The American Bahá’í/Volume 14/Issue 2/Text
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February 1983
The American
Baha’i
Teaching Committee’s actions help assure Ridvan victory
The National Teaching Committee attempts to inspire the Baha’i community to achieve the goals of the Seven Year Plan.
This is done primarily through letters, phone calls, and visits that focus the aftention of the friends on the needs of the moment.
IN ADDITION, the National Teaching Committee produces
Chester Kahn (center), a member of the National Spiritual Assembly, chats with some of the friends
materials that are designed to aid us in the areas of proclamation, expansion and consolidation.
The following are actions taken by the National Teaching Committee since Ridvan 1982 to help assure the accomplishment of the goals of the three-year phase of the Seven Year Plan:
Goal: Pursue a nationwide cam during the National Assembl January meeting which was held in-Pasadena, California.
More than 500 consult with National Assembly
in Southern
The National Spiritual Assembly held its regular monthly meeting in Pasadena, California, January 7-8, during which time it met with members of Spiritual semblies in Southern Califoi Districts 1-4 and with about 500 Baha’is who gathered for a general meeting on the campus of the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.
PRESENT at the general meeting were Counsellor Fred Schechter and Auxiliary Board members Edward Diliberto and Anthony Lease. ~ Members of
Index
Viewpoint . Letters .. Goals Committee The Funds. Youth News. Education. Teaching
National
the
BPT price lis 12-13
Spanish . .14
Publication: as
Classified: 116
Persian... 118
Race Unity. 20
Public Affairs 21
In Memoriam
California
Teaching Committee, National Education Committee and Persian Affairs Committee, each of which also met that weekend in the Los Angeles area, were introduced during the program.
Members of the National Spiritual. Assembly and National Teaching Committee participated Friday evening in 11 firesides that were held in extension teaching goal areas in Southern California.
During lunch on Saturday, the National Assembly consulted with members of the Spiritual Assembly of Los Angeles.
Topics discussed included the proposed new Los Angeles Baha’i Center and fund-raising for it, teaching opportunities presented by the 1984 Olympic Games to be held in Los Angeles, and the role that the new Bahd’{ Center might play in such plans.
CONSULTATION also focused on the teaching work in Southern California, the integration of the large numbers of Persian Baha’is there into the Baha’i community as a whole, and the relationship of Local Spiritual Assemblies to the National Spiritual
paign, with emphasis on the use of the Creative Word, designed to inspire every believer to live the Baha’f life, thus demonstrating to their fellow-countrymen the beneficent effects of the Baha’i way of life achieved through adherence to the Teachings of Baha’u’ llth. Produced the booklet, “The Individual in Action,’’ which calls
the friends’ attention to the importance of prayer, reading. the Writings, giving to the Fund, and teaching. This booklet has been distributed to all isolated believers, many Assemblies and Groups, and to the delegates at the most recent National Convention. We continue to receive requests for the booklet.
Goal: Strive to achleve an unprecedented increase in the number of avowed adherents of the Faith throughout the country and from all levels of society.
Letter to all isolated believers emphasizing personal teaching.
Letter to all District Teaching Committees asking them to con See GOALS Page 10
specializin|
and Miles.
of personal conduct.
Dr. Robert Henderson chosen in by-election as new National Spiritual Assembly member
KINDLY CONVEY ROBERT HENDERSON ASSURANCE LOVING PRAYERS HIS BEHALF ASSUMPTION SACRED RESPONSIBILITY MEMBERSHIP NATIONAL ASSEMBLY.
UNIVERSAL HOUSE OF JUSTICE
The National Spiritual Assembly announced December 30 that Dr. Robert Henderson of Roswell, Georgia, has been elected to membership on the Assembly in a by-election to fill the vacancy created by the death last October of its vice-chairman, Dr. Daniel C. Jordan.
Dr. Henderson, who served more than five years as chairman of the National Teaching Committee, is presently a vice-president of Atlanta-based Tarkenton and Company, a management consultant firm in human performance productivity, where he is responsible for designing and directing programs aimed at producing measurable improvement in key areas of human performance.
Dr. Henderson’s grandmother, Sadie Ellis, and an aunt, Dr. Adrienne (Ellis) Reeves, now an Auxiliary Board member for propagation, were the first members of his family to become Baha'is. His grandfather, Charles Ellis, later became a Baha’i along with the rest of the seven Ellis children.
Dr. Henderson’s mother, Dr. Wilma Brady, also is a member of the National Spiritual Assembly, marking the first time that a mother and son have served together on that body. His stepfather, Dr. Thomas Brady, is vice-president for administration at the International Theological Union of the Atlanta University sytem. He has two sisters, Kathleen and Patrice, both Bahda’{s and both living in California.
Dr. Henderson received his degree in education from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. He presently serves as chairman of the Spiritual Assembly of Roswell where he lives with his wife, Paula, an accomplished artist, and their children, Camille, Angela
This was the second by-election held to fill the vacancy on the National Assembly caused by the brutal murder of Dr. Jordan last October 16 in Stamford, Connecticut.
In November Dr. Allan Ward of Little Rock, Arkansas, was elected to the National Spiritual Assembly, but his election was overturned by the Universal House of Justice because of problems
DECEMBER 31, 1982
am
DR. ROBERT HENDERSON
Dr. Stanwood Cobb, noted author, educator who met Master, dies
Dr. Stanwood Cobb, a noted educator, author and lecturer who became a Baha’i at Green Acre in 1906, died in York County, Maine, on December 29, less than, two months after his 101st birthday.
Dr. Cobb, who was born a decade before the first automobile and more than two decades before the first airplane, was the author of more than 30 books including several about the Faith and was founder of the Progressive Education Association which he served as executive secretary and later as president.
ONE YEAR later (1919) he founded the Chevy Chase (Mary
Assembly.
See ASSEMBLY Page 17
See DR. COBB Page 23
San Fernando host to historic telecommunication conference
By ROGER COE
and STEPHEN CASWELL
Plans to bring the Baha’i Faith into the forefront in the implementation of modern communications technology were set in motion December 17-19 at an historic telecommunications conference in San Fernando, California.
The conference brought together more than 40 Baha’is from the U.S. and Canada who formulated plans designed to help establish the new Bahd’{ radio station in South Carolina and to research possible applications of existing computer technology to serve the Faith.
DR. DWIGHT W. Allen, representing the National Spiritual
Assembly, galvanized the conference by reading the cable from the Universal House of Justice congratulating the American Baha’i community on its receipt of a license to build the first Baha’i radio station in North America at the Louis G. Gregory Institute in South Carolina.
In his opening remarks, Dr. Allen stressed the importance of using science and technology to help our efforts to unify mankind, and said he hoped conference attendees could forge a link between the development of the new radio station and related computer and communication systems.
Also attending the conference
See CONFERENCE Page 21
[Page 2]VIEWPOI
The American Baha'i
ee
Feast letter
for the Feast of Sultan Dear Baha’i Friends:
tories.
teem and friendship.”
With loving Baha’i greetings,
Time has come to teach all strata To the American Baha’i Community
History has repeatedly demonstrated the capacity of the American Baha’i community to rally in times of crisis, to overcome obstacles, to meet all challenges, and to turn temporary setbacks into lasting vic THE CONTINUING persecution in Iran has released enormous spiritual energies and added impetus to the growth and development of the Cause in the rest of the world.
As the Baha’i community emerges from obscurity, it develops new needs. Among these are the respect and friendship of those in positions of authority and of persons prominent in their various fields.
The Universal House of Justice has repeatedly called upon the friends to ‘‘promote wise and dignified approaches to people prominent in all areas of human endeavour, acquainting them with the nature of the Bahá’{ community and the basic tenets of the Faith,
and winning their es In a recent letter to National Spiritual Assemblies the Universal House of Justice has renewed this call and given further instructions on reaching the leading stratum of society.
Baha’i lawyers, doctors, teachers, businessmen are invited to foster good relations with their non-Baha’i colleagues and to make known to them the principles of the Faith. That will inspire all of us afresh to carry the healing Message of Baha’u’llah to even larger segments of a society which will not survive without it.
National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of the United States
At its January meeting in Los Angeles, the National Spiritual Assembly approved a motion that the Business and Professional Affairs Committee appoint a threemember ad hoc committee to develop a program of action in regard to reaching prominent persons in the U.S. with the Baha’i Message.
THE National Assembly’s action was taken in response to a letter from the Universal House of Justice dated December 14, 1982, in which the Supreme Body directed the National Assembly to:
“Appoint a committee, if you have not already done so, comprising Bahá’ís who have attained prominence outside the Baha'i community together with others who, although not similarly prominent, have the capability or are in a position to contact prominent persons, to consider, recommend and, in accordance with your directives, act on the means of
reaching persons of influence and cultivating good relations with them.”
The American Baha’i
(USPS 042-430) Published monthly by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of the United States, 536 Sheridan Road, Wilmette, IL. 60091. Second class postage paid at Wilmette, IL
Editor: Jack Bowers ‘Associate Editor: David E, Ogron
‘The American Bahá'{ welcomes news, letters and ‘other items of interest from individuals and the various institutions of the Faith. Articles should be written in a clear and concise manner; black and white glossy photos should be included: whenever possible, Please address all materials to The Editor, The American Babs’, Wilmette, IL, 60091 Copyright’e 1983 by the National bly of the Band's of the U rights ceserved. Printed in the U,
Committee named to develop
plan to teach prominent people
In announcing the Seven Year Plan, the House of Justice called upon National Spiritual Assemblies to “‘promote wise and dignified approaches to people prominent in all areas of human endeavour, acquainting them with the nature of the Baha’i community and the basic tenets of the Faith, and winning their esteem and friendship.”
That objective was given further emphasis in letters of January 1981 announcing the second phase of the Plan and including among specific goals given to many National Spiritual Assemblies the fostering of ‘‘cordial relations with prominent persons and those in authority.’”
IN ITS letter of last December 14, the House of Justice wrote:
“The urgency imposed upon the world Baha’i community during the last four years to defend the persecuted Persian friends has created unprecedented opportunities for good relations to be developed with those in authority in many nations.
“The consequent rise in the prestige of the Faith in the eyes of government officials, and of the mass media, offers a further opportunity and indicates a need-to intensify our efforts to introduce the Faith to a wider spectrum of. prominent people than has yet been reached.””
The Fund Is the Life-Blood of the Faith
National Baha’i Fund
Wilmette, IL 60091
Baha’is and award recipients are shown at the 14th annual Human Rights Awards ceremony last December 12 sponsored by the Baha’f communities of Los Angeles County. The recipients are Ariana Manov (third from left), executive
director of the Ocean Park Community Center; Mark Mayeda (fourth from lef), representing Asian Rehabilitation Services Inc. of Los Angeles; and Mary Henry (fifth from left), executive director of the Avalon-Carver Commu nity Center in Los Angeles.-Muhtadi Sallam-Rice (far left) was master of ceremonies for the event. Others (left to right) are Baha’is Dash Crofts, Irene Trulear, Dr. Flor Geola, Alex Kirov, John Dugas.
L.A. gives 14th Human Rights Awards
More than 650 people were present last December 12 at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, California, for the 14th annual Human Rights Awards program sponsored by the Baha’i communities of Los Angeles County.
The 1982 award winners are:
¢ MARY Henry, executive director of the Avalon-Carver Community Center in Los Angeles.
¢ Ariana Manov, executive director of the Ocean Park Community Center.
¢ Asian Rehabilitation Services Inc., an agency dedicated to serving the needs of the Los Angeles Pacific-Asian community.
Among the presenters was wellknown Baha’i entertainer Dash Crofts.
More than half of those attending were non-Baha’is including about 300 black and Asian-American guests.
Comment
Following a slide presentation on the Faith, Ms. Henry was recognized for her tireless efforts on behalf of troubled youth and individuals seeking adequate medical care.
SHE IS responsible for establishing one of the first summer youth programs in the area (in 1968), which is still going strong, and also launched (in 1970) the first substantive drug abuse center in southwest Los Angeles.
As executive director of the Ocean Park Community Center, Ms. Manov founded Sojourn, a refuge for woman and children who are victims of domestic violence that was one of the first of its kind in California.
She is co-founder of Stepping Stone, a youth crisis center that provides comprehensive services for runaways, young prostitutes, drug abusers, and others ages 7 to
Mone goal of each of these pro grams is to help victims become survivors. - Asian Rehabilitation Services employs a two-pronged approach in meeting the needs of the Los Angeles Pacific-Asian community, providing classes in English as a second language and giving vocational assistance to the disabled.
WORKING with refugees and immigrants, as well as residents, the organization determines the specific aptitudes of each individual, trains him in a skill, then prepares him for a job.
The goal is to make the disabled individual indépendent.
The organization also helps with socialization needs such as developing skills in daily living, and provides group counseling services.
Here’s a brief check list for you to consider
A comparison of the American Baha’i community and the public at large offers a striking contrast.
On one hand, never have so many people been aware of the Faith, and never in so favorable a light.
ON THE other hand, our Baha’{ communities are, for the most part, struggling to maintain the bare bones of unity, and some are even stagnant.
It has caused me considerable consternation to see so wide a gulf between potential and reality. I would like to comment on some of the reasons which, in my opinion, have caused this discrepancy to occur.
This month’s article, ‘‘A Check List for Baha'i Communities,” was written by Edward E. Bartlett of Homewood, Alabama.
1. The need to think of our growth in broader terms.
We know that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, and the Baha’i community is more than its individual members. Yet when-we talk about problems, we tend to think that the solution lies solely with individuals deepening more in the Writings.
Although this is certainly a part of the answer, broader solutions must be sought in terms of improving community life and mak ing Baha’i administration more efficient.
2. The need to further decentralize Baha’i administration.
During the early years of the Faith, one misplaced word or imprudent action could cause incalculable harm in the eyes of a public ignorant of the tenets of the Faith.
Times have changed—today the public by and large understands our basic aims. The centralization appropriate in earlier years is both unnecessary and impractical, considering the size and diversity of our community.
See COMMENT Page 22
| RTP ERR PA S MOTOETI IP ETS PETNPTE NE T CI ME O
LETTERS
February 1983
3
Response to Fund plea a ‘mirror’ of community
To the Editor:
About a year ago the Treasurer’s Office launched a program to cope with the shameful state of the National Fund.
Based on the well-known sacrifice of 20,000 of the Persian friends who gave their all to the Cause of God, an appeal was sent to each Baha’i in America to step forward and pledge an individual contribution to the National Fund each month to the number of 20,000 and so match the spiritual sacrifice of the Persians with a material sacrifice.
THIS urgent appeal came at a time when once again the Persian friends were giving their lives for the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh.
A year has gone by and the result of that appeal, less than 6,000 pledges, gives us sufficient information for some far-reaching conclusions.
The statistic is like a mirror reflecting accurate information to whatever is placed against it. I suggest that it gives us a fair estimation of the number of informed, dedicated Baha’ is in this country—about 6,000. We must have the courage to face up to this fact.
I would further suggest that the monthly appeals at Feast are ineffective because, startling as it may sound, the Fund is not the problem.
The poor state of the Fund simply reflects the spiritual state of the Baha’is, which appears very poor indeed.
With all due respect to those faithful Baha’is who support the Fund, it seems that we Americans are not spiritual enough to be an example for those who are asleep.
CAN WE awaken the sleeping ones by whispering words of inspiration? When a ship is sinking should you not sound an alarm and man the pumps?
We have, it seems, forgotten that the Baha’i Faith is a religion, and that, as the Guardian said, “the core of religion is the mystical feeling that unites man with God ...’”
Can anyone doubt that this “mystical feeling’? described by the Guardian is love, the love of God and of our fellow-man?
Religion in its fundamental aspes an intimate personal relationship with God based on prayer and meditation on the Writings.
Baha’i News raises its subscription rates
Rising production costs have forced the National Spiritual Assembly to increase the subscription price of Bahá’í News.
Effective January 1, 1983, the yearly cost for Bahá’í News was raised to $12, and the cost of a two-year subscription to $20 for those who live in the U.S.
Those who live outside the U.S. should check with their National Spiritual Assembly to determine the subscription price.
We must ‘come into communion with the Spirit of God, then, the Holy Spirit will assist us ...”” (The Divine Art of Living, p. 46)
Think of it, we can have the power, the protection and the guidance of the Holy Spirit of God every day, moment by moment. Faith in this is religion.
If there ever was a time for courage, it is now. I would like to suggest another ‘‘20,000.’’ These new 20,000 ‘‘companions of God’’ will totally dedicate the remainder of the Seven Year Plan to teaching.
Can anything less than this work? We have tried the part-time approach, and it has failed. It is not enough—it will never be enough!
Let’s not only keep the ship of Faith afloat—let’s put on more sail and head for the horizon.
Charles Beachner Santa Rosa, California
To the Editor:
In the December 1982 issue of The American Baha’f you printed a letter regarding SERVAS, an international host organization.
We have participated in SERVAS for 15 years and have found it a worthwhile organization and a meaningful way in which to express the Baha’i way of life.
There have been many opportunities to teach the Baha’i principles, and many of our visitors have left with Baha’i literature and an interest in contacting the Baha’ fs when they returned home.
I would like to add a word of caution. Some visitors have expressed dismay that when visiting families of another religion they have felt like a captive audience.
They also found that when they returned to their country, missionaries were waiting to greet them in a forceful manner. This kind of religious behavior they found quite objectionable.
We too are listed as Baha’fs in the SERVAS directory, but we always make sure the questions and interest in the Faith come from the visitor.
The primary interest in becoming a host family for SERVAS must be to “‘serve’’ the visitor. We know what ‘Abdu’l-Bahá says about service!
Carolyn and George Galinkin Butte, Montana
To the Editor:
Referring to page 5 of The American Bahd’{ (December 1982) I quote: ‘‘Dorothy Nelson then reminded the friends that ‘*...no individual or institution in the Faith can ever insist that you give or even suggest an amount.’ ””
My understanding of this matter is that it is obligatory for all believers to support and teach the Faith.
Because of these obligations, suggested individual contributions (dues) might prove helpful and even desirable in fulfilling these
The American Bahd’{ 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, Baha’i_ National Center, Wilmett TL 60091.
obligations.
T agree with Judge Nelson that we may not insist on the payment of any money to the Faith. This should, of course, be left to the individual’s conscience, judgment and ability to meet suggested obligations.
James E. Pier Belvidere, South Dakota
To the Editor:
I have been a declared Baha’ for a year. My seven-year-old daughter is a second grader in a rural primary school in Banks County, Georgia, a county of “Southern Baptists, Methodists and atheists,” according to the school’s principal.
Recently I presented a note requesting excused absences for Melissa on Baha’i Holy Days. The principal came to ask if I knew how this should be counted on her attendance record.
He presented the problem to the school superintendent, who insisted that there was a policy but could find nothing about it in the books. He had to call the state office for their policy!
There will now be a policy written for our county, which had never been confronted with this issue, stating that Holy Days of religions other than Christian will be excused absences, counted as an absence on the attendance record.
What a joy and privilege it is to be a pioneer in a small way for the Cause of God in my locale!
Sheila Parham Alto, Georgia
To the Editor: I write this letter in deep sorrow to all my Baha’i friends in the U.S.
A year ago I came forth and declared myself to be one of the 20,000 dedicated to supporting the National Fund. I had high expectations that I would be part of a victory, only to have those hopes dashed by an $800,000 deficit in the Fund.
Nineteen times I sent prayers and checks, knowing that 19 Persian Baha’is had died in Iran. My sacrifice is nothing compared to theirs.
Please, friends, let us not fail this year. Send your pennies, or dollars, but send something. We are the only ones left.
Stuart Markham Minnetonka, Minnesota
To the Editor:
The tape for the Feast of Qudrat concerning the $800,000 deficit in the National Fund had a tremendous impact on our Group of six in the Town of Union, New
York.
The result of our consultation led to the following agreement:
We will dedicate one day in every Bahá’í month to the National Fund. We will have activities such as auctions, bake sales, potlucks, etc., and the money collected will be sent directly to National.
We had our first auction Saturday evening, December 4, dedicating it to the memory of Dr. Daniel Jordan. Although only. seven people were present, we raised $85.
That may not sound like much, but coming from our Group it was a real sacrifice. And it felt good because it came from the heart.
We would like to recommend that other communities also dedicate one day each month to the Fund, and not deprive themselves of this great bounty.
Mahrooz Khademazad Town of Union, New York
To the Editor:
I am concerned about the approach that many Baha’is take to teaching the Faith. I fear that it is our obsession with numbers and growth that is keeping us from growing.
Who wants to be part of a group whose only apparent activity is trying to get more members? ... For what?
I FEEL that our duty as Baha’is is to spread the Teachings of Bahd’u’ lah and to be of service to mankind.
Our approach should be to see what teachings are lacking in our community and then to start promoting those teachings.
As followers of God's latest Messenger we should be the leaders in our communities in the promotion of such things as better
ay
MY
understanding among cultures, the equality of men and women, elimination of prejudice, and so forth.
We should plan events that will promote these ideals and thereby provide a service to our community.
When people who are attracted to these ideals see the Baha’ is doing something worthwhile, and beneficial for the community, they will want to be a part of it and help.
But if all they see is a group of people trying to make more Baha’fs they won’t be the least bit interested in joining, even if they agree with all the principles.
There are many activities being planned in our country that meet the needs of communities, such as women’s conferences, parent support groups, intercultural ‘gatherings, race unity conferences, etc Most of these have met with great success.
I would like to see more of this kind of event interspersed with the proper proportion of proclamation and direct teaching.
Judy H. Moe Rockford, Illinois
To the Editor:
In response to the letter on page 12 (December) stating that every‘one on earth is at least a SOth cousin, I feel that an error has been made in dealing with mathematics and not facts.
With all due respect to Guy Murchie, Theodosius Dobzhansky and Sir Julian Huxley, the fact is that there are millions of racially pure people in the world today.
I WILL concede that all Chi See LETTERS Page 19
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Ustad Muhammad-‘Aliy-i Salmani The story of his life and exiles with the Holy Family.
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[Page 4]IGC: PIONEERING
The American Baha'i
In Haiti, ‘poor’ have abundance of love to give
By SHAWN JAVID
(Shawn’s father, Farhang Javid, is a member of the International Goals Committee. Shawn is 20 years old, and filled a youth travel teaching goal.)
In the Tablets of the Divine Plan, ‘Abdu’l-Baha writes: “Strive as far as ye are able to send to those parts fluent speakers ...Should you be aided to render such a service, rest ye assured that your heads shall be crowned with the diadem of everlasting sovereignty, and at the threshold of oneness you will become the favoured and accepted servants ... especially the two black republics, Haiti and Santo Domingo.”
HAITI occupies the western half of an island 50 miles southeast of Cuba; its name in Creole means “‘mountainous land.”
Creole, its native language, is a mixture of various African dialects, French, and a touch of English.
Eighty per cent of Haiti’s 11,000 square miles is rugged mountains. Haiti was the first black nation to become a free and sovereign republic, achieving its independence in 1844.
The present population is about six million. Despite their many
problems, the people are happy and love to tease one another.
I had the bounty of visiting Haiti in January with my parents, Farhang and Kathleen Javid. We spent most of our visit in Port-auPrince, the capital city, with the pioneers and local Baha’is.
ONE TRIP, however, was arranged for us to travel and teach in La Vallee of Jacmel.
On our trip to La Vallee, we were escorted by three members of the National Spiritual Assembly of Haiti, Moro and Paule Baruk and Farhad Khozouee, and by three well-deepened Haitian Baha’ youth.
We left Jacmel and traveled on a rough dirt road for about 45 minutes. We then left our vehicles and followed a cobble path over hill after hill for another hour.
At our destination, a simple Haitian house in a valley between large steep hills, we were welcomed by a family of about 20.
One of its members climbed a palm tree and knocked down all of the coconuts. The coconuts, which were green, were split open and we drank the refreshing, sweet milk.
I was extremely touched that
Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao
Three Caribbean islands need Bahda’is to travel, teach, deepen
Only a few months remain until Ridvan. Traveling teachers are needed in a great many places to help teach and deepen new Baha’is and to prepare for the formation of Local Spiritual Assemblies.
Three islands that are in desperate need of traveling teachers are Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao, which are off the coast of Venezuela.
THEY were originally slave markets, made up of people who were brought from Africa, sold, and transported by ship to other parts of the world.
Curacao is the busiest of the three, and is also quite beautiful, a mixture of tropic and desert. A soft wind blows constantly.
The language of the residents, who are largely black, is Papiamento, a mixture of Spanish and Dutch but mostly Spanish.
Aruba, the oil island, has a
population of more than 60,000.
The Natural Bridge on Aruba’s north coast, carved out of living coral by centuries of thrashing waves, gives visitors an allencompassing view of the surrounding area.
The average temperature in winter is a high of 86, a low of 76, and the soft breezes blow always.
