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Seeing double: Youth lead the way as Delaware community's active core soars in year

By TOM MENNILLO

Three young members of the same family hold up their signed cards after declaring their belief in Bahá’u’lláh. Youth and pre-youth have galvanized the Dover, Delaware, Bahá’í community over the past year, leading to a doubling of the active core of believers.

The recent growth of the Faith in Dover, Delaware, has been likened to a ball hurtling downhill that the local Spiritual Assembly need only nudge every so often to guide.

Another analogy: it's like surfing a mystic tidal wave. Such power is present that you simply respond, rather than try to shape.

No matter the picture that is conjured up, the facts are clear. Dover has doubled its active core of believers in the past year and tripled it to almost 30 over a two-year period.

What has unleashed this energy?

The friends there point to a period of tests late in the Three Year Plan. Conflict had crippled the community to the extent that an assistant to the Auxiliary Board member was called in.

Dover Bahá’ís emerged from under that cloud with more resolve than ever. And when four people being separately taught declared their belief in Bahá’u’lláh in rapid succession, the friends knew they were on to something.

That something was youth, or more specifically pre-youth. One youngster taught another, they taught others, those others taught still more. And the parents of these teens were asking about the faith to which their children gave allegiance.

It was then that the Dover Assembly decided to put youth at the heart of the community and harness the tremendous energy these young people were generating.

A series of monthly youth retreats began, with the thought of spawning a Bahá’í Youth Workshop.

Eight teen-agers attended the first weekend retreat, in August 1995. Now about 35 teens come from up to two hours away for the combination deepening, Workshop practice, and social event.

They range from 10 to 21 years old, with a majority on the low end of the range. Their backgrounds and circumstances are diverse. But they're all eager to explore their spiritual side and even make life-altering decisions.

Rights monitor fears executions of 2 Bahá’ís near

In January, Amnesty International expressed its concern that two Iranian Bahá’ís, who were sentenced to death last year for apostasy, might be at risk of imminent execution following reports that Iran's Supreme Court had confirmed their sentences.

Both men, Dhabibullah Mahrami and Musa Talibi, were accused of having converted to Islam in the past and later having reverted to the Bahá’í Faith.

Mr. Mahrami was sentenced to death in January 1996 by a Revolutionary Court in Yazd, but the sentence was overturned by the Supreme Court and the case referred back to a lower court for reconsideration.

Although Amnesty International has not received details of when Mr. Mahrami's retrial took place, recent reports indicate that he has been informed orally that his death sentence has been upheld by the Supreme Court.

Mr. Talibi, arrested in Isfahan in June 1994, was originally sentenced to 10 years in prison on unknown charges. Following an appeal, the sentence was reduced to 18 months in prison from the date of his arrest.

The prosecution objected to the lighter sentence, apparently on the grounds that Mr. Talibi was an apostate. At a further trial in July 1996, he was sentenced to death.

His lawyer appealed, but according to recent reports Mr. Talibi was also informed orally that his death sentence had been confirmed.

Although apostasy is not a crime under the Iranian penal code, those who convert to Islam from another religion and later reconvert (classed as "national apostates" by the late leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ayatollah Khomeini) can face trial and execution.

The Ayatollah, in his writings, defined the penalty.

Bahá’í representatives hear UN chief

On January 24, two representatives of the National Spiritual Assembly attended the new United Nations Secretary General's first major public address in Washington, D.C.

At a luncheon sponsored by the National Press Club, Secretary General Kofi Annan highlighted the importance of the U.S.-UN relationship, and while promising reform, stressed also the necessity of strong U.S. support for the world body.

"I am deeply convinced," he said, "that the United States needs the United Nations just as the United Nations needs the United States."

The Secretary General noted how the UN had been formed after World War II, in great part through the efforts of American statesmen who were inspired by the same vision that moved Benjamin Franklin to tell the quarrelsome 13 colonies that "if we don't hang together, we will surely hang separately."

"Franklin's lesson," he pointed out, "applies all the more across the world today."

Mr. Annan's reference to parallels between the formation of the United States and that of the UN is significant when considered in the light of comments on the principle of federalism made early in this century by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and recounted by Shoghi Effendi:

"You can best serve your country," was ‘Abdu’l-Bahá's rejoinder to a high official in the service of the federal government, "if you strive, in your capacity as a citizen of the world, to assist in the eventual application of the principle of federalism underlying the government of your own country to the relationships now existing between the peoples and nations of the world." (The World Order of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 37) [Page 2]

Bahá’ís step in to spearhead King Week event

Wenatchee, WA,

By TOM MENNILLO

Bahá’í communities small and large were in the forefront this year of efforts to honor the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., taking heart from the example of friends in Atlanta, Georgia, and elsewhere who have formed the backbone of local celebrations. None exemplified this spirit more than the Bahá’ís of Wenatchee, Washington, who initiated a multi-ethnic event that involved every strata of the community.

For the past seven years, the Wenatchee Assembly has been involved in efforts to honor Dr. King, working with various religious and cultural groups to plan an event in his memory. This year the Assembly initiated the effort, and an Assembly representative, Verna Zuttermeister, served as facilitator.

This year's expanded observance was unique. For the first time, it was called a "Celebration of Unity." Numerous cultural groups were invited to display examples of precious items reflecting their heritage and small samples of food from their culture.

The community response was gratifying, with more than 200 people attending. At the celebration, 10 groups presented displays including the American Indian, Latino, Filipino, Russian, Korean, Chook and Ecuadorian communities, the Literacy Council, YWCA, Hispanic Services, and the high school Cultural Awareness Club.

Upon entering the event, attendees were welcomed by greeters who offered them a "World Citizen" sticker and membership card stating "The earth is but one country and mankind its citizens—Bahá’u’lláh."

After viewing the displays and sampling foods for 45 minutes while listening to the superb Wenatchee High School "Mariachi Huenachi Band," participants were invited to take their seats for the formal program, which began with Bahá’í prayers in three languages.

The keynote speech was given by Rhonda Harris, a local elementary school teacher. She spoke movingly about Dr. King and how his work and sacrifice helped her, an African-American woman, achieve her goals. She then recited a part of one of Dr. King's well-known speeches.

In their premiere performance, the Native American Youth Dancers of Wenatchee, in full native dress, performed two dances, inviting the audience to take part in the second, a "friendship" dance. Members of the American Indian community spoke about programs they have developed to increase youth self-esteem and pride.

The program continued with Northwest Passages, a play about immigrants to the Pacific Northwest and their struggles to survive and be accepted. The play was presented by Kelly Lloyd of Living Voices, a professional acting company from Seattle.

Local singer Merry Roy then led the singing of "Amazing Grace" and "We Shall Overcome," as audience members stood and held hands.

Why was the celebration so successful? First, a small Bahá’í community had the courage to be responsible for the event, and thus be in the forefront of the cause of race unity, trusting that Bahá’u’lláh would provide the manpower. (Last year, for example, there was no local Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration because no group took the initiative to call a planning meeting.)

Second, many phone calls were made and invitations sent to ensure that the diverse cultural groups in the community were well represented in the early planning stages. When people are invited to take part in the planning stage, they trust that their ideas matter and that their needs will be met, and they will attend.

Third, community organizations were given the opportunity to be generous donors, thus ensuring low costs and broadening further the participation and commitment of the local community.

The celebration was remarkably inexpensive to produce. Local businesses, religious groups, service organizations and individuals donated money, refreshments, sound equipment, print materials, and radio and newspaper advertising. The site, a local middle school, charged no fee except for custodial services. All entertainment was donated except for the professional actor's fee.

Many attendees commented on the wonderful feeling of unity at the event, the need for such celebrations, and the desire that they be held frequently throughout the year. The planning committee, called "Bridge Builders," has already scheduled a potluck appreciation party for all participants, and is discussing a second event to be held on Race Unity Day in June.

THE AMERICAN BAHÁ’Í Published once every 38 days (plus one special issue) for a total of 10 issues a year by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States, 1233 Central St., Evanston, IL 60201-1611. Periodical postage paid at Evanston, IL and additional mailing offices. ISSN Number: 1062-1113 Executive Editor: Jack Bowers Associate Editor: Tom Mennillo The American Bahá’í welcomes news, letters and other items of interest from individuals and the various institutions of the Bahá’í Faith. Articles should be clear and concise; color or black-and-white glossy photographs should be included whenever possible. Please address all correspondence and other materials to The Editor, The American Bahá’í, 415 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091-2886. Send address changes to Management Information Services, 1233 Central St., Evanston, IL 60201-1611. Copyright 1997 by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. World rights reserved. Printed in the U.S.A.

the Balay Faith Color Mead

A warm day in the Denver, Colorado, suburb of Highlands Ranch brings out the Bahá’ís and others January 19 for the third annual Martin Luther King Jr. Unity Walk. The 1.7-mile walk, initiated by the Highlands Ranch Spiritual Assembly and co-sponsored by several civic organizations, was followed by a program with speaker Maria Guajardo Lucero, executive director of the Latin American Research and Service Agency, and performances by groups including the Colorado Bahá’í Youth Workshop.

Other community celebrations included:

San Jose, California

A Bahá’í was honored for service to the community, a 14-year-old Bahá’í delivered the keynote speech, and the Bay Area Bahá’í Youth Workshop performed as more than 500 people celebrated Martin Luther King Jr. Day in San Jose.

Among attendees were members of Congress and the California Assembly, the chief of police, and chief executives of several companies.

The celebration was sponsored by the Martin Luther King Jr. Association of Santa Clara Valley Inc. Bahá’ís in San Jose and other Bay Area communities are active board members of the association and for the past two years have been in charge of organizing the event.

During the program, Louisa Priddy, a Bahá’í from San Jose, and 18 other Santa Clara Valley residents were honored for their services to the community. Paymon Zarghami, a 14-year-old Bahá’í, spoke to the gathering about the imperatives of racial unity.

The Bay Area Bahá’í Youth Workshop's performance was received enthusiastically. In fact, the workshop has been invited to take part in several other events during Black History Month at local Fortune 500 companies, churches, and high schools, and to work with a local mentoring program for African-American youth.

The celebration was followed by a Freedom Train ride from San Jose to San Francisco that symbolized Dr. King's 50-mile march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama.

Olean, New York

For the seventh year, the Olean Bahá’í community sponsored a multifaith observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

This year's celebration drew more than 300 people to the First Presbyterian Church of Olean. When the sanctuary and balcony of the church were filled, extra seating had to be arranged to the side of the pulpit.

As attendees entered, they were offered unity pins as a remembrance gift from the Bahá’ís. After a processional by singers in native dress, three local leaders spoke and representatives of area faiths read from speeches by Dr. King.

Musical selections by the Gospel Choraliers, the Peace Choir and the St. Bonaventure University [Page 3]Choir, all of which have Bahá’í members, were followed by the presentation of the annual unity award by the Spiritual Assembly of Olean.

The award recipient this year was Carol Scott, the first African-American dean of an area college. Through her position at Jamestown Community College, Dr. Scott has worked tirelessly to heighten community awareness of racial, women's and other social issues.

The Bahá’í organizing committee had the bounty of working with individuals from many religious, ethnic and racial backgrounds to put together the program. As a result of this cooperation, the event enjoyed its largest turnout ever.

Participants and spectators were moved by the event, as indicated by their interest in follow-up events: a study class on The Virtues Guide; a Martin Luther King Jr. essay contest in the schools; a meeting facilitated by the Bahá’ís to discuss ways to carry on Dr. King's ideals in Olean, and firesides on the principles of the Bahá’í Faith.

In addition, the Olean Peace Choir, founded by the Bahá’ís and directed by community member Jan Rhody, has had several inquiries from people wanting to join. A favorite piece of the choir, "Variety" (from Brilliant Star), which includes participation from a wide assortment of people, was photographed and prominently displayed in the local newspaper.

The newspaper also quoted from ‘Abdu’l-Bahá regarding the division between men being man-made and not of God. It referred to this quotation as "possibly the most powerful lesson heard" at the event.

Following the program, the Presbyterian Church sponsored a potluck dinner that was widely attended and featured food contributed by the African-American, East Indian and Asian communities.

The Olean Assembly is currently in jeopardy. If you would like to help the community teach the Faith in this and other ways, please contact its secretary, Brenda Snyder, at 716-372-3663, or chairman, Mike Marvin, at 716-372-5146.

Denver, Colorado

Martin Luther King Jr. Week was a big one again this year in metropolitan Denver. A number of events involving Bahá’ís received attention of the media and the public, and the Faith was featured prominently in an interfaith service.

On January 15, Susie Jones, an area Bahá’í, received one of 10 Martin Luther King Jr. Humanitarian Awards for her service to the community through the Dorothy Baker Project. The non-profit corporation is a food, clothing and household goods bank.

An interfaith celebration of Dr. King's birthday hosted by the Greater Metro Denver Ministerial Alliance on January 19 was truly a joyous and lovely event. The auditorium floor and balcony of the New Hope Baptist Church were filled to capacity, and folding chairs had to be brought in for the overflow.

The audience was treated to gospel music by the New Hope Baptist Church Choir, the "King's Kids" Choir, the Interfaith Mass Choir and the Interfaith Youth Choir. The voices, harmonies and enthusiasm of each choir were astounding and inspirational.

Amidst all the joy and festivity were sprinkled speakers who spoke to somber issues such as racism, child neglect and abuse, drug addiction, violence and poverty. The keynoted address, delivered by the Rev. Sandra A. Wilson, was forthright, moving, and spoke to the issues. Every speaker appealed to attendees to become involved with their children and with their communities, and to be committed to justice.

The Bahá’í Writings were the only scriptures offered in the litany format requested by organizers, the others having been incorporated into speeches and songs. As a result, the entire text of the selection was printed in the program each attendee received.

It was a great thrill for Carol Brooks of Golden to recite from the podium the words "Know ye not why We created you all from the same dust..." and to hear the response "that no one should exalt himself over the other" being recited by more than 1,000 voices!

Bahá’ís also marched in the parade on January 20.

Colorado Springs, Colorado

The front page of the January 20 Gazette Telegraph told the story:

"Two elementary school girls-one black, the other white-stood side by side Sunday night and prayed.

"Thou hast created all humanity from the same stock. Thou hast decreed that all shall belong to the same household,' their young voices prayed in unison. May they live together in perfect harmony.'

"After the prayer, Alexis Goggans, 9, and Kacey Stamats, 10, joined more than 600 people in an inspirational candlelit march in downtown Colorado Springs to commemorate the life and legacy of assassinated civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr."

Accompanying the article were two large photographs of the march and preparations.

The annual march on a warm winter night began at the downtown YMCA and ended with a service at Colorado College's Shove Chapel.

Approximately 600 attended, with a good representation of Bahá’ís including the two girls featured in the news story.

Sun Prairie, Wisconsin

In the summer of 1990, the Bahá’í community of Sun Prairie decided to start holding observances for the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. It was felt that this activity would be a venue to help everyone become more aware of the principle of unity in diversity.

The first events were small. But each year the number of attendees increased: 25, 40, 50, 75, 250. And participation of groups outside the Faith slowly grew as well.

This year's celebration, attended by about 300 people, featured several civic leaders including two chiefs of police, a mayor, superintendent of schools and a high school principal.

The Sun Prairie Youth and Families Commission and the Sun Prairie Area School District co-sponsored the event with the Bahá’í community.

Local restaurants provided refreshments, the high school home economics students made desserts, and businesses supplied flowers and other services.

Sanford, Florida

Bahá’ís Ben and Francine Levy were honored during the annual Commemorative Banquet held in memory of Dr. King at the Sanford Civic Center on January 18.

Each was given a plaque noting their participation as original members of the MLK Steering Committee, now in its 11th year.

During the Interfaith Service the following day, Mr. Levy read Bahá’u’lláh’s prayer for mankind.

An article with photograph of the participants in the Interfaith Service appeared January 21 in the Sanford Herald.

