beliefs as a Bahá’í.
Four permanent Bahá’í Funds[edit]
Local Bahá’í Fund (Local address)—Supports teaching, consolidation and administrative work of the local Bahá’í community.
National Bahá’í Fund (112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091)—Supports the efforts of the National Spiritual Assembly to direct, stimulate and coordinate Bahá’í activities throughout the country.
Continental Bahá’í Fund (418 Forest Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091)—Enables the Continental Board of Counsellors and its Auxiliary Boards to perform their missions of protection and propagation of the Faith.
Bahá’í International Fund (P.O. Box 155, Haifa, Israel 31-000)—Enables the Universal House of Justice to assist the work of National Spiritual Assemblies around the world, to maintain and beautify the Holy Shrines at the World Centre, and to provide services to Bahá’í pilgrims.
Bahá’í World[edit]
Continued From Page 19
Bahá’í World contain a treasure house of information covering the 29-year period from April 1925 through April 1954, almost the entire period of the Guardianship.
They include valuable historical records and photos of the evolution of the Bahá’í Faith during the early years of its Formative Age—records that are unequaled in any previous religious dispensation.
FOR EXAMPLE, almost every volume documents the gradual erection of the Bahá’í House of Worship in Wilmette. Volumes 11 and 12 chronicle the embellishment of the Shrine of the Báb.
Volume 5 brings the touching news of the passing of Baḥíyyih Khánum, the Greatest Holy Leaf. Volume 8 discusses the transfer of the remains of the Purest Branch and of Navváb to Mt. Carmel, as well as the passing of the wife of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.
Accounts of the seizure of Bahá’u’lláh’s House in Baghdád and Shoghi Effendi’s placing of the case before the Permanent Mandates Commission of the League of Nations extend over several volumes.
Indeed, the center of the 12 volumes could well be seen as Shoghi Effendi himself.
The volumes were prepared under the supervision of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the U.S. and Canada, but Rúḥíyyih Khánum calls Shoghi Effendi the volumes’ “editor-in-chief.”
The Guardian supervised every detail of the books, from the order of the tables of contents, to the titles of the photographs, the frontispieces, and the International surveys of current Bahá’í activities written by Horace Holley.
Through letters and cables, Shoghi Effendi sought material for the volumes throughout the world. The myriad photos alone attest to the worldwide nature of the Faith.
THE SEVERAL contributions by Queen Marie of Rumania (Volumes 5, 6 and 8) Shoghi Effendi felt to be highly significant.
The many essays by distinguished Bahá’ís such as Martha Root, George Townshend, Horace Holley, Keith Ransom-Kehler, Louis G. Gregory, Hermann Grossmann, Lady Blomfield, and May Maxwell put one in touch with the heroes and heroines of the Faith.
The “In Memoriam” sections, beginning in Volume 4, provide inspiring material for firesides, deepenings, or quiet reflection.
Volumes 1 through 12 of The Bahá’í World are an investment that will richly repay the buyer, whether community or individual. They will yield a lifetime’s worth of study, reference, and inspiration.
To order the entire set of The Bahá’í World, Volumes 1 through 12, or individual volumes, 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 for postage and handling on orders under $100.
86-year-old pioneers to Zimbabwe[edit]
Ann H. Morris, a member of the Bahá’í community of Scottsdale, Arizona, left the U.S. in October for a pioneering post in Zimbabwe (formerly Rhodesia), Africa, where she will live with one of her five grandchildren, Gary Worth, and his family.
Mrs. Morris is 86 years old.
Mrs. Morris, a Bahá’í for about 30 years, is a former resident of Los Angeles where she served as a librarian and staff person at the Los Angeles Bahá’í Center.
Four of her grandchildren are Bahá’í pioneers, and the fifth grandchild is preparing to pioneer.
Mrs. Morris’ husband, Major Hugh C. Morris, although not a Bahá’í, served with Gen. Allenby and was with the detachment that liberated ‘Abdu’l-Bahá during World War I.
One of her four daughters, Mrs. Carol Allen, served as a staff member at the National Teaching Committee office in Wilmette until leaving recently to take up new responsibilities at the World Centre in Haifa.
Another daughter, Mrs. Julie Sater of Scottsdale, and her husband, Elliot, also are Bahá’ís.
One of Mrs. Morris’ two sons is actor Robert Mitchum.
Mrs. Morris visited with her grandchildren in England and Portugal en route to Zimbabwe.
Evanston, Illinois, club names Bahá’í its ‘Woman of the Year’[edit]
Mary Taylor, a Bahá’í from Morton Grove, Illinois, has been named “Woman of the Year—Achievement” by the Business and Professional Women’s Club of Evanston, Illinois.
Mrs. Taylor, the assistant to the city manager of Glencoe, Illinois, was honored at an awards banquet October 17 for Chicago-area Business and Professional Women’s Clubs.
She was cited for her outstanding career achievements, for assisting the career growth of other women, and for promoting the role of working women.
