The American Bahá’í/Volume 15/Issue 4/Text

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The American Bahá’í April, 1984

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[Page 1]

State Department document notes Iran persecutions

By JACK BOWERS

The persecution of Bahá’ís in Iran is mentioned in a State Department document, "Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, 1983," which was submitted in February to the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

"PERSECUTION of the Bahá’ís," the report says in its survey of Iran, "has increased to the point that Iran's Prosecutor General effectively banned all Bahá’í religious and institutional activities in August 1983..

"His order provides the legal basis on which the regime can move against all Bahá’ís in Iran if it chooses to do so."

Iran's human rights record under the current regime, the report notes, "remains one of the worst in the world, but, with the important exception of increased persecution of the Bahá’ís, there was some improvement in 1983."

The State Department report was released less than a month after the Universal House of Justice announced the martyrdom of three more Bahá’ís in Iran, bringing the known total of those executed since the Islamic revolution of 1979 to more than 160.

In that same message, dated January 17, the House of Justice

Index

Viewpoint Letters The Funds IGC: Pioneering Education Native Americans Youth News Teaching Race Unity Classifieds The Media Persian Publications Spanish In Memoriam

National Assembly is confident resources are there: Last minute outpouring needed to win Fund goal

The current Bahá’í administrative year has been characterized by a number of appeals for contributions to support the work of the Faith.

FIRST, we gave sacrificially and successfully to help build WLGI Radio.

Next, we focused our attention on the House of Worship and the National Fund.

Now, the Bahá’í International Fund needs our extra support.

We can now begin to understand what the Guardian meant when he said the members of the American Bahá’í community must usher in the promised World Order of Bahá’u’lláh not by our deaths but through living sacrifice.

There is no other community of believers anywhere in the world as capable as we of supplying what the unfolding World Order needs right now—material resources.

It is our joy, our privilege, and our heritage to arise at this crucial time and supply those needs.

The American Bahá’í community has but a few days left in which to win its $10 million contributions goal.

THE GOAL is admittedly large, but the National Spiritual Assembly is confident that the resources exist in this materially blessed community to achieve it.

Motivation to win the goal should be in plentiful supply as well, since each of us earnestly wants to witness the marvelous work that $10 million would accomplish.

Winning the goal would enable us to offset the anticipated shortfall in the Bahá’í International Fund by forwarding $2.5 million to the World Centre.

Our community would thus share in the bounty of helping the Universal House of Justice carry forward construction of the Temples in India and Samoa, beautify and expand the Holy Places at the World Centre, and pursue

April 21 set as nationwide 'day of unity' to support Fund

The National Spiritual Assembly has given permission to a group of Bahá’ís from Los Angeles to organize a nationwide "day of unity" in support of the National Fund. The date is April 21, and the friends in every community are asked to plan an activity for that day which will bring everyone together in a united effort to win our national $10 million goal. Winning the goal will provide $2.5 million for the Bahá’í International Fund, $1.5 million to repair the House of Worship in Wilmette, and $900,000 to eliminate our current bank debt. The National Spiritual Assembly is grateful for this initiative, and hopes that every Bahá’í throughout the country will support the day of unified action.

U.S., Mexican National Assemblies meet together

The National Spiritual Assemblies of the U.S. and Mexico came together February 17-18 at "Centro Bahá’í," the Bahá’í National Center in Mexico City, with Counsellors Carmen de Burafato and Artemus Lamb to discuss cooperative measures designed to help expand and consolidate the Faith in the two countries.

DURING its stay in Mexico, the U.S. National Assembly also held its own separate meeting.

Eight members of our National Assembly (Robert Henderson was unable to attend) were present at the joint meeting with seven members of the National Assembly of Mexico and the two Counsellors.

Discussions focused on teaching along the U.S.-Mexican border; the present status and needs of the Mexican Bahá’í community including social and economic development; and the observance in 1985 of the United Nations International Year of Youth.

The Mexican Bahá’í community would welcome interracial teams of traveling teachers who dress conservatively and can approach the Mexican people with love and humility.

IT WAS pointed out that there are vast distances that must be traversed in Mexico, and that travel is complicated by the small number of private vehicles available and the limited public transportation services.

Mexico's National Assembly said it would supply the U.S. with information about the requirements for effective teaching activity along the 1,000-mile border between the two countries.

Also needed in Mexico are Bahá’ís who would be willing and able to reach the better educated residents of urban areas, and who especially could teach the youth and the children, as they often are the first Bahá’í teachers of their parents.

Teaching indigenous people in Mexico's rural areas is quite difficult, the National Spiritual Assembly of Mexico reported. It was suggested that economic development projects might prove valuable in those areas.

MEMBERS of both National Spiritual Assemblies agreed that cooperative youth teaching campaigns should be planned (about 70 per cent of Mexico's population is under 25 years old), and that indirect teaching among youth is possible at Mexican colleges.

Discussion also centered on the youth conference being planned for the U.S. in 1985 to observe the UN International Year of Youth. One suggestion offered was that cooperative youth projects be carried out this year in Mexico leading up to the 1985 conference, in which Bahá’í youth from Mexico should be encouraged to participate.

Judge Dorothy W. Nelson (left photo) was the speaker January 28 at the third annual Community Service Awards banquet sponsored by the Bahá’í community of San Jose, California. The award recipients were Robert Sillen (center), director of the Santa Clara County Valley Medical Center, and Dr. Eleanor Engram, a sociologist, author and community activist.

Enrollments up, jeopardized Assemblies down

The National Teaching Committee reports that the number of enrollments in the U.S. has taken a dramatic upswing since January amid signs of increased teaching activities as Ridván approaches.

While enrollments have risen, the number of jeopardized Assemblies has dropped to 140 after reaching a high of 177 in January.

MUCH of the decrease in the number of jeopardized Assemblies, says Robert G. Wilson, secretary of the National Teaching Committee, can be attributed to homefront pioneers, 21 of whom have arisen either to help save an Assembly or to bring a Group to Assembly status.

The National Spiritual Assembly has sent a telegram to Bahá’í communities with more than 30 members asking that they raise up one or two homefront pioneers to settle in a nearby goal locality.

Members of the National Assembly personally called areas that needed encouragement or visited areas in which there was the greatest potential for forming Local Assemblies.

District Teaching Committees, says Mr. Wilson, were asked to work closely with their Auxiliary Board members and assistants so that all Ridván activities would be carried out in collaboration.

Meanwhile, traveling teachers are visiting jeopardized Assemblies and large Groups to present [Page 2]

Feast letter

'Inner life' leads to paths of service

To the American Bahá’í community

Dear Friends:

The achievement of the fund-raising goal for radio station WLGI was a triumph of our community.

In a few months the voice of the Louis Gregory Institute will be heard in the area of the highest concentration of Bahá’í population in the country. A potent tool of expansion, consolidation and deepening will have been placed in our hands.

MOREOVER, the public service programs of WLGI may well become the first project of social development to be implemented by us.

We have not done as well in teaching the Faith and enrolling large numbers of new believers. It is inexplicable yet true that some friends do not see the connection between material sacrifice through contributions to the National Fund, teaching the Faith, and the inner life of the individual.

An appeal from the Universal House of Justice, the National Spiritual Assembly, or a Local Spiritual Assembly, for funds or intensification of teaching is also a plea for the spiritualization of the individual, for only those who have evolved spiritually to the point of understanding their personal obligations to know and worship God and to carry forward an ever-advancing civilization will respond and take up the burden placed by Bahá’u’lláh on the shoulders of "the friends of God."

Prayer and meditation, material sacrifice, guiding the seekers to the revelation of Truth, are all paths of service through which we fulfill our purpose. Bahá’u’lláh, addressing us, uttered these words:

"O friends! Be not careless of the virtues with which ye have been endowed, neither be neglectful of your high destiny... Ye are the stars of the heaven of understanding, the breeze that stirreth at the break of day, the soft-flowing waters upon which must depend the very life of all men, the letters inscribed upon His sacred scroll. With the utmost unity, and in the spirit of perfect fellowship, exert yourselves, that ye may be enabled to achieve that which beseemeth this Day of God... Center your energies in the propagation of the Faith of God. Whoso is worthy of so high a calling, let him arise and promote it. Whoso is unable, it is his duty to appoint him who will, in his stead, proclaim this Revelation, whose power hath caused the foundations of the mightiest structures to quake, every mountain to be crushed into dust, and every soul to be dumbfounded. Should the greatness of this Day be revealed in its fullness, every man would forsake a myriad lives in his longing to partake, though it be for a moment, of its great glory-how much more this world and its corruptible treasures!" (Gleanings, pp. 196-197)

With loving greetings,

National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States

Members of the National Spiritual Assemblies

Members of the National Spiritual Assemblies of the U.S. and Mexico are pictured during their joint meeting February 17-18 at the Bahá’í National Center in Mexico City. Also present but not pictured were Continental Counsellors Carmen de Burafato and Artemus Lamb.

Administrator, sociologist win San Jose service awards

A hospital administrator and a sociologist were the recipients January 28 of the third annual Community Service Awards presented by the Bahá’í community of San Jose, California.

MORE than 140 Bahá’ís and about 35 guests attended the awards dinner at which Robert Sillen, director of the Santa Clara County Valley Medical Center, and Dr. Eleanor Engram, a sociologist, author and community activist, were honored.

The featured speaker was Judge Dorothy W. Nelson of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, who is treasurer of the National Spiritual Assembly.

Among the guests were city councilwoman Iola Williams (one of last year's recipients), representatives of state Senator Dan McCorquodale and state Assemblyman John Vasconcellos, and a number of prominent business and social service people from the Santa Clara County area.

Entertainment was provided by Ron and Carol Lyles, Bahá’ís from Burlingame, California.

Mr. Sillen, who came to the Valley Medical Center in 1979 from the University of California's San Diego Medical Center, was cited by the Bahá’ís for "his efficient yet humane administration" of the Medical Center.

Dr. Engram, whose most recent book is "Science, Myth, Reality: The Black Family in One-Half Century of Research," was honored for "her work as a local community activist, working with many civic leaders in establishing preventive health programs."

Dr. Engram has been especially active in helping to set up community shelters for abused women.

Comment

A child's teaching touches teacher's heart

This month's article, "A Little Child Shall Lead Them," was written by Priscilla Jeanne (Triplett).

A little more than 13 years ago I was a pre-school teacher at a community center on the far South Side of Chicago.

During one of our many staff meetings a trip we had planned for the children was canceled, and the supervisor told us we would instead be visiting something called the Bahá’í House of Worship and afterward would picnic at a nearby park.

THE DAY of the trip I was still furious over the abrupt change in plans.

It was raining. One of my two assistant teachers was absent. I had 18 two-year-olds to escort to somebody's house of worship and then to a picnic. My sense of injustice was complete.

As our bus pulled up in front of a large, beautiful building, the rain stopped. As the children and I ascended the stairs, the sun came out and shone brightly.

And as we neared the entrance, the children became very quiet. I looked at them and wondered what was happening. Never before had they behaved like this on a trip.

An elderly gentleman escorted our class to the front of the large auditorium, gave us a brief history of the Faith, and answered the children's questions.

I WAS pleasantly surprised by the children's good behavior and by the fact that they remained quiet while in the auditorium which was for silent meditation.

As we left the building, I selected one of each of the pamphlets available at the door because I was genuinely attracted to this new religion and its teachings.

However, it never dawned on me to look up the Bahá’í Faith in the Chicago telephone directory or to call the House of Worship for more information.

The pamphlets lay in my desk drawer for two years; every now and then I would read them and wonder.

Two and one-half years later, having moved to Brooklyn, New York, I volunteered to teach a vacation Bible school for pre-schoolers at a Lutheran school where I normally taught fifth grade.

THE children in the Bible school class were to range from two to six years old.

The first day, a woman arrived with her son, age two years and three days. He was crying hard, mostly because he had never been away from his mother.

I spoke lovingly but firmly to him: "Joe (not his real name)," I said, "you have one hour for crying and after that you must stop. Do you understand?"

"Yes," he replied, sniffling.

At the end of an hour I said, "Joe, your time is up; you must stop crying now." To my surprise, he did exactly that!

At lunch, the seven other children said the traditional grace they had learned in their Lutheran homes while the new little boy, who was not from the Lutheran congregation, asked if he could say a prayer.

WHEN I said yes, he could, he closed his eyes and prayed, "O God, guide me. Protect me. Illumine the lamp of my heart and make me a brilliant star. Thou art the Mighty and Powerful."

I was most impressed! Imagine, a two-year-old child using words like "protect" and "illumine," "brilliant," "powerful" and "mighty"!

Each day thereafter I shortened Joe's crying time by 20 minutes so that when I met him on Friday, and he was crying as usual when he arrived, I told him there was no more crying time.

He stopped, said, "Okay," and was fine! I was shocked but tried not to show it.

One day the children were playing a game with my teen-age assistant. One of them would call out his own name, she would write it on the board, and the child would skip around the room saying, "That's my name! That's my name!"

Suddenly, my youngest student shouted, "Write B-A-B on the board!"

THE teen-ager looked at me, and when I nodded consent, she wrote "Bab" on the blackboard. [Page 3]

LETTERS

When tender new 'plants' aren't watered...

"The shining spark of truth cometh forth only after the clash of differing opinions."—‘Abdu’l-Bahá

The American Bahá’í welcomes letters to the editor on any topic of general interest. The purpose of the "letters" column is to allow a free and open exchange of ideas, never to derogate another's opinions or attack anyone on a personal level.

Letters should be kept as brief as possible (a maximum of 250 words is suggested). Letters are subject to editing for length and style.

Please address all letters to the Editor, The American Bahá’í, Bahá’í National Center, Wilmette, IL 60091.

To the Editor:

What happens when a person receives a little of the Message of Bahá’u’lláh, accepts the Faith, and then no one gets back to deepen him for many years?

Perhaps an experience of the Amoz Gibson teaching team here in Argentina can illustrate what to expect.

LAST October the team returned from the Chaco province of northern Argentina after spending a month searching for more than 1,400 people who had been enrolled there, for the most part during 1970 to 1973, most of whom hadn't received any more visits from Bahá’ís.

It appears that there are but four paths open to this little plant that has received a few drops of the water of life:

1. Some suffer spiritual pain for lack of this water, and after a while become angry with the Bahá’ís and the Faith. 2. Eventually, some search for the water of life in other places. They then join one of the Christian churches. 3. Others become busy with material things and no longer have time for, or an interest in, the spiritual aspects of life. 4. Some remain Bahá’ís, thanks be to God, but need deepening. Others are sympathizers because they still have an interest in knowing about the Faith but remember almost nothing about it.

OF THE more than 1,400 people for whom we searched, 60 per cent of them had moved and left no new address.

Of the remainder, 17 per cent had died, 40 per cent had joined a church, 6 per cent did not wish to be Bahá’ís for other reasons, and 13 per cent remained Bahá’ís.

Another 4 per cent were classified as sympathizers. We were not able to contact 22 per cent of those who hadn't moved.

Although the trip was not primarily for teaching, we enrolled 30 new believers. Many more can be enrolled in that area when there are enough deepened Bahá’ís there to handle all of the deepening that would be required.

How are we going to avoid in the future this large loss of Bahá’ís and potential Assemblies? There is only one way, and that is for all of us to obey the words of the Guardian and the Universal House of Justice with respect to the necessity for teaching and deepening going hand in hand.

On this point, the statistics speak for themselves.

H. Gerald Laursen San Luis, Argentina

To the Editor:

Do American Bahá’ís confuse Bahá’u’lláh with Uncle Sam?

It is an acceptable American custom to wait until the last minute to pay income taxes. Do we think it is equally acceptable to "time" our support of the National Bahá’í Fund?

This is not to say that our spiritual obligations to the Fund are like taxes. Quite the contrary! We have the only type of blood that can be given freely and regularly to support the life of the Cause. Do we have to wait for things to get so bad that the bloodmobiles and tax collectors are standing at our front door?

Let's show the worldwide Bahá’í community some of the "better" habits of American culture. We are blessed materially and have the means with which to save and plan our finances. Let's take care of business and put the National Bahá’í Fund at the top of our shopping list.

Shouldn't we set an example for the rest of the nation? No more deficit spending to build the new World Order. Personally, I can't think of a better investment.

Bonnie Barnes Washington, D.C.

Notice to youth attending 75th Convention

ATTENTION: Youth who are planning to attend the 75th Bahá’í National Convention in April. The National Youth Committee urges you to consider volunteering some of your time and talents in service at the Convention.

There are opportunities for youth to help with registration, the children's program, and in other areas. Anyone who wishes to donate his or her services should contact the National Youth Committee before April 13. Write to the committee at Fort Lauderdale, FL 33315, or phone 305-462-1919. Please be sure to note any special skills or talents so you can be put to good use!

The National Youth Committee is planning a number of special activities for youth who attend this year's National Convention including a youth social and presentations by noted Bahá’í speakers.

Youth are encouraged to attend and participate, and the Youth Committee invites everyone to stop by the youth display to learn about some of the exciting programs that are being planned for the final phase of the Seven Year Plan which will be launched at the Convention.

To the Editor:

Your efforts to maintain editorial integrity while not contributing to the disunity of the American Bahá’í community (or at least The American Bahá’í readership) are admirable.

To what extent have readers' exchanges these past few months been analogous to Bahá’í consultation? Need there be no restriction on contributions sincerely made (beyond those minimal legal ones required of any editor), as the "spark of truth" can be expected to shine forth from the clash of opinions?

Or could it be that we are not collectively up to discounting personalities and dealing purely with ideas, or that this paper is not the proper forum for it, or that such "public consultation" simply cannot be done?

While it is unarguable that the best way to fill these pages is with news of teaching successes or tips that would aid their accomplishment, the character and concerns of the Bahá’í community should be of interest and importance, and can at least be glimpsed in these letters.

I for one prefer the bracing ones and the positive ones, and hope we Bahá’ís can voluntarily ease your editorial burdens.

Lewis V. Walker Knoxville, Tennessee

To the Editor:

I am writing to add to the continuing discussion of whether mothers should or should not seek careers outside the home in light of the Bahá’í Teachings.

WE SEEM able to make convincing cases for either side of this issue by using quotations from the Sacred Texts. This leads me to wonder whether either extreme offers the absolute answer.

Perhaps I have misinterpreted what I've read, but in letters and articles in The American Bahá’í I feel it has come across loud and clear that some feel mothers fail Bahá’u’lláh by not staying home with the children, while others feel mothers fail Him by not seeking careers outside the home.

If we look closely at our opinions, we might begin to see the effect our past life experiences have had in their formation.

The role of women is changing rapidly. Society as a whole is unable to put the pieces in their proper order. As followers of Bahá’u’lláh, we believe this confusion will be replaced by divine order.

While the transition is taking place, however, children are being born and parents continue to rear them.

Each individual must read the Writings and decide how to apply the Teachings to his or her life. Each family must try to deal creatively with a myriad of external circumstances in applying Bahá’í principles to its unique circumstances.

There is no blame. We are each doing what we can. It isn't possible for all of us to have the same lifestyle.

But we can love and support each other. We can learn from one another's experiences, and we can all raise children who feel loved and secure.

Kathryn Grandfield Sedalia, Missouri

To the Editor:

Won't you join me in chanting, or reading, or reciting, or saying the Tablet of Aḥmad—every day—for the fulfillment of the needs of the four Bahá’í Funds?

We really need to keep saying this wonderful, powerful prayer—daily—for the rest of our lives, so that never again will there be a shortage of vitally needed funds!

As an example of the power of this prayer, only four Bahá’í months ago our Assembly was down to eight members and in jeopardy.

We urged each other to recite the Tablet of Aḥmad daily.

The next month, a Bahá’í moved here from another city. The following month, the brother and cousin of one of our Assembly members declared their belief in Bahá’u’lláh.

Then last month, the wife of an Assembly member also declared her belief.

Four new members in three Bahá’í months. What a miracle!

Clyde Eugene Corson Lawndale, California

To the Editor:

In regard to Margaret Ruhe's letter (January) about Martha Root: In the early days, little was known about Miss Root's personal life; hence, the idea that she was a "simple, plain, shy little woman of modest background" was based on the impression she gave.

SOMEONE once told me that at the time of her passing, no one seemed to know who Miss Root's parents were or where she was born. In short, no one had ever bothered to find out anything about her personal life.

It's relatively easy, after the passing of more than 40 years and as a result of the information about Miss Root collected and researched by the author of Martha Root: Lioness at the Threshold, to write such a letter.

We should be grateful, however, to M.R. Garis for having provided such a revealing look at the personal side of Martha Root.

I remember Juliet Thompson's

New color lithograph of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá

reproduced from the only known color photograph of the Master

perfect for:

• home
• rooms
• office
• Bahá’í centers
• meeting
• a special gift for yourself or a friend

Available in 2 sizes: 5x7 in. Cat. No. 875-020 $5.00 11x14 in. Cat. No. 875-019 $12.00

Order through your local librarian, or send check or money order (including 10% for postage and handling, minimum $1.50) to Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 415 LINDEN AVENUE, WILMETTE, IL 60091

"Price valid only in the United States [Page 4]

Leroy C. Ioas

"... I admire the spirit that animates you (and) marvel at your stupendous efforts."

With these words the beloved Guardian, Shoghi Effendi, expressed his deep feelings for Leroy C. Ioas who served the Faith in the triple capacity of Hand of the Cause of God, secretary-general of the International Bahá’í Council, and supervisor of construction of the dome of the Shrine of the Báb on Mount Carmel.

BORN in 1896 in Wilmington, Illinois, Leroy was only two years old when his parents, Charles and Maria loas, embraced the Faith. His father would later serve as a member and secretary of the House of Spirituality in Chicago, the forerunner of that city's Spiritual Assembly.

When he was 16, Leroy led his parents into the presence of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in a crowded hotel lobby, and was present on May 1, 1912, when the Master placed the dedication stone at the site of the House of Worship in Wilmette.

In 1919 Leroy was married to Sylvia Kuhlman, and they set out for San Francisco where Mr. Ioas served for 20 years as chairman of the Local Spiritual Assembly. While there he initiated the first Conference for World Unity, held in San Francisco in 1925. As many as 100 people attended Bahá’í study classes taught by Mr. Ioas in San Francisco and Oakland.

AT THE BEHEST of the National Spiritual Assembly, he served on a committee with John Bosch and George Latimer that resulted in the establishment of California's Geyserville Bahá’í School.

In 1932 Mr. Ioas was elected to the National Spiritual Assembly, and at once was appointed a member of the National Teaching Committee, serving as its chairman for 14 years.

The Guardian described this

Champion Report

builders reported the arrest since last November of more than 250 Bahá’ís in all parts of Iran, some 70 of whom were detained between December 31 and January 3.

AN estimated 600 Bahá’ís are now in prison in Iran.

In his statement last August, Iran's Prosecutor General ordered that the Bahá’í administration in that country be abolished.

In response, the National Spiritual Assembly of Iran immediately disbanded, as did the more than 400 Local Assemblies there.

The move was accompanied by an "open letter" from the National Spiritual Assembly to the government of Iran denying in the strongest possible terms the allegations of spying and other misdeeds leveled against the Bahá’í community and setting forth clearly and unequivocally the Bahá’í principles of loyalty to government and non-interference in politics.

The letter then demands, in the name of the Bahá’ís of Iran, an end to the persecutions, the restoration of those human rights of which the Bahá’ís have been deprived, an end to restrictions on their ownership of property, the release from prison of all innocent believers, the restoration of Bahá’í cemeteries, and a guarantee of freedom of religion for all Bahá’ís including the right of burial, marriage, and all other acts of worship.

Although there has been no official government response to the letter, the arrests of Bahá’ís in Iran have continued and the number of deaths has risen by at least eight including one woman who was slain by a mob after giving birth to a child.

Media response to the State Department's report on Iran has included a full-page article entitled "Slow Death for Iran's Bahá’ís" in the February 20 issue of Time magazine and a lengthy interview with Dr. Firuz Kazemzadeh, secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly, the the March 2 edition of the national newspaper USA Today.

Next month, Dr. Kazemzadeh is scheduled to take part in a second Congressional hearing in Washington on the plight of the Bahá’ís in Iran.

A similar hearing, held in May 1982 by the House Subcommittee on Human Rights and International Organizations, was the first in which the Bahá’ís were able to present comprehensive testimony to a government body in this country concerning the persecution of their co-religionists in the Cradle of the Faith.

Testifying at that hearing were Dr. Kazemzadeh; Judge James F. Nelson, chairman of the National Spiritual Assembly; Glenford E. Mitchell, then secretary of the National Assembly and now a member of the Universal House of Justice; and Mrs. Ramna Mahmoudi Nourani, both of whose parents served on the National Spiritual Assembly of Iran and were martyred there.

AMONG its results was a resolution condemning the persecutions that was passed by the Senate on June 30, 1982, and by the House of Representatives in September of that year.

Last May 22, President Reagan issued a statement in which he deplored "the persecution and severe repression of the Bahá’ís in Iran" and appealed to the Ayatollah Khomeini and the rest of Iran's leadership not to carry out the death sentences imposed on believers in that country.

Less than a month later, on June 16, six Bahá’ís were hanged in Shiraz, and on June 18 another 10 Bahá’ís, all of them women including three teen-agers and three others in their early 20s, were hanged, also in Shiraz.

On June 28, Dr. Kazemzadeh appeared at a congressional human rights caucus in Washington to present an update on the situation in Iran.

His testimony, coupled with the mounting evidence of increased pressure on the Bahá’ís in Iran, led in November to the passage by the Senate and House of a second resolution condemning the Khomeini government for its brutal repression of the Faith and calling on President Reagan to work with other nations in drafting an appeal to save the Bahá’ís from further persecution.

LAST December 9, in an official proclamation marking the 35th anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the President cited the persecution of Bahá’ís in Iran as one of the most serious violations of human rights in the world today.

Dr. Kazemzadeh, asked by USA Today whether such measures as congressional resolutions help the cause of believers in Iran, replied:

"A lot is intuitive. But we have evidence from Iran that silence only assists the perpetrators.

"There is evidence that the Khomeini regime responds to the pressure of world opinion.

"We know that even if after publicity one person is executed, if it had not been done, a hundred might have died."

Conference of Assistants

Counsellor Velma Sherrill (seated in front row center) and Auxiliary Board members Benjamin Levy (kneeling at left) and Dr. William Tucker (standing in back row fifth from left) gave guidance to 18 assistants to the Auxiliary Board at a conference held last October 29-30 in Winter Park, Florida. A broad range of topics was covered including the evolution of the institutions of the Faith; priority services of the Auxiliary Boards and their assistants; teaching, consolidation, protection; the sacredness of our task; the importance of the Bahá’í electoral process; Covenant-breaking and firmness in the Covenant; the balance between teaching and consolidation; and drawing upon the power of the Holy Spirit to accomplish our tasks in a troubled world.

Comment

Joe smiled broadly and skipped around the room saying, "That's the Báb! That's the Báb!"

Later, when Joe's mother came to pick him up, I told her what had happened, and she explained that Báb is a Persian word that means "gate."

Thus was begun my reintroduction to the Faith. I declared as a Bahá’í four months later, and left Brooklyn shortly afterward.

When Joe was about eight years old he read God Loves Laughter by the Hand of the Cause of God William Sears.

He wrote to Mr. Sears to tell him how much he had enjoyed the book, and Joe's mother mailed a copy of Mr. Sears' reply to me in Oklahoma.

JOE'S letter had said, among other things, that when he was two years old he had taught his first teacher the Faith and she had become a Bahá’í.

Mr. Sears had written that he would pray for Joe and for his first teacher at the Shrine of Bahá’u’lláh, and had enclosed in his letter rose petals from the Shrine.

The reply and the petals had been photocopied for me. That was six years ago.

At the Feast of Qawl on November 22, the American Bahá’í community heard a taped message from Mr. Sears about WLGI Radio.

There was music at the beginning and end of the tape. The pianist, Roland Ashby, also wrote the music; Derek Polk played bass, Hamid Drake handled the percussion, and the vocals were by yours truly.

I stand ever humbly grateful to Bahá’u’lláh, to the wonderful children in my class, and to Mr. Sears for his prayers for this unknown teacher of a very special two-year-old boy in Brooklyn.

What a bounty to be allowed to sing on the same tape on which the Hand of the Cause of God William Sears is speaking!

"All praise and thanksgiving be unto the Blessed Beauty, for calling into action His armies of the Abhá Kingdom, and sending forth to us His never-interrupted aid, dependable as the rising stars."- ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, p. 237

Bahá’í interviewed on Japanese TV program

Dr. Ronald Kelly, a Bahá’í pioneer from the U.S. to Japan, was interviewed in February on "Close-Up," a program that is televised from Japan to many parts of the world via the SPN satellite cable network. [Page 5]

Few days remain to 'rescue' Fund

The Bahá’í fiscal year ends April 28. Only a few days remain during which the American believers can rescue the National Fund from a perilous situation.

THE SOURCE of the Fund's peril lies in the fact that contributions have not been sufficient to cover expenses.

By March 1, the National Spiritual Assembly had borrowed $500,000 to enable it to carry out its planned activities during this final year of the three-year second phase of the Seven Year Plan.

Based on the level of contributions as this is being written, early in March, it seems probable that the unfavorable balance between contributions and expenses will reach $700,000 by April 28.

By itself, that spells peril for the Fund, but even more so when one takes into account the $480,000 debt the Fund was carrying at the beginning of the current fiscal year.

Every year, it seems, the National Fund has a brush with disaster, and every year it is saved at the last possible moment by the heroes and heroines of the Cause.

WHO ARE the National Fund's heroes? They are the hardworking, faithful few who step forward to answer the National Assembly's call for assistance in times of opportunity and need.

Recently, the Office of the Treasurer calculated the number of individuals who contributed to the National Fund during 1983.

About 13,000 believers gave at least once during the year. Right now, the Fund needs every one of those 13,000 who have previously shown their concern to come to its aid once again.

The Fund also needs thousands of others who may never before have contributed directly to the National Fund to be moved to action by its present plight.

Only the sacrificial actions of at least 20,000 Bahá’í heroes can restore strength to the National Fund. Will you play your part before it is too late?

NATIONAL BAHÁ’Í FUND BANK LOAN BALANCE 1983-1984

• $1,600,000
• 1,400,000
• 1,200,000
• 1,000,000
• 800,000
• 600,000
• 400,000
• 200,000
• 0

(May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr)

Communities respond to 1983 'Bahá’í Fund Progress Survey'

Communities responding to the 1983 "Bahá’í Fund Progress Survey" were given an opportunity to comment on the services provided by the Office of the Treasurer. We would like to share a few of those comments—not only the positive ones, but also those that provide a measure of "constructive criticism."

—We feel that the material provided to the local Treasurers is excellent, always inspiring and informative. We just wish that the people who do not understand the institution of the Fund could be reached. The national Treasurer tries so hard to approach the matter of contributing in new ways constantly. We always are interested in the back page of the Treasurer's letter! ....