BONAIRE, also called a “‘slave island,”’ has a mixture of Dutch and blacks. The island is 40 miles
(EEE
long and five miles wide, rocky, and not too hot.
The southern part of the island has some tourism, and the cost of living is quite high. There is a good relationship between the races, and there are many mixed marriages and open mixed dating.
The islanders are lovely, warm and friendly people, intelligent but not analytical. Most speak three languages.
Dutch is the language of instruction in schools. In fifth grade the children are taught English and then must take another language (French, German or Spanish). In addition, Papiamento is spoken in the home.
The islands present a tremendous opportunity for the Faith. A good teaching team could bring in 200 or more believers in a couple of days.
Three strong Local Assemblies exist, but the need for traveling teachers is great, especially for Bonaire.
Hospitality for short visits is available, and the local Bahda’is will provide transportation where necessary.
For help with your teaching plans, write to the International Goals Committee, Baha'i National Center, Wilmette, IL 60091, or phone 312-869-9039.
this family had shared all they had, these coconuts, with us. After feasting on them and laughing and joking for a while, we sat in a large circle and began a fireside.
MY FATHER began by talking about the reality that we are all of one family, that men and women are equal, and of the need for a universal language and education.
The listeners nodded in agreement and understood the truth of these teachings.
He then spoke extensively about progressive revelation, using the example of Jesus and Moses, the fact that Jesus was not recognized by the rabbis and the learned of His day, but was recognized by the simple fishermen.
A few members of the family asked probing questions that were answered by our youthful Haitian companions. The fireside lasted about two hours, at which point six members of the family declared their faith.
Some other members were opposed to the Faith, while others weren’t sure. This was a good sign; it meant that those who accepted the Faith sincerely meant it.
After Maro Baruk went
Haitian Bahá’ís and traveling teachers prepare for a long journey, partly on foot, to LaVallee, Haiti, on January 4. At the far right is Shawn Javid. Second from right is Moro Baruk, a pioneer
through the teaching booklet with them, we began our journey back by lantern light through the dark night.
I sincerely hope that other teachers will return to visit this family and the thousands of others like them in Hait
from the U.S. who is chairman of the National Spiritual Assembly of Haiti. His wife, Paule, an assistant to the Auxiliary Board, is third from the left.
The pioneers in Haiti must spend so much time earning a living in that poverty stricken nation that they cannot devote the time they would like to such expeditions into the interior.
Haiti dearly needs teachers to visit and assist the pioneers! An American learns lesson in reliance on God
Reliance on God must be the first provision in any journey one takes in the service of the Faith. It is, however, a lesson hard learned by many of us, who are accustomed to relying on things seen and felt for most of our needs.
Sara Haymond of Charlotte, North Carolina, has written a report of her experiences in Panama on the way home from the International Conference in Ecuador, in which she learned that we only have to remember to ask Him to assist us, and He will, abundantly.
Puerto Rico interested in traveling teachers to help teach, deepen
The National Spiritual Assembly of Puerto Rico is interested in receiving periodic visits from outstanding, capable traveling teachers who could help them to stimulate the Puerto Rican Baha’is to deepen in the teachings in order to raise the level of spirituality in the community and also to help teach and proclaim the Faith.
If you can help, or if you know of any such teachers and could furnish their names and addresses, please do so. It is not necessary for those persons to speak Spanish, since good translators are available on the island.
For further help with your teaching plans, please contact the International Goals Committee,
Baha’i National Center, Wilmette, IL 60091, or telephone 312-869-9039.
“There were a number of things that occurred whiclr really reinforced for me reliance on God and Baha’u’llah.
“One of the more interesting things happened when I was at the Satellite Conference in Panama on the way back.
“A FRIEND that I had met in Ecuador, Gail Orner from Antigua, and I were staying together in Panama. Getting around was a bit rough, as we were staying in downtown Panama City, which was quite a way from the Conference site.
“Our Spanish was limited, and when we had taken cabs they were ‘street cabs’ and quite rough. We felt secure only in that Mr. and Mrs. Charles Ioas were staying at the same hotel, and usually Mr. Toas secured the cab and gave directions.
“The day before we were to leave Panama for the U.S., Gail decided she would stay one day longer and would not be going to the airport with me and taking the same flight back.
“I was tired by this time, and concerned that I would have to find my own way to the airport. The night before I was to leave, I prayed to Bahá’u’lláh to help me in getting to the airport safely.
“As I prayed for assistance, I kept thinking that I should be specific in my prayers, and told Bahá’u’lláh that I did not know if I wanted to be able to find a cab that was in good shape, with a nice responsible driver, or if I wanted a ride with a Baha’i to the
airport, but I begged for assistance either way.
“THE NEXT morning Gail and I left our hotel to go to the hotel where she would be staying until her departure; I planned to go directly from her hotel to the airport.
“As we came out of the hotel one of the rough-looking drivers of a street cab came toward us, then turned back.
“Instead, a cab pulled up that looked marvelous—a big wagon with the name of the cab company and a number printed on the outside.
“The driver was extremely polite and spoke English. On the way to Gail’s hotel he heard us discussing how I would get to the airport and asked if I would like for him to come back later and pick me up.
“I was hesitant, because I remembered my prayers of night before and thought that perhaps Bahd’u’ll4h would arrange for a Baha’i to take me to the airport, but I decided that we must take care of ourselves whenever possible, so I agreed that the driver should come back to Gail’s hotel to drive me to the airport.
“AS IT turned out, Gail was to stay at the same hotel in which the Hand of the Cause of God Paul Haney was staying, and there were a number of Baha’fs there.
“As we stood in the lobby talking with some of the friends, Auxiliary Board member Ruth Pringle
See RELIANCE Page 17
THE FUNDS
February 1983
This is the fourth in a six-part series on how monies contributed to the National Fund are used. Since the National Fund is, as described by Shoghi Effendi, the bedrock on which all our activities rest, its ability to support these manifold activities depends on the sacrificial and regular contributions of the believers. This series is intended to provide the American Baha’i community with a fresh look at the range of activities that are supported by the National Fund.
.
“Regard man as a mine rich in gems of inestimable value. Education can, alone, cause it to reveal its treasures, and enable mankind to benefit therefrom.””
This statement by Bahá’u’lláh concerning the importance of education has special significance in considering the spread of His Revelation.
After an individual has been taught the Faith, and the spark of love for Baha’u’llah has been ignited, he must then be introduced to.the process through which the life of the Faith is sustained.
THIS process, standing coequal with teaching itself, is consolidation.
The fact that teaching and consolidation must go hand in hand in efforts to spread the Message of Bahá’u’lláh has been stated time and again by both Shoghi Effendi and the Universal House of Justice.
“In fact,” the Supreme Body has written, “these two processes must be regarded as inseparable parts of the expansion of the Faith:””
The House of Justice has further emphasized that ‘‘consolidation must comprise not only the establishment of Baha’i administrative institutions, but a true deepening in the fundamental ies of the Cause and in its spiritual principles, understanding of its prime purpose in the establishment of the unity of mankind, instruction in its standards of behavior in all aspects of private and public life, in the particular practice of Baha’i life in such things as daily prayer, education of children, observance of the laws of Bahá’í marriage, abstention from politics, the obligation to contribute to the Fund, the importance of the Nineteen Day Feast, and opportunity to acquire a sound knowledge of the present-day practice of Baha’i administration.”’ (Wellspring of Guidance, p. 78)
THE TERMS deepening and consolidation imply study. And although the use of discipline can result in a useful self-directed study course, experience has shown that most people need detailed guidance.
In the process of gathering facts for this article, it became clear that one of the primary tasks at
the National Center is providing just that kind of loving help.
The need for well-defined courses of study is great in the Faith, simply because there is so much to cover. And to cover it with any degree of consistency, thoroughness and focus, it is necessary to have a coordinated approach.
Many of the offices and programs at the National Center are geared toward consolidation. This article will examine ways in which the National Fund supports a wide variety of efforts—all originating from the National Center—that address the deepening and consolidation of the individual, the community and the institution within the American Baha’i community.
The Personal Transformation Program, developed and administered by the National Education Committee, is directed toward the spiritual development of the individual believer.
TRAINED facilitators help present the Writings to enable the friends to understand and apply them in their daily lives.
This program, which has been available for the past four years and has reached some 3,000 believers, takes about $18,000 of the National Education Committee's $237,000 budget to administer.
The Baha’i Parent Program, also developed by the National Education Committee, is designed for use by groups of parents to deepen their understanding of the role of the family.
When a parent group organizes and wishes to use the program, it simply purchases the materials from the Education Committee office and uses them to direct its own study. About a year of staff time was required to develop the program.
Pilgrimage remains one of the best opportunities for individual deepening. A full-time pilgrimage coordinator at the National Center facilitates pilgrimage preparation and travel, which helps the friends get the most from their experience. Typical yearly expenses for staff, communications and supplies run to $17,000.
NATIONAL Center offices are also involved in consolidation services for the community.
Child’s Way magazine (soon to be Brilliant Star) is a publication for use by the family.
Each issue has stories that parents and children can share and enjoy, and that teach spiritual principles along with Baha’i history.
Also included are games, songs and other activities.
Although much of the work in preparing the magazine is done on a volunteer basis, this year’s costs for administration, printing and postage were $19,000.
This. was partly offset by subscriptions of $10,000, leaving a
balance of $9,000 to be provided by the National Fund.
The National Youth Committee is a subcommittee of the National Teaching Committee, yet its conSolidation functions are far-reaching.
The committce’s newsletter, Youth Hotline, exemplifies this point. The publication explains youth goals, reports news and activities, carries articles about youth in action, and serves as a forum for discussion. It costs about $6,000 a year to print and mail it to 3,000 recipients.
IN ADDITION, the Youth Committee is responsible for fulfilling the Universal House of Justice’s goal of holding five Regional Youth Conferences each year during the second phase of the Seven Year Plan.
Six such conferences were held this year, each of which cost the Fund approximately $2,000.
The Local Adviser Education Program (LEAP), another program of the National Education Committee, sets a standard course curriculum for children based on sound educational theory and the Baha’ Writings.
This standard is taught to Assembly and Group representatives who, in turn, serve their communities as Education Advisers.
In all, this program costs about $20,000 a year, which is used mostly for telephone, salary and materials expenses.
In the area of institutional consolidation, the Assembly Development Program is perhaps the best example.
The National Education Committee has developed a series of “‘mini-courses” (six so far) intended to expand the knowledge of an Assembly’s functions and responsibilities. 8
THE COURSES are presented by trained instructors and provide an invaluable source of information about Baha’ administration.
The development of each “‘mini-course’’ requires about $500 in staff writing time, typing, printing and mailing. To keep a single course in use for a year requires an additional $400 in office costs—telephone, evaluations, etc.
Also, volunteers must be recruited and trained as instructors. A single training session costs about $500 for travel, facilities rental and materials.
This year the Assembly Development Program is budgeted at $27,000, which is part of the Education Committee’s over-all budget.
A number of National Center programs and services provide a consolidation function for all three areas—individual, community and institutional. All draw support from the National Fund.
THE NATIONAL Treasurer’s Representative program, for instance, has the task of deepening
Fund supports consolidation in many ways
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the American Baha’i community on the principles of the Fund.
Films, tapes and courses available through this program enable the individual to explore the topic of sacrifice, or to gain a better understanding of his role as an individual believer in the growth of the community.
The family gains new insights into its personal finances or comes to a better understanding of materialism in America, while the local treasurer benefits by attending a Fund workshop where he or she learns how to keep accounting records and to make an inspiring report at the Feast.
The National Treasurer’s Representative program, now in its eighth year, has proven quite. successful, and although the Treasurer’s Office is reimbursed for many of the expenses, there remains $26,000 in staff, postage and supply costs that must be met by the National Fund.
Baha’i Schools also offer a source of consolidation for the entire community,
MUCH of the revenue to run the schools comes from tuition, with the National Fund used to supply the rest. Last year, for example, running the Bosch School cost $180,000—of this amount, $71,000 came from the National Fund.
To provide the necessary coor dination between Baha’i schools, a national Schools Coordinator is employed by the National Education Committee.
The coordinator reviews the committee minutes of the three permanent Baha’i schools (Bosch, Green Acre and Louhelen) and of the 39 summer and winter schools.
Every course outline for every class given at each of the schools is approved by the coordinator. This thorough approach results in an ever-expanding choice of courses for the American Bahá’í community. All of this costs the National Fund about $20,000 a year.
Of the many activities supported by the National Fund, consolidation is perhaps the most critical in its impact on the unfolding of the World Order of Baha'u'llah.
Were it also not for the sacrificial and dedicated efforts of hundreds of volunteers involved in these various programs, the quality and variety of programs enjoyed by the American Bahá’í community would be lessened, or, more. likely, would not be available at all. It is a combination of dedication to the Cause and access to the kind of programs supported by the National Fund that brings about progress toward the collective goal we long to attain—the establishment of the Kingdom of God on earth.
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YOUTH NEWS
The American Baha'i
6
Commentary ‘Fireside’ well defined by Guardian
A floating misconception is diluting the meaning of ‘fireside. raveling throughout the country, a 10-second mention of the Faith in an elevator, or inviting a fellow student into a dorm room to hear music (and posssibly notice a Baha’i poster on a wall), is called a “‘fireside.””
Such actions are definitely ways of teaching the Faith, and they may be the most appropriate, spontaneous and comfortable methods for a youth to use in a particular situation. But are they ‘‘firesides’’ according to the Guardian’s definition?
IN A LETTER dated February 24, 1950, written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer, the Guardian defines firesides as teaching groups in one’s own home (‘The Individual and Teaching,”’ p. 29).
And in a letter dated December 11, 1952, written on behalf of the Guardian to the Spiritual Assembly of Punta Arenas, Argentina, the fireside meeting is noted as ‘‘the most powerful and effective medium that has been found so far’’ and is characterized as a situation in which “intimate personal questions’? are answered (‘‘The Individual and Teaching,’’ p. 31).
The National Teaching Committee offers its understanding of the nature of Baha’i firesides in its pamphlet, ‘‘The Individual in Action.” Firesides are required every 19 days, and a conscious effort should be made to set aside a day, line up speakers if necessary, and invite people.
A valid question is, ‘‘So what's the big deal if I teach as opportunities arise or if I offer firesides?”” The answer of course is that the Faith needs both.
Too often, it seems, we avoid confronting the need for conscious, deliberate teaching as individuals by assuring ourselves that teaching indirectly or ‘‘by chance”’ satisfies our directive to hold firesides.
It also allows us to not stand out as Baha’ is (a situation that can make us feel different and under personal scrutiny, particularly as a youth) in a world that regards religion with suspicion.
PLANNED, publicized, regular firesides—inviting people to our homes with the conscious purpose of teaching the Faith—not only provides a service to humanity but also forces us to confront our identity as Bahá’ís. As with contributing to the Fund, the regularity of deliberate action is a catalyst for our own spiritual development.
Shoghi Effendi has clarified for us the unity of teaching by “‘living the life” and teaching through firesides:
“The Guardian feels that the most effective way for the Baha’is to teach the Faith is to make strong friends with their neighbors and associates. When the friends have confidence in the Baha’is and the Baha’ is in their friends, they should give the Message and teach the Cause. Individual teaching of this type is more effective than any other type.
“The principle of the fireside meeting, which was established in order to permit and encourage the individual to teach in his own home, has been proven the most effective instrument for spreading the Faith.’’ (From a letter dated December 27, 1954, written on behalf of the Guardian to an individual believer, quoted in ‘‘The Individual and Teaching,’’ p. 33)
Enjoy the spontaneous teaching that is a mark of our Baha’i enthusiasm and delight in the deliberate fireside that is a mark of our Baha’i confidence. The world needs both.
John Gronouski (standing), form- which was announced on radio
er U.S. Ambassador to Poland,
and received good newspaper cov was the speaker last October lata erage, raised $1,500 for the United Universal Children’s Day dinner Nations Children’s Fund sponsored by the Spiritual Assem- (UNICEF).
bly of Austin, Texas. The dinner, | ata «SRR RRR POSSE TC ECS ET STR ST ESS SE SEE TPT SR EL
More than 60 Baha’i youth from the Midwest attend intensive week-long program at Louhelen
More than 60 youth from throughout the Midwest attended the first week-long program at the Louhelen Baha’i School last December 19-24,
“This was the most intensive learning experience I’ve had in the Faith outside of personal study,”” said one of the youth. ‘‘I wish the conference was longer—months, or even a few weeks.
“THIS has been the only Baha’i session I’ve attended where learning dominated socializing.”’
Classes were held on ‘‘The Nature of Sacrifice’ (led by Doug and Samira Samimi-Moore) and on ‘‘Shoghi Effendi and His Writings’’ (led by Changiz Geula).
A daily course in ‘‘Human Issues,’’ led by all the teachers, dealt with many of the problems that trouble youth, such as nuclear war, cliquishness, and prejudice.
“The sessions were directed at enhancing both the intellectual and spiritual development of these
youth,’’ said Mr. Geula, who is a member of the Louhelen Council.
“Through lectures, intense discussion groups, guided library study, and formal assignments, the youth participated in an active and intensive study of the Writings.
“*Additionally,’’ he added, “‘each youth gave a speech and much time was set aside for private prayer, meditation and, study.””
THE YOUTH also participated in daily service projects that ranged from building shelves for classrooms at the school and organizing archival materials to sorting food and clothes for the needy at a local church.
Although the sessions were directed toward an intensive study of the Faith, there were daily recreational and social activities including an evening at a nearby gymnasium, a dance, and a talent show.
The Louhelen Council was es pecially pleased by the youths’ reaction to such an intensive week of prayer, meditation and study, as evidenced by their comments and written evaluations.
“The school was an inspiration,” one student wrote. “The classes were challenging, which was great; the youth need to be challenged:
“The goal of creating a microcosm of a Baha’i society was definitely achieved.””
“We were greatly encouraged by the week,’’ said Dr. Geoffry Marks, Louhelen’s director of academic affairs. ‘‘We’ve seen how hungry youth are for a substantive study of the Faith.
“‘We are now planning moreand longer—sessions for youth, and hope we can build on’ this conference and make a strong contribution to the education of youth throughout the country.””
A similar program, he said, will be held at Louhelen this summer.
Baha’is 15-30 invited to attend gatherings in
Honduras, Costa Rica
Young Baha'is ages 15 through 30 are invited to attend International Youth Conferences to be held March 31-April 2 in San Jose, Costa Rica, and March 31-April 3 in Tegucigalpa, Honduras.
The conferences are co-sponsored by the Continental Board of Counsellors in the Americas and the National Spiritual Assemblies of the respective countries.
Members of the Board of Coun sellors and Auxiliary Boards will participate -in the conferences whose activities will include talks, round table discussions, and workshops. ’ For more information please contact the International Goals Committee, Baha’i National Center, Wilmette, IL 60091. Phone 312-869-9039.
Bahai Faith
The Baha'is of Salem, Oregon, sponsored this booth last August at the Oregon State Fair in Salem, marking the third year in a row in which the friends in Salem have
a isunityS vont that it can Mumine the whole earth” Bahd'u'llah
had a booth at the fair. Fifteen hundred pieces of Bahá’í literature were taken and 35 interest cards were signed by those who visited the booth.
Wright State Baha’i Club avidly pursues goals
The Bahd’{ Club at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, has been actively following the directives of the National Youth Committee.
The club recently sponsored three showings of the video tape of congressional hearings on Iran at the school. In addition:
© The office of its congressman was contacted, and a representative from that office came to introduce the tape at its third showing. *
° A five-minute appointment with the university president to present him with a copy of the book A Cry from the Heart turned into a 20-minute discussion of the beauty of the House of Worship in Wilmette.
© The display in the school li brary has been filled with Baha’i information since the middle of the fall quarter.
- An ad was run in the school’s
Daily Guardian for two weeks before the showing of the tape, and flyers were displayed all over the campus.
- Several copies of A Cry from
the Heart were given to department heads who were asked to announce the event in their classes.
- Members of a sociology class
on ‘deviant behavior’? were required to write their final papers on the treatment of the Baha’is in Tran.
The Baha’i Club also co-sponsored a Human Rights Awards banquet with the Spiritual Assembly of Dayton, arranging for the room, public address system, and
the like.
Upcoming efforts are to include a display of the book To Move the World; a fund-raising international dish dinner; a pre-Ayyam-i-Ha bazaar; and efforts to have published an article about one of the club’s past chairmen, Edwin Rousculp, who was designated one of the country’s ‘‘Outstanding Young Men’ for 1982.
Baha’i National Center Office Hours
8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Central Time) Monday—Friday
Phone 312-869-9039
YOUTH NEWS
February 1983
More than 425 at Disney World Conference
The Regional Youth Conference held December 26-29 at Disney World near Orlando, Florida, brought together 425 youth from many parts of the U.S. and from Brazil, Canada, Germany, Morocco and Trinidad.
The conference was the third held at the well-known vacation center, and plans are under way to hold another such gathering in 1983.
AMONG the speakers were Dr. Farzam Arbab of Colombia, a member of the Continental Board of Counsellors; Dr. Dwight W. Allen, a member of the National Spiritual Assembly; Robert G.
For 1983-84 gatherings
Wilson, secretary of the National Teaching Committee; and Hussein Ahdieh, chairman of the Spiritual Assembly of New York City.
Glenford E. Mitchell, a member of the Universal House of Justice, also attended the conference with his family and addressed the youth on two occasions.
Two other speakers featured during the program were Gilbert Smith, a Baha’i youth from Tennessee, who spoke on youth teaching their peers, and another youth, Babak Etemad from Pennsylvania, whose topic was ‘‘Service and Certitude.’”
Conference highlights included group tours of the Magic Kingdom and the recently opened EPCOT Center, which were begun with a guest appearance by Mickey Mouse.
Most of the youth who visited the theme park wore the specially designed conference T-shirt emblazoned with the slogan, ‘‘The Baha’i Faith: It Makes a Difference.”
Plans for the fourth annual conference at Disney World, to be sponsored by the National Youth Committee, are now being drawn. Registration information will appear in future issues of The American Baha’f.
Youth Committee finalizing Conference plans
The schedule for the series of 1983-84 Regional’ Youth Conferences is now being finalized by the National Youth Committee, and initial plans are being set for six youth group gatherings sponsored by that committee.
The Youth Committee expects to hold the conferences as follows:
June—Central California.
July—San Marcos, Texas.
August—Conifer Hill Baha’i School, Colorado.
September—Green Acre Baha’i School, Maine.
Octobe: ouhelen Baha’i School, Michigan.
Divemner Dine) World, Flo Regional Youth Conference to be held in Pasadena
Youth from throughout the western states are expected to gather March 25-27 at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium for a Regional Youth Conference sponsored by the District Youth Committee of Southern California District No. 1.
Among the speakers and special guests planning to attend are Judge James F. Nelson, chairman. of the National Spiritual Assembly, and Judge Dorothy W. Nelson, treasurer of the National Assembly.
The committee also has planned several workshops and a special talent night.
To register, please contact the District Youth Committee c/o sual Sobhani, treasurer,
, Van Nuys, cA 91401 (phone 213-786-7070) or phone Robert Barnes at 213-231-1383, or Mehr Mansuri, 213-335-9468.
Registrations are being accepted by mail through March 18 with a registration fee of $10. Hotel accommodations are being arranged at the Holiday Inn Pasadena (303
. E. Cordova St.). Phone 213-4494000. Reservations should be made at least 30 days in advance.
rida.
In addition to these conferences, others of a regional nature are often planned by local youth groups.
These are publicized and supported by the National Youth Committee, and youth planning them are encouraged to advise the Youth Office of their plans as early as possible.
Since the beginning of the present three-year phase of the Seven Year Plan, 11 Regional Youth
Conferences have been sponsored by the National Youth Committee with a total estimated attendance of 2,000.
The South Florida Baha’f Road Show is seen performing at the Universal Children’s Day party last October sponsored by the Baha’is of Lauderdale Lakes, Flo
Locally-sponsored conferences
also have been held, with the result that Baha’i youth in all areas
of the country have been revitalized, a result that has had a direct
bearing on the successful progress
of the National Youth Plan.
The Youth Committee urges every youth to make a special effort to attend these important gatherings and to strive to bring a “‘seeker-friend’’ with them.
The unique spirit that is developed and displayed at these conferences has a magnetic effect on those important guests.
a rida. A Children’s Day proclamation was read at the party by the Hon. Alfonso A. Gereffi, mayor
of Lauderdale Lakes.
Eastern Tennessee Youth Committee formed
The District Youth Committee of Eastern Tennessee, encompassing eastern and middle Tennessee and Dalton, Georgia, was recently formed.
Its members are Marzieh Benson, chairman; Gilbert Smith, secretary; Roxana Sepahi, treasurer; Laili Radpour, and Ladan Strain.
