The American Bahá’í/Volume 25/Issue 5/Text

←Previous

The American Bahá’í Volume 25, Issue 5

Next→

Return to PDF view Proofread once

[Page 1]

National Assembly, Supreme Body: Historic consultation: Meet for three days at World Center

In a "historically unprecedented" session, the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States consulted for three days March 8-10 with the Universal House of Justice on matters pertinent to the American Bahá’í community and the Faith worldwide.

Assembly members also prayed at the Holy Shrines.

The National Assembly had requested a one-day meeting for some of its officers to discuss plans and concerns with the Supreme Body. In late January, an affirmative reply was received from Haifa—but the consultation was to be for three days, and the Universal House of Justice set a date in early March when all of its members would be present.

Availed of that opportunity, the National Assembly immediately made plans for its entire membership to take part.

Once there, the visitors were lavished with a love "that knows no words," said Robert C. Henderson, secretary-general of the National Assembly.

"Your services, the exploits of the American Bahá’í community and the work of the National Assembly were characterized with the highest praise, with the deepest gratitude and the fondest love," he said. "And the meetings proceeded in that spirit."

Some of the concerns that had prompted the request for consultation were brought to the surface.

Callers take aim at budget deficit

Volunteers check Assemblies' progress toward meeting goal

By Tom Mennillo

Twenty-five volunteers from the Bahá’í National Center staff spent the Fast weekend of March 12-13 on the telephone.

But the calls, while sociable, were not social in nature. They were made to check the progress selected local Spiritual Assemblies are making toward their National Fund goals. And the results were gratifying.

The "phonathon" was initiated to address a $2 million budget gap projected for the fiscal year that ends April 30. If the gap is not closed, the impact on the American Bahá’í community's financial strength may be felt for years to come.

The Treasurer's Office has calculated, though, that if each Assembly meets its Local Assembly Goal Program target, the deficit will be covered.

In that spirit, the volunteers completed 310 calls.

Vision in Action

National Teaching Committee letter ... 2 Traveling teachers top 2,000 ... 3 Assemblies and pioneering ... 4 Excellence in All Things ... 14 Race unity musical draws ovations ... 20

Volunteer caller Neda Ashourian talks with one of the 310 Local Spiritual Assembly officers contacted during the weekend 'phonathon.'

Three pioneers brutally slain in S. Africa

In March, the ugly specter of racial and political conflict in South Africa intruded on the peaceful Bahá’í community of Ciskei in the form of a senseless and brutal act of violence that shocked and outraged blacks and whites and left the Bahá’ís mourning the tragic loss of three of their stalwart pioneers.

On Sunday, March 13, six armed gunmen burst into the Bahá’í Center in Mdantsane Township, near East London, as a prayer service was ending, ordered black and white Bahá’ís to move to separate sides of the hall, then shot three men in cold blood in front of the large group that included a number of children who were there for a Sunday school class.

The Bahá’ís who were murdered, all pioneers of Iranian background.

First Bahá’í Chair address delivered

Prof. Bushrui calls for recognition of common heritage

On March 3, Prof. Suheil Bushrui delivered the inaugural address of the Bahá’í Chair for World Peace at the University of Maryland in College Park.

More than 200 faculty members, students and invited guests, including Bahá’ís from the area, heard the address at the University College Adult Education Center. The turnout was so large that some had to stand by the entrance or sit on the floor in the back of the room.

Among the distinguished guests were Dr. William E. Kirwan, president of the University of Maryland, and Mrs. Kirwan; Dr. Irwin Goldstein, dean of the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences; and Dr. Edy Kaufman, director of the university's Center for International Development and Conflict Management (CIDCM).

Also present were Judge Dorothy W. Nelson of the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, representing the National Spiritual Assembly, and members of the International Advisory Board of the Bahá’í Chair.

Prof. Bushrui, the first holder of the Bahá’í Chair for World Peace, called on his colleagues and students at the university to recognize that all religions are the common birthright of humanity, and challenged them to develop a global code of ethics from this heritage as an essential step toward world peace.

"I am Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, Zoroastrian, Bahá’í and many other things as well," he said. "I am all of these because I am a human being, for every human being is an heir to the spiritual heritage which is ours."

Quoting the words of Albert Einstein, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, Chief Seattle, Friedrich Schiller, William Blake, Ibn al-Arabi and other universal notables, as well as the Upanishads, the Bible, the Qur'an.

Shamil Fattakhov (right), chairman of the Regional Spiritual Assembly of Russia, Georgia and Armenia, is interviewed on Oklahoma TV. Story of how this former atheist found God is on page 9. [Page 2]

Letter from the National Teaching Committee

To the Bahá’ís of the United States

Dear Bahá’í friends:

In August, the National Spiritual Assembly called upon the National Teaching Committee to develop a strategy for large-scale expansion and consolidation in the United States. In January, this strategy was initiated with a conference in Atlanta, details of which were shared in the February 7 edition of The American Bahá’í. Moved by the spirit of the friends in Atlanta, both the Universal House of Justice and the National Spiritual Assembly have expressed their confidence that the American Bahá’í community can, through its determined efforts, achieve entry by troops.

The strategy as presented to the community involves many aspects of expansion and consolidation that are described in the writings. In an effort to examine these elements of the strategy in more detail, the National Teaching Committee has decided to write a series of letters in The American Bahá’í with the hope that they will stimulate a broader consultation in the national community. This letter, the first in the series, discusses the importance of telling others about Bahá’u’lláh and inviting them to embrace His Cause.

In its Ridván 1991 message, the Universal House of Justice declared the intention of the community to "endeavor to blazon the name of Bahá’u’lláh across the globe, to make it a known eminence in the consciousness of peoples everywhere." The publication of the statement Bahá’u’lláh prepared by the Office of Public Information at the Bahá’í World Center and preparations for the second Bahá’í World Congress and its auxiliary events were among the ways the community launched this effort.

Shift in public presentation

The emphasis on teaching others directly about Bahá’u’lláh marked a shift in the public presentation of the message of the Faith, which had previously stressed such themes as the universality of the Cause or its principles, such as world peace. As Douglas Martin, head of the World Center's Office of Public Information at the time and currently a member of the Universal House of Justice, explained:

"Now the House of Justice tells us that the moment has come for a dramatic new initiative in the Faith's public presentation of its message. What has so far been achieved creates a setting in which the central truth of the Bahá’í Cause may appear in its proper perspective, a stage upon which the Author of the Cause can Himself address our fellow human beings, their institutions, their information systems, their centers of learning.... Before anything else, we need to determine how are we to speak of Bahá’u’lláh Himself."

"Our task is to set in motion a broad array of initiatives that can establish Bahá’u’lláh’s name as a familiar and authoritative voice in human affairs. The goal in the decades ahead is to reach the point where no responsible scholar will undertake work...without consulting Bahá’u’lláh’s teachings and the models He has constructed."

As our community recommits itself to the task of achieving entry by troops, we must review our presentation of the Faith to be sure that we are telling others about Bahá’u’lláh rather than simply the principles of the Faith, that we are connecting the seekers' hearts to Bahá’u’lláh, that we are sharing the story of Bahá’u’lláh’s suffering for humanity and His solutions to the world's ills, and that we are presenting the proofs of His claim to be the Manifestation of God for this age.

Of course, in teaching directly about Bahá’u’lláh we must be wise in our approach, but, as ‘Abdu’l-Bahá states, "not that wisdom which requireth one to be silent and forgetful of such an obligation, but rather that which requireth one to display divine tolerance, love, kindness, patience, a goodly character, and holy deeds." "They must speak out, expound the proofs, set forth clear arguments, draw irrefutable conclusions establishing the truth of the manifestation of the Sun of Reality...."

Closely associated with the need to teach more directly about Bahá’u’lláh is our obligation to invite others to embrace and serve His Cause. If the Faith is to fulfill its role at this critical moment in human history, then, as the Universal House of Justice and the National Spiritual Assembly have informed us, we must greatly increase our numbers and the human resources capable of doing the work that must be done. In telling others about Bahá’u’lláh, we can also present this need more directly and challenge others to accept this service that directly affects the future of humanity.

Bahá’u’lláh Himself gave us the obligation not only to teach the Cause, but to invite others to embrace it: "Through the potency of the Name of the Best Beloved, invite thou the receptive souls unto God's holy court, that perchance they may not remain deprived of the heavenly Fountain of living water."

In a letter considering why individuals are not more successful in their teaching efforts, the Universal House of Justice noted as one reason that the friends "feel they do not know...how to bring their efforts to a conclusion." There is no one method for inviting people to embrace the Cause, yet every believer should become comfortable in some way with fulfilling this aspect of teaching.

Learn from other teachers

We encourage the friends to consult upon how to become more skilled in inviting seekers to become Bahá’ís, to learn from other teachers who have been successful in helping others embrace the Cause and arise to serve it, and to deepen on and practice this process in action. To this end we recommend the study with your Auxiliary Board member or assistant of a letter dated July 9, 1992, from the International Teaching Center on inviting seekers to embrace the Cause.

The impact of telling others about Bahá’u’lláh and inviting them to join the Faith can be seen in one example from the HEAT Wave fireside campaign reported from Missouri. A family hosted two firesides on the topic of "How to Become a Bahá’í." Enrollment cards were passed out at the beginning of the meeting and their purpose was explained. The discussion centered on the Person of Bahá’u’lláh. The seekers included those who had attended firesides for many months and some who were just learning about the Faith. The result of these two firesides was that eight individuals declared their belief in Bahá’u’lláh.

As we teach more directly about Bahá’u’lláh and invite seekers to embrace the Cause, we will see an upsurge in the number of people responding to this invitation. Care must then be taken not to place unnecessary obstacles in the path of these enkindled souls.

Occasionally, seeing a need to protect the Cause, communities are slow to follow up on those who quickly embrace the Faith, or create a long delay between declaration and enrollment. Local Assemblies, particularly, must arrange their affairs to allow for ready acceptance of fresh recruits.

If an individual who does not understand or does not believe in Bahá’u’lláh is inadvertently allowed to enroll in the Faith, that person can later

Friends should use discretion when responding to requests for hospitality, material assistance from transient Bahá’ís

Every now and then, individual Bahá’ís and local Spiritual Assemblies receive appeals from transient persons for hospitality and material assistance.

These appeals will multiply as our numbers grow and movement throughout the Bahá’í community increases. The following is shared with members of the Bahá’í community for their guidance and protection in responding to calls or demands for help.

Because it is generally known that Bahá’ís are by nature, training and conviction kind, generous and sympathetic, it is not uncommon for them to receive appeals for financial and other types of emergency help from itinerant Bahá’ís and others who claim to be Bahá’ís or seekers. While it is left to the discretion of the believers to respond as they see fit, it should be kept in mind that theirs is not a travelers' aid or social welfare agency prepared to serve the needs of itinerants other than on some selective and discriminating basis.

Although Bahá’u’lláh has told us to "be a home for the stranger...a treasurer to the poor...an answerer of the cry of the needy" (Bahá’í World Faith, p. 136), no Bahá’í should presume that the hospitality of his fellow Bahá’ís is his due. Bahá’u’lláh has also stated:

"No man should enter the house of his friend, save at his friend's pleasure, nor lay hands upon his treasures, nor prefer his own will to his friend's, and in no wise seek advantage over him...." (The Hidden Words, Persian, No. 43).

Thus He makes hospitality the prerogative of the host and not of the guest. Common courtesy demands that an individual should not impose himself on anyone without prior invitation, and Bahá’ís should be far [Page 3]

THREE YEAR PLAN TRANSFORMATION

MISSION 19 JALÁL B.E. 151 APRIL 9, 1994 (7 MONTHS TO GO!)

U.S. Bahá’í Community Current Goals and Status

Jalál 151 April 9, 1994

TEACHING

LSA GOALS: CITIES OF 50,000+

• • TRAVELING TEACHING GOALS**
• 3,000: Goal for the 3 Year Plan
• 2,001: Completed as of this report
• 999: Needed as of this report

• • HOMEFRONT PIONEER GOALS**
• 500: Goal for the 3 Year Plan
• 177: Completed as of this report
• 323: Needed as of this report

The map above shows the goal cities of 50,000 or more. A * indicates those cities that can form an Assembly at Ridván. The number of adult believers, according to our most recent list, is shown below. Please let us know if you have any information regarding teaching or an update on the number of believers in any of these cities by calling the National Teaching Office at 708/733-3494.

• • ARKANSAS**

Fort Smith 10 Pine Bluff

• • ALABAMA**

Dothan

• • CALIFORNIA**

Alhambra Baldwin Park Bellflower Carson Cerritos - 9 Chino Compton - 19 Daly City - 10 Fontana - 13 El Monte Hawthone Huntington Park Lodi Lynwood Montebello Monterey Park Napa - 10 National City Pico Rivera Rosemead Salinas - 13 South Gate South San Francisco West Covina

• • COLORADO**

Arvada - 11 Greeley Lafeyette Thornton-9

• • CONNECTICUT**

Bristol Danbury Norwalk Waterbury West Haven

• • FLORIDA**

Boca Raton - 16 Cape Coral - 10 Daytona Beach - 14 Hialeah Melbourne - 12 Miami Beach - 11 North Miami W. Palm Beach-19

• • GEORGIA**

Columbus-9 Macon 14

• • ILLINOIS**

Cicero Des Plaines Mount Prospect Oak Lawn

• • INDIANA**

Anderson Evansville-9 Hammond Terre Haute-9

• • IOWA**

Council Bluffs

• • KANSAS**

Olathe

• • KENTUCKY**

Owensboro

• • LOUISIANA**

Bossier City Kenner Lake Charles - 13 Metairie - 17 Monroe

• • MASSACHUSETTS**

Brockton Chicopee Fall River Haverhill Lawrence Lynn New Bedford Quincy Waltham

• • MICHIGAN**

Battle Creek Dearborn Heights Livonia Pontiac Roseville Saginaw -9 Saint Clair Shores Sterling Heights Taylor Warren Westland Wyoming

• • MINNESOTA**

Brooklyn Park Burnsville 10

• • MISSOURI**

Florissant Independence -9 Saint Charles-12 Saint Joseph Saint Louis-49

• • NEW JERSEY**

Bayonne Camden - 9 Clifton East Orange Elizabeth Newark Paterson-11 Union City Vineland

• • NEW YORK**

Binghamton Greenburgh Town New Rochelle Niagara Falls Schenectady - 10 Troy Utica

• • NORTH CAROLINA**

Fayetteville Gastonia

• • OHIO**

Akron Canton Elyria Hamilton Lakewood Lorain Parma Springfield Warren Youngstown

• • OKLAHOMA**

Lawton Midwest City

• • PENNSYLVANIA**

Altoona Erie-9 Reading Scranton

• • RHODE ISLAND**

Cranston East Providence Pawtucket

• • TENNESSEE**

Clarksville

• • TEXAS**

Abilene Beaumont - 11 Brownsville Kileen Laredo Longview Mesquite 11 Midland 14 Odessa - 10

• • UTAH**

Orem Provo W. Valley City - 10

• • VIRGINIA**

Chesapeake - 10 Danville Lynchburg Suffolk-80

• • WISCONSIN**

Kenosha La Crosse Racine

THE FUND

(As of February 28, 1994)

FOUR MAJOR FUNDS Goal for 150 B.E.: $25,000,000 Contributions to Date: $11,800,533

• • NATIONAL FUND**

Contributions to Date: $10,061,090

• • INTERNATIONAL FUND**

Goal for 150 B.E.: $833,333 Contributions to Date: $396,449 Total Contributions: $1,229,782

• • ARC PROJECTS FUND**

Goal for 150 B.E.: $833,333 Contributions to Date: $1,191,887 Total Contributions: $2,025,220 YEA

• • CONTINENTAL FUND**

Goal for 150 B.E.: $100,000 Contributions to Date: $151,107 Total Contributions: $251,107

From Nat’l Bahá’í Fund Earmarked Dollars Total Contributions

• • TOTAL ENROLLMENTS**

February........... 101 Year to date.... 1,593 [Page 4]

Assemblies urged to help win pioneer goals

In March, the Office of Pioneering sent the following letter to all local Spiritual Assemblies in the U.S. as part of a new initiative for the administrative processing of individuals arising to serve the Cause internationally. Enclosed with the letter were the international goals for the Three Year Plan, guidelines specific to international service and to certain sensitive areas of the world, and master copies of all the forms appropriate to international pioneering, traveling teaching and the Bahá’í Youth Service Corps.