—The status of the Fund reflects the spiritual condition of the community, whether at the local or national level. However, the over-all national condition stems from whatever inspiration (spiritual impetus) is generated from National. If the Fund is not what it should be, it is because the flow of "spirit" is being impeded at the "fountain-head." The National needs to re-examine itself, both individually and collectively. There is no reason why the National Fund (goal) cannot be met and surpassed during any Bahá’í year....

—There must be a way to get at least 5,000 (members) of the U.S. Bahá’í community to contribute regularly. (After all, over 10,000 came to St. Louis for a conference some years ago.) The suggestion was made that you send out more envelopes for the Nineteen Day Feasts, but we don't know if this See SURVEY Page 27

Numbers looking better as 'VIE' campaign catches on

Contributions to the National Bahá’í Fund by District

'Starting Block' Info

District Name	Membership as of 12/9/83	Number of participants	Percentage of participation	Membership as of 2/22/84	Current Month Info (Mulk) Number of participants	Percentage of participation
Alabama S/Florida NW	349	10	3.0	350	14	4.0
Alabama N	307	21	6.8	311	22	7.1
Arizona N	941	51	5.4	936	45	4.8
Arizona S	410	21	5.1	410	23	5.6
Arkansas	476	24	5.0	477	25	5.2
California C No. 1	2,722	190	7.0	2,735	197	7.2
California C No. 2	445	40	9.0	452	48	10.6
California N No. 1	585	70	12.0	579	67	11.6
California N No. 2	389	41	10.5	395	46	11.6
California S No. I	2,709	180	6.6	2,709	178	6.6
California S No. 2	1,158	112	9.7	1,177	120	10.2
California S No. 3	441	42	9.5	439	48	10.9
California S No. 4	981	82	8.4	978	98	10.0
Colorado NE	483	61	12.6	475	59	12.4
Colorado SE	181	15	8.3	183	23	12.6
Colorado W	195	23	11.8	196	21	10.7
Connecticut	471	57	12.1	468	66	14.1
DelMar Va	292	15	5.1	291	19	6.5
Florida C	382	19	5.0	401	28	7.0

The Winners' Circle

Highest Percentage Participation

1. Iowa 2. Maine 3. Idaho, Southern 4. Minnesota, Northern 5. New Hampshire 6. Wisconsin N/Pen. Michigan 7. Wisconsin, Southern 8. Minnesota, Southern 9. Pennsylvania, Western 10. (tie) Tennessee, Eastern and Vermont 12. West Virginia 13. Nevada, Southern 14. Louisiana, Northern 15. Connecticut 16. Nebraska 17. Pennsylvania, Eastern 18. New Jersey 19. Washington, Southwest

Most Improved Participation

1. S. Carolina, Southern No. 1 2. West Virginia 3. Idaho, Southern 4. Navajo/Hopi 5. Maine 6. South Dakota 7. New Hampshire 8. Colorado, Southeastern 9. Oregon, Eastern 10. Florida, Southwestern 11. South Carolina, Central 12. Nevada, Southern 13. New Mexico, Northern 14. Florida, Central 15. S. Carolina, Eastern No. 2 16. Iowa 17. (tie) Alabama S/Florida NW and S. Carolina, Eastern No. 1 19. Oklahoma, Eastern [Page 6]

Homefront receives God's special blessing whenever pioneer arises to serve His Cause

As this is written the Fast is starting. By the time you read it, the Fast will be over and Riḍván will be almost here. We will soon be entering the new administrative year, and the beginning of the final two-year phase of the Seven Year Plan.

WE LOOK back over the last five years with awe, and our minds focus even more on the future, as we look forward to new goals for the expansion and consolidation of our beloved Faith. The need is great, the numbers still too few. What course of service will you choose for yourself during the next phase of the Plan? How will you decide? Will the homefront be the poorer for it if you opt for foreign pioneering?

"Every teaching victory in the Faith can be traced back in the beginning to a pioneer... And, it was Bahá’u’lláh, remember, Who raised the call to pioneering."

As we read these words of the Hand of the Cause of God William Sears, our direction becomes a little clearer.

"The expansion (of the Faith) does not come from people who are settled in one place," the Hand of the Cause ‘Ali-Muhammad Varqá tells us. "It is for this reason that Bahá’ís are asked to go all over the world."

AS SOME of these examples attest, the homefront is blessed when a pioneer arises:

In the last few days before Patricia and Douglas Reimold left their home to travel to their pioneer post in Truk, Caroline Islands, they told the International Goals Committee office that since they had made the decision to pioneer, three new people had become Bahá’ís in their town.

A fourth person, they said, is quite interested and will probably declare her belief in Bahá’u’lláh shortly. With the new Bahá’ís, the jeopardized Assembly was saved.

Members of the International Goals Committee staff at the Bahá’í National Center are (left to right) Nancy McKee, Paul Schweitz, Judy Courtwright, committee secretary Mary Louise Suhm, Dan Uhrik, and Tim Wilson.

As we listened to this exciting news, the words of the Hand of the Cause of God Rahmatu’lláh Muhájir echoed in our minds:

"We must know this one very essential point. The beloved Guardian says every pioneer who is going out of his community for pioneering is not only inspiring and useful to his future post but is also going to be a source of help and inspiration in his own community. The bounty of God will come to every community that is sending a pioneer."

CHARLENE Geller stopped by the International Goals Committee office with her son, Kyle, on her way to her post in Antigua. She told of the vast opportunities for teaching in her home town that had come in the wake of her decision to pioneer, especially when she left her job.

Her co-workers at a hospital hosted a going-away party for her. Many of them listened as Charlene, asked why she was leaving, described her plans to pioneer and was able to teach the Faith in a way that had not been open to her before.

"Arise with every power to assist the Covenant of God and serve in His vineyard. Be confident that a confirmation will be granted unto you... By God, verily the Lord of Hosts is your support, the angels of heaven your assistance... Be not idle, but active and fear not."

These words of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá were brought into sharp focus as two other prospective pioneers, Tom and Sharon Mann, told of their decision not to pioneer because their Assembly was jeopardized.

They changed their minds, however, because the pull to pioneer...

Is it Goals Committee—or Goals Connection?

IGC International Goals Committee or International Goals Connection?

Our office at the Bahá’í National Center is, of course, the office of the International Goals Committee.

THE secretary of the committee works here, as does the International Goals Committee staff. The committee meets and consults and does its share of planning, policy-making and supervising, as all good committees should, but often the office is more like a "connection."

We connect Bahá’ís to jobs. Where in the world do they need an agronomist? Where do they need an electrical engineer right out of school? Where do they need an accountant who speaks French?

We connect jobs to Bahá’ís. We hear from Bahá’ís out there in the world who know what they need, and one of our tasks is to find the kinds of people they are asking for.

Where in the American Bahá’í community are we going to find someone to retire to Easter Island? Where are we going to find a trained pathologist? Where are we going to find someone with experience running a lumber yard or a hardware store? Where are we going to find a basketball coach, or a really good secretary who has a degree and can teach secretarial skills?

We connect Bahá’ís to countries. Most important, we must send pioneers to goal countries given to us by the Universal House of Justice.

Where in the American Bahá’í community are we going to find a couple with the ways and means to live in Barbados? Where in this country is there a couple tough enough to be able to live in Truk, Caroline Islands?

These are some of the connections we have to make, that we have been making for 25 years, and that we need your help to make, even more so today and in the future.

Pioneers have to volunteer. We can't simply go around shanghaing likely looking Bahá’ís to pioneer.

You have to let us know you are out there. Call, write, stop in—anything to get our attention.

It is indeed frustrating to have job opportunities available in a goal country and not be able to make the connection with an American Bahá’í who is ready, willing and able to pioneer, to "scatter over the surface of the globe and hoist in its uttermost corners the triumphant banner of Bahá’u’lláh."

Please let us know who you are. As we said, we can't shanghai you. But speaking of Shanghai...

A heritage to be proud of

The International Goals Committee feels that the U.S. Bahá’í community has much to be proud of this Riḍván and would like to share these facts with you:

The U.S. has more than 1,450 pioneers in more than 152 countries and islands.

Pioneers from the U.S. will be helping in the formation of seven of the nine new National Spiritual Assemblies to be elected this Riḍván.

• More than 200 persons have left this country for pioneering posts since last Riḍván, some 45 of whom have filled goals assigned to the U.S.

Traveling teachers by the scores have canvassed the continents in their efforts to proclaim and teach the Faith.

U.S. pioneers and traveling teachers around the world include in their ranks Counsellors, members of National Spiritual Assemblies, Auxiliary Board members and assistants, and many more individuals in administration and/or teaching who are working ardently to bring about a new Day. Now, that is something about which we can all be proud!

Opportunities abound overseas for Bahá’í traveling teachers

As summer approaches, more and more of our friends in other national communities are advising us of ways we can help them in their efforts to carry forth the work of our beloved Cause.

Many of you take time in the summer to participate in projects of one kind or another throughout the world, and many more will be doing so for the first time this summer.

EACH of the opportunities listed here represents a wonderful chance to "travel... to the East and to the West of the world and summon the people to the Kingdom of God." (Tablets of the Divine Plan, p. 31)

Demand for Bahá’í youth is especially high this year; the projects in Europe, Liberia and India are all particularly designed for the youth, and we are looking forward to a great response from that segment of the American Bahá’í community.

None of the projects, however, is restricted to youth, and anyone who wants to serve the Faith by travel teaching should contact immediately the travel teaching desk at the International Goals Committee office.

Here are excerpts from letters and reports from traveling teachers in various parts of the world:

Ecuador: "Another event that stands out is a man paddling his canoe up river, off to his farm work. Many have passed loaded down with bananas or sugar cane or coconuts, but he is waving his arms and shouting so we slow down our outboard motor to hear him saying, 'Stop! Stop! I want to be a Bahá’í!'

Guyana: "Guyana is really hopping Bahá’í-wise. There've been over 1,000 new Bahá’ís since January, a great deal of deepening and consolidation work, so there has been much for me to do and especially to learn. It is a fabulous training ground."

As you can imagine, there are many such letters. In fact, it is exceedingly rare for a traveling teacher not to have significant experiences on a teaching trip.

We look forward to hearing that you want to incorporate such a trip into your summer plans this year. Please contact the International Goals Committee, Bahá’í National Center, Wilmette, IL 60091, or phone the committee at 312-869-9039.

Upcoming Traveling Teaching Opportunities

COUNTRY	ACTIVITY	BEGINNING DATE	ENDING DATE
Bahamas	Teaching Project	April 9	April 27
Belize	Teaching Project	Ongoing	Ongoing
Caribbean	Various Projects	Ongoing	Ongoing
Dominica	Summer School	August 26	September 1
Finland	Teaching Project	July 5	Indefinite
France	Teaching Project	July 5	Indefinite
Guyana	Teaching Project	Ongoing	Ongoing
India	Service Project	Summer	Summer
Italy	Teaching Project	July 5	Indefinite
Leeward Is.	Various Projects	Ongoing (not between 7/22-8/22)	Ongoing
Liberia	Service Project	Summer	Summer
The Netherlands	Teaching Project	July 5	Indefinite
Panama	Service Project	Ongoing	Ongoing
Spain	Teaching Project	July 5	Indefinite
St. Lucia	Summer School	August 18	August 26
Sweden	Summer School	July 7	July 14
Sweden	Teaching Project	July 5	Indefinite
Switzerland	Teaching Project	July 5	Ongoing
United Kingdom	Teaching Project	Indefinite	Indefinite

[Page 7]

Year of Youth opens broad new vistas to Faith

To the Bahá’í youth of the world

Dear Bahá’í Friends:

The designation of 1985 by the United Nations as International Youth Year opens new vistas for the activities in which the young members of our community are engaged. The hope of the United Nations in thus focusing on youth is to encourage their conscious participation in the affairs of the world through their involvement in international development and such other undertakings and relationships as may aid the realization of their aspirations for a world without war.

THESE EXPECTATIONS reinforce the immediate, vast opportunities begging our attention. To visualize, however imperfectly, the challenges that engage us now, we have only to reflect, in the light of our sacred Writings, upon the confluence of favorable circumstances brought about by the accelerated unfolding of the Divine Plan over nearly five decades, by the untold potencies of the spiritual drama being played out in Iran, and by the creative energy stimulated by awareness of the approaching end of the twentieth century. Undoubtedly, it is within your power to contribute significantly to shaping the societies of the coming century; youth can move the world.

How apt, indeed how exciting, that so portentous an occasion should be presented to you, the young, eager followers of the Blessed Beauty, to enlarge the scope of your endeavors in precisely that arena of action in which you strive so conscientiously to distinguish yourselves! For in the theme proposed by the United Nations—"Participation, Development, Peace"—can be perceived an affirmation that the goals pursued by you, as Bahá’ís, are at heart the very objects of the frenetic searchings of your despairing contemporaries.

You are already engaged in the thrust of the Seven Year Plan, which provides the framework for any further course of action you may now be moved by this new opportunity to adopt. International Youth Year will fall within the Plan’s next phase; thus the activities you will undertake, and for which you will wish to prepare even now, cannot but enhance your contributions to the vitality of that Plan, while at the same time aiding the proceedings for the Youth Year. Let there be no delay, then, in the vigor of your response.

A highlight of this period of the Seven Year Plan has been the phenomenal proclamation accorded the Faith in the wake of the unabating persecutions in Iran; a new interest in its Teachings has been aroused on a wide scale. Simultaneously, more and more people from all strata of society frantically seek their true identity, which is to say, although they would not so plainly admit it, the spiritual meaning of their lives; prominent among these seekers are the young. Not only does this knowledge open fruitful avenues for Bahá’í initiative, it also indicates to young Bahá’ís a particular responsibility so to teach the Cause and live the life as to give vivid expression to those virtues that would fulfill the spiritual yearning of their peers.

FOR THE SAKE of preserving such virtues much innocent blood has been shed in the past, and much, even today, is being sacrificed in Iran by young and old alike. Consider, for example, the instances in Shíráz last summer of the six young women, their ages ranging from 18 to 25 years, whose lives were snuffed out by the hangman’s noose. All faced attempted inducements to recant their Faith; all refused to deny their Beloved.

Look also at the accounts of the astounding fortitude shown over and over again by children and

An open letter to Bahá’í youth

Dear Bahá’í youth,

From time to time we receive a special inspiration—something that truly motivates us to change, to appraise ourselves or increase or alter our course of action.

These inspirations become milestones in our personal growth, and we can look back on these events and easily remember that unique feeling of spirit.

CAN YOU REMEMBER how you felt when you first learned of the youthful martyrs in Iran last summer? Can you recall the glow you felt as you stood in the presence of a Hand of the Cause of God?

Something quite important has recently come our way, something that is meant to inspire each of us.

The Universal House of Justice has addressed the youth of the world in a potent and exciting message. It is not addressed to a committee or a college club and is not only for the Spiritual Assembly’s agenda. It is directed to you. It deserves, nay demands, your personal attention and response.

This message, coming from the institution that serves as our infallible source of guidance, becomes much more than just a letter. It is a personal mandate for each youth. It is meant to speak to your soul.

This message must be studied, its phrases contemplated, its requests obeyed—and it is our individual response that is required.

Speaking of the individual believer, Shoghi Effendi writes (in Citadel of Faith, pp. 130-131):

"HE IT IS WHO constitutes the warp and woof on which the quality and pattern of the whole fabric must depend. He it is who acts as one of the countless links in the mighty chain that now girdles the globe. He it is who serves as one of the multitude of bricks which support the structure and insure the stability of the administrative edifice now being raised in every part of the world.

"Without his support, at once whole-hearted, continuous and generous, every measure adopted, and every plan formulated... is foredoomed to failure. The World Centre of the Faith itself is paralyzed if such a support on the part of the rank and file of the community is denied it."

Let each Bahá’í youth in this country dedicate himself to the personal challenges outlined in this glorious message. Let each youth consider prayerfully the part he has to play in meeting its stated objectives.

The Universal House of Justice says in this message that youth "can move the world." We pray that each youth will now arise to contribute his individual talents and resources toward that end. "Let there be no delay, then, in the vigor of your response."

With loving Bahá’í greetings,

Bahá’í National Youth Committee February 23, 1984

‘Standard’ a fine home study course

It’s never too late to subscribe to "The Standard," a new correspondence course for Bahá’í youth. It is a 12-part monthly study lesson that is designed for at-home study, or can be used in group study formats as well.

Subscribers may enroll by writing to the National Youth Committee office, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33315. The subscription fee is $5 per subscription and should be enclosed with your request.

The course title refers to the standard or flag that was raised above the believers by Mullá Husayn at the command of the Báb as they headed toward Fort Tabarsí and their heroic defense of that fortress. This was the "standard" that Muhammad spoke of that would symbolize the coming of the Promised One of all ages.

The course makes an excellent gift for new Bahá’ís, for junior youth, and interested seekers. Get on the registration rolls today, and help hoist "The Standard" in your community!

Regional Conference scheduled August 3-5 in Pennsylvania

Mark your calendar now and set aside the weekend of August 3-5 for the biggest and best regional Bahá’í Youth Conference ever.

The conference, whose theme is "Supporting an Ever-Advancing Faith," is to be held at Elizabethtown College in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania.

The price is right—only $50 per person for food, shelter, registration, and campus facilities (pool, tennis courts, etc.).

Maps of Elizabethtown’s location in Lancaster County and of the college will be provided to all registrants.

A separate program will be held for adults.

There is room for only 300 persons, and those who get their registration forms in early will be assured of accommodations.

If you would like conference information and/or registration forms sent to you, please send a stamped, self-addressed envelope to the District Youth Committee, c/o Michael Brehman, Elizabethtown, PA 17022.

Summer of ’84 overflows with programs, activities for youth, in U.S. and abroad

Summer is just around the corner, and now is the time for youth to begin making teaching and service plans for the school break.

The summer of ’84 promises to be rich in opportunities for Bahá’í youth, and a partial list of programs has been developed by the National Youth Committee.

IF YOU or your community have plans for special activities, please let the Youth Committee know the details as soon as possible so that adequate time can be allotted for publicity and recruiting.

Youth from the U.S. are being asked to join projects in several countries overseas. Among those receiving priority is a three-week border teaching campaign hosted by the National Spiritual Assembly of Switzerland. Youth who can speak German are especially urged to consider joining this project.

American youth also are being sought for rural development projects in Liberia and India, and for overseas campaigns in Spain, Finland and Sweden.

For details, please contact the International Goals Committee, Bahá’í National Center, Wilmette, IL 60091, or phone 312-869-9039.

On the homefront, a series of summer teaching projects is to be held in at least nine localities.

EARLY plans are now being completed for the following programs:

Central states—South Dakota Sioux Reservations; Northeastern states—Rochester, New York; Southern states—South Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Oklahoma; Western states—eastern Oregon, Southern California/Mexican border, West Texas/Mexican border.

Summer schools will be offering a specially designed youth curriculum this year (more details in future issues of The American Bahá’í) and youth are encouraged to attend one of the summer schools or a youth program at the Bosch, Louhelen or Green Acre schools.

Summer regional youth conferences include those in Central California (July 13-16, Concord) and Pennsylvania (August 3-5).

Topping off the busy summer is the International Youth Conference to be held August 24-28 at the University of Western Ontario in Canada.

Among the featured speakers will be the Hand of the Cause of God ‘Alí-Akbar Furútan.

Registration is limited to Bahá’ís ages 14-24, and early registration is a must as the conference attendance will be limited to 2,500.

Please send me information on the following summer programs:

International projects (specify the county you are most interested in) Domestic projects (specify which part of the country you can best serve in) Youth Conferences _Central California _Pennsylvania _Canada Summer programs for youth at _Bosch _Louhelen _Green Acre

Name Address City State Zip Phone

Mail to Bahá’í National Youth Committee, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33315 [Page 8]

Knowledge key to accepting other cultures

By DR. JULIE BADIEE

In His final speech in America (December 5, 1912), ‘Abdu’l-Bahá expressed the wish that "the East and West embrace each other in love and deal with one another in sympathy and affection."

These words have come true to an unprecedented degree as thousands of Iranian refugees have poured into the West and enriched the fabric of Bahá’í life.

WE CAN now begin to see the literal fulfillment of the unity of East and West prophesied so movingly by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.

For many people, both Iranian and American, this may be their first opportunity to experience daily community life with someone from another culture.

To develop to their fullest the bounties latent in such a relationship, a knowledge and understanding of the other person's culture can be quite helpful.

With that in mind, I would like to discuss some areas of Iranian culture and that of the West where possible misunderstandings might arise.

The goal of such a discussion is a knowledge and clarification of why people act the way they do.

It is my hope that such knowledge can help lead to a perfect union of the East and West and grow into a spiritual fellowship of even deeper dimensions.

The following are my own personal observations, based on 12 delightful years of contact with Persian Bahá’ís and some honest reappraisals of my own cultural background, knowing full well that neither the U.S. nor Iran is a homogeneous society and that such generalities can themselves lead to pitfalls and errors.

THE FIRST area is that of reverence. I know that many Iranians are deeply shocked by the irreverent attitude of some Americans toward prayer books, reproductions of the Greatest Name, and so forth, and by their behavior at Feast.

It is sometimes difficult for our Iranian brothers and sisters, who have been taught always to show the greatest reverence in their outward manner, to understand that a deep sense of respect may be present even when the actions they usually associate with it are not.

For example, when I visited the House of the Báb I observed that some of the believers prostrated themselves and kissed the stairs that led to the upper room. While I was unable to express my emotions in that way, my heart was full and my feelings just as deep.

I would ask the Iranian friends to be patient with the abrupt ways of the Bahá’ís in this country. Many of us were not brought up with a strong sense of reverence. That is something you can teach us.

The way in which we dress can also reflect differing attitudes about how we perceive ourselves.

ONE OF the delights of any Bahá’í gathering is the variety of personal styles present. If we expect Bahá’ís to dress only one way, then we are certainly nullifying the concept of unity in diversity.

Our guidelines should be cleanliness and modesty. We should also heed the words of Bahá’u’lláh in regard to dress:

"... beware, O people, not to make yourselves as playthings to the ignorant." (Bahá’í World Faith, p. 193)

In the matter of dress the Eastern and Western worlds can differ considerably. Iranians come from a more formal culture with a great difference between the "inside" world (home and family) and the "outside" world of the street or public gatherings.

In the cities of Iran one nearly always dresses up to go outside the home. Care about appearance shows respect for the people one is to meet.

IN THE security of the home, however, dress is often casual. Iranian families, for example, often change into comfortable pajamas once they are at home, and even keep extra pairs on hand so that friends or family members who come to visit can change into them and feel comfortable too.

In the West there is no such sharp distinction between inside and outside dress.

Our deliberately casual clothes have a message too. We do not wear them to offend, but rather to proclaim the belief that the interior of a person is far more important than his exterior trappings.

Much of this is rooted in the cultural revolution of the 1960s when there was a rejection of materialistic values. Thus, ripped jeans and an old shirt were meant to proclaim a kind of solidarity with the poor people of the world.

So perhaps in our clothing we give each other misunderstood messages. The American who means to be casual and non-materialistic bewilders and even offends those who do not understand what he or she is trying to say, while the Iranian who means to show respect with formal attire ends up intimidating others.

IN THE same vein, ostentatious displays of wealth can actually frighten off more people than they attract or impress.

Conspicuous consumption can be especially demoralizing when all of us are aware of the suffering in Iran and the needs of the Bahá’í Funds. As in all things, moderation is the key to the Bahá’í way of life.

Attitudes toward the family and the individual's role within it also differ in the East and the West.

For Iranians, the family is the nucleus of society, the haven from the outside world. Because families are so closely interwoven, there is often a freedom to interfere in the lives of other members which can be surprising to many Westerners. This can range from critical personal comments to even attempting to find marriage partners.

When such behavior is extended to members of the greater Bahá’í family, this Persian way of showing love and caring can clash with the more Western sense of the individual's right to make his or her own decisions.

ON THE other side of the coin, many Iranians observe the high divorce rate in the West, families whose members barely know one another, and the loneliness that may arise from excessive individualism.

They are shocked by the moral laxity of the non-Bahá’í society that surrounds them. They fear for what may happen to their children here in the West.

In addition, many Iranians are amazed at the freedom and independence that Westerners give their children, and they often perceive that such actions indicate a lack of strong family ties.

These are, in part, some of the different attitudes about family relationships and the duties that we as family members have toward each other. We must be careful not to impose our cultural values and expectations on others.

Another area where misunderstandings can arise is in the preparation and presentation of food.

IN GENERAL, Iranians place great importance on hospitality and traditions that are linked to age-old customs. It is surprising to them when they visit the home of someone in the West and are not...

Trust won't process orders April 23-28

Due to the demands of the large bookstore being planned for the National Convention, the Bahá’í Publishing Trust will not process any orders from April 23-28.

The Publishing Trust will be open during that week, and orders will be accepted. Plan ahead now if you anticipate special needs for that one-week period.

Youth Energizing Service

On Friday, January 20, nine young members of the Bahá’í 'Youth Energizing Service' helped serve a free dinner to immigrants and refugees at an elementary school in Concord, California.

The dinner was sponsored by the non-profit 'Center for New Americans' with money from a federal grant. The director of the Center is a Bahá’í, Mrs. Guity Kiani, who is also the mother of two of the youth who helped with the dinner.

Bahá’ís help remodel home for family whose teen son has rare bone disease

Danny Jensen (left), a member of the Bahá’í community of Tulare, California, presents a check on behalf of the Spiritual Assembly of Tulare to Peter Carey, superintendent of a volunteer construction project in which four members of the Tulare Bahá’í community participated in January. The Bahá’ís joined staff members of Self-Help Enterprises to remodel a rental home owned by a family whose teen-age son suffers from a rare congenital disease that causes the bones in his extremities to disintegrate. The Bahá’ís then made a contribution to help defray the cost of materials and labor.

On Saturday, January 27, four members of the Bahá’í community of Tulare, California, helped remodel a rental home owned by a family in Farmersville whose teen-age son is suffering from a rare disease that causes the bones in his extremities to disintegrate.

The house furnishes a small income for the parents of 16-year-old Ronnie Barnes whose medical expenses have been enormous.

Without the remodeling effort by the Bahá’ís and nearly 40 staff members of Self-Help Enterprises, an organization designed to help lower income people meet their housing needs, the Barnes' house would have been condemned.

Besides helping with remodeling, the Bahá’ís of Tulare contributed $100 to help defray the cost of building materials and labor.

Information needed on Assembly elections

To report the status of the goals of the Seven Year Plan to the delegates at the Bahá’í National Convention, the National Teaching Committee needs to know how many Local Spiritual Assemblies were formed at Ridván. To obtain this information, a telephone poll is conducted on the day after the elections.

Immediately after your Assembly has formed and elected a permanent or temporary secretary, phone the contact person for your district and let him know of the formation, then complete the Local Spiritual Assembly Report Form and send it (yellow copy only) to the National Teaching Committee, Bahá’í National Center, Wilmette, IL 60091.

If questions arise concerning your election, please call the National Teaching Committee, 312-869-9039. [Page 9]

EDUCATION

•Assembly Development Program Bahá’í Schools Brilliant Star (Child's Way) Magazine Local Education Adviser Program Personal Transformation Program

From across the country, friends heap praise on newly remodeled Brilliant Star magazine

Have you heard about Brilliant Star? It seems that everyone is talking about the content, the covers, the changes.

Sheryl McDonell of Illinois writes:

"As a relatively new Bahá’í, I've only read a few issues but am thoroughly impressed and pleased with the beauty, love, care and harmony of the material.

"The recent issue (November-December 1983) on peace is truly superlative-from the beautiful article on peace leaders of our time to Janet Bixby's loving story and Jeanne Marks' superb peace song (suitable for adults, as well!)."

Each issue of Brilliant Star reflects the diversity and principles of our beloved Faith. From California, Greg Dahl shared his thoughts:

"I feel moved to write you and express my admiration for the high quality of your magazine.

"The story 'The Patient Princess' is particularly outstanding. Many a world leader could benefit from reading your children's fable.

"One of the main thrusts of the 'Bahá’í' approach to economic development problems, as we are now beginning to understand and elaborate it, is that there must be an important element of participation and initiative from the bottom up, and not just assistance and direction from the leaders down."

The editorial board of Brilliant Star welcomes "participation and initiative from the bottom up." Written materials, children's work, poetry, etc. can be sent to the address given below.

Brilliant Star travels all over the world. From Canada, the Gervais family writes:

"This is a letter to thank you and congratulate you on your Brilliant Star magazine. My children and I look forward to receiving it and literally devour it from cover to cover!

"We use many of the stories and articles in our Bahá’í classes on Sundays. The illustrations are lovely, the layout and format clear and conducive to easy and interesting reading.

"I'm always proud to be a Bahá’í after reading the latest issue of Brilliant Star. Thank you for your labor of love!"

Find out what you've been missing! And then let us know what you think.

The subscription price for Brilliant Star is $9 (U.S.) for one year, $17 (U.S.) for two years. The subscription address is Brilliant Star, Suburban Office Park, 5010 Austin Road, Hixson, TN 37343.

Back issues also are available: Child's Way, $1.50 per issue; Brilliant Star, $2 per issue.

Share the feeling of others: "I only wish Brilliant Star came more often-we like it so much!"

New feature has FUN as its goal

The National Education Committee is pleased to introduce a new monthly feature in The American Bahá’í. This feature will suggest Family Unity Night (FUN) activities for family members to do together.

It is suggested that one night a week (preferably the same night) be set aside for a simple format of family fun. The format consists of prayer, a lesson, a game activity, and refreshments.

Themes for each week's FUN program will be based on the Bahá’í calendar. The purpose of Family Unity Nights is to promote in Bahá’í families a tradition of regular family-centered activities.

So look for Family Unity Night activities in next month's issue of The American Bahá’í-and have some FUN!

Plans proceeding well for 1st national Bahá’í Child Education Conference

Plans are under way by the National Education Committee to hold the first national Bahá’í Child Education Conference over the Memorial Day weekend, May 26-27, in Wilmette, Illinois.

ATTENDANCE at the conference is limited to 300 with registrations accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. They should be sent to the National Education Committee office before May 1.

The conference will open at 8:30 a.m. Saturday and continue through Sunday evening.

It is recommended that travelers arrive Friday night and return home on Monday so they can participate in the complete conference agenda.

Conference costs are: Dorm (shared room), $12.50 per night per person; meals, $4 per meal (three meals on Saturday and Sunday, breakfast on Monday); registration fee, $7, for a total cost of $72.50.

There is a $6 rental fee for a blanket, or you may bring your own.

Pre-registration for the conference is required. There is no provision for child care.

Those who are interested in attending should return the completed registration form with a $7 registration fee to the National Education Committee, Bahá’í National Center, Wilmette, IL 60091. Checks should be made payable to "Bahá’í Services Fund."

BAHÁ’Í CHILD EDUCATION CONFERENCE

Registration Form (Please print)

Name Address (Please check, if applicable) I am a Local Education Adviser I am a Local District Coordinator Please include $7 registration fee Send to National Education Committee Bahá’í National Center, Wilmette, IL 60091

Jobs at Green Acre offer chance to improve one's skills

Many of the summer jobs at the Green Acre Bahá’í School offer opportunities for adults or college students to use or improve job skills they presently have or are developing while spending the summer at the oldest Bahá’í school in the country.