The committee’s activities have included selling lunches at District Convention and donating the
money to the National Fund; having the local Baha’i Club in Knoxville act as field marshals at a “Wage Peace”’ program, a silent candle light walk sponsored by the Spiritual Assembly of Knoxville; and programs at the Tennessee Baha’i School including a commemoration of the Ascension of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and a bonfire at which youth discussed the bouns of being a Baha’f.
Above: Baha'is at the Regional Youth Conference held December 26-29 at Disney World near OrJando, Florida, show off their distinctive Baha’i T-shirts while touring the famous theme park. About 425 youth from many parts of the U.S. and five other countries tended the conference. Right: Younger children at the conference were thrilled, as children always are, to meet one of Disney World's star attractions, Mickey Mouse, who always seems to have a big smile for everyone.
Youth Committee develops new ‘Leadership’ deepening program
The National Youth Committee recently began a new youth deepening series and plans to schedule several sessions around the country during the spring.
The ‘‘Youth Leadership Program’? was developed by the Youth Committee to help youth identify and develop skills that will be of immediate service to the Cause and that will also benefit youth as they plan their lives of service for the future.
THE FIRST session in the series was held in Oregon in mid-December and was co-sponsored by the Oregon District Youth Committee.
Included were presentations that defined leadership in Bahd’{ terms, skills development exercises for personal and group plans, and programs on the Coyenant and Bahá’í administrative order.
A teaching project also was incorporated into the event, as well as individual research projects on historic Baha’i leaders.
Additional sessions are being planned for other areas of the U.S.: in March at the Green Acre Baha’i School in Maine; in April in Arizona, California and Utah; in May in Michigan, Illinois and
Minnesota; and in June at the Louis Gregory Baha’i Institute in South Carolina.
The complete schedule will be published in the February issue of Youth Hotline, the monthly bulletin for Bahdé’{ youth published by the National Youth Committee.
Baha’i youth invited to International Camp to be held in Suriname
Baha’i youth from the U.S. are invited to an International Baha’i Youth Camp to be held April 1-4 at Nieuw Nickerie, Suriname, a border town near Guyana on the Corantijn River.
The event is a combined effort of the National Youth Committees of Suriname, Guyana spud French Guiana.
The conference cost is sis for youth and adults, $9 for those 10 years old and under.
A week-long teaching campaign will follow the conference for those who are able to stay.
For more information please contact the International Goals Committee, Baha’i National Center, Wilmette, IL 60091, or phone 312- 9039.
[Page 8]EDUCATION
The American Baha’i
Prepared by the National Education Committee
Study session: The Most Challenging Issue
Study Session: The Most Challenging Issue
The following deepening program is intended to help individuals and communities assess their behavior and attitudes toward peoples of races different from their own.
As we are told by Bahá’u’lláh, we are here in this world to grow.and develop. We are not perfect beings, but are continually in the process of perfecting ourselves, as individuals, as communities, and as institutions.
AS WE KNOW, one of the critical factors in anyone’s spiritual growth is the ability to bring himself ‘‘into account,” as Bahá’u’lláh instructs us in The Hidden Words, to increase our awareness of where we are relative to where we are bound.
To that end, it is hoped that this study program will serve to spark awareness and encourage commitment in meeting the daily challenge of the ‘‘most challenging issue.””
There are two parts to the study session. Part I posed of questions addressing four aspects of Baha’ 5 the individual, the family, the community, and the Local Spiritual Assembly. The questions can be answered by individual members or by families, communities, or Assemblies where appropriate.
Some may find it useful to write answers, others may
use the questions to guide their private moments of re- flection on the most challenging issue.
Some communities may want to use the questions to guide discussions on this issue and to help set goals for their community. Some Assemblies may want to know how their community members responded to the questions about the community and Assembly to get feedback and ideas that can help in their consultation on the most challenging issue.
YOU MAY HAVE other ways of using the questions that will be more useful for you and your community. The study session is simply a tool offered to the community to spark awareness and action.
Part II consists of quotations from Baha’u’llah, ‘Abdu’l-Bahd, and the Guardian on the issue of racial prejudice and its effects on the growth of the Faith.
Prejudice has been defined as an emotional commitment to a falsehood that prevails in the face of evidence (knowledge and experience) to the contrary. Because it is an emotional commitment, we are often unaware of how our prejudices manifest themselves in our actions.
That is, prejudice can cause us to see things in an incorrect way. This means we can look for situations that confirm our prejudiced beliefs and overlook those that do not.
As Bahda’is, we must use our rational faculties combined with our emotional commitment to and faith in Baha’u’llah’s laws and principles to confront the most challenging issue.
The Guardian addressed this issue forcefully and directly on numerous occasions to the American Baha’i community. In The Advent of Divine Justice he tells us in strong, clear language that overcoming the most challenging issue is critical to the growth of the Faith.
ON PAGE 39, he instruct’ us that ‘Freedom from racial prejudice ... should be consistently demonstrated in every phase of their activities and life,” and “‘should be deliberately cultivated through the various and every-day opportunities, no matter how insignificant, that present themselves ...’” The following are but a few selections from the Baha’i Writings that can guide an individual’s, a family’s, a community’s, an Assembly’s meditation, study and action on the most challenging issue. y
The National Education Committee would like to hear how you use this study session and what action you are taking or have already taken to address the most challenging issue.
The Individual
1, When you hold a party or social gathering, do you make a deliberate attempt to invite people of varying races? If not, what can you do to change this?
2. Among your five best friends, are there any individuals of a different race?
3. Are you aware of any employee or co-worker on your job who is being discriminated against because of race? If such a matter should come to your attention, how would you deal with it?
4. Do you socialize with Baha’is of different races outside of planned community activities? If not, what can you do to change this?
5. Have you read any books or articles to acquaint yourself with the cultures of the various minorities that make up this country? If not, what can you do now?
6. Is it easier for you to socialize with people who are Baha’is and of a different race than with those who are not Baha’is? If yes, what can you do to change this situation?
7. a. Have you ever been in a situation where you were the minority? b. How did you feel? c. What you learn about others who may experience this situation more frequently?
8. a. When you became a Baha’i, were you aware that the Faith is a multi-racial and multi-cultural body? b. What have you done since becoming a Baha’i to enrich and stimulate interaction between yourself and people of different racial backgrounds?
9. At meetings where there are blacks and whites, do you make it a point to speak to those whose race is not your own?
10. Have you ever taken a course in race relations or studied the background of races other than your own?
The Family
1. Does your family socialize with families of other races? If not, what can you do to change this?
2. When your children begin to develop friendships with children of other races, how do you respond?
3. Would you hesitate to give consent to your child to marry someone of another race because of race-related problems? Why?
4. Would you be willing to occasionally exchange your children with those of another race in order to broaden your children’s cultural experience? How would you initiate this?
5. By what criteria do you choose a new home? Do you consider the racial diversity of your new neighborhood?
6. How do you demonstrate the principle of race unity to your family members who are not Baha’is?
7. How do you teach your children about race unity?
8. Does your family discuss the most challenging issue? What resolutions and actions have come from these discussions?
9. What are your views on inter-racial adoptions?
10. Does your family attend cultural events of other races?
11. Has your child ever made a racial slur? How did (would) you handle this?
12. How are you teaching your children to deal with racial prejudice in their schools?
The Community
1. How do your Feasts/Holy Days reflect the racial diversity in your community?
2. In what ways could your Feasts/Holy Days better reflect the racial diversity in your community?
3. What kind of events does your community hold that celebrate race unity?
4. How does your community participate in events sponsored by local organizations that promote race unity?
5. Is your community comfortable about discussing the most challenging issue? Why?
6. What kind of service projects are you or would you like to be doing that demonstrate the principle of unity between the races?
7. How can the Assembly help your community to establish firm and honest friendships with people of other races?
The Local Spiritual Assembly
1. How frequently does your Assembly consult on the most challenging issue?
2. On page 34 of The Advent of Divine Justice, the following quote appears: ‘‘Let neither think they can wait confidently for the solution of this problem until the initiative has been taken, and the favorable circumstances created, by agencies that stand outside the orbit of their faith.”” What do you think local and national institutions of the Faith can do to alleviate racial tensions in this country?
3. What contact does your Assembly have with local organizations that reflect the principle of race unity?
4. What do you do to commemorate Race Unity Day?
5. What kind of deepenings are sponsored on the most challenging issue?
6. Do you have any ideas for improving these deepenings?
7. What is the Assembly doing to teach minorities in your area?
8. How well known is the Baha’i Faith in the black community?
9. How can the above be improved?
10. How often is the Baha’i Faith associated with race unity in the local media?
11. What contact does the Assembly have with minority organizations?
12. How can you improve or establish contacts with minority organizations?
13. How can the Assembly help your community to establish firm and honest friendships with people of other races?
14. How is the most challenging issue addressed in your programs for children and youth?
15. What is the major obstacle to teaching minorities in your area?
EDUCATION
February 1983
THE MOST CHALLENGING ISSUE Quotations for Meditation, Study and Action
- No two men can be found who may be said to be outwardly and inwardly united. The evidences of discord and
malice are apparent everywhere though all were made for harmony and. union. (Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 218)
© Justice is in this day bewailing its plight, and Equity groaneth beneath the yoke of oppression. The thick clouds of tyranny have darkened the face of the earth, and enveloped its peoples. (Tablets of Baha’u’llah, p. 85)
- O Children of Men!
Know ye not why We created you all from the same dust? That no one should exalt himself over the other. Ponder at all times in your hearts how ye were created. Since We have created you all from one same substance it is incumbent on you to be even as one soul, to walk with the same feet, eat with the same mouth and dwell in the same land, that from your inmost being, by your deeds and actions, the signs of oneness and the essence of detachment may be made manifest. Such is My counsel to you, O concourse of light! Heed ye this counsel that ye may obtain the fruit of holiness from the tree of wondrous glory. (The Hidden Words of Baha’u’llah, No. 68, p. 20)
© It behoveth the people of Bahd to render the Lord victorious through the power of their utterance and to admonish the people by their goodly deeds and character, inasmuch as deeds exert greater influence than words. (Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 58)
© Intense is the hatred, in America, between black.and white, but my hope is that the power of the Kingdom will bind these two in friendship, and serve them as a healing balm. (Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Baha, p. 113)
Let all be set free from the multiple identities that were born of passion and desire, and in the oneness of their love for God find a new way of life. (Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Baha, p. 76)
- The love of race is limited; there is some union here, but
that is insufficient. Love must be free from boundaries! To love our own race may mean hatred of all others, and even people of the same race often dislike each other. (‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Paris Talks, p. 36)
- Do not listen to anything that is prejudiced, for selfinterest prompts men to be prejudiced. They are thoughtful only of their own will and purposes. (‘Abdu’l-Baha,
The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 42)
- Know ye, verily, that the happiness of mankind lieth in
the unity and the harmony of the human race, and that spiritual and material developments are conditioned upon love and amity among all men. (Selections from the Writ
ings of ‘Abdu’l-Baha, p. 286)
© For the accomplishment of unity between the colored and whites will be an assurance of the world’s peace. Then racial prejudice, national prejudice, limited: patriotism and religious bias will pass away and remain no longer. (‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Foundations of World Unity, p. 35)
- When the racial elements of the American nation unite
in actual fellowship and accord, the lights of the oneness of humanity will shine, the day of eternal glory and bliss dawn, the spirit of God encompass and the Divine favors descend. (‘Abdu’l-Baha, The Divine Art of Living, p.
- 110)
As to racial prejudice, the corrosion of which for well nigh a century, has bitten into the fibre, and attacked the whole social structure of American society, it should be regarded as constituting the most vital and challenging issue confronting the Baha’i community at the present stage of its evolution. The ceaseless exertions which this issue of paramount importance calls for, the sacrifices it must impose, the care and vigilance it demands, the moral courage and fortitude it requires, the tact and sympathy it necessitates, invest this problem, which the American believers are still far from having satisfactorily resolved, with an urgency and importance that can not be over-e: mated. (The Advent of Divine Justice, p. 28)
© Freedom from racial prejudice, in any of its forms, should, at such a time as this when an increasingly large section of the human race is falling victim to its devastating ferocity, be adopted as the watchword of the entire body of the American believers, in whichever state they reside, in whatever circles they move, whatever their age, traditions, tastes, and habits. (The Advent of Divine Justice, p. 30)
© This question of the union of the white and the black is very important, for if it is not realized, erelong great difficulties will arise, and harmful results will follow. (‘Abdu’l-Baha, quoted in The Advent of Divine Justice, p. 33)
- Let there be no mistake. The principle of the Oneness of
Mankind—the pivot round which all the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh revolve—is no mere outburst of ignorant emotionalism or an expression of vague and pious hope. Its appeal is not merely identified with a reawakening of the spirit of brotherhood and goodwill among men, nor does it aim solely at the fostering of harmonious cooperation among individual peoples and nations. Its implications are deeper, its claims greater than any which the Prophets of old were allowed to advance. Its message is applicable not only to the individual, but concerns itself primarily with the nature of those essential relationships that must bind all the states and nations as members of one human family. It does not constitute merely the enunciation of an ideal, but stands inseparably associated with an institution adequate to embody its truth, demon
j
j
i j
strate its validity, and perpetuate its influence. It implies an organic change in the structure of present day society, a change such as the world has not yet experienced. (The Would Order of Baha’u’llah, pp. 42-43)
“This question of the union of the white and the black is very important,’’ He warns, ‘‘for if it is not realized, erelong great difficulties will arise, and harmful results will follow.” ‘‘If this matter remaineth without change,”? is yet another warning, ‘‘enmity will be increased day by day, and the final result will be hardship and may end in bloodshed.”’ (The Advent of Divine Justice, p. 33)
- Love for each other, a deep sense that we are a new
organism, the dawnbreakers of a New World Order, must constantly animate our Baha’i lives, and we must pray to be protected from the contamination of society which is so diseased with prejudice. (Directives from the Guardian, p. 9, in U.S. Baha’i News, No. 217, March 1949) ¢ In the conduct of this twofold crusade the valiant warriors struggling in the name and for the Cause of Baha‘u’ll4h must, of necessity, encounter stiff resistance and suffer many a setback. Their own instincts, no less than the fury of conservative forces, the opposition of vested interests, and the objections of a corrupt and pleasureseeking generation, must be reckoned with, resolutely resisted, and completely overcome. (The Advent of Divine Justice, p. 35)
© The object of life to a Baha’i is to promote the oneness of mankind. The whole object of our lives is bound up with the lives of all human beings; not a personal salvation we are seeking, but a universal one ... our aim is to produce a world civilization which will in turn react on the character of the individual. (Shoghi Effendi, in U.S. Bahd’{ News, No. 231, p. 6)
© If we allow prejudice of any kind to manifest itself in us, we shall be guilty before God of causing a setback to the progress and real growth of the Faith of Baha’u’llah. (The Universal House of Justice, July 13; 1972)
Education Committee still has supply
of UN Teacher Packets for parents
Bosch work weekends an enjoyable experience
Baha’i parents are reminded that UN TEACHER PACKETS are still available from the National Education Committee office.
The packets contain UNICEF materials especially designed for use by children and teachers including the UNICEF calendar for 1983, which shows all the Baha’i Holy Days.
They provide a tangible means of sharing the Faith with your child’s teacher, and help to establish in a dignified and effective way the child’s Baha’i identity in the classroom and among classmates.
The Fund Is the Life-Blood of the Faith
National Bahá’í Fund Wilmette, IL 60091
Included in the packets are:
© The 1983 UNICEF calendar.
© A special packet of lesson plans, maps, etc., for grades 4 through 6 (teachers can adapt the materials for younger children) entitled ‘‘Big World, Small World, My World.”
- U.S. Committee for UNICEF
materials for children (posters, decals, etc.) courtesy of the U.S. Committee for UNICEF.
- A fact sheet entitled ‘The Baha’i Faith and Its World Community”’ (for the teacher’s information).
The UN TEACHER PACKET can be obtained by writing to the National Education Committee, Baha’i National Center, Wilmette, IL 60091. The price is $6.
Please make checks payable to “‘Baha’i Services Fund’’ and earmark them for ‘‘UN Packet.’”
Whether hammering nails, mending rugs or digging trenches, Baha’ is from all walks of life offer their time and skills to insure the upkeep and expansion of the Bosch Baha’i School in the Santa Cruz mountains of California.
According to school administrator Jim Kelly, a substantial savings is realized each year through the efforts of volunteer laborers.
MANY projects accomplished during work weekends, he adds, would not even be considered if the school had to pay for the services.
Some 10 to 18 work weekends are scheduled periodically during the school’s off-season. Baha’is, from children to senior citizens, offer their help for a variety of reasons.
For Phil and Joyce Park, the Bosch School became a special project after they attended its dedication ceremony in 1974.
“We decided we would devote our spare time and resources to the school,’’ says Phil.
Even their six-year-old son has helped to paint, buff floors and put in windows at the school.
Missy Martin, a nutritionist who came with her husband, parents and two children, says, ‘‘It’s a good place to have the family together, to get exercise, and to know you’re doing something for the Faith.””
MISSY and her parents often work together planting and tending the gardens.
For Bob Grimson, a dentist who has offered his assistance since the school first opened, “Working with Baha’is is one of the fullest and nicest ways to get to know one another.’’
And Marvin Newport, a retired salesman, says, ‘‘There’s one reason that covers it all—I love the place. It’s like a second home, and
I’m happy that I live close enough to work here.’”
Whatever the reasons, work weekends at Bosch have proved highly successful in helping to maintain the school.
Baha’i given top award
Jim Talebreza, a Bahd’{ who is public works director in Salt Lake City, Utah, recently received a national award for outstanding support of the National Guard.
An article and photo about the award, which was presented to Mr. Talebreza by the Adjutant General of Utah, Brig. Gen. John L. Matthews, appeared in ‘‘Official Rumor,” the monthly newspaper for Salt Lake City employees.
Salt Lake City employs about 2,000 people, some 300 of whom work in Mr. Talebreza’s department.
Un EATEN RNEASY SE PE A RES
[Page 10]Petey lee ramen Se see MaT or Mave Gar te ne ea ne ee
TEACHING
The American Baha'i
10
The homefront Pioneer
John H. Wilcott, homefront pioneer from Kenosha, Wisconsin, to Kendall, Montana from 1910 until his death in 1963.
In September we printed a letter written many years ago to Bahá’í News by John Wilcott, whose photo appears above this column Little did we know the effect it would have on his family.
Mr. Wilcott’s daughter, Ethel Frost, wrote from Puerto Rico expressing her surprise and pleasure at her father’s belated recognition. Following her father and grandmother’s example, Mrs. Frost is a veteran homefront and international pioneer. We would like to share portions of her letter with you.
. Dear Friends: _
You can’t imagine the thrilling surprise I received upon opening The American Baha’ and seeing my father’s picture heading the column on homefront pioneers!
You need not worry that he and my grandmother are not ecstatically happy to know that after all these years they are remembered!
HOW HE wanted things written about him while he was alive.
The only place we ever found anything was in the first Star of the West ...a tiny black book
called ‘‘Baha’i News.”’ It carried
the same picture but a different letter. I was so happy to be able to read the one you printed.
I'd like you to know that they both stayed at their posts until death. My father was 94 years old when he died in 1963. He is buried by his mother and my mother, just yards from where he pitched the tent spoken of in the letter.
Roy Wilhelm was his spiritual father. He was a charter member of the Kenosha, Wisconsin, Spiritual Assembly in 1907 before pioneering.
My father was the one who convinced John Behrens (to Idaho) and Thornton Chase (to California) to go pioneering. They all set out together in 1910, when a letter was received from ‘Abdu’l-Baha stating that He wanted at least one Baha'i in every state when He arrived in the U.S, in 1912. HOW MY father wanted to meet Him, but he thought it was more important to obey. Of the three, only Thornton Chase had
See FROST Page 11
Goals
Continued From Page 1
sider the feasibility of conducting a large-scale teaching project within their Districts:
Financial support given to several teaching projects throughout the country.
All letters sent to the community have emphasized the need for increased firesides and personal teaching.
Letters to District Teaching Committees and Local Spiritual Assemblies asking that teaching be placed on their agendas.
Goal: Endeavor to increase the number of Local Spiritual Assemblies and localities in those states where their number is relatively small, this achieving a more balanced distribution.
Additional Assembly and locality goals have been assigned to those areas that have low Baha’i populations or a small percentage of localities open to the Faith.
Homefront pioneers are being encouraged to move into sparsely populated areas.
Goal: Continue the special teaching plans and consolidation activities already under way in the states of California, Illinois, Massachusetts and New York, and in the District of Columbia, designed to attract great numbers to the Faith.
Special plans have been developed for the goal states. These include the publication of a booklet entitled ‘‘Teaching: Proclamation, Expansion and Consolidation.”’ This booklet will be presented at a series of statewide conferences (or multi-District conferences) where goals will be set and teaching teams developed that will concentrate on proclamation, expansion and consolidation.
Each of the goal states has been assigned additional goals (above the number given to the other
states). y
Goal: Raise the number of Local Spiritual Assemblies to at least 1,750 including 50 on Indian Reservations.
440 large ‘‘preferred goal Groups” have been identified as having good potential to form as Assemblies at Ridvan 1983.
Letter to all Assemblies encouraging adoption of one of these Groups with the aim of raising it to Assembly status.
The National Teaching Office has telephoned more than 200 Assemblies asking them to adopt a specific Group and help raise it to Assembly status. Of those called, the vast majority have accepted the goal and are taking steps to assure its achievement.
Letter to Local Spiritual Assemblies outlining activities in their extension teaching goal area.
Letter to all individuals living in an area whose Assembly is in jeopardy, asking them to increase
_personal teaching and offering suggestions and methods of assuring their re-formation.
Traveling teachers are being assigned to large Groups and jeopardized Assemblies to help insure their formation at Ridvan.
Homefront pioneers are being recruited to help save or form Assemblies.
Articles in The American Baha’{ list jeopardized Assemblies and goal Groups.
Goal: Encourage the adoption and pursuit of extension teaching goals by all Local Spiritual Assemblies.
Letters and telephone calls (mentioned above) to encourage the adoption of extension teaching goals. Letters included suggestions for the pursuit of activity in the goal areas.
Goal: Raise up Spanish- and Chinese-speaking Baha’i teachers.
Regional Asian and Hispanic teaching committees are identifying teachers from those minority
backgrounds.
Correspondence courses have been developed in Spanish and Chinese.
A series of audio-visual materials and television programs have been produced or translated into Spanish and Chinese.
Goal: Intensify teaching activities among significant minorities, and provide an effective means for the integration of all believers into the life of the Baha’i community.
Significant minorities are addressed in our letter regarding activities in extension teaching goals.
Significant minorities are being identified by our minority coordinator and by the Regional minority committees, and teaching and consolidation aids are being developed.
Goal: Greatly intensify teaching activities among and by American Indians and ensure their participation in the promotion and development of the Faith, thus hastening the fulfillment of the high destiny envisioned for them by ‘Abdu’l-Baha.
There are presently 43 Indian Assemblies; an additional seven potential Assemblies have been identified and are being worked with.
Traveling teachers (from the “Trail of Light’’ fellowship team) have visited several Reservations throughout the U.S. The American Indian Teaching Committee continues to support the efforts of American Indians.
Goal: Construct and develop a teaching institute on the Navajo Reservation.
The central meeting place has been completed and dedicated. The National Teaching Committee sent a gift of 50 prayer books to the Institute.
Goal: Give support to the vigorous activities of Bahd’{ youth in promotion of the Faith.
District Teaching Committees have been asked to assign specific teaching goals to District Youth Committees.
The National Youth Committee has published Great GREAT Deeds: Action Manual for Baha’ College Clubs which is designed to help youth in the formation of a college club and teaching activities.
Twenty-five youth have been selected to participate in the National Traveling Teacher pro gram.
Goal: Hold at least five Regional Youth Conferences annually.
Eight Regional Youth Conferences have been held since Ridvan.
Goal: Develop in consultation with the National Spiritual Assemblies of Alaska and Canada cross border projects giving special attention to Indian Reservations. .
Letter to District Teaching Committees on these borders has encouraged the development of cross border teaching projects.
The National Teaching Committee met informally with the National Teaching Committee of Canada during the International Conference in Montreal to discuss ways in which to implement such projects.
The Southern New Mexico/West Texas District Teaching Committee continues to hold special projects along the border.
Goal: Assist the National Spiritual Assembly of Mexico in re-establishing teaching projects in northern Mexico.
The District Teaching Committees in New Mexico and California continue to have teaching events in northern: Mexico.
As a part of its winter teaching project, the District Teaching Committee of Southern New Mexico/West Texas visited and taught in several communities in northern Mexico.
