The American Bahá’í/Volume 20/Issue 1/Text

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[Page 1]

H. Borrah Kavelin, former member of Universal House of Justice, passes away in New Mexico

HEARTS LADEN WITH SORROW OVER LOSS TO BAHÁ’Í WORLD OUR DEARLY-LOVED FORMER COLLEAGUE H. BORRAH KAVELIN OUTSTANDING SERVANT CAUSE BAHÁ’U’LLÁH. INDOMITABLE FAITH, RIGOROUS CONSCIENTIOUSNESS, IRREPRESSIBLE OPTIMISM, UNFAILING RELIABILITY, UNBLEMISHED TRUSTWORTHINESS AMONG BRILLIANT QUALITIES WHICH SHONE THROUGH HIS NEARLY HALF CENTURY MONUMENTAL SERVICES TO CAUSE HE CONSTANTLY PROMOTED AND DEFENDED TO LAST DAYS HIS DISTINGUISHED LIFE. HIS EXTENSIVE INVOLVEMENT BAHÁ’Í ADMINISTRATIVE AFFAIRS BEGAN IN 1941 WITH HIS NINE YEARS ON LOCAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY NEW YORK AND INCLUDED 13 YEARS ON NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY UNITED STATES, TWO YEARS ON INTERNATIONAL BAHÁ’Í COUNCIL FOLLOWED BY QUARTER CENTURY MEMBERSHIP ON UNIVERSAL HOUSE OF JUSTICE. HIS MANIFOLD SERVICES ESPECIALLY MARKED BY HIS DILIGENT ENDEAVORS TO ASSIST DEVELOPMENT EXTERNAL AFFAIRS AGENCIES BAHÁ’Í INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY, HIS DEFTNESS FOR DIGNIFIED PROMOTION FINANCIAL INTERESTS FAITH, HIS LUSTROUS RECORD IN CONNECTION ACQUISITION IMPORTANT PROPERTIES INCLUDING MANSION MAZRA’IH AND HOUSE ‘ABDU’LLÁH PASHÁ.

OFFERING ARDENT SUPPLICATIONS HOLY THRESHOLD THAT HIS NOBLE SOUL MAY BE RICHLY REWARDED ABHÁ KINGDOM AND THAT BLESSED BEAUTY MAY SURROUND HIS BELOVED WIFE FLORE AND DEAR CHILDREN WITH DIVINE MERCY AND ASSISTANCE.

ADVISE HOLD MEMORIAL GATHERINGS IN HIS HONOR ALL HOUSES OF WORSHIP AND THROUGHOUT BAHÁ’Í COMMUNITY.

UNIVERSAL HOUSE OF JUSTICE DECEMBER 19, 1988

Edna M. True, ‘devoted maidservant’: 1888-1988

MAGNITUDE LOSS DEARLY-LOVED, STEADFAST, DEVOTED, HIGHLY RESPECTED MAIDSERVANT BAHÁ’U’LLÁH EDNA M. TRUE PROFOUNDLY FELT. RECALL WITH DEEP APPRECIATION RADIANT, DIGNIFIED COUNTENANCE OF ONE WHOSE EVENTFUL LIFE SPANNED MORE THAN THREE DECADES HEROIC AGE AND SIXTY-SEVEN YEARS FORMATIVE AGE. HER LONG PERIOD OUTSTANDING DEDICATED SERVICES CAUSE, ESPECIALLY ILLUMINED BY HER ATTAINMENT PRESENCE BELOVED MASTER AND PERSONAL ACQUAINTANCE SHOGHI EFFENDI, COMPRISED WIDE RANGE HISTORICALLY SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTIONS AS STALWART PILLAR AMERICAN BAHÁ’Í COMMUNITY DURING CRITICAL DECADES ITS EARLY ADMINISTRATIVE DEVELOPMENT AND AS SINGLE-MINDED, ENERGETIC, RESOURCEFUL PROMOTER EUROPEAN BAHÁ’Í COMMUNITY WHOSE RISE AFTER SECOND WORLD WAR IS FOREVER LINKED WITH HER EXTENSIVE ACTIVITIES FOR 17 YEARS BEHALF EUROPEAN TEACHING COMMITTEE. HER 22 YEARS ON NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY UNITED STATES AS ITS RECORDING SECRETARY INDICATE HOW INTIMATE WAS HER INVOLVEMENT IN SHAPING BAHÁ’Í COMMUNITY THAT COUNTRY. HER MEMORABLE MEMBERSHIP CONTINENTAL BOARD COUNSELORS NORTH AMERICA AND TRUSTEESHIP CONTINENTAL FUND CROWNED CENTURY-LONG, EXEMPLARY LIFE WHOLLY WORTHY HER ILLUSTRIOUS BAHÁ’Í HERITAGE.

PRAYING FERVENTLY HOLY SHRINES HER LUMINOUS SOUL MAY BE ACCORDED JOYFUL REUNION HER DISTINGUISHED MOTHER ABHÁ KINGDOM AND MAY EVER PROGRESS THROUGHOUT DIVINE WORLDS.

EXTEND HEARTFELT SYMPATHY HER RELATIVES. ADVISE HOLD MEMORIAL GATHERINGS IN HER HONOR AT MOTHER TEMPLE WEST AND IN LOCAL COMMUNITIES THROUGHOUT UNITED STATES. ALSO ADVISING OTHER COMMUNITIES NORTH AMERICA AND EUROPE HOLD SIMILAR GATHERINGS.

UNIVERSAL HOUSE OF JUSTICE DECEMBER 12, 1988

Edna M. True, whose matchless services to the Cause of God in North America and Europe spanned nearly a century, died peacefully in her sleep December 9 in Wilmette, Illinois, close to the Mother Temple of the West that was so dear to her heart.

Upon learning of Miss True’s passing some four months after her 100th birthday, the Universal House of Justice cabled:

"Her long period outstanding dedicated services Cause, especially illumined by her attainment presence beloved Master and personal acquaintance Shoghi Effendi, comprised wide range historically significant contributions as stalwart pillar American Bahá’í community during critical decades its early administrative development and as single-minded, energetic, resourceful promoter European Bahá’í community whose rise after second World War is forever linked with her extensive activities for 17 years behalf European Teaching Committee.

"Her 22 years on National Spiritual Assembly United States as its recording secretary indicate how intimate was her involvement in shaping Bahá’í community that country.

"Her memorable membership Continental Board of Counselors North America and Trusteeship Continental Fund crowned century-long, exemplary life wholly worthy her illustrious Bahá’í heritage."

Miss True, who was born July 29, 1888, in Grand Rapids, Michigan, lived most of her life in the Chicago area including the last 59 years in Wilmette.

She was a daughter of the Hand of the Cause of God Corinne Knight True whose valiant work from 1909-25 as financial secretary of Bahá’í Temple Unity was instrumental in building the House of Worship in Wilmette.

Corinne True died April 3, 1961, only seven months short of her 100th birthday.

Edna True was formally enrolled in the Faith as a 15-year-old in 1903, the same year in which Orville and Wilbur Wright flew the first heavier-than-air plane at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.

Six years later she was graduated from Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, where she had excelled in academics and sports and captained the basketball team.

She was a young woman of 23 in 1912 when ‘Abdu’l-Bahá visited Chicago and laid the cornerstone for the House of Worship in a ceremony on May 1 of that year.

Like her mother, Miss True became intimately involved in the completion of that magnificent edifice, serving on its construction committee from 1947-53, lending her expertise to interior design, and helping to plan its formal dedication in 1953.

During World War I Miss True was a member of the Smith College Relief Unit in France, ministering to the needs of the soldiers and the local population.

‘Vision’ moves steadily closer to ‘Victory’ as conferences build excitement, momentum

Roaring southward from Boston to Chattanooga, then turning westward to Seattle, the National Spiritual Assembly’s series of "Vision to Victory" conferences inspired the friends from coast to coast in November with Chicago on the horizon and eight other conferences ready to help prepare the U.S. Bahá’í community to "advance in all fields of service" as a prelude to the long-awaited "entry by troops" into the Cause of God.

One week after the highly successful Boston-area conference, Chattanooga welcomed more than 400 of the friends to its conference November 11-13, while more than 2,000 gathered the following weekend at the Northwest Conference in Seattle.

The Chicago-area conference was held December 16-18 with others to follow in January (Houston, San Jose, Atlanta, Kansas City, and Columbia, South Carolina) and February (Los Angeles, New York City, and Washington, D.C.).

Hearts were warmed and emotions heightened at the Chattanooga conference by a video tape prepared from his hospital bed by Borrah Kavelin, a former member of the Universal House of Justice, who was taken ill after arriving in Tennessee following his appearance at the conference in Massachusetts.

The theme of Mr. Kavelin’s address, which dealt with the consequences of recent decisions taken by the Supreme Body and the cataclysmic changes they portend, was "The Appointed Time."

United Nations General Assembly voices ‘grave concern’ over Iran’s human rights record, calls for continued investigation

Citing continued allegations of human rights violations by the government of Iran including evidence of ongoing harassment and persecution of Bahá’ís, the United Nations General Assembly approved a resolution December 8 expressing "grave concern" over Iran’s human rights record and calling on its government to allow a special UN representative to visit Iran to investigate the human rights situation there.

A spokesman for the Bahá’í International Community applauded the move.

"Although Iran’s systematic persecution of Bahá’ís has been less severe this year," said Daniel Wegener, a BIC representative to the UN, "the Bahá’í community in Iran remains an oppressed minority without any legal protections and lacking the freedom to practice their religion and live in peace.

"Continued international pressure," Mr. Wegener added, "as well as the continued monitoring of the situation in Iran by the United Nations, is essential if the Bahá’ís and other persecuted minorities in that country are to be granted the basic human rights to which they are entitled." [Page 2]

National Assembly's plan designed to 'enkindle fire' across the country

The National Spiritual Assembly has asked the National Teaching Committee to "devote its full energies to the achievement of large-scale enrollments in the four designated areas of Atlanta, Chicago, Massachusetts and San Jose, and to the encouragement of the teaching work in the remaining eight conference areas."

Some of the believers may be wondering why so much attention is being focused on these areas rather than being equally spread to every community in the country. To these friends, the National Teaching Committee offers the following explanation:

The National Spiritual Assembly's teaching plan is designed to create sparks to enkindle large-scale enrollments in the four areas which will grow and spread to other areas of the country.

As we know, to create the intense flash of heat needed to enkín- dle a fire takes the concentrated effort embodied in a spark. To keep that small flame going, it must be fanned until it continues to burn on its own. That is why we have chosen to center our en- ergies in four major areas. Once intensive teaching efforts are maintained in those areas they will, by their very nature, spread to other areas of the country.

The eight conference sites that were not designated as major teaching areas at the outset of the national plan were chosen to host regional conferences because they showed a strong potential for producing the same sparks that are enkindling the four major project sites.

Some of these areas may soon be ready for designation as the next set of areas to bring out large-scale enrollments that, when balanced with intensive efforts to consolidate the believers, will lead to entry by troops in the U.S. Already, some of them are vy- ing for recognition as the fifth major project site.

Other communities should by no means feel left out of the na- tional teaching plan, for the intention is to set the entire nation ablaze in the Light of Bahá’u’lláh. The National Spiritual Assem- bly is waiting for each community to rise up and be recognized for its desire and ability to achieve breakthoughs in teaching "on a scale and of a quality, a variety, and intensity outstripping all cur- rent efforts."

As reported in the December issue of The American Bahá’í, the Greater Cleveland, Ohio, area, for example, is one of those that, although it was not designated as a site for a conference or pro- ject, is achieving breakthroughs in teaching. The National Assem- bly is also watching closely metropolitan Denver, another area where sparks may soon start to fly.

The "new paradigm of opportunity" for the growth of the Cause, as explained by the Universal House of Justice in its Rid- ván 1988 message, may be met with success by every Bahá’í com- munity, and within each community by every man, woman, youth and child. The National Spiritual Assembly and National Teach- ing Committee are eager to hear news of your victories.

Miss True

From 1940-46 she was a mem- ber of the Bahá’í Inter-America Committee, serving as its chair- man in 1941-42 and secretary in 1945-46.

Also in 1946, Miss True was elected for the first time as a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. She served as the National Assembly's recording secretary for the next 22 years. Meanwhile, she served as chair- man of the European Teaching Committee for the entire span of its existence (1946-64), putting her organizational skills to work to help form local Spiritual Assem- blies and, later, National Spiritual Assemblies in 11 European coun- tries.

Professionally, Miss True was the founder and manager of North Shore Travel Service in Evanston, a position whose many contacts overseas helped greatly in her work with the European Teaching Committee.

In 1968, now 80 years old, Miss True was named by the Universal House of Justice as a member of the Continental Board of Coun- selors for the Americas.

She served with distinction as a Counselor and Trustee of the Continental Fund until 1981 when advancing years (she was then 93) forced her to reduce her activities.

Miss True remained an active member of the Wilmette Bahá’í community almost to her last year, regularly attending Feasts and other gatherings with her longtime friend and companion, Thelma Jackson.

DEEPLY SHARE SENSE LOSS WITH NORTH AMERICAN BAHÁ’Í COMMUNITY PASSING EDNA TRUE LAST VAL- IANT MEMBER OLDER GENERATION TRUE FAMILY, WHOSE DEVOTION AND SERVICES TO ‘ABDU’L-BAHÁ CENTER COVENANT AND LATER HIS SUCCESSOR SHOGHI EFFENDI THE GUARDIAN MARK THEM AS ONE OF THE MOST DISTINGUISHED BAHÁ’Í FAMILIES OF THE WEST DURING FORMATIVE AGE FAITH. ARDENT- LY HOPE YOUNGER GENERATION BELIEVERS WILL PAY BEFITTING TRIBUTE MEMORY THIS OUTSTAND- ING, EXEMPLARY SERVANT AND ARISE AS NEVER BE- FORE TO SPREAD THE CAUSE OF GOD AMONG THE MASSES OF EVERY COLOR, RACE AND BACKGROUND IN THE UNITED STATES AS A WORTHY REMEMBRANCE THIS WONDERFUL SOUL. RÚHÍYYIH DECEMBER 12, 1988

EDNA TRUE, ONE OF THE FEW REMAINING REMNANTS OF THE AGE OF ‘ABDU’L-BAHÁ AND SHOGHI EFFENDI, HAS PASSED FROM OUR MIDST. THE UNIVERSAL HOUSE OF JUSTICE HAS PAID HIGH TRIBUTE TO HER LIFE OF STERLING SERVICE TO THE CAUSE, AND THE HAND OF THE CAUSE OF GOD AMATU’L-BAHÁ RÚHÍY- YIH KHÁNUM HAS ADDED WORDS OF GLOWING PRAISE. IT REMAINS FOR THE NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY TO EXPRESS ITS LOVE AND PROFOUND AP- PRECIATION FOR HER DECADES OF UNSTINTING AND DISTINGUISHED SERVICE TO THE AMERICAN BAHÁ’Í COMMUNITY. IT WAS INDEED A PRIVILEGE FOR THE NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY TO HAVE COUNTED EDNA AS ONE OF ITS MEMBERS.