For instance, the innkeeper supervises four departments and a staff of 15, which calls for a variety of management skills.

First and second cooks not only cook, they also order and receive materials, plan menus, and supervise kitchen staff.

The youth program and children's program need to be staffed by a team of people to coordinate a well-planned program of classes and activities.

For each of these positions, room and board plus a small salary is provided.

For more information, please contact the Green Acre Bahá’í School, P.O. Box 17, Eliot, ME 03903, or phone 207-439-0019.

Shown are all but two of the participants in Personal Transformation Program sessions held last September 30-December 4 in Bellaire, Texas. The course facilitators were Ladjamaya Green (second row center) and Dorothea Lacy (front row right).

Bahá’í Parent Program has new topic, 'TV in the Home'

Bahá’í parent groups participating in the Bahá’í Parent Program can now order a new program topic, "TV in the Home."

The materials are designed to help parents in their efforts to be properly vigilant about the effects of television on their children, and to make informed choices about the use of TV.

The materials cost $4 and can be obtained by writing the National Education Committee office, Bahá’í National Center, Wilmette, IL 60091.

The Bahá’í Parent Program is a practical one, allowing parents the opportunity to come together and share common experiences and concerns in a supportive setting. The program format is designed for group study, and includes a "Coordinator's Guide" for organizing and conducting parent meetings. Topics addressed in the program include:

Attracting Your Child to Spiritual Ideals Communication and Consultation in the Home • Discipline Prayer, Meditation, and Deepening in the Home al Levels Developmental Levels ⚫ Nutrition Literature in the Home mob

The complete Bahá’í Parent Program costs $20. Checks (for the complete program or single topic, "TV in the Home") should be made payable to "Bahá’í Services Fund."

Planning a vacation? Don't forget Bahá’í Summer Schools. The programs are now being finalized; watch for details in the May issue of The American Bahá’í.

child's way yes I want Brilliant Star Alliant Star to please enter my subscription for one year $9.00 (six issues) two years $17.00 foreign, surface, one year $11.00 foreign, surface, two years $21.00 foreign, air, one year $15.00 foreign, air, two years $28.00 Please enclose payment in US dollars

name street O city state & zip Tel. No.

age of recipient, send to: Brilliant Star Subscriber Service Suburban Office Park 5010 Austin Rd. Hixson, Tn. 37343

Be like the fountain- empty yourself, and be refilled

National Bahá’í Fund Wilmette, IL 60091 Enclosed is my gift of $ to the Brilliant Star Endowment Fund, established in honor of the Bahá’í children of Iran, for the purpose of developing materials for children. I understand that my gift will become part of a perpetual fund whose earnings will support this purpose o [Page 10]

Homefront pioneer responses

Good news! Below are only some of the many inspiring responses the National Teaching Committee has received regarding homefront pioneers.

Elsewhere in this issue are responses from Groups and jeopardized Assemblies that still need pioneers. Please consider what you can do at this time to help save an Assembly or form a large Group in your district.

For information, please write to the National Teaching Committee, Bahá’í National Center, Wilmette, IL 60091, or phone 312-869-9039.

Dear homefront pioneer coordinator,

Your letter arrived here the day we moved into the house, our first piece of mail, a welcome to us as a homefront pioneer.

We framed that letter, as we feel it is such a positive beginning. Sunday, we observed World Religion Day. We had six seekers, one newly enrolled Bahá’í, and seven Bahá’ís from Fort Bend County.

The Bahá’ís in the county have taken Richmond and Rosenburg as their extension goals, and are really giving me support. Two of the friends came early Sunday and we went to visit the mass-taught Bahá’ís in the area and one seeker.

One of those we visited is a young woman with five small children, no heat, no running water until a few days ago, who simply needs a friend.

I brought her a box of clothes for the children, and blankets. We said prayers, and the children are very excited about going to the Ayyám-i-Há party next month.

I think of the stories of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá going each day in ‘Akká and Haifa to visit the poor, and since He is our example, this is the method I plan to pursue.

I have also joined the historical society and Arts Council to try and meet other people. I auditioned for the local community theatre, and they gave me the lead in their production!

We also are having weekly firesides, with the help of Fort Bend County, as I am inviting different friends to speak.

We are hoping to make these weekly firesides into something real nice.

So, that’s what we’re doing here!

Carolyn Duell Richmond, Texas

The Spiritual Assembly of Columbia is delighted to report that two homefront pioneers—Peter Snyder and Willa Snyder—will soon arise and move to Booneville, Missouri.

Teaching, Youth Committees call for 19 projects

The National Teaching Committee and National Youth Committee are calling for 19 teaching projects during the final two-year phase of the Seven Year Plan.

A part of the over-all plan will be to hold teaching projects in various parts of the country. Some sites have already been identified and will be announced at the National Convention.

IF YOUR district or Assembly wishes to host a teaching or consolidation project, call or write the National Teaching Committee so you can be included in the announcements.

Several successful teaching projects were held this year, most notably the Amoz Gibson Project in which three new Assemblies were formed on Indian Reservations; another in Ensenada, Mexico, where 72 people were enrolled in the Faith; and the annual West Texas/Southern New Mexico project.

The National Teaching Committee offers the following guidelines for teaching projects, and encourages every district to consider a teaching or consolidation project.

General guidelines for a mass teaching project

1. Set a specific goal, such as the enrollment of a certain number of people or the raising of certain Groups to Assembly status. Be specific about what you want to accomplish.

2. Set a date for the beginning and end of the project. It should not go on indefinitely. It may last one or two months and have certain milestones so that progress can be evaluated. Do not exhaust the local believers with a project that doesn’t end.

3. Those who teach must assume responsibility for consolidation. The teachers must become friends with those they enroll. The process of enrollment must be handled in a way that does not leave the sponsoring Assembly or District Teaching Committee overburdened with signed enrollment cards.

4. The teaching project should be held where administration is fairly well-developed and where it will be easier to consolidate. It should be supported by the local believers and should be a cause of unity.

5. The project should attempt to reach all strata of society. There should be plans to reach the rich, the poor, university students, the middle class, business and professional people, and minorities.

6. Use all methods of teaching: firesides every night; direct teaching; lectures on contemporary issues; public meetings and media coverage; and other means.

7. Make it possible for everyone to participate in the teaching project; everyone can do something, and all tasks are important. There are no teachers to whom we must look on how to do direct teaching—every Bahá’í is a teacher of the Faith. However, some individuals possess a knack for a particular method of teaching, and we can learn from them.

8. For consolidation, plan on bringing deepening materials to the newly enrolled believers. Don’t expect them to come to established meetings at first. It is often best to plan the consolidation first. For example, how many new believers will the project create? Who will visit them? What materials are available to help in deepening them? Next, consider the methods you will use to attract new believers, and the kinds of proclamation coverage you will need to enhance your project.

9. Identify those new believers who have a marked ability and nurture them quickly. The consolidation process often takes more time and patience than the community plans for, and yet it is the quality of the consolidation work that will help make a decisive difference in the newly enrolled believers’ participation in an active support of the Faith.

General guidelines for a consolidation project in mass-taught areas

Many areas that have previously had mass teaching projects have numbers of believers who do not actively participate in Bahá’í activities. In these areas it may be better to have a “mass consolidation” project rather than a teaching project. Proper consolidation efforts will bring the bonus of additional enrollments.

1. Set a specific goal such as consolidation in two towns where mass teaching has taken place, or helping a non-functioning Assembly to begin to function.

2. Order appropriate membership lists from the National Teaching Committee so that you will know who is a registered Bahá’í in that locality.

3. Divide the locality into areas that will be visited by teams of two or three individuals. Each team should have a list of people to visit. Their primary goal is to verify addresses and become friends with those they meet. Take the time to visit.

4. During the first meeting with mass-taught believers, team members should talk only about one or two topics or principles, such as, for example, prayer and the oneness of mankind.

5. Bring a gift for the family, such as a photograph of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, the “Greatest Name,” or a picture of the House of Worship. Also, bring a gift for the children, for example, a copy of Brilliant Star magazine. Talk about the importance of the family and family life.

6. Invite the believers and their families to an evening meeting (potluck, banquet, party). The tone of the meeting should be light. Its purpose is for the Bahá’í to meet his fellow local Bahá’ís and the projecteers. No speaker is necessary, but as the believers congregate it is beneficial for the projecteers to sit with them, visit and discuss the Faith. Have lots of music at this meeting!

7. Set another date to visit the Bahá’ís. On that visit, discuss the Faith more in depth. You may wish to invite them to a second meeting, this time with a speaker. At this meeting, serve refreshments.

Notes from the National Center

The articles you read in the April issue of The American Bahá’í, including this one, must be written in March. Our deadline for this issue came in the middle of the Fast.

Our lunchtimes at the National Center are now used in very creative ways. Some staff members play Scrabble, others catch up on their reading, shopping, or letters to all of you at home. Many of us take lunchtime trips to the House of Worship. It’s relaxing to watch the gardens come out from under the snow and to check out what’s new at the bookstore.

Our most urgent mission, of course, is that special extra time to pray at the Mother Temple of the West. We pray for you, the members of the American Bahá’í community, who are “the scattering angels of the Almighty,” who “shall scatter abroad the fragrance of the words uttered by His mouth,” and “shall cause the heart of every righteous man to throb.”

Your commitment of the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh, the firesides you give, the projects in which you participate, your contributions to the Fund, to those many potlucks, to the children’s classes, all of these things help the Faith move ever forward.

There were 216 new believers enrolled during February. You taught and nurtured these souls, and we will continue to pray every day during this special time of the year for your continued success.

State	Adult	Youth	Total
Alabama	0	0	0
Arizona	2	0	2
Arkansas	2	0	2
California	1	13	14
Colorado	13	6	19
Connecticut	2	1	3
Delaware	2	0	2
Florida	6	1	7
Georgia	7	0	7
Idaho	0	0	0
Illinois	8	1	9
Indiana	0	1	1
Iowa	3	0	3
Kansas	2	1	3
Kentucky	0	0	0
Louisiana	1	0	1
Maine	0	0	0
Maryland	3	0	3
Massachusetts	5	1	6
Michigan	2	0	2
Minnesota	1	0	1
Mississippi	0	0	0
Missouri	2	1	3
Montana	1	0	1
Nebraska	0	0	0
Nevada	1	1	2
New Hampshire	0	0	0
New Jersey	3	1	4
New Mexico	1	4	5
New York	5	0	5
North Carolina	2	0	2
North Dakota	0	0	0
Ohio	3	1	4
Oklahoma	3	0	3
Oregon	13	4	17
Pennsylvania	2	1	3
Rhode Island	0	0	0
South Carolina	34	7	41
South Dakota	1	0	1
Tennessee	1	1	2
Texas	18	4	22
Utah	2	0	2
Vermont	0	0	0
Virginia	3	0	3
Washington	5	2	7
West Virginia	0	0	0
Wisconsin	3	4	7
Wyoming	0	0	0
Washington, D.C.	0	0	0
TOTAL	168	48	216

[Page 11]

TEACHING THROUGH FRIENDSHIP TEAMS

Count one Friendship Team for Idaho, writes Wanda Schnider of Troy.

Ms. Schnider and Dian Bixler are having a women's afternoon study group, with the public invited. They also travel to towns in their Assembly goal area to offer prayers.

Praying, studying, teaching, traveling, and making friends are what Friendship Teams are all about.

Our count at the National Teaching Committee as of March 7 is 417 Friendship Teams in 239 cities and towns in 45 states.

We know there are more of you out there, and that you are actively teaching the Cause. The National Teaching Committee would like to know about your Friendship Team. Give us a call, drop us a card or letter, or send us a picture of your team.

Homefront

Continued From Page 10

They are packing, and should arrive at their post in about a week.

Please let us know of further action we should take. Of course, we will continue to encourage the friends to consider homefront pioneering.

Kathryn Hodges, secretary Spiritual Assembly of Columbia, Missouri

Commentary

Finding and nurturing a receptive soul

Preparing to teach

Perhaps the best way to prepare to teach is to pray to be led to a receptive soul. Bahá’u’lláh is preparing everyone to recognize Him. When we pray to be led to a receptive soul we will be led to a receptive soul.

Finding receptive souls

There are many ways to find receptive souls. The first thing to do is evaluate the level of understanding and responsiveness in everyone you meet. Don't judge; measure. Is he or she interested in religion? Not interested in religion? You must be responsive to the person. Encourage his interest by being interested in him. Remember that facts alone do not necessarily attract. People remember a "good" feeling. Smile. Encourage conversation.

Encouraging a person to continue investigating the Faith

It is important to make the investigation of the Bahá’í Faith a time of spiritual growth for the individual. Shower love, understanding and kindness on the seeker.

You might also try to understand the sequence of events that brought the person to study the Faith. Is he encouraged by friends? Has he been reading Bahá’í books? Was he attracted through advertisements? This will often give you a key as to how to pursue a conversation and to present teachings to which he can relate.

It is important that we don't "drown" a seeker with too many ideas or teachings at once. Tie the teachings together; one should lead smoothly to another. Speak from the heart as well as from the mind. Most people are starving for spiritual nourishment, which is simply showering love and kindness upon the seeker.

Helping someone to understand more about the Bahá’í Faith

The first thing one must do is treat the seeker with respect. People have a need to be treated with respect. Always give a person credit for what he knows and what he has discovered in his search for spiritual truth.

It is important that a person understand how the Faith will affect his life and how he can affect the Faith. Discuss teachings and ideas that are close to his heart.

Environment is also important. Create a mood of mutual respect. Make certain that your guest is comfortable. Always be friendly, never judgmental. Be informal when appropriate, and encourage friendship.

Bringing a seeker to the point of enrolling in the Faith

The first thing you might want to do is help the seeker develop empathy for the Faith. This can be done through the use of stories, and especially by being sensitive to the other person's spiritual needs. You begin to fill those needs when you explain those Teachings that are most directly related to his needs.

It is also helpful to be "person"-oriented, not "problem"- or "education"-oriented. Relate to the individual. Love the person. Demonstrate love through careful listening and patient understanding. Talk about solutions, not problems.

People become Bahá’ís through personal relationships. Continue personal relationships. Always be a friend.

Assure your friend that a door is always open for him to further investigate the Bahá’í Faith.

Letter

Dear Friends,

My husband and I are homefront pioneers in Los Alamitos, California. We chose Los Alamitos because there were already six adult Bahá’ís living here.

I am happy to report that we are now eight active adults and are hoping to reach Assembly status soon.

Please include us on your list of large Groups as a goal community.

This is a great place to live—lots of jobs, fantastic schools, five to 10 minutes from the beach, and 25 minutes from downtown Los Angeles. There are single-family homes and townhouses for sale. There are also lots of rentals (even for families with children).

As there has never been an Assembly here, we don't even have to wait until Ridván to form!

Pamela and Cyrus Sorooshian Los Alamitos, California

Outlook

Continued From Page 1

firesides and encourage enrollments.

OFFICES and committees at the National Center, says Mr. Wilson, also have added their support:

The Persian Affairs Committee continues to encourage Persian believers to move to goal areas. Updated homefront pioneer goals are announced at all conferences for Persian believers.

The National Education Committee has asked Local Education Adviser Program coordinators and Personal Transformation Program facilitators to emphasize teaching. Mr. Wilson was interviewed for The Facilitator, a newsletter of the National Education Committee.

The Office of the Treasurer worked with the National Teaching Committee to produce the recent WLGI Feast tapes.

The International Goals Committee has placed articles in The American Bahá’í about teaching on the homefront. Returning pioneers from overseas are being encouraged to settle in homefront goal areas.

Meanwhile, the National Teaching Committee has identified those districts that have the greatest potential for Assembly formations and enrollments, and is calling and/or personally visiting those districts.

A concentrated and cooperative effort is under way, says Mr. Wilson, to win the goals given to us by the Universal House of Justice.

Victories, he adds, are anticipated at Ridván.

News and Announcements

BAHÁ’Í FAITH Moeen Kiami, who is presently the only Bahá’í in Berwick, Pennsylvania, rented a house in the city's downtown area, and, after obtaining the proper permission, hung out a sign that reads "Bahá’í Faith Information Center" and gives the hours that the Center is open. With that sort of drive and initiative, it's a good bet that Moeen Kiami won't be the only Bahá’í in Berwick much longer!

WEST St. Paul, Minnesota, a city of more than 18,500 that houses printing, manufacturing and die cut industries, needs one more Bahá’í to form an Assembly. Many hospitals, hotels, a zoo, art center, museums, colleges and other attractions are associated with a metro area of about two million. For more information, contact the National Teaching Committee.

COMPUTER programmers please note: Job opening in Pierre, South Dakota. Live in a lovely nearby goal area along the river. For more information, phone the National Teaching Committee, 312-869-9039, ext. 235.

LEHIGH University, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, is looking for minority faculty members in its business school and has possible openings in other departments. Help save this Assembly, which was formed last Ridván. Bethlehem, a lovely, historic town surrounded by hills and farmland in the Lehigh Valley, where five universities and several large industries make their home, is only two hours from Philadelphia or New York City. Please contact the National Teaching Committee.

JOB OPENING for experienced film stripper is available in Elk Grove Village, Illinois, which is near a jeopardized Assembly. For information, contact the National Teaching Committee, 312-869-9039, ext. 235.

HELP restore Assemblies in Tennessee: Longtown, Arlington, Greater Somerville. For information on housing, employment etc., contact the National Teaching Committee.

NORTH Dakota needs you! Bismarck, Fort Yates, the Sioux Reservation, Fort Berthold Reservation, Devils Lake Sioux Reservation all need homefront pioneers. YOUTH are especially needed.

New two-year teaching plan readied

The National Teaching Committee plans to announce at the National Convention an exciting two-year teaching plan for the U.S. Bahá’í community.

The plan will include ways of achieving a significant increase in teaching activities and enrollments. It will also contain a number of teaching projects, teaching plans for Local Assemblies and District Teaching Committees, as well as plans for nurturing new believers, reinforcing local teaching activities, integrating a teaching element in all service projects, increasing the number of functioning Assemblies, raising the level of teaching among all Assemblies, vastly increasing the number of youth enrollments, and intensifying teaching activities among significant minority groups.

Details of the plan will be made available at the National Convention. [Page 12]‘When the racial elements of the American nation unite in actual fellowship and accord, the lights of the oneness of humanity will shine...’ (‘Abdu’l-Bahá, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 54)

Springfield to host Race Amity Conference

About 500 Bahá’ís and their guests are expected May 26-27 in Springfield, Massachusetts, for a Race Amity Conference hosted by the Bahá’í community of Springfield.

The conference, whose main purpose is to explore and discuss the historical, sociological and psychological aspects of race relations, will provide an opportunity for Bahá’ís in the Northeast to meet in fellowship and a means of proclaiming the Faith through media attention the conference is expected to attract.

Springfield is the site of the second Race Amity Conference sponsored by the Bahá’ís of the U.S., which was organized by Roy Williams and three Bahá’ís from Springfield and held in 1921.

That conference was attended by more than 1,000 people including the mayor of Springfield and other prominent citizens.

The present conference will be held at the Springfield Marriott Hotel.

Special room rates for attendees are $53 per room for up to four people.

The conference fee of $15 for adults, $5 for children covers materials and two coffee breaks. Non-Bahá’ís may attend free of charge.

Since the conference will be limited to 500 participants, anyone who wishes to attend should register as soon as possible. Room registration forms should be forwarded directly to the Marriott Hotel.

Panel discussions and workshops Saturday, May 26, will be followed that evening by a gala jubilee to include Bahá’í and non-Bahá’í singers, musicians, dancers and other entertainers.

The conference will end by noon Sunday.

One unique aspect of the conference is that children 12 years old or younger will attend a separate children’s conference that will have its own agenda and activities.

According to Barbara Hacker, the children’s conference coordinator, “The children will be asked to consider the same kinds of issues that the adults will be discussing on a level that is appropriate to them.”

Ms. Hacker plans a number of activities including audio-visual displays, games, and various group and individual projects. There will also be “learning centers,” allowing children to choose their own activities.

“My hope,” she says, “is that the children will be busy and interested throughout the entire time.”

Committee compiling resource directory

The national Race Unity Committee is compiling a resource directory of Bahá’ís who can serve as speakers, workshop leaders, teachers, entertainers, etc., for occasions specifically related to race relations.

We are constantly being asked to make referrals to Bahá’í communities who are seeking talented individuals and/or groups to participate in conferences, panel discussions, workshops and social/cultural programs.

Therefore, we would like to become more helpful to the friends by matching the needs of our community with people who can make themselves available to serve.

The need is great! So please don’t hesitate to respond to our request due to a lack of financial resources. In many instances, one’s travel, housing and meal expenses can be met. Our immediate concern is to expand our awareness of potential resource people to be used by our communities.

The Race Unity Committee strongly encourages a response from black, Asian, Hispanic, Native American and Persian believers. We know that maximum participation by members of the various ethnic and cultural populations will greatly enhance our efforts to eradicate prejudice and promote the central theme of our Faith—the spiritual oneness of humanity—and hail the principle of unity in diversity.

We are providing a brief form on which you can make your response. We request that you fill out and return the form as soon as you can to the address given at the bottom. Thank you for your cooperation in our mutual effort to serve the Faith.

National Race Unity Committee

Resource Person Form

Name Address City State Zip Telephone: Home Work Occupation (describe) Educational background: HS College Grad/Prof Other training (describe) Areas of specialization (state) What are your individual interests, talents and expertise? How can your talents or expertise be used to help solve “the most challenging issue” (elimination of prejudice)? Can you travel? If so, how far and by what means of transportation? How long have you been a Bahá’í? Years Months

Please mail completed form to: National Race Unity Committee c/o Washington Bahá’í Center 5713 16th St., N.W. Washington, D.C. 20011

God’s Great Plan reprinted by Trust

The National Teaching Committee is pleased to remind the friends that the splendid teaching book, God’s Great Plan, is back in print.

This book, which is quite useful for teaching in rural and inner city areas and as a deepening book for mass-taught Bahá’ís, has a new cover that illustrates the principle of progressive revelation. The price is $2, and it can be ordered from the Bahá’í Publishing Trust.

RACE AMITY CONFERENCE

Marriott Hotel—Springfield, Massachusetts May 26-27, 1984

Conference Registration (for hotel accommodations mail hotel registration form directly to the Marriott Hotel)

Name Address City State Zip Phone (). Non-Bahá’í guests Name Racial/cultural group. Children (12 and under) Sex: M F

Please enclose the following conference fees: Adults, $15 each Number of adults Total Children, $5 each Number of children Total Total registration enclosed

Mail to BAHÁ’Í RACE AMITY CONFERENCE c/o Linda Meccouri 19 Malibu Drive Springfield, MA 01128

NEW 6,000 sq. ft. GRAND BALLROOM

BAHÁ’Í RACE AMITY CONFERENCE SPRINGFIELD, MA - 1984 MAY 25-27, 1984

Please reserve room(s) for person(s) NAME ADDRESS CITY STATE ZIP CODE ORGANIZATION/FIRM Will arrive on (day) (date) Will depart on (day) (date)

Reservations will be held until 6 p.m. (Springfield Time). A deposit of one night’s rate is required for arrivals after 6 P.M. Persons Sharing Accommodations.

SINGLE $53.00 DOUBLE $53.00

Reservations must be received prior to: 5/4/84 Check out time 1:00 P.M. Check in time - 3:00 P.M. Rollaway beds $8.00 (cribs free).

To guarantee your reservation for arrival after 6:00 P.M. a deposit of one night’s rate is required or complete the following: Credit Card Expiration Date Credit Card Number Card Holder’s Name

Springfield Marriott at Baystate West MARRIOTT HOTEL AT INTERSTATE 91 SPRINGFIELD CENTER, SPRINGFIELD, MASS. 01115 TELEPHONE 413-781-7111

Located in the heart of Springfield’s business and social community, along the banks of the Connecticut River. Nearby attractions include the Springfield Civic Center, Basketball Hall of Fame, Springfield Museum of Fine Arts, Springfield Symphony Orchestra, Eastern States Exposition, Riverside Park, 800 acre Forest Park (including lakes, picnic area, nature trails, gardens and sports).

265 deluxe guest rooms and suites—2 restaurants and lounges complete recreation facility to include indoor/outdoor pool, saunas, whirlpool, exercise rooms and men’s and women’s locker rooms. A complete shopping mall is connected to the hotel. Sightseeing, bus service from Bradley International Airport and enclosed parking are available. [Page 13]

Mrs. Mayberry recalls life as Counsellor at World Centre

Seated at her desk at work, Florence Mayberry could look out of the large glass windows on one side of her office and follow the Stairway of the Kings on Mount Carmel upward to the golden-domed Shrine of the Báb.

SHE HAD the bounty of this remarkable view for most of her 10 years at the World Centre in Haifa, where she served as a Counsellor assigned to the International Teaching Centre.

Mrs. Mayberry, who returned to the U.S. with her husband last July, shared in a recent interview some of her impressions of life at the World Centre of the Faith.

The office in which she spent most of her working days in Haifa is in a large building, a former Arab home that has been owned by the Bahá’ís for many years.

Before moving there, she recalls, she’d had a smaller office that had previously served as living quarters for a couple working at the World Centre.

From her desk in that first tiny office, which was on a renovated back porch, Mrs. Mayberry remembers looking out toward ‘Akká and the Mansion of Bahjí. “On a clear day,” she says, “I could see Lebanon.”

IN 1973, the year of its establishment by the Universal House of Justice, Mrs. Mayberry was one of three Counsellors appointed to serve at the International Teaching Centre.

When the Guardian appointed the first Auxiliary Boards in 1954, she had been named as one of nine Board members assigned to the western hemisphere, and later she had served as a member of the Continental Board of Counsellors for North America.

One of her most vivid impressions of life at the World Centre is the sense of “family” among those who work there.

“When I think of the Bahá’ís who are working at the World Centre,” she says, “I still think of them as my family, as I did when I was there.

“We were very sensitive to each other’s needs,” she recalls. “If one individual in this rather large group became ill, everyone was concerned. We were involved in what were, in a sense, family activities... Bahá’í activities.”

THE OBSERVANCE of Bahá’í Holy Days at the World Centre struck Mrs. Mayberry with a new significance.

“It came forcibly to my attention,” she says, “that they were really Holy Days! We didn’t go away on trips, we stayed for the commemoration of the Holy Days.”

She remembers clearly the first time she attended a commemoration of the Ascension of Bahá’u’lláh:

“We gathered at Bahjí at 11 p.m. and took turns going into the room where Bahá’u’lláh had passed away. We prayed there, and then we went out into the gardens where chairs had been set up for a program of readings.

“The shimmer of lights coming through the trees, the feeling of great reverence, the readings with the Mansion of Bahjí in the distance—it seemed as though we all were there on the night that Bahá’u’lláh passed away.

“IT WAS a poetic, mystic, and quite beautiful feeling.”

Whenever Mrs. Mayberry had the privilege of meeting with the Universal House of Justice, she says, she was impressed with the majesty of the Supreme Body.

“The emotion I felt when meeting with them was similar to the emotion I had felt years before, in 1957, when I met the Guardian,” she recalls.

“It was a strange kind of awe—an awe so intermingled with feelings of love that it became for me an almost entirely new kind of emotion.”

She remembers feeling at such times that the Universal House of Justice is guided as an infallible body, as the Guardian, Shoghi Effendi, was guided as an infallible instrument.

“I felt that power, that majesty, and that infallibility.”

And yet, she says, after leaving the room in which she had met with the House of Justice, “all of its members became individuals, friends of mine. I had known most of them for years on a first name basis.

“There is such a naturalness about them, no bombastic attitude whatsoever. One felt so warm and comfortable and was impressed by the simplicity and directness of these nine men.”

Mrs. Mayberry says the same feelings were present a year ago when she had her last meeting with the Supreme Body before leaving the World Centre.

MRS. FLORENCE MAYBERRY She and her husband, David, are now living in Hayden Lake, Idaho.—David E. Ogron

Pioneering

was too strong. The day after they reversed their decision, their community received a phone call informing them that three adult Bahá’ís were going to move to their town by Ridván.

This means there were two to replace the Manns and another to make the ninth so that an Assembly could be formed.

Such stories are numerous, and the confirmations clear. If you are among the few who can leave this country to pioneer, don’t be shy. Call or write the International Goals Committee.

Teaching ads

needed and are encouraged to inquire about the tuition-low schools compared to other states. Residency can be granted after six months. For details, contact the National Teaching Committee.

ONLY TWO homefront pioneers are needed to save this Assembly in the lovely Pioneer Valley of Massachusetts between Amherst and Springfield and near five major colleges. Many human service facilities are a source of potential employment. For details, please call the National Teaching Committee.

H.F.P. please call home! Have you recently arrived at a homefront pioneer post? Remember, you can't be counted if we do not have notice of your arrival. Send your new address, Bahá’í I.D. number, phone number, and previous Bahá’í community to the National Teaching Committee. Thank you.

NEED a homefront pioneer? Help us send one to your locality. Keep us informed about jobs, schools, rooms for rent, homes to share, and a general description of your community. These are most helpful in matching pioneers to posts. Please phone or write the National Teaching Committee. Thank you.

IMMEDIATE responses needed! Position for a social worker is available in the Ramah-Navajo community. A wonderful opportunity to serve Bahá’u’lláh, help form an Assembly, be a homefront pioneer, secure a job, and live in lovely New Mexico. Work with another Bahá’í, become the eighth member of the Ramah Chapter Bahá’í Group. Need not be bi-lingual. Phone the homefront pioneer coordinator at 312-869-9039, ext. 235.

TEACHING position is available in the goal locality of Florence, Alabama, in the Kilby Laboratory School the University of Northern Alabama. M.A. plus five years teaching experience required. Contact the National Teaching Committee immediately at 312-869-9039, ext. 235.

SPANISH-speaking or bi-lingual homefront pioneers are needed on any of three Indian Reservations: Toppenish, Wapato, and Yakima, all in Washington state. Please contact the National Teaching Committee, 312-869-9039.

POSSIBLE employment opportunities in North Carolina. If you can pioneer to this beautiful state, please call the National Teaching Committee, 312-869-9039. Your resumé will be reviewed for a job-bank file search that could yield concrete leads.

DO YOU work in an employment agency or related field? Consider helping in a referral network with other Bahá’ís in the U.S. Please write to the National Teaching Committee, Bahá’í National Center, Wilmette, IL 60091, or phone 312-869-9039.

“PLEASE send someone soon!” writes the jeopardized Assembly in Jacksonville Beach, Florida, a small community outside Jacksonville, near many hospitals, an insurance company headquarters, and the University of North Florida. Will provide temporary housing for prospective homefront pioneers.

ELECTRICAL engineers: Come help the goal community of Norwich, Vermont. A growing wind energy firm needs two electrical engineers with power generation and transmission and electromechanical/electronics backgrounds. Phone immediately, 312-869-9039, and ask for the homefront pioneer coordinator.