To all local Spiritual Assemblies

Beloved Co-workers,

The Bahá’ís of the United States have been given the privilege of being among three or four national communities to carry the major responsibility for the growth of the Faith around the world. We now call upon each local Spiritual Assembly to assist us in fulfilling these responsibilities.

In its Ridván 150 message to the Bahá’í world, the Universal House of Justice states that the Three Year Plan's "primary purpose is indispensable to the future of the Cause and of humankind":

"The task of spreading the Message to the generality of mankind in villages, towns and cities must be rapidly extended. The need for this is critical, for without it the laboriously erected agencies of the Administrative Order will not be provided the scope to be able to develop and adequately demonstrate their inherent capacity to minister to the crying needs of humanity in its hour of deepening despair.

"Our appeal for immediate, redoubled and sustained action on all aspects of the Plan is addressed primarily to the individual believer of every locality, who possesses within himself or herself the measures of initiative that ensure the success of any global Bahá’í enterprise, and 'on whom, in the last resort,' as our beloved Guardian plainly stated, 'depends the fate of the entire community.'"

THE CALL

In its letter of June 27, 1993, addressed to the Bahá’ís of the world, the Universal House of Justice defines a new way for us to carry the Faith to all mankind: "Integral to the success and development of the Cause of God is the continual deployment of pioneers and traveling teachers throughout the world....new methods must be adopted to make the best use of this massive flow of Bahá’ís. We have therefore decided, in consultation with the International Teaching Center, to adopt a new pattern for the pioneer call for the Three Year Plan. The essence of this method is that friends may arise from anywhere in the world, to pioneer to any other part of the world."

And in a letter addressed to the U.S. National Spiritual Assembly dated August 25, 1993, the Universal House of Justice further states:

"Given the nature of the pioneer call of June 27, 1993, and in view of rapidly changing world conditions, much flexibility will be required. ...In view of the foregoing, you are urged to adopt the following international collaboration goal:

"Raise up and prepare an increasing number of long- and short-term pioneers and traveling teachers, aiming at the deployment of at least 2,000 of them in the international field."

OUR RESPONSE

To meet these challenges of the Three Year Plan, the Office of Pioneering calls upon local Spiritual Assemblies to go beyond encouraging and educating members of their communities about international service by helping to administer offers of pioneering and traveling teaching.

When this office is contacted, we will direct individuals desiring to serve as short- or long-term pioneers, as international traveling teachers, or as Bahá’í Youth Service Corps volunteers to first make an appointment with their local Spiritual Assembly (or an Assembly well known to them) to consult about their plans and to receive the appropriate volunteer forms to complete and send to this office as soon as possible.

Equally important is that the Assembly complete and send the corresponding evaluation forms. Please refer to the enclosed "Guidelines for International Service" for a detailed description of the role of local Assemblies in this administrative process.

Once the volunteer forms are received, this office will continue its efforts to counsel, to provide information, and to help facilitate communication with other National Assemblies and institutions so that each person can fully realize his/her goal to serve our beloved Cause internationally.

With the full support of the institutions of the Faith, both local and national, in "a manner that inspires love and devotion, fosters firmness in the Covenant, prompts the individual to active participation in the work of the Cause and to taking sound initiatives in the promotion of its interests," we feel certain that our mandate for this critical hour will be fulfilled.

The Universal House of Justice states that we have emerged from the Holy Year "confirmed, renewed and energized in our sacred pursuits" with "a deeper understanding of our relation to Bahá’u’lláh than hitherto obtained" and that "our blessings are equal to our challenges."

We look to you, and we ask you to join us in the wonderful blessing of helping the friends in their service to our beloved Cause.

With loving greetings,

Yael R. Wurmfeld Office of Pioneering

The Office of Pioneering encourages anyone who would like to travel, pioneer or volunteer for the Bahá’í Youth Service Corps to contact your local Spiritual Assembly, or an Assembly whose members know you, to consult on plans for international service and to receive the appropriate volunteer form for such service. By doing so, you and the Assembly enter into a spiritual partnership that can provide you with guidance in your preparation and greater assurance of success as you strive to serve our beloved Cause internationally.

Overseas summer teaching opportunities for youth

July 10-August 26: European Bahá’í Youth Council's "Shaping Europe" summer teaching campaign and teaching conferences in Russia, Romania, the United Kingdom, Spain and Germany.

July 14-August 31: International teaching campaign in Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia to include an International Youth Unity Festival in Latvia.

July 27-August 2: Global Youth Forum, Brasilia, Brazil. The government of Brazil and several United Nations agencies will invite a select group of young people to the main forum. A parallel forum focusing on a wide range of topics relating to sustainable development, and including an Ecological Fair, will be held at the same time.

For details on any of these events, please phone the Office of Pioneering, 708-733-3508, or fax 708-733-3509.

Persian Bahá’í 'students' hold 50th anniversary reunion at Bosch

Five of nine Persian Bahá’ís who arrived in the U.S. together on February 8, 1944, in the midst of a devastating world war "to continue their studies" held a 50th anniversary reunion the weekend of February 4-6 at the Bosch Bahá’í School in Santa Cruz, California.

The nine young men, all of whom completed their education here and went on to distinguished careers in a variety of fields, now number among their ranks a Counselor for Africa (Shidan Fatheazam) and a member of the U.S. National Spiritual Assembly (Firuz Kazemzadeh).

Dr. Kazemzadeh was one of the five living members of the group (one of whom, Ruhollah Rahmani, died last year in Iran) able to meet at Bosch. The others were Nasrollah Rassekh, Amin Banani, Farhang Javid and Ray Zarmer (Ruhollah Zargarpour).

Unable to attend were Counselor Fatheazam, Hushang Javid and Manuchehr Javid.

About 90 people including families and friends shared the reunion weekend at Bosch with reminiscences from the Persians as well as from those who greeted them after their 43-day journey to America aboard an Italian passenger ship that had been captured by U.S. forces during World War II and converted to a troop ship.

Among those in the audience were four other members of the U.S. National Spiritual Assembly, two Counselors and two Auxiliary Board members whose lives had become intertwined as a result of the arrival in America of these nine young men some 50 years ago.

Pictured with their wives at a 50th anniversary reunion February 4-6 at the Bosch Bahá’í School are five of the nine young Persian men who arrived in the U.S. in February 1944 'to continue their studies.' From left to right are Firuz Kazemzadeh and Wilma Ellis Kazemzadeh, Nasrollah Rassekh and Mona Bashir-elahi Rassekh, Amin Banani and Sheila Wolcott Banani, Farhang Javid and Kathleen Javid, and Ray Zarmer and Mary Zarmer. Three members of the group—Counselor Shidan Fatheazam, Hushang Javid and Manuchehr Javid—were unable to attend. The ninth member, Ruhollah Rahmani, died last year in Iran. [Page 5]

Phonathon feedback, results are gratifying

over the weekend.

The tone of the conversations was such that the volunteers emerged spiritually charged from their physically draining sessions. The example of dedication and obvious love that was reflected in conversations with the friends nationwide was a tremendous confirmation of the spirit of the community.

Many of the Assemblies asked for prayers by the National Spiritual Assembly on their behalf, and assured the National Assembly that it was remembered in the friends' prayers locally.

Of the Assemblies called, fully 73 percent, or 225, indicated they would meet their National Fund goal. In fact, 59 Assemblies were confident they would exceed their goal, and others said they would consult on ways to join those ranks.

Seventeen of the Assemblies called also reported that they have adopted Arc Fund "units" of $9,000 each. The unit concept was suggested by the Universal House of Justice as a way to meet the $74 million needed for the projects on Mount Carmel during the Three Year Plan. (The National Spiritual Assembly has received 41 unit pledges thus far from individuals and Assemblies.)

Assemblies who indicated to the weekend callers that they would be unlikely to meet their National Fund goal were asked to consult on ways to increase their contribution.

Assemblies are main channel

The Assemblies were reminded that the National Spiritual Assembly is looking more and more for local Assemblies to be the main channel for contributions to the National Fund.

In that way, through the goal program, the National Assembly will have a much clearer picture of what resources it can count on to pay for operations in the coming year; meet its obligations to the Arc, International and Continental Funds; and fund long-term projects.

Callers also relayed to the Assemblies that, unlike in past years, local communities will not be given a suggested target goal for 1994-95. Communities will be asked instead to set a goal appropriate for local circumstances, then report it to the Treasurer's Office by form, letter or telephone call.

Many Assemblies said they welcome the prospect of setting their own goal, seeing it as an expression of the National Spiritual Assembly's confidence in them. They also said the program has allowed them to grow as a community as they reach to meet their goal.

A side benefit of the phonathon was that it gave local Assemblies an opportunity to ask questions about the goal program. They also could report on teaching activities and other community news, which will be passed along to appropriate agencies of the National Assembly.

Questions from Assemblies centered on what contributions qualify toward a local community's target amount and on how the community's 1993-94 goal was set. The Local Assembly Goal Program measures only unrestricted contributions to the National Fund. It does not count earmarked or designated contributions, or direct contributions made by individuals in the community.

How goals are set

Since the program was set up in October 1990, annual suggested goals have been determined from historical data such as size, participation level, contribution amounts, and regularity of giving; consultation with Auxiliary Board members and assistants; and input from the local Assemblies themselves.

The idea for the goal program came simultaneously from the National Spiritual Assembly and from within the American Bahá’í community. The initiative was warmly received by the Universal House of Justice, which cited the many years of success a similar program in Ethiopia had experienced.

A number of changes have been made in the program since its inception. The original pilot program was soon expanded to all local Spiritual Assemblies, and the goal-setting and reporting process has been continually refined.

CONTRIBUTION UPDATE - FEBRUARY 28, 1994

$2,083,333 $20,833,333 Sept. '93 Goal $2,083,333 Contributions 1,106,757 International 34,234 Oct. '93 Nov. '93 $2,083,333 Dec. '93 1,006,654 $2,083,333 1,304,296 $2,083,333 1,964,704 Jan. '94 $2,083,333 1,333,078 Feb. '94* TOTAL** 1,249,165 11,807,559 38,165 36,678 National 995,049 864,518 1,083,525 22,522 1,764,394 41,302 1,099,989 48,946 400,793 945,981 10,063,905 Arc Projects 63,233 Continental 14,241 89,180 14,791 165,260 18,833 159,452 18,336 176,465 15,322 239,808 1,191,779 14,430 136,652

• Estimated totals for February '94

CONTRIBUTIONS TO MAJOR FUNDS FOR SIX MONTHS ENDING FEBRUARY '94

• • Estimated totals for May '93 through February '94

$2,000,000 $1,500,000 $1,000,000 $500,000 نئلنس $0 Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. Continental International Arc Projects National

Building financial strength starts with a balanced budget now

In a recent report to the National Spiritual Assembly on "Building Financial Strength," the fund development arm of the Treasurer's Office made the following points:

As we approach the Lesser Peace, our financial position has become increasingly vulnerable. We must take deliberate steps to reverse this situation so that the American Bahá’í community will be in a stable position to face the future.

• Mobilizing the full capacity of the American Bahá’í community calls for a series of initiatives designed to harness the community's spiritual and material powers. One of the first steps is a multi-year plan for attaining financial strength.

The key to long-term financial strength lies in creating in individual Bahá’ís a deeper sense of ownership of their Faith. This, in turn, enhances motivation by individuals in every aspect of Bahá’í service.

Financial health in the Bahá’í community is the responsibility of each believer to combine material and spiritual growth as a means of improving his or her own life and developing the Faith.

The first step on the path to financial strength is ending this fiscal year with a balanced budget. This is especially crucial as we want to develop long-term funding sources for our sacred properties or pursue such options as investment products, a credit union, insurance programs and other financial services to the friends. Many programs require approval of outside regulators and lenders. So, a balanced budget this year is critical.

• To reach a balanced budget, the Treasurer's Office must take additional revenue-raising measures. The expense side has been cut as much as possible without a massive restructuring of administration.

The Treasurer's Office is conducting a direct and active effort to build local Assembly contributions into a central pillar of the National Bahá’í Fund. Local Assembly contributions are expected to be an increasing part of total revenues to the Fund over the next several years.

•The "Vision in Action" initiative has led to a significant increase in contributions. However, the National Assembly still faces an operating budget deficit of about $2 million this year. Its access to external credit lines is now limited; thus, the $2 million cannot be borrowed.

The American Bahá’í community must attain a new level of financial strength to carry forward its agenda. [Page 6]

Fires in Many Hearts

by Doris McKay SC $15.95 / CODE—FIMH

Fires in Many Hearts is the stirring “life of a Bahá’í” by Doris McKay who declared in upstate New York in 1925. After her passing in late 1992, the Universal House of Justice wrote: “her years of devoted service will long be remembered by countless believers whose lives were touched by her manifold activities on behalf of the Cause”. Intimate and moving portraits of Grace and Harlan Ober, Louis Gregory, May Maxwell, Martha Root, the Ives, Dorothy Baker and many other early believers show how the Faith was taught, how racial amity was achieved and how they took the first baby steps in the Administrative Order. Of Fires in Many Hearts, Roger White wrote: “I have never read a more exciting, poetic or detailed chronicle.”

5-1/2" x 8-1/4", 338pp., photographs Nine Pines Publishing

“I have never read a more exciting, poetic or detailed chronicle.” Roger White

Distinctive Aspects of Bahá’í Education

Proceedings of the 3rd Symposium on Bahá’í Education Edited by Hooshang Nikjoo and Stephen Vickers SC $11.95 / CODE—DABE

Twenty essays by educators, teachers, and parents from the UK and North America, exploring the distinctive aspects of Bahá’í education, and considering the special contribution we can make to educate in the wider world. This useful and helpful book will stimulate all those concerned with this vital topic to further explore the meaning, significance, and application of Bahá’í principles in education. Includes keynote address by Ray Johnson, Principal of the Maxwell International Bahá’í School, Canada.

6-1/8" x 9-3/16", 195pp., contents, preface, acknowledgements, foreword Bahá’í Publishing Trust - UK

The Chinese Religion and the Bahá’í Faith

by Phyllis Ghim Lian Chew SC $12.95 / CODE—CRBF

The religious traditions of China are centuries old yet they are not well known or understood in the West. The Bahá’í Faith is the youngest of the world’s religions and has only recently come to the attention of many. Although the origins of the two are separated in time by thousands of years, still the teachings of these two major belief systems share many similarities.

Phyllis Ghim Lian Chew explores the development of the Chinese religion, its roots in Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism and its spiritual and social teachings. She compares the Chinese religion with the teachings of the Bahá’í Faith and finds a number of fascinating parallels.

5-5/16" x 8-1/4", 244pp., contents, preface, conclusion, appendices, bibliography, notes and references, index George Ronald, Publisher

New Videotapes

We Recycle

The Van Manen’s Live In Concert! by Dave & Helene Van Manen VT $14.95 / CODE—WRV

A new full-length live-concert videotape featuring Dave and Helene Van Manen performing songs from their award-winning cassette We Recycle and Other Songs for Earthkeepers. Songs, stories, and sign language, plus an enthusiastic audience, encourage viewers to “sign and sing” along. As an added bonus, The Van Manen family invite you to their Rocky Mountain home to learn about being Earthkeepers.

45 minutes People Records

Time to Serve

The Bahá’í Youth Year of Service Experience VT $19.95 / CODE—TTSV

Created for youth, by youth, Time to Serve is an awesome window into the rewards and struggles of the Bahá’í Youth Year of Service. From jagged mountains in Alaska to the steamy jungle of Honduras, witness heroic efforts of youth in the vanguard from around the world. Time to Serve will inspire and encourage anyone who is considering a Youth Year of Service. Share the commitment to an adventure of a lifetime in the name of this glorious Cause of God.

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

Vision in Action

3 Year Plan 1993-1996 VT $17.00 / CODE—VIAV

A new videotape that will inspire, inform, and motivate the U.S. Bahá’í community to achieve the goals and objectives of the Three Year Plan. This video was shown at the Vision in Action presentations held throughout the country in November 1993. Included are presentations by William Davis, Treasurer of the National Spiritual Assembly; Jamshid Ashourian, Office of the Treasurer; Dawn Haghighi, National Teaching Committee; William Allmart, Office of the Treasurer; Robert C. Henderson, Secretary-General of the National Spiritual Assembly; and the Bahá’í World Congress Choir and Orchestra.