WE PRAY FERVENTLY FOR THE PROGRESS OF HER SOUL THROUGH ALL THE WORLDS OF GOD. NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY OF THE BAHÁ’ÍS OF THE UNITED STATES DECEMBER 15, 1988

In 1986, Miss True and Miss Jackson made a pilgrimage to the World Center in Haifa, Israel, where they visited the Holy Shrines and were entertained by members of the Universal House of Justice.

On her 99th birthday in July 1987, the National Spiritual As- sembly presented Miss True a scroll recognizing her many years of service to the U.S. Bahá’í com- munity.

From the National Teaching Committee, she received a framed copy of the commemorative print honoring the 75th anniversary of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s visit to North America.

In return, she presented to 19 young volunteers at the National Center copies of The Dawning Place, Bruce Whitmore's book about the building of the Mother Temple of the West.

Funeral services for Miss True were held December 15 with burial in the True family plot at Chi- cago's Oakwoods Cemetery.

The first of the memorial ser- vices in her honor was held two days later during the "Vision to Victory" conference in Chicago. Among those paying tribute to her exemplary life of service were Mr. Hofman; Dr. Sarah M. Pereira, who served with Miss True on the Continental Board of Counselors and National Spiritual Assembly; and Judge Dorothy W. Nelson, chairman of the National Spiritual Assembly.

Also presented was an audio- visual program depicting scenes from her extraordinary life.

"Uhoso ariseth, in this Day, to aid our Cause, and summon- eth to his assistance the hosts of apraiseworthy character and upright conduct, the influence flowing from such an action will, most certainly, be dif- fused throughout the whole world." Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 334.

Borrah Kavelin: able, steadfast servant of Cause

H. Borrah Kavelin, who died December 18 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, crowned nearly half a century of self-sacrificing, de- voted service to the Cause of God with membership on the Universal House of Justice from its incep- tion in 1963 until his retirement early this year because of failing health.

Mr. Kavelin had returned to the U.S. in June and was to take part with David Hofman, another former member of the House of Justice, in the 12 "Vision to Vic- tory" conferences called for by the National Spiritual Assembly to launch a two-year period of commitment and sacrifice on the part of the American Bahá’í com- munity.

After speaking at the confer- ence November 4-6 in Danvers, Massachusetts, Mr. Kavelin trav- eled to Chattanooga, Tennessee, site of the second conference, but was taken ill and rushed to a hos- pital before that event got under way.

Although unable to leave his hospital bed, he insisted on video taping a brief address which was shown to those at the conference in Chattanooga and, the following weekend, at the Northwest con- ference in Seattle, Washington.

Born March 16, 1906, Howard Borrah Kavelin grew up in Den- ver, Colorado, and attended the University of Colorado at Boul- der.

After graduation he moved to New York City, where he became a Bahá’í in 1941. It wasn't long before Bahá’ís all over the country recognized his many outstanding qualities, and he was elected a member of the National Spiritual Assembly from 1950 until his elec- tion in 1963 to the Universal House of Justice.

He served as treasurer of the National Assembly and, from 1958-63, as its chairman.

From 1945-63 Mr. Kavelin was executive vice-president of Du- rand Taylor Company, a nation- ally known commercial real estate and management organization in New York.

While at Durand Taylor he was involved in the sale of a number of New York landmarks including Ebbetts Field, once the home of baseball's Brooklyn (now Los An- geles) Dodgers.

The American Bahá’í (USPS 042-430) is published monthly by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States, 536 Sheridan Road, Wilmette, IL 60091. Postmaster: Send address changes to Management Information Systems, Ba- há’í National Center, Wilmette, IL 60091. Executive editor: Jack Bowers. Associate editor: Laura E. Hildreth. The American Bahá’í welcomes news, letters and other items of interest from individuals and the various institutions of the Faith. Articles should be written clearly and concisely; color or black-and-white glossy photographs should be included whenever possible. Please address all materials to The Editor, The American Bahá’í, Wilmette, IL 60091. Copyright 1989 by the National Spir- itual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. World rights reserved. Printed in the U.S.A.

In 1952 he was given an award by the New York Title Company for the most ingenious commer- cial real estate transaction of that year.

Mr. Kavelin was a member of the National Association of Real Estate Brokers and the New York Real Estate Board.

He served for nine years on the Spiritual Assembly of New York City including several years as its chairman.

A funeral service and memorial service were held December 21 in Albuquerque.

Among those who were able to attend were Mr. Hofman; Coun- selors Wilma Ellis, William Rob- erts and Fred Schechter; and eight members of the National Spiritual Assembly.

New classroom/dorm building now ready for use at NABI

Construction on the new class- room/dormitory building at the Native American Bahá’í Institute in Houck, Arizona, continued through mid-August.

Although some finishing touch- es remain to be completed, the solar-adobe building, designed and supervised by John Nicol, is ready for use with solar electric power and hot-and-cold running water.

On August 28, $500 was raised to help complete the Arc on Mount Carmel at a concert at Arapalo Community College in Littleton, Colorado. Thirteen performers took part. Pictured are Renee (left) and Linda Nana from Colo- rado Springs. Renee is originally from Cameroon, West Africa.

A contribution to the National Fund makes a wonderful Ayyam-i-Há gift. Be sure to include the name and complete ad- dress of all those you wish to have notified that they have been honored in this way. [Page 3]

Jacquelyn Howley: an inspiring example to all

By SUE ELLEN HOWLEY

Jacquelyn P. Howley of Burlington, Vermont, embraced the Bahá’í Faith in June 1979. From that time on she was an audacious, fearless teacher of the Cause, rising above various limitations to serve in whatever way she could.

During the past year, however, Jackie outdid even herself. Diagnosed as having a malignant tumor, Jackie began in December 1987 a series of treatments for her physical condition which, in reality, were a series of teaching efforts.

No matter what she was going through, she tried to radiate the beauty of the Teachings to those around her, and people responded.

While fighting for her earthly life, Jackie started preparing herself for the life to come, and making preparations for those she would leave behind.

On October 1, Jackie was told that she had only a matter of months to live. She summoned her Bahá’í daughter to her hospital room and began in earnest to plan her own funeral.

Jackie said she wanted the event to convey the sense of reverence, dignity and majesty that the Faith had given her, and why she loved it so much.

Before her death on November 17, every aspect of Jackie's final and greatest teaching effort had been considered by her, even the preparation of her body, which the female children had the honor of bathing and covering in silk. Then the male children, close relatives and friends took part in wrapping the body in more silk and laying it in the casket—all accompanied by prayer.

At the funeral service, programs with a picture of the Shrine of the Báb on the cover were provided, as well as copies of "The Open Door."

All prayers, readings and music had been chosen by Jackie, including the Bahá’í children singing "O God, Guide Me..." The opportunity to say prayers of any faith was extended to the 400 friends who swelled the funeral parlor room.

On leaving, many of them said it was the most beautiful funeral they had ever attended and asked to know more about the Faith.

It was extremely moving to be a witness to such a teaching event. Jackie was a true inspiration to all who knew her.

Assemblies in Jeopardy Need Your Help

Listed below are Spiritual Assemblies in danger of being lost at Ridván. Extra effort must be made to insure that are at least nine adult Bahá’ís in each of these communities before Ridván. These assembly areas constitute priority goals for homefront pioneers. In collaboration with the jeopardized Assemblies, nearby Assemblies can assist through extension teaching efforts. The jeopardized Assemblies may want to consider sponsoring a teaching project in their localities.

Bahá’ís who are interested in homefront pioneering to these areas may contact the National Teaching Committee. The Committee will be able to provide the current number of Bahá’ís in a given community and the phone number of a contact person who can provide more information. Spiritual Assembly and District Teaching Committee secretaries should be prepared to answer inquiries regarding employment, schools, housing and so on.

Please submit additions or corrections as soon as possibble to: National Teaching Committee, Bahá’í National Center, Wilmette, IL 60091. Phone: (312) 869-9039.

ALABAMA Mountain Brook Tuscaloosa Co E Tuscaloosa Co W

ARIZONA Bisbee Clarkdale Eloy San Carlos Reservation

CALIFORNIA Azusa Cerritos Freedom Healdsburg Montebello Norwalk Orange Co. N JD Paradise Sierra Madre Upland Victor JD West Sacramento Westlake Village Yucaipa

COLORADO Wheat Ridge

CONNECTICUT Westport

FLORIDA Bryant Davie Eatonville Florida City Lakeland Lauderhill Maitland Sunrise

GEORGIA Cordele Doraville Ellaville Fayette County Palmetto Villa Rica

ILLINOIS Batavia Cairo La Grange Mounds Northfield Twp. Schaumburg Silvis West Chicago

IOWA Iowa City

KANSAS Derby Dodge City Prairie Village

LOUISIANA Lockport

MAINE Brunswick Sanford Yarmouth

MARYLAND Pocomoke City

MASSACHUSETTS Arlington Town

MICHIGAN Ferndale Pontiac Royal Oak

MINNESOTA Bemidji Eagan Moorhead

MISSISSIPPI Warren County

MISSOURI Jefferson City Rock Hill St Louis Co, W

MONTANA Bozeman Kalispell

NEW HAMPSHIRE Exeter Town

NEW JERSEY Bergenfield Cherry Hill Twp. North Plainfield

NEW MEXICO Pajarito

NEW YORK Geneva Niagara Falls Oyster Bay Poughkeepsie Town

N. CAROLINA Guilford County

NORTH DAKOTA Bismarck

OHIO East Cleveland Willoughby

OKLAHOMA Anadarko Delaware County Frederick Midwest City Spencer

OREGON Oregon City Pendleton

PENNSYLVANIA Elizabethtown Boro.

S. CAROLINA Blenheim Bucksport Caperstown Green Sea North Pee Dee Pendleton St. Charles Seven Pines South Florence West Florence

SOUTH DAKOTA Pine Ridge District

TENNESSEE Knoxville Shelby County

TEXAS Bellaire Cedar Park Denison Fabens Hillsboro Mesquite N. Richland Hills Waco

VIRGINIA Franconia

WASHINGTON Clallam CCD#1 Kitsap Co. Central Spokane CCD #1

WEST VIRGINIA Charleston Chantilly

WISCONSIN Chippewa Falls Middleton

Mississippi's 'peace tree' splendid teacher, draws many closer to Faith

UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE CE AND RELIGION ELIMINAT CULTURAL DIVERSITY

Meridian, Mississippi's 'Peace Tree,' a 'silent teacher' which drew considerable attention to the Faith during the holiday season at a local shopping mall.

The Spiritual Assembly of Meridian, Mississippi, used an innovative method of teaching the Faith when it entered a tree-trimming festival at a local shopping mall during the Thanksgiving-Christmas holiday season. Its tree won third place in the category for organizations.

The Assembly learned of the festival from the Chamber of Commerce, which has a mailing list for clubs and organizations. The Assembly had asked to be included on the mailing list, which affords opportunities for teaching, among them the tree-trimming event.

The Assembly decided to make "peace" the theme of its tree, and called on other communities in Mississippi for support.

In a spirit of unified action, five Assemblies and two Groups helped decorate the tree and make ornaments depicting various principles of the Faith.

A lovely garland on which were inscribed 12 major tenets of the Faith was draped around it.

The tree itself proved to be a splendid silent teacher, and the Bahá’í community helped in the effort.

One elderly Bahá’í sat faithfully near the tree during the busiest shopping days of the year, answering questions about the Faith.

Much interest was shown, and many people went away knowing more about the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh than they had before.

Denver area has new 'UACT' campaign

Before this year's District Convention in Denver, Colorado, Auxiliary Board member Carol Brooks invited representatives from each Assembly and Group in the area to a brainstorming session to consult about the development of a comprehensive teaching plan for the metro Denver area.

From that meeting came the Unified Action Campaign for Teaching (UACT), whose purpose is to stimulate teaching "on a scale and of a quality, a variety, and intensity outstripping all current efforts."

A list of 10 common concerns was made, and task forces were appointed to address each of them: minority teaching, literature dispersal, organization awareness, student enlightenment, direct teaching, the media, public events, follow-up, prayer support, and communications.

The campaign was endorsed at the Convention, and a "communication sheet" was devised and is being sent each month to communities in the metro Denver area to keep them informed about what is happening and to acquaint them with ideas and proposals set forth and actions taken by the task forces.

Walk/Run for Peace

On April 16, the Bahá’í community of West St. Louis County, Missouri, is co-sponsoring with the United Nations Association a Walk/Run for World Peace.

Plans include donating the $5 entry fee to UNICEF, distributing copies of "The Promise of World Peace" to all entrants, securing press coverage, and inviting local celebrities to take part. [Page 4]

Plan de Enseñanza abierto a todas comunidades

Lo leímos en la pasada carta de la Asamblea Espiritual Nacional para la Fiesta de 19 Días de Masá’il, el 12 de diciembre de 1988. La Asamblea Espiritual Nacional ha pedido a su Comité Nacional de Enseñanza que “dedique sus energías completamente al logro de inscripciones en grandes escalas en las cuatro áreas designadas de Atlanta, Chicago, Massachusetts y San José y de alentar el trabajo de la enseñanza en el área de las ocho conferencias restantes.”

Algunos de los creyentes se preguntarán porqué se le está dando tanta atención a estas áreas en lugar de esparcir igualmente a cada comunidad en el país. A estos amigos, el Comité Nacional de Enseñanza les ofrece la siguiente explicación:

El Plan de Enseñanza de la Asamblea Espiritual Nacional está diseñado a crear chispas para encender inscripciones en grandes escalas en las cuatro áreas, las cuales crecerán y se esparcirán a otras áreas en el país.

Como sabemos, para crear el destello de calor intenso, necesario para encender un fuego, se requiere los esfuerzos concentrados, incorporados en una chispa.