WANTED: A temporary homefront pioneer for a pilot project in a difficult goal area in eastern Oregon. Will be a full-time teacher/consolidator for at least three months. Minimum subsistence allowance to be provided by the District Teaching Committee. Must be single, deepened, audacious teacher. Please send resumé with references to the Eastern Oregon District Teaching Committee, Temporary Pioneer Project, c/o Wei Veach, Bend, OR 97701.

“the harder the sacrifice, the more meritorious will it be...” National Bahá’í Fund Wilmette, IL 60091

Guidelines

8. If a registered believer insists that he or she is not a member of the Faith, was never a member, and is not interested in learning more, report this to the Assembly or District Teaching Committee sponsoring the project so that his or her name can be removed from the rolls.

9. While visiting the registered Bahá’ís, you may find yourself teaching; relatives and neighbors may be interested and may even enroll in the Faith.

10. A successful project will have put the membership list in order; given everyone a sense of Bahá’í identity; identified those believers with marked ability; helped the Local Assembly to meet and perhaps elect officers; introduced the local believers to the District Teaching Committee members who will continue working with them when the project has been completed.

11. This project should also have appropriate media coverage and presentation to local officials.

12th Conference of Light scheduled in Harrisburg

The Spiritual Assembly of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, is sponsoring the 12th annual Conference of Nur (Light) June 15-17 at Elizabethtown College.

This year’s conference theme is “The Jewel of Bahá’u’lláh’s Revelation: The Kitáb-i-fqán (Book of Certitude).”

Speakers and their topics:

• Auxiliary Board member Mrs. Javidukht Khadem, “The Historical Background and Setting.”
• Auxiliary Board member Robert Harris, “The Goal of the Kitáb-i-fqán.”
• Auxiliary Board member George Mark, “The Essence of the Kitáb-i-fqán.”
• Dr. Hooshmand Taraz, “The Nature and Why of Persecution.”
• Mrs. Khadem, “The Reality of the Báb.”

There will be classes for children (ages 4-10), pre-youth, youth, and nursery care.

Entertainment will be provided by mimes Bill and Bridget George of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania; the musical group “Joia” (Paul and Sandy Huening) of Pottstown; and Suzette Aleci of Lancaster.

Accommodations include two nights lodging in a modern college dorm (Friday and Saturday), five meals (three on Saturday, two on Sunday), a swimming pool, and other recreational facilities.

The cost is $42 for adults, $21 for children ages 3-8. There is no charge for children under 3.

The registration deadline (required by the college) is May 25.

For more information, write to the Spiritual Assembly of Harrisburg, P.O. Box 3108, Harrisburg, PA 17105, or phone 717-232-9163. [Page 14]

WLGI seeking quality radio scripts, spot announcements

Now that the $1 million goal to build and operate WLGI Radio has been won and the station is soon to be on the air, the search is under way for suitable program materials with which to fill the station's air time.

WHILE most of WLGI's broadcast day will consist of music and brief announcements, the real "meat" of its programming will come in the form of pre-packaged program series and spot announcements ranging in length from 30 seconds to 30 minutes.

All of these pre-produced materials (except for local interview programs) require scripts. Such writing can be done anywhere by anyone with the ability.

All require one or more announcers, and all require some production (that is, mixing, taping, and sometimes editing.

Typed scripts for series or spot announcements are welcomed from those believers who wish to write but have no facilities for producing.

Some of WLGI's programs require some knowledge of the immediate region and are best prepared by local people. But most can be written and (if possible) announced and produced by the friends wherever they may live.

IN EITHER case, it is important to remember that all program materials must respect and be sensitive to local culture and customs.

Programmers must strive for professional standards throughout. Programs should be polished but not "slick." Sincerity, directness, simplicity, skillful variety, and clever repetition are highly desirable.

Programs should have a unity of theme, an effective opening and closing, a strong beginning, variety, good pacing, an effective use of climax, and a definite conclusion.

Observe simplicity in vocabulary and construction (an exception would be the use of quotations from the Writings).

Speak to the listener with no trace of condescension; be conversational and friendly. Emphasize the positive, avoiding negativity and criticism.

Observe good radio writing technique. The listener has only one chance to get the message; he should not have to use a great deal of effort to listen, and cannot ask questions to clarify what he has heard.

Any quotations from the Writings should be double-checked for accuracy and correct attribution.

A "15-minute program" should be 14 minutes long; likewise, a half-hour program should be 29 minutes long.

Tapes must be two-track stereo (preferably) or mono, on 1.5 mil or 1.0 mil, professional quality tape, recorded on one side only, at 7.5 ips (inches per second).

Following are some examples of programs needed by WLGI Radio that can be written and/or produced by interested Bahá’ís in South Carolina or throughout the U.S.:

Spot announcements

Theme: "What Is the Bahá’í Faith?" Direct proclamation of the Faith in 30- and 60-second versions including music.

Theme: "The Oneness of God and Religion." Indirect proclamation of the Faith by presenting the concept of progressive revelation in 30- and 60-second versions including music.

Spot announcements should come in series of five, 10 or more spots employing a similar style and approach with variations in the script (copy) of each.

Short feature series (three to five minutes each)

"God's Revelation Through the Ages." Stories of the biblical and Bahá’í Manifestations of God and their divine missions, designed to foster inter-faith appreciation and respect and to teach the concept of progressive revelation.

"From the Rose Garden." Reflections on some aspect of everyday life as seen from the (indirect) viewpoint of Bahá’í sentiment.

"A Moment of Reflection." Morning and evening devotions in the form of prayers and selections from Bahá’í (and other) sacred writings with a short introductory explanation and theme music.

"Our Family." Features on enhancing the joys of family life, effective strategies for raising children, and coping with family stresses, all from a religious perspective.

"What's Cookin'?" Materials that can be used in a program where listeners swap recipes and the host or hostess explains how to get better value for your food dollar and improve family nutrition.

"Farmers' Exchange." As above, materials would be "dropped into" this program of agricultural news, announcements and tips, with input from extension agents and others and emphasis on the small farmer.

Bahá’í-inspired songs. Professionally produced musical compositions of two to four minutes that can be introduced on the air on WLGI.

Longer programs (15 to 30 minutes each)

"God's Life-Giving Word." A "radio reader" offering serialized presentations of the Bahá’í Writings from the volumes of Bahá’u’lláh, the Báb, and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. The program has a standard introduction and closing and cites passages read but offers no commentary. (15 minutes)

"Flowers of the Garden." A series for children featuring songs, prayers, quizzes, riddles, readings and instructional projects. (30 minutes)

"The Quest for Peace." A series explaining the basic principles of the Bahá’í Faith and how they will help lead mankind to peace and unity. (15 minutes)

Please send submissions to the program director, WLGI Radio, c/o the Louis G. Gregory Bahá’í Institute, Route 2, Box 71, Hemingway, SC 29554.

Bahá’í named 1984 Humanitarian of Year

Guity Kiani, a Bahá’í from Concord, California, is one of 10 recipients of the 1984 Humanitarian of the Year award given annually by the Contra Costa County board of supervisors

The award, named in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., was given to Mrs. Kiani for her service to refugees from overseas.

Mrs. Kiani is director of the non-profit Center for New Americans in Concord.

Bahá’í Writings

A synopsis and codification of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas

Of all His Writings, Bahá’u’lláh refers to the Kitáb-i-Aqdas as the "mightiest stronghold" and the "highest means for the maintenance of order in the world and the security of its peoples."

With the new year already upon us and the National Convention fast approaching, should we not take time to peruse the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh that are most central to our beliefs?

REVEALED in ‘Akká in 1873, the Kitáb-i-Aqdas is Bahá’u’lláh's book of laws and ordinances for the duration of the Bahá’í Dispensation.

Although the entire Kitáb-i-Aqdas has not yet been translated, many of its passages were translated by Shoghi Effendi and can be found in A Synopsis and Codification of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas: The Most Holy Book of Bahá’u’lláh.

The synopsis and codification also provides, in outline form, a glimpse into Bahá’u’lláh's incontestable teachings on the Covenant, prayer, fasting, marriage and divorce, and His many other laws, ordinances, and exhortations. Notes and references explain several of the laws in greater detail.

Shoghi Effendi called the Kitáb-i-Aqdas "unique and incomparable among the world's sacred scriptures," for it sets forth the foundation for a new world civilization.

Now is the time to take firm hold of Bahá’u’lláh's "mightiest stronghold," whether for the first time or as a reminder of what it means to be a Bahá’í.

Hardcover Catalog No. 103-020 $2.50.

Can you identify anyone in this picture?

The National Bahá’í Archives would like to identify the girls in this picture and also determine its location and date. Anyone having information about it is asked to contact the National Bahá’í Archives, Bahá’í National Center, Wilmette, IL 60091.

Archival materials have many enemies that can increase wear, cause damage

There are a number of enemies of paper, such as mold, acid, air pollution, insects and rodents, that can damage archival materials.

ANOTHER leading cause of damage to paper documents is careless or ignorant handling by people, including the use of adhesive tape to repair tears, which will stain documents, and pasting documents into scrapbooks. The acidic impurities in the pages of most scrapbooks will cause the documents to become brittle and discolored.

To repair damaged archival materials in its collections and prevent further deterioration, the National Bahá’í Archives has begun a restoration program, using the services of a professional paper conservator.

The treatment of damaged archival materials is expensive and time-consuming, costing between $100 and $200 per document, but is necessary if important and priceless documents are to be preserved for future generations of Bahá’ís.

At present, the conservator has been treating three scrapbooks containing 47 original Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and 28 letters from Shoghi Effendi by removing and de-acidifying the documents at a cost of $8,770.

The National Bahá’í Archives expects that its restoration program will continue indefinitely as more documents needing treatment are found among its manuscript collections.

Former staff members invited to luncheon

All former staff of the Bahá’í National Center who will be attending the 75th Bahá’í National Convention are warmly invited to attend a luncheon at the Convention site, the McCormick Inn. RSVP before April 20 to the Personnel Office, 312-869-9039. Call collect if necessary.

Archives seeks Tablets to friends from Master

The National Bahá’í Archives is seeking to locate, at the request of the Universal House of Justice, original Tablets from ‘Abdu’l-Bahá to the following early Bahá’ís: Miss Elizabeth Ambrose, Mrs. Liby Biedler, Miss E.T. Dreyton, James B. Estey, Mrs. Louise Gibbons, and E. Maria Hay. Anyone who has information concerning the whereabouts of these or any other original Tablets is asked to contact the National Bahá’í Archives, Bahá’í National Center, Wilmette, IL 60091. [Page 15]

Trail of Light’s S. Dakota pace rapid, exciting

By REGINA ANCHONDO Part Five

The arrival of the Trail of Light team in Rapid City, South Dakota, was probably the most exciting and hectic of all.

As we got off the plane we were met not only by Bahá’ís, but by a television reporter/cameraman as well.

HE interviewed Counsellor Lauretta King and filmed the team members, and our photographer, Charles Nolley, gave him a copy of the video tape we’d shot in Arizona to incorporate into his coverage.

Afterward, there was time for an hour-long nap (we had been up since 5 a.m.) at the home of our hosts, then we were off to Bear Butte, a mountain sacred to the Sioux, for more filming and some meditation.

We met two young men who had become Bahá’ís during the Amoz Gibson Project earlier in the summer, and began climbing the mountain.

It was windy and cold, but exhilarating. The South Americans felt very much at home and at peace among the mountains.

A fast dinner back in Rapid City was followed by a presentation to which several non-Bahá’í Indians came.

We turned in early, as we had to arise at 5 a.m. the next morning to make it to the Pine Ridge Reservation for a 9:30 presentation at one of the schools there, to be followed by two more.

AFTER lunch with the students we went out to meet with Frank Fool’s Crow, a chief and important spiritual leader of the Sioux who had recently become a Bahá’í.

One of the younger Indian Bahá’ís translated from English to Lakota and back while Ann Jorgensen and I took turns with the Spanish-English translations.

Mr. Fool’s Crow gave each of the South Americans an eagle feather, a rare occurrence. We visited with him until it was time to leave for another dinner and presentation, which was followed by a radio interview in another town.

During the day our presence became known to the administrators of the community college who invited us to spend our two nights in Kyle in the college’s guest apartments. This was a wonderful arrangement.

The next day they gave us a tour of some of their facilities, then treated us to lunch in the school cafeteria.

OUR second day in Kyle began with a "free" morning, so we slept late and had a leisurely breakfast.

Afterward, we got out the tape recorder and began playing some of the tapes the Pueblo Indians had given to the South Americans.

There was one in particular, the Eagle Dance, that Egon Nieto and I had liked, and we spent some time trying to reconstruct it.

Then Sabino Ortega decided to try and teach us a Bolivian dance that we could use later at some of the presentations.

Sabino’s dance was a circle dance, and while we were doing it a couple of our friends came in from outside to say that three eagles were circling the building as we danced. This is considered a good sign by the Native Americans.

In the afternoon we were able to visit a Native American art exhibit at a mission on Pine Ridge, and also the tribal offices where we were introduced to each employee and invited them to attend the evening program.

ONE OF the fondest memories of our visit to Pine Ridge is the warm hospitality shown us by the native believers and the homefront pioneers.

Edwin Roberts, who took over as "wagonmaster" when we left Ernie Bruss in Albuquerque, took us to the Badlands and to see bison, as close to them as one can get.

We drove practically on top of them, and as we watched the bull bison watching us, our vehicle felt smaller and smaller and flimsier and flimsier... Our pride was salvaged when the bison decided to take off before we did.

Ed also took the South Americans up to Eagle’s Nest Butte, another special mountain, so that they could retire from the hustle and bustle and have some time alone to meditate.

Late in the evening of our third day on Pine Ridge, we left for Pierre, where we would spend one more day, do an evening presentation, and then move on to the Standing Rock Reservation, which straddles North and South Dakota.

THE PEOPLE of Little Eagle on the Standing Rock Reservation went all out to welcome the Trail of Light.

There were opening ceremonies, speeches, dinner, the Trail of Light presentation, a pipe ceremony, and the first really significant exchange of dances.

Here the South Americans learned the "Sneak-Up Dance," which requires that the dancer pay close attention to the drum beat in order to stop dancing on the same beat that the drum stops.

Egon later impressed the Nez Perce in Idaho with his ability and precision in this dance.

It was a marathon evening and a wonderful one, thanks to the organization and participation of the Native American Bahá’ís of the Reservation and the District Teaching Committee of North Dakota.

The next day we were off to Fort Yates, North Dakota, where there was to be a presentation at the community college.

BEFORE we left Little Eagle, however, the South Americans learned about and participated in the sweat lodge, led by a Sioux Bahá’í.

While the men were thus engaged, Ann and I sat in the kitchen with our friend’s wife, a Pascua Yaqui from Arizona, and coincidentally, the granddaughter of the spiritual leader of that tribe whom we had met in Tucson.

By this time Counsellor King had left to return to Alaska and travel with the other Trail of Light team for a while—she would meet us later in Neah Bay, Washington. As she left, Ernie Bruss arrived from New Mexico to replace her.

The ride to Fort Yates, although short, was eventful. I drove the car of a local Bahá’í who had two small children with her, while everyone else traveled in a van.

About halfway to Fort Yates the van suddenly pulled over to the side of the road, turned around, and headed back toward Little Eagle.

We couldn't figure out what the problem was, and continued on to our destination.

WHEN they caught up to us in town, we learned that they had stopped to pick up a porcupine that we had seen lying by the side of the road. It had been killed, and they intended to pull out its quills to make earring and other jewelry. They spent the afternoon doing this.

In Fort Yates we had the opportunity to accept the hospitality of the Indian Health Service as well as the local Bahá’ís.

Ann, Egon, Clemente Pimantel and I were all "under the weather" during our short stay there. All except Ann ended up at the clinic the morning after we arrived.

Initially, I went to the clinic as a translator, but it was soon apparent that God in His mercy had put me in the right place at the target time. I managed somehow to do the job, and was then left to endure the remainder of my 24-hour flu.

The doctors were kind, prescribing and giving us medicine free of charge, and arranging for further medical care for Clemente at the health center on the Nez Perce Reservation.

Later that afternoon we left for Bismarck for a restful dinner with the Bahá’ís in that area, and went to bed early to prepare for our departure the next morning for Idaho and the Nez Perce Reservation.

Next: Idaho and Washington state.

Exemplifying unity in diversity

The 'Rainbow Jammers,' a volleyball team composed mainly of staff members at the Bahá’í National Center in Wilmette, competes each week in a city recreation league in nearby Evanston, Illinois. All but one of the dozen team members work at the National Center, representing almost all of the committees and offices.

Team members are (standing left to right) Joel Williford (player-coach), Robert Ferguson, Janet Murphy, James Mock, Douglas Samimi-Moore, Janice Lever, Gordon Coates, and (kneeling left to right) Candace Moore, Leanne Jackson, Dell Campbell, Roya Anvar.

Salt Lake City Bahá’í tireless worker for worthwhile causes

Alice Fumiyo Kasai, a Bahá’í who lives in Salt Lake City, Utah, needs no words of encouragement from the institutions of the Faith to become involved in community affairs.

Since she became a Bahá’í in 1943, Mrs. Kasai has been known as a community leader whose work on behalf of many worthy causes has led to a number of awards, the most recent of which are the State of Utah’s 1983 "International Understanding" certificate for her work with student exchange programs, and a "Resolution of Appreciation" presented in July 1983 by the Salt Lake City Sister Cities program.

Also last year, Mrs. Kasai received the Mt. Olympus JACL’s "Humanitarian Award," and in 1982 was honored as recipient of Salt Lake City’s first "Intercultural Understanding" award.

Mrs. Kasai, a native of Seattle, Washington, who is the mother of six children and grandmother of nine, is employed as a resource aide by the Utah State Department of Social Services.

Among her many other activities: Coordinator of the Japanese American Citizens League, adviser to the Asian Association of Utah, member of the Salt Lake "Sister Cities" committee, advisory board chairman of the Salt Lake County Aging Services, advisor to the Multi-Ethnic Senior Citizens Highrise, board member of the Utah branch of the United Nations Association, board member of the Minority Co-op, member of the board of "Intercultural Understanding".

As a result of her many activities, Mrs. Kasai finds many opportunities to teach the Faith.

MRS. ALICE FUMIYO KASAI

Bahá’í float a winner in 2 California parades

A float sponsored by the Bahá’í Regional Public Affairs Council in Southern California has won first prize in the San Bernardino Black History parade and placed second in the Riverside Black History parade.

The design and basic construction of the float, which is made of nine panels that assemble into a small, lightweight pick-up, making it easy to transport, was done by John and Esther Stevenson of Mira Loma.

Bahá’í communities in Riverside and San Bernardino counties already have signed up to use the float in other parades throughout the coming year. [Page 16]

MEMBERSHIP & RECORDS

Please tell us where you want your Assembly mail to go and what the Assembly’s current address is.

Remember that all Assembly mail will be sent in care of the secretary unless you request that Fund receipts be sent directly to the treasurer.

Election forms which have been sent to existing Assemblies will have the Assembly’s address label already attached over the upper right-hand box where the locality name, Bahá’í locality code and district are requested.

If this is not the case with your Assembly, please be sure to provide your locality name, Bahá’í locality code and district in this box.

Your Bahá’í locality code can be found on your membership printout or your mailing label on the Assembly’s copy of The American Bahá’í.

LOCAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY FORMATION REPORT FORM SIDE A

Please type or print

ASSEMBLY MAIL Send all mail for Secretary to: [ ] Assembly address given below (Post Office Box, Bahá’í Center, etc.) [ ] Secretary’s home address Send mail for Treasurer to: [ ] Assembly address given below (Post Office Box, Bahá’í Center, etc.) [ ] Treasurer’s home address Assembly’s Address (if different than Secretary’s home address) _____________________________________________________ Street, Rural Route or Post Office Box Number _____________________________________________________ City, State, Zip Code

Locality Name _______________________________________ Bahá’í Locality Code ________________________________ District ____________________________________________ *The Community’s Bahá’í Locality Code can be found on any computer printed Assembly mailing label.

Please fill in all information requested for officers of your Assembly including name, Bahá’í identification number, current address and telephone numbers.

If you are not able to elect officers right away, please appoint a temporary correspondent and list that person’s name, address, Bahá’í identification number and telephone number in the box for corresponding secretary. When you elect officers at a later date, report them on the Local Spiritual Assembly Officer and Address Change form.

CHAIRMAN Name ______________________________ ID No.* ________ Address ___________________________________________ City/State ___________________________ Zip _________ Home Phone (____) _______ Work Phone (____) _______ VICE-CHAIRMAN Name ______________________________ ID No.* ________ Address ___________________________________________ City/State ___________________________ Zip _________ Home Phone (____) _______ Work Phone (____) _______ CORRESPONDING SECRETARY Name ______________________________ ID No.* ________ Address ___________________________________________ City/State ___________________________ Zip _________ Home Phone (____) _______ Work Phone (____) _______ TREASURER Name ______________________________ ID No.* ________ Address ___________________________________________ City/State ___________________________ Zip _________ Home Phone (____) _______ Work Phone (____) _______ OTHER OFFICER (IF ANY) Office Held: ____________ Name ______________________________ ID No.* ________ Address ___________________________________________ City/State ___________________________ Zip _________ Home Phone (____) _______ Work Phone (____) _______ * Individual ID Numbers are on the membership list, the membership card, and The American Bahá’í address label. SEND YELLOW COPY IMMEDIATELY TO: BAHÁ’Í NATIONAL CENTER, WILMETTE, ILLINOIS 60091 KEEP BLUE COPY FOR YOUR RECORDS

COMPLETE THIS SECTION IF ‎YOUR YOU‎ ARE REPORTING AN ASSEMBLY ELECTION Name ID Votes Received                                                       COMPLETE BOTH SIDES OF THIS FORM In this box, please list all nine names and Bahá’í identification numbers of Assembly members, and the number of votes each member received. You need not fill in this section if you are forming by joint declaration. The secretary of the Assembly, or the person assigned to help in its formation, should complete this box certifying that he or she has verified the membership of each Assembly member. Please be sure to print your name, as well as sign it, and to provide us with your telephone numbers. I certify, on behalf of the Local Spiritual Assembly, that all nine members of the Assembly are Bahá’ís in good standing and that they are registered by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States as members of the American ‎Bahai Bahá’í‎ community. Signature __________________________________________ Print Name _________________________________________ Home Phone (____) _______ Work Phone (____) _______

Remember to send the yellow copy to the National Center and keep the blue copy for your files.

You can look for identification numbers on your community membership printout, the person’s Bahá’í membership card, or a person’s address label from The American Bahá’í. [Page 17]

MEMBERSHIP & RECORDS

April 1984

Here are samples of both sides of the Riḍván election form for this year. We have highlighted each section with a short explanation to help you with questions you may have about the form. In addition, please note the following:

1. Remember to complete both sides of the form and to include all requested information.

2. If you are not able to find an identification number or some other piece of information, please attach an explanation to the form, such as, “new believer, doesn’t have ID card yet.”

3. If your Assembly does not receive election materials in time for Riḍván, you may request extra forms and instructions from your District Teaching Committee or the National Spiritual Assembly, or you may cut these forms out of The American Bahá’í and use them.

4. Please review the forms before sending them in to be sure you’ve included as much information as possible and an explanation for anything you have had to omit. Remember that we are receiving and recording information from more than 1,700 Assemblies, and sometimes inadvertent mistakes and incomplete or incorrect information on an election form will cause delays in getting your Assembly’s information properly recorded.

If you are forming by election, please complete the top section of side B.

If you are forming by joint declaration, please complete the bottom section of side B.

You can look for identification numbers on your community membership printout, a person’s Bahá’í membership card, or a person’s address label from The American Bahá’í.

SIDE B
COMPLETE THIS SECTION IF YOU ARE REPORTING AN ASSEMBLY ELECTION
An election meeting was held on ____________________________________________________, 19_____, at __________ a.m./p.m.
The following should be reported to the community after the ballots are counted:
T E L L E R S R E P O R T	Number Voting in Person . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ____________________ Number Voting by Absentee Ballot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . + ____________________ Total Number of Ballots Cast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . = ____________________ Number of Invalid Ballots, If Any . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . – ____________________ Total Number of Valid Ballots Cast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . = ____________________ Number of Believers Not Voting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . + ____________________ Total Number of Adult Believers in Locality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . = ____________________
TELLERS: (There must be more than one) HAS THE COMMUNITY ACCEPTED THE TELLERS’ REPORT? Name (Please print) Phone No. __________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________ Signature of Chief Teller Name (Please print) Phone No. __________________________________________________________________ Name (Please print) Phone No. __________________________________________________________________
COMPLETE THIS SECTION IF YOU ARE REPORTING A JOINT DECLARATION
An election meeting was held on ____________________________________________________, 19_____, at __________ a.m./p.m.
J O I N T D E C L A R A T I O N	ID Number* Name Signature ____________________ ________________________________________ ________________________________________ ____________________ ________________________________________ ________________________________________ ____________________ ________________________________________ ________________________________________ ____________________ ________________________________________ ________________________________________ ____________________ ________________________________________ ________________________________________ ____________________ ________________________________________ ________________________________________ ____________________ ________________________________________ ________________________________________ ____________________ ________________________________________ ________________________________________ ____________________ ________________________________________ ________________________________________
*The Community’s Bahá’í Locality Code can be found on any computer printed Assembly mailing label. Individual ID Numbers are on the membership list, the membership card, and The American Bahá’í address label. PLEASE REPORT ELECTION OF OFFICERS ON REVERSE SIDE OF THIS FORM

[Page 18]

CLASSIFIEDS

Classified notices in The American Bahá’í are published free of charge as a service to the Bahá’í community. Notices are limited to items relating to the Faith; no personal 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 WORLD Centre has an immediate and urgent need to fill a number of trade positions such as cabinet maker, roofer, plumber and painter. Solid training and several years experience preferred. Come and help with expansion and maintenance of the administrative center for the World Order of Bahá’u’lláh. For applications or further information, please contact the Personnel Office, Bahá’í National Center, Wilmette, IL 60091, or phone 312-869-9039.

THE NATIONAL Youth Committee is compiling a reference file of study guides and class outlines on various topics. The file will be made available to communities and individuals who plan to conduct deepening programs for youth or young adults. Please send study class materials that might be suitable for our file to the National Youth Committee, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33315.

CARIBBEAN Island chain needs an ophthalmologist or optometrist, a dentist, and a general practitioner. The dentist would be sharing a practice on the islands. The doctor would also need to be willing to travel regularly to the other islands. Information about these jobs will be given to those Bahá’ís whose applications for pioneering have been accepted by the International Goals Committee. Applications may be obtained by writing to the committee at the Bahá’í National Center, Wilmette, IL 60091, or by phoning 312-869-9039.

OKLAHOMA is OK, and so is Weatherford. We have eight adult Bahá’ís along with youth and small children. Available housing, a university, hospitals and employment opportunities. Come and help us form our Assembly! Phone 405-772-8307.

FILMSTRIPS or slides are needed to be used at firesides or other Bahá’í events. If you have a Bahá’í filmstrip or slides that you would be willing to part with, we would like to buy them. Please send a brief description of the subject, physical condition, and asking price to Adib Tashakkor, Decatur, IL 62521.

PHOTOS of Bahá’í youth are needed for the 1985 Hawaii Bahá’í calendar which is now in its development stages. Youth is the theme for the calendar whose proposed title is "Youth Can Move the World." Needed are 35mm color slides of tight groupings (smaller groups preferred); radiant faces; photos of Bahá’í youth teaching, pioneering, deepening, attending conferences, etc. Duplicate slides or prints of slides can be sent, but if the photo is selected for use, the original slide will be needed. Please send photos to the National Youth Committee, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33315.

APPLICATIONS are being accepted for the position of caretaker at the Pueblo, Colorado, Bahá’í Center. Pueblo, in southeastern Colorado, boasts clean air, proximity to mountains, and plenty of water to keep your grass green. The caretaker has a small downstairs apartment at the Center. Responsibilities include answering phone calls, preparing the Center for meetings, and paying for utilities and lawn care. Maintenance experience is helpful. Anyone who is interested is asked to write to the Bahá’í Center, 401 W. Corona, Pueblo, CO 81004.

CONIFER Hill Bahá’í School in the Colorado Rockies is seeking qualified cooks and assistant cooks to plan and prepare nutritious, appetizing meals based as much as possible on the use of natural foods. One cook and three assistants are needed for the family session from August 10-19. Additional cooks and assistants are needed for five weekend sessions: July 21-22, July 28-29, August 4-5, August 25-26 and September 1-2. The cook and assistants are helped by volunteers in preparing meals and in clean-up afterward. Forty to 80 students attend each meal. A small salary will be paid and on-site lodging provided for the cook. Scholarships covering room and board will be available for assistant cooks. Each assistant will help the cook for one meal a day and will be free to participate in school activities for the rest of the time. Applicants for cook or assistant cook should apply to Marilyn Fisher, Boulder, CO 80302, or phone 303-443-6422.

MONTCLAIR, California, in Southern California District 2, is in jeopardy with only seven adults remaining in this active area. Anyone who is interested in receiving information about the possibility of becoming a homefront pioneer to Montclair may contact the Spiritual Assembly of Montclair, c/o T.A. Womack, P.O. Box 4971, Montclair, CA 91763, or phone 714-626-5278.

SRI LANKA needs teachers for an international school in Colombo, that Asian country’s major city. Most needed are science, math, history, economics and social studies teachers. Medical doctors also are in great demand in Sri Lanka. Information about these positions will be given to those Bahá’ís whose applications have been accepted by the International Goals Committee. Applications may be obtained by writing to the committee at the Bahá’í National Center, Wilmette, IL 60091, or by phoning 312-869-9039.

COME to wild, wonderful West Virginia and settle as a homefront pioneer. Help us with the special challenges of teaching and consolidating the Faith in this lovely mountainous Appalachian state. For more information, contact the District Teaching Committee secretary, Mrs. Sorour Payman, P.O. Box 940, Hinton, WV 25951, or phone 304-466-5296.

TOGO, West Africa, needs a principal for its American International School, which has grades 1 through 6 and a relatively small enrollment. The position must be filled quickly. Information about this job will be given to those Bahá’ís whose applications have been accepted by the International Goals Committee. Applications may be obtained by writing to the committee at the Bahá’í National Center, Wilmette, IL 60091, or by phoning 312-869-9039.

SECURITY guards are urgently needed to protect our Holy Places at the Bahá’í World Centre. These positions require shift work, physical fitness, and the ability to learn some Hebrew. Single men only should apply. A commitment of about two years is desirable. For applications or further information, please contact the Personnel Office, Bahá’í National Center, Wilmette, IL 60091, or phone 312-869-9039.

HOMEFRONT pioneer is needed to help save the Spiritual Assembly of Orange County, North Carolina. Within the county is Chapel Hill, home of the University of North Carolina and a major teaching hospital; Duke University and hospital and the Research Triangle Park are minutes away, offering many employment opportunities. Help is available in locating a home and job. For more information contact Sue Rosman, secretary, Spiritual Assembly of Orange County, P.O. Box 2172, Chapel Hill, NC 27514.