1 hour 36 ‎mlnutes minutes‎ National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States [Page 7]

Promoting Entry by Troops

A Statement and Compilation Prepared by the Research Department of the Universal House of Justice SC $3.50 / CODE—PEBT

The Universal House of Justice released this Statement to assist the friends to “understand, welcome, initiate ‎an and‎ sustain” the process of entry by troops which “will soon become an established pattern for growth of the Faith in country after country.” They further advise that, “Whoever studies these illuminating passages will perceive that entry by troops is not merely a stage of the progress of the Cause destined to occur in its own good time, dependent on the receptivity of the population as a whole—it is a phenomenon which the Bahá’í communities, by their own activities, can prepare for and help to bring about.” The Universal House of Justice also urges the friends to, “study this compilation, to understand the coherence of its statements, and to use its counsels to lend renewed impetus to the spread of the Faith and the establishment of the institutions of the Cause of God.”

5-1/2" x 8-1/2", 60pp. Bahá’í Publications Australia

Prayers for Young Bahá’ís

compiled from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, the Báb, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, and the Greatest Holy Leaf HC $11.95 / CODE—PFYB

Your children will cherish this illustrated compilation of some of the short prayers of the Central Figures of the faith. Passages have been chosen for easy reading and memorization. A charming gift for young Bahá’ís ages 6-12.

6-11/16" x 6-3/4", 36pp., contents Kalimát Press

1-800-999-9019

Mirror of the Divine

Art in the Bahá’í World Community by Ludwig Tuman SC $29.95 / CODE—MOD

The author explores the increasing impact of the Bahá’í principles on the arts in a spiritually based emerging world community, and outlines some of the global implications. Artists working in all disciplines and thoughtful people in general will applaud this seminal contribution to Bahá’í literature.

6-1/8" X 9-1/8", 326pp., contents, preface and acknowledgements, Introduction, notes, Index of quotations, Index of arts, general Index George Ronald, Publisher

Asíyih Khánum

The Most Exalted Leaf Entitled Navváb by Baharieh Rouhani Ma’ani HC $11.95 / CODE—AK

Here is a biographical essay of the wife of Bahá’u’lláh, the Founder of the Bahá’í Faith, and mother of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, the Center of Bahá’u’lláh’s Covenant. Her story, little known, is one of strength, patience, long-suffering, and devotion to One who was her husband, the Lord of Hosts, whom she accompanied through all the vicissitudes of exile and imprisonment.

5" x 8", 77pp., contents, Introduction, references George Ronald, Publisher

The Challenge of Bahá’u’lláh

by Gary L. Matthews SC $9.95 / CODE—COB

Who was Bahá’u’lláh? He claimed to be the messenger of God for this age. He said His teachings held the key to a peaceful and united world. Is this true? How can we test the validity of this claim?

Gary L. Matthews suggests a number of possible ways. He examines the ‎prophesies prophecies‎, predictions, life, and character of Bahá’u’lláh, and comes to an astounding conclusion.

4-5/16" x 7", 283pp., contents, acknowledgements and notes, Introduction, bibliography, references, Index George Ronald, Publisher

SHIP TO ____________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________

DAYTIME TELEPHONE (       ) ___________________________

PAYMENT METHOD —CASH —CHECK [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] —CHARGE (VISA, MASTER, AMEX)

ITEM	QUANTITY	COST
TOTAL

EXPIRATION DATE _________

FOR ORDERS SHIPPED OUTSIDE THE U.S., PLEASE ADD 15% (MIN. $3.00)

Bahá’í Distribution Service • 5397 Wilbanks Dr., Chattanooga, TN 37343 • 1-800-999-9019 • Fax 1-615-843-0836 [Page 8]

Classifieds

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 ads 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 and care in responding to them.

SERVICE OPPORTUNITIES

THE GREEN ACRE Bahá’í School has an immediate opening for a food services coordinator, a full-time year-round position. The coordinator is responsible for the duties of a head chef including meal preparation, ordering and purchasing supplies, menu planning, and supervising and training other food services staff. Must have a minimum of three years successful experience in a similar position with proven ability to prepare banquet-style meals for groups of up to 200. Must be proficient in all aspects of food service operations, highly organized with good interpersonal skills, a self-starter, creative, energetic, in good health, with a strong desire to be of service. Culinary training and knowledge/experience in nutrition and vegetarian cooking are desirable. Please send a letter of introduction and résumé to Administrator, Green Acre Bahá’í School, 188 Main St., Eliot, ME 03903. For more specific information, please phone the school at 207-439-7200 Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. (Eastern time).

THE LOUHELEN Bahá’í School is seeking applicants to fill an anticipated vacancy for coordinator of property improvement. This is a regular, full-time permanent staff position, with salary and benefits appropriate to the core supervisory role it offers. The coordinator of property improvement oversees Louhelen’s maintenance and grounds department and is responsible for coordinating and assuring the maintenance, upkeep and over-all physical improvement of the school’s equipment, facilities and grounds. It is anticipated that the position will be available beginning December 1, 1994. ‎Interest Interested‎ persons may ask for more information and application materials from Dr. Rick Johnson, administrator, Louhelen Bahá’í School, 3208 S. State Road, Davison, MI 48423, or phone 810-653-5033 (fax 810-653-7181).

THE BOSCH Bahá’í School is seeking summer staff to plan and direct recreational activities for all ages, manage equipment, teach children’s classes, and be a creative part of its 11-week summer sessions with occasional duties in other departments as needed. Talent in the arts, especially music, is highly valued. Mid-June through September 1. Room and board and a small stipend are provided. Please communicate with the director, Bosch Bahá’í School, 500 Comstock Lane, Santa Cruz, CA 95060 (phone 408-423-3387; fax 408-423-7564).

THE GREEN ACRE Bahá’í School is seeking applicants for its 1994 summer staff. With the reopening of the Sarah Farmer Inn and expansion of programming and activities, many opportunities for service are available in a variety of areas. Those with little or no experience as well as skilled professionals are encouraged to apply. Positions include assistant cooks, dining room assistants, dishwashers, housekeepers, grounds-keepers, general help, children’s teachers, recreation leader, librarian, office assistant, gardener. Applicants should be available from June 20 through August 28; however, shorter terms of service can be considered in some cases. While full-time volunteer service in exchange for room and board is most desirable, provisions for additional compensation can be made. For information, please phone the school at 207-439-7200 (fax 207-439-7202), Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. (Eastern time), or send a letter of intent to Administrator, Green Acre Bahá’í School, 188 Main St., Eliot, ME 03903.

SEARCHING for Youth Service Corps applicants: dedicated youth with a deep inner longing to serve the Cause and a desire to add skills through on-site training. Must be ready to learn new tasks and be flexible in areas of service. We will offer training in positions in several areas including maintenance, registration, cooking, library/bookshop. For ‎a more more‎ information or an application, please write to the Bosch Bahá’í School, 500 Comstock Lane, Santa Cruz, CA 95060, or phone 408-423-3387. Periods of service range from three months to one year.

THE LOUIS Gregory Bahá’í Institute, a site for volunteers in the Youth Service Corps, has some positions for service and support open for administrative, manual and production tasks in all areas including the education center, radio station, learning-literacy laboratory, and teaching projects. For information, please contact the National Teaching Office, Bahá’í National Center, Wilmette, IL 60091 (phone 708-869-9039). Also, the Institute is seeking a trained medical professional to volunteer his/her services for 6-8 weeks (June 12-August 6) as program support during the summer Bahá’í Academy for children, junior youth and youth. For more information, please contact Ginny Kintz, Louis Gregory Bahá’í Institute, Route 2, Box 71, Hemingway, SC 29554 (phone 803-558-5093).

THE LOUHELEN Bahá’í School warmly invites applications from mature Bahá’í youth and adults to join its full-time volunteer staff. Louhelen is a leading Bahá’í educational and cultural center which welcomes several thousand persons each year who come for a variety of Bahá’í courses and conferences. Applications are sought from those who are able to serve during the summer season, June-August 1994. The school is also seeking persons who are able to offer full-time service for one or two years. Areas of possible service are diverse, and many interests and skills are sought. Volunteers live at the school while serving, with Louhelen providing full board and room. Individuals are responsible for their personal expenses and health insurance. Address inquiries to Penny Schmicker, volunteer services manager, Louhelen Bahá’í School, 3208 S. State Road, Davison, MI 48423. Phone 810-653-5033; fax 810-653-7181.

HELP WANTED in the NATIONAL TEACHING OFFICE

The office of the National Teaching Committee has undergone a recent restructuring in light of the present needs of the Faith. As a result, applications are being accepted for the following full-time positions: National Projects Administrator Responsible for executing projects sponsored by the National Teaching Committee. Some duties include:

• Manages national support of teaching throughout the U.S.
• Monitors nationally appointed task forces and national initiatives.
• Coordinates special activities and events.

Experience: Proven project management skills; excellent verbal ability; strong analytical and management capacity; superior interpersonal skills; experience in teaching and familiarity with the principles of Bahá’í administration.

Communications and Development Administrator Responsible for the communications and development agenda of the National Teaching Committee. Some duties include:

• Develops news and messages to the American Bahá’í community for use in print and audio/visual media.
• Facilitates the production of teaching and deepening materials.
• Gathers and analyzes information related to the teaching work.

Experience: Professional background in writing and production for the media; superior writing skills; comprehensive knowledge of the Bahá’í Writings; proven ability in research and data analysis; ability to coordinate the work of volunteer task forces; excellent interpersonal skills.

For more information or to apply, please write to the Office of Human Resources, Bahá’í National Center, Wilmette, IL 60091 (phone 708-733-3427).

PIONEERING (OVERSEAS)

EMPLOYMENT opportunities overseas: AFRICA: Mali—adviser to develop capacity of village and other business groups to manage diverse business activities. AMERICAS: Brazil—teachers. Honduras—elementary and junior high school teachers. Turks & Caicos—elementary school teachers. ASIA: Korea—English teachers. Taiwan—immediate need for ESL teacher. AUSTRALASIA: Truk, Micronesia—college instructor in computing. EUROPE: Albania—accounting specialist needed by nonprofit agricultural development organization. Czech republic—translator for Czech/English translations for non-governmental organization working on energy conservation issues. Slovakia—urgent need for professional to do a year-long ethics program for children on Slovak National Television. MULTI-REGIONAL: senior environmental manager to work with environmental and natural resources group of international consulting firm. For more information, please contact the Office of Pioneering, Bahá’í National Center, Wilmette IL 60091 (phone 708-733-3512 or fax 708-733-3509).

PIONEERING (HOMEFRONT)

HAS THIS WINTER gotten you down? Warm up in sunny Sarasota, Florida. We’re not yet numerically jeopardized, but several community members have moved or are about to go. We need active Bahá’ís of diverse ethnic backgrounds. A Bahá’í-owned business property, on our famous “North Trail,” is for sale including a parcel of prime developable land. Interested? Contact the Spiritual Assembly of Sarasota, c/o Patricia Wicker, secretary, Sarasota, FL 34236, or phone 813-955-3073.

SUNNY BELEN, New Mexico, needs homefront pioneers to help save its jeopardized Assembly. Belen (pop. 10,000) is an historic railroad center with a rich Hispanic history, in the high desert (at 5,000 feet) with a mild climate, only 30 minutes from Albuquerque and Kirkland Air Force Base. Ideal for military retirees, teachers, and those interested in teaching the Faith at nearby Indian pueblos. Low housing and living costs. Write to Bahá’ís, P.O. Box 663, Belen, NM 87002, or phone 505-864-7363.

WANTED

AS A BAHÁ’Í, a recovering alcoholic and member of Alcoholics Anonymous, I would like to hear from other Bahá’ís who are involved with AA to correspond and help each other through the teachings of the Faith. Write to Jon R. Whitrock, Clinton, IL 61727.

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 individuals: Lillian K. Sielken (died Indianapolis, 1943), Frank A. Silberman, Jean Silver (died Lynn, MA, 1959), Caroline Simpson (died Saylorsburg, PA, 1951), R.T. Sims (died Chicago, 1948), Stuart Sims (died Seaside Heights, NJ, 1970). Anyone knowing family members or relatives who might have these letters from the Guardian is asked to contact the National Bahá’í Archives, Bahá’í National Center, Wilmette, IL 60091 (phone 708-869-9039).

THE NATIONAL Bahá’í Archives is seeking copies of the following books by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in good or excellent condition: ‘Abdu’l-Bahá on Divine Philosophy (paper, 1916), America’s Spiritual Mission (paper, 1948), Christ’s Promise Fulfilled (paper, 1970), Foundations of World Unity (cloth, 1968), Memorials of the Faithful (cloth, 1975). Anyone having copies they could donate is asked to send them to the National Bahá’í Archives, Bahá’í National Center, Wilmette, IL 60091.

FOR SALE

THE SPIRITUAL Assembly of Fallbrook, California, has a loose diamond for sale. It is one-half carat (0.57 ct.), VS-2 clarity, and “K” color. Two appraisals have listed its retail replacement cost at $2,250 and $2,600. All proceeds from its sale will go to the National Fund. If you are interested, phone Debbie or Jim Booman, 619-630-2128, or write to P.O. Box 36, Fallbrook, CA 92088. All offers will be considered.

MISCELLANEOUS

THE SPIRITUAL Assembly of Teaneck, New Jersey, extends its heartfelt thanks to all those who contributed spiritually and financially to the restoration of the Wilhelm Bahá’í Properties, site of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Unity Feast in 1912. We are pleased to announce that a project manager has been hired by the National Spiritual Assembly, and work on the property began last September. We regret that our wish to conserve funds does not allow us to write to each of you personally. To those who have supported this effort, please accept our warmest appreciation. [Page 9]

Soviet finds path to God in his films

By Christine Bollerud Ganjvar

There are many paths to God. Traveling the road to spirituality isn't always easy; the road is often hard to find and, once found, can exact a heavy toll. In finding a passage to Bahá’u’lláh’s family of humanity, some stumble, others search in vain, while the lives of a few seem to have prepared them well for their encounter with Bahá’u’lláh.

If anyone can claim to have been prepared to accept the Cause of God, it is 39-year-old Shamil Fattakhov. Raised in Kazakhstan in the former Soviet Union to be a "proper Soviet child"—that is, an atheist—Shamil grew up "sure that there is no God."

Despite this, he visited a couple of churches while a teenager, and shortly afterward saw a film that changed the course of his life.

The film, titled "The Temple," a documentary about the Greek Orthodox Church, was, he says, a positive film about religion. "The film portrayed priests so lovingly," Shamil recalls, "that it really touched my heart."

After seeing the film, Shamil, a journalist and filmmaker himself, decided to produce a documentary of his own. That film, "Allah, God and Us," gave many Soviets their first up-close look at Christianity and Islam.

It also raised a furor within the local Communist party, whose members claimed that he was "trying to destroy the principles of Marxism and destroy the minds of the people."

Shamil Fattakhov (right, facing camera), chairman of the Regional Spiritual Assembly of Russia, Georgia and Armenia, is interviewed by a local television station during his visit last December to Oklahoma.

Although his work on the film led to a friendship with the priest and mullah who had taken part in it, Shamil felt no personal inclination toward religion. Neither Christianity nor Islam, he reasoned, had an answer for the problems that were overwhelming the present-day world.

This was his mindset when, in December 1989, he was asked by a friend to help entertain 62 Americans who called themselves "peace ambassadors." As he soon learned, they also called themselves Bahá’ís.

After hearing about the Faith and what it teaches, Shamil says he was convinced that it was the religion that would save humankind. But like many Russians, he could not accept the idea of a higher Being. "You understand, I probably won't ever become a Bahá’í," he told his new-found friends, "but I promise that I will help you all my life."

Six months later, in June 1990, Shamil signed his declaration card. The turning point, he says, was the consistent effort of the Bahá’ís who returned time and again to Kazan. "Forming the [Bahá’í] community in Kazan was done properly," he says. "Someone took responsibility for the community."

Shamil took on added responsibilities, too, serving on the local Assembly and later being elected chairman of the Regional Spiritual Assembly of Russia, Georgia and Armenia, a position he now holds.

Late last year Shamil left his home in Kazan to travel to the United States, visiting the Bahá’í National Center in Wilmette, Illinois; Phoenix, Arizona; Colorado (his visit was sponsored by the Spiritual Assembly of Durango); Oklahoma; Dallas, Texas; and Atlanta, Georgia, where he took part in the annual Martin Luther King Week ceremonies.

"Visiting here is very special," he told a friend in Oklahoma. "When I was in Phoenix and Chicago, I had friends I had known before [in Russia]. In Oklahoma I didn't know anyone, but from the beginning I felt as if I belonged to a big family."

And like Bahá’ís everywhere, Shamil Fattakhov is lighting a path for other prepared souls to discover and become a part of the greatest "family reunion" the world has ever seen.