Para mantener esa pequeña llama, se necesita aventar hasta que continúa quemando por sí misma. Esta es la razón por la que los esfuerzos intensos de enseñanza se mantienen en ‎stas estas‎ áreas, ellos por su propia naturaleza, se esparcirán a otras áreas.

Las ocho localidades de las conferencias las cuales no fueron designadas como áreas de enseñanza en masa al comienzo del Plan de Enseñanza Nacional, fueron seleccionadas para auspiciar las conferencias regionales porque demostraron un fuerte potencial para producir las mismas chispas las cuales están encendiendo las cuatro localidades de los proyectos principales.

Algunas de estas áreas prontamente puedan que estén listas para ser designadas como las próximas áreas para traer inscripciones en grandes escalas, que cuando balanceado con esfuerzos intensos para consolidar a los creyentes, conducirá a la entrada en tropas en este país.

Ya algunos están luchando para ser reconocidos como la quinta localidad principal de enseñanza.

De ninguna manera debe ninguna otra comunidad sentirse abandonada del Plan Nacional, porque es la intención de poner esta nación entera en llamas en la Luz de Bahá’u’lláh. La Asamblea Nacional está esperando a que cada comunidad se levante y sea reconocido por sus deseos y habilidades en lograr rupturas en la enseñanza que sean en una escala y de una calidad, de una variedad, y de una intensidad que sobrepase todos los esfuerzos actuales.

Así como fue reportado en la edición pasada de The American Bahá’í, la area mayor de Cleveland, Ohio, por ejemplo, es una de esas areas que, aunque no fue designada como un proyecto o una de las localidades de las conferencias, está logrando rupturas en la enseñanza.

La Asamblea Espiritual Nacional está también vigilando a el area metro de Denver, Colorado, como otra area en donde la chispa prontamente comenzará a volar.

La “nueva paradigma de oportunidad” para el crecimiento de la Causa, como explicado por la Casa Universal de Justicia en su mensaje de Riḍván de 1988, puede ser cumplido con el éxito de cada comunidad bahá’í, y dentro de cada comunidad, por cada hombre, mujer, joven y niño. La Asamblea Espiritual Nacional y su Comité Nacional de Enseñanza están ansiosos de escuchar sobre sus victorias.

Literature bahá’í en Español

Durante las próximas ediciones de la página en español de The American Bahá’í, se publicará una lista de los materiales y publicaciones disponibles en español a través de las diferentes casas editoriales bahá’ís. En esta edición presentamos la lista de literatura que ofrece el Editorial Bahá’í Indo Latinoamericana. Si desean ordenar libros de la siguiente lista, por favor de dirigirse a: Editorial Bahá’í Indo Latinoamericano, Otamendi 215 (1405), Buenos Aires, Argentina.

OBRAS DE BAHÁ’U’LLÁH El Kitáb-i-Íqán ($3.50); Las Palabras Ocultas (Rust.) ($1.20); Las Palabras Ocultas (Tela) (no price listed); Pasajes de los Escritos de Bahá’u’lláh ($4.50); Epístola al Hijo del Lobo ($4.50); La Proclamación de Bahá’u’lláh (no price listed); Pasajes Inmortales ($.25); Tablas de Bahá’u’lláh (Rust.) ($4); Tablas de Bahá’u’lláh (Tela) ($6); Oraciones y Meditaciones (Rust.) ($4); Oraciones y Meditaciones (Tela) ($6).

OBRAS DE ‘ABDU’L-BAHÁ Voluntad y Testamento ($.60); Tablas del Plan Divino ($1.50); La Sabiduría de ‘Abdu’l-Bahá (no price listed); Respuestas a Algunas Preguntas ($7.50); El Secreto de la Civilización Divina ($4.50).

OBRAS DE SHOGHI EFFENDI El Advenimiento de la Justicia Divina ($2.40); El Desenvolvimiento de la Civilización Mundial (no price listed); La Meta de un Nuevo Orden Mundial ($5.45); La Dispensación de Bahá’u’lláh ($2.40); El Día Prometido Ha Llegado ($3); Dios Pasa ($6); La Fe de Bahá’u’lláh ($.40); Llamado a las Naciones (Rust.) ($2.40); Llamado a las Naciones (Tela) ($4.50).

TÍTULOS DE LA CASA UNIVERSAL DE JUSTICIA Sinopsis y Codificación de las Leyes y Ord. del Kitáb-i-Aqdas (Rust.) ($2.25); Sinopsis y Codificación de las Leyes y Ord. del Kitáb-i-Aqdas (Tela) ($4.35); Palabras de Dios ($.28); Vida Familiar ($.60); El Poder de la Asistencia Divina ($.60); La Hoja Más Sagrada ($6); El Estudio de los Escritos Bahá’ís ($1.70); Recopilación de Escritos de Bahá’u’lláh, el Báb y ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ($2); La Promesa de Paz Mundial ($.50).

RECOPILACIONES La Realidad del Hombre ($1.60); Oraciones Bahá’ís (Rust.) ($1.50); Oraciones Bahá’ís (Tela) ($5); Recuerdo de Dios ($.15); El Rosedal ($.50); El Modelo de Vida Bahá’í (no price listed); La Asamblea Espiritual Nacional ($.80); Principios de Administración Bahá’í ($3); La Fiesta de los 19 Días ($.60); El Divino Arte de Vivir ($2.76).

PUBLICACIONES GENERALES SOBRE LA FE BAHÁ’Í Bahá’u’lláh y la Nueva Era (con guía de estudio) ($4.50); La Fe Bahá’í por Gloria Faizi ($1.50); El Nuevo Jardín por H. Fatheazam ($2); Portales a la Libertad por H.C. Ives ($3.50); La Perla ‎Inpreciable Inapreciable‎ por R. Rabbani ($10); Divina Sinfonía por G. Woolson ($2.40); Flores de un Solo Jardín por G. Faizi ($2); Las Flores de los Altares por E. Campbell ($1.50); Carta a los Indígenas por R. Rabbani ($.60); Vida Después de la Muerte ($.22); El Mensaje de Bahá’u’lláh por J.E. Esslemont ($.22); La Venida del Señor por H. Taherzadeh ($5.15); La Resolución Espiritual del Pro. Económico Social ($.22); El Alba de una Nueva Era ($.45); La Religión Unida por A. Lamb ($3.35); Un Nuevo Mundo, Desafío a la Juventud por M. Shoaie ($.35); La Misión de Bahá’u’lláh por G. Townsend ($.15); Educación Bahá’í ($1.40); Respuestas Bahá’ís ($.16); La Narración de Nabíl (Abreviada) ($4.50); Renovación de la Civilización por D. Hofman ($1.80); Cristo y Bahá’u’lláh por G. Townsend ($.50); Dios y Sus Mensajeros ($1.20); Una Fortaleza para el Bienestar ($1.90).

Green Acre recibe creyente hispanos; planes de enseñanza es el enfoque

Un “Fin de Semana Hispano” inspiracional se llevó a cabo en la Escuela Bahá’í Green Acre el 21 al 23 de octubre de 1988.

Los charlistas invitados incluyeron el Consejero Arturo Serrano y el miembro del la Asamblea Espiritual Nacional de México, el señor Pablo Lucas.

Juntos, ellos llevaron a los participantes en la profundización de la enseñanza de la Fe, especialmente concerniente a atraer hispanos.

Ellos discutieron la necesidad de desarrollar una actitud sobre la enseñanza, en el que nosotros estamos constantemente buscando y llegando a estar más en tono con las muchas oportunidades para enseñar la Fe que están ahora disponibles.

Los participantes discutieron los prerrequisitos espirituales necesarios para enseñar la Fe en una escala, con una calidad que atrae los corazones.

También se discutió la dependencia en el poder del Convenio para remover cada obstaculo.

Se tuvieron talleres en el cual se hicieron planes concretos, por estados, para esparcir la Fe entre los hispanos.

Algunos de los planes incluyeron la formación de nuevas Fuerzas Especiales Hispanas; se señalaron fechas para reuniones hogareñas en español; el introducir música hispana en las reuniones hogareñas y reuniones a la que los hispanos sean invitados; someter reportes sobre la Fe a periódicos en español; hacer contacto con estaciones de radio y tener entrevistas; ofrecer cursos de correspondencia en español; comenzar un plan de oración para fortalecer los planes de enseñanza; y mucho, mucho más. Entonces, los amigos fueron llamados a acción inmediata.

La conferencia del “Fin de Semana Hispano” en Green Acre posiblemente haya probado ser un ejemplo de conferencias en el futuro, inspirando y llamando a los creyentes juntos hacia un plan de acción en el servicio de la Causa.

Otro “Fin de Semana Hispano” se llevará a cabo en la Escuela Bahá’í Green Acre el próximo otoño en el que el progreso de los planes que se hicieron serán revisados.

En la foto se encuentran los participantes del fin de semana hispano ofrecido en la Escuela Bahá’í Green Acre el 21 al 23 de octubre de 1988.

Cursos para consolidación disponibles

Está ahora disponible los “Cursos de Enseñanza” ‎praparados preparados‎ por el Comité Nacional de Enseñanza de México para ser usados principalmente en la consolidación de los creyentes bahá’ís.

El curso contiene 15 lecciones en total que cubren los siguientes temas: El propósito de nuestra vida; El amor a Dios; Breve historia de la Fe; Algunas enseñanzas bahá’ís; La administración bahá’í; La Fiesta de 19 Días; La Asamblea Espiritual Nacional; La Casa Universal de Justicia; Leyes y obligaciones.

Los “Cursos de Enseñanza” se pueden obtener enviando $2 al Comité Nacional de Enseñanza, Bahá’í National Center, Wilmette, IL 60091, o llamando al 312-869-9039, extensión 220.

Bahá’ís en Florida envueltos en enseñanza de los hispanos

Muchos bahá’ís de diferentes comunidades en el sur de Florida, se reunen semanalmente para consultar y colaborar en la enseñanza de la población hispana.

Los bahá’ís se reunen para estudiar las Escrituras Bahá’í’s en español; ellos también organizan charlas públicas, eventos de proclamación en universidades en dónde hay muchos estudiantes latinos, publican reportes e hacen invitaciones a reuniones bahá’ís en periódicos latinos locales y ofrecen pasadías semanales en parques.

Un punto destacable del trabajo de estos bahá’ís en la enseñanza hispana es su ‎contínua continua‎ colaboración con las instituciones de la Fe — Asambleas Espirituales locales y miembros Auxiliares y sus asistentes.

Recientemente la Consejera Wilma Ellis visitó los bahá’ís hispanos en el sur de Florida y los animó a que continuaran y fortalecieran sus actividades de enseñanza en Florida.

Green Acre hosts ‘Hispanic Weekend’; Counselor Serrano among the speakers

An inspirational “Hispanic Weekend” was held October 21-23 at the Green Acre Bahá’í School in Eliot, Maine.

Guest speakers included Counselor Arturo Serrano and Pablo Lucas, a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of Mexico.

Workshops were held in which concrete plans were made in each state to spread the Faith among Hispanics.

They discussed the need to develop a “teaching attitude” in which we are constantly looking for and becoming more attuned to the many opportunities to teach that are now available to us.

Participants discussed the spiritual prerequisites for teaching the Faith on a new scale, with a quality that attracts hearts. Also discussed was dependence on the power of the Covenant to remove every obstacle to teaching.

Workshops were held in which, by state, concrete plans were made to spread the Faith among Hispanics.

Included were plans to form new Spanish Teaching Task Forces; set dates for firesides in Spanish; use Hispanic music at meetings and firesides to which Hispanics are invited; submit articles about the Faith to Spanish-language newspapers; contact Hispanic radio stations for interviews; offer correspondence courses in Spanish; begin a “prayer plan” to strengthen teaching plans; and much, much more. The friends were then called to immediate action.

The Green Acre conference may prove to be a pace-setter for future conferences, inspiring and calling the believers together for a plan of action in service to the Cause.

Another “Hispanic Weekend” will be held at Green Acre next fall. At that time, progress on plans already made will be reviewed.

The Fund is the Life-Blood of the Faith National Bahá’í Fund Wilmette, IL 60091 [Page 5]

A tribute to Laura Dreyfus-Barney

By BRAD POKORNY

Laura Dreyfus-Barney stands as a pioneer in the international women’s movement, and must be considered among its great unsung heroines.

Her activities ranged from humanitarian service with the Red Cross in World War I to groundbreaking efforts in representing the cause of women before the United Nations and other international organizations through the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s.

She was a staunch supporter of the International Council of Women, and a devoted member of the Bahá’í Faith—two organizations in which her life’s goals and purposes were reflected.

Born in 1879, the younger daughter of Albert Clifford Barney, an Ohio industrialist, and Alice Pike Barney, a prominent American painter and social leader, she was educated in Paris. While there, in 1899, she became a member of the first Bahá’í community in Europe.

She later traveled many times to Palestine, where she met and interviewed ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, then the leader of the Bahá’í Faith.

Her interviews, compiled in the book Some Answered Questions, remain an important source on the teachings and precepts of the Faith.

In 1911, Laura married Hippolyte Dreyfus, an eminent Orientalist and fellow Bahá’í. Before World War I, they traveled extensively throughout Asia and the Middle East.

During the war, Laura Dreyfus-Barney served with the American Ambulance Corps in Paris, opened the first children’s hospital in Avignon, and worked in Marseilles to re-educate the war’s handicapped. In 1925 she was awarded the Legion of Honor for these services.

After the war ended in 1918, Mrs. Dreyfus-Barney began a distinguished though largely unheralded career representing the international women’s movement.

She represented the International Council of Women (ICW) at the League of Nations, and served on many committees to the League. In the 1930s she organized an international conference for women in Rome on the use of motion pictures for peace education.

She also served as president of the Peace and Arbitration Commission of the ICW.

In addition to the peace and women’s movements, Mrs. Dreyfus-Barney was active in conferences and organizations to improve cross-cultural cooperation and harmony.

During World War II, she was a member of the American delegation to the Conference on Cultural Cooperation, held in Havana, Cuba, and later served on the French National Committee of Women to the Commission on Racial Affairs.

After the war, many of her efforts were focused on the United Nations.

She served on the Commission of the Council of Women for the Control and Reduction of Armaments, was ICW liaison officer to the UN and served as the first ICW representative to the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

She founded the Alice Pike Barney Memorial Foundation of the Smithsonian Institution for the Encouragement of American Art, and in 1961, with her sister, donated their mother’s studio in Washington, D.C., for use as a cultural center.