Greenbelt, Maryland

Bahá’ís Kevin Locke and Van Gilmer performed at a Bahá’í-sponsored Martin Luther King Day celebration that drew more than 400 people, mostly non-Bahá’ís. Two other Bahá’ís, Vernon Longie from North Dakota and Carlos Velesquez from Florida, were also on the program.

Mr. Locke had come to nearby Washington, D.C., from South Dakota to perform a the American Indian Presidential Inaugural Ball.

The local newspaper covered the King Day event with a full-page article headlined "Bahá’ís' Gift: Flute Player, Hoop Dancer Extraordinaire" that included four photographs of Mr. Locke playing the Lakota courting flute, performing his famous hoop dance, and teaching the dance to a gymnasium full of people. It was by far the most media attention a Bahá’í event in Greenbelt had ever received.

United Nations

Not only did Mr. Annan express a clear appreciation for the common sentiments behind the formation of the U.S. and the UN, he also emphasized the shared values found in the U.S. and UN, "the values of peace, of freedom and of justice, of progress and development, of generosity and solidarity, and of respect for human rights."

Referring to the principle of collective security, he outlined how American interests are directly linked to the successful conduct of peace operations.

"If the United Nations did not exist," he noted, "world public opinion would in all likelihood turn toward the sole superpower to ask it to intervene.

"Instead, the UN provides the United States and other countries a way to share responsibility for peace and order around the world and to take on collectively the political costs, the financial burden and the human risks involved."

Mr. Annan also pointed to the UN's essential role in preventive diplomacy, the effort to prevent conflict before it happens. Such efforts, he said, "can avert the immense costs-in lives and resources of war."

Such remarks are reminiscent of the 1991 Ridván message from the Universal House of Justice that referred to the efforts at collective security undertaken through the UN during the Gulf War.

Those efforts, the House of Justice noted, "demonstrated beyond any doubt the necessity of the principle of collective security prescribed by Bahá’u’lláh more than a century ago as a means of resolving conflict.

"While the international arrangement envisioned by Him for the full application of this principle is far from having been adopted by the rulers of mankind, a long step toward the behavior outlined for the nations by the Lord of the Age has thus been undertaken.'

In that same message, the Universal House of Justice referred to the role of the United States, which would, in ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s words, be "the first nation to establish the foundation of international agreement" and would "lead all nations spiritually."

Secretary General Annan's speech called on U.S. leaders to take part actively in revitalizing the UN as an effective tool for international cooperation in the 21st century.

In its 1991 message, the Universal House of Justice stated that in the call for a new world order, voiced by "political leaders and influential thinkers, even when they themselves [are] incapable of defining their own meaning, can be discerned the slow awakening of humanity to the principal purpose of [Bahá’u’lláh’s] Revelation."

Rights

for "national apostasy" as death, if the person refuses to recant. The judicial system in Iran considers such religious edicts, especially those of such eminent religious jurists as Ayatollah Khomeini, to be a parallel source of law to acts of Parliament.

Freedom to hold or adopt the religion of one's choice is provided for in Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Iran is a party.

In July 1993, the UN Human Rights Committee (the body charged with interpreting the ICCPR), expressly recognized that Article 18 entails the right to replace one's current religion with another, and that it bars coercion that would impair this right including the threat of physical force or penal sanction.

At least 201 Bahá’ís have been executed in Iran since the Islamic Revolutionary Government came to power in the 1980s, apparently as a result of their religious convictions or activities. Two other Bahá’ís, Kayvan Khalajabadi and Bihnam Mithaqi, are currently on death row in Iran. [Page 4]

PIONEERING

Individuals, institutions and international service

"...There are still vast areas of the world where no Bahá’ís have set foot. There are millions desperately thirsting for this Water of Life. There are countries where believers are laboring day and night to foster the growth of the tree of the Cause, and are in urgent need of reinforcements. It is our fervent prayer at the Sacred Threshold that stalwart, self-sacrificing friends will arise and that a wave of pioneers and traveling teachers will surge forth to raise the banner of the Cause and reinforce the cohorts of God in every land." (The Universal House of Justice, June 27, 1993)

The work of the pioneer or traveling teacher encompasses such broad and fundamental goals as "The task of spreading the Message to the generality of mankind..." and promoting "a significant advance in the process of entry by troops" as well as to "reinforce the cohorts of God in every land," tasks which the Universal House of Justice calls "critical" and which "must be rapidly extended."

It includes a diversity of locally-needed lines of action such as deepening new believers; consolidating communities; helping local Spiritual Assemblies; teaching children and youth; becoming involved in projects of social and economic development; introducing the Faith to people of prominence, students and other receptive groups; promoting the development of teaching institutes and other centers of learning, and many more.

The urgency of the times and the critical need for pioneers and traveling teachers requires us to be prepared so that our efforts may bear fruit. Both the individual and the institutions have a vital role to play in this preparation.

Individual

Everyone who is able to plan for international service, whether it be short- or long-term pioneering, Bahá’í Youth Service Corps, or traveling teaching, is encouraged to follow these steps in preparing for that service:

Contact your local Spiritual Assembly to consult with them. If you are an isolated believer or in a group, contact a nearby Assembly that knows you, or the Auxiliary Board member in your area.

Ask the Assembly to guide you in your spiritual and material preparation, to help you gain insights that will aid your success in the international field, and to pray for you as you work toward fulfilling your desire to serve internationally. Ask the Assembly to send a summary of your consultation, with their recommendations, to the Office of Pioneering.

Complete the appropriate Pioneer/BYSC Volunteer Form or Traveling Teaching Volunteer Form, available from the local Spiritual Assembly, and send it to the Office of Pioneering, including a current resumé, if possible.

Assess your own experiences, inclinations and possibilities in light of your goal to serve the Cause internationally.

Consult with the Office of Pioneering staff about your service. Your volunteer form and the Assembly’s summary provide information that will enable us to consult on where your talents and capacities can best be used in service to the Cause.

We may have information about jobs, education and other opportunities and can give you suggestions for visiting or settling in most countries of the world. We will help you communicate with the Continental Pioneer Committee and/or Continental Board of Counselors responsible for your areas of interest, and ultimately introduce you to the appropriate National Spiritual Assemblies so that you may contact them directly.

Deepen on the Writings, and read literature particularly pertinent to this service. A recommended reading list is available from the Office of Pioneering.

Register for a Pioneering/Bahá’í Youth Service Corps Institute, the dates of which are published regularly in The American Bahá’í.

Continue to teach, serve, deepen and pray and live a Bahá’í life each day to build the spiritual habits necessary for success as a pioneer or traveling teacher.

Institutions

"The challenge to...Assemblies and their agencies, aided by the Counselors and the Auxiliary Board members, is to raise up large numbers of believers for service in the international field and help them fulfill their aspiration to pioneer and travel-teach. The promotion of pioneering and travel-teaching and the spiritual preparation of the friends are, then, tasks to which the institutions are asked to pay special attention."

We offer the following in support of the role of the institutions in the international work of the Cause.

Check to see if your Assembly has the forms and other information on pioneering on file, ready to be photocopied for interested community members. If you do not have them, contact the Office of Pioneering immediately to request duplicates.

Make time whenever possible for the Assembly to consult directly with each prospective pioneer or traveling teacher. Help them develop the attitudes, qualities and skills that will contribute to their success. Send your recommendations about the service of each individual to the Office of Pioneering as soon as possible after your consultation.

Develop programs on service, with emphasis on pioneering, Bahá’í Youth Service Corps (BYSC) and traveling teaching in close collaboration with members of Office of Pioneering resource teams.

Assist the friends to systematically prepare, spiritually and materially, for service. Help them become effective teachers of the Cause.

Focus the training and education of children and youth on service, on developing spiritual warriors in the Cause of God.

Encourage parents to help their children prepare at the earliest age for the skills and material needs of giving a year of service.

Call for pioneers! and for contributions to the Deputization Fund as a means by which every community member may fulfill the obligation to go or send someone in his/her stead.

Consult with the Office of Pioneering on the international needs and how they may be supported.

We cannot afford to neglect the expectation of the Universal House of Justice, which has said, "We look to the members of the Bahá’í Community of 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."

Office of Pioneering, Bahá’í National Center, 1233 Central Street, Evanston, IL 60201-1611. General Information: 847-733-3508; e-mail Traveling Teaching and Bahá’í Youth Service Corps: 847-733-3511; e-mail Pioneering: 847-733-3512; e-mail Pioneering Resource Networks: 847-733-3506; e-mail fax 847-733-3509.

Friends should report trips at home, abroad during Plan

"Let every participator in the continent-wide campaign initiated by the American believers, and particularly those engaged in pioneer work in virgin territories, bear in mind the necessity of keeping in close and constant touch with those responsible agencies designed to direct, coordinate, and facilitate the teaching activities of the entire community....Upon every participator in this concerted effort, unprecedented in the annals of the American Bahá’í community, rests the spiritual obligation to make of the mandate of teaching, so vitally binding upon all, the all-pervading concern of his life. In his daily activities and contacts, in all his journeys, whether for business or otherwise, on his holidays and outings, and on any mission he may be called upon to undertake, every bearer of the Message of Bahá’u’lláh should consider it not only an obligation but a privilege to scatter far and wide the seeds of His Faith, and to rest content in the abiding knowledge that whatever be the immediate response to that Message, and however inadequate the vehicle that conveyed it, the power of its Author will, as He sees fit, enable those seeds to germinate, and in circumstances which no one can foresee enrich the harvest which the labor of His followers will gather."(Shoghi Effendi, The Advent of Divine Justice, p. 52)

To record the achievement of the traveling teaching goals, the Office of Pioneering needs information about your international trips of any nature since the beginning of the Four Year Plan (May 1, 1996). Please include the names of all countries and main localities visited, the dates of your trip, the names of all Bahá’ís traveling, and the main purpose of your travel. Because the friends are constantly teaching during their travels, business trips, personal projects, vacation trips, family visits, conferences, meetings, and teaching projects, among others, all are included in these statistics and duly designated. Please inform the National Teaching Office about those trips taken on the homefront for which some teaching activity was included.

To make this easiest for you, just fill out and send us the short form below by mail or by fax, or tell us by phone or e-mail 24 hours a day. For travel on the homefront, please report to the National Teaching Office at 847-733-3494 (fax 847-733-3502; e-mail For international travel, phone the Office of Pioneering, 847-733-3511 (fax 847-733-3509; e-mail We look forward to hearing from you.

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 60201-1611.

Name(s): Address: I.D. #s:

COUNTRIES and/or LOCALITIES DATES (FROM / TO) MAIN PURPOSE

Comments: [Page 5]

Bahá’u’lláh’s Teachings on Spiritual Reality

SC $3.50 (BTSR) A long awaited follow-up to Proofs of Bahá’u’lláh’s Mission, this book is a compilation of writings dealing with spiritual reality. An excellent introduction for seekers and new Bahá’ís on the Bahá’í theology of the quest for spirituality, what it means to be spiritual, the progress of the soul, and spiritual education. An equally vital refresher as well for any Bahá’í who wishes to reacquaint himself or herself with the Sacred Text’s pronouncements on these and other corollary topics such as prayer and meditation, mastery of self, suffering, immortality, sacrifice, and an array of critical topics about which every Bahá’í should have an understanding. Bahá’u’lláh’s Teachings on Spiritual Reality is an excellent opportunity for presenting the transforming Word of God to yourself or to another.

44"x7", 204 pp., introduction, bibliography Palabra Publications

‘An excellent introduction for seekers and new Bahá’ís on the Bahá’í theology of the quest for spirituality...’ Lise Janti

Revisioning the Sacred: New Perspectives on a Bahá’í Theology

Studies in the Bábí and Bahá’í Religions, Volume Eight edited by J. A. McLean HC $35.00 (RTSH), SC $29.95 (RTSS)

‘An historic first attempt to investigate Bahá’í theological teachings and Bahá’í Sacred Texts using systematic and scholarly methods.’

This book is the first academic volume dedicated to the serious understanding of Bahá’í theology as an area of Bahá’í studies. It is an historic first attempt to investigate Bahá’í theological teachings and Bahá’í Sacred Texts using systematic and scholarly methods. Each essay in the book is well argued and is the product of thorough research. Since the Bahá’í Faith has no clergy, the opinions of each author are only his or her own and cannot be regarded as authoritative statements of Bahá’í belief. Yet the insights that these scholars bring to bear will impel the reader to a closer, more prayerful reflection on the Bahá’í scriptures.

6"x9", 231 pp., introduction, bibliography Kalimat Press

Mystic Voice from the Realm of the Invisible

Selections from the Hidden Words of Bahá’u’lláh recited by Lisa Janti music by Bob Alcivar CD (DOUBLE) $19.95 (MVCD)

‘...exquisitely executed interplay of music and spoken word...’

Shoghi Effendi described the Hidden Words as "dynamic spiritual leaven cast into the life of the world for the reorientation of the minds of men, the edification of their souls and the rectification of their conduct." This recording of major portions of both the Arabic and Persian texts of the Hidden Words is presented in a unique and exquisitely executed interplay of music and spoken word. A loving companion in solitude and artful addition for group events, this beautiful and inspiring rendition of the Hidden Words makes a perfect gift for family, friends and seekers. This CD package contains an additional disc with the New Age music score alone as a special bonus.

74 minutes A/J Productions

A Short Introduction to the Bahá’í Faith

by Moojan Momen $11.95 SC (SIBF)

The Bahá’í Faith is the youngest of the world religions, with social and spiritual teachings very much in tune with the concerns of the present. Yet despite being the second most widespread religion after Christianity, many people are unfamiliar with Bahá’í history and beliefs. This book offers a clear, readable and informative introduction to all aspects of this fast-growing faith, from its teachings on the spiritual development of the individual to the Bahá’í belief in the oneness of all religions and the need for world peace. Sections of the book include personal spirituality, family and community life, worship and festivals, social and theological teachings, history of the Faith and an overview the present-day worldwide Bahá’í community.

54"x9", 150 pp., index, bibliography Oneworld Publications

Twin Manifestations

Ruhi Institute Book 4 by the Ruhi Institute SC $8.00 (TM4)

The fourth in the series from the Ruhi Institute, this book deals directly with the Twin Manifestations, their lives, station and teachings. Also included is a section which deals with the "greatness of this day." Carefully constructed lessons delineate the purpose, the ideas, the exercises and the practice necessary to acquire this basic set of knowledge regarding the Twin Prophet-Founders of the Bahá’í Faith. These lessons are suitable for adaptation into a wide range of age groups, from young children to adults.

8½"x11", 171 pp. Palabra Publications

‘...suitable for adaptation into a wide range of age groups...’

Unveiling the Hidden Words

Bahá’í Studies Volume II by Diana Malouf SC $18.95 (UHW)

The Hidden Words, that "marvelous collection of gem-like utterances" with which "Bahá’u’lláh was inspired, as He paced, wrapped in His meditations, the banks of the Tigris," is one of the most important works in Bahá’í literature and one of the most beautiful. The translation of the Arabic and Persian verses into English befitting the eloquence of the original required a master hand. Diana Malouf's Unveiling the Hidden Words is a study of the translation of the Arabic verses of the Hidden Words by Shoghi Effendi, designated the "interpreter" of the Bahá’í teachings, who was uniquely placed to render the words of his great-grandfather into English of outstanding beauty and charm. Dr. Malouf examines Shoghi Effendi's translation in light of certain "norms" or objectives for the translation—for example, to render the text elegantly, to make the translation enduring and to highlight its eloquence. Additionally, Dr. Malouf examines the life of Shoghi Effendi and his preparation for his work as translator of the Bahá’í writings, considers the nature of the Hidden Words itself as a literary work, and describes the goals and challenges of translating any work from one language into another. Included in the appendix are translations by different translators of 20 Arabic Hidden Words, demonstrating Shoghi Effendi's mastery of the art.

