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[Page 1]THE AMERICAN BAHÁ’Í Volume 27, Number 4 ‘Azamat B.E. 153/ May 17, 1996

RIDVÁN 153 MESSAGES FROM UNIVERSAL HOUSE OF JUSTICE

To the Bahá’ís of the World

Dearly loved Friends,

Our hearts overflowing with gratitude to the Blessed Beauty, we acknowledge the abundant manifestations of His grace during the Three Year Plan, which has run its course with the advent of this Ridván Festival. The animating spirit of the Holy Year, which lent impetus to the launching of the Plan at Ridván 1993, pervaded this period of concentrated endeavor, rendering our world community more consolidated, more resilient, more mature, and more confident than before. At the same time, the community's prestige attained new heights. While this Plan has not ended on a note of dramatic, numerical expansion, even though significant growth of membership occurred in various countries, it has nonetheless resulted in a qualitatively enriched community—one prepared to exploit the immediate prospects for the advancement of the Faith.

The magnificent progress of the projects on Mount Carmel is pre-eminent among the measurable achievements of this period. Indeed, despite numerous difficulties, the stage of accomplishment anticipated in our message announcing the Three Year Plan is entirely evident. All phases of construction have been initiated. The structural framework of the Center for the Study of the Texts and the extension to the International Archives Building has been raised up and the work on these buildings has advanced toward initiation of the exterior and interior finishing work. The erection of the permanent seat of the International Teaching Center, the third structure currently being built on the Arc, is progressing rapidly. Seven terraces below the Shrine of the Báb are now completed, foreshowing the unfolding splendor from the foot to the ridge of God's Holy Mountain. A watchful public is awed at the tapestry of beauty spreading over the mountainside.

The physical reality of the progress thus far so marvelously realized is proof of an even more profound achievement, namely, the unity of purpose effected throughout our global community in the pursuit of this gigantic, collective enterprise. The intensity of the interest and support it has evoked has expressed itself in an unprecedented outpouring of contributions, reflecting a level of sacrifice that bespeaks the quality of faith and generosity of heart of Bahá’u’lláh’s lovers throughout the planet. That contributions toward the Mount Carmel

87TH BAHÁ’Í NATIONAL CONVENTION

Delegates tackle Plan with zest

BY TOM MENNILLO

It was a microcosm of what the American Bahá’í community will experience in coming months. For four days, delegates to the 87th National Convention struggled mightily to comprehend the tools handed them in the Ridván 153 letters of the Universal House of Justice—tools designed to significantly advance the process of entry by troops during the Four Year Plan.

In the end, through exertions fueled by a spirit of love and unity, they forged a conviction that must precede any action toward success of the Plan. It lay in the unshakeable belief that victory is possible.

National Spiritual Assembly Chairman James F. Nelson (right) introduces his colleagues on the newly elected Assembly: (from left) Robert C. Henderson, Juana Conrad, William E. Davis, Patricia Locke, Jack McCants, Firuz Kazemzadeh, Alberta Deas, and Dorothy W. Nelson. (Photo by Tom Mennillo)

The delegates weren't alone, of course, as they met at the Holiday Inn O'Hare International in Rosemont, Illinois, to begin their deliberations on the awesome task ahead. Counselors Stephen Birkland, Wilma Ellis and David Smith lent their thoughts, advice and inspiration to the proceedings, while the members of the National Spiritual Assembly provided continual support and guidance. "Old soldiers" in the Cause such as Marguerite Sears and Mildred Mottahedeh were among 1,500 observers. And the performing groups "Tapestry" and the Bahá’í Gospel Chorale uplifted hearts and spirits at every turn.

National Assembly elected

Midway through the convention, the delegates paused to carry out the other sacred duty with which they are charged: electing the members of the National Spiritual Assembly who will guide the community in the coming year.

Elected during the Saturday morning session at the Bahá’í House of Worship in Wilmette were Juana Conrad, William E. Davis, Alberta Deas, Robert C. Henderson, Firuz Kazemzadeh, Patricia Locke, Jack McCants, Dorothy W. Nelson and James F. Nelson.

The newly elected National Assembly met immediately to elect its officers for 1996-97. They are James Nelson, chairman; Dorothy Nelson, vice-chairman; Robert Henderson, secretary-general; Juana Conrad, assistant secretary; Firuz Kazemzadeh, secretary for external affairs; and William Davis, treasurer.

Spiritual atmosphere prevails

Delegates were reminded at the outset of the spiritual nature and broad responsibility of their twin duties to elect the National Assembly and make recommendations to it.

James Nelson, noting that we are in a new age for humankind, said the Bahá’í convention was the only place in America where an election was being held that weekend in a spiritual atmosphere.

He added that the convention's import was heightened by its positioning at the start of the "last lap of this century's work."

Counselor Ellis confirmed that a spirit of love and acceptance was in the air, as evidenced during a day-long

To the Followers of Bahá’u’lláh in North America: Alaska, Canada, Greenland and the United States

Dearly loved Friends,

As members of the North American Bahá’í community, you enter the Four Year Plan with a brilliant record of progress in fulfilling the mandate issued by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in the Tablets of the Divine Plan. In the eight decades since you received this mandate, your prodigious exertions have carried the Message of Bahá’u’lláh to all parts of your continent, and throughout the length and breadth of the planet. You have played a critical role in the establishment of the framework of the Administrative Order and in the sustained proclamation of the Faith. These Tablets launched you on a worldwide enterprise which you, and the generations to succeed you, are called upon to continue during the vast period of time stretching throughout the Formative Age and into the Golden Age of the Bahá’í Dispensation.

In your pursuit of the provisions of the Four Year Plan on national, regional and local levels, you will find it necessary to focus your efforts on the single purpose of the Plan, the significant advancement of the process of entry by troops.

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

• A new Assembly is raised in Fayetteville, N.C.
• Jeffery Huffines named U.S. UN representative
• Complete listing of summer school schedules

[Page 2]

In Fayetteville, NC, a new Spiritual Assembly is born

Fayetteville, North Carolina, is the proud "owner" of a brand new local Spiritual Assembly.

Until recently, the goal city south of Raleigh-Durham had three devoted believers.

Then a concerted effort brought Bahá’í teachers from all over North Carolina and parts of South Carolina and Virginia to the home of Ft. Bragg.

Now there are 11 believers in Fayetteville, with more on the way.

The call for teachers went out from Auxiliary Board member Jean Scales and the North Carolina Teaching Committee in support of the Three Year Plan goal of raising Assemblies in all cities of more than 50,000 population.

Roxanna Hadden of Durham was project coordinator.

Traveling teachers found a Fayetteville populace deeply troubled but receptive to the message of Bahá’u’lláh. Violence that appeared to be racially motivated was plaguing the city, and residents were looking for a vision of hope. The Bahá’ís supplied that and more, using a variety of teaching methods.

Through late March, teaching efforts added two souls to Fayetteville's rolls, bringing the total to five.

On the final weekend of the month, with Ridván approaching, efforts intensified. Approximately 20 Bahá’í teachers came into town including members of the Louis G. Gregory Bahá’í Gospel Choir and a corps of believers from Raleigh who had canceled their teaching committee meeting to join the effort.

The nearby Cumberland County Spiritual Assembly rented a table at a Fayetteville flea market. The race unity display immediately drew people.

Sal Garcia, of American Indian, Hispanic and Irish descent, spoke at length with the teachers about his sadness over the condition of the world. He lit up when the teachers discussed progressive revelation, and he rejoiced at the idea that there was a family of millions dedicated to the oneness of humankind. He declared on the spot.

Another visitor, Jim "Running Fox" Moss, turned out to be a long-lost brother. He is a Cherokee Indian who said he became a Bahá’í in 1970 "but the Bahá’ís got lost for awhile." Although he hadn't had any contact with the friends for 25 years, he never stopped teaching the Faith. So when the Bahá’ís set up their table that day, this man was reunited with his spiritual family.

Also scheduled that weekend and the next were public meetings coordinated by David Hoffman of Guilford County, near Greensboro, on the topic "The Promised Day Is Come."

After an orientation, Bahá’ís armed with invitations and a book on teaching Christians that was developed in the Greensboro area hit the streets in teams of two or three. They were arranged by diversity of race, gender and personality style (shy/outgoing).

The approach to people went something like this: "Hello. We're Bahá’ís from different parts of North and South Carolina. We have an invitation for you to a program we're hosting in your neighborhood at the Cumberland Community Foundation on Saturday night and Sunday afternoon. The topic is The Promised Day Is Come.' We chose that title because we believe that the great day that Jesus Christ spoke about when all of the peoples of the world would finally be gathered together has come. This is the day for the unity of mankind. Have you ever heard of the Bahá’í Faith? We have some wonderful and colorful pictures of Bahá’ís from around the world. Would you like to see them and hear a little about this wonderful Plan of God that is uniting all mankind? Or is this not a good time for you?"

While there were no declarations the first afternoon, the teachers met many receptive souls—Hispanic, Asian, African-American, and white. During little more than three hours one team recorded names, addresses, phone numbers and brief notes on six people who, while not ready to declare their belief, liked what they heard and welcomed Bahá’ís to visit again.

When the teachers were debriefed, everyone agreed that the race unity issue was really the key. Every time the teachers led people into a discussion of the need for harmony among the races, ears perked up.

The evening public meeting was a model of cooperation. Most of the local friends were present and everyone played meaningful roles, providing presentation equipment, refreshments and publicity for the event and accommodations for the traveling teachers.

The next day three teaching teams remained to knock on doors inviting people to the afternoon program.

A team led by Charles Bullock, co-administrator of the Louis G. Gregory Bahá’í Institute, was led by the Concourse to Fletcher McNeil.

The elderly gentleman wasn't home, so the Bahá’ís left an invitation in his door. A few minutes later Mr. McNeil returned, and, waving the materials in his hand, he ran out into the street to catch up with the Bahá’ís.

"Tell me about this religion," he said. So the friends spent 20 minutes in the street explaining the Faith to him. By the time he invited the teachers into his home, he was confirmed in faith. They sang and cried together, and he signed his card.

Meanwhile, Mr. Hoffman's team was getting nowhere. Doors were slamming in their faces, and the few discussions felt awkward. Then, at a small apartment complex, they met a young man named Kirkland Smalls.

"I've already gotten this invitation," he told the teachers, "and unfortunately I'll be leaving town later this afternoon."

But as the team was about to leave, Mr. Hoffman asked, "Have you ever heard about the Bahá’í Faith," and started telling Mr. Smalls how it is uniting the peoples of the world.

With that, the young man opened the screen door and invited the team in. He seemed to gravitate to each and every concept as he was taken through the teaching book. In response, he spoke about how he found the lessons taught in his church to be confusing and that he was finally hearing all the things he knew to be true in his heart. He instantly became a Bahá’í upon invitation.

No seekers came to the Sunday meeting, which was fine because the friends were so on fire with the results of the weekend that they simply wanted to express their joy. They brought their chairs into a semi-circle and recited prayers that led to spontaneous song. The room was filled with that rare, inexplicable spirit and atmosphere that only teaching the Faith of God can summon.

Before leaving, Mr. Hoffman and his 10-year-old daughter, Haley, were drawn aside by Willie Lanier of Cumberland County.

"I have something I want you to see," she said, and led them across the back of the property and onto a path to the church next door.

Behind the church was a beautiful natural worship setting. The area was surrounded by ancient-looking trees and gardens. Hand-carved wooden benches were focused on a simple platform.

On the platform was an altar, and behind it was a cross made of wood. A plaque on the side read: "This altar and cross are dedicated to the Glory of God."

The next weekend saw three more souls declare their belief in Bahá’u’lláh. The raising up of an Assembly was assured.

But of course, the process doesn't stop there.

The new believers are being deepened in the Faith, and plans are being made to continue the teaching effort in Fayetteville.

A newspaper reporter interviewed the Bahá’ís for an hour. Presentations of Bahá’í materials also have been made to city officials.

And, most important, the spirit engendered by their Fayetteville experience has led the Bahá’ís to increase their teaching elsewhere in the three-state area, such as in Danville and Lynchburg, Virginia.

National Spiritual Assembly among hundreds of groups supporting national 'Stand for Children' Day in D.C.

The National Spiritual Assembly is one of several hundred organizations that have endorsed a national gathering to demonstrate a commitment to the well-being of children. "Stand for Children Day" will be held June 1 at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.

The Children's Defense Fund has issued a call for the event as a day of "family and community renewal, celebration and commitment to children...a day for all Americans to transcend our differences and affirm that which unites us as a people: a loving desire to raise moral, healthy and educated children."

Local Spiritual Assemblies and individual Bahá’ís should feel free to take this opportunity to demonstrate their commitment to the well-being of children and to proclaim the healing Message of our Faith.

The National Spiritual Assembly has been involved for many years in efforts to protect and promote the rights of children, and has worked to urge the U.S. Congress to ratify the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

"Stand for Children Day" is non-partisan and is meant to challenge leaders in religion, culture, business and government to help improve the health, safety, school readiness and quality of life of all children.

The National Assembly will not play a coordinating role in the event, but encourages anyone interested in taking part to contact directly the national organizers of Stand for Children Day who are able to provide posters, flyers, publicity and other forms of assistance.

The address is Stand for Children, Washington, DC 20009 (phone 202-234-0095 or 800-233-1200; fax 202-234-0217; e-mail

First Video/Stage Conference for Bahá’ís is held at Center in San Francisco, California

Between 40 and 50 Bahá’ís took part February 16-18 in the first Bahá’í Video/Stage Conference at the Bahá’í Center in San Francisco, California.

The accent was on inspiring young Bahá’ís to become torch-bearers for the Faith. Among those attending were both young and old from as far away as Atlanta, Georgia, and Juneau, Alaska.

After an inspiring address by keynote speaker Marcia Day, participants took part in various workshops devoted to artistic disciplines including dramatic performance (conducted by Robert and Quddus Sinclair), video production (Tim Perry and Larry Curtis), script-writing (Linda Cicada) and an impromptu director's workshop with Ladjamaya Green-Mahoney.

After Saturday evening performances by a number of experienced Bahá’í entertainers, the conference was thrilled by the declaration of the sister of a Bahá’í from Atlanta. [Page 3]

North America

gional and local levels, in conformity with the detailed plans to be formulated in the weeks ahead, you should constantly bear in mind the one central aim of the Plan: advancing the process of entry by troops. There can be no doubt that this process, propelled by mysterious spiritual forces beyond the ken of the skeptic, will in due course quicken the souls of a multitude from every background in North America and dramatically increase the numerical strength of your communities.

Training institutes and other centers of learning are an indispensable element of a sustained endeavor to advance this process, and to ensure that the essential deepening of new believers is not neglected, that they develop the necessary skills to effectively teach the Faith, and that an opportunity is provided for all Bahá’ís, new and veteran, to embark on a systematic study of the fundamental verities of the Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh. We look to your communities to make an energetic response to the call for such institutes, and to develop a wide variety of approaches fitted to the needs of the diverse components of your population.

In one of the Tablets of the Divine Plan, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, exhorting the North American believers to strive to attain the exalted station of Apostles of Bahá’u’lláh, specifies firmness in the Covenant to be a prerequisite for this achievement. We urge you to manifest unwavering adherence to the provisions of the Covenant, while ever striving for a deeper understanding of its challenging features and of its implications, which far transcend the familiar arrangements of present society.

You are in a most enviable position to provide a mighty impetus to the teaching work. Through the alertness and perseverance of your institutions and the effect of your exertions, there is now a general awareness of, and respect for, the Cause in your region, and the Faith has acquired a reputation for universality and liberality of thought. Well may you rejoice at this remarkable achievement, and well may you contemplate the present needs of the Cause with eagerness and confidence.

Your accomplishments have prepared the way for even more spectacular successes in the years immediately ahead. Now as never before should you strive mightily to free yourselves from the obstacles of apathy, attachment to worldly pursuits, and lethargy, which stand in the way of so glorious a realization. As the people around you yearn increasingly for a society in which rectitude of conduct prevails, which is animated by a nobility of moral behavior, and in which the diverse races are firmly united, your challenge is to demonstrate the efficacy of the Message of Bahá’u’lláh in ministering to their needs and in recreating the very foundation of individual and social life. The whole of North America stands in desperate need of the inspiring vision, the dynamic sense of purpose and the idealism, which can be provided only by those who are imbued with the spirit and truths of the Bahá’í Writings.

The community of the Greatest Name must increasingly become renowned for its social cohesion, and for the spirit of trust and confidence which distinguishes the relationship between believers and their institutions. In the earliest years of his ministry, the Guardian stated, "...I hope to see the friends at all times, in every land, and of every shade of thought and character, voluntarily and joyously rallying round their local and in particular their national centers of activity, upholding and promoting their interests with complete unanimity and contentment, with perfect understanding, genuine enthusiasm, and sustained vigor. This indeed is the one joy and yearning of my life, for it is the fountainhead from which all future blessings will flow, the broad foundation upon which the security of the Divine Edifice must ultimately rest." Realization of this longing requires that you commit yourselves to the wholehearted support of your institutions. In turn, those of you called upon to serve as members of such bodies should ever be mindful of the attitude and manner prescribed for the conduct of their duties, and should strive continually to approach the exalted standard set out in the Teachings.

In the Divine Plan bequeathed to you by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá is disclosed the glorious destiny of those who are the descendants of the early inhabitants of your continent. We call upon the indigenous believers who are firmly rooted in the Bahá’í Teachings to aid, through both deed and word, those who have not yet attained that level of understanding. Progress along the path to their destiny requires that they refuse to be drawn into the divisiveness and militancy around them, and that they strive to make their own distinctive contribution to the pursuit of the goals of the Four Year Plan, both beyond the confines of North America and at home. They should be ever mindful of the vital contribution they can make to the work of the Faith throughout the American continent, in circumpolar areas and in the Asian region of the Russian Federation.

We direct the attention of the believers of African descent, so beloved by the Master, to the pressing need for pioneers, who will contribute to the further development of the Cause in distant areas, including the continent of Africa for which they were assigned a special responsibility by the Guardian when the first systematic campaign was launched for its spiritual illumination.

Although their contributions to all aspects of Bahá’í service on the home front and elsewhere will be of great value, they can be a unique source of encouragement and inspiration to their African brothers and sisters who are now poised on the threshold of great advances for the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh.

Increasingly over the years, the Bahá’í community in North America has been augmented by the addition of a substantial number of believers who have come from the Cradle of the Faith. We urge all the friends of Persian background, who constitute a most valuable source of ability and experience, to dedicate themselves, to an extent surpassing their past services, to the accomplishment of the goals of the Four Year Plan, under the leadership and guidance of the institutions of the Faith in North America. The unity of thought and endeavor between the friends from East and West will offer a shining example of the power of Bahá’u’lláh to demolish traditional barriers and will be a powerful source of attraction to the Cause.

The Alaskan Bahá’ís are privileged to live in an area described by the Guardian as "a region destined to play an important role in shaping the spiritual destinies of the great Republic of the West of which it forms a part, and to contribute, in no small measure, to the establishment of the institutions of His World Order throughout the American continent." The invaluable contribution they have made to the establishment of the Faith in Siberia in recent years, together with their significant advances in strengthening the home front, provide compelling evidence of their capacity to take full advantage of the opportunities before them in the Four Year Plan.

The valiant Canadian Bahá’í community was praised by the Guardian for "the staunchness of the faith of its members, their unyielding resolve, their ceaseless efforts, their willingness to sacrifice, their exemplary loyalty, their steadfast courage," a description fully confirmed by the record of its achievements during the Three Year Plan. It has played a disproportionately great and much-appreciated role in the defense of the Faith, in its propagation to all corners of the earth, and in the establishment of its institutions in other lands, both near and far, and is in an enviable position to build upon these successes in the new Plan on which it now embarks.

Our thoughts turn often to the Bahá’í community of Greenland, whose staunchness of faith and dogged perseverance have won our admiration and praise, and have resulted in the Faith's becoming firmly established in that distant land. Inspired by the promise set out in the Tablets of the Divine Plan that "if the hearts be touched with the heat of the love of God, that territory will become a divine rose-garden and a heavenly paradise, and the souls, even as fruitful trees, will acquire the utmost freshness and beauty," let them now go forth to claim new victories on the home front and to transform their nation through the power of the Divine Teachings.

Some four decades ago, Shoghi Effendi described the members of the United States Bahá’í community as "the outstanding protagonists of the Cause of God; the stout-hearted defenders of its integrity, its claims and its rights; the champion-builders of its Administrative Order; the standard-bearers of its crusading hosts; the torch-bearers of its embryonic civilization; the chief succorers of the down-trodden, the needy and the fettered among its followers...." Any survey of the distinguished accomplishments of these dearly loved friends during the past three years provides striking evidence of the continuing applicability of this description, and of the immense contribution they are making to the advancement of the Cause. We look to the members of the Bahá’í community in the United States to perform, during the Four Year Plan, heroic deeds of service to the Cause, which will astonish and inspire their fellow-believers throughout the world.

In North America, there are opportunities for the advancement of the process of entry by troops, the like of which presently exist in no other place on earth. Three unique characteristics combine to give rise to this condition: the unparalleled strength of your local communities, particularly evident in the activity of your local Spiritual Assemblies and in the consecration of the Bahá’í youth; the positive impression of the Faith which has been conveyed, not only to the generality of the population, but also to leaders of thought and people of influence; and the composition of your nations, which have welcomed to their shores immigrants, students and refugees from all parts of the planet, drawn from all the major racial, ethnic and religious backgrounds of humanity.

You, who live in a continent described by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá as "the land wherein the splendors of His light shall be revealed, where the mysteries of His Faith shall be unveiled, the home of the righteous, and the gathering-place of the free," are called upon to take full advantage of these favorable circumstances.

Dear Friends, now must you commit yourselves to the work of the Cause afresh, liberated from any doubts, uncertainties or hesitations which may have impeded you in the past. Every stratum of society must be brought within your embrace, as you vigorously advance toward the goal of entry by troops at this time when powerful spiritual forces are at work in the hearts of the people. Neither the affluent nor the indigent should be excluded from your purview. Receptive souls should be sought in the sophisticated circles of urban society, on the campuses of colleges and universities, in centers of industry and commerce, on the farms and villages of the mountains, plains and prairies—wherever are to be found human beings in search of the divine Truth.

You should strive to create a Bahá’í community which will offer to the entire world a vibrant model of unity in diversity. The influence of your exertions can extend well beyond the confines of North America; in particular, French Canadian believers can perform an invaluable service to the Faith in the French-speaking nations and islands throughout the world, the Bahá’ís dwelling in the Arctic and sub-Arctic regions can powerfully reinforce the work of the Cause in the circumpolar areas, and the friends of Hispanic background have fertile fields before them throughout Latin America. Let all believers consider the extent to which they can use familial and ethnic ties to other regions of the world for the fulfillment of the global mission conferred on the recipients of the Tablets of the Divine Plan.

At this critical hour in the fortunes of humanity, our eyes turn with eagerness and hope to the Bahá’ís of all parts of North America, who constitute a reservoir of human and material resources unmatched elsewhere in the Bahá’í world. As you proceed along your prescribed path, you should be ever mindful of these words addressed to you by the Author of the Tablets of the Divine Plan: "I fervently hope that in the near future the whole earth may be stirred and shaken by the results of your achievements. The hope which ‘Abdu’l-Bahá cherishes for you is that the same success which has attended your efforts in America may crown your endeavors in other parts of the world, that through you the fame of the Cause of God may be diffused throughout the East and the West, and the advent of the Kingdom of the Lord of Hosts be proclaimed in all the five continents of the globe."

Our ardent prayers at the Sacred Threshold will surround and accompany you at every step of the momentous undertaking to which you are now summoned.

The Universal House of Justice Ridván B.E. 153 [Page 4]

PIONEERING

Is employment your only reason for not pioneering? When was the last time you thought about finding a job? How about in another country so you could pioneer? Landing a job overseas can be difficult, but there are a lot of jobs out there. You simply have to look in the right places and persevere.

For finding jobs, there are leads shared by the Office of Pioneering that are gathered from a variety of sources. Then there are various organizations and agencies that hire internationally, including the U.S. government.

You could network in your given profession or trade and check trade publications. Also, the reference section in your library is an excellent source for information—for example, Careers in International Affairs, Careers, The Overseas List: Opportunities for Living and Working in Developing Countries. The reference librarian can suggest others.

Many friends inquire about opportunities listed in the classified section of The American Bahá’í. Most of these opportunities have been gleaned from publications such as "International Employment Hotline" or "AMDOC/OPTIONS."

Opportunities in schools operated by Bahá’ís or needs for volunteers for Bahá’í institutions have often been referred to the Office of Pioneering by other National Assemblies, Bahá’í Institutions or pioneers.

If you are worried about your credentials, not all international employment requires advanced degrees. One example shared with us was of a middle-aged woman trained as a psychologist who left a job directing a museum association to join the Peace Corps and teach English at a university in Rwanda, then worked with refugees in Malaysia as a UN volunteer, and later joined the U.S. foreign service and served in two countries before retiring.

The Peace Corps can be one of the best means of pioneering, and its alumni seem to provide a substantial resource of professional development workers for international organizations. Some of the advantages of the Peace Corps are that language training is provided by the Corps, volunteers are situated in areas where it is often hard to locate pioneers, and they become intimately acquainted with the country and the facts of life in development.

The Peace Corps not only recruits volunteers but staffers as well. Paid staff positions include administrative specialists, agriculturists, education specialists, rural development specialists, doctors and medical contractors. The personal and professional experiences available through the Peace Corps are seen as a valuable training opportunity for international service and encouraged by the Universal House of Justice.

One of the best sources for information on available U.S. government jobs and how to apply for them is the book How to Find an Overseas Job with the U.S. Government, by Will Cantrell and Francine Moddero. You can find it in your library or write to Worldwise Books, P.O. Box 3030, Oakton, VA 22124.

Overseas jobs with the U.S. government are not just for diplomats. The majority are for technical or support personnel engineers, communications officers, building and maintenance specialists, doctors, nurses, medical technicians, administrative specialists, information specialists and secretaries.

Periodically, government jobs are advertised in major newspapers. The best way to find out about these positions is to contact the personnel office of the agencies doing the hiring. Addresses for these personnel offices, along with hiring criteria for each position, are listed in the book.

The U.S. Information Agency hires journalists, engineers, printing specialists, librarians, English teachers, administration specialists and secretaries, as well.

The U.S. Commerce Department hires economists, business specialists and secretaries for its Foreign Commercial Service assignments.

The Agency for International Development has an ongoing need for accountants, agriculturists, economists, auditors, health/population/nutrition officers, housing/urban development officers and rural development officers. USAID also hires small-business consultants including economists, writers, lawyers, health specialists, agriculturists and biologists on a contract basis.

English teaching is one of the major fields of overseas employment for Americans and the demand is high, particularly in the Far East, with Japan, Korea, China and Taiwan offering many opportunities. If you are seriously interested in working overseas as a teacher of English, it is recommended that you obtain at least a certificate in ESL/TESL (English as a Second Language/English as a Foreign Language.)

Still having difficulty? Try applying for a grant instead. Widely assumed to be only for academics, grants, fellowships and scholarships are available to an increasing number of professionals, enabling them to live and work overseas. The Council for International Exchange of Scholars (CIES) can help you decide what projects to pursue and also help draft your proposal.

Practical steps to take in anticipation of overseas employment

• Study a foreign language (French or Spanish alone would open much of the world to you.)

• Acquire any type of international experience through summer study programs, internships, work camps, and/or Bahá’í teaching projects.

• Carefully evaluate your skills and knowledge, then research the international market to determine where your skills can best be applied.

• Be patient and persevere.

International summer schools and other Bahá’í-run events

ALASKA: July 13-17—Chilkat Summer School, Haines. July (end)—Youth Camp at Kenny Lake

BELGIUM: August 1-15—European Bahá’í Youth Teaching Project, with study course on "Entry by Troops," participation of Counselors and the Panacea Bahá’í Youth Workshop.

CANADA: June 7-9—"Media, Bahá’í Community and External Affairs," Marion Jack Institute. June and July—Alcan International Youth Training Program, Yukon Bahá’í Institute. June 21-24 Summer school at Camp Mariste, near Rawdon, Québec. June 28-July 1—Family summer school, Corner Brook, Newfoundland. July 7-12—Family Week, "Social and Moral Development," Marion Jack Institute. July 7-13—Doris Richardson Bahá’í School for Children, Grand Manan, New Brunswick. July 21-27—Camp Cameron, for children ages 8-12, coordinated by the local Spiritual Assembly of Kanata. July 28-August 2—Parenting program, Sylvan Lake Bahá’í Center. August 25-30—Youth Week including Survival Course, Sylvan Lake Bahá’í Center. August 25-30—Festival of the Arts, Sylvan Lake Bahá’í Center. August 25-31—Family Week, "Holy Family of Bahá’u’lláh," Marion Jack Institute. August 30-September 2—North Island Summer School.

COLOMBIA: July 1-21—Summer service project including week-long "Ecological Camp" and study of selected Ruhi Institute courses. Reasonable costs.

ITALY: Summer schools and wide variety of conferences and deepening programs year-round at the Center for Bahá’í Studies in Acuto. Reasonable costs.

RUSSIA: June 20-July 15, July 15-August 10 Teachers needed for children's summer camp near Yakutsk. July 12-17 Youth Conference organized by the European Bahá’í Youth Council, tentatively planned for Kazan, Russia. July-August Teaching projects in southeastern Russia (Vladivostok area) and then in European Russia (Krasnodar area) following the Youth Conference.

Tangler family a rarity in U.S. community with five generations of living Bahá’ís

With the Faith barely more than a century old in this country, there aren't many families that include as many as three or four generations of Bahá’ís, let alone five. But there is at least one.

Howard Tangler and his wife, Betty, became Bahá’ís in 1962 while living in Glenview, Illinois. A year later their daughter Pamela declared her belief in Bahá’u’lláh, and following her marriage her husband, Joseph Myers, also accepted the Faith.

Nine years ago Mr. Tangler's mother, Margaret Tangler, became a Bahá’í at age 81. And this past January Pamela and Joe Myers' married daughter, Hannelore Myers Farmer, became a Bahá’í in Amarillo, Texas.

When Mrs. Farmer and her daughters, five-year-old Britney and one-year-old Autumn, joined the Amarillo community, it brought the number of generations of living Bahá’ís in the Tangler family to five (last December, Margaret Tangler celebrated her 90th birthday).

SENSITIVE INTERNATIONAL TEACHING AREAS

Programs (SITA) Coordinated by the Office of Pioneering. Now also available on a regional/local basis in many areas of the country.

What is a SITA? Why should you know about SITA programs and deepenings?

For answers to these and other questions, contact the Office of Pioneering, Bahá’í National Center, Wilmette IL 60091 (phone 708-733-3506; e-mail

If you have traveled internationally, please return this form to the Office of Pioneering. If you have traveled to teach within the United States, please return this form to the National Teaching Office. The address for both is: 1233 Central St., Evanston IL 60201.

Names: I.D. #s: Street: City, State, Zip:

COUNTRIES or LOCALITIES DATES FROM TO MAIN PURPOSE

Comments: [Page 5]

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Projects have met the three-year goal of $74 million marks yet another measurable and exceptional achievement, inspiring confidence that the necessary financial support for these projects will continue until their completion by the end of the century.

The signs of progress during the past three years were evident in a wide and varied field. The remarkable efforts to expand and consolidate the community, the increased ventures in social and economic development, and the unprecedented thrust of the external affairs work combine to portray a community endowed with new capacities.

In the arena of teaching, there was a general increase of activity as indicated by the formation of 12 new National Spiritual Assemblies during the course of the Plan and by the surge of pioneering and travel-teaching. Believers in many countries were galvanized by the fresh approach suggested in the pioneer call released during the Plan. The number of pioneers from and to various countries was high, and there was a veritable flood of traveling teachers operating both at home and abroad. Systematic approaches to collective teaching activities and well-focused long-term teaching projects were fruitful and were more evident than ever before in a number of countries.

The energy and creativity attendant to the various developments in expansion and consolidation owed much to the spirit of enterprise shown by the International Teaching Center. Its constant direction and encouragement of the Continental Boards of Counselors; its recommendation of new methods for the deployment of pioneers, as endorsed by the Universal House of Justice in the pioneer call released in the early months of the Plan, and its regular assistance to the Continental Pioneer Committees placed in its charge; its unflagging attention to the educational needs of the community as expressed in its interactions with Counselors concerning the inclusion in teaching projects of deepening programs for new believers, the devising of courses and workshops for training in different capacities, the training of children’s teachers, and the multiplication of children’s classes; its stimulation of efforts to establish training institutes in different parts of the world—all have produced resounding results.

Major credit must also go to the Teaching Center for the influence it exerted through the Counselors on the adoption of core literature programs in an increasing number of countries. Through such programs a few titles essential to the propagation of the Faith and the deepening of the believers were selected, printed in large quantities and made available at reduced prices. The outstanding progress in the evolution of this vital institution operating at the World Center was palpable in its preparation and conduct of the Counselors’ Conference last December which set the course for the work of these high-ranking officers of the Faith during the immediate years ahead.

