The American Bahá’í/Volume 13/Issue 10/Text

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October, 1982

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[Page 1]

October 1982

American

The

Baha’i

Message to the Montreal Conference from the Universal House of Justice

To the friends gathered at the Baha’i International Conference in Montreal

Dearly-loved Friends,

Seventy years ago ‘Abdu’l-Baha visited Montreal, hallowing it forever. The visit of the beloved Master to America, the laying by Him of the cornerstone of the first Mashriqu’l-Adhkár of the West and the revelation by Him five years later of the Tablets of the Divine Plan, which invest its chief executors and their allies with special primacy, constitute successive stages in the gradual disclosure of a mission whose seeds can be found in the Bab’s address to the

peoples of the West, urging them to aid God’s Holy Cause. This mission was given specific direction through Baha*u’ll4h’s summons to the rulers of America, calling on them to heal the injuries of the oppressed and, with “the rod of the commandments”’ of their Lord, to bring their corrective influence to bear upon the injustices perpetrated by the tyrannical and ungodly.

‘Abdu’l-Baha revealed in clearer details than those given by either the Bab or Bahd’u’ll4h the nature and scope of that glorious mission. In His eternal Tablets unveiling America’s spiritual destiny the Master wrote, “‘... the continent of America is, in the eyes of the one true God, the

land wherein the splendours of His light shall be revealed, where the mysteries of His Faith shall be unveiled, where the righteous will abide and the free assemble. Therefore, every section thereof is blessed ... ind, referring to Canada, He asserted that its future very great, and the events connected with it infinitely glorious.”

Even more specifically, He expressed the “‘hope that in the future Montreal may become so stirred, that the melody of the Kingdom may travel to all parts of the world from that Dominion and the breaths of the Holy Spirit may

Please See MESSAGE Page 20

oe The Hand of the Cause of God

Amatu’l-Baháé Ruhiyyih Khánum Gfourth from left), who represent asa

ed the Universal House of Justice at the Bahd’{ International Conference in Montreal, joins in some

3rd N. American Native Council

‘Soars with Knowledge of Spirit’

Four hundred forty-six Baha’is and their guests from 10 countries and representing 60 Indian tribes participated August 12-15 in the third North American Baha’i Native Council on the Blood Indian Reserve in southwestern Alberta, Canada.

The Council. whose theme was

What's inside

A PUBLISHING Conference is held in Montreal following the International Conference. Page 2

NATIONAL Youth Committee unveils a new ‘‘Campus Plan’ for teaching. Page 7

NSA PROPERTIES Inc. is the muscle behind Louhelen development. Page 11

A STUDY outline on To Move the World by Gayle Morrison. Pages 12-13

REPORTS of the Regional Asian and Spanish Teaching Conferences in California. Pages 14-15

“Come Soar with the Knowledge of the Spirit,’’ was blessed by the presence of the Hand of the Cause of God Amatu’l-Bahá Ruhiyyih Khanum.

AMONG the other participants were Counsellors for the Americas Lauretta King and Raul Pavén; Counsellor Shirin Boman from India; and members of the National Spiritual Assemblies of Alaska, Canada and the U.S.

Although most of those present were from North America, some had traveled from as far away as Central or South America. All but about 50 of the participants were indigenous Baha’ is and their nonBaha’i guests.

In an opening address, Eugene King, a Native American who is a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of Alaska, challenged the native peoples to arise to fulfill their spiritual destiny.

Speaking strongly of the need

Please See COUNCIL Page 4

lively Native American dancing with members of the ‘Trail of

Light’ teaching team. Sy

i

The Hand of the Cause of God Amatu’l-Bahá Rubiyyih- Khanum led a 12-member Baha'i delegation that called on the Hon. Ed 101 countries represented

. 5 Hands of Cause

present in Montreal

More than 9,400 Baha’is from 101 countries including five of the Hands of the Cause of God gathered September 3-5 at the Olympic Velodrome in Montreal, Canada, for a Baha’i International Conference that paid loving and eloquent tribute to the memory of the Greatest Holy Leaf and set a firm and unswerving course toward victory in North America at the midpoint of the Seven Year Plan.

THE UNIVERSAL House of Justice, the supreme administrative body of the Faith and architect of its worldwide teaching plans, was represented at the Conference by the Hand of the Cause of God Amatu’l-Bahá Ruhiyyih Khanum.

Her presence was especially appropriate as she a native of Montreal who was raised there by her Bahd’{ parents, architect Sutherland Maxwell (who also was a Hand of the Cause of God) and. Mrs. May Maxwell.

Also present to celebrate the life and service of the Greatest Holy Leaf on the occasion of the 50th

ward Schreyer, the Governor General of Canada, prior to the opening of the Baha’i International Conference in Montreal.

anniversary of her passing were the Hands of the Cause of God Shu’a’wll4h ‘Ala’i, Zikru’lláh Khadem, John A. Robarts and Dr. ‘Ali Muhammad Varga.

In addition to the Hands of the Cause, seven members of the Continental Board of Counsellors for

Please See MONTREAL Page 21

Louhelen School opening ceremony set October 30-31

Baha’is from all parts of the country will gather October 30-31 to celebrate the inauguration of the newly reconstructed Louhelen Baha’i School in Davison, Michigan.

Among those attending will be Counsellor Sarah M. Pereira, the National Spiritual Assembly, and the National Education and National Teaching Committees.

“WE ARE quite excited about the inauguration,” says Dr. William Diehl, the school’s director of administrative affairs.

“We're looking forward to welcoming back to the school many of those who attended Louhelen in its early years, as well as new Baha’is who have never attended sessions on campus, for whom a whole new tradition will begin.’”

The weekend’s events include a gala banquet Saturday evening at a restaurant in nearby Flint, and

Please See LOUHELEN Page 11

Nearly 700 attend Association’s 7th Conference

The Hand of the Cause of God John Robarts was among nearly 700 Baha’is who attended the seventh annual Conference of the Association for Baha’i Studies held August 30-September 2 at the

Chateau Laurier in Ottawa, Ca nada.

The Conference theme, “‘The Baha’i Option,’’ was explored ina variety of addresses and papers, and in workshops and symposia on scholarship, curricula, health, and international development.

AMONG the Conference participants were Dr. Farzam Arbab, a member of the Continental Board of Counsellors for the Americas; three members of the

Please See STUDIES Page 19

[Page 2]VIEWPOINT

The American Baha’i

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Editorial Women are in forefront of Cause of God

In announcing the features of the Seven Year Plan at Naw-Rúz 1979, the Universal House of Justice underscored, as a requirement of the development of Baha’i community life, the ‘‘encouragement of Baha’i women to exercise to the full their privileges and responsibilities in the work of the community.”

THE HISTORY of our community is studded with the brilliant achievements of Baha’i women. We have only to recall such names as Lua Getsinger, Martha Root, Juliette Thompson, Keith RansomKehler, Dorothy Baker or Amelia Collins to appreciate the preponderant share of the contributions of Western women to the progress of the Faith.

‘Abdu’l-Baha Himself testified that ‘Among the miracles which distinguish this sacred Dispensation is this, that women have evinced a greater boldness than men when enlisted in the ranks of the Faith.’’ And Shoghi Effendi commented: ‘‘So great and splendid a testimony applies in particular to the West.”

Thus Western women have much to be grateful for at the same time that their sisters in many parts of the world strain to be released from the shackles that still restrain them.

While it is readily admissible that the women of our community have always been in the forefront of the work of the Cause, the need to promote and reinforce the principle of the equality of men and women remains.

It is a subject deserving the constant attention of all the friends, women and men alike. No need here to belabor its significance to society as a whole.

THE CONTENTIOUSNESS, disappointments, bickering and divisiveness occasioned by public debate of the issues involved are sufficient to register the timeliness of the principle.

However, as the ones who are responsible for setting the example for the realization of the equality and harmony of the sexes, we will desist from wrangling; appreciate the merits of the achievements already made in the Baha’i community; and continue unswervingly to build upon these achievements.

We rejoice in the efforts of those local communities that through women’s conferences, informal discussions and practical, spontaneous and persistent endeavor move toward the fulfillment of the indispensable role which the women must perform in the establishment of the civilization initiated by the Lord of the Age.

Canada, U.S. co-sponsor conference for 8 English-language publishers

A publishing conference for institutional publishers of Englishlanguage Baha’i materials was held September 6-7 in Montreal,

Canada, following the Interna- _

tional Conference.

Co-sponsored by the Baha’i Distribution Service of Canada and the U.S. Baha’i Publishing Trust, and supported by the Universal House of Justice and the National Spiritual Assemblies of Canada and the U.S., the conference was attended by 12 people representing eight publishing concerns.

Those attending included Carolyn Fleming, Alaska Baha’i Sales. Committee; Gayle Morrison, representing the Hawaiian National Library Service; Gerald Kerr, acting manager, Bahd’{ Publishing Trust of the United Kingdom; Dale Eng, Baha’i Publishing Trust of Taiwan; Larry Bucknell, Dr. Betty J. Fisher, Terrill Hayes and Greg Weiler, U.S. Baha’i Publishing Trust; and Rodney Hanks and Sheila Flood, Baha’i Distribution Service of Canada.

Roger White, from the Department of Publishing in Haifa, represented the Universal House of Justice. Kazem Samandari, a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of Switzerland, attended one session of the conference.

Representatives from the Pub lishing Trusts or Distribution Services of Australia, Fiji, India, Ireland, New Zealand and South Africa were unable to attend.

The purposes of the conference were to discuss common problems, to attempt to find solutions that would increase the free flow of Baha’ literature, and to set the stage for future meetings.

The wide-ranging discussions covered such topics as subsidized publishing and _ self-supporting publishing, institutional publishing and commercial publishing, the economics of co-publishing and avoidance of duplication, discounts, methods and terms of

payment, net pricing, the importance of national distribution services, a uniform catalog numbering system, the implementation of existing review procedures, and methods of sharing price lists and other relevant information.

The two-day meeting resulted in the formulation of some 19 recommendations and agreements and a list of items to be discussed at future conferences, as well as a greater understanding and appreciation of common problems encountered in ensuring a steady flow of Baha’i literature to Baha’is and non-Baha’is alike.

Price of ‘Fireside Playhouse’ reduced:

Since its introduction last year, “Fireside Playhouse,’ the halfhour Baha’i radio drama series, has been heard on more than 100 stations in the U.S.

A number of stations have aired the 13-week series free of charge, and there are many other places where the series would be successful if only the friends had access to it.

To help make the Fireside Playhouse series more readily available, the price has been reduced from $250 to only $50. A demonstration copy is still $5.

Fireside Playhouse presents the

Baha’i message in a low key fashion, with each week’s drama focusing on a contemporary problem. The Bahá’í answer to that problem is woven into the fabric of the program.

The Office of Public Affairs is encouraging Baha’i communities around the country to investigate the series for possible use in their area.

For more information about Fireside Playhouse, please write to the Office of Public Affairs, Baha’{ National Center, Wilmette, TL 60091, or phone 312-869-9039.

Comment

Me. Me. Me! The central theme of this article is me. What is me? Me is a word. Here it is a word on paper. It is also a word or sound moving around somewhere in my brain.

What does the word ‘‘me’’ mean? In this case, it is a word used to identify this 160-pound, si: foot one-inch package of vibrating energy.

IT IS actually a memory in my brain that has the equivalent value of I, myself, Jack Hofer, American, Bahá’í, and many other labels that serve the same function.

But what I would really like to know is, is the me behind the word “‘me”’ real? How is it possible to answer this?

The American Bah:

Published monthly by the National Spiritual As sembly of the Baha'is of the United States, $36 Sheridan Road, Wilmette, IL. 6009)

‘The American Bahá’í welcomes news, letters and ‘other items of interest from individuals and the various institutions of the Faith. Articles should be in a clear and concise manner; black and glossy photos should be included whenever possible. Please address all materials to The Editor, The American Baha'i, Wilmet

The word ‘‘me’”’ only comes into existence when my brain generates it. Where is “‘me’’ when the brain is not generating the thought of me?

It is not possible to answer that question, because there can be no me without the thought of me.

See if you can find yourself without thinking of yourself.

Assume, for example, that I walk into a room in which someone is asleep. I don’t think or say the words ‘‘me is asleep.’’ But I might use a variation of ‘‘he is asleep,”’ “‘she is asleep’’ or something similar.

INSTEAD of the word ‘‘me,” I use some other word to distinguish between ‘‘me,”” the observer, and ‘he or she,’’ the other person.

My brain is arbitrarily dividing the world into and the other person. This ion, while a necessary function of intelligent beings in certain activities, is a destructive influence when used to compare me with you in the sense of my being better or worse than someone else.

This destructive influence is what is being felt all over the world. The more ‘‘me’’ thinks of

This month’s article, ‘‘Some Thoughts About Me,” was written by Jack Hofer of Comfort, Texas.

being No. 1, No. 2, No. 10, or black, white, yellow, or Argentine, British, Israeli, Palestinian, Syrian, the more the war of comparison rages between individuals and nations.

World problems are generated and worsened by such thoughts as “my nation,”’ ‘I! am better than you,’ ‘‘we were here before you,”’ and on and on.

This seemingly never-ending spiral of comparison, conflict, conformity, imitation and destruction looms ever larger. Me, me, me-and mine, mine, mine reign supreme.

DOES IT always have to be this way? The Tasaday people in a remote area of the Philippines do not kill each other. Nor do they kill animals. They don’t even have words in their language for killing, war or hatred.

The Tasaday had no contact with the modern world until the 1960s, thus ending the argument of those who say that killing, war, aggression and hatred are an in Peace could depend on changing ‘me’

born and necessary component of human nature.

That is simply not true. We misuse a tremendous amount of individual and collective energy in warring with and killing one another.

Is it possible for human beings not to kill regardless of whatever family, tribal, national, racial, political, religious or cultural ties they may have? Yes, it is possible!

Laws, in some form, will probably always be necessary, but even the most just and compassionate system of laws alone won’t accomplish the goal.

WHAT WILL do it is if enough human beings realize that the “‘me’’ on this side of the world is the equivalent ‘‘moi,’’ ‘‘mich,’” “toi,”? “‘yo’’ and so on in other parts of the world.

While the ‘‘me’s’’ may differ in physical appearance, dress, customs and habits, the me’s all have bones, blood, hearts, skin, problems, pleasures, pains, emotions, and are concerned with the need for food, water, shelter and health.

In fact, the ‘‘me’s’’ are far more similar than they are different. So what will transform the

to ‘we’ me’s? z

Each ‘‘me,’’ regardless of race or country, will be transformed not by force, but by understanding the whole process of the ‘‘me’” and thereby dissolving its imaginary boundaries.

That part of our rational mind that builds walls, freezes the spirit and isolates the creative being must go.

Seeing this clearly brings with it the necessary actions. Seeing is the doing.

THE MIND is now balanced and stable. The divisive and destructive ‘“‘me’’ is transformed into the cooperative and compassionate whole person who will not kill.

Historians say there has been at least one war per year somewhere on earth for the last 5,000 years. During that same 5,000 years the most universal law of coexistence has been given to human beings:

° Christ gave the message as “That ye love one another as I have loved you.’””

im REE RAPED API ICE A AA RD NRE SET NT A ET ET FEES A SSE TE ERTS ASIST!

[Page 3]

LETTERS

October 1982

oe

Maybe Baha’is should read ‘operator’s manual’

To the Editor:

When all else fails, read the instructions. Have you read your “operator’s manual” lately?

When we become acquainted with the Baha’i Teachings we gain access to the greatest Manual for Living in existence.

I HOPE no one considers the comparison of the Creative Word to an operator’s manual disrespectful, but the analogy can be effective. It covers everything from basic personal operating procedures to a 500,000-year guarantee.

We become Baha’is and, after the initial introductory material is absorbed, we tend to put aside the books and proceed on our own, unaware that we have read only the table of contents!

Reading a book such as Baha‘u’llah and the New Era is somewhat like reading the Reader’s Digest. It’s a superb book, but the flavor and depth, the color and meat of the Faith is in the volume after volume of Tablets and exhortations of the Central Figures. To operate as Baha’is we need the unabridged Text.

To continue the analogy, some of the ‘operating instructions” I have found are as follows:

1. For the system to operate it must be plugged in. To find how to plug yourself in, read ‘‘Spiritual Foundations: Prayer, Meditation and Devotional Attitude,’ compiled by the Universal House of Justice.

2. The on/off switch is teaching. “If the work of delivering the Message be neglected, the assistance shall be entirely cut off.’*—‘Abdu’l-Baha

THIS IS from the preface to “The Individual and Teaching: Raising the Divine Call,’ also compiled by the Universal House of Justice. These compilations are a banquet for the soul!

3. General maintenance instructions abound. To keep the soul in top running order, deepen often

using such books as Gleanings, Foundations of World Unity, Bahaé’{ Administration, and Wellspring of Guidance.

4. The most complete protection package in history is included, but you have to qualify.

Read everything you can get your hands on concerning the Covenant: that is the protection! (You qualify through obedience.)

There are no short-cuts. If we would read the ‘‘operator’s manual’’ to begin with, “‘little by little, day by day,”’ things would

run ever so much smoother.

Margaret Creech Laramie, Wyoming

To the Editor: Many prayerful and tactful ap - proaches have been made in an at tempt to ease the plight of the Iranian Bahdé’i community.

Mournful pleas have gone out to various national executive and legislative bodies throughout the world, to benevolent ecclesiastical councils, and to world peace organizations in behalf of our Baha’i brethren in Iran.

AS THESE pleas are made, I think that I have “heard this cry before.’”

I heard it when Jehovah’s Witnesses were being persecuted in Swaziland several years ago; when children were dying by the thousands in Biafra; from emaciated refugees in camps on the ThaiCambodian border. It is heard today from the decimated refugees in Africa’s Sahara and Horn regions.

In these tragic situations it is often not the cry of the victims themselves that is heard, but that of the benevolent relief organizations that bring these tragedies to our attention.

Despite the flaws inherent in such organizations, their goals of providing care and redemption to the war-wracked peoples of the world are commendable. These organizations, flounder as they may, have become known

Waterbury residents see film, hear talk in apartment program

On April 3, about 60 residents of the Plaza on the Green Apartments in Waterbury, Connecticut, saw a film of Baha’i Holy Places and heard a brief talk on the Faith by David Howe of Watertown.

The program, which included refreshments and a question-and Comment

Continued From Page 2

til he desires for his brother that which he desires for himself.’”

We have the guidelines for a new age. Will we do it?

answer period, was given at the request of an apartment resident, Mae Brodhead, who is a Baha’i. On April 24, a Bahd’{ booth was set up outside the apartments and pamphlets were given to interested passersby. The booth attracted a sizable crowd. Meanwhile, a second booth was set up at Naugatuck Mall. Included was a film about the Faith.

On May 3, a supper was held at the Plaza on the Green for residents and others who had helped with the teaching and proclamation events.

After supper, the guests asked to see the Baha’i film again. This was followed by a fireside that lasted until 10 p.m.

The American Baha'i 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 Bahai, Baha’i National Center, Wilmette, IL 60091.

throughout the world as benevolent helpers of the downtrodden. As our brethren in Iran join the ranks of the world’s dispossessed, and as our cry for justice goes out to a largely insensitive world, I wonder if we, as a religious body, have become so far removed from the performance of benevolent deeds that we have diluted our ability to aid the Iranian Baha’ is.

WHEN other peoples become caught in the gruesome tremors of social conflict, do we focus on them?

When hungry children cry out in the refugee camps of the world, do we encourage Baha’i doctors, medical technicians, nurses, truck drivers, or even laborers to donate time and effort in their behalf?

Do we, in our Baha’i schools, teach our children to ‘‘heed the midnight sighing of the poor’ so that our children might become sensitized to more thoughtful and benevolent actions as adults?

Do we include in our Feasts and

other gatherings prayers and writings that remind us of the plight of the great majority of people in the world—the plight of poverty and duress?

Certainly, the Faith of Bahd’u’lláh will usher in the Order that will alleviate the suffering of an anguished mankind. This promise He has given us.

But have we, as a worldwide community, shared deeply enough through our deeds to merit the genuine respect of mankind?

FEW though we are, we are nonetheless more highly organized than any international group in the world. But are we known in our communities as a group that stands for equality and justice for everyone?

Helping other groups of deprived people, even if only by some token action, not only proclaims our Faith and its ideals, not only portrays the Cause as credible and reputable through our concern and deeds, but further increases our ability to elicit sympathy and aid for those Bahd’{s who are trapped among other millions in these hopeless situations.

Despite our lack of material resources, can we not expand our Faith while increasing our benevolent prayers and actions in behalf of mankind?

If this could be done, perhaps the people of the world would take ready heed of the plight of the Iranian Baha’is.

Perhaps a wider and more conscientious effort in this regard might provide safety and redemption in Iran while further expanding our good reputation, thus ensuring that all our goals would be won.

Clayton E. Taylor Jr. Glencoe, Illinois

To the Editor: Marriage is an institution from God for this Day.

The divorce rate among Baha’is may now be greater than the national average.

IN HER keynote address at the 1981 conference on Marriage and the Family held in Canada, Amatu’l-Bahd Rubfyyih Khanum said how deeply concerned the Universal House of Justice is about the present rate of divorce among Baha’is.

She presented a vivid image of rolling up the old world order—like rolling up a rug that has been down for 50 years or more. Of course the dust flies, various dead bugs are found, and there are plenty of rips—which is to be expected from an old rug—from rolling up the old world order.

This is also the climate that surrounds Baha’i marriages today.