Laura Dreyfus-Barney died in 1974 at the age of 94.

LAURA DREYFUS-BARNEY

New series of Fund envelopes has many time-saving features

With the October issue of The American Bahá’í, the Office of the Treasurer introduced a new series of Fund envelopes. The new envelopes have several features designed to speed your contributions to the National Fund and better serve the community.

• Bar Code and Nine-Digit Zip. The new envelopes employ the bar code and nine-digit Zip code used to speed processing by the U.S. Postal Service.
• Detachable Flap with Useful Info or Form. These flaps should be detached before mailing and where appropriate may be enclosed with your contribution. The flaps contain one of the following four messages:

A quotation from the Bahá’í Writings

Four Simple Questions: Use this handy form to request materials on wills.

International Fund Contributions Form: Use to direct donations to the International Fund. This should be enclosed only when your contribution includes a donation to the International Fund.

Automatic Contribution Subscription Form: Use this convenient form when you wish to enroll in ACS.

• Security Pattern. A security pattern is printed on each envelope to protect the confidentiality of its contents.

A new Contribution Form is being designed that will speed the processing of contributions to all of the major Funds—International, Continental and National. It will be introduced in 1989.

With All My Heart

An inspiring program relating the joys of giving and service to our everyday lives. This captivating presentation sheds light on the pattern of our devotional life through the words and deeds of Bahá’ís from various walks of life.

Suitable for Bahá’í study classes, firesides, children’s and youth classes, and individual study of the Faith.

For additional copies send check or money order to Bahá’í Distribution Service, 415 Linden Avenue, Wilmette IL 60091.

© 1988 National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States

Running time: 19:20 min. $15.00 US 5/88 VHS

Bahá’í Distribution Service Call toll free: 1-800-999-9019

80th National Convention set April 27-30

The 80th Bahá’í National Convention will be held next April 27-30 in Foundation Hall at the Bahá’í House of Worship in Wilmette, Illinois.

After seating of the delegates, less than 200 seats are available for the friends who may wish to observe the proceedings.

Seats for visitors are assigned on a first-come, first-served basis by postmark. To request seating reservations, please send your name, address and Bahá’í I.D. number to Convention Seating, Bahá’í National Center, Wilmette, IL 60091. Seating is available by advance reservation only.

Look for information about hotel accommodations in the February issue of The American Bahá’í.

Fund contributions mark special occasions

Every Bahá’í month, the Bahá’í Funds benefit from scores of contributions sent by Bahá’ís to honor a loved one who has passed on, to share the happiness of a Holy Day, to celebrate one of life’s special occasions, or to recognize a service rendered.

In October and November, more than 200 people contributed upwards of $12,000 to the Fund “In Honor” or “In Memory” of a loved one or special occasion.

With Ayyám-i-Há fast approaching, you may wish to consider this additional way to honor a friend or event. Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Grandparents’ Day, an anniversary, a birth or new declaration, Naw-Rúz, Father’s Day, and graduation are but a few of the days or events for which the Office of the Treasurer has received loving notes attached to an extra contribution.

Sometimes the contributions are made by a child or youth who asks that the money earned from baby-sitting or some other service be donated to the Fund.

One of the goals of the Six Year Plan is to “foster the development of distinctive characteristics of Bahá’í life among individuals, families and Bahá’í communities.” With the advent of a new calendar and new festivals and Holy Days, Bahá’ís around the world are challenged to explore the many ways these days can be celebrated.

Regarding the Bahá’í Holy Days, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá said: “During such days institutions should be founded that may be of permanent benefit and value to the people. ...”

“Today there is no result or fruit greater than guiding the people. Undoubtedly the friends of God, upon such a day, must leave tangible philanthropic or ideal traces. ...” (in Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era, p. XX)

One such way is to include a special contribution to the world-renewing work of the Bahá’í Funds.

Note: If you wish to request a card, please complete the form below and return it with your donation.

SPECIAL GIFTS

IN HONOR

And if, at any time, any gift were presented to Him, that gift was accepted as a token of His grace unto him that offered it.

—Bahá’u’lláh

Name of Individual Honored: __________________________________

Honor gift card sent to: _____________________________________

Name

___________________________________________________________

Street Address

___________________________________________________________

City, State, Zip

Occasion (optional): ________________________________________

Examples: Birthday, Graduation, Marriage, Anniversary, Bahá’í declaration or anniversary, Pioneering move, Firesides given, Hospitality, Services rendered, Contributions to other Funds, etc.

Name of contributor(s) making gift: _________________________

___________________________________________________________

ID Number(s)

[Page 6]

UNITED NATIONS

Question: Where is the site of the United Nations headquarters? Answer: The UN’s 18-acre site is on the shore of the East River in New York City. The official address is United Nations, New York, NY 10017.

Q: What special significance does New York City hold for Bahá’í’s? A: It was on June 9, 1912, that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá named New York the “City of the Covenant.” It was here that He spoke to the American believers about the Tablet of the Branch revealed by Bahá’u’lláh, and declared His own station as the “Center of the Covenant.” He spent 85 of his 239 days in North America in New York City.

Q: How many people work at UN headquarters in New York City and for the UN around the world? A: UN staff members, known as international civil servants, number about 7,075 at UN headquarters and about 18,917 world-wide. These international civil servants are directed by the Secretary-General, who is the UN’s chief administrative officer.

Q: What are the principal bodies of the UN? A: The UN is made up of six principal bodies: the General Assembly, the main deliberative body of the UN; the Security Council, which is responsible for the maintenance of international peace and security; the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), whose 54 members coordinate the UN’s economic and social work; the Trusteeship Council, which supervises the direction of the UN Trust Territories; and the International Court of Justice, the chief judicial body of the UN. The UN’s primary administrative body is the Secretariat.

Q: How many official languages are used at the UN? A: There are five official languages: English, French, Spanish, Russian and Chinese. Arabic has been added as an official language of the General Assembly, the Security Council, and the Economic and Social Council. The two working languages of the UN are English and French, and all signs throughout UN headquarters are in these two languages.

Q: How does the office of the National Spiritual Assembly’s UN Representative work with the UN bodies? A: The National Spiritual Assembly is a non-governmental organization with observer status, accredited by the UN Department of Public Information. The Bahá’í representative, together with representatives of other U.S. non-governmental organizations, works to bring to the attention of UN bodies information pertinent to issues being deliberated in UN forums. Special support is given by the U.S. Bahá’í representative to the work of the United Nations Fund for Children (UNICEF), the UN Fund for Women (UNIFEM), and the World Health Organization (WHO).

Progress report from Brazil’s Amazon region

One of the most exciting social and economic development projects involving U.S. pioneers is taking place in the Amazon region of Brazil. The following is a brief report from John Craig who recently joined the friends in Brazil to help with that effort.

This is a little progress report from the Amazon. I have been in Brazil for a little more than two months now, after having been in Grenada for almost four years, and am fairly well settled.

I am living and working at the Bahá’í agricultural school, “Instituto Politécnico Rural,” in the village of Iranduba.

The school is about halfway through its first year of operation. There are 21 boys and 18 girls who live, work and study here on a 19-day rotation system.

When the school is completed, there will be four grades to provide a 5th through 8th grade academic education and training in a wide range of topics in agriculture, livestock, rural technology, health and community development.

The physical structure, likewise, is about one-fourth complete; permanent crops need to be planted, a mechanical workshop built, a library and science laboratory developed. In other words, there is a lot of work to be done!

At the same time, another “wing” of the institute, a Bahá’í teaching and pioneer training center, is to be established.

With the addition of a river boat to be used as a floating teaching institute, which we are hoping for in the near future, we will soon be ready for the “spiritual conquest of the Amazon.”

With brilliant prospects such as these, who needs electricity and running water?

“What can we do if we do not truly realize in what period of man’s history we are living? If love is not translated in these days into tremendous sacrifices, it will remain unproductive forever. These are fleeting hours. Every minute and second is valuable. No sacrifice will be too great in the spiritualization of the planet.” —The Hand of the Cause of God A.Q. Faizi

GOALS TO BE FILLED BY RIDVÁN 1989

AFRICA	AMERICAS
Burundi	Juan Fernandez Isl. (Chile)
The Gambia	French Guiana
Nigeria	Guadeloupe
Sierra Leone	Bay Isl., Colon, Yuro (Honduras)
South Africa	Nicaragua
St. Helena	St. Lucia
Uganda	St. Vincent & The Grenadines
ASIA	Suriname
India	Trinidad & Tobago
	Uruguay

Youth finds Year of Service in India a rewarding experience

Among the many young Bahá’ís from the U.S. who have undertaken a Youth of Year of Service is Tanya Petersen who is serving the Faith at the New Era Bahá’í School in India. Following are excerpts from a recent letter from Tanya.

For about three weeks I was happy teaching music and English, but then I started to get sort of an empty, restless feeling.

I wrote to my parents, trying to describe how I felt, but there wasn’t a name for it. I told them I wasn’t homesick, but that maybe I was over the initial excitement of arriving in this strange and wonderful environment.

Suzanne (another American in her Year of Service) and I sat down and talked about it. She was feeling the same way, and we did a lot of praying that night.

Finally, we concluded that what we felt was a lack of involvement and activity. Here we were on our Year of Service for the Faith, and we weren’t doing anything for the Faith. We felt as though we were wasting our time.

Of course, we were helping the school, and our presence was needed there, but both of us were used to the activities back home, and were feeling isolated and spiritually stagnant.

So we went to talk to (New Era School director) Dr. Vasudevan. He assured us that simply being here as Bahá’ís, loving the children and helping with school activities was very much appreciated, but he also said we should begin activities to unify the Bahá’í students—to help create a strong Bahá’í identity among them.

The staff and Bahá’í students need to be so strong—and can really teach safely only through deeds, not words.

So Suzanne and I have arranged some deepening and morals classes, and other activities like outings, so that the Bahá’ís learn to have fun with one another, and to trust one another and be united.

We’ll also be doing some service projects—painting, planting trees, visiting an orphanage. ...Now we really feel like we’re on our Year of Service!

Please say prayers for our efforts to help create a strong unity and Bahá’í identity among the students so that they can remain steadfast and conquer problems through love.

One activity I especially enjoy is “dorm visits.” Every Wednesday evening, each staff member visits a specific dorm for morals, counseling, songs, prayers and fellowship. I’ve been assigned to Down Udyan dorm, which houses fourth and fifth grade girls—about 30 of them.

We sing Bahá’í songs, and I teach them little lessons in morals. They sing or chant prayers of their own, we do acts (charades)—it’s a wonderful way to create harmony, and again, you can teach the Faith without even mentioning Bahá’í.

But I’m usually able to say something about it because they know I’m a Bahá’í and that this is a Bahá’í school—so they chant Bahá’í prayers together and I talk about what the prayers mean.

I try to teach them that even though they come from different religious backgrounds, they still love one another, pray together to the one and only God, etc.

Last week I taught them the Golden Rule from all the religions—and they liked the idea that every religion has the same teaching, but uses different words to describe it.

The girls are so loving and pure. I know that when they are older and realize that this Bahá’í school does foster unity among them, when elsewhere they might be enemies because of their religious differences, they will accept the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh.—Tanya Petersen

OPPORTUNITIES FOR INTERNATIONAL SERVICE

This is your chance to join activities being held throughout the world:

• Botswana: “Star ’89” Teaching Project, summer 1989.
• Costa Rica: Peace Conference, June 1989.
• Iceland: “Skogar” Service/Forestry Project and Youth Conference, June 1989.
• Norway: “Brennpunkt Focal Point Project” of teaching and consolidation, ongoing until Naw-Rúz 1989.
• Zimbabwe: Bahá’í Deepening Institute, ongoing.
• Ongoing teaching projects in the Bahamas, Honduras, Hong Kong, Korea, Panama and Taiwan.

For more information, contact the Office of Pioneering, Bahá’í National Center, Wilmette, IL 60091 (phone 312-869-9039).

Peace Institute sponsors second essay contest

The United States Institute of Peace is sponsoring its second annual National Peace Essay Contest for high school students.

The theme is based on the Final Act of the 1975 Helsinki Accords, the hallmark of which is respect for human rights, freedom and self-determination as an indispensable condition for world peace.

Entrants are asked to analyze, in an essay of no more than 1,500 words, the significance of the Helsinki Accords as a step toward world peace.

Each essay must be published in an official student publication between October 15, 1988, and March 1, 1989, before it is submitted for judging.

National and state winners will receive college scholarships in varying amounts.

Copies of the Helsinki Accords may be obtained by writing to the Publications Office, Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, House Annex 2, Room 237, Washington, DC 20515.

For more information or to submit essays, write to: National Peace Essay Contest, U.S. Institute for Peace, P.O. Box 27720, Central Station, Washington, DC 20038, or phone 202-457-1700.

File:Pioneer-Training-Institute-1988.jpg

Eighteen prospective pioneers took part in a Pioneer Training Institute held October 27-30 at the Bahá’í National Center in Wilmette, Illinois. Joining the U.S. friends was a Mexican Bahá’í setting out to fill a goal in Equatorial Guinea for his National Spiritual Assembly. Other anticipated destinations include Japan, Thailand, Switzerland, St. Lucia, Brazil, Venezuela, Uruguay and Taiwan.

Bahá’í’s interested in Traveling Teaching in Mexico, please contact: National Teaching Committee, Bahá’í National Center, Wilmette, IL 60091. Phone: (312) 869-9039. [Page 7]

Leading scientists draft Seville Statement on Violence

The Universal House of Justice has brought to the attention of the National Spiritual Assembly the following statement, called the Seville Statement on Violence, which was formulated in May 1986 in Seville under the sponsorship of the Spanish National Commission of UNESCO. It was drafted and signed by 20 leading biological and social scientists from 12 nations and to date has been endorsed by more than 10 prominent professional organizations.

The National Assembly feels that the statement, in light of the related theme in the peace statement of the Universal House of Justice, is significant and wishes to convey the text to the entire American Bahá’í community.

Statement on Violence

Believing that it is our responsibility to address from our particular disciplines the most dangerous and destructive activities of our species, violence and war; recognizing that science is a human cultural product which cannot be definitive or all-encompassing; and gratefully acknowledging the support of the authorities of Seville and representatives of the Spanish UNESCO, we, the undersigned scholars from around the world and from relevant sciences, have met and arrived at the following Statement on Violence.

In it, we challenge a number of alleged biological findings that have been used, even by some in our disciplines, to justify violence and war. Because the alleged findings have contributed to an atmosphere of pessimism in our time, we submit that the open, considered rejection of these mis-statements can contribute significantly to the International Year of Peace.

