The American Bahá’í/Volume 13/Issue 2/Text
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Iran executes 15 including 8 members of National Assembly[edit]
WITH HEAVY HEARTS INFORM FRIENDS THROUGHOUT WORLD EIGHT MEMBERS NATIONAL ASSEMBLY IRAN ARRESTED 13 DECEMBER WERE EXECUTED 27 DECEMBER. THEY ARE:
MR. KAMRAN SAMIMI, MRS. ZHINUS MAHMUDI, MR. MAHMUD MAJDHUB, MR. JALAL AZIZI, MR. MIHDI AMIN AMIN, MR. SIRUS ROUSHANI, MR. IZZATULLAH FURUHI, MR. QUDRATULLAH ROUHANI.
FAMILIES NOT NOTIFIED OF ARRESTS, TRIAL, EXECUTIONS. BODIES BURIED UNCEREMONIOUSLY IN BARREN FIELD RESERVED BY GOVERNMENT FOR INFIDELS. INFORMATION DISCOVERED FORTUITOUSLY. GOVERNMENT AUTHORITIES TOTALLY SILENT, UNCOOPERATIVE.
THIS HEINOUS ACT CAUSES US FEAR THAT MEMBERS PREVIOUS NATIONAL ASSEMBLY AND TWO AUXILIARY BOARD MEMBERS WHO DISAPPEARED AUGUST 1980, AS WELL AS TWO OTHERS WHOSE WHEREABOUTS UNKNOWN OVER TWO YEARS, HAVE SUFFERED SAME FATE. NAMES THESE HEROIC DEDICATED SERVANTS BLESSED BEAUTY ARE:
AUXILIARY BOARD MEMBERS DR. YUSIF ABBASIYAN, DR. HISHMATULLAH RAWHANI. NATIONAL ASSEMBLY MEMBERS DR. ALIMURAD DAVUDI, MR. ABDUL-HUSAYN TASLIMI, MR. HUSHANG MAHMUDI, MR. IBRAHIM RAHMANI, DR. HUSAYN NAJI, MR. MANUHIR QAIMMAQAMI, MR. ATAULLAH MUQARRABI, MR. YUSIF QADIMI, MRS. BAHIYYIH NADIRI, DR. KAMBIZ SADIQZADIH. MEMBER LOCAL ASSEMBLY TEHERAN MR. RUHI RAWSHANI. PROMINENT TEACHER MR. MUHAMMAD MUVAHHID.
EXEMPLARY CHARACTER THESE SELFLESS GLORIOUS SOULS SOURCE INSPIRATION TO BAHÁ’ÍS OF WORLD. WHILE NOT ABLE WIN CROWN MARTYRDOM LIKE PERSIAN BRETHREN, VALIANT DETACHED FRIENDS EVERY LAND UNDOUBTEDLY ARE ENDEAVOURING EVINCE SAME SPIRIT FOLLOW SAME PATH CONSECRATION DEDICATION GOD’S HOLY FAITH. WE ARE CONFIDENT THAT SANCTIFIED BLOOD OF THESE DESCENDANTS DAWN-BREAKERS WILL SERVE STRENGTHEN BODY CAUSE GOD THROUGHOUT GLOBE, PRODUCE UNPRECEDENTED VICTORIES TO COMPENSATE LOSSES SUSTAINED CRADLE FAITH.
DECEMBER 29, 1981
INFORMATION JUST RECEIVED SIX MEMBERS LOCAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY TEHRAN TOGETHER WITH WOMAN BELIEVER IN WHOSE HOME ARRESTS WERE MADE ON SECOND NOVEMBER WERE SECRETLY EXECUTED ON FOURTH JANUARY. INFORMATION OBTAINED FORTUITOUSLY BY RELATIVES FRIENDS MARTYRS. NAMES THESE VALIANT SOULS ARE:
MR. KURUSH TALA’I, MR. KHUSRAW MUHANDISI, MR. ISKANDAR AZIZI, MR. FATHULLAH FIRDAWSI, MR. ATTAULLAH YAVARI, MRS. SHIVA MAHMUDI ASSADULLAH-ZADIH, HOSTESS MRS. SHIDRUKH AMIR-KIYA BAQA.
URGE INFORM MEDIA, APPEAL ONCE AGAIN YOUR GOVERNMENT TAKE WHATEVER STEPS OPEN TO THEM TO STAY HAND OPPRESSORS LAND BIRTH BAHÁ’U’LLÁH.
JANUARY 7, 1982
13th Human Rights Awards program is held in Los Angeles[edit]
More than 450 people were present December 13 as the Bahá’ís of Los Angeles County held their 13th annual Human Rights Awards program at the Sheraton-Townhouse Hotel in Los Angeles.
This year’s honorees were:
- ACTRESS Tippi Hedren, cited for her role as international relief coordinator for Food for the Hungry.
- The Christian service organization MEND (Meet Each Need with Dignity), honored for its dedicated work in helping families and individuals who have immediate emergency needs for food, shelter, clothing, furniture or medical aid.
- Culver City resident Barrie Levy who has worked tirelessly for the prevention of violence to women.
- Sugar Ray’s Youth Foundation, founded by former boxing champion Sugar Ray Robinson to guide, direct and encourage young
Former boxing great Sugar Ray Robinson (center) accepts a Bahá’í Human Rights Award on behalf of Sugar Ray’s Youth Foundation during the 13th annual Human Rights Awards program December 13 sponsored by the Bahá’ís of Los Angeles County. With Mr. Robinson are Bahá’ís Joe Cortez (left) and Dash Crofts.
| What’s inside
A REGIONAL Youth Conference is held at Disney World near Orlando, Florida. Page 7 THUMBNAIL sketches of overseas pioneer goals to be filled by Riḍván 1982. Page 8 REGISTRATION information for the Bahá’í International Conference to be held next September in Montreal, Canada. Page 10 A SPECIAL page for Spanish-speaking Bahá’ís. Page 14 THE PUBLISHING Trust prepares to release a biography of Louis G. Gregory. Page 15 |
South Carolina campaign gathers momentum
More than 500 residents of several communities in eastern South Carolina declared their belief in Bahá’u’lláh during the first week of an ongoing teaching campaign that began December 26.
By January 6 the number of new believers in eastern South Carolina had grown to 550, according to Dr. Alberta Deas, secretary of the sponsoring South Carolina Regional Teaching Committee.
THE TEACHING effort, dedicated to the memory of the Hand of the Cause of God Raḥmatu’lláh Muhájir, is unique in South Carolina, says Dr. Deas, in that the new believers include many upper and lower middle-class residents such as ministers, college students and school principals and faculty.
In the past, she says, such large-scale enrollments in the state have taken place primarily among poorer residents.
The 30 or more believers who participated in the first week of direct teaching under the “Nine Day Teaching Project,” as it was called, were primarily Bahá’í youth from South Carolina including members of Bahá’í youth clubs in
Increase in contributions brings some improvement to Fund balance[edit]
An increase in contributions combined with a reduction in expenses has for the moment taken the critical edge off the financial situation of the National Fund.
Over the past three Bahá’í months the total shortfall in contributions was reduced from a high of almost $800,000 in November to slightly over $500,000 by the beginning of January.
THIS IMPROVEMENT is no doubt due to the efforts of the believers through their response to the Sears meetings and to the special Fund appeal sent by the
Iran’s chief justice denies, then affirms 8 executions[edit]
PRESIDENT SUPREME COURT AYATOLLAH ARDIBILI IS REPORTED BY NEWS SERVICES TO HAVE DENIED EXECUTION EIGHT MEMBERS NATIONAL ASSEMBLY IRAN. YOU SHOULD CATEGORICALLY CONFIRM TO MEDIA OUR PREVIOUS INFORMATION REGARDING EXECUTIONS CORRECT. WE CONVINCED EXECUTIONS WERE PLANNED TO BE KEPT SECRET BUT WERE DISCOVERED FORTUITOUSLY. BAHÁ’Í INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY REQUESTING SECRETARY GENERAL UNITED NATIONS INVESTIGATE. URGE YOU APPEAL YOUR GOVERNMENT TO FIND SUPPORT BAHÁ’Í INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY REQUEST.
JANUARY 5, 1982
•
Two days after the above cable was sent by the Universal House of Justice to all National Spiritual Assemblies, The New York Times carried an Associated Press release datelined Beirut, Lebanon, in which the Ayatollah Musavi Ardibili, chief justice of the Supreme Court of Iran, was quoted by the official Iranian news agency as admitting that eight Bahá’ís had been executed in Tehran.
His admission came one day after a second cable from the House of Justice disclosed the executions of six members of the Local Spiritual Assembly of Tehran and a woman in whose house they were meeting when they were summarily arrested last November 2.
IN HIS statement admitting the executions of “eight Bahá’ís” in Tehran, the Ayatollah said they were put to death for “spying for foreign powers.”
Judge James F. Nelson, chairman of the National Spiritual Assembly, speaking on behalf of the American Bahá’í community, was quick to deny those charges, accusing the government of Iran of carrying out a “sinister campaign” to eliminate the Faith in that country.
“We are not misled by the now
[Page 2]
VIEWPOINT
Editorial
Teaching must keep pace with proclamation[edit]
In 1981 great advances were made in the proclamation of the Faith. These achievements have been unprecedented, and we can safely say that the Faith is rapidly emerging from obscurity.
Consider, for example, only a few of the victories that already have been won:
• “FIRESIDE PLAYHOUSE” debuted on more than 115 radio stations.
• “The Spiritual Revolution,” a series of 26 half-hour television talk shows on the Faith, opened in Los Angeles and spread quickly to six other metropolitan areas with a viewing audience in the millions.
• The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, Newsweek magazine and other prominent publications carried articles on the plight of the Bahá’ís in Iran.
• In all, some 1,564 articles on the Faith totaling 27,292 column inches were devoted to the Faith in U.S. magazines and newspapers. In addition, more than 80 television broadcasts mentioned the Faith in some way.
Oddly enough, even with all of this publicity, the number of enrollments has increased only slightly above last year’s figures. Why?
An analysis of our teaching may yield some answers. We know that there are people who would become Bahá’ís if they were taught the Faith.
The beloved Guardian, Shoghi Effendi, tells us: “ ...make a special point of praying ... that God may send you the souls that are ready. There are such souls in every city ...” (emphasis added)
THE UNIVERSAL House of Justice has stated: “ ...nothing will be more disheartening than for thousands to hear of the Faith and have nowhere to turn for further information. ...” Today, thousands are hearing of the Faith, yet only a small portion are becoming Bahá’ís.
Perhaps our follow-up to these proclamation efforts could be improved. We must remember that proclamation is only one step in the teaching process.
Once people have heard about the Faith, we must continue to nurture them. This requires more direct teaching on our part, showing Bahá’í love and displaying the Bahá’í way of life, so that the seeker is attracted to the Teachings and accepts the Faith.
Seldom does a person become a Bahá’í merely by reading an article or watching a television show about the Faith. Enrollment occurs most frequently when a Bahá’í patiently guides another soul to accept Bahá’u’lláh. This requires that we meet new souls and then teach them.
Too often, it seems, we place an article in the paper, or see the Faith mentioned on television, and feel that we have done our job. But in reality, we have only just begun. We must then reach out to those who have heard about the Faith and show them what it is all about.
Now is the time to follow up on our remarkable proclamation activities. We must teach as never before.
Regarding this need for follow-up, the Universal House of Justice has said: “Every effort of proclamation must be sustained by teaching ...”
The opportunities are innumerable. Let us act now.
Michigan booklet devotes 5 pages to ‘Bahá’í Winter Holidays’ series[edit]
The first five pages in a 32-page booklet distributed to elementary school classes and their teachers at the Flint, Michigan, International Institute’s day-long Winter Festival last December 11 are devoted to ‘Bahá’í Winter Holidays.’
The booklet, entitled ‘Winter Holidays Around the World,’ reflects the theme of the 1981 Winter Festival. Also included are stories of winter holidays in 11 other countries.
The Bahá’í section begins with an explanation of the Birthdays of the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh as two joyfully celebrated Holy Days that occur during the winter but are not gift-giving occasions.
Included are stories of their childhood excerpted from The Dawn-Breakers and Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era.
Ayyám-i-Há and its significance in the Bahá’í calendar as a gift-giving and hospitality-extending time also is explained.
The Bahá’í exhibit at the Festival consisted chiefly of free literature surrounding a nine-candle candelabrum and a crocheted wall hanging in a symbolic Bahá’í motif.
Bahá’ís have been involved at the Flint International Institute since 1975 with the Faith represented at the annual Spring Festival for the last several years.
For the second year, the Bahá’ís of Oregon combined their resources to establish a Bahá’í booth at the 1981 Oregon State Fair held in the capital city of Salem. The fair attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors, more than 900 of whom stopped at the Bahá’í booth and 31 of whom completed interest cards. About 1,200 pieces of Bahá’í literature were taken by visitors to the booth.
Comment
A young man follows his shining star, and it leads him to the Cause of God[edit]
| This month’s article, “Starry, Starry Night,” was written by Dan Rea of Northampton, Massachusetts. |
When I was a child I would watch the stars twinkle through my window at night. My mother told me they were angels watching over me.
I believed her, and I believed in the stars. As I looked up at them I could feel the warmth of their protection. No matter how dark the night, I was never afraid or alone.
THE STARS always shone on me. My mother said one of them was my special guardian angel. She didn’t tell me which one, and I never really knew. So they were all special to me.
One day I asked a playmate if he knew which star was his guardian angel. He said they were just stars and nothing more. I told him my mother said they were angels, and each person had a special guardian angel. We argued, and I was shocked that he didn’t know about the angels.
At school the next day we went to the science teacher with our question about the stars. The teacher said the stars are just fiery gases that are burning themselves out.
My angels died that day, and I never recovered. The nights became bleak with only dead gases blurring the sky.
Why did my mother have to tell me they were angels! Didn’t she know? I felt hurt and betrayed. I was angry at my mother, but I never let her know. I simply went along with the new science that everyone else believed in.
I wondered about my other friends, whether they too had been lied to by their mothers. I never asked them. I was too embarrassed.
As I grew older I forgot my anger. I realized that my mother was just telling me a fairy tale to make me feel good. Now I knew about the science of astronomy; I wanted to be a rocket engineer and travel to the moon.
I DREW pictures of rockets and space ships. I studied the solar system and learned the constellations. The night sky became a map, and one day I would travel there.
Well, I never traveled to the moon, and I lost my interest in the stars. They didn’t seem to matter much with all the suffering on this planet.
Perhaps, I thought, I can help a few people here. In my own small way I tried to help myself and others too. But where was God and His angels?
Life seemed meaningless, and I wandered through it searching for a deeper meaning than God or His angels.
Inducted into the army against my will to fight in a war no one believed in, I grew angry, bitter and cynical. My heart became cold. I smoked dope with my friends as we tried to forget it all. But it was a reality we couldn’t escape.
Then one day after army training a friend asked if I would like to go with him to a religious meeting. I was skeptical, but I had studied about this religion in college. My curiosity got the best of me. Now was my chance to meet a real Bahá’í.
I don’t remember much of what happened at that first meeting; I only remember the warmth of the people, and especially of an old black man named Ben Brown.
WHAT AN amazing man! So simple and humble. He didn’t have a high school education, and worked as a janitor downtown. His wife had died a few years before, and he was all alone.
Yet this man could look into your eyes and read the depths of your soul. He saw what I tried to hide beneath the cold cynicism. He saw the anger and hurt. He saw a young man who was searching desperately for something he had lost in his childhood.
At first, I didn’t realize how much he could help me. I simply enjoyed his humorous stories and deep laughter that changed everyone around him into rolling jelly.
Ben Brown was a good man. He helped others by listening to their stories. And he was a wise man. From reading the Bahá’í Writings he knew so much, always giving a reasonable answer to my questions. He taught me so much I can’t put into words.
I would walk downtown to Monterey after army training and have supper with Ben at a local restaurant. What a handshake, what an embrace he gave! He broke down my stiffness, broke through my defenses. He touched my heart when all else was cold. He filled me with laughter and we broke bread together.
[Page 3]
LETTERS
Increase in our numbers can stay executioner’s hand[edit]
| The American Bahá’í welcomes letters to the editor on any subject of general interest. Letters should be as brief as possible, and are subject to editing for length and style. Please address letters to The Editor, The American Bahá’í, Bahá’í National Center, Wilmette, IL 60091. |
To the Editor:
Regarding the editorial in the October 1981 issue of The American Bahá’í:
I would like to relate a dream that a friend of mine had not long ago:
SHE SAID that in the dream she found herself in a crowd witnessing an execution, and realizing that it was a Bahá’í who was about to be martyred, she felt moved to sing “Alláh’u’Abhá.”
As she did, the martyr-to-be stopped the proceedings and came over to her, saying, “Look, I’m a Persian, I can understand what you’re saying and I’m trying to concentrate on my death ... would you please not say anything in Persian. Please sing something in English if you have to! ...”
“Okay,” she replied, and started singing another song, this time in English.
Suddenly she realized that many others in the crowd were Bahá’ís, and that they were singing with her! Whereupon the executioner looked up, and seeing so many Bahá’ís, was unable to carry out his deed.