Yes, we have the lofty ideals of the new World Order to guide us; but our expectations for our marriage must reflect realistically our

surroundings.

Marriage is a challenge even under the best of circumstances. And our surroundings are for the most part negative. We certainly must expect some tremors amidst the dust and decay of the old world order.

TO ME, the implication Is that we must include in our lives daily prayers for strengthening our marriages and our families.

The marriage prayers aren’t just for weddings. They can be used at any time to bring the assistance of the Concourse on High to bear on these beloved institutions—the cornerstone of any healthy civilization.

Strong marriages and strong families are the cornerstone of the new World Order. We can’t let them continue to blow away.

Mrs. Judy Orloff Foxboro, Massachusetts

To the Editor:

I wanted to make you aware of a book I found in a B. Dalton bookstore that includes a section on the Faith.

The book is called Cults and New Faiths and its companion volume is The Religions.

Fortunately, ‘‘Baha’i”’ is under the ‘‘New Faiths’’ section of the book, which gives an accurate account of the history and teachings of the Faith.

The book was written by John Butterworth and is published by David C. Cook Company of Ontario, Canada.

Gary Robinson Okmulgee, Oklahoma

To the Editor:

People often are reluctant to talk about the Bahd’{ Fund because of a fear of sounding like they are soliciting funds.

I am afraid that this fear sometimes prevents us from taking a full view of our responsibilities within the Faith.

WHILE it is true that solicitation of money is strictly forbidden in the Baha’i Faith, it is equally true that all members of the Faith

nd Shown here are many of the 120 people who attended the Badasht Baha’i Summer School held July 8-11 for the 10th yea Apser

kaha Campground near Ashland, Oregon. About half of the participants this year were children, and classes were held for everyone

Please See LETTERS Page 24 rae

from the age of 3 years and up on “The Hidden Words’’ and ‘‘The Martyrs—Then and Now.”’

[Page 4]NATIVE COUNCIL

The American Baha’i

Council

Continued From Page 1

for native believers to serve the Faith, he referred to a Tablet from the Bab in which He speaks of those who know of this Revelation and who might now be held accountable for prolonging the agony of the world should they fail to arise and teach the Cause of

God.

A highlight of the four-day gathering was the announcement of the election of Chester Kahn to the U.S. National Spiritual Assembly.

MR. KAHN, a Navajo Indian from Houck, Arizona, was present at the Native Council with other members of the “Trail of Light’’ teaching team composed of Native American Baha’is from North America.

The Council featured 15 workshop sessions on topics that included Native prophecies; the Baha’i Faith and the Bible; Overcoming Hurt Through Spiritual Understanding; Native Music, Dance and Spirituality; Overcoming Alcoholism; and Building a Spiritual Marriage.

Other workshops focused on child education; Bahda’i youth; Native American women and the i problem-solving without 's; and building a strong Baha’i community.

A frequent topic of frank consultation during the workshops, according to one observer, was the issue of dealing with a predominantly white society including non-Native Baha’is.

During the consultation the indigenous friends spoke of their need to overcome fears and prejudices and to become one not only with other Native believers but with all of the friends. Participants offered one another strong encouragement to accomplish this.

AMATU’L-Bahaé Rahiyyih Khanum spoke on three occasions, during one of which she mentioned the spiritual challenges faced by indigenous peoples

e

Many warm friendships were renewed during the third North American Baha’i Native Council meeting held August 12-15 in Alberta, Canada.

around the world and encouraged those present not to abandon their own spiritual values.

Bahá’ís, she said, must be actively involved in bringing about social change, not in a partisan political way but in every other way.

During the Council the Hand of the Cause visited the nearby Peigan Reserve where she met with a group of the elders of that tribe who, more than 20 years ago, had conferred upon her an Indian name that means ‘‘blessed mother.”

One evening during the Council she dined with a group of elders from the Blood Reserve.

Amatu’l-Bahá Rthiyyih Khanum also was among the approximately 2,000 people who attended a Saturday evening pow wow that began at 8 o’clock and did not end until 3 o’clock Sunday morning. At one point, she joined in the lively dancing.

Another highlight of the Native Council was the arrival and introduction of members of ‘‘Camino del Sol,” the “Trail of Light’’ teaching teams that traveled this summer through Central and South America before linking up again in Quito, Ecuador, at the International Baha’i Conference.

TEAM members shared moving accounts of their teaching experiences.

Saying that meeting with the various indigenous peoples in Mexico, Central and South America had affected them deeply, they expressed a heightened desire to unite North and South America in closer bonds of fellowship and love.

Among the chairmen for the Council sessions was Martha Many Grey Horses, a Blood Indian from Lethbridge, Alberta, who became a Baha’i two years ago during the second North American Native Council in Wilmette, Illinois.

She is now a member of the Continental Indigenous Council which planned the four-day Native Council meeting.

Eliot community sets race unity conference

The Baha’i community of Eliot, Maine, is sponsoring a race unity conference November 12-14 at the Green Acre Baha’i School in Hiiot. The program will commemorate the publication of the book To Move the World, a recently completed biography of the Hand of the Cause of God Louis Gregory by Gayle Morrison. It will include a meeting Saturday evening for non-Baha’is. Also featured will be workshops on ‘the most challenging issue,’ an analysis of prejudice, and goal setting for positive action. Participants are invited to arrive early for the observance November 11 of the anniversary of the Birth of Bahs‘u’llah. For registration information contact Richard Grover, director of the Green Acre Baha’i School, at 207-439-0019.

tae E The Hand of the Cause of God Amatu’l-Bahá Ribiyyih Khanum speaks to the 446 Baha'is and their guests representing 60 Indian

HEARTS UPLIFTED WELCOME MESSAGE COUNCIL DELIGHTED WIDE REPRESENTATION LARGE ATTENDANCE PRESENCE DISTINGUISHED GUESTS. MAY HIGH RESOLVE GATHERED FRIENDS BE FULLY REALIZED MAY SPIRIT GENERATED AT COUNCIL PER

tribes who attended the third North American Baha’i Native Council held August 12-15 at the Blood Reserve in Alberta, Ca POPULATION LY PRAYING

OUS DESTINY TER.

MEATE RECEPTIVE MULTITUDES OF INDIAN

The program for the final day of the Council included a tribute to the martyrs in Iran and an address by Amatu’l-Bahá Ruhfyyih Khanum.

Following her presentation, the Hand of the Cause asked for questions from the audience. Instead, she was greeted by several non-Baha’{ Native Americans who expressed their desire to embrace the Faith.

In all, more than a dozen people declared their belief in Baha*u’lláh during the Council sessions including three of the cooks.

The Council ended with participants singing ‘‘Alláh’u’Abhd”’ followed by tearful but happy farewells.

Joyous Native American dances were an integral part of the third North American Baha'i Native

nada. The theme of the Council was ‘Come Soar with the Knowledge of the Spirit.’

NORTH AMERICA. FERVENTHOLY SHRINES CONFIRMA TION ALL EFFORTS FULFILLMENT GLORI ENVISIONED BELOVED MAS UNIVERSAL HOUSE OF JUSTICE AUGUST 14, 1982

e

‘Council meeting on the Blood Reserve in Alberta, Canada.

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[Page 5]THE FUNDS

October 1982

5

Faith reaches significant ‘turning point’ in U.S.

(Editor’s note: For the benefit of those who were unable to attend a District Convention the remarks made by the National Treasurer’s Representatives are reproduced here. These comments followed the presentation of the video tape of Congressional hearIngs on the persecution of the Baha’fs In Iran.)

°

The Congressional hearings which we have been privileged to witness today mark a significant turning point in the history of the American Baha’i community.

The hearings, the corresponding awareness in the highest levels of government, the subsequent actions resulting from these deliberations, and the unprecedented volume of media exposure seen in the past year have combined to spread the name of the Faith to the broadest possible spectrum of American society.

IN A VERY real sense the Faith has been released from the “womb”’ of obscurity into the light of public recognition, never to return again.

The social conditions which have fostered this process of emergence from obscurity have been a constant theme of the Universal House of Justice in its recent messages.

Noting the ‘‘chaos and confusion” and the “‘signs of universal anarchy’ now encompassing the planet, the Supreme Body indicated the resulting ‘‘disruption of economic, social and civil life,’’ the growing ‘‘hunger’’ of souls who are ‘‘dying for lack of true religion,” and the new “‘receptivity’? dawning in the hearts of humanity ‘‘beaten almost to its knees, bewildered and shepherdless,”” craving ‘‘the love of God and reunion with Him.”’

The Universal House of Justice

Notes... from the Treasurer

How to contribute to the National Fund without spending a cent on Postage ...

Some believers have expressed a reluctance to contribute directly to the National Fund 19 times during the year because that would require spending nearly $4 on postage. There is a way, however, to avoid this extra expense.

Local treasurers are urged to forward a contribution from the local community every Baha’i month. It would be a simple matter for your treasurer to enclose an individual’s check to the National Fund in the same envelope with the one that is used for the community’s contribution. (Always be sure to write your Baha’i I.D. number on your check.)

Another alternative would be to earmark a part of your contribution to the Local Fund to be forwarded to National. Ask your local treasurer. Don’t let the price of a stamp discourage you from supporting the national work of the Cause.

Family contributions ...

As has been our procedure in the past, married couples can contribute jointly with one contribution to the National Fund. Include both I.D. numbers so that the participation of both individuals will be counted. Receipts will be returned addressed to ‘Mr. and Mrs.’’ under the husband’s I.D. number.

If a family has children to be counted in the contribution, there is now a simple method of recording such participation without the need for multiple receipts. Just enclose a note indicating that the contribution is from ‘‘a family of four’’ (or whatever the number of family members). The receipt will be returned in the name of the parent or parents (please include both I.D. numbers) with a note recognizing the family gift.

If a child is to receive a receipt, include the child’s name and the amount that he or she has contributed.

We're saving a bundle ...

Recent changes in the U.S. postal regulations have made it possible for us to begin sending National Fund receipts by third class mail. This means that each receipt now costs only five cents to mail compared to 20 cents per receipt one month ago.

At the current rate of participation by individuals and Assemblies, we will be saving about $20,000 per year! Your receipts may take a few more days to reach you, but we hope:you will agree that the slight inconvenience is worth the substantial savings for the Fund.

Board of Counsellors and its Auxiliary Boards to perform their missions of protection and propaga Local Baha'i Fund (local address). Supports teaching, consolidation and administrative work of a local

Baha'i community.

National Baha’i Fund (Wilmette, IL 60091). Supports the efforts of the National Spiritual Assembly to direct, coordinate and stimulate Baha'i activities throughout the country.

Continental Bahá’í Fund (418 Forest Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091). Enables the Continental

tion of the Faith in the Americas. Baha'i 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 pilgrims.

noted in particular the critical juncture in the fortunes of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh at which the American believers now stand—a juncture which takes on added significance in this remarkable year that encompasses at one time the 50th anniversary of the passing of the Greatest Holy Leaf, the 25th anniversary of the passing of the beloved Guardian, the imminent move of the Universal House of Justice to its permanent Seat on Mount Carmel, and the mid-point of the present Seven Year Plan.

Without a doubt, the greatest impetus for the victories and opportunities now witnessed by the Baha’i world has been the sacrifices of the beleaguered yet radiantly triumphant Iranian Baha’ community.

TRAPPED by a fire of persecution, of systematic removal of its rights and property, of destruction reaching to its holiest Shrine and calling forth the sacrifice of life itself, this community has emerged, in the words of the Universal House of Justice, as “‘a dazzling community of eager, uplifted, radiant new believers,’ “spiritually united and steadfast, the pride and inspiration of the entire Baha’i world.’”

In The World Order of Bahi’u’llah, Shoghi Effendi indicated that the blood of the martyrs was the seed of the divine Administrative Order ordained by Baha’w'llah,

Today we have been privileged to witness a new generation of martyrs whose sacrifices have watered the roots of the nascent institutions of the Faith, opening undreamed of opportunities for expansion and proclamation while thrusting the Faith into a new phase of its development.

In a talk given at the most recent training conference for National Treasurer’s Representatives, Dr. Firuz Kazemzadeh, secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly, demonstrated how, as a result of the persecution of the Bahda’fs in Iran, history has accelerated.

He explained that 80 years after the first mention of the Faith in the U.S. only about 10 per cent of the members of Congress could recognize the name of the Faith.

But with the events of the past two years, he said, today 100 per cent of those individuals are informed, at least to some extent, about the Faith.

CONSIDERING this process of acceleration in conjunction with the significance of this historic time in the unfoldment of the Faith raises particular questions about the obligation of the believers to respond to the needs of the moment—for any effort exerted at this time has the potential to produce even greater victories, and any sacrifice made can yield far-reaching results.

The Universal House of Justice

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has written: ‘‘Opportunities, long dreamed of for teaching, attended by showering confirmations, now challenge in ever-increasing numbers, every individual believer ...”” (Ridvan 1982 message). Our focus, therefore, must be to examine the responsibilities confronting each Bahá’í.

The Treasurer’s Office has recently released a new deepening course through the NTRs entitled “The Individual Believer and the Rhythm of Growth’’ that specifically examines this question of the role of the individual in the growth of the Faith.

From this course we have taken a quotation from the Universal House of Justice that introduces the responsibility of the individual by calling for universal participation: ‘The healthy development of the Cause requires ... the dedicated effort of every believer in teaching, in living the Baha’i life, in contributing to the Fund, and particularly in the persistent effort to understand more and more the significance of Baha’u’lláh’s Revelation.”

These four categories—teaching, living the life, contributing to the Fund, and gaining a better understanding of the significance of Bah@’u’llah’s Revelation—can provide a format for consideration of our individual responsibilities.

Teaching—Where does the

country in general, and our district in particular, now stand with respect to the expansion goals of the Seven Year Plan? Is this progress good enough considering the unprecedented opportunities of this moment?

How can the individual take up the banner of teaching as never before to help usher in the “‘large scale conversion’’ anticipated by the Universal House of Justice in its Ridvan 1982 message?

Living the life—In what ways can the individual strive to achieve that ‘‘one thing’’ identified by the beloved Guardian as the key to securing ‘“‘the undoubted triumph of this sacred Cause’’—that is, “‘the extent to which our own inner life and private character mirror forth in their manifold aspects the splendor of those eternal principles proclaimed by Baha?u'llah’??

Contributing to the Fund—The Universal House of Justice has informed us that ‘‘the now obseryable emergence from obscurity of our beloved Faith will impose the necessity of new undertakings involving large calls on the Funds.’” Our own National Fund now has a contributions shortfall of about $600,000, and individual participation has been averaging about 4,500 a month. What part might the individual play in strengthen

Please See FUNDS Page 24

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[Page 6]frre ee eee YOUTH NEWS

The American Baha’i

6

Wearing shining stars, flowing robes and radiant faces, Baha’i children in Houston, Texas, treated the community to a dramatization May 22 of the Declaration of

the Bab. The drama, directed by

the children’s class teachers, Carolyn Duell and Ruth Montgomery, included the events lead

ing up to the historic Declaration at two hours, 11 minutes after sunset on May 22, 1844. Shown here are (standing left to right) La Ronda Spencer, Carolyn Martinez, Howard Titus, Julie Martinez, Jayce Bailey, and (kneeling) Jason Ingram, Patrick Spencer.

At Louhelen, the accent is on youth

Two of the eight programs the Louhelen Council has scheduled for the fall session at the school are for youth.

The programs include a Regional Youth Conference, sponsored by the National Youth Committee, November 5-7, and an experimental ‘‘Youth Week’’ December. 19-24.

“We are very pleased that the first program we'll offer after the inauguration of the school in October will be for youth,’’ says Mrs. Paula Drewek, secretary of

Unity Conference set

A Race Unity Conference will be held November 26-28 (Thanksgiving weekend) at the Louhelen Baha’i School in Michigan.

Dr. William Smith, chairman of the Race Unity Committee, and Fernando Huerta, minority coordinator for the National Teaching Committee, will be the keynote speakers.

For information about registration, please see Page 11.

Youth ready for Louhelen conference

Youth from throughout the Midwest are expected to attend the first Regional Baha’ Youth Conference to be held at the newly reopened Louhelen Baha’i School in Michigan from November 5-7.

The conference is sponsored by the National Youth Committee.

THE conference theme, ‘Be a Baha’i: It Makes a Difference,”” will be the focus of an address by Dr. Magdalene M. Carney, assistant secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly.

The program also will include youth speakers, workshops on topics of interest to youth, and a presentation of the video tape of

Congressional hearings on the persecution of Baha’is in Iran.

A recreational program is scheduled for Saturday afternoon and a dance is’ planned for that evening.

Here are more details that should help youth in planning their trip to the Louhelen conference:

Schedule: The conference will open Friday, November 5, and end after lunch on Sunday. Registration begins at 3 p.m. Friday, followed by dinner and an evening program.

Registration: To register, complete the coupon and mail it immediately to the Louhelen Baha’i

School, 3208 S. State Road, Davison, MI 48423. Please note that reduced rates are being offered to early registrants.

Who should come: Everyone is welcome to attend, with special emphasis on youth and junior youth. There will be no classes for children.

Scholarships: Anyone who needs financial help should contact his or her Spiritual Assembly to request scholarship funds.

When you have registered, a confirmation will be sent to you with a fact sheet on the conference including information about how to reach Louhelen.

CONFERENCE REGISTRATION—LOUHELEN BAHA’i SCHOOL

Name. Age. Sex ID. Name____ Age. Sex____ ID. Name, = Age. Sex. ID. Street aes pee Phone.

City _ a State. 2 ZIP.

Early Registrants (received prior to October 22!)

Ages 13-20 years* ___4/room $39

——2/room $43

___single $67

Over 20 years**

Youth registering after October 22 will pay an additional $4 fee.
- Adults registering after October 22 will pay an additional $6 fee.

FEES INCLUDE ALL MEALS AND HOUSING FOR THE AN ADDITIONAL ONE-TIME FEE OF $2.50 WILL BE CHARGED FOR LINEN

REGISTRATION FE RENTAL.

Tenclose $. ha’i School.)

MAIL TODAY TO: Louhelen Baha’i School, 3208 S. | SRR SS MR RSAC AERA SEVERE CSR SESE ARRAS 2 EEE

Linen rental: $2.50

__4/room $47 SEY GS: No ——2/room $57 ___single $75 (TIRE CONFERENCE AS WELL AS THE

($10 per person, non-refundable) as a deposit. (Please make checks payable to Louhelen Ba State Road, Davison, MI 48423.

the Louhelen Council.

Speakers at the Regional Youth Conference will include Dr. Magdalene M. Carney, assistant secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly, and members of the National Youth Committee.

The experimental Youth Week will involve a challenging experience in Baha’ study, and also will include a strong component of recreation and fellowship. Courses will be offered on the nature and meaning of sacrifice and on Baha’i history.

“Louhelen has always had a strong emphasis on youth,’’ says Mrs. Drewek, ‘‘and we intend to continue it.’”

Rates for room and board for the December 19-24 session are $80 for the dormitory rate (3-4 per room) and $115 for a double room for those who register at least two weeks in advance.

Late registrants will be charged $90 and $115, respectively. Those oveg 21 years of age will pay $20 more.

To register, simply send a $10 (non-refundable) deposit per person to the Registrar, Louhelen Baha’{ School,

Davison, MI 48423.

Those who bring their own towels and linens will avoid paying a service charge.

‘Youth Hotline’ expands format

The Youth Hotline, a monthly bulletin sent to all Baha’ youth by the National Youth Committee, has expanded its format.

To better report the increase in youth activities across the country, Youth Hotline has been expanded to a full four pages.

The bulletin is also mailed to all Spiritual Assemblies, Baha’i Col lege Clubs, local and high school Youth Clubs and District Youth Committees.

Both “‘junior youth’’ and ‘‘ancient youth’ can also receive this free publication simply by filling out the coupon below and mailing it to the National Youth Committee, Baha’i National Center, Wilmette, IL 60091.

Please add my name to the mailing list for ‘Youth Hotline’’

Name. Age. Addres: City. State. Zip.

MAIL TO: National Youth Committee, Baha’i National Center,

Wilmette, IL 60091

College Club manual available

Have you ever had the people and desire to teach but simply couldn’t get organized? Or perhaps the spirit was willing but a limited time frame inhibited your actions?

Well, for College Clubs (and other interested groups or individuals), an effective new tool has been developed that sheds new light on teaching activities.

“Great GREAT Deeds: An Action Manual for Baha’i College Clubs’’ is hot off the press and available from the National Youth Committee.

A practical ‘“‘how-to’’ manual that offers concrete goals and the necessary guidance to achieve them, ‘‘Great GREAT Deeds” takes the pain out of getting started. Its sections, ‘‘The Joy of Teaching,’ ‘‘Tell It From the Rooftops,” and “‘Administration”” cover everything from burn-out to press releases. The Campus Plan, a detailed outline of teaching goals defined by the National Youth Committee, also is presented.

All in all, ‘‘Great GREAT Deeds’’ is a great GREAT resource for anyone wanting a concise, thorough strategy for teaching action. All this, and the love and appreciation of the National Youth Committee, for the unbeatable low price of $5!

Don’t delay—mail in the order form below and start performing your great GREAT deeds today!

I’m ready for action! Please send me ___ copies of ‘‘Great GREAT Deeds: An Action Manual for Baha’i College Clubs’’ at $5 per copy. I have enclosed a check or money order for $___..

Name. School Address, City. State. Zip. Phone.

Please make checks payable to the Baha’i National Youth Committee and mail to the committee office, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33315.