Newspaper profiles Albania assistance

Dr. Nahid Sobhani, a Bahá’í from Frederick, Maryland, who is a pediatrician by profession, was profiled in the Frederick News for her efforts last summer to bring needed medical supplies to the people of Albania on behalf of the Bahá’í-sponsored group Health for Humanity, which was formed in 1990 to deliver medical care to those in need.

Mrs. Sobhani was eager to spend her vacation time in this way, the newspaper reported, because "it reflects the vision of her religion. She is a dedicated member of the Bahá’í faith....The...members' vision is of the organic oneness of mankind and a global consciousness that values the contribution of each individual."

"To believe is not enough," Dr. Sobhani is quoted as saying. "You must put your belief into practice and realize we are all one human race."

After her trip to Albania was completed, Dr. Sobhani received a letter of congratulations from Maryland Gov. William D. Schaefer.

Bahá’í appointed to MLK Commission

Kay Maloney, a Bahá’í in Great Falls, Montana, has been appointed to the Montana Martin Luther King Commission.

She also was the subject of a front-page story in the January 17 issue of the Great Falls Tribune. It focused on her work in the field of civil rights and as a community organizer.

In the article, Rev. Phillip Caldwell, president of the Montana chapter of the NAACP, said, "Kay Maloney is absolutely awesome. Much of the accomplishments of the NAACP and King Holiday groups in Montana couldn't have been done without her working tirelessly behind the scenes."

Two years ago she won the NAACP chapter's Thurgood Marshall Award.

Assembly must report child abuse to authorities

If a Spiritual Assembly suspects or becomes aware of a case of child abuse within the Bahá’í community, it should immediately report the matter to the appropriate civil authorities (such as Child Protective Services, the Department of Child and Family Services, depending on the state). Bahá’í institutions should generally not try to investigate cases of child abuse on their own, as they lack the resources, authority and expertise to do so.

Furthermore, although the consultation of a local Spiritual Assembly is held to be legally privileged information (such as the consultation between a lawyer and client or between priest and penitent), the law in all 50 states now requires that any person or institution that becomes aware of a suspected ongoing case of child abuse must report the matter immediately.

Bahá’í institutions, as in the case of accusations of murder, fraud, burglary, rape, etc., must rely, in the first instance, upon the judgment of the police and legal system.

If a Bahá’í should be convicted of child abuse, typically his or her administrative rights are removed as a result. If the individual applies for the restoration of administrative rights after release from incarceration, restrictions are usually placed on that person's contact with children, depending on the evaluation of psychiatrists or other qualified mental health personnel.

In the case of those who are not convicted or who are, for various reasons, not put on trial for child abuse, the National Spiritual Assembly may, on rare occasions, in the face of clear and sufficient evidence, remove an individual's administrative rights.

Obviously, the evidence in such cases must be carefully weighed and documented, including whether or not there is a history of such behavior and whether there seems to be a likelihood that the individual may repeat the behavior in the future. Because the Bahá’í institutions are not expert in such matters, the opinion of a competent mental health professional should be solicited, where possible. The local Assembly investigating such a case must endeavor to consult with the alleged perpetrator, the victim, and any witnesses, and to obtain any documentation available from civil authorities or agencies that have looked into the matter.

While the National Assembly does believe that prayer and diligent effort to follow the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh can have a transforming effect on an individual's character, there may also be psychological and/or medical facets to an individual's behavior. In such cases, the Bahá’í institutions should recommend that the individual concerned seek the counsel and help of a physician or mental health professional.

There are no specific deepening courses on how Bahá’ís or Bahá’í institutions should cope with problems of child abuse, incest or related issues. However, we encourage Assemblies facing such problems to consult with the National Spiritual Assembly about appropriate measures to take from a Bahá’í perspective, as well as to consult with trained medical and mental health professionals when confronted with such a problem. [Page 10]

Bahá’ís must tend to their individual, social duties alike

To the Editor:

As Bahá’ís, each of us has two kinds of duties: individual and social. Individual duties, such as prayer, fasting, Huqúqu’lláh and so on, are between the individual and God. Social duties concern the importance of taking part in Bahá’í meetings and Feasts. When someone accepts the Faith, he or she does so as a whole, not in part. In the first verse of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, Bahá’u’lláh notifies the believers that recognition of the Faith and obedience to His commands must go together to be acceptable to God.

When one joins the Faith, he makes a pledge with God, Bahá’u’lláh and his or her conscience, unlike any other pledge made for any reason. Once, when a friend had forgotten Bahá’u’lláh’s birthday, I asked her, "Have you ever forgotten your children’s birthdays or those of other relatives?"

"No," she replied.

"Why haven't you forgotten them?" I asked.

"I have them written in my notebook," she said, "because I love them."

Love is the motivating force behind our best actions and work. Our love for Bahá’u’lláh must be shown by our actions. In The Hidden Words, Bahá’u’lláh says: "O Son of Being! Love Me, that I may love thee. If thou lovest Me not, My love can in no wise reach thee. Know this, O servant."

The Nineteen Day Feast is commanded in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas: "Verily, it is enjoined upon you to offer a feast, once in every month, though only water be served; for God hath purposed to bind hearts together, albeit through both earthly and heavenly means."

Whoever takes part in Feasts or other Bahá’í gatherings attains the presence of Bahá’u’lláh. And if we choose not to do so? First, we deprive ourselves of being in the presence of Bahá’u’lláh; second, we lose the bounty of reading the verses and tablets, enjoying fellowship with our friends, and hearing the news of the community; third, we imply to our children and youth that such meetings are unimportant, leading them perhaps to estrangement from the Faith and toward the corruption of society; fourth, we deprive others in the community of our thoughts and ideas during the process of consultation.

When we enrolled in the Faith we promised to uphold its Administrative Order and to obey Bahá’u’lláh’s commandments. This Order is an Ark of salvation; whoever enters it will be protected by God.

Aqdas G. Soltani Boca Raton, Florida

Money is there; are we prepared to sacrifice it for benefit of Faith?

To the Editor:

The National Spiritual Assembly's video message of November 14 reinforced the e-mail of June 27 from the Universal House of Justice in which we were told that the Arc Projects Fund needs $74 million over the course of the Three Year Plan. This almost equals the national budget goal of $25 million per year projected to the end of the Plan.

I understand that only about 40,000 Bahá’ís in the U.S. contribute regularly to the Funds. On that basis, to win the annual goal of $25 million each individual believer would have to contribute about $625 per year or almost $33 each Bahá’í month.

The answer is clear: we need to more than double our present rate of giving. Of course, some will give much more than the average; this compensates for those with few financial resources.

But the crisis is not financial, it is spiritual, as Borrah Kavelin pointed out after the 1979 revolution in Iran. The money is there. The only question is: are we prepared to sacrifice it for our Faith?

We need not only to double our contributions to the National Fund; the World Center in Haifa depends on us for more than half of its budget requirements. And the House of Justice is constantly telling us that the contributions they are receiving are inadequate to carry on the work.

In other words, we must find something equivalent to perhaps half of our National Fund contributions to support the vital work of constructing the Arc on Mount Carmel. I make that roughly $50 per Bahá’í month for every American believer who contributes.

If each of us doubled his/her monthly contribution to the Funds, what a difference it would make! And think of the blessings that would accrue from such sacrificial giving!

John A. Edwards Arroyo Grande, California

Gospel Choir cassette/CD strikes chord with listeners

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

To the Editor:

We would like to thank all those people (composers, singers, pianists and technicians) who produced the Bahá’í Gospel Choir's cassette/CD, "We Have Come to Sing Praises to Our Lord."

It seems that the American Bahá’í community has needed this music for a long time. Not only was it a fresh inspiration at the second World Congress last November, it has since reached live audiences at the Parliament of the World's Religions in Chicago and other places, and can now be used by Bahá’í communities everywhere. This is no doubt due to the sacrifice and dedication of those involved.

While all of the choral music being produced is new and exciting, this music, so representative of the blend of the African-American heritage with the Bahá’í spirit, is especially important as we more fully address the most challenging issue, uplift our Bahá’í communities, and attract seekers from all backgrounds.

Here in Dallas we have been using selections from the cassette on our weekly Bahá’í radio program, and it has made a big difference, especially since we follow a gospel music program whose listenership is predominantly African-American. Also, we have been able to use some of the music in conjunction with programs of drama at Bahá’í schools. Music (and in fact all the arts) can help the Faith "spread like wildfire." This particular music is imbued with a special potency, and we hope that others will listen and catch the spirit.

To the producers, we say: we want more!

Anne and Tim Perry Dallas, Texas

To the Editor:

I have just finished listening to "We Have Come to Sing Praises to Our Lord" by the Bahá’í Gospel Choir featuring gospel songs from the World Congress.

I am thrilled! The music is soul-stirring; the quality is superb; the talent is exceptional.

I am grateful to those who participated in this endeavor. The Bahá’í community needs this spiritual boost and this dose of diversity. Thank you!

Ladjamaya Green Mahoney Glenwood Springs, Colorado [Page 11]

'Leave abuser to the care and mercy of God'

To the Editor:

A thousand thanks for printing in the November issue of The American Bahá’í [pp. 10-11] the Universal House of Justice's discussion of sexual abuse. It's about time!

As a long-time victim of my husband, I searched—for years—for specific guidance in the Writings addressing my devastating situation (which I eventually found affects many Bahá’í families). I found little consolation in the many compilations on family life, the status of women, marriage, etc. All I could find were repeated references to the importance of keeping the family together, of showing the offender the error of his ways, of prayer.

And so, dutifully, I tried and tried again. I continually pointed out to my husband how badly and unfairly he was treating me (fortunately, there were no children involved). I prayed until it hurt. It changed nothing. My (non-Bahá’í) husband, reassured by my resolve to "preserve the family unit," turned a deaf ear and continued the abuse because he operated, after all, by a different set of rules.

Out of fear of "backbiting," I breathed not a word of this to my friends—Bahá’í or non-Bahá’í. Finally, I approached the Assembly, but now realize that it was simply too inexperienced to be of any real use.

Once "out of the closet," however, individual Bahá’í friends only grew tired, I am sure, of my tears and complaints. I loved my husband, but felt trapped by my (inadequate) understanding of the Writings.

It took a new Assembly, with experience in spousal abuse, to finally advise me adequately and give me my walking papers. I fled, am now in the final weeks of my year of patience, and it has been my best year ever. As I took my great leap into the unknown, Bahá’u’lláh caught me, and continues to shelter me. My "resentment" toward the Faith was quickly replaced by gratitude, and I've never looked back.

So, my dear fellow handmaidens, read the House of Justice's message of January 24, 1993. Read it again and again. Know that you are not destined to be a victim. If your man is abusing you, physically and/or verbally, realize that he is spiritually sick, and that you cannot cure or change him. Leave him to the care and mercy of God.

Bahá’í women have been given the opportunity to make great sacrifices for a very great Cause. Don't give your heart to a lost one.

Name and community withheld by request

Aleta has been light of hope in lives of family

To the Editor:

As we enter 1994, I can see clearly why Bahá’ís call each other "friend." In September 1992, my daughter, Aleta Bender, was diagnosed with cancer. It was a difficult year, filled with tests and blessings alike.

The friends in Round Rock, Austin, San Marcos and surrounding counties did so much to help us. Through their concern the story spread, and prayers were sent to our family from many parts of the country, and even from the Holy Land.

Aleta's favorite passage from the Writings began, "O friend, in the garden of thy heart plant naught but the rose of love...." She has been a light of hope in the lives of her family, and was brave and steadfast beyond her eight years. Our Bahá’í friends have kept that light in our lives since she passed to the next world.

I am so grateful to be part of this Faith, and thankful to the friends of Texas and elsewhere for their loving concern.

Lee Ash San Marcos, Texas

BDS's service is appreciated

To the Editor:

I would like to acknowledge the improved service of the Bahá’í Distribution Service since its move to Tennessee. Material is being received here in 7-12 days, compared to 21-28 days as was the case some months ago.

And the professionalism and pleasantness of those who take the phone orders is a refreshing delight. We often go without letting people know how much they are appreciated. I wanted to say thank you.

Renaldo Raeheim Modesto, California

Racism: denial of the soul

To the Editor:

Racial prejudice is the lowest and cheapest means of separation, superiority and self-satisfaction. At the heart of racism lies the very denial of God's justice and perfection. It implies that in creating His masterpiece—human beings—the Creator either deliberately discriminated against some of them or suffered from lapses of poor judgment.

At the heart of racism lies also the denial of the very essence of human beings: their souls. For it implies that the worth of a person lies not in his/her spiritual splendors but in physical features. Finding superiority in one's skin color communicates this message: my essence, my true honor, worth and value lie not in my character, in my love for humankind and the light of spirituality in my heart, but in the lightness of my skin.

Then what is racism? It is lowering human beings from the highest and noblest plane of perfection to the lowest and cheapest. It is ignoring the light and adoring the lamp. It is demeaning the immortal gift and glorifying and clinging to the disposable cover. It is degrading the station of the soul to the state of a cell. It is reducing the rank of an angel to the role of an ant. It is diminishing the splendors of the soul to the lowliness of the soil. It is debasing the lofty bird of heaven to the lowly bug of the earth. It is exchanging the glories and grandeur of God's image for the worth of a worm. For that is what our bodies at last will become.

In a letter to a pompous, worldly and cruel king, Bahá’u’lláh asks this question: Can anyone tell the difference between the skeleton of a beggar and that of a prince? Let us ask a similar question: Can anyone tell the difference between the worms that have fed on white flesh and the worms that have fed on black?

Hugh Motlagh Mount Pleasant, Michigan

Raising the first "prejudice-free generation"

To the Editor:

We are charged with raising the first "prejudice-free generation" of Bahá’ís. To do so, we must teach our Caucasian Bahá’í children the history of the African American in our country, so that they will have an accurate perspective and develop empathy for their situation.

Three movies have recently been produced, and are available on video, that illustrate some of the happenings of the 1950s: "Perfect Harmony," a story of the friendship of two boys in the South; "The Long Walk Home," showing a family affected by the Montgomery, Alabama, bus boycott; and "The Ernest Green Story," which illustrates the first school desegregation in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Parents can watch these movies with their children, discuss them, and give the children valuable insights into the realities of history.

Nancy Joy Allchin Jacksonville Beach, Florida

'Our duty before God is to give'

(The following letter was written in response to an article (September 27, p. 13) about isolated believers and the fact that at least one of them had considered withholding his contribution from the local Spiritual Assembly because of dissatisfaction with its priorities in spending the funds.—Ed.)

To the Editor:

In America, elected officials are responsible to their constituency; Bahá’í elected officials are not. They are responsible only to God.

Bahá’u’lláh called upon humankind to become "a new race of men." Part of that becoming must entail distinguishing the many glaring differences between our acquired knowledge as worldly Americans and our divine knowledge as Bahá’ís. In places these may overlap, but in most cases, as in the concept of elected officials, they differ as does night from day—as do the old and new World Orders.

In this sense, our duty to observe Bahá’í laws, such as giving to the Funds, can depend in no way upon our perceived use or misuse of those funds by Bahá’í elected officials. Our duty before God is to give. The duty of our elected officials, before God, is to use those funds wisely. If they do not, they are responsible to God, not to us.

Frankly, if I had to choose between facing the censure of my God or my fellow-men, I would joyfully rush forth to embrace my critics.

Lyon Virostko Billings, Montana [Page 12]

'Center your message on the Person of Bahá’u’lláh'

simply be withdrawn from member- ship. This position does not imply that we can be careless in accepting new believers; however, we should not be paralyzed by fear of making a "mistake," thereby preventing the realization of entry by troops.

Shoghi Effendi encouraged early enrollment and systematic follow- up as the proper path of guidance: "... He feels that the friends should be very careful not to place hin- drances in the way of those who wish to accept the Faith. If we make the requirements too rigorous, we will cool off the initial enthusiasm, rebuff the hearts and cease to expand rapidly. The essential thing is that the candidate for enrollment should be- lieve in his heart in the truth of Bahá’u’lláh. Whether he is literate or illiterate, informed of all the teach- ings or not, is beside the point en- tirely. When the spark of faith exists the essential message is there, and gradually everything else can be added unto it.

"The process of educating people of different customs and back- grounds must be done with the greatest patience and understanding, and rules and regulations not im- posed upon them, except where a rock-bottom essential is in question. He feels sure that your Assembly is capable of carrying on its work in this spirit, and of fanning the hearts to flame through the fire of the love of God, rather than putting out the first sparks with bucketsful of ad- ministrative information and regula- tions."