5½"x8", 230 pp., contents, introduction, bibliography, references George Ronald [Page 6]

A Basic Bahá’í Chronology

by Glenn Cameron with Wendi Momen $29.95 SC (BBC)

When was the greeting ‘Alláh-u-Abhá first used by Bahá’ís? When did Bahá’u’lláh reveal The Seven Valleys? When was the House of Worship in Panama completed? When was the International Teaching Centre established? Who was the first Puerto Rican Bahá’í? There are many times when we need to know the date of a Bahá’í event—in preparing a talk for summer school or a deepening class, when the media suddenly want an interview, in our external affairs work or just to satisfy our curiosity! Here at your fingertips are thousands of facts about the Bábí and Bahá’í Faiths, presented in the order in which they occurred and illustrated with over 300 photographs. More than 145 books and journals and hundreds of unpublished sources were meticulously researched to provide this comprehensive guide to Bahá’í history.

7"x9", 560 pp., photographs, index George Ronald Publisher

God’s Big Instruction Book

$8.95 SC (GBIB)

Words to heal, words to comfort, words to cheer, words to guide. These gems of wisdom from the world's sacred scriptures have transformed the lives of people all over the world for thousands of years. Celebrating all that it means to be human, from rejoicing in love to comforting the suffering, from offering forgiveness to contemplating the meaning of life, these inspirational words will guide your steps along the spiritual path. Includes quotes from the scriptures of Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Confucianism, Taoism, and the Bahá’í Faith on a range of topics such as the purpose of life, spiritual growth, family and community life, tests and difficulties, and life after death.

6"x4", 248 pp. Oneworld Publications

Bahá’u’lláh: His Life and Station

$9.95 SC (BSBLS)

Children will develop a deep love for Bahá’u’lláh with fun stories and activities reprinted from the pages of Brilliant Star. A quick resource for lesson planning which supports the core curriculum. Includes many popular out-of-print favorites. Reproducible for classroom use.

8½"x11", 46 pp., illustrations, activities Brilliant Star

Oneness of Humanity

$9.95 SC (BSOH)

Why is unity like a fruit salad? How does the oneness of humanity fit into the Four Year Plan? Answers to these and many other fascinating questions are in this resource book of activities, including stories and articles reprinted from the pages of Brilliant Star. Don't step into the classroom without it! Reproducible for classroom use.

8½"x11", 48 pp., illustrations, activities Brilliant Star

The Origins of the Bahá’í Community of Canada, 1898-1948

by Will C. van den Hoonaard $32.95 HC (OBCC)

What binds together Louis Riel's former secretary, a railroad inventor, a Montreal comedienne, an early proponent of Canada's juvenile system, and a prominent Canadian architect? Socialists, suffragists, musicians, artists—from 1898 to 1948, these and some 550 other individual Canadian Bahá’ís helped create a movement described as the second most widespread religion in the world. Using diaries, official reports, private correspondence, newspapers, archives and interviews, Will C. van den Hoonaard has created the first historical account of the Bahá’í Faith in Canada. This is the story of modern spiritual heroes—people who changed the lives of others through their devotion to Bahá’í ideals.

6¾"x9", 356 pp., photographs, contents, introduction, bibliography, index Wilfrid Laurier University Press

CRYSTALLIZATIONS: 20 Works by Bahá’í Authors

$19.95 SC (CRY)

Crystallizations provides 20 very different and fascinating inner perspectives on the Bahá’í Faith, unveiled and explored by 19 creative writers. No previous volume on the Faith has so adventurously tapped into its cultural richness, its power to quicken the imagination of such diverse artists as Juliet Thompson, Horace Holley, Roger White, Otto Donald Rogers, Ann Boyles, Jalalíyyíh Quinn, and Larry Rowdon. Here for all to see is the whole soul in activity.

6"x9", 291 pp. Association for Bahá’í Studies

The Land of Mystery

Bahá’u’lláh by Alex Zografov $16.95 CD (LMCD), $10.95 CS (LMCS)

Fasten your seatbelt, put your chair backs and food trays in the upright position and prepare to experience a unique and mystical journey. Travel Destination: The ancient land of Thrace (Adrianople), designated by Bahá’u’lláh as "The Land of Mystery". You will find yourself transported by ethereal vocal renditions of ancient folk melodies and chants that soar on modern wings fueled by today's driving rhythms. The Land of Mystery is a fresh, uplifting blend of ancient and modern music celebrating the "Blessed Beauty" as revealed in the "Greatest Name of God". Grab your boarding pass and travel light, no luggage required.

54 minutes Unity Arts

Hope: Jewels from the Words of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá

$5.95 SC (HS)

The fifth in the Jewels series presents extracts from the writings and utterances of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá on the theme of hope—hope for the individual through seeking the bounties of God, and the blessings to be obtained through following the life of the spirit and service to humanity.

6"x6", 40 p., bibliography, references Bahá’í Publishing Trust, United Kingdom

Understanding Biblical Prophecy

Preparing for a Bahá’í/Christian Dialogue, Volume 3 by Michael Sours $19.99 SC (UBP)

This is the final volume in a three-volume study program designed to help Bahá’ís familiarize themselves with the Bible and Christian beliefs. Among this volume's features:

• Explains Bahá’u’lláh's key to understanding Biblical prophecy and symbolism
• Demonstrates how Christ, Muhammad and Bahá’u’lláh fulfill the central prophecies of the Bible
• Emphasizes Biblical prophecies that are documented in authoritative Bahá’í Scripture
• Examines areas of agreement between Christian and Bahá’í interpretations
• Provides Biblical evidence supporting the teachings and interpretations of Bahá’u’lláh.

6"x9", 238 pp., contents, bibliography, index Oneworld Publications

Understanding Christian Belief, SC $19.99 (UCB) Understanding Biblical Evidence, SC $19.99 (UBE)

Divisive Barbarity or Global Civilization?

The Ethical Dimensions of Science, Art, Religion, and Politics edited by M. L. Bradbury and Suheil Bushrui $24.95 HC (DBGC)

This book presents the discussions of the Fourth International Dialogue on the Transition to a Global Society held at the University of Maryland at College Park. The foreword to these discussions was contributed by Amatu'l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khánum, who served as the keynote speaker for the proceedings, and the papers contained herein support the twin goals of the conference: To find integrative answers to the challenge of building an ethical, global civilization and to inspire purposeful action on the part of leaders in all realms of society so that the proposed solutions can be realized. Topics for discussion centered around science and technology, art and architecture, religion and human values, politics, and youth.

5¼"x9", 231 pp., contents, index University Press of Maryland

God and His Messengers

written and narrated by David Hofman $8.00 CS (GMC)

These stories describe in a simple and vigorous manner the lives and teachings of God's Messengers—the founders of the world's great religions. They are particularly valuable today when people of different races, nationalities and beliefs are living in the same community. They point the way to greater understanding and acceptance of others and thus to peace. Based on the much loved children's book by the same name, this cassette is an excellent exposition for children and youth on the concept of progressive revelation.

Images International [Page 7]

WE ARE BAHÁ’ÍS

We Are Bahá’ís Facilitator’s Handbook and Cassette $3.00 SCw/CS (WABFH)

This course, developed and distributed by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States, has as its essential purpose to evoke the spirit of the Faith and to make every new Bahá’í feel loved and welcomed into the Bahá’í community. The course is a companion to the book So Great an Honor, which is a book intended as an overview for new believers. The Facilitator’s Handbook includes a cassette tape with additional instructions for the facilitator and PARTIALTAIRS, AMO a selection of suitable music. 8½"x11", 24 pp. National Education Committee

We Are Bahá’ís Participant’s Handbook $1.50 SC (WABPH)

The Participant’s Handbook is the companion piece to the Facilitator’s Handbook. For the new believer this program was designed to assist them in their path of self-directed learning of the creative word. To accomplish this, the program is structured using a learning model derived from the writings of Bahá’u’lláh. Most learning experiences start and end with knowledge and wisdom, but using this model the learner can achieve a deeper level of understanding. He or she internalizes what is learned by applying it to his or her own everyday experiences and actions. 8½"x11", 32 pp. National Education Committee

An Introduction to the Bahá’í Faith

An Informational Course for the General Public prepared by Khalil A. and Sue Williston Khavari $7.95 SC (IBFC)

This coursebook was designed specifically to aid Bahá’ís in presenting the Bahá’í Faith to audiences in a public forum or classroom setting. This course not only presents systematically the basics of the Bahá’í Faith, including history, beliefs, practices, and administration, it also helps prepare the teacher through outlines of course procedures and objectives. Includes sample handouts, letters, announcements, overhead transparencies and a brief appendix on public speaking. 8½"x11", GBC bound, approx. 90 pp. Khalil and Sue Khavari

Translation of the French Foot-Notes from The Dawn-Breakers

translated by Emily McBride Perigord $6.95 SC (TFF)

English translations of the French footnotes found throughout The Dawn-Breakers. 6"x9", 83 pp. Bahá’í Publishing Trust, United States

CLEARANCE SALE!

For the month of ‘Alá’, Pavone International is reducing the price on its Ayyam-i-Há Gift Packages to clear out its remaining stock. These packages consisting of four albums (Happy Ayyam-i-Há, The Lote Tree, Selections from the Bahá’í Writings, and The Royal Falcon) will be available for the following reduced prices until March 20. (Albums may also be purchased separately if desired.)

Ayyam-i-Há Gift Pack, 4 CD Set $33.00 (AGPCD) Ayyam-i-Há Gift Pack, 4 CS Set $23.00 (AGPCS)

Happy Ayyam-i-Há

$14.00 CD (HACD), $11.00 CS (HACS)

This album received the Christian Angel Award in 1979 for the best children’s album of the year, the first non-Christian work to ever receive this award. This re-release of a classic blends the warm storytelling abilities of Hand of the Cause of God William Sears with memorable sing-alongs performed by children. Mr. Sears himself understood the timelessness of this album, stating that it would be appreciated for generations to come. Pavone International

The Lote Tree

$14.00 CD (LTCD), $11.00 CS (LTCS)

A musical drama about the Central Figures of the Bahá’í Faith narrated by Hand of the Cause of God William Sears. The heart-rending recollections and sincere love of Mr. Sears for the Guardian evident in this work will especially move and inspire the listener. The narration is accompanied by beautiful songs written by Seals and Crofts and Walter Heath that help to bring us closer to the human side of these exalted figures. The album ends with previously recorded songs by Seals and Crofts. Pavone International

Selections from the Bahá’í Writings

by Paul Parrish $14.00 CD (SBWCD), $11.00 CS (SBWCS)

Paul Parrish was once one of the most sought-after artists in the music industry, spoken of as one of the great modern composers of our time. He loved music but hated the music business. For this reason Paul always avoided commercial success. In the late eighties Paul became a Bahá’í and became intoxicated with the writings of Bahá’u’lláh. Immediately he began to set the writings of the Faith to music, and this album is the result of the impact of the words of Bahá’u’lláh on his art. Pavone International

The Royal Falcon

Parrish & Toppano $14.00 CD (RFCD), $11.00 CS (RFCS)

Paul Parrish and Ren Toppano’s album The Royal Falcon received great reviews throughout Europe and South Africa. They recently returned from an extensive trip throughout those areas. Through radio, television, and press they reached millions of people with the message of Bahá’u’lláh as they paid tribute to Him in their music. Pavone International

SHIP TO DAYTIME TELEPHONE ( ) PAYMENT METHOD -CHECK -CHARGE (VISA, MASTER, AMEX, DISCOVER) ITEM SHIPPING CHARGES TENNESSEE RESIDENTS PLEASE ADD 8.25% SALES TAX QUANTITY COST TOTAL 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 1-800-999-9019 Bahá’í Distribution Service 5397 Wilbanks Dr., Chattanooga, TN 37343 1-800-999-9019 Fax: 1-423-843-0836 • Internet: [Page 8]

Treasurer's corner

The Treasurers Corner is devoted to helping local Treasurers and others who have a special interest in development of the Funds, by offering suggestions and ideas which might be helpful in this work. If you would like to offer stories or ideas that have proved useful in your community, please feel free to share them with other communities through this column. (Contact the Office of the Treasurer and Development at 847-733-3472 or

Classes for new believers

Our beloved Universal House of Justice has said that:

"...Real growth of your material resources will come about through two primary means: increase in the number of believers, and increase in the effectiveness of the education of the believers concerning their spiritual obligations, among which is financial support of Bahá’í institutions."

Be sure that your community's new believer classes include a study of the Sacred Writings about the spiritual nature of giving to the Funds of the Faith as well as the obligation to pay Huqúqú’lláh. Include detailed information on the ways contributions can be offered. You may wish to offer compilations on both the Funds and Huqúqu’lláh, both of which are available from the Bahá’í Distribution Service.

Consult with your Core Curriculum teacher

There is a wonderful resource in your community whom you may have overlooked. Core Curriculum teachers have a bag of interesting and Fund presentation skills that are not just for children. One Treasurer, also a trained Core Curriculum teacher, recently shared a great idea with us. Her community uses the same Fund envelopes from Feast to Feast. Drawing on her Core Curriculum experience, she thought it would be a good idea to embellish the envelopes with lovely, colorful pictures. However, she realized that the friends would identify with the envelopes and experience a greater attachment to the Fund if they expressed their love for the Fund through their own drawings and paintings on the envelopes. So, at the following Feast she provided crayons, markers and other decorations for the friends to use in decorating each of their Fund envelopes. She reported that the friends were delighted, adults as well as children, and looked forward to the Treasurer's report at future Feasts.

Stewardship and Development Training

The Office of the Treasurer is launching a new program of Stewardship and Development Training. The training is particularly for local Treasurers and their assistants, but also for local Spiritual Assemblies and members of the community at large. For details, see additional article on this page.

Resources

The Office of the Treasurer has available a booklet, "Ways to Give," that outlines a number of financial arrangements, from annuities to trusts which can be used to make gifts to the Faith, sometimes resulting in tax savings for the donor. These arrangements, often thought to be advantageous only to the wealthy, can afford others the opportunity to make one-time gifts that might not have been possible to consider otherwise. The booklet also includes a section on bequests or giving through one's will. Single copies are free; multiple copies are $3 for 12.

Books

Bahá’í Funds: Contributions and Administration, compiled by the Universal House of Justice and available from the Bahá’í Distribution Service. This compilation includes extracts from the Guardian's letters on contributing to the Funds and letters written by, or on behalf of, the Universal House of Justice concerning the need for care in handling Bahá’í Funds. Cost is $2.75.

"Contributing to the Bahá’í fund constitutes an act of spiritual discipline which is an intrinsic element of the devotional life of the individual." (The Universal House of Justice, September 17, 1992)

'Negative' Fund messages cause concern

A survey conducted after the Feast of Masa’íl (December 11) showed that 20 percent of the local Assemblies polled reported that some members of their communities felt the Fund messages of the National Spiritual Assembly were "negative."

"It's almost as if the Office of the Treasurer is after you," said one person. "We try to sacrifice for the Fund, but the National Spiritual Assembly is always telling us it is not enough," was the sentiment expressed by another. The message to that Feast, that $9 million was required for the national work of the community by Ridván, was felt by some to be "pressuring the friends."

These statements represent, on the one hand, heartfelt feelings of those who expressed them, and are welcome as part of the ongoing dialogue about the challenging material needs of the Cause at the present time. The sincerity of the comments, as well as the courage required to share them in the spirit of consultation, are valuable characteristics of the interchange that takes place between the members of the community and their institutions.

On the other hand, statements of this kind may sometimes reflect a misunderstanding about the motivation for the National Assembly's messages, and to a certain extent about the role money plays in the individual's spiritual development and in the growth of the community.

It may be useful in this connection to remember the analysis of the Universal House of Justice of the three elements that make up the Bahá’í community: the individuals, the institutions and the community itself. Each has a role to play.

There can be no doubt that, as individuals, many of the friends are sacrificing heroically to teach, raise their families, serve their local Spiritual Assemblies and give to the Funds. That sacrifice is well known to the National Assembly and cherished by them.