[Page 7]YOUTH NEWS

October 1982

7

College Clubs to spearhead teaching thrust

The contribution that Baha’i College Clubs can make in helping to build the new World Order is tremendous.

The National Spiritual Assembly has recognized this potential and has said that it looks toward the Baha’i College Clubs to move to the forefront of the teaching thrust.

MANY College Clubs have understood the great service that they can uniquely provide and have creatively dedicated their time, energy and money to teaching activities.

The results of such efforts have included not only an increased forum for the Teachings of Bahd*u’ll4h but a more consolidated club with members whose identities as Baha’is have been strengthened.

College years have been given a deeper significance and the social interaction inherent in working with others to promote the Teachings has provided a pleasurable balance to an intensely academic lifestyle.

To help College. Clubs effectively focus the time they have for teaching, the National Youth Committee has developed a Campus Plan for 1982-83.

The plan presents the minimum goals that College Clubs are expected to fulfill. As a skeleton provides a structure for one’s body, the Campus Plan is a framework on which to support a club’s programs.

THE DIRECTION of the Campus Plan is derived from the Seven Year Plan of the Universal House of Justice. Thus, the role of Col lege Clubs covers several areas:

to consolidate the network of

functioning College Clubs;

to publicly promote the tenets

of the Faith on campus;

to familiarize the campus

community with the history and Teachings of Baha’u’llah;

to support Bahd’{ identity

among club members;

to be of service to the campus

community.

In fulfilling this role, the unique flavor of each College Club will be expressed, formed by the club members and the campus community it serves.

Youth Conferences slated in S. Carolina, Florida

In addition to the Regional Youth Conference at the Louhelen Baha’i School, the National Youth Committee is sponsoring two other conferences this fall and winter, at Hickory Knob State Park in McCormick, South Carolina (November 26-28) and at Disney World in Orlando, Florida (December 26-29).

It’s not too early to register for either of these outstanding events. Please use the coupon below to register. Along with a confirmation slip, you’ll receive complete facts about the conferences.

Here are some brief details about what is being planned:

Hickory Knob

The conference will open Friday evening and run through Sunday lunch. Fees include housing and registration only; meals can purchased at the park, while those who are staying in cabins will have

cooking facilities.

Cabin space is limited, so please register early!

Program highlights will include a presentation by a member of the National Spiritual Assembly, youth speakers, in-depth discussion groups, and a presentation of the video tape of Congressional hearings on the persecutions in Tran.

Disney World

The conference will begin Sunday evening and end at noon Wednesday. Housing will be available at the Fort Wilderness Campground and at nearby hotels; the fees listed include housing and registration.

Food costs aren’t included in the registration fee. Restaurants are plentiful at the Disney World resort, and campers are welcome to bring food to cook out.

REGISTRATION COUPON

Program highlights will include a talk by Dr. Dwight Allen, a member of the National Spiritual Assembly; youth presentations; in-depth workshops, and of course, visits to either the Magic Kingdom or EPCOT, the main attractions at Disney World.

A children’s program is being planned for the Disney World conference.

Fees for Hickory Knob

Plan A: Cabins (6 people per), $19 each. Plan B: Motel rooms (4 people per), $25 each.

Fees for Disney World

Plan A: Campers with own tents, $12.50 per person. Plan B: Campers renting tents, $20 per person. Plan C: Motel (4 per room), $32.50 per person. Plan D: Motel (2 per room), $59.75 per person.

Regional Youth Conferences—November/December 1982 Please reserve spaces for the Regional Youth Conference at: ___Hickory Knob State Park

__—_Disney World Name. Age. Sex. ID. Name Age. Sex. ID. Name. Age. OK Ly Name Age Sex ID. Address. Phone. City State. Zip.

Enclosed please find my check in the amount of $____

please . . . checks payable to: BAHA’i CONFERENCE FUND.)

HICKORY KNOB

I request Housing Plan:

Pe INL OSs aS:

MAIL TO: Baha’i National Youth Committee,

AL SST A ADR SE EE TT AT AL

DISNEY WORLD

I request Housing Plan:

SOY 4 aOR)

to reserve space at the Conference. ($5 per person,

ED)

, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33315.

The possibilities are bounded only by the limits of the club’s creativity and imagination.

THE INITIAL activities specified for each College Club set the groundwork for functioning:

(1) Elect officers, set up regular meetings and advise the Youth Office of the officers’ names; (2) secure a permanent meeting place; (3) develop a semester or quarterly plan of teaching and proclamation activities (the National. Youth Committee expects at least four activities for the school year).

Strongly suggested for attention by all Baha’i College Clubs are college orientation programs and “Black History Week”’ (in February).

At least two of the following special days also should be chosen by each club and appropriate observances planned:

World Peace Day (September), United Nations Day (October), UN Human Rights Day (December), World Religion Day (January), and Race Unity Day (June).

Baha’i Holy Days are other occasions that lend themselves to focused teaching.

THE opportunity for making friends with foreign students is especially open on campuses. These students are the future leaders of their countries and their exposure to the principles of the Faith can have an important impact on tomorrow’s world.

The Campus Plan proposes that special emphasis be placed on teaching foreign students.

In_areas that have more than one Baha’i College Club, the National Youth Committee recommends forming inter-club councils to serve as a resource pool, planning agency and idea exchange.

Representatives of each club would consult together on over-all area activities, thus preventing overlap and facilitating a system of mutual support.

An important objective of interclub councils would be the establishment of clubs on unopened campuses through proclamations and teaching efforts.

ONE immediate activity that the Campus Plan stipulates for all College Clubs is showing the video tape of the Congressional hearings on human rights violations in Iran.

Combined with the use of A Cry from the Heart by the Hand of the Cause of God William Sears and the Spring 1982 issue of World Order magazine, the video tape helps form a powerful teaching activity.

These materials can be obtained by writing to the National Youth Committee,

Fort Lauderdale, FL 33315, or by phoning 305-462-1919. Finally, the Campus Plan has

designated two other publications for proclamations.

To Move the World, the biography by Gayle Morrison of the Hand of the Cause of God Louis Gregory, and the Fall 1981 issue of World Order that honors poet Robert Hayden are relevant teaching tools for attracting students, faculty and staff in many diverse academic departments.

These materials can be obtained from the Publishing Trust or from the National Youth Committee.

The opportunities for lasting contributions to society by Baha’i College Clubs are numerous and attainable. The National Spiritual Assembly has stated:

“The youth are particularly endowed with the potentialities to make our tomorrows better, for they will surely inherit the future. But their numbers are as yet too small for them sufficiently to aid in the spiritual transformation for which western society, indeed the entire planet, craves ...

“Thus, we address to you this urgent plea from the uttermost depths of our longing: that you, the Baha’i youth of today, take serious note of the vital challenges which a woefully troubled world presents to the enlightened followers of Bahd’u’ll4h and resolve to carry out to the full the specific charge given to the youth by the Universal House of Justice, namely, that you teach the Faith, particularly to your own generation, among whom are some of the most open and seeking minds in the world.””

Baha’is on campus have the power to meet this need. With the encouragement of the Campus Plan, they will!

Partial listing of coming events for Baha’i youth

It promises to be a busy fallwinter season this year with many exciting activities for YOUth to attend. Here’s a partial list of programs not-to-bemissed!

November 5-7: Regional Youth Conference, Louhelen Baha’i School, Davison, Michigan.

November 26-29: Regional Youth Conference, Hickory Knob State Park, McCormick, South Carolina.

December 26-29: Regional Youth Conference, Disney World, Orlando, Florida.

December 30-January 2: Third annual Camp Byron Winter Institute, Camp Byron, Wisconsin (near Fond du Lac).

AND, for those of you who are planning ahead ...

June 10-12, 1983: Continental Youth Conference, Anchorage, Alaska.

[Page 8]IGC:PIONEERING

The American Baha’i

Some questions and answers about pioneering

What is pioneering?

Quite: simply, pioneering is leaving one’s home or community to serve the Faith in another place where Baha'is are needed.

As a pioneer, one may move only a few blocks away to help restore a neighboring Assembly; he may go to a homefront goal in another state, or he may undertake that ‘‘prince of all goodly deeds’’ and pioneer to another country.

Pioneering is a personal act undertaken in response to the current needs of the Baha’i world community.

It is not just a physical move or a change in material circumstances; it is a moving from old habits and ways of thinking to a new spiritual location. It is discovering by practical day-to-day experience that the promises of Divine assistance are not idle words.

Pioneering is love in action, in obedience to that insistent call that ‘‘they may quit their homes in Thy name and summon all the multitudes to Thee.””

Pioneering is gratitude, an expression of appreciation to those who have pioneered in the past so that the Glad Tidings could reach our ears.

Pioneering is the noblest deed in this Day in service to that Divine civilization that is at once the dire need and the magnificent destiny of mankind.

What is the purpose of the International Goals Committee?

The International Goals Committee is appointed by the National Spiritual Assembly for the purpose of recruiting, preparing and dispatching pioneers to foreign lands. It maintains contact with pioneers in the field and, in some cases, provides deputization funds. A traveling teaching program also is part of its work.

Where do the pioneering goals come from, and who decides what countries need pioneers?

The Universal House of Justice makes pioneer assignments based on its judgment of which countries need pioneers and which countries should send pioneers.

Is it more important to fill homefront or international pioneering goals?

Our National Spiritual Assembly has been told by the Universal

House of Justice that its first responsibility is to the international field. International pioneering is not stressed because homefront pioneering is any less important, but because it is so much more difficult to find people who are in a Position to go abroad.

The relationship between the homefront and the international field becomes apparent when one considers that time and again the beloved Guardian stressed the urgent need for a strong homefront, without which we cannot possibly fill our commitments internationally.

What if I have the qualifications to pioneer, am needed to fill an international goal, but my leaving would jeopardize an Assembly?

There seems to be a spiritual principle at work when someone arises to fill an international pioneering goal. Experience has shown that it draws the confirmations to the home locality. When people decide to pioneer, that community starts to grow by leaps and bounds. More prayers are offered for the community, more efforts are made to teach, the various institutions of the Faith are informed that there is to be a vacancy.

We ask the prospective pioneer to talk it over with his Assembly, with the Auxiliary Board member and assistants, and make every effort to replace himself. If these efforts are made, success is assured.

“In the meantime we call on all believers everywhere to prayerfully consider their personal circumstances, and to arise while there is yet time, to fill the international goals of the plan. This must be done at all costs. No sacrifice, no deferment of cherished plans must be refused in order to discharge this ‘most important’ of the many ‘important duties’ facing us.” (Messages from the Universal House of Justice, pp. 89-90)

If I am thinking about pioneering, at what point should I contact the International Goals Committee?

You should contact the committee as soon as possible, even though your thoughts are not clearly formed. We are able to provide career counseling for youth, offer advice about jobs,

French Antilles seeks media people

Professional people of all types are being sought by the National Spiritual Assembly of the French Antilles to proclaim the Faith on radio and TV in Guadeloupe and Martinique.

All Baha’fs who can speak French and haye skills that can be used in reaching the media and for public meetings are welcome. Musicians who can perform in public also are being sought.

The National Assembly will

arrange performances at cultural centers and associations, etc., if Bahá’í musicians are able to respond to this appeal and offer their services to help attract large numbers to the Faith. Knowledge of French is not a prerequisite for musicians.

Please contact the International Goals Committee, Baha’{ National Center, Wilmette, IL 60091, or phone 312-869-9039,

give you information about the various countries, and help you to focus your efforts toward a place that would be suitable for you and you for it.

Could I be considered a pioneer even though I do not plan to go to a country that is currently on the goals list?

Even if you decide to go to a country because you have secured a job there and the country is not presently a goal, you should work through the administrative institutions. You may well be counted as a pioneer.

What resources exist to help a Prospective pioneer develop a career in a goal country?

In this matter, as in many others, the best start is with your International Goals Committee. We have comprehensive files on where pioneers are needed, job openings, experiences of previous pioneers in a given area, educational opportunities, living conditions, cost of living, etc.

Because the world is large and conditions are constantly changing, information must be continually updated, and it may take a while to get the latest, most accurate information about an area, but the IGC can help you and can put you in contact with others who can be of help.

Are funds available to help me go pioneering?

Some travel and deputization monies are available, depending upon the condition of the National Bahd’{ Fund. When one contributes to the Fund, a part of that money always goes toward helping a pioneer in some fashion. In some cases, the Goals Committee can make a loan for air fare, while in other cases, it can buy the tickets outright.

Sometimes it is necessary to assist a pioneer with deputization while he or she is looking for a job in a goal country. In countries where it is not possible for pioneers to work, it may be necessary to deputize that pioneer for the entire time that he or she is there.

Available deputization funds are used to help American Baha’ is fill U.S. goals and are not used to help people go to non-goal countries.

Should one look for jobs that will assist a country?

In general, it is desirable if one can be both in a position of serving to help develop a country in a tangible manner, that is, by engaging in a trade or profession that people readily recognize as benefiting that country, while also teaching the Baha’i Faith.

What is the best trade or profession to maximize the likelihood of being able to pioneer overseas and of becoming a self-supporting pioneer who is then to contribute to the Baha’i Fund?

This differs from country to country and over a given period of time. The Goals Committee has a

The Hand of the Cause of God Paul Haney (seated left of center) was the special guest at a luncheon August 8 during the Baha’i International Conference in Quito, Ecuador, with the secretary of the International Goals Committee and some 200 or so pioneers from the U.S. Mary Louise Suhm, the committee secretary, is seated at

Mr. Haney’s left. Standing next to her is Counsellor Carmen de Burafato. Also present were Counsellors Hidayatu’ll4h Ahmadiyyih, Farzam Arbab, Donald Witzel and Peter McLaren, and pioneers from many countries in Central and South America and the Caribbean.

that are the most useful to pioneers. These are available upon request.

What if I wish to pioneer but my spouse is not a Baha’i?

If the non-Baha’i spouse is sympathetic toward the Faith and wishes to live in another country, there is no reason why you cannot serve as a pioneer. Family unity is of paramount importance, however, and the rights of the spouse who is not a Bahd’{ must be protected. If your spouse does not wish to leave the country, it would be better for you to serve the Faith in your local community and preserve the unity of your family.

Suppose my spouse is a Baha’i but does not share my desire to pioneer?

Preserving the unity of the divine institution of marriage is of primary importance. If you and your spouse cannot agree upon pioneering, it would be better to serve the Faith together in this country. The National Spiritual Assembly does not encourage the separation of husband and wife, even to fill pioneering goals.

I am presently separated from my spouse and observing a ‘‘year of patience.’’ Can I pioneer now?

As a rule, no, not until your year of waiting is resolved one way or the other. Bahd’u’ll4h has strongly emphasized the importance of preserving the divine institution of marriage, and has further stated that the primary purpose of the year of waiting is reconciliation.

It would, therefore, violate the spirit of the year of waiting for our committee to encourage such a separation of husband and wife as would occur if one were to pioneer without the other. It is, of

pioneering in general and to gather information with the help of the Goals Committee during one’s year of waiting. Once the year is resolved, either through reconciliation or Baha’i divorce, one could then be counted as a pioneer.

‘What happens after I indicate to the International Goals Committee my interest in pioneering?

The more we know about you, the better able we are to help you. For this reason we ask you to fill out pioneer volunteer forms and to send us an up-to-date resumé, We request a recommendation and evaluation form from your Local Spiritual Assembly or District Teaching Committee, as well as from the National Spiritual Assembly. If the outlook seems positive for your success as a pioneer, a close relationship is developed between you and the IGC and you are helped in a variety of ways to reach your cherished goals.

What if I don’t intend to leave for a few years?

We still follow the procedures described above, because they ensure that we will be optimally helpful.

Baha’i student wins Merit Scholarship

Brian Couch, a recently enrolled Bahd’{ from Eugene, Oregon, is one of five high school students in that city who have won fouryear college scholarships in the 1982 competition sponsored by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation.

Mr. Couch’s scholarship was awarded by the University of Ore number of rials on careers cou! possible to investigate gon.

[Page 9]TEACHING

October 1982

The homefront

pioneer

In February, The American Bahd’( carried an article about a number of Isolated believers in Nebraska who consolidated their teaching efforts by forming a statewide media committee. Their activity resulted in quite a bit of interest in the Faith, and at least one declaration.

To the knowledge of the National Teaching Office, this was the first such endeavor to be engaged in by isolated believers.

Now the Baha’is of Nebraska are first again! Homefront pioneers in Pawnee County responded immediately to the. National Teaching Committee’s request for ideas and experiences to be shared in this column. Read on for some useful teaching ideas.

°

Dear Friends,

We just got our American Bah4’{ yesterday and are delighted to learn about the new column for homefront pioneers.

My husband, Scott, our two daughters, Anna and Katie, and I are homefront pioneers on our cattle ranch in Pawnee County, Nebraska.

WE ONCE had a visit from some Baha’ friends from Omaha who declared, ‘*You have got to be the most isolated Bahá’ís we have ever known!””

Besides living in the country, the nearest Baha’i friends are an hour and a half drive away.

We felt that our first goal was to develop friendships. and the confidence of our neighbors in this rural community. To do this we have tried quite a few approaches.

We've tried to invite a family over for dessert or popcorn in the evening, every two weeks. We try to mention some aspect of the Faith, but concentrate on developing the friendship.

We grow a vegetable garden and give extra vegetables to our neighbors. This gives us a chance to go to their homes for a short visit too.

After we had lived here for a year without knowing any of the neighbor women, I invited every woman within 15 square miles to a party to get to know my neighbors. Twenty-five women came; that was nearly all of them.

AFTER that I was invited to Please See PAWNEE Page 22

North Platte community writes outstanding success story in extension teaching campaign

The Baha’i community of North Platte, Nebraska, last year organized an enthusiastic direct teaching campaign in its goal locality of Gering.

There were eight Baha’fs in Gering; the direct teaching effort produced a ninth. As soon as Gering formed its first Spiritual Assembly it adopted Scottsbluff as its extension teaching goal—inspired by the example of North Platte.

THIS year North Platte is concentrating its extension teaching activities in Ogallala.

While working in this goal area, the community was showing a video tape of the Congressional hearings on the persecution of Baha’is in Iran on a local television program, As a result, the North Platte community received a letter from an individual who lives 42 miles away requesting information about the Faith.

The Assembly has allocated

$1,000 to an active extension teaching committee to concentrate on opening Ogallala to the Faith.

So far the committee has encouraged homefront pioneers to relocate in Ogallala and has three possible move-ins including two seekers in Ogallala.

Each time they go to their extension teaching goal, committee members report that they reap rich teaching rewards in their own city, often having one or two declarations. Last year 18 people embraced the Faith in North Platte.

In its 1981 message to the Baha’is of the United States, the Universal House of Justice requested the ‘‘adoption and pursuit” of extension teaching goals.

To pursue the goal is to win the goal. By actively pursuing its extension teaching goal, North Platte has strengthened its own community.

Service for Blind sets $1 catalog price

The Baha’i Service for the Blind regrets that rising costs for prit ing and postage mean that it must now charge $1 each for its catalogs.

When ordering, please specify which catalog you wish: the one for tapes and cassettes only, or the complete catalog of Braille, tapes and cassettes.

The friends are reminded that the Service for the Blind is also for those whose physical handicaps prevent them from reading; in other words, to the ‘“‘legally blind”’ as well as to others.

Please order materials and catalogs from the Baha’ Service for the Blind, Tucson, AZ 85716.

About 40 members of the eight

Regional Asian and Spanish Teaching Committees attended a special conference August 28-29 at the Baha’i National Center. The conference, designed to focus on the teaching work among individuals from minority backgrounds, was the first of its kind in this country. Among the participants were the Hand of the Cause of God Zikru’lláh Khadem and Dr.

Magdalene M. Carney, assistant secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly. Among the topics were planning seminars and institutes, maintaining records, and the role of minority committees in the teaching work. A special highlight was a presentation of the history of the House of Worsip and a tour of the Temple conducted by Bruce Whitmore, manager of the House of Worship.

On August 14 the National Teaching Committee met with Joseph Galata (third from lef), 2 Baha'i of Gypsy background, to discuss ways in which to attract the Gypsy people to the Faith. Teaching Committee members are (left to

right) Robert Wilson, Diane Smith, Juana Conrad, Rose Lopez, Keyvan Nazerian. As a result of the meeting, the Teaching Committee has taken immediate steps to reach Gypsies with the Message, first by developing a program to educate the friends as

to who Gypsies are and where they are located, and then by encouraging the believers to develop teaching programs designed to attract Gypsies. There are an estimated 200,000 Gypsies in the U.S., concentrated mainly in New York, Chicago, Denver and Los Angeles. In 1979 the U.S. government officially recognized Gypsies as a minority group. The Universal House of Justice has requested that attention be given to ways in which Gypsies can be reached with the Message of Baha'u'llah.

Baha’i refugees are assisted by National Migration Institute

The National Institute for Migration and Population Services, a non-profit corporation, was formed in March 1981 in Beaumont, Texas, by a Baha’i, Dr.’ David Morris, who saw the need for a national organization to coordinate and assist in the resettlement of refugee people.

THE institute has a dual pur ise:

1. To locate Baha’i refugees in the camps and help to place them with Baha’fs in the U.S., so that they can become a functioning part of the American Baha’i community.

2. To give the Baha’fs in this country a chance to be of service to their fellow-man, and to open new avenues of teaching with nonBaha’i displaced minority people.

The institute is not a representative of the U.S. National Spiritual Assembly; the National Assembly has, however, given the institute permission to solicit and to assist individual Baha’is and Baha’{ communities in their efforts to resettle and sponsor displaced persons.

The institute is presently working with Southeast Asian and Polish refugees.