I’d like to add that during the past year and a half I’ve felt much more warmth and closeness among the friends I’ve met and the communities I’ve visited, and have noticed much more “real” action going on, perhaps not yet reflected in greatly increased enrollments but certainly shown in stronger and more unified members of our beloved Faith.
And isn’t that—our love and unity—a key to increasing enrollments?
Please God we soon will see such an increase in our numbers that the executioners of the world will stop of their own accord!
Wilder, Vermont
To the Editor:
Bahá’ís, in common with many people today, are looking for ways to fulfill their potential and develop techniques for personal growth.
In this pursuit, they sometimes turn to disciplines that are costly, time-consuming and, occasionally, at variance with the Teachings.
THEIR LIBRARIES are stocked with self-help books that promise to open doors to fulfillment and enrichment.
They may not be aware that a program has been developed by the National Education Committee and is being offered through sponsoring Spiritual Assemblies.
This course uses the Divine Text and a maximum of good common sense and approved methods to help Bahá’ís revitalize their lives, develop their potential and be assured of personal growth and transformation.
The program consists of a nine-week course led by trained facilitators using the Comprehensive Deepening Program in a new and exciting way.
Available in many areas, it is the kind of course offered outside the Faith for which people pay hundreds of dollars.
We have been told all of our Bahá’í lives that our Faith has the guidance and wisdom necessary to help us become assured, radiant, dynamic and productive.
That guidance and wisdom is to be found in abundance in the Personal Transformation course. I feel certain that its wide use will be of great benefit to individuals and to the teaching effort.
Boulder City, Nevada
To the Editor:
In the October issue of The American Bahá’í there appeared an interesting comment by a Bahá’í youth, Danita M. Brown, who is black, about the play “Soul Wars” that was presented at the Bahá’í Youth Conference in Kansas City, Missouri.
There is no doubt whatsoever that racialism is one of the “most challenging issues” confronting humanity as a whole, and particularly the American nation.
NO WONDER that the beloved Guardian expatiated repeatedly upon those ingrained, long-entrenched prejudices that have engulfed the globe in different ways and shapes.
There also is no doubt that Bahá’u’lláh will, in due course, root up all kinds of prejudice. He has summoned the Bahá’ís to eliminate every speck of prejudice, first from their minds and hearts, and then to ward off this loathsome evil from the whole world.
There was, however, some slight misunderstanding in that comment that I would like to try to bring to light.
We must realize that “black” and “dark” are two different words, in substance and root as well as in meaning, in languages in general and in the Bahá’í Writings especially.
Black is a color that exists outwardly, and its beauty, its necessity and even its essentiality have been appreciated in the Writings and by science too.
On the other hand, “dark” has no outward existence; it is absolutely nothing. We feel it only because of lack of light.
IF WE ARE in a room with no trace of light, although all the objects are there nothing can be seen. Why? Because of the absence of light. As soon as the light is turned on, everything becomes visible.
Evil likewise has no outward existence; it is manifested in the lack of perfections in man. In the Writings we come across ignorance symbolized as darkness (lack of knowledge), poverty as lack of wealth, and so forth.
The point, I believe, is that, as light is the cause of existence, of growth, of development, allegorically, God is “light” and evil is “darkness,” and this has nothing to do with “black” or “white.”
Bellevue, Washington
To the Editor:
A question that has long been on my mind, and that has recently become of concern to many, is: How does one refer to those who have not yet enrolled under the Banner of the Blessed Beauty without the implication of division?
Drawing from the words of Bahá’u’lláh, “ ...Thou hast enjoined upon men to honor their guest ...” (Bahá’í Prayers, p. 26), the language of the Faith would easily accommodate the distinction between the community of believers and those as-yet undeclared souls whom we regard with love and fellowship, by referring to them as guests.
This would apply in those situations where teaching and proclamation were taking place in groups.
Taking time, when it is appropriate, to introduce to a speaker those among the gathering who are seekers, and referring to them as “guests,” helps the speaker too.
Scio, Oregon
To the Editor:
Over the past several months The American Bahá’í has printed a number of letters from mothers expressing a desire for support, love and consideration from the Bahá’í community.
What is it, specifically, that is being requested?
Olympia, Washington
To the Editor:
An editorial in your October issue speculated on the possible reasons for the lack of response by the American Bahá’í community to the suffering of the believers in Iran.
The thrust of the editorial was that to become a Bahá’í entails a state of grace, bestowed upon declaration, from which we have fallen by becoming “Americanized.”
ALTHOUGH I appreciate that the intent of the article was to awaken us to our spiritual duties, it nevertheless smacks of the Islamic fundamentalist rhetoric so prevalent in Iran.
Like most Bahá’ís, I am a convert to the Faith, and it has taken me a number of years to begin to appreciate what the term “Bahá’í” means, and I expect it will take a number more before I feel confident that I am “living the life.”
This has meant an evolving sensitivity, and a greater understanding of the role of conscience in my life. What were obscure guilt feelings have developed into a growing sense of responsibility for my fellow man.
I consider this an evolutionary process that will someday form the groundwork for a Bahá’í community in our town. It is an article of my faith that this process unites the Bahá’í community throughout the world.
Perhaps our apparent lack of sensitivity is really the blessed numbness of shock that protects
Comment[edit]
Continued From Page 2
Most important, Ben taught me something I had completely forgotten from childhood. Something I never dreamed could be true again.
He taught me about the stars and angels. He told me that not only did I have a special guardian angel to help me when I really needed it, but that I could be an angel too!
A STAR, he said, was shining in my heart. If I would just let that light shine out to others, I too could be an angel. Well, I didn’t feel like an angel or a star. But I did feel the warmth of Ben’s presence and the light of his knowledge.
I had to go through a lot of soul-searching and personal anguish before I could understand Ben. I was so wrapped up in myself that I couldn’t see the light shining all around me.
Ben was always there throughout this difficult period, ready to listen and to lend a helping hand. Finally, one dark night, a star was born. On my 22nd birthday I became a Bahá’í.
The night stars became angels again, and I was one of them! The dark sky was all aglow.
My mother knew this intuitively, and had tried to teach me. Angrily I had rejected her fairy tales and replaced them with a map of the sky that led nowhere.
I laughed at myself, and jumped for joy. The heavens were alive again, and best of all, a glorious new Sun was dawning in this Age—the Age of the coming of Bahá’u’lláh.
Bahá’u’lláh teaches that the Sun rises at different points on the horizon each season, but it is the same Sun shining throughout.
ABRAHAM, Moses, Christ, Muḥammad—all were the same Sun shining in different seasons. And this is a new season. This is springtime, and the light of Christ is dawning on a new horizon—the same Sun but a new season. Bahá’u’lláh is shining in the Glory of God.
In this Age, He says, “So powerful is the light of unity that it can illumine the whole earth.”
If people could only remember what their mothers taught them as children. The stars are reflecting angels, and each person is a star waiting to be born.
The Sun of Reality is once again dawning on the horizon. Why are so many people hidden in caves? Can’t they see the light and feel the warmth? Why won’t they come out and enjoy the Sun? Why must they fight and destroy one another?
I don’t know the answer, but I know that I am indebted to my mother and to Ben Brown for having taught me to love the stars.
Ben Brown died a few years ago, so I can’t say this to him personally, but I know he is listening. He always heard me. When I look to the sky at night, I know he is shining down on me.
So I am sharing this story with you for the first time. Mother and Dad. It’s a starry, starry night, and I know all is right. Thank you for giving me so much love and light!
The Bahá’í community of Denton, Texas, observed World Peace Day with a public meeting September 17 in the Denton city council chambers. The speakers were Mrs. Dorothy Freeman (left) and Dan May. Mrs. Cheryl Anderson Smith (center), secretary of the Spiritual Assembly of Denton, was chairman of the event. More than 50 people attended.
Awards[edit]
Continued From Page 1
people through sports.
The award program was chaired by Muhtadia Sallaam. Entertainment was supplied by Dash Crofts and other Bahá’ís from the Los Angeles area.
Miss Hedren, best known for her roles in the Alfred Hitchcock films “Marnie” and “The Birds,” has devoted much of her time in recent years to the Food for the Hungry program.
Her dedication was summed up by Dr. Larry Ward, president of Food for the Hungry, who wrote: “Actress Tippi Hedren leaves the cameras far behind and follows her heart to places like Bangladesh, Haiti and Nicaragua, walks through drab refugee camps in the disaster areas and somehow leaves them brighter through the light of her love.”
The all-volunteer MEND organization, based in Pacoima, is of particular service to communities in the San Fernando Valley.
MS. LEVY is vice-president and director of the Los Angeles Commission on Assaults Against Women and serves as program coordinator of the Southern California Rape Prevention Study Center.
In 1973, she was co-founder of the Los Angeles Commission on Assaults Against Women, which evolved into the Los Angeles County Domestic Violence Council.
Sugar Ray Robinson himself accepted the award on behalf of the Sugar Ray Youth Foundation, whose motto is “Imparting Values Through Sports.”
The Foundation helps children in general, and disadvantaged young people in particular.
Participation in the Foundation’s programs is not restricted on the basis of race, religion or sex.
The Human Rights Awards program, begun in 1969 by the Bahá’ís of Los Angeles County, commemorates the adoption by the United Nations General Assembly in 1948 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Dash Crofts (second from left) was among the entertainers December 13 at the 13th annual Human Rights Awards program sponsored by the Bahá’ís of Los Angeles County. Performing with Mr. Crofts are his brothers-in-law, Walter Heath and Louie Shelton (right) and his nephew, Jayme Heath (left).
Hand of the Cause Khadem to speak at St. Paul conference[edit]
The Hand of the Cause of God Zikrullah Khadem will be among the speakers May 15 at a conference in St. Paul, Minnesota, on “The Institution of the Hands of the Cause and the Learned.”
Also scheduled to speak at the day-long conference, sponsored by the Bahá’í Metropolitan Women’s Committee, a committee of the Spiritual Assembly of Roseville, Minnesota, is Auxiliary Board member Stephen Birkland.
Nursery care and children’s classes will be offered only for those children up to 12 years of age who are pre-registered by April 15. There will be a fee for child care of $2 for the first child and $1 for each additional child.
Parents will be expected to volunteer some time during the conference to help with child care.
There is no conference fee.
Hotel/motel information and other information about the conference will be sent upon request by the Bahá’í Metropolitan Women’s Committee, Box 8181, Roseville, MN 55113, or you may phone the committee secretary, Vickie Wright, at 612-488-0031.
Alabama school slated[edit]
Bahá’ís everywhere are invited to attend the Alabama Bahá’í Spring School to be held March 11-14 at Rolling Hills Camp, just south of Birmingham.
The school theme is “Wings of the Spirit: Prayer, Fasting and Meditation.” Classes will be held on prayer, fasting and family life.
Arrangements have been made to have meals before sunrise and after sunset, and at noon for those who are not fasting.
To pre-register, write to Ed Bartlett, ______ Homewood, AL 35209, or phone 205-870-3782.
National Assembly sends open letter to Iran’s leaders[edit]
Continued From Page 1
familiar smokescreen of leveling spurious charges against the law-abiding Bahá’ís in Iran,” Judge Nelson said. “Not one shred of substantiating evidence has been produced by Iranian authorities. Indeed, at every turn, the Bahá’ís have been denied any opportunity to publicly defend themselves against these malicious accusations.”
In the press release from Iran, the chief justice was quoted as saying that “no one would be tried for merely ideological or religious reasons. There is no discrimination (against Bahá’ís) in this regard.”
However, despite his denial that the executions are religiously motivated, the published verdicts in trials of many Bahá’ís executed in recent months have included such charges as “fighting God and His Messenger,” “creating discord and disunity among Muslims,” and “corruption on earth.”
In addition, government documents dismissing Bahá’ís from their jobs, canceling their pensions, and denying them educational opportunities have referred to them as members of “the misled and misguided sect.”
In March 1981, the High Court of Justice in Tehran upheld the published verdict and sentence of a local revolutionary court that executed two Bahá’ís in Shíráz for practicing their religion.
THE UNIVERSAL House of Justice, in its cablegram of December 29 to all National Spiritual Assemblies, said the National Assembly members in Iran were executed December 27 without trial, that no official statements about the executions were made, and that none of the victims’ families was notified.
The burial sites of five of the members of the National Assembly were discovered in the “infidels” section of a Muslim graveyard.
Those executions were denounced by the U.S. State Department in a December 30 press conference, reports of which were carried by both U.S. wire services and appeared in The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Chicago Sun-Times, and many other newspapers in this country and around the world.
France’s leading daily paper, Le Monde, carried three articles about the arrests and executions.
It was in the glare of such publicity that Iran’s chief justice saw fit to issue the denial which he retracted two days later.
The executions of the members of the Spiritual Assembly of Tehran and their hostess apparently were carried out on January 4, two days before the Ayatollah denied the previous executions, then dismissed what he called “some complaints” about “one or two Bahá’ís,” alleging that their deaths “were not carried out by official bodies.”
“THIS IS YET another outrageous lie,” Judge Nelson said in reply to those statements. “We know that more than 100 Bahá’ís have been lynched, assassinated or executed over the past two years.
“The involvement of government authorities (in these incidents),” he added, “is verified by the published verdicts of Iranian courts that have sent scores of Bahá’ís to their deaths...”
Besides the executions of Bahá’ís in Tehran, Tabriz, Shíráz, Hamadan, Darun and Yazd, there have been numerous reports of the confiscation of personal and community property of Bahá’ís and the destruction of Bahá’í Holy Places in Iran.
The Universal House of Justice reported in a cable to the Bahá’í world on December 10 the destruction of the House of Bahá’u’lláh in Takur and its public sale.
At that same time, the House of Justice said, the Bahá’í cemetery in Tehran was seized by order of the revolutionary court.
“There can be no doubt,” said Judge Nelson, “that government authorities are engaged in a systematic, genocidal campaign to eliminate the Bahá’ís in Iran.
“THEY AIM to accomplish this by attacking the Bahá’í leadership. If the eight members of Iran’s National Assembly are indeed still alive, we challenge the government to produce these innocent people for a meeting with representatives of the press.”
On January 8 the U.S. National Spiritual Assembly, responding to a request from the Universal House of Justice, sent the following open letter to the Ayatollah Khomeini, Prime Minister Mir Husayn Musaví, and the Ayatollah Musavi Ardibili through the Algerian Embassy in Washington:
“The Bahá’í community of the United States has received with dismay and grief the shocking news of the recent executions of the eight members of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Iran and the six members of the Local Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Tehran.
“Iranian officials have already acknowledged the martyrdom of close to one hundred individuals. Fourteen others, who were abducted over a year ago, have probably shared the same fate.
“Hundreds have been imprisoned throughout the country on charges for which no substantive evidence has ever been presented, charges that we emphatically and categorically deny.
“Since our Iranian coreligionists are denied all opportunity publicly to defend themselves and to prove their innocence, since they are not permitted to appeal their cases, we appeal to you in their behalf requesting that you instruct the relevant authorities:
“1. IMMEDIATELY to stop summary arrests and executions,
“2. to produce and publish documents on the basis of which Bahá’ís have been convicted as alleged spies,
“3. to grant to Bahá’ís as law-abiding citizens and as a community their inalienable right publicly to defend themselves against malicious accusations and false charges.
“The Iranian Bahá’ís have always been loyal citizens of their country. They have the deepest reverence for the spirit of Islam and are entirely innocent of any wrongdoing.
“We join the Bahá’ís of the entire world in appealing to you not to allow grave injustice to continue against a peaceful and gentle community and pray that the one God Whom we all acknowledge may guide your steps.”
[Page 5]
THE FUNDS
Fund outlook depends upon support of believers[edit]
Continued From Page 1
National Spiritual Assembly in December to each individual believer throughout the country.
With the focus of the friends directed toward the goal of having 20,000 believers contribute directly to the National Fund each month, individual participation has risen from an average of 3,000 per Bahá’í month earlier in the year to the present average of 5,500.
In addition, in the first two weeks after the Fund appeal, more than 4,000 individuals had returned the special pledge card stating their intention to become one of the 20,000.
The increase in contributions followed a number of decisions by the National Assembly aimed at reducing expenditures.
Programs were curtailed or eliminated, as were a number of staff positions. Total reductions made during the fall and early winter amounted to about 12 percent of the original $6 million budget for 1981-82.
The cutbacks were spread fairly evenly across the National Center operations, affecting the Teaching Committee office, Education Committee office, International Goals Committee, Treasurer’s Office, etc.
ONE INDICATION of the healthier condition of the Fund, due to the combination of increased revenue and decreased expenditures, is that the National Assembly has resumed monthly contributions to the International Fund in an effort to fulfill its $1 million pledge of support for this year.
Despite the present easing of the financial crisis, the outlook for the months immediately ahead will depend in large measure upon the direct support of the National Fund by a growing number of believers.
With the continued persecution of the friends in Iran and the growing public awareness of the Faith, it is imperative that our financial position be sound.
To the degree that sacrificial support and increased participation strengthen the Fund, money will be available to seize opportunities for the advancement of the Cause.
Relationship between individual, collective contributions explained[edit]
This is the fourth in a seven-part series on important aspects of the Bahá’í Fund. Although man functions in a material world through material expressions, he is called upon to acquire divine attributes and to manifest spiritual behavior. The Fund, as a Divine Institution, provides man with a means to grow spiritually and demonstrate that growth through action. The purpose of this series is to highlight the spiritual principles that underlie the outwardly material act of giving to the Fund.