The community as a whole also responded nobly to the challenge of last year, when we gave more than 50 percent of the goal for the Arc and increased our support for all the Funds, enabling the institutions to do much more, as well. This year, however, this collective entity that is the community has cut its giving to a level that could become serious.

Hence the role of the institutions. The reason the National Spiritual Assembly constantly shares its hopes and concerns about the Funds and their progress can be found in these two passages from letters of the Universal House of Justice:

"A corollary to the sacred obligation of the friends to contribute to the Funds of the Faith is the direct and unavoidable responsibility of each Local and National Assembly to educate them in the spiritual principles related to Bahá’í contributions. Failure to educate the friends in this aspect of the Faith is tantamount to consciously depriving them of the spiritual benefits accruing from giving in the path of God." (April 13, 1975, to some National Spiritual Assemblies)

"As it has already been pointed out...it is important for the National Spiritual Assemblies to work out ways and means of creating a sense of belonging in the hearts of the believers. One of the ways this can be done is to bring to their attention the needs of the Fund.

"The National Assembly should neither feel embarrassed nor ashamed in turning to the friends, continuously appealing to them to exemplify their faith and devotion to the Cause by sacrificing for it, and pointing out to them that they will grow spiritually through their acts of self-abnegation, that the fear of poverty should not deter them from sacrificing for the Fund, and that the assistance and bounty of the Source of all good and of all wealth are unfailing and assured." (February 9, 1967, to a National Spiritual Assembly)

So, these messages come out of a sense of concern for the friends' well-being, and out of a sense of responsibility toward the Cause. The members of the community have the power to make decisions that affect the destiny of the Faith and of the nation; to make the best decisions, we need information.

The second passage also addresses the spiritual principle involved here. In organizations or groups where there is a "we-they" division between the members, or the members and their governing body, an appeal for giving is actually an attempt to persuade the members to give up something they would rather keep. Where such a divide does not exist, though, the members want to share what they have, in the interest of a larger good.

Fortunately, the second instance is the one that applies to the Bahá’í community. The Assemblies know that the believers have enlisted in the Cause to make a difference in the world, and that they have shown a strong will to share their time and resources in order to change history.

So we have the three elements in the Faith: the Assemblies, who have the responsibility to inform the believers of the needs and to remind them of the blessings and obligations they received when they chose to follow Bahá’u’lláh; the individuals, many of whom are sacrificing greatly, and whose love for the Faith ennobles us all; and the community, which can meet all the needs of the Faith, but whose response so far this year has mainly fallen short of those needs.

These words of Bahá’u’lláh, from the Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, serve as a commendation for those who are sacrificing, and a challenge to us all:

"Were the breezes of Revelation to seize thee, thou wouldst flee the world, and turn unto the Kingdom, and wouldst expend all thou possessest, that thou mayest draw nigh unto this sublime Vision."

50 attend Treasurer's program at Louhelen on Development

The Louhelen Bahá’í School was the site recently for 50 friends from around the country to experience a new Stewardship and Development Training program prepared by the Office of the Treasurer. These individuals, now trained as trainers, will offer the program in selected locations around the country.

The Stewardship and Development Training has two components. One deals with the nuts and bolts of local treasury management including issues such as tax deductibility, proper receipting, fund-raising and considerations in Center acquisition and management, to name but a few.

The second component, and perhaps the most important part of the training, is actually a deepening on the fundamental spiritual principles of giving to the Funds. Some messages not widely disseminated previously, particularly from the Universal House of Justice, are included for study and meditation.

The new trainers will be offering the program in May and June, as soon after Ridván and the election of new local Spiritual Assemblies as possible. Local Treasurers and their assistants, in particular, are urged to attend the session nearest them. Local Spiritual Assemblies and the general membership of communities are encouraged to attend as well.

In the coming months, key local Spiritual Assemblies will be invited to sponsor and make the physical arrangements for a session in their locale.

The Stewardship and Development Training is intended to be an ongoing process from year to year as necessary, as an assistance to local Spiritual Assemblies and their treasurers in meeting and managing the material resources needed to build thriving Bahá’í communities and, ultimately, the Kingdom of God on Earth.

"...He who is the Eternal Truth—exalted be His glory—hath made the fulfillment of every undertaking on earth dependent on material means." (Bahá’u’lláh, Kitáb-i-Aqdas)

Coming in April...

A complete report of the Race Unity Conference held February 6-9 in Charleston, South Carolina, birthplace of the Hand of the Cause of God Louis G. Gregory. [Page 9]

THE LIFE-BLOOD

TOTAL ENROLLMENTS January ............. 179. Total for year.............1,643

THE FUND

(As of January 31, 1997)

National Bahá’í Fund YTD Goal $10,800,000 All International Funds YTD Goal $6,750,000

National Bahá’í Fund thru Jan 96 $8,758,670 thru Jan 97 $8,246,022 Difference $-2,553,978

International Bahá’í Fund thru Jan 96 $1,205,528 thru Jan 97 $445,622 Difference $-472,348

Arc Projects Fund thru Jan 96 $18,771,002 thru Jan 97 $5,596,813

Continental Bahá’í Fund thru Jan 96 $203,612 thru Jan 97 $235,217

Other Earmarked thru Jan 96 $408,690 thru Jan 97 $384,602

Subtotal/Int'l Funds thru Jan 96 $20,180,142 thru Jan 97 $6,277,652

Total/All Funds thru Jan 96 $29,347,502 thru Jan 97 $14,908,276

Debt Watch Loans Outstanding Jan 96 $0 Jan 97 $1,200,000

National Bahá’í Fund: Goal & Actual Where we are $8,246,022 Where we need to be $10,800,000

All International Funds: Goal & Actual Where we are $6,277,652 Where we need to be $6,750,000

Arc Projects Fund Where we are $5,596,813 Where we were last year $18,771,002

International Bahá’í Fund Where we are $445,622 Where we were last year $1,205,528

Continental Bahá’í Fund Where we are $235,217 Where we were last year $203,612

On January 12, Bahá’ís in Washington, D.C., celebrated the first anniversary of their weekly English-language radio program, ‘The Bahá’í Hour,’ which is co-hosted by Van Gilmer (front row left) and Anita Chapman (front row center). Pictured at the celebration are the teams that produce The Bahá’í Hour and the weekly Persian-language program, ‘Payam-i-Doost,’ which is nearing its third anniversary on the air.

International Women's Day in March offers opportunity for events and activities to promote Bahá’í principles

In 1994 the Universal House of Justice wrote to National Spiritual Assemblies around the world citing four areas for Bahá’í involvement in external affairs: human rights, the advancement of women, global prosperity, and moral development.

The National Spiritual Assembly suggests that Bahá’ís might use the commemoration of International Women's Day (March 8) as an opportunity for events and activities designed to promote the advancement of women.

International Women's Day is celebrated each year at the United Nations and observed by women and men around the world. The National Spiritual Assembly encourages local Bahá’í communities and college clubs to join other groups, if possible, in marking International Women's Day. Bahá’ís may wish to use the occasion to host a talk, a workshop, a field trip or service project to promote the advancement of women in their community.

The National Assembly also invites Bahá’ís to take part in two noteworthy initiatives.

Under the auspices of the national campaign "Working Group on Ratification of the UN Convention on Women," of which the National Spiritual Assembly is a co-chair, the Assembly is coordinating efforts that urge the U.S. Senate to ratify promptly the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. This anti-discrimination treaty is one step in the establishment of the equal status of women under international law.

Recently, the National Assembly wrote to a number of local Spiritual Assemblies, asking them and their community members to write to their senators urging them to vote for ratification of the UN treaty that would ban discrimination against women. To date, 155 other countries have ratified the treaty. Bahá’ís may wish to write to their senators to urge ratification of this important international covenant. For more information and guidance on how to go about this, please contact the National Assembly's office in Washington, D.C. at 1320 19th St. N.W., Suite 701, Washington, DC 20036 (phone 202-833-8990; e-mail

Bahá’ís are reminded not to quote from the Writings when addressing their elected officials about ratification of the UN Convention on Women.

The National Assembly's offices in Washington and New York are engaged in several activities to implement the "Platform for Action" agreed upon by the U.S. and more than 180 other countries represented at the 1995 fourth World Conference on Women held in Beijing, China.

The National Assembly encourages Bahá’ís to join other individuals and groups throughout the country who are working to advance the "Platform for Action" at the local level. It seeks to improve the lot of women with respect to poverty, education and training, health, violence, armed conflict, the economy, power and decision-making, human rights, the media, the environment, and other areas.

The Bahá’í International Community Office for the Advancement of Women addressed several of those themes in the booklet "The Greatness Which Might Be Theirs," available from the Bahá’í Distribution Service. Additional statements by the Bahá’í International Community on the advancement of women can be accessed through the WEB at http://www.bahai.org/bic/. Information on the advancement of women and human rights may be obtained through the UN Website at http://www.un.org.

For information about UN-related materials and on statements by the Bahá’í International Community, please contact the U.S./UN Bahá’í Office, 866 United Nations Plaza, Suite 120, New York, NY 10017 (phone 212-803-2500; e-mail

HUQUQU’LLÁH

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

Dr. Amin Banani, Santa Monica, CA 90402 (phone 310-394-5449).

Mr. Stephen Birkland, Arden Hills, MN 55112 (phone 612-484-9518).

Dr. Daryush Haghighi, Rocky River, OH 44116 (phone 216-333-1506).

Mrs. Thelma Khelghati, Lunenberg, MA 01462 (phone 508-582-9216).

Due to a recurrent illness, Trustee Dr. Elsie Austin is unable to receive payments for Huqúqu’lláh at this time.

Inquiries about 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 10]

Me? Host a Devotional Meeting?

from the pages of Brilliant Star

“Make now a special effort to cultivate the devotional side of . . . Bahá’í life in preparation for a more intensified and successful service, particularly in the teaching field.” — Shoghi Effendi, Compilation of Compilations, Vol. 2, p. 239

What kinds of gatherings do you like? Plan a meeting that you and your friends will enjoy. Read the ideas around the pictures. Choose ‎of or‎ make up at least one idea for each picture. Write it on the line next to the bold word. Example: Music: sing “God is One” together.

Once you’ve made your choices, ‎Put put‎ them all together to host a meeting. Be sure to include all the ideas you write down. Use all your senses: sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell to create a devotional atmosphere. Don’t forget to have fun! ★

Reason for Meeting:

• Prepare for teaching project.
• Build spiritual strength.
• Devotion.
• Feast.
• Holy Day.
• Dawn prayers or sunset during the Fast.

Atmosphere:

• Clean yourself.
• Prepare your meeting place.
• Decorate.
• Provide comfortable places to sit.
• Meet outside.

Invitations:

• Call or send notes.
• Ask friends to help call.
• Announce the upcoming meeting at Feast or in the newsletter.

Music:

• Play recordings.
• Sing the sacred text.
• Sing devotions.
• Sing behind prayers.
• Play background music.
• Play instruments.
• Sing together.

Devotions:

• Quotations in the sacred writings.
• Read quotations from the Brilliant Star.
• Play music of the sacred writings.
• Choose favorite verses.
• Choose one topic and look up.
• Ask readers to...

Readers:

• Plan with readers ahead of time.
• Ask readers of all ages.
• Prayers in many languages.
• Ask first guests to read.

Sight:

• Decorate with plants, flowers, candles, cloths, or ribbons.
• Make an art project yourself.
• Display artwork from many cultures.

Smell:

• Use potpourri or fresh flowers.
• Use potpourri on stove with cinnamon.
• Boil water.
• Open windows.
• Bake refreshments.

Sound:

• Have beautiful music in the background.
• Play tapes of music by Bahá’ís.
• Play nature sounds.

Taste:

• Bake something.
• Serve fresh fruits.
• Vegetables from the garden.
• Have a potluck meal.
• Make food from many cultures.

Touch:

• Greet guests with a handshake or a hug.
• Provide comfortable places to sit.
• Make the room a pleasant temperature.
• Crowded rooms get hot.

Fun Time:

• Have fun learning with a game.
• Use the Brilliant Star game.
• Sing songs together.
• Activity for all ages.
• Craft.
• Do an art kit.

Order Now! Call Bahá’í Distribution Service at 800-999-9019 to order single issues by theme at $3.50 each.

Call Subscriber Services at 847-251-1854, Ext. 11 to begin a subscription: $18 one year (six issues).

Illustrated by Ed Phillips Reprinted from Brilliant Star, Kids are Teachers January-February 1997 [Page 11]

National Bahá’í Youth Training Conference News

<<step up to the challenge>>

Everyone will have a chance to contribute their work and skills at the National Bahá’í Youth Training Conference in Knoxville, Tennessee, from July 2-6, 1997. Enter your work in the Bahá’í Youth Gallery or sign up for mind-bending, wild and fun contests for all ages.

Bahá’í Youth Gallery

A call to all youth! We want you to share your talents, ideas and work! The Gallery is the spot to display your essays, poems, photographs and artwork as well as a place for high school and college Bahá’í clubs to present their activities. To reserve your spot in the Gallery, send us your entry information and contribution by May 26, 1997. All contributors to the Gallery will receive a prize.

TO ARTISTS AND WRITERS: We want to feature your work! You can submit work that you have already created or written, or you can submit work on one of the following themes: 1. Unity; 2. Your understanding and thoughts of the following quote:

"O children of men! Know ye not why We created you all from the same dust? That no one should exalt himself over the other. Ponder at all times in your hearts how ye were created. Since We have created you all from one same substance it is incumbent on you to be even as one soul, to walk with the same feet, eat with the same mouth and dwell in the same land, that from your inmost being, by your deeds and actions, the signs of oneness and the essence of detachment may be made manifest. Such is My counsel to you, O concourse of light! Heed ye this counsel that ye may obtain the fruit of holiness from the tree of wondrous glory!" The Hidden Words of Bahá’u’lláh, A#68

TO HIGH SCHOOL AND COLLEGE Bahá’í CLUBS: Submit your club's resumé, activities report, scrapbook and/or pictures so that other youth and clubs can learn from your approach, and collect ideas for their own activities. You can include, for example: the goals of your club, web page URL and description, number of members, diversity of club, cooperation with other campus organizations, experience working with the media, dealing with opposition, successful proclamations, or presentation of the Bahá’í Faith to people of capacity.

Gallery Entry and Guidelines

Your entry information and submission of work must be postmarked or received by May 26, 1997. To submit work, send us a photo of your work including a note on its life-size dimensions. Then bring the original work when you come to Tennessee. Tell us your name, address, phone, email, age, and what you would like to contribute to the Gallery. Submit essays, poems, and high school/college club resumés via email to or via postal mail to the National Youth Committee, c/o Contest Czar, Bahá’í National Center, 1233 Central Street, Evanston, IL 60201. Maximum of 500 words for essays and poems.

Contests

Join in the frenzy of two rigorous contests! To reserve your spot to compete, have your contest entry information postmarked or received by April 14, 1997.

COLLEGE CLUB Bahá’í JEOPARDY: Root for your favorite Bahá’í club team as they go head to head against other schools. Top teams will compete live on stage in Knoxville! Clubs may enter as many teams as they wish and may recruit non-club members and alumni. Prizes will be awarded!

TENNESSEE TRI-MENTHALON: A THREE-PART WRITTEN CONTEST on the following topics: 1. Early history: Release the Sun and The Dawnbreakers; 2. Laws: The Kitáb-i-Aqdas; 3. The Four Year Plan: The Ridván Messages. Prizes for various age categories.

CONTEST ENTRY: Deadline April 14. Tell us your name, address, phone, email, age, and the contest(s) you are entering. Email information to with the word "contest" in the subject line, or send a letter to the National Youth Committee, c/o Contest Czar, Bahá’í National Center, 1233 Central Street, Evanston, IL 60201.