A relevant development was the notable rise in the assumption of responsibility by indigenous believers for the teaching and consolidation work in their own countries. In greatly troubled areas, such as Angola, Cambodia, Liberia, Sierra Leone, the friends claimed important victories, whether in pursuing teaching activities which resulted in numerically significant enrollments, or in establishing and reactivating Bahá’í Assemblies, or in initiating and sustaining development projects. In places with recently formed National Spiritual Assemblies, such as countries of the former Eastern Bloc, the friends have shown an admirable capacity for administering the affairs of the Cause.

A highlight of this period was the upsurge of vigor, courage and creativity in Bahá’í island communities throughout the world. The categories of activity were wide-ranging, involving the raising up of local teachers, the training and dispatch of scores of traveling teachers to neighboring islands, the inauguration of primary schools, the multiple occasions for proclamation of the Faith, the sponsorship of events attended by high-ranking officials and influential persons. The fact that in recent years a number of government leaders of island nations have visited the Bahá’í World Center is indicative of the vitality of the activities of the believers in these small lands scattered throughout the seven seas. Taken together, all the foregoing examples of the attitudes and efforts of the friends in different settings demonstrate a heightened commitment to the teaching work and a growing maturity and resilience reflective of the depth of faith motivating Bahá’ís from diverse populations.

Consonant with these observations were the outstanding contributions of the youth to expansion and consolidation. Their activities took on added dimensions during the three-year period. Actuated by youth conferences and other gatherings attentive to their interests, youth throughout the world invested immense amounts of time, energy and zeal in the teaching work as traveling teachers within and outside their countries and as teams in collective teaching projects and, in so doing, they stimulated hundreds of new enrollments and the formation of many local Spiritual Assemblies; involvement of youth in music and the arts as a means of proclaiming and teaching the Cause distinguished their exertions in many places; the spread of dance and drama workshops was particularly effective; participation of youth in external affairs opened new possibilities for the Faith in this field; commitment to a year of service was more widely demonstrated; at the same time there was a notable increase in the number of youth acquiring formal training and achieving academic, professional and vocational excellence—altogether an indication that the youth are doing more in direct service to the Faith while at the same time contributing to the general development of society.

Signs of the consolidation of the community were also discernible in the greater involvement of the friends in social and economic development, particularly in the field of education. In one outstanding instance, a government asked the Bahá’í’s to take responsibility for the management of seven public schools, and they did so with the backing of the Office of Social and Economic Development at the World Center. Worthy of note is that in Africa Bahá’í communities in exile because of political unrest in their home country continued to develop farming and other projects that went far toward ensuring self-sufficiency. Efforts at improving the status of women gathered momentum in a number of countries where, in addition to Bahá’í participation in projects sponsored by other organizations, the Bahá’í institutions set up committees and offices to attend to the interests of women. The Bahá’í International Community’s Office for the Advancement of Women emerged as a symbol of this upswing.

In a number of countries, too, there was significant Bahá’í participation in government-sponsored programs to improve health; in other instances Bahá’í groups initiated such programs and carried them out. The work in social and economic development was also distinguished by the firm establishment and consolidation of a number of major projects and organizations. Three pilot literacy projects were begun as a first step in a literacy campaign which the Office of Social and Economic Development intends to extend throughout the world. The Bahá’í initiation and involvement in development projects also resulted in proclamation of the Faith as they attracted the participation of the public and the interest of mass media.

A thrust in the external affairs work exceeding all previous records for a similar period boosted the proclamation of the Cause. A prodigy of effort in all parts of the world redounded to a much greater visibility of the Faith than obtained before and to a consequent rise in the prestige of the Bahá’í international community. The broad lines of progress were evident in the ease with which Bahá’í communities, large and small, sponsored or participated in public events; in the emergence of the Bahá’ís as a force in society recognized by governmental and non-governmental organizations and many prominent persons; in the ready accessibility of the media. Indeed, the wide coverage accorded Bahá’í events and interests by the print and electronic communications media was beyond calculation.

In the sweep of activities throughout the world, certain specific developments stood out: the frequency with which high public officials would invite Bahá’ís to participate in or assist with events or projects; the successful initiatives of Bahá’ís in influencing government action; the establishment of Bahá’í academic programs and courses in colleges and universities and the adoption of curricular material for public schools; the use of the arts by Bahá’í institutions, groups and individuals in proclamation events.

During 1995, two major United Nations events exemplified the gathering momentum of an emerging unity of thought in world undertakings, and these engaged the active attention and participation of the Bahá’í community. First, the World Summit for Social Development in Copenhagen during March involved 250 friends from more than 40 countries who mounted an impressive effort to acquaint the summit participants and the related NGO Forum with the Teachings. It was on this occasion that the statement "The Prosperity of Humankind," produced by the Bahá’í International Community’s Office of Public Information, was first distributed and discussed. Follow-up activities all over the world included the holding of conferences and seminars, as well as the distribution of the statement. Second, the Fourth World Conference on Women and the concomitant NGO Forum held in Beijing during September drew the attendance of more than 500 Bahá’ís from around the world, in addition to the official delegation of the Bahá’í International Community. In that same year, a third event, the observance of the 50th anniversary of the United Nations, prompted the Bahá’í International Community’s United Nations Office to produce and distribute a statement, entitled "Turning Point for All Nations," containing proposals for the development of that world organization.

Also of particular note among the external affairs activities were two occasions involving the prominent participation of Amatu’l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khánum. Last spring she headed the delegation of the four official Bahá’í representatives to the Summit on the Alliance between Religions and Conservation, patronized by His Royal Highness Prince Philip and held at Windsor Castle. During October Rúhíyyih Khánum was the keynote speaker at the Fourth International Dialogue on the Transition to Global Society held under the auspices of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and organized by the Bahá’í Chair for World Peace and the Department of History at the University of Maryland.

Nor can we neglect to mention certain other significant marks of the period under review. An edition of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas in the original Arabic was published with, for the first time, notes in Persian, supplementing the text as in the English edition. The Law of Huqúqu’lláh became more deeply rooted in the hearts of the believers throughout the world, and during the final year of the Plan, the Trustee of Huqúqu’lláh, the Hand of the Cause of God ‘Ali-Muhammad Varqá, took up residence in the Holy Land. This significant step also means that all three Hands of the Cause of God—Amatu’l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khánum, Mr. ‘Ali-Akbar Furútan, and Dr. Varqá are now residing at the World Center, bringing inspiration to pilgrims and visitors, and to the friends serving at the World Center.

It is against such a background of heartening developments that we embark at this Ridván upon a Four Year Plan that will carry us to Ridván 2000. We earnestly and lovingly call upon our brothers and sisters of every land to join us in a mobilization of effort that will ensure to generations of the fast-approaching 21st century an abundant and lasting legacy.

The Four Year Plan aims at one major accomplishment: a significant advance in the process of entry by troops. As we have stated earlier, such an advance is to be achieved through marked progress in the activity and development of the individual believer, of the institutions, and of the local community.

The phrase "advance in the process of entry by troops" accommodates the concept that current cir- [Page 6]

World

cumstances demand and existing opportunities allow for a sustained growth of the Bahá’í world community on a large scale; that this upsurge is necessary in the face of world conditions; that the three constituent participants in the upbuilding of the Order of Bahá’u’lláh—the individual, the institutions, and the community—can foster such growth first by spiritually and mentally accepting the possibility of it, and then by working toward embracing masses of new believers, setting in motion the means for effecting their spiritual and administrative training and development, thereby multiplying the number of knowledgeable, active teachers and administrators whose involvement in the work of the Cause will ensure a constant influx of new adherents, an uninterrupted evolution of Bahá’í Assemblies, and a steady consolidation of the community.

Moreover, to advance the process implies that that process is already in progress and that local and national communities are at different stages of it. All communities are now asked to take steps and sustain efforts to achieve a level of expansion and consolidation commensurate with their possibilities. The individual and the institutions, while operating in distinctive spheres, are summoned to arise to meet the requirements of this crucial time in the life of our community and in the fortunes of all humankind.

The role of the individual is of unique importance in the work of the Cause. It is the individual who manifests the vitality of faith upon which the success of the teaching work and the development of the community depend. Bahá’u’lláh’s command to each believer to teach His Faith confers an inescapable responsibility which cannot be transferred to, or assumed by, any institution of the Cause. The individual alone can exercise those capacities which include the ability to take initiative, to seize opportunities, to form friendships, to interact personally with others, to build relationships, to win the cooperation of others in common service to the Faith and society, and to convert into action the decisions made by consultative bodies. It is the individual’s duty to "consider every avenue of approach which he might utilize in his personal attempts to capture the attention, maintain the interest, and deepen the faith of those whom he seeks to bring into the fold of his Faith."

To optimize the use of these capacities, the individual draws upon his love for Bahá’u’lláh, the power of the Covenant, the dynamics of prayer, the inspiration and education derived from regular reading and study of the Holy Texts, and the transformative forces that operate upon his soul as he strives to behave in accordance with the divine laws and principles. In addition to these, the individual, having been given the duty to teach the Cause, is endowed with the capacity to attract particular blessings promised by Bahá’u’lláh. "Whoso openeth his lips in this Day," the Blessed Beauty asserts, "and maketh mention of the name of his Lord, the hosts of Divine inspiration shall descend upon him from the heaven of My name, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise. On him shall also descend the Concourse on high, each bearing aloft a chalice of pure light."

Shoghi Effendi underscored the absolute necessity of individual initiative and action. He explained that without the support of the individual, "at once wholehearted, continuous and generous," every measure and plan of his National Spiritual Assembly is "foredoomed to failure," the purpose of the Master’s Divine Plan is "impeded"; furthermore, the sustaining strength of Bahá’u’lláh Himself "will be withheld from every and each individual who fails in the long run to arise and play his part."

Hence, at the very crux of any progress to be made is the individual believer, who possesses the power of execution which only he can release through his own initiative and sustained action. Regarding the sense of inadequacy that sometimes hampers individual initiative, a letter written on his behalf conveys the Guardian’s advice: "Chief among these, you mention the lack of courage and of initiative on the part of the believers, and a feeling of inferiority which prevents them from addressing the public. It is precisely these weaknesses that he wishes the friends to overcome, for these do not only paralyze their efforts but actually serve to quench the flame of faith in their hearts. Not until all the friends come to realize that every one of them is able, in his own measure, to deliver the Message, can they ever hope to reach the goal that has been set before them by a loving and wise Master....Everyone is a potential teacher. He has only to use what God has given him and thus prove that he is faithful to his trust."

As for the institutions, entry by troops will act upon them as much as they will act upon it. The evolution of local and national Bahá’í Assemblies at this time calls for a new state of mind on the part of their members as well as on the part of those who elect them, for the Bahá’í community is engaged in an immense historical process that is entering a critical stage. Bahá’u’lláh has given to the world institutions to operate in an Order designed to canalize the forces of a new civilization. Progress toward that glorious realization requires a great and continuous expansion of the Bahá’í community, so that adequate scope is provided for the maturation of these institutions. This is a matter of immediate importance to Bahá’u’lláh’s avowed supporters in all lands.

For such an expansion to be stimulated and accommodated, the Spiritual Assemblies must rise to a new stage in the exercise of their responsibilities as channels of divine guidance, planners of the teaching work, developers of human resources, builders of communities, and loving shepherds of the multitudes. They can realize these prospects through increasing the ability of their members to take counsel together in accordance with the principles of the Faith and to consult with the friends under their jurisdiction, through fostering the spirit of service, through spontaneously collaborating with the Continental Counselors and their auxiliaries, and through cultivating their external relations. Particularly must the progress in the evolution of the institutions be manifest in the multiplication of localities in which the functioning of the Spiritual Assembly enhances the individual believers’ capacity to serve the Cause and fosters unified action. In sum, the maturity of the Spiritual Assembly must be measured not only by the regularity of its meetings and the efficiency of its functioning, but also by the continuity of the growth of Bahá’í membership, the effectiveness of the interaction between the Assembly and the members of its community, the quality of the spiritual and social life of the community, and the over-all sense of vitality of a community in the process of dynamic, ever-advancing development.

The community, as distinguished from the individual and the institutions, assumes its own character and identity as it grows in size. This is a necessary development to which much attention is required both with respect to places where large-scale enrollment has occurred and in anticipation of more numerous instances of entry by troops. A community is of course more than the sum of its membership; it is a comprehensive unit of civilization composed of individuals, families and institutions that are originators and encouragers of systems, agencies and organizations working together with a common purpose for the welfare of people both within and beyond its own borders; it is a composition of diverse, interacting participants that are achieving unity in an unremitting quest for spiritual and social progress. Since Bahá’ís everywhere are at the very beginning of the process of community building, enormous effort must be devoted to the tasks at hand.

As we have said in an earlier message, the flourishing of the community, especially at the local level, demands a significant enhancement in patterns of behavior: those patterns by which the collective expression of the virtues of the individual members and the functioning of the Spiritual Assembly are manifest in the unity and fellowship of the community and the dynamism of its activity and growth. This calls for the integration of the component elements—adults, youth and children—in spiritual, social, educational and administrative activities; and their engagement in local plans of teaching and development. It implies a collective will and sense of purpose to perpetuate the Spiritual Assembly through annual elections. It involves the practice of collective worship of God. Hence, it is essential to the spiritual life of the community that the friends hold regular devotional meetings in local Bahá’í centers, where available, or elsewhere, including the homes of believers.

To effect the possibilities of expansion and consolidation implied by entry by troops, a determined, worldwide effort to develop human resources must be made. The endeavor of individuals to conduct study classes in their homes, the sponsorship by the institutions of occasional courses of instruction, and the informal activities of the community, though important, are not adequate for the education and training of a rapidly expanding community. It is therefore of paramount importance that systematic attention be given to devising methods for educating large numbers of believers in the fundamental verities of the Faith and for training and assisting them to serve the Cause as their God-given talents allow. There should be no delay in establishing permanent institutes designed to provide well-organized, formally conducted programs of training on a regular schedule. Access of the institute to physical facilities will of course be necessary, but it may not require a building of its own.

This matter calls for an intensification of the collaboration between the Continental Counselors and National Spiritual Assemblies. For the success of these training institutes will depend in very large measure on the active involvement of the Continental Counselors and the Auxiliary Board members in their operation. Particularly will it be necessary for Auxiliary Board members to have a close working relationship with institutes and, of course, with the local Spiritual Assemblies whose communities will benefit from institute programs. Since institutes are to be regarded as centers of learning, and since their character harmonizes with, and provides scope for the exercise of, the educational responsibilities of the Auxiliary Board members, the intimate involvement in institute operations should now become a part of the evolving functions of these officers of the Faith. Drawing on the talents and abilities of increasing numbers of believers will also be crucial to the development and execution of institute programs.

As the term "institute" has assumed various uses in the Bahá’í community, a word of clarification is needed. The next four years will represent an extraordinary period in the history of our Faith, a turning point of epochal magnitude. What the friends throughout the world are now being asked to do is to commit themselves, their material resources, their abilities and their time to the development of a network of training institutes on a scale never before attempted. These centers of Bahá’í learning will have as their goal one very practical outcome, namely, the raising up of large numbers of believers who are trained to foster and facilitate the process of entry by troops with efficiency and love.

"Center your energies in the propagation of the Faith of God," Bahá’u’lláh thus instructs His servants, adding, "Whoso is worthy of so high a calling, let him arise and promote it. Whoso is unable, it is his duty to appoint him who will, in his stead, proclaim this Revelation...." Just as one deputizes another to teach in one’s stead by covering the expenses of a pioneer or traveling teacher, one can deputize a teacher serving an institute, who is, of course, a teacher of teachers. To do so, one may make contributions to the Continental Bahá’í Fund, as well as to the local, National and International Funds, earmarked for this purpose.

In all their efforts to achieve the aim of the Four Year Plan, the friends are also asked to give greater attention to the use of the arts, not only for proclamation, but also for the work in expansion and consolidation. The graphic and performing arts and literature have played, and can play, a major role in extending the influence of the Cause. At the level of folk art, this possibility can be pursued in every part of the world, whether it be in villages, towns or cities. Shoghi Effendi held high hopes for the arts as a means for attracting attention to the Teachings. A letter written on his behalf to an individual thus conveys the Guardian’s view: "The day will come when [Page 7]

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the Cause will spread like wildfire when its spirit and teachings will be presented on the stage or in art and literature as a whole. Art can better awaken such noble sentiments than cold rationalizing, especially among the mass of the people."

While the friends and institutions everywhere bend their energies to implementing the requirements of the Plan, work on the great projects on Mount Carmel will continue toward their anticipated completion at the end of the century. By the end of the Plan at Ridván 2000, the buildings for the Center for the Study of the Texts and the extension of the Archives Building will become operational; the International Teaching Center building will have advanced to the final finishing stage. The section of the public road which now interrupts the path of the terraces above the Shrine of the Báb will have been lowered and a broad connecting bridge with its own gardens will have been built; five of the upper terraces will also have been completed. The remaining four upper terraces and the two at the foot of the mountain will be in an advanced stage of development. Other particular efforts will be pursued at the World Center as well. Attention will be given to such matters as the universal application of additional laws of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, the preparation of a new volume in English of selected Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, the further development of the functions of the International Teaching Center, and the devising of measures for increasing the number of pilgrims and visitors to the World Center.

The Bahá’í world community will expand its endeavors in both social and economic development and external affairs, and thus continue to collaborate directly with the forces leading toward the establishment of order in the world. By improving its coordinating capacity, the Office of Social and Economic Development will assist in building, as resources and opportunity permit, on the progress already made with hundreds of development projects around the world. In the arena of external affairs, efforts will be aimed at influencing the processes toward world peace, particularly through the community's involvement in the promotion of human rights, the status of women, global prosperity, and moral development. In the pursuit of these themes, the Bahá’í International Community's United Nations Office will seek ways to reinforce the ties between the Bahá’ís and the United Nations. Similarly, the Office of Public Information will assist the Bahá’í institutions to utilize these themes toward greater proclamation of the Faith. Defense of the rights of the Bahá’ís in Iran and increased efforts to emancipate the Faith in that country and other countries where it is proscribed will constitute a vital part of our dealings with governments and non-governmental organizations. In all such respects the Bahá’í friends and institutions are urged to be alert to the importance of activities in external affairs and to give renewed attention to them.

The formation this Ridván of two National Spiritual Assemblies lends a propitious beginning to the Four Year Plan. We are delighted to announce that our two representatives to the inaugural National Conventions are the Hand of the Cause of God Amatu’l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khánum, Moldova; and Mr. Fred Schechter, Counselor member of the International Teaching Center, Sao Tomé and Principe. Regrettably, due to circumstances entirely beyond their control, the National Spiritual Assemblies of Burundi and Rwanda cannot be re-elected this year. The number of these institutions worldwide will consequently remain at 174.

Ridván 2000, the point at which the Four Year Plan is to be concluded, will come many months before the end of the 20th century. At that juncture in time, the Bahá’í world will look back in appreciation at the extraordinary developments and dazzling achievements that will have distinguished the annals of the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh during that eventful period a period which ‘Abdu’l-Bahá called the "century of light." Not the least of the accomplishments then to be recognized will be the completion of the current projects on Mount Carmel which, together with the other edifices on that holy mountain, will stand as a monument to the progress which the Administrative Order will have attained by that time in the Formative Age. The highlight of such appreciations will, God willing, be the holding at the World Center of a major event to mark the completion of the buildings on the Arc and the opening of the Terraces of the Shrine of the Báb to the public.

Beloved Friends, we enter this Plan amid the turbulence of a period of accelerating transition. The twin processes prompted by the impact of Bahá’u’lláh’s Revelation are fast at work, gathering a momentum that will, in the words of Shoghi Effendi, "bring to a climax the forces that are transforming the face of our planet." One is an integrating process; the other is disruptive. Out of the "universal fermentation" created by these processes, peace will emerge in stages, through which the unifying effects of a growing consciousness of world citizenship will become manifest.

Toward that end, recent world developments have, paradoxically, been both shocking and reassuring. On one hand, the disarray of human affairs produces a daily diet of horrors that benumb the senses; on the other, world leaders are often taking collective actions that, to a Bahá’í observer, signify a tendency toward a common approach by nations to solving world problems. Consider, for instance, the unusual frequency of the global occasions on which these leaders have gathered since the Holy Year four years ago, such as the one in observance of the 50th anniversary of the United Nations, at which the attending heads of state and heads of government asserted their commitment to world peace. Noteworthy, too, are the promptitude and spontaneity with which these government leaders have been acting together in responding to a variety of crises in different parts of the world. Such trends coincide with the increasing cries from enlightened circles for attention to be given to the feasibility of achieving some form of global governance. Might we not see in these swiftly developing occurrences the workings of the Hand of Providence, indeed the very harbinger of the monumental occasion forecast in our Writings?

Even though the establishment of the Lesser Peace is not dependent on any Bahá’í plan or action, and although it will not represent the ultimate goal humanity is destined to reach in the Golden Age, our community has a responsibility to lend spiritual impetus to the processes toward that peace. The need at this exact time is to so intensify our efforts in building the Bahá’í System that we will attract the confirmations of Bahá’u’lláh and thus invoke a spiritual atmosphere that will accrue to the quickening of these processes. Two main challenges face us: one is to mount a campaign of teaching in which the broad membership of our community is enthusiastically, systematically and personally engaged, and in which the activation of an extensive training program will ensure the development of a mass of human resources; the other is to complete the construction projects on Mount Carmel toward which every sacrifice must be made to provide a liberal outpouring of material means. These twin foci, if resolutely pursued, will foster conditions toward the release of pent-up forces that will forge a change in the direction of human affairs throughout the planet.

However short the path to peace, it will be tortuous; however promising the anticipated event that will set its course, it must mature through a long period of evolution, with its attendant tests, setbacks and conflicts, toward the moment when it will have emerged, under the direct influences of God's Faith, as the Most Great Peace. In the meantime, people everywhere will often face despair and bewilderment before arriving at an appreciation of the transition in progress. We who have been enlightened by the new Revelation have the sacred Word to assure us, a Divine Plan to guide us, a history of valor to encourage us. Let us therefore take heart not only from the Word we treasure, but also from the deeds of heroism and sacrifice which even today shine resplendent in the land in which our Cause was born.

For some 17 years our persecuted brethren in Iran have demonstrated a constancy of faith and courage that has produced a vast proclamation of the Faith, forcing it out of obscurity. Here then is living evidence in our own time of the potencies of crisis and victory. Please God, it may not be too long before our Iranian brethren are relieved of the yoke they bear and are ushered into the glories and wonders of a victory that only the Blessed Beauty can bestow. Their experience is a signal and an example to us all wherever we may live; for eventually, opposition, as the Master has told us, will rear its head on all the continents. Though it may be of a different character from place to place, it will no doubt be intensive. But, thanks to the strengthening grace of Bahá’u’lláh and the demonstration of steadfastness by these noble friends, we shall know how to meet the shafts of the enemy without fear. Indeed, the Lord of Hosts has promised to deliver to His people an overwhelming and decisive triumph.

As humanity is tossed and tormented by the ravages inflicted upon it by a civilization gone out of control, let us keep our heads and hearts focused on the divine tasks set before us. For amid this turmoil opportunities will abound that must be exploited "for the purpose of spreading far and wide the knowledge of the redemptive power of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh and for enlisting fresh recruits in the ever-swelling army of His followers." This Plan to which we are now committed is set at one of the most critical times in the life of the planet. It is meant to prepare our community to cope with the accelerating changes that are occurring in the world about us and to place the community in a position both to withstand the weight of the accompanying tests and challenges and to make more visible a pattern of functioning to which the world can turn for aid and example in the wake of a tumultuous transition. Thus, this Plan acquires a special place in the scheme of Bahá’í and world history. Those of us who are alive to the vision of the Faith are particularly privileged to be consciously engaged in efforts intended to stimulate and eventually enhance such processes.

a May you all arise to seize the tasks of this crucial moment. May each inscribe his or her own mark on à brief span of time so charged with potentialities and hope for all humanity. Lest you become distracted or preoccupied with the drastic happenings of this age of transition, bear ever in mind the advice of our infallible guide, Shoghi Effendi: "Not ours, puny mortals that we are, to attempt, at so critical a stage in the long and checkered history of mankind, to arrive at a precise and satisfactory understanding of the steps which must successively lead a bleeding humanity, wretchedly oblivious of its God, and careless of Bahá’u’lláh, from its calvary to its ultimate resurrection....Ours rather the duty, however confused the scene, however dismal the present outlook, however circumscribed the resources we dispose of, to labor serenely, confidently, and unremittingly to lend our share of assistance, in whichever way circumstances may enable us, to the operation of the forces which, as marshalled and directed by Bahá’u’lláh, are leading humanity out of the valley of misery and shame to the loftiest summits of power and glory."

The Universal House of Justice Ridván B.E. 153

Bahá’í from North Carolina travels cross-country by train to teach Cause

Here's a suggestion for those who are interested in traveling teaching: All Aboard!

Last summer Celeste Hicks traveled for 45 days and 8,000 miles on Amtrak trains from Greensboro, North Carolina, to Seattle, then to Boston. From there she took a bus up the coast of Maine to the Passamaquoddy Reservation. After returning to Boston, she continued on to Greensboro by train. The entire train trip cost only $338 using Amtrak's "All Aboard" fare, which allows a certain number of stops within a 45-day period for one fare.

"I was able to do Bahá’í teaching while traveling on the train as well as on each coast, but I realize that I could have scheduled stops along Amtrak's routes had I been able to coordinate with those communities that may have wanted a traveling teacher," said Ms. Hicks. "I didn't have e-mail at that time and see that had I been able to coordinate, I could have been a better 'connected' teacher."

She noted that Amtrak travelers meet "a great group of people" and said the travel is "relaxing and relatively worry-free, and quite economical."

She also suggested that communities near Amtrak stations who want traveling teachers to visit use e-mail to find them [Page 8]

ACTIVITIES

from the pages of Brilliant Star.

look for the letter patterns, to find these words of hope,

Connect the letters to make each word with an unbroken curved line.

NOW • UNITY • HOPE • ALL • CHANGES • FAMILY • CYCLES • GLORY • SUCCESS • TEACHING • PLAN • VISION • PRAY • READ • STUDY • MEDITATE • WORLD • MUSIC • NOTE • LOVE • HELP • TREE • DEVELOP • YES • REAL • PATTERN

“For the whole universe . . . there are cycles of great events . . . When a cycle is ended, a new cycle begins.” — ‘Abdu’l-Bahá Some Answered Questions, p. 160

God has decorated the entire universe with patterns. American Indians see that life is like a circle. Everything in nature begins and grows. Everything ends or dies. These endings make room for new beginnings. In each pattern we find hope for the future.

Reprinted from Brilliant Star, July-August 1995

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Use Your Hidden Talents to Serve and Teach!

Find the hidden message. Cross out all the words that appear 5 or more times or are longer than 11 letters. Cross out all the negative answers or excuses. Think about how to use your hidden talents to serve others and teach the Faith!

NOT	REGARD	SHOULDN’T	MAN
BUT	DON’T	AS	A
MINE	RICH	IN	BUT
GEMS	DIFFICULTIES	OF	WOULDN’T
INESTIMABLE	DIDN’T	NOT	BUT
VALUE	NOT	EDUCATION	BUT
CAN	WON’T	NOTHING	BUT
ALONE	NEVER	CAUSE	IT
CAN’T	NOT	TO	HAVEN’T
BUT	REVEAL	ITS	COULDN’T
NOT	TREASURES	NO	CONFUSIBILITY

Reprinted from Brilliant Star, November-December 1993 [Page 9]

Favourite Music of Jack Lenz

various performers $18.00 CD (ECD)

A collection of songs by artists such as Doug Cameron, Nancy Ward, and John Rutledge, all of which were produced by Jack Lenz and chosen by him for inclusion on this album of his favorite projects. This album includes memorable songs like "Mona with the Children," "To the Planters of Trees," and "Let It Be this Generation." An excellent anthology of the best of Jack Lenz's productions.

Live Unity Productions

Ává

آوا $16.95 CD (ACD), $10.95 CS (ACS)

Though a relative newcomer to the Bahá’í music scene, Ává is already a seasoned performer and musical artist. Making her formal debut at the World Congress, she has since criss-crossed the country and entertained at dozens of Bahá’í events to greatly enthusiastic crowds. She is back in this country just in time for the release of her first album, self-titled Ává, having recently completed tours of the South Pacific and Europe. The lyrics on the album are taken from a range of Persian poetry, both classical and modern, and the memorable arrangements of Tom Price lend a contemporary, sometimes plaintive, sometimes jazzy, feel to the album. This is the type of album you will play over and over again and walk away singing the melodies in your head. This collection of songs in Persian is dedicated to the recent martyrs in Iran.

Global Music

Oratorio to Bahá’u’lláh

Songs from the Bahá’í World Congress $18.00 CD (OBCD)

For those of you who have waited to purchase the music of the Bahá’í World Congress, here is the chance to have as a separate album all of the music performed as the songs of the Oratorio to Bahá’u’lláh from the first day of the Congress on this one compact disc. Once again relive the emotion and spirit of that wonderful occasion. Recorded in Russia with the Mila Moscow Orchestra and in Canada with the Toronto Philharmonic Orchestra.

Live Unity Productions

Stories About Bahá’í Funds

Marzieh Gai $5.00 SC (SAB)

This is a collection of stories about the sacrifices being made around the world on behalf of the Bahá’í Funds. These accounts, some poignant, some humorous, and all of them inspiring, help us to connect with the hearts and minds of those who are embodiments of faith and sacrifice as they contribute to the life-blood of the Cause of God.

5-1/2"x8", 117 pp. Bahá’í Publishing Trust, Indla

Stories of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá

by Jacqueline Mehrabi illustrated by Hugh Sean O'Rourke $17.95 HC (SABH), $8.95 SC (SABF)

‘Abdu’l-Bahá was the eldest son of Bahá’u’lláh, Founder of the Bahá’í Faith. He was loved and respected by all who knew Him. Children would gather around Him wherever He went, instinctively recognizing His kindness and noble qualities. The love humor and wisdom of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá are beautifully demonstrated in this delightful collection of short stories, which will appeal to children of all ages. This new edition of a longstanding favorite - completely redesigned and with brand new illustrations- launches a new series of books on the members of the holy family for children.

6-1/2"x8", 48 pp., Illustrations Bahá’í Publishing Trust, United Kingdom

Desire of the Heart

Narges $15.95 CD (DHCD), $10.95 CS (DHCS)

East meets West on this recording of Persian songs and chants, based on the writings of the Bahá’í Faith. Narges' hauntingly beautiful singing is accompanied by western harmonies and arrangements. The result is an ethereal blend of Middle Eastern melodies with violin, cello, piano, organ, bell, and choir sounds, which creates a truly spiritual and mystical atmosphere.

Produced by Steven Fischer. Millennia Records

To Dine with the Blameless Ethiopians

by Kemba Mazloomian $10.95 SC (TDBE)

This is the inspiring story of a young African-American woman whose travels in southern Africa in the service of the Bahá’í Faith became a journey of unexpected self-discovery. In bringing the healing message of Bahá’u’lláh to a society divided by prejudice, in sharing the wonder of lands so different to her home, and in braving the everyday problems faced by traveling teachers, pioneers, and indigenous believers from many backgrounds, Kemba's engaging voice speaks to the reader as if to a close companion on her adventures. We see how the knowledge Kemba acquired of the world, and of herself - became a new source of strength and confirmation, and helped her to redefine her sense of identity as a woman, as an African-American, and as a Bahá’í.

5-1/4"x7-1/2", 112 pp. Bahá’í Publishing Trust, United Kingdom

Towards the Most Great Justice

Elements of Justice in the New World Order edited by Charles Lerche $16.95 SC (TMGJ)

The nine essays in this book put justice at the heart of the debate about the new World Order: as a personal quality, in basic social relationships, in national life; and in relations between states. The contributing authors, specialists in the disciplines of international relations, social and economic development, jurisprudence, gender studies, and economics, explore Bahá’u’lláh's treatment of justice as it applies to relations between the sexes; the restructuring of the international economy along more equitable lines; human rights; and the problems of humanitarian intervention in a global society.

5-1/2"x8-1/2", 212 pp., Introduction, bibliography, notes, references, Index Bahá’í Publishing Trust, United Kingdom

Reciting the Verses of God

edited by Shahin Vafal and Dwight Allen $17.95 HC (RVGH), $11.95 SC (RVGS)

This book of daily readings focuses on Bahá’í virtues to help the reader achieve spiritual discipline. The selections are taken exclusively from the writings of Bahá’u’lláh and emphasize certain spiritual virtues over a number of days to help reinforce the understanding of the virtue and to focus on its practice. Designed specifically for families, the quotations are short to encourage their use by younger family members. Includes quotes from the Kitáb-i-Aqdas and other recently translated writings.