The standard of living in the refugee camps is appalling. The lack of food, water, sanitation and medical care points out the desperate needs of these people.

THERE are Baha’fs in the camps in Hong Kong, Thailand, the Philippines, Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia.

The Polish people are in Austria where the camps are somewhat better; however, they are overcrowded, and these people also need our help.

|S

The only way refugees can leave the camps is to obtain a sponsor in the U.S. or in another country that is accepting refugees.

A sponsor is an individual or group who provides for the immediate needs of the refugees when they arrive in the host country.

Sponsors are responsible for providing temporary lodging, food, sometimes clothing and other incidentals. They should help the refugee in enrolling in English classes, obtaining a social security card, becoming familiar with our customs, gaining employment, and finding a permanent place to live.

The institute’s goal is to see that the refugee becomes a self-sufficient and integrated member of American society as quickly as possible.

The institute stands ready to help coordinate any refugee project. If you or your community would be interested in learning more about the institute and its purposes, or if you wish to offer your services, please write to the National Institute for Migration and Population Services, P.O. Box 3462, Beaumont, TX 77704.

Information needed

The National Teaching Committee is interested in obtaining information about what teaching activities have taken place among the Gypsies and how many Gypsy Baha’is there are in the U.S. If you have any information about this, please contact the National Teaching Committee, Wilmette, IL 60091, or phone 312-869-9039.

[Page 10]

The American Baha’i

10

ion

CHks builders

ROY C. WILHELM

Roy C. Wilhelm, who later was to become a Hand of the Cause of God, was in his 20s and a traveling salesman for his father’s coffee company when, prior to the turn of the century, he first learned of the Faith from his mother.

After moving to New York City in 1900, he and his parents often attended Baha’i meetings.

IN APRIL 1907, Roy and his mother, Laurie, made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land where they stayed with, ‘Abdu’l-Baha.

During His visit to the U.S. in 1912, the Master selected the grounds of the Wilhelms’ home in Englewood, New Jersey, as the site for an outdoor unity feast that He wished to hold.

On June 29, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá spoke to the friends in Englewood and then served supper in a grove of trees on the Wilhelm property. He spent that night and the next as guest of the Wilhelms.

When ‘Abdu’ l-Baha visited the Wilhelms on a second occasion, Roy and his parents accompanied Him to the nearby home of Louis Bourgeois, who later would become the architect of the Baha'i House of Worship in Wilmette, IIlinois.

On June 29, 1913, Baha’is from the New York City area again gathered in the grove on the Wilhelm property to celebrate the anniversary of ‘Abdu’l-Baha’s presence among them at that spot.

WHEN Mr. Wilhelm informed ‘Abdu’l-Bahá of that gathering, He expressed His pleasure, saying, “That annual memorial meeting will be the souvenir of ‘Abdu’lBah, especially when it is passed with infinite delight and gladness.”” :

Since that time a similar gathering has been held each year on the former Wilhelm property in New Jersey.

Seeing a great need for Baha’i literature, Roy Wilhelm made compilations of Baha’i prayers and Tablets, had them printed in

Please See WILHELM Page 22

National Assembly on Convention motions

The following is a summary of the National Spiritual Assembly's response to motions carried at the 73rd Bahd’f National Convention last April.

.

1. Consider the formation of a national committee composed of artists whose responsibilities would include researching dramatic materials of the Faith and exploring influential channels through the arts to determine the interest and feasibility of such projects to present a true history of the Baha’i Faith.

Response; The National Spiritual Assembly will ask a capable Assembly to develop further this idea.

2. Inform the American Baha’i community of our rights under the Constitution to be prepared for situations such as occurred in West Virginia.

Response: The National Spiritual Assembly has asked that such an article be prepared for publication in’ The American Baha'i.

3. Develop literature of an introductory nature—an official organ of the Baha’i community—that can be given to the non-Bahá’{ public on a subscription basis, e.g., periodical, magazine, etc., that will provide information about the Faith without need for interpretation of Baha’i terminology.

Response: The National Spiritual Assembly does not believe it would attract enough subscribers at this time to support the effort financially.

4. Encourage Local Assemblies to establish civic organizations similar to NABOHR (North American Baha’i Office of Human Rights) of people interested in promoting the unity of mankind.

Response: The National Spiritual Assembly does not feel that it is timely for Local Spiritual Assemblies to be establishing civic

organizations. We encourage them to continue to interest existing organizations.

5. Develop a program of traveling teachers who would be utilized by small communities.

Response: The National Teaching Committee is organizing a cadre of traveling teachers and already has scheduled four training sessions for these teachers—one in each of the regions of the U.S. District Teaching Committees also are encouraged to send traveling teachers to smaller communities. Local Assemblies are encouraged to coordinate both the sending and receiving of traveling teachers.

6. Identify issues in particular category and blocks preventing us from further growth and then consult on the issues; e.g., learn to unite forces in the teaching field; how to deal with “burn-out” (balancing family life, professional life, and Baha’i activities); learn how to reach out to the world and help those who are mentally and spiritually starving.

Response: The National Spiritual Assembly feels it is important for us to analyze our strengths and weaknesses as a community. Through the National Education Committee we are asking Baha’i schools to develop conferences and courses within existing programs. Louhelen in particular has been asked to develop study materials appropriate for broad community use.

7. Coordinate homefront and international pioneering to avoid losing homefront goals to international posts.

Response: Few, if any, of our homefront goals ever are lost because of international pioneering. The National Teaching Committee and International Goals Committee already are working together to reduce such problems.

8. To achieve goals set for de

Public Affairs Office schedules Atlanta, N. Orleans conferences

Atlanta and New Orleans are the sites for the next regional conferences on proclamation and its relationship to teaching the Faith.

The conferences are sponsored by the Office of Public Affairs and the Spiritual Assemblies of Atlanta and New Orleans, respectively.

The Atlanta conference will be held the weekend of November 6-7 at the Sheraton Century Hotel Center.

For more information, please contact Carole Templeman, 404-427-7487.

The following weekend the conference site shifts to the New Orleans Baha'i Center, 333 St. Charles, Suite 1601,

For information about that conference, please contact Lee

Blackwell, 504-283-1576.

Information about both conferences also is available from the national Public Affairs Office, 312-869-9039.

“These conferences give an overview of the relationship between proclamation and teaching,”’ says Parks Scott, national Public Affairs officer, ‘‘and provide information concerning the tools and approaches necessary to effectively proclaim the Faith.””

All Baha'is, regardless of their interest in working with the media, are encouraged to attend.

For those who do not live in these regions, other conferences will be held at later dates. Please watch The American Baha’i for announcements and details.

veloping leadership and raising up teachers among the American Indians, and to Intensify teaching activities among and by American Indians, it is necessary to consult with the local Indian believers rather than the pioneers.

Response: The National Teaching Committee and American Indian Teaching Committee are sensitive to the needs and importance of consulting with local Indian believers and stress this point to the pioneers on Reservations. However, the National Spiritual Assembly feels that consultation with the Indian believers need not always exclude the pioneers.

9. Hold a conference on ‘‘the most challenging issue’ and launch an ongoing educational effort within the Baha’i community and direct our attention to serving the non-Baha’f community by promoting racial understanding and harmony among those from each believer’s own national background.

Response: All of these suggestions are being dealt with and it cluded in the National Race Unity Conference being coordinated by the Race Unity Committee. The National Spiritual Assembly recommends that the ‘most challenging issue”’ be tied in to America’s spiritual destiny as a means of drawing its attention to the non-Baha’i community to provide a positive approach.

10. The ‘‘most challenging issue’’ should be a standard item in all conventions—district/national—and kept as a watchword with follow-up on how the community is progressing on this is

sue. Response: The National Spiritual Assembly strongly endorses the interest of this recommendation and will continue to urge that it remain at the forefront of the attention of the American Baha’i community. However, the National Assembly feels that it should not be mandated as a stana item for all convention agenas.

11. Import diversity to all Baha’f schools and institutes.

Response: Diversity in all Baha’{ community activi is important. The lack of diversity at Baha’i schools continues to be especially perplexing with both cultural and economic issues to be considered. All Bahá’í schools are being asked to address this concern as forcefully as possible.

12. Arrange for regional conferences throughout the country on “‘the most challenging issue’’ accompanied by workshops.

Response: The National Spiritual Assembly feels that this recommendation has merit, but that its timing should be such that regional conferences be considered following the Race Unity Conference in June 1983.

13. Circulate an edited tape of Sunday morning’s consultation at the National Convention on ‘‘the most challenging issue’’ to Assemblies and Groups.

nse: The National Spiritual Assembly has given the tape of Convention consultation to the Race Unity Committee for editing with suggestions as to its distribution.

Several non-Baha’is were among those who heard the main address by Charles Lane of Kokomo, Indiana, during the Race Unity Day program June 13 in Muncie. The

Photo by Behrour Kousari event received good media coverage, and Mayor Alan Wilson of Muncle signed a Race Unity Day proclamation.

[Page 11]LOUHELEN SCHOOL

October 1982

11

NSA Properties guiding hand behind Louhelen

The maintenance of the Louhelen Baha’i School in Michigan, which is to be dedicated this month, is under the supervision of NSA Properties Inc., which also is responsible for the buying, selling, accepting, trading, construction and maintenance of all other Baha’{ properties in the U.S.

The National Spiritual Assembly as a body is the corporation’s board of directors, and the officers of the National Assembly are also the officers of NSA Properties Inc., says Sirouss Binaei, the general manager of NSA Properties and construction manager of the Louhelen Reconstruction Project.

CONSTRUCTION of the school is almost completed, and work is proceeding at a rapid pace on finishing the interiors, says Mr. Binaei.

“We are working hard to complete the school by October 30, the date of its inauguration,”’ he says, “and with the continued confirmations of Bahá’u’lláh that have blessed this project from its inception, we are sure to succeed.

“The fact that we have come so far in such a short time (11 months) and in the face of so many obstacles is a miracle in itself.”

The obstacles to which Mr. Binaei alludes include extremely bad weather last November, December and January that reduced the number of working days and delayed the pouring of concrete; tenuous labor relations between the construction companies and local labor unions, and disputes with contractors over substandard work.

The remarkable achievement of erecting such a large facility in so short a period of time is paralleled in its significance by the substantial savings that NSA Prop erties Inc. has effected.

BY eliminating the customary practice of hiring a general contractor, says Mr. Binaei, NSA Properties has saved a considerable sum of money on the over-all cost of the Louhelen project.

“If we had used an outside general contractor,’’ he explains, “the total cost of reconstruction at Louhelen would have been the originally projected $2.25 milli plus an additional 30 per cent.””

The school’s plumbing contractor, Duane Holly, is a Baha’i from nearby Flint who attended the Louhelen School as a youth and is doing the work at cost and foregoing his own profit.

Another Baha’i who is working on the project is Parvis Zargarpour, an award-winning architect and interior designer from Illinois who has been able to acquire furnishings at a very low price.

“Mr. Zargarpour has helped us save about 50 per cent on the furnishings,’’ says Mr. Binaei, “‘which amounts to about $120,000."”

FURTHER savings have been realized through the volunteer help of Baha’is in Michigan who have been coming to the site on Saturdays to sow grass seed, plant trees, pull bushes and clean up the site,

As construction manager, Mr. Binaei has been directly involved in the selection and supervision of sub-contractors as well as the selection of all construction materials and furnishings for the new school’s facilities. He also has negotiated prices with suppliers and contractors.

By inspecting regularly the work of the sub-contractors during all phases of the construction work, NSA Properties has assured the quality of their performance.

LOUHELEN BAHA’{ SCHOOL Fall Schedule

October 30-31: Inauguration.

November 5-7: Regional Youth Conference.

November 12-14: Association for Baha’i Studies Midwest Regional Conference.

November 18-21: Pioneer Training Institute sponsored by the International Goals Committee (by invitation only).

November 19-21: Regional Baha’{ Media Conference sponsored by the Office of Public Affairs (by invitation only).

November 26-28: Race Unity Conference.

December 3-5: Teacher Training Institute sponsored by the National Education Committee and Louhelen Child Education Committee.

December 10-12: Baha’i Singles Conference examines issues that confront single parents and other single adults.

December 19-24: Week.”

“Youth

December 26-January 1: Winter session begins. ‘‘How to be Happy in a Disintegrating Society.”

Registration and rates: A $10 non-refundable deposit per person is required two weeks before the date each program is to begin to take advantage of an early registration discount.

Rates are variable depending on age and the number of rooms per party. Those who are interested in attending any of the sessions are advised to register early by sending their deposit to the Registrar, Louhelen Baha’i School, 3208 S. State Road, Davison, MI 48423.

Please indicate the age of each person in your party and the type of accommodations requested (3-4 per room, double or single). Single and double rooms cannot be guaranteed. Those who bring their own towels and linens avoid paying a service charge.

Because of the high degree of interest and the limited space that is available, those who do not preregister cannot be guaranteed admission.

“This allows us to have more control over the actual construction work,’’ says Mr. Binaei, ‘‘and, as a result, to have better over-all quality.””

Mr. Binaei estimates that since he began working at the Baha’i National Center in June 1981 he has spent a total of four months at the site of the Louhelen reconstruction project.

“This has really been a team effort all the way,’’ he says, citing in particular the assistance and support of the Louhelen Project Committee which helped keep costs down while maintaining standards of excellence.

“THE PROJECT has been possible because of the close cooperation with the Project Committee,”” says Mr. Binaei. “This was really the only way to get a feeling for Louhelen’s past and to continue the legacy.’’

Members of the Project Committee who developed the concept of the school and worked with the architects on its design are Bob Armbruster, Sam Clark, Fred McCoy and David Pauls.

Mr. Binaei’s own skill as a negotiator has had much to do with keeping costs down, says Dr. Magdalene M. Carney, assistant secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly.

“We're actually getting a facility worth at least $3 million for around $2.25 million,’’ says Dr. Carney, ‘‘and much of the credit is due to Mr. Binaei’s shrewdness’?

NSA Properties has selected all of the materials used in rebuilding the school, from roofing to doors, chalkboards for classrooms, and even the colors of paint used in finishing the buildings.

Soil conditions at the school property in Davison, Michigan, create unusually high water levels, says Mr. Binaei.

THIS, he says, required some modification of the original reconstruction! plans to include drain tiles under the footings of the new buildings to provide solid

Louhelen

Continued From Page 1

the inauguration ceremony itself, to be held at the school at 2:30 p.m. Sunday.

Tickets for the banquet, if any are still available, may be obtained from Bruce Reynolds, 313-398-9636.

Other scheduled activities include tours of the school, talks by some of the distinguished guests, and fellowship.

“As we prepare to open the school,’’ Dr. Diehl notes, “we have become increasingly aware of the importance of the steadfast services rendered by a number of individuals during the eight years that the campus was closed.

Sirouss Binaei (left), general manager of NSA Properties Inc. and construction manager of the Louhelen Reconstruction Project, and

foundations and dry concrete slabs.

“‘Making this one change in the design plans,’’ he says, ‘‘paid off twice.’”

First, he says, installing the drain tiles inside and outside the footings for walls of the buildings before the ground froze last winter enabled heavy equipment to work on top of the frozen ground.

And when spring arrived, the presence of the new drain tiles and the sand that had been brought in

Dr. Geoffry Marks, Louhelen’s director of academic affairs, discuss progress at the school during a tour last spring of Louhelen.

earlier allowed for the soil to be compacted, using the water collected by the new drainage system.

This, says Mr. Binaei, eliminated the usual need to bring in special equipment to compact the ground and thus saved several thousands of dollars.

NSA Properties is the owner of the Louhelen Baha’i School, says Mr. Binaei, while the National Education Committee will utilize the facility.

‘Friends of Louhelen’ off to fast start

The Friends of Louhelen Association, introduced to the friends in the August issue of The American Baha’f, is off to a running start, according to Dr. Geoffry Marks, Louhelen’s director of academic affairs.

“The initial response has been most encouraging,”” says Dr. Marks. ‘To our knowledge, this is the first time such an effort has

“SOME of those who come to mind immediately are Clint and Becky Wideman and Herb and Marion Merrell who contributed quietly and selflessly to the upkeep of the library, grounds and buildings.

“There are others, too, including members of the Flint community and former members of the Louhelen Council, and, of course, the members of the Project Committee who have worked so hard to help make this dream a reality.”

The inauguration will afford an opportunity to inform government officials and leaders of thought, as well as the general public, about the purposes of the school and of the Faith.

The National Spiritual Assembly has sent special invitations to

been made in the Baha’i world, and we were uncertain as to how it would be received.

“But the friends have responded enthusiastically. We're especially pleased to report that we already have received a few life memberships.”

THE FRIENDS of Louhelen is an association of Baha’is dedi Please See FRIENDS Page 23

the event to the governor and lieutenant governor of Michigan and to senators and congressmen from the Davison congressional district.

The Louhelen Council and media committees in Detroit and Flint have invited media representatives and other state and local officials.

“These special invitations,” says Dr. Diehl, ‘‘will heighten public awareness of the school and the Faith, help increase the stature of the Faith in this area, and begin to fulfill the Guardian’s wish that Louhelen ‘in particular will attract to it the attention of the non-believers.” ’”

The inauguration of the Louhelen School, he adds, will be a time for the Bahd’{ community to express its joy and gratitude for the marvelous victory that has been won.

1s RT ASG EE RAT 7 SS SS TE SE GT ES

[Page 12]EDUCATION/PUBLICATIONS

The American Bah@a’i

12

Complete study outline on To Move the World

To the American Baha’ community

Dear Baha’ friends,

In November 1979 the National Education Committee met with a dozen teachers who had presented the course “Superiority, Suspicion and the Most Challenging Issue’’ at the Green Acre Baha’i School that summer.

These devoted Baha'is, an equal number of them black day sharing their experiences with the committee and discussing the community’s response to the “‘most challenging issue.”

AMONG the significant themes that emerged from the discussion that day was the notion that ‘‘Baha’is have difficulty admitting they might be prejudiced even though they can admit to other spiritual imperfections.’’

Now, three years later, with no evidence to suggest that it

and white, spent an et

STUDY QUESTIONS Part 1: Foundations

1. Louis Gregory described his first “‘meeting”’ with ‘Abdu’lBaha as coming in a presentation by Lua Getsinger and his study with the Hannens as the “‘unfolding of light.’” How do you understand this response?

2. What was the status of race relations in the South at the time of Louis Gregory’s birth (1874)? At the time of his hearing about the Baha’i Faith (1909)?

3. Louis Gregory’s response to racial differences in Washington, D.C., was to confront them directly. When his views were not immediately implemented, what was his attitude? Why?

4. ‘Abdu’l-Baha’s first letter to Louis Gregory calls him to service and affirms for him a singular role in uniting the races. What qualities did Mr. Gregory possess that fitted him uniquely for this great responsibility?

5. What was the ideological controversy between Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DuBois? How did Louis Gregory see the role of the Baha’i Faith in this controversy?

6. Of what value was Louis Gregory’s education and profession in his efforts to promote racial unity?

7. Why did ‘Abdu’l-Baha suggest that racial prejudice was a sign of shallowness of faith?

8. What did ‘Abdu’l-Bahá cite as the benefits of interracial marriage?

9. What was ‘Abdu’l-Baha’s purpose in urging the white Baha’is to honor and welcome Louis Gregory on his return from pilgrimage?

10. Why did ‘Abdu’l-Baha choose not to dwell on the misfortunes of black Americans when speaking to black audiences? Why did He state that black Americans did not fully realize their good fortune?

11. ‘Abdu’l-Baha chose in public teaching not to focus on the dangers forthcoming if prejudice was not eradicated. Why?

12. What were the prevalent attitudes concerning interracial marriage at the time of the Gregorys’ marriage? How did others, including Bahá’ís, respond to their marriage?

13. What were the issues in the

is any easier for us to admit our prejudices and to deal effectively with the most challenging issue, an important new book has been produced by the Baha’i Publishing Trust.

To Move the World: Louis G. Gregory and the Ad ment of Racial Unity in America, by Gayle Moi honestly portrays the struggle of our infant Baha’i community to overcome its racial prejudice and truly reflect the principle of the oneness of mankind.

It is the fervent hope of the National Education Committee that by studying the life of Mr. Gregory and the struggles of our spiritual ancestors, every Baha’i community in the country may gain the insight and inspiration necessary to fearlessly reassess the ‘most vital and challenging issue confronting the American Baha’i community at the present stage of its evolution.” (The Advent of Divine Justice, p. 28)

Washington, D.C., Baha’i community concerning integrated meeting places? Why were integrated meetings “‘an unintelligible sign’’ to whites and segregated meetings “‘an unintelligible sign’’ to blacks?

14. How was the Washington controversy resolved?

15. What are the Tablets of the Divine Plan? How were Louis Gregory’s trips to the South a response to this Plan?

16. What were the contributions of Joseph Hannen to teaching in the South?

A TOPICAL SURVEY Part 1: Foundations

Chapter 1: Standard Bearer: Louis Gregory hears about ‘Abdu’l-Baha and the Baha’i Faith during a talk by Lua Getsinger; becomes a student of Pauline and Joseph Hannen; challenges racial separation in Washington, D.C.; writes to ‘Abdu’l-Baha.

Chapter 2: Pain and Promise. Racial attitudes in the South, 1875-1900; Louis Gregory’s early childhood; mixed ancestry and heritage of oppression; spiritual training at home, and education in the public schools and at Avery Institute, Fisk University and Howard University.