SEVEN YEAR PLAN
GOALS FOR THE SECOND YEAR OF THE THREE-YEAR PHASE
Goal May June July Aug
82 82 82 82
Local Spiritual Assemblies 1750* 1613 1613. 1615 1616
Indian Reservations 50 43 43 43 43
Localities 7400 7326 7326 7347 7347 Assemblies with Extension
Teaching Goals soo** = 691 707 709-709
Enrollments Total wee = 309 572 702 1008 Youth ° 1150 W 129 165 241
- The National Teaching Committee has assigned goals to each district. If each district won its assigned
goal, we would have 1,844 Assemblies by Ridvan 1983.
- The Plan from the Universal House of Justice calls for the encouragement of all Assemblies to adopt
and pursue extension teaching goals.
»**There is no goal for total enrollments.
Sept Oct Nov Dec 82 82 82 82 1617 1619 1627 1629
43 43 4B 43 7347 7318 7326 7328 699 725 718 736 1284 1499 1638 1801 318 376 «412 «447
Ex-prisoner in Iran praises Baha’is for their faith, courage
An article about the imprisonment in Iran of an American businessman, Zia Nassry, that begins on Page | in the January 17 issue of The New York Times includes Mr. Nassry’s respect and praise for Bahdé’{s who ‘‘went to their deaths rather than renounce their faith.”
The Baha’is who shared his im-prisonment, says Mr. Nassry in the article, “‘were killed in cold blood for their faith but they never broke.
“They were my friends, and I was in awe of their faith and courage.”
Mr. Nassry, who was kidnapped in 1979 from a hotel in Tehtan, spent 966 days in Iranian prisons until he was told last November 6 that he was free to leave Iran and return to the U.S.
NRA ADE SP FOREN ENO PLS PPLE PL GARE ANP ARTS PCAN FT BAP EE ME TE TIP EBB PAPE SP APTS YO EEA EIA
[Page 11]TEACHING
February 1983
11
Isolated pioneer carries out Rights Day event
Nancy Seydell, an isolated believer from Michigan, has responded to the National Teaching Committee’s request for stories of present-day homefront pioneers with the following article and photo. Inspired by the committee’s October letter to isolated believers, Mrs. Seydell planned a proclamation event for Human Rights Day last December 10. The Baha’fs of Jackson and Jackson County helped her carry it out.
°
Dear Friends:
Motivated by National’s request that individuals and isolated believers ‘‘redouble their energy’’ and arise to teach with help froma nearby Assembly, I decided that United Nations Human Rights Day was a good opportunity to teach the Faith.
With the help of the friends in Jackson and Jackson County, two books were purchased and donated to the Jackson city library.
A PHOTO of the event was printed in a local newspaper, The Blazer, which is circulated free to minorities in our city. Also, a Ba ha’{ name plate was placed in each book.
We had one-minute radio spot announcements explaining the Baha’{ Faith and human rights for three days preceding the program.
We served an international dinner with dishes from 25 countries. Centerpieces around the room were tiny blue and gold globes with ‘‘Mankind Is One’’ and flags from nearly every country on earth,
Mrs. Sundra Moyyad spoke on “The history of the Baha’i Faith concerning human rights and the United Nations.”
She also came dressed in a lovely costume worn by a nomadic tribe, and demonstrated the versatility of one single attire in a changing climate and constantly changing lifestyle.
WE HAD 50 people attend, many of whom were non-Baha’is. Two were serious seekers.
I feel that the proclamation was a big success because we reached so many people who had never heard of the Faith.
We invited the Human Rights Commission, NAACP, city officials, relatives, friends, and neighbors. Perhaps in the future these seeds will bear fruit.
Also, I want to say that the “chub centers’? that our county has been having under the direction of our Local Spiritual Assembly has really helped to bring us closer together as friends, has deepened us in the Faith, and, personally, has helped me to grow in self-assurance through speaking and researching of Baha’i materials.
This self-assurance has been difficult for me to gain, but the love and support of our Baha’i Group has made it possible and given me courage to put on this proclamation.
Nancy Seydell River Junction, Michigan .
We would like to feature more articles from homefront pioneers and pioneer families. Your stories inspire all of us to make a greater effort in teaching the Faith.
try,
van. ©
The National Teaching Committee is increasing the number of traveling teachers across the coun The committee has appointed 25 youth and is actively seeking deepened and dedicated Baha’is from among the Asian, black, Hispanic and Native American believers for the program.
At present, traveling teachers have been assigned to 68 preferred goal Groups (Groups of seven or more adult Baha’fs) in 26 states.to help raise them to Assembly status before or at Rid Twenty-seven of these Groups may form at any time before Ridvan, and the traveling teachers
Traveling teacher number raised
have been encouraged to pursue this. They have also been assigned many additional teaching re sponsibilities, such as speaking at firesides and
Committees.
panhandle,
public meetings in extension teaching goals at the request of Assemblies and/or District Teaching
In an effort to increase the effectiveness of the traveling teacher program, traveling teachers will be appointed in many areas not presently served by the program: Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, West Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, the Texas Wyoming, South Dakota, Washington, and West Virginia.
Montana, North and
75 Baha’is gather for business conference at N.Y.C. Center
Seventy-five Bahá’ís from the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states gathered last October 30 at the New York City Baha’ Center for a Business and Professional Affairs Conference.
PARTICIPANTS shared views, questions and ideas on such issues as ethical concerns in business and the professions, the perceptions and misperceptions of the notion of wealth in the community, activating community members to greater participation, specific suggestions for teaching the Faith to business and professional people, and the need to sustain and further develop the unity of all Baha’{ communities.
Two panel discussions set the stage for the frank and open group exchanges.
In the morning session, Mildred Mottahedeh, Paul Reynolds and Shahab Fatheazam shared insights into the Writings colored with fascinating stories revolving around
the theme of ‘‘Excellence and the Individual.””
In the afternoon, Larry Miller, Robert Henderson and Robert Harris shared viewpoints and stories in addressing the farranging subject of ‘‘Teaching.””
The Business and Professional Affairs Committee is a committee of the National Spiritual Assembly. The major thrust of its work is reaching business and professional people with the Message of Bahda’u’llah, and its objectives are reflected in the theme of the conferences it supports—‘‘Understanding, Recognition and Action.””
That is, action in implementing effective teaching demands understanding the Writings on work, excellence and wealth, and recognizing the contribution that can be made to the Faith by all people.
Conferences and other activities of the committee are open to everyone who wishes to parti pate.
Frost Continued From Page 10
the privilege of meeting the Master.
I have been fortunate to answer every call of the Guardian from the first Seven Year Plan in 1937 through the World Crusade (I am not a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh).
I was ‘‘homefront’’ pioneering, then went on to Bermuda and South America, residing for three years in Cochabamba, Bolivia, and in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, for two.
Then back to the “‘homefront’’ and on to Aruba and Venezuela; back home again to the Mexican border town of El Paso, and in 1971 I came to Ponce, Puerto Rico.
Since my declaration in 1936 at 18 years of age I have known no other life but the Faith. And like my father before me, I don’t leave my post unless there are at least 15 believers.
In His service with Baha’i love,
Ethel Frost (Ethel Wilcott McAllaster Frost) Ponce, Puerto Rico
Nancy Seydell (right), an isolated believer from River Junction, Michigan, and Michael Schubert are shown presenting two Baha’i books to Linda Williams, Jackson
Please send pictures and articles to the National Teaching Commit County library readers’ adviser, as part of a UN Hunan Rights Day proclamation effort last December 10.
tee, Bahd’{ National Center, Wilmette, IL 60091.
District Teaching Committees mobilizing friends in final drive for Ridvan victory
District Teaching Committees are mobilizing the friends now in order to win victories by Ridvan.
The goals of the committees are to re-form all Assemblies that were lost last Ridvan, and to form at least one new Assembly in each District.
ALREADY, victories have been reported as the District Teaching Committees move steadily forward in the teaching field.
The National Spiritual Assembly appoints District Teaching Committees each year, and they are assigned goals and responsibilities by the National Teaching Committee.
Among the goals of District Teaching Committees are: to open new localities to the Faith, help isolated believers to attain Group status, help Groups of five or more adults toward Assembly formation, and work with non-functioning Assemblies.
Teaching Committee le for knowing what is happening in its District, where the teaching is taking place, and what the goals of its Local Spiritual Assemblies are.
The District Teaching Commi tee also seeks to use all Baha’is in its District as resources: youth, veteran believers, traveling teachers, isolated believers, strong Groups, and those with unique talents.
DISTRICT Teaching Committees also plan and coordinate the annual District Conventions, channel the energy of volunteer Baha'is to teach and consolidate, keep an updated membership list, produce a regular District bulletin, and keep the National Teach
ing Committee and Auxiliary
Board members informed of the
teaching plans and activities in the
District.
Members of District Teaching Committees are carefully chosen for their dedication, experience and service to the Faith.
They must have administrative experience and be known for their enthusiasm for teaching, have the ability to work well with others, have a knowledge of current policies of the National Spiritual Assembly, devote time to their meetings, be able to travel frequently, and love and support the divine institution, the Local Spiritual Assembly.
Last year the District Teaching Committees were responsible for helping to form more than 400 Spiritual Assemblies at Ridvan. Many of these were weak or nonfunctioning Assemblies.
DISTRICT Teaching Committees have enrolled 470 new Baha'is since Ridvan, or 55 per cent of the total number of believers enrolled this year.
The National Teaching Committee’s goal is to establish 1,844 Local Spiritual Assemblies by Ridvan 1983. Local Spiritual Assemblies have so far taken on 800 extension teaching goals, more than 200 of which are Groups of seven or more believers.
The District Teaching Committees are now concentrating their energies on large Groups and lost Assemblies. The combined efforts of the District Teaching Committees and Local Assemblies can easily bring into existence the 200 Assemblies needed to win this goal of the Plan!
fs ne TH NA EST PO TE SE EE EAE TT
[Page 12]Baha’i Publishing Trust Price List
Bahai Publishing Trust
ALPHABETICAL DOMESTIC PRICE LIST CURRENT AS OF 01/01/83
PRICES SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE Eon OF ABBREVIATIONS USED
b = CARDS (GREETING, TEACHING, PRAYER) CS = CASSETTE
EA = EACH (ONE FOR THE PRICE OF . . .)
FS = FILMSTRIP
HC = HARDCOVER
LP = LONG-PLAYING RECORD (ALBUM)
LT _= LIGHT WEIGHT
O/S = OUT OF STOCK
PH = PHOTOGRAPH
PM = PAMPHLET
PSTR = POSTER
SC = SOFTCOVER
SET = SET FOR THE PRICE OF .. .
10/ = TEN FOR THE PRICE OF . . .
STOCK DESCRIPTION TYPE UNIT/PRICE
331036 ABDU'L-BAHA CNTR/COVNT HC S11.9S 875048 ABDU'L-BAHA 11 x 14 LITHO PH EA $1.25 870010 ABDU'L-BAHA 2x2 LITHO PH 10/ $2.00
870012 ABDU'L-BAHA 4x$ LITHO PH os 340000 ABOVE ALL BARRIERS PM os 108001 ADVENT DIVINE JUSTICE HC EA $10.00 108002. ADVENT DIVINE JUSTICE. SC EA $5.00
352080 ALI’S DREA!
HC EA $9.95
352081 ALI'S DREAM SC EA $4.95 340001 ANOTHRRLGNCLSISRLHM PM 10/ $3.50 332036 ANOTHER SONG/SEASON HC EA $4.00 332037 ANOTHER SONG/SEASON sc Ea $2.00 831052. ARE YOU HAPPY?-OLINGA cs $6.00 3080$2 AROHANUI: SHOGHI EFFENDI HC EA $7.00 848094 AYYAM-I-HA BALLOON CD 10/ $2.00
848087 AYYAM.-I-HA FRIEND SHIP CD 10/ $2.00 848099 AYYAM-I-HA GIRAFFE CD 10/ $2.00 331050 BAB: HERALD DAY OF DAYS HC EA $9.95 3320$2 BABI & BAHA'I RELIGIONS HC os 108006 BAHA'I ADMINISTRATION, HC EA $11.00
10800$_ BAHA'I ADMINISTRATION SC EA $5.50 340002 BAHA'I ANSWERS PM 10/ $2.00 769033 BAHA'I DATE BOOK: 1983 EA $1.50 21089 BAHA'IEDUCATIONCOMP. = SC_ EA $3.50 364003 BAHA'I ELECTRL PRCS CDP SC EBA $4.00 231089 BAHA'IFAITHINTRODUCTN SC_ EA $1.50 267002, BAHA'IFAITHTCHBKLTENG SC 10/ $12.50 332065 BAHA'IFAITH-PRKNS&HNS = SC_ EA $2.00 440004 BAHA'I FAITH: SPIRIT WAY. SC EA $1.30 3310% BAHA’IFOLLOWEROFLIGHT SC EA $3.00 858001 BAHA'I FTH PRSNTN FL FLDR EA $0.50 340080 BAHA’I FTH: SUMMARY RPRNT PM 10/ $3.50
218002 BAHA'IHLY PLCSWLDCTR HC o/s
842001 BAHA'I LIBRARY BOOKPLATES 20/ $4.00 218036 BAHA'I MTS/19 DAY FEASTS, SC EA $2.00 769063 BAHA'I POCKET CLNDR: 1983 10/ $1.00 115070 BAHA'I PRAYERS HC EA $7.00 118071 BAHA'I PRAYERS SC EA $3.00 318084 BAHA'I PRAYERS&TBLT/YNG HC EA $5.00 31800 BAHA"l PRAYERS GENERAL HC EA $5.00 313072. BAHA'I PRAYERS LEATHER EA $15.00
332058 BAHA’ISTUDIES10:CRTVTY SC EA $4.00 332066 BAHA'I STUDIES NTBK VOL7-1 SC EA $5.30 340007 _BAHA'ITCHNGSFRWLDFTH PM 10/ $5.00 440008 BAHA'I TCHNGS: LT FOR REGNS 10/ $5.00
769043 315020 340011 333000 333001
333010 333011 333012 233013 233014
233015 233016 233017
1
STOCK NO. DESCRIPTION TYPE UNIT/PRICE BAHA'I WALL CLNDR: 1983 EA $1.00 BAHA'I WORLD FAITH HC EA $10.00 BAHA'I WRLDFTHFRMDMN PM 10/ _ $3.00 BAHA'I WORLD VOL. I-12 HC SET $176.00 BAHA'I WORLD: VOL I =I HC EA $10.00 BAHA'I WORLD: VOL10 =X HC EA $24.00 BAHA'I WORLD: VOL Il =XI HC EA $24.00 BAHA'I WORLD: VOL 12 =XII HC EA $26.00 BAHA'I WORLD: VOL I. IILHC EA $27.00 BAHA'I WORLD: VOL I4 =XIV HC EA $16.00 BAHA'I WORLD: VOL 15 =XV_ HC Os BAHA'I WORLD: VOL 16 =XVI HC EA $20.00 BAHA'I WORLD: VOL 17 =XVIIHC EA $22.50 BAHA'I WORLD: VOL 2 «II HC EA $14.00 BAHA'I WORLD: VOL3 = HC EA $14.00 BAHA'I WORLD: VOL4 =IV HC EA $18.00 BAHA'IWORLD: VOLS =V HC EA $26.00 BAHA'I WORLD: VOL6=VI HC EA $26.00 BAHA'I WORLD: VOL7 =VII_ HC EA $26.00 BAHA'I WORLD: VOL8 = VIII HC EA $27.00 BAHA'I WORLD: VOL9 =IX HC EA $27.00 BAHA'I YOUTH Cee. = EA $2.00 HATS IN IRA) EA $3.00 BAHA'IS IN UNITY TEACHING es s/s $2.50 BAHA’U'LLAH SSP EA $0.50 BAHA’U'LLAH: KINGGLORY HC EA $22.50 BAHA’U'LLAH ANDNEWERAHC EA_ $10.00 BAHA’U'LLAH AND NEWERASC EA $2.00 BAHIYYIH KHANUM: GHL HC EA $10.00 BAHIYYIH KHANUM:GHL SC EA $5.00 BASIC FACTS/BAHA'I FAITH PM $0/ $4.00 BECOMING YOUR TRUESELF PM 10/ $5.00 BIRTH OF BAHA'I FAITH SC EA $1.00 BLOSSOM-ASSORTMENTOF3 CD 12/ = $2.00 BUDDHA M-A HAS APPEAREDSC EA $9.00 BUILDINGAUNIFIEDCMTY PM 10/ $2.50 BUTTERFLY CD 104 = $2.00 CALL ME RIDVAN sc EA $1.9 ‘CALL TO THE NATIONS HC EA $6.00 CALL TO THE NATIONS SC EA $3.00 CELEBRATION 10/ $2.00 CENTERS OF BAHA'I LEARNG se EFA $1.50 CHILDREN’S PRAYER 10/ $1.00 CHRIST'S PROMISE FULFLD se EA $3.00 CIRCLE OF UNITY SC EA $2.00 CITADEL OF FAITH. HC EA $11.00 CITADEL OF FAITH. se os COME AND SING CS EA _— $5.00 COME AND SING LP EA $4.00 COMING TERMS W/DEATH PM o/s COMNTRY WL/TST ABDU'L-BAHA EA $2.25 COMMUNION W/GODLGTYPE EA $1.50 COMMUNION W/GODSTD SC 10/ $4.00 CONCORDANCE HIDNWRDS SC EA $6.00 CONSTITUTNUNIVHSJUST SC EA $1.50 CONSULTATION COMPILATION SC EA $1.50 ‘CONT BD CNSLRS: ROLE/STATN CS EA $6.00 CONTINENTL BD COUNCOMP SC EA $3.50 CROWN OF BEAUTY HC EA $14.75 ‘CROWN OF BEAUTY ~ SC EA $9.75 CRY FROM THE HEART HC EA $8.50 ‘CRY FROM THE HEART sc $2.50 DAILY LESSONS RCVD AKKA SC EA $3.00 DAWN BREAKERS HC EA $20.00 DAWN BREAKERS SC EA $11.00
Baháa’i Publishing Trust Price List
332018 332019 468007 365015 315076
318077, 340018 315023 301s 331014
864009 631073 484006 468037 835019 332088 10300 352087 34002 831050
_ 832025 315010 215060 810019 332093 339007 495001 332053
332091 103008
STOCK NO. DESCRIPTION
DAWN OVER MT HIRA HC EA $4.50 103028 DAWN OVER MT HIRA SC EA $2.00 364002 DECLARATNTRST/BLWNLSA SC EA $1.50 497004
DEEPENING PK FR NW BLVRS 497003 DESIRE OF THE WORLD 497001 DESIRE OF THE WORLD S43046 DESTINY OF AMERICA 831084 DIVINE ART OF LIVING 332074 DYNAMIC FC EXAMPLE CDP 631070 EG BROWNE & BAHA'I FAITH 631068 EACH ONE TEACH ONE 332029 EACH ONE TEACH ONE 332028 ENVIRONMT/HUMN VALUES 215040 EPISTLE SON OF WOLF 835018
EQUALITY OF MEN& WOMEN PM 10/ $2.80 340031
EXPLANATNEMBLMGRISTNM EA $1.00 848092 FAREWL ADDRESS: G. MITCHL CS EA $4.50 830090 FLIGHT LP EA $4.00 367013 FLORAL BROCADE NAW-RUZ CD O/S 364001 FORTRESS FRWLBNGCDP = SC_ EA $5.00 340034
FORTRESS FR WLBNGGTED HC EA $12.00 106012 FOUNDATNS WORLD UNITY HC EA $10.00 332010
FOUR SEASONS NAW-RUZ cD O/S 332011 FOUR SEASONS HOW SLIDES $/ $3.00. 340035 FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTH SC EA $4.00 108015 FROST AT DAWN CD 10/ $2.00 225008
GER BAHA UND NEUES ZTLTR SC EA $5.00 225009 GLNINGS WRT BAHA'U'LLAH EA $13.00 415061 GLNINGS WRT BAHA’U'LLAH EA $7.30 332090 GOAL OF NEW WORLD ORDER EA $0.50 303009
HC sc sc GOD AND MESUNFLOWER3 = SC GOD LOVES LAUGHTER sc GOD MADE THE STARS HC GOD PASSES BY HC GOD PASSES BY sc
GOD'S NEW AGE PM GREATEST GIFT sc GREATEST NM 3.5x $ EMBSSD GREATEST NM 8x 10GD GREATEST NM 8x 10 GOLD.