Misuse of scientific theories and data to justify violence and war is not new but has been made since the advent of modern science. For example, the theory of evolution has been used to justify not only war, but also genocide, colonialism, and suppression of the weak.

We state our position in the form of five propositions. We are aware that there are many other issues about violence and war that could be fruitfully addressed from the standpoint of our disciplines, but we restrict ourselves here to what we consider a most important first step.

• It is scientifically incorrect to say that we have inherited a tendency to make war from our animal ancestors.

Although fighting occurs widely throughout animal species, only a few cases of destructive intra-species fighting between organized groups have ever been reported among naturally living species, and none of these involve the use of tools designed to be weapons. Normal predatory feeding upon other species cannot be equated with intra-species violence. Warfare is a peculiarly human phenomenon and does not occur in other animals.

The fact that warfare has changed so radically over time indicates that it is a product of culture. Its biological connection is primarily through language which makes possible the coordination of groups, the transmission of technology, and the use of tools. War is biologically possible, but it is not inevitable, as evidenced by its variation in occurrence and nature over time and space. There are cultures which have not engaged in war for centuries, and there are cultures which have engaged in war frequently at some times and not at others.

• It is scientifically incorrect to say that war or any other violent behavior is genetically programmed into our human nature.

While genes are involved at all levels of nervous system function, they provide a developmental potential that can be actualized only in conjunction with the ecological and social environment. While individuals vary in their predispositions to be affected by their experience, it is the interaction between their genetic endowment and conditions of nurturance that determines their personalities. Except for rare pathologies, the genes do not produce individuals necessarily predisposed to violence. Neither do they determine the opposite. While genes are co-involved in establishing our behavioral capacities, they do not by themselves specify the outcome.

• It is scientifically incorrect to say that in the course of human evolution there has been a selection for aggressive behavior more than for other kinds of behavior.

In all well-studied species, status within the group is achieved by the ability to cooperate and to fulfill social functions relevant to the structure of that group. "Dominance" involves social bonding and affiliations; it is not simply a matter of the possession and use of superior physical power, although it does involve aggressive behaviors.

Where genetic selection for aggressive behavior has been artificially instituted in animals, it has rapidly succeeded in producing hyper-aggressive individuals; this indicates that aggression was not maximally selected under natural conditions.

When such experimentally-created hyper-aggressive animals are present in a social group, they either disrupt its social structure or are driven out. Violence is neither in our evolutionary legacy nor in our genes.

• It is scientifically incorrect to say that humans have a "violent brain."

While we do have the neural apparatus to act violently, it is not automatically activated by internal or external stimuli. Like higher primates and unlike other animals, our higher neural processes filter such stimuli before they can be acted upon.

How we act is shaped by how we have been conditioned and socialized. There is nothing in our neurophysiology that compels us to react violently.

• It is scientifically incorrect to say that war is caused by "instinct" or any single motivation.

The emergence of modern warfare has been a journey from the primacy of emotional and motivational factors, sometimes called "instincts," to the primacy of cognitive factors. Modern war involves institutional use of personal characteristics such as obedience, suggestibility, and idealism, social skills such as language, and rational considerations such as cost-calculation, planning and information processing.

The technology of modern war has exaggerated traits associated with violence both in the training of actual combatants and in the preparation of support for war in the general population. As a result of this exaggeration, such traits are often mistaken to be the causes rather than the consequences of the process.

We conclude that biology does not condemn humanity to war, and that humanity can be freed from the bondage of biological pessimism and empowered with confidence to undertake the transformative tasks needed in this International Year of Peace and in the years to come.

Although these tasks are mainly institutional and collective, they also rest upon the consciousness of individual participants for whom pessimism and optimism are crucial factors. Just as "wars begin in the minds of men," peace also begins in our minds.

The same species who invented war is capable of inventing peace. The responsibility lies with each of us.

Seville, May 16, 1986

Covenant-breakers’ materials

Should the friends receive or come across any questionable material or material that may have been written by Covenant-breakers, they should contact their local Spiritual Assembly or their Auxiliary Board member for advice or forward the material to the National Spiritual Assembly.

The Creative Word

The Writings of Bahá’u’lláh in pocket-size editions

Epistle to the Son of the Wolf....$4.50 Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh..... $4.95 Hidden Words of Bahá’u’lláh.....$3.95 Kitáb-i-Iqán $4.95 Prayers and Meditations. ...$4.50 Seven Valleys/Four Valleys........$3.95 Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh..................$4.50

These seven books which are the foundation for any Bahá’í library are available for only $31.30. U.S. Bahá’í Publishing Trust

The Power of Divine Assistance

A pocket- or purse-size compilation from the writings of the Central Figures and Shoghi Effendi on divine assistance. Includes the Fire Tablet, the Long Healing Prayer, and the Prayer for America. Bahá’í Distribution Service Canada SC $2.75

A Concordance to the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh

U.S. Bahá’í Publishing Trust HC $49.95

Deepening Materials

A Commentary on the Will and Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá

An essay by David Hoffman about the future unfoldment of the Faith as outlined by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. An epilogue briefly recounts the years between the passing of the Guardian and the election of the Universal House of Justice, and how the Covenant of Bahá’u’lláh preserved the unity of the Cause. George Ronald Publisher SC $3.50

Covenant Compilation

U.K. Bahá’í Publishing Trust SC $2.50

Fasting: A Bahá’í Handbook

Assistance for the friends in deepening during the Fast and for Naw-Rúz. This handbook by Duane L. Herrmann includes prayers and writings of the Faith regarding the Fast. George Ronald Publishers HC $11.95/SC $7.95

Effective Teaching Workbook

For use in study groups or by individuals to increase understanding of teaching and of the many skills that can be developed to become a more effective teacher. SC $2.00 The National Teaching Committee

New Publications

A Chaste and Holy Life

A new compilation from the Bahá’í World Centre to support believers in meeting the challenge to become "Bahá’ís in character as well as in belief." Will assist Bahá’ís to distinguish themselves by the quality of their lives and the nature of their Bahá’í community. Especially timely given the world's rapidly declining moral standards. SC $3.25 U.K. Bahá’í Publishing Trust

Black Pearls: Servants in the Households of the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh

A collection of biographies by Abu'L-Qasim Afnan of the black believers who served the families of the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh. A valuable resource for Bahá’í studies on the early history of the Faith. HC $9.95 Kalimat Press

Calendars

Bahá’í History Calendar

Bahá’í history at a glance! This year's theme is the 50th anniversary of the passing of the Hand of the Cause of God Martha Root, star servant and teacher. Hawaii National Bahá’í Library $2.50

Bahá’í Wall Calendar

A breathtaking aerial photograph of the Seat of the Universal House of Justice, surrounded by its gardens and the unbroken ground where the Arc will rise. New 11 x 17 inch size features 15 months, beginning with January 1989. U.S. Bahá’í Publishing Trust $6.00

Silk or Wood Calendars

Colorful silk or wood calendar scrolls. Use in proclamation, as gifts, or in your home. Bahá’í Publishing Trust of Taiwan $3.50

Bahá’í Datebook

Pocket-size monthly calendar. U.S. Bahá’í Publishing Trust $4.95

Bahá’í Pocket Calendar

Credit card-size, 10/pkg. U.S. Bahá’í Publishing Trust $3.50

Children

The Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith HC $25.95/SC $12.95 A Leaf of Honey ..SC $17.95 Conversations....... SC $11.95 To Be One.... SC $11.75 Nothing In Common..... SC $3.95

Tablet of the Heart: God and Me HC $10.95 From Mountain to Mountain $8.95 Oh God, Guide Me $8.95 Basic Truth Series: Set 1 $9.95 Can You Sound Just Like Me? SC $4.95 Top of the Hill HC $19.95

Cassettes

The Victory.. $4.50 each This Is the Day... $8.95 Inspirational Music.. $8.50 Do'ah, World Dance.......... $8.95 Do'ah titles are also available on CD's for $16.50 each. Call to order!

Stories From the Dawn-Breakers 4 Cassettes $27.95 Cassette/$8.95 Acquiring Virtues Card Game/$5.95 Principles of World Unity Card Game/$5.50

Order through your Local Bahá’í Distribution Representative, or send your order with payment to: 415 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091 Bahá’í Distribution Service [Page 8]

CLASSIFIEDS

Classified notices in The American Bahá’í are published free of charge as a service to the Bahá’í community. Because of this, 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; the friends should exercise their own judgment in responding to them.

SERVICE OPPORTUNITIES

THE DEPARTMENT of Human Resources at the Bahá’í National Center is accepting applications for the following positions: Administrative Services—A/V program producer (Media Services). Bahá’í House of Worship—coordinator of volunteer services. Bahá’í Publishing Trust—associate editor. National Teaching Committee—regional development coordinator. Office of External Affairs (Washington, D.C.)—office administrator. Interested applicants should apply to: Department of Human Resources, Bahá’í National Center, Wilmette, IL 60091 (phone 312-869-9039).

PIONEERING (HOMEFRONT)

THE BAHÁ’Í of Warren County (Vicksburg), Mississippi (seven adults) would like to save their jeopardized Assembly. Good chance of employment for medical professionals and educators; lovely place for retirees to live. Great country-style living. Hoping to have several families move here. Write to the Bahá’í of Warren County, c/o Audrey Tolliver, Vicksburg, MS 39180, or phone 601-638-0751.

NEED a challenge? Bradenton, Florida, needs Bahá’ís who are resourceful and hard-working; patient and cheerful; happy and devoted. For information about jobs, housing, educational facilities, etc., write to D. Marie Young, Bradenton, FL 34208, or phone 813-746-7508 (late evening).

HOMEFRONT pioneers: have you heard of Elkhart, Indiana? In Elkhart (pop. 45,000), unemployment is the lowest in the state, and employers are looking for people at all levels of labor and management. Industrialization and expansion are ongoing; housing is available for any income level. Elkhart, five miles south of the Michigan border, is only 15 miles from South Bend (home of Notre Dame University) and Mishawaka, both of which have local Assemblies. Also, only 100 miles from Chicago and Wilmette, home of the Mother Temple of the West. Elkhart presently has two adult Bahá’ís. For more information, write to Shelley Weltz, Elkhart, IN 46514.

HEALDSBURG, California, 70 miles north of San Francisco in lovely Sonoma County, may lose its local Assembly as three members have moved away. Healdsburg (pop. 10,000) is a tourist attraction, near excellent shopping and medical facilities and colleges (including a campus of California State University). An expensive area in which to live; there are always job possibilities, but retired persons with incomes would have the easiest time relocating here. If interested, please write to Mrs. Gretchen Heth, Spiritual Assembly of Healdsburg, P.O. Box 158, Healdsburg, CA 95448.

PLEASE help save the jeopardized Assembly of Bel Aire, Kansas, a suburb of Wichita (pop. 280,000), which needs at least one adult Bahá’í by Riḍván. Our schools are among the best in the country, and there are four colleges and two universities in Wichita. The metro area offers a broad range of employment opportunities including four major aircraft companies, Pizza Hut national headquarters, NCR, and many others. We will help you in any way we can. For complete information, write to the Bahá’ís of Bel Aire, c/o Fariborz Behzadpour, Bel Aire, KS 67220, or phone 316-744-2200 after 6 p.m. (CST).

PIONEERING (OVERSEAS)

EMPLOYMENT opportunities overseas include: AFRICA—Nigeria: management & control systems, drilling manager, crane mechanic, construction manager (mechanical and civil). South Africa: welding personnel, turbine engineers, planning engineers, quantity surveyors, site engineers, agents, foreman, project managers. AMERICAS—Bahamas: engineer, director of planning & development, director of marketing and resort, internal auditor. Brazil: teachers. Caribbean: civil site engineer. Puerto Rico: Montessori school for sale. St. Lucia: Agricultural training/communication adviser. ASIA—India: shoe design and pattern cutter. Malaysia: senior site manager, area engineers. AUSTRALASIA—Marshall Islands: College level instructors of science, accounting and English; electricians, general manager. EUROPE—Portugal: factory managers, clothing technician. For more information about any of these positions, please contact the Office of Pioneering, Bahá’í National Center, Wilmette, IL 60091, or phone 312-869-9039.

ARCHIVES

THE NATIONAL Bahá’í Archives is seeking, at the request of the Universal House of Justice, original letters written on behalf of the Guardian to the following people: Mary S. Burland, Lyle E. Burnett, Leroy Burns, Vincent G. Burns, William Brown Burr, Garreta Busey, Jessie Bush, Wallace A. Bussell, Carrie Butler, and Susetta F. Butler. Anyone knowing family members or relatives who might have any of these letters is asked to contact the National Bahá’í Archives, Bahá’í National Center, Wilmette, IL 60091.

THE NATIONAL Bahá’í Archives is seeking 1952-1967 district convention voting lists for northern California, Florida, Arkansas, northern Illinois, Maine, Minnesota and Indiana. Anyone having lists they could donate is asked to send them to the National Bahá’í Archives, Bahá’í National Center, Wilmette, IL 60091.

SCHOOLS

CABIN counselors: where are you? The Bosch Bahá’í School wants to hear from those who were cabin counselors in any of the years since Junior Youth Week began in 1977. You are invited to a luncheon during Youth Week 1989, August 19-24. Please send your current address and other news about yourself to the Program Director, Bosch Bahá’í School, 500 Comstock Lane, Santa Cruz, CA 95060. And watch The American Bahá’í for registration information.

WANTED

THE SPIRITUAL Assembly of New York City is looking for a mature, married Bahá’í couple to serve as full-time caretakers at the Bahá’í Center. They must be dedicated to the maintenance of a clean and beautiful Center and be able to live in the caretakers’ apartment (three rooms with kitchenette and bathroom with shower but no tub) on the third floor in the rear of the building. If you are interested, please send your résumé and inquiries to the Spiritual Assembly of New York City, New York, NY 10003, Attn: Secretary, or phone 212-674-8998.

WANTED: lessons that incorporate visual and/or hands-on activities for teaching children’s classes to ages 4-5. Please send details of anything you can share or sell to Joan Leavitt, Boca Raton, FL 33431.

FORMER residents of Portsmouth, New Hampshire: our Archives Committee is compiling a bibliography of Bahá’í residents in Portsmouth and would like to contact any Bahá’í who has lived in the community. The secretary would be happy to send you a questionnaire for the information needed about your Bahá’í life, service, etc. Please write to Mrs. Dorothea M. Reed, Secretary, Archives Committee, Portsmouth, NH 03801. We would appreciate it.