Chapter 3: The Path to Reconstruction. Mr. Gregory works for the U.S. Treasury Department; the Yankee and the Southerner; race riots of 1906; the rise of Booker T. Washington and the challenge of W.E.B. DuBois and the Niagara Movement; Louis Gregory, radical thinker; Mr. Gregory does a friend a ‘‘favor’” and attends a Baha’i meeting; the response of black leaders to the Baha’i Faith: DuBois, Alain Locke, Robert S. Abbott; Mr. Gregory’s acceptance of a universal context for black aspirations.

Chapter 4: Agent of Change. Local newspaper and friends ridicule Mr. Gregory for -his new religious convictions; segregation in the Washington Baha’i community; Bethel Literary and Histotical Society becomes agent of proclamation of Baha’ teachings; Mr. Gregory’s teaching attracts black intellectuals and professionals; the Washington Baha’i community responds with interracial meetings in 1910; obstacles

to interracial activity; ‘Abdu’lBaha’s letter affirms Mr. Gregory’s intentions; Louis undertakes. his first teaching trip in 1910, visiting eight southern cities; Louis becomes a model for others as a teacher, speaker, administrator, and promoter of racial amity.

Chapter 5: Pilgrimage. March 1911—Louis Gregory departs for pilgrimage through Egypt to Palestine; meets ‘Abdu’l-Baha; is moved by the Master’s remarks on racial unity and depth of faith; ‘Abdu’l-Bahá grieves at racial separation, urges intermarriage; introduces Louis to Louisa Mathew; Louis travels to Germany and then to America; ‘Abdu’l-Baha urges whites to ‘ ‘thonor and welcome this shining colored man.’ ’”

Chapter 6: ‘Abdu’l-Baha in America. Proposed welcome of Louis Gregory fails to occur; ‘Abdu’l-Baha arrives in America, April 1912, accompanied by many Baha’ is including Louisa Mathew; speaks before a largely black audience in Washington, D.C., ar

grates social gatherings by seating Mr. Gregory at luncheon next to Himself; repeatedly addresses issue of prejudice and exalts station of Baha’u’llah’s black attendant, Isfandiyar; ‘Abdu’l-Baha warns privately of hardship and bloodshed if racial prejudice continues; points to the possibility 6f the “destruction of America’’ and, in public and private meetings, emphasizes the beauty of diversity. Chapter 7: Marriage. Loui: Mathew is invited by ‘Abdu’ Baha to accompany Him to America; her health, education and background; mutual attraction of Louisa and Louis; social convention and law regarding interracial marriage; ‘Abdu’l-Baha’s encouragement to Louisa and Louis and suggestion of marriage; the September 1912 wedding and honeymoon; the reactions; the nature of the Gregorys’ relationship. Chapter 8: A Divided Community. Division threatens the Washington, D.C., Baha’i community, precipitated by the loss of a meeting place; controversy brews over how to handle arrai ments for integrated activities; ‘Abdu’l-Baha’s help is sought in resolving the question; separate meetings prevail for almost two

cen,

in the question.

action.

years, after which agreement is reached; communication with ‘Abdu’l-Baha resumes following World War I.

Chapter 9: A New Calling. The Gregorys accept increasing administrative and financial responsibility for Baha’ activities; Louis is elected in 1912 to the executive board of Baha’i Temple Unity and speaks regularly at Baha’i conventions; in 1915 Louis visits Adanta and Nashville to teach the Faith, and in 1916 again tours the South in response to ‘Abdu’l-Baha’s Tablets of the Divine Plan; the Gregorys arrange their affairs to devote more time to Baha’i activities, selling their homes and closing Louis’ law practice; Louis launches ‘‘extended teaching tour’’; the Gregorys’ routine of travel and reunion; financial matters lead in 1919 to acceptance of subsidization; Louis develops his calling as speaker and teacher.

Chapter 10: The Divine Plan. Spring 1919—the Divine Plan is launched; one Tablet from ‘Abdu’l-Baha states that the South’s climate and beauty are especially conducive to human development; Martha Root begins her world travels, and many teachers leave for extended teaching; Louis Gregory’s calling is confirmed and given focus.

Chapter 11: The Sowing of Seeds. The Central Bureau for the South is established in Washington by Joseph Hannen; Roy Williams and Louis Gregory travel continuously, with impressive results; obstacles again arise with

_tegard to integrated meeting places, especially in Louisville; threats and harassment always present; sudden death of Joseph Hannen thwarts work of southern teaching, leaving Louis to carry on this work virtually unaided.

Chapter 12: Time of Transition. Word reaches America of the passing of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá; Louis Gregory’s steadfastness in encouraging the work of teaching; he undertakes a coast-to-coast tour in 1921-22; the process of expansion is so successful that efforts are made to consolidate the growth by establishing new Local Spiritual Assemblies.

STUDY QUESTIONS Part 2: The Era of Racial Amity

1. Who was Marcus Garvey?

To this end we are happy to share the following study outline of To Move the World which has been prepared by Mrs. Mary K. Radpour for the National Education Committee and the Baha’i Publishing Trust.

You will notice that each section of the outline is followed bya topical summary of those chapters from which the questions are taken, to help you find the pages referred to

We hope that the outline will provide a basis for individual study and spark discussion in group study classes. Please let us hear from you regarding what you have learned and how you are translating that information into

With loving Baha’ greetings,

National Education Committee

What was his appeal to black Americans?

2. Why did ‘Abdu’l-Bahá choose Agnes Parsons to implement His plans for race unity meetings? What special benefits resulted from her involvement?

3. What was the focus of the first race amity convention? How did this focus assist people like Mrs. Parsons to overcome their fears? What was the outcome of that conference?

4. Dr. Franz Boas spoke at the third race amity convention, proposing a scientific argument against racism. Why was his contribution so significant at that time?

5. It was believed by some Baha’is that an acceptance of tual equality and a belief in justice did not necessarily entail social mingling of the races. What was the effect on this position of Shoghi Effendi’s early letters to America on the subject of race relations?

6. What specific attitudes concerning race did Shoghi Effendi’s letters challenge?

7. Were interracial attitudes in the American Baha’i community in the 1920s and 1930s the result of local efforts or the consequence of the leadership of nationally recognized Bahá’ís? Why?

8. What was the response of Mrs. Parsons to Shoghi Effendi’s instructions to the American Baha’is about interracial activities and race unity committees? What motivated her to this course?

9. Why did the National Spiritual Assembly write to Mrs. Hoover and to Franklin D. Roosevelt?

10. What was the relationship in the early 1930s of the Baha’i community to national organizations concerned with race relations, such as the NAACP and the Urban League?

11. Mr. Gregory offered longtime service to the National Spiritual Assembly as secretary or chairman of the Race Amity Committee. Why would he have preferred another to have had this responsibility?

12. The historical survey made of the Baha’i community in 1935 showed what percentage of Baha’is to be black Americans?

Please See OUTLINE Page 13

RRR US AS EN Ye RSENS TREE SESS ES ERE

[Page 13]

EDUCATION/PUBLICATIONS

October 1982

Outline

Continued From Page 12

What was the effect of race amity activity on enrollments of black Americans? What was the consequence of Louis Gregory’s extended travel-teaching activities in the South?

13. What was the rationalization for the widely held view in Baha’i communities in the 1930s that there were no racial tensions in the Bahaé’{ community? What was the consequence of this view?

TOPICAL SURVEY Part 2: The Era of Racial Amity

Chapter 13: A Program for Racial Amity. The ‘“‘Red Summer”’ of 1919 initiates an intense period of racial strife; the Executive Board considers possible avenues to proclaim race unity; ‘Abdu’lBaha launches plans for race amity proclamations; Marcus Garvey appeals to black Américans to return to Africa and reject white values; ‘Abdu’l-Baha selects Agnes Parsons, a wealthy white socialite, to implement His plans; race amity convention opens on May 19, 1921, with about 2,000 participants and focuses on the mention of good will and the necessity of a change of heart.

Chapter 14: The Work Continues. Two Bahá’ís in Springfield, Massachusetts, with help from Roy Williams, launch a second race amity convention with nearly 1,000 in attendance; a third amity convention is successful in New York and a fourth in Philadelphia; the National Spiritual Assembly appoints an Amity Convention Committee; links are strengthened between NAACP, Urban League, and Baha’; activities; Alain Locke, a Baha’, becomes a major contributor to the Harlem Renaissance; other religious organizations launch interracial activities and are supported by Baha’is.

Chapter 15: Setback. Despite great need, interracial activities flag; an amity committee is formed but a hoped-for convention in Washington fails to materialize; 1925-26—Louis Gregory does not serve on the National Spiritual Assembly, and racial amity activities lose their energizer; financial difficulties beset the Baha’i community and impede promotion of expensive conventions; focus moves toward more indirect teaching through world unity conferences.

Chapter 16: The Challenge to Action, National Baha’i Committee on Racial Amity is formed with Mr. Gregory as executive secretary; his travels are curtailed; differences of opinion regarding approaches to promoting race unity surface in Amity Committee; Shoghi Effendi addresses Americans on race unity and approves new committee; specifies high standards for exemplifying freedom from prejudice; leads Baha’ is to support interracial activities enthusiastically; commends Louis

Gregory for his service and thanks him for his aid.

Chapter 17: Apogee. April 1927—Sadie Oglesby reports to 19th annual Convention on the Guardian’s remarks regarding racial prejudice; resurgence of concern regarding racial unity; Louis Gregory elected to National Spiritual Assembly; numerous amity conferences through 1928-29; financial obstacles, 1929-30; National Spiritual Assembly writes to Mrs. Hoover, supporting interracial social activities; National Teaching Committee takes on amity work and jointly sponsors amity conference with Urban League and Spiritual Assembly of New York City; 1931—Amity Committee reinstituted because of extent of work; two interracial travel-teaching teams sent South at request of Shoghi Effendi; 1932—interracial banquet honors NAACP and Urban League.

Chapter 18: Holding On. New York continues extensive interracial activity; 1932—Depression affects funds needed for Temple and limits committee activities; new effort to stimulate assumption of responsibility by Local Spiritual Assemblies results in decreased interracial activity; interracial misunderstandings arise in Detroit; 1934: sees significantly decreased amity activity; national Convention focuses attention on “‘silent compromise’’ and leads to publication of “The Divine Call to Race Amity’’; 1935 sees emergence of Dorothy Baker as champion of racial amity.

Chapter 19: An Historical Record. 1935—a survey undertaken to determine racial, religious and ethnic backgrounds of Bahda’i membership; 1,813 cards collected, representing 60 per cent of American Baha’is; 5 1/2 per cent of respondents are black Americans; WPA study on the black population of Chicago points to interracial activities among Baha’is there; historical record illustrates influence of Louis Gregory’s national services on black enrollments.

Chapter 20: A Cycle Ends. Decline in interracial activities, 1933-36; absence of Louis Gregory from Amity Committee; responses to questionnaire from Amity Committee suggest that most Assemblies do not recognize or plan remedies for racial prejudice; ‘‘within the faith there is no such thing as race’’ becomes the prevalent view; 1936—the Amity Committee is disbanded.

STUDY QUESTIONS Part 3: A Middle Passage

1. The Bahá’í community’s failure to observe the principle prohibiting electioneering provided a painful test for Mr. Gregory in 1932. What is your understanding of the meaning and value of this principle?

2. When Mr. Gregory’s subsidization as a traveling teacher was discontinued, what was the reasoning of the National Spiritual Assembly on this question? Why

did Mr. Gregory appeal its decision? How did he come to be reconciled to that decision?

3. A shift in the style of administration of the American Baha’{ community in 1932 led to po

Gregory’s contribution?

4. What were the positions of

Abdu’l-Baha and Shoghi Effendi

with regard to Mr. Gregory’s services as an itinerant teacher?

5. Why did the Baha’i communities in the South continue separate teaching firesides in the 1930s?

6. How did W.E.B. DuBois misperceive the position on race of the national Baha’i community? How did Mr. Gregory respond to Dr. DuBois?

TOPICAL SURVEY Part 3: A Middle Passage

Chapter 21: Crisis. 1932—the National Spiritual Assembly votes to discontinue subsidization of Louis Gregory; background regarding Mr. Gregory’s finances; problems concerning the unbiased condition of elections and negative electioneering for Mr. Gregory; the manner of dismissal of Mr. Gregory; deficiency in the Baha’{ Fund; Mr. Gregory appeals the National Assembly’s decision.

Chapter 22: Resolution. Two styles of administration—Lunt and Holley—tlead to polarization of American Baha’is; Shoghi Effendi intervenes to preserve unit Mr. Gregory faces financial difficulties; requests advice of Shoghi Effendi; response reconciles him to National Assembly’s decision and affirms value of his continued services in teaching.

Chapter 23: New Directions. Fall 1933—Louis Gregory goes on the road selling with a white Baha’i; narrowly escapes arrest; Louisa teaches extensively in Europe; Louis settles briefly in Nashville and raises up a steadfast Group; pursues teaching circuit again in collaboration with others.

Chapter 24: Haiti. 1936—Louisa and Louis undertake a teaching trip to Haiti, establish group of seekers; experience rejection by government; return after three months, convinced of potential in Haiti. i

Chapter 25: The Seven Year Plan. The Blackwells follow the Gregorys’ example and settle in Haiti, leading to formation of a Spiritual Assembly; Louisa returns to Belgrade; Louis travels for seven months in the South and is warmly received in Tuskegee and in Pine Bluff.

Chapter 26: Chasm. National emphasis on race relations is replaced by intensive efforts to complete the Temple and increase localities where Baha’is reside; Nashville community demonstrates leadership in public interracial gatherings; agrees to separate meetings only for teaching purposes; this elicits criticism of W.E.B. DuBois whose wife has recently accepted the Faith; Mr.

Gregory strives to aid Dr. DuBois’ understanding; 1936-39 sees no national program to address racial understanding.

STUDY QUESTIONS Part 4: Era of Racial Unity

1. What was the response of the American Bahda’i community to The Advent of Divine Justice?

2. Why did Shoghi Effendi refer to racial prejudice as ‘‘the most challenging issue’”’ for American Baha’is?

3. Has the American Baha’i community consistently maintained black Baha’is in positions of leadership? Nationally? In local communities?

4. What was Dorothy Baker’s contribution to the cause of race unity? What was Mr. Gregory’s appraisal of her?

5. Why was the National Spiritual Assembly’s decision to meet in Atlanta in 1939 significant? What was the result?

6. What were the main obstacles to interracial activity in the South in the 1930s and 1940s?

7. How did Shoghi Effendi respond to complaints from black Baha’is concerning prejudice within the community? What was Louis Gregory’s contribution toward eliminating racial prejudice?

TOPICAL SURVEY Part 4: Era of Racial Unity

Chapter 27: Advent. 1939 sees the publication of The Advent of Divine Justice, a dramatic challenge to the Baha’i community’s views on race; a new spirit emerges at the 1939 national Convention; Mr. Gregory is re-elected to the National Spiritual Assembly, serving for seven years; future sees steady involvement of black Americans in national Baha’i leadership.

Chapter 28: Banner Years. Race Unity Committee is formed in 1939 with Dorothy Baker as chairman; steady efforts emerge to educate the community; teaching project in South is launched, utilizing services of many teachers; race unity focus broadens to include other minorities; National Spiritual Assembly meets in Atlanta and demonstrates uncompromising forthrightness on race; America sees racial conflict during and after World War II; American Bahda’i community sponsors national proclamation on race; National Spiritual Assembly writes to President Roosevelt.

Chapter 29: Deferred Victories. 1946 sees slowing of interracial activities; National Spiritual Assembly requests special consultation, but results are not apparent; Baha’i community appears touched by fear of violence; Shoghi Effendi’s letters address this fear and encourage boldness; he responds to the resentment of black Baha’is by asserting that the Cause is theirs and encouraging their patience with the immaturity of the white Baha’is.

Chapter 30: Fulfillment. Louis Gregory serves on the National Spiritual Assembly as recording

LOUIS G. GREGORY

secretary; also serves on Committee Development, as member of Green Acre School committee, as children’s teacher, editor and writer, and as outstanding speaker; continues traveling, even into his advanced age.

STUDY QUESTIONS Part 5: Culminations

1, What is a Hand of the Cause of God? What is the meaning of Mr. Gregory’s having been given this station?

2. Why was Louis Gregory described as ‘‘pure gold’’?

3. How would you describe the Gregorys’ marriage? How did the nature of their relationship enhance their power to teach the unity of the races?

4. What sacrifices did Mr. Gregory make in his life? What were the results?

5. As a young man Mr. Gregory loved argument and debate, and his views on race bordered on the radical. How did these qualities mature in his character?

6. Mr. Gregory’s steadfastness and firmness in the Covenant were demonstrated profoundly at the time of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s passing and at the time of his own personal crisis as a traveling teacher. How was his steadfastness demonstrated? To what would you credit his steadfastness?

7. What contribution did Louis Gregory make to the education of the American Baha’ community on the subject of race and the principle of the oneness of mankind?

TOPICAL SURVEY Part 5: Culminations

Chapter 31: Rounding Out of Life. Mr. Gregory is confined by age to Green Acre after 1946; he continues to teach and write; suffers a stroke and recovers; continues his adventures with the automobile; looks forward to the reopening of Green Acre; continues holding firesides; passes away on July 30, 1951; on his passing, is named a Hand of the Cause of God.

Chapter 32: Pure Gold. Louis Gregory—his great capacity, his radiance, his humility, his profound steadfastness in the cause of racial unity through service to the Baha’i Faith.

[Page 14]

SPANISH CONFERENCE The American Baha'i 1 4

First Hispanic Teaching Conference for Western States held in California

The lovely San Fernando Valley in California was the setting August 20-22 for the first Regional Hispanic Teaching Conference for the Western States.

The historic event was hosted by the Regional Spanish Teaching Committee and the Bahd’{ community of San Fernando.

The conference proved to be an unforgettable experience for all the participants, providing an opportunity for them to enjoy two

Artist David Villasefior discusses

Indian sand painting during one

. Slane Walter Heath was among the entertainers at the first Regional Spanish Teaching Conference.

P@ Conferencia

El ambiente hermoso del Valle San Fernando fue el local de la primera Conferencia Regional de Ensefianza Hispana para los Estados del Oeste.

Este evento histérico fue patrocinado por la comunidad Baha’i de San Fernando y el Comité Regional de Ensefianza Hispana.

Con gran entusiasmo y planificacién esta conferencia tomé lugar los dias 20-22 de agosto.

Fue una experiencia inolvidable para todos. Proved la oportunidad de gozar de dos dias Ilenos de

days filled with love, the sharing of ideas and experiences, and workshops on a variety of topics in Spanish and English.

It marked the first time that such a gathering was planned and presented by a majority of Hispanic participants.

Keynote speakers all were fluent in Spanish and English, as were most of the participants.

Hispanic members of District Teaching Committees, Assembly

of the many workshop sessions at the first Regional Spanish Teach Not only did these lovely children attend the Regional Spanish Teaching Conference in San Fer amor y el compartimiento de ideas y experiencias.

También fue unica en que era la primera vez que tal conferencia fuera planeado, presentado y disfrutado por una mayoria de hispanos.

La conferencia se planeé para el gozo de todos, con talleres en espafiol e inglés. Todos los oradores principales hablaban ambos idiomas con destreza, tanto como la mayoria de los participantes.

Miembros hispanos de los Comités de Ensefianza del Distrito,

members, Auxiliary Board members, engineers, artists, teachers, scientists, social workers and others exemplified the emergence of the ‘‘spiritual leaders of the world’’ in the Cause of God and the world at large.

The conference indicated that there is a bright future for the growth of the Faith among Hispanic people who will then help spread the Message of God to all of mankind.

ing Conference held August 20-22 in San Fernando, California.

nando, they also were a part of the entertainment.

Regional de Ensenfanza Hispana f

Asambleas Espirituales, el Cuerpo Auxiliar, ingenieros, artistas, maestros de escuela, cientificos y obreros sociales ejemplificaron el surgimiento de los “‘lideres espirituales del mundo’’ en la Causa de Dios como en el mundo general.

El futuro se ve tan brillante para el crecimiento de la Causa entre los hispanos, y mas hermoso cuando nos damos cuenta de que por gente de toda raza, color y oficio se esparcira el Mensaje de Dios entre los hispanos y la humanidad entera.

A warm welcome to the conference is extended by James Ooi (seated), a member of the Re

Mark and Terry Brust share some of their love of music during a public meeting at the first Re gional Asian Committee, and David Sperry of the Regional Spanish Teaching Committee.

Among the other entertainers at the Spanish Teaching Conference was Armando Ramirez who sang some lovely songs in Spanish.

gional Spanish Teaching Conference.

[Page 15]ASIAN CONFERENCE October 1982 1 5

300-plus attend Regional Asian Conference

More than 300 people, the majority of whom are Asians, attended the first Regional Asian Teaching Conference for the Western States, held July 24-25 in Monterey Park, California.

The conference:

Provided the participants who included representatives of the Auxiliary Board, District Teaching Committees and Local Spiritual Assemblies with a most rewarding experience. Everyone who attended was amazed by the fruit of their labors; tears literally filled the eyes of many participants.

© Gave everyone present a glimmer of the potential that can be tapped anytime we choose to develop it. The Asian believers who attended could not help but feel the urgency of their role in nurturing so many of their newly enrolled brethren, nor could they refrain from taking an even more active part in the teaching work.

© Heightened the realization of veteran Baha’ is that help is indeed available and that they can use the services of many Asian believers in their efforts to reach other Asians with the Message of Bahá’u’lláh. The Regional Asian Teaching Committee won the respect and trust of everyone who attended.

The Hmong also presented their music and dance at a public meet

These Hmong people from San Diego, California, shared their

the Message of Baha’u’llah.