5-1/2"x8-1/2", 390 pp. Bahá’í Publishing Trust, India [Page 10]

My Pilgrimage to Haifa

November 1949 My Pilgrimage to Haifa November 1919 by Bahiyyih Winckler HC $9.95 (MPH)

This is the delightful story of a twelve-year-old Bahá’í’s pilgrimage to Haifa, Israel, in 1919. Relating the spiritual adventure that began when she stepped off the boat in Haifa, she supplements her story with pictures she took with her Brownie box camera, some of which are published here for the first time.

Among the memorable experiences described are visits to the shrines of Bahá’u’lláh and the Báb and afternoon teas with the Greatest Holy Leaf, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s sister, from whom the author received priceless gifts and even learned how to make Persian rice. Most significant are the gentle lessons and loving attention of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá at mealtimes and during personal visits. The clarity with which the author has recorded her precious memories makes for a unique story that young and old alike will treasure.

4-1/2"x7", 120 pp., photographs Bahá’í Publishing Trust

The Law of Love Enshrined

Selected Essays by John Hatcher and William Hatcher $21.95 SC (LLE)

This collection of nine provocative essays is organized around the idea that all social enterprises and all laws regulating them — are really expressions of God’s love for human creation. The first four essays present vital doctrinal issues: proofs of the existence of God, and clarification of "The Most Great Infallibility" in relation to the Prophets of God. The next four essays discuss the Kitáb-i-Aqdas — as fulfilling ancient prophecy, as enshrining the universal law of love, as promoting the equality of women and men (in spite of apparent gender distinctions), and as presenting a model of penology for future legislation. The collection concludes with the broad perspective of "The Concept of Spirituality", an essay of great personal usefulness and longstanding acclaim.

5-1/2"x8-1/4", 285 pp., bibliography, references and notes George Ronald Publishers

‘Abdu’l-Bahá in America

Agnes Parsons’ Diary edited by Richard Hollinger $24.50 HC (APDH), $19.95 SC (APDS)

Published for the first time! This is the intimate day-by-day account kept by Agnes Parsons of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s stay in Washington, D.C. and in Dublin, New Hampshire, during His journey to America in 1912. Her diary is supplemented here with passages from Mahmud’s Diary, taken from new translations corrected by the Bahá’í World Center. Mrs. Parsons kept meticulous notes on ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s activities and lectures as He stayed at her house in Washington, and at her summer home in Dublin. She provides us with unique insights into His thoughts and private moments. Now we see the Master with new eyes, as He meets with the notables of Washington society, advises her on the care of her children, and speaks to large gatherings of seekers in her home. Don’t miss this opportunity to rediscover ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s wisdom and love!

5-1/2"x8-1/2", 167 pp., Illustrations, biographical notes Kalimat Press

Sacred Moments

Daily Meditations on the Virtues by Linda Kavelin Popov $14.95 SC (SMS)

Virtues are the gifts within all of us: honesty, generosity, peace, loyalty, trust, and reverence. But how can we cultivate these virtues in our lives day to day? Sacred Moments laces together the wisdom found in the world’s religions, personal anecdotes, and quotations from celebrities, philosophers and regular folks to provide a simple tool for daily reflection and meditation.

5"x7-3/8" Virtues Communications

The Heart of the Gospel

by George Townshend $11.95 SC (HG)

‘World-history at its core and in its essence,’ wrote George Townshend, ‘is the story of the spiritual evolution of mankind... The Bible makes the tracing of this evolution its own special subject.’ The Heart of the Gospel unfolds this vast perspective and is the fruit of the author’s long study of comparative religion. Using only the text of the Bible, the author provides a new reading of Scripture which is compelling and timely. The Heart of the Gospel is a guide-book for those who seek a universal view of religion and the contemporary world.

4-1/4"x7", 150 pp. George Ronald Publishers

Meditation

by Wendi Momen $11.95 SC (M)

In many places in the Bahá’í writings we are to ‘meditate upon this’, ‘to ponder’, ‘to reflect’. Meditation is one of the six ‘essential requisites for our spiritual growth’. It is one of the purposes of the Bahá’í fast. Through meditation ‘the doors of deeper knowledge and inspiration’ are opened. Such an important feature of life surely merits development. However, many of us do not know what meditation is or how to go about it. This book uses the Bahá’í scriptures as the focus for meditation. It briefly describes a number of techniques and practices that one might employ to develop this faculty and provides verses from the Bahá’í writings upon which to meditate.

4-1/4"x7", 138 pp., bibliography George Ronald Publishers

A Short History of the Bahá’í Faith

by Peter Smith $8.95 SC (SHBF)

This book provides a brief yet comprehensive survey of what is now reckoned to be the second most widespread religion in the world. Dr. Smith deftly traces the development of the religion from its origins in the mid-nineteenth century Bábí movement in Iran through to its subsequent global expansion to the West and the "Third World". With brevity and skill he offers an accessable account of the life and teachings of Bahá’u’lláh, the prophet-founder of the Bahá’í Faith, and of His successor ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. He also examines some contemporary developments.

5-3/4"x8-3/4", 168 pp., Illustrations, Index, bibliography Oneworld Publications

The Hidden Words

by Bahá’u’lláh SC $1.50 (HWA)

This handsome edition of the Hidden Words has been printed with a four color cover and two color text on a sturdy paper stock and burst bound for lasting quality. Designed and priced especially for use in teaching, copies may be purchased in bulk at $1.25 for 10 or more copies and at $1.10 for 50 or more copies. Local Spiritual Assemblies will receive an extra 10% discount in addition to these prices.

3-1/8"x4-3/4", 80 pp. Bahá’í Publications Australia

The God of Buddha

by Jamshed Fozdar $19.95 SC (GBS)

To the student of religion, especially to Buddhist scholars, the importance of this book lies in restoring Buddhism to its proper pedestal in the whole panorama of ever-recurring religious revelation and eliminating it as an anomaly within the fabric of religion. By bringing this one great exception, Buddhism, back into the fold of revealed religions, Mr. Fozdar has shown that recurring religious revelation, predicated on the belief in the Supreme, is as pertinent, if not more so, to the problems besetting a feverishly groping humanity of the twentieth century as it was for our more placid ancestors of a distant and tranquil past. Even more urgent for our times, Mr. Fozdar endows his thesis from the Buddha’s own words concerning a renewal of spiritual springtime, namely, the recurring manifestation of the Supreme through periodic "Buddha risings" for bringing humanity into ever more fruitful and happy relationships.

6"x9", 184 pp., glossary, Index Casa Editrice Bahá’í

The Prosperity of Humankind, Persian Translation

a statement by the Bahá’í International Community $1.95 PA (PPH)

Recently translated into Persian, this statement released by the Office of Public Information at the request of the Universal House of Justice, The Prosperity of Humankind, discusses the concept of global prosperity in the context of the Bahá’í teachings. Unity, justice, consultation, education and spirituality are set forth as integral aspects of the process of achieving lasting spiritual and material well-being among all humankind.

The Universal House of Justice hopes that this statement will "foster understanding of this important topic among members of your communities and thus vitalize their contribution to the constructive social processes at work throughout the planet."

8-1/2"x11", 23 pp. Office of Persian Affairs

Promised Day is Come

$3.00 PS (PDCP) [Page 11]

Coming of Age

Youth In Service Bahá’í Media Services VT $14.95 (ECAN)

Produced for the Army of Light National Youth Conference in Dallas, Texas, Coming of Age documents in their own words the Bahá’í youth's approach to service and the fulfillment of their role in the World Order of Bahá’u’lláh. A vital and dynamic catalyst in the growth of the Bahá’í Faith, and confident in the promises of Bahá’u’lláh, their vision of the future inspires acts of selflessness and love.

40 mins. US Bahá’í Media Services

The Life and Poetry of Táhirih

$10.95 CS (TC)

This is the second in the series of tapes on "Great Bahá’í Poets". This tape features the life and works of the foremost woman of the Bábí dispensation, Táhirih. The narration and chanting is performed by Shokouh Rezai with musical accompaniments that feature the tar, violin and tonbak.

Live Unity Productions

Yá Bahá Madadi

Badi Yazdi CS $10.95 (YBM)

A collection of eight uplifting songs, inspired by the Sacred Writings, and sung by Badi Yazdi. Bahá’ís around the world are sure to find this music very rich, joyful, and memorable.

Local Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Rancho Santa Margarita

The Kitáb-i-Aqdas: Multimedia (V 1.5)

Knowledge Wave Software $24.95 SW (KAMM)

The Kitáb-i-Aqdas: Multimedia is a Windows interactive cross-reference tool that facilitates interaction with The Most Holy Book. Its hypertext format allows the user to easily click and receive relevant supplementary information from the various sections of the book, namely Notes, Questions and Answers, Synopsis and Codification, Some Supplementary Texts, and the Glossary, as well as excerpts from God Passes By.

You can also hear the audible pronunciation of many Arabic and Persian words, search for any combination of words or phrases, copy text into your word processor, make personal annotations and bookmarking, and read excerpts from God Passes By and relevant letters from the Universal House of Justice. It is a very attractive tool for both youth and adults!

Minimum system requirements: 386SX (16MHz), 4 MB RAM, 5 MB of hard disk space, VGA graphic card, sound card (optional), and a mouse.

Knowledge Wave Software

The Kitáb-i-Aqdas: The Most Holy Book (Arabic/Persian)

by Bahá’u’lláh $30.00 HC (PKA)

The Universal House of Justice announces with great pleasure that this Arabic and Persian edition of The Most Holy Book is now available. The text of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas itself remains in Arabic. This has been written by a skilled calligrapher in Naskh script and appropriately illuminated. The other sacred writings comprised in the volume will be in the original language, Arabic or Persian, while the introduction, notes and other supplementary material of the English edition have been translated into Persian.

6-1/2"x8-1/2", 269 pp. World Centre Publications

The Style of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas: Aspects of the Sublime

by Suheil Bushrui $16.00 HC (SKA)

Professor Bushrui comments on the sublime style of the original text of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas — the Most Holy Book of the Bahá’í Faith — and attempts to convey to the non-Arabic speaking reader the distinguishing characteristics of a book which, according to Bushrui, is "neither poetry nor rhymed prose but makes free use of both", a book wherein the "richest and subtlest of meanings are conveyed in the briefest forms" and "vivid use is made of similes, metaphors, metonymy, and other linguistic embellishments and conceits".

6-1/4"x9-1/4", 74pp. University Press of Maryland

Brilliant Star Game Kit

$19.95 (BSGK)

Nine of your favorite card and board games for all ages from pre-school to adult straight from the pages of Brilliant Star. Family Fun! Feast Fun! Deepening Fun! Teaching Fun! A portion of the purchase price will be contributed to the National Fund.

Administra Lua Getsinger Teaching Certificate May Maxwell Mother Certificate The Race Unity Game The Peace Process Signs of the Covenant Make Your Covenant Plain Martha Root Courage Certificate Agnes Alexander Faith Certificate The Right to Own Property

Nine Games—Ready to Assemble and Play

• Arise
• Come to Feast
• The Same Game
• The Peace Process
• The Assembly Game
• The Race Unity Game
• Signs of the Covenant
• A Birthday Gift for the Báb
• Progressive Revelation Game

THE BAHÁ’Í WRITINGS ON CD ROM!

Refer: MARS CD ROM $99.00 SW (MCDR)

Refer: MARS CD ROM (Upgrade) $49.00 SW (MCDRU)

Refer: Lights of Guidance $30.00 SW (RLG)

Instantly access nearly all of the writings of Bahá’u’lláh, the Báb, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Shoghi Effendi, as well as Lights of Guidance. Search the entire database or any combination of books, for any word or combination of words. Then copy the passage to the Windows clipboard, to your printer or to a file. Works in DOS, Windows 3.1 and Windows 95. Owners of the floppy version of MARS should purchase the MARS CD ROM Upgrade.

All floppy disk versions of REFER are sold separately.

Crimson Publications

ORDER FORM

SHIP TO DAYTIME TELEPHONE ( ) PAYMENT METHOD - CHECK - CHARGE ($10.00 MINIMUM VISA, MASTER, AMEX) ITEM QUANTITY COST TOTAL

TENNESSEE RESIDENTS PLEASE ADD 7.75% SALES TAX FOR ORDERS SHIPPED OUTSIDE THE U.S., PLEASE ADD 15% (MIN. $3.00) SHIPPING CHARGES WITHIN CONTINENTAL U.S. ADD 10% ($2.00 MIN., $10.00 MAX.) EXPIRATION DATE [Page 12]

Jeffery Huffines named U.S. representative to United Nations

The National Spiritual Assembly has named Jeffery Huffines as the new U.S. representative to the United Nations in New York.

Mr. Huffines replaces Rebequa Getahoun Murphy, the National Assembly's UN representative since May 1993, who recently resigned to take a position in a consulting firm.

Mr. Huffines, whose appointment became effective May 1, has served since November 1989 as assistant to the deputy director for external affairs in the National Spiritual Assembly's Washington office.

His foundation in external affairs activities and education of the Bahá’í community should contribute greatly to the further development of the National Assembly's relationship with the UN.

The National Assembly expressed its deepest gratitude to Mrs. Murphy for her service during a time of great challenge for the UN system.

Among other activities, she coordinated U.S. Bahá’í participation in the fourth World Conference on Women held last year in Beijing, China, was a leader in various UN50 activities, and was a principal drafter of the Bahá’í International Community's statement, "The Turning Point."

Switzerland's Landegg Academy begins Master of Arts programs in 4 disciplines

After consulting with Swiss regional educational officials and with the Bahá’í World Center, Landegg Academy in Wienacht has begun Master of Arts programs for full-time, part-time or distance learning students in ethics, conflict resolution, Bahá’í studies, and spiritual psychology.

For youth and adults who wish to devote a year to systematic study in any one of these areas, Landegg also offers a fellowship diploma program.

The unique aspect of these programs is their orientation along the parameters of a new field of study designated as "Applied Spirituality."

With considerable options for students to design their own customized program, Landegg Academy provides a comprehensive learning opportunity aimed at training a new kind of scholar, one who is universal in perspective, scientific in approach, ethical in conduct, and humble in attitude.

Other categories of study available at Landegg include certificate and credit courses, professional services programs in such areas as marriage, parenting and personal development, and specially designed programs for social, governmental and other academic pursuits.

Highlights of the 1996 calendar at Landegg include an International Youth Symposium on Moral Leadership, an Information Technology Forum, and in-depth studies courses including "Christianity and the Bahá’í Faith," "‘Abdu’l-Bahá: The Mainspring of Oneness," "The Book of Certitude," "Consultation and Conflict Resolution," "Foundations of Racial Unity," and "The Millennium and World Peace."

Given Landegg's unique location on the border of Switzerland, Germany and Austria overlooking beautiful Lake Constance, the Academy provides an ideal setting for serious study, research and reflection.

For information, write to Landegg Academy, CH-9405 Wienacht/AR, Switzerland (phone +41-71-91-9131; fax +41-71-91-4301; e-mail

Challenge preconceived notions with World Order!

Are you ready to challenge yourself to reassess the present historical moment with fresh eyes? The Spring 1996 issue of World Order meets that goal with diverse topics and original essays. Brad Pokorny, in "Population and Development: An Alternative Path," addresses over-population, poverty, and human suffering and deals with the fundamental question of the purpose of human life. Dr. Cyrus Varan challenges us to develop a larger vision of the world of being, while historian Dr. Robert H. Stockman enlarges our understanding of the origins of the Faith in Europe. And, finally, Dr. Firuz Kazemzadeh, in his review of Our Global Neighborhood, surveys the important work by the Commission on Global Governance.

Single issues may be ordered from Bahá’í Distribution Service, 5397 Wilbanks Dr., Chattanooga, TN 37343, or call 1-800-999-9019.

To subscribe, fill out the form below, and mail to Bahá’í Subscriber Service, 415 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091-2886.

Type of subscription: $19 United States, one year (four issues) $36 United States, two years $19 All other countries, surface mail, one year $36 All other countries, surface mail, two years $24 All other countries, airmail, one year $46 All other countries, airmail, two years

Name Street City & State Country Zip/Postal code

Payment must be enclosed. For Canadian or international orders enclose International money order or bank cheque drawn on a U.S. bank In U.S. dollars payable to Bahá’í Subscriber Service.

To charge your VISA/MC account, give number, expiration date, and name on account. Telephone orders accepted: phone (847)251-1854.

VISA/MC # Exp. Date Name

Bahá’ís in Flagstaff, Arizona, present women's conference, 'Key to World Peace'

Participants in the Bahá’í women's conference held February 3-4 at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff pause to admire artist Vicki Hu Poirier's tapestry, 'Threads of Unity,' which involved the fabric art of 60 women from around the world.

A small group of Bahá’ís in Flagstaff, Arizona, supported by the local Spiritual Assembly, presented a two-day women's conference February 3-4 that drew an audience of almost 200, many of whom were seekers.

The conference, whose theme was "Women: A Key to World Peace," was held at Northern Arizona University. Workshops, of interest to both women and men, included those on racism, spiritualization of the family, early Bábí women, and socio-economic and cultural intolerance. Speakers came from California, Colorado and New Mexico.

The weekend was further enhanced by an art exhibit, children's classes, a panel discussion that included many of the speakers, and an evening of entertainment.

In the weeks leading up to the event, the mayor, having received a copy of "The Promise of World Peace" from the local Bahá’ís, read aloud a proclamation at city hall declaring "Women for World Peace Week" in Flagstaff.

Among the Bahá’ís interviewed on radio or television were two members of the National Spiritual Assembly, keynote speaker Dorothy W. Nelson and her husband, James F. Nelson, who also spoke at the conference.

New Mexico artist Vicki Hu Poirier, one of the conference emcees, graced the event with her special tapestry, "Threads of Unity," involving the fabric art of 60 women around the world, which was used as a backdrop for the speakers onstage.

Another center of attraction was an art exhibit, displaying works created mostly by women and including sculpture, fabric art, jewelry, paintings (including Navajo sand paintings), architectural plans and photographs.

Ladjamaya Green-Mahoney of Glenwood Springs, Colorado, closed the conference with a one-woman presentation in song, dance, poetry and drama depicting the struggle of African-Americans from the days of slavery.

Bahá’í Locality Code

Do you have a post office box in one city and a residence address in another? Your Bahá’í Locality Code pertains only to your residence address. When we receive changes and they include only the post office box number, we assign the Bahá’í Locality Code to the city in which the box is located because we don't know your residence address. It is of the utmost importance that we have your residence address, as you could be part of a Group or could help form an Assembly in another Bahá’í community. Please check with your secretary or phone the Bahá’í National Center, Office of Membership & Records, 847-733-3437, to confirm your Bahá’í Locality Code. [Page 13]

TOTAL ENROLLMENTS

April... 182 Total for year... 2,092

THE FUND

(As of April 30, 1996-estimated)

National Bahá’í Fund YTD Goal: $12,500,000 YTD Actual: $11,090,562

All International Funds YTD Goal: $25,200,000 YTD Actual: $23,492,587

National Bahá’í Fund thru Apr 95: $10,436,802 thru Apr 96: $11,090,562

International Bahá’í Fund thru Apr 95: $565,591 thru Apr 96: $1,369,382

Arc Projects Fund thru Apr 95: $6,516,649 thru Apr 96: $21,409,102

Continental Bahá’í Fund thru Apr 95: $228,038 thru Apr 96: $251,608

Other Earmarked thru Apr 95: $360,342 thru Apr 96: $462,495

Subtotal/Int'l Funds thru Apr 95: $7,670,620 thru Apr 96: $23,492,587

Total/All Funds thru Apr 95: $18,107,422 thru Apr 96: $34,583,149

National Bahá’í Fund: Goal & Actual Where we are: $11,090,562 Where we need to be: $12,500,000

All International Funds: Goal & Actual Where we are: $23,492,587 Where we need to be: $25,200,000

Arc Projects Fund Where we are: $21,409,102 Where we were last year: $6,516,649

International Bahá’í Fund Where we are: $1,369,382 Where we were last year: $565,591

Continental Bahá’í Fund Where we are: $251,608 Where we were last year: $228,038

Some questions to answer before making plans to acquire a local Bahá’í Center

Are local Bahá’í Centers the "coming thing"? It certainly would seem so; news arrives weekly in the Office of the Treasurer of communities that are considering, or have already acquired, a local Bahá’í Center. But many of the friends are asking whether now is really the time to take such a major step.

Opinions are often divided between those who say that the Arc must come first, hence everything else must wait, and others who say that the call for training institutes and centers for learning is a clear indication that the time for local investment in Bahá’í Centers has come.

Perhaps both groups are right. What do we know about acquiring local Centers that might shed some light on the situation?

First, there must be unity of thought on the need and mission for a Center. In nearly every case where the believers have tried to shortcut around real consensus, the result has been disaster.

Some communities recover only after years of painful misunderstandings. The sense that "that can't happen here" turns out usually to be misplaced; it can happen, and it generally does!

So, however good that great deal may look on a property, or however much one or another member of the community really wants to buy a building, experience suggests that waiting for unity of thought is the best long-term course of action.

Next, the Arc really does come first! The push for a local Center can derail giving for the Arc, so careful thought and planning are key. We met the goal of the Three Year Plan, really at the eleventh hour—wouldn't it be great to meet the goals of the next four years every year, and so avoid a crisis?

We in this country gave more than half of the money needed in 1995-96; should we not take responsibility for at least that part of the yearly $10 million goals of the new Plan?

Each community is different, so there is no single answer on acquiring a local Bahá’í Center. Perhaps the most important thing is to have real consultation among all those who will be affected by a Center, or who could make a contribution toward getting and maintaining one. Some of the questions communities will find relevant to this process are:

• Is the local need as urgent as the financial needs of the international, continental and national Funds?
• If we get a Center, will that cut our level of support for the senior institutions? The Arc is the first priority until the year 2000, and that has not changed.
• How does a Center promote our community's expansion?
• Where does it fit in our teaching plan?
• How will our community life be enhanced with a Center?
• What role would a Center have in our social and economic development plans, both inside the Bahá’í community and in relation to the larger public in our area?
• Does our Center plan include adequate provision for paying rent or a mortgage, for capital improvements and maintenance?
• What will we do to ensure that friends will be available and committed to carry out necessary tasks?

If answers to these and other key questions are not clear at the outset, they are worth working through, so that your Center will truly fulfill your high purposes.

The National Spiritual Assembly should be informed if your Assembly is considering (or has already acquired) a Center, as indicated in the Guidelines for Local Spiritual Assemblies, pp. 14-16. And the Office of the Treasurer is available to consult on these matters with the friends at any time.

Campaign of Glorious Privilege yields stories of sacrifice as friends assume responsibility, privilege of giving to Arc

The Campaign of Glorious Privilege is fast becoming part of our common history, but its effects on our consciousness as a community will last for years. That, at least, seems to be the moral of some of the stories coming in to the Office of the Treasurer these days. Consider these two:

The children of Fort Wayne, Indiana, were promised a trip to the House of Worship by their local Spiritual Assembly. Some of the kids, though, felt that the $900 the trip would cost should go to the Arc Fund.

Earnest consultation followed, and sometimes it got pretty loud—a real full and frank exchange of views! Opinions were trending toward going on the trip anyway, when an important fact emerged: the youngest children would not be able to go on the trip.

Unity was instant and complete: if we can't all go, then none of us will. The local Spiritual Assembly, on behalf of the children of Fort Wayne, sent the money to the Arc.

Meanwhile, a local Spiritual Assembly in the western states was in over its head; they had, in a fit of righteous enthusiasm, committed themselves to giving a unit, $9,000, to the Arc Fund.

Now, none of the friends in the community were very rich, and the unit was several times their previous record, so this was a big deal! They decided that drastic measures were called for, so they closed their local Center (which hadn't been very heavily used anyway—all the teaching was going on in homes) and decided to send the money they saved this way to the Arc.

They also sponsored some fund-raising events inspired by the Campaign of Glorious Privilege, at one of which they didn't even mention money.

By Ridván, their Arc contributions stood at more than $48,000 and counting!

(Do you have a story to tell about the Campaign and giving for the Arc? Please send it to the Office of the Treasurer, Bahá’í National Center, 1233 Central St., Evanston, IL 60201-1611)

Huqúqu’lláh

Payments for Huqúqu’lláh should be made to "The Bahá’í Huqúqu’lláh Trust" and sent to one of the Trustees:

• Dr. Elsie Austin, 9039 Sligo Creek Parkway, Unit 612, Silver Spring, MD 20901 (phone 301-589-8481).
• Dr. Amin Banani.
• Dr. Daryush Haghighi.

Inquiries regarding Huqúqu’lláh should be referred to one of the Trustees or to the Office of the Secretariat, Bahá’í Huqúqu’lláh Trust, Rocky River, OH 44116. [Page 14]She lauded the delegates for their preparation, saying they "came here ready."

And she reminded them of the gifts bestowed on Bahá’ís by the Supreme Institution since the Holy Year:

• the second Bahá’í World Congress, which a member of the Universal House of Justice told her was the greatest deepening the Bahá’ís of the world have ever had because it showed us what we can be and demonstrated the miracle of Bahá’u’lláh;
• the release in English of the annotated Kitáb-i-Aqdas, the Most Holy Book; and
• strong leadership, as personified by its challenge to us to provide $74 million during the Three Year Plan toward completion of the Arc Projects, a challenge that gave the believers an opportunity to show their love for the Faith.

"Sometimes we gobble up gifts and don't savor them," she said.

All the Universal House of Justice asks now, Counselor Ellis continued, is that we get busy preparing the way for entry by troops.

"It's not a matter of if, but when. We have to obey," she concluded. "Let's give them the gift of victory."

Counselor Smith also called the proceedings the most significant event going on in the United States, because forces will be unleashed to change the world.

"This is where the spiritual action is," he said. "When we come together in the spirit of the Covenant, marvelous things happen."

He asked the delegates and observers not to forget that, however immature the institution of the national convention might be, it has come a long way.

And he urged them to follow in the footsteps of Shoghi Effendi, who struggled after the passing of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá to conquer himself and turn his will over to God.

Hopes, cares and plans

In the interests of maximizing consultation time, the National Spiritual Assembly dispensed with its presentation of the hopes, cares and plans outlined in the Annual Report.

However, it invited a dialogue between delegates and the National Assembly and National Teaching Committee on the themes raised therein.

First was the lag in enrollments and number of local Spiritual Assemblies.

Chairman Sylvester Scott, speaking for the National Teaching Committee, noted the continuing imbalance toward proclamation activities and away from individual teaching.

He said the Message must be presented to thousands to attract hundreds. That means constantly engaging people one on one.

He also urged the friends to be more goal-oriented when planning activities, saying we need to teach with the intent of bringing people into the Faith.

Decentralization

The topic of decentralization also was raised by delegates.

In response, Mrs. Conrad described a process that began with discussions during the Holy Year and was addressed in the May 19, 1994, letter of the Universal House of Justice to the National Spiritual Assembly.

She described how local Assemblies were invited last summer to submit names for four regional committees, how Counselors and Auxiliary Board members added to and commented on the list, and how 99 of the nominees were invited over two weekends to meet with the National Assembly.

Mr. Henderson addressed the vision behind decentralization. Noting that growth and decentralization are related, he spoke of the need to build a structure to gather all of humanity in the house of Bahá’u’lláh.

The regional committees will start with teaching functions, but ultimately will take on administrative duties.

The aim, he said, is to strengthen the bonds of unity between the believers and the National Assembly through a mechanism that allows more effective planning of teaching efforts that will bring masses to the American Bahá’í community.

Combating inactivity

In response to questions regarding inactivity in the Bahá’í community, Mrs. Locke urged the friends to be more audacious.

James Nelson echoed her by asking: Do we believe that people want to become Bahá’ís? Do we believe there will be entry by troops? Until we can answer those questions affirmatively, he said, we won't achieve growth.

If we don't love, we won't get love in return, he said. We must deliver the Message with love and with the full conviction that love will be turned into faith and into work for the Cause.

Some delegates expressed a fear that the decentralization process will divert attention and resources from teaching.

Dorothy Nelson said the opposite will be true. Regional committees will assist those communities that seek that help by tying them in to resources elsewhere.

Mrs. Deas added that as we transform ourselves we will bring people into our embrace. She said we will need every resource we can find if we are to teach thousands and handle the entry of thousands into the Faith.

Mr. Davis pointed to how growth has been barely visible despite unprecedented activity. We need strategies to facilitate growth, he said, and decentralization is a mechanism for that.

Dissecting the message

Friday morning the Ridván messages to the world and to North America were read.

Having thus received their "marching orders," delegates proceeded to discharge their sacred duty of advising the National Assembly.

What ensued over the bulk of three days was a remarkable level of consultation.

It began with the question of what the National Assembly can do to help American believers carry out the central goal of the Four Year Plan.

Almost immediately, a recommendation was made that the National Assembly appoint an African-American Teaching Committee.

The Universal House of Justice Dearly Loved and Esteemed Members,

The delegates to the 87th United States Bahá’í National Convention gathered in the presence of Counselors Stephen Birkland, Wilma Ellis and David Smith were deeply moved and inspired by the two Ridván messages to the Bahá’ís of the world and to the followers of Bahá’u’lláh in North America. How blessed we are to have such guidance in these challenging and turbulent times from our beloved Supreme Body.

The clarity of the messages in spelling out the one major accomplishment to be achieved in the new Four Year Plan—a significant advance in the process of entry by troops—has given a powerful focus to the convention and our consultation. More than 60 percent of the time of the convention was scheduled for consultation on this goal and how it is to be achieved: through the activity and development of the individual believers; the development and maturation of the institutions; and the flourishing and expansion of the Bahá’í community as a whole.

In our consultation, we have paid particular attention to the indispensable need to establish permanent training institutes and other centers of learning for "educating large numbers of believers in the fundamental verities of the Faith and for training and assisting them to serve the Cause as their God-given talents allow." Priority was also given to consideration of the vital contribution to be made by the descents of the early inhabitants of this continent, the believers of African descent, the believers who have come from the Cradle of the Faith, and the friends of Hispanic background.

In our deliberations we have been immensely encouraged by your assurances of "opportunities (in North America) for the advancement of the process of entry by troops, the like of which exist in no other place on earth, and of the three characteristics which have given rise to this condition: the unparalleled strength of our local communities, the positive impression of the Faith that had been created, and the diverse composition of [our] nation." Our national community needed to know this.

At the same time we are awed by the immense responsibility of the American Bahá’í community, and indeed of the American nation as a whole, in fulfilling their roles in establishment of first the Lesser Peace and ultimately the Most Great Peace, the Golden Age of the Bahá’í Dispensation. In carrying out the mission that we have been given at this most critical time in the life of the planet, we acknowledge that under the leadership of our believed National Spiritual Assembly we will be called upon to perform great deeds of heroism and sacrifice, to be absolutely firm in the Covenant and, as was so profoundly brought out in our consultation with the Counselors in preparation for the convention, to have a true understanding of the relationship between self-confidence and humility. We beseech your prayers in the Holy Shrines that we may arise and carry out, in both the letter and the spirit, the mission which we have been given.

Delegates to the 87th Bahá’í National Convention

Delegates to the 87th National Convention of the Bahá’ís of the United States Dearly loved Friends,

Your wholehearted response to the central aim of the Four Year Plan has uplifted our spirits and heightened our hopes for your success. May the ardor of your dedication to the insescapable tasks at hand issue forth from your convention to encompass your widespread community, inspiring new measures of activity that will match the internal and external challenges arises now from the Divine Charter entrusted to your care, and will ensure that your home front will, in words addressed to you by our beloved Guardian, "at all costs, and, in the shortest possible time, be spiritually reinvigorated, administratively expanded, and materially replenished." Our high expectations for you will continue to be the object of our ardent supplications at the Holy Threshold on behalf of the members of your cherished community.

The Universal House of Justice

As people from all backgrounds spoke cogently to both sides of the issues, it was apparent to all that delegates were not going to let passion undermine their precious unity.

Focused consultation

The tone thus set, consultation turned that afternoon and the rest of convention to focused topics, centered around maturation at three levels: individual, institutional and community.

At the individual level, the question was, "How can the National Assembly help the friends initiate teaching efforts and support their local and regional plans, the institutions, and the Funds?"

Delegates explored the decentralization process in more detail, especially as it relates to Assembly automation. A pilot program in selected western cities is testing a computer network that will form the backbone of a physical architecture for decentralization.

Responding to concerns about the Funds, Mr. Davis reiterated the National Assembly's plea for giving to the National Fund not to "disappear" during the summer months, when cash flow is needed most to support the teaching work and to pay for repair and restoration of Bahá’í properties.

He also reminded delegates that the [Page 15]

NATIONAL CONVENTION

Arc Projects Fund still requires contributions of $10 million per year. He used the Campaign of Glorious Privilege, a grassroots effort to raise money for the Arc Projects, as a prime example of individual initiative channeled by the National Assembly.

Mr. Davis also noted that expansion in the number of counselors and their role brings with it added burdens on the Continental Fund.

Friday began two days of non-delegate workshops conducted on such topics as wills and trusts, pioneering, developing child-development centered communities, redistricting, the Wilmette Institute, and the Bahá’í Chair for World Peace.