URGENT! The active, five-year-old Spiritual Assembly of Lenora, Kansas (the only Assembly in the western half of the state) is in jeopardy and needs homefront pioneers to survive. Job opportunities can be found in the surrounding agricultural area and in larger towns nearby. Professionals, small businessmen, retirees and semi-retirees are welcome in Lenora which offers schools, a bank, post office, library, stores, etc. as well as active service-oriented clubs and organizations for men and women. Housing is available and inexpensive. Hospitality can be offered to pioneers until they are settled. For information, please write to the Spiritual Assembly of Lenora, Lenora, KS 67645, or phone 913-567-4592 or 913-567-4449.

HONDURAS needs a Montessori teacher for a small private school. Help with housing and transportation is possible. Information about this job will be given to those Bahá’ís whose applications have been accepted by the International Goals Committee. Applications can be obtained by writing to the committee at the Bahá’í National Center, Wilmette, IL 60091, or by phoning 312-869-9039.

AUDIO/VIDEO program producer to assist the director of media services at the Bahá’í National Center. Requires an individual with experience in any of the following areas: multi-track audio production, video production and post-production, or multi-image program production. Must have both creative and technical skills and the ability to work variable hours with minimum supervision. Please contact the Personnel Office, Bahá’í National Center, Wilmette, IL 60091, or phone 312-869-9039.

HELP! Beautiful Troutdale, Oregon, whose Assembly is in jeopardy (eight adults) needs Bahá’ís desperately. Troutdale, on the Sandy River, is only a mile from the Columbia River and the best fishing anywhere, a one-hour drive from Mt. Hood and great ski country, and 30 minutes on I-84 from downtown Portland. There are many shops, supermarkets and restaurants in nearby Gresham, and several shopping malls in the surrounding area. The job market is spotty, as it is in many places. Apartments rent from $175 for one bedroom to $350 for three bedrooms. There are several housing developments with lovely new homes for sale. The air in Troutdale is clean, the weather seasonal, the winters mild. Summer and fall are beautiful. Please come join us in lovely Troutdale, Oregon. Write to the Spiritual Assembly of Troutdale, P.O. Box 301, Troutdale, OR 97060, or phone the Assembly secretary, Dawn Adams, 503-661-5579.

EXPERIENCED gardeners are encouraged to offer their services for six months at the World Centre. Physical fitness is important, and owing to the nature of the work and local customs, only men should apply. These short-term positions require that the individual furnish his own travel expenses to and from the World Centre. For applications or further information, please contact the Personnel Office, Bahá’í National Center, Wilmette, IL 60091, or phone 312-869-9039.

A MEDICAL pathologist is needed in the Bahamas. U.S. or Iranian certification is sufficient. Information about this job will be given to those Bahá’ís whose applications have been accepted by the International Goals Committee. Applications may be obtained by writing to the committee at the Bahá’í National Center, Wilmette, IL 60091, or by phoning 312-869-9039.

WANTED: Three adult Bahá’ís to re-form an Assembly in Dartmouth, Massachusetts, whose active community includes Persians, college and high school students. There are employment opportunities in fishing, factories, mills and other industries. For prospective students, there are Southeastern Massachusetts University, whose Bahá’í Club needs a few members to reopen in September, and Bristol Community College. Dartmouth, an oceanside town next to historic New Bedford, an hour from Boston and a half-hour from Providence, Rhode Island, combines a moderate climate with natural rural beauty. Please address inquiries to the secretary, N. Dartmouth, MA 02747, or phone 617-992-5340.

A Bahá’í in Morovis, Puerto Rico, must move to the U.S. for an indefinite time and is offering her home to a Bahá’í couple who may be considering pioneering to Puerto Rico and wishes to rent it. The two-bedroom wooden house is completely furnished and carpeted, with hot and cold running water and a chimney (it can get cold in Morovis). Monthly rent to be discussed with the owner. For more information please contact the International Goals Committee, Bahá’í National Center, Wilmette, IL 60091, or phone 312-869-9039.

I AM writing a book that will contain many actual stories of how individuals became Bahá’ís. If the way in which you heard of the Faith and became a Bahá’í is

Art work feature of Children’s Day in Wisconsin

"Drawing the World Together" was the theme of a United Nations Children’s Day observance last November 6 sponsored by the Spiritual Assembly of Shorewood, Wisconsin.

Featured was art work done especially for the occasion by children at two local schools. Parents and children attended the event to see the youngsters’ handiwork. They were also treated to a varied program of education and entertainment that included three UNICEF films; a mime; a program of Afro-American songs and stories by Frances Sturms, longtime director of HeadStart; ballads of many cultures by Jerry Johnson, Milwaukee Public Museum educator; displays and literature from the Milwaukee branch of the United Nations Association and the Shorewood Public Library; and a display by the Bahá’ís depicting the various religions of the world.

As a token of appreciation for their part in the event, the Bahá’ís presented the schools and library with UNICEF’s children’s calendar. [Page 19]

Radio series eyes Native Americans

'Beyond Bows and Arrows'

The Bahá’í Office of Public Affairs for Greater Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, reports scheduling a 13-week half-hour radio series entitled "Beyond Bows and Arrows." The series, which began March 4, is co-sponsored by the American Indian Center of Dallas and the Texas Cherokee Community Organization. In addition to including several "Fireside Playhouse" programs, plans are to highlight the Bahá’í principles and Indian and Bible prophecy.

Three-way coverage

The Bahá’ís of Reston, Virginia, sponsored a full-page newspaper ad featuring the complete text of the open letter from the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Iran. The ad appeared January 19 in The Reston Times. The same edition included a six-column article on the Bahá’í community of Northern Virginia and a guest column, "The Illusion of Prejudice," by Bahá’í Paul Olson.

'Associate'

According to Dr. Monib Collestan, the Assembly of Seminole County and the Bahá’ís of Central Florida have found the "open sesame" to receptive audiences for Bahá’í speakers. They have taken to heart Shoghi Effendi's advice to "attempt to devise such methods as association with clubs, exhibitions, and societies, lectures on subjects akin to the teachings and ideals of His Cause..." (The Advent of Divine Justice, p. 43)

As a result of membership in or co-sponsorship of programs with such organizations as the American Association of University Women, the UN-USA, Rotary Club, the World Language Bank of Mid-Florida, and the Mid-Florida Council of International Visitors, doors have been miraculously opened.

The Rotarians asked for speakers for their weekly February breakfast meetings. Dr. Collestan, a Rotarian, arranged four outstanding presentations: Elizabeth Williams, president-elect of the UN-USA; Dr. Jim Bellows on "The Road Map to World Peace"; Mrs. Rezvan Collestan, a Bahá’í expert on international languages, on "Auxiliary Language as a Path to Peace"; and Mrs. Shahla Evans, an electrical engineer, on "Science in the Service of Peace." Each program was enthusiastically received.

There's more. Thirty-five visitors from Africa, and later a Nepalese delegation, were entertained by Bahá’ís who participate in the Mid-Florida Council of International Visitors' activities. Every college in Central Florida had either a Bahá’í proclamation event or display. Faculty members attended some of the events. Said one professor of religion: "Where have you been hiding these gems? You have the answer to all religious conflicts."

State resolutions

Resolutions pertaining to the desperate situation of the Bahá’ís in Iran are still coming in from state legislatures. Kentucky, Massachusetts and Wisconsin have voted "aye," and positive responses are expected from Arizona, Colorado and West Virginia. Their passage would bring to 18 the number of state legislatures that have voted to condemn the persecution of Iranian Bahá’ís. A multitude of activities coordinated by a selected Local Spiritual Assembly in each of the states laid the groundwork for these positive responses.

In print

Major media attention in February and March included a page-long article in the February 20 issue of Time magazine entitled "Slow Death for Iran's Bahá’ís"; a February 27 editorial, "The Darkness Called Iran," in The New York Times, and a half-page interview in the March 2 issue of the national newspaper USA Today with Dr. Firuz Kazemzadeh, secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly.

Networking

The key words at both the International Audio-Visual Conference in Palm Beach, Florida (February 17-19) and the Bahá’í Media Networking Conference in Charlotte, North Carolina (February 25-26) were "coordinate," "communicate," "catalogue," "prioritize" and "produce." Action has been taken to identify media talent, artists, producers, materials and related resources to facilitate the production and presentation of materials that can be used to publicize the Bahá’í Faith through various media.

A bonus

Because of the skills Larry Hosack has learned from using the news releases from the National Office of Public Affairs, he has begun to write public relations releases for other non-profit organizations in the New Canaan, Connecticut, area.

Peoria Media Committee moves steadily forward

Since it was formed in February 1982, the Greater Peoria (Illinois) Bahá’í Media Committee has been steadily gaining momentum through a series of well-coordinated media campaigns.

USING the guidelines set down by the Office of Public Affairs, the committee quickly started the publicity wheels rolling, according to its chairman, Dick Wright of Limestone Township.

The campaign got under way in the fall of 1982 when 120 copies of A Cry From the Heart, the book by the Hand of the Cause of God William Sears, were distributed to civic leaders in all eight of the committee members' communities.

Proclamation was continued through the insertion of "One Planet, One People... Please" ads in the programs for men's and women's basketball at the local junior college.

Next, the committee placed 52 race unity "Dove" posters in buses operated by the Greater Peoria Mass Transit District and by the nearby Pekin bus line.

As a result, the vice-president of the Greater Peoria Mass Transit District, who has since visited Haifa, is now studying the Faith. He has allowed the bus posters to remain up since November 1982 at no charge.

BASED on the warm reception to the first book campaign, the committee decided in January 1983 to hand-deliver complimentary copies of the book To Move the World to six public and college libraries including nearby Eureka College, President Reagan's alma mater.

Largely through the efforts of Dianne Delaney-Smith, a Bahá’í from Peoria County, the committee next was able to place a "One Planet, One People ... Please" billboard at one of Peoria's main intersections for a monthly fee of $20.

The billboard was placed in February 1983, and remained in place for four months afterward at no additional cost.

While this was going on, the committee's ongoing program of releases was beginning to pay off. newspaper display ads and press Peoria's daily newspaper, the Journal Star, ran a half-page article on the persecution of Bahá’ís in Iran as related by Farhang Ala'i, a long-time Peoria Bahá’í whose uncle was martyred in Iran.

A weekly paper, the Observer, followed with a full-page interview in which Mr. Ala'i discussed the history of the Faith in Peoria and Iran.

THIS was followed by an interview in the city's only minority-oriented weekly, the Traveler, with Juliette Whittaker, another Bahá’í from Peoria.

In June 1983, the media committee began planning a major proclamation event to take place on World Peace Day in September.

One hundred invitations were mailed, and a proclamation mentioning the Faith, the first in 10 years, was released by the mayor of Peoria.

More than 75 people including Peoria's only city councilwoman attended the Peace Day event which featured music by the choir from Juliette Whittaker's "Learning Tree" day school and a talk by the media committee chairman, Mr. Wright, entitled "The Bahá’í Answer."

In October, the committee succeeded in placing a program from the "Spiritual Revolution" series on cable TV in Peoria.

Since then, the cable TV firm has approved the showing of the next 12 programs in the series free of charge.

Last November, all five of the committee's remaining billboards, which were donated by Shirley Crenshaw of Washington, Illinois, were posted on public service billboard space at major Peoria intersections.

The committee's initial plans for 1984 include an invitational dinner for the local media to deepen their understanding of the distinguishing features of the Faith.

For information about the committee, contact Chuck Wilson, secretary, Greater Peoria Bahá’í Media Committee, Peoria, IL 61614.

Wisconsin says 'aye'

On February 14, Wisconsin became the 12th state to pass a resolution condemning the persecution of Bahá’ís in Iran.

Its passage followed the distribution of background materials to state legislators by the Bahá’í community of Madison.

Besides the 12 state resolutions already passed, nine others are pending and 21 are being pursued by Bahá’ís in other states.

The Spiritual Assembly of Miami, Florida, sponsored this booth February 5 in a Black History Fair at the Joseph Caleb Center in Miami that was co-sponsored by The Miami Times and the local Black Archives Foundation. The Bahá’í booth included two boards portraying black Bahá’ís of local and national note, plus a scrapbook of pictures showing the integration of the Bahá’í community during the 50 years since its Assembly was formed. Pictured are Phyllis Valle (left), chairman of the Spiritual Assembly of Miami, and Assembly member Alice Evans.

Coordination, use of media talent topics at 'brainstorming session' in N. Carolina

A media "brainstorming session" co-sponsored by the Office of Public Affairs at the Bahá’í National Center and the Bahá’í Public Information Office of Metrolina was held February 25-26 at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte.

EIGHTEEN Bahá’ís from five Southeastern states (Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia) and from St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, attended the session whose main purpose was to explore ways in which to coordinate and utilize Bahá’í media talent and resources scattered throughout the area to better serve Bahá’ís and Bahá’í institutions in the region.

Speakers included Shirley Lee from the national Office of Public Affairs; Parks Scott, Birmingham, Alabama; Nabil Jurney, Greensboro, North Carolina; Kip Carter, Columbia, South Carolina; and Bruce Luck, Atlanta, Georgia.

It became obvious during discussions that there is a pool of talented Bahá’ís in the Southeast who are willing to share their time and expertise to help communities proclaim the Faith through the media.

After extensive consultation, those at the two-day conference decided to form the nucleus of a Southeastern Bahá’í Media Network.

A project to produce radio public service spots and radio ads was immediately begun.

At a subsequent meeting of the network, to be held later this spring, the topics of talent banks, training, communicating, and financing will be further addressed.

Interested Bahá’ís who live in the seven-state area (Tennessee and West Virginia are included) are welcome to attend.

For more information, contact the Bahá’í Information Council of Greater Atlanta, P.O. Box 20391, Atlanta, GA 30325. [Page 20]

وظیفه یاران آلهی در انتخابات محافل روحانی

حضرت ولی عزیز امرالله میفرمایند: چون وقت تجدید انتخابات اعضای محفل روحانی بمیان آید باید هر یک از افراد احبا تصویت یعنی ابدای رأی را از وظایف مقدسه وجدانی خویش شمرد و بقدر امکان اهمال در این امر ننماید و مستقل الرأي و در نهایت توجه و جلوس و تجرد و فارغ از هر مآرب نفسیه و مقاصد شخصیه نفوسی را که خالصاً وجداناً قابل این مقام که عضویت محفل مقدس روحانی است داند انتخاب نماید.

بنابراین اولاً شرکت در انتخابات اعضای محفل روحانی وظیفه ای است مقدس، مهم و وجدانی که هر یک از اعضای ذی رأی جامعه یعنی افرادی که از ۲۱ سال به بالا هستند باید بدون اهمال و کناره گیری بدان اقدام نمایند و از اینکه در این امر دارای چنین حقوق و امتیازات خاص و مهمی به اعضای جامعه اعطا شده است احساس سرور و افتخار کنند. ثانیاً در هنگام نوشتن رأی خود یعنی نوشتن اسامی نفوسی که برای عضویت محفل پیشنهاد میفرمایند باید با تلاوت دعا و مناجات طلب هدایت و تأیید نمایند و با انقطاع کامل و روحانیت محض در حالی که بکلی منافع و مقاصد شخصی خود را فراموش کرده باشند در نهایت استقلال و آزادی با خلوص و توجه نام به ابداء رأی بپردازند. از جمله شرایطی که سبب حصول روحانیت و اجرای صحیح این امر مهم میشود پرهیز کامل از هر گونه دسته بندی و پارتی بازی و معرفی شخص یا اشخاص معینی به دیگران و بطور کلی رسوم و آداب مضره ای است که در جامعه خارج مرسوم و متداول است بلکه برعکس یاران آلهی باید در کمال اتحاد و اتفاق و یگانگی و صفا و وفا در انتخابات شرکت جویند و اسامی نفوسی را که در اثر دعا و مناجات و توجه و انقطاع بقلبشان الهام میشود در ورقه رأی بنویسند.

یقین است که نحوه مشارکت و اقدام دوستان عزیزی که از ایران باین سامان آمده‌اند و در امور امری دارای تجارب فراوان هستند در امر انتخابات برای همه افراد جامعه سرمشق و نمونه و سبب هدایت و ارشاد خواهد بود و انتخابات سال جاری رشد و بلوغ روحانی و یگانگی واقعی یاران عزیز آلهی را به ثبوت خواهد رساند.

اللجنه ملی امور احبای ایرانی

حقوق الله

در نصاب حقوق الله

در رساله سئوال و جواب مذکور است

ج - نصاب حقوق الله نوزده مثقال از ذهب است یعنی بعد از بلوغ نقود باین مقدار حقوق تعلق میگیرد اما سایر اموال بعد از بلوغ آن باین مقدار قيمة لا عدداً وحقوق الله یکمرتبه تعلق میگیرد. مثلاً شخصی مالک شد هزار مثقال از ذهب را و حقوق آن را ادا نمود بر آن مال دیگر حق الله تعلق نمیگیرد مگر بر آنچه بتجارات و معاملات و غیرهما بر آن بیفزایند و بحد نصاب رسد یعنی منافع محصوله آن در اینصورت بما حکم به الله باید عمل شود. الا اذا انتقل اصل المال الی ید اخری اذا يتعلق به الحقوق كما تعلق اول مرة در آنوقت حقوق الهی باید اخذ شود.

گذشته حدود و احکام صفحات ۹۲ - ۹۳

نشانی معاونین محترم امین حقوق الله :

Dr. Amin Banani Santa Monica, CA 90402

Mr. Moussa Mostaghim P.O.Box 296 Ephrata, PA 17522

یادآوری

چنانکه قبلا نیز باستحضار یاران گرامی رسید محفل مقدس روحانی ملی مقرر فرمودهاند صدور کارتهای هویت بهائی جدید تا اواخر سال ۱۹۸۴ بتعويق افتد اگرچه مدت اعتبار کارتهای سفید و آبی فعلی تا انتهای ماه فوریه ۱۹۸۴ بوده دوستان گرامی بایستی کارتهای مذکور را تا صدور کارتهای جدید نگاهداشته در مواقع لزوم ارائه دهند. مراتب به محافل ملیه کانادا و مکزیک نیز اطلاع داده شده است تا احبای آلهی در هنگام سفر به این کشورها دچار مشکلی نشوند.

دوستانی که بقصد مهاجرت با سفر تبلیغی به خارج از مملکت عزیمت میفرمایند بایستی قبل از حرکت با دفتر لجنه اهداف بین المللی در دارالانشاء محفل ملی تماس بگیرند تا اوراق معرفی نامه لازم بنامشان صادر گردد.

آخرین نکته ای که بنظر من میتواند موجب بروز سوء تفاهم شود موضوع داوطلب شدن برای خدمت در برنامه های مهم جامعه است. بسیاری از غربی ها عادت دارند پیش قدم شده داوطلبانه وقت و استعداد خود را در راه کمک به تحقق نقشه ها و هدفهای جامعه عرضه نمایند ولکن این عمل برای بسیاری از دوستان ایرانی دشوار است. زیرا ایرانیها بر حسب عادت در پیش قدم شدن تردید میکنند و از آن خوف دارند که مبادا عمل ایشان حمل بر خودنمائی و تظاهر گردد لهذا منتظر میمانند که خدمتی بآنان ارجاع شود. و در نتیجه اتفاق میافتد که در گیرودار برنامه ریزیها دوستان عزیز ایرانی بعلت نزاکت و ادب و عدم شرکت در بحث و گفتگوها از قلم میافتند بنابراین نبایستی در دعوت دوستان ایرانی به خدمت تردید کرد چه بسا که یکشف استعدادهای جدیدی که تا آن زمان مجهول مانده نائل گردیم.

بایستی دوستان ایرانی را تشویق و ترغیب کنیم که بزبان انگلیسی صحبت کنند زیرا این تنها وسیله ایست که در میزان رعب و وحشت ایشان از اشتباه و غلط صحبت کردن کاسته شود و بر ترس درونی خود که ناشی از عدم تسلط به زبان انگلیسی است فائق آیند و بهتر بتوانند در بحث و مشاوره شرکت ورزند.

یکی از آداب و رسوم ایرانیان که فهم و درک آن برای آمریکائیهایی نهایت مشکل و دشوار است مسئله تعارف کردن است. زیرا تعارف کردن که از نظر ایرانیها نماینده ادب و نزاکت است در نزد آمریکائیها بمنزله رد احسان تلقی میگردد. قوانین ادب و نزاکت جامعه ایرانی بوجود آمده است ایجاب میکند که انسان غذائی را که باو تعارف میکنند فقط پس از چندین بار رد کردن بپذیرد وگرنه حمل بر بی ادبی و عدم نزاکت خواهد شد ظاهری آن قبول میکنند بنابراین اگر در پذیرفتن غذا در وهله اول خودداری شود پس از یکی دو بار تعارف دیگر اصرار نمیکنند. چه بسا که عدم آشنائی به آداب و رسوم آمریکائیها موجب گرسنه ماندن ایرانیان مؤدب و با نزاکت میشود.

و زمان در ایران بکندی صورت میگیرد و بمردم اجازه میدهد که در یک محیط آرام بخش از معاشرت با یکدیگر لذت ببرند زندگی پرازشتاب و عجله آمریکائیها همراه با خوردن غذاهای فوری و حاضری رویه ای است که بایستی بتدریج بآن عادت کرد و بیاری کند بر خلاف روح تعالیم مقدس دیانت بهائی است.

حال آنکه آمریکائیها کلمات را به معنی واقعی و عادات و رسوم مربوط به صرف غذا در نزد ایرانیان رابطه بسیار نزدیکی با وظیفه زن و مرد در اجتماع دارد و پذیرائی کردن زن از مرد مسئله ایست که فهم و درک آن برای جامعه آمریکایی بسیار مشکل است. اگر بنا به فرموده حضرت ‘Abdu’l-Bahá خدمت بدیگران از اعظم خصائل و کمالات است پس چرا بسیاری از مردان ایرانی خود را از این نعمت عظمی محروم میسازند؟ احبای ایرانی و آمریکائی هر دو بایستی متذکر و مراقب باشند مبادا مفاهیم و سنن کهنه و پوسیده دنیای قدیم در روابط آنان با دیگران مؤثر واقع شود. توقع و انتظار اینکه شخص دیگری بعنوان بنده و زرخرید انسان را در امور روزانه و شخصی کمک کند.

در دیانت مقدس بهائی تفاوتهای فرهنگی و تنوع در آداب و رسوم ملل مختلف امری پذیرفته شده و مورد احترام است همین تنوع پیروان امر حضرت Bahá’u’lláh است که دیانت بهائی را دیانتی نمونه و منحصر بفرد به مردم دنیا معرفی کرده است. ما بایستی تشکیلات بهائی را آزمایشگاهی برای ایجاد مدنیت بهائی بدانیم و از خود سئوال کنیم که میزان و معیار برای رفتار و کردار یک فرد بهائی در جامعه چیست همچنین ممکن است از راه معاشرت و گفتگو خصوصیات مثبته فرهنگ یکدیگر را بیابیم و سعی در فراگرفتن و بکار بردن آن کنیم.

زیاده از حد هم نبایستی سخت بگیریم با تبسم و گشاده روشی و واقع بینی مشکلات یکدیگر را درک کرده در قبول آن بکوشیم تا بسیاری از مسائل موجود تخفیف یابد. در ضمن باید بخاطر داشته باشیم که با تفاق سفری طولانی و پرحادثه و پر ماجرا را شروع کرده ایم هرچه بیشتر با فرهنگهای مختلف (ایرانی، سرخ پوست، آمریکای لاتین، سیاه پوست، لائوسی و غیره و غیره) آشنا شویم بهتر میتوانیم از قدرت و تنوعی که در حیات جامعه بهائی وجود دارد محظوظ و مستفیض گردیم. [Page 21]

تفاهم و شناخت ایران و آمریکا

ترجمه قسمت سوم مقاله خانم دکتر جولی بدیعی

حضرت عبدالبهاء روح ما سواه فداه در آخرین خطابه ای که در آمریکا ایراد فرمودند (۵ دسامبر ۱۹۱۲) اظهار امیدواری فرمودند که: "شرق" منور گردد و غرب معطر شود جنوب و شمال دست در آغوش یکدیگر نماید و امم عالم در نهایت محبت با هم معاشرت و الفت یابند... این بیان مبارک حضرت مولی الوری با آماده و مهیا ورود هزاران بهائی ایرانی به ممالک غربیه که موجب تقویت اساس حیات بهائی در آن اقالیم گشته است بمیزان بی سابقه ای تحقق یافته و آن وحدت شرق و غرب که لسان اطهر وعده فرموده بمنصه ظهور رسیده است.

برای بسیاری از احیای ایرانی و آمریکائی این اولین فرصت است که در اثر تماس و تجربه روزانه با یکدیگر با آداب و رسوم و فرهنگ جدیدی آشنائی حاصل کنند و این آشنائی در بثمر رسیدن مواهبی که بر ارتباط نزدیک بین مردم فرهنگهای مختلف مترتب است اثری عمیق دارد.

با توجه به این نکته میل دارم بعضی جنبه های فرهنگ ایرانی و فرهنگ غربی را که میتواند موجب بروز سوء تفاهم شود مورد بررسی و بحث قرار دهم. هدف از این بحث ازدیاد آگاهی نسبت به علل و انگیزههای رفتار افراد است. امید است که این آگاهی منجر به حصول اتحادی کامل و حقیقی بین شرق و غرب و ایجاد انس و الفتی عمیق گردد.

نکات ذیل مشاهدات شخصی من در طی ۱۲ سال تماس لذت بخش با احبای ایرانی و همچنین نتیجه تجدید نظر دقیق و بیطرفانه در برخی جوانب سوابق فرهنگی خودم است. البته بخوبی آگاهم که هیچکدام ازدو کشور ایران و آمریکا از جامعه ای یکدست و یک پارچه تشکیل نیافته است و تعمیم دادن ملاحظات و مشاهدات فردی به تمام افراد جامعه خالی از خطا و نا درستی نخواهد بود.

بعقیده من اولین مطلبی که ممکن است موجب بروز سوء تفاهم شود مسئله احترام و ادب است. بسیاری از دوستان ایرانی در حرکات و رفتار بظاهر مخالف ادب عده ای از احیای آمریکائی خصوصاً در مورد احترام گذاشتن به کتب مقدسه و قطعات اسم اعظم ویا مورد سیگارکشیدن در ضیافات بخصوص در هنگام تلاوت آیات و الواح متعجب میشوند. از آنجا که یاران ایرانی از دوران کودکی چنین بار آمده اند که همواره با رفتار و کردار ظاهری خود مراتب ادب و احترام را بجا آورند برای عده ای از آنان بسیار مشکل است که قبول کنند که کسی میتواند علی رغم رفتار ظاهری دارای احترام عمیقی در درون خود باشد. برای مثال هنگامیکه من به زیارت بیت مبارک حضرت رب اعلی نائل گشتم عده ای از احبای ایرانی را مشاهده کردم که بخاک افتاده بر پله هائی که به اطاق فوقانی منتهی میشد بوسه میزدند. من بشخصه قادر نبودم که احساس درونی خود را به آن نحو ظاهر سازم ولی قلبم مملو از ایمان و احساساتم بهمان شدت عمیق بود.

بنابراین از دوستان بهائی ایرانی استدعا میکنم که نسبت به حرکات و رفتار غیر تشریفاتی و نا مأنوس بعضی از احبای آمریکائی صبور و بردبار باشند. زیرا بسیاری از ما با حس احترام و ادب عمیق پرورش نیافته ایم. این چیزی است که بایستی از شما بیاموزیم و همچنین بخاطر داشته باشید که چه بسا همراه آن شلوارهای جین پاره پاره مندرس کتاب کهنه و فرسوده مناجات در جیب پشت شلوار قلبی است که بخاطر عشق به حضرت بهاء الله می طید و دستهایش است که برای خدمت به نظم جدید جهانی آماده و مهیا است.

در طرز لباس پوشیدن دنیای شرق و غرب تفاوت فاحش و چشم گیری ملاحظه میشود. ایرانیها از فرهنگی قدیمی تر و رسمی تر برخوردارند که در آن تفاوت بین دنیای داخل یعنی خانه و خانواده و دنیای خارج یعنی مجامع رسمی و کوچه و بازار واضح تر و آشکارتر است. در شهرهای ایران اغلب مردم با ظاهری آراسته و منظم و مرتب در مجامع عمومی ظاهر میشوند. توجه به وضع ظاهر نشانه احترامی است که برای مردمی که با آنان سروکار دارند قائل هستند. و حال آنکه در داخل منزل غالباً لباس بسیار ساده و راحت برتن دارند. برای مثال بعضی از خانواده های ایرانی به محض ورود به منزل لباس رسمی خود را تبدیل به پی جامه کرده و حتی دوستان و خویشان خود را که به میهمانی میآیند دعوت به پوشیدن پیجامه میکنند تا باین وسیله به راحتی ایشان نیز کمک کرده باشند. در صورتیکه در غرب این تفاوت فاحش بین لباس خارج و داخل منزل وجود ندارد در لباس ساده غیر رسمی ما غربیها نیز حکمت و معنائی است. با پوشیدن لباسهای ساده قصد توهین به کسی را نداریم بلکه اینوسیله عقیده خود را اعلام میداریم که آراستگی نهاد و درون شخص به مراتب ارزنده تر و مهمتراز آرایش ظاهری اوست. پایه و اساس بسیاری از این آداب و رسوم در نهضت فرهنگی و اجتماعی سالهای ۱۹۶۰ به بعد گذاشته شده در آن سالها بود که اهمیت مردم علیه ارزشهای مادی قیام کردند و با پوشیدن شلوارهای جین مندرس و پاره پاره و پیراهنهای کهنه و فرسوده مراتب هم دردی و همبستگی و پشتیبانی خود را نسبت به تودههای فقیر و محروم دنیا اعلام داشتند.

طرز لباس پوشیدن میتواند معرف طرز برداشت و تفکر ما نسبت به خودمان نیز باشد. یکی از لذات شرکت در اجتماعات بهائی مشاهده تنوع فوق العاده شیوه آرایش ظاهری افراد حاضر در آن جمع است اگر انتظار داشته باشیم که همه پیروان امر حضرت بهاء الله بیک نحو لباس بپوشند یقیناً مفهوم "وحدت در کثرت" را انکار کرده ایم. ضابطه و معیار بایستی نظافت، اعتدال و سادگی باشد و در این خصوص باید این بیان حضرت بهاء الله جل اسمه الاعلی را بیاد آریم که میفرمایند ایاکم یا قوم ان تجعلوا انفسكم ملعب الجاهلين.