¢ Nurtured the belief that once Local Assemblies take a more active role in deepening Asian believers and in reaching other Asians with the Message, great results will be forthcoming.

The keynote speaker was Mrs. Soo Fouts, a member of the National Spiritual Assembly, who showered her love on everyone and set in motion the spiritual aroma that perfumed the gathering from beginning to end.

The National Teaching Committee was represented by its chairman, Juana Conrad, who gave participants the direction they needed to march onward.

Also attending the conference, and inspiring it with their presence, were three Auxiliary Board members: Joyce Dahl, Edward Deliberto and Anthony Lease.

A key element in the success of the conference was the partici pation by Local Spiritual Assemblies. To cite a few examples:

Monterey Park: Assisted the Regional Committee in locating and securing the conference site, and recorded and video taped parts of the conference.

San Diego: Chartered two large buses so that members of that community could attend, and made sure that no one would be without food. The buses brought

ing held during the Regional Asian Conference.

native cloth work at the first Regional Asian Teaching Confer This group of Cambodians from Santa Ana, California, presented

about 100 people to the conference.

San Francisco: Sponsored five members of the community who would otherwise have been unable to attend.

Los Angeles: Supplied the bulk of the literature at the conference.

Newport Beach: Some of its youth helped with registration.

Santa Ana: Brought almost all of its community and supplied all of the Cambodian songs and dances.

Long Beach: Even with a budget crisis in the community, contributed $100 to supply all of the refreshments, and made a great effort to bring all the Asian people they could. The children’s teacher also was from that community.

Also present at the conference were Khai Do Linh, a member of the Regional Asian Teaching Committee for the Southern States; Bijan Bayzaee, a member of the Regional Committee for the Central States; most of the members of the Regional Spanish Teaching Committee for the Western States; one member of the National Spiritual Assembly of Hawaii, and a pioneer to the Fiji Islands.

ence for the Western States.

two cultural dances at a public meeting. Here they perform the

>

egional Asian Teaching Conference 7 July 24°25

Shown here are some of the more than 300 participants in the hiscon

hown here ceremonies at the highly successdancing, was a superb master of ful public meeting.

w x Mrs. Leilani Fields, s|

Ml

Mrs. Soo Fouts, a member of the National Spiritual Assembly, addresses the conference.

toric Asian Teaching Conference in Monterey Park, California.

[Page 16]

CLASSIFIEDS

The American Baha’i

16

Classified notices in The American Bahá’í are published free of charge as a service to the Baha’i community. Notices are limited to items relating to the Faith; no personal or commercial messages can. be accepted for publication. The opportunities referred to have not been approved by the National Spiritual Assembly, and the friends should exercise their own judgment in responding to them.

°

APPLICATIONS are being accepted by the Personnel Office, Baha’i National Center, for the following positions: Public Affairs secretary—Types press releases and correspondence, prepares and ships public information packets, assists with general office duties. Requires office experience and good stenographic skills. Marketing assistant (Baha’i Publishing Trust)—Writes ad copy, jacket copy, newsletter and articles. Corresponds with Baha’i institutions and local community librarians. Maintains marketing files. Requires proven experience writing accurate, effective and persuasive prose and working under deadlines. Personal Transformation Program administrator (National Education Committee)—Coordinates Personal Transformation Program among 300 facilitators in the field. Requires experience in all aspects of program development and administration and an ability to speak and write clearly and effectively. A degree in education, social sciences or related fields is preferable, and demonstrated ability to train and supervise others is necessary. For further information or applications, please contact the Personnel Office, Baha’i National Center, Wilmette, IL"60091,. or phone 312-869-9039.

THE NATIONAL Spiritual Assembly of Panama is seeking a couple to work as public relations promoters for the Panama House of Worship. Anyone applying should be economically independent, mature in the Faith, without small children, with public relations ability and/or qualifications, and should be able to speak English and Spanish. Free housing, electricity and water are provided. To apply, send resumé and photographs to the International Goals Committee, Baha’i National Center, Wilmette, IL 60091.

BACK issues of World Order magazine are needed for the Hong Kong National Baha’i Library. Have extra copies from 1975-77 to trade. Need Spring 1967, Summer 1970, Winter 1971, Summer 1971, Fall 1972, Winter-Spring 1973, Fall 1973, Spring 1975, Fall 1975, Spring 1977-present. Also need Vol. 1 of Tablets of ‘Abdu’lBaha. Contributions appreciated. Write to the National Baha’i Library, C6, 11F, Hankow Centre, Middle Road, Tsimshatsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong.

COME help save the jeopardized Spiritual Assembly of Hart ford (White River Junction), Vermont. An electrical engineer is needed by the Enertech Corporation, a leading wind energy company. Electrical machinery experience a must. For more information please contact Larry Staudt, a member of the Spiritual Assembly of Hartford who is an electrical engineer at Enertech, at work (802-649-1145) or at home (802-295-2387).

A TEACHING event co-sponsored by the Baha’i community of Chicago and the House of Worship Activities Committee will be held Saturday, November 27, at the House of Worship in Wilmette. The all-day event will begin at 9 a.m. and will include talks, discussion groups, firesides and fellowship. Baha’is and non-Baha’fs are welcome; Bahá’ís are urged to bring seekers who have some knowledge of the Faith. We are not going to talk about teaching, we are going to teach! Make plans now to attend. For information phone the Chicago Baha’i Center at 312-236-7771 or the House of Worship Activities Office, 312-256-4400.

DID you ever meet Thornton Chase? Did your parents? Do you have any memorabilia, letters or papers that contain information about him? A Baha’i who is under contract with the Publishing Trust to write a book about the life of America’s first Bahá’í, Thornton Chase, would welcome any information you may have about him. Please write to Robert Stockman,

Cambridge, MA 02138; phone 617-776-8034.

A BAHA’t writer on the staff of The Drovers Journal, a national weekly livestock newspaper, wishes to contact a Baha’i rancher who practices innovative marketing, handling, growing, calving, etc., for information for an article on an operation that is innovative and ties in Baha’i beliefs. Please write, explaining your operation and how it relates to the Faith. Will respond to all legitimate letters. Write to Lisa Paulson, The Drovers Journal, P.O. Box 2939, Shawnee Mission, KS 66201 (phone 913-381-6310).

WANTED: A wide variety of Baha’is to attend a special race unity conference November 12-14 at the Green Acre Baha’i School in Eliot, Maine. For details, see Page 4 in this issue of The American Baha'i.

SOLOMON Islands: The National Spiritual Assembly of the Solomon Islands reports that Peace Corps.workers provided by the U.S, government are welcomed by the government of the Solomons. Baha’i youth who are interested in the Peace Corps would find a golden opportunity for teaching in those islands. If you are interested in combining Peace Corps service with teaching the Faith, it is advisable that you contact the International Goals Committee office for guidelines on teaching the Faith while work ing for the Peace Corps. You can apply for Peace Corps positions and obtain further information about Peace Corps service in general by applying directly to your local Peace Corps recruiter.

THE NATIONAL Baha’i Archives Committee would like to have the names of Baha’ is with experience in the restoration of textiles or photographs. The Archives Committee has need at times to consult with Baha’i professionals in these fields. Please send a resumé of education and experience to the National Baha’i Archives Committee, Baha’i National Center, Wilmette, IL 60091.

SERVE the Faith as a homefront pioneer to Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, a picturesque residential suburb of Philadelphia whose Assembly is well established but numerically jeopardized. The community would warmly welcome anyone who could come and help with its regular teaching activities including ongoing support of the Swarthmore College Baha’i Club. Housing in Swarthmore is available but limited; Philadelphia is readily accessible by public transportation. We need you! Please contact Joyce Perry,

Swarthmore, PA 19081, or phone 215-543-5921.

WANTED: Baha'is to replace others who are going pioneering. A two-bedroom house with wood stove, garage, large yard, patio and garden area is available to rent or buy in San Andreas in the lovely California foothills. Small, active Bahd’{ Group; friendly country people; hot summers, mild winters. Close to skiing, fishing, hunting; 150 miles from San Francisco. Employment opportunities limited; excellent for retired couple. Phone Paul or Leslie Platner, 209-754-1504.

WANTED: Homefront pioneer to make a Group in Carlisle, South Carolina. A Baha’i-owned home is available to a person who is able to drive, preferably female. For more information please write to Mr. and Mrs. William Feaster Jr., . Carlisle, SC 29031.

HOMEFRONT pioneer or family needed in Matthews, North Carolina, to help build a new Assembly. Matthews is next to beautiful Charlotte, North Carolina, an expanding business area with several junior and four-year colleges as well as a branch of the state university (UNC-Charlotte). For more information, write to the Spiritual Assembly of Charlotte, P.O. Box 221155, Charlotte, NC 28222, or telephone 704-536-2023.

THE LOVELY coastal town of San Clemente, California, beckons to homefront pioneers who desire clean air in a temperate climate. This quiet, attractive town with its scenic flower-lined streets that wind down to white sand beaches lies halfway between

Los Angeles and San Diego. For information about housing and employment opportunities, write to the Spiritual Assembly of San Clemente, P.O. Box 195, San Clemente, CA 92672. An enclosed resumé would be helpful.

JEOPARDIZED Assembly in Baytown, Texas, needs homefront pioneer(s) to preserve and strengthen the community. Baytown, only 40 minutes from Houston, has a population of 70,000 and eight adult Baha’is. There is a good public school system, an outstanding two-year college, and many four-year colleges in the area. Employment opportunities are good for professionals. If it terested, please contact the Spiritual Assembly of Baytown, P.O. Box 501, Baytown, TX 77520, or phone 427-1216 after 7 p.m. We would be happy to canvass the local job market for you and to provide more detailed community information.

WANTED: Your excess Baha’i materials—posters, postcards, books, photos of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, pamphlets (in English or Spanish), tapes (music or speech), films, filmstrips, slides—for pioneers in Belize to help their teaching work. Items need not be new; purchase prices considered. Send to Grace Shahrokh, 91 S. Reserve Avenue, Fond du Lac, WI 54935.

WANTED: Baha’is to replace Baha'is who are going pioneering. A two-bedroom house with wood stove, garage, large yard, patio and garden area is available to rent or buy in San Andreas, in the lovely California foothills. San Andreas has a small but active Baha’{ Group, friendly country people, hot dry summers, mild winters. It is close to skiing, fishing, hunting, about 150 miles from San Francisco. Opportunities for employment are small; excellent for a retired couple. Phone Paul or Leslie Platner, 209-754-1504.

GALVESTON, Texas, needs Bahda’is to help maintain its Assembly status. A large regional hospital and medical school offer broad employment opportunities in health-related fields. Galveston also is a port city with a large tourist trade. Please write c/o Laurie Flannery, 1804 Bayou Shore Drive, Galveston, TX 77550.

BAHA’{ composer and keyboard musician is seeking good vocalists and melody instrumentalists for performing, and recording experts for taping original music set to the Baha’i Writings. Please contact Dr. Rosamond Brenner, - — _, Glen Ellyn, IL 60137, or telephone 312-858-5493,

STUDENTS: Are you seeking a quality education and involvement in a Baha’i College Club? The University of the Pacific in Stockton, California, is the answer. UOP is a small, private liberal arts and professional school in northern California, one hour

from Sacramento and San Francisco and three hours from Lake Tahoe and the Bosch Baha’i School. Members of the Baha’i Club are graduating soon, and new members are needed to retain the club’s charter. Stockton, which has an active Baha’i community, and the College Club encourage all enthusiastic students to look into the University of the Pacific. Please contact the Office of Admissions, University of the Pacific, Stockton, CA 95211, or Shirin Lee, Kappa Alpha Theta, University of the Pacific, Stockton, CA 95211.

BAHA’I Child Education Committee of greater metropolitan Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, is developing new sets of teacher’s manuals and workbooks for children’s classes, K-9; 180 lesson plans are needed by December 30, following our prepared outlines. If you are willing to help make some lesson plans, please write for a list of topics. Format and style sheets will be included. Contact the Greater Metropolitan Oklahoma City Baha’i Child Education Committee, Box 1060, Bethany, OK 73008.

WANTED: Bahd’{ couples or individuals to relocate in the goal cities of Monroe and Philomath, near Corvallis, Oregon, on the Willamette River in the heart of the Willamette valley, not far from the Cascade Mountains and Oregon coastal recreation areas. Corvallis (pop. about 40,000) is the home of Oregon State University; Monroe is 17 miles south and Philomath six miles west of Corvallis. Portland, the state’s largest city, is about 85 miles north. Monroe and Philomath are ideal for retired couples. For information please write to the Spiritual Assembly of Corvallis, P.O. Box 309, Corvallis, OR 97330, or phone 503-753-3943.

Baha’i helps Finns

Craig Cott, a Bahd’{ youth from Butte, Montana, returned in May from Finland where he completed his final year in high school on a Rotary Club scholarship.

The Spiritual Assembly of Turku, Finland, wrote a letter to the Spiritual Assembly of Butte, saying how “‘grateful and happy”’ it was to have had Craig living in Turku.

“‘He also helped our neighboring community, Naantali,” the Assembly wrote, ‘‘by teaching their children.””

While in Finland, Craig was responsible for the enrollment of a Finnish youth,

Bahd’{ National Center Office Hours

8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Central Time) Monday—Friday

Phone 312-869-9039

ss ST CREE ST SSC 2 EE AL SEE EST SA RT RET SEW SE TSE EMAC TS

[Page 17]Pa ee eo er ee ee ee RACE UNITY

October 1982

17

‘When the racial elements of the American nation unite in actual fellowship and accord, the lights of the oneness of humanity will shine . . .’ ((Abdu’l-Baha, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 54)

Tragic death sows many seeds of love, unity

By FRITZ MANN Durango, Colorado

When death summons a person gracefully in old age, the loss to loved ones is usually tempered with understanding—after all, death in old age doesn’t always come as a surprise.

But when a loved one dies in tragic circumstances and at an age when many more years should be forthcoming, that death can be a shattering blow for family and friends.

SUCH was the case with Maggie Hursey, a homefront pioneer to Montezuma County in southwestern Colorado.

Mrs. Hursey died in a flash flood August 8 while visiting relatives on the Navajo Indian Reservation in Arizona.

She was born under a tree on the Reservation and would die among the trees, in a valley not more than 400 yards from her grandfather’s hogan—and one mile from where she grew up.

She had been jogging in the early evening on that fateful day when hailstones began to fall, carpeting the ground in white.

Realizing that she must seek shelter, Mrs. Hursey decided to take a short cut home through the woods.

THE FLASH flood that caught her reached out like some powerful hand from God, summoning her back to Him.

The next morning her husband, John, and their children, Chey Enne and Kii, learned of the accident.

Perhaps their greatest consolation was in the conviction that Maggie’s earthly life ended because it was God’s Will. Many strange coincidences and occurrences accompanied her death.

When Mrs. Hursey’s life here ended she was about 40 years of age (no birth certificate for her exists) and she had been a devoted Baha’ for 20 years, having served on many Assemblies and helped form the 19th Local Assembly in Alaska in 1969. She and John had been happily married for 17 years.

Indians in general are reticent people. But not Maggie Hursey. Her constant good humor and outgoing, considerate nature made her stand out among the people of her tribe, and, to a degree, among the Bahá’ís in her area.

On August 13, she was buried in an Indian cemetery in Fort Defiance, Arizona. Her body was adorned with traditional Navajo dress and jewelry, and on one finger was placed a Bahá’í ring.

HER Indian relatives had chosen a spot for the grave that overlooks a valley. A short dis tance away a large rock formation rises into twin peaks.

Mrs. Hursey was given a Baha’i funeral before a gathering of about 100 people. Some of the Baha’{ Writings were read and translated into Navajo for the sake of those who don’t understand English.

The majority of those who came were Southwestern Indians—Navajos and Utes—who were old friends and relatives.

Maggie’s grandfather, a medicine man in his 80s, stood by himself at some distance from the crowd. His bearing was dignified and stoic, his posture arrowstraight. His eyes gazed out from beneath a broad-brimmed hat. He had attended many funerals during his lifetime, but hardly a word did he speak that day.

As the Baha’i prayer for the dead was recited, the spiritual presence that descended upon the gathering throughout the ceremony was felt by everyone.

John Hursey remembers his wife, Maggie, during a memorial service August 21 at the Hursey home

IT WAS as though we had gathered around a doorway to the other world and were actually feeling the connection between both realms. At least, such is my inadequate means of describing it.

After Mrs. Hursey’s casket was lowered, Indian relatives joined Baha’is by taking shovels and working together to fill in her grave. It was a moment fraught with symbolism: two races laboring in harmony over a mutual love—Maggie.

As the ceremony ended, the sky, which had been clear and sunny, darkened and rain began to fall.

Like every Baha’i, Maggie Hursey longed for a day when harmony among all peoples would become an evident reality. A glimpse of that reality became manifest through her death.

God knows the seeds that were sown that day at her graveside—and perhaps Maggie knows too.

Colorado. More

near Dolores, than 100 people, the majority of whom were Native Americans, at

es. fas

John and Maggie Hursey of Dolores, Colorado, in a photo taken

Senn tended the Bahd’{ funeral service

for Mrs. Hursey who died August 8 in a flash flood while visiting

aes

in October 1980.

Photos by Fritz Mann relatives and friends in Arizona.

Master clearly explained remarks about races

Dear friends: I would like to offer a response

-to the letters published recently in

The American Baha’i concerning the question of an ‘expression of gratitude and appreciation” from one race and ‘‘kindliness and recognition of equality” from the other, as stated by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and referred to by the beloved Guardian in The Advent of Divine Justice.

In reading the new edition of The Promulgation of Universal Peace, which has lately become

Your Turn

available, I came across the talk by ‘Abdu’l-Baha on pages 112-113 concerning this matter, some extracts of which I present here for the benefit of those who may not have the book:

“In Washington, too, we called a meeting of the blacks and whites ...We said in part: The black man must ever be grateful to the white man, for he has mani fested great courage and self-sacrifice in behalf of the black race. Four years he fought their cause, enduring severe hardships, sacrificing life, family, treasure, all for his black brother until the great war ended in the proclamation of freedom.

“By this effort and accomplishment the black race throughout the world was infli xnced and benefited. Had this not been accomplished, the black man in Africa would still be bound by the chains of slavery. Therefore, his

race should everywhere be grateful, for no greater evidences of humanism and courageous devotion could be shown than the white man has displayed.

“If the blacks of the United States forget this sacrifice, zeal and manhood on the part of the whites, no ingratitude could be greater or more censurable. If they could see the wretched conditions and surroundings of the black people of Africa today, the

Please See YOUR Page 24

[Page 18]PERSIAN PAGE

The American Baha’i

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{SRE 9, Sec RR A NN SC ST EE BE ES-ES RSE ROE ES RSA ARES SA SPAS [Page 19]BAHA’I STUDIES

October 1982

Japan has a new national Hazfratu’l-Quds in Tokyo on the same site on which the original National Center stood.

The new three-story building replaces a small Japanese-style house that served as the country’s Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds from 1954 until last year.

The building has ample room for large or small meetings, committee rooms, a large national office, and a National Archives ...

The anniversary of the Martyrdom of the Bab was observed in the Solomon Islands with an historic half-hour nationwide television program on the Faith and the events surrounding the Bab’s martyrdom in 1850.

It marked the first time that the Faith has been proclaimed on a national level in the Solomons ...

Members of the National Spiritual Assembly of Australia met last May 28-30 with Auxiliary Board member Kimiko Schwerin, representing the National Spiritual Assembly of Japan, for what may prove to be the beginning of the development of the ‘‘spiritual axis’? between Australia and Japan spoken of by the beloved Guardian, Shoghi Effendi.

The historic meeting at the national Hazfratu’l-Quds in Sydney was called in response to a message from the Universal House of Justice ...

More than 200 Bahd’{s from nine countries and from nine states in India participated June 26-27 in an inaugural conference that marked the opening of the Baha’i Youth Academy in Panchgani, Maharashtra State.

The establishment of the Academy fulfills a long-cherished desire of the Universal House of Justice, the Continental Board of Counsellors, and the National Spiritual Assembly of India ...

Six Bahá’ís from El Salvador who had attended the Baha’i International Conference in Quito, Ecuador, shared their experiences with the friends in El Salvador during a special conference August 22 that had the dual themes of a National Teaching Conference and ‘‘The Spirit of Ecuador.””

More than 300 Baha’is attended the gathering at the Club de Caminos, a short distance from the capital city of San Salvador ...

Thirty-seven Danish Baha’i women and their non-Baha’i guests attended a Baha’i women’s conference May 29-31 in northern Zealand, Denmark.

It was the first time in the history of the Faith in Denmark that Baha’i and non-Baha’i women had met to discuss their role in the Faith ...

Studies

Continued From Page 1

National Spiritual Assembly of Canada, Dr. Hossain Danesh, Glen Eyford and Douglas Martin; and three members of the U.S. National Spiritual Assembly, Dr. Wilma Brady, Judge Dorothy W. Nelson and Judge James F. Nelson.

Also attending were Counsellor Ratil Pavén; Dr. Victor de Araujo, the representative of the Baha’{ International Community at the United Nations; and Dr. Betty J. Fisher, general editor of the U.S. Baha’i Publishing Trust.

This year’s Hasan Balyizi Lectureship was delivered by Gayle Morrison, a Baha’i historian and educator from Hawaii who is the author of To Move the World, a biography of the Hand of the Cause of God Louis G. Gregory.

Mrs. Morrison’s topic was “A New Creation: The Power of the Covenant in the Life of Louis Gregory.”