Training institutes

Extensive consultation enabled delegates to get their arms around the concept of training institutes that are to play such a key role in achieving the aim of the Four Year Plan.

Mrs. Conrad explained that the National Assembly recently convened a conference that came up with five models of how these centers of learning might be structured in this country.

She and others said training institutes are to go beyond instructing the friends in the fundamental verities of the Faith. They will have a training function as well, giving believers the skills needed to significantly advance the process of entry by troops.

It also was emphasized that establishment of training institutes must begin immediately, even before full curricula have been developed. In fact, the early experience of institutes will help shape curricula.

Firmness in the Covenant

Training institutes are not merely a place to obtain information, but a place to create the capacity in individuals to act as agents of change.

One more matter of individual maturation remained: firmness in the Covenant.

Mr. Kazemzadeh related a case of calumny that resulted in the recent removal of a believer’s administrative rights. Over a period of several years, he said, that individual spread in person and via the Internet the false accusation that a member of the National Spiritual Assembly had blocked his pilgrimage to the Holy Land.

Counselor Birkland, who collaborated with the National Assembly in its interaction with the believer, spoke to the convention about the inevitable increase in challenges from outside and within the Faith.

Individual believers have always borne the responsibility to show wisdom in how we speak, he said. When we go outside the established parameters, we can hurt ourselves and retard the growth of the Faith.

With the advent of online communications, however, conversation no longer is ephemeral, said Counselor Birkland. Errors spread at the touch of a button could be passed along for years, so even more wisdom than ever is required.

He said the National Assembly has shown great restraint and tolerance with electronic expression. But recently a pattern has developed wherein individuals have crossed over the line into questioning the authority of institutions.

Now it is a Covenant issue, he said. Institutions at some point will have to ask these individuals to reconsider their behavior and at a further point take administrative action.

In response to questions, Counselor Birkland advised delegates not to engage non-Bahá’ís and Covenant-breakers in online argument. If they’re ignored, they will eventually lose momentum.

On the other hand, he told them, untruths posted by Bahá’ís should be corrected without getting into an argument. The friends may wish to solicit the advice of wise members of the community before responding. Disputes also can be taken to the Universal House of Justice for resolution.

Counselor Birkland said he is in touch privately with several of those who have questioned the authority of institutions of Faith. He also collaborates closely with the National Spiritual Assembly in resolving their cases.

Institutions and community

The discussion led naturally into the next area of consultation, on the maturation of institutions.

Counselor Smith told delegates it must always be kept in mind that the Bahá’í institutions, from the Universal House of Justice to the Boards of Counselors, Auxiliary Boards, National and local Assemblies, are servants unto Bahá’u’lláh.

The Universal House of Justice, though, acts with the purpose of God Himself. We can’t get closer to God than this, he said, and this Ridván message is a new chapter in the expression of God’s purpose.

He said a period of discovery awaits as we begin to see the concept of institutes in its new light. How will they raise up people prepared to do the work of the Faith? How might they vary in different circumstances?

They are not merely a place to obtain information, he said, but a place to create the capacity in individuals to act as agents of change.

Consultation also turned to how the National Assembly can encourage the flourishing and expansion of the Bahá’í community.

Mr. McCants noted that one issue we don’t like to address is the Funds. People put their money where their beliefs are, he said.

He told delegates that when Universal House of Justice member ‘Alí Nakhjavání came to remind us of our responsibility toward keeping the Arc Projects on track, we stood shoulder to shoulder and raised $21 million in this country.

"Your heart is in the right place," he said. "You’re ready for the Four Year Plan. You believe in entry by troops."

A tribute

Inspiration for the work ahead was drawn Saturday night from the unceasing efforts over 49 years by former National Treasurer’s Office employee Lauretta Voelz.

After an introduction by Mr. Henderson, Miss Voelz gave a brief, often humorous sketch of a career that began when there were but eight National Spiritual Assemblies in the world and 54 local Assemblies in this country.

Appropriately, this fond look into the past was followed by the debut of the latest Bahá’í Newsreel, a summary of the accomplishments of the Three Year Plan.

Huqúqu’lláh report

The final day of convention began with a report on behalf of the Board of Huqúqu’lláh by one of its trustees, Daryush Haghighi.

Dr. Haghighi said that once we deepen ourselves in the spiritual significance of this sacred law, any question of our participation is resolved. He urged convention attendees to make this law, like all others, a part of our daily lives—especially in the family environment.

Once we deepen ourselves in the spiritual significance of the sacred law of Huqúqu’lláh, any question of our participation is resolved.

Reading from letters sent to the Board, he illustrated how participation in Huqúqu’lláh brings blessings on those who pay and on the institutions they aid.

It’s not the amount paid that counts, he said, but the bounty of participation. Payments must be made voluntarily, in a spirit of joy and humility.

Dr. Haghighi referred to the conference last year at the Green Acre Bahá’í School in which the institutions collaborated to further the believers’ understanding of the law. Among the suggestions that came out of the conference were that presentations on Huqúqu’lláh be made at all regional schools and at meetings greeting new believers, and that someone in each community become a resource on Huqúqu’lláh.

The Counselors reflect

As consultation continued on the flourishing and expansion of the Bahá’í community, the fruits of late-night informal gatherings by groups of delegates and friends became apparent.

One, centered on teaching Americans of African descent, devised a mandate for the proposed African-American Teaching Committee.

Another made recommendations addressing the decline in American Indian believers and the paucity of social and economic development projects treating the needs of indigenous peoples.

A group of youth also had met with Counselor Smith.

To wrap up the weekend, the convention heard from the Counselors again.

Counselor Birkland drew attendees’ attention to the two main challenges expressed in the Ridván message to the world: "One is to mount a campaign of teaching in which the broad membership of our community is enthusiastically, systematically and personally engaged, and in which the activation of an extensive training program will ensure the development of a mass of human resources; the other is to complete the construction projects on Mount Carmel toward which every sacrifice must be made to provide a liberal outpouring of materials means."

He called the second of these twin foci a metaphor for the first. The Arc will be beautiful but practical, he said, with the Universal House of Justice "setting up shop" there to direct the world with the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh. In the same manner, we must develop Bahá’í communities that are so beautiful they will attract people, but also more efficient in their function so the process of entry of troops may be advanced.

Referring to the five elements and six activities delineated in the document on promoting entry by troops, he said we are asked to create the milieu and then engage in the necessary activities. But the Universal House of Justice has concluded that we lack the capacity now to do these, he said. The solution is institutes that train us to develop that capacity.

He urged Bahá’í institutions to analyze the community and ask three questions: What would excellence look like? Where are we now? What needs to be done to rate the community a "9"?

Unified, loving expression

Counselor Smith looked back at a convention filled with passion and the unified, loving expression of it.

He asked attendees to focus more and more on the advancement of women.

He pleaded with them to let no jealousy enter into the Cause; rather, we should rejoice in the service and successes of others who are acting in God’s name.

And he urged that when we share the Message, we share Bahá’u’lláh.

Counselor Ellis echoed the sentiment that the institution of the national convention has greatly matured. She said consultation, especially on the issue of African-American teaching, took half as much time and was twice as productive as it might have been in earlier years. Also, no offense was given or taken.

On firmness in the Covenant, she commented that we have the blessing of an apparatus to deal with challenges, not to punish the individual but to protect Bahá’u’lláh’s Faith.

She expressed joy that local Bahá’í Centers were mentioned in consultation. Particularly in the South, she said, Centers are needed to get people out of the churches. When African-Americans come into the Cause in great numbers, she said, other minorities will follow.

Finally, Counselor Ellis urged that next year we hear more statements about individual initiative that start with "I did" instead of "you should."

It was a fitting coda to a remarkable convention poised at the beginning of perhaps the most remarkable four years in our lives. [Page 16]

Vineyard of the Lord, part 14

Exposed concrete work in the buildings of the Center for the Study of the Texts and the International Teaching Center

With 85 percent of work on the roof of the Center for the Study of the Texts completed, we have now started to close the gap between the building and the retaining wall anchor cavity. At the site of the International Teaching Center, work is proceeding on level 3 of the building. The area formerly occupied by the access ramp has also been excavated, enabling the extension of the Teaching Center right up to its existing retaining wall.

A very interesting aspect of work on these building complexes is the construction of exposed concrete surfaces both inside and outside the buildings. This “fair faced” concrete is constructed in both gray and white.

Samples are made of different variations of white sand, gravel and cement for the exposed concrete to get it closest to the color of the stone used in the projects. Soon after the mix design is determined, the design of the formwork is finalized to establish a symmetry of lines.

Once the concrete has cured, the surfaces are bush hammered to create a softer visual impact in keeping with the natural stone. While white exposed concrete is used only externally in the Center for the Study of the Texts, in the International Teaching Center it is being used both inside and outside the building.

The use of exposed concrete finish in the projects is motivated by cost effectiveness—exposed concrete does not require plastering, painting, marble etc.—visual impact, and structural validity.

As part of the overall quality control, when the contractor submits formwork patterns using special pre-painted plywood panels imported from Finland, the project manager’s site team checks various details. Care is taken that no dents appear in the panels, that all joints are sealed, that the space between the reinforcement bar and the forms is ac-

See VINEYARD page 17

This beautiful and majestic path, which extends from the Shrine of the Báb to the city of Haifa in line with the greatest avenue of that blessed city, which is adorned with trees and verdant plants and illumined with bright lights, which is the object of admiration of the people of this region and a source of joy and pride to the authorities of this land, will subsequently be converted, as foreshadowed by the Center of the Covenant, into the Highway of the Kings and Rulers of the world.

— From a letter dated Naw-Rúz 108 addressed to the friends in the East by Shoghi Effendi

The first consignment of marble columns, carved in Italy, was delivered to the site of the Center for the Study of the Texts on February 25.

Work is in progress on the third level of the International Teaching Center, with the Seat of the Universal House of Justice in the background. [Page 17]

News highlights from the Mt. Carmel construction

Marble for the Center for the Study of the Texts arrives

The first consignment of four containers of marble bases, columns and capitals, weighing about 20 tons, has arrived on site from Italy. Another seven containers are on their way. Approximately 20 tons of steel fixings—pins, angles, brackets, bolts—to fix the marble have also been ordered, and should be received at any time. Preparations are under way for installation of these marble columns in the entrance portico of the Center for the Study of the Texts.

Contract for the lowering of Hatzionut Avenue is formalized

On February 9, contract documents were formalized with a well-known contractor in Haifa for lowering Hatzionut Avenue and constructing a tunnel for pedestrians and retaining walls for the bridge that will span the street linking the Terrace of the Shrine of the Báb to the Arc Path and upper Terraces.

This challenging and critical stage of the Terraces project has received a crucial boost with the signing of this contract.

A billboard depicting the model of the bridge and briefly describing the project has been strategically placed on Hatzionut Avenue. Also, a joint announcement was carried by the Bahá’í World Center and the Municipality of Haifa in three major newspapers informing the general public of the nature of the work to be undertaken, and changes in the traffic arrangement in the section adjoining the Bahá’í properties on this street.

Work on the German Templar Colony project begins

An exciting development related to the Mount Carmel Projects, but outside the aegis of the Faith, is taking place. Work on the restoration of the German Templar Colony flanking Ben Gurion Avenue in Haifa has begun.

The first stage of work is limited to the section immediately conjoining the site of the Entrance Plaza to Terrace 1 at the foot of the mountain. The west side of the avenue is first being taken up for restoration.

To facilitate the movement of traffic in both directions, the junction of Hagefen Street and Ben Gurion Avenue is being expanded, and a temporary detour established.

Earlier, in the coordination meeting of the Steering Committee, design submission for the boulevard of the Colony was taken up for discussion. Several aspects of the design were discussed; significantly, the lighting of Ben Gurion Avenue was adjusted to harmonize with the Terraces project and to maximize the monumental presence of the Shrine of the Báb.

Vineyard

Continued from page 16

‎cording according‎ to specification, and that all electrical and mechanical equipment is in the proper location before the concrete is poured.

To enhance the quality of the exposed concrete finish, a special release agent is applied to the panels. This acts as a separation between the panel and the concrete, making the removal of the formwork easier and giving a better finish. The quality and quantity of the release agent are critical for an excellent finish. If the right balance is not attained, the result is a substandard finish.

Another aspect of quality control is to check the quality of the concrete itself coming from the silo. To achieve this, a special silo has been assigned to our projects to give us the perfect consistency in color and concrete mix. Arrangements are made that the trucks carrying the concrete arrive onsite with appropriate time overlaps to ensure a continuous pour. Great care is taken to see that the overlap time does not exceed the limit required for the concrete mix to maintain its chemical integrity.

It is inevitable that in projects of such a scale as the Arc buildings, remedial work must at times be undertaken. In cases where air bubbles, or surface segregation of sand, cement and aggregate take place, a special mix is used to patch the areas and give the surface a uniform finish.

Pressure washing is another way in which residual materials from the formwork left behind on the concrete surface are removed. When the concrete surface is stained due to various other causes, it is washed with muriatic acid.

Achieving high quality exposed concrete is thus a real challenge and is obtained as a result of quality control techniques through many experiments and tests, and by constant supervision.

Landscaping lower Terraces

With major structural works and stone ornamentation completed on the seven Terraces below the Shrine of the Báb, attention is now focused on completing the landscaping of the inner and outer areas of these Terraces.

Planting designs have been finalized for the formal landscape centered around the Kings’ Pathway, and work on establishing flower beds within brick edgings is under way. Lawn grass has already been installed on Terraces 9 and 8, and sod has been purchased from an outside firm for the remaining Terraces.

A significant amount of work involved the preparation of the base and the installation of the ochre-colored crushed tiles for the inner areas of Terraces 8 to 3. The tiles’ terra cotta color makes a striking visual impact.

In the outer areas the scenario includes olive trees, ground cover, wildflowers and bulbs, stair-stepped rockeries and pathways paved with stone. Wild-flower plantings to the east of Terraces 9 to 5 are complete. The outermost areas are planted with drought-tolerant plants.

The wildflower and bulb season in Israel starts in December and lasts until April. Then, during spring and summer, the flowering trees and shrubs take over. In the years following the planting, the results become more spectacular as the plants become more established. During the past two years, large areas have been planted; the remaining areas will be planted this year.

Some of the wildflowers that have been used are the Lupine—large plants with tall dark spikes; Corn Poppy—a plant native to Israel with a striking red flower; Globe Thistle—a tall rounded ornamental blue thistle; and two varieties of Silenes—one from Egypt, the other from Israel. The Egyptian Silene has lavender flowers, the Israeli Silene has dark purple flowers. One Silene blooms earlier than the other, and when planted together the sequence of bloom is continuous.

Among the other works undertaken on the lower Terraces was the testing of fountains and runnels on Terrace 7, with quite satisfactory results. Brass hand railings and brackets for lamps have also been installed above Terrace 8.

On the upper Terraces

The strategic location of Terrace 19 as the uppermost of the Monumental Terraces of the Shrine of the Báb, situated at the crest of Mount Carmel, calls for a special design. Different in structure from the other Terraces, it comprises two levels with a balcony at each level approached by two sets of stairs on each side.

The lower level is the level of the Terrace, which will have fountain pools and other landscape elements. The upper level is connected to a tunnel for pedestrians that will link it to Panorama Street and beyond to the existing Louis Promenade through a set of staircases.

The 700 square meters of floor space within this structure is being used for storage purposes, to house irrigation and mechanical rooms, and to house a security station. The concrete structure of both levels is now complete.

Concrete work on the tunnel for pedestrians is also finished. The area between the road and building has been graded and compacted, and Panorama Street has been asphalted and once again opened to two way traffic.

Adjacent to this structure at street level, the 300-meter long promenade is ready for paving stone, ornamental iron fencing and pedestals.

On Terrace 18, plumbing for the fountains is complete, and we are preparing to form the concrete pools. On Terrace 17, plumbing work is under way.

Stories from the Arc Projects Fund

• “It is with heartfelt joy and gratitude that we send our love and greetings. ...
• “Friends....including members of the National Spiritual Assembly and both Auxiliary Board members gathered in loving fellowship to study the various aspects of the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh such as the Life of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, Consultation, Unity, Individual Teaching, the Huqúqu’lláh, the Arc, and Youth.
• “Moved by performances about the martyrs in Iran, inspired by stories of sacrifice, and driven by the invigorating spiritual atmosphere, the participants gave much of their money, and one, inspired by a story of sacrifice from Zaire, gave his wrist watch to the Arc Fund as well.
• “In all, we humbly submit ..... dollars toward the projects on Mount Carmel, which we feel profoundly connects us not only to the Center of the Faith, but with our brethren throughout the world.

...

• “The winter school has given us new sustenance and enthusiasm to meet the challenging spring that will bring to a close the Three Year Plan. ...” (From a report received by the Universal House of Justice)

•

The two stories that follow share sacrifices made by the followers of Bahá’u’lláh in villages in the Pacific region.

• “The Bahá’í friends...in their love for Bahá’u’lláh and the Universal House of Justice wanted to contribute to the Arc Fund, but there was no cash in the village. They decided to contribute taroes—a root crop—to the Arc Fund.
• “Each family contributed taroes until there were 21 filled bags. Then the youth of the village carried the taro bags over mountainous bush tracks, a full two days walk, until they reached the road where trucks were going to the main town.
• “They sold the taroes in the capital city and raised 110.00 Kina (U.S. $83.00). They gave the money to their Auxiliary Board member to pass on to the National Spiritual Assembly for the Arc Fund, National Center Fund and National Fund. This is a large and sacrificial sum for these people and for their village.”
• “Three villages in a remote region...are collaborating to raise money for the Arc Fund. There is no cash in the villages, so each village contributed three bags of betel nuts to the Fund during each Feast.
• “The bags of betel nuts were transported down the river by canoe and then by road to the capital city. They were sold and the money was contributed to the Arc Fund, the National Center Fund and the National Fund. A total of 300.00 Kina (U.S. $225.00) was raised for the Funds this way. This is a huge and sacrificial amount considering the condition and economy of these villages and this country.” (From a report received by the International Teaching Center)

[Page 18]

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

BAHÁ’Í PUBLICATIONS is seeking applicants for the position of marketing specialist. The position will be filled at the Bahá’í Publishing Trust in Wilmette, Illinois, or at the Bahá’í Distribution Service in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Applicants should have a minimum of two years marketing experience in the publishing industry, including copy writing and design, and five years experience in management or equivalent supervisory experience. Bahá’í Publications is looking for someone who has expertise in designing and implementing marketing programs, has a thorough knowledge of available Bahá’í literature, excellent communication and interpersonal skills, the ability to handle ongoing multiple projects with shifting deadlines, and an understanding of Bahá’í administration. Knowledge of PageMaker software and desktop publishing skills would be helpful. For information or an application, contact the Department of Human Resources, Bahá’í National Center, 1233 Central St., Evanston, IL 60201-1611, or phone 847-733-3429.

THE BAHÁ’Í Encyclopedia Project is seeking an administrative assistant to provide support for its editorial team. Maintains a variety of files and records, inputs editorial corrections from hard copy to disk, helps with various research tasks. Must be proficient in using computers, type a minimum of 60 wpm, have sound judgment, strong writing and editing skills, and the ability to produce professional-quality work. Please send your ‎resumé résumé‎ to Christine Stanwood, Bahá’í National Center, 1233 Central St., Evanston, IL 60201-1611, phone 847-733-3429, fax 847-733-3430, or e-mail

EXCITING overseas opportunities. Dorm parent, English teachers, bilingual secretary, technical specialist, technical support representative for Kodak, project manager for liquid-food industry, business development manager-Power Generation Division of GEC Alsthom, Price Waterhouse seeking finance manager, accountants. For more information, please contact Ms. Gwili Posey, 847-733-3512, fax 847-733-3509, or e-mail

THE BOSCH Bahá’í School has an immediate opening for an energetic and vibrant children’s teacher who is available to serve for at least six months, and is also looking for spiritually mature college-age youth to serve as (1) Youth Service Corps volunteers and (2) recreation director during the summer months. The position as children’s teacher is not a paid one at this time; however, room, board and a small stipend will be provided. Qualities sought include spiritual maturity, love for the friends and especially for children, experience teaching children of various age groups, exemplary behavior, friendliness, perseverance, flexibility, and a strong work ethic. Core Curriculum training is preferred but not essential.

Youth Service volunteers are needed to serve in hospitality, the kitchen, housekeeping, education, maintenance, and the bookshop/cafe. Housing and food are provided. Immediate openings and those later in the year. The recreation director’s duties include lifeguard, pool maintenance, organizing group sports and recreation, helping with children’s classes when necessary, serving as yogurt shop assistant, and helping set up evening programs. The position is not salaried, but room and board and a small stipend are provided. Some experience with groups of children is essential, and a lifeguard certificate is required. Please ask for applications and information from Linda Bedford, co-administrator, Bosch Bahá’í School, 500 Comstock Lane, Santa Cruz, CA 95060 (phone 408-423-3387; fax 408-423-7564; e-mail

THE U.S. BAHÁ’Í Refugee Office needs an assistant to the Office coordinator. Requires flexibility in performance of routine and non-routine tasks and good typing and word processing skills. Drafts letters and reports without supervision, manages all information gathering and processing of Southeast Asian Bahá’í refugees, and keeps track of the status of refugee, immigrant and asylum cases. Also maintains computer files, databases and office systems. Please send ‎resumé résumé‎ to Christine Stanwood, Bahá’í National Center, 1233 Central St., Evanston, IL 60201-1611, phone 847-733-3429, fax 847-733-3430, or e-mail

YEAR OF SERVICE in the nation’s capital. Are you a motivated, enthusiastic individual or couple eager to spend a year or more serving the Faith in one of the world’s most beautiful and exciting cities? If so, the Bahá’ís of Washington would like to hear from you. The service opportunity involves living in and managing the Washington Bahá’í Center, which serves as a focal point for activities throughout the metro area. Responsibilities include being a loving and gracious host(ess) to all who visit the Center; coordinating and scheduling space allocations for Center events; responding to mail and telephone inquiries about the Faith; distributing literature to seekers and maintaining the Center’s telephone information lines; purchasing refreshments and supplies for certain events; physically setting up for events, and opening and closing the Center as needed; and monitoring and coordinating (but not necessarily carrying out) internal and external maintenance and upkeep. The service opportunity is unpaid, but a small furnished apartment in the Center is included at no cost. Please write to the Washington Bahá’í Center, 5713 16th St. N.W., Washington, DC 20011, or phone 202-291-5532, ext. 5.

THE WORK/STUDY program at the Native American Bahá’í Institute (NABI) presents a unique opportunity for youth service. Young people who are interested in pursuing Bahá’í service work with college or vocational studies are encouraged to apply to the Institute. Youth at NABI will be guided through a program that includes course work, the arts, travel, and community and Institute service. Join us at NABI and prepare for a lifetime of service to humanity. Write to NABI, P.O. Box 3167, Houck, AZ 86506, or e-mail

PIONEERING (OVERSEAS)

EMPLOYMENT opportunities overseas. AFRICA: Eritrea—health planner/finance specialist needed by organization to provide technical and material assistance to improve child survival. Ethiopia—program manager needed by Save the Children for a food security and infrastructure program. Tanzania—English teachers. Zambia—Bahá’í teacher to develop and teach a kindergarten/primary school program. AMERICAS: Barbados—chiropractor. Honduras—caretaker couple for the Ahmadiyyeh Bahá’í Institute, elementary school teachers for second, third, fourth and fifth grades, secondary school English, computer science, science, math, social studies. Puerto Rico—caretaker for the Amoz Gibson/Gordon Laite Bahá’í Institute. Venezuela—couple to serve as caretakers at the National Center in Caracas. ASIA: India—volunteers needed at Bahá’í-run provincial school in Lucknow. Korea—English teachers. ‎Loas Laos‎—volunteer teachers for a Bahá’í-run management and English-language school. Macau—kindergarten and primary school teachers, secondary school English, math, science and history teachers. Philippines—personnel for upcoming high-rise construction projects. Sakhalin—teachers. Taiwan—general manager for Bahá’í Office of the Environment. AUSTRALASIA: Kiribati—science/math teacher. Rota, Mariana Islands—teachers. Samoa—caretaker couple for the House of Worship, Montessori teacher. Solomon Islands—counselor for abused women, beautician. Tonga—teachers for primary school to be opened. Vanuatu—voluntary primary school teachers. MULTI-REGIONAL: consultants needed by non-profit organization involved in assisting the public health and medical communities in developing countries: physicians, nurses, clinical trainers, etc. Alaska—urgent need for older woman to share home of long-time pioneer to Unalaska; multicultural community, jobs available. Eleuthera, Bahamas urgently needs pioneers; rental housing available. Canada—volunteer administrative assistant and records clerk needed at the Maxwell International Bahá’í School. Urgent need for teaching and consolidation in Francophone areas. There is a particular need in French Polynesia, but traveling teachers and pioneers who speak French would constitute a precious resource in any of the French-speaking communities spread throughout Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific.

OPPORTUNITY for a Bahá’í chiropractor to practice and pioneer in Barbados. If interested, please phone Dr. Mark Tanny, 809-422-2103.

PIONEERING (HOMEFRONT)

PLEASE HELP! The 25-year-old Spiritual Assembly of Jamestown, New York, is in jeopardy and needs homefront pioneers. Jamestown (pop. about 35,000) is an outstanding community in which to raise a family, and is within driving distance of four Indian Reservations. Please phone 701-252-7109.

THE BAHÁ’Í community of Warren, Ohio, needs homefront pioneers to help form its Assembly. There is an opportunity for a board certified/board eligible OB/GYN to join an established Bahá’í OB/GYN in practice. If you are interested, please contact Dr. Parisa Khavari, Warren, OH 44483, or phone 216-395-0666.

SMALL-TOWN atmosphere, big-town amenities. Mt. San Jacinto JD in southern California needs two adult believers to replace pioneers and save its Assembly. The community is only an hour from beaches, mountains and deserts. Employment opportunities are plentiful in health care and education. Retirees are also welcome. For more information, phone 909-652-8825.

PLEASE CONSIDER attending college while you help one of Sonoma County’s endangered local Assemblies near California’s northern coast. The area has a mild climate, low crime rate and lovely scenery. Within a short distance of several goal communities is a nationally accredited college, run by Bahá’ís, that offers Associate of Science degrees for assistants in occupational and physical therapy. Also in the county are Sonoma State University and a community college. We can help answer your questions about relocation and provide information on employment opportunities. Please phone Patricia Fanning at 800-437-WISH or 707-795-0251, or Mike Fanning, 707-829-7834.

BINGHAMTON, a city of more than 50,000 in the southern tier of upstate New York on the Susquehanna River, needs a homefront pioneer to help re-establish its Assembly. ‎Bingham Binghamton‎, at the heart of the “triple cities” (Endicott, Johnson City, Binghamton), is home to Binghamton University, a professional opera company and a symphony orchestra. Binghamton has long supported a strong local Assembly, but because some of the friends have moved or become pioneers, the city now has only three adult Bahá’ís. If you are interested in the area or would like more information, please contact Tim Porch, Ithaca, NY 14850 (phone 607-272-5320 or e-mail

RUIDOSO/Lincoln County, New Mexico, Bahá’ís need your help as homefront pioneers. Ruidoso, a resort and retirement community nestled in the pines at the base of the Sierra Blanca mountains and blessed with a moderate climate and lovely scenery, is an oasis in the desert and a popular location for summer homes. Teaching opportunities abound in this culturally diverse community which borders the Mescalero Apache Indian Reservation and has a large Hispanic population. The Ruidoso/Lincoln County Bahá’í group is active, loving, supportive and eager to welcome those who can help teach and build Assemblies. If you would like more information about moving to the area, please write to the ‎Bahá’í’s Bahá’ís‎ of Ruidoso, P.O. Box 1561, Ruidoso, NM 88345, or phone 505-257-2987 or 505-336-7739.

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: Lily Charles Armstrong, May Arno, Nettie J. Asberry, Elizabeth Farland Ashraf, C. Newell Atkinson, Margaret H. Atwater (died Miami, FL, 1944), Mai M. Auforth, and Ona M. Ault. 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, 1233 Central St., Evanston, IL 60201-1611, or to phone 847-869-9039.

THE NATIONAL Bahá’í Archives is seeking copies of the following books in good or excellent condition: Some Answered Questions (cloth, 1955, 1964, 1968, 1970, 1981) and Tablets of the Divine Plan (paper, 1959, 1962, 1969, 1974, 1976). Anyone having copies they could donate is asked to send them to the National Bahá’í Archives, Bahá’í National Center, 1233 Central St., Evanston, IL 60201-1611.

TEACHING CAMPAIGNS

THE BAHÁ’Í community of Fresno, California, and the nearby communities of North Fork, Sierra Madre JD, Clovis, Kerman, Reedley, Squaw Valley and a number of isolated believers have formed an I-ACT to help begin the process of entry by troops. The following are needed: Crusade coordinator to recruit full- and part-time teachers, monitor and schedule deepening classes, choose teaching team leaders, order materials, monitor follow-up activities and report the results of teaching efforts, maintain a database of seekers and declarants, and supervise [Page 19]consolidation efforts. One or two full-time teachers with a burning desire to spread the Message of Bahá’u’lláh. Experience in teaching is desirable but not required. All teachers will be required to attend a day-long training session. Housing and a $300-a-month stipend will be offered, but teachers who are self-supporting would be most welcome. Part-time teachers for any length of time from one day to one week, one month or whatever time one can spare. Limited hospitality may be available. Until such time as a coordinator is appointed, you may contact Richard Rowland, I-ACT contact person, by e-mail at [email] or by phone at 209-447-1633; or phone Walter King, 209-846-4468, or Gary Colliver, 209-453-1109.

THE AMATU’L-BAHÁ Teaching Crusade in California’s San Diego County has openings for teachers including direct teaching, consolidation, manning the Bahá’í Center, etc. Training provided. Retirees, youth, anyone between jobs is welcome. Room, board and a daily stipend provided. Contact Virginia Healy, project coordinator and secretary of the Spiritual Assembly of Encinitas, by e-mail [email] or phone (619-942-6383).

WANTED

I AM WORKING with the Research and Literature Review Office at the Bahá’í National Center on developing a work about the Faith and the recovery process. My primary focus has been on alcoholism, but as I’ve made contacts the circle has widened to include sexual and physical abuse, mental illness, etc., and especially the many people who suffer from multiple challenges. I am looking for Bahá’ís who are in recovery and are willing to talk/write (anonymously) about their experiences, about what they got/didn’t get/needed from the community in the way of support, and about how their recovery (12-step, counseling, etc.) has worked together with their spiritual journey in the Faith. I am also interested in hearing from those who have taken part in the Bahá’ís in Recovery Fellowship (BIRF) who would be willing to talk about how it helped or why it failed and whether it could be revived and under what circumstances. The goal of the writing project is to educate the community and Assemblies, and to offer support and hope for those who are suffering. If you would be willing to take part, please contact me by e-mail at [email] or via the Research Office c/o Bahá’í National Center, Evanston, IL 60201-1611 (e-mail [email]).

NEEDED: a little help for an active Bahá’í woman who is growing older but whose house and life are filled with events and activities—Bahá’í visitors, major projects for the Faith. I need a younger Bahá’í woman to help with driving, errands, some cooking, and a lot of the fun. Room and board and a small salary (run of the house—several Bahá’í housemates have lived here in comfort and can supply references). Also, college and university are nearby for possible part-time attendance. Let’s talk. Write to Mardy Oeming, [address], Saginaw, MI 48602, or phone 517-792-2197.

WANTED: a copy of Vol. 2 of the original Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá printed in Chicago (around March 1909 to May 1916?). Willing to buy. Would appreciate it if someone with a copy would contact me or be willing to forward copies of a few pages. Write to L. Bedini, [address], Cortez, CO 81321, or phone 970-565-2425.

MUSICIANS, dancers, writers, artists, healers: would you like to form a collective and help start a Creativity and Healing Institute to help suffering souls and promote entry by troops? I would like to network with you in the hope of establishing a project to express a love and spirit that will transform and heal hearts and lives. If the unity of the group is strong enough, this will happen! I am also interested in pioneering new forms and styles of music and art, especially new-age fusion. I play electric guitar and keyboards, and my musical influences are classical, rock, jazz, new age and avant-garde. Anyone who is interested in supporting such a project is invited to contact Bob Charnes, [address], Voorhees, NJ 08043 (phone 609-772-2195; e-mail [email]).

LOOKING for other Bahá’í married couples who have attended a Christian Ministry Weekend called “United Marriage Encounter.” We would like to network with you to develop a Bahá’í support group to raise the level of God’s love in marriage and family life. If you know of a similar kind of support group within the Faith, or would like to become a part of one, please write to Lino and Susan di Caro, [address], Pekin, IL 61554, or phone 309-346-3267 (ring seven times to leave a message).

WANTED: traveling teachers who may be in or near the Des Moines, Iowa, area. The Des Moines Area Teaching Committee has established a program of public firesides called “Crossroads” with meetings held the second Thursday evening of each month; special programs can be arranged for anyone wishing to use the format. For details, please write to ‎Napolun Napoleon‎ Birdsong or Pamela Knox, [address], Des Moines, IA 50317, or phone 515-263-2778 (daytime answering machine) or 515-961-0605 (evening answering machine).