HELENA, Montana, is preparing to celebrate next Riḍván the 50th anniversary of the formation of its Spiritual Assembly, the first in Montana. If you have ever lived in Helena or know any Bahá’í who has, please let us know. Send any information you may have, especially names, memories and anecdotes, to Ardith Heaney, Helena, MT 59601, or phone 406-443-6011. When the historical list of Bahá’ís is complete, we’ll try to send one to each contributor.

WANTED: Bahá’í singers and musicians for a concert next summer in Spencer, Oklahoma. A teaching event is being planned to center around the concert. Please let us know the type of music you perform and your financial requirements to participate. Write to the Spiritual Assembly of Spencer, P.O. Box 34, Spencer, OK 73084, or phone Mary Hetts (405-771-4283) or Cindy Van Kley (405-771-5274).

WANTED: information and recollections of the life of Juanita Storch. Please send to the Bahá’ís of Santa Rosa, P.O. Box 2744, Santa Rosa, CA 95405.

THE BAHÁ’Í community of Costa Rica is producing a weekly half-hour radio program for Radio for Peace International, a shortwave station at the University for Peace in Costa Rica. Urgently needed are 26-minute cassette tapes on peace-related topics (interviews, dialogues, dramatizations, etc.). Programs can be in English or Spanish. Please send single cassettes in a Manila envelope to Peace Talks, Santa Ana, Costa Rica.

Public relations, media contact work integral part of ‘Vision to Victory’ effort

Public information representatives and committees in the 12 cities that are hosting the “Vision to Victory” conferences are making special efforts to expand and strengthen contacts with local communications media.

The Office of Public Information has asked the PI reps to visit all newspapers, radio and television stations in their area and to present them with press kits and gift subscriptions to “U.S. Bahá’í Report.”

Some of the efforts by the PI reps and committees have established relationships where none existed and have enhanced existing relations. Public information work is the development of long-term, consistent relationships with the mass media.

The conferences provide an opportunity to educate the public about the teachings, structure and scope of the Faith. They are bringing thousands of Bahá’ís together to discuss how to inform a wider public about the nature and teachings of the Faith and how to take “The Promise of World Peace” to the public at large.

In most of the conference cities, the media have responded with great interest.

In Chattanooga, for example, a local TV station interviewed Dr. Wilma Ellis, while the city’s major newspaper published several articles about the conference.

In Seattle, the largest newspaper published a half-page article about the Seattle Bahá’í community and the “Vision to Victory” conference there.

In Boston, the Bahá’ís established good relations with radio and TV stations and with newspapers that had displayed little interest in the Faith in the past.

Cambodian refugees can make valuable contributions to U.S. Bahá’í community

Pictured (left to right) are Mr. Houet Hong; his wife, Lock Som; their son; Bill and JoAnn Brown of Des Moines, Iowa; and Soosan Stevens of the U.S. Bahá’í Refugee Office. Mr. Hong, a Bahá’í Khmer (Cambodian) refugee, serves on the Spiritual Assembly of Des Moines and translates Bahá’í literature into Khmer. The photograph was taken at the 1988 Conference on Growth.

One of the goals of the Six Year Plan in the U.S. is to integrate Cambodian Bahá’ís into “the mainstream of American Bahá’í community life.”

The National Spiritual Assembly of Thailand has reported that over the past few years, hundreds of Khmer (Cambodian) refugees who are Bahá’ís have been coming to this country. Until recently, our National Assembly had little means of knowing who or where the incoming refugees are.

Few of these believers have contacted the local Bahá’ís or the National Center. They may not have known how, or have been hampered by problems with the language.

It is also possible that they have not contacted us out of loyalty to their sponsors who are affiliated with church-based volunteer agencies, or out of fear of losing their benefits.

The few who have made contact have made valuable contributions and added diversity to the community. Mr. Houet Hong, for instance, serves on the local Spiritual Assembly of Des Moines, Iowa, and translates literature into Khmer for the National Spiritual Assembly.

We can only speculate about the great contributions that would be made by other Khmer friends who could not be found.

But the situation is changing. Bahá’ís in Thailand and the Philippines, where refugees are sent for final processing before coming to the States, have gone to great lengths to prepare detailed reports on each Bahá’í and to provide the address of their sponsor.

These reports, sent to our National Spiritual Assembly, have been forwarded to the local Spiritual Assemblies in the areas where these friends are scheduled to arrive with a plea to the Assembly to reach out in welcome, help them integrate into the local Bahá’í community, and report their arrival in the U.S. to the Bahá’í Refugee Office so that their Bahá’í membership can be transferred to the U.S.

Letters about 200 Khmer Bahá’ís were sent before their arrival in May and September. As of the beginning of December, the U.S. Bahá’í Refugee Office at the Bahá’í National Center had not received a single reply from an Assembly that these friends had been welcomed and assisted.

Yet it is extremely important to contact the newly arrived Bahá’ís at the earliest moment. Typically, the refugees move to more permanent lodgings shortly after their arrival in this country, and reaching them becomes far more difficult.

The Khmer Bahá’ís need special attention in helping them adjust to this culture. Most likely, they would not accept an invitation to a Feast or deepening over the phone before meeting the person who has invited them.

They first need the personal contact and warm welcome of Bahá’ís who can be sensitive to their needs.

The National Spiritual Assembly asks that all Assemblies who have been informed that there are Bahá’í Khmer refugees in their communities establish contact with them as soon as possible and call the U.S. Bahá’í Refugee Office to report their whereabouts.

Great gift idea

A contribution to the National Fund makes a wonderful Ayyám-i-Há gift. Be sure to include the name and complete address of all those you wish to have notified that they have been honored in this way. [Page 9]

BORRAH KAVELIN PASSES AWAY

عالم بهائی شاهد فقدان خادم ممتاز امر جمال قدم عضو سابق بیت‌العدل اعظم جناب بورا گولین است و قلوب این مشتاقان از صعود همکار محبوب و عزیزمان آکنده از احزان بی‌پایان. ایمان محکم و استوار، و وجدان دقیق و بیدار، و استمرار خلل‌ناپذیر در طرز فکری مثبت، و راستی و صداقت بی‌شائبه از جمله خصائص باهره‌ای بود که از خلال نیم قرن خدمات شایانش به امر مبارک تابان بود، امر مبارکی که دائماً تا آخرین دم حیات پرارزشش به نصرت و دفاع از آن قائم بود. مشارکت وسیعش در امور اداری امر مبارک با عضویت او به مدت نه سال در محفل روحانی نیویورک در سال ۱۹۴۱ آغاز گردید و با سیزده سال عضویت در محفل روحانی ملی ایالات متحده و دو سال عضویت در شورای بین‌المللی بهائی و به دنبال آن یک‌ربع قرن عضویت در بیت‌العدل اعظم ادامه یافت. خدمات متنوعه‌اش علی‌الخصوص با بذل مساعی مجدانه جهت مساعدت در تأسیس و توسعهٔ مؤسسات امور خارجی جامعهٔ بین‌المللی بهائی، تسلطش در حفظ و افزایش منابع مالی امرالله بنحوی شایسته، و نتایج درخشان مجهودات عدیده‌اش به منظور تحصیل املاک مهمّهٔ امری من‌جمله قصر مزرعه و بیت عبدالله پاشا، مشخص و ممتاز است.

از آستان قدس الهی صمیمانه ملتمسیم که روح پر فتوح آن ‎مهاجر متعارج‎ الی الله در ملکوت ابهی به اجری جزیل مخصّص و همسر محبوبش فلور و فرزندان عزیزش مشمول الطاف و تأییدات جمال اقدس ابهی گردند. شایسته است جلسات تذکری به یاد گرامیش در جمیع مشارق اذکار و در سراسر جامعهٔ بهائی ترتیب داده شود.

بیت‌العدل اعظم

“VISION TO VICTORY” CONFERENCES

چنانکه دوستان عزیز اطلاع دارند تا کنون کنفرانس‌های "از رؤیا تا پیروزی" در شهرهای بوستون و چاتانوگا و سیاتل منعقد گردیده و با استقبال احباء ‎روبهر روبرو‎ شده است.

شرکت کنندگان در کنفرانس چاتانوگا فرصت یافتند که پیام ویدیوئی جناب پورا کولین را که خطاب به حاضرین در آن کنفرانس بود، ملاحظه و استماع نمایند. جناب کولین به علت بیماری نتوانسته بودند بشخصه در کنفرانس مذکور حضور داشته باشند.

بیش از دو هزار تن از یاران در کنفرانس سیاتل شرکت جستند. برخی از شرکت کنندگان از کانادا و آلاسکا به کنفرانس آمده بودند. جناب دیوید هافمن David Hofman عضو سابق بیت‌العدل اعظم با بیانات خود روح شوق و خدمت در شرکت کنندگان دمیدند.

دو تن از اعضای هیئت مشاورین قاره‌ای، جناب رابرت هریس Robert Harris و جناب فرد شکتر Fred Schechter نیز با حضور خود در این کنفرانس سهم عمده‌ای بر عهده داشتند. دو تن از اعضای محفل روحانی ملی نیز بعنوان نمایندگان آن محفل مقدس در کنفرانس شرکت نمودند.

در این کنفرانس مبلغ ۱۲۲۰۰۰ دلار به صندوق امری تعهد و یا تبرع شد.

JEOPARDIZED ASSEMBLIES

تعدادی از محافل روحانی محلی در ایالات متحده در معرض انحلال قرار گرفته‌اند. باید به هر صورتی که ممکن باشد تا قبل از رضوان آینده تعداد بهائیان این نقاط حدّ اقلّ بالغ بر ۹ نفر شود تا حتی‌المقدور از انحلال این محافل جلوگیری به عمل آید. دوستانی که مایل به خدمت در میدان مهاجرت داخلی باشند می‌توانند به صورتی از اسامی این نقاط که در صفحات انگلیسی این شماره درج گردیده، رجوع نمایند.

U. N. RESOLUTION

کمیسیون امور اجتماعی و انسانی و فرهنگی سازمان ملل متحد طی بیانیه‌ای که در روز ۳۰ نوامبر سال ۱۹۸۸ تصویب شد، نگرانی عمیق خود را راجع به تخلفات دولت ایران از حقوق بشر اظهار داشت. این بیانیه با استقبال نمایندهٔ جامعهٔ جهانی بهائی روبرو گردید.

نمایندهٔ جامعهٔ بهائی ابراز داشت که اگر چه آزار و ایذائات پی در پی بهائیان در ایران کمتر شده، معهذا جامعهٔ بهائیان ایران اقلیت مظلومی را تشکیل می‌دهند که از هیچگونه حمایت قانونی برخوردار نیست. نمایندهٔ جامعهٔ بهائی افزود که حق تدین به دیانت بهائی و همهٔ آزادی‌ها از بهائیان ایران سلب شده است.

نمایندهٔ جامعهٔ بهائی در ادامهٔ سخنان خود خاطر نشان ساخت که فشار آراء عمومی و مواردی چون بیانیهٔ مذکور عامل مهمی جهت بهبود اوضاع بهائیان و به طور کلی حرمت حقوق انسانی در ایران است. وی همچنین مراتب سپاسگزاری جامعهٔ بهائی را از همهٔ دولت‌هایی که بیانیهٔ فوق را تصویب نموده‌اند، ابراز داشت.

در این بیانیه ذکر شده است که باید موارد تخلف از حقوق انسانی در ایران از طرف کمیسیون مذکور مورد بررسی قرار گیرد و در ارتباط با این مطلب است که نام اهل بهاء ذکر شده است. با تصویب این بیانیه راه تصویب آن توسط مجمع عمومی سازمان ملل در ماه دسامبر سال ۱۹۸۸ هموارتر گردید.

SEVILLE STATEMENT ON VIOLENCE

اخیراً معهد اعلی توجه محفل روحانی ملی را به بیانیه‌ای که "بیانیهٔ سویل دربارهٔ خشونت" Seville Statement on Violence نام دارد، معطوف نمودند. این بیانیه که در ماه می سال ۱۹۸۶ تهیه شده، به امضای بیست تن از دانشمندان علوم زیست شناسی و علوم اجتماعی از دوازده مملکت رسیده و از طرف بیش از ده سازمان حرفه‌ای نیز تصویب شده است. یاران می‌توانند اصل این بیانیه را در صفحات انگلیسی ملاحظه و قرائت نمایند.

NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY NEW MEMBER

سرکار خانم جوانا کانارد Juana Conrad از ایالت کالیفرنیا که در لجنهٔ ملی امناء الرحمن عضویت داشته، به عضویت محفل روحانی ملی انتخاب گردیده است. انتخاب خانم کانارد به عضویت محفل ملی در پی استعفای جناب دکتر ویلیام دیویس صورت گرفته است.

CAMBODIAN REFUGEES

یکی از اهداف نقشهٔ شش ساله محفل روحانی ملی ادغام بهائیان کامبوجی در جامعهٔ امری این سامان است. بسیاری از پناهندگان کامبوجی از طریق فیلیپین و تایلند به ایالات متحده پناهنده می‌شوند. عده‌ای از این پناهندگان از اهل بهاءند و هر یک از جوامع امری و افراد احباء در واقع مسؤولند که این عزیزان را با آغوشی گشاده استقبال کنند و خوش‌آمد گویند.

اما تا کنون تعداد بسیار کمی از بهائیان کامبوجی با محفل روحانی ملی تماس گرفته‌اند. علّت شاید آن باشد که بسیاری از این یاران با از چند و چون احباء آگاهی ندارند، یا بیمناکند که با تماس با جامعهٔ امری ممکن است مزایایی را که از طرف دولت بدانان تعلق می‌گیرد از دست بدهند. اما کسانی که با جامعهٔ بهائی تماس حاصل نموده‌اند، حضورشان بسیار مغتنم بوده است.

اخیراً محافل ملی تایلند و فیلیپین گزارش کاملی از بهائیان کامبوجی و نام و نشانی آنان و متکفلین آنها را تهیه کرده و به محفل ملی ایالات متحده ارسال داشته‌اند. این اطلاعات از طریق محفل ملی به بعضی از محافل روحانی محلی ارسال شده است تا محافل مذکور برای استقبال از آن پناهندگان بهائی و کمک به مشارکت ایشان در فعالیت‌های جامعهٔ بهائی اقداماتی به عمل آورند و ورودشان را به محفل روحانی ملی اطلاع دهند. انتقال عضویت این پناهندگان به جامعهٔ بهائی این سامان تنها پس از اسکان آنان امکان دارد.