The 1982 essay contest awards were presented in the high school category to Saba Arjomand of Port Moody, British Columbia, for ‘Economics in Third World Countries’’; in the university category to Randy Gottlieb of Camuy, Puerto Rico, for ‘‘Needs Assessment Survey to Determine the Training Requirements of International Baha’i Travel Teachers’’; and in the individual category to Robert Cameron of Duluth, Minnesota, for ‘‘The Number Nineteen and the Disconnected Letters of the Qur’án.’””

Other speakers and their topics:

¢ JUDGE Dorothy Nelson and Judge James Nelson, ‘Natural Law Revisited: The Baha’i Perspective on Law, Language and Ethics.””

Deborah and Will van den

Hoonard, ‘Reconciling’ Personal

Mrs. Gayle Morrison, author of To Move the World, delivers the Hasan Balyizi lectureship on ‘A

and Social Values.’’

Larry Miller, ‘‘The Corporate Cultural Revolution.’’

Tahirih Foroughi and Malcolm Greenlees, ‘‘Accountin;

The Period of Decline ‘and Regeneration, a Bahá’í Perspective.””

¢ Houshang Zargarpour, ‘‘Le Portrait de Notre Civilization—l’Aspet Socioeconomique de la Foi Baha’ie.””

Marion R. Finley Jr., ‘“‘La

Telematique dans la Communaute Internationale Bahda’ie.’”

Stephen Caswell, ‘‘International Telecommunications and the Baha’i Faith.”

Don Addison, ‘‘An Emergent

¢ Linda Gershuny, ‘‘Intercultural Communication: A_ Prerequisite for International Development—the Unique Contributions of the Baha’i World View.””

Michael Bopp, ‘‘Essential

Components of Baha’/ Development.””

Will van den Hoonard,

“Strategies in Baha’i International Development.”

Mr. Perinbam, who is vice-president of the special programs branch, Canadian International Development Agency, in Ottawa, said that ‘‘as Baha’is you have seen the coming of a new World Order and you have dedicated yourselves to shaping it.

Covenant in the Life of Louis Gregory.’

Above: The Hand of the Cause of God John Robarts and Mrs. Robarts listen attentively during one of the Conference s

“IN THE current atmosphere, which is too often characterized by apathy or despair, we need your faith in building and developing the potential for a global society, because without that |, we cannot build—or should I put it positively, that it is only with that faith that we can build a new interdependent world order founded on justice, on harmony and on tolerance.’”

Entertainment at the Conference was provided by pianist Don Addison from Nsukka, Nigeria; santour player Kiu Haghighi from Glenview, Illinois; and the musical duo ‘Do’a’ (Randy Armstrong and Ken LaRoche) from Dover, New Hampshire.

The Association for Baha’i Studies was established in 1974 by the National Spiritual Assembly of Canada in response to a goal of

ration area was a busy place during the seventh Confe ence of the Association for Bah

Photos by John McNeil low: Nearly 700 Baha'is were pre: ent at the seventh annual Conference.

the Five Year Plan from the Universal House of Justice to ‘‘cultivate opportunities for formal presentations, courses and lectureships on the Baha’i Faith in Canadian universities and other institutions of higher learning.’”

The Association has experienced remarkable growth over the past three years with membership growing from 350 (with Canada alone represented) to 1,650 including 839 members in Canada, 459 in the U.S. and 352 in other countries, mainly in Europe.

In 1981, with the approval of the Universal House of Justice, it was decided, in view of its worldwide expansion, to change the name from the Canadian Association for Studies on the Baha’i Faith to the Association for Baha’i Studies.

Studies at the Chateau Laurier in Ottawa, Canada.

[Page 20]MONTREAL CONFERENCE

The American Baha’i

20

Message

Continued From Page 1

spread from that centre to the East and the West of America.

AFTER the passing of ‘Abdu’lBaha and under the guidance of the Guardian the Baha’is of the world witnessed with awe and admiration the North American community arising as one man to champion the Administrative

Order taking shape on their own soil, to embark upon the first collective teaching plan in the annals of the Faith, to lead the entire Bahai

world in_ intercontinental

jon their exemplary firmness in the Covenant, to extend their support and protection and relief to the oppressed

followers of Baha’u’llah throughout the East and particularly in His native land, and to send forth valiant pioneers and traveling teachers to every continent of the globe.

These marvelous and noble exertions, calling for expenditure of resources almost beyond their means, paved the way for the achievement of glorious victories which synchronized with a series of world convulsions, signs of universal commotion and travail, and with repeated crises within the Faith. And in this day, while the blood of the martyrs of Persia is once again watering the roots of the Cause of God and when the international outlook is impenetrably and ominously dark, the Baha’is of North America are in the van of the embattled legions of the Cause.

Less than a score of years remain until the end of this century which the. Master called ‘‘the century of light,’’ and He clearly foresaw that ere its termination an advanced stage would have been reached in the striving towards the political, racial, and religious unity of the peoples of the world, unfolding new horizons in scientific accomplishments, universal undertakings and world solidarity. The calls of the Master and Guardian plainly summon the Baha’fs of the Americas to prodigies of proclamation, of teaching and of service.

THE American melting-pot of peoples needs the unifying power of the new Faith of God to achieve its fusion. The representative character of the Baha’i community should therefore be reinforced through the attraction, conversion and support of an ever-growing number of new believers from the diverse elements constituting the population of that vast mainland and particularly from among Indians and Eskimos about whose future the Master wrote in such glowing terms. In the glorious freedom which enables you to proclaim, to teach and confirm, to educate and deepen yourselves and others in the verities of the Faith, you have precious opportunities of service denied to many

To the Universal House of Justice:

At close first day Montreal Conference offer heartfelt thanks your luminous, deeply moving message. 7,500 friends in attendance, awaiting 2,000 more pending resolution immigration difficulties.

Conference graced presence your representative Amatu’l-Bahá Rubiyyih Khanum and four other Hands of the Cause of God, John Robarts, General ‘Ala’i, Zikru’lláh Khadem and Dr. A.M. Varga, eight Counsellors of the Americas and representatives over 50 National Spiritual Assemblies around world.

Believers inspired active native participation, tremendous success pioneer venture of International Children’s Conference attended by 1,200.

Unprecedented, positive publicity all media increasing awareness existence and growth Faith and suffering believers Iran.

Threats by antagonistic Muslim elements countered by prompt, vigorous, wise action Royal Canadian Mounted Police and local Montreal police.

On afternoon September 2nd, Canadian community honored by reception by Governor General Edward Schreyer of Amatu’l-Bahá Ruhiyyih Khanum and delegation 11 Baha’is representing many backgrounds, and by subsequent warm and respectful welcome message.

Wednesday, September 8, Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau will receive delegation from National Spiritual Assembly.

Our deepest thanks your gifts presence Amatu’l Bahá Ruhiyyih Khanum and magnificent Conference. Montreal International Conference

To the Montreal Conference:

With hearts filled with joy, gratitude greet assembled friends in historic Conference graced presence Amatu’l-Bahá Ruhfyyih Khanum four other Hands, reinforced by presence large number Counsellors and members National Spiritual Assemblies, and enriched by participation indigenous believers North America. Welcome parallel Conference children, so heartwarming in its unique features. Delighted splendid proclamation strengthening closer ties authorities.

Souls recent martyrs Faith and hearts beleaguered friends Iran undoubtedly comforted, nay overjoyed, evidences onward majestic march Faith assuredly stimulated by innocent blood shed and suffering so. valiantly still endured in Cradle Faith.

Praying Shrines spirit dedication enthusiasm generated by gathered friends will permeate mass believers linked breadth continent, inspire them arise and, placing their whole trust in Bahá’u'llh’s promise of victory, resolutely rush forth to attract to sacred fold innumerable waiting receptive souls, and ensure early glorious triumph, so dramatically described in Writings blessed Master and beloved Guardian.

Universal House of Justice

of your fellow believers elsewhere.

If your blessed communities are to lead the world spiritually, as the Master envisaged, then the Faith must strike deeper roots in your hearts, the spirit of its teachings must be exemplified in ever greater measure in your lives, and God’s Holy Cause must be taught and proclaimed with ever greater intensity. In His immortal Tablets addressed to the Baha’is of North America ‘Abdu’l-Baha assures each one of you that ‘‘whosoever arises in this day to diffuse the divine fragrances, the cohorts of the Kingdom of God shall confirm him ...””

You are met in this Conference to review the progress of the Seven Year Plan, to be confirmed, gal Children enter the Olympic Velodrome where they assembled to sing the Children’s Conference theme, ‘We Are Baha’is.’

vanized and sent into action. It is not enough for the North American believers to stand at the forefront of the Baha’i world; the scope of their exertions must be steadily widened. In the words of ‘Abdu’l-Baha, ‘“‘The range of your future achievements still remains undisclosed. I fervently hope that in the near future the whole earth may be stirred and shaken by the results of your achievements.’’ ‘‘Exert yourselves; your mission is unspeakably glorious. Should success crown your enterprise, America will assuredly evolve into a centre from which waves of spiritual power will emanate ...””

THE VALIANT countries of North America should in the sec

“s Ra A panoramic view of the Velodrome shows many of the more

ond half of the Seven Year Plan ensure that an ever-swelling number of pioneers and traveling teachers will arise and travel to and settle in countries which need their support, however inhospitable the local conditions may be, ceaselessly endeavoring to contribute to the expansion of the teaching work and the strengthening of the foundations of the communities they are called upon to assist. They should, moreover, continue their defense of the downtrodden, open their doors to their Bahd’{ brethren who are seeking refuge in their lands, provide technological expertise to communities which need it, and supply an uninterrupted flow of resources to support the ever-in than 9,400 Baha’is from 101 countries who attended the Interna

creasing international projects of the Faith.

In their respective homefronts the Baha’is of North America should intensify the drive to attract the masses to God’s Holy Cause, to provide the means for their integration into the work of the Faith, and should become standard-bearers of an embryonic Baha’i society which is destined to gradually emerge under the influence of the integrating and civilizing forces emanating from the Source of God’s Revelation. Such noble objectives cannot be fully achieved unless and until local communities become those collective centers of unity ordained in our Writings, and every individual earnestly strives to support the structure and ensure the stability of the Administrative Edifice of the Faith.

How fitting that this Conference, and the one held for Bahai children on a scale unprecedented in North America, should commemorate the 50th anniversary of the passing of Bahiyyih Khanum, the Greatest Holy Leaf, whose love for the North American believers and whose admiration for their heroism were so deep and so sustained and whose natural fondness for children was so characteristic of Bahá’u’lláh. May each of you emulate her unswerving devotion and loyalty to the Covenant of God and her perseverance in the path of His love. We shall mark this first day of your Conference, together with the one being held concurrently in Canberra, with prayers at the Holy Shrines that all may ‘‘become assisted in service and like unto brilliant stars shine in these regions with the light of guidance.”’

With loving Baha’i greetings,

The Universal House of Justice

September 2, 1982

j

tional Conference in Montreal, Canada.

[Page 21]

MONTREAL CONFERENCE

October 1982

21

Montreal:

Continued From Page 1

the Americas attended the historic three-day gathering as did representatives of the National Spiritual Assemblies of Alaska, the Bahamas, Bermuda, Canada and the United States.

The U.S. National Assembly was represented by its chairman, Judge James F. Nelson. Also attending were National Spiritual Assembly members Dwight W. Allen, Wilma Brady, Magdalene M. Carney, Chester Kahn and Dorothy W. Nelson..

THE Conference coincided with the 70th anniversary of ‘Abdu’l-Baha’s visit to Montreal, which occurred from August 30 September 9, 1912, and the 80th anniversary of the establishment of the Canadian Baha’i community. Security was extremely tight as a result of threats reported to the National Spiritual Assembly of Canada by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

The RCMP said Muslim extremists had threatened to disrupt

All photos of the Montreal Conference are by John McNair of East Patchogue, New York.

the Conference and to harm certain individuals, but thanks to the precautionary measures that were taken those threats never materialized.

The Hand of the Cause of God Amatu’l-Bahá Ruhiyyih Khánum read the message to the Conference from the Universal House of Justice, delivered the keynote address Friday morning, closed the Conference Sunday evening with her second address, and also spoke at the separate Children’s Conference that was attended by about 1,200 Baha’i children.

Prior to the Conference, she led a 12-member Baha’i delegation that was received by the Governor General of Canada, Edward Schreyer, at Rideau Hall in Ottawa, seat of the Canadian Parliament.

A second Baha’i delegation was received September 8 by the Prime

Eugene King, chairman of the National Spiritual Assembly of Alaska, speaks at the Montreal

Lively, colorful, moving, memorable

Minister of Canada, Pierre Trudeau.

Dr. Bahiyyih Nakhjavani, an educator who is the author of several books, spoke Saturday afternoon on “‘The Life and Service of the Greatest Holy Leaf.””

HER address was followed by one of the most moving tributes ever witnessed at any Baha’i gathering. A bouquet of 126 roses was placed on stage and the names of the 126 Baha’i men and women who have been martyred or abducted since the Iranian revolution of 1979 were read aloud as many of those in the audience wept.

While the names were being read, the several hundred ‘Conference participants who have lost husbands, es, parents, brothers, sisters or other relatives in Iran stood silently, their heads bowed in prayer.

Another memorable event took place the following afternoon when all of the participants in the Children’s Conference, which was held at the nearby Pierre Charbonneau Centre, made their way to the Velodrome, marched down the center aisle as everyone stood and applauded, were assembled in front of the stage and sang the Children’s Conference theme song, ‘‘We Are Baha’is,”’ with the International Bahá’í Choir conducted by Jack Lenz.

On Friday afternoon and Sunday evening, Mr. Lenz conducted the Conference orchestra, choir and two soloists in musical tributes to the Greatest Holy Leaf which he composed.

Following a progress report Saturday morning on the Seven Year Plan by Counsellor Lloyd Gardner, the Hand of the Cause of God John Robarts spoke on “The Call to Pioneering,’’ after which several hundred of those at the Conference came forward to offer their services in the pioneering field.

Other speakers at the Conference and their topics:

¢ Dr. Iraj Ayman, ‘‘The Role of Sacrifice and the Baha’i Fund.””

Dr. Hossain B. Danesh, ‘‘Ba

Conference. Amatu’l-Bahá Ruhiyyih Khánum is at the far left.

ha’i Youth and the Cause of Universal Peace.””

¢ Dr. William Hatcher, ‘‘The Development of the Local Spiritual Assembly.”

¢ Mrs. Ginette Montabord, “The Individual and Teaching.’’

Counsellor Farzam Arbab,

“Teaching the Masses.””

¢ Mrs. Elizabeth Rochester, “The Creative Word.”’

Counsellor Agnés Ghaznavi,

“‘Bahá’í Marriage and Family Life.””

SOME of the talks were presented in English, others in French. All were translated simultaneously into English, French, Spanish and Persian.

Dr. Hatcher’s address Saturday afternoon was followed by a presentation by the Continental Indigenous Council of North America that included a drum call, prayers in Inuit and Indian languages, and a hoop dance symbolizing the destiny of native peoples.

Eugene King, chairman of the National Spiritual Assembly of Alaska, spoke on ‘‘The Destiny of the Native Peoples as Prophesied by ‘Abdu’l-Baha,” after which members of the ‘Trail of Light” teaching team, composed of Native American Baha’is from Alaska, Canada and the U.S. who traveled through Central and South America this summer and attended the International Conference in Quito, Ecuador, were introduced.

The Native Americans presented a lovely Indian ceremonial blanket to Amatu’l-Bahá Ruhfyyih Khánum who responded by joining them in a spirited Native American dance.

On Friday the Conference was linked by telephone to the International Conference in Canberra, Australia, at which more than 2,000 Bahá’ís from about 40 countries were assembled with the representative of the Universal House of Justice, the Hand of the Cause of God Ugo Giachery.

The U.S. National Spiritual Assembly was represented at Canberra by Mrs. Soo Fouts.

MESSAGES to the Montreal Conference were received from the Hand of the Cause of God William Sears and from the National Spiritual Assemblies of Bophuthatswana, Norway, Paraguay and Switzerland.

The widespread and generally excellent media coverage included daily radio and television reports and prominent articles and photos in many large Canadian newspapers.

The Voice of America was to broadcast a full report of the Conference to Persian-speaking countries in the Middle East.

Besides the Hands of the Cause of God, Counsellors, and members of National Spiritual Assemblies, other notable people attending the Conference included:

Above: Amatu’l-Bahá Ribiyyih Khanum displays a quilt made for her by 20 Baha’i women in north Georgia. The colorful quilt depicts themes and incidents in the life of the Greatest Holy Leaf. Below: The 1,200 children from ages 6 through 14 at the Montreal Con

¢ Professor Christine Ḥakím, a sociologist and author of the recently published book, The Baha’is: Victory Over Violence. She is the daughter of noted cardiologist Manuchihr Ḥakím who was murdered in his clinic in Tehran in January 1981.

¢ Mme. Lea Nys, a writer, teacher and translator who is the first Belgian to become a Baha’i.

¢ Dr. Victor de Araujo, the representative of the Baha’i International Community at the United Nations in New York City.

John Huddleston, assistant

director for budget and planning of the International Monetary Fund and author of the book, The Earth Is But One Country.

Jens Lyberth, an Inuit who is

consultant to the Canadian Inuit Cultural Institute in the Northwest Territories.

Sam Bald Eagle Augustine, a

Baha’i of Micmac Indian background and a former elder of the First Nations Assembly.

Entertainment at the Conference was superb, ranging from instrumental selections by “Do’a,”? santour player Kiu Haghighi, and the ‘New World Generation’’ jazz group to vocals by England Dan Seals, Gordie

ference had their own separate Children’s Conference that included guest speakers, slide presentations, music and dance, deyotions in many languages, and a ‘balloon launch’ offered as a gift to the children of Montreal.

Munro, Suzanne Hébert, Nancy Ward, and the International Baha’i Choir and dance by Roderick Johnson, soloist of the Theatre Ballet of Canada, and the Ballet Shayda from Ottawa.

Preceding the closing address Sunday evening by Amatu’l-Bahá Ruhfyyih Khanum, there was a special presentation entitled “Another Song ...’”’ based on the poetry of Roger White.

Amatu’l-Bahá Ruhiyyih Khanum was among the speakers at the Children’s Conference for 6-to 14-year-olds. Also included were slide presentations, music and dance, devotions in many languages, and a balloon launch offered as a gift to the children of Montreal.

Dr. Nakhjavani also spoke to the children on “Growing Up as a Baha’i.”” A nursery program was provided for children under the age of six years.

The largest Baha’i bookstore ever assembled at any Conference carried nearly 300 titles in more than 30 languages including 15-20 new titles never before available to the Baha’i community from publishers in 25 countries around the world.

[Page 22]The American Baha'i

22

Te iGO

in The American Baha’i

Close to 1,000 Baha'is from every state in the Northeast and from as far away as California attend the Northeastern Regional “Gateway’’ Teaching Conference held September 8-10 in Trenton, New Jersey.

The speakers include two members of the National Spiritual Assembly, Dr. Dwight Allen and Glenford E. Mitchell; Auxiliary Board member Albert James; Richard Betts, secretary of the National Teaching Committee; and Mildred Mottahedeh, a member of the International Goals Committee.

Presentations are made by representatives of the Deep South Committee and the Northeast Oriental Teaching Committee ...

The National Baha’i Public Information Office reports that during the first four months of its availability, the film ‘‘Give Me That New Time Religion’’ has been seen by more than one million television viewers.

Those who have seen the new film, combined with those who have seen the film ‘‘It’s Just the Beginning,’’ now total more than seven and one-half million nationwide.

The Public Information Office adds that new one-minute TV spots on the equality of men and women have been sent to most stations in the U.S. and should be on the air in the near future ...

Forty-five Baha’is from Utah and southern Idaho and their guests attend a weekend conference August 18-20 at the Pinecliff Camp about 17 miles east of Coalville, Utah.

The conference, sponsored by the District Teaching Committee, features presentations on aspects of mental health and psychology found in the Writings; the history of the Faith; Baha’i pilgrimage, and Baha’ family life ...

Baha’fs from 13 communities attend a Labor Day weekend Baha’{ institute at the University of Houston, Texas.

Among the speakers is Counsellor Florence Mayberry who discusses the importance of obedience to the Covenant.

Skits, films and a children’s class are included in the program which ends with a panel discussion on the Baha’i way of life ...

Nine members of the Baha’i

‘community of Hempstead, New York, attend a ‘‘WE”’ institute in Ellenville, New York.

The intensive deepening session lasts from Friday until noon Sunday and focuses on the four questions suggested by the Universal House of Justice in Wellspring of Guidance (p. 114) ...

Wilhelm

Continued From Page 10

booklet form, and arranged for them to be made available to the friends.

One of the highlights of the 1917 Baha'i Convention, according to Martha Root, was the first display of Mr. Wilhelm’s Baha’i booklets in large and small sizes.

She wrote at that time that thousands of these reasonably priced booklets already had been sold.

In a Tablet to Mr. Wilhelm, ‘Abdu’l-Baha wrote: “‘The en closed booklets have been perused. Send for us one hundred copies of each for they are exceedingly praiseworthy.’”

FOR SOME years the Master sent Tablets intended for groups or individuals to Mr. Wilhelm with directions for forwarding.

Roy Wilhelm served as a member of the Baha’i Temple Unity, forerunner of the National Spiritual Assembly, from 1910-14 and from 1919 until the election in 1925 of the first National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahda’is of the U.S. and Canada.

He served continuously on the National Spiritual Assembly from

Pawnee Continued From Page 9

join a local Extension Club to which most of these women belong.