WANTED as soon as possible: copies of Bahá’í radio spots or scripts. Any length, any condition. Please mail to Vermont Media Task Force, P.O. Box 207, Shoreham, VT 05770, or phone 800-613-8055 for information. And thank you for helping to make the Faith more visible to the mainstream media.

WANTED: professional speakers in various fields who are already planning business trips to Sacramento, California, or the Bay area. Must be willing to talk to leaders and groups in your field. Prior notice of your visit (1–2 months) would be appreciated. Contact the Spiritual Assembly of Sacramento, P.O. Box 160966, Sacramento, CA 95816, or phone 916-457-7208.

THE NATIONAL Teaching Committee is seeking Bahá’í Youth Service Corps volunteers, ages 18-23, to fill a variety of posts in the U.S. including service at the permanent schools and institutes and in such diverse communities as Phoenix and Holbrook, Arizona; Conway and Orangeburg, South Carolina; Buncombe County, North Carolina; Holland, Michigan; Los Angeles, California; St. Paul, Minnesota, and Kansas City, Missouri. There are also opportunities for young people who want to enroll in a college or university in a local locality to serve as homefront pioneers. If you would like to serve at any of these posts, or if you are interested in establishing a post in another locality, please contact Ada James at the National Teaching Committee office, 847-733-3493.

CREATE the best of both worlds. We are looking for “mature souls” who have the vision and desire, with an entrepreneurial spirit, to help generate income above their personal needs to support the Bahá’í Funds and social/economic development programs. Please fax your personal vision statement and/or resumé to 847-869-4245, or e-mail [email].

YOUTH ACTIVITIES

A NETWORK of “Bahá’í Youth Service Corps Resource Persons” is being developed to help raise up and prepare a growing number of youth for homefront and international service. In early January a letter was sent to all known “veterans” of homefront and international Bahá’í Youth Service Corps (formerly Youth Year of Service). If you have served the Cause in this way and did not receive the letter, or would like to serve in some way, please contact the Office of Pioneering, Bahá’í National Center, 1233 Central St., Evanston, IL 60201-1611, phone 847-733-3511, fax 847-733-3509, or e-mail [email].

FOR SALE

A FIRST EDITION of The Dawn-Breakers, signed by Shoghi Effendi, has been donated by an individual Bahá’í to the Spiritual Assembly of Buffalo, New York, to help raise funds for the acquisition of a Bahá’í Center in western New York state. Bids for the special edition of The Dawn-Breakers will be accepted starting at $10,000. Please send your offer to Shoori Loghmanee, [address], Williamsville, NY 14221, or phone 716-631-0540.

ENJOY relaxing music while supporting the Arc Fund. The Spiritual Assembly of Lakewood, California, has available compact discs by flautist Travis Williams with all proceeds going to the Arc. Each CD includes three improvised pieces based on Bahá’í prayers and performed on a bamboo flute. The prayers are reprinted inside the cover, so the discs make great gifts for non-Bahá’í friends. Please send $10 (or more) plus $2 for shipping for each CD to the Lakewood Bahá’í Fund, P.O. Box 241, Lakewood, CA 90714.

OUR FAMILY has a dark green, hard-bound 1970 edition of The Dawn-Breakers, which is currently out of print, and is offering it for sale for the Arc through our local Spiritual Assembly. The community would like to raise at least $3,000 through sale of the book to help meet its pledge for the Three Year Plan. Please contact Al and Carol Black, [address], Lafayette, IN 47905, or e-mail [email].

SCHOOLS AND CONFERENCES

MUSICIANS, professional or amateur, are invited to take part June 20–22, 1997, in a “Musical Family Reunion” sponsored by the Bahá’ís of Newcastle and Weston County, Wyoming, with help from the Spiritual Assembly of Custer, South Dakota. The reunion will be held at a resort camp with jam sessions and informal group discussions each day and public concerts Saturday afternoon and evening. If you are interested in taking part, please write to Nancy Moore, [address], Newcastle, WY 82701 (phone/fax 307-746-4932, or e-mail [email]).

MISCELLANEOUS

BAHÁ’Í POETRY competition. Entries must be postmarked by June 30 for inclusion in this year’s competition to be judged by Patricia Abram. Rules and guidelines are available by sending a stamped, self-addressed envelope to White Mountain Publications, Box 5180, New Liskeard, Ontario P0J 1P0, Canada, or e-mail your request to [email].

The National Spiritual Assembly would like to remind the Bahá’ís that it is necessary to obtain permission from the Universal House of Justice before traveling to Israel, whether for personal reasons or to visit the Bahá’í Holy Places.

Lenise Jackson-Gaertner, a Bahá’í from Colton, California, who is the founder of Mothers for Race Unity and Equality, was the facilitator at a recent workshop on race unity at the University of California-Santa Barbara. Mrs. Gaertner, a writer and community activist, serves as consultant for the University of Arizona’s Center for Expansion of Language and Thinking, and is a consultant to the San Francisco School District. More than 40 people of culturally diverse backgrounds from Thousand Oaks to Arroyo Grande came together at UC-SB to work toward eliminating racism from their lives. The event was sponsored by the Bahá’ís of Santa Barbara.

Charlotte campaign sees enrollment of three more Spanish-speaking men

Three more Spanish-speaking believers have joined the 17 who have declared their belief in Bahá’u’lláh since last December in Charlotte, North Carolina.

At a Unity Feast, Emilio Ortiz declared. He is from Mexico.

The next day Oscar Mauricio Pinto declared.

Then, at a Naw-Rúz party, Guillermo Carcamo declared. He had heard about Bahá’u’lláh from his brother, ‎Robarto Roberto‎ Martinez, gotten in his truck and come to Charlotte from Miami, Florida.

Spanish-language firesides continue every Saturday night at Mehrdad and Christine Badiian’s home in nearby Fort Mill, South Carolina. Mr. Badiian and John Lansdowne also have presented a deepening on Bahá’í laws for the new believers.

House of Worship profiled in new book about Chicago

The Bahá’í House of Worship is featured in a new book, Chicago Sketches: Urban Tales, Stories and Legends from Chicago History.

The collection of 72 essays, written by June Skinner Sawyers and published by Wild Onion Books, devotes three pages to “The Building of a Great Temple along the North Shore.”

Besides including a photograph of the House of Worship, the essay quotes H. Van Buren Magonigle, a former president of the New York chapter of the American Institute of Architects, who said, “It [the Temple] is the first new idea in architecture since the thirteenth century.” [Page 20]

EDUCATION AND SCHOOLS

Summer School Programs and Schedules

Regional Schools Sponsored by the National Spiritual Assembly:

California, Southern; August 9-11; Advancing the Process of Entry by Troops; Running Springs Camp, near San Bernardino; no on-site registration; contact: Edye York, phone 909/983-1022.

Colorado East; June 14-18; Camp Jackson, Rye, Colorado (South of Pueblo); Advancing the Process of Entry by Troops; Registrar: Don Brayton, e-mail phone 719/687-3351.

Colorado, West (Four Corners Bahá’í School); July 24-28; Kamp Kiwanis, 18 miles south of Gallup, NM on S.R. 602; Advancing the Process for the Entry by Troops; Registrar: Bill Bright, Gallup, NM 87301, (505) 722-0039.

Florida (Southern Flame); July 3-7; Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, Florida; Advancing the Process of Entry by Troops; Registrar: Bill McSherry, PO Box 50643, Jacksonville, Florida 32240, phone 904/247-0885 (Bill) or 954/742-8116 (Toni Mayer).

Illinois (Heartland); July 17-21; Knox College, Galesburg, Illinois; Building Distinctive Bahá’í Communities with Mary Kaye Radpour and Chris Ruhe; Registrar: Carl Clingenpeel, Aurora, Illinois 60504, 708/898-6385.

Iowa; July 12-16; Grinnell College, Grinnell, Iowa; Wielding the Guardian’s Three Weapons with NSA member Jack McCants, featuring a one-day New Believers’ Course, and Learning Centers for all ages; Registrar: Rita Landers, Davenport, Iowa 52802, phone 319/323-8242 or 319/323-1717.

Kansas; May 24-26; Camp Aldrich, near Great Bend, Kansas; Advancing the Process of Entry by Troops; Registrar: Gray Bishop, Derby, Kansas 67037, phone 316/788-5378.

Kentucky; Aug. 30-Sept. 2; Make a Joyful Noise; call Sarah Lee 606/263-1820 for information.

Maryland/Virginia (Dayspring School); August 9-12; Frostburg State University; Advancing the Process of Entry by Troops; Registrar: Ingrid Olson, Herndon, VA 22070, phone 703/481-8393, e-mail

Minnesota; August 14-18; Camp Onomia, near Onamia, Minnesota; Advancing the Process of Entry by Troops; Registrar: Peter Olver, Coon Rapids, Minnesota 55431, phone 612/422-1320.

Mississippi; June 7-9; Gray Episcopal Conference Center, Canton, Mississippi; Facing the Challenge: Looking to the Future presented by Dr. Richard Thomas; Registrars: Alma and John Smith, Vicksburg, Mississippi 39180, phone 601/638-5175.

Montana; August 4-9: Luccock Park, south of Livingston, Montana; Developing Bahá’í Villages; Registrar: Sandi Marisdotter, Montana 59601, phone 406/442-7526.

Nebraska; August 16-18; Camp Comeca, at Cozad exit off I-80; Advancing the Process of Entry by Troops; Registrar: Colin Taylor, North Platte, Nebraska 69101, phone 308/534-4939.

New York (‎Soloman Solomon‎ Hilton Summer School); August 9-18; Advancing the Process of Entry by Troops; Registrar: Kathy Grammer, Chester, New York 10918, phone 914/739-6275, fax 914/469-5604.

North Carolina; June 27- July 1; Lenoir-Rhyne College, Hickory, NC; Developing Capacity Within: Self—Family—Community; Registrar: Sandra Miles, Winston-Salem, NC 27105, phone 910/767-6888, fax 910/767-7033.

Oregon, Eastern; August 10-13; call Katherine Young 503/276-1868 for information.

Oregon, Western (Badasht Conference); August 14-18; Camp Myrtlewood, 50 miles west of Roseburg, OR; Promoting the Process of Entry by Troops; Registrar: Norman Ives, Coos Bay, OR 97420, phone 503/267-3157.

Oregon, Western; (tentative) July 19-26; Camp Carmel, near Portland, Oregon; Promoting the Process of Entry by Troops; Registrar: Norman Ives, Coos Bay, Oregon 97420, phone 503/267-3157.

South Carolina; May 31-June 2; Louis G. Gregory Bahá’í Institute, near Hemingway, South Carolina; Advancing the Process of Entry by Troops, with Drs. Adrienne Reeves and Jane Failey; to register call LGBI at 803/558-5093.

Tennessee; August 30-September 2; Dubose Conference Center, ‎Mount Eagle Monteagle‎, Tennessee; Advancing the Process of Entry by Troops; Registrar: Kaihan Strain, Hixson, Tennessee 37343, phone 423/842-1750.

Utah; May 24-27; Camp Kostopulos, Salt Lake City, Utah; The Individual, The Family, and the Four Year Plan; Registrar: Karen Anne Webb, Bountiful, Utah 84010, 801/298-4507.

Virginia (Hemlock Haven Bahá’í Conference); June 14-16; Hungry Mother State Park; Opening the Door to the City of God—For All People; Registrar: Sarah Jane Lee, PO Box 2156, Lebanon, VA 24266, phone 540/889-0445.

Virginia, (Massanetta Bahá’í Conference); August 23-25; Massanetta Conference Center; Entry by Troops; Registrar: Brenner Pugh, Richmond, Virginia 23221, phone 804/353-0873.

Washington, Eastern/Idaho, Northern (Sheltering Branch Bahá’í School); June 29-July 5; Camp Wooten Environmental Learning Center; Advancing the Process of Entry by Troops; Registrar: Shannon McConnell, Richland, WA 99352, phone 509/943-1236.

Washington, Western; July 26-August 1; Vision and Courage: The Four Year Plan; Registrar: Carol Spell, Enumclaw, Washington 98022, phone 360/825-4842.

Wisconsin; July 15-19; Byron Center, Rt. 1, Box 78, Brownsville, Wisconsin 53006; Advancing the Process of Entry by Troops; Registrar: Lisa Riemer, West Bend, Wisconsin 53095, phone 414/338-3023.

Wisconsin (Green Lake Bahá’í Conference); September 13-15, Green Lake Conference Center, Green Lake, Wisconsin; Advancing the Process of Entry by Troops with NSA member Juana Conrad, Dr. Suheil Bushrui, and outstanding programs for youth and children; to register call 1-800-558-8898.

Bosch Bahá’í School, 500 Comstock Ln., Santa Cruz, CA 95060

Phone 408/423-3387, fax 408/423-7566, e-mail

June 14-16: Classroom Grand Opening Celebration. A National Spiritual Assembly representative will officially open the new classroom building. Special guest: Olya Roohizadegan, author of Olya’s Story.

June 22-30: Choral Camp with Tom Price, Victor Wong and Jamie Findlay. Administration and Development of Bahá’í Choirs, Choral Conducting, Choral Composition and Bahá’í Song-writing, Vocal Training, and Sight Singing.

July 6-11: Youth on the March—Preparation for Summer Teaching Projects with Gary Bulkin, Auxiliary Board Member for Propagation, Margie Bulkin and Ed Diliberto. Emphasis on preparing teachers of the Cause.

July 13-18: The Kitáb-i-Íqán with Brent Poirier. This study will build a greater degree of certitude and consecration in the individual believer.

July 13-18: The Local Spiritual Assembly: A Channel of God’s Grace with David Rouleau. Apply spiritual and administrative principles to the work of the Local Spiritual Assembly.

July 13-18: Teaching the Faith Through Tapestry with Vicki Hu Poirier. Have fun making a quilt for an Arc fund-raiser and learn how art can be a magnet for teaching the Faith.

July 20-25: College Intensive with Sean Lurie. A serious study of the Faith aimed at the college age student or those interested in a college-level study.

July 20-25: Race: Examining Myths of Tradition with NSA Member James Nelson. A fresh perspective on the issues involved with race relations and leave with methods to transform your communities.

July 20-25: Creating and Sustaining Unity in the Urban Community with Gloria Haithman-Ali. Discuss and learn of the challenges and opportunities for becoming an agent for change in urban communities.

July 20-25: The Covenant with Derek Cockshut. As the National Spiritual Assembly has requested that all Bahá’ís deepen our understanding of the Covenant, this course will approach the Covenant in a scholarly and practical way.

July 20-25: Artist-in-Residence, Mitchell Silas, Sandpainter.

July 27-Aug. 1: Youth Institute with Traci and Larry Gholar. Disciplined educational programs that address the intellectual, physical, and spiritual aspects of the students through lecture, study, physical exercise, prayer, and service.

Aug. 3-8: Junior Youth Institute with Joannie and James Yuille. See program description above.

Aug. 10-15: Junior Youth Institute with Nazi and Albert Huerta. See program description July 27-Aug. 1.

Aug. 17-22: Building Relationships, Friendships, and Opportunities to Teach with Michael Winger Bearskin. Session geared to inspire a deeper commitment of the individual towards spiritual relationships and community unity.

Aug. 17-22: Teaching Through Storytelling with Charlene Winger-Bearskin. Learn to captivate an audience by practicing the age old art of storytelling using traditional Native American stories with Bahá’í ideals.

Aug. 17-22: The Covenant with Derek Cockshut. See description July 20-25.

Aug. 24-28: Creating Teachers of the Cause with Counsellor Wilma Ellis. Dr. Ellis takes an honest approach to effective teaching styles.

Aug. 24-28: Great Teachers of the Cause with NSA member Firuz Kazemzadeh. A look at the early Standard Bearers of the Cause.

Aug. 24-28: The Covenant with Derek Cockshut. See description July 20-25.

Aug. 24-28: Artist-in-Residence, Marjorie Smith, Puppetry.

Aug. 30-Sept. 2: Teaching Through the Arts with Jack Lenz, Muhtadia Rice and more! This session will be a wonderful end to the summer! [Page 21]

Summer School Programs and Schedules

Green Acre Bahá’í School, 188 Main St., Eliot, ME 03903 Phone 207/439-7200, fax 207/439-7202, e-mail

May 24-26: Media Training Workshop with the Office of Public Information. Learn press-release writing, dealing with the media, interviewing, and more.

June 7-9: Local Spiritual Assembly Development Weekend with the Bahá’í National Center Office of Community Development. Focus on the maturation process of the LSA and its role in the development of the community.

June 28-July 4: Hasten The Advent Of The Day with Habib Riazati. Prepare for entry by troops with this study of the teachings and the methods used to share them.

June 28-July 4: Overcoming Obstacles with Dr. Adrienne Reeves. Explore how we can become “liberated from these petty preoccupations and gnawing anxieties” in order to offer the divine remedy to the multitudes.

July 5-10: We Have Come To Sing Praises with Van And Cookie Gilmer. A joyous exploration of using music as a medium for the Divine Message.

July 5-10: Consultation and Spiritualization with Barbara Markert, Auxiliary Board member for Protection. As we become more spiritualized, the process of consultation will more powerfully solve individual and societal problems.

July 12-17: Law and Justice In The Bahá’í Dispensation with attorney Anthony Vance, Secretary of the NTC of Kenya. Contrast concepts of the Bahá’í Dispensation with those used in the past to determine solutions to individual disputes and societal problems.

July 12-17: Race Unity: Reaching New Heights with Thelma Khelghati and Mary K. Makoski. Look at models of race unity and the writings to work on the “Most Challenging Issue” in the Four Year Plan.

July 12-17: Jr. Youth Institute (Grades 6-8) and July 19-24: Youth Institute (Grades 9-12). Study of the writings, application to major issues confronting youth today, lecture, discovery groups, private study, recreation, music, artistic sharing, and a service project. Application required.

July 19-24: The Investigation Of Reality with Diane Iverson, Alden Kent and Douglas McAdam. An individual exploration of reality leading to participation in entry by troops.

July 19-24: Bahá’í Approaches To Development. Learn about effective social and economic development, involving consultation, universal participation, the grassroots and a focus on spiritual principles.

July 26-31: Created Rich: Achieving True Prosperity with Roger and Marylyn Harrison. Setting clearer spiritual and financial goals as an individual, family, or community, and learning practical methods for pursuing those goals.

July 26-31: Fire & Gold: Benefiting From Life’s Tests with Brian Kurzius. Evaluate your current tests and discover solutions for them in the writings.

Aug. 2-7: Enthusiastically Embracing Growth with Bob Harris. The Four Year Plan is focused on growth, new believers, stretching our capabilities and expanding our capacity for serving the community.

Aug. 2-7: The Local Spiritual Assembly and Its Community with Janet and Rodney Richards and Barbara Harris. Acquiring the skills needed to create growing, dynamic, unified communities.

Aug. 2-7: The Life and Vision Of Shoghi Effendi with Constance Chen and Robert Ahdieh. Study the life and writings of the Guardian to develop habits of turning to the writings to make sense of current-day events and issues. Afternoon sessions by youth for youth.

Aug. 9-14: Light and Shadow with Mary K. Radpour, Auxiliary Board member. Reflect on life and relationships in these times of mental tests.

Aug. 9-14: Demonstrating The Faith’s Relevance For Today with Carol and Nathan Rutstein. Achieving consecration and success in teaching in a world brimming with distraction.

Aug. 9-14: Core Curriculum Teacher Training. Teacher training for the Core Curriculum explores the spiritual reality of the child, the station of the teacher, and the child-development-centered community.

Aug. 16-21: No Mere Expression Of Vague And Pious Hope with Michael and Kathy Penn. The equality of men and women with emphasis on this principle in structuring the world’s legal, social, political, and economic systems. The lives of Bahá’í women in Bahá’í history will also be explored.

Aug. 16-21: Bahá’í Choral Institute. Sing under the direction of Tom Price and participate in workshops in voice training, choral conducting, administration of Bahá’í choirs, music composition, and songwriting.

Aug. 23-28: The Emerging World Order Of Bahá’u’lláh with Auxiliary Board member Dr. Eugene Andrews. Discuss spiritual and administrative implications for individuals, institutions and communities of the emerging World Order.

Aug. 23-28: Bridges From The Bible with Gary Matthews. Look at the Biblical foundations of Bahá’í belief, with emphasis on building bridges of trust and understanding by establishing common ground.

Aug. 30-Sept. 2: Releasing The Power: Covenant In Action And Growth Of The Bahá’í Community with Counsellor Dr. ‘Abdu’l-Missagh Ghadirian and Auxiliary Board members Barbara Markert and Dr. Eugene Andrews. Examine the relationship between the Covenant and the growth of the Bahá’í community.

Louhelen Bahá’í School, 3208 S. State Rd., Davison, MI 48423 Phone 810/653-5033, fax 810/653-7181, e-mail

May 31-June 2: Focused Productivity Workshop with Vaughn Loudenback. Workshop on communication, time management, and action to assist in achieving the goals of the Four Year Plan.

June 7-9: Shifting the Balance: The Partnership of Men and Women with NSA Member Juana Conrad; Dr. Michael Penn; Gospel Choir of Detroit; and Carolyn Wistrand as “Lua.” Study of the NSA’s Statement on Women and the lives of women who played key roles in the unfolding of the Divine Plan.

June 16-22: Camp Louhelen with Joannie Yuille, Jerry and Mitra Sticklemeyer, Diana Wiedenhoeft, Charlotte Joyner, and Rona Schecter. Focus on daily habits of constructive spiritual living. Activities include classroom learning, devotions, music, art, games, sports, and overnight camping for children ages 8-12.

June 22-27: Bahá’í Studies for College Age Youth with Connie Chen, Dr. Rick Johnson, and Dr. Michael Penn. When grounded in the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh, academic learning can become a powerful force for social progress.

June 28-July 3: Persian American Bahá’í Studies with ‎Eyanat Enayat‎ Rawhani, Member of the NSA of the Bahá’ís of Canada; Keyvan Guela; and music with Narges Fani and Phyllis Ruocco. Explore unity in diversity, individual initiative, institutional guidance, and family life.

July 5-10: Institute for Youth and Junior Youth with Russell Ballew, Charlotte Joyner, and Nevin Jenkins. This institute for youth ages 12-16 fosters devotion, study, consultation, and skill development.

July 12-17: Education Seminar with Paul Lample, Bahá’í World Center Office of Social and Economic Development; Sunita Gandhi, Global Concepts (Education and Development); National Bahá’í Education Task Force; Eleanor Munkholm, Virtues Project; and Dr. Ray Johnson, Former Principal at Maxwell and New Era Schools. Educational institutions increasingly are called to instill moral principles, build bridges of understanding, foster cooperation, and respond to the needs of the age. Explore practical approaches to extending the principles of Bahá’í education into the public arena.

July 19-24: Family and Friends, Session I with Kathy Penn, Dr. Michael Penn, and Dr. Rick Johnson. Advancing the process of entry by troops will be explored through consideration of the spiritual transformation and empowerment of the individual, the life and writings of the Guardian, and the role of the Covenant in the growth of Bahá’í communities.

July 26-31: Family and Friends, Session II with Continental Counsellor Tod Ewing, Raytheon Rawls, and The Settlement Institute. How to advance the process of entry by troops and build Bahá’í communities through study of the writings, practicing the skills of consultation and promoting unity through the resolution of conflicts. A serious look at the Four Year Plan and methods for teaching in the local community and the family.

Aug. 2-7: Family and Friends, Session III with Habib Riazati. Careful study of the life and writings of Bahá’u’lláh as they apply to the theme of advancing the process of entry by troops.

Aug. 9-14: Youth Eagle Institute with Larry Gholar, Tracy Gholar, Anita Strickland, and Nasif Habeeb-ullah. Fostering the capacity of youth to arise and serve by developing their spiritual, intellectual, and physical capacities. Includes classroom activities, devotions, service projects, and recreation. For youth ages 15 and older.

Aug. 16-18: Multicultural Family Camp with Dr. Joel Nizen and Vicki Nizen. This Core Curriculum Race Unity training program is designed to assist parents and teachers to raise up a generation of children free of prejudice and truly united.

Aug. 30-Sept. 2: Homecoming with Holly Hansen and One Planet Music Festival. The Louhelen Homecoming welcomes all of the Louhelen family to a weekend focused on teaching. This workshop will include the participative design of ways to extend the healing message of Bahá’u’lláh to the generality of humankind. [Page 22]

Part 3: Bahá’í social and economic development

This is the third of four articles on Bahá’í social and economic development adapted from a talk given in Orlando, Florida, in December 1993.—Ed.

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By HOLLY HANSON

In two previous articles in this series we have considered the spiritual tools that the Bahá’í Revelation gives us for social and economic development, and the essential place of our love for God—and God’s love for us—in any effort to change society.

To understand what it means to apply the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh in a way that causes social progress, we can consider Bahá’í development in a North American city right now. What would happen if we were to take these spiritual tools and apply them to that city’s largest social problem, racism?

‘Abdu’l-Bahá and Shoghi Effendi both gave crystal clear, concrete instructions to the American Bahá’í concerning what they should be doing about racism and racial injustice. It is a useful example, first because the Bahá’í Writings are so explicit about how to solve the problem, and second because the solution can be applied to the deep and painful divisions among ethnic, class or religious groups that are tearing apart so many societies around the world.

First, let us think about what we could do if, being our pure, well-intentioned and sincere selves, we chose to do something with which we are familiar.

Let us imagine we are members of a North American Bahá’í community that consults about the needs of the wider community and its own resources and decides to start a tutoring program for students in a neighborhood where the quality of public school education is low and the social and economic stresses and challenges for young people are high.

The Bahá’í Center is in that neighborhood, there are enough enthusiastic volunteers to keep the program going, and it meets a very real need. This is a wonderful thing to do, and it has a profound effect on some of the participants, but its goal is limited. It doesn’t address the basic problem—a pervasive racism that is chewing these young people up and spitting them out even though a few get caught in a net like tutoring.

In the culture in which we live, that is the best one can hope for. The system is rotten, but people with good intentions can save a few individuals. This is a wonderful thing, not a bad thing, but it is not all that is within our power.

We could turn instead to the Bahá’í Writings for guidance and transform our very good, worthwhile effort into something more powerful by following the specific instructions that Shoghi Effendi has given us about how to eliminate racism in America.

Let us imagine that the members of a Bahá’í community decide that as their contribution to the social and economic development of their community, they are going to follow those instructions.

Prescription for overcoming racism

First, with the tool of a vision of our actions that we get from the Writings, we have the goal of creating racial unity. Throughout this century, the Central Figures of the Faith have told American Bahá’ís that overcoming racism had to be their priority, that it was a prerequisite to success in other areas.

Next, we employ the tool of spiritual empowerment—because each believer must do rigorous, soul-searching spiritual work.

“Let the white make a supreme effort...to abandon once for all their usually inherent and at times subconscious sense of superiority, to correct our tendency to reveal a patronizing attitude, and to persuade the others of our genuineness and sincerity, and to not be impatient.”

This is awesomely practical. First, we don’t have to waste time wondering whether we are patronizing or whether we have a superior attitude, because the authority of our Faith is telling us we do. That is the vision tool.

And here is the spiritual power tool. Instead of being overcome with pain and guilt, we have the confidence and the self-acceptance of faith to encourage us to change.

The same spiritual potency can be discerned in the Guardian’s instructions for people of color:

“Let the Negroes show the warmth of their response, their readiness to forget the past, and their ability to wipe out every trace of suspicion.”

Again, these are supremely painful, difficult tasks, and we cannot accomplish them merely by willing racism to go away; we achieve them because God wants us to and Bahá’u’lláh gives us the means.

In this same clear prescription, Shoghi Effendi explains what it is going to take to eliminate racism—genuine love, extreme patience, true humility, consummate tact, sound initiative, mature wisdom and deliberate, persistent and prayerful effort. These are virtues in action.

When we look at what the Writings tell us to do about racism, we see that they include statements about social transformation—about the structures, patterns and habits that we must change.

Basically, these are all the patterns of our lives that uphold and perpetuate subtle and pervasive racial separation. Shoghi Effendi said we must create real unity in every aspect of our lives, and he provides a checklist of where we have to establish unity to be faithful to our tasks.

One of these checklists says in our homes, in our hours of relaxation and leisure, in the daily conduct of business, in the associations of our children, in study classes, playgrounds and club rooms.

He also specified what kinds of interaction would set a Bahá’í standard—not cold and empty formalities but close and intimate social contact.

If we turn to the Bahá’í Writings and see that our goal is close and intimate social contact, how are we going to bring it about? It is clear that we need consultation, and the systematic plans devised by Spiritual Assemblies, to accomplish this.

Let us imagine that the same Assembly that chose to tutor underprivileged children decides to take action on this. In addition to the inner, personal tasks, they work on the outward, social aspects.

They set up a cooperative play group to bring toddlers and the toddlers’ mothers together. Some women establish a reading group, reading fiction by African-American, Native American, Swedish-American and Chinese-American women. They have been polite but distant friends at Feast for years, but as they sit in each other’s rooms and talk about these books, and then about their own mothers’ lives, and the many similarities and differences among them, they develop an intimate understanding and love for one another that is something entirely new.

The Assembly decides that the public schools are the primary place in which racial misunderstanding and separation is being replicated, and where racial unity could be achieved, and pours its energy into high-quality after-school programs that enable children and youth to hear and understand one another, to develop goals and carry them out together.

There may be social service elements of the plan: there may be tutoring, or a community health program, or things of that nature, but the creation of close and intimate social ties is the overriding goal, and these other elements are dimensions of achieving the fundamental objective.

The difference between a plan that creates deep and intimate social bonds and a plan that delivers a social service is: whose life has to change?

If I am an upper-middle class American I can march in an anti-racism protest, or donate food, or even give my time as a tutor without questioning my own privileged place in society.

But if I start developing close and intimate social ties with those who are different from me and are suffering deeply in this society, if I begin to understand their life circumstances and the challenges they face, and they become as close to me as members of my family, I am not going to be able to accept it.

I am going to make changes in my lifestyle, and I am going to mobilize all the resources available to me as a member of a privileged group to make whatever changes must be made so that my “family” stops suffering. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá defines justice as recognizing everyone as members of one family.

What are the goals of a plan to establish close and intimate interracial social bonds in every aspect of our lives? Basically, to change the intellectual and social structure of the society, to eliminate racism by breaking out of the inner and outer patterns of thought and behavior that keep us polarized, like giant invisible magnets.

What are we going to receive if we take the risk, if we summon the courage to use the spiritual tools of our Faith to eliminate racism?

I think we do not know, we cannot know the answer to that question because taking these steps, following this prescription, will move us to a place at which North America has never been.

Shoghi Effendi wrote that obedience to the ordinances of Bahá’u’lláh would lead to a fusion of the races. Fusion is a powerful event. It is a melding, a coming together of disparate elements, so that when they come together they release a tremendous burst of energy.

Fusion is what is happening in the sun. It is radiant, it is powerful, it is what we need and want. Where the energy unleashed by racial unity will take us we do not know, but wherever it is, we want to go there.

If we are willing to risk going beyond the plans and expectations of our society, and follow the guidance we have been given in our teachings, that is exactly where we are going to arrive.

Thinking about this can call to our attention one of the barriers that stand in the way of Bahá’í development. Fusion is powerful. The world will be different than it is when we do this. We might think, “It is wonderful that Bahá’u’lláh’s teachings will have such an effect in the world, but it probably won’t happen in my lifetime.”

We must ask ourselves if we are afraid, if we might actually prefer not to be around when the power of the Faith becomes evident. It is natural for us to be attached to the Faith as we know it, but that is an attachment we must abandon.

Some living Bahá’ís can remember when every Bahá’í in North America knew the name of every other Bahá’í, and the friends couldn’t imagine a time when this would not be so. But the Cause of God cannot be limited by our sentimental attachment to its formative stages. It is going to keep growing.

At this moment we stand on the threshold of a time when the power of the Faith in action will become manifest in the world, and everyone becomes aware of it. Are we going to be afraid of that growth and hold back from it? I don’t think so.

Let us not think in small ways; let us not be trapped by false dichotomies in which we suppose that tutoring or a soup kitchen is development because they satisfy material needs, and creating social unity is “that other thing” we are supposed to do because we are Bahá’ís.

If we truly want development, if we want Bahá’u’lláh’s New World Order to happen in the material world, the way we are going to make it happen is to do exactly what our Faith tells us to do. If it tells us to establish intimate interracial social bonds in every facet of our lives, then intimate interracial social contact is going to get society where it needs to go. It doesn’t matter whether we understand this or not. We must have faith; we have to trust.

This is not an impractical plan. It is not an immaterial plan. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá said that the greatest instrumentality for the redemption of the world is love and fellowship and unity.

If we want justice, if we want greater opportunities for the poor to obtain a decent education and respectable jobs, we need to change ourselves and our actions in ways that create unity.

This is social welfare in the light, and if we let in the light we are going to grow some awesomely lovely social plants. This brings us back to the issue of courage, discussed in a previous article.