The prime motive

The Universal House of Justice has explained:

"The prime motive should always be the response of man to God's Message, and the recognition of His Messenger. Those who declare them- selves as Bahá’ís should become en- chanted with the beauty of the teach- ings, and touched by the love of Bahá’u’lláh. The declarants need not know all the proofs, history, laws and principles of the Faith, but in the process of declaring themselves they must, in addition to catching the spark of faith, become basically in- formed about the Central Figures of the Faith, as well as the existence of laws they must follow and an ad- ministration they must obey."

Even a moment's reflection upon the dimensions of achieving "mas- sive expansion... far beyond all past records" will make it clear that we cannot meet this challenge without a profound change in our current at- titudes and practices related to dec- laration and enrollment. How many communities are ready to quickly welcome a hundred-or hundreds- of new believers, deepen them, and engage them in service to the Cause? Preparation for this level of service can come only from action-working persistently to make it a reality.

Centering our teaching message on the Person of Bahá’u’lláh, inviting receptive souls to embrace His Cause, and removing any impediments to early enrollment are all vital aspects of creating an environment for massive expansion within our community. We encour- age the friends-individuals, Assem- blies and communities-to consider the ways in which these practices may become part of the culture of growth within the American Bahá’í community.

In this, as in all other aspects of their work, the friends will find lov- ing support, guidance and lead- ership from the Counselors, the Aux- iliary Board members and their as- sistants. We are confident of your ability to meet this challenge.

With loving Bahá’í greetings, The National Teaching Committee April 1994

Interfaith Thanksgiving held

Bahá’ís in Harrisburg, Pennsylva- nia, took part last November 23 in the fifth annual Interfaith Thanksgiv- ing Service sponsored by the Interre- ligious Forum of Greater Harrisburg, on which the Spiritual Assembly of Harrisburg is an active member.

About 275 people of various religions attended including Chris- tians, Jews, Muslims and Bahá’ís.

LET'S WIN THE GOALS BY RIDVÁN!

We are very close to winning two of the goals of the Three Year Plan. Let's make the final thrust to win them in the next two weeks.

We have recorded nearly 2000 domestic traveling teachers out of 3000, over 300 of the 500 homefront pioneers. Whether you traveled to Kansas or Canton, moved to Bisbee or Boone, you can count towards the goals of the Three-Year Plan!

During the Three-Year Plan, did you: 1. attend the March on Washington? 2. go to Atlanta with the Fruit of the Holy Year Project? 3. attend the Parliament of World's Religions in Chicago? 4. give a fireside or participate in any teaching in another community?

If so, you were a traveling teacher. Let us know. Please tell us your name, home community, where you went, when you went and a little bit about what you did.

During the Three-Year Plan, did you: 1. move to an area with no Bahá’ís? 2. move to an area with a Registered Group? 3. move to an area to save a local Spiritual Assembly? 4. move to an area to help form a local Spiritual Assembly?

If so, you are a homefront pioneer. Let us know. Please let us know your name, the names of all Bahá’ís that moved with you (of all ages!), where you moved to, and where you moved from.

To report your teaching efforts, please call the National Teaching Office at 708/733-3494 [Page 13]

World news

80 embrace Cause after India institutes Last November, 122 students at the India's New Era Development Institute conducted 14 village-based Youth Institutes for more than 320 young adults in Hathkalanga, Kolhapur's Karveer, and Satara, Maharashtra. About 1,000 children attended morals classes. Each five-day institute included courses in four areas: spiritual foundations, technical training, service training and activities, and cultural programs—attended by thousands of visitors—that included performances by villagers. As a result of these activities, 80 people embraced the Cause while thousands more heard about the Faith for the first time.

As part of a long-term community development project in Bangladesh, meetings were held recently in three villages in the Rajshahi area: Bash Baria, Bujrok kola, and Laladighi. More than 50 people in Bash Baria heard Counselor J. Eidelkhani speak on various Bahá’í topics, after which more than 30 people declared their belief in Bahá’u’lláh. After a large meeting in Bujrok kola, several people were enrolled in the Faith.

On November 21, more than 20 communities in Ecuador were represented at an Indigenous Conference in Otavalo that was planned, conducted and carried out by the indigenous peoples of the area. Topics addressed in Quechua included health, Bahá’í education, guidance for youth, children's classes, and community development. The entire program was broadcast on Radio Bahá’í.

The Bahá’í Holy Writings were the only religious texts mounted during last year's exhibition and conference marking United Nations Day in Nairobi, Kenya. In honor of the theme "unity of mankind," the Writings were displayed with drawings by Bahá’í children from Nairobi. Among those attending the exhibition were the UN Under-Secretary for Political Affairs and the vice-president of Kenya. Bahá’ís also took part with banners on peace and unity in the annual march for UN Day.

The Santitham (Thailand) Bahá’í School kindergarten football (soccer) team won the Eastman Kodak National Championships held last December 19 in Bangkok. Eight teams representing various regions of Thailand took part in the event. Santitham won three qualifying matches, took the semifinals 3-1, then won the championship contest 2-1 before an audience of 2,000 at the Ramkhamhaeng Indoor Stadium. Besides winning the championship trophy, a member of the Santitham team was named "best player in the tournament."

On November 11, the city of Berlin, Germany, held a ceremony to celebrate the anniversary of the Birth of Bahá’u’lláh. The Bahá’í community of Berlin organized a program of prayers, music and theatre for an audience of about 300. The gathering was opened by a representative of the city, and was covered extensively by the regional media.

In India, students at the Sikkim Bahá’í School held their annual handicrafts exhibition last November 10. The school's playground was artistically decorated with banners displaying quotations from the Bahá’í Writings.

A group of Bahá’ís performs during a celebration last November 11 of the anniversary of the Birth of Bahá’u’lláh sponsored by the city of Berlin, Germany. The Bahá’ís were asked to organize the program, which consisted of prayers, music and theatre.

The recently published book Olya's Story by Olya Roohizadegan has been attracting considerable publicity and providing teaching and public relations opportunities for the Faith in the United Kingdom. Olya's Story, printed by Oneworld Publications, is a chilling eyewitness account of the persecution of Bahá’ís in Iran, and the author's escape from that country. Last August–November, the author undertook a nationwide tour that generated more than 30 radio interviews and 60 newspaper articles. Highlights included full-page articles in both The Times and The Daily Mirror, a review in The Times Literary Supplement, and an 11-minute interview on Cable News Network's (CNN) "International Hour." On December 12, Mrs. Roohizadegan flew to Canada to spend three weeks promoting her book in North America.

"We are overjoyed to announce that, according to a letter dated December 28, 1993, from the Director of Religious Affairs, the Bulgarian Council of Ministers has formally registered the National Spiritual Assembly," according to a report from the National Assembly of Bulgaria. As a result of this recognition, the door has been reopened for an upsurge in activities, which had been suspended pending this significant turning point. The National Assembly is now consulting about steps needed to register local Assemblies.

At the request of the National Center for Educational Resource Development of the Ministry of Education, a representative of the National Spiritual Assembly of Guyana presented a paper at a five-day workshop last November on moral education. About 30 participants, mostly teachers and educators, were asked to examine papers presented by major religious, human rights and other groups in the country. The Bahá’í presentation, which focused on the importance of training children in morals and good character, elicited several favorable comments, and two teachers are now studying the Faith.

On January 2-5, more than 80 people took part in the winter school of southern Sweden in Alingsås. Several journalists—from the Swedish National Radio's religion department, two regional newspapers, and two local papers—visited the school. The interviews conducted there resulted, for the first time in Sweden, in a nationwide radio broadcast about the Faith. [Page 14]

EXCELLENCE IN ALL THINGS...

VAHID ALAVIAN, a Bahá’í from Knoxville, Tennessee, who is a senior technical specialist with the Tennessee Valley Authority engineering laboratory in Norris, has been named 1993 TVA Engineer of the Year. Mr. Alavian was recognized for his technical achievements, innovative application of engineering principles to solve practical problems, and his ability to inspire team members to higher performance. TVA will nominate Mr. Alavian for the Federal Engineer of the Year award, sponsored by the National Society of Professional Engineers.

ANNETTE REYNOLDS of Orangeburg, South Carolina, a Bahá’í since 1971 who is a home economist with the Clemson University Extension Service, has been named Outstanding Home Economist in Extension 1994 and was honored at the recent meeting of the South Carolina Home Economics Association. Ms. Reynolds organized the Parent Educators Board, developed a Parenting Newsletter, secured funds through grants, donations and in-kind contributions, and coordinated Parent Educators Training which forms the base of the Parent Information Network, a collaborative effort which Ms. Reynolds also coordinates.

ANNETTE REYNOLDS

NOWJAN KIANA, a Bahá’í who lives in Brasília, Brazil, was graduated on his 23rd birthday last year from the School of Odontology at the prestigious University of Brasília with a doctorate in dentistry. As course honors were being read at the graduation ceremony, Dr. Kiana was surprised and delighted to learn (with the audience) that he had won from the Kolynos Dental Corporation a completely equipped dental office for a work on preventive dentistry he had researched and written while a student.

"Earth and the American Dream," an environmental film from Warner Brothers Pictures on which MICHAEL FITZGERALD, a Bahá’í from Winchester, Virginia, worked, was nominated for an Academy Award this year. Mr. Fitzgerald has also had his 12th book, a non-fiction work entitled Briefly Speaking, published by Rainbow's End Books.

CELENA KAHN, a Bahá’í who is a sophomore at Thoreau High School in New Mexico, is representing her school as a Hugh O'Brien Youth Foundation ambassador. Celena, who maintains a 3.7 grade-point average and took part in last year's state academic decathlon in Albuquerque, is president of the Drama Club, secretary/vice-president of the sophomore class, and a member of the school yearbook and newspaper staffs. In sports, she lettered in baseball and is a member of the volleyball and junior varsity basketball teams. As a Bahá’í, she is producing teaching videos for the Native American Bahá’í Institute (NABI), two of which have been completed and six of which are being developed, and spoke at last December's Grand Canyon Conference on "Reaching Native American Youth with the Message of Bahá’u’lláh."

CELENA KAHN

DAVID LABELLE, a Bahá’í who moved last year from Montreal, Canada, to Nashville, Tennessee, was named "Volunteer of the Week" in that community during December by the Nashville Tennessean. Mr. LaBelle was nominated by the Community Resource Center and Community Care Fellowship for his dedication in serving homeless people in the Nashville area. The newspaper article mentions his Bahá’í affiliation.

TIFFANY PAUL, a Bahá’í youth from Simpsonville, South Carolina, was recently chosen by the Greenville News as Hillcrest High School's student reporter. Although she is only a sophomore, she was chosen in a county-wide competition usually reserved for juniors and seniors. Tiffany is required to submit one article per week to the newspaper, for which she is paid $100 a month.

FELICIA MUNION, a Bahá’í from Ellicott City, Maryland, was chosen from her sophomore class of 430 at Howard High School as its representative to the 16th annual Hugh O'Brien Youth Foundation '94 Maryland Leadership Seminar. One male and one female student from among the 200 Marylanders attending the Seminar will be chosen to attend the National Seminar next July in Arizona.

HOPE ALLEN, a 15-year-old Bahá’í from Montpelier, Vermont, was named most valuable player in the Montpelier High School Junior Varsity Basketball Tournament after leading her team to the championship. She led the team in scoring, rebounding and blocked shots.

JAMES PANDELIS, an eight-year-old Bahá’í from Hueytown, Alabama, who has taken karate instruction for only a year, received a second-place award among 6- to 9-year-old purple belts in the 10th annual Inter-Dojo Tournament at the University of Alabama-Birmingham. James is also a straight-A student in his second grade class.

BAHÁ’Í RACE UNITY COMMITTEE

The Bahá’í Race Unity Committee of Waco, Texas, sponsored this display last December at a Kwanzaa Expo in Waco. Later, the same display was used and 'Racism-Just Undo It' t-shirts sold at a community service fair at a local shopping mall. Among the visitors at the mall was the Grand Dragon of the Ku Klux Klan in Texas who signed a copy of the National Spiritual Assembly's statement, 'The Vision of Race Unity,' for a seeker who was helping to man the Bahá’í booth.

Dorothy Campbell Rougeou, longtime pioneer to Latin America, dies at 84 in Louisiana

Dorothy Campbell Rougeou, a pioneer for 23 years in Latin America, died January 12 in Franklin, Louisiana.

Born Dorothy Morton in Louisiana in August, 1909, she studied education and became a Spanish teacher. Having enrolled in the Bahá’í Faith in 1942 in Mississippi, she began her pioneering career in 1950 when she went to Mexico, Guatemala, Venezuela and Bolivia within the first six months, then settled in Bolivia for three years.

In 1951, while still in Bolivia, she was appointed secretary of the Bahá’í Publishing Committee for Latin America. For 20 years, 1953-73, she served as secretary of the evolving institutions of Latin America: the National Spiritual Assembly of South America, embracing 10 countries; the National Spiritual Assembly of Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela, formed in 1957; and when in 1961 each country formed its own National Assembly, she served as secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly of Ecuador until 1973.

Her long years of service as secretary of these National Assemblies attest to her ability, efficiency and strength of character. In addition to her national responsibilities, Dorothy would travel from time to time to various localities to assist in the teaching work and visit individual seekers. In 1973 she married an old friend from Louisiana and returned to the U.S., remaining in Louisiana until her death.

Hospitality

more courteous than others in this respect.

Many years ago the Guardian expressed the view that when a local Spiritual Assembly has before it a case of urgent distress it should endeavor, first, to have it relieved by the person's own family, and second, to exercise the right of all citizens to employ all civil instruments of help and distress.

Therefore, when those who are traveling call on Assembly secretaries or individual Bahá’ís for financial help, food and/or lodging, they should in most cases be directed to the local welfare office or travelers' aid.

For ready reference, every Assembly should know where these offices are located, their telephone numbers, and even the persons within those organizations who can deal with such emergencies. In many communities, the police department is able to provide such information.

Generous support should be extended to any who have a true moral claim upon the compassion of the individual Bahá’í or local Spiritual Assembly, but it is often the case that loving consultation may serve to remove those obstacles that, perhaps unconsciously, have caused the distress.

Charity must always be seen in its proper light of responsibility, and those to whom appeals for help are made must themselves determine the extent to which, in light of the vital needs of the Bahá’í Funds, they should use their personal resources to help alleviate the material problems of a needy humankind.

It should be remembered that the employment and financial problems of many drifting, rootless persons can only be solved in ways other than mere charity. (Originally published in the National Bahá’í Review, March 1973; revised in May 1990) [Page 15]

Consultation buoys National Assembly members

though, in contrast with story after uplifting story of service performed by American pioneers throughout the world.

Often in the face of great danger, said Mr. Henderson, these countrymen of ours are spreading the good news that "the Lord of the Age has come, that all of the promises of all of the religions have been fulfilled and that His Word is plainly written in books that you can read."

The National Assembly was left to wonder, he said, "why it is that these incredibly heroic feats of service...aren’t reflected to the same degree in the teaching work on the homefront, where we are not arrested by guns, where we have the benefit of freedom of speech...and where people everywhere in our country are interested in the free exchange of ideas.

"And one wonders," he added, "what we have to do to inspire the same degree of courage that people we know, people who came from our Feasts, our local Assemblies and our communities, are demonstrating in other places."

Perhaps, he said, we can draw strength from the example of Amatu’l-Bahá Ruhiyyih Khánum, who, at 84 years of age and afflicted with poor eyesight, is embarking on a 16-week journey to Mongolia and Cambodia to witness the election of the first National Spiritual Assemblies in those two lands.

"She’ll bring the sheer force of her will to all of the friends, and they will see the spirit of the Faith in her expressions of comfort and confidence," said Mr. Henderson.

Slayings in South Africa bring reactions of shock, dismay

were Riaz Razavi of King Williams Town, director of finance for the University of Port Harare; Dr. Shamam Bakhshandegi of East London, a dentist at Cecilia Makwani Hospital in Mdantsane; and Hooshmand Anvari of Beacon Bay, a computer salesman who was a pioneer from the United States.

Witnesses said that the gunmen, five of whom carried semi-automatic weapons, demanded that the Bahá’ís hand over the keys to their cars, then lined them up against a wall and shot them.

Two of the men died immediately, while Dr. Bakhshandegi was rushed to a hospital where he died a short time later.

In a telephone call to the South African Press Association, a man who claimed to represent the Azanian Liberation Army, a militant black fringe group, said the ALA was responsible for the murders.

"These racially motivated murders," the National Spiritual Assembly of South Africa said in a statement to the news media, "are ironic in light of the fact that the Bahá’ís have always been a multi-racial religious community and have for the past 40 years of their presence in South Africa espoused the principle of racial unity and celebrated this unity amongst the diverse racial and ethnic groups represented in the Bahá’í community of this country."