Home town ball games are a good way to get to know people too, either by playing or watching. It’s a great family outing.

Square dance groups are very friendly and alcohol is prohibited at their dances. They usually offer classes for new dancers. *

Service activities are rewarding to us and sometimes are a good learning experience for our children.

Scott and I have become certified CPR instructors. We've taught the local volunteer fire department and offer the classes to clubs as well.

When neighbors are ill or have a death in the family, we usually take them some food and sometimes the children make get-well cards for them and remember them in their prayers.

CAR POOLING children to swimming lessons is helpful to neighbors and to us. It’s a good way to get our children together with other kids.

Entertaining on Baha’i Holy Days is becoming a family tradition. We have an Intercalary Days party for adults.

We usually decorate for major Holy Days, and last year we had an international potluck dinner and our guests had a good time thinking about what to bring as well as tasting the rest.

At Ridvan we have a children’s party, complete with decorations,

Selma Solomon dies in West Hollywood

Selma (Alexander) Solomon, a member of the Baha’i community of West Hollywood, California, which she served as recording secretary for more than 30 years, died August 28.

Mrs. Solomon, who became a Bahá’í in the late 1940s, was an actress, costume designer, concert pianist, poetess, agent, and protegé of David Belasco.

Her recording of ‘‘Words for the World’ (with actor David Bond), featuring selections from the sacred Writings of the Faith, has been played all over the world for the last 30 years.

games, pinata, fish pond, treats and a good time.

Since our girls are still preschoolers, their mothers come to the party too. They and their children are beginning to realize that we celebrate different Holy Days and have a good time doing it.

OUR major need is association with Baha’i friends. Since most of the Baha'is in this part of Nebraska are isolated, we have joined together in a regional Media Committee that meets once a month.

This group is a real inspiration to all of us and has accomplished a great deal in proclaiming the Faith through the media, open houses, fair booths, advertising, and cooperation with our own firesides.

As an isolated family, we find it difficult to maintain inspiring regular Feasts and Holy Day observances.

We have divided the hosts on a rotating basis so that even our two-year-old hosts every fourth Feast, planning and serving the food, choosing the books for the readings, and welcoming the rest of us to the Feast.

The most wonderful Feast, though, is always the one that has Bahá’í guests.

1 FEEL that isolated believers need the Feast letters from National even more than Groups, because they need this monthly inspiration and a feeling of being a part of the American Baha’i community,

‘Asa Group, we do receive these letters, but we have friends who are alone and who really wish they could know what is happening.

I hope some of these ideas will be useful to other homefront pioneers. I am eager to read their ideas too.

Thank you for recognizing us out here alone, and for this new opportunity to exchange ideas.

Sincerely,

Billie Kay Bodie Pawnee County, Nebraska °

We hope that more of you will write. By sharing your experiences as homefront pioneers with the American Baha’i community, you may provide the spark that will spur others to arise and serve in this capacity.

its inception until his retirement in 1946 at the age of 71. Mr. Wilhelm was treasurer of the National Assembly from 1930-45.

He was one of the first members of the Bahd’{ Publishing Committee, which was formed in 1922 at the request of Shoghi Effendi to direct the publication of Star of the West.

A close friend of Martha Root, Mr. Wilhelm often provided her with generous assistance for her extensive travels to other countries on behalf of the Faith. Yet this longtime treasurer of the National Spiritual Assembly was far from personally extravagant.

MILDRED Mottahedeh, a member of the International Goals Committee and a friend of Mr. Wilhelm, remembers him as being ‘‘extremely stingy because he wanted all the money to go to the Faith.’”

Although he was the head of a successful coffee brokerage, he brought his lunch from home in a paper bag, she recalls, ‘‘and when you went out with him, he would only buy coffee for five cents.””

In March 1922, shortly after the Ascension of ‘Abdu’l-Baha, Mr. Wilhelm was asked to be present when Shoghi Effendi, the newly appointed Guardian of the Faith, called together a small group of believers from various countries.

He was one of four Americans present in the Holy Land for several days of consultation with the Guardian on matters vital to the future of the Cause.

Four days after Roy Wilhelm’s passing in December 1951 at the age of 76, the Guardian sent the following cable in which Mr. Wilhelm was posthumously named a Hand of the Cause of God:

“Heart filled sorrow loss greatly prized, much loved, highly admired herald Bahá’u’lláh’s Covenant, Roy Wilhelm. Distinguished

career enriched annals concluding years Heroic opening years Formative Age Faith.

“Sterling qualities endeared him to his beloved Master, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. His saintliness, indomitable faith, outstanding services local, national, international, exemplary devotion qualify him join ranks Hands Cause, insure him everlasting reward Abha Kingdom. Advise hold memorial gathering Temple befitting his unforgettable services lofty rank.””

Public Affairs has new office ‘nightline’

The Office of Public Affairs “‘nightline’’ offers an opportunity to receive news of the U.S. Bahda’{ community quickly and accurately.

The new telephone answering service consists of updated recordings of the latest information from media activities around the country and news of world events affecting the Faith.

The service operates only when the Bahd’{ National Center is closed and phone rates are lowest.

Call 312-869-9843 to receive ‘a message or to leave one of your own.

Workshop institute is held in Maine

More than 50 Baha’is and their guests participated July 2-5 in a weekend workshop institute sponsored by the Bahd’{ communities of Bowdoin and Bowdoinham, Maine.

The camping institute in Bowdoinham offered three workshops, on parenting, declarations, and Baha’i administration.

A highlight was a slide program of the Holy Land narrated by Emanual Reimer.

In Memoriam

Grady Adams Mrs. Dorothy Harricks J. Morley Smith Lake Harbor, FL St. Charles, IL Lakeland, FL 1982 Date Unknown July 11, 1982 Charles P. Altree Tucker Hollis Mrs. Ruth Smith Coquille, OR Ellaville, GA Columbus, OH

August 25, 1982

Mrs. Mary L. Bailey Davenport, IA : July 25, 1982

Walter Brown Luther Lawrence Johnnie Stewart Oglethorpe, GA Brimfield, MA Oglethorpe, GA November 18, 1978 June 16, 1982 April 30, 1982 Mrs. Hattie Chamberlin Mrs. Elfie Lundberg Ramin Tohidi Three Rivers, MA Wilmette, IL Los Angeles, CA August 21, 1982 July 16, 1982 July 9, 1982 Arthur Lee Couch Mazeita M. Ngindu —_- Bshagh Vahdat Oglethorpe, GA Charlotte, NC Los Angeles, CA Date Unknown August 1982 August 15, 1982 Marcella Dawsey Thebaut Payne Mrs. Margret Verdine Ellaville, GA Los Angeles, CA Columbus, OH Date Unknown July 22, 1982 1982

George Dyson Cannes H. Pettit -John Winford San Francisco, CA Bucyrus, OH Redbird, OK September 6, 1982 August 27, 1982 January 1982 Henry S. Golphin Mrs. Florence Reeb

Ellaville, GA Columbus, OH

December 31, 1980 November 1979

September 23, 1981 Mrs. Mabel Jay

Fort Lauderdale, FL | West Hollywood, CA August 26, 1982

August 15, 1982 Mrs. Selma Solomon

August 28, 1982

|i RE SEES SDS A I SE SE

[Page 23]The American Baha’i

October 1982

23

Felice Sadgwar (right), an 89-yearold Bahá’í from Wilmington, North C: and her 94-yearold sister, Mabel Manly, who became a Baha’i last year, prepare to enter the auditorium of the Baha’i House of Worship in Wilmette. The visit was a ‘dream come true’ for Miss Sadgwar whose first contact with the Faith came when the

Hand of the Cause of God Louis Gregory visited her and her late father. Miss Sadgwar and her sister were driven to the House of Worship from their home in North Carolina and back by Dr. John Bustard and his wife, Margaret, National Center staff members who live in Glenview, Illinois.

Green Acre Summer School completes exciting session

“The Green Acre Summer School came to an exciting close with several unique events that thrilled everyone present,’’ according to school administrator Dick Grover.

First, a team from Maine’s statewide newspaper spent several hours at Green Acre and prepared an article that appeared the following week and covered two full pages.

Next came the visit to Green Acre of Mrs. Rezwan Mobedzadeh, the founder of the New Era Baha’i School in Panchgani, India.

And finally, on the day the Summer School ended, a chartered bus took four dozen Baha’is directly from Green Acre to the International Conference in Montreal.

Green Acre’s fall program, says Mr. Grover, includes the following programs:

Quakers send letter of protest to Iran

As a result of discussions with Bahd’{s in Vista, California, about the persecutions in Iran, the Palomar Friends (Quakers) of Fallbrook, California, sent a letter in March to the Ayatollah Khomeini protesting the mistreatment of Baha’is in Iran and calling on him to “protect the civil rights of all iranians—Moslems, Christians, Jews and especially Baha’is.’”

The world community, the letter stated, ‘‘is watching you. We measure the strength and integrity of your Shi’ite revolution by how well you treat your minorities.”

October 22-24: Green Acre’s fourth annual Spanish Bahd’{ Conference, ‘“‘La Comunidad de Dios, la Comunidad Baha’i.”’

November 12-14: Race Unity Conference honoring the Hand of the Cause of God Louis Gregory who was responsible for many such conferences at Green Acre and elsewhere.

November 25-28: Thanksgiving School (‘‘The Holy Family’) with classes on the Covenant, ‘Abdu’lBaha, the Greatest Holy Leaf, and observances of the two Holy Days.

December 24-January 2: Winter School with three separate institutes—December 24-26, Decem

ber 27-31, and January 1-2.

Association for Baha’i Studies sets 1st Midwest Conference at Louhelen

The first Midwestern Regional Conference of the Association for Baha’i Studies will be held November 12-14 at the Louhelen Baha’{ School in Davison, Michigan.

The Conference will include presentations by Dr. Hossain Danesh on ‘Psychological and Spiritual Implications of Martyrdom’”’ and John Walbridge on ‘‘The Four Valleys,”’ a slide presentation by Auxiliary Board member Robert Postlethwaite on ‘‘Queen Marie of Rumania and the Baha’i Faith,”’ a photographic exhibition and musical entertainment.

A NUMBER of other papers also will be presented including papers on the Greatest Holy Leaf, the debilitating effects of alcohol, and the development of suitable music for Baha’i Houses of Worship.

Another feature of the Conference will be a workshop on how to carry out research, conducted by Dr. Betty J. Fisher, general editor of the Baha’i Publishing Trust.

The Association for Bahá’í Studies, which is sponsored by the National Spiritual Assembly of Canada, was begun in 1974 in response to a goal given to the Canadian Bahd’{ community by the Universal House of Justice during the Five Year Plan that called for the friends in Canada to cultivate opportunities for formal presen

tations, courses and lectureships

East Texas youth sponsor car wash

The District Youth Committee of East Texas No. 1 helped raise more than $600 for a Baha’i booth at the Texas State Fair in Dallas this fall by sponsoring a car wash and breakfast August 8 at the Baha’i Center in Dallas.

Sixteen youth, three pre-youth and one adult who supervised in the kitchen took part in the fundraiser.

Friends Continued From Page 11

cated to supporting the Louhelen School. Membership is obtained through an annual membership fee that is used to finance the scholarship and scholar-in-residence programs, to acquire books for the school library, and to keep the rates for room and board as moderate as possible. Membership fees are $20 a year for adults, $30 for families, and $15 for students. A life membership may be acquired for $500. “The Friends of Louhelen is distinct from the Faizi endowment,”’ observes Dr. Marks. “‘The Endowment is intended to be a part of the National Spiritual Assembly’s planned giving program, and is for those who wish their funds to be invested by a Baha’i

institution.

“The bulk of the monies in the Endowment will not be spent, but invested,’’ he says, ‘‘and the interest earned will be used to finance capital improvements at the school such as completing the landscaping, undertaking future building projects, acquiring additional property, financing the development of new educational programs, and providing scholarships for needy students.’’

Those who are interested in joining the Friends of Louhelen may send a check payable to the Friends of Louhelen, indicating the type of membership they would like, to the Louhelen Baha’{ School,

Davison, MI 48423.

More information about the association can be found in the August 1982 issue of The American Baha'i.

on the Baha’i Faith in Canadian universities and other institutions of higher learning.

In 1981, with the approval of the Universal House of Justice, the Association decided, because of its worldwide expansion, to change its name from the Canadian Association for Studies on the Bahá’í Faith to the Association for Baha’i Studies.

Those who wish to attend the Conference may send a $10 (nonrefundable) deposit to the Registrar, Louhelen Bahd’{ School,

, Davison, MI

48423.

To qualify for a discount, deposits must be received at least two weeks before the Conference begins (that is, by October 29).

Please indicate the kind of housing preferred. Rates vary according to the number of people per room (1, 2, 3 or 4). Single rooms cannot be guaranteed.

A $2 materials fee will be charged. Those who bring their own towels and linens avoid paying a $2.50 service charge.

The Conference begins Friday evening, November 12, at 7:30.

“brilliant star”.

name street city. state & zip

Child’s Way, your bi-monthly magazine for Baha’f children of all ages, has become a

Starting with the March/April 1983 issue, Child’s Way will be known as

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[Page 24]The American Baha'i

NON-PROFIT ORG.

5 U.S. POSTAGE 2 te PAID et eel WILMETTE, it VA Ordo October 1982 PERMIT NO. 479 to carry out any request of the *—"— E Pex! aa ba Funds blessed Bab. Moving? bans ap SRR ie eee za Continued From Page 5 HG ety Of Oe suey Lm TeIRUSiYOUr estore

ing the Fund so that it might meet the greater burdens now being placed upon it?

Gaining an understanding of the significance of Baha’u’llah’s Revelation—Although listed last, this category is by no means least in importance.

The House of Justice emphasized the particular importance of this point, for it is the key to our ability to respond as individuals to any of our other obligations.

How can we as individuals prepare ourselves, and help other believers in our community, to gain a deeper understanding of the significance of Bahá’u’lláh’s Revelation?

. It is the hope of the National Spiritual Assembly that every Baha’i will consider these points in light of his or her own service to the Cause. Only to the extent that the individual arises to discharge his sacred duties can any goal of the Plan be achieved.

At the time when the Bab was about to face martyrdom, He was accompanied by a number of believers. The story of two of these individuals offers an example of the choices that face us today.

The first was the Bab’s amanuensis. The second was a devoted soul, filled with the fire of love and longing to lay down his life for the Bab.

On the evening before His death the Bab announced His desire to have His life taken by a friend, rather than by His enemies.

His companions shrank from the. thought of taking so precious a life. Yet such was the faith of the enkindled believer that he immediately announced that he was ready

Your Turn Continued From Page 17

contrast would be apparent and the fact clearly evident that the black race in America enjoys incomparable advantages.

“The comfort and civilization under which they live here are due to the white man’s effort and sacrifice. Had this sacrifice not been made, they would still be in the bonds and chains of slavery, scarcely lifted out of an aboriginal condition.

“Therefore, always show forth your gratitude to the white man. Eventually all differences will disappear, and you will completely win his friendship ...God maketh no distinction between the white and the black. If the hearts are pure both are acceptable unto Him. God is no respecter of persons on account of either color or race. All colors are acceptable to Him, be they white, black, or yellow ...””

Rahim Samadani Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

the other believers, but the Bab addressed them, saying, ‘This same youth who has risen to comply with my wish will, together with me, suffer martyrdom. Him will I choose to share with me its crown.”

Years later ‘Abdu’l-Bahá told the story of the martyrdom of the Bab to some of the Bahá’ís in America. Juliet Thompson offers this account in her diary:

“Among the disciples of the Bab (‘Abdu’l-Baha stated) were two: His amanuensis and a firm believer. On the eve of the Bab’s martyrdom the firm believer prayed: ‘Oh let me die with You!’ The amanuensis said, ‘What shall I do?’

“* ‘What shall I do?’ mocked the Master. ‘What do you want me to do?’ The disciple died with his head on the breast of the Bab, and their bodies were mingled in death. The other died in prison anyway—but think of the difference in their station!”

The services we must render for the Cause may take a different form in this day. But the spirit that motivates our efforts can be the same as that fire of love which moved the disciple of the Bab who shared His crown of martyrdom.

Letters

Continued From Page 3

have a responsibility to support the Funds.

Shoghi Effendi has told us that our response to the Fund can be used as a measure to assess our spiritual progress. I feel that this comparison can also be applied to the American Bahd’{ community as a whole.

When seen in this light and viewing our response to the Fund, it can quickly be seen that we are not measuring up very well, particularly at a time when the Faith is ‘‘emerging from obscurity.’’

The National Spiritual Assembly has been struggling on a budget of $6.48 million and the level of contributions needed to meet that goal has not yet been achieved.

When one reviews the Fund chart sent each month by the National Assembly, it quickly becomes apparent that the problem is not the amount of money sent by each Local Assembly, Group or individual—it is rather the lack of unity in our response.

THE NATIONAL Assembly has set a goal of 20,000 believers contributing to the Fund each month. When you consider that the number of Baha’is in the U.S. approaches 100,000, that is a modest goal indeed—and yet we are averaging only about 5,000 individual contributions each month. That is about five per cent!

Can we continue to have such a low level of contributors at such a critical period in the evolution of our beloved Faith?

new address

avoid unnecessary delays in reig Your copies of The Americs

"i send your new address ai mailing I-bel which includes Mi your ID number to the Office of Membership and Records, Baha'i National Center, Wilmette, IL (60091, as soon as you know that you are going to move and what your new

address will be. We will do our best to see that changes are processed N quickly so that the transfer of mail to

your new home is accomplished with all possible speed.

Address

Address.

Community Moving Date.

Cty

Street, Rural Route. or Post Office Box Number

jew Baha'i

~ House or Space Number. Street, or Description

State

‘Name of Local Assembly group. or isolated locality where this person resides:

Mailing label should accompany address change form

Please check box.

We have been receiving more than one copy

need extra copies, please remove my name from the mailing list for this publication.

Wilmette, Illinois 60091

ADDRESS CORRECTION

The opportunities before the American Baha’i community are priceless. Our failure to arise to the challenge is basically spiritual, not material, in nature.

We must, one and all, re-evaluate our response to the Fund and then arise as never before to meet the challenge in a way that befits the station of a faithful follower of Bahá’u’lláh.

It is only through sustained dedication and a true understanding of our spiritual responsibility to support the Cause of God that we can meet and surpass the challenge, thereby freeing our National Assembly to take full advantage of the opportunities before it.

The period is critical, and the time is short. It is our glorious destiny as the spiritual descendants of the Dawn-breakers not to fail. Please God, we may achieve it.

Bill Wieties Marshfield, Wisconsin

To the Editor:

Every time The American Ba‘ha’{ comes, I read the classifieds. I suppose it’s part of the “‘grass is always © greener’ syndrome, or perhaps it can be attributed to idle curiosity.

Whatever the reason, I read them, and I am always struck by the number of ‘‘Baha’is wanted’’ ads.

JUST ONCE I'd like to read a “Baha'is not wanted”’ ad. It could go something like this:

BAHA'IS GO AWAY! “‘A veritable exodus from the large cities ... both on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, as well as in the heart of the country ...’’ (see p.

BAHA’i NATIONAL CENTER

REQUESTED

128 in Citadel of Faith for the rest of the passage) is needed for the progress of the Cause. So friends, GET OUT! WE DON’T NEED YOU HERE! (Signed) Spiritual Assembly, Big City, U.S.A.

Twenty-eight years ago, the Guardian urged us to leave the larger cities, two of which were even mentioned by name.

He went on to say, ‘‘Indeed, so grave are the exigencies of the present hour, and so critical the political position of the country, that were a bare 15 adult Baha’is to be left in each-of these cities, over which unsuspected dangers are hanging, it would still be regarded as adequate for the maintenance of their local spiritual assemblies.””

Friends, don’t look to each other to leave. Take Martha Root as your example. The story is that, upon hearing the Tablets of the Divine Plan for the first time, she packed her bags.

Shoghi Effendi suggests that “this vital process of multiplication of Baha’i isolated centers, groups and local assemblies ...’’ can be ‘accelerated, through a rapid and unprecedented dispersion of believers ..."’ (Citadel of Faith, p. 128)

I would urge every believer who lives in a large community to pray, deepen in the Writings on this subject, search his or her heart, and strongly consider moving.

AS A northerner, I found that moving to the South must be something like overseas pioneering. It’s almost a totally different culture.

I’m sure a southerner would say

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the same about the North, or a westerner about the East, etc.

The Guardian warns us that “neglect and apathy’’ can cause the American Baha’i community to “‘lose its vital power and driving force.’”’ Please, my big city brothers and sisters, don’t fall into the clutches of neglect and apathy!

Why not read the classifieds again, and become a homefront pioneer!

Karen Sadar Tarlo Greenville, North Carolina

To the Editor:

When Bahd’u’ll4h proclaimed His divine Revelation, the essence of which are the 12 principles, He laid out the blueprint for human potential and peace throughout the planet:

For these principles to come to fruition, sacrifices must be made, just as a candle sacrifices itself to give light.

If the candle would say ‘‘I will not burn,”’ no light would be given.

So it is that the martyrs in Iran are sacrificing themselves to give light to the world. This is their gift, which is given with joy.

As a Baha’i, each individual, by acquiring knowledge from the Writings, begins to recognize the importance of this blueprint laid out by Baha’u’llah, and is therefore willing to sacrifice his time, his energy, and even his life to assure the accomplishment of this Plan.

The Baha’i martyrs are not fanatics; they are givers of life.

Kambiz Rouhani St. Petersburg, Florida

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