Imagine saying to a colleague as you are leaving work, “I’m on my way to tutor secondary school students; it’s a service project of the Bahá’í community.”

Now imagine saying, “I’m on my way to drive my family across town so my children can establish close

See DEVELOPMENT page 31 [Page 23]

1,250 enrolled in Guinea-Bissau, nearly 850 in India

A recent report from Guinea-Bissau says that the Luz local teaching campaign is gathering strength and momentum, and boasts of some 1,000 new declarations of faith in Bahá’u’lláh. Meanwhile, the William Sears Campaign has registered 250 new believers.

Two recent teaching campaigns in India, the first in Orissa, the second in Rajasthan, led to the enrollment of nearly 850 new believers. Twenty young Bahá’ís taught in 42 towns and villages in Orissa following a youth conference, returning to Bhubaneswar on January 20 to report the enrollment of 691 new believers. Meanwhile, seven Bahá’ís were teaching in 40 villages and towns in the ‎Aimer Ajmer‎ and Jaipur districts of Rajasthan, enrolling 157 new believers and forming 11 new local Spiritual Assemblies.

Renewed activity last August and September in Senegal’s Enoch Olinga Teaching Campaign led to the enrollment of 167 new believers, the opening of six new localities to the Faith, and the formation of one new local Spiritual Assembly. Teams in the area began immediately to deepen the new Bahá’ís and to consolidate their communities.

The Light of Unity Bahá’í music group recently traveled from Côte d’Ivoire to Ghana, where the National Spiritual Assembly took advantage of their talents to proclaim the Faith, asking the friends to visit 13 localities in 30 days at which an average of 250 people attended the group’s 16 performances. “People took great interest in the Message of Bahá’u’lláh,” a group representative wrote. “Two hundred-sixteen people were enrolled in the Faith. ...We are convinced that this method is the path to entry by troops.” The Light of Unity group later took part in a border teaching conference in Benin/Nigeria, as a result of which a Bahá’í group was established in Ketou with 15 believers. One National Spiritual Assembly member from Benin has already begun consolidation activities.

Last December, a Bahá’í dentist and two young assistants held dental camps in Rangpur, Bangladesh, and seven surrounding villages, treating about 400 patients who were given advice about dental hygiene. Some received medicine, and a few had teeth extracted. While in the area, the Bahá’ís shared the Message of Bahá’u’lláh, as a result of which more than 100 people embraced the Cause. In Jagdishpur, where the Faith was proclaimed for the first time, 25 people were enrolled and a local Spiritual Assembly was formed.

Teachers Ranel Goumou (left) and Gustave Bamba are pictured with some of their students at the Bahá’í School of Gama Koni Koni in Guinea, West Africa. The school, founded in 1990, is one of four rural Bahá’í schools in that country. Local believers established the schools to combat Guinea’s extremely low literacy rate of only 19 percent.

Two Bahá’ís in Togo undertook a teaching campaign last September in the area around Sigbéhoué, teaching in 23 villages, registering 92 declarations and opening 14 localities to the Faith. They also helped form four new local Spiritual Assemblies before initiating deepening and consolidation activities.

In the state of Alagoas, Brazil, along the country’s eastern coast, 70 declarations of faith in Bahá’u’lláh have been received in recent months among members of the Kariri-Xocó tribe.

About 150 people from several communities took part last November in a Bahá’í-sponsored cultural festival at the Jamal longhouse of Kerangan Ara, in the Kapit Division of Sarawak, Malaysia, the first event of its kind to be organized by the Bahá’ís in that state. The spirit was so high during the two-day festival, which included Iban cultural dances, poetry, and field events for women and children, that 43 people declared their belief in Bahá’u’lláh prior to and during the event.

Almost every Bahá’í in Tlokweng, Botswana, who is five years old or older took part in a nine-day teaching campaign in January, as a result of which 40 people embraced the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh. The response was so inspiring that the friends continue to actively teach the Cause.

The first Spiritual Assembly of Syktyvkar, capital of the Komi Republic, west of the Ural Mountains in Russia, was formed last October 20. At that time, there were 17 Bahá’ís in the city.

The island of Atiu in the Cook Islands was opened to the Faith with the enrollment of a husband and wife who expressed their readiness to serve Bahá’u’lláh in any way possible, according to a recent report in the Cook Island Bahá’í News.

Meanwhile, a report from the Bahá’ís of Hungary includes news of the declarations of 25 residents in the town of Sarkad. “It is our hope and aspiration,” the message reads, “that this region may be illuminated with the Most Great Name, and that through the devoted efforts of our dear friends we may be able to establish several local Spiritual Assemblies in the Békéscsaba region.”

The Bahá’ís of Ghana report the formation last September of a new local Spiritual Assembly at Wa as a result of the country’s ongoing Enoch Olinga Teaching Campaign. “So far,” the report continues, “21 people have declared their faith in Bahá’u’lláh. ...It is interesting to note that some of the new declarants are participating in the teaching.”

Eighteen young people representing each of the islands of the Eastern Caroline group took part in a recent six-day teaching institute. Presentations included those on prayer, the role of youth in the Faith, the relationship between Bahá’í teaching efforts and the Lesser Peace, the administrative order, the Funds, and teaching children’s classes. “A strong sense of unity and common vision...was evident,” said a report from the institute, “and resulted in six youth declaring their belief in Bahá’u’lláh.”

Four participants in the 10th course of study sponsored by the Bahá’í National Deepening Institute of Kazakhstan were enrolled in the Faith during the gathering, which was attended by 47 Bahá’ís from 13 localities in Australia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Tajikistan, the United Kingdom and U.S., as well as a number of non-Bahá’í teachers from Kazakhstan. The program—the first designed especially for teachers of children’s classes—included lectures on the history of the Faith, the administrative order, spiritual transformation, and other issues deemed of special interest to young people in relation to moral principles.

Bermet Moltaeva, a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of Kyrgyzstan, traveled recently with three Bahá’í visitors to the town of Narin where the group held firesides and deepenings for a week. As a result of these activities, five people embraced the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh.

“Thanks to the dedication of the young teachers of the Faith who are sacrificing their time to spread the Teachings of the Blessed Beauty,” reads a report from the Bahá’ís of Zimbabwe, “five local Spiritual Assemblies were formed in November. Four of them are in Norton, and one in Chirundazi, Mhondoro.”

Sen. Nick Bolkus, Australia’s Minister for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs, attended a special service last November at the Bahá’í House of Worship in Mona Vale to commemorate the Day of the Covenant. He was accompanied by an adviser from his personal staff in Canberra and an officer of the Department of Immigration and Ethnic Affairs in Sydney. Prior to the service, the minister and his party attended a luncheon at the National Office with Counselor David Chittleborough and eight members of the National Spiritual Assembly. Sen. Bolkus was given a copy of The Bahá’í World 1993–94 as a gift from the National Assembly.

A Chair for Bahá’í Studies was established last December at the University of Lucknow, India. More than 300 guests attended its formal inauguration including the governor of Uttar Pradesh and the vice-chancellor of the university. The Bahá’í Chair is in the Department of Western History. The keynote address was given by Dr. Dwight Allen, a Bahá’í educator. This is the third Bahá’í Chair to be established; the others are at the University of Maryland in the U.S. and the University of Indore in India.

World Congress video leads young Bahá’í in Iran to forge bonds of friendship with Papua New Guinea

Auxiliary Board member William Pandawa, who comes from a remote part of the Daga area of Milne Bay Province in Papua New Guinea, was featured in a video that was shown at the 1992 Bahá’í World Congress in New York City.

Copies of the video tape containing William’s story have been shown around the world including the small west Iranian town of Sanandaj, where it was seen by 20-year-old Rowshanak Nakha’i.

Ms. Nakha’i was so overwhelmed by the way in which the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh had spread to even the remotest areas of the world and touched their inhabitants that she decided to show her happiness by rendering a colored embroidery of the Bahá’í House of Worship in India and sending it to Mr. Pandawa as a gift.

After two years she completed the art work and sent it via Europe to Papua New Guinea where Counselor Sirus Naraqi presented it to Mr. Pandawa with a letter from Ms. Nakha’i during a ceremony attended by about 40 Bahá’ís at the Alotau Bahá’í Center in Milne Bay Province.

The simple gift will always be cherished by Mr. Pandawa and the 5,000 other Bahá’ís in the Daga area as a symbol of the spiritual link between them and the friends in the Cradle of the Faith. [Page 24]

EDUCATION AND SCHOOLS

Children’s Academies Held at Bosch

“It was way better than OK!!” was the comment from one of the evaluations received back from Bosch’s Spring Children’s Academies. Eighty 4th, 5th, and 6th grade students spent part of their spring break at Bosch deepening their love for Bahá’u’lláh. This children’s program is designed very much after the popular youth institutes that Bosch holds in the summer. The curriculum for Children’s Academy is based on a quote from ‘Abdu’l-Bahá: “In thy school, instruct thou God’s children in the customs of the Kingdom. Be thou a teacher of love, in a school of unity. Train thou the children of the friends of the Merciful in the rules and ways of His loving-kindness.”

Consequently, the Academy is a combination of classes, service, exercise, training in cleanliness, etiquette, manners, and lots and lots of fun! Activities included sports, games, obstacle course through the woods, a car wash, calisthenics, a candlelight dinner, bonfire, and walks through the woods. Classes were on prayer and meditation, creating teachers of the Cause, developing a deep love for Bahá’u’lláh, and etiquette. The whole orientation for these young Bahá’ís was to help them develop their own Bahá’í identity so that they can become prepared for their experience as youth and their age of spiritual maturity. The Academy also helps them realize their own potential as teachers of the Cause.

The Cabin Counselors are a key to the success of the program. These young adults acted as loving mentors donating their time to help educate and train the students. The Academies could not be held without them.

Everyone enjoys the Bookstore/Cafe at Louhelen!

Advanced Core Curriculum Seminar Held at Louhelen

A highly successful Advanced Core Curriculum Seminar was held at the National Teacher Training Center located at Louhelen Bahá’í School March 29-April 1, 1996. The three-day seminar was attended by over 50 Core Curriculum trained teachers, parent facilitators, and race unity trainers who took full advantage of the opportunity to collaborate, consult, and deepen on a wide range of practical issues relating to the spiritual education of our precious children. Dr. Alberta Deas addressed the participants on behalf of the National Spiritual Assembly, giving a vision of the accomplishments of the Three Year Plan, the challenges to be addressed in the Four Year Plan and the importance of Bahá’í children and youth in achieving these many goals. In separate sessions, Dr. Deas assisted parent facilitators to understand the particular needs and opportunities facing African-American parents and inspired the race unity trainers both to continue and expand their meritorious service.

New Believers Program Offered at Green Acre

“We are Bahá’ís,” a weekend program for new believers, was offered at Green Acre May 10-12. This deepening course prepared by the National Bahá’í Education Task Force was for those who had recently enrolled in the Faith, were close to the Faith, or just wanted to experience a basic study. The program offered a warm weekend of spiritual focus and fellowship. Participants acquired a sense of the greatness of the Faith and its purpose, evoked a sense of joy in what it means to be a Bahá’í, deepened in the history and teachings of the Faith, and refreshed and gladdened their spirits with time for reflection and prayers in ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Room.

WLGI Radio Bahá’í Staff Attends International Seminar

The 6th International Radio Bahá’í Seminar was held in Cochabamba, Bolivia, from February 3-13, 1996. More than 50 staff members from Bahá’í Radio stations around the world, including two staff members from WLGI Radio Bahá’í, gathered at a beautiful retreat in the mountains to study, pray, and consult together on the future of Bahá’í Radio and how radio can be used more effectively to teach the Cause of God. An intense nine-day deepening was held on the compilation Entry By Troops and led by Mr. Donald Witzel of Venezuela. Other classes were presented by Continental Counselor Enoy Anello, ‎Manual Manuel‎ Flores of Panama, Patricia Osorio of Chile, and Susan McLaren of Venezuela. Most of the sessions were conducted in Spanish, offering a challenge to those attending who were English-speaking, but translators assisted and everyone felt they were able to fully participate. The spirit and genuine love the participants felt for each other brought them closer in their vision and determination to do whatever it takes to bring Bahá’u’lláh’s healing message to listeners everywhere.

WLGI Staff Hard at Work in South Carolina

Conference Explores Violence-Free Relationships

Men and women as equal partners for a peaceful world was the focus of “Violence-free Relationships,” a conference held March 29-31 at Green Acre Bahá’í School.

The program examined violence against women and children as the yardstick against which can be measured the violation of all human rights. Cosponsored with the Sarah Farmer Women’s Center, it offered resources to help individuals and families move away from force, competition and aggression toward new models of cooperation. Topics included the perspective of the child, the essentials of violence-free marriage and the specific roles that men can play.

A panel discussion on current trends and services featured an advocate for battered women and their families; a psychotherapist addressing treatment and the role of religious belief; and the director of a local women’s shelter, all non-Bahá’í guests. In addition to studying the January 24, 1993, letter of the Universal House of Justice on the elimination of violence and abuse, participants defined the areas of abuse and violence within the realms of their own experience. They explored solutions via application of the writings, small-group consultation, and the use of drama and artistic expression.

Conference enrollment included men, women, youth, and children, among them, about a dozen attendees who were not yet Bahá’ís. A local daily newspaper covered the activities with a story in its Sunday edition.

These youth from the Bahá’í College Clubs of the University of Arizona, ‎Northen Northern‎ Arizona University, and NABI were gathered for planning a College Club Service Learning Program. The Program coincided with the Traditional Navajo Song and Dance on April 13. [Page 25]

Collaborative Efforts Produce Results in South Carolina

Josephine McFadden moved back to Lake City, South Carolina, in January 1993 and thought her heart would break. Lake City had become a community that had been inactive for a number of years. She cried and prayed a lot because of what was happening to the youth in Lake City. They seemed to have given up hope, to the point of self-destruction.

She saw a community that was crying out for "they knew not what." But she knew. They needed Bahá’u’lláh. They needed the transforming power of His Word. But, she didn’t know how she was going to get them interested in the Word of Bahá’u’lláh, the Glory of God. During this time she was diagnosed with cancer and her mother with Alzheimer’s. One of the two grandsons she brought to Lake City with her was on a self-destructive course, just like the youth in Lake City. It seemed like Bahá’u’lláh was showing her through tests and trials the work He had for her to do. Thank God, it was not to be done alone, but with the love, mercy, and compassion of the friends. Helen Kintz, Mahin Koslow, Ursula Richardson and Josephine started praying at each entrance to Lake City for the healing of each soul, and an awakening of the capacity that is within each of us to recognize the voice of God in this day.

She began to see signs of the friends becoming aware of that capacity and love last summer when they had the Bahá’í Revival and the Army of Light visited Lake City. As a result of these visits they had eleven declarations! During the Fall months, consolidation activities and prayers continued. Then came the Fast and the Louis G. Gregory/Magdalene Carney Teaching Initiative.

During the month of March, which includes the special spiritual potency of the Fast, Lake City (about 25 miles from LGBI) was the target of intense teaching and consolidation. Daily, teachers left Louis G. Gregory Bahá’í Institute (LGBI) to participate in a variety of activities aimed at finding receptive souls and building a base of believers to ensure the election of a strong Local Spiritual Assembly in Lake City at Ridván 153 B.E.

Lake City at Ridván 153 B.E.

A number of components of this portion of the Louis G. Gregory/‎Magdeline Magdalene‎ Carney Teaching Initiatives, dedicated to the memory of Betsy Haynes, have positively contributed to its many fruits. The objectives/goals were chosen after consultation with the Auxiliary Board Members, LGBI, a local believer of Lake City, and the South Carolina Bahá’í Coordinating Committee (SCBCC). Requests for participation in the teaching work were handled by LGBI and the SCBCC and food, housing, transportation, and teacher training were provided by LGBI. Literature and teaching materials were provided by LGBI and the SCBCC and special arrangements and events were provided, such as sound systems, facility costs, food, advertisements, Louis G. Gregory Bahá’í Gospel Choir and the Bahá’í Youth Workshop.

Attempts to focus on entire households were made. One Bahá’í was found "accidentally" who had enrolled approximately ten years ago. This led to the enrollment of his two brothers and mother. His father is also interested. A woman who studied the Faith fifteen years ago, who, in all probability had enrolled in the Faith then, since she was getting The American Bahá’í, has now embraced the Faith with a deeper understanding. Her teenage daughter has enrolled and is involved in activities in the area.

Receipt of The American Bahá’í was key in finding the friends. One of the newly enrolled brothers eagerly embraced the teachers because he had been reading his brother’s copies of The American Bahá’í!

Consolidation programs have been ongoing. A deepening by the Auxiliary Board Member on the power of prayer was held and the Feast of Bahá was a special celebration with Counsellor Tod Ewing and over 30 people present. Three-quarters of the attendees were from Lake City.

One of the youth from Lake City was recently able to attend a Children’s Leadership Weekend program at LGBI. The mother reports that the youth’s work at school has improved since he has begun to memorize prayers, as has his overall behavior.

Weekly deepenings are being taught by the staff of LGBI, youth service corps volunteers, and the Auxiliary Board Member’s assistant for Lake City. ‎LGBl LGBI‎ and a local believer transported ‎17new 17 new‎ believers and seekers to the Naw-Rúz celebration at LGBI. Seven new believers attended the Youth Leadership Weekend at LGBI the second weekend of April.

There were twenty new declarants during the Fast, including six adults, five youth, and nine children. All new declarants have been revisited at least twice and the parents of children have been visited and given information about the Faith, resulting in permission for enrollment being granted.

Josephine McFadden continues to be at the helm of the activities in Lake City. She greets the teachers daily in her home; assigns areas for teaching, receives reports and monitors follow-up. Her radiant, sacrificial spirit spurs to action all who cross her path.

Lake City continues to grow. Workers for the Cause are coming forth. Support from the Institution of the Learned, the SCBCC, LGBI and Radio Bahá’í will continue as long as needed.

National Teacher Training Center Programs

These programs equip and empower individuals to serve their communities as Teacher Trainers, Parent Facilitators, or Race Unity Trainers under the guidance of their Local Spiritual Assembly. Teacher and Race Unity Trainer workshops require a commitment to attend two weekend sessions. At this time, Parent Facilitator Workshops only require a one weekend commitment.

October 25-28 cont’d February 7-9, 1997: Core Curriculum Teacher Trainer Workshop

September 20-23 cont’d December 6-8: Core Curriculum Race Unity Trainer Workshop

July 12-17 and October 25-28: Core Curriculum Parent Facilitator Workshop

An Open Letter from the Wilmette Institute

Dear Friends,

A major focus of the Four Year Plan is rapid acceleration of entry by troops. Local Bahá’í communities will undertake the lion’s share of this task. In order to achieve this goal we need to increase our knowledge and master the skills necessary for more effective teaching, deepening and consolidation work. In other words we have to transform our community into a learning community. A requirement for such a transformation is the availability of qualified resource persons at the local level to render the needed assistance for such activities. Spiritual Foundations for a Global Civilization program is specifically designed and implemented to help meet this demand.

Local Spiritual Assemblies may facilitate and enhance this process of transformation by identifying and encouraging individuals from their own locality to enroll in this program. Or, since some of the qualified and enthusiastic candidates cannot afford to meet the full cost of participation in this program, Local Assemblies may set up special scholarships to provide financial aid and invite the friends to make contributions for that purpose. Those participating in the Spiritual Foundations for a Global Civilization program, in turn, will be able to share what they learn in this program with their fellow believers by initiating local learning centers or teaching institutes, conducting deepening and training programs, assisting in teaching activities, and serving as the local resource person for the activities aimed at acceleration of entry by troops.

The time is short and the desired transformation needs time to come to full fruition. This open letter is an invitation to Local Assemblies to join with the Wilmette Institute to assist in the full achievement of the goal of the Four Year Plan.

We are still accepting applications to begin this program with the July residential session to be held in Wilmette July 7th through August 3rd. Scholars and instructors from around the world will come to Wilmette to provide classroom instruction and lectures aimed at educating the friends in comparative religions, philosophy, and Bahá’í theology, as well as skills development aimed at preparing teachers of the Cause. If you or someone in your community is interested in beginning the program in July, please contact the Wilmette Institute registrar as soon as possible. We will also accept applications to begin the program with the home study beginning in September.

We stand ready to render our full assistance in the creation of a network of Bahá’í learning centers throughout our community and look forward to hearing from you. Wilmette Institute, 536 Sheridan Road, Wilmette, IL 60091-1811, phone: 847/733-3592, fax: 847/733-3502, email: [Page 26]

REDISTRICTING

Questions and answers for the Bahá’í community

• How many believers will be in each new electoral unit?

Under the old boundary lines the number of adult believers varied from a low of 76 to a high of 674. On the new map the electoral units are modified to a 25 percent variance from the mean population of 330 adults with known addresses. According to current figures the electoral units vary from 253 to 413 with the exception of San Diego which has a Bahá’í population of 490. No city is divided into smaller electoral units. San Diego does not have enough believers to merit two delegates while its population was over the anticipated variance of 25 percent for one delegate.

• Will our electoral unit elect multiple delegates as we did in the past?

Probably not. All multiple-delegate units have been eliminated with the exception of New York City (which will now have two delegates) and Los Angeles (which will have four). This is in keeping with the guidelines from the Universal House of Justice that electoral units should be divided “in such a way that each unit will be responsible for electing preferably one delegate only.” Unless you live in New York City or Los Angeles, your Unit Convention in October will elect only one delegate. For instance, under the old boundaries there were 10 Conventions that elected a total of 26 delegates. This inequity has been addressed.

• What will be the size of the new electoral units?

Previous maps took into account state lines for the most part to determine boundaries. Often, the electoral units mirrored the former District Teaching Committee areas. The current map does not take into account state lines except where those lines form a natural boundary. In some instances, the sizes of the electoral units are the size of cities, whereas in other, more sparsely populated areas, electoral units can cover parts of several states, thus allowing a fairer representation.

• Why are you referring to the District Conventions as Unit Conventions?

You may have noticed that the term Unit Conventions has replaced the term District Conventions in this information. In the past, the boundaries of electoral units were based loosely on the District Teaching Committee boundary lines, and before that, state lines were used to form state Conventions. The term Unit Convention is also used in the 1985 letter from the Universal House of Justice that addresses the Bahá’í electoral process. The term Unit Convention will more adequately reflect the basis for the current electoral unit boundaries.

• I live in Kansas City, Missouri. Only a street divides our city from Kansas City, Kansas. Why can’t we have a Unit Convention together?

One of the most exciting aspects of the newly redrawn map is that now, you and other communities like yours will have a Unit Convention together.

The Redistricting Task Force took into account topography, highways, geographic affinity and population clusters as much as possible. This led to more contiguous units that will allow the friends to foster, in the words of the Universal House of Justice, “greater efficiency and enhanced harmony.” Although the changes aren’t perfect, they are a vast improvement over years past. Several communities living in close proximity to each other will have Unit Conventions together this year.

• I am used to having my Unit Convention with the friends in my old electoral unit. I don’t really know anyone in the new electoral district. How will I know for whom to vote?

Believers voting at a Unit Convention should consider the same qualities that one considers in voting in any Bahá’í election: “The electors... must ‎pray-fully prayerfully‎ and devotedly and after meditation and reflection elect faithful, sincere, experienced, capable and competent souls who are worthy of membership.” (Shoghi Effendi, in a letter dated February 27, 1923) The electors are further enjoined to “consider, without the least trace of passion or prejudice, and irrespective of any material consideration, the names of only those who can best combine the necessary qualities of unquestioned loyalty, of selfless devotion, of a well-trained mind, of recognized ability and mature experience.” (Shoghi Effendi, in a letter dated January 30, 1923) An individual should vote for the Bahá’í whom they do know who best represents these qualities.

• I live in a state where there aren’t many Bahá’ís. Now my electoral unit is so large. I know it’s because the Bahá’í population here is sparse, but the problem is, how will we be able to find a central location in which to hold the Unit Convention?

In a few instances the National Spiritual Assembly has authorized the use of sub-units, especially in sparsely populated areas in which traveling distances are great. These sub-units are an option set forth in the Universal House of Justice’s letter of July 21, 1985. Depending on the electoral unit’s population, two or more sub-units of the Unit Convention may be planned by the host Spiritual Assemblies and the Conventions Office in the Secretariat. The votes from each sub-unit will be combined to elect one delegate for the entire electoral unit. The introduction of sub-units will allow for decreased traveling distances in these larger areas. Hopefully, this will stimulate greater activity, encouraging the friends who otherwise would not be able to attend the Unit Convention to meet in smaller groups. The National Spiritual Assembly has approved the use of sub-units in only a handful of selected electoral units. The Conventions Office will notify those host Assemblies who can consider using sub-units. Ideally, these sub-unit conventions would be held on the same day so that voting results could be forwarded to one location and tallied; then, run-off election(s) could be held if necessary.

• How will the new boundary lines affect large Bahá’í locales like Los Angeles and New York?

In a continuation from other redistricting plans, no current city boundaries are divided into separate electoral units when Bahá’í population counts indicate the need to elect more than one delegate. Los Angeles is still one unit but will elect four delegates; New York City has been reapportioned with two delegates. Westchester County, New York (which previously was grouped with New York City) will join a neighboring electoral unit.

• What is being done to prepare the American Bahá’í community for these significant changes?

The information disseminated in this issue of The American Bahá’í (and the issue of April 9) is part of the over-all plan to inform and educate the community about these changes. The National Spiritual Assembly hopes that the Continental Board of Counselors and their Auxiliary Boards will help educate the friends about these changes in the electoral process. The host Spiritual Assemblies will also respond to inquiries from the friends. To help make their task possible, the host Assemblies will receive detailed information on their electoral unit maps, a written description of the new electoral area, a list of the communities, and a new Unit Convention Planning Guide as some of the tools provided by the Conventions Office at the Bahá’í National Center. The Department of Management Information Services has developed a software program to place the individual believer’s electoral unit number on the address label of The American Bahá’í, starting with this issue. Ballots mailed to Unit Conventions will include information on the new electoral units.

• Why wasn’t redistricting carried out on a more regular basis in the past?

The task is enormous, and with the limited human resources at the Bahá’í National Center, only partial redistricting was accomplished over the years. However, dramatic improvements in computer technology greatly enhanced our ability to compile the data necessary to recommend an all-encompassing plan which was approved by the National Spiritual Assembly. Even with the advances in technology, many human resources were needed to bring such a large task to fruition.

• What if I have suggestions about where boundary lines could best be drawn in the future?

Any man-made plan can be improved. Unfortunately, it is not feasible to make any changes in the redistricting plan for this year’s Unit Conventions. If you have suggestions for future redistricting, please forward them to your host local Spiritual Assembly or Unit Convention planning team. They will be asked for their input in post-Convention reports. These Spiritual Assemblies will compile the suggestions and forward them to the National Spiritual Assembly. You may also submit suggestions directly in writing to the Conventions Office at the Bahá’í National Center. The information will be compiled and analyzed prior to the next reapportionment.

• How can I find out who will be the host local Spiritual Assembly for my electoral unit?

Watch for details in an upcoming issue of The American Bahá’í. We hope to list the ‎apppointments appointments‎ of host Assemblies in the paper sometime early this summer.

• How can I find out which electoral unit I’m in?

The easiest way is simply to turn to the back page of this issue of The American Bahá’í and look on your address label for an alpha-numeric code five digits long. The letters “EU” stand for “Electoral Unit.” EU is followed by three numbers, the numbers of your new electoral unit. For example, “EU004” is Electoral Unit 4, and so on. For a complete description of your electoral unit, see the list in the April 9 issue of The American Bahá’í and look in future issues for a complete listing of host Spiritual Assemblies and a contact number for more information about your new electoral unit and its Convention.

Florida school principal becomes firm ‘friend of Faith’ after performance by S. Florida Bahá’í Youth Workshop

You can count Carol S. Blacharski as a friend of the Faith. All because of the South Florida Bahá’í Youth Workshop.

Ms. Blacharski, principal of Carver Middle School in Delray Beach, Florida, saw a performance at her school by the Workshop. Afterward, she wrote this letter to its members:

“Dear Bahá’í performers:

“Thank you so very much for your inspired and powerful presentation to our student body on February 27, 1996.

“I have been an educator for 28 years, and the performance your group gave was surely among the most outstanding and inspirational that I have ever experienced. Every single student, teacher and guest at this school was mesmerized by the performance and by the message that you so skillfully interpreted through dance.

“I do hope that you will continue to perform at schools, for the children at every school will have a real chance to understand how important it is for each of us to believe that we really are all members of the human race, and that each of us has a responsibility to begin to personally live the ‘dream’ that Dr. Martin Luther King stated so eloquently.

“Please use me and Carver Middle School as a reference for other schools. If I can do a little bit to help our world, then I believe it may be because I help to bring your message to others.

“Thank you again for your outstanding performance at Carver Middle School. You touched our hearts. You touched our souls. We have the chance to be better people because of your efforts.” [Page 27]بهاءالله را در عصر پر حادثه‌ای که حضرت عبدالبهاء آن را "قرن انوار" نامیده‌اند مزین نموده با دیدهٔ تحسین و تمجید خواهد نگریست. از اهمّ آنها موفقیت عظیم اکمال مشروعات جبل کرمل خواهد بود که همراه با سایر ابنیهٔ فخیمه بر فراز این کوه مقدس به منزلهٔ بناهای یادبودی برای پیشرفتی خواهد بود که نظم اداری بهائی تا آن موقع در عصر تکوین حاصل کرده است. مهمترین اقدام برای ابراز قدرشناسی، انشاءالله، انعقاد اجتماع عمده‌ای در مرکز جهانی خواهد بود که بمناسبت اختتام ابنیهٔ قوس و افتتاح عمومی طبقات مقام اعلیٰ ترتیب داده خواهد شد.

دوستان عزیز، نقشهٔ چهار ساله را در بحبوحهٔ اوضاع پر تلاطم و دورهٔ تحول و تغییر در جهان آغاز می‌کنیم. دو جریان همزمانی که در اثر ظهور حضرت بهاءالله آغاز گردیده بشدت ادامه دارد و پیوسته بر شتابش افزوده می‌گردد. بفرمودهٔ حضرت ولی امرالله این جریانات "قوائی را که سبب دگرگونی وجه ارض خواهد بود به اوج می‌رساند." (ترجمه) این دو جریان یکی وحدت بخش و دیگری تجزیه کننده است. این دو جریان "جوش و خروشی جهانی" ایجاد می‌کنند و سبب ظهور مراحل تدریجی صلح جهانی می‌گردد که در طی مراحل مزبور تأثیرات وحدت بخش آن سبب ظهور و بروز آگاهی وجدانی مردمان به شهروندی جهانی می‌شود.

این تحولات جهانی مالاً دو حالت متضاد ترس و وحشت و اطمینان و آرامش را در بر دارد. از یک طرف اغتشاش و بی‌نظمی در امور بشری همه‌روزه سبب تولید وحشت و اضطرابی می‌شود که حواس ما را مختل می‌سازد و از طرف دیگر رهبران دولت‌ها مکرراً به اقداماتی دسته‌جمعی متوسل می‌گردند که برای ناظر بهائی نشانهٔ تمایل به سوی اقدامات دسته‌جمعی ملل برای حل مسائل جهانی است. مثلاً تکرار غیر عادی تجمع سران ممالک را در چهار سال گذشته یعنی از سال مقدس تا کنون ملاحظه نمائید، نظیر کنفرانس پنجاهمین سالگرد تأسیس سازمان ملل که در آن سران ممالک و رهبران دول تعهد خود را به صلح جهانی تأکید نمودند. همچنین سرعت عملی که سران دولت‌ها به طیب خاطر در همکاری برای رفع بحران‌هائی که در مناطق مختلف روی داده است نشان داده‌اند قابل توجه مخصوص است. این تمایلات همزمان با افزایش تقاضای مجامع مطلع و ذی‌نظر برای جلب توجه به عملی بودن تأسیس نوعی حکومت جهانی است. آیا در این وقایع که سریعاً و پی‌درپی روی می‌دهد ید تقدیر الهی در کار نیست؟ براستی منادی این موقعیت عظیم در آثار خود این وقایع را پیش‌بینی نفرموده است؟

اگرچه تأسیس صلح اصغر موکول و منوط به هیچ نقشهٔ امری یا اقدام احباء نیست و اگرچه صلح مزبور عبارت از هدف غائی که مقدّر است در عصر ذهبی نصیب جامعهٔ انسانی گردد بشمار نمی‌رود اما جامعهٔ بهائی این مسؤولیت را بر عهده دارد که به حمایت روحانی از گرایش‌های صلح‌جویانه پردازد. در این هنگام آنچه مورد نیاز است آنست که در ایجاد نظام بهائی چنان سعی کوشش نمائیم که جالب و جاذب تأییدات جمال اقدس ابهیٰ گردد و فضائی روحانی به وجود آورد که سبب تسریع آن گرایش‌ها شود. دو اقدام مهمی که در پیش داریم یکی اینست که مجاهدتی تبلیغی را آغاز کنیم تا همهٔ افراد جامعه هر یک شخصاً با شور و شوق و بطور منظم در آن شرکت جویند و در ضمن آن با اجرای برنامهٔ وسیع آموزشی تأمین نیروی انسانی عظیمی را تضمین نماید. اقدام دیگر تکمیل مشروعات ساختمانی جبل کرمل است که برای تأمین مصارف آن نباید از هیچ گونه فداکاری در اهداء سخاوتمندانه تبرعات مالی دریغ ورزید. این اهداف توأمان هرگاه با عزمی جزم دنبال شود سبب آزاد شدن قوای محصوری خواهد شد که موجب تغییر جهت امور جامعهٔ بشری در سراسر کرهٔ ارض می‌گردد.