Hernus Kriel, Ciskei’s Minister of Law and Order, said he was shocked by "this cold-blooded attack, which again emphasizes that violence represents the main threat, not only to free and fair political activity but to a stable transition to democracy" in South Africa.

Robert C. Henderson, secretary-general of the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States, said that such killings, carried out "on the basis of skin color, or religious differences, or wealth, or whatever meaningless material distinction one would care to serve," are "simply bloodlust."

He noted, "In a very real way, the killing season has started in South Africa. But it is not just there. It is other places, as well. And innocent people fall victim to crazed violence that serves no constructive purpose, is in defense of no person, and defends no noble ideal.

"It is very important under these circumstances," he said, "that we begin to consider what our real defenses are. Because when violence is reckless, and without reason, our defense is not a gun.

"Our defense is righteousness. It is pureheartedness. It is reliance upon God. It is our willingness to place our whole trust and confidence in our Father and ask Him to protect us.

"And it is our willingness to live in His way and to obey His command as an expression of our faith and confidence that that is in our best interest and our most solid guarantee of our protection."

He said the problem Bahá’ís have to solve "is general to the spiritual condition of all humanity. And if we are to solve that problem, our own spiritual condition must change, as the prerequisite to changing the spiritual conditions of every other human being on the planet."

"If we do not transform our own spiritual condition," he said, "then how can we get at the root of what is causing the violence and the needless suffering to children and other innocent victims all over the world."

Overflow audience hears talk

and the Bahá’í writings, Prof. Bushrui wove a rich tapestry of images invoking humanity’s perennial and deep-seated yearning for peace.

His address was followed by a reception at which an extensive collection of Bahá’í literature was displayed on four banquet tables flanking the podium. These books were donated to the university’s library by the Bahá’í World Center and the National Spiritual Assemblies of France, India, Lebanon, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and United States.

Prof. Bushrui’s lecture was the first in what is to be a series of annual lectures by the Bahá’í Chair sponsored on campus by the CIDCM.

The Bahá’í Chair for World Peace was established in July 1992 to promote alternatives to the violent resolution of conflict through conflict management, global education, international development, spiritual awareness and world trade; to share the experience of the worldwide Bahá’í community in building a global society; and to offer that community as a model for study.

An extended version of the inaugural lecture has been published in book form and is available on request from the CIDCM in exchange for a donation to the University of Maryland Foundation/Bahá’í Chair for World Peace.

For information, write to: Bahá’í Chair for World Peace, Center for International Development and Conflict Management, Tydings Hall, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20740. Phone 301-314-7714; fax 301-314-9256.

Who is the ABS?

Below you will find a brief survey which we hope you will take a few of your precious minutes to fill out and send back. As the Association for Bahá’í Studies prepares for this year’s annual conference, we would like to know what you, the general Bahá’í public, know or want to know about us. We will publish the results of this survey in this publication for all to see, but we need your participation to have any results. Please fill this out and send it by April 20, 1994 to

The Association for Bahá’í Studies 34 Copernicus Street Ottawa Ont Canada K3N 7K4 613/233-3644 Fax

1. Have you ever heard of the Association for Bahá’í Studies?.. OY ON 2. Are you a member of the Association for Bahá’í Studies?.. OY ON 3. Are you in close association with an ABS member?.. OY ON 4. Have you ever attended an ABS conference?.... OY ON

If Yes, which one?

Please describe the ABS by marking on the scales below:

Helpful — Not Helpful Expensive — Inexpensive Useful — Not Useful Confusing — Clear Spiritual — Academic Dull — Interesting Accessible — Inaccessible

Listed below are some actions. Please indicate if the ABS does, or should do these things.

To facilitate the teaching work of the Bahá’í Faith. To facilitate the study of the Bahá’í texts for all. To meet and discuss research on the Bahá’í Writings. To publish scholarly works by well known Bahá’í academics. To encourage Bahá’í scholarship. To promote the study of the Bahá’í Faith on academic campuses.

Does [ ] Should Do [ ]

If you have considered but not joined the ABS please list your reasons in order that we may address as many of your concerns as possible.

Thank you. [Page 16]

پیام بهائی

پیام بهائی مجله ای است که به دستور و با تشویق مداوم بیت العدل اعظم الهی برای خانواده های ایرانی و فارسی زبان سراسر جهان به صورت ماهانه مرتباً منتشر میشود و می کوشد که علاوه بر دستخطهای معهد اعلى و اخبار مهمه جهان بهائی یاران عزیز را در جریان تحولات جهان و ارتباط امر مبارک و تعالیم الهی با دنیای امروز قرار دهد و در اعتلای سطح معلومات و تقویت بنیه روحانی و ازدیاد شور و شوق خدمت در یاران ایرانی نقش بارزی ایفاء نماید و وسیله ای برای مطالعه منظم یاران عزیز در معارف پهناور و گسترده بهائی باشد و ذوق و استعدادات پژوهش و تحقیق را خصوصاً در جوانان بپرورد و به عبارت دیگر عامل تزیید قوة روحانیت و تعلقات قلبی در یاران الهی و وسیله توسعه و تشیید نیروی انسانی برای مواجهه با نیازهای امروز و فردای جهان باشد.

این مجله در حال حاضر به ۱۲۸ کشور جهان فرستاده میشود و بیش از ۱۰ هزار خواننده دارد و معهد اعلى اظهار امیدواری فرموده اند که دایره انتشارش گسترش یابد و در آینده سبب تنویر افکار و استبشار دوستداران بیشتری گردد.

پشتیبانی از مجله پیام بهائی نه فقط کمک مؤثری به گسترش معارف بهائی است، بلکه موجب آن می شود که فرهنگ و زبان فارسی که زبان نزولی آیات الهی است در خانواده های ایرانی فراموش نگردد و چراغ آگاهی بدین ترتیب از نسلی به نسل دیگر منتقل شود.

نیازی به یادآوری این مطلب نیست که هیکل مبارک حضرت ولی امرالله تا چه حد اشتراک یاران را به مجلات امریه تشویق میفرمودند تا حدی که در توقیع مورخه اول ژانویه ۱۹۲۳ خطاب به احبای ایران و نقاط شرق فرموده اند: اما در خصوص اشتراک به مجلات امریه، از فرائض احبای الهی این است که به تمام قوی تقویت و معاونت این مجلات بهائی را نمایند.

در پیام مورخه ۲۳ آوریل ۱۹۲۷ فرموده اند: من مکرر به احبای الهی نوشتم و این امر را مؤکد داشتم که احباء در اشتراک روزنامجات و مجلات امریه نباید خودداری نمایند.

و در ابلاغیه ۱۰ خرداد ۱۳۰۶ می فرمایند: به احباء بفهمانند که مراد از اشتراک با مطبوعات امریه در مقام اول تأیید و اعانت آنها است.

از یاران عزیز الهى انتظار چنان است که مجله پیام بهائی را مشترک گردند و موجبات تقویت بنیه مالی آن را فراهم آورند و به دوستان خویش اشتراک آن را توصیه فرمایند.

حق اشتراک سالیانه مجله برای ۱۲ شماره ۴۴ دلار آمریکانی است که استدعا دارد همراه با آدرس خود به دفتر امور احبای ایرانی امریکائی ارسال فرمایند مجلات از فرانسه مستقیماً به آدرس شما فرستاده خواهد شد.

دوستان ارجمند ۱۶ سال از انتشار مجله پیام بهائی می گذرد و به نظر میرسد که شاید انتشار این مجله به اطلاع برخی از دوستان عزیز نرسیده باشد.

به امید همت و حمایت شما مجله "پیام بهائی" PAYAM-I BAHÁ’Í Persian/American Affairs Office Bahá’í National Center Wilmette, IL. 60091

گردهم آئی جوانان دیروز - REUNION OF "PERSIAN BOYS"

ادامه از شماره پیش

از ۴ تا ۶ فوریه سال جاری ۵ تن از ۹ فرستاده دانشجوی بهائی ایرانی که روز ۸ فوریه سال ۱۹۴۴ در بحبوحه جنگ جهانی دوم برای ادامه تحصیلات خود عازم ایالات متحده شدند در جلسه ای که به مناسبت پنجاهمین سالگرد آن سفر در مدرسه بهائی بوش Bosch در سنتا کروز Santa Cruz تشکیل میشد شرکت کردند. این ۹ نفر همگی تحصیلات خود را دنبال کردند و به پایان رساندند و در زمینه های گوناگون دانش و موفقیت حاصل نمودند و در میدان خدمت به امر الهی ممتاز گشتند در حقیقت حسن اخلاق و رفتار این جوانان نمونه های بارزی از تربیت بهائی بود. این دانشجویان در جامعه بهائی آن روز امریکا سرشناس شدند به نحوی که طی چندین دههٔ بعد یاران امریکائی همه جوانان بهائی ایرانی را به نظر تحسین مینگریستند و مقدمشان را گرامی می داشتند. از جمله ایشان میتوان از جناب شیدان فتح اعظم، مشاور قاره ای در افریقا و دکتر فیروز کاظم زاده عضو محفل روحانی ملی ایالات متحده نام برد.

۵ نفری که در این جلسه سالگرد شرکت کردند عبارت بودند از دکتر فیروز کاظم زاده، دکتر نصر الله راسخ، دکتر امین بنانی، جناب فرهنگ جاوید و جناب روح الله زرگرپور. جنابان شیدان فتح اعظم و دکتر هوشنگ جاوید و دکتر منوچهر جاوید نتوانستند در جلسهٔ مذکور شرکت نمایند. نفر نهم این گروه جناب روح الله رحمانی سال گذشته در ایران صعود کرد.

حدود ۹۰ نفر که شامل خانواده و دوستان این عزیزان بودند در جلسه سالگرد حضور داشتند. حاضران خاطرات خود را باز گفتند و به ویژه داستان سفر دریائی ۴۳ روزۀ خود را برای دوستان حکایت کردند. ۴ نفر از اعضای محفل روحانی ملی ایالات متحده و دو تن از مشاورین قاره ای و دو نفر از اعضای هیئت معاونت نیز در جلسه مذکور شرکت داشتند.

ادامه در شماره بعد

کلامی کوتاه در معرفی رابرت هیدن - ABOUT ROBERT HAYDEN

شاعر سیاهپوست آمریکائی سراینده سرودهای رنج و رستگاری نوشته دکتر بهروز ثابت

پس از ایمان همواره در فرصتهای گوناگون مشتاقانه به خدمت امر الهی میپرداخت. از ۱۹۶۸ تا لحظات آخر حياتش عضو هيئت تحريرة مجلة بهائی نظم جهانی World Order بود و این را خدمتی واقعی محسوب می داشت و با دقت و اشتیاق شدید در بالا بردن سطح فرهنگی مجله و اشعار منتشره در آن می کوشید.

شهرت و اعتبار بین المللی او به وی فرصتی می بخشید که در هر انجمنی ندای جهانی و عمومی امر بهائی را گوشزد وضیع و شریف نماید. مقام هنری او تقریباً در زمان حیاتش از طرف اهل ذوق و هنر به رسمیت شناخته شد.

در سال ۱۹۶۵ جایزه اول شاعری را در فستیوال بین المللی هنر در داکار سنگال در یافت کرد. این فستیوال با تشویق و حمایت رئیس جمهور سنگال لئوپولد سدار سنگور که اشعارش در زمره عالی ترین قطعات ادبی در ادبیات معاصر فرانسه محسوب می شود، تشکیل شده بود. در این مجمع رئیس جمهور سنگال و جمعی از رجال ادب به ستایش از هنر رابرت هیدن برخاستند و نقش شعر او را در آگاهی نژادی تحسین کردند.

در سال ۱۹۷۰ مؤسسه ملی هنر و ادب با اهداء جایزه ای از قریحه و استعداد ادبی او قدردانی کرد. در سال ۱۹۷۵ به عضویت آکادمی شعرای آمریکا درآمد. او تنها سیاه پوستی بود که به مدت دو دوره در سال های ۱۹۷۶ تا ۱۹۷۸ به مقام شامخ مشاور ادبی کتابخانه کنگره آمریکا برگزیده شد و در این مقام بود که موفق شد تعالیم امر بهائی را گوشزد رجال سیاست حکومت کند. بالاخره در سال ۱۹۸۰ به جلسه شعر خوانی در کاخ سفید دعوت شد و به گرمی از طرف پرزیدنت کارتر مورد استقبال قرار گرفت.

رابرت هیدن نمونه بارزی از هنر موظف و متعهد را عرضه کرد منتهی هنر موظف از دیدگاه او در ماورای شعارهای سیاسی و جریانات زودگذر اجتماعی قرار داشت او قریحه و استعداد سرشار خود را وقف اصل متعالی و شريف وحدت عالم انسانی کرده بود. او معتقد بود که ضمن اینکه شاعر موظف است که روح زمان خود را دریابد و در آثار خود منعکس سازد ولی این بدان معنی نیست که اثر هنری تبدیل به یک بیانیه سیاسی و منشور اجتماعی شود بایستی استقلال هنری نیز محفوظ و مصون ماند.

از نظر او ارزش و اعتبار یک قطعه ادبی را نبایستی بر مبنای موازین سیاسی و یا نژادی سنجید. با وجود اینکه آثارش تأثیری ابدی بر ادبیات سیاه گذاشته او ترجیح میداد که محتوای اشعارش را از چهارچوب محدود مضامین نژادی خارج سازد و بعنوان یک انسان شاعر در مورد دردها و رنج ها و آمال و آرمانهای مشترک انسانی شعر بسراید. [Page 17]

خلاصه ای از نامه لجنه ملی نشر نفحات خطاب به بهائیان ایالات متحده

MESSAGE FROM NATIONAL TEACHING COMMITTEE

محفل روحانی ملی در ماه آگست سال گذشته از لجنه ملی نشر نفحات درخواست نمود که خط مشی و برنامه ای برای توسعه جامعه امری و تحکیم مبانی آن در ایالات متحده تهیه ببیند.

برنامۀ مذکور در ماه ژانویه در کنفرانس آتلانتا ارائه شد و جزئیات آن در این نشریه درج گردید. معهد اعلی و محفل روحانی ملی از این برنامه اظهار خشنودی کردند. لجنه ملی نشر نفحات تصمیم گرفته است که جزئیات این برنامه را در طی چند نامه در نشریه "آمریکن بهائی" درج کند. نامه ای که در شماره کنونی درج می‌شود حاکی از اهمیت این موضوع است که راجع به حضرت بهاءالله با دیگران صحبت کنیم و از آنان دعوت کنیم که به جرگه مؤمنان امر مبارک ملحق شوند.

بیت العدل اعظم الهی در پیام رضوان سال ۱۹۹۱ یاران را مستحضر داشتند که می‌باید نام حضرت بهاءالله در سراسر جهان پرآوازه گردد. تهیه و انتشار بیانیه درباره حضرت بهاءالله توسط دفتر روابط عمومی مرکز جهانی و تشکیل دومین کنگره جهانی بهائی و دیگر جلسات مربوط به آن همه از جمله کوشش هائی بوده که برای آشنا ساختن مردم با نام حضرت بهاءالله به عمل آمده است.

تأکید بر آشنا ساختن مردم با نام مطهر ظهور حاکی از تغییری در چگونگی ارائه و معرفی امر بهائی بود. پیش از این تغییر تأکید احباء بیشتر بر ارائه تعالیم و اصول امر مبارک - وحدت اساس ادیان، صلح عمومی و جز آن - بود. جناب داگلاس مارتین، عضو کنونی بیت العدل اعظم و مدیر پیشین دفتر روابط عمومی در مرکز جهانی در آن زمان راجع به این تغییر چنین گفته بود: "بیت العدل اعظم به ما می‌گویند که زمان آن رسیده است که تغییر چشمگیری در ارائه و معرفی همگانی امر مبارک صورت گیرد. آنچه تا کنون صورت گرفته به منزله تمهید وسائلی بوده است که با کاربرد آن بتوان حقیقت اصلی امر بهائی را در مقام مبارکش معرفی کرد و آن مقامی است که صاحب امر مردمان و مؤسسات و نظام‌های اطلاعاتی و مراکز علمی آنان را مخاطب می‌دارد.