•
One question that is received from time to time in the Office of the Treasurer concerns the relationship between contributions made by individual believers and those made by Assemblies or Groups on behalf of a community (collective contributions).
For example: An individual believer contributes to the local Fund, and then reasons that since the Local Assembly gives to the National Fund, he has also fulfilled his obligation to support the National Fund.
HOWEVER, the beloved Guardian emphasized that a clear distinction must be made between individual and collective contributions.
This distinction was further emphasized by him in statements that initiated the National, Continental and International Funds, and was continually repeated in his later messages.
In the 1950s the National Spiritual Assembly of the U.S. forwarded, in the name of the National Assembly, a contribution for the Australian Temple, although it was actually a gift from an individual. The Guardian quickly pointed out that the contribution had to be made in the name of that individual.
At another time the National Assembly included an individual’s contribution to the International Fund with the National Assembly’s contribution.
That action prompted this response from the Guardian in a letter written on his behalf dated June 20, 1954:
“The principle involved is as follows: The Guardian feels that your Assembly when allocating its annual budget, and having stipulated what sum is for the purposes of the International Centre of the Faith, should immediately pigeonhole that sum to be at the Guardian’s disposal. Any monies received as contributions from the Bahá’ís for the International Centre should not be credited to this account which represents a national joint contribution, and has nothing to do with individual or local contributions forwarded to the World Centre in your care.”
THE IDEA that individual and collective contributions are distinct is similar to the principles that govern consultation and problem-solving within the Faith.
Once an individual expresses an idea in an Assembly meeting, or turns a problem over to the Assembly, it is no longer his idea or problem. It belongs to the body collectively.
The same is true of contributions. When an individual gives money to the Local Fund, that is the Fund he is supporting (unless otherwise indicated through earmarking).
Even if the Assembly or Group chooses to send a portion of that money to the National Fund, it is a contribution from the Assembly, not from the individual members of the community.
In letter after letter the beloved Guardian encouraged individual believers to contribute directly to each of the Funds. It is one of our blessings as followers of Bahá’u’lláh to support directly each one of the Institutions that His Revelation has raised up.
The National Spiritual Assembly is now calling for at least 20,000 Bahá’ís to contribute directly to the National Fund once every Bahá’í month.
In our next article we will explore the principle of universal participation and look at the untapped power that can be released when universal participation is attained. We will see why the National Assembly is calling for such an unprecedented increase in the number of individual believers directly supporting the National Fund.
19 at UNICEF party[edit]
Nineteen children including eight from Bahá’í families attended a UNICEF party last October 17 sponsored by the Bahá’ís of Delta Community, East Contra Costa County, California, to celebrate Universal Children’s Day.
A wiener roast was followed by games, one of which involved balloons bearing the message ‘One Planet, One People ... Please.’
The local newspaper publicized the event.
138 B.E.
National Bahá’í
Fund
Individual Participation
goal—20,000 individuals
Contributions
goal—$316,000
in that deficit!
received
goal
$3,586,943
$4,108,000
$6,000,000
Youth are asked to ‘Give Up Junk’ during Fast period[edit]
The National Youth Committee is asking all Bahá’í youth to support a special effort in connection with the upcoming Fast: “Give Up the Junk Month.”
The program has been planned to help youth increase their contributions to the National Fund and give them an opportunity to make some small sacrifice, thus enhancing their spiritual development.
“The National Youth Committee is suggesting that each Bahá’í youth plan to ‘give up the junk’ during the Bahá’í month of ‘Alá’ (March 2-20),” says Dawn Haghighi, a member of the committee. “This is the period of the Fast that has been designated by Bahá’u’lláh as a time of sacrifice and spiritual purification and refreshment.
“If every Bahá’í youth would give up the candy, sodas and other ‘junk food’ during the Fast, and contribute the money saved to the Fund, both the Fund and those who made the sacrifice would benefit!
|
The Fund Is the 112 Linden Avenue |
“We hope that all the youth will make even a small effort to observe ‘Give Up the Junk Month’ in March,” says Miss Haghighi. “The American youth have a special role to play in reaching the goal of 20,000 regular contributors to the National Fund, and this special effort during the Fast should help to achieve that goal.”
Holyoke College site for Regional Youth Conference in April[edit]
Holyoke Community College in Holyoke, Massachusetts, is once again the site of a major youth conference to be held April 9-11, 1982.
The conference, sponsored by the Spiritual Assembly of South Hadley, Massachusetts, drew more than 300 youth when first held two years ago. That number is expected to be exceeded at this year’s conference.
Among the participants will be Auxiliary Board members Robert Harris and Nat Rutstein.
The conference cost, including food and housing, is estimated at about $20 per person.
More information about the Holyoke conference will appear in the March issue of The American Bahá’í and in the “Youth Hotline,” or you may write for information to the Spiritual Assembly of South Hadley Town, P.O. Box 241, South Hadley, MA 01075.
During its meeting December 10-13, the National Spiritual Assembly held a special meeting at the House of Worship with the friends in the Chicago area, then flew to Dallas-Fort Worth for a similar gathering with Bahá’ís in that area. In the photo at left, Judge James F. Nelson (right), chairman of the National Assembly, introduces the other members to the friends in Texas. That’s Dan Jordan standing. At right, National Assembly members Dorothy Nelson, Soo Fouts and Glenford Mitchell chat with friends from the Chicago area following their Saturday afternoon meeting.
Audio-Visual Centre seeks teaching, other materials[edit]
The International Bahá’í Audio-Visual Centre, established by the Universal House of Justice with headquarters in Toronto, Canada, serves primarily as a center for the exchange of information about audio-visual materials, programs or projects, with emphasis on equipment and materials pertaining to Bahá’í teaching and consolidation needs.
The Centre is interested in hearing from Bahá’ís and Bahá’í communities or committees that are involved in the creation, production, distribution and utilization of audio-visual materials.
Bahá’ís who are working professionally in broadcasting or related fields also are encouraged to write to the Centre if they are interested in contributing to the audio-visual work.
Please write to the International Bahá’í Audio-Visual Centre, 7200 Leslie St., Thornhill, Ontario L3T 2A1, Canada.
The Wilmette, Illinois, Bus Company recently commissioned a new logo for display at each bus stop and on the side of each bus. The Bahá’í House of Worship was included in the design because it is Wilmette’s foremost landmark. If you plan to visit the Wilmette area, please phone the House of Worship Activities Office at 312-256-4400 for information about local transportation and accommodations.
2nd Bristol Conference scheduled in May[edit]
The Spiritual Assembly of Roanoke, Virginia, is once again sponsoring the Bristol Bahá’í Conference scheduled for May 28-30 at the Virginia Intermont College in Bristol.
The idea for the conference sprang from a desire to expand the Faith into extreme southwestern Virginia, which borders North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky and West Virginia.
The few believers in that area have expressed frustration at teaching in the “Bible belt” since most of them have little knowledge of the Bible.
The conference is geared toward increasing that knowledge with topics this year that include “Where Is Bahá’u’lláh in the Bible,” “Important Symbols in the Bible,” “Becoming a Hollow Reed,” “The Covenant of God,” “Islam,” and many others.
For more information please write to the Bristol Bahá’í Conference Committee, P.O. Box 6071, Roanoke, VA 24017, or phone 703-982-6984 or 985-0774.
‘Achieving Balance’ to be theme of Illinois Women’s Conference[edit]
“Women Achieving the Balance the Bahá’í Way” is the theme of a Bahá’í women’s conference planned for July 2-5, 1982, in Evanston, Illinois, and sponsored by the Spiritual Assembly of Chicago.
“The conference is a direct response to a feeling of need expressed by many women who are striving to identify their needs and deepen their understanding of their potential role as Bahá’í women,” says Jane Howard, chairman of the Bahá’í Women’s Conference Committee.
THE CONFERENCE will include presentations on the effects of religion on women’s development, and especially the influence of the Bahá’í Faith on the development of women; men and women sharing responsibility; and “networking” (building support groups) as a concept to be applied to both the world of work and to single parents.
The four-day gathering, designed primarily for Bahá’í women, also will include workshop sessions on a variety of topics including love and marriage, life as a single Bahá’í woman, effective time management, problems of the single parent, Bahá’í heroines, handling personal and family finances, and the spiritual education of children.
Teen-age girls are especially encouraged to attend, and at least one workshop on the challenges of being a Bahá’í youth is planned, says Mrs. Howard.
A Saturday evening banquet will include Bahá’í and non-Bahá’í speakers and performances by women with talents in the performing arts.
It is hoped that the conference will not only provide encouragement to women in their search for a sense of spiritual identity, says Mrs. Howard, but also give them many practical suggestions for making their lives more harmonious.
Those who are interested in attending the conference are asked to complete and mail the pre-registration form below.
[Page 7]
YOUTH NEWS
More than 300 attend Youth Conference in Orlando[edit]
The Regional Youth Conference held in late December at Disney World near Orlando, Florida, served as a major proclamation event for the Faith.
More than 300 Bahá’ís from 26 states attended the four-day conference and as part of the program, toured Disney’s “Magic Kingdom.”
MOST OF the participants wore a specially designed conference T-shirt on which was printed the slogan: “The Bahá’í Faith: Uniting the World ... One Heart at a Time.”
The bright red shirts caught the eye of many of the 84,000 Disney World visitors from all over the world, many of whom stopped to talk with the Bahá’ís.
The conference program included talks on a variety of topics including goal-setting and effective preparation for teaching by Dr. Dwight W. Allen, a member of the National Spiritual Assembly.
Dr. Carole Allen, secretary of the Race Unity Committee, spoke on “the most challenging issue”; Linda Kavelin-Popov of the National Education Committee spoke on the Bahá’í view of courtship and marriage, and Diane Smith of the National Teaching Committee spoke on the role of youth in meeting the teaching goals of the Seven Year Plan.
Five members of the National Youth Committee also participated in the conference.
Other highlights included a talent show presented by the participants and a presentation by a South Florida Bahá’í music group, “Live and on Stage.”
A SPECIAL guest appearance by Mickey Mouse delighted the children, youth and adults.
The conference was one of a series of Regional Youth Conferences planned by the National Youth Committee to meet one of the goals of the second phase of the Seven Year Plan.
Other conferences will be held this winter in Oregon, Oklahoma and Wisconsin.
The Orlando conference was carried out in connection with a month-long teaching campaign sponsored by the District Teaching Committee of Central Florida.
Prior to the conference, teaching teams had welcomed more than 50 new believers to the Faith, and many youth arrived early for the conference to help in that effort.
Upon receiving news of the execution of eight members of the National Spiritual Assembly of Iran, many of the youth decided to remain in the Central Florida area to continue working with the teaching teams.
Mickey Mouse receives his Bahá’í T-shirt from David Nicol, a Bahá’í youth from Sarasota, during the Regional Youth Conference held December 6-7 in Orlando, Florida, near Disney World.
The National Teaching Committee wishes to announce the sad news that publication of World Citizen magazine has been discontinued. A refund procedure has been established and all subscribers should be receiving a letter and refund check. If there are questions, please contact the National Teaching Committee office for help. The magazine’s editorial board included (left to right) Benjamin Hansen, Shiidon Bahi Hawley, Roy Lee. Others on the board were Payam Adlparvar, Cheryl Hands, Shervin Bahi Hawley, Kamran Mouzoon, Priscilla J. Secor.
How are you doing with your new friend?[edit]
How are you doing with your new friend? Remember, every Bahá’í youth has been asked to welcome at least one new Bahá’í into the Faith before Riḍván 1982 ... and time is running short.
One of the more effective ways to do this is to become a special friend to someone and then, using the tools of prayer and service, attract that friend into the Cause.
By living the life and being a shining example of the Teachings of Bahá’u’lláh, we become more effective teachers of the Faith.
Three more Regional Youth Conferences are scheduled during next two months[edit]
Three more Regional Youth Conferences are to be held under the sponsorship of the National Youth Committee during the next two months. The schedule is as follows:
- March 19-21, Camp Arrah Wanna, Mount Hood, Oregon.
- April 9-11, Lake Murray State Park, Ardmore, Oklahoma.
- April 9-11, American Baptist Assembly, Green Lake, Wisconsin.
Youth who are able to attend any or all of these conferences are urged to register as early as possible. The Regional Youth Conferences have been attracting record attendance, and a capacity crowd is expected at each of these three remaining conferences for the first year of the second phase of the Seven Year Plan.
To register, fill out the conference registration coupon and send it with a $5 deposit per person to: Bahá’í National Youth Committee, _______ Fort Lauderdale, FL 33315. Checks should be made payable to the Bahá’í Conference Fund.
Upon receiving your coupon and payment, the National Youth Committee will send you complete information about the conference(s) you wish to attend.
Highlighting each of the conferences this year will be appearances by members of the National Spiritual Assembly, the Auxiliary Board, and the National Youth Committee. The over-all theme is “The Bahá’í Faith Believes in YOUth.”
Here are some details of the upcoming conferences:
Oregon: The program will begin Friday afternoon, March 19, and run through Sunday afternoon, March 21. Attendees will have the option of observing the Fast on Friday and Saturday (there will be a special Naw-Rúz celebration Saturday evening).
Participants will include Dr. Dwight Allen, a member of the National Spiritual Assembly, and Auxiliary Board member Paul Pettit.
The cost of the conference is $35 per person, which includes food, housing and registration fee.
Oklahoma: The program will begin Friday afternoon, April 9, and run through lunch on Sunday, April 11. It will feature Dr. Allen and Auxiliary Board member Ronna Santoscoy.
Youth will be camping in dormitories at the State Park. The conference cost, which includes housing, food and registration, is $35 per person.
Wisconsin: The conference will begin Friday afternoon and end after lunch on Sunday.
The featured speakers will include Glenford E. Mitchell, secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly, and Auxiliary Board member Stephen Birkland.
The conference cost, which includes housing, food and registration fee, is $45 per person.
Don’t forget to fill out the coupon and mail it, with your deposit, to the National Youth Committee as soon as possible!
Youth Committee plans campus poster series[edit]
The National Youth Committee is developing a series of posters suitable for display on college campuses to proclaim the Faith.
The committee would welcome sketches and other art ideas from Bahá’í artists and graphic designers of all ages. Please send your ideas to the Bahá’í National Youth Committee, Bahá’í National Center, Wilmette, IL 60091.
[Page 8]
IGC: PIONEERING
World NEWS[edit]
In St. Lucia, Windward Islands, the three-week “Grandma Snyder” teaching campaign last July and August, dedicated to the memory of the first pioneer to die at her post in the West Indies, resulted in 464 enrollments and new Local Spiritual Assemblies in each of the 10 goal towns.
Bahá’ís from nine countries including nine from the U.S. participated in the campaign ...
The Bahá’í community in the Republic of Ireland was praised by that country’s Minister of Labour and Public Service during an address read on his behalf at the opening of the national Bahá’í Exhibition last October 7 in Bray, County Wicklow ...
An “entry-by-troops” teaching effort held last September and October in Ghana and dedicated to the persecuted believers in Iran resulted in the enrollment of more than 1,000 persons from 30 tribes in that country’s Afram Plains area.
At least 17 of the new Bahá’ís are tribal chiefs ...
One hundred twenty-seven Bahá’ís including youth from Lesotho, Bophuthatswana and Transkei as well as from Kwa Zulu, Ciskei, Natal and Johannesburg in South Africa attended an International Youth Conference last October in Shalima, near Potchefstroom in the Transvaal. Forty of the participants are pioneers to the area ...
A proclamation campaign sponsored last September by the National Spiritual Assembly of Korea led to the publication of brief quotations from the sacred Writings 14 times in the Seoul Daily News, a national newspaper with a circulation of about 800,000 ...
A proposal by the National Spiritual Assembly of The Netherlands for reclassification of the Faith in European libraries has been adopted by the Fédération Internationale de Documentation in its Universal Decimal Classification.
The system is used by some 5,000 libraries, technical journals and abstracting services throughout the continent ...
More than 50 people declared their belief in Bahá’u’lláh during a teaching campaign last October in Middle Bush Tanna, Vanuatu ...
More than 50 believers and their non-Bahá’í guests attended the first Bahá’í summer school in Bermuda last September 4-6, thus fulfilling one of the goals given to the newly formed National Spiritual Assembly of Bermuda by the Universal House of Justice ...
Parent Assembly must certify Bahá’í traveling teachers[edit]
In a recent newsletter from a Continental Pioneer Committee, this notice was directed to all National Spiritual Assemblies concerning traveling teachers:
“It is essential that at least the initial request/approach (to the Continental Pioneer Committee) be through the parent Assembly, which is required to certify the Bahá’í standing of the believer and if possible to express its opinion about the offer for travel teaching. We request that this requirement be widely publicized.”
ONE HUNDRED ninety-six Bahá’ís have so far expressed an interest in attending one or more of the five International Conferences scheduled in 1982. The goal is to encourage the believers to consider seriously arising to undertake traveling teaching assignments before and/or after the Conferences.
Arranging this lofty endeavor involves a highly important process:
1. The International Goals Committee contacts one of the institutions that knows you best, such as your Local Spiritual Assembly or District Teaching Committee, asking for its recommendation of you as a Bahá’í in good standing.