The native of Los Angeles serves as a volunteer teacher at a Chicago drug rehabilitation center, and on the Older Women and Widows Committee of the Illinois Status of Women’s Commission whose members are appointed by the governor.
Mrs. Taylor also teaches a course entitled “Problems of Women in Management” at Roosevelt University’s graduate school of public administration, and conducts seminars for women on topics such as reentering the work force, effective presentation skills, and time management.
This year she is directing a workshop on “Women in Local Government” for the International City Management Association.
Mrs. Taylor was a member of the National Education Committee staff at the Bahá’í National Center for more than four years before accepting her present position in April 1979.
She and her husband, Robert, who is also a Bahá’í, have four daughters.
Louhelen notes available in 26 states[edit]
The Louhelen Bahá’í School reconstruction project was introduced recently to Local Spiritual Assemblies and Bahá’í Groups in a letter to them from Dorothy W. Nelson, treasurer of the National Spiritual Assembly.
The letter discussed how Assemblies in states where promissory notes can be made available can help the Louhelen project by sponsoring meetings at which Bahá’ís representing the National Spiritual Assembly can explain the project and its financing plan.
THESE BAHÁ’ÍS are offering their time and energy to help acquaint the friends with the scope of the $1.8-million project.
The representatives are prepared to show a slide program about the history of the school and to show pictures of the architect’s conception of the school as it is to be rebuilt.
Bahá’ís in every state may contribute to the reconstruction of the school through earmarked contributions if they wish. However, only Bahá’ís living in a state where the Offering has been registered can purchase a promissory note.
The states selected for registration of the Offering were chosen because of their Bahá’í population, their proximity to the Louhelen School, or their ease of meeting registration requirements.
A list of the states in which sales of the promissory notes can be made follows. The Bahá’ís representing the National Spiritual Assembly in certain states also are listed.
Bahá’ís who live in states in which no agent is listed may request the Offering Circular from the Office of the Treasurer, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091.
•
- Alabama
- Arkansas
- California—Payam Afsharian, 835 San Vincente Blvd., Santa Monica, CA 90402; Richard Link, 101 Via de Tesoros, Los Gatos, CA 95030 (408-395-5351); Mrs. Eileen Norman, 725 Andover Drive, Burbank, CA 91504 (213-846-6665).
- Delaware
- District of Columbia
- Florida—Miss Diane Gray, 258 Curlew St., Fort Myers Beach, FL 33931 (813-463-6687); Richard Mellman, 8385 SW 105th St., Miami, FL 33156 (305-442-4656).
- Georgia
- Iowa—Mrs. Edith Elmore, 4810 Ripley, Davenport, IA 52806 (319-391-2118).
- Illinois—Badi Mesbah, Box 322, Chatham, IL 62629 (217-483-4048).
- Indiana—Tim Richardson, 4504 SW Anthony Wayne Drive, Fort Wayne, IN 46506 (219-456-3313).
- Kentucky—William Wiley, 818 Shelby St., Frankfort, KY 40601 (502-227-7427).
- Louisiana—Farid Ghalili, 302 Toulouse, Lafayette, LA 70506 (318-232-0372); Everett Hubbart, 2330 Scovell Court, Shreveport, LA 71104 (318-222-7111).
- Maryland—Clarke Langrall, Clarke Langrall Inc., 606 Providence Road, Towson, MD 21204 (301-296-3000).
- Massachusetts
- Michigan—Dr. Mohsen Avaregan, 5356 W. Bloomfield Lk., W. Bloomfield, MI 48033 (313-681-3444); Sam Clark, 381 W Maplehurst, Ferndale, MI 48220 (313-542-7554); Mrs. Betty Filstrup, 2829 Lakeshore Drive, St. Joseph, MI 49085 (616-983-4306); Marvin Hughes, 104 Puritan, Highland Park, MI 48203 (313-865-9468); Richard Reid, 3401 Assumption Drive NE, Grand Rapids, MI 49505 (616-361-7996); Dr. Siavash Varjavandi, 9559 Woodmont, Grand Blanc, MI 48439 (313-694-3507).
- Minnesota—John Berry, 112 E. 151st St., Burnsville, MN 55337 (612-435-5565).
- Mississippi—Michael Reimer, 532 Robin Hood, Jackson, MS 39206 (601-362-3652).
- Missouri
- New Jersey
- New York—Fouad Bahá’í, 400 Boughton Hill Road, Honeoye Falls, NY 14472 (716-624-4330); Mrs. Isabella Eghrari, 87 Stillwater Road, St. James, NY 11790 (516-584-5100).
- South Carolina
- Tennessee—C.H. Walton, 951 37th Avenue N, Nashville, TN 37209 (615-269-9235).
- Texas—Gordon Dobbins Jr., 6501 Sabrosa Court E., Fort Worth, TX 76133 (817-292-0133).
- Virginia
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin—John Weiss, 4800 S. 95th St., Greenfield, WI 53228 (414-425-3224).
Bahá’ís of Richmond, Kentucky, participated July 5–6 in the city’s Founders Day weekend celebration with this large poster, Bahá’í literature, and free ice water.