بنابراین شاید ما در نحوه لباس پوشیدن یکدیگر استنباط غلط میکنیم مثلاً امریکائی که قصدش از سادگی در لباس پوشیدن مبارزه با ارزشهای مادی و تجملات است باعث تعجب و حتی رنجش افرادی میگردد که مقصدش را درک نکرده اند و ایرانی که از پوشیدن لباس رسمی منظوری جز ادای احترام به اطرافیان خود ندارد با به معرض نمایش گذاردن و جلوه دادن تجملات و ثروت ظاهری ندانسته موجب رعب و کناره گیری آنان خواهد شد. افراط و زیاده روی در مصرف نیز میتواند موجب افسردگی خاطر پیروان امر حضرت یزدان شود بخصوص در این زمان که خواهران و برادران بهائی ما در ایران از هر جهت تحت شکنجه و عذاب و محرومیت مادی هستند صندوق های بهائی احتیاج مبرم و حیاتی به کمک مالی دارد. اعتدال و میانه روی صفت مشخصه حیات بهائی است.

طرز تفکر نسبت به خانواده و نقش فرد در آن نیز در فرهنگهای شرق و غرب متفاوت است. برای ایرانیها خانواده هسته مرکزی جامعه و پناهگاهی برای فرار از دنیای خارج است و چون همبستگی و نزدیکی بین افراد خانواده بسیار شدید است اغلب باعث میشود که خواه و ناخواه در زندگی خصوصی یکدیگر دخالت کنند و این موضوع برای غربی ها بی نهایت تعجب آور و شگفت انگیز است. این دخالتها ممکن است فقط اظهار نظر در مورد زندگی خصوصی افراد باشد و یا تا حد کوشش در یافتن شریک زندگی برای افراد دیگر خانواده پیش برود. در زمانیکه این دخالتها که از روی بی نظری و در نهایت عشق و علاقه و دلسوزی صورت میگیرد از حدود خانه و خانواده تجاوز کرده به جامعه بهائی تعمیم پیدا کند با طرز تفکر غربی ها که معتقدبه آزادی فردی هستند برخورد میکند و باعث بروز سوء تفاهم یا رنجش میگردد.

از طرف دیگر بالابودن سطح طلاق و از هم گسیختگی خانواده ها و عدم هم بستگی افراد آن و تنهائی ناشی از استقلال فردی مفرط دنیای غرب و بی بند وباری جامعه غیر بهائی موجب خوف و وحشت ایرانیان مقیم آمریکا شده و در نتیجه ایشانرا نگران سرنوشت آینده افراد فامیل خود میسازد. بسیاری از ایرانیان از آزادی بی حد و حسابیکه خانواده های آمریکائی به اطفال و نوجوانان خود میدهنند در شگفتند و این آزادیهای فردی را به عدم همبستگی عمیق و بی تفاوت بودن افراد خانواده نسبت به سرنوشت یکدیگر تلقی میکنند و حال اینکه این همه معرف درک و برداشت مختلفی است که غربی ها در معنی و مفهوم خانواده و روابط و وظایف افراد آن نسبت به یکدیگر دارند. بنابراین باید بسیار مواظب باشیم که ندانسته انتظارات و توقعات و آداب و رسوم خود را بدیگران تحمیل نکنیم.

مسئله دیگری که ممکن است سبب سوء تفاهم گردد روشهای تهیه غذا و پذیرائی است. بطور کلی ایرانیان اهمیت فوق العاده ای برای مهمان نوازی و آداب و رسوم آباء و اجدادی خود در این زمینه قائل هستند و بنابراین برایشان بینهایت تعجب آور است اگر به خانه یک نفر آمریکایی وارد شوند و مورد پذیرائی قرار نگیرند زیرا این طرز پذیرائی را کاملاً مغایر و مخالف رویه و روش خود ملاحظه میکنند که عادت دارند مهمانان خود را غرق در میوه و آجیل و چای کنند. ایرانی ها معمولاً غذائی را که در نهایت صبر و شکیبائی و مهارت و با عشق و علاقه تهیه کرده اند به هنگام ناهار که معمولاً مدت آنهم طولانی است صرف میکنند گویی که گذشت عمر... [Page 22]

انتقال عضویت به جامعه بهائی ایالات متحده

بعلت مشکلات موجود در ایران در شرایط و مراحل انتقال عضویت احبای ایرانی به جامعه بهائی ایالات متحده تغییراتی حاصل گشته است و خلاصه مقررات فعلی بجهت استحضار یاران روحانی ذیلاً درج میگردد.

۱ — محافل محلی کما فی‌السابق موظفند معرفی‌نامه تازه واردین را به دفتر محفل روحانی ملی ارسال دارند و پس از اکمال مراحل انتقال عضویت به جامعه بهائی و صدور کارت هویت بهائی به تازه واردین اجازهٔ حضور در ضیافات و شرکت در فعالیتهای رسمی و اداری جامعه مانند انتخابات ملی و محلی و جلسات سالانه و کانونهای ناحیه‌ای و امثال آن را بدهند. چنانکه کراراً اعلام شده قبول معرفی‌نامه‌هائی که توسط محافل ملیه سایر کشورها صادر شده و صدور کارت هویت بهائی موقت از جانب محافل محلیه مجاز نیست.

۲ — کلیه دوستانی که بعد از رضوان ۱۹۸۲ از ایران خارج شده‌اند فقط پس از وصول تأییدیه عضویت آنان در جامعه بهائی ایران عضویتشان به جامعه‌هائی ایالات متحده منتقل خواهد شد.

۳ — حتی اعضاء سابق جامعه‌هائی ایالات متحده که بیش از ۶ ماه در خارج از ایالات متحده سکونت داشته‌اند بایستی در مراجعت به این کشور معرفی‌نامه از محفل روحانی ملی آن کشور به محفل روحانی ملی ارائه دهند و تنها پس از تأیید محفل روحانی ملی به عضویت جامعه بهائی محلی پذیرفته میشوند.

۴ — احبای ایرانی که قبلاً در آمریکا اقامت داشته‌اند و کارت هویت بهائی این جامعه را در دست دارند اگر به ایران سفر کنند در مراجعت مشمول مقررات بند ۲ فوق خواهند بود و محافل محلی بایستی مراتب را به دفتر محفل روحانی ملی اطلاع دهند و تنها پس از تأیید محفل مقدس ملی اجازه مجدد مشارکت در تشکیلات بهائی را به این گونه افراد بدهد.

دفتر لجه امور احبای ایرانی در دارالانشاء محفل روحانی ملی آماده است احبای عزیز تازه وارد و محافل محلیه را در این زمینه مساعدت و راهنمائی نماید. دوستان گرامی میتوانند بنشانی و تلفن ذیل با دفتر مذکور تماس حاصل فرمایند.

Persian Affairs Committee Bahá’í National Center Wilmette, Illinois 60091 (312) 869-9039

بشارات تایلند

بعنایت جناب دکتر ایرج ایمن

بمناسبت روز جهانی حقوق بشر بهائیان بانکوک مراسم مخصوصی بصورت گاردن پارتی بنفع دفتر پناهندگان سازمان ملل در حظیرة‌القدس ملی ترتیب دادند. برای این منظور پوسترهای مخصوصی تهیه و در نقاط مختلف شهر نصب شده بود. بلیط‌های ورودی بنحو بسیار جالبی تزئین شده بود. این مراسم مورد استقبال اولیای سازمان ملل در تایلند و بسیاری دیگر از وجوه اهالی قرار گرفت و اعانات قابل ملاحظه‌ای جمع‌آوری گردید.

سپس در روز جهانی ادیان مراسم دیگری در یکی از هتل‌های شهر ترتیب داده شد و ضمن آن رئیس محفل روحانی ملی چک مربوط به عواید گاردن پارتی را به نماینده دفتر پناهندگان سازمان ملل تسلیم کرد. نماینده مزبور طی سخنانی که ایراد کرد نحوه رفتار پناهندگان را ستود و اظهار داشت که اقدام بهائیان برای کمک به دفتر پناهندگان اولین اقدامی است که در جهان باین منظور انجام گرفته، زیرا معمولاً همه جا فقط از سازمان ما تقاضای کمک و مساعدت میشود. این اولین باری است که جامعه‌ای برآمده است سپس اهداف و تعالیم امری بهائی را مورد تمجید و تحسین قرار داد. بمناسبت مراسم مزبور نمایشگاه بسیار مفصل و زیبائی از آثار و نشریات بهائی نیز ترتیب داده شده بود که مورد بازدید قرار گرفت.

مدرسه بهائی سانتینام (صلح) در شمال شرقی تایلند اخیراً در اجرای منویات مندرج در پیام ۲۰ اکتبر معهد اعلی موفقیت جدیدی کسب کرده است. فرماندار منطقه در صدد اجرای برنامه آموزش حرفه‌ای برای زنان روستائی برآمده بود. اولیای مدرسه بهائی سانتینام داوطلب شدند که موجبات اجرای این طرح را فراهم کنند. طی مراسم مخصوصی که با شرکت خانم فرماندار و خانم شیرین فوزدار مؤسس و رئیس هیئت مدیره مدرسه انجام گرفت مدرسه بهائی سانتینام عهده‌دار تأمین وسائل اجرای طرح آموزش حرفه‌ای در روستاهای اطراف آن منطقه گردید تا مشترکاً با کمک اولیای محلی طرح مزبور را در یکایک روستاهای آن منطقه بمرحله اجرا درآورند. فرماندار و خانمش در جلسه‌ای که برای شروع این طرح در حظیرة‌القدس شهر یاستون (محل مدرسه) تشکیل گردید شرکت کردند و همکاری داوطلبانه و صمیمانه بهائیان در اجرای طرح آموزش حرفه‌ای زنان روستائی تحسین و تشکر کردند.

پناهندگی در ایالات متحده

از ابتدای سال ۱۹۸۳ دولت ایالات متحده سهمیه خاصی برای ویزای پناهندگی اهالی کشورهای خاورمیانه از جمله ایران تعیین نموده و عده‌ای از احبای ایرانی که در کشورهای مختلف سرگردان بودند از این راه موفق به اخذ ویزای پناهندگی و ورود به این کشور شده‌اند. اقدامات محفل مقدس روحانی ملی در این زمینه تاثیر بسزائی داشته است و خوشبختانه مشکلات و پیچیدگی‌های ابتدای کار بتدریج رفع شده بنحوی که عده قابل ملاحظه‌ای از یارانی که قبلاً نمیتوانستند از این مقررات استفاده کنند اکنون قادر خواهند بود برای ملحق شدن به منسوبین و دوستان خود به آمریکا وارد شوند.

اصول مقررات مربوطه بشرح ذیل است.

۱ — هر کس که نتواند ثابت کند بعلت عضویت در گروه خاصی (بهائی) در ایران تحت فشار بوده و در مملکت دیگری نیز مستقر نشده است و دلیل خاصی برای ورود به آمریکا دارد میتواند تقاضای ویزای پناهندگی کند.

۲ — احبای الهی که بخواهند از این طریق وارد آمریکا شوند بایستی توسط محفل روحانی ملی محل اقامت فعلی خود مدرکی دال بر عضویت در جامعه بهائی تهیه نمایند، با ارائه مدرک فوق به دفتر پناهندگان سازمان ملل متحد یا یکی دیگر از نمایندگی‌های آن سازمان بعنوان پناهنده یا آواره از وطن شناخته شوند، و اطلاعات مربوط به وضع ویزای اقامت و امکانات زندگی منسوبین نزدیک خود را در آمریکا جمع‌آوری کنند، با در دست داشتن این سه نوع مدرک میتوانند به دفتر پناهندگان سفارت آمریکا در یکی از سه کشور ذیل تقاضای ویزای پناهندگی کنند: آلمان، اسپانیا، اطریش، ایتالیا، فیلیپین، مکزیک، هندوستان، هنگ کنگ، یونان.

۳ — همانطور که در امریکن بهائی ماه مارچ باطلاع رسید مؤسسه خصوصی و غیرانتفاعی

National Institute for Migration and Population Services 409/838-9090

برای کسانی که منسوبین نزدیکشان در این کشور اقامت ندارند کسانی را که حاضر به تعهد مسئولیت پذیرائی و کمک به آنان در ابتدای ورود به آمریکا باشند معرفی مینماید و کوشش میکند که تازه واردین با استقرار در نقاط لازم آنها جزء کمک به تحقق اهداف مهاجرت داخله بنمایند.

دفتر لجه امور احبای ایرانی و مؤسسه فوق‌الذکر آماده‌اند اطلاعات لازم را در اختیار احبای گرامی قرار دهند.

مطبوعات امری بزبان فارسی

کتب و جزوات فارسی ذیل را ممکن است از دفتر لجه امور احبای ایرانی طلبید.

راهنمای احبای ایرانی مقیم ایالات متحده	۲ دلار
نامه سرگشاده محفل روحانی ملی ایران	۵۰ سنت
توشه روحانی	۷ دلار

دو جزوه حیات بهائی (۱/۵ دلار) و آئین بهائی ‎یکی یک‎ نهضت سیاسی نیست (۴ دلار) نیز توسط مؤسسه مطبوعات امری توزیع میشود. مخارج پست البته علاوه بر قیمتهای فوق خواهد بود. [Page 23]

پیام بیت‌العدل اعظم الهی

ترجمه

پیام دیوان عدل اعظم الهی خطاب به جوانان بهائی در سراسر جهان ۳ ژانویه ۱۹۸۴

دوستان عزیز بهائی:

تعیین سال ۱۹۸۵ توسط سازمان ملل متحد بعنوان سال بین‌المللی جوانان ‎مسادیس میادین‎ جدیدی جهت مجهودات اعضاء جوان جامعه بهائی مفتوح می‌سازد. سازمان ملل متحد امیدوار است حصر توجه به جوانان سبب تشویق و ترغیب آنان به مشارکتی ارادی در امور جهانی از طریق مداخله در توسعه و عمران بین‌المللی و اقدامات و ارتباطات دیگری شود که موجب تحقق یافتن توانایی آنان یعنی ایجاد دنیائی عاری از جنگ و جدال است.

این توقعات و انتظارات فرصت‌های وسیع و آماده‌ای را تأیید میکنند که محتاج عطف توجه یاران است. برای آنکه تا حدودی بتوانیم اقداماتی را که باید مورد توجه قرار گیرد در نظر آوریم کافی است با هدایت و ارشاد آثار مبارکه به تعمق و تفکر در فراهم بودن شرائط مساعدی بپردازیم که در اثر سرعت یافتن اجرای نقشه الهی طی نیم قرن اخیر و نیز امکانات سرشار منبعث از درام روحانی که در صحنه ایران جریان دارد، و همچنین قوای خلّاقه حاصل از وقوف بر قرب ختام قرن بیستم، بوجود آمده است. بدون تردید در حد توانایی شما جوانان است که بنحو شایسته‌ای به تشکّل جوامع قرن آینده کمک کنید، جوانان می‌توانند جهان را بحرکت آورند.

چه مناسب و بجا و براستی چه شورانگیز است که فرصتی چنین شگفت‌آور بشما یعنی پیروان جوان و مشتاق جمال اقدس ابهی ارزانی گردیده تا دقیقاً در همان صحنه‌ای که با جدّ تمام میکوشید تا سرآمد و ممتاز گردید، میدان مساعی و مجهودات خود را وسعت بخشید زیرا در موضوع پیشنهادی سازمان ملل برای سال بین‌المللی جوانان یعنی "مشارکت، عمران، صلح" میتوان ملاحظه کرد اهدافی که شما بعنوان جوانان بهائی تعقیب میکنید در الحقیقه همان اهدافی است که معماران دنیای نو سراسیمه جستجو مینمایند.

نقشه هفت ساله، که از قبل در زمره محریان پیش‌آهنگ آن به بذل مساعی و مجهودات اشتغال دارید، زمینه و قالبی مساعد برای اقدامات اضافی است که در اثر این فرصت جدید متمّم میشود بر عده گیرید. سال بین‌المللی جوانان مقارن مرحله بعدی نقشه هفت ساله است و باین ترتیب فعالیتهائی که تعهد خواهید نمود، و یقیناً از هم‌اکنون در صدد مهیّا شدن برای مجهودات مزبور خواهید شد، بدون تردید موجب افزایش کمک‌های شما در جهت تهاجم ساختن نقشه مزبور میگردد و در عین حال به پیشرفت فعالیت‌های سال جوانان کمک میکند. لذا در اجابت این دعوت با شدّت و حدّت تام، تأخیر روا ندارید.

یکی از وقایع برجسته این دوره از نقشه هفت ساله اعلان عمومی شگفت‌انگیزی است که در اثر تضییقات و اضطهادات تخفیف‌ناپذیر در ایران نصیب امرالله گشته و علاقمندی جدیدی است که در مقیاسی وسیع به تعالیم امر الهی ابراز میگردد. مقارن با این احوال جماعات روزافزونی از طبقات مختلفه جامعه سراسیمه در جستجوی هویت خود برآمده‌اند که گرچه صراحتاً اذعان نمی‌کنند دالّ بر آنست که در صدد یافتن معنا و مفهومی روحانی برای زندگانی خود هستند. در بین این متحریان، جوانان گروه ممتازی را تشکیل میدهند. اطلاع بر این حقیقت نه تنها طرق مفیدی را برای اقدامات امری مفتوح میسازد بلکه جوانان بهائی را متوجه مسؤولیت خاصی میکند که به تبلیغ امرالله بپردازند و با تخلّق به اخلاق بهائی بصفات و کمالاتی را که سبب تحقق یافتن آمال و آرزوهای روحانی سایر جوانان است عملاً متجلی و مجسّم نمایند.

بخاطر حفظ و حراست چنین فضائل و کمالات چه خون‌های پاکی که در گذشته ابا بهر زمین ریخته شد و چه خون‌های پاکی که هم اکنون پیر و جوان در ایران نثار این راه میسازند. فی‌المثل وقایع شیراز را در تابستان گذشته بخاطر آورید که ده بانوی جوان که سنین عمرشان مابین ۱۸ و ۵۴ سال بود حلق خود را به حلقه دار در کف خونخوار سپردند. همگی آنانرا به انکار عقیده و ایمان نسبت به امر حضرت یزدان ترغیب کردند و جملگی از نفی و انکار ایمان به محبوب عالمیان امتناع جستند و استنکاف ورزیدند. همچنین ملاحظه در شرح احوال صبر و تحمل حیرت‌انگیزی نمائید که به کرّات و مرّات از اطفال و جوانان بهائی ظاهر شده. اطفال و جوانانی که مورد استنطاق و فحّاشی و بدرفتاری و خشونت معلمان و ملایان قرار گرفته و بالاخره بمناسبت تمسک به ایمان و عقیده از مدارس اخراج شده‌اند. بعلاوه شایسته توجه است که تحت محدودیت‌ها و تضییقاتی که چنان با ظلم و قساوت بر جامعه بهائی ایران وارد میگردد، جوانان بهائی خدمات برجسته‌ای انجام داده‌اند و قوای خود را مصروف خدمت به مؤسسات امری در سراسر کشور ساختند. هیچ بیان رسائی نمیتواند بهتر از این اقدامات خالصانه و برجا بنشانی به تعهدات و تمسکات روحانی و مهر و وفای آنان شهادت دهد. تقریباً در هیچ نقطه دیگر از جهان بهائیان چنین بهای گزافی برای ایمان خود نمیپردازند و در هیچ نقطه دیگری از جهان از جوانان بهائی ایران بافت نمیگردد. بنابراین آیا ‎ساید شاید‎ انتظار داشت که شما جوانان و نوجوانانی که در چنین موقع و زمان خارق‌العاده‌ای زندگی میکنید وشاهد مثال هائی چنین تکان دهنده از دلاوری و شجاعت همسالان ایرانی خود هستید و از چنین آزادی عملی برخوردارید بجولان درآئید و "آزادانه چون باد" بادیه پیما گردید و قدم در میدان مجهودات امری گذارید؟

امید است که همگی در بذل مساعی انفرادی در تبلیغ امرالله با شور و شوقی بیش‌ازپیش و در مطالعه آثار مبارکه با اشتیاقی روزافزون استقامت ورزید و تحصیلات خود را بمنظور خدمت بعالم انسانی در آینده، تعقیب کنید و حتی الامکان اوقات آزاد خود را به خدمات و فعالیت‌های امری اختصاص دهید. امید است جوانانی که تابحال شغل و حرفه زندگانی خود را انتخاب نکرده‌اند وهمچنین آنان که خانواده‌ای تشکیل داده‌اند سعی بلیغ مبذول دارند تا در پرورش روحانی خانواده‌ها و در مداخله فعّال در خدمات مهاجرتی برای حصول اهداف داخله و بین المللی نمونه زنده و بارز منویّات و کمالات بهائی شوند. و بالاخره امید است که همگی جوانان بآنچه امروزه از امر مبارک انتظار میرود قیام کنند و با ابراز مجاهدت جدیدی خود را وقف اجرای وظایف موجود نمایند.

علاوه بر این منویّات احتیاج شدیدی در خدمات جوانان بهائی به تجهیز اقدامات منظم و مرتّب تبلیغی است. علاقه ذاتی جوانان به حرکت از نقطه‌ای به نقطه دیگر همراه با شور و شوق فراوانی که دارند حاکی از آنست که میتوانند بتعداد زیاد و بنحوی مصمّم در زمره مبلغین سیّار در آیند و در این خدمات وارد شوند. از جمله اقدامات در این تجهیز اجرای طرح‌های کوتاه مدت در داخل کشور یا ممالک خارجه است که وقف تبلیغ امرالله وترفیه حال و زندگانی مردمان شود. یا ممکن است شاغل جوان هستید و پای بند تعهّدات و مسؤولیت‌های خانوادگی نشده‌اید به این امکان توجه کنید که برای مدتی مثلاً یک یا دو سال داوطلب یکی از خدمات امری در تبلیغ یا مهاجرت یا خدمات عمرانی در داخل یا خارجه شوید. این اقدامات اگر توسط نسل‌های پی در پی جوانان تعقیب شود سبب تقویت بنیان و ثبات جامعه میگردد. در هر حال جوانان صرفنظر از نوع خدمت باید همواره و در همه جا و در تحت هر نوع شرائطی کاملاً وارد در خدمات و فعالیت‌ها باشند و باید در خدمات متنوّعه خود به حمایت و هدایت محبّت‌آمیز مؤسسات بهائی در جمیع مراحل تشکیلاتی متّکی و مطمئن باشند.

ادعیه حارّه و اطمینان واثق به موفقیت نهائی جوانان عزیز و ‎محبت‌فنان‌ناپذیر محبت فناناپذیر‎ این مشتاقان بدرقه راه مساعی آن عزیزان در سبیل خدمت به جمال قدس جانان است.

بیت‌العدل اعظم

تهنیت عید سعید رضوان

مژده یاران که شب هجر بپایان آمد جان فشانید که خوش موکب جانان آمد

بلبلان بهر طرب جمله غزلخوان گردید که گل باغ قدم باز ببوستان آمد

جسد در گوشه غم عمر سپاری خاموش موسم عیش و طرب فصل گلستان آمد

شاهد غیب بقا پرده برانداخت ز رخ دولت وصل و لقا بهر محبّان آمد

مژده ای اهل جهان دور محبّت برسید عید جان بخش جهان بر سر رضوان آمد

دیوان ناطق صفحات ۲۰۲ — ۲۰۳ [Page 24]Over a six-month period last year, the Bahá’í community of the Phanat Nikhom refugee camp in Thailand grew from one member to more than 300.

The camp’s first Spiritual Assembly, elected last September, has developed a library of 330 books in the Khmer language, 72 volumes in Lao, 293 in Thai, and 170 English-language items.

The fast-growing community also is involved in extension teaching and translations of Bahá’í materials, has established a local Fund, is holding children’s classes each evening, and even has a Women’s Committee...

Twenty-one new Spiritual Assemblies were formed, 900 people declared their belief in Bahá’u’lláh, and 25 localities in Chad were opened to the Faith as the result of a teaching campaign last June 4-November 4 that was dedicated to the memory of the Guardian, Shoghi Effendi.

Meanwhile, a “Victory Campaign” in Moissala from July through October opened 50 localities to the Faith, established 95 new Assemblies, and resulted in the enrollment of 250 new believers...

Thirty-two Guaymi Indian residents of Panama’s Tolé area including one of the zone’s three highest ranking chiefs became Bahá’ís last October after they were contacted by members of a traveling teaching team composed of Guaymi Bahá’ís...

At the end of 1983 there were 37 adult Bahá’ís in Ban Amon, Laos, whose first Spiritual Assembly was formed at Riḍván 1983. Thirty-five children regularly attend Bahá’í classes that are held at the Ban Amon Bahá’í Center. In addition, 75 children attend Sunday classes at the national Bahá’í Center in Vientiane, the country’s capital city...

Three Bahá’í youth were among 300 delegates attending a national convention in India last September to prepare for the United Nations International Year of Youth in 1985.

One of the Bahá’í delegates, Marzia Rowhani, who is a member of the National Bahá’í Youth Committee, was asked to serve as chairman of the last morning session because of the favorable impression she had created during a workshop...

Yama N’jie, a member of the Spiritual Assembly of Bakau, Gambia, has become the first Gambian woman to be elected to that country’s National Spiritual Assembly...

The National Spiritual Assembly of Pakistan reports the translation of the short Obligatory Prayer in the Balouchi and Brauhi languages...

Audio-Visual Centre holds Florida conference

At the request of the Universal House of Justice, the International Bahá’í Audio-Visual Centre invited 50 Bahá’ís from throughout the Americas to a meeting February 17-19 in Florida to consult about the needs, opportunities and resources in the audio-visual media field.

BEFORE the meeting began, the House of Justice cabled its prayers that the “zeal, enthusiasm. participants institute will produce innovative, fruitful proposals promote increasing use audio-visual messages materials, achieve teaching goals.”

Four Counsellors—Lauretta King of Alaska, Shapoor Monadjem of Brazil, Ruth Pringle of Panama and Donald Witzel of Venezuela—lent an invigorating spirit to the deliberations, keynoting sessions and speaking candidly about the pressing need for audio-visual materials and messages more appropriate and meaningful to the people in rural and indigenous areas.

By the close of the meeting the spirit of genuine affection which animated the stimulating flow of ideas and suggestions prompted the Audio-Visual Centre’s executive committee to cable the House of Justice:

“AV Media Institute wonderful success. Counsellors’ leadership, enthusiasm participants 11 national communities including representatives key agencies resulted innovative proposals, new level hemispheric cooperation. Many collaborative projects launched, others proposed appropriate institutions. Bahá’í professionals offered service greatest needs 145 attend third Bahá’í Conference on Health Plan. Spirit of love unity action released exploit AV media materials messages appropriate diverse populations Americas world.”

THE VITAL necessity of applying marketing techniques, of researching carefully the audience, or, better, of involving one’s intended audience or population in the planning and creation of programs, and of undertaking the painful but glorious task of experimenting in the field with various styles of messages, audio-visual materials, slide shots and editing, were among the many topics discussed at length by participants.

Coming from Alaska, Canada, the U.S., Hawaii, Haiti, Antigua, the Netherlands Antilles, Panama, the Virgin Islands, Venezuela and Brazil, participants represented distribution centers, national proclamation and teaching committees, and production houses privately owned and operated by Bahá’ís.

A number of professional broadcasters and producers also attended.

Susan McLaren of CIRBAL reported on the great need for managers, technicians and Bahá’ís with broadcasting experience at radio stations that are presently operating or in the planning stages.

Dr. Glen Eyford, a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of Canada who is active in the field of social and economic development, spoke about the value of the media not only in teaching and consolidation but also in development work.

Representatives of the U.S. Bahá’í Publishing Trust, the Canadian Bahá’í Distribution Service, and privately owned distribution centers such as Images International were able to bring participants up to date on some of the economic challenges presented by limited market sizes for audio-visual materials.

A NUMBER of those attending were able to meet informally to discuss possible ways of collaborating and sharing expertise and production facilities with teachers and others in the field.

Above: Counsellors (left to right) Shapoor Monadjem, Ruth Pringle, Lauretta King and Donald Witzel were among the participants February 17-19 in a Bahá’í audio-visual conference in Florida. Below: One of the many lively workshop sessions held during the conference.

Faced with the urgent and extraordinary opportunities in television and radio broadcasting, in the use of films, filmstrips, slide programs, posters, and audio and video cassettes, the a-v media institute gave promise that there are many Bahá’ís with skills and interests who are eager to begin taking advantage of those opportunities.

Archives has guide to open collections

The National Bahá’í Archives has available a guide to those collections open for research.

The 19-page guide covers 149 collections of institutional records, personal papers, community histories, and personal recollections, giving the collection title, quantity, and some information about contents and significance.

The guide can be ordered for $2 from the National Bahá’í Archives, Bahá’í National Center, Wilmette, IL 60091.

145 attend third Bahá’í Conference on Health

One hundred forty-five Bahá’ís from 10 countries and territories were present February 24-26 in Daytona Beach, Florida, for the Bahá’í International Health Agency’s third Conference on Health.

The conference featured a stellar lineup of health professionals who addressed the over-all theme of “Health: Whose Responsibility?”

In addition to lectures on a wide variety of topics, the conference included simultaneous Friday afternoon workshops on “Ethics in the Field of Health,” “Health Delivery Systems,” “Health and Nutrition,” and “Sexuality.”

The aims and objectives of the Bahá’í International Health Agency were addressed Saturday morning by Dr. Hossain B. Danesh, chairman of the agency’s administrative committee, and its executive secretary, Dr. Ethel Martens.

The agency was created in April 1982 at a conference in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

Since then it has become established as an integral part of the Centre for Bahá’í Studies in Ottawa.

Attendees at the February conference came from American Samoa, Antigua, Barbados, Bermuda, Canada, Puerto Rico, Trinidad, the United Kingdom, U.S, and West Germany.

San Bernardino County hosts 'midway' unity conference

Members of seven Bahá’í communities in San Bernardino County, California, gathered February 12 in Rialto for a “midway” unity conference whose main purpose was to discuss a “spiritual integration program” developed by Auxiliary Board member Edward Diliberto.

Serving as conference facilitators were two assistants to the Auxiliary Board, Fedora McPherson and Ron Perret.

The spiritual integration program was originated as a response to last year’s Riḍván message from the Universal House of Justice which called for “greater attention to those inner spiritual developments which will be manifested in greater unity among the friends.”

In a letter of introduction, Mr. Diliberto said that “the implementation of this program, involving the collaboration of the Auxiliary Board and Local Spiritual Assemblies, based on the divine guidance of the Supreme Body, utilizing the Revealed Word as selected by that body, will react powerfully upon the spiritual integration of the individual believer, thereby leading to a more rapid and complete accomplishment of the goals of the National Spiritual Assembly...”