2. This evaluation, together with the teaching application form that you fill out and send back to the Goals Committee office, provides the committee with pertinent information about you.
3. The International Goals Committee uses these facts to write a letter introducing you to the host National Spiritual Assembly. The receiving National Assembly expects to have a letter from the International Goals Committee about you before utilizing your services.
If you go to more than one country, the Continental Pioneer Committees will coordinate your trip. The International Goals Committee will contact the Pioneer Committees for you.
4. The International Goals Committee will provide you with information about the country, health precautions that can be vitally important to you, and visa requirements.
The Universal House of Justice, in a recent letter to all National Spiritual Assemblies, stressed the need for Bahá’ís to carry current Bahá’í credentials with them to the conferences, as the question of security is particularly important.
Each National Spiritual Assembly is asked to ensure the presence, at each conference that believers under its jurisdiction are likely to attend, of a suitable believer authorized to validate credentials when necessary, or to issue new ones to Bahá’ís from its national community who may have lost, or for some other reason, be without their credentials.
For help in planning your teaching trip, please write to the International Goals Committee, Bahá’í National Center, Wilmette, IL 60091, or phone 312-869-9039.
The Lagos National Theatre, site of the Bahá’í International Conference to be held August 19-22 in the capital of Nigeria. The conference is one of five scheduled for later this year.
Thumbnail sketches of goal countries assigned to U.S.[edit]
In November 1981, 46 new pioneering goals were assigned to the U.S. Bahá’í community by the Universal House of Justice.
These goals, in 26 different countries and territories, must be filled by Riḍván 1982, only two months away!
The Universal House of Justice has emphasized that the numbers assigned are minimal. It is the ardent hope of the Supreme Body that “the beloved American Bahá’í community ever in the vanguard in providing pioneers throughout the world will by its response to this fresh appeal maintain its primacy.”
Here is a list of goal countries assigned to the U.S. with a brief description of each one:
AFRICA
(E) Gambia (2). Gambia, on the west coast of northern Africa, is about twice the size of Delaware. Its climate is tropical, with two seasons: dry and cool, and warm and rainy. It is an independent country with a population of about 500,000. The main industries are peanut products, soft drinks, and consumer clothing. There is an immediate need for civil engineers, and teachers at various levels are frequently sought. Employment also may exist for health trainers and other medical personnel.
(E) Liberia (2). Liberia, bordered by Sierra Leone, Guinea and the Ivory Coast on the northwest coast of Africa, is an independent country of about two million people. It is rich in iron ore, rubber, timber and diamonds, and these account for the bulk of its industry and trade. Liberia has four institutions of higher learning. Presently, there is a need for all medical personnel, agriculture specialists and industrial engineers.
(F, A) Mauritania (2). Mauritania, an independent country on the west coast of northern Africa, has a desert climate with slight rainfall four months each year. Its population of nearly one and one-half million is of Islamic background. Natural resources include iron ore, gypsum and fish, and its products include livestock, millet, maize, wheat, dates and rice. There is a constant need for agricultural engineers and agronomists.
(A, F, S) Morocco (2). Morocco, with its varied terrain of coastal plain, mountains and desert, is an independent country on the northernmost tip of west Africa. Its population of nearly 19 million is predominantly Muslim. Morocco’s resources include phosphates, iron, manganese, lead and fisheries. Its major industries include mining, textiles and fishing. Opportunities in management and administration do presently exist; also, there are employment possibilities in university level teaching and vocational training.
EUROPE
(D) Denmark (7). Denmark lies between the Baltic Sea and North Sea. The peninsula of Jutland connects the country to the mainland of Europe. It also includes the Faroe Islands and Greenland. The temperature ranges from a mild 60° F in summer to a windy 30° F in winter. Denmark’s five million people are mainly Christian. Major industries include industrial and construction equipment, electronics, furniture and textiles. Foreigners must obtain work permits before entering the country. Prospective students can apply for funding for undergraduate and postgraduate study. Au pair positions are frequently available (these are known in this country as “mother’s helpers”).
ASIA
(T) Thailand (2). Thailand, an agricultural country about the size of Texas, is warm and green all year. The Bahá’í community is strong and active, but needs help with expansion and consolidation. There are jobs available for medical personnel including MDs, Registered Nurses, public health nurses, occupational and physical therapists, dentists, obstetricians and nutritionists. And there are always jobs teaching English as a second language, even for those who do not yet speak Thai. In addition, there are a number of American and English-language international schools available through the secondary level. There are a number of development projects operated by U.S. AID and the World Bank.
(E) Nepal (2). Nepal, on the southern slopes of the Himalayas, is primarily an agricultural country. Jobs most frequently available
About 75 people including 19 children attended a pre-Thanksgiving fund-raising dinner for the International Year of Disabled Persons sponsored by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Bermuda and held at the National Center in Hamilton, Bermuda. Here Mrs. Eunice Jones, the IYDP Committee coordinator, receives a check for $600 on behalf of the Bahá’ís of Bermuda from Marvin Brock (left) and Frank Esposito. The presentation was covered by two television stations and one newspaper.
[Page 9]
EDUCATION
The Bosch Bahá’í School Council recently announced plans to build a new educational facility at the school in Santa Cruz, California. An initial gift of $105,000 was received to begin the structure, which is to include an assembly area with stage, lobby, office, projection room, rest rooms, a special area for mothers and infants, and a storage area on the top floor. The lower level will include classrooms, an audio-visual room, and rest rooms. The building, designed to blend with the existing cabins and lodge, will be of wood construction with glued-laminated beams, concrete and steel support columns as its principal structural components. It will be heated and cooled by ‘gas-pack’ heat pumps using electricity and propane gas. The building will have a total floor space area of 7,400 square feet; all areas are designed for use by the handicapped. Estimated construction cost is $190,000. The architect is Gordon Jackson, a Bahá’í who lives in Eugene, Oregon.
Each Assembly has heavy responsibility for teaching, promoting Cause of God[edit]
This is the ninth in a series of articles on the development of Local Spiritual Assemblies prepared by the National Education Committee. This month’s installment is about the Assembly’s responsibilities in teaching the Cause of God.
•
1. Why is it important for Local Spiritual Assemblies to be concerned about teaching the Faith?
Bahá’u’lláh has revealed, “To assist Me is to teach My Cause. This is a theme with which whole Tablets are laden. This is the changeless commandment of God, eternal in the past, eternal in the future. Comprehend this, O ye men of insight.” (Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 196)
And the Universal House of Justice has stated, “The cornerstone of the foundation of all Bahá’í activity is teaching the Cause.” (The Individual and Teaching, p. vii)
2. Should teaching be discussed during the actual meeting of the Assembly?
Bahá’u’lláh has admonished, “When in session it behooveth them to converse, on behalf of the servants of God, on matters dealing with the affairs and interests of the public. For instance, teaching the Cause of God must be accorded precedence, inasmuch as it is a matter of paramount importance, so that thereby all men may enter the pavilion of unity and all the peoples of the earth be regarded even as a single body ...” (The Local Spiritual Assembly, p. 11)
3. Is there a particular method the Assembly should encourage its community to adopt in teaching the Faith?
Shoghi Effendi, through his secretary, wrote, “ ...In teaching the Cause, much depends on the personality of the teacher and on the method he chooses for presenting the message. Different personalities and different classes and types of individuals need different methods of approach. And it is the sign of an able teacher to know how to best adapt his methods to various types of people whom he happens to meet. There is no one method one can follow all through. But there should be as many ways of approach as there are types of individual seekers. Flexibility and variety of method is, therefore, an essential prerequisite for the success of every teaching activity.” (The Individual and Teaching, pp. 21-22)
The Guardian also stated, through his secretary, “ ...It should not be overlooked, however, that the most powerful and effective teaching medium that has been found so far is the fireside meeting, because in the fireside meeting, intimate personal questions can be answered, and the student find the spirit of the Faith more abundant there.” (The Individual and Teaching, p. 31)
4. Isn’t the fireside primarily a teaching activity for the individual believer, rather than the Assembly?
“Though the fireside is essentially an individual teaching event, it is possible for the Local Spiritual Assembly to encourage, or even request, individuals to conduct firesides in their homes. The first step is for the Assembly to explain to the friends what a fireside is and why they are important ... The role of the Assembly is to provide support and guidance where necessary and to praise individual initiative in the community.” (The Development of Local Spiritual Assemblies, p. 23)
5. Sometimes it is difficult to inspire a community to teach when some of its more active members have moved away or gone pioneering. How might the Assembly overcome this obstacle in the path of teaching?
Shoghi Effendi, through his secretary, counseled, “You must not now become discouraged because some of your teachers have left and gone to serve the Cause elsewhere. This gives you the opportunity of learning to do more of the work yourselves, and of also putting your reliance on Bahá’u’lláh and realizing that He will assist all those who arise to serve Him.” (Dawn of a New Day, pp. 195-196)
6. How might a Local Assembly proceed to organize its teaching work?
The Universal House of Justice has advised, “ ...The adoption of a local plan by the Local Assembly
Child’s Way magazine makes lovely Ayyám-i-Há gift for children, others[edit]
Ayyám-i-Há is fast approaching, and Child’s Way magazine makes an excellent gift for children, libraries, Assemblies and pioneers.
Each issue is packed with fiction, poetry and crafts in addition to book reviews, a “parents’ page” and other educational information.
Share the fun and give a gift that will be enjoyed throughout the year. Send your orders to: Bahá’í Subscriber Service, 415 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091.
Domestic subscriptions are $6 for one year, $11 for two years. Foreign subscriptions are $8 for one year, $15 for two years. An attractive card will be sent upon request for each gift subscription.
[Page 10]
MONTREAL CONFERENCE
Excitement builds as plans get under way for Montreal International Conference[edit]
The March issue of The American Bahá’í will carry a full report of the exciting plans for the Bahá’í International Conference to be held in Montreal, Canada, the weekend of September 3-5, 1982.
The conference is one of five called by the Universal House of Justice, the others being held in Dublin, Ireland; Manila, the Philippines; Lagos, Nigeria; and Quito, Ecuador. The Montreal conference will serve the friends in the northern half of the western hemisphere.
THE TWIN purposes of these conferences are to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the passing of Bahíyyih Khánum, the Greatest Holy Leaf, and to discuss the progress of the Seven Year Plan.
The site of the Montreal conference is the Velodrome in Montreal’s Olympic Park, one of a stunning complex of buildings created to house the 1976 Olympic Games.
The building’s airy, spacious interior and first-class facilities can comfortably accommodate up to 10,000 people.
The languages of the conference will be English and French. Simultaneous translation will be provided in French, English, Farsi and Spanish, throughout.
Please use the form on this page to pre-register. The form should be sent at once to the United States National Spiritual Assembly (Bahá’í National Center, Wilmette, IL 60091) who will supply you with credentials for the conference.
Copies of the form for reserving accommodations were sent some months ago to all Local Spiritual Assemblies in the U.S. This form will be reprinted in next month’s issue of The American Bahá’í, together with much more detailed information about the conference and auxiliary activities.
ONE OF THESE activities will be a well-conceived and stimulating International Children’s Conference, and the next issue of The American Bahá’í will include a registration form for this event.
Montreal combines the efficiency and convenience of a modern cosmopolitan city with the charm and elegance of French Canada’s early heritage.
Now is the time to plan next year’s vacation around the Bahá’í International Conference, September 3-5, 1982.
New book on family communication has Bahá’í references[edit]
A new book, Family Communication, published in December by Scott, Foresman and Company, includes references to Bahá’í communication practices among families taken from a professional paper presented last year to the Southern Speech Communication Association by Dr. Allan L. Ward, a professor of speech communication at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.
The paper, entitled “The Influence on Family Communication of a Specific Belief System: The Bahá’í Faith,” deals with the variety of concepts within the Bahá’í Teachings that impact positively on the communication behavior of family members when put into practice.
Notice[edit]
The National Spiritual Assembly wishes to advise the friends that they should not offer hospitality to ________, who has been traveling throughout the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
________ is a Bahá’í who does not possess his administrative rights and who has abused the hospitality of the friends. The National Assembly regrets the need for this notice, but hopes that it may serve to protect the believers from being taken advantage of through their own kind generosity.
[Page 11]
TEACHING
the Champion builders[edit]
LUA GETSINGER
Louisa Aurora Getsinger, affectionately known as “Lua,” was among the first group of American pilgrims to visit ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in ‘Akká in 1898.
Mrs. Getsinger, the wife of Dr. Edward Getsinger, was 27 years old when that historic trip was made.
From that time until her death 18 years later, she made several other trips to the Holy Land to receive guidance and instructions from the Master.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá referred to her as the “Herald of the Covenant” and entrusted her with many delicate and difficult teaching missions that took her to Europe, Africa and India as well as to the U.S.
During her tour of India, Mrs. Getsinger, accompanied by her husband, met with people of many creeds and spoke of the Faith to large audiences. Her most important interview in that country was with the Maharajah of Jalowar, whom ‘Abdu’l-Bahá had met while in London.
In Paris, Mrs. Getsinger met with Muẓaffari’d-Dín Sháh of Persia, presenting him with a petition asking that he intercede to stop the martyrdoms of Bahá’ís in his kingdom. The Sháh promised her that he would grant the request.
In December 1910, while the Getsingers were living in Washington, D.C., there was an exchange of letters with ‘Abdu’l-Bahá with Mrs. Getsinger writing on behalf of the friends.
The recurring theme in these letters was the possibility of the Master visiting the U.S.
To help foster the unity and love described by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá as a prerequisite to his visiting America, and to further the teaching work, Mrs. Getsinger and Dr. Ameen Fareed traveled to California where they proclaimed the Faith in a number of cities and even aboard the battleship “California.”
South Carolina project sees 500-plus declare[edit]
Continued From Page 1
Lydia, Hemingway and Darlington.
The campaign was planned and launched at the Louis Gregory Bahá’í Institute near Hemingway. The first teaching teams to go out were named in honor of recent martyrs in Iran who were close associates of Dr. Muhájir.
When word was received of the martyrdom of eight members of the National Spiritual Assembly of Iran, the teaching work was then carried out in their honor.
Declarations have been reported so far in Hartsville, Florence, Darlington, Lydia, Lamar, Society Hill, Dovesville, Cheraw and Spaulding Heights.
In Lydia, a town of about 350, 100 have declared themselves Bahá’ís, while more than 30 percent of the people in Dovesville have embraced the Faith.
TWO NEWLY opened localities, Lamar and Spaulding Heights, now have enough believers to form Spiritual Assemblies.
The group of Bahá’í teachers, which included Dr. Ali Danesh, his wife and three children from Norman, Oklahoma, spoke with many families.
In some instances, says Dr. Deas, four and five members of a family, and sometimes entire families including the children, have declared. However, she says, children were not included in the declaration statistics.
Some residents of the Dizzy Gillespie Apartments in Cheraw embraced the Faith during the first week of the campaign. Cheraw is the hometown of famed jazz trumpeter and Bahá’í John Birks “Dizzy” Gillespie.
Cheraw is scheduled to become a base of operations for further teaching work, says Dr. Deas.
During the first phase of the project, she says, team members deepened in the Writings and read prayers during the mornings, then went out into the communities for about three hours each afternoon.
The success of the teaching effort, she adds, appeared to be limited only by the time available for carrying it out.
“These most recent victories in South Carolina,” says Dr. Deas, “are only an indication of what is to come.”
She and others, she says, feel that there will be “entry by troops” in that state in the near future.
Above: Teaching teams with new believers in South Carolina. Below: Mrs. Ursula Richardson (left), a Bahá’í from Darlington, with new Bahá’ís (left to right) James Brown, Faye Robinson and Queen Robinson, all of whom declared on December 28.
Nebraskans find cooperation pays[edit]
Do you ever ask yourself, “What can I do all alone out here?” Twelve isolated believers in southeastern Nebraska probably asked themselves that question many times.
After seeing one another at summer school they arranged to celebrate a Feast together; they enjoyed it so much that they decided to meet together once every Gregorian month.
BEFORE they knew it, they had become the Media Committee of Southeastern Nebraska, under the sponsorship of the Spiritual Assembly of Crete.
The committee proceeded to write press releases about Bahá’í Holy Days, which the members submitted to newspapers and radio stations in the 10 communities in which they live.
As a result, newspapers in two cities published major feature articles about the Faith, and the radio station in Beatrice conducted a series of four interviews, all at the request of the station itself.
Success encouraged the committee to set goals for more newspaper articles and radio interviews.
And rather than leave it at that, the friends executed additional plans, as described in excerpts from a letter to the National Teaching Committee:
“In August, we set the goal of raising a Local Spiritual Assembly in Beatrice by October 20, 1981. We decided to do direct teaching every weekend from September 5 through to the anniversary of the
Homefront pioneering can bring entire family closer[edit]
When we direct our attention to the example of the friends in Iran, we see that the families of the martyrs, adults and children, display remarkable courage and commitment to the Faith in the face of death and deprivation.
Perhaps we wonder how it is that these families have reached such unity of purpose in the worst of times while our greatest victory may lie in getting the whole family to attend the Nineteen Day Feast without complaining. We would do almost anything to achieve true unity in our own families ...