راه به سوی صلح هر قدر کوتاه باشد ولکن پر پیچ و خم است و هر قدر حوادثی که انتظار می‌رود جهت آن را تعیین نماید امید بخش باشد باید پس از دورهٔ طویلی از سیر تکاملی خود به مرحلهٔ بلوغ رسد. این دوره همراه با امتحانات و شکست‌ها و منازعات خواهد بود تا در ظلّ تأثیر و نفوذ امر الهی منجر به ظهور و طلوع صلح اعظم گردد. مردم جهان در طول این دوره در همه جا قبل از آنکه به مرحله‌ای برسند که بتوانند حکمت و ارزش تحولی را که در جریان است درک کنند غالباً دچار یأس و نگرانی خواهند شد. ولکن ما اهل بهاء در اثر ظهور جمال اقدس ابهیٰ بینش جدیدی یافته‌ایم و آثار قلم اعلیٰ سبب اطمینان خاطرمان گشته و نقشهٔ الهی موجب راهنمائی و تاریخ پر شهامت امر مایهٔ تشویق ما است. نه تنها باید از گنجینهٔ آثار قلم اعلیٰ بلکه از درخشش اعمال قهرمانانه و فداکاری‌هائی که حتیٰ امروز در سرزمین زادگاه امر الهی تابان است قوت قلب یابیم.

در حدود هفده سال است که برادران و خواهران ستمدیده ما در ایران دلاوری و ثبوت و رسوخ در ایمان را چنان به منصّه ظهور و بروز آورده‌اند که سبب اعلان امر الهی بنحوی وسیع گردیده و امر بهائی را از مرحلهٔ مجهولیت خارج کرده است. این وقایع در زمان ما شاهدی زنده از کیفیت وجود قوای مکنونه در بحران‌ها و پیروزی‌ها است. توسل به حق می‌جوئیم که خواهران و برادران ایرانی ما بزودی از قیودی که بدان گرفتارند رهائی یابند و شاهد عزت و جلال و اعجازی گردند که فقط جمال اقدس ابهیٰ می‌تواند به آنان عنایت فرماید.

تجارب آن یاران علامت و مثالی است برای همهٔ ما در هر جا که زندگی می‌کنیم، چه همان‌طور که حضرت عبدالبهاء فرموده‌اند بالاخره مخالفت و خصومت با امر در همهٔ قارات جهان پیش خواهد آمد. ضدیت با امر الهی اگرچه ممکن است در هر نقطه‌ای به صورتی خاص جلوه نماید اما بدون تردید شدید خواهد بود. ولکن به برکت الطاف توان‌بخش حضرت بهاءالله و ظهور و بروز استقامت از جانب یاران ایران خواهیم دانست که چگونه حملات دشمنان را بدون ترس و واهمه مقابله نمائیم. فی‌الحقیقه رب الجنود وعده فرموده است که فتح و ظفری محتوم و کامل نصیب یارانش خواهد نمود.

در حالی که جامعهٔ بشری گرفتار ویرانگری‌های تمدن بی‌بند و بار کنونی است، باید قلوب و افکارمان را به وظایفی که بر عهده داریم متوجه نمائیم زیرا در بحبوحهٔ این اضطرابات فرصت‌های فراوانی پیش می‌آید که باید "برای اشاعهٔ قوهٔ ناجیهٔ امر حضرت بهاءالله در جمیع اقطار و استظلال مقبلین جدید در ظلّ شریعت الله و دخولشان در صفوف دائم الاتساع امرالله" (ترجمه) غنیمت شمرده شوند. نقشه‌ای که حال متعهد اجرای آن شده‌ایم در یکی از ادوار بسیار بحرانی در حیات انسان بر روی کرهٔ ارض به مرحلهٔ اجراء در می‌آید. هدف این نقشه آماده ساختن جامعهٔ بهائی برای مقابله با تغییراتی است که در دنیای ما روی می‌دهد و بخاطر آنست که جامعهٔ بهائی را در وضعی قرار دهد که هم بتوانند در برابر امتحانات و اضطراباتی که در پیش است مقاومت نماید و هم بتواند طرز کار جامعهٔ بهائی را طوری جلوه گر سازد که دنیا برای اخذ کمک و نمونه عملی در اثر تحول پر تلاطمی که در پیش دارد بدان تأسی نماید. اینست که این نقشه جایگاه خاصی در طرح کلی بهائی و در تاریخ دنیا خواهد یافت. افرادی از اهل بهاء که آینده را چنان که امر بهائی مجسم می‌کند درک می‌نمایند این برتری را خواهند داشت که آگاهانه در کوشش‌هائی که هدفش به حرکت آوردن و پیش بردن جریانات مزبور است شرکت نمایند.

امید است که آن یاران عزیز برای تعهد مسؤولیت‌های این اوقات بحرانی قیام نمایند و امید است که هر یک از آن عزیزان بتواند نام خود را در این برهه کوتاه از زمان که پر از امکانات و امید برای عالم بشریت است ثبت نماید. برای آنکه خاطر شما در اثر وقایع ناگوار این دورهٔ تغییر و تحول متشتت نگردد نصایح هدایت‌بخش مولای حنون حضرت ولی امرالله را به خاطر آرید که می‌فرماید: "ما که موجودات حقیری هستیم نمی‌توانیم در چنین مرحلهٔ بحرانی تاریخ طولانی و پر حوادث نوع بشر واضحاً کاملاً درک کنیم بشر آغشته به خون که از بدبختی خود را فراموش کرده و به حضرت بهاءالله اعتناء ننموده چه مراحل متتابعه دیگری از عذاب و فنایش تا رستاخیز نجات نهائیش باید طی گردد... بلکه وظیفهٔ ما آنست که با وجود مغشوش بودن اوضاع و مظلّم بودن مناظر حاضره و محدود بودن وسائلی که در دسترس داریم با کمال مسرت و اطمینان و استمرار زحمت کشیده به هر وسیله که ممکن باشد به سهم خود کمک کنیم تا قوائی که حضرت بهاءالله ترتیب داده و اداره می‌فرماید به جریان افتاده نوع انسان را از وادی بدبختی و مذلت به اعلیٰ رفرف قدرت و جلال برساند." (ترجمه)

بیت العدل اعظم

اطلاعیه انجمن دوستداران فرهنگ ایرانی

در ششمین کنفرانس انجمن دوستداران فرهنگ ایرانی (۲۳ تا ۲۶ ماه می، ۱۹۹۶) برنامه‌ای برای کودکان از سن ۳ تا ۱۲ در نظر گرفته شده که شامل موارد زیر است: معرفی سازهای موسیقی ایرانی (تنبک و سنتور)، مقدمه‌ای در مورد موسیقی و آواز ایرانی، شناخت رقص‌های محلی ایرانی، نقاشی و تذهیب ایرانی، الفباء و زبان فارسی، بازی‌های مختلف تفریحی و آموزشی و نمایش فیلم (ویدئو). این برنامه در روزهای جمعه، شنبه و یکشنبه همزمان با برنامه بزرگسالان اجراء خواهد شد. بهای ثبت‌نام برای این سه روز (۳۶ ساعت) ۴۵ دلار می‌باشد. در ضمن از والدین گرامی تقاضا می‌شود که اگر لباس‌های محلی ایرانی برای بچه‌های خود دارند برای نمایش در یکی از برنامه‌های شب کنفرانس بهمراه خود بیاورند. برای اطلاعات بیشتر در مورد برنامه بچه‌ها لطفاً با شماره تلفن ۳۵۲۸-۷۳۳ (۸۴۷) تماس بگیرید.

برگ ثبت نام کودکان برای ششمین کنفرانس دوستداران فرهنگ ایرانی

نام و نام خانوادگی کودک ................................................................ سن ........................................... نام پدر و مادر ............................................................................ نشانی ...................................................................................... .............................................................................................. شماره تلفن ..............................

لطفاً چک خود را به مبلغ ۴۵ دلار برای هر بچه در وجه Baha’i Services Fund به آدرس ذیل ارسال فرمائید. Persian/American Affairs Office Baha’i National Center 1233 Central Evanston, IL 60201 [Page 28]

PERSIAN

اصول امری، مشورت کردن با یاران ساکن حوزهٔ اختیارات محفل، پرورش روحیهٔ خدمت، همکاری به طیب خاطر با مشاورین قاره‌ای و معاونان آنان، و توسعهٔ روابط خارجی محفل. مخصوصاً پیشرفت برای بلوغ و تکامل مؤسسات امری باید بصورت ازدیاد مراکز امری مشهود گردد که در آنها طرز کار محافل روحانی موجب افزایش استعداد افراد احباء برای خدمت به امر و مورد پرورش وحدت عمل و اقدام می‌شود. بطور خلاصه میزان و مقیاس بلوغ محفل روحانی فقط در تشکیل مرتب جلسات و انجام امور جاری نیست، بلکه به افزایش و رشد تعداد اعضای جامعه، مفید و مؤثر بودن روابط متقابل بین محفل و اعضای جامعه، کیفیت حیات اجتماعی و روحانی جامعه، و نشاط و تحرک عمومی جامعه ای که پیوسته در حال رشد و توسعه است منوط و معلق است.

جامعه هرچه بیشتر توسعه یابد هویت و مشخصات مستقلی احراز می‌نماید که از هویت و مشخصات افراد و مؤسسات جدا است. این توسعه و پیشرفتی ضروری است که باید در مورد نقاطی که تعداد کثیری مصدقین جدید داشته اند و نیز در رابطه با نقاط بسیاری که انتظار می‌رود در آنجا افواج مقبلین در ظل امر وارد شوند مورد توجه کامل قرار گیرد. بدیهی است که جامعه بیش از مجموع اعضاء آنست. جامعه واحد جامعی از تمدن است که مرکب است از افراد، خانواده‌ها، و مؤسسات که خود سازنده و مشوق نظام‌ها و عوامل و سازمانهائی است که برای مقصدی واحد که عبارت از رفاه مردم در داخل و خارج جامعه باشد با یکدیگر همکاری می‌کنند. جامعه ترکیبی از شرکت کنندگان است که با یکدیگر متفاوتند ولکن در یکدیگر تأثیر و تأثر متقابل دارند و پیوسته می‌کوشند تا برای نیل به پیشرفت و رفاه اجتماعی وحدت لازم را در میان خود ایجاد نمایند. چون بهائیان در همه نقاط در مراحل اولیهٔ به وجود آوردن جامعه هستند، باید برای انجام وظیفه‌ای که در پیش داریم کوششی عظیم معمول گردد.

همان‌طور که اخیراً در پیام دیگری متذکر شدیم شکوفائی جامعه مخصوصاً در سطح محلی نیاز به تحولی مهم در نحوهٔ رفتاری دارد: نحوهٔ رفتاری که نمایانگر فضایل افراد عضو جامعه به صورت گروهی و نحوهٔ عمل محفل روحانی در ایجاد وحدت و یگانگی در جامعه و تحرک و رشد آن باشد. این تحول در نحوهٔ رفتار ایجاب می‌کند که ما بین عناصر تشکیل دهندهٔ جامعه یعنی بزرگسالان، جوانان و کودکان در فعالیت‌های روحانی، اجتماعی، تربیتی و اداری هماهنگی ایجاد شود و همگی در نقشه‌های محلی به منظور تبلیغ و توسعه مشارکت یابند. لازمهٔ این تغییر رفتار عزم و اراده همگانی و احساس هدف و مقصود مشترک برای ادامه حیات محفل روحانی از طریق انتخابات سالانه است. لازمهٔ این تغییر دعا و مناجات و تبتّل دسته جمعی یاران است. بنا بر این برای حیات روحانی جامعه لازم است که احباء جلسات منظمی برای دعا و مناجات در حظیرة القدس‌های محلی (اگر وجود داشته باشد) یا در محل‌های دیگر، حتی در منازل خود، تشکیل دهند.

برای تحقق بخشیدن به امکانات توسعه و تحکیم که از دخول افواج مقبلین ناشی می‌شود باید احباء در سراسر جهان برای توسعهٔ منابع انسانی با عزمی جزم کوشش نمایند. کوشش افراد برای ترتیب دادن کلاس‌های تردید معلومات در منازل، دوره‌های معارف امری که گهگاه از طرف مؤسسات امری تشکیل می‌گردد و بالاخره اقدامات غیر رسمی جامعه اگرچه مهم است اما برای تربیت و تعلیم جامعه‌ای که بسرعت رشد می‌نماید کافی نیست. بنا بر این بسیار مهم است که به طرح روش‌های مخصوص برای تعلیم تعداد زیادی از احباء دربارهٔ اصول معتقدات و تعالیم بهائی و آموزش آنان و مساعدت به آنان برای اینکه تا آنجا که استعداد خدا دادهٔ آنها اجازه می‌دهد به امر خدمت نمایند بطور منظم توجه شود. در تأسیس مؤسسات دائمی برای تأمین برنامه‌های آموزشی که بنحو کامل تهیه شده و بطور رسمی و طبق برنامهٔ زمانی منظم اجراء می‌شود بهیچوجه نباید تأخیر شود. این مؤسسات لازم است به محل و تسهیلات مناسب دسترسی داشته باشند اما ضروری نیست که دارای ساختمان مخصوص به خود باشند.

این امر به تشدید همکاری بین مشاورین قاره‌ای و محافل ملی نیازمند است زیرا موفقیت این مؤسسات آموزشی به میزان زیاد منوط به دخالت فعّال مشاورین و اعضاء هیأت معاونت در فعالیت‌های آنان است. مخصوصاً لازم است که اعضای هیأت معاونت با مؤسسات آموزشی و محافل محلی که جوامع آنان از برنامه‌های این مؤسسات بهره مند می‌شوند همکاری نزدیک داشته باشند. چون این مؤسسات باید مراکز یادگیری محسوب شوند و چون خصوصیات این مؤسسات موافق با مسؤولیت‌های تعلیم و تربیتی اعضای هیأت معاونت است و میدان عملی برای آنها به وجود می‌آورد از این پس باید شرکت بسیار نزدیک در فعالیت این مؤسسات بخشی از اقدامات این صاحبان مناصب در امر گردد. استفاده از استعدادها و توانائی‌های تعداد روزافزونی از احباء برای توسعه و اجرای برنامه‌های این مؤسسات ضروری است.

چون اصطلاح "مؤسسه" موارد استعمال متعددی در جامعه بهائی پیدا کرده لازم است در این مورد توضیحی داده شود. چهار سال آینده دوره‌ای استثنائی در تاریخ امر است. نقطه عطفی است که اهمیت و عظمت یک دوره یا عهد را دارد. آنچه در حال حاضر اجرای آن در یاران الهی در سراسر جهان تقاضا می‌شود آنست که خود و منابع مالی و استعدادات و اوقات خویش را برای به وجود آوردن شبکه‌ای از مؤسسات آموزشی در سطحی که تا به حال سابقه نداشته است متعهد نمایند. این مراکز تعلیماتی معارف امری دارای هدفی بسیار عملی هستند یعنی تربیت تعداد کثیری از احباء برای تسهیل و توسعهٔ جریان دخول افواج مقبلین در امر الهی به مدد کارآئی و محبت.

حضرت بهاءالله به بندگانش امر فرموده است که "جمیع همت را در تبلیغ امر الهی مصروف دارید" و اضافه فرموده که "هر نفسی که خود لایق این مقام اعلیٰ است به آن قیام نماید و الّا آن یأخذ وکیلاً لنفسه فی اظهار هذا الامر." به همان ترتیبی که انسان می‌تواند نفسی را بعنوان وکیل خود برای تبلیغ امر تعیین کند و برای مهاجرت یا اسفار تبلیغی مخارج او را تأمین نماید ممکن است نفسی را بعنوان وکیل تعیین نمود تا بعنوان مدرس در یکی از مؤسسات آموزش معارف امری تدریس نماید. چنین شخصی البته معلّم یا مبلّغ مبلّغین خواهد بود. برای این منظور ممکن است تبرعات مورد نظر را به صندوق قاره‌ای یا صندوق‌های محلی، ملی و یا بین المللی تقدیم کرد و آنرا برای این منظور اختصاص داد.

از یاران الهی تقاضا می‌شود در جمیع مجهودات خود برای تحقق اهداف نقشه چهار ساله توجه بیشتری به استفاده از هنرها، نه فقط برای اعلان امرالله بلکه برای اقدامات و نمایشی و ادبیات نقش عمده‌ای در اتساع دائرة نفوذ امر الهی ایفاء نموده‌اند و در آینده نیز ایفاء خواهند نمود. از این امکانات در سطح هنرهای قومی (فولکلور) در همه مناطق جهان چه در روستاها و چه در قصبات یا شهرها می‌توان استفاده کرد. حضرت ولی امرالله بسیار اظهار امیدواری فرموده‌اند که هنرها واسطه‌ای برای جلب توجه به تعالیم الهی باشند. در توقیعی که بافتخار یکی از احباء صادر شده می‌فرمایند: "روزی فرا می‌رسد که امر الهی چون آتشی در خرمن بسرعت توسعه خواهد یافت و آن هنگامی خواهد بود که روح تعالیم امر بهائی بر روی صحنه نمایش یا بطور کلی در هنرها و ادبیات عرضه شود. هنر، مخصوصاً در میان توده‌های مردم، بهتر از استدلالی خشک منطقی می‌تواند عواطف و احساسات روحانی را بیدار نماید." (ترجمه)

در حالی که یاران الهی و مؤسسات امری در جمیع نقاط مساعی خود را مصروف تأمین نیازمندی‌های نقشه می‌نمایند ساختمان مشروعات عظیمه بر فراز جبل کرمل ادامه خواهد داشت تا همان‌طور که انتظار می‌رود تا آخر این قرن خاتمه پذیرد. در خاتمه این نقشه در رضوان سال دو هزار ساختمان مرکز مطالعه و تحقیق در نصوص و بنای ضمیمه دارالآثار بین المللی مورد استفاده قرار خواهد گرفت، و بنای مقر دارالتبلیغ بین‌المللی به مرحله نهائی خواهد رسید. قسمتی از معبر عمومی که در حال حاضر طبقات فوقانی مقام اعلیٰ را از مقام مزبور جدا می‌کند از سطح کنونی پائین‌تر خواهد رفت و بر روی آن پل وسیعی که پوشیده از باغات خواهد بود طبقهٔ فوقانی مقام را به سایر طبقات متصل خواهد ساخت. پنج طبقه از طبقات فوقانی مقام مبارک حضرت رب اعلیٰ تکمیل خواهد شد. چهار طبقه باقیمانده از طبقات فوقانی و دو طبقه باقیمانده در پای کوه کرمل به آخرین مراحل تکمیل خواهد رسید. اقدامات دیگری نیز در مرکز جهانی بهائی معمول خواهد گشت، ازجمله تعمیم جهانی اجرای احکامی از کتاب مستطاب اقدس که در حال حاضر مفروض نیست، آماده کردن مجموعه جدیدی به زبان انگلیسی از منتخبات آثار قلم اعلیٰ، توسعهٔ بیشتر وظایف دارالتبلیغ بین‌المللی، تأمین ترتیبات لازم برای افزایش عدد زائران و بازدیدکنندگان از مرکز جهانی.

جامعه جهانی بهائی در زمینه توسعه و عمران اجتماعی و اقتصادی و نیز در میدان روابط خارجی به گسترش اقدامات خود خواهد پرداخت و به همکاری مستقیم با اقداماتی که برای استقرار نظم در دنیا معمول می‌گردد ادامه خواهد داد. دفتر توسعه و عمران اجتماعی و اقتصادی با افزایش توانائی خود برای هم‌آهنگ کردن فعالیت‌ها تا آنجا که ممکن باشد موجبات پیشرفت صدها مشروع عمرانی بهائی را در سراسر عالم فراهم خواهد آورد. در عرصهٔ روابط خارجی مساعی مبذوله متوجه این هدف خواهد بود که در جریاناتی که منجر به صلح جهانی می‌گردد امر مبارک مؤثر واقع شود. وصول به این هدف مخصوصاً از طریق مشارکت جامعه بهائی در ترویج حقوق بشر، مقام زن، رفاه جهانی، و تربیت اخلاقی خواهد بود. در اجرای این اهداف دفتر جامعهٔ بین‌المللی بهائی در سازمان ملل خواهد کوشید که روابط موجود بین جامعهٔ بهائی و سازمان ملل تقویت شود و همچنین دفتر اطلاعات عمومی به مؤسسات امری کمک خواهد کرد تا از مشارکت جامعه بهائی در اقدامات مربوط به چهار موضوع فوق الذکر برای اعلان امرالله بنحوی بیشتر و بهتر استفاده نمایند. دفاع از حقوق مسلوبه یاران ایران و افزایش مساعی برای استخلاص امر الهی در آن کشور و کشورهای دیگری که دیانت بهائی در آنها ممنوع یا محدود شده قسمت اعظم روابط جامعهٔ بهائی با سازمان‌های دولتی و غیر دولتی را تشکیل خواهد داد. در جمیع این موارد از احباء و مؤسسات بهائی مصرّاً خواستاریم که از اهمیت فعالیت‌های مربوط به روابط خارجی مطلع باشند و بدانها توجه جدیدی مبذول دارند.

تأسیس دو محفل روحانی ملی جدید در این رضوان آغاز خجسته‌ای برای نقشه چهار ساله محسوب می‌گردد. خوشوقتیم اعلان کنیم که نمایندگان این هیأت در انجمن‌های افتتاحی این دو محفل عبارتند از ایادی امرالله امة‌البهاء روحیه خانم برای مولداوی و جناب فرد شکتر مشاور عضو دارالتبلیغ بین‌المللی برای سانتومه و پرینسیپه. متأسفانه به علت شرایط موجود که خارج از اختیار احباء است محافل ملی بوروندی و رواندا در سال جاری قادر به تجدید انتخابات نخواهند بود. بنا بر این تعداد محافل ملّیه در عالم همان ۱۷۴ محفل باقی خواهد ماند.

رضوان سال دو هزار که زمان خاتمه نقشه چهار ساله است چندین ماه قبل از خاتمه قرن بیستم خواهد بود. در آن زمان عالم بهائی به پیشرفت‌های خارق‌العاده و موفقیت‌های خیره کننده‌ای که صفحات تاریخ امر حضرت... [Page 29]مشارکت جستن در اقدامات عمومی و نیز در حضور جامعه جهانی بصورت نیروئی خاص در جامعه که مورد شناسائی سازمان‌های دولتی و غیردولتی و بسیاری از شخصیت‌های برجسته قرار گرفته، و نیز در سهولت دسترسی به وسائل خبری آشکار است. در الحقیقه وسعت نشر اخبار مربوط به رویدادهای امری در وسائط ارتباطی چاپی و الکترونیکی print and electronic communication media از حد احصاء خارج است.

در مجموعه رویدادهای مربوط به امر مبارک در سراسر جهان بعضی وقایع بنحوی برجسته‌تر نمایان بود، از جمله فراوانی مواردی که مقامات عالی‌رتبه مملکتی احباء را به مشارکت یا مساعدت در تنظیم و اجرای برنامه‌ها یا طرحی دعوت نمودند؛ ابتکارات موفقیت آمیز احباء در مؤثر واقع شدن در اقدامات دولتی؛ ایجاد برنامه‌ها و دروس امری در دانشکده‌ها و دانشگاه‌ها و اضافه کردن مطالبی در باره امر در برنامه مدارس دولتی؛ و بالاخره استفاده از هنر توسط مؤسسات امری و گروه‌هائی از احباء یا افراد احباء برای اعلان و انتشار امر الهی.

در سال ۱۹۹۵ دو واقعه در سازمان ملل متحد روی داد که شاهد سرعت روز افزون جلوه و ظهور وحدت افکار در اقدامات بین المللی بود و توجه کامل جامعه بهائی را به خود معطوف داشته سبب مشارکت جامعه امر در اقدامات مزبور گردید. نخست، کنفرانس جهانی سران دول برای توسعه و پیشرفت اجتماعی بود که در ماه مارس در کپنهاگ تشکیل گردید. دویست و پنجاه نفر از یاران الهی از چهل کشور مختلف در آن کنفرانس حضور داشتند و برای آشنا ساختن شرکت‌کنندگان در کنفرانس مزبور و همچنین در اجتماع سازمان‌های غیر دولتی که همزمان و در ارتباط با آن کنفرانس ترتیب داده شده بود با تعالیم بهائی کوشش بسیار مؤثری مبذول نمودند. در همین کنفرانس بود که بیانیۀ "رفاه عالم انسانی" که بوسیلۀ دفتر اطلاعات عمومی جامعۀ بین المللی بهائی تهیه شده بود برای اولین بار پخش شد و مورد بحث قرار گرفت و سپس در سراسر جهان کنفرانس‌ها و سمینارهائی در بارۀ آن تشکیل گردید و بیانیۀ مزبور بنحو ‎وسیعی تری وسیع‌تری‎ توزیع شد. دوم، چهارمین کنفرانس جهانی در بارۀ زنان و همزمان با آن اجتماع بین المللی سازمان‌های غیر دولتی بود که در ماه سپتامبر در پکن برگزار شد و علاوه بر نمایندگان رسمی جامعۀ بین المللی بهائی پانصد نفر از احباء از اطراف دنیا در آن حضور داشتند. در همین سال در سومین رویداد مهم یعنی مراسم یاد بود پنجاهمین سالگرد تأسیس سازمان ملل، دفتر جامعۀ بین المللی بهائی در سازمان ملل متحد را بر آن داشت که بیانیه‌ای تحت عنوان "نقطه عطفی برای جمیع ملل عالم" متضمن پیشنهادهائی برای پیشرفت سازمان ملل تهیه و منتشر سازد.

در بین اقدامات مربوط به روابط خارجی دو مورد دیگر که مربوط به مشارکت بارز حضرت امة‌البهاء روحیه خانم بود جالب توجه خاص است. در بهار گذشته حضرت امة‌البهاء در سمت ریاست هیأت چهار نفری نمایندگان رسمی جامعۀ بهائی در جلسۀ سران اتحادیۀ ادیان برای حفظ محیط زیست Alliance between Religions and Conservation که تحت توجهات عالیۀ والاحضرت پرنس فیلیپ و در کاخ ویندزور تشکیل گردید شرکت نمودند. در ماه اکتبر روحیه خانم سخنران اصلی چهارمین کنفرانس بین‌المللی "تحول بسوی جامعۀ جهانی" بودند که با حمایت سازمان یونسکو توسط کرسی صلح جهانی بهائی و بخش تاریخ دانشگاه مریلند تشکیل شد.

از ذکر بعضی دیگر از وقایع مهم این دوره نیز نمی‌توان چشم پوشید. از جمله چاپ مخصوص کتاب مستطاب اقدس به زبان اصلی عربی که برای اولین بار همراه با ترجمۀ فارسی یادداشت‌ها و ضمایمی که با ترجمۀ انگلیسی کتاب مزبور منتشر شده طبع و نشر گردید. حکم حقوق الله بنحوی عمیق‌تر در قلوب یاران الهی در سراسر جهان جایگزین گردید و در آخرین سال نقشه، امین حقوق الله و ایادی امرالله جناب دکتر علیمحمد ورقا، در ارض اقدس سکونت گزیدند و این اقدام سبب گردید که هر سه نفر حضرات ایادی امرالله امة البهاء، روحیه خانم، جناب علی اکبر فروتن و جناب دکتر ورقا، در حال حاضر ساکن مرکز جهانی بهائی باشند و سبب تشویق زائران و مسافران و خادمان مرکز جهانی شوند.

بر اساس چنین پیشرفت‌های امیدوار کننده‌ای است که در این رضوان نقشۀ چهار ساله را آغاز می‌کنیم، نقشه‌ای که تا رضوان سال دو هزار ادامه خواهد داشت. با کمال محبت و اشتیاق از خواهران و برادران خود در سراسر جهان دعوت می‌کنیم که در تجهیز مساعی و مجهوداتی که میراث روحانی غنی و پایداری را برای نسل‌هائی که در قرن بیست و یکم زندگانی خواهند کرد تضمین خواهد نمود با این هیأت تشریک مساعی نمایند.

هدف نقشۀ چهار ساله اقدامی اساسی یعنی پیشرفتی مهم در جریان دخول افواج مقبلین است. همان‌طور که قبلاً متذکر شده‌ایم چنین پیشرفتی باید از طریق افزایش فعالیت‌ها و اقدامات افراد احباء، و مؤسسات امری و جوامع محلی تحقق یابد.

عبارت "پیشرفت جریان دخول افواج مقبلین" متضمن این مفهوم است که شرایط کنونی ایجاب می‌کند و فرصت‌های موجود اجازه می‌دهد که جامعۀ جهانی بهائی پیشرفت و توسعه‌ای عظیم و مستمر حاصل نماید. چنین پیشرفتی در قبال اوضاع کنونی جهان ضروری است و با تأسیس نظم حضرت بهاءالله سه عامل یعنی افراد و مؤسسات و جامعه می‌توانند چنین پیشرفتی را عملی سازند. نحوۀ عمل عوامل مذکور چنین است که ابتدا از نظر روحانی و عقلانی امکان چنین اقدامی را بپذیرند و سپس با سعی و کوشش برای تبلیغ گروه‌هائی از مقبلین جدید و تهیه و تجهیز وسائلی برای آموزش و پرورش روحانی و اداری آنان تعداد مبلغین و مدیران مطلع و فعال را برای مشارکت در خدمات امری چندین برابر کنند و بدین ترتیب دخول صفوف مقبلین جدید را در ظل امر الهی و تکامل و بلوغ بلاانقطاع محافل روحانی و استحکام مستمر جامعه را تضمین نمایند.

علاوه بر این، عبارت "افزایش پیشرفت جریان دخول افواج مقبلین" حاکی از آنست که این پیشرفت آغاز شده و جوامع محلی و ملی در مراحل مختلف این جریان قرار دارند. حال از جمیع جوامع محلی انتظار می‌رود که برای استمرار جریان مزبور اقدام نمایند و توسعه و تحکیم هر جامعه را به میزانی که با امکانات موجود متناسب باشد افزایش بخشند. از افراد و مؤسسات، در حالیکه هر یک در حوزۀ خاص خود فعالیت دارند، در خواست می‌شود که به منظور رفع نیازمندیهای این دوران بحرانی در حیات جامعۀ بهائی و در سرنوشت تمامی جامعۀ بشری، قیام نمایند.

نقش و وظیفۀ فرد در خدمات امری اهمیتی بی‌نظیر است. فرد است که روح ایمان را که اساس موفقیت در اقدامات تبلیغی و توسعه و پیشرفت جامعه است زنده و نباض نگاه می‌دارد. از حکم حضرت بهاءالله که فرد مؤمن را موظف می‌سازد که به تبلیغ امر مبارکش پردازد مفری نیست و نمی‌توان آنرا به یکی از مؤسسات محول نمود و هیچ یک از آن مؤسسات نیز نمی‌تواند این وظیفۀ افراد را بر عهده گیرد. تنها فرد بهائی است که می‌تواند استعدادهایی را که مشتمل بر توانائی استفاده از ابتکارات شخصی، اغتنام فرصت‌ها، ایجاد روابط دوستانه با دیگران، معاشرت و مصاحبت با سایرین، برقرار ساختن ارتباط با مردمان، جلب همکاری سایرین در خدمات مشترک امری و اجتماعی، وبالاخره اجرای تصمیمات متخذه بوسیلۀ هیأت‌ها و مؤسسات امری است به کار گیرد. این وظیفه فرد بهائی است که به جمیع وسائل ممکنه متشبث شود و طرق مختلفه را بکمال دقت مورد مطالعه قرار دهد تا به جلب افکار و حفظ علائق و تحکیم و تقویت ایمان نفوسی که دخولشان را در ظل امرالله طالب و الحاقشان را به جامعۀ اسم اعظم شائق و آرزومند است توفیق یابد. (ترجمه) فرد بهائی برای حد اکثر استفاده از این قابلیت به عشقی که به حضرت بهاءالله دارد، و به قوۀ عهد و میثاق، و به نیروی محرکۀ دعا و مناجات، و به الهامات و تعلیماتی که از مطالعۀ نصوص مبارکه حاصل می‌گردد، و بالاخره به قوای تقلیب‌کننده‌ای که در اثر کوشش در انطباق رفتار با احکام و اصول الهی در روح و وجدانش ایجاد می‌شود متکی و متوسل می‌گردد. علاوه بر اینها به فرد بهائی که موظف به تبلیغ امرالله است این استعداد عطا شده که جادب تأییداتی باشد که حضرت بهاءالله مؤکداً وعده فرموده‌اند: «تالله الحق من يفتح اليوم شفتاه في ذكر اسم ربه لينزل عليه جنود الوحى عن مشرق اسمى الحكيم العليم و ينزل عليه اهل ملاء الاعلى بصفائح من النور».