GREATEST NM 8x 10 SL GREEN LK 1982 SET OF $ cs
GRK HIDDEN WORDS & PRYRS
GUIDELINES FOR LSAs sc GUIDELINES/DVLPMT/LSA sc HAPPY AYYAM-I-HA LP HE LOVED & SERVED sc
HIDDEN WORDS BAHA’U"LLAH HC HIDDEN WORDS BAHA’U’LLAH SC. HORSE OF MOONLIGHT sc
HUMAN RTS GOD GIVN RTS PM 1AM BAHA'I: TRIBREPRINT PM IN DAYS OF GUARDIAN-IOAS — CS IN HIS PRESENCE-SAMANDARI CS INMEMORY OF THE MARTYRS CS
IN PRAISE OF GOD PM INSEARCH OF SUPRMTLSMN PM 1
INDIVIDUAL AND TEACHING SC EA $2.00 364008 INTERIOR/EXT WL HOW SLIDE IRAN’S SECRET POGROM sc
ISLAMIC CONTRIB TO CIV se $5.00) 365002 TTNBANA'ULLAHENUOVAERA SC EA. $3,00 355003 KHADUIH BAGUM: WIFE BAB SC EA $3.75 103010 KHANUM: GREATEST HLYLF SC EA $2.75 331024 KITAB-HQAN HC EA $13.00 331048
TYPE UNIT/PRICE STOCK NO. DESCRIPTION
TYPE See KITAB-LIQAN EA $7.50 KNOWLEDGE VOLITN ACT CDP sc EA $2.00 LAO FULFIL BUDD PROPH BA $1.50 LAO NEW GARDEN $3.00 LAO PRAYERS & HIDDEN WORDS Sc EA $1.00
LEAF AYYAM-I-HA CD 10/ $2.0 LEGACIES OF SERVICE: SETS CS SET$30.00 LIGHT OF BAHA’U'LLAH SC EA $3.00. LIGHT OF MUSIC CS EA $4.50 LIGHT OF ONENESS cS EA $4.50 LIGHT SHINETH IN DARKNESS HC EA $8.95 LIGHT SHINETH IN DARKNESS SC EA $4.95 LOCAL SPIRITL ASMBLY: COMP: Sc EA $1.50 LOTE TREE EA $4.00 LOYALTY TO GOVERNMENT PM 10/ $2.00 MAGNOLIA HOLY DAY CD 10/ $2.00 MAJESTY & GRTNESS...LSA Ss EA $8.50 MANUAL FOR PIONEERS EA $4.50 MEANING OF DEEPENING CDP sc EA $5.00 MEANING OF WORSHIP: PM 10/ $5.00 MEMORIALS OF FAITHFUL = HC $10.00
MEMORIES OF ABDU'L-BAHA HC MEMORIES OF ABDU'L-BAHA SC
MESSAGE OF BAHA'U'LLAH = PM. MESSAGES TO BAHA'I WORLD HC
MESSAGES UNIV HOUSE JUST HC MESSAGES UNIV HOUSE JUST SC MIGHTY RIVER sc MIRACLES & METAPHORS HC MISSION OF BAHA’U’LLAH sc
MUHAMMAD/COURSE ISLAM HC MY BABY BOOK HC MY BAHA'I BOOK SNFLOWR1 SC MY FAV PRAYERS/PSGS SNF2_ SC MY MEMORIES/BAHA’U'LLAH HC
Peper p eee parpe 3
MY NAME IS NABIL- HC EA $6.00 MY ONLY DESIRE...ALEXANDERCS EA $6.00 NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASMBLY SC EA $1.50 NEW RACE OF MEN DPNGPT2 SC EA $1.50 NEW WIND BLOWING sc o/s
NINE DAYS TO ISTANBUL SC EA $2.50 OGODGUIDEME: PRAYERS SC EA $3.00
© GOD GUIDE ME PSTR EA $1.00 ON BECOMING A BAHA'I"80 SC o/s ON FIRE WITH LOVE CS EA $4.50 ONE UNIVERSAL FAITH PM $0/ $4.00 ONE WORLD ONE FAMILY PM $0/ $4.00 ONE WORLD ONE PEOPLE PM o/s OPEN DOOR W/ENVELOPE PM o/s OUR BAHA'IHLY PLCSSNF4 SC EA $2.00 PARIS TALKS HC EA $7.50 PARIS TALKS sc o/s”
PATTERN FORFUTURESCTY PM 10/ $2.00 PERSELLTRSABDU'L-BAHA HC EA $10.00 PERSELLTRSABDU'L-BAHA SC EA $5.00
PER/ARA HIKAYAT-DIL HC EA $13.95 PER/ARA TBLT BAHA’U'LLAH HC EA $14.00 PRSNL TRANSFMATN PROGRM SC SET $20.00 POLITCL NONINV/OBED GVT o/s POWER OF COVENANT-PART1 SC EA $1.50
POWER OF COVENANT-PART2 SC EA $1.50 POWER OF COVENANT-PART3 SC EA $1.50 PRAYERS & MEDITATIONS HC EA $11.00 PRESCRIPTN FOR LIVING SC EA $2.50 PRICELESS PEARL “$C EA $8.00
Baha’i Publishing Trust Price List 3 STOCK NO. DESCRIPTION © TYPE UNIT/PRICE STOCKNO. DESCRIPTION TYPE UNIT/PRICE 339003 PRINCE OF MARTYRS sc O/S 331061 THIEF INTHE NIGHT sc EA $2.50 . 318028 PRINCIPLES BAHA'I ADMIN. HC EA $7.00 303025 THY NAME IS MY HEALING CD 10/ $1.00 103012. PROCLAMATION BAHA'U’LLAHHC EA $7.50 340045 TOBE A BAHA'I PM 10/ $5.00 103013, PROCLAMATION BAHA’U’LLAHSC EA $3.00 332072. TOMOVE THE WORLD HC EA $16.00 108017 PROMISED DAY IS COME HC EAS10.00 331035 TOMORROW AND TOMORROW SC EA $0.50 108018 PROMISED DAY IS COME SC EA $5.80 106027 TRAVELLER'S NARRATIVE HC EA $10.00 106039 PROMULGATN OF UNIV PEACE HC EA$16.00 106028 TRAVELLER'S NARRATIVE sc EA $5.00 340043 PROPHECY FULFILLED PM 10/ $4,00 331049 TRIBUTE TO SHOGHI EFFENDI EA O/S 4002S PUZZLE/PUZZLE EA $2.80 831053. TRIUMPH OFCAUSE-BALYUZI CS EA $6,00 213068 QUICKENERS OF MANKIND SC EA $3.50 368013 TRUSTEDONESOFGOD/LSA SC 10/ $1.00 331032 ese OF CIVILIZATION sc O/S 33200 TWOTHIRTY-NINE DAYS HC EA $12.00 332076 RESPO! sc O/S 340046 UNIVERSAL & LASTING PEACE PM 10/ $3.00 332057 RESECSH TO REVELATION SC EA $2.80 367019 VICTORY PROMISES SC EA $2.00 331092 REV/BAHA’U'LLAH: AD HC EA$17.00 332095 VIGNETSLIFE/ABDU'L-BAHA HC EA $13.50 331093 REV/BAHA’U'LLAH: AD SC EA $9.00 332096 VIGNETSLIFE/ABDU'L-BAHA SC EA $5.95 728018 RHYTHM OF GROWTH I6MM FILM. O/S 8081 WATERFALL cD o/s 3$2076 SCOTTISH VISITORS SC EA $2.80 228005 WELLSPRINGOFGUIDANCE HC EA $9.00 106006 SECRET DIVINE CIVILIZATN: HC EA$10.00 225006 WELLSPRINGOFGUIDANCE SC EA $4.00 $3200$ SECRET IN GARDEN: CASS. cs O/S 332038 WHEN WE GROW UP HC EA $6.50 353013 SECRET INGARDEN HC EA $6.00 332039 WHEN WEGROW UP sc o/s 383014. SECRET INGARDEN SC EA $4.00 843098 WHITE BLOSSOM CARD CD 10/ $2.00 308043 SELECT WRTSHOGHIEFFENDI SC EA $1.50 3400S0 WHY OUR CITIES BURN PM os 106025 SELECT WRT ABDU'L-BAHA HC EASI0.00 848080 WILDFLOWER cD os
106026 SELECT WRT ABDU'L-BAHA SC EA $6.00 106020 WILL/TESTMTABDU'L-BAHA SC EA $I.S0 303024 SELECT WRT BAHA’U’LLAH HC EAS10.00 859001 WILMT HOUSE WORSHIP PSTR EA $1.00
303023 SELECT WRT BAHA’U'LLAH SC EA $1.30 80002 WILMT HOUSE WORSHIP MEDAL o/s 108080 SELECTIONS WRIT OF BAB HC EA $9.00 846027 WILMETTEHOWNGTTCHNG CD ‘0/ $2.50 332079 SEVEN MARTYRS HURMUZAK SC EA $3.95 332082 WITNESS OF PEBBLES BS EA $10.95 339004 SEVEN MYSTERIES OF LIFE HC BA $10.00 332083 WITNESS OF PEBBLES EA_ $5.98 10301$ SEVEN VALLEYS 4 VALLEYS HC EA $5.00 $$$200 WRLD ORDR/BAHA'IS IN IRAN sc SET $5.00 103016 SEVEN VALLEYS4 VALLEYS SC O/S 108020 WORLD ORDER/BAHA'U'LLAH HC EA $11.00 21$06$ SEVEN YEAR PLAN-1979 | sc O/S 108021. WORLDORDER/BAHA’U'LLAHSC EA $6.50 2280$1 SEVEN YEAR PLAN-1981 SC EA $1.$0 $$$163 WORLDORDER SPRING 1982 SC EA $3.00 631071 SHEDDING NEW LIGHT CS EA $4.80 332089 YOUTH IN VANGUARD HC EA $14.00 848093 SHRINE OF BAB HOLY DAY CD 10/ $2.00 353018 ZAHRA'S SEARCH SC EA $3.00 810020 SLIDE SETS WILMETTE HOW SET $3.00
106037 SOME ANSWERED QUESTIONS HC Ee 106038 SOME ANSWERED QUESTIONS SC $6.00 213047 SPECIAL MEASURE OF LOVE sc EA $1.50 21$066 SPIRITUAL FOUNDATIONS SC EA $1.50 BACK IN STOCK/NEW TITLES
Ss eaneepaucnaet,, SC PA Ha srockNo, nascairnoN | rare UMT/nice 425075 SPN CONSTITUCION CASA U. SC EA $5.00 769081 BAHA’l HISTORY CALNDR 1983 EA $4.50 440070 SPNDATOSBSCSFEBAHA'I PM EA $0.10 332089 BAHA'ISTD9: MANIFESTATION SC EA $4.00 452068. SPNEL REGALO HC EA $7.0) 332060 BAHA'ISTD I1:SPIRITUALITY SC EA $4.00
352085 HORSE OF MOONLIGHT. HC EA; $7.50 440047, SPNFE BAHA'IALBANVERA —PM_10/ $2.00 36030 INDEX: ERR: TAB BAHA’U'LLAH FREE
431085" SPN FE BAHA'I: INTRODUCTN os 231008 SPNLAFEBAHA'ITCHBKLT SC O/S 369031 INDEX: ERRATA: SEL WRIT BAB FREE 408083 SPN META NUEVO ORDN MNDL EA $1.50 369032 INDE: RRATA; S/W ABDU'L-BAHA FREE 440051 SPN NUEVA ERA DE DIOS PM EA $0.30 831089 LIGHT BAHA’U'LLAH CASS PRO CS $79.50 NET 353017 MISSION OF YOUTH CD 10/ $1.50 118013. SPN ORACIONES BAHA'IS SC EA $2.00 315078 POWER DIVINE ASSISTANCE SC EA $2.00 468056 SPN QUIENES DIOS CONFIA EA $0.50 331098 STORIESFROMDELTHRTS HC EA $9.00 315027 PRINCIPLESBAHA'IADMIN SC EA _ $4.00 "33204 STORY ASTOLD SC EA $5.90 33109 REV/BAHA'U'LLAH: BD HC EA $14.95 368012 SUFFERNG BAHA’U'LLAH DPNG EA $1.50 106040 SELECT WRIT ABDU'L-BAHA LT EA $6.00 1080S. SELECTNS WRITINGSOFBAB LT EA $6.00 353005 SUNFLOWRBKS SET4 - SC SET $7.50 #15002. SPNASAMBLEAESPIRNACNL SC EA. $3.00 it302 SYNOPSISACODIFAQDAS, HG EA $250 46032 SPNBAHA'ISUNITYTCHNG CD 50/ $2.50
103021 TABLETSOFBAHA'U'LLAH HC EA$10.00 403027 SPANEPISTOLA HIJO DEL LOBO SEA 3650 106010 TABLETS OF DIVINE PLAN HC EA $10.00 103029 TABLETS OF BAHA’U'LLAH 80006 TRUSTED ONES GOD/FILMSTRIP FS EA sisao 106011 TABLETS OF DIVINE PLAN SC EA $5.00 332088 TAHIRIH THE PURE (KP) HC O/S 33204 TENDAYSINLIGHTOF AKKA SC EA $3.00 332081 THESE PERSPICUOUS VERSES SC EA $3.95 331060 THIEF INTHE NIGHT HC EA. $6.50
Baha’i Publishing Trust Price List 4
GENERAL ORDERING INSTRUCTIONS Current as of November 1982
If an item is not on the price list, it is not available from the Publishing Trust at this time.
IF YOU ARE AN INDIVIDUAL, THERE ARE 3 WAYS TO RDER:
1. Through your local librarian 2. Cash order by mail 3. MasterCard or VISA by phone or mail
Through your local librarian:
A. If your community has a librarian, he or she can place the order for you.
B. Write down what you want and give it to the librarian at Feast. He or she will combine all orders from your commu nity and place one order with the Publishing Trust.
By cash through the mail:
‘A. Use the coupons provided in The American Bahá’í or the ‘order form provided by the Publishing Trust.
B. Fill out the order form completely. Add shipping and handling, and include a check to “'Bahá’í Publishing Trust.”” Mail the order to the Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 415 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091.
By MasterCard or VISA:
A. The Baha'i Publishing Trust accepts MasterCard and VISA for personal orders over $10.00, by telephone or mail.
B. To call in your order, phone 1-800-323-1880. Be sure to have your MasterCard or VISA card handy.
IF YOU ARE A LIBRARIAN ORDERING FOR YOUR COMMUNITY:
A. All Baha'i communities registered with the Baha’ tional Center (including organized Groups) are eligible to open a charge account for their community librarian.
B. The account must be authorized by your Local Spiritual Assembly or Group.
C. Authorization forms are available from the Publishing Trust.
D. Please notify the Publishing Trust of address changes. A community will be charged a minimum of $5.00, plus postage, for materials returned from a non-functioning librarian.
Discount policy remains unchanged:
A. Librarians who have an account with the Publishing Trust will receive a 10 per cent discount on all items except “Rhythm of Growth” packages, Baha’i World seis, and the deluxe leather prayer book.
B. You must order more than $25.00 to receive the 10 per cent discount.
C. The short, unmarked line in the lower right-hand comer of the order form is for subtracting your discount
D. The Publishing Trust no longer gives “‘case lot” discounts.
Postage and handling charges: A. You will be billed for the exact amount of the postage or
United Parcel Service charges.
B. There are two methods of shipment available:
1, Fourth Class. This is by far the cheapest way (7 cents per pound), but it is also the slowest because it is of low priority in the postal system. Allow 4-6 weeks for delivery. (Please do not inquire about your order within the first $ weeks.)
2. United Parcel Service (UPS). They will deliver almost anywhere in the country in 1 week. (Note: They cannot deliver to a post office box.) If you add to this the few days it takes the Trust to process an order, you should have it in about 2 weeks. This method is more costly, but it is worth the extra expense if you are planning an event and want to be sure to have the order. (Please do not inquire about your order within the first 2 weeks.)
Returning unsold items for credit:
‘A. Unsold items may be returned for credit of 90 per cent of the purchase price, provided the following conditions are met: 1. Notification of intent to return is mailed to: Customer Service Department, Bahd’{ Publishing Trust, 415 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091, within 6 months of the date of invoice for the items being returned. The items are returned, postpaid, to; Bahá’í Distribution Center, $23 Green Bay Road, Wilmette, IL 60091, in saleable condition. A copy of the invoice or a list of the items showing the stock numbers, quantities, titles, librarian’s account num- * ber and the original invoice numbers is included with the
shipment.
B. Upon fulfillment of the above conditions, the library account will be credited for 90 per cent of the amount originally sharged for the materials.
Returning damaged items and items shipped in error:
A. These items are not subject to postage or handling charges.
B. You will be refunded or credited for 100 per cent of the amount, plus any shipping charges.
C. Send the items to; Baha'i Distribution Center, $23 Green Bay
Road, Wilmette, IL 60091,
1, Enclose a note explaining the error or damage, along with your account number and the number of the invoice on which these items appeared.
2. Try to return merchandise within 30 days,
D. Please do not ignore mistakes. We cannot make you happy if you do not make us aware of the problem.
MasterCard and VISA:
A. If a librarian calls the Trust with an order, we will charge the librarian’s account and give the librarian’s discount.
B. If the same librarian calls and insists that we put the order (minimum $10.00) on MasterCard or VISA, it will be handled 5 a personal order, and no discount will be given.
[Page 14]Rod ad paces’ ate care en Surge iatee Soe Serre Sakae Gaate sauce hea Goeee
PAGINA HISPANA
The American Baha'i
14
Curso de estudio numero 11: La Paz Universal
“No existe alma alguna cuya conciencia no atestigue, en este dfa, que no hay otro asunto mds de importancia en el mundo que la Paz Universal ... mds la unidad de conciencia es esencial para que la base de tal asunto sea segura, su establecimiento firme y su edificio Suerte.”’—‘Abdu’l-Baha
.
Una de las ensefianzas enunciadas por Baha’u’llah, mientras se hallabra en prisién, a mediados del siglo pasado, fue aquella relacionada con ‘‘La Paz Mundial
En un tiempo cuando las naciones sdlo prestaban atencién al engrandecimiento de su poder y la extensién de sus imperios Baha’u’llah escribe, en Su prisién, la siguiente profecia:
“El Ser Supremo, deseando revelar los prerrequisitos de la paz y tranquilidad del mundo y del progreso de sus pueblos, ha escrito: Tiempo vendrd en que universalmente se llegue a sentir la necesidad, imperiosa de convocar una vasta asamblea que represente a todos los hombres. Los mandatarios y reyes de la tierra habrdn de atenderla y, participando en sus deliberaciones, habrdn de considerar tales recursos y medios que puedan echar los cimientos de la Gran Paz del mundo ...Tal Paz demanda que los grandes poderes resuelvan, para el bien y tranquilidad de los pueblos de Ia tierra, reconciliacién completa entre si. Si un rey hubiere de levantar armas contra otro, todos unidos deberén alzarse e impedirselo. Si se hiciera esto, las naciones del mundo no requeririan armamento alguno,
excepto para el propdsito de preservar la seguridad dentro de sus dominios ...””
“Abdu’l-Bahá, Intérprete Autorizado de las ensefianzas de Baha’u'llah, escribid en 1920 lo siguiente:
“No obstante que la Liga de las Naciones ha sido puesta existencia, sin embargo, es incapaz de establecer la Paz Universal; mas el Tribunal Supremo que Bahd‘u’lláh ha descrito llenard esta sagrada labor con la mds grande soberania y poder.””
Comentando sobre la importancia de establecer la Paz Universal, ‘Abdu’l-Baha dice:
“La paz es luz, mientras que la guerra es oscuridad. La paz es vida, mientras que la guerra es muerte. La paz es gufa, la guerra es error. La paz es la iluminacién del mundo de la humanidad, mientras que la guerra es la destrucci6n, la del fundamento humano ...La paz es salud y construccién, la guerra es enfermedad y desolacién. En todas las épocas la guerra ha sido un factor de desorden y malestar, mientras que la paz y ia hermandad han traido seguridad y consideracidn hacia los intereses humanos.””
“En el mundo de la naturaleza, la nota dominante es la lucha, por la existencia, cuyo resultado es la supervivencia del mds fuerte. La ley de la supervivencia del mds Suerte es el origen de todas estas dificultades. Es la causa de guerras y odios entre los seres humanos. Mientras los requisitos del
Seleccién de los Escritos del Bab
La Comunidad Baha’i ha estado
deseando que llegara el dia en que
pudiera disponer de una amplia seleccién de los escritos del Bab.
Desde que Shoghi Effendi tradujo y publicé Los Rompedores del Alba.
y expuso en sus obros
monumentales la exaltada estacién
del Bab, los Baha’is de todo el mundo, y sobre todo los del
Occidente, han estado deseando
contar con una compilacion auténtica de las-ensefianzas y
escritos de quien no sdlo fue el
Heraldo de su Fe sino también el Portador de una Revelacién independiente. Se desea que este volumen sea un paso inicial y eficaz en esa
direccién.
Dirijan sus pedidos a:
EDITORIAL BAHA’i DE ESPANA Castellet, 17 — TARRASA
Barcelona (Espaiia)
mundo animal desemperien una parte importante entre los hijos de los hombres, el éxito y la verdadera prosperidad de la humanidad serdn imposibles.””
Bahá’u’lláh nos dice que si deseamos ascendar por la escala del progreso, en lugar de mirar hacia atras, hacia el mundo ani_mal, debemos dirigir nuestra vista hacia adelante y hacia arriba, tomando a los Profetas como nuestros guias.
Por lo tanto, el Sefior de la humanidad, sintiendo gran amor y misericordia, ha originado la aparicién de los Profetas inos y la revelacién de los Libros Sagrados, para que, mediante la divina educacién, la humanidad pueda Ii. brarse de la corrupcién y de la ignorancia, y adquiera_ virtudes, ideales y atributos espirituales.
Desde la antiguedad los Profetas de Dios han anunciado la llegada de una era de ‘‘Paz en la
tierra y buena voluntad entre los hombres.” Baha’u’llah confirma estas profecias y anuncia que ésta es la época para su cumplimiento, pero que requerira el esfuerzo de los hombres para lograrlo. ‘Abdu’l-Baha, el Intérprete de las Ensefianzas de Bahd’u’ll4h, agrega:
“En esta maravillosa época la tierra se transformard y la humanidad se revestird de paz y belleza. Las disputas, contiendas y exterminio se reemplazardn por la armonia, la verdad y la concordia ...Serdn establecidas la cooperacién y la unién y las guerras serdn suprimidas por completo. La paz universal levantard su tienda en el centro de la tierra y el bendito drbol de la vida se desarrollaré con tal magnitud que su sombra cubriréd al Este y al Oeste ...El mundo se llenard de ciencia, con el conocimiento de las realidades de los seres y con el conocimiento de Dios.””
“Las fuerzas de la tierra no se
pueden oponer a los privilegios y dones que Dios ha ordenado para este siglo grande y glorioso. El hombre puede poner resistencia a cualquier cosa excepto a aquello que es propdsito divinamente establecido para la época y sus necesidades. Ahora se encuentran amantes de la paz en todos los paises del mundo, y estos principios se estdn extendiendo entre toda la humanidad.””
“‘Llegard el tiempo cuando toda la humanidad estard unida, cuando todas las razas serdn sélo una y cuando los prejuicios religiosos y raciales habrdén muerto para siempre. Ese serd el dia en el que la unidad del género humano elevard su estandarte y la Paz Universal, come un claro amanecer, inundard el mundo con su luz.””
“El plan de Paz Universal; ha de ser tal, que todas las comunidades y religiones encuentren su mds alto anhelo realizado en el,” —‘Abdu’l-Bahá
Con profunda tristeza informamos de la repentina gran perdida para el mundo Baha’i de nuestra amadisima Mano de la Causa de Dios Sr. Paul Haney acaecido el dia 6 de Diciembre de 1982.en Haifa, Israel, en un accidente automovilistico.
El Sr. Haney nacio en los Estados Unidos de America y fue Licenciado en Economia. Fue nombrado Mano de la Causa en 1954 por nuestro Amado Guardian Shoghi Effendi, antes de su nombramiento servia a la Fe como Secretario de la Asamblea Nacional Espiritual de los Baha’is de Estados Unidos.
PAUL Haney amaba mucho a Latino America y en especial a Mexico. En 1961 fue como representante de las Manos de la Causa de Dios para eleccién de la primera ANE en Mexico. Tambien en Febrero de 1977, asistid como representante de la Casa Universal de Justicia a la Conferencia Internacional de Mérida, Yucatan, con asistencia de mas de dos mil personas.
Su ultima visita a Latino America fué en la Conferencia de Quito, Ecuador, donde asistieron 1,450 creyentes, con representantes de las Americas, Asia, Europa, y- Australasia. El estuvo representando a la Casa Universal de Justicia.
El Sr. Haney abrié la Conferencia Internacional con el mensaje de la Casa Universal de Justicia, hablando sobre la responsibilidad del baha’{, el gran futuro predicho por ‘Abdu’lBahd para los Bahda’is, especialmente habitantes originales de las Americas, y de sus
extraordinarias declaraciones de que cuando lIleguen a ser educados en la Fe, “‘ellos llegaran a ser tan iluminados que alumbraran al mundo entero.””
Tambien se dijo que hay dos clases de Baha'is, aquellos cuya religion es Baha’i, y aquellos cuya vida son Baha’is.
El Sr. Haney en sus palabras de clausura en esta conferencia de Quito expreso: ‘‘hablando en las tareas futuras y en las batallas que tenemos que ganar uno de nuestros desafios es aprender a utilizar mas efectivamente cuatro de las poderosas armas que Baha’u’llah a puesto en nuestras manos, estas son los Sagrados Escritos, las Instituciones divinamente creadas de nuestra Fe, el poder de la oracién y el cuarto el espiritu de amor y camaraderia Baha’i,”’ acerca de esto explico: ‘‘un amor universal que ha sido elevado a un nuevo nivel y a una dimension en nuestras ensefianzas no podemos tener la unidad de la humanidad y conseguir nuestras metas, sin una demostracion convincente de ese amor de los unos por los otros que nos ha sido ordenado por Baha’u’llah.””
ACERCA de ensefiar la Fe compartié una cita de Baha*u’llah que dice: ‘“AMARME A MI ES ENSENAR LA CAUSA.”’’ Y por eso la ensefianza de la Fe debe ser la primera prioridad en nuestras vidas por encima de cualquier otra consideracion.
En referencia a las Manos de la Causa de Dios, la Casa Universal de Justicia ha declarado “que estos galantes, dedicados y
‘Hay dos clases de Baha’is: Aquellos cuya fe es Baha’i y aquellos cuya vida es Baha’i’
LA MANO DE LA CAUSA PAUL E. HANEY: 1910-1982
pocos creyentes cuyo lugar en la Historia esta para siempre asegurada por la virtud de su nombramiento a su alto puesto, son realmente un apreciado legado, dejado a nosotros por nuestro amado Guardia.”’
Oracion para las Manos de la
Causa
Luz y gloria, salutaciones y alabanzas sean sobre las Manos de Su Causa, atraves de quienes la luz de grandes sufrimientos ha brillado hacia adelante, y la declaracion de autoridad esta probada de Dios, El Poderoso, El Fuerte, El Independiente, y atraves de quienes el oceano de bendiciones se ha movido, y la brisa del favor de Dios, El Sefior de la humanidad ha_ soplado.—Baha’u’llah
[Page 15]PUBLICATIONS
15
February 1983
The Creative Wordinspiring you to live the Baha’ life
Selected Writings of Baha’u’llah
Now that the Universal House of Justice has noted the “‘need to i tensify our efforts to introduce the Faith to a wider spectrum of promi. nent people than has yet been reached’’ and has officially made such activities a goal of the Seven Year Plan for the U.S., we must all assess the Baha’i literature available to use in approaching prominent people.
The hardcover edition of Selected Writings of Baha’u’llah was originally designed and published as a presentation volume. The current emphasis on making ‘‘wise and dignified approaches’’ to prominent people provides a new use for the book.
Selected Writings of Bahd’u’ll4h, handsomely bound in red and stamped in silver, contains a convenient selection for a reader who wishes to sample a small portion of the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh. Most passages take up only one page; a few run two or three pages. The shortness of the extracts, together with the relatively large, clear type, and the grey ribbon bookmark, invites reading and meditation in short sittings.
The theme of the extracts chosen for Selected Writings of Bahi’u’ll4h—spiritual teachings of interest to all—makes the bdok especially attractive for gifts and presentations to prominent people. The six sections cover the fulfillment of past religions; God and His Manifestations; the path to God; spiritual aspects of the coming World Order; the soul; and the renewal of God’s covenant with man.
A brief foreword setting out the history and teachings of the Faith and noting that the volume is only a tiny drop from the ocean of Baha’u’llah’s Writings further enhances and makes the volume inviting without being overwhelming.
You and your community can find a number of uses for Selected Writings of Bahá’u’lláh (HC, Cat. No. 303-024, $10) in your own lives as you set out to find a means for reaching and fostering good relations with persons of prominence. You can, for example, plan a two- or three-week deepening on the book, and discuss how you can use its passages for opening and continuing conversations with persons of prominence.