PIONEERING on the homefront is one way to involve the entire family in living the Bahá’í life.
When parents and children arise to pioneer together, the children sense a commitment to the Faith as a family. They become aware that this commitment affects their lives as significantly as those of their parents.
Such an atmosphere encourages them to accept responsibilities and to face challenges as Bahá’ís at an early age, and family bonds are strengthened.
The role that the family can play in consolidation cannot be overestimated. When deepened Bahá’í families associate with others, nurturing in the Faith occurs on and across all age levels.
Because there exists a mutual understanding of the difficulties and rewards of fostering and maintaining harmonious relationships within the family in these uncertain times, the guidance based on Bahá’í Writings and principles that deepened believers can share is more readily accepted.
This potential for growth is far from one-sided: the pioneering family can learn many valuable lessons in its service to the new community.
FAMILIES can be wonderful teachers as well. Many people today are concerned about the lack of unity on the family level and recognize this as a factor in the disintegration of society.
These people can be drawn to the Faith, and their families with them, through the loving fellowship and example of deepened Bahá’í families who are unified in their devotion and service to the Cause.
The bounties to the Cause and to those dedicated families that arise to serve are inseparable.
The effort need not be a strenuous one; even a move to a new locality near your present one would promote the growth of the Faith.
You and your family are invited to explore the possibilities of rendering this vital service by contacting the National Teaching Committee, Bahá’í National Center, Wilmette, IL 60091 (phone 312-869-9039).
Spanish-language course on Faith readied[edit]
The National Teaching Committee soon will offer a Spanish-language “Correspondence Course Kit” to all Local Spiritual Assemblies, District Teaching Committees, Groups and isolated believers. The kit will include the following materials:
- Newspaper ads advertising the course in Spanish. They will have space for your address and/or phone number.
- Master copy. You will receive 12 master copies, one for each Gregorian month. You will be able to take these copies to an instant printer and make whatever amount you will need.
- Guidelines. These guidelines will be in English, supplying you with valuable information as to the possible uses of this course for proclamation as well as consolidation.
In order that the kit may be supplied to you on time, the committee asks that you order yours as soon as possible. The cost is $10 per kit. Checks should be made payable to: Bahá’í National Teaching Committee. The kits should be available by the end of April.
[Page 12]
RACE UNITY
‘When the racial elements of the American nation unite in actual fellowship and accord, the lights of the oneness of humanity will shine ...’ (‘Abdu’l-Bahá, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 54)
‘Abdu’l-Bahá: Love, friendship form solid foundation for unity[edit]
The following letter from ‘Abdu’l-Bahá to the first Universal Races Congress is reprinted from “Star of the West,” Vol. II, No. 9 (August 20, 1911), pp. 5-6.
•
When travelling about the world we observe an air of prosperity in any country, we find it to be due to the existence of love and friendship among the people.
If, on the contrary, all seems depressed and poverty-stricken, we may feel assured that this is the effect of animosity, and of the absence of union among the inhabitants.
NOTWITHSTANDING that such a state of things is obvious to the passing traveller, how often the people themselves continue in the sleep of negligence, or occupy themselves in disputes and differences, and are even ready to slaughter their fellow-men!
Consider thoughtfully the continued integration and disintegration of the phenomenal universe ... Unification and constructive combination is the cause of Life. Disunion of particles brings about loss, weakness, dispersion, and decay.
Consider the varieties of flowers in a garden. They seem but to enhance the loveliness of each other.
When differences of color, ideas, and character are found in the human Kingdom, and come under the control of the power of Unity, they too show their essential beauty and perfection.
Rivalry between the different races of mankind was first caused by the struggle for existence among the wild animals. This struggle is no longer necessary; nay, rather! interdependence and co-operation are seen to produce the highest welfare in nations. The struggle that now continues is caused by prejudice and bigotry.
To-day nothing but the power of the Divine Word, which embraces the Reality of all things, can draw together the minds, hearts, and spirits of the world under the shadow of the heavenly Tree of Unity.
THE LIGHT of the Word is now shining on all horizons. Races and nations, with their different creeds, are coming under the influence of the Word of Unity in love and in peace.
The Blessed One, Bahá’u’lláh, likens the existing world to a tree, and the people to its fruits, blossoms and leaves. All should be fresh and vigorous, the attainment of their beauty and proportion depending on the love and unity with which they sustain each other and seek the Life eternal.
The friends of God should become the manifestors in this world of this mercy and love. They should not dwell on the shortcomings of others.
Ceaselessly should they be thinking how they may benefit others and show service and cooperation. Thus should they regard every stranger, putting aside such prejudices and superstitions as might prevent friendly relations.
To-day the noblest person is he who bestows upon his enemy the pearl of generosity, and is a beacon-light to the misguided and the oppressed. This is the command of Bahá’u’lláh.
O dear friends! the world is in a warlike condition, and its races are hostile one to the other. The darkness of difference surrounds them, and the light of kindness grows dim.
THE FOUNDATIONS of society are destroyed and the banners of life and joy are overthrown. The leaders of the people seem to glory in the shedding of blood—Friendship, straightness, and truthfulness are despised ...
The call to arbitration, to peace, to love, and to loyalty is the call of Bahá’u’lláh. His standard floats since fifty years, summoning all of whatever race and creed.
O ye friends of God! acknowledge this pure light; direct the people who are in ignorance, chanting the melodies of the Kingdom of God, until the dead body of mankind quickens with a new life.
Guide the people of God. Inspire them to emulate the lives of the holy ones who have gone before.
Be ye kind in reality, not in appearance only. Be ye fathers to the orphans, a remedy to the sick, a treasury of wealth to the poor, a protector of the unfortunate.
Where love dwells, there is light! Where animosity dwells, there is darkness!
O friends of God! strive to dissipate the darkness and reveal the hidden meanings of things, until their Reality becomes clear and established in the sight of all.
THIS CONGRESS is one of the greatest of events. It will be forever to the glory of England that it was established at her capital.
It is easy to accept a truth; but it is difficult to be steadfast in it; for the tests are many and heavy. It is well seen that the British are firm, and are not lightly turned aside, being neither ready to begin a matter for a little while, nor prone to abandon it for a little reason. Verily, in every undertaking they show firmness.
O ye people! cause this thing to be not a thing of words, but of deeds.
Some congresses are held only to increase differences. Let it not be so with you. Let your effort be to find harmony. Let Brotherhood be felt and seen among you; and carry ye its quickening power throughout the world.
It is my prayer that the work of the Congress will bear great fruit.
Race Amity Conference rescheduled[edit]
The National Race Amity Conference to be held in Washington, D.C., has been rescheduled for the spring of 1983. (The former dates were June 10-13, 1982.)
There will be an update soon on the art contest sponsored by the Race Unity Committee. Because of the extended time for the conference, there will be new guidelines. Watch the Race Unity page in The American Bahá’í for details.
All correspondence pertaining to the Race Unity Committee should be sent to the committee secretary, Dr. Carole Allen, ________, Norfolk, VA 23508.
Albert J. Porter (right), chairman of the Spiritual Assembly of Little Rock, Arkansas, has been honored by the city of Little Rock as one of its outstanding citizens in 1981. At a public ceremony before the city directors, Mr. Porter was presented an award for exceptional humanitarian and civic service and outstanding community leadership by Mayor C.D. Bussey. Mr. Porter serves on state commissions appointed by the governor, is chairman of the board of the Little Rock OIC (Opportunities Industrial Centers), is on the national Job Corps board, serves on the Parent Center board, is a board member and treasurer of the Criminal Justice Ministry, and is board chairman of the Black Leadership Roundtable. Mr. Porter has served on the Bahá’í National Teaching Committee and is a National Treasurer’s Representative.
Your letters, cards are welcome[edit]
The Race Unity Committee has received mail from many parts of the country concerning “The Most Challenging Issue.” The “year of awareness” appears to have been a great success.
Mail expressing interest, concern and hope toward the eradication of the last of lingering prejudices has come from such places as Lansing, Michigan; Belford, New Jersey; Taylorsville, Mississippi; Rialto, California; Austin, Texas; Detroit, Michigan; Kent, Washington; Highland Park, Illinois; Charlottesville, Virginia; Champaign Township, Illinois; Lyons, Oregon; and Duluth, Minnesota.
Please continue to write to the Race Unity Committee c/o Dr. Carole Allen, secretary, ________, Norfolk, VA 23508.
Reports of your plans to help eradicate prejudice and foster racial amity are most welcome. Please be aware that your letter might reach The American Bahá’í, on the Race Unity Page, unless you specify that you do not want it published. Published letters may not be anonymous.
Bahá’ís should know, understand black community to help foster unity[edit]
|
Your Turn |
Dear Race Unity Committee:
While recently re-studying The Advent of Divine Justice, it came to my attention that Bahá’u’lláh specifically warns us that “this question of the union of the black and white races is very important,” and “if not realized the final result will be hardship and may end in bloodshed.” (p. 33)
It seems to me that an effort must be made to contact the NAACP, civil rights groups and other black cultural organizations to speak to our communities, thus offering the Bahá’í community an ideal opportunity to get to know and understand the black community better.
We are the only ones who can and must bring about racial amity.
Here is a unique opportunity for hometown pioneering. I have been most encouraged by the formation of your committee; let us hope, however, that the need for such a committee diminishes into obscurity.
Lakewood, New Jersey
Bahaa Esperanto-Ligo publishes The Hidden Words in Esperanto[edit]
The Bahaa Esperanto-Ligo (Bahá’í Esperanto League) has published its second major Bahá’í book in Esperanto: Kasitaj Vortoj de Bahá’u’lláh (The Hidden Words of Bahá’u’lláh).
Members of the BEL from three continents collaborated on the translation, and it was printed in Brazil.
The 82-page book has an attractive green and white cover with the Bahá’í ringstone design at the top and five-pointed Esperanto star at the bottom. The price is $1.75 plus 10 percent postage.
It can be ordered from the secretary of the Ligo, Mrs. Roan Orloff Stone, ________ Gallup, NM 87301.
The Bahaa Esperanto-Ligo, approved by the Universal House of Justice in 1973, soon will observe its 10th anniversary.
Southern California production company prepares Chinese-language TV programs[edit]
Responding to a directive from the Universal House of Justice to teach Chinese-speaking peoples during the Seven Year Plan, Light Years International—a Bahá’í production company composed of media professionals in the Southern California area—is developing on behalf of the Office of Public Affairs a series of television programs in Chinese.
BELIEVED to be the first religious TV series produced by any organization in the Chinese language, the 10 half-hour programs will use a basic “talk show” format, implementing visuals and special segments that are being produced by Chinese Bahá’ís in Taiwan.
The programs will cover various aspects of the Faith, utilizing the many similarities between traditional Chinese thought and the Bahá’í Teachings.
The dialect used will be Mandarin, and all shows will be subtitled with Chinese characters to assure the widest possible use.
The Light Years production team, composed of Chinese believers, media professionals, and a pioneer from Taiwan, is working toward completion of the series by early this year.
The immediate and energetic response to and support for these programs by Chinese Bahá’ís all over the world has lent a special impetus to the effort to complete the series.
For example, on hearing of their development in the U.S., the Bahá’ís in Taiwan raised the money to send a pioneer from that country to Los Angeles to help, and within 72 hours had produced and sent with her a 45-minute video tape with segments on progressive revelation, Bahá’í marriage, and Bahá’í education. They also collected visuals and music to aid in the production.
THIS WAS done without any prior knowledge or experience in television production, and now, at the request of the production team in Los Angeles, the Taiwanese believers are producing segments on various topics that will be edited into the shows being taped in the U.S.
The Los Angeles team also has turned its attention to producing radio programs in Cantonese.
The Office of Public Affairs was approached recently by the owner of several radio stations that broadcast in that dialect. Impressed with the Bahá’í Teachings while on a visit to the House of Worship in Wilmette, the station owner offered to broadcast programs on the Faith in Cantonese.
These programs will be on the air in a matter of months in Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago, Boston and Houston.
With the production of these Chinese-language radio and television programs, Light Years International has begun to realize its goal of stimulating the increased production and use of Bahá’í media throughout the world.
Members of the committee that is producing Chinese-language television programs for the Faith in San Fernando, California, are (left to right) Tek Seng Lee, Francis Fung, Roxanne Terrell, Julia Fung, Marcia Day, James Ooi, Gaellen Quinn.
Regional Teaching Coordinator needed[edit]
The National Teaching Committee has an immediate, critical need for a Regional Teaching Coordinator to work with the Southern and Central states to help achieve the teaching goals of the Seven Year Plan.
Requirements include Bahá’í administrative experience and strong written and verbal communication skills. The position requires a two-year or longer commitment.
Please send applications to the Personnel Office, Bahá’í National Center, Wilmette, IL 60091, or phone 312-869-9039.
Goals[edit]
Continued From Page 8
to Americans involve teaching English as a second language. In addition, jobs in public health can often be found either locally or through international development agencies. At this time there are jobs for nurse educators and counselors experienced in rehabilitation of handicapped children, for example. There are also two English-language international schools, one English-language university, and several branches of an Indian university.
(P, E, C) Macau (2). Macau is most in need of mature Bahá’ís who can integrate themselves into a multicultural community and remain for a long time in that community. The culture is a mixture of Portuguese and Chinese, with the western influence increasing yearly. The most likely source of jobs for Americans is teaching English as a second language. There is a new and expanding English-language university. Jobs, however, are best acquired by going directly to Macau and searching in person for work. Retired couples with independent incomes would be welcome, and the cost of living is lower than that in the U.S.
(J) Japan (2). Jobs abound for English teachers in Japan. Though at one time anyone with English as a native tongue could count on finding work teaching English, it is now common for such jobs to demand at least a BA, preferably in some field related to education or English. There are a number of American and international schools. University classes are usually taught in Japanese, but most textbooks are in English.
AUSTRALASIA
(E) Fiji Islands (2). The Fiji Islands, which lie in the midst of the South Pacific, are considered the hub of English-speaking Australasia, although Fijian is spoken in village areas. It is possible to obtain a work permit if one has a skill that is unavailable among the local population. Presently, the government is seeking foreign medical doctors, especially specialists, for positions in hospitals and health clinics. Salaries for doctors are above $40,000 a year. Iranian doctors are qualified to practice in Fiji. There also appears to be a need for computer personnel qualified to work on British and European models. In addition, there has been a recent upsurge in gold mining and oil exploration, leading to some demand for experienced mill foremen, primary metallurgy experts, and a variety of oil-related specialists. The University of the South Pacific and a number of technical and teacher training colleges provide educational and job opportunities. Finally, hotel and resort managers may find work, and an investment of $25,000 in a business is sufficient for obtaining residency.
(E) Mariana Islands (Guam 1, Rota 2, Saipan 2). Guam is a U.S. protectorate, while Rota and Saipan have recently obtained their independence, now constituting the Commonwealth of the Marianas. All three are Americanized, and jobs are available in a number of fields if one is there to find them. There appears to be a specific need for computer personnel on Guam and Saipan, and a general need for professionals of all kinds throughout the islands. Doctors and engineers are especially in demand. There is a university on Guam with branches on some of the other islands, and a community college provides additional extension courses. Any U.S. citizen or anyone with a work permit or residency in the U.S. can easily obtain residency on these islands. It is also possible to invest in local businesses.
(F) Marshall Islands (6). The Marshall Islands are composed of 33 atolls and islands strung out in the Pacific. There is a preference for American teachers at elementary and secondary schools, as well as at the community college. The government is presently seeking medical personnel as well as a hospital administrator.
(E) Kosrae (Kusaie) (1). Kosrae is one of the Caroline Islands. There is a general need for medical personnel and teachers, especially math and science teachers and teachers of English as a second language. Master mechanics, especially those who could start a business hiring local people, are in demand. It is possible to obtain a missionary visa if one has an independent income. Skills involving boats and sea travel are always in demand, as are other basic skills, provided the pioneer is willing to spend some time looking for local work.
(F) New Caledonia (2). New Caledonia, a territory of the French government, is fairly westernized, though still quite undeveloped. The tourist industry is a major source of income. Presently there is some demand for computer personnel and for French-speaking English translators. In addition, the National Assembly is looking for a French-speaking couple as caretakers at the National Center. There is a French-speaking university on New Caledonia.
AMERICAS
(E) Bahamas (1). The Bahamas are a series of long, flat islands spread over 90,000 square miles in the western Atlantic Ocean. The population of 220,000 is largely found on the major islands of New Providence, Grand Bahama, Eleuthera, Andros, Abaco, Long Island, Exuma and Cays, and Cat Island. All of the islands enjoy a semi-tropical climate. Major industry centers around tourism, fishing, petroleum and pharmaceuticals. Employment is difficult, and pioneers who are financially secure or retired with a substantial income are most needed. Some employment opportunities exist for medical personnel and grade school teachers with experience and certification. There is a college on the island of New Providence.
(F) Martinique (1). Martinique is a mountainous, wooded island situated between the islands of Dominica and St. Lucia in the Caribbean. Its 350,000 people live in an area roughly one-third the size of Rhode Island. Industries include farming and fishing, and a good deal of exportation is done in bananas, sugar, pineapples and rum. The tourist trade is becoming increasingly important as the hot, dry climate attracts larger numbers of visitors from the U.S. and Canada. There are employment opportunities for teachers, especially in the field of English as a second language.