دفتر امور پناهندگان مراسلاتی دربارهٔ دویست تن از پناهندگان کامبوجی در ماه می و سپتامبر سال ۱۹۸۸ به چند جامعهٔ محلی ارسال داشته اما تا به حال (دسامبر ۱۹۸۸) نه پاسخی دربارهٔ آن مراسلات دریافت داشته و نه خبری از ورود پناهندگان و اوضاع آنان وصول نموده است. لازم به تذکر است که تماس با این پناهندگان کامبوجی باید در صفّ اوّل خدمات یاران و جوامع محلی قرار گیرد.

اما در مورد چگونگی ارتباط با پناهندگان کامبوجی باید نکاتی را در نظر داشت. اوّل اینکه باید نهایت مهربانی را در ارتباط با آنان مراعات نمود و کوشید که به هر طریقی که ممکن باشد وسایل آسایش آنان را فراهم کرد. نکته دیگری که باید در نظر داشت اینکه بهتر است که آنان را حضوراً به جلسات ضیافت دعوت کرد زیرا تماس‌های تلفنی ممکن است در بعضی مواقع موجب سوء ظن و ‎استیحاض استیحاش‎ آنان شود.

محفل روحانی ملی از کلیّهٔ محافل محلی که مراسلات راجع به این پناهندگان را دریافت نموده‌اند تقاضا می‌نماید که در اسرع وقت با آن عزیزان تماس حاصل نمایند و از اوضاع آنان دفتر امور پناهندگان را با خبر سازند.

TEACHING PLAN

محفل روحانی ملی در پیام خود به ضیافت شهر المسائل بیان فرمود که "جهت تسریع پیشرفت امر الهی از لجنهٔ ملی نشر نفحات درخواست نموده که کلیّهٔ قوای خود را برای ازدیاد قابل ملاحظهٔ تازه تصدیقان در ایالات ماساچوست و شهرهای آتلانتا و شیکاگو و سن حوزه و حومه آنها و تشویق یاران به تبلیغ امر مبارک در مناطق هشت کنفرانس دیگر مصروف دارد."

مکن است برای برخی از یاران این سؤال مطرح شود که اینهمه تأکید دربارهٔ تمرکز فعالیت‌های تبلیغی در نقاط مذکور برای چیست و چرا این فعالیت‌ها برای سراسر ایالات متحده در نظر گرفته نشده است. لجنهٔ ملی نشر نفحات مطالب زیر را در پاسخ این سؤال اظهار داشته است:

برنامهٔ تبلیغی محفل روحانی ملی در نقاط مذکور بدین منظور طرح گردیده که مالاً به سراسر ایالات سرایت کند. اما اخیر این آتش به ناچار باید در نقطه‌ای افروخته شود تا بتواند به سایر نقاط سرایت نماید. علّت تمرکز فعالیت‌های تبلیغی در چهار نقطهٔ مذکور جز این نیست. تعیّناً هشت محلی که جهت انعقاد کنفرانس‌های تبلیغی معین شده، در واقع به علّت وجود استعداد و قابلیت آنها بوده و خود سرآغاز افروختن شعله تبلیغ امرالله در آن نقاط است. محتمل است که برخی از این نقاط مشتاقانه خود برای تمرکز فعالیت‌های تبلیغی معین شوند.

آنچه باید در نظر داشت این است که سایر جوامع امری بهیچوجه من‌الوجوه نباید گمان کنند که مورد غفلت محفل روحانی قرار گرفته‌اند، چه که ‎غغرض غرض‎ از تمامی این فعالیت‌ها آن است که سراسر این دیار به نور امر مبارک نورانی گردد. بنابراین محفل روحانی ملی و لجنهٔ ملی نشر نفحات بی‌صبرانه در انتظارند که بشارات انتصارات تبلیغی را از همهٔ جوامع امری دریافت نمایند.

LOS ANGELES BAHÁ’Í YOUTH WORKSHOP

اخیراً کارگاه جوانان Bahá’í لوس آنجلس Los Angeles Bahá’í Youth Workshop برنامه‌هائی در سه روز متوالی در نمایشگاه سالانهٔ بخش لوس آنجلس اجراء کرد. این برنامه‌ها در برابر ۵۸۰۰ نفر اجراء گردید.

جوانان عزیزی که مجری برنامه‌ها بودند بیش از ۲۵۰۰ نسخه از بیانیهٔ صلح بیت‌العدل اعظم را در میان تماشاچیان توزیع کردند و بعد از اجرای برنامه‌ها جلسات تبلیغی خصوصی جهت ‎مذاره مذاکره‎ با طالبین حقیقت ترتیب دادند. همچنین مجریان جوان در مصاحبه‌هائی از چهار ایستگاه رادیوئی پخش می‌شد شرکت کردند.

محفل روحانی پامونا Pomona ‎باحث باعث‎ و بانی حضور کارگاه جوانان Bahá’í لوس آنجلس در نمایشگاه مذکور بود. برنامه این گروه با چنان موفقیتی روبرو شد که از طرف برگزار کنندگان نمایشگاه از آنان دعوت به عمل آمد که در نمایشگاه سال آینده نیز شرکت نمایند.

COVENANT BREAKERS

محفل روحانی ملی به استحضار یاران عزیز می‌رساند که چنانچه آن دوستان مراسلاتی از طرف ناقضان عهد و پیمان دریافت دارند، باید با محفل روحانی محلی و یا اعضای هیئت معاونت تماس بگیرند و یا اوراق نقض را به دفتر محفل ملی ارسال نمایند. [Page 10]

Native American Institute’s Council Fire draws 100-plus

More than 100 people from upwards of 20 communities attended this year’s Council Fire at the Native American Bahá’í Institute in Houck, Arizona.

One of the highlights came on Saturday when a Navajo woman, Jenny Golden, declared her belief in Bahá’u’lláh.

Mrs. Golden and her husband, James, who had declared a few weeks earlier, are members of the Houck Chapter community and live about a mile from the NABI. Their children have taken an active part in summer programs at the Institute.

Special guests at the Council Fire included Joseph Nelson of White Cone, a medicine man who has been preparing audio tapes for the Institute on Navajo teachings, and John Cook, a long-time friend and Bahá’í teacher who shared inspiring songs throughout the weekend.

Performing traditional songs and dances Saturday evening were the Pine Springs Singers along with their parents, aunts and uncles.

Chester Kahn and Ben and Lorraine Kahn served as masters of ceremonies for the weekend.

•

On August 28, a Bahá’í group, ‘One World Medium Obligatory Prayers’ or ‘One World MOP,’ performed at an annual arts and music festival, Artstreet, in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The group is comprised of director/songwriter Taku Ronsman, guitarist/songwriter Kim Hazen, playwright/narrator Suzanne Ryan, and 10 children. The children acted out a play called ‘An Indian Story for Children’ and the group performed its theme song, written by Mr. Hazen, and a sign language song written by Ms. Ronsman. About 75 people attended the performance which was taped for television and reported in one of the local newspapers.

•

Last September, the four Bahá’í children of Allen, Texas (ages 8-12 years), raised almost $500 at the Allen County Fair by designing and running a game.

The money was donated to the Allen Food Pantry which then asked the Bahá’ís of Allen to choose a representative to become a member of the Food Pantry’s board of directors.

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Several Bahá’ís in South Florida who are involved in teaching the Faith to the Hispanic population meet each week to study the Teachings in Spanish.

They have also helped organize a public talk, a proclamation at a university that drew many Hispanic students, published articles about the Faith in a local Spanish-language newspaper, and are holding weekly picnics at local parks.

Although its members are from several communities, the “Hispanic Task Force” is guided by the Spiritual Assembly of Central Dade County.

Recently, Counselor Wilma Ellis traveled to Florida to meet with this group.

She encouraged the friends to continue their activities, to extend a loving welcome to new immigrants in the area, and always to turn to the divine institutions of the Faith for guidance and protection.

•

On February 18-19, the Bahá’í National Committee on Women is sponsoring the second annual Conference on Sexual Equality at Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia.

This year’s theme is “Conference on Sexual Equality: Lines That Divide and Ties That Bind.”

The keynote speaker will be Dr. Wilma Ellis, administrator-general of the Bahá’í International Community.

Included will be a wide variety of workshops and a panel discussion on “The White Male System: Myth or Reality?”

Awards will be given to individuals who have made outstanding contributions to sexual equality.

More than 75 rooms are available at the Ramada Hotel Capitol Plaza at $55 plus tax (single or double occupancy). For reservations, phone 1-800-2RAMADA.

To register for the conference, send $5 for each person (make check payable to Bahá’í National Committee on Women) to Alonzo W. Nesmith Jr., P.O. Box 30955, Charleston, SC 29417.

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“The Sights and Sounds of China,” a slide program compiled and narrated by Jene Bellows, a Bahá’í from Skokie, Illinois, was presented October 28 by the Bahá’í Club at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana.

More than 60 people including about 45 Chinese and Taiwanese students attended the event.

The Bahá’í Club was inspired by the Riḍván message from the Universal House of Justice to begin contacting and befriending the more than 500 Chinese students and their dependents connected with the university.

The slide program was followed by a question-and-answer session with Mrs. Bellows, and plans for follow-up activities such as parties, potlucks and other events were begun at a breakfast meeting the next morning.

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On October 1, about 100 young Bahá’ís in the San Francisco Bay area gathered to consult on ways in which they might take an active role in San Jose’s “Metro 1000” teaching campaign.

The meeting was organized, executed and presented by youth. Of those attending, about one-quarter were between the ages of 12-14.

Amatu’l-Bahá Rúḥíyyih Khánum, Prince Philip share banquet stage

FULLY ONE YEAR SINCE ACCEPTANCE BAHÁ’Í FAITH INTO NETWORK ON CONSERVATION AND RELIGION WORLD WIDE FUND FOR NATURE, WE ARE IMMENSELY PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE OUTSTANDING SUCCESS FUND-RAISING BANQUET AND RECEPTION ON 26 OCTOBER IN LONDON CO-SPONSORED BY WORLD WIDE FUND FOR NATURE AND BAHÁ’Í INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY. HELD AT SYON HOUSE, ANCESTRAL HOME OF DUKES OF NORTHUMBERLAND, EVENT LAUNCHED ‘ARTS AND NATURE’ PROGRAM CONCEIVED BY HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS PRINCE PHILIP, DUKE OF EDINBURGH, AS MEANS OF DRAWING ON VISUAL AND PERFORMING ARTS TO ENLIST PUBLIC SUPPORT OF CRITICAL ENVIRONMENTAL NEEDS AROUND WORLD.

AMATU’L-BAHÁ RÚḤÍYYIH KHÁNUM, REPRESENTING BAHÁ’Í INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY, GAVE CAPTIVATING BRIEF ADDRESS IN WHICH SHE APPEALED TO HER DISTINGUISHED ‎BEARERS HEARERS‎ TO JOIN IN COMMON EFFORT TO CONSERVE NATURE. IN HIS SUBSEQUENT SPEECH, PRINCE PHILIP REFERRED REPEATEDLY TO POINTS SHE HAD MADE.

ATTRACTING SOME MOST INFLUENTIAL FIGURES IN BRITISH SOCIAL AND PUBLIC LIFE AMONG ITS 200 GUESTS, EVENT BROUGHT TOGETHER NUMBER OF LEADING EUROPEAN ARTISTS IN PERFORMANCES ON THEME ‘ART AND NATURE,’ WHICH WAS FURTHER HIGHLIGHTED BY DISPLAY AT SYON HOUSE OF WORKS OF ART FROM ROYAL COLLECTION WHICH HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN HAD LOANED FOR THE EVENING.

OUR SPIRITS STIRRED BY POWERFUL INDICATIONS THUS GIVEN OF GREAT POTENTIALITIES FOR SERVICE WHICH BAHÁ’Í COMMUNITY WORLDWIDE CAN AND MUST RENDER IN MAKING ITS DISTINCTIVE CONTRIBUTIONS TO CONSERVATION AND ENRICHMENT PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT OUR BOUNTIFULLY ENDOWED PLANET.

UNIVERSAL HOUSE OF JUSTICE NOVEMBER 3, 1988

An International Pioneering Institute was held August 19-21 at the Native American Bahá’í Institute in Arizona. The conference, sponsored by the National Office of Pioneering, involved 30 prospective homefront and overseas pioneers from across the country and including even a few places on the Navajo Reservation. It was the first event of its kind ever held at the NABI. [Page 11]

10 YEARS AGO

More than 400 people gather on the evening of November 25 at the Bahá’í House of Worship in Wilmette, Illinois, for a ceremony recognizing the listing of the House of Worship in the National Register of Historic Places.

The designation is given by the federal government on May 23, exactly 134 years after the Báb’s declaration of His mission to Mulla Husayn in Shiraz, Persia.

Warren Burmeister, president of the Village of Wilmette, unveils a plaque marking the House of Worship’s new status.

“Wilmette is honored,” he says, “to be the ground under which this jewel soars to the sky.” ...

On November 27-29, 20 members of teaching teams working in Georgia and South Carolina pay a visit to the House of Worship in Wilmette.

While there they spend an evening with the Hand of the Cause of God Zikrullah Khadem, and are greeted on behalf of the National Spiritual Assembly by its assistant secretary, Dr. Magdalene M. Carney. ...

In a statement dated November 1978, the Bahá’í International Community responds to recent disturbances in Iran which, besides endangering the devoted and persecuted friends in that country, have led to misrepresentations of the Bahá’í teachings in the world news media.

The statement is prepared at the request of the Universal House of Justice. ...

Bahá’í youth in Southern California District No. 2 are involved in a series of weekend teaching and deepening events called “It’s It” which regularly attract 30-35 youth.

The gatherings serve three purposes: (1) to give youth an opportunity to get to know one another; (2) to let them expand their understanding of the meaning of deepening; and (3) to involve them in teaching activities in goal areas and let them set up their own teaching projects. ...

Three firsts for the Faith take place in New Orleans during the joint annual meeting November 18-21 of the American Academy of Religion and the Society of Biblical Literature.

First, the Bahá’í Publishing Trust joins a prestigious group of exhibitors by arranging for its own display booth.

Second, Dr. Ann Schoonmaker, a Bahá’í from New Jersey, presents a brief report entitled “The Concept of Progressive Revelation in the Kitáb-i-Íqán by Bahá’u’lláh.”