The conference was deemed so successful that plans are being made to hold similar meetings for a wide range of activities involving individuals and communities alike. [Page 25]

BAHÁ’Í NATIONAL CONVENTION RELEASES NEW SPRING BOOKS CASSETTES

SOME ANSWERED QUESTIONS THE SECRET OF DIVINE CIVILIZATION SHOGHI EFFENDI THE ADVENT OF DIVINE JUSTICE THE BAHÁ’Í PROOFS FLY AWAY HOME

‘Abdu’l-Bahá—In New Photographs and New Editions

‘Abdu’l-Bahá Color Lithograph, 11 x 14 A must for every home and Bahá’í Center—a new full-color lithograph of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá reproduced from the only known color photograph of the Master. The dark background and the Master's dark green ‘abá highlight the exquisite details of His face, beard, and turban. Suitable for framing. Lithograph Catalog No. 875-019 $12.00

‘Abdu’l-Bahá Lithograph, 5 x 7 A small, desk-size reproduction of the lithograph described above. Excellent choice for gifts for new Bahá’ís and for Bahá’ís who are graduating from high school and going to college. Lithograph Catalog No. 875-020 $5.00

The Secret of Divine Civilization

The cables from Haifa and the nightly news about Iran are grim. Re-read ‘Abdu’l-Bahá's message to the rulers and people of Iran to give yourself and your seekers a new perspective on how the Bahá’ís feel about the future of this once-magnificent country. Now available in a new printing with a cover matching those of Promulgation of Universal Peace and Some Answered Questions. Hardcover Catalog No. 106-006 $11.00

Some Answered Questions (pocket-sized)

The handy pocket-sized edition of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá's beloved answers to a multitude of questions ranging from Christianity to reincarnation makes it easier than ever to carry the book with you for personal study—or for sharing with seekers. Handsome blue cover stamped in gold. Pocket-sized Catalog No. 106-043 $3.50

Also in Pocket-Sized Editions

Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh Pocket-sized Catalog No. 103-031 $3.50

Kitáb-i-Íqán Pocket-sized Catalog No. 103-032 $3.50

The Advent of Divine Justice

Now available in a new edition, Shoghi Effendi's timeless letter to the Bahá’ís of North America spelling out the destiny of America, the spiritual prerequisites necessary for ensuring that destiny, and the hows and whys of teaching and pioneering so essential for fulfilling America's mission. Contains a detailed table of contents that will serve as a study outline plus a new cover design and a new index. Hardcover Catalog No. 108-045 $12.00 Softcover Catalog No. 108-046 $6.50

The Dawning Place: The Building of a Temple, the Forging of the North American Bahá’í Community

At last—Bruce Whitmore's long-awaited story of the building of the Bahá’í House of Worship in Wilmette, beginning with the 1903 decision to build and ending with the 1953 dedication. But The Dawning Place is more than the story of a building. It also tells how the Temple project drew the Bahá’ís' attention away from local affairs and brought into being local and national administrative institutions and—prepared the North American Bahá’ís to assume a role of leadership in the worldwide Bahá’í community. 83 photographs and illustrations. Hardcover Catalog No. 332-119 $20.00 Softcover Catalog No. 332-120 $12.00

Bahá’í Proofs

Mírzá Abu’l-Fadl's much-loved treatise addressed to 20th-century American Christians. Elucidates the teaching of the Bahá’í Faith, describes the coming of a new age, acclaims the end of man's spiritual darkness, and affirms the unity of the great world religions. New preface by Juan Ricardo Cole plus new index. Hardcover Catalog No. 332-116 $15.00

Bahá’í Studies Notebook: Development

A compilation of articles on the important theme of development—by such authors as Farzam Arbab, Michael Bopp, Gregory C. Dahl, John Huddleston, Paul Ojermark, Will van den Hoonaard. From the Association for Bahá’í Studies. Softcover Catalog No. 337-053 $6.50

Fly Away Home

A haunting tale of danger, daring, and triumph for children from 8 to 80. In a mysterious higher garden a white swan traces a message of love. In the lower garden, Eva and Reed demonstrate kindness and generosity. Two courageous sparrows and a ladybug brave dangers to test a provocative dream. Unruly hawks and crows show the dark crevasses of the soul. But a mysterious nightingale reveals how one can fly away home into a fantasy that is reality. Written by Steven Bret Breneman. Illustrated by Carol Joy. Softcover Catalog No. 353-021 $4.50

Loving Hands

Sixty minutes of new songs (17 in all) from the Heart Sisters (Susan Engle, Jean Marks) of the Come and Sing album. Side one features songs about Bahá’í life ranging from an ABC song to one about world peace. Side two contains devotional music (Hidden Words, prayers, lullabyes) for quiet times. Cassette Catalog No. 832-028 $8.00

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Prices good through June 15, 1984 [Page 26]

Camino del Sol: en la tierra navajo-hopi

Por REGINA ANCHONDO

El día después de nuestro programa de noche en Albuquerque salimos otra vez en los "trailers," esta vez para visitar a los indígenas navajo y hopi en el norte de Arizona.

EL GRUPO ya había aumentado para incluir trés miembros más—Chester Kahn, navajo y miembro de la Asamblea Nacional; Roha Ta'eed, quien nos ayudaría con la traducción; y Barbara Taylor, secretaria de la Consejera Lauretta King.

El viaje fue espectacular. Pasamos varios Pueblos del Oeste—Zuñi, Acoma y Laguna—que esperabamos visitar en el viaje de regreso a Albuquerque.

En Window Rock pausamos para almorzar en casa de unos Bahá’ís, y después continuamos el viaje hasta Tsaile, local de la sucursal principal del Colegio Superior de la Comunidad Navajo. Encuanto llegamos nos llevaron a conocer a varios miembros de la junta directiva del colegio, quienes se encontraron en una reunión a esa hora.

Después de una breve conversación nos presentaron a unos miembros del profesorado y unos "hombres de medicina" (personas responsables para ceremonias de curación, buen tiempo, etc.) y les acompañamos a una sala donde podríamos sentarnos para platicar.

EL TOQUE de luz de la conversación fue el intercambio entre los sudamericanos y los hombres de medicina. Como uno de ellos hablaba sólo navajo, era necesario tener traducciones de trés partes. Estos señores sirven de consejeros para el componente cultural del profesorado del colegio. Se compartió bastante información encuanto al trabajo de ellos y sus contrapartes en la cultura mapuche (quienes son mujeres).

Los visitantes de sudamérica especialmente se quedaron impresionados por la organización del colegio y su énfasis en la cultura y los artes indígenas.

Después de la cena patrocinada por los Bahá’ís de Tsaile el Camino del Sol hizo una presentación en el colegio ante un público bastante grande, entre ellos gente que se habían invitado a la cena-recepción anterior.

El público fue animado y después de la presentación hizo preguntas serias acerca de la cultura. La pregunta más notable, y una que se haría bastante durante la gira, tenía que ver con la ausencia de mujeres en el Camino del Sol (las traductoras no se contaba porque no éramos indígenas y la Consejera King, aunque indígena tlingit, no era de sudamérica).

Se les explicó que el equipo visitando Canadá y Alaska incluía dos mujeres, y que más mujeres no podían librarse de sus compromisos familiares para participar en una gira tan larga.

ERA EL único asunto sobre lo cual se quejaron al equipo. Siguiendo más preguntas y un intercambio de regalos, Leopoldo Richard enseñó un baile kuna en lo cual muchos participaron.

Cuando dejamos Nuevo México y los Pueblos, supuse que se habían acabado las oportunidades de enseñar la Fe a hispanos. Pero no fue así. Egon Nieto y yo nos hicimos amigos de una muchacha alta y atractiva de la República Dominicana que estudiaba en el colegio por medio de una beca atlética para baloncesto.

La conocimos en la cena y ella vino después al programa. Aunque los próximos dos días pasaríamos en la reserva hopi, la invitamos a venir con los Bahá’ís de Tsaile a los próximos dos programas en la reserva navajo dentro de unos días.

Pasamos la noche con los Bahá’ís de Tsaile. Ellos viven en alojamiento del profesorado que, en el espíritu indígena del colegio, se ha construído como el hogan, la casa típica de los navajo.

Las estructuras tienen ocho lados con puertas que dan para el este. El centro consta de la sala y el comedor mientras los dormitorios y baños abren de los varios lados. Son una adaptación admirable de facilidades modernas a la arquitectura tradicional.

MUY temprano el día siguiente dejamos Tsaile para la reserva hopi, que se encuentra en medio del territorio navajo. La primera destinación fue el Cañon de Chelly donde rezamos cerca del sitio de una batalla y asedio entre los españoles y los navajos hacía casi dos siglos.

Una familia que visitaba el lugar pidió permiso para tomar fotografías de los sudamericanos y esperaron con respecto mientras rezamos.

Después Clemente Pimantel nos asustó a todos posándose en un precipicio y tocando su tarqa (flauta)—pasaría un buen tiempo antes de que nos diéramos cuenta de su comodidad en las montañas.

Llegamos a Polacca en la reserva hopi a tiempo para almorzar con una Bahá’í pueblo-hopi y su familia, aprovechando de la oportunidad de descansar antes de empezar las actividades de la tarde.

Escuché risa afuera y salí para ver que pasaba. Alguién del pueblo había pasado en caballo y paró para hablar con Egon y Leopoldo. Les invitó a montar al caballo, Egon primero y Leopoldo después.

EGON se sentó con mucha confianza pero Leopoldo se vió un poco incómodo. Pronto nos dimos cuenta de que era la primera vez que había montado en caballo—no hay muchos en las selvas de Venezuela. Lo hizo bastante bien bajo las circunstancias y todos nos quedamos riendo.

Charles Nolley, nuestro "cronista" cinematógrafo oficial, nos encontró en Polacca y después del almuerzo fuimos todos a visitar la Primera Mesa.

Los hopis han construído sus casas sobre columnas de piedra alta y plana que se levantan del paisaje. Las casitas de piedra ofrecían una frescura agradable después de la subida en el sol caliente.

Mientras paseamos, paramos a hablar con residentes sentados afuera tallando o trabajando en alfarería, y nos dijeron que muchas de las mujeres estaban ocupadas perparándose para una ceremonia que tomaría lugar más tarde ese día. Estaban abajo en la kiva, el lugar ceremonial subterráneo, y el pueblo se veía abandonado.

Después de una breve visita con el primo de nuestra amiga Bahá’í pueblo-hopi, fuimos a la Mesa Segunda para arreglar nuestro alojamiento en el hotel.

EL HOTEL forma parte de un centro cultural que incluye un museo de artefactos hopi y varias tiendas que ofrecen artesanía, ropa y joyería al estilo hopi, navajo y zuñi.

Cuando los comerciantes supieron que nuestros amigos eran indígenas de sudamérica, les dieron el descuento regular de 50% para indígenas, nos incluyeron a los demás en el trato y nos invitaron a todos a unas sodas frías y muy apreciadas.

La próxima parada fue Oraibi cerca de la Mesa Tercera donde esperamos conocer al coordinador de la tribu. Desafortunadamente era inaprovechable, pero logramos hablar con un joven que es responsable para relaciones públicas de la tribu.

Nos habló de las tradiciones hopi, especialmente del tiempo de la purificación, en la cual el creyó que nos encontramos ahora mismo. Los sudamericanos estaban de acuerdo.

Entonces mencionó que su clan es el de sirvientes, y aunque se considera el más humilde de todos, él tenía orgullo de poder servir a otros. Sabino le dío la razón y agregó que en la Fe Bahá’í la estación de siervo es de las más elevadas.

El programa de la noche fue muy concurrido y bien recibido. Por primera vez había que preparar para filmación y algunos ayudamos a Charles a hacerlo.

NUESTRO amigo de relaciones públicas vino, y pedimos que él aceptara el regalo que el Camino del Sol deseaba dejar al pueblo hopi. Más tarde el participó en el baile kuna que Leopoldo enseñó al público.

Personas interesantes aparecían durante toda la gira. Mientras disfrutamos de los refrescos después de este programa, conocimos a un joven hopi que conocía algunos de los instrumentos que tocaban Clemente y Egon.

Resultó que él había conocido y tocado con unos músicos sudamericanos y se sintió feliz al poder escuchar la música de nuevo. El día siguiente regresamos a Window Rock en el territorio navajo para una entrevista de televisión y una reunión con Peterson Zah, coordinador de la tribu.

La existencia de una emisora de televisión y radio que es propiedad de y operado por los navajo dejó gran impresión, especialmente como transmiten en el idioma navajo. De todas las reservas que visitamos, la navajo permanecería como un ejemplo de lo que los indígenas pueden lograr en cuanto al desarrollo, conservación de cultura y autodeterminación.

Esta tarde Ann Jorgensen, la otra traductora acompañó al equipo a la reunión con el Sr. Zah mientras yo descansaba. La traductoras llegamos a depender la una de la otra, y se formó un lazo entre nosotras que era independiente de la del Camino del Sol.

ANN era completamente desinteresada y concentrada en busca del bienestar del equipo, y observándola me ayudó a hacer mi trabajo mejor. Muchos de nuestros amigos Bahá’í y no Bahá’í de Tsaile asistieron nuestra presentación esa tarde en Fort Defiance, incluyendo nuestra amiga dominicana.

Ella nos contó que algunas amigas de la escuela habían tratado de convencerla a ir a un baile pero ella insistió en venir a la reunión Bahá’í. El sábado en la mañana dejamos Window Rock para el Instituto Bahá’í del Suroeste en Burntwater. Ese lugar fue el sitio de entrenamiento para el equipo del Camino del Sol norteamericano de lo cual la Consejera King fue miembro.

Pasamos el día reuniéndonos con amigos de la área incluyendo los de Tsaile—y allí, nuestra amiga dominicana vino a vernos de nuevo. La sesión de la tarde tomó lugar bajo una estructura techado de hojas con bancos hecho de madera. Roha sirvió de traductora y Ben Kahn y Chester Kahn dieron charlas breves. También hubo canciones.

Después cenamos y continuamos la reunión en el hogan recién construído. Es un edificio hermoso en el cual cada tronco parece haber sido creado específicamente para ocupar ese lugar. Llegaron más habitantes de los alrededores para participar en nuestra última noche en el territorio navajo-hopi y había conversaciones animadas sobre la Fe Bahá’í y la vida en sudamérica.

LA MAÑANA siguiente nos despertamos con la esperanza de visitar algunos de los pueblos que pasamos viajando hacia navajo-hopi, pero no era posible. Paramos en un sitio espectacular cerca de Lupton y filmamos dentro de las formaciones de piedra. Esta película se usó a nuestra ventaja en Dakota del Sur.

Después de almorzar regresamos a Albuquerque. El día siguiente sería nuestro "día libre." Ann, Lauretta y Barbara regresaron a la área de Santa Fe para visitar a amigos y parientes mientras yo fui con los sudamericanos a comprar abrigos y zapatos necesarios para el clima más frío de los Dakotas.

Al comprar lo necesario nuestra anfitriona nos llevó a cenar al bowling alley donde ella y su marido tienen un pequeño restorán, y nos invitó jugar a los bolos. Era la primera vez que los sudamericanos habían jugado a los bolos y se divirtieron bastante. Cuando salimos Sabino estaba considerando las posibilidades de abrir un bowling alley en Cochabamba.

Pasamos el resto de la tarde descansando y empacando para nuestra salida temprano a día siguiente rumbo a los llanos de los Dakotas donde esperamos hacer más amigos con los cuáles compartir el Mensaje de Bahá’u’lláh.

Lamentable fallecimiento Ethel Revell, sierva devota y abnegada

PROFUNDAMENTE APENADOS ANUNCIAR FALLE-CIMIENTO ETHEL REVELL PROMOTORA CAUSA DIOS DE CARÁCTER SANTO FIRME ABNEGADO. BENDITA POR ASOCIACIÓN ‘ABDU’L-BAHÁ CURSO SU VISITA AMÉRICA Y POR HABER RECIBIDO TABLAS DE ÉL. SUS LABORES INCANSABLES CUALIDADES EXCELENTES GANARON ADMIRACIÓN SHOGHI EFFENDI QUIEN LE NOMBRÓ A CONSEJO BAHÁ’Í INTERNACIONAL COMO SU SECRETARIA OCCIDENTAL AYUDANTE. ESTA CORONA SUS SERVICIOS CONTINUÓ AL SER MIEMBRO CONSEJO ELEGIDO POSTERIORES SERVICIOS DE MUCHAS CLASES CENTRO MUNDIAL INCLUYENDO SECRETARIA MANOS TIERRA SANTA. URGIMOS ASAMBLEAS NACIONALES REALIZAR DIGNAS REUNIONES CONMEMORATIVAS SU HONOR EN TODOS MASHRIQU’L-ADHKÁRS OTROS CENTROS. ORANDO SANTUARIOS SAGRADOS PROGRESO SU ALMA RADIANTE REINO ABHÁ.

CASA UNIVERSAL DE JUSTICIA 9 DE FEBRERO DE 1984 [Page 27]January 15 in Glendale, Arizona. About 170 people attended the Singer/guitarist Houmphanh Thaviphone entertains during a World Religion Day observance event.

170 attend World Religion Day observance in Glendale, Arizona

Tom Kavelin of Los Angeles was the featured speaker January 15 at a World Religion Day ob- servance in Glendale, Arizona. An audience of 170 heard Mr. Kavelin speak on "World Reli- gion for the Progress of the World."

Entertainment was provided by several young East Indian danc- ers; santour player Sohrab Gan- domi; Mark Lanus who played woodwind and reed instruments; and vocalists John Dugas, Pamela Hawley, and Houmphanh Thavi- phone from Laos, who accom- panied himself on the guitar. Julie Sater participated both as master of ceremonies and as a per- former.

Members of the sponsoring As- sembly in Glendale said the event was the most successful in their memory.

Migration, Population Institute needs your help

The National Institute for Mi- gration and Population Services, a non-profit organization com- mended by the Universal House of Justice and encouraged by the Na- tional Spiritual Assembly, needs help from Bahá’ís.

THE Institute, established in 1981, offers resettlement services to refugees who flee their home- land as a result of religious or po- litical persecution. Among these refugees are Persian Bahá’ís.

Stormy Cribb, a Bahá’í who is national coordinator of the Texas- based Institute, says, "The In- stitute helps refugees from almost 40 countries. It aids all races, re- ligions, nationalities and age groups; yet a major emphasis is given to Bahá’ís who have been able to leave Iran and obtain tem- porary refuge in another country.

"These Persian Bahá’ís are brought to America, with help from the Institute and coopera- tion from the United Nations, to rejoin families, teach the Faith, and resettle in goal areas."

Bahá’ís are needed to serve in various positions: as sponsors, volunteer staff members in five regional offices, and as sources to provide material help and to generate interest in the Institute among Bahá’ís.

"Our biggest problem," says Ms. Cribb, "has been money. We are not funded by any Bahá’í ad- ministrative institution; we have depended on charitable dona- tions.

"Yet we've been hesitant to re- quest financial help from Bahá’ís since the Institute doesn't want to burden the National Fund and we don't want Bahá’ís to send us money they would normally do- nate to the Fund."

LAST January, the Institute helped 40 Bahá’í refugees from Iran to resettle in the U.S. Twenty-seven other cases of Persian Bahá’ís are now before the UN Commission for Refugees, and 25 are expected to arrive in this country in the near future, possibly in as little as six weeks.

The National Institute's five re- gional offices are in Beaumont, Texas; Mosinee, Wisconsin; Pom- pano Beach, Florida; Sacramento, California, and (soon to be) New York City.

Any Bahá’í who can help is ask- ed to contact Stormy Cribb, P.O. Box 3462, Beaumont, TX 77704, or phone 409-838-9090 during of- fice hours (9 a.m. to 5 p.m. CST).

Bahá’í responds to father's martyrdom with love, courage

The following letter was written by a Bahá’í in Iran to his siblings upon receiving news of their father's martyrdom in prison.

My dear brother, my kind sister Allah’u’Abhá

With a heart full of pain and sorrow, and yet happy and joy- ous, I convey to you the news of the freedom of my dear and be- loved father, of my caring and hard-working father.

Yes, my father gained freedom because of his creed, his belief, and his devotion. He has been lib- erated from all the pain and un- happiness of this finite world. His happy and joyous spirit will al- ways be with us.

My dear father always worked hard for us, anxious for our com- fort. His wish was that we should be proud, and hold love and affec- tion as our motto; and he was al- ways resigned to the Will of Bahá’u’lláh, the Will of God.

The news of his departure reached us last night through pris- oners' families. Our broken heart is full of pain at the loss of this shining light, this symbol of per- severance and courage.

My father always used to say, "Do not lament my death." But how is this possible?

How little did I know the worth of this kind father, this pious toiler, this helper of the Cause of God. We will always be the fol- lowers of his path. His path was the path of love. May his soul be happy.

Today the Bahá’í communi- ty... mourned his death. His face was happier than ever, his eyes were open, and he had a pensive and holy mien.

After about four months, we were at last able to see him at a time when his soul had left his body. Yes, we succeeded in seeing him. May his soul be happy.

My father used to say, "Do not weep after my death, but think about the fact that, sooner or later, all will go. The important point is how and in which path one loses one's life."

Joy at his happiness that he chose the best way: sacrifice for the path of truth.

My only wish is to be able to find the capacity to follow the honorable path of my father. Amen.

Survey Continued From Page 5

is economically feasible. Bahá’ís should consider the Fund as a part of their regular monthly bills such as electricity, mortgage, etc....

-There is a reference in the Local Spiritual Assembly Devel- opment Manual, p. 203, which speaks of making objectives reas- onable and attainable. Is the $10 million goal either? Or are we doomed to failure? This Assembly did meet the National Spiritual Assembly's request to raise the level of contributions to the Na- tional Fund by 19 per cent, and we have been meeting it... but it ap- pears to do no good. All the ef- forts appear to have no effect and therefore appear unimportant. Why try?...

-We think the Treasurer's Of- fice does a fantastic job. With all the courses, materials and pro- grams, we feel well educated and guided....

We appreciate these frank and loving comments, and plan to share more of them with you in future months.

Tapes, pioneer manual still available

Order your Joany Lincoln cassette tapes and Ruhiyyih Khánum's A Manual for Pioneers from the International Goals Committee; $8 for the cassette, $5.25 for the book, with checks made out to the National Bahá’í Fund and sent directly to the In- ternational Goals Committee. Also available for $4 is Quickeners of Mankind, a compilation of quotations about pioneering pub- lished by the Bahá’í Publishing Trust of Canada.

Bahá’í is school administrator of year for 1983 in Sonoma County, California

Terry Kneisler, a member of the Spiritual Assembly of Healds- burg, California, has been named Sonoma County's school adminis- trator of the year for 1983.

Mr. Kneisler, who also serves as chairman of the Bahá’í Media Council, has been superintendent and principal of the West Side Union School District for the past four years.

The accomplishments for which he was cited include:

• Constructing a $250,000 fine arts center.

• Creating a new math, science and music curriculum and special education program.

Obtaining grants to establish a new library and staff and set up a computer education program.

Pushing for the restoration of the Old Felta School, which was in disrepair.

Teaching full-time in addition to his many other duties.

Mr. Kneisler and his wife, Car- rie, have three children.

The Fund Is the Life-Blood of the Faith

National Bahá’í Fund Wilmette, IL 60091

New from Kalimat Press

CONCORDANCE TO GLEANINGS from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh compiled by Lee Nelson and Miriam Towfiq.

Cismontane to Glamis from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh

A computerized guide to every significant word in the GLEANINGS

CAN'T FIND THAT QUOTATION? Never spend hours looking again. Great for preparing Feast programs!

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Order through your local librarian, or send check or money order (including 10% for postage and handling, minimum $1.50) to Bahá’í Publishing Trust 415 LINDEN AVENUE. WILMETTE, IL 60091

• Price valid only in the United States

[Page 28]

75TH BAHÁ’Í NATIONAL CONVENTION (April 26-29, 1984)

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.

PLEASE PRINT USE ONE FORM PER FAMILY LIST ALL ATTENDEES 15 YEARS OLD AND OLDER

(Mr./Mrs./Miss). Bahá’í I.D. No.. (Mr./Mrs./Miss). Bahá’í I.D. No.. (Mr./Mrs./Miss). Bahá’í I.D. No. (Mr./Mrs./Miss). Bahá’í I.D. No..

28 SUNTIM Address Youth Telephone (

CHILDREN'S REGISTRATION LIST ALL CHILDREN 14 YEARS OLD AND UNDER Please note special needs (medical, emotional, dietary, etc.)

Child's name Sex Age Special needs

A QUALITY CHILDREN'S PROGRAM IS PLANNED. PRE-REGISTRATION IS ESSENTIAL TO INSURE YOUR CHILD'S PLACE IN THIS PROGRAM. MAKE YOUR RESERVATIONS NOW!

Mail to: Office of Membership, Bahá’í National Center, Wilmette, IL 60091

Letter from the Universal House of Justice

youth who were subjected to the interrogations and abuses of teachers and mullahs and were ex-pelled from school for upholding their beliefs. It, moreover, bears noting that under the restrictions so cruelly imposed on their com-munity, the youth rendered signal services, placing their energies at the disposal of Bahá’í institutions throughout the country. No splen-dor of speech could give more fit-ting testimony to their spiritual commitment and fidelity than these pure acts of selflessness and devotion.

In virtually no other place on earth is so great a price for faith required of the Bahá’ís. Nor could there be found more willing, more radiant bearers of the cup of sacri-fice than the valiant Bahá’í youth of Iran. Might it, then, not be rea-sonably expected that you, the youth and young adults living at such an extraordinary time, wit-nessing such stirring examples of the valor of your Iranian fellows, and exercising such freedom of movement, would sally forth, "unrestrained as the wind," into the field of Bahá’í action?

May you all persevere in your individual efforts to teach the Faith, but with added zest; to study the Writings, but with greater earnestness. May you pur-sue your education and training for future service to mankind, of-fering as much of your free time as possible to activities on behalf of the Cause. May those of you al-ready bent on your life's work and who may have already founded families, strive toward becoming the living embodiments of Bahá’í ideals, both in the spiritual nurtur-ing of your families and in your active involvement in the efforts on the home front or abroad in the pioneering field. May all re-spond to the current demands upon the Faith by displaying a fresh measure of dedication to the tasks at hand.

Further to these aspirations is the need for a mighty mobilization of teaching activities reflecting regularity in the patterns of ser-vice rendered by young Bahá’ís. The native urge of youth to move from place to place, combined with their abounding zeal, in-dicates that you can become more deliberately and numerously in-volved in these activities as travel-ing teachers. One pattern of this mobilization could be short-term projects, carried out at home or in other lands, dedicated to both teaching the Faith and improving the living conditions of people.

Another could be that, while still young and unburdened by family responsibilities, you give attention to the idea of volunteer-ing a set period, say, one or two years, to some Bahá’í service, on the home front or abroad, in the teaching or development field. It would accrue to the strength and stability of the community if such patterns could be followed by suc-ceeding generations of youth. Re-gardless of the modes of service, however, youth must be under-stood to be fully engaged, at all times, in all climes and under all conditions. In your varied pur-suits you may rest assured of the loving support and guidance of the Bahá’í institutions operating at every level.

Our ardent prayers, our un-shakable confidence in your abil-ity to succeed, our imperishable love surround you in all you en-deavor to do in the path of service to the Blessed Perfection.

The Universal House of Justice January 3, 1984

Local News

The Spiritual Assembly of Au-gusta, Maine, sponsored this booth September 23-25 at the Common Ground Country Fair in Windsor, which was attended by about 39,400 people. More than 20 interest cards were filled out, and one person who heard of the Faith for the first time at the fair is now attending firesides. A Bahá’í ad appeared in the fair's guide book, and a Bahá’í gave a 15-min-ute talk as a part of the fair's Sun-day morning worship service.

Culture

offered any refreshments. When one is visiting in Iran, he is inundated with plates of fruit, nuts, and many cups of tea. Elab-orate meals are lovingly prepared, and served during a long noon-time break.

The pace of life in Iran is slow-er, and people seem to have more time to savor each other's com-pany in a gracious atmosphere. Our rush-rush lifestyle and con-sumption of fast food meals is something that takes getting used to.

The Iranian custom of "ta'a-rof" (ceremoniousness) is some-thing that is difficult for Wes-terners to understand. What is seen by Persians as politeness can be read by misinformed Ameri-cans as rejection.

The codes of politeness (ta'arof) that have been developed in Iran require that one turn down food that is offered several times before finally accepting it.

AMERICANS, on the other hand, tend to take people at their word, and don't offer food again after one or two invitations. This can lead to some unhappy and starving Persians who were only trying to be polite!

Customs concerning food are often intimately tied to attitudes about the duties of men and wo-men. The Iranian custom of hav-ing women wait on the men is sometimes hard for Americans to understand.

If ‘Abdu’l-Bahá makes the point that service to others is one of the greatest virtues, then why do so many men deprive them-selves of this bounty?

Iranians and Americans need to be careful about letting "old world" concepts determine our at-titudes toward each other's proper roles. Expecting another person to act as one's personal servant does not reflect the spirit of the Bahá’í teachings.

There is one final area I would like to discuss in which Americans may misunderstand the actions of some of the Iranian friends, and that is in volunteering to help on large projects.

MANY Westerners are used to speaking up and volunteering their time and talents to help. But this is difficult for some Iranians to do.

They hesitate to volunteer be-cause they fear that it seems ego-tistical and conceited. So they wait to be asked.

Please don't hesitate to ask the Persians in your community to help; you may find some hidden resources you didn't know you had.

We should constantly encour-age the Iranians to use their English and to overcome the em-barrassment they feel if they make mistakes in speaking, as this may also be a cause of hesitancy.

In the Bahá’í Faith, cultural dif-ferences are to be cherished. It is our diversity that makes us so uni-que.

We should use our communities as testing grounds for the develop-ment of a Bahá’í society, asking ourselves constantly what the Ba-há’í standard of behavior should be.

Perhaps we could also sit down together and list the positive traits about each other that we can ab-sorb and learn.

We really needn't be so deadly serious about ourselves either. Some laughter and healthy appre-ciation of each other's difficulties can go a long way toward easing problems.

We are all embarking on a great adventure, and the more we learn about the cultures we encounter, be they Iranian, Native American, Hispanic, Laotian, Afro-Amer-ican, or whatever, the more we can delight in the strength and diversity of our Bahá’í way of life. [Page 29]John Criswell (left), a television newsman in Dallas, Texas, receives the 1983 Humanitarian Award from John Noland, chairman of the Spiritual Assembly of Arlington, Texas, which sponsored the award ceremony last October 24. Mr. Criswell won for his series on child abuse and abandonment entitled 'Wednesday's Child.'

Newsman wins 2nd Arlington, Texas, Humanitarian Award

More than 350 people were present last October 24 for the second annual Humanitarian Awards presentation sponsored by the Bahá’í community of Arlington, Texas.

Receiving the award for his special series "Wednesday's Child" was John Criswell, a television newsman in Dallas.

Mr. Criswell was introduced by Dodie Freeman, a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of Barbados, and his award plaque was presented by John Noland of Arlington who served as master of ceremonies for the event.

Mr. Criswell presented several segments of his TV series which includes shocking statistics on child abuse, incest and abandonment.

Last year's award recipient, Jim Grey, who is director of the National Paraplegia Association of Fort Worth, showed a film on the handicapped that featured background music by Bahá’í Danny Deardorff.

The main Bahá’í speaker was Nancy Dobbins of Fort Worth whose talk was centered around the responsibility of parents to train and educate their children to have a goodly character and to realize that they were created noble.

The audience also was treated to songs by the local children/ youth choir with accompaniment by guitarist Tom Pautz of Bedford. The choir was directed by Swan Engs of Arlington.

Fund

exciting new projects in the field of social and economic development.