"کار ما این است که اقداماتی به عمل آوریم که نام حضرت بهاءالله بعنوان نامی آشنا و صاحب اعتبار در امور بشری پرآوازه شود. هدف ما در دهه‌های بعدی این است که به جائی برسیم که هیچ دانشمند معتبر و بامسئولیتی بدون مراجعه به تعالیم حضرت بهاءالله و استفاده از آن دست به تحقیق نزند... پیش از هر امر دیگری لازم است معین کنیم که چگونه باید راجع به نفس حضرت بهاءالله صحبت کنیم."

با آماده شدن جامعه برای دستیابی به اقبال دسته جمعی مردم به امر مبارک باید درباره چگونگی ارائه و معرفی امر مبارک تجدید نظر کرد و مراقب بود که فقط راجع به تعالیم و اصول امر بهائی با دیگران صحبت نکنیم بلکه نام مبارک حضرت بهاءالله را هم به گوششان برسانیم و بکوشیم که قلب مبتدی را با محبت نسبت به حضرت بهاءالله پیوند دهیم. از ستم‌ها و آزارهائی که آن حضرت برای عالم انسانی تحمل فرموده بگوئیم و راه‌هائی را که برای مشکلات جهان ارائه نموده باز شمریم و دلائل حقانیت مدعای جمال قدم را بعنوان مظهر کلی الهی در عصر حاضر اقامه کنیم.

لازم به تذکر نیست که در همه این کوشش‌ها باید حکمت را مراعات کنیم، اما نه حکمتی که منجر به خاموشی شود. حضرت بهاءالله می‌فرمایند: "حکمت بسیار محبوب بوده و هست ولکن نه به شأنی که سراج قلب را خاموش و مخمود نماید." (امر و خلق، ج ۳، ص ۴۷۵)

و حضرت عبدالبهاء می‌فرمایند: "و اما تبلیغ باید به حکمت مجری گردد و به خوشخوئی و خوش‌رفتاری و مهربانی حصول یابد و اگر چنانچه به شروطی مشروط شود، تبلیغ قلیل‌الوجود گردد." (همان، ص ۲۹۱)

علاوه بر وظیفه تبلیغ مستقیم و آشنا ساختن مردم با نام و مرام حضرت بهاءالله وظیفه دیگر اهل بهاء این است که هم‌نوعان خود را فرا خوانند که به جرگه اهل بهاء بپیوندند. برای اینکه امر بهائی بتواند سهمی را که در قبال تاریخ بشری بر عهده دارد، ایفاء نماید، به اشارۀ بیت العدل اعظم الهی و محفل روحانی ملی باید تعداد اهل بهاء افزایش یابد. هنگامی که با دیگران دربارۀ حضرت بهاءالله صحبت می‌کنیم، می‌توانیم نیاز مبرمی را که برای نجات اهل عالم وجود دارد به میان آوریم و از آنان بخواهم که این خدمت را - که آینده جهان بشری موکول به آن است - بپذیرند.

حضرت بهاءالله تنها وظیفۀ ابلاغ کلمه را بر عهده احباء ننهاده‌اند بلکه آنان را مأمور ساخته‌اند که دیگران را به امر مبارک دعوت نمایند: "هر نفسی الیوم مأمور است که به حکمت و بیان اهل امکان را به حق دعوت نماید..." (همان، ص ۴۶۳)

و نیز: "طوبی از برای نفسی که نفسی را به شریعه باقیه کشاند و به حیات ابدیه دلالت نماید." (همان)

و نیز: "جهد کن که شاید نفسی را به شریعه رحمن وارد نمائی. این از افضل اعمال عند غنی متعال مذکور." (همان، ص ۴۶۵)

بیت العدل اعظم الهی در پاسخ این پرسش که چرا افراد احباء در فعالیت‌های تبلیغی خود از موفقیت بیشتری برخوردار نیستند، می‌فرمایند که یکی از دلائل این است که یاران حس می‌کنند نمی‌دانند چگونه باید کوشش‌هایشان را به نتیجه رسانند. هر چند راه معین و خاصی برای دعوت مردم به امر مبارک وجود ندارد اما هر یک از یاران باید راهی را که مناسب شرایط اوست برگزیند تا بتواند مسؤولیت روحانی خود را به انجام رساند.

لجنه ملی نشر نفحات از یاران دعوت می‌کند دربارۀ چگونگی تماس با دیگران و دعوت آنان به پذیرفتن امر الهی به مشورت پردازند و همچنین از تجربیات کسانی که در تبلیغ موفق بوده‌اند استفاده نمایند. بدین منظور پیشنهاد می‌شود که یاران با راهنمائی اعضاء هیئت معاونت یا مساعدانشان نامۀ دارالتبلیغ بین المللی مورخ ۹ جولای سال ۱۹۹۲ را دربارۀ دعوت از مردم برای پذیرفتن امر مبارک مطالعه کنند.

با افزایش فعالیت تبلیغی و دعوت از مردم برای اقبال به امر بهائی تعداد تازه تصدیقان افزایش خواهد یافت. باید مراقب بود که موانع غیرلازم راه اقبال این نفوس را سد نکند. محافل روحانی محلی نیز شایسته است چنان ترتیب دهند که در تسجيل تازه تصدیقان تسهیلاتی حاصل شود.

نباید در تسجيل افراد وسواس بیش از حد نشان داد. اگر کسی که برداشت صحیحی از امر مبارک ندارد یا به حضرت بهاءالله ایمان نیاورده است، تسجيل شود، باکی نیست زیرا او می‌تواند هر وقت که اراده کند نامش را از دفتر سجلات امری حذف نماید.

حضرت ولی عزیز امرالله در توقیعات مبارک خاطرنشان ساخته‌اند که احباء نباید سد راه تسجيل تازه تصدیقان شوند، زیرا اگر شرایط تسجيل زیاده از حد دشوار شود از شوق و اشتعال آنان کاسته خواهد شد و در نتیجه قلوب سرد خواهد شد و امکان توسعه سریع از دست خواهد رفت. کافی است که شخص مقبل در دل خود به حقیقت حضرت بهاءالله اعتقاد داشته باشد. اینکه شخص باسواد یا بی‌سواد باشد، یا از همۀ تعالیم امر آگاهی داشته باشد یا نه، ربطی به تسجيل او ندارد.

بیت العدل اعظم الهی فرموده‌اند انگیزۀ اصلی باید پاسخ فرد به پیام الهی و اذعان به فرستادۀ او باشد. کسانی که خود را بهائی می‌خوانند باید مسحور زیبائی تعالیم امر و متأثر از عشق به حضرت بهاءالله باشند. لازم نیست که این افراد تمامی دلائل و تاریخ و اصول و احکام امر را بدانند، بلکه باید در جریان اظهار ایمان راجع به طلعات مقدسه امر مبارک آگاهی کلی یابند و از وجود احکام و نظم اداری آگاه باشند.

حتی اگر یک لحظه راجع به ابعاد و نتایج اقبال عمومی مردم به امر مبارک بیاندیشیم، در خواهیم یافت که حصول شرایط لازم برای این اقبال مستلزم آن است که در طرز تفکر و رفتار احباء تغییری بنیادی ایجاد شود.

تمرکز بر نفس مقدس حضرت بهاءالله در حین ابلاغ کلمه و تأکید بر دعوت مردمان به دخول در جرگۀ اهل بهاء و رفع موانع تبلیغ محیط مناسبی برای اقبال عمومی مردم و گسترش بی سابقۀ جامعۀ بهائی ایجاد خواهد کرد. از افراد احباء و محافل روحانی محلی و جوامع بهائی دعوت می‌شود که مواردی را که در بالا به آن اشاره شد، به کار برند و آن را بخشی از فرهنگ بهائی در جامعۀ بهائی آمریکا سازند.

تبلیغ سرخپوستان

TEACHING NATIVE AMERICANS

حدود ۳۵۰ نفر سرخپوست از قبائل گوناگون در روز ۱۳ فوریه سال جاری به ۲۷۵ نفر از احباء پیوستند و در جلسه‌ای که توسط یکی از مؤسسات تبلیغی کالیفرنیا تشکیل شده بود شرکت کردند.

آقای کوین لاک Kevin Locke در این جلسه نطقی دربارۀ حضرت بهاءالله و تعالیم مبارکش ایراد کرد و سپس یک قطعۀ موسیقی با فلوت اجرا کرد و آنگاه به اجرای رقص حلقه‌ای معروفش پرداخت و در آن به گونه‌ای نمادین وحدت نوع انسان را نشان داد.

در این گردهم‌آئی جزوات گوناگون امری توزیع شد و بخش ضیافت و تنفس امکان صحبت دربارۀ امر مبارک را فراهم ساخت. [Page 18]

قتل سه مهاجر بهائی در آفریقای شمالی

THREE BAHA’I PIONEERS KILLED IN SOUTH AFRICA

در ماه مارس سال جاری اختلافات نژادی و سیاسی آفریقای جنوبی چهره زشت خود را در جامعه بهائی سیسکای Ciskei پدیدار ساخت و در نتیجه سفیدپوستان و سیاهپوستان را از هر طبقه و مرام سیاسی به حیرت انداخت و جامعه بهائی آن کشور را به ماتم سه تن از مهاجران فداکار خود نشاند.

در روز ۱۳ ماه مارس شش مرد مسلح به مرکز بهائی شهرک مدانتسین Mdantsane در نزدیکی ایست لندن East London هجوم آوردند و در حالی که جلسه دعا و مناجات رو به خاتمه می‌رفت از احبای سفیدپوست و سیاهپوست خواستند که هر یک در دو طرف سالن جمع شوند و سپس سه تن از احباء را که تنها سفیدپوستان حاضر در جلسه بودند در میان جمعی که متشکل از عده‌ای خردسال نیز بود بی رحمانه به مسلسل بستند.

هر سه بهائی مقتول از مهاجران ایرانی آفریقای جنوبی بودند: جناب ریاض رضوی، مدیر امور مالی دانشگاه پورت هارار Port Harare از شهر کینگ ویلیامز King Williams Town، دکتر شمام بخشندگی، دندان‌پزشک شاغل در بیمارستان سیسیلیا مکوانئ Cecilia Makwani Hospital از ایست لندن، و جناب هوشمند انوری، فروشنده کامپیوتر و دبیر نیمه وقت از بیکن بی Beacon Bay.

کسانی که شاهد این ستم آشکار بودند اظهار کردند که این افراد مسلح که ۵ تن از آنان اسلحه نیمه اتوماتیک (مسلسل مانند) به دست داشتند، از احباء خواستند که کلید ‎اتوموبیل اتومبیل‎ خود را به آنها تسلیم کنند. سپس آن سه مهاجر فداکار را در برابر دیواری قرار دادند و به گلوله بستند.

دو تن از این مهاجران جناب رضوی و جناب انوری در دم به ملکوت الهی شتافتند. دکتر بخشندگی را با شتاب به بیمارستان رساندند ولی ایشان نیز در همانجا صعود کردند.

مرد ناشناسی که مدعی نمایندگی ارتش آزادی ازانیان (ALA) Azanian Liberation Army بود، در طی یک مکالمه تلفنی به انجمن روزنامه‌نگاران آفریقای جنوبی South African Press Association اظهار داشت که ارتش مذکور مسؤول این کشتار بوده است.

محفل روحانی ملی آفریقای جنوبی در طی بیانیه‌ای خطاب به رسانه‌های خبری اظهار داشت: "این کشتار که انگیزه نژادی داشته شگفت‌آور است زیرا بهائیان همواره جامعه دینی متشکل از نژادهای گوناگون بوده‌اند و در ۴۰ سالی که در آفریقای جنوبی حضور داشته‌اند به اصول وحدت نژادی معتقد بوده و این وحدت را در میان گروه‌های بومی و نژادی گوناگون که در جامعه بهائی این کشور بوده‌اند، تجلیل کرده‌اند."

هرنوس کریبل Hernus Kriel، وزیر قانون و انتظامات سیسکای اظهار داشت که این حمله بی رحمانه او را سخت به حیرت انداخته و حکایت از آن دارد که در آفریقای جنوبی خشونت و قساوت است که نه تنها فعالیت‌های آزاد و عادلانه سیاسی بلکه انتقال به دموکراسی را جداً تهدید می‌کند.

مدرسه بهائی گرین ایکر

GREEN ACRE BAHA’I SCHOOL

مدرسه بهائی گرین ایکر در سال جاری به فعالیت‌های گوناگونی جهت بزرگداشت صدمین سال تأسیس آن مبادرت خواهد کرد.

صد سال از تأسیس این مدرسه توسط خانم سارا فارمر Sarah Farmer می‌گذرد. مدرسه مذکور تنها مدرسه بهائی در شمال امریکا است که به قدوم حضرت عبدالبهاء، مشرف شده است. در این صد سال مدرسه بهائی گرین ایکر میزبان بسیاری از بزرگان امر مبارک بوده است و خادمانی چون حضرت روحیه خانم و حضرات ایادی امرالله جنابان ابوالقاسم فیضی و علی اکبر فروتن و ذکرالله خادم و لوئیس گرگوری Louis Gregory و جان روبارتس John Robarts و ویلیام سیرز و خانمها اگنس الکسندر Agnes Alexander و درتی بیکر Dorothy Baker و امیلیا کالینز Amelia Collins و مارتا روت Martha Root از آن دیدار کرده‌اند.

در تابستان سال جاری مهمانخانه سارا فارمر که از سال ۱۹۸۹ به علت تعمیرات و نوسازی تعطیل بوده است، از نو افتتاح خواهد شد.

در اثر امور بازسازی و ترمیم مدرسه مذکور از بسیاری از ساختمان‌های آن می‌توان جهت فعالیت‌های امری در ماه های زمستان نیز استفاده کرد.

برنامه‌هائی که برای مدرسه گرین ایکر در نظر گرفته شده در ارتباط با رفع نیازهای نقشه سه‌ساله و تحقق اهداف آن طرح گردیده است. از همه یاران عزیز دعوت می‌شود که از مدرسه گرین ایکر دیدار کنند و در برنامه‌های گوناگون آن شرکت نمایند.

تماس با دفتر محفل ملی

PERSIAN PHONE-MAIL SYSTEM AT NATIONAL CENTER

اخیراً برای رفاه آن عده از یاران ایرانی که با زبان انگلیسی آشنائی ندارند یک خط تلفنی به زبان فارسی ایجاد شده است. یاران می‌توانند از طریق این خط تلفنی در هر ساعت از روز یا شب پیغام‌ها یا پرسش‌های خود را به زبان فارسی اظهار نمایند. پیغام‌های مذکور ضبط خواهد شد و در طی ساعات اداری به آن پاسخ داده خواهد شد.

روش استفاده از این خط تلفنی به شرح زیر است:

نخست شماره ۳۵۵۴-۷۳۳ (۷۰۸) را بگیرید. صوت ضبط شده بر نوار را خواهید شنید که می‌گوید: "Hello! This is the phone-mail system." پس از شنیدن این پیغام شماره ۵۰۰۱ را بگیرید و سپس دکمه # را فشار دهید. صدای ضبط شده به زبان فارسی را خواهید شنید که می‌گوید: "دفتر محفل روحانی ملی بهائیان ایالات متحده. خط مخصوص مراجعین فارسی زبان." دوباره دکمه # را فشار دهید. صدای ضبط شده را خواهید شنید که می‌گوید: "اینجا دفتر محفل روحانی ملی بهائیان ایالات متحده در ویلمت است. لطفاً پس از شنیدن صدای سوت، پیام خود را بیان بفرمائید. پیام شما با توجه به موضوع به دائره مسؤول ارجاع می‌شود. نام، نشانی، شماره تلفن یا فکس خود را شمرده و رسا بیان کنید تا پس از رسیدگی، نتیجه به شما ابلاغ گردد." پس از خاتمه پیغام خود تلفن را قطع کنید.

سوء رفتار با کودکان

ON CHILD ABUSE

در صورتی که محافل روحانی از موارد سوء رفتار اعضاء جامعه با اطفال آگاه باشند، باید فوراً مراتب را به آگاهی مسؤولان امور (سازمان‌هائی چون Child Protective Services یا Department of Child and Family Services) گزارش دهند.

به طور کلی تشکیلات بهائی نباید در بررسی امور مربوط به سوء رفتار با کودکان دخیل شوند، زیرا منابع و اختیارات و تجربه لازم را در حل اینگونه امور ندارند.

اطلاعاتی که محافل روحانی محلی درباره احوال افراد دارند - مانند روابط بین وکیل و موکل یا پزشک و بیمار - محرمانه است. با این حال به حکم قانون در تمامی ۵۰ ایالت آمریکا هر شخص یا مؤسسه‌ای که از موارد سوء رفتار با اطفال آگاه باشد، باید مراتب را به آگاهی مسؤولان برساند.