Calendar of Events

Do you have an upcoming conference in your area? Will your area be involved in a teaching project? Share it with others! Submit your youth activities for the Calendar of Events in the Youth Page. Send them to or to the National Youth Committee, Bahá’í National Center, 1233 Central Street, Evanston, IL 60201.

WHAT: Project Furutan SAY WHAT?: Teaching Bahá’í facts in universities WHERE: Monterrey, Mexico WHEN: Ongoing MORE! MORE!: Email

WHAT: Bahá’í Youth Conference SAY WHAT?: Guests include Counsellor Alejandra Miller and Auxiliary Board Member Karen Kazemzadeh. Activities include direct teaching WHERE: Uvalde, Texas WHEN: March 8-10, 1997 MORE! MORE!: Call Henry Cantu at (210) 278-1668

Illustration: Charity Pabst

FROM THE Pages Of One magazine 1.8 on economics Mulk/ala [Dominion/Loftness] 153 B.E.

On the Spot: On the Front Lines

Virginia Rogers is an entrepreneur who recently sold her business, the Relax the Back chain, and gave a very large check to the Bahá’í Fund. She lives very humbly. She doesn't wear expensive clothes. She does own a Mercedes, but it is old and not that special—in fact, she doesn't even drive it; instead she drives a Nissan. I asked her why she doesn't live up the high life and she simply replied, "Why should I?"

Interview with Virginia Rogers

By Chris Bishop, 19/Austin, Texas STARTING FROM SCRATCH: The story of Generous Ginny, from humble beginnings.

VIRGINIA ROGERS: I was starting business ventures even as a very young child. When I was three, my mother got a phone call from the neighbors wanting to know if she knew what I was up to. My mother said, "No. What is she up to?" I had taken all of the lettuce from her garden, and I was going door-to-door selling it for money!

ONE: Tell me a little about your background.

VR: I was born in Bradford, Illinois in 1942. My dad was one of the first people called into service in World War II, and later in the Korean War. He was an agronomist—he worked with field crops. The first ten years of my life were spent on the road, more or less constantly moving. I really never had a sense of living in any particular place until after I was ten, when we moved to Florida. I lived there all the way through my high school years. My mother was a full time home-maker. She was a home economics major in college. My father was on the road a lot, but when he was home, he kept reasonable hours and was not a workaholic. Education was extremely highly valued in our family. After high school I started junior college, dropped out, got married, and moved to North Carolina for a couple years. We moved back to Florida while my husband got his masters degree, and then we moved to Austin.

ONE: You said you dropped out of college. What factors led up to that?

VR: I didn't like school much, but I did it because it was expected of me. The courses I really enjoyed in college were the ones where I could immediately apply the things I learned. During my sophomore year in college, I met a man. During my junior year we got married. It was an excuse for me to drop out of school and support my husband. My husband decided to go back to grad school, so we moved back to Florida. Two years later, he decided to change his field, so we moved to California.

ONE: What were you doing while your husband pursued his education?

VR: I worked as a legal secretary for most of my married years. By the time we moved to Austin, where my husband was offered a university faculty position, it was clear that my marriage was breaking up. I decided to start my own business because I didn't want to work for anyone else again. I needed some way to support myself. I was invited to a lot of parties as a new faculty member's wife, and at the parties I asked questions and tried to figure out what people needed. Six weeks after we started here, I opened the doors to Ginny's Copying Service. It wasn't easy. There is a huge difference between what is easy in concept, versus what is easy in terms of amount and difficulty of the work.

ONE: How did you do it?

VR: Well, there was nothing complicated about coming up with an idea. The hard part was making it happen. I worked from the time I woke up until when I went to bed. I tried to borrow money, and the bank would not even accept my loan application. The bank would accept a loan application from a woman only if she submitted it on behalf of her husband. I knew my marriage was about to end and I certainly did not want my husband's name on the application. He hadn't been working at all during those years in college. I was the one who had built up our credit with all my work. I was the one who paid for everything and kept everything in order, and I was really irritated that no one would accept my application without his signature. I had to find two individuals who believed in my idea to support me financially. I found two university professors. One was willing to invest $1,800 and the other was willing to invest $1,200. So with $3,000, I started Ginny's Copying Service. That was the same amount of money I tried to borrow from the bank! We were so broke, we had no money. We had never let our life insurance or any other insurance lapse, and we had borrowed everything we could borrow. Our credit cards were totaled to the max. One day we only had 13 cents left.

ONE: What drove you in spite of the hardship?

VR: I had absolute determination. I've told people that it is probably not time to start a business until you reach a point of desperation. When you reach that point, nothing can stop you.

ONE: Can you identify some spiritual qualities that you need to be able to start a business?

VR: You should believe that you're performing a service equal to worship of God. I think you should believe in doing things the very best that they can be done—excellence in all things. You need to be hard-working and open to doing things in new ways. For instance, say you are getting a ten percent profit margin. It takes ten dollars additional sales to make a dollar more profit. But it only takes one dollar of cutting expenses to reach the same goal. You can increase your profits more effectively by controlling your costs rather than increasing your sales. Real integrity has been very important in everything I do. I have tried to make sure that what I was doing was helping spiritually as well as making a profit.

Chris Bishop is a student at the University of Texas at Austin.

One magazine is published nine times a year by Bahá’í youth using a consultative, collaborative process. It features art, poetry, stories and reviews. One is sponsored by a Spiritual Assembly and is reviewed at the US Bahá’í National Center. Subscribe now for $22.00 and get a year's worth of great issues! Send contributions and subscriptions to: One magazine, Kittery, ME 03904. (207) 438-9034. [Page 12]

EXCELLENCE IN ALL THINGS

JAMES RHODES, a Bahá’í from Camp Hill, Alabama, has been named 1997 "Person of the Year" by the Dadeville Area Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Rhodes’ accomplishments include establishing an interracial Little League baseball team in Camp Hill and starting a chess club at Edward Bell High School. He serves as national chairman of the Vietnam Combat Veterans.

AMETHEL PAREL-SEWELL, a Bahá’í who now works in the Media Services Office at the Bahá’í National Center, was editor-in-chief of the award-winning magazine Talisman Xposure while at Western Kentucky University. During its first year the magazine won two of the most prestigious honors in collegiate journalism: the Pacemaker Award (from Associated Collegiate Press) and the Gold Crown Award (from Columbia Scholastic Press), and earned more than 30 awards in a single year.

LENISE JACKSON-GAERTNER, a Bahá’í from Colton, California, who is founder and president of Mothers for Race Unity and Equality, has been named to the editorial board of Language Arts, the official journal of the Elementary Section of the National Council of Teachers of English. One of her responsibilities is to advise the editors on issues related to race and diversity in manuscripts submitted for publication.

DAVID BLACK, a 13-year-old Bahá’í from Friendswood (Southeast Harris County), Texas, recently took part in the Duke University Talent Identification Program where he earned recognition at the state level. As a violinist, David is a member of the area’s Regional Orchestra and the Houston Youth Symphony, and is concertmaster of his school orchestra. He also plays basketball on his school’s team.

BECKY ROSE CASON, an 11-year-old Bahá’í from Snohomish, Washington, won the 1996 "Washington State Rabbit Princess" title in a contest sponsored by the Washington State Rabbit Breeders’ Association. The competition is judged on essays, community service, public speaking, and hands-on skill in raising rabbits.

Two San Francisco Bahá’ís spearhead conference on health care for Hmong

Visitors peruse the information at the Bahá’í booth during last fall’s conference on Hmong health care at California State University in Fresno.

Mr. Bee Yang and Mrs. Yer Lor, Bahá’ís in Fresno, California, spearheaded a successful conference on Hmong health care last fall at California State University in Fresno.

The conference was attended by about 1,500 people who browsed the booths of nearly 60 support groups such as health-care providers, police, drug awareness programs, counselors, radio and television media, and several clubs. The Bahá’í Faith was the only religion represented.

The Bahá’í booth, which consisted of information about the Faith and photographs of Hmong and other Asian Bahá’ís, was manned by Bahá’ís from Fresno.

As a result of the event, Mr. Yang and Ms. Lor were invited to speak last December at Chiang Mai University in Thailand on "Improving Hmong Health Care." They also gave a report on the status of Hmong health care in the U.S.

Their trip proved to be a great success, and they were able to meet many influential people at the university. And since they have many relatives and friends in Thailand, it was like a family reunion with much information shared about the Faith as well as health care.

National Assembly, Health for Humanity co-sponsor exhibit at D.C. conference

The National Spiritual Assembly, in cooperation with Health for Humanity, sponsored an exhibit January 13-15 at the International Development Conference in Washington, D.C.

The three-day biennial conference was host to more than a thousand development specialists, representatives of non-governmental organizations, government and UN officials and others.

Its theme, "The New Face of Development," referred to the new mosaic of opportunities and challenges in international development. Many exhibits showcased positive new efforts including new alliances and methods of collaboration such as those practiced by Health for Humanity.

Founded in 1992, Health for Humanity is a Bahá’í-inspired health care development network consisting of more than 1,000 individuals and organizations in 43 countries. Participants volunteer their time and skills for as long as a year or as little as a few days.

Its health-care programs foster grassroots efforts to upgrade primary health care and provide education about health maintenance and disease prevention.

Other Health for Humanity programs include literacy training, teaching social responsibility to children, and promoting consultation skills, moral leadership and family unity. The goal is to enhance community-level development and self-sufficiency.

When asked by the Make a Wish Foundation in January 1995 to express her desires, Anne Morgan Zinke (left), a 16-year-old Bahá’í who was hospitalized with a malignant brain tumor, wished "for the pain to go away" and for "world peace." Two years later, after two surgeries, chemotherapy, a bone marrow transplant and radiation therapy, she is recovering, and the Foundation responded to her wish by planting a California live oak tree at the Veterans Memorial Building in Cambria, California. The granite and bronze memorial in front of the tree reads: "Planted in the name of World Peace for Anne Morgan Zinke. Ye are all the leaves of one tree.—Bahá’u’lláh, from the Bahá’í Sacred Scriptures."

The National Assembly’s exhibit conveyed both the principles and substantive achievements of Health for Humanity in collaboration with the Varqa Foundation, another Bahá’í-inspired development project in Guyana.

Each of Health for Humanity’s operating principles (the nobility of humanity, group consultation, unified service and comprehensive health care) was further clarified by citing specific actions taken through the Varqa Foundation project.

The Varqa Foundation provides 17,000 Amerindians of the Rupununi area of Guyana with primary and preventive health care; offers systematic training and support of community health workers, teachers and village leaders; and facilitates the functioning of indigenous health boards. Among its other initiatives are a nationwide literacy program and national conferences to network with other groups pursuing sustainable development.

The exhibit was designed by a Bahá’í, Michael Shetler, a graphic artist with Tarantula Web Builders in New York who donated his services to the National Spiritual Assembly.

"Both the design and substance of the exhibit drew many compliments from those attending," said Peter Adriance, the National Assembly’s representative to the conference. A significant amount of literature about Health for Humanity and the Faith was distributed.

For more information about Health for Humanity, write to Health for Humanity, Glencoe, IL 60022, phone 847-835-5088, or e-mail.

Wilmette Institute extends its application deadline

The Wilmette Institute has extended to March 28 the deadline for applying for the next year of its "Spiritual Foundations for a Global Civilization" program.

The purpose of the program is to raise up teachers and administrators of the Faith. The topic of study for 1997 is the physical, intellectual and spiritual dimensions of human development including psychology and spirituality, with additional emphasis on the development of families and the relationship of the individual to Bahá’í institutions.

The program gets under way with home study in May and June; includes a three-week summer session July 19-August 8 in Wilmette, near the Bahá’í House of Worship; and ends with six months of home study from October through March.

Tuition is $800, with another $640 fee for lodging and meals.

The theme in 1998 will be the creation of strong Bahá’í communities; in 1999, social issues, and in 2000, world religions and philosophies and Bahá’í theology.

College credit is available for parts of the program each year for an extra fee; Bahá’í history and scripture and teaching the Faith to others are included in the curriculum every year.

To apply, write to Lisa Young, Wilmette Institute, 1233 Central St., Evanston, IL 60201-1611, phone 847-733-3415, fax 847-733-3548, or e-mail. [Page 13]

Teaching trip in Azerbaijan yields surprising harvest

Recently, two Bahá’ís from Baku, Azerbaijan, decided to bring the Message to the town of Guba where there were no Bahá’ís, centering their efforts on prominent people. After receiving a warm welcome at the Department of Cultural Affairs, where they spoke for half an hour, the Bahá’ís had to return to Baku. Two days later, one of the council members came to Baku to find the Bahá’ís and tell them that 149 people had embraced the Faith and needed deepening. Unbeknownst to them, this man had been so inspired by their talk that he had spoken about the Faith for half an hour that evening on local television, inviting anyone who was interested to come the next day to a certain park to learn more. To his surprise, more than 500 people showed up, 149 of whom expressed their deep interest in joining the Faith.

As part of a four-day training institute last September in Pipalgodi, Gujarat, India, attended by 39 friends from three localities in the Dang tribal region, a public meeting was organized and attended by about 400 people, 140 of whom embraced the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh. Also in India, Auxiliary Board member Mrs. Rupa Sharma and other Bahá’ís visited Jorethan, Sikkim, and proclaimed the Faith at a school and hospital, as well as through personal contact. As a result, 13 people accepted the Faith, and eight others declared their belief at a conference the following day organized by the State Youth Committee of Sikkim.

In Swaziland, a group of young Bahá’ís traveled last September to Embekelweni for a week-long series of firesides, children’s classes and deepenings that led to the enrollment of six new believers. Another fireside, held each week at the home of one of the friends in Mbabane, has been attended by a new Zambian Bahá’í who has taken many of his family and friends to the gatherings. As a result, seven Zambians have recently been enrolled as followers of the Greatest Name. Also in Swaziland, a National Bahá’í Choir has been formed under the leadership of Mrs. Clair Mortimore, a professional musician and conductor. The group has received impressive publicity, and parts of some performances have been broadcast.

A teaching campaign held last July in Moanda, Gabon, included an exhibition, film and slide presentations, talks and the distribution of more than 1,500 pamphlets in eight districts. More than 60 people visited the exhibition and five people embraced the Cause.

Dr. Wilma Ellis, a member of the Continental Board of Counselors in the Americas, was the keynote speaker last November 16 at the annual Clara and Hyde Dunn Memorial Dinner and Lecture in Melbourne, Australia. Dr. Ellis and her husband, Dr. Firuz Kazemzadeh, a member of the U.S. National Spiritual Assembly, visited Canberra on November 18 where they were honored at a reception co-hosted by the National Spiritual Assembly of Australia and the Bahá’í Office for the Advancement of Women. While in Canberra, they met with representatives of the International Organizations branch of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), briefing them on the work of the Bahá’í International Community and the U.S. Bahá’í Office of External Affairs. Dr. Kazemzadeh met separately with officers of the Russia and Central Asia branch of DFAT, and later addressed graduate students, academics and visitors including the secretary to the Governor-General of Australia at a seminar hosted by the Australian National University Center for Middle Eastern and Central Asian Studies. That evening, Dr. Ellis was interviewed on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s national radio network. In Hobart, Drs. Ellis and Kazemzadeh attended a reception at the State Parliament whose 90 guests included 60 non-Bahá’ís.

COME JOIN a dedicated and enthusiastic staff at Green Acre Bahá’í School this summer to mark the 85th anniversary of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s visit to this historic spot. Openings for mature college-age youth and high school graduates in a variety of roles from June 25-September 2 plus some short-term and year-long positions. For information or application forms, please phone 207-439-7200 (fax 207-439-7202) from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Eastern time Monday through Friday or e-mail

Pictured are many of the Bahá’ís who took part last November 29-30 in a day-long Institute at Fiu Village, Watabung, Eastern Highlands Province, Papua New Guinea. More than 40 believers heard talks on non-involvement in politics, chastity, and the goals of the Four Year Plan in that area. Among those taking part was a visitor from Sydney, Australia, Dr. Sameer Mihrshani, who was studying for two months at the Goroka Base Hospital.