(E) Leeward Islands (2). The Leeward Islands include St. Maarten, St. Kitts, Nevis, Antigua, Montserrat, Anguilla, Barbuda, St. Eustatius and Saba. All are British possessions except Saba and St. Eustatius (Dutch), St. Maarten (Dutch and French) and Antigua (independent). Warm, tropical temperatures prevail the year round. Medical personnel are needed in nearly all the islands; there are major hospitals on Antigua and Montserrat. Psychiatrists are especially in demand, and there is also a need for teachers, auto mechanics and engineers.
(F) French Guiana (1). Most of French Guiana, on the northern coast of South America a few degrees north of the equator, is unsettled wilderness covered by a dense tropical rain forest. Temperatures average around 80° F throughout the year. Natural resources include bauxite, timber, some gold, cinnabar and clay. An extensive aeronautical facility that serves a significant number of various countries may offer employment opportunities to qualified engineers. Chefs also are in demand. Self-supporting pioneers are greatly needed.
(E) Dominica (2). Dominica is often referred to as the most ruggedly beautiful and luxuriant island in the Caribbean. The climate is tropical with average temperatures between 70° and 90° F. Bananas are the principal export, although the island also produces quantities of limes, grapefruit, oranges, coffee and various spices. Individuals with college degrees are qualified to teach, and the need for medical personnel is great. There is a technical college in need of electronics and industrial arts teachers, and employment opportunities also exist for agriculturists.
The International Goals Committee is eager to assist the American Bahá’í community and encourages every believer to prayerfully consider how he or she might help in securing these important victories by April 21.
[Page 14]
PÁGINA HISPANA
La rosa es hermosa no importa en que jardín se goza[edit]
Con este número se introducen los primeros artículos de dos series nuevos: “La enseñanza personal” y “Curso de estudio.”
“La enseñanza personal” ofrece ideas para enseñar la Fe a los amigos y otros interesados mientras el “Curso de estudios” trata de los principios básicos de la Fe Bahá’í de manera profunda, para armar a los creyentes con un entendimiento más amplio de la Revelación que hemos abrazado.
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La Investigacion Independiente de la Verdad[edit]
“Incumbe a todos adquirir conocimientos, pero de aquellas ciencias que beneficien a los pueblos de la tierra y no de aquellas ciencias que comienzan con meras palabras, y terminan en meras palabras.”
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La verdad es tan sólo una; pero los ignorantes prejuicios, el fanatismo y las bajas pasiones la han multiplicado. Si se desea triunfar en la búsqueda de la verdad hay que cerrar los ojos a todas las supersticiones e imitaciones del pasado.
Frecuentemente, en nombre de la verdad, la religión o la justicia, se han lanzado los hombres al odio, la destrucción y el derramamiento de sangre de sus hermanos. En nombre de la religión los creyentes de diferentes denominaciones se han atacado cruelmente, y, en nombre de la justicia, se ha cometido toda clase de abusos y se ha llevado a muchos a servir los intereses de unos pocos.
Pero ¿Cómo podemos conocer la verdad? ¿Cómo podemos distinguir entre lo verdadero y lo aparentemente cierto? Es evidente que todo ser humano tiene capacidades que deben ser cultivadas y desarrolladas. Las facultades superiores del hombre, los pensamientos y sentimientos elevados, si son utilizados, nos librarán de las cadenas de los prejuicios, el fanatismo y la superstición. En esta forma sabrémos distinguir entre lo que conduce al bien o al error, a la perfección o a la bajeza, a la destrucción.
Estos pensamientos y sentimientos elevados son los que nos elevan desde la condición animal hacia el nivel humano. Sin embargo, a pesar de su importancia, las cualidades superiores del hombre no se desarrollan en las universidades. Si un hombre alcanza el más alto grado de progreso material, pero no descubre la verdad de su propia existencia y no piensa ni siente como un ser humano, permanece atrasado. En cambio, otro hombre que carece de bienes materiales y que no ha avanzado en la esfera social será más feliz y tendrá una posición más alta si su entendimiento está iluminado por el conocimiento de sí mismo y si su corazón está en paz y arde con amor hacia todos los seres humanos.
Si deseamos encontrar la verdad pura no podremos hacerlo mientras estemos absorbidos con otras preocupaciones; es necesario que hagamos una pausa y reflexionemos en lo íntimo de nuestro ser. El hecho que imaginemos estar en lo cierto y que todos los demás están en error es un gran obstáculo en el camino de la unidad, y la unidad es necesaria para encontrar la verdad, porque la verdad es una. Una mente amplia y abierta es esencial.
Las verdades absolutas deben ser aceptadas, no importa qué lengua las pronuncie. La luz es buena, no importa en qué lámpara arda. La rosa es hermosa en cualquier jardín en que florezca. La estrella tiene la misma luz, ya brille desde el oriente o desde el occidente. Para alcanzar la verdad debemos desligarnos de toda clase de prejuicios. La luz del sol brilla por igual sobre todos los habitantes de la tierra, sin distinción de clase, color, raza, credo o nacionalidad; la misma brisa los refresca y las mismas nubes derraman su lluvia sobre ellos.
Debemos ser sinceros y honestos para dejar de lado todo lo que sea un impedimento en el camino hacia la verdad. No deberíamos titubear aun cuando fuese necesario comenzar de nuevo nuestra educación. No permitamos que nuestro amor particular por cualquier personalidad, religión o política nos ciegue de tal manera que quedemos encadenados por el fanatismo o la superstición. Tengamos más bien amor por la verdad y asociémosnos sincera y amigablemente con todas las gentes y pueblos del mundo.
“Libráos de prejuicios, sólo asi amaréis el Sol de la verdad, no importa el punto del horizonte donde se levante. Debéis comprender que si la Luz Divina de la Verdad brilló en Jesucristo, también brilló en Moisés y Buda. El verdadero buscador de la verdad llegará a esta conclusión. Esto es lo que quiere decir: ‘Búsqueda de la Verdad.’ ”
Todos tenemos la obligación de reflexionar, entender y sentir por nosotros mismos. No nos prestemos para formar parte de un conglomerado desprovistos de carácter y pensamiento propio, siguiendo a dirigentes que con frecuencia están corrompidos y enceguecidos por sus bajas pasiones. La enseñanza Bahá’í procura el desarrollo de las cualidades superiores del ser humano en cada individuo y promueve la formación de una nueva sociedad de hombres y mujeres libres de fanatismo, prejuicios, supersticiones y ciega imitación.
“Levantaos, o pueblos, y mediante la potencia del poder divino, resolvéos a ganar la victoria sobre vosotros mismos, para que felizmente la tierra entera pueda ser liberada y purificada de su servidumbre a los dioses de sus vanos fantasías—dioses que han infligido tan graves pérdidas y son responsables de la miseria de sus desdichados adoradores. Estos ídolos constituyen el obstáculo que estorba al hombre en sus esfuerzos por avanzar el sendero de la perfección.”
La Mano de la Causa Zikrullah Khadem (derecha) consulta con algunos de los participantes en el instituto para los Bahá’ís de habla hispana del norte de Illinois, que tomó lugar el 2 de enero en el Centro Nacional Bahá’í.
De todas las dádivas de Dios, la mayor es Enseñar[edit]
Introduccion[edit]
Aunque la mayoría de los Bahá’ís verdaderamente sienten el deseo de enseñar, a muchos amigos les falta confianza y sienten que no saben qué curso de acción deben tomar o como llevar sus esfuerzos hasta un fin. La Casa Universal de Justicia en la compilación “El Individuo y la Enseñanza” se refiere a esto al decir que los individuos bahá’ís necesitan guía y estímulo para enseñar.
Deteniéndose para estudiar la selección de Escritos en esta guía y tomando el tiempo para imaginar maneras de aplicar la guía en su vida, usted se capacitará para empezar a hacer de la enseñanza un modo de vivir. Junto con tal estudio y planificación creativa, la oración y la consulta son dos vías necesarias y seguras para ayudar en la superación de las debilidades y obstáculos a la enseñanza.
Tal como la Casa Universal de Justicia hace planes para todo el mundo bahá’í y la Asamblea Espiritual Nacional los planes para el país, cada individuo contribuirá a la Causa de Dios, cuando se hagan y se lleven a cabo planes personales e individuales. Esta guía le ayudará a realizar esos planes.
Considere cada sección y cada paso en el camino hacia la enseñanza en su hogar; ore, consulte, haga planes y luego resuélvase a actuar. Empezando con pequeñas acciones y progresando gradualmente a las más audaces, usted llegará a dar la bienvenida al desafío y a la aventura de la enseñanza de la Fe.
Porque debo enseñar?[edit]
“De todas las dádivas de Dios, la mayor es la dádiva de Enseñar. Ésta atrae hacia nosotros la Gracia de Dios y es nuestra primera obligación. ¿Cómo podemos privarnos de semejante don?” (‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Voluntad y Testamento de ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, página 31)
“La fuente de valor y poder es la promoción de la Palabra de Dios y constancia en Su Amor.” (Bahá’u’lláh, Bahá’í World Faith, p. 141)
“...Enseñad la Causa de Dios, ¡Oh pueblo de Bahá! ...porque Dios ha prescrito a todos y a cada uno el deber de proclamar su mensaje, y lo considera como la más meritoria de las acciones.” (Bahá’u’lláh, citado en Dios Pasa, p. 359)
“La gloria y el honor más grande que puede acontecer a un individuo es traer la luz de guía a una nueva alma.” (Carta escrita de parte de Shoghi Effendi, citada en “The Individual and Teaching,” p. 35)
“Ahora, por lo tanto, es nuestro sagrado deber hacer el uso máximo de nuestra libertad, dondequiera que exista, para promover la causa de Dios mientras podamos. La forma más segura de hacer esto y ganar el beneplácito de Bahá’u’lláh es perseguir, con dedicación y tenaz vigor, las metas de cualquier Plan que es vigente, puesto que Bahá’u’lláh ha declarado: ‘Ayudarme es enseñar Mi Causa.’ ” (Casa Universal de Justicia, Naw-Rúz 1980, mensaje a los Bahá’ís del mundo)
Citado de Las Palabras Ocultas[edit]
¡OH HIJOS DE LOS HOMBRES!
¿No sabéis acaso por qué os hemos creado a todos del mismo polvo? Para que ninguno se enaltezca a sí mismo por encima de otro. En todo momento, ponderad en vuestro corazón cómo habéis sido creados. Puesto que os hemos creado a todos de una misma sustancia, os incumbe ser como una sola alma, caminar con los mismos pies, comer con la misma boca y habitar en la misma tierra, para que mediante vuestros hechos y acciones se manifiesten, desde vuestro más íntimo ser, los signos de la unicidad y la esencia del desprendimiento. Este es mi consejo para vosotros, ¡oh concurso de la luz! Prestad atención a este consejo para que obtengáis el fruto de la santidad del árbol de maravillosa gloria. (Las Palabras Ocultas de Bahá’u’lláh, página 18, número 68)
[Page 15]
PUBLICATIONS
Long-awaited biography of Louis Gregory due in April[edit]
To Move the World: Louis G. Gregory and the Advancement of Racial Unity in America, the long-awaited biography by Gayle Morrison of the Hand of the Cause of God Louis Gregory, will be available for sale at the 73rd Bahá’í National Convention in April, the Publishing Trust has announced.
“At the heart of the most challenging issue for the American Bahá’í community—the problem of obliterating racial prejudice,” writes Mrs. Morrison, “stands Louis George Gregory. A highly regarded teacher, writer, and lecturer throughout the first half of the century, and the first black to serve on the national administrative body of the Bahá’ís of the United States and Canada, Louis Gregory is a major historical figure.
“FEW BLACKS of his era were ever elected or appointed repeatedly to positions of national leadership in organizations with a white majority. None worked more tirelessly for the removal of racial prejudice.”
In this remarkably candid and forthright portrait of one of the outstanding figures of the early years of the Bahá’í Faith in America, Mrs. Morrison has brought into sharp focus a number of strands.
The book is first and foremost a biography of Mr. Gregory. But it also recounts in vivid detail the social and racial forces that shaped the communities—Bahá’í and non-Bahá’í—in which he lived and which formed the backdrop for his audacious and unprecedented activities on behalf of racial amity.
To Move the World grew out of a writing assignment given to Mrs. Morrison by the editors of World Order magazine.
Having been asked by the National Spiritual Assembly to prepare a special issue on the relations between American Bahá’ís, black and white, the editors turned to Mrs. Morrison, an historian by training, to write a 40-page article on Louis Gregory’s unique role in helping to bridge the racial gap within the Faith.
As Mrs. Morrison’s research progressed, it became increasingly clear to her that 40 pages could not do justice to the life of the remarkable Mr. Gregory, to the historical survey needed to put his life into perspective, and to the efforts of the American Bahá’í community to come to terms with the concept of racial equality advocated by Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and called by Shoghi Effendi America’s “most challenging issue.”
THE 40 PAGES grew to some 400 pages, and a book was born, three extracts from which were published in World Order in its Summer 1979, Fall 1979, and Winter 1980 issues.
Illustrated with many photographs, To Move the World will provide hours of thoughtful reading.
The book already has provoked much soul-searching among those who have worked on it as editors, proofreaders, typesetters and designers. It may well be the impetus for and basis of provocative deepenings in your community as we all seek the key that will, indeed, move the world.
LOUIS G. GREGORY
‘Abdu’l-Bahá speaks at the ceremony at which the cornerstone was laid for the Bahá’í House of Worship in Wilmette, Illinois. The gathering took place on May 1, 1912.
239 Days an engrossing account of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s visit to America[edit]
While waiting for the long-anticipated publication of The Promulgation of Universal Peace this spring, why not prepare for the event by taking a 239-day trip.
239 Days: ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Journey in America, by Allan L. Ward, details, in 19 engrossing chapters, the Master’s remarkable journey that criss-crossed the American continent, taking Him to 27 cities in the U.S. and Canada.
From April 11, 1912, when He arrived, until December 5, when He departed, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was rarely still for more than a moment.
“For the student and scholar of religious history,” writes Dr. Ward, “the meeting of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá with the American public is a significant event, for never before during the formative years of a religion has a figure of like stature made a journey of such magnitude in a setting so different from that of His native land.
“For Bahá’ís,” Dr. Ward continues, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá demonstrated the Teachings of His Father “by the example of His life—‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s every action, however small, contains a lesson, an insight.”
Take the coming weeks to refresh your memory about the historical trip that gave rise to the memorable talks recorded in the forthcoming new edition of The Promulgation of Universal Peace.
Master’s visit remembered[edit]
On Saturday, May 8, the Spiritual Assembly of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, will sponsor its third annual conference commemorating the anniversary of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s visit to that city in 1912.
The day-long program will feature many special guests including Auxiliary Board members Robert Harris and Javidukht Khadem.
Look for more details about the conference in the March issue of The American Bahá’í.
Promulgation is reprinted, readied for Convention sale[edit]
The Promulgation of Universal Peace, a compilation of informal talks and discourses by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá during His 239-day visit to the U.S. and Canada in 1912, is being reprinted and will be available for sale at the 73rd National Convention in April, the Bahá’í Publishing Trust recently announced.
During His journey to America, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá spoke in temples and churches, at colleges and universities, in mansions of the wealthy and ordinary homes, and made a well-remembered trip to the Bowery in New York.
ORGANIZATIONS and clubs of all sorts welcomed Him—women’s groups, peace societies, scientific gatherings, socialist bodies, welfare and charitable organizations. More than 130 of His talks are recorded in this new edition of Promulgation.
Upon His arrival in New York City, the Master said, “It is my purpose to set forth in America the fundamental principles of the revelation and teachings of Bahá’u’lláh. It will then become the duty of the Bahá’ís of this country to give these principles unfoldment and application in the minds, hearts and lives of the people.”
‘Abdu’l-Bahá presented the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh with such purity and sincerity that His reception was truly remarkable. Non-Bahá’ís generally accepted His words without prejudice or antagonism, and those who came to mock sometimes stayed to listen.
Bahá’ís were instructed and deepened in the verities of the Faith, which was brought to America only 19 years earlier, in 1893.
As you turn the pages of The Promulgation of Universal Peace, you may well find the outline of a fireside talk that sparked your interest in the Faith.
A detailed table of contents; a chronological listing of talks by date, city and site; and an expanded index will help you in your individual and community deepening efforts.
Howard MacNutt’s introduction to the book, written at the request of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá Himself, helps set the background for the Master’s talks. A new foreword by Marzieh Gail lends added grace and charm to the work.
The tantalizing extracts from The Promulgation of Universal Peace that you have encountered in The Divine Art of Living, The Reality of Man, 239 Days, and other works need no longer tantalize.
This spring you can add the entire volume to your library. And you can ponder anew why ‘Abdu’l-Bahá gave the book its title—The Promulgation of Universal Peace.
95 at UN Day magic show in Three Rivers, Michigan[edit]
About 130 people, at least 95 percent of whom were not Bahá’ís, attended a Universal Children’s Day magic show October 10 at the Three Rivers, Michigan, Public Library.
The performance, by Doug Edwards, a Bahá’í from Schaumburg, Illinois, was sponsored by the Spiritual Assembly of the City of Portage, Michigan.