And third, a non-Bahá’í, Dr. Dan Bassuk of the University of South Florida, presents a paper on religion in modern India in which he discusses the fulfillment by Bahá’u’lláh of Hindu prophecies concerning the Kalki Avatar.

It is probably the first time that both Bahá’í and non-Bahá’í scholars have presented papers on Bahá’u’lláh in such a setting. ...

A visit by Counselor Florence Mayberry is among the highlights as 75 Bahá’ís and their guests spend two weeks of study and fellowship November 12-26 at the Bosch Bahá’í School near Santa Cruz, California. ...

‘Vision’

from page 1

Among the speakers at the Chattanooga conference, which was held at the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga, was Counselor Wilma Ellis, director-general of the Bahá’í International Community.

The National Spiritual Assembly was represented by two of its members, Alberta Deas and Jack McCants.

The total attendance of 408 included 102 children and 43 youth.

A Saturday evening auction raised $78,000 for the Fund—$8,000 in cash and the rest in pledges.

Booths reporting teaching activities were displayed at a “Vision to Victory” Fair. Also included were booths on “the most challenging issue” and “how to make short video pieces for television and adapt them to your local community.”

A puppet show was the centerpiece of a splendid children’s program arranged by the Bahá’ís of Huntsville, Alabama.

Youth attended the main sessions but also had their own program, coordinated by Sarah Streiff of Dalton, Georgia, which allowed them to gather for consultation and to make personal pledges of service to the Cause.

A party was held Friday evening to commemorate the anniversary of the Birth of Bahá’u’lláh.

Featured was a musical drama, “In the Presence of Bahá’u’lláh,” produced and conducted by Tom Price of Hendersonville, Tennessee, who conducted the choir at the dedication of the Bahá’í House of Worship in India.

The choir this time was composed of Bahá’ís from Tennessee including Dash Crofts (formerly of Seals & Crofts) of Hendersonville.

Other musical presentations were by “Bridges,” a singing group from Chattanooga, as well as various duets and individuals from the area.

“The spirit brought by the diversity of the people present was wonderful,” said a conference planner, “as was their willingness to commit themselves by pledging funds and service.”

Some 2,047 of the friends including those from Alaska and Canada attended the Northwest Conference in Seattle whose highlights included a talk by David Hofman, a former member of the Universal House of Justice; a “teaching fair” at which about 100 projects were displayed; and more than $132,000 in contributions and pledges to the Funds.

The friends also had the opportunity to see and hear the inspiring ‎video taped videotaped‎ message to the Chattanooga conference by Mr. Kavelin.

Two Counselors—Robert Harris and Fred Schechter—took an active part in the conference, while the National Spiritual Assembly was represented by its vice-chairman, Judge James Nelson, and Chester Kahn.

Separate programs were held for the 425 children and 150 youth.

Besides enjoying classes which emphasized teaching, the Arc project, and the principle of the oneness of mankind, the children were able to visit the Science Center and Seattle Center exhibit.

Counselor Harris met with the youth to impart to them a sense of direction and a vision of where to channel their energies. His inspiration was reflected in the pledge sheets offered by the youth.

About 200 of the friends attended a special Persian meeting at which Dr. Jalil Mahmoudi spoke about the message from the Universal House of Justice to the Persian Bahá’ís dated ‘Izzat 134 B.E.

The 468 pledge sheets filled in and returned by those at the conference ranged from pledges to teach, pioneer and deepen to more specific tasks such as writing books, learning Chinese, conducting firesides, and taking part in service projects.

Fund contributions included more than $22,000 in cash, $3,200 raised at a silent auction, and more than $102,000 in pledges.

Book sales totaled more than $16,000.

“...the intensity and quality of the program,” the conference committee noted in its report to the National Spiritual Assembly, “is a first for the Pacific Northwest.

“Numerous people were extremely inspired, many deeply and emotionally stirred, and pledge sheets reflect the profound effect of the gathering.”

More than 2,000 Bahá’ís attended the Northwest Teaching Conference in Seattle, Washington, the third in a series of 12 ‘Vision to Victory’ conferences called by the National Spiritual Assembly.

Computer error leaves faces red, warrants apologies for slip-ups

Computer error struck with a vengeance in November, leaving us with red faces and apologies to make to Stephen Connor of Shaker Heights, Ohio, and Mardell Petras of Green Bay, Wisconsin, who were listed erroneously in the “In Memoriam” column.

Both have telephoned the National Center to assure us that they are alive and well; Mr. Connor added the good news that a third child was recently added to the Connor family.

We are pleased to hear this, and apologize again for the errors.

Schools to collect, evaluate materials under Education Committee’s new plan

The National Bahá’í Education Committee is developing a plan that will involve local and regional Bahá’í schools in the collection, evaluation and cataloguing of curricula and other Bahá’í educational materials used to educate children, youth and adults.

Field testing, teacher training, and expansion of the program and materials will take place in the second phase of the plan.

Regional Education Task Forces are being appointed to work with the permanent Bahá’í schools (i.e., Bosch, Green Acre, Louhelen, the Native American Bahá’í Institute, and the Louis Gregory Bahá’í Institute) and the NBEC to accomplish the work mandated by the National Spiritual Assembly.

The collection will lead to a catalogue of published and unpublished Bahá’í educational materials so that teachers and local Assemblies can order them from local or national sources.

Although letters are being sent to all known local Bahá’í schools introducing the Regional Education Task Forces, teachers may send their curriculum materials directly to the NBEC secretary’s office if they are not close to a regional Bahá’í school. They may also send information about their local classes for youth, children and adults.

To be included in this year’s catalogue and school directory, materials and information must be received by January 30. Send to: NBEC Secretary, Florence, SC 29501 (phone 803-667-1540).

The members of the National Bahá’í Education Committee are Dr. Saba Ayman-Nolley, Chicago; Dr. Terry Kneisler, Sebastopol, California; Leonard D. Smith, Shutesbury, Massachusetts; Irene Taafaki, Amherst, Massachusetts; and Dr. Anne Breneman, Florence, South Carolina (secretary).

Pioneer to Amarillo Freda Belson dies

Freda Belson, a homefront pioneer since 1964 to Amarillo, Texas, died last May 12 at her post and is the first Bahá’í to be buried in Amarillo.

She served for many years as secretary of the Spiritual Assembly of Amarillo and for more than a decade as editor of the community’s newsletter.

Red Grammer visits Arizona, performs for Navajos, Hopis

Bahá’í musician Red Grammer, accompanied by his wife, Kathy, and sons David and Andy, was in Arizona for 10 days in August during which time he performed seven times in Navajo and Hopi communities in the area around the Native American Bahá’í Institute.

More than 20 Bahá’í children (and many helpers and relatives) joined him at performances in Houck, Gallup, Chinle, Fort Defiance, Oak Springs, Kykotsmovi and Tuba City.

IN MEMORIAM

Name	Location	Date
Wesley Allen	Youngs Island, SC	Date Unknown
Alfonso Johnson Jr.	Holly Hill, SC	October 27, 1988
Eurit Phillips	Texas City, TX	Date Unknown
Florence Breitmeier	Edina, MN	Date Unknown
Ethelinda Merson	Falmouth, MA	June 6, 1988
Sharifeh Safaeian	Swissvale, PA	October 27, 1988
Lucy Cruz	Philadelphia, PA	September 21, 1988
Scott Mitchell	Meggett, SC	Date Unknown
Tommie Simms	Richmond, CA	November 10, 1988
Robert Ford	Georgetown, SC	June 7, 1988
Abdol Hossein Monadi	Ridgewood, NJ	October 29, 1988
Ted Strange	Spokane, WA	1987
Lillian Garnett	Atlanta, GA	September 14, 1988
Joseph Montgomery	Holly Hill, SC	Date Unknown
Hugo H. Swanson	Colorado Springs, CO	October 18, 1988
Reginald Gladden	Charleston, SC	Date Unknown
Louise Morgan	Elm Grove, WI	August 3, 1988
Ataollah Tabrizi	Valencia, CA	September 25, 1988
Drew Harrington	Madras, OR	Date Unknown
Lewis N. Munden	La Puente, CA	September 15, 1988
Jesse Wakan	Wolf Point, MT	Date Unknown
Mary Ann Many Hides	Browning, MT	Date Unknown
Franklin Nelson	Edisto Island, SC	Date Unknown
Ada White	Holly Hill, SC	1987
Nettie Holloway	Barnesville, GA	Date Unknown
Julia Nelson	Edisto Island, SC	Date Unknown
Joseph Williams	Edisto Island, SC	Date Unknown
Catherine Huff	Teaneck, NJ	September 6, 1988
Bill Nichols	Houston, TX	Date Unknown

[Page 12]Mrs. Louki Farhoumand (right) with one of her many friends at the Bahá’í International Youth Conference in July 1988.

Persian refugee shrugs off her shortcomings, simply teaches

When Mrs. Louki Farhoumand, a Bahá’í from Alexandria, Virginia, came to the U.S. from Iran about nine years ago, well past middle age, it wasn’t easy to start life afresh in a new country.

She was cheerful, genial and trusting as always, but did not speak much English, and getting around in a foreign environment proved quite difficult.

Having come from an active Bahá’í family—her brother was known as “the Father of Ethiopia” in recognition of his outstanding pioneering services there—she now had to contend with the language barrier and cultural unfamiliarity.

Either none of this ever occurred to her, or the importance of teaching the Faith somehow outweighed all other considerations such as uncertainty and self-doubt.

She realized that although she herself was not confident enough in English to conduct firesides, she could invite seekers to the firesides of other Bahá’í friends and hand them pamphlets.

Leaving the comfort and relative inactivity of the home behind, Mrs. Farhoumand began to take long walks or bus rides so she could have an opportunity to meet people.

Finding the seekers was and remains the easiest part of her teaching effort.

“I somehow broach the subject of the Faith with at least one or two people every day,” she says.

The truth of that statement is borne out by the many and diverse groups of people she is able to attract to area firesides.

Mrs. Farhoumand’s desire to serve the Cause is matched by a genuine interest in the people she meets.

Her field of operation is usually a park bench, a bus, a grocery store or a shopping center; her technique, friendly conversation. Sometimes she even rides home from a store with people who had been complete strangers before she met them.

She begins by asking the time of day or for an address she does not know, then gently moves the conversation in the direction of religion.

Before long, the person to whom she is speaking is drawn to this warm and engaging woman who respects and values his or her religious beliefs, but who also has some interesting ones of her own.

Often, the listener is invited to her home for dinner, and later to a fireside in the area.

Some of these contacts have gone to the firesides and have begun their search for truth, but all of them have at least a basic knowledge of what the Bahá’í Faith is all about.

Mrs. Farhoumand does not depend on any special gifts or talents to teach the Faith; if anything, she began with what are generally considered to be serious handicaps. Yet she is an inspiring model of success in teaching.

Resolution

from page 1

exemplified by this resolution, remains a critical factor in sustaining and, we hope, advancing on the improvements that have been seen in Iran’s treatment of the Bahá’ís over the past year.

“The Bahá’í International Community extends its sincere thanks to those governments that supported the UN measure.”

The resolution, sanctioned by a vote of 61-25, followed by one week the approval of a similar measure by the UN’s Social, Humanitarian and Cultural Committee whose members voted 55-23 in favor of passage.

The measure also calls for a continued examination of the human rights situation in Iran during the coming year. In making that point, the resolution specifically mentions the Bahá’ís.

Since 1979, when the Islamic regime came to power, more than 200 Bahá’ís have been killed or executed in Iran solely because of their religious beliefs while hundreds more have been imprisoned and thousands have lost jobs or been deprived of property.

Although no Bahá’í has been executed by the government since September 1987, ‎Bahá’í’s Bahá’ís‎ continue to be denied employment and an education and to have their property seized while remaining as “non-persons” under Iranian law.

“The cornerstone of the foundation of all Bahá’í activity is teaching the Cause.”
—The Universal House of Justice

Inglewood sponsors 76th annual memorial for Thornton Chase

The Spiritual Assembly of Inglewood, California, sponsored the 76th annual Thornton Chase memorial service September 25 at Mr. Chase’s gravesite in Inglewood Park Cemetery.

Among those taking part in this year’s program was Counselor Fred Schechter.

The annual service is held in response to a request by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá that Mr. Chase’s memory be honored with an appropriate observance.

‘Peace: The Promise’ theme of St. Cloud’s day-long conference

“Peace: The Promise, The Progress” was the theme of a one-day conference held September 24 at St. Cloud (Minnesota) State University.

The event was sponsored by the St. Cloud University Bahá’í Club.

The keynote speakers were:

• Dr. Khalil Khavari, a Bahá’í who teaches in the department of psychology and is chairman of the Peace Studies Program at the University of Wisconsin/Milwaukee (“The Psycho-Social Assessment of War and Peace”).
• Dr. Mary Howard, co-founder of the St. Cloud branch of the NAACP and clinical psychologist at the Veterans Administration Medical Center (“Building a Prejudice-Free Society”).
• Dr. Steve Crow, an American Indian poet who teaches in the department of fine arts and humanities at St. Cloud State University (“The Connection of Native American Spirituality, Culture and Tradition to World Peace”).

Participants were able to choose to attend one of four workshops: “Family Unity and Peace,” “Cooperation vs. Competition,” “The Feminine Principle in Religion, Culture and World Peace,” or “The Role of the Individual in Working for Peace.”

Minnesota Bahá’í musicians Bette Bartos, David Britton and Vicki Goble set the tone musically by performing “The Peace Cantata,” a 20-minute composition by Britton and Goble that highlights major themes from “The Promise of World Peace” and was first presented at the 1987 Bahá’í Peace Conference in Duluth.

Dr. Steve Crow, an American Indian poet and member of the fine arts faculty at St. Cloud (Minnesota) State University, was a keynote speaker at the Peace Conference/Concert held September 24 and sponsored by the Bahá’í community of St. Cloud. (Photo by Erik Peterson)

MOVING? TELL US YOUR NEW ADDRESS

To avoid unnecessary delays in receiving your copy of The American Bahá’í, send your new address and your mailing label to MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEMS, Bahá’í National Center, Wilmette, IL 60091, as soon as you know where you are going to move and what your new address will be.

This form may be used for one person or your entire family. Please be sure to list FULL NAMES and I.D. NUMBERS for all individuals, ages 15 years or older, who will be affected by this change.

BAHÁ’Í NATIONAL CENTER Wilmette, Illinois 60091