Last October 17, more than 250 people gathered at the National Bahá’í Center in Namburu, Port Vila, Vanuatu, to celebrate “Bertha Dobbins Day,” marking the 43rd anniversary of the day in 1953 when Mrs. Dobbins, a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh, arrived in Port Vila and brought the Faith to Vanuatu. Mrs. Dobbins responded the the call of the Guardian to establish the Faith in what was then the New Hebrides, and shortly after her arrival established the “Núr Bahá’í School”—one of the earliest English-medium schools in the country. The president of Vanuatu, Jean-Marie Leye Lenelgau, who learned to speak English in a class taught by Mrs. Dobbins, thanked the Bahá’í community for inviting him to attend, and urged everyone to reflect on Bertha Dobbins’ life of courage and sacrifice. Also among those attending were the country’s Minister of Justice, Culture and Religion; the chiefs of Erakor and Pango villages; and Mrs. Madge Featherstone, who represented the National Spiritual Assembly of Australia. The celebration was timed to coincide with the release of the book Fire and Water, an account of the lives of Mrs. Dobbins and her husband, Joe, by their daughter, Mrs. Helen Reissenweber. Copies were given to the president, who accepted on behalf of the people of Vanuatu, and to Peter Kaltoli Napakaurans, the first person to accept the Faith in Vanuatu. An exhibit on the grounds of the Bahá’í Center included a map depicting the growth in the number of Bahá’í communities in Vanuatu from one on Efate Island in 1953 to 142 on some 16 islands in 1996.

David Hofman, a former member of the Universal House of Justice, visited Estonia last September 30-October 8 to take part in a number of activities including speeches, a newspaper interview, a conference in Tallinn to launch the country’s Four Year Plan, a talk to senior citizens in Pürski, and a meeting with the editor-in-chief and deputy director-general of Estonian Television.

Costa Rica’s first national conference on global governance, entitled “Our Global Neighborhood,” was held last October 22-24 to discuss the report of the International Commission on Global Governance (ICGG). The gathering was initiated by the Bahá’í community and co-sponsored by the United Nations Development Program, the National Legislative Assembly, the Ministry for External Affairs, the Arias Foundation for Peace, the University for Peace, the University of Costa Rica, and the National University. Following a performance by the 50-member choir of the University of Costa Rica, a representative of the Bahá’í community welcomed the audience of about 200 including diplomats, government officials and representatives of various civic groups. During a round-table discussion, the director-general of Foreign Policy expressed his appreciation to the Bahá’í community for its role in planning the conference.

The fifth annual conference of the Association for Bahá’í Studies-Japan was held last November 22-24 on the southern island of Kyushu. Fifty adults, youth and children attended the event, whose theme was “Spiritual Education in the Family and Society.” The guest speaker was Stephen Hall, a professional educator and member of the National Spiritual Assembly of Australia. Also taking part were National Spiritual Assembly members Philip Flores from the Philippines and Gary Wyckoff from Japan.

The first radio broadcast about the Faith in Georgia took place last November 29 when a pioneer from England and another from the Philippines were interviewed on Radio Green Wave in Tbilisi. The half-hour program was centered around the basic teachings of the Faith such as the oneness of humanity and religion, progressive revelation and Bahá’í administration.

The inauguration of the Lappland Bahá’í Center in Inari, Finland, was held last November 11 with a festive program organized for the occasion. Representatives of the Bahá’í communities of Inari, northern Norway and Sweden attended, and the ribbon-cutting ceremony was presided over by Mrs. Risten Rauna Magga, a member of the Sami Parliament. Among those taking part were Hartmut Grossmann, a Counselor member of the International Teaching Center, and Henrik Jansson, a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of Finland.

Radio station DSR2 in Switzerland twice broadcast a half-hour program on the Faith last November 21. The program, whose title was “History and Present of the Youngest World Religion,” included remarks by a Bahá’í, Mrs. Roya Blaser-Khamsi, who was interviewed by a German journalist, Susanne Schaup.

The West African Bahá’í drama group, “Light of Unity,” performed in three cities and several villages in Senegal last October and November as part of their tour of French-speaking countries in West Africa. Their play, “La Grande Annonce” (The Great Announcement), which focused on traditional African values as seen from the point of view of Bahá’í principles, drew wide attention from the public and news media.

About 35 people gathered last August 1 at the Bahá’í National Center in Dublin, Northern Ireland, to help launch a new book, Portraits of Some Bahá’í Women, by O.Z. Whitehead. Among the guests were people from the worlds of film and literature in Dublin who came together to help celebrate Mr. Whitehead’s third book about early Bahá’ís. [Page 14]

Questions and answers about Assembly formations

The following are answers to the most commonly asked questions about local Spiritual Assembly elections at Ridván. If after reviewing this information you still have questions, please contact the Office of Community Administration and Development at the Bahá’í National Center, 847-733-3485.

Formation issues

Do all Spiritual Assemblies need to form/re-form between sunset April 20 and sunset April 21 to be recognized by the National Spiritual Assembly?

Yes. The Universal House of Justice has re-instituted the practice of electing all local Spiritual Assemblies on the first Day of Ridván as originally set forth by the Guardian. The House of Justice had allowed some leeway on this election date during recent years to help areas affected by illiteracy, remoteness and unfamiliarity with the concepts of Bahá’í Administration, but changed this as announced in the December 31, 1995, message to the Bahá’ís of the world.

Should Assemblies be forming on their own initiative?

The Universal House of Justice has emphasized the principle that the initiative and responsibility for electing a local Spiritual Assembly belong primarily to the Bahá’ís in the locality and that assistance from outside is ultimately fruitful only if the friends become conscious of this sacred responsibility.

What happens if 15 days advance notice is not given before an election?

Less than 15 days advance notice will not necessarily invalidate an election. The principle is that all members of the community must be notified of the election. The Assembly should form and write a letter to the National Spiritual Assembly explaining the reasons 15 days notice could not be given.

Do Assemblies need to wait to receive recognition by the National Spiritual Assembly before functioning as an Assembly?

The election should be considered valid unless the Assembly is notified by the National Spiritual Assembly that it cannot be recognized. Assemblies can begin functioning from the date they are elected.

Eligibility to serve and/or vote

Some believers, such as university students, live part of the year in one community and the rest of the year in another. In which community are they eligible to vote for or serve on the Assembly?

Believers cannot be considered members of more than one community at the same time. The locality in which adult believers reside for the longest period of time (e.g., seven out of the 12 months) should be considered the community in which they are eligible to serve on or vote for the Assembly. If the length of time they spend at each residence is approximately the same, they may choose the community in which they desire to hold membership, and should notify the National Spiritual Assembly.

Can believers who live just outside the city limits but have a business and receive mail at a Post Office Box in the city be considered eligible to serve on the city's Assembly?

No. Only those who actually reside within the boundaries of an established locality have the right to either vote or be elected as a member of the Assembly.

If some Bahá’ís are planning to move into a community but cannot physically be living in the community until after the first day of Ridván, can they be counted as community members?

Under current policy of the National Spiritual Assembly, if they have made a firm commitment, such as obtaining a lease or putting a down payment on a house, then they can be counted, provided that they are able to physically reside in the community within 90 days.

If Bahá’ís move into a community after the election calls have been sent out are they eligible to take part in the election in that community?

Yes. There is no minimum amount of time Bahá’ís must be residents of a community before they can participate in a Bahá’í election.

Are Bahá’ís who have recently been enrolled (card countersigned) but have not yet received Bahá’í identttification cards from the National Spiritual Assembly eligible for election to a Spiritual Assembly?

Yes, newly enrolled Bahá’ís may be included on the voting list, unless they are Persian declarents (any person from Persian background regardless of their immigration status or length of stay in the U.S.) or from countries in the Middle East. These individuals may take part in administrative functions only after their enrollments and transfers are confirmed by the National Spiritual Assembly.

Are Bahá’ís from other countries who settle here eligible to vote for or serve on Assemblies if they do not have current U.S. Bahá’í credentials?

If they have current credentials from their previous country they may vote or be considered eligible for election to an Assembly pending transfer of their membership into the U.S. Bahá’í community from the community of the country in which they were last residing. This is done by submitting their credentials (return receipt requested) to the U.S. National Spiritual Assembly, attn.: Management Information Services, and requesting that their membership be transferred. If, after 60 days following the election, the Bahá’ís still have not received their U.S. Bahá’í credentials, the National Spiritual Assembly should be notified.

If they do not have current credentials from their previous country they are not eligible to participate in elections until their status has been verified and their transfer has been completed. They must contact their former National Spiritual Assembly and ask that their credentials be sent to our National Spiritual Assembly.

Can members who are mentally ill or senile vote in the election and/or serve on the Assembly?

If such conditions exist, those believers can be removed from the community voting list and denied their right to vote only with the permission of the National Spiritual Assembly. If the local Spiritual Assembly determines that the person is incapable of serving (or that his/her behavior is disruptive to the functioning of the Assembly), the Assembly should write to the National Spiritual Assembly, recommending that the person be relieved of the need to serve and declared ineligible to serve in future.

For several years we've had Bahá’ís in our community whose mail has been returned and whom we have been unable to visit to verify their address. Should their names be removed from the voting list?

Their names should not be removed from the mailing list unless it can be verified that they no longer live in the community. Every effort should be make to locate them or verify that they have moved. If they are located in the community, efforts should be made to encourage them to take part in Bahá’í activities.

If the boundaries of the civil community change during the year due to local government action, will this affect the boundaries of the Bahá’í community? Will some of the members be ineligible to vote in the community at Ridván?

Bahá’í community membership is sometimes affected by civil boundary changes, and because of this, those who are eligible to serve during one year on the Assembly may not be members of the same community the next year. The National Spiritual Assembly should be notified of all civil boundary changes. No change in a membership list due to civil boundary changes should be made until the National Spiritual Assembly approves or acknowledges the changes.

Is a person who withdrew from the Faith and wants to be reinstated before an election takes place eligible to serve on the Spiritual Assembly?

Before a person can be reinstated to Bahá’í membership, a recommendation from the local Spiritual Assembly must be sent to the National Spiritual Assembly. Once the person has been approved for reinstatement the Assembly will be notified. Until then, he or she will not be eligible to serve on or vote for the Spiritual Assembly.

If a person has asked to withdraw from the Faith but the community has not received notice from the National Spiritual Assembly that the withdrawal is accepted, should he be counted on the voting list?

Yes. If word has not been received before the election that the National Spiritual Assembly has officially accepted the withdrawal, the person must be counted as a member of the community.

Special circumstance: only nine community members

Is an election held if there are exactly nine members in the Bahá’í community?

No. In this circumstance, the Assembly is formed by "joint declaration" which means that members of the community all agree to the formation of the Assembly and sign their names to attest to that on the Joint Declaration Form, or replacement sheet if that form is unavailable.

Must everyone sign the form at the same time? What if a member is temporarily unavailable?

Ideally everyone would sign the form at the same time, or at least on the same day—the first day of Ridván. Otherwise, those who are unavailable on that day to sign the joint declaration may sign their name(s) earlier or later.

If a member of the community refuses to sign the Joint Declaration Form, can the Assembly still be formed?

No. It is imperative in a joint declaration that all nine members sign the form. If one or more members refuse to sign, that Assembly will not be recognized, as this indicates that there are not nine adult believers in the community who are interested in having an Assembly in that locality.

Assembly election

What is the minimum number required to attend an election meeting for it to be considered valid?

No quorum is required to hold an election for the local Spiritual Assembly. As long as all community members are properly notified of the meeting, the election is valid, even if no more than one person is at the meeting to vote.

Is it permissible to vote by telephone if a person unexpectedly finds he cannot attend the election?

Those who unexpectedly cannot attend the election may call a person previously designated by the Assembly to accept the ballots (usually the chief teller).

How should the Assembly deal with voting by those with special needs who may have trouble attending the meeting and/or completing a ballot (such as those who do not speak English, cannot write, or are handicapped)?

Arrangements should be made by the Assembly to accept ballots from those who cannot speak English, write, or for whatever reason, have difficulty voting. One option is that a person can be authorized to fill out the ballot on behalf of another person, according to their wishes.

If no one comes to the election meeting but absentee ballots are obtained, can an Assembly be recognized?

In all cases, an Assembly should be formed and the formation papers submitted to the National Spiritual Assembly describing any unusual or extenuating circumstances. The information will be reviewed and a decision will be made. In the meantime, those elected should begin to carry out the duties and responsibilities of an Assembly.

Is it permissible for people to vote for themselves?

Yes. Shoghi Effendi said: "This is entirely a matter of conscience; if the individual feels for some reason justified in voting for himself, he is free to do so."

At the election meeting one of those elected declines service on the Assembly. What should be done?

The newly elected Spiritual Assembly should consult about whether or not to accept the resignation, seeking the guidance of the National Spiritual Assembly if necessary, and call for a by-election if a vacancy is declared. Before the person can be re- If a person has asked to withdraw from the Faith placed, all members of the community must be noti- [Page 15]

Elections

fied of the need for a by-election.

What should be done if there is a tie vote for the ninth position on the Assembly?

A second ballot to break the tie must be cast by those present at the election meeting. Each voter should vote for one of those who have tied for the ninth position. No other name should be introduced on the ballot. There is an exception to this rule: if one of the persons involved in the tie represents a minority, that person should be given priority without question. The National Spiritual Assembly of the United States has decided that in this country a minority is defined by race, not nationality, and refers to being a minority in the U.S. population—not in that community or on that Assembly. In all cases of doubt, or if more than one person involved in the tie represent minorities, a re-vote should be held to choose among those minorities who have tied.

After the Spiritual Assembly is elected, it is found that a person elected to the Assembly had moved out of that Bahá’í community prior to election. Should the person who received the next highest number of votes fill the ninth position on the Assembly or should the newly elected Assembly call for a by-election?

If the Assembly finds that an elected member had moved prior to the election, the votes cast for that individual must be considered invalid and the person with the next highest number of votes becomes a member of the Assembly. If the ballots have been destroyed and the tellers do not recall who had the next highest number of votes, a by-election should be called.

Reporting the results

How is election information to be reported to the National Spiritual Assembly?

Shortly before Ridván every year, the National Spiritual Assembly sends election forms and instructions to already established local Spiritual Assemblies and large registered Groups. Communities that have not received the forms they need by April 10 should request them from the Management Information Services Office at the Bahá’í National Center. The forms should be completed carefully according to the instructions and returned to the National Spiritual Assembly immediately following the election or formation by joint declaration.

Note: It is preferable that Assembly officers be elected and so noted on the election or joint declaration form at the time it is returned to the National Spiritual Assembly. However, if it is not possible to elect officers immediately after the Assembly formation, a temporary secretary (someone to receive mail and telephone calls) should be appointed and recorded on the form, and the form sent in immediately. Permanent officers should be elected and reported as soon as possible on the "Assembly Officer and Address Change" form.

What should be done if a form cannot be obtained in time for the election or joint declaration?

The election results may be reported in a letter to the National Spiritual Assembly. The letter should include the name and code number of the Bahá’í locality, the time and date that the Assembly was formed, and the names and ID numbers of the members of the Assembly. If the Assembly is formed by joint declaration, the letter should include the nine signatures of the members. If the Assembly is formed by election, the number of Bahá’ís in the community, the number of those voting in person, the number of those voting by absentee ballot, and the number of votes each elected member received must also be included. If Assembly officers have been elected these should also be noted.

Telephone number for the Bahá’í National Center Bulletin Board Service (BNCBBS): 847-869-0389

Regional Committee of Central States presents vision, plan of action for area

To the followers of Bahá’u’lláh in the Central States

Dearly loved Friends,

Please accept our heartfelt expression of love in this first letter to the region from the Regional Committee for the Central States.