تشکیلات بهائی در مواردی از این دست - قتل، سرقت، تجاوز جنسی و جز آن - باید در وهله اول متکی به قضاوت پلیس و نظام حقوقی باشند.

اگر اتهام سوء رفتار با کودکان در مورد یک شخص بهائی به ثبوت برسد، شخص مذکور از حقوق امری خود محروم خواهد شد. در صورتی که شخص مذکور پس از آزادی از زندان تقاضای اعاده حقوق اداری خود را نماید، محدودیت‌هائی در مورد ارتباط با کودکان منظور خواهد شد و این محدودیت‌ها پس از مشورت با روانپزشک و دیگر افراد واجد شرایط تعیین خواهد شد.

در صورتی که اتهام مذکور به ثبوت نرسد یا قضیه به دادگاه کشیده نشود، محفل روحانی ملی مختار است در صورتی که دلائل و شواهد کافی داشته باشد، شخص متهم را طرد اداری کند.

آشکار است که در اینگونه موارد شواهد و مدارک با دقت مطالعه و بررسی خواهد شد و اموری چون سابقه قبلی متهم در نظر گرفته خواهد شد.

از آنجا که تشکیلات بهائی تخصصی در اینگونه امور ندارند، باید در صورت امکان با اهل فن و متخصصان مشورت کنند. محفلی که به بررسی مواردی از این قبیل می‌پردازد باید با متهم و مدعی و شاهدان مشورت کند و شواهد و مدارک لازم را از طریق تماس با افراد و دوائر مسؤولی که اتهام مذکور را بررسی کرده‌اند به دست آورد.

هر چند محفل روحانی ملی بر این باور است که دعا و مناجات و کوشش آگاهانه فردی برای اطاعت از احکام حضرت بهاءالله در تغییر رفتار و خلقیات افراد تأثیر دارد، با این حال ممکن است عوامل روانی و پزشکی نیز در رفتار افراد دخیل باشد. تشکیلات بهائی باید در اینگونه موارد توصیه کنند که افراد به پزشک یا روانپزشک رجوع کنند.

مواد و مطالب خاصی برای چگونگی رفتار احباء و تشکیلات بهائی با مشکلاتی چون سوء رفتار با کودکان و زنای با محارم و غیره وجود ندارد. با این حال توصیه می‌شود که محافلی که با اینگونه مشکلات روبرو می‌شوند جهت چگونگی رفع آن و اقداماتی که باید به عمل آورند با محفل ملی تماس حاصل نمایند و همچنین با متخصصان و اهل فن مشورت کنند. [Page 19]

Ida Freeman McCray, former pioneer to Bahamas, dies in N.Y.

Ida Freeman McCray, a former pioneer to the Bahamas, died last December 3 in Monticello, New York.

Ms. McCray became a Bahá’í in Grenada in 1970. She found that her work as a glass artist provided opportunities for her to travel and teach the Faith, which she did throughout the Caribbean. She was involved in mass teaching efforts in Grenada and Dominica and served on the National Spiritual Assembly of Barbados.

Upon her arrival in the Bahamas in 1987, she was able to serve as a pioneer for the U.S. until May 1991 when she was obliged to return to the States to care for her sister.

First Arjmand Conference on Scripture held

The first Haj Mehdi Arjmand Conference on Scripture was held December 3-5 at Newcastle-upon Tyne, United Kingdom.

On Friday evening Stephen Lambden offered some opening thoughts about Haj Mehdi Arjmand, for whom the conference was named. A Persian of Jewish background, Haj Mehdi Arjmand became a Bahá’í about 1878. For two years, starting in 1896, he debated an American Protestant missionary about biblical prophecy, and subsequently wrote down his arguments in a book, Gulshan-i-Haqáyiq (The Rose Garden of Truths).

Also discussed was the career of Thomas Kelley Cheyne, one of the pioneers of modern biblical scholarship at Oxford University who became a Bahá’í in his old age as a result of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s visit to Oxford in 1912.

Saturday morning began with a presentation by Dr. Seena Fazel, who noted the problems that exclusivism produces and outlined various approaches that scholars have taken to overcome the exclusivist meanings of biblical texts.

Dr. Fazel was followed that afternoon by Dr. Robert H. Stockman, head of the Research Office at the U.S. Bahá’í National Center, who spoke on "Modern Biblical Interpretation and the Bahá’í Faith."

Later that afternoon Dr. Todd Lawson spoke about the Báb’s Tafsir Súratu’l-Asr, an early commentary on a chapter of the Qur’án, and about various other aspects of the Báb’s writing.

On Sunday morning Mr. Lambden presented a study entitled "Prophecy in the Johannine Farewell Discourse: Paraclete, Ahmad, Comforter (mu’azzi)." That afternoon Dr. Khazeh Fananapazir discussed the term "Day of God" as it appears in the Old and New Testaments, the Qur’án, the sayings of the imáms, and in the Bábí and Bahá’í scriptures.

Finally, Dr. Kamran Ikbal spoke on "The Pattern and Symbolism of Revelation from Zarathustra to Bahá’u’lláh."

In addition to talks, the conference scheduled time for discussions of biblical and quranic interpretation from a Bahá’í perspective. Although the conference was small—30 attendees, which equaled the capacity of the Newcastle Bahá’í Center—the talks were of uniformly high quality and the discussions stimulating.

The 1994 Haj Mehdi Arjmand Conference on Scripture was held March 25-27 in Wilmette, Illinois (details in our next issue). It is hoped that a number of papers can be published from the proceedings of the 1993 and 1994 conferences, so that the results will be made widely available.

Visit the Bahá’í House of Worship

Each year a special invitation is extended to the friends to visit the House of Worship for a four-day weekend of learning, teaching, fellowship, prayers and meditation.

Highlights of the visit include an opening reception; an address by a member of the National Spiritual Assembly or representative; daily devotions, tours of the Bahá’í House of Worship and Bahá’í National Center offices; a workshop on volunteer service opportunities and a chance to guide; an in-depth presentation from the Writings on the significance of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkar; closing devotions; and a farewell picnic on the lake front near the Haziratu’l-Quds.

We have provided a registration form below for you to fill out. If you need further information please call the Activities Office at (708) 853-2300. We would love to greet you at the Holiest House of Worship.

BAHÁ’Í HOUSE OF WORSHIP SPECIAL VISIT PROGRAM July 14-17, 1994 Thursday - Sunday REGISTRATION FORM - DEADLINE May 15, 1994

Number in your party: Telephone (hm./wk/other): List name(s) and Bahá’í I.D.#’s: Indicate Children/Youth and I.D. #s (ages 4.5 and up may register). Children, pre-youth and youth activities will be available. Infant care and child care will not be provided. Address: City: State: Zip code:

HOTEL/TRANSPORTATION INFORMATION The hotel listed below has been selected to provide group assistance for your stay. We can make your reservations based on this selection. However, you will handle all financial arrangements with the hotel. For those who wish to select their own accommodations, we will send you a list of hotels. Bus transportation will be provided to and from Howard Johnson Hotel. Transportation to and from other hotels will be on your own throughout the tour. All registrants will receive transportation information and an itinerary of program activities. Major meals will be on your own.

Alternative hotel listing? Yes No

Skokie Howard Johnson

• Buffet Breakfast included
• 2 miles from the House of Worship
• 1-bed room - $57.00 / 2-bed room - $69.00
• Airport shuttle service

The registration fee is $10.00. Please make checks payable to the Bahá’í Services Fund. Do not send any other cost to us. A schedule of activities and check-in will be sent to you upon confirmation.

Return this form to: Bahá’í House of Worship Activities Office, Special Visit Program, Wilmette, IL 60091

IN MEMORIAM

• Richard Bartz, Cadiz, KY, February 10, 1994
• Florence Delany, Green Bay, WI, February 11, 1994
• Virginia Fay, Laguna Hills, CA, November 1993
• Simin Firoozmand, Columbus, OH, January 17, 1994
• L.D. Fox Sr., Joliet, IL, February 23, 1994
• Chris F. Gent, Austin, TX, February 13, 1994
• John Earl Hawkins, Decatur, IL, February 20, 1994
• Kenneth Macbeth, Bakersfield, CA, February 8, 1994
• Andrew Montwill, San Antonio, TX, March 2, 1994
• Mohammed Naraghi, Martinez, CA, February 18, 1994
• Kenneth Parker, Amarillo, TX, March 5, 1994
• Paul S. Schetzle, Granville, OH, August 8, 1993
• Barbara Spellman, Oshkosh, WI, February 15, 1994
• AL. Summers, Phoenix, AZ, February 25, 1994
• Alice Twitchell, El Rito, NM, February 19, 1994
• Chaske F. Wicks, Cannonball, ND, February 8, 1994

[Page 20]

Bahá’í musical play on race prejudice draws large audiences, ovations at performances in two Virginia cities

"Out of This Darkness," a Bahá’í-sponsored musical production about the need to eliminate racial prejudice, has had three highly successful performances in Virginia, two last November and another in January.

Well over 500 people, more than half of whom were not Bahá’ís, attended each of the November performances in Burke, while more than 700 saw the third performance, in Alexandria, despite a temperature of two degrees above zero.

Every performance earned a standing ovation, with the audience rising spontaneously to cheer as the young bi-racial couple is reunited at the close of the two-hour musical drama.

The play is about two families, the Robinsons (white) and Washingtons (black), whose sons, Jacob Robinson and Derek Washington (who is a Bahá’í), have been life-long friends, and the prejudicial attitudes and feelings that surface within both families when Derek and the Robinsons' daughter, Emily, fall in love and plan to marry.

The conflict is resolved only after both families come to realize that such strongly-held but erroneous beliefs and opinions have no place in the future of an earth whose destiny is peace and fellowship.

"Out of This Darkness" is sponsored by the Spiritual Assembly of Fairfax County Central South, which is organizing a task force to handle production details of subsequent performances. If you are interested, or have any questions about the play, please write to the Spiritual Assembly of Fairfax County Central South, P.O. Box 10514, Burke, VA 22015.

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 what your new address will be.

A. NAME(S): I.D. # Title 1.D. 3. I.D. 4. L.D.# Title Title

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

Title

C. NEW MAILING ADDRESS: B. NEW RESIDENCE ADDRESS: Street address Apartment # (If applicable) City P.O. Box or Other mailing address Apartment # (If applicable) City State Zip code State Zip code

D. NEW COMMUNITY: E. HOME TELEPHONE NUMBER: Name of new Bahá’í Community F. WORK TELEPHONE NUMBER(S): Area code Phone number Name Moving date Area code Phone number Name

G. WE RECEIVE EXTRA COPIES BECAUSE: we do not have the same last name. We do not want extra copies, so please cancel the copy for the person(s) and I.D. number(s) listed above.

BAHÁ’Í NATIONAL CENTER 112 Linden Avenue Wilmette, IL 60091

Area code Phone number the last names and addresses on our address labels do not match. We have listed above the full names of all family members as they should appear on the national records, their I.D. numbers, and the corrections so that we will receive only one copy. Name

H. I WOULD LIKE A COPY: Our household receives only one copy of The American Bahá’í. I wish to receive my own copy. I have listed my name, LD. number and address above.

APRIL

22-24: Preparation for Marriage, pilot program for deepening Assembly members, Bosch Bahá’í School. For information, phone 408-423-3387.

22-24: Second annual Bahá’í Youth Conference, "Arising to the Call of Bahá’u’lláh," East Patchogue, Long Island, New York. Keynote speaker: Robert Harris. Action-oriented activities. Conference fee: $20. Registration deadline: April 16. Contact Jennifer McNair, 516-289-6619.

24: 60th anniversary celebration, Spiritual Assembly of South Bend, Indiana. For information, contact Dr. Mana Derakhshani, secretary, South Bend, IN 46616. Phone 219-289-4467; fax 219-289-4673.

29-May 1: Race Unity III weekend, Bosch Bahá’í School. For information, phone 408-423-3387 or fax 408-423-7564.

29-May 2: Bahá’í Family Reunion, Civic Center, Pompano Beach, Florida. Sponsored by the Spiritual Assembly of Pompano Beach. Speakers to include two members of the National Spiritual Assembly; entertainment by the Bahá’í Gospel Choir, Dan Seals, and others. All Bahá’ís who live in Florida, who used to live in Florida, or who would like to live in Florida are invited. For information, phone Denise or Dennis Godsey, 305-942-1844; fax 305-946-9299.

30-May 1: Homeschooling Conference, Brighton Creek (Washington) Conference Grounds, sponsored by the Spiritual Assembly of Astoria. Child care available. To register, contact Kizzy Davis, P.O. Box 67, McKenna, WA 98558, or phone 206-458-3910. Registration deadline: April 17.

MAY

6-8: Teaching workshop/deepening, Bosch Bahá’í School. For information, phone 408-423-3387.

6-8: Parent-Child Conference, "A Family Is a Nation in Miniature," Louhelen Bahá’í School. For information, phone 810-653-5033.

13-15: Professional Development Workshop, "Creativity Training for Bahá’ís," Louhelen Bahá’í School. For information, phone 810-653-5033.

14-15: San Jose Weekend, Bosch Bahá’í School. For information, phone 408-423-3387.

20-22: Annual session on Southeast Asian teaching, Bosch Bahá’í School. For information, phone Puran Stevens or Rosemarie Grushka at the U.S. Bahá’í Refugee Office, 708-869-9039, or fax 708-869-0247.

26-30: Fourth Conference of the "Friends of Persian Culture," North Shore Hilton Hotel, Skokie, Illinois. For information, phone 708-733-3531.

27-29: 21st annual Conference of Nur, Elizabethtown (PA) College. Theme: "Arise: Become an Apostle of Bahá’u’lláh." Speakers to include Dr. Wilma Ellis, Dr. David Ruhe, Vaughn Loudenback. Registration deadline: May 11. For information, phone 717-390-1988 or write to the Spiritual Assembly of Lancaster, P.O. Box 2453, Lancaster, PA 17608.

27-30: Bosch Bahá’í School's eighth annual Marriage Retreat, "Together Forever," conducted by Khalil Khavari and Sue Williston Khavari, authors of Creating a Successful Family and Together Forever: A Handbook for Creating a Successsful Marriage. For information or to register, phone 408-423-3387 (fax 408-423-7564).

27-30: A "How-To" Conference, "Teaching: The Dominating Passion- Creating, Sustaining and Extending Larg-Scale Projects," Woodburn, Oregon. For information, write to Jan House, director, Woodburn Bahá’í Center, 237 N. Front St., Woodburn, OR 97071, or phone 503-981-3516.

27-30: Core Curriculum Teacher Training, Louhelen Bahá’í School. For information, phone 810-653-5033.

27-30: Bahá’í Pacific West Coast Youth Conference 1994, Bellevue, Washington. Theme: "The Three Year Plan: Press on to Meet the Dawn." Sponsored by the Spiritual Assembly of Bellevue. For information, contact Ala Moshiri, Bellevue, WA 98004, phone 206-453-9779, or fax 206-453-6398.

JUNE

3-5: Session on Women, Louhelen Bahá’í School. For information, phone 810-653-5033.

3-5: Newsletter editor training/The American Bahá’í Community: Becoming an Economic Force, Bosch Bahá’í School. Adults only For information, phone 408-423-3387; fax 408-423-7564.

9-12: "Vision in Action," Regional Bahá’í Youth Conference, YMCA Camp of the Rockies, Estes Park, Colorado. Sponsored by the Spiritual Assembly of Golden, Colorado. For information, write to Regional Bahá’í Youth Conference, P.O. Box 795, Golden, CO 80402, phone 303-399-4715, or fax 303-270-3326.

10-12: LSA Team Building Weekend-Sacramento/Northern California, Bosch Bahá’í School. For information, phone 408-423-3387; fax 408-423-7564.

10-18: Youth Institute, Louhelen Bahá’í School. For information, phone 810-653-5033.

12: International Bahá’í Picnic, noon-5 p.m., Queenston Heights Park, Queenston, Ontario, Canada.

19-25: Camp Louhelen, Louhelen Bahá’í School. For information, phone 810-653-5033.

30-July 3: Colorado East Summer School, Trinity Ranch. Contact Sandra Bolz, Lafayette, CO 80026 (phone 303-666-9275).

JULY

1-4: Persian-American Conference, Louhelen Bahá’í School. For information, phone 810-653-5033.

1-5: North Carolina Summer School. Contact Peggy Cerchione, RR 1, Box 625, Deep Gap, NC 28618 (phone 704-264-7839).

2-8: Washington (East)/Idaho (North) School. Contact Wendy Diessner, Lewiston, ID 83501 (phone 208-746-0273).