Mr. Edwards uses his magic show as a teaching tool, incorporating basic teachings and principles of the Faith into the act.
The program was the first public event held in the new library, which has not yet been formally dedicated.
[Page 16]
CLASSIFIEDS
Classified notices in The American Bahá’í are published free of charge as a service to the Bahá’í community. Notices are limited to items relating to the Faith; no personal 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.
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THE BAHÁ’Í National Center has an immediate need for the following personnel: Assistant Controller—Assists in budget development and control, cash flow management and preparation of the annual audit. Supervises daily operation of accounting staff. Minimum of three years accounting experience required. Supervisory experience preferred. Executive Secretary—to the Public Information Officer. Must be experienced in fast-paced, high-volume environment. Superior secretarial skills and ability to exercise sound judgment under pressure required. Systems Analyst, Programmer and Operator—Data Processing Department. Environment is composed of a mini-computer system with on-line and batch processing using Cincom TOTAL Data Base. COBOL and RPG required. For more information or to obtain applications, please contact the Personnel Office, Bahá’í National Center, Wilmette, IL 60091, or phone 312-869-9039.
PIONEER and live with a Danish family. There are seven unfilled goals to Denmark. One of the few ways it is possible for Americans to gain entry to Denmark at this time is via “au pair” positions. An “au pair” lives with a Danish family, providing about 20 hours a week of light housekeeping, child care and cooking services. The remainder of the time is free for school or other personal activities. Exact hours are negotiated individually. Pay consists primarily of room and board, with a small amount of “pocket money,” and a round trip ticket to Denmark is usually provided. Contracts are for one or two years. If you would like more information, please contact the International Goals Committee, Bahá’í National Center, Wilmette, IL 60091, or telephone 312-869-9039.
THE NEW 25-minute 16mm sound and color film, “By Way of the Gate,” produced by John Booth, a Canadian Bahá’í, and approved by the National Spiritual Assembly of Canada, is again available for rental after a tour abroad. Rental cost is $18 postpaid. Please write to Grace Shahrokh, ________ Fond du Lac, WI 54935, or phone 414-921-3434.
THE SPIRITUAL Assembly of West St. Paul, Minnesota, a suburban community of 18,000 only five minutes from downtown St. Paul, 10 minutes from Twin Cities International Airport, and 15 minutes from downtown Minneapolis, is jeopardized and needs four adult Bahá’ís by Riḍván. The Assembly meets regularly, Feasts and Holy Days are observed, and there are teaching and proclamation activities. West St. Paul is close to several colleges and universities, has fine public schools, many parks and cultural and recreational activities, a small town atmosphere, and large Mexican-American and Lebanese populations. Please contact the Spiritual Assembly of West St. Paul, c/o Mrs. Jean Harley, corresponding secretary, P.O. Box 6093, West St. Paul, MN 55118, or phone Jean or Bill Harley, 612-455-7169.
EDITOR of a small weekly newspaper in Fillmore, California, a town of 8,000 in a lovely agricultural valley, is retiring and seeks an individual who is knowledgeable in all phases of newspaper work to serve as full-time editor/manager. The people in Fillmore are friendly, the schools good, and the Bahá’í teaching ground fertile. There is a small but united and active Bahá’í community. For more information please write to Gaellen Quinn, ________ Fillmore, CA 93015, or phone 805-524-4577.
BAHÁ’Í researcher needs materials relating to Mrs. Phoebe Hearst, especially the pilgrim’s notes of Ann (Apperson) Flint and/or Anton Haddad. Any letters, personal recollections or other material also would be appreciated. Will pay for photocopying. Write to Richard Hollinger, ________ Los Angeles, CA 90025.
FAMILY practice physician is needed on the Navajo Reservation in Shiprock Chapter, New Mexico. The Shiprock Community Health Center, run by a local Navajo Health Board and staffed by Family Nurse practitioners and a part-time medical doctor, is almost brand new and needs patient, steadfast guidance. For more information write to Barbara Nakai, P.O. Box 2831, Shiprock, NM 87420, or telephone 505-368-4811.
WANTED: A copy of the filmstrip “God Speaks Again” to help the teaching work in the Windward Islands. The copy we now have is quite old and the color is fading fast. Please help before we are forced to show it with sound only. We will dedicate the first showing to your Bahá’í community. Send to Pat Paccassi, P.O. Box 669, Castries, St. Lucia, West Indies.
THE BAHÁ’Í Publishing Trust of India is actively inviting and soliciting materials in English for possible publication. Materials submitted can belong to any of the following categories: works on the Faith and its sub-categories, compilations on various topics, children’s literature, historical and research works, material for pamphlets, works dealing with the Qur’án, etc. Please contact the Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 6 Canning Road, P.O. Box 19, New Delhi, 110 001, India.
LOOKING for a respite from cold northern winters? Bahá’ís of all ages and backgrounds are needed to serve the Faith in Boca Raton, Florida, a residential city of 50,000 midway between West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale on the state’s southeastern coast. Boca Raton offers an ideal year-round climate, well-kept public parks and beaches, excellent facilities for golfing and tennis, an expanding local economy, a state university, two junior colleges, and numerous teaching opportunities involving Haitians, Native Americans, Spanish-speaking people, and other minority groups. Retired persons also will find many opportunities to teach among their peer group. For more information please write to the Bahá’ís of Boca Raton, P.O. Box 999, Boca Raton, FL 33432, or telephone Barbara Craig at 305-392-3283.
YOUNG Bahá’í music student to be studying at Cal State-Los Angeles in Alhambra around September 1982 would like to rent a room from a Bahá’í family. Have lived in Guatemala for 10 years, speak Spanish, and would like to teach the Faith whenever possible. Please contact K.C. Porter, ________ CA ____, or phone ____.
VOLUNTEERS are needed to help establish and run the children’s program at the Bahá’í International Conference to be held May 7-9 in Manila, the Philippines. Some 3,000 Bahá’ís from 42 other countries including many children are expected to attend the conference. If you are able to help, please contact the Manila International Conference Committee, 1070 A. Roxas cor. Bautista Sts., Singalong Subdivision, Manila, Philippines or c/o P.O. Box 4323, Manila, Philippines.
LAST YEAR I requested and received many wonderful stories for a book to be entitled “How I Became a Bahá’í.” I regret that it has not been possible for me to work on the project for the past year; however, I hope to begin again soon, and will inform the friends when it has been completed. In the meantime, I wish to thank the contributors for their patience, encouragement and lovely stories. Randle Gottlieb, Puerto Rico.
WANTED: The Bahá’í board game printed in Ann Arbor, Michigan, or information about where I can get it. Please write to Peggy McDonald, ________, Williston, VT 05495, or phone 802-482-3233.
LOOKING for the perfect climate for retirement? Vacaville, California, could be your place. The town is fairly small but conveniently located between San Francisco and Sacramento at the edge of the California valley. The lovely retirement community of Leisure Town is within the city limits. The Bahá’í Group of Vacaville needs four adult Bahá’ís to form an Assembly. Help us out while getting yourself out of the snow and cold. For information write to Jeff Bryant, ________ Vacaville, CA 95688, or phone 707-448-8852.
NEEDED in Cloverdale, California: A couple or family to replace a family that has left the area to pioneer. A generous scattering of seeds has been sown in Cloverdale, gateway to the redwoods, nine miles north of the former Geyserville Bahá’í School and 85 miles north of San Francisco. What is needed is a little love and nurturing to continue to reap the harvest of new believers Cloverdale has experienced in this fertile teaching ground. For more information write to P.O. Box 234, Cloverdale, CA 95425, or phone 707-894-4663 or 894-4532 evenings.
HELP! The Spiritual Assembly of Ruidoso, New Mexico, is in jeopardy. Needed are active, enthusiastic, dedicated adult Bahá’ís for this small but fast-growing mountain resort in the Sunbelt. Good public schools through high school; excellent retirement community; pleasant weather year round; self-employment opportunities. Must have own transportation. For more information please write to P.O. Box 1561, Ruidoso, NM 88345.
RETIRED from your job? Use your retirement income to perform “the most meritorious of all deeds”—pioneering! There are a number of goals to be filled by Riḍván in countries that will not give full-time work permits but that welcome retired persons or individuals who are basically self-sufficient and need only a minimum income otherwise. Your retirement income may well be enough to support you at an important pioneer post that might otherwise go unfilled. Find out how to spend your retirement years serving the Faith internationally by contacting the International Goals Committee, Bahá’í National Center, Wilmette, IL 60091, or phone 312-869-9039.
PIONEERS are urgently needed throughout the world and a number of employment opportunities exist in countries that are not goal areas for pioneers during this phase of the Seven Year Plan. The following are examples of job listings and other opportunities the International Goals Committee has in non-goal areas at the present time: Guatemala—The American School of Guatemala, a private coeducational school offering an educational program from kindergarten through grade 12, has several openings for teachers in various fields. Jamaica—There is a need for medical personnel and professionals in many fields. There is also a university and an excellent medical school where foreign students may study a variety of subjects. Nicaragua—Numerous openings exist for engineers, doctors, dentists, agronomists, and university professors. Mexico—A Bahá’í institute in Muna, a village about 45 miles from Mérida, needs caretakers immediately. It is an ideal situation for a retired couple or people who are used to living in small, rural towns. Some knowledge of Spanish and experience in the physical maintenance of property are important requisites. If you would like further information about any of these pioneering opportunities, please contact the International Goals Committee, Bahá’í National Center, Wilmette, IL 60091, or telephone 312-869-9039.
TIRED of high heating bills, shoveling snow and ice? Come to the Space Coast in sunny Florida and help save the new Assembly in Melbourne, which is in jeopardy. Melbourne, home of Florida Institute of Technology, has a large retirement community, modern schools, many cultural activities, and clean, high technology industries. The Bahá’í community will welcome you with open arms and assist in finding employment and housing. For more information write to the Spiritual Assembly of Melbourne, P.O. Box 2312, Melbourne, FL 32901, or phone 305-725-6897.
WANTED: Personal papers of early New York City Bahá’ís including the papers of William Hoar, Arthur P. Dodge, Howard MacNutt, James Brittingham and Roy C. Wilhelm. The National Archives Committee is especially interested in original letters, diaries, personal recollections and photos. Anyone having information about the personal papers of these or other early Bahá’ís in New York City are asked to write to the National Bahá’í Archives Committee, Bahá’í National Center, Wilmette, IL 60091.
DOCTORS are needed in the Fiji Islands. Ten of 24 positions for specialists in the Ministry of Health are vacant, according to an article in the Fiji Times. The article goes on to say that salary offers of more than $40,000 a year are not attracting overseas doctors. This is a marvelous opportunity for specialists who wish to pioneer. Persians are welcome to apply. For more information please contact the International Goals Committee, Bahá’í National Center, Wilmette, IL 60091, or phone 312-869-9039.
PEOPLE who are interested in a quality gerontology program may wish to consider pioneering to Northeast Louisiana University in Monroe. The Center on Aging at NLU will be offering graduate assistantships to qualified people who want to work on a post-baccalaureate certificate in gerontological studies (it takes one calendar year). Usually, the degree is coupled with a masters degree in psychology, social work or counseling
151 declare in West Texas, Southern New Mexico[edit]
One hundred fifty-one residents of several towns in Southern New Mexico, West Texas and the border area of Mexico declared their belief in Bahá’u’lláh during the fourth annual Winter Teaching Project held December 19-January 3.
The campaign was sponsored by the District Teaching Committee of Southern New Mexico/West Texas.
TWENTY Bahá’ís including four from the Navajo Indian Reservation, one from Oregon and another from Illinois participated in some part of the direct teaching work during the project, according to project coordinator Richard Gurinsky of Mescalero, New Mexico.
In addition, several Bahá’í communities in the district supported the effort with a variety of activities.
The primary goals for this year’s campaign, planning for which began last August, were to visit believers who had been enrolled during past projects and to strengthen Assemblies that were either in jeopardy or near jeopardy.
“We accomplished nearly everything,” said Mr. Gurinsky, “except for one or two minor goals of the approximately 20 objectives set by the District Teaching Committee.”
The new believers, who are primarily Spanish-speaking Mexican-Americans, reside in towns that range in size from about 100 to several thousand.
There are now enough Bahá’ís to form new Assemblies in La Union, New Mexico; Marfa, Texas, and, if approved by the National Spiritual Assembly of Mexico, Las Palomas, Mexico, where, said Mr. Gurinsky, some 25 people declared their belief.
THERE WERE 20 declarations in Deming, New Mexico, 19 in Marfa, Texas, and 10 each in Rincon and La Union, New Mexico.
Other declarations were reported in Socorro, New Mexico; Van Horn and Presidio, Texas; and Juárez, Mexico.
Many of the new Bahá’ís are members of the same families. One of them (in Tortugas, New Mexico, just outside of Las Cruces) is a Yaqui Indian.
Project participants reported an improvement in the receptivity of the people in some of the towns revisited during this year’s project. Many people, said Margaret Gurinsky of Mescalero, a member of the District Teaching Committee, responded to the Faith in localities where in previous years the reception had been rather cold.
Mrs. Esther Bauman Linebaugh (seated) at the tea last September 26 in Berkeley, California, honoring her on her 90th birthday.
40 attend birthday tea for 90-year-old Berkeley believer[edit]
Forty people attended a “this is your life” birthday tea September 26 in Berkeley, California, that honored Mrs. Esther Bauman Linebaugh, a long-time member of the Berkeley Bahá’í community.
When she learned that her friends and the Spiritual Assembly of Berkeley had decided to contribute $90 to the Bosch School auditorium building fund in honor of her 90th birthday, Mrs. Linebaugh responded with a $90 contribution of her own.
Mrs. Linebaugh, who was enrolled in the Faith in Corvallis, Oregon, in 1949, joined the Berkeley community three years later. She was employed at that time as a legal secretary for the U.S. Civil Service.
Active on many committees, she was elected to serve on the Spiritual Assembly of Berkeley and was its corresponding secretary in the 1960s.
A cake with a golden “90,” flowers, gifts, photos and many congratulatory messages from friends throughout the U.S. and overseas combined to make this a memorable event for the Berkeley community and its guest.
75 non-Bahá’ís attend UN Day potluck and supper in Michigan[edit]
Fifteen Bahá’ís from St. Joseph and Benton Township, Michigan, were hosts to 75 non-Bahá’í guests October 24 for the annual United Nations Day potluck supper and entertainment at the local YWCA.
The friends and their guests brought food from a variety of countries and cultures including Korean, Mexican and American Indian.
The performers who entertained after the supper were for the most part non-Bahá’ís.
Included were a local ballet troupe, a bluegrass band, and a mime who presented the folk tale “The Coat That Got Too Small,” which emphasizes the importance of having a broader vision of the world.
Cooperating with the Bahá’ís in presenting the event were representatives of the Michigan International Council and the YWCA.
Bahá’í pamphlets and those of the other organizations were available to everyone. Bahá’í quotations such as “The earth is but one country and mankind its citizens” adorned the walls.
Rochester concert fetes Birth of Báb[edit]
More than 150 people attended a concert October 18 presented by the Bahá’ís of Rochester, New York, to commemorate the anniversary of the Birth of the Báb.
The concert, at the Memorial Art Gallery Auditorium in Rochester, included music by Mozart, Chausson, Puccini, Schumann, and a new work by Richard Snyder based on The Hidden Words of Bahá’u’lláh.
Performers were Nolan Anderson and Boris Zepesochny (violin), Wesley Dyring (viola), Howard Kilbury and Daniel Schenck (piano), Anita Firman (soprano), and Dale Rutstein (tenor).
Children’s Day party draws 40 in St. Paul[edit]
Forty children including 15 to 20 non-Bahá’ís attended a children’s party October 2 sponsored by the Bahá’í community of St. Paul, Minnesota, to commemorate Universal Children’s Day.
John Scott, a member of the St. Paul Bahá’í community who is an experienced square dance caller, led the group in two sets of simple dances.
The St. Paul community advertised the event by passing out flyers in all metropolitan area communities. These were used by the children to invite their friends, and contributed to the large turnout of non-Bahá’í children.
Bahá’ís from Rialto and San Bernardino, California, participated last November 8 in a program at which the first statue of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in that state was unveiled. About 1,000 people including many city officials, dignitaries and religious leaders attended the historic event at the San Bernardino City Hall. Shown here are Rialto Bahá’ís (left to right) Juanita, Andreini, Andreina and Fedora McPherson who wore their ‘One Planet, One People ... Please’ T-shirts.
Ads[edit]
Continued From Page 16
For further information about the program, please contact Dr. Christopher Jay Johnson, Center on Aging, ________ Avenue, Monroe, LA 71209.
SPRING HILL, a retirement community on the west coast of Florida about 50 miles north of Tampa, needs Bahá’ís to establish a community of retired believers. Young people also are needed, but job opportunities are scarce. Please write to ________ St., Spring Hill, FL 33526, or phone (collect) Bill or Carol Newell, 904-683-0420.
SPRING HOPE, North Carolina, needs a female homefront pioneer. A large house with land is available to share with a Bahá’í woman with two children. Rent is $180 a month. There are job opportunities in Raleigh and other nearby cities within 20 miles. Please phone Faika McNally, 919-832-3365.