To order Selected Writings of Bahs’u’llah (1) see your local Baha’i librarian; (2) send a check or money order for the total amount (plus 10 per cent for postage and handling, minimum $1.50) to the Baha’i Publishing Trust; or (3) use the convenient coupon on this page of The American Baha’f.
Splendid Naw-Rúz gift too
Crown of Beauty fine new introductory book
A Crown of Beauty, written by Eunice Braun and conceived and designed by Hugh E. Chance, is now available from the Baha’j Publishing Trust by arrangement with George Ronald, the book’s publisher.
A Crown of Beauty is a unique introduction to the Baha’i Faith. At first glance it appears to be only an elegant coffee table book, graced with 44 full-color photographs, 29 black-and-white photographs, 12 line illustrations, and two maps.
A closer perusal, however, reveals that A Crown of Beauty uses the photographs and illustrations of Baha’i Holy Places and administrative buildings in the Holy Land to tell, in engaging, easy-to-read text, the history of the Baha’i Faith and to explain its universal principles and its goal of a peaceful world society.
Hence you will find many uses for A Crown of Beauty (Catalog No. 332-097, $14.75 hardcover; 332-098, $9.75 softcover). It makes an excellent addition to your own library and could be a wise choice for introducing a friend to the Baha’i Faith.
It will also make an elegant Naw-Rúz gift for new Baha’is discovering the scope and history of their new Faith. Spiritual Assemblies and other institutions will find A Crown of Beauty excellent (and timely) for making wise and dignified approaches to prominent people, a goal of the Seven Year Plan.
Eunice Braun, an Auxiliary Board member in the U.S., was for 20 years managing director of the Bahd’{ Publishing Trust, which published her book, From Strength to Strength: The First Half-Century of the Formative Age of the Baha’i Era (Catalog No. 332-030, $4 softcover).
Hugh E. Chance was secretary of the U.S. National Spiritual Assembly from 1961 to 1963, when he was elected to the Universal House of Justice.
To order A Crown of Beauty or From Strength to Strength, (1) see your local Baha’i librarian; (2) send a check or money order for the total amount (plus 10 per cent for postage and handling, minimum $1.50) to the Baha’i Publishing Trust; or (3) use the coupon on this page of The American Baha'i.
Two children’s books among Trust’s new titles for spring ’83
Two new books for children will be among the new titles released by the Baha’i Publishing Trust this spring.
Both, according to Dr. Betty J. Fisher, general editor of the Baha’{ Publishing Trast, are being subsidized by the special fund for children’s materials established from the proceeds of the sale of the deluxe edition of Baha’i Prayers.
B.J. and the Language of the Woodland, written by Alvin N. Deibert and illustrated by Carol Joy, is the first chapter book the Publishing Trust has released for 7T- to 11-year-olds.
B.J. (short for Bernadette Juliana) Frigby is a green frog with bulging eyes and black splotches who sets out to learn the languages of the other animals of the forest.
Her encounters with the animals—a hungry owl with a penchant for frogs and a near-sighted snake, among others—convince her that communication has its perils.
But B.J. also learns that talking to others has its rewards. In the end, a wise suggestion leads to a great council with representatives from all the animals who invent a language that all can learn and that leads to unheard of cooperation.
The Spotlessly Leopard, the second of the two new books for children, is also for 7- to 11-yearolds. It is written and illustrated by Winifred Barnum Newman, whose The Secret in the Garden won the prestigious Angel Award from Los Angeles-based Religion in Media in 1981.
The Spotlessly Leopard will certainly evoke discussions between parents and children about accepting one’s own special self and about resolving identity crises.
Details on prices, stock numbers, and dates of publication will appear in future issues of The American Baha’i.
Coupon for Ordering
Qy.
— Tablets Baha'u'llah, LW — Sel. Writings Bab, LW — Sel. Writings ‘Abdu’l-Baha, LW
Book
— Sel. Writings Baha’u’llth, HC $10.00
House of Justice offers free indexes
Free indexes are now available, the Universal House of Justice has announced, for the three books it published during the Five Year Plan.
The three books are Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh Revealed After the Kitabi-Aqdas, Selections from the Writings of the Bab, and Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Baha.
Anyone who has purchased any of the three books, either in hardcover or in softcover, may obtain copies of the appropriate index or indexes (1) by writing to the Baha’i Publishing Trust, Dept. I, 415 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091, or (2) by ordering them from the coupon
on this page of The American Baha’i.
ABS—Association for Baha’f Studies
New Lightweight Editions
The Universal House of Justice has recently released lightweight editions of the 3 volumes it published during the Five Year Plan. Each book is printed on Bible-like paper and has a flexible cover. Each also contains the new index described on this page of The American Baha’i. The three volumes are: Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh Revealed After the Kitab-l-Aqdas. (LW, Cat. No. 103-029, $6) (WC) Selections from the Writings of the Bab
(LW, Cat. No. 105-051, $6) (WC) Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá :
(LW, Cat. No. 106-040, $6) (WC)
New
Baha’i Studies, Volume 9 (Manifestation)
Juan Ricardo Cole’s discussion of the concept of manifestation in the Baha’i Writings. (ABS) (SC, Cat. No. 332-059, $4) Baha’f Studies, Volume 11 (Spirituality)
William S. Hatcher’s monograph on the concept of spirituality. (ABS)
(SC, Cat. No. 332-060, $4)
My Memories of Bahá’u’lláh The reminiscences of Baha’u’llah’s barber, Ustad Muhammad-‘Alfy-i-Salman{, of his life in exile the Manifestation of God. (KP) (HC, Cat. No. 332-092, $11.95)
Titles on This Page
Price
$6.00 $6.00 $6.00
$1.50).
— Crown of Beauty, HC $14.75 : = Crown of Beauty, SC gers Visa
— From Strength to Strength, SC $4.00
— Memorles of Bah#’u'lláh, HC $11.95 = MC.
— Mothers, Fathers, Children $6.50
— Bahá’í Studies, No. 9 $4.00 Name
— Bahá’í Studies, No. 11 $4.00
— Index/Tablets Baha'u'llah FREE — Address _— Index/Sel. Writings Bab FREE City — Index/Sel. Writ. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá FREE
Titles from Around the World
GR—George Ronald KP—Kalimat Press WC—World Centre
Back In Stock
Mothers, Fathers, and Children The Hand of the Cause of God A. Furitan’s practical advice to parents on training children according to Baha’i principles. (GR) 5
(SC, Cat. No. 332-071, $6.50)
To order any of these titles,
(1) see your local Baha’i librarian; (2) send a check or money order for the total amount (plus 10 per cent for postage
and handling, minimum $1.50) to the Baha’i Publishing Trust; or (3) use the coupor on this page of The American Baha’i.
Trust says thank you for prompt payments
The Baha’i Publishing Trust would like to thank all its customers who have been paying current bills promptly and who have helped reduce the Trust’s accounts receivable by some $150,000 in the last eight months.
“Prompt payment of bills,’’ says Larry Bucknell, general manager of the Publishing Trust, ‘‘reduces the expenses involved in disuuting books, enables the Pubing Trust to operate more efficiently, and, in the long run, helps lower the cost of books.
“‘Now that many of the pastdue accounts have been paid, we hope that all Baha’i librarians will continue to pay bills promptly.’’
Enclosed is my check or money order for $___ (including 10 per cent for postage and handling, minimum
Charge to: ($10.00 minimum order)
Card expires.
Card expires.
Stafe co reuk eZ pueea ane
(All orders are NET—no discounts. No charges on librarians’ accounts accepted. Credit card orders accepted by phone: 1-800-323-1880.)
Bahadt Publishing Trust
415 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091
- SASL CME EE RNR IT TE TS IS TE EA SSE A TE TET TI
TAB 2/83
Prices valid only in 48 contiguous states of the United States
[Page 16]ne
CLASSIFIEDS
The American Baha'i
16
Classified notices in The American Bahá’í are published free of charge as a service to the Baha’i community. Notices are limited to items relating to the Faith; no personal or commercial messages can be accepted for publication. The opportunities referred to have not been approved by the National Spiritual Assembly, and the friends should exercise their own judgment in responding to them.
°
THE DEPARTMENT of Organization and Personnel is building a file of Baha’is who are potential candidates for service at the World Centre for use as and when openings appear. Anyone who is interested in World Centre service should send biographical information about himself directly to the Department of Organization and Personnel at the address given below. Apart from other qualifications, a basic need for most positions is good or excellent proficiency in English. Following is a listing of the types of skills needed from time to time. Photo Lab Technician: Professional experience in the manual processing and printing of black and white and color film is necessary; samples of work are appreciated. Electrical Technician: To carry out the operation and surveillance of engine room equipment under general supervision; to maintain and repair pertinent electrical equipment. Garden Helpers: Friends with experience in gardening are welcome to offer help in the gardens for short terms; physical fitness is important, and due to the nature of the work and local customs only men should apply. Building Trades: Professional carpenters, painter/plasterers, plumbers, electricians and janitors; solid training and several years of experience are preferred. Electrical Foreman: With several years experience in ision, to organize and take the repair and service of existing electrical installations; additional experience in plumbing and mechanics would be welcome. Store Helper: To help with maintaining an office supply and hardware store, as well as in distributing supplies; some storekeeping experience and physical fitness are important. Bookkeeping: Requires training in general bookkeeping and accounting practices; experience with data processing equipment is necessary. Cashier: Bank-teller and general bookkeeping experience would be appreciated. Computer Operator: Operation of several medium-sized computers, assisting users and possibly some programming. Must be able to work well with people and with machines. Security Staff: The function requires shift work, physical fitness and the ability to learn some Hebrew. Single men only should apply. Assistant Archivist/Persian, Arabic: Academic background and a good knowledge of Persian and Arabic; experience with and appreciation for the needs of researchers; a mind for detail and accuracy and a general
appreciation and/or experience in archives are necessary. Assistant Archivist/Modern Records: To help the archivist in drawing up a records management program; full archival qualifications and two years experience in modern records management are necessary. Librarian: Responsible for
-the efficient organization of the
library and its staff; master’s degree in library science, knowledge of English and at least two other languages, experience in classification systems desirable, familiarity with Library of Congress classification and AACR2, and at least four years of library experience, part of which should be in an administrative capacity. Cataloguer: To catalog materials in more than 350 languages, maintain the classification and subject heading systems with librarian; master’s degree in library science, experience with Library of Congress classification and AACR2 necessary as well as two years work in cataloging position; knowledge of Persian and Arabic desirable, ability to handle and recognize a number of languages essential. Library Clerical Assistant: To provide secretarial and clerical assistance for library operations; experience in library operation and use of word processing desirable. Indexer: To review a variety of documents and record selected data, using video terminal; work includes analysis of subjects, writing summaries and teaching work procedures.
The work requires good analytical and writing skills, basic typing and knowledge of the Faith; a bachelor’s degree or adequate general education is required; library and/or information science degrees, library technician certificate or experience in these named professions is desirable. Research Assistant Statistics: To extract information and compose reports, organize and maintain files, enter data and use automated systems; a degree in sociology or equivalent experience and education, research and editorial ability are necessary; interest in languages, geography or legal matters would bé welcome. Executive Secretary:
To compose and draft letters, conduct research, organize and maintain files; many years experience in offices as well as in the Baha’i administrative order, accuracy, high level typing skills and good stylistic sense in English are necessary; shorthand, knowledge of more than one language, and familiarity with word processing are preferable. General Office: There are a variety of positions at the World Centre that require clerical skills, fast and accurate typing, good spelling ability, and office experience. Some experience using word processing is desirable. When applying for any position, please include a recent photograph of yourself if available, and send your application to the Department of Organization and Personnel, Baha’i- World Centre, P.O. Box 155, 31-001 Haifa, Israel.
SEIZE this opportunity! Serve the Cause of Baha’u’llah at the Bosch Baha’i School in Santa Cruz, California. Spend your summer living and working with Baha'is from all over the world. The Bosch School is accepting applications for its summer program, June 16-September 5. There are a limited number of positions for assistant cook, recreation director, pre-school teacher, dishwashers and maintenance assistant. Room, board and small stipend provided. Transportation costs to and from the school are the responsibility of the employee. Applicants should be at least 18 years old. For an application, write to the Bosch Baha’i School, 500 Comstock Lane, Santa Cruz, CA 95060. Please include a letter or resumé stating your qualifications.
HOMEFRONT pioneers are needed in the goal area of Belen, New Mexico where three pioneers have formed a Group that is working toward Assembly status. Job possibilities include nursing in an expanding hospital and an unlimited variety for commuters to Albuquerque. Contact Evelyn Walters, . Belen, NM 87002 (505-864-7780), or Joyce and Bob Chalmers, 1100 Santa Anita, Belen, NM 87002 (505-864-7363).
HOMEFRONT pioneers are needed in Rockville Centre, New York, where a Group of five Baha’is (all living in the same home) with a three-room apartment available would like to regain Assembly status after losing it last year. Rockville Centre is on Long Island, 45 minutes from downtown Manhattan. For more information please write to the Spiritual Assembly of the Town of Hempstead, P.O. Box 235, East Meadow, NY 11554, or phone 516-536-2084.
IDEAS and materials needed! We know from reading The American Bahd’{ that American Baha’ js are full of teaching ideas. Our community is seeking ideas and/or materials to construct one or more lightweight, easily assembled public displays on the principles of the Faith. Sources for large color photos and price listings would be appreciated. If you or your community has such a display, please share your design ideas with us. It’s time to come out of obscurity! Contact Paul Dunn,
, Durham, NC 27705.
VICKSBURG and Warren County, on the banks of the Mississippi River in west central Mississippi, need Bahá’ís to help teach in a challenging area and to help them regain Assembly status. Not only is the area rich in history, but the potential for industrial relocation and expansion is great; there is a new river port and several new industrial parks. Also a fine retirement location for selfsupporting individuals, although jobs on the local level are few. There is ‘an opening for a certified
children’s librarian at the public library. Contact the Baha’is of Warren County, c/o Rohani, __ } Vicksburg, MS 39180, or phone 601-636-9439.
OPPORTUNITY is available in
Nantucket, Massachusetts, a town,,county and island of about 6,500 people including seven Baha’fs 30 miles off the New England coast, for a couple or single person to serve as “‘guardian’’ for two recently orphaned, brilliant, though slightly physically handicapped children, a brother (age 17) and sister (12). Unless the person or persons have an independent income, it is permissible to work; there is no salary for the position. Contact Philip Read, a neighbor and innkeeper of Jared Coffin House, at i Nantucket, MA 02554, or phone him at 617-228-9115 (home) or 617-228-2400 (Jared Coffin House). If you come for an interview, please contact the Baha’fs at 617-228-1861 or 228-0948 for lodging, etc.
“WAGE PEACE—Baha’i Faith’’ buttons available. Stimulate public awareness of the Baha’{ position on world peace with this succinct phrase taken from the Master’s remark, ‘‘Why not wage peace?’’ For orders of 100 or more, the buttons are 25 cents each, plus $1.50 for postage. From the Baha’i Public Affairs Committee, Box 66235, Seattle, WA 98166. Phone 206-628-0698 or 206-244-7114.
HOMEFRONT pioneers are needed to establish an Assembly in lovely Frederick County, Maryland. Four adults are needed to win the goal by Ridvan! Frederick has the advantages of small town living, yet is only an hour from either Baltimore or Washington, D.C., so commuting to jobs is quite normal. For more information write to P.O. Box 1476, Frederick, MD 21701.
WESTERN Nebraska’s first Spiritual Assembly is in jeopardy. Homefront pioneers are needed in Gering (pop. 7,500) to help restore this community of seven adults to nine. Gering is adjacent to Scottsbluff (pop. 14,500) and lies along the history-rich North Platte River and the Oregon Trail. It has a good public school system, a junior college nearby, and an active arts community. Employment opportunities are best in medicine, health care, and human services. Please contact the Spiritual Assembly of Gering, P.O. Box 675, Gering, NE 69341, or telephone 308-436-5240. We will help those who are interested to make contacts for employment and housing.
WE NEED YOU in Morganton, North Carolina. Our Spiritual Assembly needs two adults or a Baha’i family to help maintain Assembly status. This is beautiful country with many outdoor activities. Morganton is a progressive community of about 20,000 with a junior college, fine schools and
modern conveniences. Would be happy to offer hospitality to anyone considering our locality. Many Baha’i seeds have been planted here. Write to the Spiritual Assembly of Morganton, Route 3, Box 726, Morganton,
.NC 28655, or telephone us at
704-433-4407.
ARIZONA: If you need a Baha’{ to move to your community, I would be willing to relocate to these areas: Page, Heber, Prescott, Payson, Tucson, Tolleson, Phoenix area, Casa Grande, or any others south of Flagstaff. Am interested in employment as an elementary or pre-school teacher. Please write to Ginn Kincaid, P.O. Box 383, Many Farms, AZ 86538.
SIX dedicated Baha’fs are needed by Ridvan to help save the jeopardized Assembly in Carson City, Nevada. Must have an independent income, as work is scarce, and be willing to stay and hold the Assembly together. Carson City is in a beautiful area with open, idly people and a healthful, invigorating climate. Please contact Vince and Elaine Calli, 3759 Highway 50 East, Apt. 3, Carson City, NV 89701.
BAHA’{ musician and composer is looking for Baha’i songs (new or old), lyrics for Bahd’{ songs, or songs and/or lyrics with universal Baha’i teachings (i.e., unity). They are to be used for recordings for Baha’i groups. Please send whatever you can to K.C. Porter, 8040 Reseda Boulevard, Apt. 206, Reseda, CA 91335.
BACK ISSUES of Baha’i News (1955; 1957-71; 1974-77; 1979) and National Baha’i Review (1968-82) are available. Send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to Dan MacLachlan,
Uniontown, OH
44685.
HOMEFRONT pioneers are needed in Montclair, California, which is one adult short of forming an Assembly at Ridvan. Montclair is 35 minutes from Los Angeles via two separate freeways. Local industries abound, but the
‘offer is best suited to those who
are attending college. Strong Baha’{ intercommunity activities include teaching, child education and the media. Anyone who would like further information may contact T.A. Womack, P.O. Box 4971, Montclair, CA 91763.
FEMALE dance partner wanted for collaboration in performing for proclamations and_ special events. Must have several years experience in ballet and modern dance, and ideally live within a two-hour drive of the BaltimoreWashington, D.C., area. Contact Norbert DuBois, c/o Baha’i Center, Baltimore, MD 21207, or phone 301-448-1512.
THE BAHA’{ community of Plano, Texas, is seeking homefront pioneers to settle in Allen,
See ADS Page 24
|RSS EES SA ECS OR SARA AA RTE SE HE TC ASSAILANT PAGEANTS
The American Baha'i
February 1983
17
ion
Cythe haitders
DAGMAR DOLE
The idea of pioneering was not new to Dagmar Dole when she first learned of the Faith and almost immediately became a Baha’i.
Dagmar’s great-grandfather and his wife had left Massachusetts in 1841 to become Protestant missionaries in the Hawaiian Islands. Her grandfather was born in Haw:
DAGMAR vas born June 14, 1902, in San Francisco, California. Soon after becoming a Baha’i she moved with her close friend, Virginia Orbison, to Glendale, California, to help maintain a Spiritual Assembly there under the first Seven Year Plan.
She became active in committee work for the teaching efforts in Central and South America, serving as chairman of the Inter-America Committee, the first international pioneering committee in the U.S.
Miss Dole later pioneered to Anchorage, Alaska, to help with consolidation activities there.
From Anchorage she traveled to the Bristol Bay area near the Bering Sea where she worked among the Eskimos and Alaskan Indians who were employed in the fishing industry. Offering her love and compassion to the people she met, Dagmar soon won their friendship.
When the beloved Guardian, Shoghi Effendi, announced ‘the second Seven Year Plan in 1946, the call was raised for pioneers to travel to Europe.
MISS DOLE volunteered her services and was assigned to Copenhagen, Denmark, the home of her mother’s family. She, along with other pioneers, was instrumental in bringing 47 people into the Faith in Denmark.
Her last pioneering post was in Italy where she served in both Naples and Milan.
See DAGMAR Page 22
Assembly
Continued From Page 1
Ina ‘‘State of the American Baha’{ community” address during the Saturday afternoon general meeting, Dr. Firuz Kazemzadeh, secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly, cited the need for a greatly expanded, resourceful Baha’i community to support the work that must go forward.
He discussed a recent letter from the Universal House of Justice calling for National Assemblies to create a committee to develop ways of reaching more “‘people of prominence.’”
Dr. Kazemzadeh also touched on the situation in Iran and the integration of Persian Baha’is into the mainstream of the American Baha’i community.
He reported on the first Baha’i radio station in North America to be built at the Louis Gregory Baha’{ Institute in South Carolina and the fund-raising needs for it, for the new Los Angeles Baha’s Center, and for other capital projects including badly needed repairs on the dome of the House of Worship in Wilmette.
NEARLY 300 Baha’is including members of Spiritual Assemblies in Southern California attended the Saturday evening gathering at the University of Southern California.
During that meeting, individual members of the National Assembly each presented a short talk that focused on a specific area of concern.
Dr. Magdalene M. Carney, assistant secretary of the National
Reliance
Continued From Page 4
came in, joined our group and asked how I was going to the airport.
“When I replied that a cab was coming for me, she asked if it was the cab that was parked outside.
“Looking out, I told her that it was indeed the same cab. She responded, ‘Did you know that the driver is a Bahd’{? He is also the head of the cab drivers’ association in Panama City.’
“Counsellor. Angus Cowan, Gail and I rode with the Baha’i cab driver to the Conference Center, and then I went on to the airport.
“ON THE way to the Center, Mr. Cowan asked me if the driver really was a Baha’i, and in Spanish I asked the driver.
“He responded by reaching up on the dashboard for a copy of The Hidden Words in Spanish, and in further conversation we learned that he had been a Baha’i for 14 years, and that his wife is also a Baha’i.
“T laughed over this many times. Baha’u’llah takes such wonderful care of us. We just have to remember to ask Him to help us.’’
Assembly, discussed Local Assemblies and the goals of the Seven Year Plan; Dr. Kazemzadeh discussed the integration of Persian Bahá’ís into the American Baha’i community.
Judges James and Dorothy Nelson, chairman and treasurer, respectively, of the National Assembly, centered their remarks on the nature of personal status problems that reach the National Assembly.
Dr. Dwight Allen spoke about Baha’i community life, Dr. Wilma Brady and Soo Fouts discussed teaching, Dr. Robert Henderson spoke about the Fund, and Chester Kahn presented a status report on the Southwest Baha’ Institute.
The talks were followed by a question-and-answer period in which all the members of the National Assembly participated.
Chester Kahn interviewed for radio series
Chester Kahn, a member of the National Spiritual Assembly who is a Navajo Indian artist, was interviewed January 7 by KLAC radio in Los Angeles for what is to become two programs for Native American listeners in a series entitled “‘Our American Heritage.”
During the longer-than-expected interview at the Los Angeles Indian Center, Mr. Kahn, from Houck, Arizona, answered questions about his life and association with the Faith, his professional experience as a member of a tribal council, and the role of Native Americans in the world’s future.
References to the Faith were made throughout the one hour and 20-minute taped interview that was seen by an audience of native people at the Center.
Arrangements for the interview, originally planned to be 30 mi utes long, were made by the Spiritual Assembly of Los Angeles, but the groundwork for the proclamation that resulted was laid by a small group of Baha’ is who are involved in activities at the Indian Center and who have been providing assistance to Indian people, according to Stacy Dobbins, public relations officer for the Los Angeles Assembly.
These Baha’is have attended eight area pow wows, participated in holiday activities at the Indian Center, and provided food baskets for needy Native American families.
“A large Native American audience listens to ‘Our American Heritage,’ which is heard throughout the Los Angeles area and as far away as Palm Springs,’ says Miss Dobbins.
Mr. Kahn was in Los Angeles for a meeting of the National Spiritual Assembly.
Arise!
la
Above: Dorothy W. Nelson (center),
treasurer of the National Spiritual Assembly, and its chairman, James F. Nelson, talk things over with one of the friends in Los
Angeles. Below: Dr. Firuz Kazemzadeh, secretary of the National Assembly, enjoys a hearty laugh during a break in the Assembly’s hectic schedule of meetings.
Mt. Pleasant Baha
s salutatorian
of Central Michigan University class
Harold R. (Hal) Simon Jr. of Mt. Pleasant, Michigan, was salutatorian of the December graduating class of 2,000 at Central Michigan University.
Mr. Simon, who received a bachelor of science degree in education with a major in physical science and a minor in mathematics, earned a 3.99 grade point average at Central Michigan after completing two years at Glen Oaks Community College in Centreville, Michigan.