حضرت ولی امرالله ضرورت قطعی اقدام و ابتکار فردی بهائیان را مورد تأکید قرار داده و توضیح فرموده‌اند که بدون پشتیبانی "صمیمانه و مستمر و سخاوتمندانۀ" افراد هر اقدام و هر نقشه محفل روحانی ملی "محکوم به شکست" است و "مانع و رادعی" در راه حصول مقصود نقشۀ ملکوتی مرکز میثاق ایجاد می‌شود. بعلاوه تأییدات حضرت بهاءالله و از هر فردی که بالمال در قیام به انجام وظیفۀ خود قصور ورزد سلب خواهد شد. (ترجمه) بنا بر این در مرکز و مدار هر پیشرفتی فرد قرار گرفته است که قدرت اجرائی را در دست دارد و تنها فرد است که می‌تواند از طریق اقدام و ابتکار شخصی آنرا به جریان اندازد. در بارۀ احساس عدم لیاقت که بعضی اوقات مانع از قیام و اقدام افراد می‌شود در یکی از توقیعات مبارکۀ حضرت ولی‌امرالله توصیه شده است که "علت عمده‌ای را که متذکر شدید عدم جرأت و ابتکار از طرف افراد و احساس حقارت است که مانع می‌گردد که با مردم مذاکره نمایند. دقیقاً همین نقاط ضعف است که یاران باید بر آنها فائق آیند. زیرا چنین احساسی نه تنها آنان را از اقدام باز می‌دارد بلکه فی‌الواقع موجب می‌شود که شعلۀ ایمان در قلوبشان خاموش شود. فقط هنگامی که کلیۀ احبای الهی درک نمایند که هر یک از آنان قادر است در حد توانائی خود پیام الهی را ابلاغ نماید می‌توانند امیدوار باشند که به هدفی که مولای علیم و مهربان برایشان تعیین نموده است نائل گردند... هر فرد بهائی بالقوه مبلغ امرالله است. فقط کافی است آنچه را خداوند به او عطا نموده به کار برد و بدین ترتیب ثابت نماید که به رسالت خود وفادار است". (ترجمه)

اما در مورد مؤسسات امری، بین آنها و دخول افواج مقبلین به امر الهی تأثیر و تأثر متقابل وجود دارد. تکامل و بلوغ محافل روحانی ملی و محلی در این زمان نیازمند آنست که اعضای آن محافل و نیز نفوسی که آنان را انتخاب می‌نمایند طرز فکر جدیدی داشته باشند زیرا جامعۀ بهائی در جریان تاریخی عظیمی قرار گرفته و وارد مرحلۀ بسیار مهمی می‌گردد. حضرت بهاءالله مؤسساتی را به دنیا عطا فرموده‌اند که باید در چهارچوب نظمی انجام وظیفه نمایند که قادر است نیروهای تمدن جدیدی را به کار اندازد. پیشرفت بسوی آن هدف شکوهمند محتاج توسعۀ عظیم و مداوم جامعۀ بهائی است تا برای بلوغ این مؤسسات حوزۀ عمل لازم فراهم گردد. توجه به این امر برای نفوسی در سراسر جهان که خود را از حامیان امر حضرت بهاءالله محسوب می‌دارند اهمیت فوری دارد.

برای آنکه موجبات چنین توسعه‌ای فراهم آید محافل روحانی باید چنان برای اجرای مسؤولیت‌های خود به عنوان مجاری هدایت الهی و طراحان نقشه‌های تبلیغی و عاملان توسعۀ نیروی انسانی، و سازندگان جوامع و شبانان مهربان جماعات مردم قیام نمایند که به سطح و میزانی برتر از وضع کنونی نائل آیند. برای حصول این منظور باید توانائی اعضای خود را از طریق ذیل افزایش بخشند: مشاوره طبق [Page 30]

PERSIAN

Persian Translation of the Message of the Universal House of Justice to the Bahá’ís of the World – Ridvan 153

ترجمه پیام بیت العدل اعظم خطاب به بهائیان عالم رضوان ۱۵۳

یاران عزیز الهی با قلوبی طافح از شکرانه و امتنان به ساحت جمال قدس منّان، شمول الطاف و عنایات لا نهایه الهیه را در طی نقشه سه ساله‌ای که در این عید اعظم پایان می‌پذیرد سپاس میداریم. اشتراک حیات‌بخش سال مقدس در آغاز نقشه مزبور در رضوان ۱۹۹۳ مورث تحرّک و شور و شوقی گردید که در سراسر این دورهٔ مشحون از مساعی مجدانه مشهود بود و سبب گردید که جامعه جهانی بهائی بیش از پیش انسجام یابد و نیرومندی و بلوغ و اطمینان حاصل کند و در عین حال حیثیت و اعتباری بمراتب افزونتر از قبل بدست آورد. گرچه نقشه سه ساله، با وجود افزایش قابل ملاحظه تعداد احباء در کشورهای مختلف، با ازدیاد چشمگیر اعضاء جامعه بهائی خاتمه نیافته ولکن از نظر کیفی جامعه را تقویت نموده و برای استفاده از فرصت‌های موجود آماده ساخته است.

در بین اقدامات قابل سنجش و اندازه گیری این دوره، پیشرفت شکوهمند مشروعات جبل کرمل حائز برتری ویژه‌ای است. با وجود مشاغل بی‌شمار، ساختمان این مشروعات در این زمان به همان مرحله‌ای رسیده است که در پیام افتتاحیه نقشه سه ساله پیش‌بینی شده بود. ساختمان تمام مشروعاتی که مورد نظر بوده آغاز گردیده است. اسکلت ساختمان مرکز مطالعه و تحقیق در نصوص و بنای ضمیمهٔ دارالآثار بین‌المللی ساخته شده و ساختمان این مشروعات به مرحله تزیین و تکمیل در خارج و داخل بنا رسیده است. ساختمان مقر دارالتبلیغ بین‌المللی یعنی سومین بنا از ابنیه‌ای که در حال حاضر در اطراف قوس کرمل ساخته می‌شود با سرعت به پیش می‌رود. هفت طبقه از طبقات ذیل مقام اعلی تکمیل گردیده و منظرهٔ پایان شکوهمند این مشروع را که از پای تا رأس کوه مقدس خداوند ادامه خواهد داشت در نظر مجسم مینماید. زیبائی نقشی که در اثر این ساختمان‌ها بر کوه کرمل گسترده خواهد شد از هم اکنون مایه شگفتی و اعجاب ناظران است.

جنبه‌های صوری و ملموس پیشرفت که این چنین شگفت‌انگیز تحقق یافته دلیل بر موفقیتی مهمتر یعنی تحقق وحدت آرمان در سراسر جامعه جهانی بهائی به منظور ادامه چنین اقدام عظیم دسته‌جمعی است. شدت علاقه مندی و پشتیبانی یاران در این مورد بصورت تقدیم تبرعات بنحوی بی‌سابقه ظاهر گشته که خود نشانه آن درجه از فداکاری است که از کیفیت ایمان و سخاوت درونی دلدادگان جمال رحمن در سراسر جهان حکایت می‌کند. تبرعاتی که برای مشروعات کوه کرمل اهداء شده هدف نقشه سه ساله را که جمع آوری هفتاد و چهار میلیون دلار بود به انجام رسانده و خود شاهد استثنائی و ملموس دیگری است که موجب حصول اطمینان از تأمین کمک مالی لازم برای تکمیل این مشروعات تا خاتمه این قرن است.

علائم پیشرفت در سه سال گذشته در زمینه‌هائی وسیع و گوناگون ملاحظه می‌شود. کوشش‌های قابل ملاحظه در راه توسعه و تحکیم جامعه، افزایش اقدامات مربوط به توسعه و عمران اقتصادی و اجتماعی، و اقدامات بی‌سابقه در زمینهٔ روابط خارجی جامعه جهانی کلّاً جامعه‌ای را مجسم می‌سازد که واجد قابلیت‌هائی جدید شده است.

مساعی مبذوله در عرصهٔ تبلیغ امرالله بطور کلّی افزایش داشته است. تشکیل دوازده محفل روحانی ملّی جدید در طی نقشه سه ساله و ازدیاد قابل توجه مهاجرین و مبلغین سیار حاکی از این افزایش است. یاران الهی در بسیاری از کشورها در اثر اقدامات بدیعی که در جریان نقشه برای اقدام به امر هجرت پیشنهاد شد شور و شوقی جدید یافتند. تعداد مهاجرین اعزامی از ممالک و نیز تعداد مهاجرینی که در کشورهای گوناگون استقرار یافتند افزایش بسیار داشت و براستی سیلی از مبلغین سیار در داخل کشورها و در صحنه بین‌المللی به خدمت اشتغال جستند. فعالیت‌های دسته‌جمعی ناشرین نفحات‌الله که با ترتیبی منظم قیام نمودند و طرح‌های تبلیغی درازمدت که دارای اهداف مشخص و دقیقی بودند نتایج بسیار به بار آورد و در تعدادی از ممالک بی‌سابقه بود.

قوا و ابتکاراتی که در اقدامات گوناگون به منظور توسعه نطاق و تحکیم مبانی امر الهی به منصّه ظهور رسید بمیزان زیادی مرهون مساعی و همت دارالتبلیغ بین‌المللی است: هدایت و تشویق مستمر هیأت‌های مشاورین قاره‌ای؛ اتخاذ روش‌های جدید برای اعزام مهاجرین که در پیام بیت‌العدل اعظم صادره در نخستین ماههای شروع نقشه بمنظور ترغیب یاران الهی به مهاجرت مورد تأیید قرار گرفته بود؛ مساعدت منظم به لجنات قاره‌ای مهاجرت که زیر نظر دارالتبلیغ بین‌المللی قرار دارد؛ بذل توجه بلا انقطاع به نیازمندیهای تربیتی جامعه در ضمن ارتباط دارالتبلیغ با مشاورین در بارهٔ گنجانیدن برنامه‌های تزئید معلومات امری برای ‎مصدیقن مصدقین‎ جدید در طرح‌های تبلیغی؛ طراحی دوره‌های آموزشی برای تعلیم و پرورش استعدادهای گوناگون؛ تربیت مربیان برای نونهالان؛ ازدیاد کلاس‌های تربیت امری برای اطفال و بالاخره تشویق و ترغیب لازم برای تأسیس مؤسسات آموزشی در مناطق مختلف جهان - همگی ثمرات و نتایج بهینه ببار آورده است. همچنین اقدام دارالتبلیغ بین‌المللی که با کمک مشاورین برای تعداد روزافزونی از ممالک مجموعه‌ای از آثار امری را بعنوان کتب مقدماتی انتخاب نموده‌اند درخور تقدیر و فخر است. در اثر اجرای چنین برنامه‌هائی بعضی از کتب امری که برای تبلیغ امرالله و تزئید معارف امری احباء ضروری است انتخاب و بتعدادی کثیر طبع گردیده و با قیمتی نازل در اختیار یاران قرار گرفته است. پیشرفت چشمگیر و رشد و بلوغ این مؤسسه مهم که در مرکز جهانی بهائی فعالیت دارد در تهیه مقدمات و تشکیل کنفرانس مشاورین در دسامبر گذشته مشهود بود، کنفرانسی که برنامه خدمات مشاورین را که صاحب منصبان عالیرتبه امر بهائی هستند در سالهایی که بلافاصله در پیش است مشخص ساخته است.

پیشرفت دیگری که حاصل گردید ازدیاد محسوسی در میزان قبول مسؤولیت احبای بومی برای خدمات تبلیغی و تزئید معارف امری در کشورهای خود بود. در مناطقی که به مشاغل و متاعب شدید دچار بودند از جمله آنگولا، کامبوج، لیبریا و سی‌رالئون احباء در زمینه تبلیغ امرالله که موجب اقبال نفوس کثیره گردید و یا تأسیس و تجدید فعالیت محافل روحانی و یا ایجاد و ادامه طرح‌های توسعه و عمران به انتشارات مهمی دست یافتند. در کشورهائی که اخیراً محافل روحانی ملّی در آنها تأسیس شده مانند کشورهای واقع در شرق اروپا و شوروی سابق، احباء در اداره امور امری استعداد و قابلیت شایان تحسینی ابراز داشته‌اند. یکی از پدیده‌هائی که در این دوره جلب توجه نمود ظهور و بروز شجاعت و خلاقیت و توانمندی در جوامع بهائی جزائر پراکنده در سراسر عالم بود. فعالیت‌های بسیار متنوعی در این جوامع انجام گرفت که مشتمل بود بر قیام مبلغین محلی، تعلیم و اعزام تعداد قابل ملاحظه‌ای از مبلغین سیار به جزائر مجاور، افتتاح مدارس ابتدائی، ایجاد فرصت‌های متعدد برای اعلان امرالله و ترتیب و اجرای برنامه‌هائی که مقامات عالیرتبه و صاحبان نفوذ در آن حضور داشتند. این حقیقت که در سال‌های اخیر تعدادی از رهبران دولت‌های این جزائر از مرکز جهانی بهائی دیدن نموده‌اند نشانه فعالیت شایان توجه احبای این جزائر کوچک است که در دریاهای سراسر جهان پراکنده‌اند. مثال‌هائی که از نحوه برخورد و کوشش یاران الهی در موارد مختلف ذکر شد حاکی از افزایش تعهد آنان نسبت به خدمات تبلیغی و استواری و بلوغ روز افزون آنان و نشانه‌ای از عمق ایمانی است که در بین جوامعی کاملاً متفاوت مورث شور و شوق خدمت در احباء می‌گردد.

هم‌آهنگ با اقدامات فوق‌الذکر جوانان نیز در سبیل تبلیغ و تقویت جوامع کوشش نمودند. مساعی آنان در این دوره سه ساله ابعادی جدید داشت. در نتیجه برگزاری کنفرانس‌های جوانان و اجتماعات دیگری که موافق با ذوق آنان تشکیل گردید، جوانان در سراسر جهان با مشارکت در سفرهای تبلیغی در داخل و خارج ممالک خود و بصورت گروه‌های کوچک در اقدامات دسته‌جمعی تبلیغی شرکت کردند و وقت و قوا و شور و اشتیاقی فراوان در خدمات تبلیغی مصروف داشته سبب شدند که صدها نفر به امر الهی اقبال نمایند و محافل روحانی محلی بسیاری تأسیس گردد. از وجوه مشخصه اقدامات جوانان به کار گرفتن موسیقی و سایر هنرها بعنوان وسائطی برای اعلان امرالله و نشر نفحات‌الله در بسیاری از نقاط بود و رواج یافتن کارگاههای رقص و نمایش (dance and drama workshops) بنحو اخص در این زمینه مؤثر واقع گردید. مشارکت جوانان در روابط خارجی امکانی جدید برای امر الهی بوجود آورد. تعهد یکسال خدمت بیش از پیش رواج یافت و همزمان با آن تعداد جوانانی که به تحصیلات رسمی برای اخذ درجات علمی، تخصصی و حرفه‌ای اشتغال دارند افزایشی قابل ملاحظه‌ای پیدا نمود. این جریانات بطور کلّی حاکی از آنست که جوانان در ضمن آنکه بیشتر به خدمات امری اشتغال دارند برای توسعه و پیشرفت اجتماع نیز فعالیت می‌کنند.

نشانه‌های تحکیم مبانی جامعه همچنین در افزایش مشارکت یاران الهی در خدمات توسعه و عمران اجتماعی و اقتصادی بویژه در تعلیم و تربیت مشهود بود. در موردی بسیار قابل توجه یکی از دولت‌ها از بهائیان تقاضا کرد که مسؤولیت اداره هفت مدرسه از مدارس دولتی را بر عهده گیرند. احباء نیز با پشتیبانی دفتر خدمات اجتماعی و اقتصادی در مرکز جهانی بهائی این خدمت را آغاز کردند. شایسته تذکر است که در آفریقا جامعه‌های بهائی که در اثر اغتشاشات سیاسی در کشورهای در تبعید تشکیل گردیده به تأسیس مزارع کشاورزی و مشروعات دیگر ادامه داده‌اند و این امر به میزان زیادی سبب خود کفائی آنان شده است.

سعی و کوشش در اعتلاء مقام نسوان با شتابی بیشتر پیشرفت نموده و در تعدادی از کشورها علاوه بر شرکت احباء در طرح‌هائی که از طرف سازمان‌های دیگر ترتیب یافته، مؤسسات امری لجنات و دفاتری برای حفظ مصالح نسوان تشکیل داده‌اند. تأسیس دفتر جامعه بین‌المللی بهائی برای ترقی نسوان نشانه افزایش توجه و اقدامات مبذوله در این زمینه است.

در تعدادی از کشورها نیز احباء بنحو بارزی در برنامه‌هائی که از طرف دولت برای بهبود وضع بهداشت ترتیب یافته بود مشارکت جستند و در مواردی دیگر دسته هائی از یاران الهی رأساً چنین برنامه‌هائی ترتیب داده و به مرحله اجراء گذاشتند. خدمات مربوط به توسعه و عمران اجتماعی و اقتصادی نیز در اثر تأسیس و تحکیم تعدادی مشروعات و سازمان‌های عمده قابل ملاحظه بود. سه طرح آزمایشی سواد آموزی بعنوان مرحله مقدماتی طرح سواد آموزی در سراسر جهان که دفتر خدمات اجتماعی و اقتصادی در مرکز جهانی بهائی قصد آغاز آن را دارد به مرحله اجراء گذاشته شد. همچنین اقداماتی به ابتکار و یا با مشارکت بهائیان برای توسعه و پیشرفت‌های اجتماعی و اقتصادی معمول گردید که سبب مشارکت عمومی و جلب توجه وسائط خبری شد و مایه اعلان امرالله گردید.

فعالیت‌های مربوط به روابط خارجی، نسبت به مدت زمان مشابهی در گذشته، افزایشی سریع داشت و سبب اشتهار امر بهائی شد. کوشش‌های بی‌سابقه در این زمینه در جمیع مناطق جهان بیش از پیش سبب نمایان شدن امر الهی در انظار و در نتیجه افزایش اعتبار جامعه بین‌المللی بهائی گردید. شواهد این پیشرفت به سهولت در اقدامات جوامع بهائی اعم از بزرگ و کوچک در ترتیب دادن و یا در [Page 31]

Consuls general attend Holy Day in Los Angeles

On the evening of Saturday, November 11, the Bahá’í community of Los Angeles hosted a celebration with a very special event for the anniversary of the Birth of Bahá’u’lláh. Consuls General and their wives from several Latin American countries attended a dinner at the home of the Eghrari family.

The event was sponsored by the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Los Angeles, and was planned in detail by Vahid and Lourdes Saniei, members of the Latino Teaching Committee, together with Armando Alzamora, director of El ‎Ruisenior Ruiseñor‎/The Nightingale.

Auxiliary Board member Angelica Huerta, as well as Alejandro Jarquin and Tulio Gonzalez, offered their valuable assistance as coordinators.

Mrs. Eghrari, who generously offered her home and provided the dinner, welcomed the Consuls of Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Colombia, Peru, Bolivia and Chile, as well as representatives from the Consulates of Honduras and Spain.

The event ‎begin began‎ with appetizers and presentations. Shortly thereafter, a short program began with master of ceremonies Fernando Schiantarelli, who explained the purpose of the event and gave a brief introduction to the Faith, focusing on its administration. Lois Willows, a member of the Spiritual Assembly of Los Angeles, cordially welcomed the guests.

Entertainment was provided by guitarist Thomas Valle and K.C. Porter with Lin Cheng, a concert violinist from China, each of whom received warm applause.

Counselor Arturo Serrano, visiting from Mexico, gave a short talk on the importance of the Latin American communities of California. He said the destiny of California is in the hand of the Latinos.

He also referred to the Bahá’í Writings that speak about the destiny of America, focusing on the principle of one world and one unified community, and discussed the importance of social and economic development projects.

Gloria Haithman-Ali, a member of the Spiritual Assembly of Los Angeles, thanked the Consuls for their presence and presented to each copies of "The Promise of World Peace" and a rose as a token of friendship. She indicated the desire to continue a long and fruitful relationship.

The visitors expressed their pleasure and enjoyment. During dinner it was possible to converse with the guests, who voiced a desire to help each other in service to the Latin American community in its social development.

The most important commentaries by the Consuls concerned the education of children, the development of family life, sources of communication for the community in general, and medical assistance.

Undoubtedly they are ready to work closely with the Bahá’í community. It is the hope of the Latino Teaching Committee that future programs of social development can be undertaken with more frequency and, in doing so, be able to offer the Bahá’í Faith as a solution for the problems that society faces today.

Five-year-old Pennsylvania Bahá’í plans Ayyám-i-Há observance for classmates

Lua Harmsen

If you need an example of promoting entry by troops, ask a child. Particularly five-year-old Lua Harmsen of Monroeville, Pennsylvania.

Lua planned to give her teacher an Ayyám-i-Há present of cookies and a colored sand jar, both of which she had made the night before with the help of grownups at her community Ayyám-i-Há party.

But in the morning she was inspired to give every one of her classmates a present too. So she searched the house for 23 small toys and attached to them a card with ribbons left over from the cookie project.

The card read: "Happy Ayyám-i-Há. February 26 through March 1 all over the world, Bahá’ís celebrate Ayyám-i-Há as a festival of generosity, hospitality and service. Please accept this gift from Lua." A quotation from Bahá’u’lláh also was included.

That afternoon, on the way to her kindergarten class, Lua’s beautiful sand jar slipped out of her hands and shattered into thousands of pieces of glass and a rainbow of colored sand on the floor of the school hallway.

After conquering her tears and overcoming her disappointment, Lua proceeded to class. She gave her music teacher the Red Grammer tape her mom, Rhea, had sent in as a gift to the school, gave the principal a pound cake and cookies, and, during "show and tell," told her classmates about Ayyám-i-Há (with mom’s help) and handed out her presents.

The teacher told the children to leave the tag on the presents so their parents could read it when they got home! Lua then gave her teacher the cookies—and a pound cake, as substitute for the sand jar.

Lua’s last mission that day was to ride the bus home and give her bus driver and best friend, Pat, a pound cake. But she forgot she had that pound cake in her backpack. So before she left school she ingeniously "borrowed" back her teacher’s pound cake, promising to bring another one the next day, and gave it to Pat on the bus.

All in all, through Lua’s "unrestrained as the wind" actions, 30 people heard the name Bahá’í that day. It took generosity, work, fortitude in overcoming adversity, and a quirky bit of ingenuity.

No doubt Bahá’í children all over America have similar stories to tell that combine the beauty of their favorite holiday with the joy of giving the greatest gift of all, the name of Bahá’u’lláh!

Development

Continued from Page 22

social ties across ethnic and economic boundaries; it’s a project of the Bahá’í community because we believe that we can overcome racism only by providing a model of deep ties of social and personal interracial intimacy.

It’s not quite the same, is it? This is difficult. But we are not going to lead humanity toward where Bahá’u’lláh wants it unless we do what He tells us to do.

When we obey the injunctions of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and Shoghi Effendi about the ways in which to overcome racism, we are leading a process of social evolution. That means we cannot know where we are going because no one has been there before.

But we don’t have to be anxious about this because we know what to do—the evolutionary, transforming force comes from putting into effect the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh.

We know these teachings. We know these principles and concepts and virtues that we must apply to cause social progress. We have studied them, thought about them, even memorized them. Making them real in the world is the next logical step, and we can do it.

Next: How to start Bahá’í development activities.

"...we urge you, with all earnestness from the utter depths of our conviction as to the ripeness of the time, to lay aside your every minor concern and direct your energies to teaching His Cause—to proclaiming, expanding and consolidating it." —The Universal House of Justice, Ridván 1988

May E. Frisbie, a Bahá’í for nearly half a century, died March 16 in North Adams, Massachusetts. She was 102 years old. Mrs. Frisbie, who heard of the Faith in 1942 while visiting her brother in Wilmette, Illinois, became a Bahá’í in 1946, and later moved to Bradenton, Florida, where she served for many years as a member of the local Spiritual Assembly. After moving to Massachusetts at age 91 to be with her daughter and son-in-law, she sought out area Bahá’ís, promoted the Faith in the local newspaper, and held firesides, Feasts and Holy Day observances in her apartment for several years until confined to a nursing home.

IN MEMORIAM

Gustave Aberman Cathedral City, CA March 24, 1996	Gloria D. Desotell Springfield, MA February 26, 1996	Charles A. Jones Laplace, LA January 11, 1996	Mahin Melany Bethesda, MD October 4, 1995	Iraj Sedighian Santa Monica, CA April 11, 1996
Frank Allen Rochester, NH August 17, 1995	May E. Frisbie North Adams, MA March 16, 1996	Yvonne Jordan Seminole, OK March 22, 1996	Walter Mitzel Jr. York, PA April 5, 1996	Fanaollah Sobhani New York, NY February 27, 1996
Juanita Barnett Louisville, KY March 11, 1996	Amir Ghazanfari Columbia, MD February 18, 1996	Elizabeth Kappus Burt, NY December 16, 1995	Kenneth Myers Eureka, CA February 9, 1996	John B. Taylor Salem, VA March 19, 1996
Rodney Belcher Kampala, Uganda March 10, 1996	Leticia Gonzales Bay City, MI April 9, 1996	Freydoun Labib Colorado Springs, CO April 1, 1996	John A. Reese Long Beach, CA November 1995	Carram Tedrick Great Falls, MT March 1996
Eileen Bookey Bellingham, WA February 27, 1996	William Graham Chico, CA February 22, 1996	Hildegarde Lewis Wauwatosa, WI March 20, 1996	Mohtaram Rezvanipour Los Angeles, CA December 27, 1995	Houshang Vahid-Ekbatani Mission Viejo, CA July 19, 1995
Michael Covey Independence, MO March 1996	Patricia Harris Clarkdale, AZ March 30, 1996	Jalil Mahmoudi Santa Monica, CA March 8, 1996	Romina Sahand Columbia, MD March 14, 1996	Donald Washburn Great Barrington, MA March 15, 1996
Jessie B. Davis Adrian, MI March 19, 1996	Lucinda Hyder Vicksburg, MS February 1996	Michael Maloney Great Falls, MT March 4, 1996	Albert Saunders Berkeley Springs, WV January 20, 1996	Beauris Whitehead Jr. New York, NY March 18, 1996

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CALENDAR

The Bahá’ís of Manatee County, Florida, won a first-place ribbon for their exhibit in January’s annual Manatee County Fair whose theme was ‘A Rainbow of Riches.’ The Bahá’ís of Manatee County have taken part in the event for the past 27 years, during which time they have won six blue ribbons (first prize), five red ribbons (second prize), two white ribbons (third prize) and one yellow ribbon (honorable mention). This year’s exhibit was designed by Robert McComb.

MOVING? TELL US YOUR NEW ADDRESS.

To avoid unnecessary delays in receiving The American Bahá’í, send all family members’ names, new address and mailing label to: Management Information Services, Bahá’í National Center, 1233 Central St., Evanston, IL 60201-1611. If acquiring a Post Office box, your residence address (c) must be filled in. Please allow 3 weeks for processing. (This also updates National’s data base.)

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

MAY

23-26: Sixth annual conference of the Friends of Persian Culture Association, North Shore Hilton Hotel, Skokie, Illinois. For information, phone 847-733-3526, 847-733-3528, or 847-733-3531.

24-26: 23rd annual Conference of Nur, Elizabethtown (Pennsylvania) College. Sponsored by the Spiritual Assembly of Harrisburg. Theme: “To Assist Me Is to Teach My Cause.” Registration limited to 420. For information, phone 717-665-3265 after 5 p.m. Eastern time.

24-26: Local Spiritual Assembly Development Weekend, Louhelen Bahá’í School. For information, phone 810-653-5033, fax 810-653-7181, or e-mail

24-27: Pioneer/SITA Institute, Bahá’í National Center, Evanston, Illinois.

24-27: Core Curriculum Training Weekend, Louhelen Bahá’í School. For information, phone, fax or e-mail as listed above.

24-27: 10th annual Marriage Enrichment Weekend, Bosch Bahá’í School. For information, phone 408-423-3387, fax 408-423-7564, or

24-27: “Wings of the Eagle,” Gender Equality Conference, Louisville, Kentucky. Speakers to include Juana Conrad, Fafar and Jack Guillebeaux, Hoda Mahmoudi, Billie Mayo, Rebecca Murphy, Joyce Olinga, Michael Penn, Mary K. Radpour and others. For information, phone Nancy Ordaz, 502-241-8790.

24-28: Bahá’í Youth Service Corps Training Institute, Bahá’í National Center, Evanston, Illinois.

24-28: Music Forum, Landegg Academy, Wienacht, Switzerland.

25-27: Ceta Canyon Memorial Weekend Bahá’í school, sponsored by the Spiritual Assembly of Amarillo, Texas. For information, phone Pat Klem, registrar, 806-359-6505.

30-June 14: Volunteers are needed for NGO (Non-Governmental Organization) Forum paralleling the UN Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II) in Istanbul, Turkey. For information, phone the Bahá’í Office of Pioneering, 847-733-3512.

31-June 2: Symposium for Health Professionals, Louhelen Bahá’í School. For information, phone 810-653-5033, fax 810-653-7181, or e-mail

31-June 2: Southeast Asian Helpers Roundtable Discussion Conference; also, Core Curriculum Teacher Training Session (Part 2), Bosch Bahá’í School. For information, phone 408-423-3387, fax 408-423-7564, or e-mail

JUNE

1-3: South Carolina Bahá’í Summer School, Louis G. Gregory Bahá’í Institute, Hemingway. For information, phone 803-558-5093 or fax 803-558-2921.

6-9: International conference, Women and the Welfare of Humanity, Landegg Academy, Wienacht, Switzerland.

7-9: Biennial History Conference, sponsored by the Institute for Bahá’í Studies, Bahá’í National Center, Evanston, Illinois. For special conference rates, phone the North Shore Hilton Hotel (847-679-7000). For conference information, phone Lynne Yancy, 847-733-3548, fax 847-733-3563, or e-mail

7-9: Assembly Team Development Weekend, Bosch Bahá’í School. For information, phone 408-423-3387, fax 408-423-7564, or e-mail

13-16: Personal Development Training Course, Landegg Academy, Wienacht, Switzerland.

14-16: Special Fund-Raising Weekend and Grand Opening of New Classrooms, Bosch Bahá’í School. Special guest: Olya Roohizadegan, plus many musical performers. For information, phone 408-423-3387, fax 408-423-7564, or e-mail

14-16: Hemlock Haven Bahá’í School, Marion, Virginia. Theme: “Opening the Door of the Kingdom of God to All People.” Concurrent Youth Retreat. For information, contact Sarah Jane Lee, P.O. Box 2156, Lebanon, VA 24266 (phone 540-889-0445), or phone Clint Dye, 540-873-6754.

20-23: Study course, Christianity and the Bahá’í Faith, Landegg Academy, Wienacht, Switzerland.

22: South Carolina Bahá’í Association of Educators’ Conference, University of South Carolina, Gambrell Hall. For information, write to Dr. Julian Daniels, Waterloo, SC 29384, or phone 803-677-3833.

22-30: Choral Camp with Tom Price, Victor Wong and Jamie Findlay, Bosch Bahá’í School. For information, phone 408-423-3387, fax 408-423-7564, or e-mail

27-30: Education Forum, Landegg Academy, Wienacht, Switzerland.

JULY

1-27: World Order Studies, a three-year certificate program, Landegg Academy, Wienacht, Switzerland.

4-7: Bellemont Bahá’í School, near Flagstaff, Arizona, sponsored by the Spiritual Assemblies of Flagstaff and Coconino County East. Theme: “The Four Year Plan: The Most Important Years of Your Life.” Registrar: Ellen Stone, P.O. Box 2533, Flagstaff, AZ 86003 (phone 520-526-5979).

6-11: Youth on the March: Preparation for Summer Teaching Projects, Bosch Bahá’í School. For information, phone 408-423-3387, fax 408-423-7564, or e-mail

13-18: General Session, Bosch Bahá’í School. The Kitáb-i-Íqán with Brent Poirier, The LSA: Channel of God’s Grace with David Rouleau, and Teaching the Faith Through Tapestry with Vicki Hu ‎Poirer Poirier‎. For information, phone 408-423-3387, fax 408-423-7564, or e-mail

20-25: General Session, Bosch Bahá’í School. Race: Examining Myths of Tradition with James F. Nelson, Creating and Sustaining Unity in the Urban Community with Gloria Haithman-Ali, and the Covenant with Derek Cockshut. Also, College Intensive Session with Sean Lurie. For information, phone 408-423-3387, fax 408-423-7564, or e-mail

‘Azamát B.E. 153 / May 17, 1996

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