HOMEFRONT pioneers, especially Persian believers and members of other minority groups, are urgently needed in Vancouver, Washington, where a Bahá’í is sought to purchase and manage an apartment complex, teach the Faith, and continue a commitment to rent to handicapped people. No Assembly exists. Please contact Andy Gee, P.O. Box 2836, Vancouver, WA 98668, or phone 206-694-9692.
SARASOTA, Florida, has an incorporated Assembly, but less than nine adult Bahá’ís. Of the eight who remain, six are in ill health. Sarasota offers ideal retirement living, a lovely year-round climate, gorgeous sandy beaches, culture, art, theatre, sports, continuous education for youth and adults—and the chance to help a jeopardized Assembly retain its status. You’ll find friendship in Sarasota, along with kind and loving Bahá’ís. And sunshine every day! If you’d like to help Sarasota live again, please write to Vera Moorhead, secretary, ________ Sarasota, FL 33580, or phone 813-355-0021.
‘Green Door,’ new Bahá’í magazine of arts, seeks subscriptions, articles[edit]
“The Green Door,” a new Bahá’í magazine of arts and studies, is being published in Belgium.
The first issue of the magazine appeared in July 1981. Subscriptions are being sought, as well as contributions (articles, poetry, music or art work).
Please direct correspondence to the editor, Martyn Burke, at the address shown on the subscription blank below.
[Page 18]
PERSIAN PAGE
Ten years ago...[edit]
in The American Bahá’í
More than 500 Bahá’ís from as far away as Washington state and Canada attend a Victory Conference in Charleston, South Carolina, to launch “Operation Gabriel,” a direct teaching campaign designed to increase substantially the number of believers in that state.
Speakers at the gathering that includes black, white, Native American, Hispanic and Oriental Bahá’ís include the Hand of the Cause of God Raḥmatu’lláh Muhájir, one member of the National Spiritual Assembly, and two Auxiliary Board members.
Ninety believers volunteer to offer some kind of service during “Operation Gabriel.” ...
The Hand of the Cause of God William Sears is a special guest at the third annual Human Rights Award presentation sponsored by the Bahá’ís of Los Angeles County.
Award recipients are actor Eddie Albert and his wife, Margo; Rozzell and Roderick Sykes, founders of St. Elmo Village; Walt Baker, program director of KHJ-TV, Los Angeles; and the Charles R. Drew Postgraduate Medical School ...
More than 140 people in various parts of Mississippi embrace the Faith as a result of “Operation Lazarus” which takes shape during a teaching conference in Prentiss, Mississippi.
The Hand of the Cause of God Raḥmatu’lláh Muhájir visits the new Bahá’í Group in Yazoo City, Mississippi ...
More than 30 Bahá’ís attend a two-day institute on Bahá’í family life in Greeley, Colorado. The institute is sponsored by the Spiritual Assembly of Greeley ...
The last in a series of four regional youth conferences is scheduled for February 25-27 at the University of Texas in Arlington.
The conference, like the three that preceded it, is designed to help launch “Operation Wildfire,” a campaign to help raise the number of young believers across the U.S., especially on college campuses ...
Bahá’í youth of high school age form 35 high school Bahá’í clubs nationwide, only 15 short of the goal of 50 clubs. Meanwhile, older youth have now formed 250 college clubs, 50 short of that youth goal ...
“The Challenge of the Covenant” is the theme of the spring session at the Geyserville Bahá’í School near Healdsburg, California ...
Letters[edit]
Continued From Page 3
an injured being from recognizing too quickly the scope of his injuries.
As happened first with the State Department hostages, and now to a far greater extent with the Bahá’í martyrs, the fury and the sorrow that we have all experienced allows us no adequate response until the channels can be opened by effective leadership and organized expression.
I believe that William Sears had the right idea, that a universal outpouring of prayer for the suffering ones will provide the anesthetic to allow proper dressing of the wounds.
Now, perhaps something has been added, and we can allow the frustration of our horrible hypersensitivity to find release through teaching the Cause.
Solvang, California
To the Editor:
It was encouraging to learn, at the Feast of Qawl, that we are apparently gaining a heightened awareness of our obligation as individuals to give regularly to all the Bahá’í Funds, and in particular to the National Fund.
We were rather concerned, however, to learn that at least one person has decided to give to the Fund before paying the bills, instead of paying the bills first and giving what is left (if anything) to the Fund, and that this practice is being recommended to the body of the believers.
IN FACT, neither of these methods should be advocated.
By giving to the Fund before paying our bills, we are unable to make an accurate determination of how much to give, and are likely to be left with an insufficient amount of money to pay the bills.
The beloved Guardian has made it clear that Bahá’ís are to be discouraged from borrowing money to support the Fund (in a letter written on his behalf to an individual believer dated May 4, 1932, and included in Lifeblood of the Cause, a compilation, p. 7), and paying our bills late could be looked upon as borrowing money from our creditors.
In addition, Bahá’ís are required to obey the law, and everyone is required by law to pay his bills at the proper time.
More than that, we feel that paying one’s bills on time is a matter of courtesy, and as Bahá’ís we should strive always to be courteous.
And if we are paying our bills late to support the Fund, it is our creditors who are being made to sacrifice rather than ourselves.
IT IS OUR opinion that what we really should be doing, as responsible Bahá’ís and members of society, is budgeting our resources in such a way as to be able both to give regularly to the Fund and to pay our bills.
Most of us know what our weekly or monthly income is and more or less how much our bills will be. If, as is sometimes the case, we find that our bills and Fund contributions total more than our income, we must start “trimming” our budget, finding ways to cut costs and making sacrifices as we do it.
We have found it useful to make out our budget on a yearly basis, since Fund contributions should be made every 19 days, whereas bills usually are paid each Gregorian month.
Just as the need to sacrifice does not mean we cannot budget for our Fund contributions, having a budget does not mean we cannot also make additional sacrifices to give more to the Fund whenever possible—as long as they are truly our own sacrifices and not someone else’s.
Ft. Hall (Idaho) Reservation
Materials are sought[edit]
Can you recommend the names of appropriate non-Bahá’í
Books, films (address and cost)
Slide programs (address and cost)
dealing with racial amity?
If so, kindly inform the
Race Unity Committee
Readers, please watch our page for news of such offerings!
Nebraska[edit]
Continued From Page 11
Birth of the Báb ...
IT IS IMPORTANT to realize here that our committee was made up of only 12 isolated believers. The reason we chose Beatrice as a goal area was because it is central to all of us.
“The average traveling time for most of us to get to Beatrice was 45 minutes one way. There were also no Bahá’ís residing in Beatrice, and it has the major newspaper and radio station for this corner of the state.
“As a result of our teaching efforts, Bahá’ís from throughout the state helped by contributing funds, prayers and manpower to the effort. We have 18 or more signed interest cards.
“A Bahá’í couple from another state may be moving to Beatrice due to a job change. And we have one newly enrolled Bahá’í. The locality has been opened.
“Our committee members are systematically visiting and teaching the people who signed interest cards. And we feel that we already have our Assembly in the spiritual realm. We just need to discover which ones they are now.
“We know that you and the National Spiritual Assembly and the Universal House of Justice have asked Local Spiritual Assemblies to adopt goal areas, but we wanted you to know how active and excited we isolated believers are now that we have such a wonderful goal and such a productive committee to be a part of.”
The first Spiritual Assembly of Rosemead, California, held its Recognition Ceremony last November 15 at the Rosemead Public Library. More than 40 people from Rosemead and nearby communities including Auxiliary Board member Joyce Dahl attended the event. Shown here with Mrs. Dahl (front row right) are Assembly members (front row left to right) Lamar Nehlsen (secretary), Maria Magot, Gloria Haithman (vice-chairman), and (back row left to right) John White, Leonard Nehlsen (chairman), Albert Contreras, Jesse Braden, Dr. Federico Magot (treasurer). Not pictured is Assembly member Massoud Avetefi.
In Memoriam[edit]
- Gladys Amerson
- Lombard, Illinois
- December 3, 1981
- Dwight D. Barstow
- Alhambra, Calif.
- November 28, 1981
- Lavinia Brasher
- Chicago, Illinois
- December 2, 1981
- James E. Cooper
- Suffolk, Virginia
- June 26, 1981
- Inez G. Cooper
- Washington, D.C.
- November 16, 1981
- Marcus B. Cooper
- Montgomery, Ala.
- August 15, 1981
- Annie Gage
- Huachuca City, Ariz.
- Date Unknown
- Petklo Garcia
- Dulce, New Mexico
- July 16, 1981
- Jack Gartner
- Panorama City, Calif.
- December 23, 1981
- Matilda Greene
- Kenmore, New York
- November 1981
- Bertha Goldstein
- Jacksonville, Fla.
- November 17, 1981
- Catherine Hanson
- St. Louis Park, Minn.
- November 30, 1981
- Jack Inez
- Dulce, New Mexico
- January 25, 1981
- Olivia Kelsey
- Yellow Springs, Ohio
- October 13, 1981
- Mildred Lepard
- Woodbridge, Va.
- November 19, 1981
- Constance McFarland
- Anaheim, California
- November 18, 1981
- Donald K. McMillin
- Prescott, Arizona
- November 24, 1981
- Eliza Montgomery
- Mayesville, S.C.
- August 1981
- Thora Montoya
- Dulce, New Mexico
- December 23, 1980
- Ruth B. Munson
- Lake Bluff, Ill.
- October 7, 1981
- Alvin Myers
- Rapid City, S.D.
- May 22, 1981
- Alma Frances Neely
- Paint Rock, Ala.
- December 14, 1981
- Lang Van Nguyen
- Lufkin, Texas
- November 15, 1981
- Arthur H. Patterson
- Niagara Falls, N.Y.
- October 3, 1981
- Elizabeth R. Perrett
- Pearce, Arizona
- November 5, 1981
- Lillie Porter
- Olmstead, Illinois
- Date Unknown
- Lois Richards
- Kershaw, S.C.
- Date Unknown
- Ida Mae Robinson
- Green Pond, S.C.
- Date Unknown
- Isadore Rose
- Brooklyn, N.Y.
- Date Unknown
- Malihih Safaipour
- Flushing, New York
- Date Unknown
- Bonnie Schlimme
- Oroville, Calif.
- December 6, 1981
- Ruhangiz Sobhani
- Las Vegas, Nevada
- December 26, 1981
- Margarita Solis
- Adelphi, Maryland
- Date Unknown
- Beatrice Thigpen
- Verona, New Jersey
- October 28, 1981
- John Wanoskia
- Dulce, New Mexico
- October 2, 1980
- Orva Young
- Stover, Missouri
- Date Unknown
Lua[edit]
Continued From Page 11
More than 900 people were present when Lua addressed the Jewish Ladies Council in San Francisco. She also spoke at various club meetings, to the World Spiritual Congress in Long Beach, and at functions of the Masons and Knights Templar.
With Dr. Fareed, she spoke at a Unitarian Church in Alameda. In Los Angeles, she addressed an audience of around 400.
Mrs. Getsinger spoke to students and faculty at Stanford University, thus helping to prepare the way for ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s visit there the following year.
When the Master arrived in the U.S. in 1912, Mrs. Getsinger was among a group of Bahá’ís that included May Maxwell and Juliet Thompson who had the privilege of being constantly with Him and serving Him throughout His visit to America.
Later, Mrs. Getsinger suffered a heart attack and thereafter was often ill for long periods of time. This required her to spend considerable time in bed to regain her strength.
In January 1915, however, she again went to the Holy Land where she remained for seven months as a guest of the Holy Family.
When a U.S. gunboat arrived at Haifa and news was received of the possibility of the U.S. declaring war, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá sent Mrs. Getsinger to try and re-establish communication with the friends who had been cut off from the Holy Land because of war.
She traveled first to Port Said, Egypt, and then to Cairo, planning to leave from there for America, but she became ill in Cairo and was forced to remain there.
Even in her weakened condition Mrs. Getsinger continued to teach the Faith among young men, as they were the only Egyptians who could speak English.
During the night of May 2, 1916, she awoke with severe chest pains. Although a doctor was quickly summoned, Mrs. Getsinger passed away before he arrived.
The friends purchased a choice site in Cairo for her final resting place and conducted a loving memorial service for her.
The beloved Guardian, Shoghi Effendi, paid tribute to Lua Getsinger as “the mother teacher of the West.”
Assembly should have firm goals for teaching Faith[edit]
Continued From Page 9
can exert a far-reaching influence on its work and on the life of the community.” (From a letter dated December 24, 1975, to a National Spiritual Assembly)
7. Are there any specific goals that an Assembly should include in its teaching plans?
The National Spiritual Assembly has written, “Where there is an Assembly, the first objective should be preservation of the institution, meaning more expansion within the community. Thus, where there are fewer than 15, the immediate objective should be to attain 15 active adult believers. Where there are 15, three goals should be pursued: (a) incorporation of the Assembly; (b) opening a new locality; and (c) increasing membership to 30 adults.” (The Seven Year Plan, pp. 17-18)
And for the second phase of the Seven Year Plan, the Universal House of Justice has encouraged “ ...the adoption and pursuit of extension teaching goals by all Local Spiritual Assemblies.” (From a letter dated January 1981 to the Bahá’ís of the United States)
8. What is extension teaching, and how might the Assembly go about doing it?
“Extension teaching is spreading the Faith within a locality other than one’s own ... Before making any plans the Assembly should consult with the Bahá’í residents of the extension teaching area to learn the history of the teaching efforts in the locality and to discuss launching a teaching campaign. Together they can set teaching goals and formulate a plan for achieving them. In this way a fully cooperative relationship can be established.” (The Development of Local Spiritual Assemblies, pp. 23-24)
9. Should the Assembly pour all of its resources into achieving the extension teaching goal it has adopted?
“Extension teaching is carried out in addition to the other expansion and consolidation responsibilities of the Assembly. Before making a commitment to another community, the Assembly should assess its ability to maintain its local programs.” (The Development of Local Spiritual Assemblies, p. 24)
10. In summary, then, what should be the aim of all teaching activities initiated and supported by the Assembly?
The Universal House of Justice states, “The aim, therefore, of all Bahá’í institutions and Bahá’í teachers is to advance continually to new areas and strata of society, with such thoroughness that, as the spark of faith kindles the hearts of the hearers, the teaching of the new believers continues until, and even after, they shoulder their responsibilities as Bahá’ís and participate in both the teaching and administrative work of the Faith.” (Guidelines for Local Spiritual Assemblies, pp. 66-67)
(Additional information on teaching the Cause can be found in Guidelines for Local Spiritual Assemblies, The Development of Local Spiritual Assemblies, The Individual and Teaching, and A Special Measure of Love, available from the Bahá’í Publishing Trust.)
Huntsville, Alabama, presents Human Rights Awards[edit]
The Spiritual Assembly of Huntsville, Alabama, sponsored its first Human Rights Awards ceremony on December 10.
The Assembly selected four recipients from a county population of more than 300,000 to be honored for their dedicated work in the area of human rights. The four are:
• Mattie Wallace, an elderly black woman who was chosen for her single-handed work in helping police rid the housing project where she lives of drug traffic and crime.
Mrs. Wallace’s efforts in promoting human rights in her neighborhood include working with disadvantaged children to steer them away from crime and drugs to a healthy and productive life.
• The Rev. John Rutland, a white Methodist minister who has spent more than 25 years promoting human and civil rights among all races.
The Rev. Rutland has also initiated several ongoing programs to help disadvantaged persons obtain help in the court system.
• The local chapter of Delta Sigma Theta sorority, a black women’s group, which for years has contributed time and money to programs for women and children.
• The Huntsville Civitan Club, a businessmen’s group, was chosen for its 26-year-old program to help make the handicapped and retarded functioning members of society.
The award was given added emphasis by virtue of the fact that 1981 was the United Nations International Year of the Handicapped.
After receiving his award, the Rev. Rutland said, “It is a pleasure to be among those who believe, as I do, that all mankind is one ... a group of people who are striving for world peace.”
The event received many positive comments, widespread media coverage, and resulted in numerous new contacts for the Faith. The Spiritual Assembly of Huntsville already is planning to make the ceremony an annual event.
The first Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Gering, Nebraska, was formed September 14. Its members are (left to right) Charlotte Ingram, Jessie Runyan, Rick Moritz, Mehri Jensen, David Hammond, Jill Moritz, Peggy Hilfiker, Roger Hilfiker, Sid Frye.
Roseville fund-raiser nets $1,900 for Fund[edit]
More than $1,900 was contributed to the International Bahá’í Fund as the result of a fund-raiser December 12 sponsored by the Spiritual Assembly of Roseville, Minnesota, to honor the Persian martyrs and respond to the pressing needs of the Fund.
The program included music and “activity booths” where Bahá’ís from the Minneapolis-St. Paul area contributed foods, craft items or activities that were purchased by participants.
Several of the booths were set up and run by youth or children.
The evening ended with an auction that included the sale of special items such as Persian rugs and gold coins.
Photo of Bahá’í display appears in Library Journal[edit]
A photo of a Bahá’í display commemorating the United Nations International Year of Disabled Persons appeared in the January 1982 issue of the Library Journal, a publication that is distributed to libraries and librarians throughout the U.S.
The display, shown at the Hamilton Township, New Jersey, Public Library, was created by Bahá’ís Rita Leydon and Kathy Cerruti of Pennsylvania.