A graduate of Ludington High School, Mr. Simon postponed his college career after two years at Glen Oaks to serve from 1972-80 in the U.S. Navy’s nuclear power program.
After being discharged from the Navy, he and his wife, Lori, settled in Mt. Pleasant.
While at CMU Mr. Simon became acquainted with the Baha’i Faith and became a Baha’i soon afterward.
He was active in the Baha’i
Warning
Douglas Jones, recently deported from Bolivia to the U.: for misconduct, has been telephoning Baha’is throughout the country seeking money.
Should you respond to his requests for money or hospitality, you would do so at your own risk.
HAROLD R. SIMON JR.
Club, serving as chairman and secretary-treasurer. He also was national secretary-treasurer of Chi Gamma Iota, an honor society.
Besides these activities, he and his wife have been employed by the university as apartment supervisors, managing 48 apartments and serving as a liaison between tenants and the Housing Office.
In January, Mr. Simon taught children’s classes at the Louhelen Baha’i School’s inquirer’s conference. In Mt. Pleasant, he teaches Sunday school classes to children ages 10 to 14.
Mr. Simon plans to attend graduate school while teaching on a part-time basis and to complete a children’s book on creation myths.
He is the son of Delores and Dr. Harold R. Simon of LeRoy, Michigan.
| mr ree SENT TNE OME ARE PEED MEE ET AES EES PTE: RPT HA PSE EE PATS EMG AR A
[Page 18]PERSIAN PAGE
18
The American Baha'i
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[Page 19]The American Baha’i
February 1983
19
The news in brief
Huntsville, Alabama, presents Rights awards
The Spiritual Assembly of Huntsville, Alabama, held its second annual Human Rights Award presentation January 10.
Honored were U.S. Sen. Jeremiah A. Denton, who was one of the co-sponsors of Senate Concurrent Resolution 73 which calls for an end to the persecution of Baha'is in Iran, and Wanah Diane Weston, clan chief of the Echota Cherokee Indian tribe.
In a letter written to be read on his behalf at the award ceremony, Sen. Denton said, ‘‘...the Baha'is in Iran have lived in a climate of constant repression, brutal attacks and severe religious persecution since the middle 1800s. The U.S. State Department regards this as the most serious case of religious persecution in the world.
“Not only do we feel this is the worst form of civil and human rights violation,” the senator’s
Conferencia juvenil durante semana santa
Las Asambleas Espirituales Na cionales de Costa Rica y Honduras y el Cuerpo Continental de Consejeros de las Americas auspiciaran dos Conferencias Internacionales de Juventud durante la semana santa. Jovenes entre los 15-30 afios estan invitados a participar.
En estas conferencias tomaré parte un muy selecto grupo de maestros internacionales incluyendo miembros del Cuerpo Conti de B Comeleres y del Cuerpo
is de Panama, Mexico, la
Republica Dominicana, Nicaragua, Alaska, Estados Unidos,
Puerto Rico y Canada estan directamente invitados a estos eventos historicos.
Las conferencias se efectuaran:
Costa Rica—31 de marzo al 2 de abril, en San José.
Honduras—31 de marzo al 3 de abril, in Tegucigalpa.
Si planean asistir estas conferencias por favor pénganse en contacto con:
International Goals Committee, Baha’i National Center, Wilmette, IL 60091.
letter continued, “‘but the horror and terror inflicted on the Baha’is in Iran is inconceivable to the American pt eZ
A special plaque for Sen. Denton was presented to a member of his staff by the Huntsville Baha’i community in the name of the Baha’is of Alabama.
Ms. Weston, meanwhile, was honored for her “‘long-standing efforts in promoting the human rights of American Indians and protecting the cultural diversity of American Indians.””
She was nominated for the Baha’f-sponsored award by the Huntsville city school administration, which credited her with haying “turned around’’ a faltering Indian education program in that system.
Media coverage of the award ceremony included reports on two of the three local TV stations and two radio stations, and an article in a Huntsville newspaper.
In addition, both AP and UPI carried state wire service reports on Baha’i human rights award presentations in Huntsville and Birmingham.
eee
Twenty-nine Baha'is including 13 children attended a Unity Feast last October 31 in Bemidji, Minnesota, that honored the fall season and the Baha’is of Ponemah, Minnesota.
The Feast, suggested by Native American Baha'is in Bemidji, was sponsored by that city’s S| Assembly with support from the Northern Minnesota District Teaching Committee.
The traditional Indian offerings were made, and the Ponemah Baha’is offered traditional prayers along with a Bahda’{ prayer for unity.
Also presented was a puppet show for the children.
A decision was made to continue to share this Feast through all of the seasons in the hope that eventually more of the friends from Ponemah can participate.
aoe
“To Move the World’’ is the theme of this year’s Georgia Baha’i Winter School, to be held February 25-27 at Epworth-by
PREPUBLICATION OFFER ‘
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Price is $6.50 up to May 1, 1983, and $7.50 after May 1
The Guidelines for Baha’i Archives (72 pages) covers in detail the organization and functioning of a Baha’i archives. It is highly suitable for larger communities faced with the need to organize a local archives.
Name.
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Order form with payment should be sent to: National Baha’ Archives Committee, Baha’i National Center, Wilmette, IL 60091.
the-Sea, a Methodist camp on St.
Simons Island.
bers of the National Spiritual Assembly, Robert Henderson and Soo Fouts; Dr. Roy Jones of Charleston, South Carolina, and Duane and Mary Dumbleton of Jacksonville, Florida.
The focus will be on the elimination of racial prejudice, with Dr. Jones’ presentation on the life of the Hand of the Cause of God Louis G. Gregory.
A children’s program has been planned to meet the needs of all
eS.
Costs for housing and meals vary according to the number of people in each room and their ages. The range is from $20-$60 for the entire school session.
For registration information please phone John Haynes at 404-427-1597.
see
The first part of a newly found “Friendship Trail’’ was explored by 31 Baha'is from Alberta, Canada, and northern Montana last December 10-12 in Cut Bank, Montana.
Two small and remote Baha’i groups in Browning and Conrad, Montana, made the arrangements and invited other isolated believers to come and celebrate human rights and their own unity with an opportunity to consider further activities including teaching in border areas as called for in the Seven Year Plan.
The day-long conference included presentations by two assistants to the Auxiliary Board, Allison Healy of the Blood Reserve and Earl McCauley of McGrath, Alberta.
A third assistant to the Auxiliary Board, Daniel Telfer, also participated.
Four non-Baha’is attended a Saturday evening public meeting. All had learned of it through a newspaper article that included some background information on
The Baha’ is of Santee, California, entered this float in the city’s annual parade last October 23. In keeping with the parade theme, ‘Fall Festival,” the float had boxes of fruits and vegetables surround the Faith and small announcements in the weekly newspaper
cteiieenieen ee
ed by hay on the ‘raller} and in the middle a tree with various fruits cut from colored cardboard to exemplify the oneness of mankind: ‘Ye are all the fruits of one tree and the leaves of one branch.”
and a mimeographed shoppers’ guide.
Letters Continued From Page 3
nese are probably 50th cousins or less. But in the world as a whole, I believe that through the ages less than 5 per cent have intermarried or ‘interbred with other racial stock—primarily those of the Far East, Polynesia, and the western coasts of the Americas, and these only during the last century.
Earlier than $00 years ago, most of the world’s races and nationalities were 90 per cent pure.
Even today, interbreeding between races cannot be more than’ 10 per cent worldwide.
Even within the Americas I doubt that more than 10 per cent of Caucasians can honestly claim black, Oriental or Amerindian bloodlines.
Black Americans, however, have a 97 per cent average, having Caucasian blood as a result of their history as slaves.
Only now are interracial marriages becoming socially accep table. These, along with the interbreeding of the races, go back at most only four or five generations.
1 DO NOT believe that worldwide ‘‘cousinhood’’ will become a reality before another few hundred years—eight to 10 generations.
All Caucasians might well be 50th cousins, likewise all Orientals, all Eskimos, all North American Indians, all Central American Indians within a given area, all Polynesians, all Semitic peoples, all Africans within certain geographical boundaries.
This is possible; however, we have not yet reached that stage on a worldwide level.
But when, as prophesied, most of the Caucasian race is climinated by the destruction of Europe and North America, the people of Africa, the Orient, and Australasia may achieve that relationship within the next 200 years, thus effectively ending racial prejudice forever.
Antoinette Isaac Lordsburg, New Mexico
ngsummer-fall-winter-spring-summer fall-winter-spring.
World Order A Gift For Every Season
Address Se
Within United States: Send to: lyear.. . $10.00 Name 2 years. . $18.00 All other countri $12.00 City. $22.00 Gift From: Sorry...
enclose payment to: Wilmette, IL 60091.
we-are unable to provide billing service. Please World Order,
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RACE UNITY
The American Baha’i
20
‘When the racial elements of the American nation unite in actual fellowship and accord, the lights of the oneness of humanity will shine...’ (Abdu’l-Baha, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 54)
Maryland Baha’is welcome 600-plus to 1st E. Shore Multi- Cultural Fest
Commentary
Baha’is must learn sensitivity too
A Baha’ conference. Children playing tag outside. One child, about 10 years old, occasionally calls others by derogatory racial names with pretended, that is, imitative, scorn.
When spoken to about it, she says, ‘‘It’s not hurting them.”’ This is true. She and they know about oneness and unity. What is missing? Where is the harm? How does one explain?
CHILD, I KNOW you've only been in this world a short time. [know you’ve mostly been around Baha’is and it all must seem so simple. Almost like a game.
But it’s important that you learn something about what has been happening for the past few hundred years—and also how everyone living today is affected by it, especially people who have not yet accepted and worked with the healing Message of Baha’u’llah.
Even the Baha’is must struggle to understand and to live the principles of oneness. It is not a joke. The beloved Guardian, Shoghi Effendi, called the task of securing racial unity “the most challenging issue,””
Black people have been oppressed, humiliated, hurt, segregated and denied human rights. White people have been taught and pressured to deny the basic humanness of others and thereby themselves. They have suffered from insensitivity and irrationality, a burden of which they were often unaware.
REMNANTS of these tragedies still exist. There are wounds and scars in people’s minds and hearts that may never heal.
We can help by bringing them the healing Message of Baha’u’llah, but we must understand how they feel and why they are afraid to see the truth.
We must be sensitive to others in order to be effective Baha’i teachers. We can’t make fun of the things that cause them pain and torment.
We can’t be insensitive to their problems. We mustn’t appear to feel superior in our unity.
Roxanne Erickson White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico
More than 600 people from seven states were present last October 9 at the first Eastern Shore Multi-Cultural Festival Meld on the campus of the University of Maryland-Eastern Shore in Princess Anne.
The theme of the festival, which was sponsored by the Delmarva District Teaching Committee, was “Unity in Diversity.’’ It was developed through displays, ethnic foods, and many entertaining performances from a variety of cultures.
THE DAY’S events began at 11 a.m. with an international coffeehouse and display of cultural exhibits in the Student Union.
At 2 p.m. the festival moved outdoors for music and clogging led by the Gravelly Run bluegrass band.
Later that afternoon Dr. Wilma Brady, a member of the National Spiritual Assembly, delivered the festival’s keynote address in the Performing Arts Center.
Another member of the National Assembly, Dr. Dwight Allen, then served as master of cere
On December 12, the Baha’is of not a Bahá’í, was chosen for her
Greater Birmingham, Alabama, presented a Human Rights Award to Mrs. Geraldine Moore, founder of the ‘Help One Another Club’ and the first black reporter ever hired (in 1964) by The Birmingham News. Mrs. Moore, who is
lifetime of service to others that has included success as an educator, author and journalist. In addition to a plaque, Mrs. Moore was given a copy of To Move the World, the biography of the Hand of the Cause of God Louis Greg
ory. Shown (left to right) are
Elaine Greer; Ashley Alvis; Lewis
White (seated), idministrative assistant to Mayor Richard Arrington; the Bahd’( speaker, Mrs. Eulalia Bobo Taylor; Mrs. Moore;
Bobbie Piper; Bruce Inglis, and
John Smith.
Baha’is from three states attend Choctaw Indian ‘unity Feast’
In November, Bahá’ís from Mississippi- and two other states attended a Choctaw Indian ‘‘unity Feast’’ at a lodge near the sacred mound of the Choctaws at Nanih Waiyah near Philadelphia, Missis sippi. The chief of the Choctaw tribe, who was invited, was out of town but sent the Choctaw historian as his representative. In all, five Choctaw Indian Baha’is attended with eight adult
non-Baha’i Indians, 13 Baha’is from seven localities in Mississippi, three from Alabama, two from Oklahoma, eight youth and five children.
The morning speaker was J.B. (Butch) Fuller of Montevallo, Alabama, who is part Cherokee Indian.
In the afternoon, the speaker was Michael Winger-Bearskin of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma.
Evelyn Hardin of Meridian,
Mississippi, spoke on questions relating to the Bible, and the tape of the Native Council meeting held at the Baha’i House of Worship was shown.
Mr. Winger-Bearskin and Dennis Wahkinney from Oklahoma were able to stay for an extra day to visit the Indian Bahá’ís and their friends.
Plans are being made for follow-up activities.
Shown beneath the festival banner and flanked by the Baha’i exhibit at the first Eastern Shore MultiCultural Festival last October 9 at the University of Maryland-Eastern Shore are Baha'is (left to right) Pepper Oldziey, Joan
monies for a variety of entertainment by Baha’is and non-Baha’is.
Baha’i performers included dancer Norbert DuBois from Washington, D.C., soprano
Janis-Rozena Peri from Norfolk, Virginia,” and the Touchstone Mime Theatre from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
NON-BAHA’T groups included the UMES stage band, the Crisfield High School dance troupe from Maryland, the Nanticoke Indian dance troupe from Delaware, and the S.E. Hayward gospel choir from Accomac, Virginia.
Publicity for the festival was widespread. A local radio station produced three public service spots as a courtesy to the Baha’is
Trapp, Jennifer James, Peter Oldziey (holding Kalim Oldziey), Ginger Scott, Sandra Ennis, Florence Avis, Katherine Scott, Bud Scott. The festival was sponsored by the Delmarva District Teaching Committee.
that were aired regularly on about 10 stations in Delaware, Maryland and Virginia.
Articles appeared in at least five newspapers for several weeks in advance of the event, and more than 500 posters were displayed in public places throughout the Delmarva peninsula bearing the festival emblem, a black bird and a white bird joined by a heart.
Many festival visitors learned about the Faith at a professionally produced, three-dimensional display that framed the information booth.
Many other teaching opportunities arose during the planning stages and on the day of the festival itself.
Shown here is Baha’i Paul-Baha, a Baha’i from Washington, D.C., who hosts a four-hour radio program, ‘Positive Force,’ every Thursday morning on Washing Photo: Julia Jones ton’s WPFW-FM. The program, which he also produces and arranges, has a format that includes contemporary jazz, interviews,
and comments about the Faith.
[Page 21]THE MEDIA
February 1983
21
Marcia Day and Roger Coe are munications conference held De shown making a presentation during the historic Baha’i telecom cember 17-19 in San Fernando, California.
Baha’is find TV opening up to news, features about Faith
Baha’is around the country are finding that now as never before the emergence of the Faith from relative obscurity is helping them open the doors to commercial television.
The first opening came with “The Spiritual Revolution’’ series, which was run initially on stations in Los Angeles and Chicago.
THEN the video tape of the congressional hearings on Iran provided a tool with which to make initial contact with stations.
Helena, Montana; North Platte, Nebraska; Rochester, Minnesota; and Spokane, Washington, all ran the tape on local network affiliates.
In Helena, the tape was followed by a brief interview about the Faith. After that, Baha’is approached the station about running ‘‘The Spiritual Revolution.””
Originally, the station offered time just before CBS’ ‘60 Minutes’’ for the show at $200 a week for 13 weeks, according to Diana Virostko, the media representative in Helena.
Then, through a complicated series of events, the time was changed to just before pro football on Sundays and the price was reduced to $70 a week, she says.
NOW, because of the changes in the football season and the juggling of the program, the station is asking for more Baha’i material because it feels badly about the schedule changes, says Ms. Virostko. One seeker already has declared after watching the series.
In Spokane, the Baha’ is paid to place a slightly shortened version of the congressional hearings tape on the air, then used the rest of the time for an interview with Judge James F. Nelson, chairman of the National Spiritual Assembly.
Judge Nelson also appeared on several radio stations while in Spokane for the taping and was interviewed by several other reporters.
When the program was aired in November the station and the Ba ha’is were surprised by the response. About 50 calls were received praising the program, and none of the calls was negative.
Now the station is offering the Bahá’ís a regular program at greatly reduced rates.
“We're starting with a monthly one-hour program,”’ says Dave Notley of the area media committee. “‘We hope to be able soon to increase that to weekly programs.””
SHOWING the congressional hearings tape had a dual benefit in Rochester. Not only did the Baha’is receive an hour of time on TV, but the local newspaper, “which had been throwing out our material for 22 years,” called and wrote an article on the Faith.
Perhaps the most unique opportunity, however, is the one that has been offered to the Baha’is in Omaha, Nebraska.
A station there has decided to devote a half-hour on Sunday mornings to programs by local religious groups.
Each of them is to be given 13 weeks of programs, and the Baha’is in Omaha will be one of the first groups to have their own 13-week local series.
A representative from the national Office of Public Affairs met recently with the Omaha Baha’is working on the program to help them develop a suitable format.
“EXCEPT for a few people who had been part of cable television interviews, no one there has experience in producing television programs,” says Robert Blum of the Office of Public Affairs.
“‘By the time the series is finished this summer, I am sure they will all be seasoned veterans,’’ he adds.
“The Spiritual Revolution’ series is now running on a commercial station in Raleigh, North Carolina, and is to begin soon in Bend, Oregon.
Both ‘The Spiritual Revolution’? and the tape of the congressional hearings have been shown on numerous cable television stations.
Conference
Continued From Page 1
was Auxiliary Board member Dr. Jalil Mahmoudi who emphasized the importance of the endeavor to coordinate the use of Baha’i expertise in these fields.
Dr. Alberta Deas, administrator of the Gregory Institute, presented a detailed look at the teaching and consolidation needs in South Carolina and encouraged the conference to develop specific plans that would be immediately applicable for use of radio to expand and consolidate’the Faith in that area.
Dr. Riaz Khadem, a consultant to the Universal House of Justice and the U.S. National Spiritual Assembly on computers and communications, gave an overview of the present computer facilities at the International and National Centers.
HE SPOKE of the potential benefits of integrating the operation of computer facilities at all National Centers around the world with the system in use at the World Centre.
Other speakers included Dr. Marion Finley, professor of telecommunications at Laval University in Quebec City, Canada, who. gave an informative overview of the present and future capabilities of computers and telecommunications; and Stephen Caswell, pr dent of Network Innovations, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, who presented an historical look at the relationship of the Baha’i Faith to telecommunications.
The conference was organized by individual Baha’is in the communications field who saw the need to bring together professionals to establish quickly a connection between themselves and others who are interested in the communication sciences.
A list of Bahá’ís with knowledge and experience in media and the communication sciences is to be compiled by a proposed new Baha’i Computer and Telecommunications Association so that resource people within the entire community can be identified and their work coordinated.
The conference was culminated
Two more media conferences set
The Inter-Mountain West will be the setting for the next two media conferences.
The first will be held February 19 at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City.
For more information contact Jan or Shahab Said,
Salt Lake
City, UT 84106.
The next day, February 20, a media conference will be held at the Holiday Inn in Casper, ‘Wyoming.
For information contact Richard M. Miller,
a , Casper, WY 82609.
pp. 203-4
of physical science, ...
vice of humani
THE GUARDIAN ON SCIENCE AND COMMUNICATION:
“A mechanism of world inter-communication will be devised, embracing the whole planet, freed from national hindrances and restrictions, and functioning with marvellous swiftness and perfect regularity ... In such a world society, science and religion, the two most potent forces in human life, will be reconciled, will cooperate, and will harmoniously develop ...""—The World Order of Baha’u’llah,
“«...The world, (is) contracted and transformed into a single highly complex organism by the marvellous progress achieved in the realm ”’—The World Order of Baha'u'llah, p. 47
“It would indeed be no exaggeration to say that the absence of those facilities which modern scientific progress has placed at the serin our time made of the problem of welding the American states into a single federation, similar though they were in certain traditions, a task infinitely more complex than that which confronts a divided humanity in its efforts to achieve the unification of all mankind."’—The World Order of Baha'u'llah, p. 45
with the adoption of three proposals, each subject to approval by the National Spiritual Assembly, to help the Faith in its utilization of developments in science and technology.
THE FIRST of these proposals, called “‘action-plans,”” would establish guidelines for several task forces to help launch the Baha’i radio station in South Carolina.
After completing preliminary planning, these task forces would meet together at the Gregory Institute to develop an over-all plan for the implementation of the radio station.
An especially exciting part of this plan is to study the feasibility of a “‘teletext’’ information system that would send text information to home television sets simultaneously with the-radio station’s audio signal.
Such a system, if established, would greatly enhance the power of the station to deepen local Baha’{ communities, to deliver community news and services, and would make the station one of the most innovative in the world.
The second ‘‘action-plan’’ would link key attendees into ongoing efforts of the External Data Processing Team to improve the use of computers and communications at the Bahá’í National Center.
PLANS are being laid to monitor developments in the computer field and to study the feasibility of various methods of integrating computerized activities at the National Center with computer processing and record-keeping that could be carried on at the local, district or regional levels.
Through the use of relatively inexpensive yet powerful microcomputers owned by individual Baha’is, the possibility exists for the implementation of projects such as maintaining and updating dis-wide membership records; jitating access to the Baha’i writings in’ computer-readable form; using computer programs to help in tallying votes for convention delegates in districts with large Bahá’í populations; maintaining local treasurer’s records; updating the Spiritual Assembly’s policy files, and so on.
The third action-plan involves the establishment of a Baha’i
Computer and Telecommunications Association to monitor
developments in these fields and
to serve as a ‘‘clearing-house’’ for
evaluating the potential for application of new technology for
service to the Cause of Bahd’u’lláh,.
One such application might be setting up a computer network to link Baha’is across the country in an interactive conferencing system involving hundreds or even thousands of Baha’is.
If approved by the National Spiritual Assembly, the Association would be sponsored by the Spiritual Assembly of Red Lake Chapter, Navajo Reservation, New Mexico.
For information contact the Baha’{ Computer and Telecommunications Association (BCTA), c/o Roger and Sheryl Coe, Box 95, Navajo, NM 87328. Phone 505777-2230.
Media committee in Seattle sponsors Peace Day event
In response to the Seven Year Plan goal to ‘‘establish special programs for reaching the leaders of thought and people of influence,’’ members of the Baha’i Public Affairs Committee in Seattle, Washington, sponsored a special World Peace Day meeting last December 1.
Present was a group of 80 distinguished guests—community leaders of thought, and various religious and media representatives who are committed to the peace movement.
The guests were given ‘“‘Wage Peace—Baha’i Faith’’ buttons as they entered, and were most receptive to a thought-provoking address on the Bahd’{ viewpoint and plan for peace by Judge James F. Nelson, chairman of the National Spiritual Assembly.
Judge Nelson was interviewea on four local radio stations, giving excellent coverage to the event while spreading the timely Baha’i answers for universal peace.
As a result, some other Baha’i communities in Washington, Oregon and California have begun making plans for their own “Wage Peace’’ campaigns.
[Page 22]Learner ee eee eee
ATIONAL CONVENTION
The American Baha'i
22
PLEASE PRINT
(Mr./Mrs./Miss)
(Mr./Mrs./Miss). (Mr./Mrs./Miss).
(Mr./Mrs./Miss),
Address.
74TH BAHA’i NATIONAL CONVENTION (May 26-29, 1983)* CONVENTION SEATING REGISTRATION
REGISTRATION BY LETTER IS ACCEPTABLE; HOWEVER, PLEASE INCLUDE ALL THE INFORMATION REQUESTED BELOW. NOTE: THIS DOES NOT RESERVE HOTEL ACCOMMODATIONS. PLEASE CONTACT THE HOTEL DIRECTLY.
USE ONE FORM PER FAMILY
LIST ALL ATTENDEES 15 YEARS OLD AND OLDER
Baha’i 1.D. No,_______ Baha’i I.D. No. ___ Baha’ I.D. No.___
— =) Balté'filD.jNoi
Telephone (__).
Child’s name Sex
Age
CHILDREN’S REGISTRATION
LIST ALL CHILDREN 14 YEARS OLD AND UNDER Please note special needs (medical, emotional, dietary, etc.)
Special needs
Comment
Continued From Page 2
Greater decentralization at the national and local levels is in order. The principle of unity in versity applies as much to administration as elsewhere.