Previously, notification about the formation, appointment and mandate of the Regional Committees from our beloved National Spiritual Assembly was forwarded to each community, as well as a reprint of this information in the September 1996 issue of The American Bahá’í.

We hope that as you continue to study and refer to these documents, consideration will be given to ways we might work together to advance the process of entry by troops. It is for this reason, as we enter into the remaining three months of the first year of the Four Year Plan, that we would like to take the opportunity to share our vision of the region and a plan of action that includes every lover of Bahá’u’lláh, man, woman, youth and child, living in the Central States.

Our regional vision of growth is best expressed by the Universal House of Justice in the Ridván 153 message to the Bahá’ís of the world:

"The phrase 'advance in the process of entry by troops' accommodates the concept that current circumstances demand and existing opportunities allow for 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 growth first by spiritually and mentally accepting the possibility of it, and then by working toward embracing masses of new believers, setting into 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."

With this foundation, the framework of which was firmly established in the previous Plans, our National Spiritual Assembly lovingly asked the American Bahá’í Community to accomplish three tasks:

• Study the Ridván letters in concert with Auxiliary Board members.
• Increase by twofold the active core of believers within the first year of the Plan.
• Establish training institutes wherever feasible.

To help achieve these goals, we, the Bahá’ís of the Central States, have been offered two gifts that are highly significant to the development of our region.

The first is from ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. In this gift, the prayer for the Central States from the Tablets of the Divine Plan, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá states, "Let the spreaders of the fragrances of God recite this prayer every morning." It is our hope that daily we will join in this prayer that beseeches "Make me a brilliant lamp, a shining star and a blessed tree, adorned with fruit, its branches overshadowing all these regions."

The second gift is from our supreme governing body, to whom we are privileged to respond with the utmost obedience, "...It involves the practice of collective worship of God. Hence, it is essential to hold regular devotional meetings in local Bahá’í centers, where available, or elsewhere, including homes of believers." (Universal House of Justice, Ridván 153 message to the Bahá’ís of the world)

Many communities have already embraced this cherished privilege and have found devotional meetings integral to community life.

When we come together in praise of our Beloved we find that:

"Whensoever a company of people shall gather in a meeting place, shall engage in glorifying God, and shall speak with one another of the mysteries of God, beyond any doubt the breathings of the Holy Spirit will blow gently over them, and each shall receive a share thereof." (Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, p. 94)

Imagine every Bahá’í community in the Central States holding regular devotional meetings. An opportunity awaits us during the month of the Fast. We would like to inaugurate a campaign of devotional meetings from March 2-21, with a multitude of devotional meetings held every night of the Fast throughout the region.

As you join this campaign may we ask that you notify us by February 24 of the date and time of your devotional meeting. We also hope that you will share the fruits of your devotional meetings with us as well as how these meetings are developing regularly in your wonderfully diverse localities.

‘Abdu’l-Bahá expressed his deep and abiding love for the American Bahá’í community in the Tablets of the Divine Plan to the Central States dated March 29, 1916, reminding us, "You are always in my thoughts. You are not nor shall you ever be forgotten. I hope by the favor of His Holiness the Almighty that day by day you may add to your faith, assurance, firmness and steadfastness, and become instruments for the promotion of the holy fragrances."

May this region blaze with the fire of the love of Bahá’u’lláh. This Regional Committee envisions the Central States evolving into "a center from which waves of spiritual power will emanate, and the throne of the Kingdom of God will, in the plenitude of its majesty and glory be firmly established," where "...all the aims may be merged into one aim, all the songs become one song and the power of the Holy Spirit may become so overwhelmingly victorious as to overcome all the forces of the world of nature." (‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Tablets of the Divine Plan)

With loving regards to all,

Regional Committee for the Central States January 29, 1997

ANNOUNCING CONFERENCE IN ENGLISH

Memorial Day weekend May 24-25, Chicago

Theme: "Persian Roots: Ancient to Today—cultural, religious, literary, philosophical"

Topics: 1. Modern Iranian culture through its films and literature 2. Zoroastrianism 3. Islam and Bábí/Bahá’í experiences 4. Persian poetry (Rumi and Hafez) in English 5. Women in Iran 6. Cross-cultural workshops 7. Persian/non-Persian families: panel discussions

Confirmed speakers/facilitators include: Dr. Frank Lewis, Dr. Susan Stiles Maneck, Dr. Mana Derakhshani Stockman, Dr. Ahang Rabbani

The conference is being held parallel with and is sponsored by the "Friends of Persian Culture Association" seventh annual conference in Chicago. For information or to register, phone 847-733-3526.

English conference coordinator: Sheila Banani.

Bahá’ís of Santa Ana present pamphlets to newly elected member of City Council

On January 21, the Bahá’ís of Santa Ana, California, presented newly elected City Council member Brett Franklin with copies of "The Promise of World Peace," "The Vision of Race Unity," "Individual Rights and Freedoms in the World Order of Bahá’u’lláh" and "Turning Point for All Nations."

The councilman, who said he had heard of the Faith, asked for and was given a brief summary of its history and principles.

He was quite interested in the fact that the primary purpose of the Faith is the unity of humankind, and was surprised to learn that it is the second most widely spread religion in the world. [Page 16]

SUMMARY

The national strategic plan developed by the National Teaching Committee can best be understood as an evolving process. The many elements of the plan have been developed but will continue to be implemented and refined throughout the course of the Four Year Plan.

It is worthwhile to summarize the more important strategies in which the National Teaching Committee will be directly involved in the opening phase of the Four Year Plan:

Role of National Teaching Committee

The general function of the National Teaching Committee, after setting the strategic direction for the country, will be to help develop and coordinate our resources to pursue the goals of the plan. This will include active and close collaboration with other agencies of the National Spiritual Assembly, many local communities, and with the Institution of the Learned.

Regional Committees

The development of this major step forward in decentralizing the administration of the teaching work will receive a great deal of attention. In the near future these committees will establish regional plans and goals, will help to establish the regional training institutes, and will assume the lion's share of responsibility for leading regional efforts.

Training Institutes

The process for establishing training institutes is described briefly in the accompanying article. This is a major strategic element of the plan and will receive considerable attention. The National Spiritual Assembly has already appointed the boards of directors of five regional training institutes, with more expected both before and after Ridván. Meanwhile, there are more than a hundred local efforts under way across the country.

Youth

The National Spiritual Assembly has established a new National Youth Committee, which will be primarily responsible for developing youth teaching and education programs. This committee is already working hand-in-hand with the National Teaching Committee to establish youth in their rightful place at the forefront of teaching efforts across the country.

Minority teaching

Although treated only briefly above, the National Teaching Committee plans to devote a great deal of energy to reaching specific minority groups. We are now developing the mandates and plans of the task forces that have been listed. Some of the task forces have already been established.

Race unity

Race unity is an essential theme in all of our activities, as this document shows. Although it will not be the only issue addressed in proclamation, teaching and consolidation activities, it will be central to much of what goes on.

Advancing entry by troops

There are a number of areas in the U.S. where we feel there is high potential for dramatically advancing the process of entry by troops. Our strategy will be to devote extra energy and resources to cultivating such places while also building the mechanisms for the rapid and accurate dissemination of successful approaches to the rest of the country. These will include the regional committees and the training institutes.

Media in teaching and proclamation

The National Teaching Committee and the Office of Bahá’í Publications are working to develop high quality audio/visual and printed materials for proclamation and teaching. At the core of the process is testing materials with non-Bahá’í audiences as a means of refining our messages to ensure high levels of response. We are also working closely with a number of independent Bahá’í professionals with expertise in these fields.

The role of the National Teaching Committee, as the "chief auxiliary institution" of the National Spiritual Assembly, is to develop a national strategy for advancing the process of entry by troops in the United States. Such a strategy should incorporate the instructions given by the Universal House of Justice in its messages pertaining to the Four Year Plan. It should also take into account the circumstances and opportunities that exist in this country for making the vision of the Supreme Body a reality.

The National Teaching Committee was appointed at Ridván. Since then, the committee has developed a national plan, and has begun implementing various elements in collaboration with other agencies of the National Assembly.

The national teaching plan has already been sent to all local Spiritual Assemblies and registered Bahá’í groups. Following is a summary of that plan, and an update on what has been achieved so far.

A national strategic plan for large-scale growth in the U.S.

The need for immediate, universal and large-scale growth of the Bahá’í community is repeatedly emphasized by the Universal House of Justice in its messages pertaining to the Four Year Plan. Conditions both within the United States Bahá’í community and in the population at large are ripe for dramatic expansion. This plan offers a set of strategies for a significant advancement in the process of entry by troops that will result in a vast increase in new membership as well as far more productive activity on the part of present members of the Faith in the United States.

Current conditions

For the past several years the U.S. Bahá’í community has steadily increased its level of activity in virtually every respect. Every standard of measurement at hand—such as giving to the Funds, local Spiritual Assembly activity, youth activity, school attendance, involvement in the life of society, etc.—shows that our community is composed of thousands of dedicated supporters of the Cause. These individuals comprise a significant core of "active" believers upon which a strategic plan of action can be built.

At the same time, the rate of enrollments has been more or less level for many years. It has now been a full generation since we experienced large-scale growth.

In the general population there are signs of increased attention toward spiritual and social issues. Large, identifiable segments of our country, including many "Baby Boomers," Latin Americans, Asians and African-Americans, are actively searching for solutions to the challenging moral and spiritual questions of our time in an atmosphere of increasing social unrest. Many are finding answers in religion. There is every reason to expect that this trend will continue during the coming years.

The last great expansion of the Faith in the US took place at a time also characterized by social turmoil. There is evidence that we are at the threshold of another era in which the Bahá’ís can once again expect to meet with unusually high receptivity from large numbers of concerned fellow-citizens, who will find in Bahá’u’lláh’s teachings answers to today's spiritual and social issues. This is also indicated by the authoritative writings of the Faith, which anticipate great and imminent developments for the Faith and humanity.

This window of opportunity is widening, but if past patterns are repeated, it will also narrow again. Now is the time to take advantage of the favorable circumstances at hand.

A national vision of growth

A successful national campaign will require attention to all of the principles of growth as outlined in the compilation "Promoting Entry by Troops"—principles that are also reflected in the general categories of focus for this Plan: developing the individual, the institutions and the Bahá’í community.

Our goal is to become a national community that grows and develops, exercising an increasing influence in American society; first, by doubling the core of active believers; and second, by positioning itself at the forefront of the constructive forces of change. This will be done by developing individual believers as teachers and servants of the Cause, and by developing vibrant local communities characterized by tolerance and love, and guided by a strong sense of purpose and collective will.

Key success factors

Of particular advantage are a number of factors upon which a successful teaching campaign can be built. Many of these were observed by the Universal House of Justice itself in this year's Ridván message to North America. They are:

• The unparalleled strength of local communities, particularly evident in the activity of the local Spiritual Assemblies. This is a fact of great advantage, because it is at the local level that teaching really happens, and where strong insitutions must exist that can lead the process of entry by troops.

• The consecration of the Bahá’í youth. The number of youth teaching projects has significantly increased in the time since the Holy year. Youth in greater and greater numbers are beginning to assume their rightful place at the forefront of teaching.

• The positive impression of the Faith conveyed to the generality of the population, leaders of thought and people of influence.

• The composition of the country which has welcomed immigrants, students and refugees from all parts of the world, drawn from all the major racial, ethnic and religious backgrounds. This provides a unique opportunity to demonstrate the unifying power of the Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh.

• A significant core of active believers, as noted above.

• The condition of readiness of the local Bahá’í communities to respond actively when success is shown elsewhere. This pattern is repeated time and again in our history. We are quick to appreciate and adopt successful methods.

• A wide-based pool of expertise in promoting race unity initiatives. Since the beginning of this decade, local communities and individuals have maintained high levels of activity in promoting the principle of race unity. This foundation...

[Page 17]

NATIONAL TEACHING PLAN

HOW LOCAL COMMUNITIES RESPOND TO THE FOUR YEAR PLAN

Successfully advancing the process of entry by troops requires deep commitment on the part of individuals, Bahá’í institutions and communities. Individually and collectively, we need to reflect in our teaching and other activities the spirit of the Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh.

Local Spiritual Assemblies have the responsibility to provide a "framework for collective action" in which all believers can take part. Individual believers have the corresponding duty to engage in personal teaching activity and to support collective efforts. Bahá’í community activities should provide a welcoming, supportive and spiritually rich environment for people of every age and background, including believers and others.

Guiding individual souls

Experience in the Bahá’í world has demonstrated that in areas where expansion accelerates, unless the new believers are empowered to assume responsibility for the work of the Cause, expansion eventually comes to a halt. In the Four Year Plan, the Universal House of Justice has emphasized developing the human resources of the Cause as a means to strengthen and multiply the number of individuals that support expansion and consolidation.

Teachers, Assemblies, local communities and teaching projects working for growth engage in a number of steps that guide individuals along a path from learning about Bahá’u’lláh to arising independently to serve His Cause.

A key element is teaching individuals about the mission and teachings of Bahá’u’lláh. A second is inviting the seekers to become Bahá’ís so that they, as their hearts are transformed, can help transform the world. Yet another essential element is providing systematic deepening programs for adults, youth and children.

The path of individual transformation is the same for everyone. Bahá’ís and non-Bahá’ís, veteran and new believers, move along this path at their own rate. Individual learning and transformation continues forever.

Guiding individual souls includes:

Finding & teaching receptive souls. Interact with and befriend non-Bahá’ís, telling them about Bahá’u’lláh. Proclamation, although an important element of the process, is not a substitute for direct teaching.

Declaration & enrollment. Invite souls to embrace the Faith. Declaration is a milestone that takes place at any point. For some this occurs quickly; place no obstacles in the way of such souls.

Strengthening bonds of fellowship, love & unity. Strengthen the bonds of fellowship between teachers and seekers. Strong bonds of friendship are key to enrollment.

Systematic deepening. Offer deepening programs to strengthen the faith of all believers and guide them in principles such as prayer, teaching, and giving to the Fund. A core deepening program can also prepare them for specific services, such as serving on Assemblies. Courses should be well developed and systematically delivered.

Continued learning. Study the Writings while striving to transform what is written into action.

Building a pattern of community life

Individual progress, through prayer, deepening and service, is complemented by a regular cycle of community life that confirms the individual's faith, provides fellowship and worship, guides individuals and families in the practice of Bahá’í life, and offers an opportunity for service to the Cause. Such sustained patterns of action strengthen individuals and communities at the same time.

Every community has different needs. Hence, the specific activities in each community will vary, and will be different at various stages of a community's development. Following are examples of activities that make up a pattern of community life. The categories are not exhaustive, nor will every community have activity in each of these areas.

The important thing is that activities be undertaken with love and unity and that they address the community's spiritual, social, expansion and consolidation needs. The activities should combine in an ever-evolving pattern that increases the community's membership, sustains individual spiritual development, and leads eventually to the spiritual conquest of the entire town, city or region.

Building a pattern of community life includes:

Devotional gatherings. Gather Bahá’ís and seekers regularly for music, worship, fellowship, etc., lifted by the spirit of the Faith.

Teaching activities. Hold firesides and activities using other teaching methods suited to the population. Teaching must include both proclamation and opportunities for direct heart-to-heart sharing of the Message.

Feasts & Assembly meetings. Hold Feasts and Assembly meetings for Bahá’ís, recognizing that they may take time to develop in some places, but are crucial to the progress of the Cause.

Individual & family life. Help individuals and families obey the laws and develop the distinctive patterns and qualities of Bahá’í life, such as obligatory prayer, fasting, Holy Days, etc.

Youth activities. Use youth to spearhead activities for expansion and consolidation. Develop systematic programs for their education and training.

Children's classes & activities. Guide children to be effective teachers and servants of the Cause. Children do not have to have Bahá’í parents to learn about the Faith or its teachings.