Winning the goal would also make possible two important accomplishments in this country; the repair of our precious House of Worship in Wilmette, and the elimination of our bank debt (see chart on Page 5).

No one who recognizes the tremendous impact that a National Fund victory would have on the entire Bahá’í world can fail to arise at this time.

Anyone who has a doubt as to whether or not it is possible to raise $10 million by the end of April should bear in mind these words of the Guardian:

"... this Cause is a Cause that enables people to achieve the impossible."

Let us throw ourselves into the work today! May each and every believer find the strength and inner resources to become a "living sacrifice" for all mankind.

If you are traveling outside the United States for any reason, please contact the International Goals Committee office. A temporary Bahá’í identification card will be issued to you, if needed.

AVAILABLE NOW From the Bahá’í Service for the Blind

In Braille or on cassette tape— Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh .The Priceless Pearl • More than 100 other titles

For a catalog send $1 to: Bahá’í Service for the Blind Tucson, AZ 85716 (Please specify complete catalog or catalog for tapes and cassettes only.)

Young Texas Bahá’í a solid achiever and leader

Sixteen-year-old Charlene Land, who grew up in a Bahá’í family, became a Bahá’í herself (after much thought) on her 15th birthday, because, she says, "The other religions I studied didn't seem to be for this day and age. Their teachings didn't seem to pertain to 'right now."

"The Bahá’í Faith made sense, so I became a Bahá’í."

RECOUNTING her teaching experiences during the six years that she has lived in Round Rock, Texas, Charlene says, "The greatest challenge is learning how to teach. It's hard to overcome shyness and try to convince people the Faith isn't a cult. It's hard when people don't believe you."

When she was in middle school, she says, her friends asked many questions and thought the Faith was "neat."

But now, in high school, her friends have stopped talking about religion.

"Most of them go to church every Sunday," she says. "Most believe in God, but are not fanatical about their religion."

Charlene has many opportunities to interact with people at school. She is a member of the National Honor Society, Mu Alpha Theta (the math society), the Future Business Leaders of America, and the school band.

She performs with the flag corps during the band's halftime shows, and it was in that capacity that she marched with the Round Rock band in the Rose Bowl parade in January in Pasadena, California.

IN LESS than two years, Charlene has served on the local Feast and Holy Days Committee, the District Youth Committee, the Touchstone Conference Committee, and the local Deepening and Education Committee.

She also has spoken at a community deepening, won a scholarship to a summer school, and continues to baby sit for the children of Assembly members during their meetings.

Charlene's long-range plans are to attend college and major in math and computer engineering, after which she would like to pioneer to South America, possibly Brazil.

"Mostly," she says, "I want to be really good at whatever I do."

BAHÁ’Í EDUCATION IN INDIA

A NEW FILM presented by the BAHÁ’Í NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY of INDIA and the CONTINENTAL BOARD OF COUNSELLORS of ASIA

16mm, 40 minutes, $390.00 U.S An ARK Production, New Zealand

The Bahá’í Community of India is approaching the vast domain of education. This motion pictire was filmed in many parts of india and documents the following types of education:

The New Era School The Glory School The village tutorial schools The Rabbani Agricultural Academic School, and The Rural Development and Technological Institutes

AVAILABLE IN ENGLISH, FRENCH AND SPANISH in Video Tape or 16mm Film 3/4 inch: $150.00 VHS 1/2 inch: $ 70.00 BETA 1/2 inch: $ 70.00 (French video format) $200.00

Please indicate precise size and format required.

Please make your chus or money order sayaleto International Bahá’í Audio Visual Centru Thornhill, Ont. L3T 2A1 (Canada) All films cost $390.00 payable in US funds only, piis Air Parcel Post Please incluon instructions regarding any special Customs documentation. [Page 30]

VIE Chart

Continued From Page 5

District Name	‘Starting Block’ Info			Current Month Info (Mulk)
	Membership as of 12/9/83	Number of participants	Percentage of participation	Membership as of 2/22/84	Number of participants	Percentage of participation
Florida N	284	19	6.7	287	24	8.3
Florida SE	1,113	54	4.9	1,119	60	5.4
Florida SW	495	43	8.7	500	65	13.0
Georgia NE	339	48	14.2	337	45	13.4
Georgia NW	876	17	1.9	880	19	2.2
Georgia S	1,158	8	0.7	1,200	8	.66
Idaho N/Washington E	473	63	13.3	478	60	12.5
Idaho S	183	21	11.5	184	38	20.7
Illinois N No. 1	596	52	8.7	589	59	10.0
Illinois N No. 2	1,148	143	12.5	1,156	154	13.3
Illinois S	742	68	9.2	739	65	8.8
Indiana	541	66	12.2	532	55	10.3
Iowa	383	63	16.4	384	86	22.4
Kansas	340	35	10.3	344	33	9.6
Kentucky	231	25	10.8	232	29	12.5
Louisiana N	84	11	13.1	82	12	14.6
Louisiana S	536	21	3.9	536	27	5.0
Maine	216	26	12.0	215	45	20.9
Maryland W/D.C.	752	79	10.5	755	93	12.3
Massachusetts	946	103	10.9	949	118	12.4
Michigan Mainland	1,171	126	10.8	1,175	128	10.9
Minnesota N	166	26	15.7	165	34	20.6
Minnesota S	434	79	18.2	430	76	17.7
Mississippi	415	18	4.3	407	17	4.2
Missouri	657	75	11.4	653	74	11.3
Montana	347	36	10.4	350	39	11.1
Navajo/Hopi	370	9	2.4	378	16	4.2
Nebraska	307	45	14.7	303	42	13.9
Nevada N	165	14	8.5	171	13	7.6
Nevada S	150	16	10.7	152	23	15.1
New Hampshire	339	44	13.0	339	69	20.4
New Jersey	693	78	11.3	685	94	13.7
New Mexico S/Texas W	979	22	2.2	999	23	2.3
New Mexico N	481	37	7.7	483	52	10.8
New York E	1,254	93	7.4	1,254	109	8.7
New York W	582	78	13.4	590	80	13.6
North Carolina C	636	31	4.9	632	28	4.4
North Carolina E	654	17	2.6	650	13	2.0
North Carolina W	408	32	7.8	410	30	7.3
North Dakota	137	16	11.7	133	18	13.5
Ohio N	551	66	12.0	552	71	12.9
Ohio S	388	46	11.8	394	43	10.9
Oklahoma E	358	26	7.3	350	34	9.7
Oklahoma W	499	28	5.6	496	28	5.6
Oregon E	276	4	1.4	279	6	2.1
Oregon W	1,255	103	8.2	1,276	111	8.7
Pennsylvania E	452	60	13.3	457	63	13.8
Pennsylvania W	195	26	13.3	198	33	16.6
Rhode Island	108	13	12.0	108	12	11.1
South Carolina C	1,314	10	0.76	1,311	14	1.1
South Carolina E No. 1	2,397	3	0.12	2,399	4	.16
South Carolina E No. 2	2,017	6	0.29	2,014	10	.40
South Carolina N	821	4	0.48	819	2	.24
South Carolina S No. 1	627	6	1.0	627	16	2.5
South Carolina S No. 2	794	4	0.5	802	4	.50
South Carolina W	386	15	3.9	393	13	3.3
South Dakota	266	7	2.6	269	12	4.5
Tennessee E	159	23	14.5	158	26	16.5
Tennessee W	300	19	6.3	300	16	5.3
Texas C No. 1	528	34	6.4	519	33	6.4
Texas C No. 2	105	3	2.9	104	4	3.8
Texas E No. 1	1,269	83	6.5	1,287	91	7.1
Texas E No. 2	838	70	7.4	849	66	7.7
Texas N	186	13	7.0	186	17	9.1
Texas S	219	12	5.5	219	14	6.4
Utah	251	29	11.6	252	34	13.5
Vermont	156	20	12.8	158	26	16.5
Virginia N	670	53	7.9	674	59	8.8
Virginia S	538	40	7.4	538	43	8.0
Washington NW	1,011	93	9.2	1,017	110	10.8
Washington SW	356	38	10.7	352	48	13.6
West Virginia	178	15	8.4	179	29	16.2
Wis. N/Peninsular Mich.	237	41	17.3	238	46	19.3
Wisconsin S	757	130	17.2	756	140	18.5
Wyoming	151	15	10.0	149	17	11.4

Ads

Continued From Page 18

one that may inspire others to teach and serve, or if you know of someone whose story is interesting, I would appreciate your sending the story to me (please type or print), indicating whether you or the other individual’s name may be used in the book. Please send stories to Tahirih Foroughi, Reno, NV 89503.

BOPHUTHATSWANA in Southern Africa needs math, physical science, and English teachers. Those employed would be teaching in rural areas. Teaching certification and experience bring the best salaries. Information about these jobs will be given to those Bahá’ís whose applications have been accepted by the International Goals Committee. Applications may be obtained by writing to the committee at the Bahá’í National Center, Wilmette, IL 60091, or by phoning 312-869-9039.

HELP US win the goals of the Seven Year Plan. The Bahá’í National Center is seeking individuals to serve in a variety of secretarial positions. Requirements include strong organizational skills, fast and accurate typing, and a friendly and courteous disposition. Live and serve beneath the shadow of the Mother Temple of the West. For applications or information, please contact the Personnel Office, Bahá’í National Center, Wilmette, IL 60091, or phone 312-869-9039.

LEVUKA, Fiji—Pioneers must sell a lovely 1,926-square foot house on an acre of land overlooking the Pacific and a coral reef. Three full baths, efficient kitchen, separate laundry. Extensively planted in coconuts, bread-fruit, mangos, avocados, lemons, limes, taro, pineapples, bananas. A small garden plot yields modest amounts of cantaloupe, squash, tomatoes, watermelon, lettuce, parsley, etc. Because of the semi-rare woods used throughout, the split-level house could not be duplicated today at any price. The pioneers have moved to Suva because of work, and have left behind a small group of indigenous Bahá’ís who need deepening, love and fellowship. Levuka is a goal of the Universal House of Justice and needs two Local Spiritual Assemblies. The house is worth more than $200,000, but the pioneers will sacrifice it for other Bahá’ís. For more information, write to the International Goals Committee, Bahá’í National Center, Wilmette, IL 60091, or phone 312-869-9039.

HIGH school English, math, science and social studies teachers and a college instructor are needed in the Caroline Islands in the South Pacific. A bachelor’s degree or higher plus some teaching experience are needed for the high school jobs, but certification is not necessary. For the Occupational College, someone with a bachelor’s or master’s degree in English with some teaching experience is needed. Living conditions on these goal islands are spartan but the cost of living is reasonable. Information about these jobs will be given to those Bahá’ís whose applications have been accepted by the International Goals Committee. To obtain an application, write to the committee at the Bahá’í National Center, Wilmette, IL 60091, or phone 312-869-9039.

THE NATIONAL Youth Committee would like to receive information on courses on the Bahá’í Faith being held at colleges and universities. Please send any details you may have to the National Youth Committee, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33315.

LIBERIA, West Africa, has several medical positions open in a 95-bed hospital. Needed are nurses, an anesthetist, lab technician, pediatrician, internist, and someone who is trained in obstetrics and gynecology. All are two-year contracts with housing provided. Information about those positions will be given to those Bahá’ís whose applications have been accepted by the International Goals Committee. Applications can be obtained by writing the committee at the Bahá’í National Center, Wilmette, IL 60091, or by phoning 312-869-9039.

THE Bahá’í Publishing Trust is seeking a multi-talented person to serve as promotions coordinator in the editorial department. The position requires experience in writing promotional copy, strong editing skills, and basic clerical experience. Applicants must be widely read in Bahá’í literature. To obtain an application, please contact the Personnel Office, Bahá’í National Center, Wilmette, IL 60091, or phone 312-869-9039.

KING City, California, in the state’s garden land, the Salinas County “Salad Bowl,” needs five or more deepened Bahá’ís as homefront pioneers to help teach Bahá’í administrative procedures to Mexican field workers, mostly women with small children, who have embraced the Faith. Needed are (1) a person to teach children’s classes (in English); (2) someone who is bi-lingual (English/Spanish); (3) Bahá’ís to teach the English-speaking residents; (4) someone who can handle clerical and administrative work; and (5) Bahá’ís who can offer their homes for meetings, etc. The predominant industry is agriculture. There are several large packing houses and a large restaurant and hotel. Retired couples, Persians, educators, those in the medical profession or with small businesses will love it here. Please write to P.O. Box 954, King City, CA 93930, or phone 408-385-4932.

National Bahá’í Archives undertakes oral history project

The National Bahá’í Archives Committee has begun an oral history project to collect personal reminiscences of Bahá’ís.

Anyone who has copies, either taped or written, of personal recollections or who can interview Bahá’ís is asked to write to the National Bahá’í Archives Committee, Bahá’í National Center, Wilmette, IL 60091. [Page 31]

Ten years ago... in The American Bahá’í

The Hand of the Cause of God John Robarts consults with members of the National Spiritual Assembly and Continental Board of Counsellors during a visit to the Bahá’í National Center in Wilmette.

More than 500 people are on hand in Foundation Hall at the House of Worship to hear Mr. Robarts speak about prayer as an indispensable part of the Naw-Rúz observance...

More than 100 Bahá’í students from 30 colleges in New England attend a weekend conference at Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts, entitled "Preparing for a Lifetime of Service."

The speakers include Dr. Daniel C. Jordan, a member of the National Spiritual Assembly and professor of education at the University of Massachusetts; Eileen Norman, secretary of the International Goals Committee; and Robert Henderson, chairman of the National Teaching Committee ...

An estimated 200,000 people in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware see a 30-minute television program on the Faith that is broadcast by an educational TV station in Philadelphia.

The participants, six Bahá’ís from West Chester, Pennsylvania, answer questions about the Faith, discuss basic Bahá’í teachings, and present slides of Bahá’í Holy Places...

Street teaching in Spanish-speaking areas of South Tucson, Arizona, is held under the auspices of the Southern Arizona District Teaching Committee.

The program begins with a workshop on mass teaching and includes a Bahá’í "festival" at which three people including a Papago Indian from the nearby Papago Reservation declare their belief in Bahá’u’lláh...

More than 100 people attend a free "Bahá’í Film Festival" at a loas downtown theatre in Northampton, Massachusetts.

Six films about the Faith including "It's Just the Beginning" and "Give Me That New Time Religion" are shown continuously from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. during the two-day event...

The American Bahá’í begins a page in Spanish that is to become a regular feature of the paper...

About 50 people attend an international costume party in Salt Lake City, Utah, that is a part of Intercalary Days activities sponsored by the Bahá’í community of Salt Lake County...

Leroy Ioas

committee as "the all-important National Teaching Committee," and called its work "truly stupendous, highly meritorious and magnificent in all its aspects..."

In 1951 the Guardian elevated Mr. Ioas to the rank of a Hand of the Cause of God. Three months later, Mr. Ioas responded to a call for assistance from the Guardian and left his executive position with a railroad company to serve at the World Centre.

Shortly after Mr. loas' arrival in Haifa, Shoghi Effendi named him secretary-general of the year-old International Bahá’í Council.

NOT LONG afterward, Mr. Ioas became the Guardian's assistant secretary.

Working under Shoghi Effendi's direction, he negotiated the purchase of several properties on Mount Carmel and near the Shrine of Bahá’u’lláh, establishing Israeli branches of four National Spiritual Assemblies to take title to them.

Guided at all times by the Guardian, Mr. Ioas supervised the construction of the drum and dome of the Shrine of the Báb, leading to its completion in October 1953; supervised the construction in only two years of the International Archives Building; defended the Faith against enemies who tried to hinder the Guardian at every turn; and helped resolve the many legal obstacles that stood in the way of acquisition of the Temple land on Mount Carmel.

He was responsible, as Shoghi Effendi wrote, for "... the final and definite purification, after the lapse of no less than six decades, of the Outer Sanctuary of the Most Holy Shrine of the Bahá’í world..."

On December 2, 1957, title to the Shrine of Bahá’u’lláh, the Mansion of Bahjí, and all other lands and buildings that the Covenant-breakers had owned, passed on Mr. Ioas' signature to the Israel branch of the U.S. National Spiritual Assembly.

IN 1953, Mr. loas had represented the Guardian at the first Intercontinental Conference in Kampala, Uganda.

In 1958, he participated in the last two of these conferences, in Djakarta and Singapore, held at the midway point of the Ten Year Crusade.

That same year, Mr. Ioas took part in the Intercontinental Conference in Chicago and spoke at the Geyserville Bahá’í School.

In 1963, at the opening of the Bahá’í World Congress in London, Mr. Ioas contracted pneumonia and afterward returned to the U.S. to convalesce, spending nearly two months in 1964 traveling through seven states to meet with the friends, teach, and conduct deepening sessions.

Now suffering from a weakened heart and chronic bronchities, Mr. loas was unable for several months to return to Haifa. He finally did so in October 1964, broken in health but spiritually invigorated.

Leroy loas died July 22, 1965. His earthly remains were laid to rest in the Bahá’í cemetery on Mount Carmel.

The beloved Guardian listed among Mr. Ioas' many outstanding qualities his "... vigorous spirit of determination ... and of noble enthusiasm... (his) energy, judgment, zeal and fidelity... (his) incessant activities and prodigious labors... (and his) tireless vigilance, self sacrifice, and devotion to the Cause in all its multiple fields of activity..."

Eldon Dennis, 78, homefront pioneer to St. Helena Island

Eldon Dennis, a Bahá’í homefront pioneer to St. Helena Island, South Carolina, died last December 27 on St. Helena. He was 78 years old.

Mr. Dennis, who was born January 17, 1905, in Carbon County, Utah, was a geologist who had worked overseas for the U.S. Geological Survey and taught geology at Texas Tech University in Lubbock and elsewhere.

Survivors include his wife, Judy; two sons, one daughter, one brother, and four grandchildren.

Fund-raiser nets $4,700

A dinner and auction last December in Albuquerque, New Mexico, netted $4,700 for radio station WLGI.

One of the items offered for sale, a painting by Russ Roberts, a Bahá’í from Espanola, of Clemente Pimantel, a member of the "Trail of Light" team from South America posing with his flute, was bought for $1,200, then offered for resale for another $1,200.

Dancer, Bahá’í Grace DeCarleton Ross dies at 93

Grace DeCarleton Ross, a Bahá’í from Portland, Maine, who was a well-known dancer and actress, died December 22. She was 93 years old.

Ms. Ross, who began her performing career in 1906, was still teaching and dancing until last summer.

She was the subject of a film, "Grace: A Portrait of Grace DeCarleton Ross," that had its premiere in Portland last May and was shown again in November at a film and dance festival in New York City.

After early acting experience in vaudeville and stock theatre in her native Boston, Ms. Ross began her career in silent films in 1916.

She began dancing at age 28 with the Pavlova Ballet Company. Later, she was for eight years the head of the dance department at the Boston Conservatory of Music, and taught at the Mildred Gellendre Theatre Studio and the renowned Studio 61 at New York City's Carnegie Hall.

She became a Bahá’í in New York during the 1940s and in 1950 moved to Portland where she continued to teach dance and drama in a variety of places—"Wherever there's a need," she always said—from the YWCA and schools for the deaf and blind to a juvenile detention center and an arts center for the elderly.

She served several times as a member of the Spiritual Assembly in Portland and was a member at the time of her death.

Ms. Ross was an active teacher who used dance and the arts to exemplify her Bahá’í philosophy of life.

Two years ago she played the part of the "old woman" in an adaptation of the Bahá’í children's book, The Secret in the Garden, that was presented by the Bahá’í community on the occasion of Portland's 350th anniversary celebration.

A memorial service was held January 29 in Portland. During the service one of Ms. Ross' friends, a dancer with whom she had shared the Bahá’í Teachings, declared her belief in Bahá’u’lláh.

Ethel Revell dies in Holy Land

DEEPLY GRIEVED ANNOUNCE PASSING ETHEL REVELL SAINTLY STEADFAST SELF-SACRIFICING PROMOTER CAUSE GOD. BLESSED BY ASSOCIATION ‘ABDU’L-BAHÁ COURSE HIS VISIT AMERICA AND RECEIPT TABLETS FROM HIM. HER TIRELESS LABORS STERLING QUALITIES EARNED ADMIRATION SHOGHI EFFENDI WHO APPOINTED HER INTERNATIONAL BAHÁ’Í COUNCIL AS ITS WESTERN ASSISTANT SECRETARY. THIS CROWN HER SERVICES CONTINUED MEMBERSHIP ELECTED COUNCIL SUBSEQUENT SERVICES MANY CAPACITIES WORLD CENTRE INCLUDING SECRETARY HANDS HOLY LAND. URGE NATIONAL ASSEMBLIES HOLD BEFITTING MEMORIAL GATHERINGS HER HONOR IN ALL MASHRIQU'L-ADHKÁRS OTHER CENTERS. PRAYING HOLY SHRINES PROGRESS HER RADIANT SOUL ABHA KINGDOM.

UNIVERSAL HOUSE OF JUSTICE FEBRUARY 9, 1984

In Memoriam

John Bellamy Longs, SC 1980

Wanda Boyer Mill Valley, CA Date Unknown

Carrie Butler Hartsville, SC Date Unknown

Joe Cabbagestalk Hartsville, SC Date Unknown

Nelson Clark Tuscaloosa, AL Date Unknown

Sado Cooley Bishopville, SC January 1984

Mary Jean Daley Hartford, CT December 9, 1983

E. Davis Dickinson S. San Francisco, CA July 29, 1983

Levern Evans N. Myrtle Beach, SC 1980

Howard Fancher Key West, FL Date Unknown

Joann Felious Richmond, CA January 16, 1984

Jessie Golston Denison, TX 1982

George Harrison Hartsville, SC Date Unknown

Willie Mae Hudson Hartsville, SC Date Unknown

Teresa Jacobs Hartsville, SC Date Unknown

Ronnie Kelly Hartsville, SC Date Unknown

Carmen Lane Petaluma, CA January 28, 1984

Rosalie Lathrum Prescott, AZ January 10, 1984

Frank C. Mair Trenton, NJ January 16, 1984

Manoochehr Moatter Pleasant Hill, CA November 19, 1983

Keith Monroe Hartsville, SC Date Unknown

Juan Pena Pagosa Springs, CO Date Unknown

Ignacio Perea Pagosa Springs, CO Date Unknown

Joe Price Hartsville, SC Date Unknown

Earl Redden Corsicana, TX 1983

Sophie Rieger Philadelphia, PA January 12, 1984

Nurullah Saberin Garden Grove, CA Date Unknown

Eliza Samuels Hartsville, SC 1983

Fabion Silva Pagosa Springs, CO Date Unknown

Early Songleton Florence, SC February 1984

Tom Spencer Taylorville, AL Date Unknown

Helen Sprague Billings, MT January 25, 1984

Winfield Stimson Garden Grove, CA August 18, 1981

Michael Talbott Los Angeles, CA November 24, 1983

Marion Walker Denison, TX 1982

Luetter Westbrook Tramms, IL December 6, 1982

Augusta Wexham Santa Paula, CA February 2, 1984. [Page 32]

Letters

telling me shortly after Martha's passing what ‘Abdu’l-Bahá had said of her during His visit to America in 1912: "Miss Martha Root will do the very best she can."

"Little did we guess," said Juliet, "what Martha's best would be."

Few people in those days thought much about compiling a future Bahá’í "Who's Who." Martha Root, who had a deep sense of humility, wasn't concerned about the impression she was making, and would have turned a deaf ear to all that has recently been written about her.

But that which was written by Shoghi Effendi in God Passes By can never be surpassed, nor can Rúhiyyih Khánum's comments in The Priceless Pearl about Miss Root's attachment to the Guardian and his continuous flow of affection in return.

Certainly, these will be her crowning glory forever.

Frances B. Edelstein Mountain View, California

To the Editor:

Many times I have seen young adult Bahá’ís frightened and distressed by the seeming likelihood of nuclear war.

This fear is sometimes a decisive factor in choosing between quality education in large cities or pioneering to a Third World country that presumably would not be severely affected if industrialized nations were destroyed in such a conflict.

SINCE it can take 10 years of study to acquire a Ph.D, for example, the risk of annihilation appears considerably larger when one considers the instability of world affairs. It thus emerges as a prudent decision, some maintain, to forego higher education and attempt instead to find work abroad.

However, a recent development in the study of the after-effects of a nuclear exchange between the superpowers gives me pause.

Independent studies by atmospheric scientists in the U.S. and Russia have concluded that even a limited use of nuclear weaponry would have global geophysical consequences far more severe than the effects of blast and radiation.

Soot and dust ejected into the atmosphere would block up to 98 per cent of all sunlight reaching the mid-latitudes of the northern hemisphere, causing temperatures across Asia, Europe and North America to drop as much as 30 degrees Fahrenheit even in midsummer within a week of the outbreak of hostilities.

In contrast, the global temperature drops about 10 degrees Fahrenheit during an ice age.

RESULTING changes in global air motions would carry this debris into the southern hemisphere, eventually affecting most if not all of the earth.

Crop failures would be widespread due to the cold, dark "nuclear winter," and droughts would occur.

Consequently, the southern hemisphere can no longer be seen as a sanctuary for the remnants of humanity that would escape the immediate destruction of a nuclear war in the northern hemisphere.

At a recent meeting in Washington, D.C., research scientists who met to discuss this grave matter could not preclude the extinction of the human race should even a limited war, detonating as little as five per cent of the nuclear arsenals of the U.S. and Russia, take place.

To the skeptic, this grim scenario presages the destruction of the earth, for nuclear weapons are the modern means of war, and war as a part of human nature is inevitable.

But Bahá’ís should interpret this as the dawn of peace.

NEARLY 30 years have passed since the end of World War II, and despite the many smaller wars that have occurred since then, the masses of humanity have lived in peace, and their suffering, while not negligible, has not been as severe and widespread as before.

Many Bahá’ís look to the end of this century as the time by which the Lesser Peace—the political peace—will have been established.

I submit that the Lesser Peace has substantially arrived, that no war the size of World War II can ever again occur, for the use of nuclear weapons in such a war would be unavoidable while their use would assure the destruction of human civilization—not only as we know it today, but for all time.

I do not believe that Bahá’u’lláh will allow up to four billion souls to perish painfully, slowly, from cold, hunger, thirst and sickness, as apparently would happen if war occurred, so I must conclude that the present world peace, meager and tenuous as it is, will therefore endure.

If one takes the leap of faith that Bahá’u’lláh has indeed established the Lesser Peace, the implications are profound. No more should one debilitate himself with fear!

FOOLISH is the Bahá’í who abandons higher education in the cities to seek presumed safety by pioneering elsewhere. Not only is a nuclear war highly improbable in light of God's purpose for man, but even if war should occur, every country on earth would perish, only more slowly.

There are many better reasons for pioneering—from the joy of teaching receptive souls to escaping from the materialism of the industrialized world.

If one takes this leap of faith, it becomes evident that he should not wait for the turn of the century to proclaim the Kingdom of God on earth. We must arise now, trusting in God to help us attain the final victory.

Bahá’u’lláh has bestowed upon us the gifts of peace, prosperity and destiny. Granted, there is no glory in the peace of today, and our prosperity is fragile, but ours is the command to bring forth the Most Great Peace, to guide the world into this Cause.

Clearly, we have the power and bear the responsibility to meet our spiritual destiny. The sooner we hasten, the sooner the suffering of humanity will abate.

Dean Churchill Seattle, Washington

To the Editor:

Is there anyone else out there who is interested in scientific phenomena and mathematical concepts as life metaphors?

Example 1: The neutron, because it has no charge, has great penetrating power, able to pass through lead one foot thick.

ALSO, its path cannot be directly observed in a cloud chamber because it doesn't produce ions directly. It can be observed only indirectly by the effect it has in striking other particles that do produce ions.

This reminds me of the true seeker who should be without "charge," i.e., should cleanse his heart of love or hate in order to penetrate the mysteries of the Bahá’í Revelation and self-knowledge.

Example 2: In theories of optimization, when many variables must be considered, often an optimum region is defined within which there are many solutions. In other words, for relatively complex problems, there is no one unique solution.

This reminds me of consultation and how it can be approached. For most situations, there are many variables, and if we come to a situation assuming there can be several ways of doing things (not holding on to our own unique solution but giving it to the group) we can effortlessly reach a consensus about any particular method, solution or approach.

For example, we can clearly understand that mass teaching is one way of teaching the masses. As one particular method, it was never intended to be a unique solution, and it is an approach, one of many.

The more I learn and observe, the more I wonder.

Jim Bell Frankfort, Kentucky

To the Editor:

A few years ago a Bahá’í friend told me, "It is the responsibility of each individual, when approaching the Bahá’í Faith, to decide whether he or she wants to be part of a civilization that is emerging, or one that is crumbling."

I believe the statement sets up a false and unnecessary distinction. Ultimately, we are one people on one planet, as we always have been.

It is the consciousness of that unity, while tolerating and even celebrating our differences, that the world, and I think, particularly America, is slowly waking up to.

Another trap, or misconception, I think we fall into occasionally is that since we believe that world unity will be achieved by the end of this century, it must be precipitated by some enormous catastrophe, like thermonuclear war.

Isn't it enough of a calamity to realize that we have put the finishing touches on the technology that could extinguish us, without actually using it? And would the Bahá’í verities be any less true if a world government were not established by the year 2000?

Sometimes, the essence of optimism lies not in seeing what should be done, but in what we can do.

Philip H. Costa College Station, Texas

Moving?

Tell us your new address

To avoid unnecessary delays in te-ceiving your copies of The American Bahá’í send your new address and your mailing I-bel which includes your ID number to the Office of Membership and Records, Bahá’í National Center, Wilmette, IL 60091, as soon as you know that you are going to move and what your new address will be. We will do our best to see that changes are processed quickly so that the transfer of mail to your new home is accomplished with all possible speed.

NOTE: Use this form for individual changes only.

Mi Name Mrs Miss Full name-DO NOT use nicknames House or Space Number Street. or Description Residence Address: State City Mail Address: Street Rural Route or Past Office Box Number City State Home Telephone Work Telephone Area Code Number Area Code: Number New Baha Community Moving Date.

BAHÁ’Í NATIONAL CENTER Wilmette, Illinois 60091

Name of Local Assembly group or isolated locality where this person resides Mailing label should accompany address change form We have been receiving more than one copy of The American Bahá’í. Because we don't need extra copies, please remove my name from the mailing list for this publication. Please check box. Zip Code Zip Code

New I.D. cards won't be issued until late in year

Owing to a lack of funds, the National Spiritual Assembly will not issue new Bahá’í identification cards until late 1984.

Although the current blue and white membership card indicates an expiration date of February 29, 1984, believers should keep their cards as Bahá’í identification until new cards are issued.

Other National Spiritual Assemblies in North America have been advised that the blue and white membership card is still valid, so the friends should experience no difficulty when visiting Alaska, Canada or Mexico.

Of course, any Bahá’í who is traveling for an extended period of time, or moving his residence to another national Bahá’í community, should inform the National Assembly of his intended destination and expected length of stay.