3. The need to take a more responsible attitude in promoting the affairs of the Faith.
Baha’fs are capable of carrying out demanding responsibilities on their jobs and with their families. Yet when they engage in Baha’i activities, assignments are sometimes forgotten, communication mishaps occur, and tasks remain uncompleted.
I think that too often we rationalize such glitches by saying, “We'll flow with the spirit “God's will be done,”’ or “If God had wanted this to turn out difwould have happened
Grenada, soon to have National Assembly, needs Baha’i materials
The island of Grenada will soon form its own National Spiritual Assembly and needs all kinds of materials: Baha’i books, posters, pictures, 16mm films, slide shows, filmstrips, pins, office equipment, ete.
A pioneer leaving at the end of March can take all contributions with him. Call Manouchihr Hakimi collect, 502-633-4773.
A QUALITY CHILDREN’S PROGRAM IS PLANNED. PRE- y IS ESSENTIAL TO INSURE YOUR CHILD’S PLACE IN THIS PROGRAM. MAKE YOUR RESERVATIONS NOW! Mail to: Office of Membership, Baha’i National Center, Wilmette, IL 60091
- Memorial Day weekend. It is imperative that reservations be made as early as possible!
EGISTRATIC
Since the members of the National Spiritual Assembly will be in Haifa, Israel, next April to participate in the election of the Universal House of Justice at the fifth International Baha’i Convention, the 74th U.S. Baha’ Convention will be held later than usual, from May 26-29 at the McCormick Inn in Chicago.
The friends should note that this is the Memorial Day weekend, when travel is generally heavy and accommodations hard to find, and make their plans early if they wish to attend the Convention.
Following are some facts that should help to make that planning easier:
CONVENTION SITE: The McCormick Inn, 23rd & the Lake, Chicago 60616. Toll free number, 800-621-6909 (in Illinois, phone COLLECT, 312-791-1901).
RATES: $48 per night (plus tax)—1, 2, 3 or 4 in a room (2 double beds). Rollaways are available @ $6 each.
SUITES AVAILABLE: | bedroom, $96-$200; 2 bedrooms, $144-$248. (All suites have parlors with sleepers in addition to the bedrooms.)
RESERVATIONS: Must be made directly with the hotel. Please be sure to identify yourself as attending the Bahd’{ National Convention May 26-29, 1983. Request confirmation to ensure that your reservation was received. PLEASE (1) give
Make plans now for 74th National Convention
the names of ALL those sharing the room with you, and (2) indicate any special facilities needed for the handicapped (rooms to accommodate wheelchairs, etc.), as the number of these rooms is limited.
SHARING ROOMS: The hotel will NOT find you a roommate. You must make your own arTangements.
TRAVEL: Although you are free to make your own travel arrangements, you may find it helpful to use the ‘‘meeting services desks’’ offered by the following airlines to help ensure that you receive the lowest possible fare for travel to Chicago. Toll free numbers have been provided. When using these numbers, please state that you are planning to attend the Bahd’{ National Convention May 26-29, 1983.
American Airlines, 800-433-1790 (Texas, 800792-1160); Northwest Orient Airlines, 800-3287747 (Minnesota, 800-552-1290); Continental Airlines, 800-525-1130 (Colorado, 398-3000, ask for group desk).
There is regular bus service—Continental Air Transport—to the McCormick Inn from O’Hare Airport ($6) and from Midway ($5). Taxis also are available.
The coupon above includes registration information for seating and for the registration of children at the Convention.
Dagmar Continued From Page 17
In spite of an illness she had suffered from for some months, Miss Dole arrived in Luxembourg at the end of August 1952 for the fifth annual European Teaching Conference, but became too ill to participate.
Arrangements were made for her to be sent to the Valmont Clinic in Switzerland where she received medical treatment for two months.
Miss Dole lapsed into. a coma on November 8 and passed away five days later.
MEMBERS of her family gathered with Baha'is from all over Switzerland for the funeral service. Burial was in the village of Glion, high on the slopes of the Alps.
“Her spiritual station is very high,”’ said the Guardian. ‘‘Her grave will be a great blessing to Switzerland—to all Europe. She is the first to give her life for the Cause in the European project. Her resting-place is important.’’
When first informed of her passing, the Guardian cabled: “Grieved passing distinguished, consecrated pioneer Dagmar Dole, outstanding record unforgettable, reward bountiful. Pray
ing progress soul Kingdom.’
really believe that we put more blame on God than He would prefer to accept, especially when the progress of the Faith is at stake! This passive attitude, I believe, is a natural outgrowth of point number 2.
4. The need to develop skills in the resolution of personal con flicts.
Baha’is often have their feelings. hurt by the unwitting comments or actions of other Baha’is. Too often these feelings are left unresolved, and they build up over a period of months or years.
Although the Local Assembly i is
taining unity, individual Baha’is can do much to promote love and unity by taking the initiative to talk to the other person to get to the roots of any misunderstanding.
We must also become comfortable with racial and cultural diversity within our communities. To do this, I think we need to become better at accurately communicating our feelings to one another.
5. The need to be more openminded.
In our love for the Faith and our desire to keep it unsullied by the influences of the society around us, we have adopted a somewhat fundamentalist attitude in our tendency to accept only the Baha’i Writings as a source of illumination.
Surely Bahá’u’lláh did not enunciate the principle of the harmony of religion and science unless He desired that we gain knowledge and insight from the sciences!
Likewise, we have much to learn and gain through association with other educational and charitable groups. We should not expect them to support us in our activities if we do not support them in theirs.
6. The need for more balance in our personal application of spiritual values.
One of the fundamental teachings of the Faith is moderation in all things. The highest expression of many spiritual qualities is achieved when they are balanced by a complementing attribute. Consider:
a. Are we becoming dignified without becoming equally loving?
b. Do we temper honesty with tactfulness during our Assembly consultations?
c. Do we try to submerge honest differences of opinion or persistent injustices under the cloak of unity?
d. Do we allow the principle of “seeing the one good quality’’ to foster naiveté and acceptance of mediocrity in others?
e. Do we blend mercy with justice in our dealings with children and employees?
Friends, let us follow in the footsteps of the Master, ‘Abdu’lBaha, who manifested consummate wisdom, moderation, openmindedness, and perseverance in promoting the affairs of the Faith,
|S TT EES YE SE SEE EE OE ER RTA AE EE
[Page 23]The American Baha'i
February 1983
23
in The American Baha’i
Impressed by a constant flow of newspaper clippings arriving at the National Center, the National Baha’i Public Information Committee reports that the establishment of local and regional Baha’i public information representatives is proving to be a great success.
The committee says 650 oneminute color film public service announcements about the Faith were sent during the past year to major television stations in the U.S. Most of those films, it says, were put to use immediately, some on a fairly regular basis.
The committee reports that the films ‘‘It’s Just the Beginning’’ and ‘“‘Give Me That New-Time Religion’’ have been shown on TV stations across the country, reaching an estimated audience of 10 million people ...
The National Spiritual Assembly asks that local Bahá’í communities devise plans for proclamation during the period from April 21 through May 24.
The month-long proclamation campaign, it says, should include publicity on the completion of the Nine Year Plan and the holding of the third International Convention for the election of the Universal House of Justice ...
A total of 33 Baha’ is participate in two ‘‘WE”’ Institutes held simultaneously in Prescott, Arizona. The institutes are reported to have been so successful that the District Teaching Committee has decided to hold them every six weeks or so ...
The Music and Drama Review Committee requests choral music set to the Holy Texts for use by the choir at the House of Worship, and lists guidelines for original compositions that may be submitted ...
The Office of Youth and Student Activities reports that there are two or more Baha’ is attending each of 190 high schools across the country, and adds that 55 high school clubs have been formed ...
The University of Massachusetts Bahá’í Association sponsors a week-long proclamation that includes a large display in the Campus Center, firesides each night during the campaign, and a wellattended multi-media presentation on the Faith by “Dawning,” a group of musically talented Baha’is from the Amherst area ...
The International Goals Committee announces summer youth projects in Mexico, Europe and India ...
Dr. Cobb
Continued From Page 1
land) Country Day School which he directed until his retirement in 1960.
In 1935 Dr. Cobb founded Avalon Press ‘‘to publish my books that were too erudite for the general public.””
Among his best known Baha’i works are Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Security for a Failing World.
His most popular book was Discovering the Genius Within You, and his most recent was his autobiography, Saga: A Tale of Two Centuries, published in 1977.
After graduating from Dartmouth College and taking an M.A. in philosophy and comparative religion at Harvard University, Dr. Cobb spent three years abroad as an instructor at Robert College in Constantinople, an experience that led to the publication of his first book, The Real Turk.
GRIEVED PASSING STANWOOD COBB. HIS LONGTIME SERVICES CAUSE BEGINNING AS CONTRIBUTOR STAR OF THE WEST AND SUBSEQUENTLY CO-EDITOR WORLD ORDER MAGAZINE EARNED HIGH PRAISE BELOVED HIS SCHOLARLY ACHIEVEMENTS SPECIALLY FIELD EDUCATION HAVE GREATLY ENRICHED LITERATURE FAITH. PRAYING HOLY SHRINES PROGRESS
GUARDIAN.
HIS SOUL ABHA KINGDOM.
UNIVERSAL HOUSE OF JUSTICE DECEMBER 31, 1982
WE ARE SADDENED BY THE PASSING OF STANWOOD COBB, WHOSE DEVOTED SERVICE TO THE CAUSE SPANNED ALMOST THREE QUARTERS OF THIS CENTURY. HIS LOVE OF ‘ABDU’L-BAHA, HIS LITERARY ACTIVITY, HIS TEACHING EFFORTS EARNED HIM THE AFFECTION AND ADMIRATION OF ALL THOSE WHO KNEW HIM. THE NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY JOINS THE EN TIRE BAHA’i COMMUNITY IN PRAYING FOR
KINGDOM.
THE PROGRESS OF HIS SOUL IN THE ABHA
NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY OF THE BAHA’{S OF THE UNITED STATES
DECEMBER 30, 1982
A CAREER in writing came quite naturally to Dr. Cobb, the child and grandchild of literary men and women. He learned to read before attending school, and at the age of seven read the Bible from cover to cover as a form of literary enjoyment.
It was while studying at Harvard that Dr. Cobb first came into contact with the Baha’i Faith, and soon afterward he ‘‘accepted it as the all-embracing goal of human search.’”
Dr. Cobb had the bounty of meeting ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in Constantinople, during the Master’s visit to the U.S. in 1912, and in Paris in 1913.
In 1925 he became co-editor of the Baha’i Magazine, the forerunner of today’s World Order magazine.
Vigorous and young at heart until the very end of his life, Dr. Cobb was a frequent guest at youth conferences and other Ba ha’{ events, and only last September had spoken at a Regional Youth Conference at Green Acre.
In 1981, during another youth conference at Green Acre held only two months before his 100th birthday, Dr. Cobb related how he had sat beneath an apple tree at the school with ‘Abdu’l-Baha and was told by the Master that if he were faithful to the Covenant he would live to be 100.
George Miller, long-time pioneer to Butte, Montana, dies at 90
George D. Miller, a pioneer to Butte, Montana, for more than 34 years, died last November 4, less than a month after his 90th birth day.
In 1948, Mr. Miller, a senior clerk at the Federal Bureau of Standards in Washington, D.C., retired from government service and moved to Butte in response to the Guardian’s appeal to Baha’is to leave the larger cities.
BORN in Reading, Pennsylvania, the fifth of nine children, he had wanted to become a doctor but was forced instead to go to work to help his family after completing high school.
Mr. Miller began his career with the Bureau of Standards in 1912 and resumed it in 1919 after service in World War I.
Introduced to the Faith in 1914, he later recalled that he had become a Baha’i sometime in 1916 while reading The Hidden Words, although in those days there were no formal enrollment procedures.
Elected to the Spiritual Assembly of Washington, D.C., in 1925, Mr. Miller served as its secretary from 1925-47 and helped in its incorporation.
He also served for many years as secretary of the Spiritual Assembly of Butte, and was a member from the time of its formation until Ridvan 1981.
MR. MILLER recalled that while taking a walk in Washington in 1912 he saw several Persian gentlemen outside the home of a Mrs. Drum and believed ‘Abdu’l-Baha was among them, although he had not heard of the Faith at that time. ie
He served on a Regional Teaching Committee after arriving in Montana, and was for many years active in teaching the Native Americans there.
In 1961 Mr. Miller and Samp
son Knowlton, an indigenous Baha’i from Canada, spent two
weeks on the Blackfoot Reservation, the first real teaching
event on a Montana Reservation.
While a member of the Assembly in Butte, Mr. Miller prepared poster displays for a small rented window near the bus depot that was lighted 24 hours a day and sponsored by the Assembly for
about 22 years.
Another exacting project involved making 35mm slides of photos in The Dawn-breakers to be used for teaching.
While in Butte, Mr. Miller organized the Butte-Anaconda chapter of the National Association of Retired Federal Employees, served as its president for 11 years and as education com
mittee chairman for many years
afterward.
His interest in education led him to pursue legislation for tuition-free college for the elderly, and by 1982, 35 of the 50 states were offering support for this free education.
Mr. Miller, who never married, is survived by a brother of Abington, Pennsylvania.
Murrie Abas Stanwood Cobb Eduardo Lawrence St. Paul, MN Chevy Chase, MD Brooklyn, NY
July 11, 1982 December 29, 1982 December 11, 1982 Mrs. Homayoun Akhavan Mrs. Nell Deniston Edward Lippitt Sr. Fargo, ND Zenia, OH York, ME
October 31, 1982 Date Unknown Date Unknown
Ali Baba Al-Najdi Carl Douglas Mrs. Thora Montoya Los Angeles, CA Duarte, CA Dulce, NM
October 23, 1982 August 1982 Date Unknown
Frank Archibald Birmingham, AL October 19, 1970
Douglas Barrett Pullman, WA September 1982
Edward Brown Birmingham, AL March 18, 1979 Sharky Brownlow Greenwood, MS Date Unknown Joe Butler Greenwood, MS January 1982
Willy Butler Greenwood, MS November 1981
Mrs. Luesiller Carter Birmingham, AL Date Unknown
1981
Mrs. Neva Jean Claus Roswell, NM October 30, 1982
Frank Hairston Birmingham, AL
Mrs. Jean Harber Central Point, OR December 5, 1982
Michael N. Heller Los Angeles, CA November 25, 1982
Mrs. Lueller Holston _ Birmingham, AL Date Unknown
Miss Sandra Kay Hunter Charlotte, NC October 31, 1982
Mrs. Mohtaram Kerendian Concord, CA November 28, 1982
Roy C. Kimball
Walla Walla, WA December 3, 1982 Mrs. Banner Lawrence Olympia, WA
Date Unknown
In Memoriam
Mrs. Helen Nichols Norwalk, CT
Mrs. Eula Rogers Birmingham, AL Date Unknown Carl Scherer Burlington, WI Date Unknown June Shapiro Bloomfield, NY Date Unknown Calvin W. Smith Birmingham, AL
December 27, 1982 1979
Mrs. Portia Nickens Howard S. Smith Glen Mills, PA Peoria, IL
May 27, 1982 November 29, 1982 David Pogue Mrs. Velma Smith Woodstock, IL Benton Harbor, MI January 8, 1983 October 1982 Archie Powell Sen San Sun
1979 John Rivers
1982 rx
Los Angeles, CA December 31, 1982
Harry E. Pringle Orlando, FL November 17, 1982
Mrs. Khorshid Quobadi Montecito, CA December 4, 1982
Mrs. Fannie Rivers Birmingham, AL
Pembroke Pines, FL August 1982
Joseph Tilley San Jose, CA December 1982 Jimmie Woody Birmingham, AL Date Unknown G. Nolen Zeigler Birmingham, AL 1980
Birmingham, AL
ers sen ORR OM SSMS ETE EOS SME A IE SR EE TET EOE ICT TE EP RE EST AN TS SE
[Page 24]The American Baha'i
oo
YA Ondo
. February 1983
24
Second Class Postage Paid At Wilmette, Mlinois
Louhelen Council revises
February-March
The Louhelen Council has revised the school’s program offerings for February and March from the schedule published in the December issue of The American Baha’f:
February 4-6—Community retreats.
February 5—Planning your family’s Ayydm-i-Ha celebration.
February 11-13—Marriage Enrichment Institute, Dr. Dan Popov and Mrs. Linda Kavelin Popov. An intensive weekend institute for married couples intended to help them strengthen their marriages.
February 18-20—Community retreats.
February 26-27—Ayydm-i-Ha Festival, 10 a.m. to midnight, followed by a Sunday morning brunch.
March 2-20—Fast Study Program (for those who wish to spend a part of their Fast in prayer, meditation and study at Louhelen).
‘March 4-6—Community treats.
March 5—Fast Deepening Program featuring Auxiliary Board member Dorothy Borhani.
March 11-13—Youth Conference organized by the Mainland
Ads
Continued From Page 16
Texas, by Ridvan to help raise that city to Assembly ~ status. Allen, a fast-growing suburb of Dallas, is on a major expressway 15 miles north of the city. The Plano community will provide house- and job-hunting assistance ‘to pioneers willing to settle in this prime sun belt location. For more information contact the Baha’i community of Plano, P.O. Box 1322, Plano, TX 75074, or phone 214-423-4634.
ATTENTION, all airline employees. An Airline Employees’ Baha’i Club is being formed to facilitate spreading the teachings of Baha’u’llah “‘in the air.” Please send your name, address, phone number, name of airline and job classification to Phillip J. Sisson,
re . , Los Angeles, CA 90057.
JIM COULDN‘T, Tom wouldn’t—perhaps you can. There are no Baha’is in Veneta, Oregon, and someone is needed who can open this neat rural community to the Faith. Veneta (population 2,500) is in gorgeous Oregon countryside, near a large lake about 10 miles from Eugene and the University of Oregon and only one hour from the Pacific Ocean. The economy is tight, but there is work in Eugene. Please contact Kathy Myhre,
Eugene, OR 97404, or phone 503-689-5027.
JEOPARDIZED Assembly in Cochise County, Arizona, where
schedule
Michigan District Youth Commit lee.
March 18-20—Community retreats.
March 19—Fast Deepening Program featuring Auxiliary Board member Dorothy Borhani.
March 25-27—Single Adults Conference.
Harvard shows tape
About 35 Baha'is and six nonBaha'is were present last December 8 at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government for a showing of the video tape of congressional hearings on the persecution of Baha’is in Iran and a talk by Dr. Dwight W. Allen, a member of the National Spiritual Assembly.
The event was sponsored by the Harvard University Baha’i Association, which worked hard on publicity and other arrangements after rescheduling its planned pre sentation of the video tape to take advantage of Dr. Allen’s visit to the Boston area.
A lively question-and-answer session followed, and copies of A Cry from the Heart and other Baha’i literature were made available to the non-Baha’is who attended.
the scenery is out of this world and one can go international travel teaching by an hour. Other assets: small town rural living, pure air and room to breathe it, lovely sunsets, mountain ranges better known as ‘“‘islands in the sky,”’ proximity to Indian Reservations and the Mexican border (Spanish classes are offered at Cochise College). For more information write to the Spiritual Assembly of Cochise County, c/o Mrs. LaRue Keys, secretary, P.O. Box 225, Hereford, AZ 85615.
NANTUCKET Island, Massachusetts, serving some 25,000 tourists, has many excellent jobs in summer for college students in shops, as waitresses, etc. The big problem is summer housing for these workers. One Baha’i has a separate room with kitchen privileges, off-street parking, within walking distance of town (female preferred). Phone Anna Hall, early morning or evenings, 617-2282904, or write to 7-B Eagle Lane, Nantucket, MA 02554.
IF YOU are looking for beauty, please read this. You can beautify your soul in the beautiful North Carolina mountains and help bring the sheer beauty of an indigenous American Spiritual Assembly to full bloom. The Western North Carolina District Teaching Committee is looking for a homefront pioneer for the Cherokee Indian Reservation whose Assembly needs a deepened Bahd’{ willing to help the Cherokee Baha’is grow and learn about the Faith they have accepted and the institution on which they
ce - ——— Moving? Ee ae ee ae “Fuiname=00 NOT use nicknames
- Tell us your Residence
new address
To avoid unnecessary delays in re ceiving your copies of The American Bans’ send your new address and your mailing I-bel which includes your ID number to the Office of Membership and Records, Baha'i
NOTE: Use this form for individual
Moning Oates:
“Rural Re
National Center, Wilmette, IL (6008), as soon as You know that you ate going to move and what your new = address will be, We will do our best Home Xo see that changes are processed r {quickly 0 tha the transfer Of mail to =e Your new home is accomplished with rea oa Tee eee were New Banas
Community
Name oF
changes only.
Please check box.
House or Space Number, Street, or Oese State
‘0+ Post Office Box Number
al Assembly group. OF isolated locality where this person resi
label should accompany adaress change form,
We have been receiving more than one copy
of The American Baha'i. Because we don’t
need extra copies, please remove my name
from the mailing list for this publication.
BAHA’i NATIONAL CENTER Wilmette, Iinois 60091
serve. Their hearts glow with the reflected splendor of the mountains in which they live. Please, if you can help this sleeping giant awaken, contact Melanie DanchPowell, I Apt. 3, Boone, NC 28607.
AT LEAST one homefront pioneer is required to save the jeopardized Assembly of Montezuma County, Colorado. This is a lovely rural area surrounding three towns and encompassing four cultures—Spanish, Ute, Navajo and Anglo. The area is growing rapidly due to construction of a water project and oil-related activity. Job opportunities are fairly good considering the recession, especially for people with skills. There is an excellent vocational school with a four-year college only 50 miles away. Good recreational opportunities with perhaps the best climate in Colorado makes the area well suited for retirees. For information contact the Spiritual Assembly of Montezuma County, P.O. Box 543, Mancos, CO 81328, or phone 303-533-7771.
AMERICAN pioneer to Colombia needs half a dozen copies of the book Portals to Freedom by
. Howard Colby Ives for a deepen ing class. Anyone who wishes to sell or donate a copy in good condition may contact T.A. Womack, P.O. Box.4971, Montclair, CA 91763.
HELP wanted: Real estate appraiser to settle in goal city. Position available with established fee appraiser. Must be FNMA approved. Membership or associate membership in SREA or AIRE helpful but not required. Send re sumé to Michael E. Bryan, SRA, Residential Appraisal Service Inc., Rohnert Park, CA 94928.
WHY NOT live 365 days a year in Minnesota’s heartland vacation paradise? Jeopardized Assembly Minnesota, needs Baha’i families to settle in this lovely lakes region, the retail and educational center for a wide area reaching to the Canadian border and encompassing five Indian Reservations. This is an ideal pioneering opportunity for a Persian or American Indian family. Bemidji State University offers baccalaureate programs in many areas as well as an associate degree program for those who wish to transfer to a larger school. For more information write to the Spiritual Assembly of Bemidji, P.O. Box 56, Bemidji, MN 56601, or phone Sue or Bob Johnson, 218-751-0317.
THE BAHA’{ community of Norwalk, California, desperately needs five adult pioneers who are active and willing to support the community in its activities and its desire to become incorporated. Norwalk, with easy access to downtown Los Angeles and Orange County, is a clean and desirable place to live for people of all ages. Cerritos College and Rio Hondo College are in the city district, and Cal State-Fullerton and Cal State-Long Beach are minutes away. Other attractions nearby include Disneyland, Knotts Berry Farm, and the MovieLand Wax Museum—all within 15 minutes. Please give your support in maintaining this Assembly; and please do not hesitate to contact us.
Phone Mehrdad and Pari Haghighi, 213-864-0788; Shahnam Meshkin, 213-864-1369; or Carolyn Corbin, 213-864-8676.
HONDURAS: A pioneer couple is starting a book exchange and needs paperback books. The books should be in English and in good condition. The couple will reimburse for the postage costs. If you can help, please send the books by Book Rate, in boxes not exceeding 22 pounds, marked “LIBROS USADOS” and listed as having no value on the customs sheet. Do not insure the boxes. Please send them to Ken Cutler, Escuela Internacional Sampedrana, Apartado Postal 565, San Pedro Sula, Honduras, Central America.
BE A guaranteed success! (Last chance this year.) During 138 B.E., in its extension teaching goal of Lebanon, Oregon, the Spiritual Assembly of Linn County, Oregon, held eight public meetings, three direct teaching projects, placed 189 column inches of newspaper coverage including 10 display ads, sent 10 letters to “leaders of thought,”’ donated a book to the local hospital chapel, and had the name of the Faith listed with the Chamber of Commerce, in the telephone directory, and on a newspaper church page. Lebanon was formerly an Assembly; it can have one agai And while we undertake to i crease our efforts in Lebanon, your success as a homefront pioneer is guaranteed! Contact the Spiritual Assembly of Linn Coun
ty, i
Scio, OR 97374, or telephone
503-394-3914.