Deepenings, schools & training institutes. Offer sustained opportunities for interaction with the Word of God and for acquiring skills better to serve the Faith.

Social activities. Plan social events to provide an avenue for strengthening bonds of love, fellowship and unity.

Social & economic development. Apply Bahá’u’lláh’s teachings to the problems of humanity through service activities.

Putting it all together

The efforts to guide individuals and establish a pattern of community life complement one another and accelerate the movement of the population toward the new World Order. Individuals, moving at their own pace, are systematically trained and included in the life of the community. Community activities confirm individuals and are multiplied and grow in complexity as more individuals arise to serve.

Advancing the process of entry by troops requires:

Drawing spiritual power. The Faith is not about meetings—it is about channeling and directing the tremendous spiritual forces released by Bahá’u’lláh for the transformation of society. Individuals and communities are galvanized through divine power and love.

Embracing the entire population. If our activities involve only Bahá’ís, we cannot grow. Bahá’u’lláh’s teachings are for everyone and are urgently needed by humanity at this time.

Learning through action and reflection. Most communities already have some level of activity; these can evolve to include vital missing elements. Encourage initiative without worrying unduly about mistakes, which are a necessary part of a learning process. Evaluate action and revise it as needed to increase effectiveness.

Participation by everyone. The Faith grows through individual initiative, direction from Assemblies, and leadership from the Auxiliary Board. While "each person cannot do everything and all persons cannot do the same thing," every believer and every community can find some part to play in the urgent work of advancing the process of entry by troops.

Increasing human resources. Encourage new believers and seekers to take part in activities with the Bahá’ís, then arise to serve on their own. Systematic deepening on the Word of God is the key to spiritual transformation and preparation for greater service.

Working with other institutions

It is important for individuals and Local Assemblies to work closely with their Auxiliary Board members and assistants, as well as with the Regional Committees and others who can support their plans.

STRATEGIC PLAN (Continued)

tion of experience can be built on with great effectiveness.

• Access to media. This offers great potential for proclamation.

Core strategies

The race unity issue to guide all teaching aspects of the plan.

The issue of race is fundamental to all considerations of proclamation, expansion and consolidation. Our actions should reflect this priority. While the "most challenging issue" centers chiefly on black/white relations, there is a direct connection to the need for embracing all cultures and races.

To implement this strategy the following lines of action will be followed:

Establish a National Association for the Promotion of Racial Understanding.

The time has come for the national Bahá’í community to take another major step to serve the general population. We will establish a national association composed of experts who study issues of race and implement programs for interracial understanding. This group, composed of Bahá’ís and non-Bahá’ís, will establish local and regional chapters, hold conferences on race unity, and lead serious efforts to achieve progress in this area. It will be established as a not-for-profit corporation, so that it will be eligible to receive funding from many sources.

Establish a national race unity vision program to be implemented in local communities.

Another course of action will be to seek the advice of a group of experts in developing a vision for race unity and applying it to every aspect of the teaching work such as: training of youth and children; use of the arts; training courses at the centers of learning; public conferences on race unity and other proclamation activities; social service projects, and community development. Special attention will be given to the challenge of building united Bahá’í communities that welcome seekers and new believers from all backgrounds.

Foster a greater involvement in the life of society at the national and local levels.

Such activity will be encouraged with the aim of influencing the process of world peace, collaborating with the forces leading toward order in the world, and undertaking greater proclamation of the Faith. At the national level this will be pursued by the National Spiritual Assembly Office of External Affairs. Efforts at the local level to enable believers and seekers to feel and be up-folded. [Page 18]

DECENTRALIZATION GIVES NATIONAL ASSEMBLY NETWORK OF TEACHING FACILITATORS ACROSS U.S.

National Spiritual Assembly National Task Forces National Teaching Committee Regional Committees African American Teaching Committee Arts Task Force American Indian Teaching Committee Latin American Task Force Chinese Task Force RC Central RC Northeast RC South RC West Regional Indian Teaching Committees Regional Training Institutes State Teaching Committees Other Regional Task Forces

MINORITY TASK FORCES REACH OUT NATIONWIDE TO SUPPORT AND ENCOURAGE LOCAL EFFORTS

By TOM MENNILLO

The minority task forces appointed this year by the National Spiritual Assembly share three closely related aims: to support teaching, deepen new believers and help integrate cultures.

To achieve these goals, the National American Indian Teaching Committee, Latin American Task Force and Chinese Task Force have reached out nationwide with encouragement and support for any and all efforts to reach these populations.

Soon, they will be joined by the newly appointed African-American Task Force.

Here is a capsule summary of their activities thus far this year:

American Indian

To promote increased and more effective teaching, the National American Indian Teaching Committee is establishing institutes, the first in Oklahoma, and conducting other workshops and conferences to train Bahá’ís who want to teach the Faith to people of native backgrounds.

The committee and its regional affiliates hope to raise awareness among American believers of the native peoples' long history of spirituality and potential to spiritualize the entire world. The friends are also being made aware that native peoples are all around us—the majority live in our cities and towns, not on Reservations—and are receptive to the message if it is presented wisely.

Such a conference was held recently in Lyons, Nebraska. Counselor Jacqueline Left Hand Bull, a representative of the National Teaching Committee, and three members of the National American Indian Teaching Committee met with between 100 and 200 Bahá’ís.

The weekend was dubbed the Breaking Loose Conference in honor of Amatu’l-Bahá Růhíyyih Khánum, who, in a telegram to an earlier workshop at the Native American Bahá’í Institute, urged the friends to "break loose" and arise to help the native peoples fulfill the destiny the Master foresaw for them.

Deepening new believers, especially in the Covenant, is critical to this process so the native friends can become leaders not only within the Bahá’í community but in the wider community as well. The committee also is working to help Bahá’ís integrate the rich Indian culture into their diverse quilt.

Latin American

Since its appointment, the Latin American Task Force has seen a groundswell of interest throughout the country in teaching Hispanics.

The committee has met with Auxiliary Board members, local Assemblies and individual believers in Florida, Texas, California, Illinois, Maine and Oregon.

In those meetings, the committee has not come with a "prescription" for teaching Hispanics, but has focused on helping the friends form working groups with solid plans of action and obtain the resources—human and material—they need in the field.

An important resource is low-cost literature in Spanish. Although more are needed, many books and videotapes are already available through the Bahá’í Distribution Service and other vendors.

Trained teachers also are needed. Ruhi and core curriculum materials are being employed, and conferences have been held to prepare teachers. The committee is looking for ways to stimulate traveling teaching, especially by "snowbirds" heading south for the winter and college breaks.

Success has started to come from the many teaching efforts, and the excitement is fueled when new believers from the Hispanic culture arise to share the message with their extended family and friends. In cities such as Charlotte, North Carolina, with a sudden influx of Hispanic believers, the character of the Bahá’í community is rapidly changing as Feast becomes a true fiesta of cultural sharing.

Chinese

The Chinese Task Force is a ready resource for Bahá’ís in cities and on college campuses around the country.

The task force has just completed editing the fifth issue of "Dawning Light," a magazine in Mandarin for Bahá’ís and non-Bahá’ís in the United States.

Two packages of materials are also being prepared. One is an introduction to the Faith for new Chinese believers. The other is a compilation in Mandarin and English for seekers called Understanding the Bahá’í Faith.

In future months, the task force hopes to hold conferences on Chinese teaching in each of the nation's four regions, and it is working to extend its network of campus clubs to stimulate teaching the large numbers of Chinese students. [Page 19]

SO FRIENDS CAN SHARE IDEAS AND RESOURCES

By TOM MENNILLO

Chances are your Regional Committee has met somewhere in your vicinity during the months since its appointment.

These meetings have allowed your committee to gain a sense of the activity and needs of Bahá’ís and of opportunities for large-scale growth.

The following is a thumbnail look at how each committee is laying a foundation so Bahá’ís across its far-flung region can share ideas and resources during the Four Year Plan and arise to serve to a degree never before possible.

Western States

•Extensive analysis of both local Bahá’í and non-Bahá’í populations and of local Bahá’í activities.

The seven-person Regional Committee for the Western States has divided up the 11-state region into sub-regions to study the Bahá’í community. This study is based on reports and interviews with Auxiliary Board members, local Assembly members and community members as well as information forwarded to the committee by the National Bahá’í Center, including Unit Convention reports and local teaching plans.

The non-Bahá’í population studies have come from a variety of sources. While these studies will be ongoing, the Western committee now has a broader and deeper understanding of the conditions in the region and will be ready to launch a variety of campaigns in collaboration with willing Assemblies and their supporting Auxiliary Board members.

• Promotion of individual prayer.

At the onset of its formation, the committee spent time reflecting on the two Tablets of the Divine Plan that were sent to the Western States from ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in 1916 and 1917.

In its two broad communications to the friends of the Western States (October at the Unit Conventions and February at the Feast), the committee reinforced the Master's injunction for the friends to recite daily the prayer that concludes the February 15, 1917, Tablet. The committee's letters expressed the hope that many of the friends could memorize this prayer by the 80th anniversary of its revelation.

The committee has learned that three musical compositions have been created by friends in the region setting these inspirational words to music.

The Regional Office now has copies of the prayer in the original Arabic, as well as English and Spanish translations. Some communities have reproduced these prayers for their community members.

Assistance to traveling teachers and homefront pioneers.

The committee is developing a systematic way to match traveling teachers with communities receptive to and ready to receive traveling teachers-such as the two couples who have offered to undertake traveling teaching by bicycle!

The committee is studying the homefront pioneering materials already developed by the National Teaching Committee and will formulate a way to identify where the homefront pioneering needs are so that volunteers may be speedily directed to these posts.

Local Assembly formation.

According to the instructions of the Universal House of Justice in the 153 B.E. Ridván message, all Assemblies throughout the world must be established by the members who reside in the community on April 21 to be recognzied.

Statistics provided by Management Information Services at the Bahá’í National Center reveal that eight Assemblies in two states of the 11-state region have been consistently established by votes from one to four believers. Measures are being taken to provide for the education of all the members in these communities in their sacred obligation to take part in the April 21 election of the local Spiritual Assembly.

In addition, the Western committee is gathering information about the number of Assemblies formed by joint declaration and the number of Groups in the region with six or more members that might be able to establish an Assembly by this Ridván.

• Study economical ways to provide a regular printed internal communication system for the friends of the region.

• Establishment of training institutes.

The Western committee is moved by the sincere offers from several communities and individual Bahá’ís to make available their facilities and/or human resources for regional training institutes.

Each of these offers is being further studied before being submitted to the National Spititual Assembly for its consideration.

• Establishment of the first Regional Office.

The Western committee's secretary has been supplied with a computer and a printer-fax-scanner as the beginning office equipment required to keep track of the many needs and opportunities and offers of service that have come to the attention of the committee.

So far the one-person office has gratefully received occasional volunteer help from the friends. These efforts include grounding the power supply line for bution, and preparing a mailing to the 19 Auxiliary the computer, photocopying documents for distri- Board members serving in the Western States. Plans are being made to expand the staff to better serve the region.

Local Assembly automation project.

The Western committee has had the good fortune of meeting with most of the members of the five Assemblies (Portland, Oregon; Salt Lake City, Utah; and Los Angeles, San Francisco, and San Diego, California) in the region that have agreed to take part in the pilot phase of the Assembly integration project.

The project involves the customized development of software- or paper-based sytems to assist communities throughout the country to lovingly and efficiently receive and nurture the troops that will be entering the Cause over the next several years.

• Development of individual members' expertise in several areas essential to promoting the process of entry by troops.

Western committee members are learning as much as they can about many of the national resources available to the communities and individual believers living in this country.

The committee hopes to serve as a bridge linking these expert internal resources (e.g. core curriculum, Assembly development, external affairs, and the many newly appointed task forces) to the grassroots.

Central States

• Campaign to use the prayer for the Central States revealed by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.

The Master called this region a true center from which waves of spiritual power would emanate. The committee is encouraging all the friends to recite the prayer for the Central States daily as a personal way for them to advance the process of entry by troops. A specially designed prayer card is being shared by the committee wherever it travels.

•Devotional meetings.

The committee hopes to have devotional meetings take place across the region every night of the Fast. A letter inaugurating the project has been sent to the friends in the region.

•Regional institutes.

Two firm sites for regional institute have been identified and their boards appointed.

The Minnesota Bahá’í Institute serves the state of Minnesota. The Gateway Institute in St. Louis, Missouri, serves the St. Louis metropolitan area and the western section of Illinois including East St. Louis and Edwardsville.

The committee will be consulting with Auxiliary Board members and local Assemblies about other institutes that have arisen locally to explore whether they can become regional. The committee also is eager to consult with the National American Indian Teaching Committee on developing training institutes.

•Activity displays.

It has been requested that all Bahá’í localities in the region send the committee by March 30 a picture of their community and a brief review of activities relating to the three tasks assigned to the American Bahá’í community by our National Spiritual Assembly: study of the Ridván letters in concert with Auxiliary Board members, a twofold increase in the active core of believers within the first year of the Plan, and the establishment of institutes wherever feasible.

The reports and stories from the communities will be displayed in books identified by state for everyone to enjoy. They will be displayed at National Convention as well as the National Youth Conference in July with hopes it can be updated throughout the Four Year Plan to reflect growth in the region.

Northeastern States

•Regional teaching plan.

The Northeast committee has formulated a regional teaching plan that will be disseminated once it is approved by the National Teaching Committee.

•Teaching through the arts.

In meetings throughout the region, the committee has brainstormed with the friends on how every Bahá’í, not only accomplished artists, can teach through song, dance, visual arts and other means. The friends in Vermont, where the committee most recently met, are now making plans to start regional choirs that have non-Bahá’í as well as Bahá’í members. They also talked about how a book one of the friends is writing about the abolitionist movement can be used in teaching the Faith.

• Race unity.

The committee has made race unity the cornerstone of its efforts. In addition, the way is being prepared to create an Association for the Promotion of Racial Understanding chapter that could serve as the prototype for other chapters throughout the country.

•Participation by youth and women.

The Northeast committee recognizes that young people need to be involved from the outset in every process or event attempted. Therefore, it ensures that youth are representated on all committees and working groups.

Likewise, the committee is studying how it can encourage representation and empowerment of women at all levels of Bahá’í community functioning, especially on elected bodies.

American Indians.

The committee will contact the National American Indian Teaching Committee to consult on reaching Indians who live in the region's cities and on its Reservations.

• Media initiatives.

A media task force is laying the groundwork for a regional media committee that can provide Bahá’í communities with the resources needed to use the media as a key tool in teaching. The clearinghouse would include information on what other communities are doing.

Training institutes.

The Northeast committee is in the process of identifying local institutes that have been ongoing for some time or have been created in response to the Ridván message. Once that information is collected, the committee can consult with the region's Auxiliary Board members on a strategy to designate some as regional institutes.

• Communication with believers in the region.

A questionnaire distributed at Unit Conventions and later to local Assemblies has begun to provide the committee with a wealth of information on activities, resources, needs, and receptive areas within the region. The friends also were asked how they prefer to teach. [Page 20]

NATIONAL TEACHING PLAN: Regional

The committee also is disseminating to local Assemblies, registered Groups, and Auxiliary Board members and assistants a synopsis of the Writings on training institutes to answer the friends’ questions.

Southern States

• Regional teaching plan.

The Southern committee has issued a teaching plan designed to accompany the National Teaching Plan. It does not set specific goals; rather, it uses quotes from the Writings to focus on the power of individual initiative.

Individuals, communities and local Assemblies can use the regional plan as a guide to create goals appropriate for themselves and their locality, given the circumstances and resources present.

The committee also hopes to help local efforts by publishing Unlocking the Power of Action, a compilation on individual initiative never before available in this country. It was compiled by the Research Department of the Bahá’í World Center for the Brazilian National Spiritual Assembly as further guidance following the Universal House of Justice’s May 19, 1994, letter to the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States.

• Formulation of a vision statement.

As an accompaniment to the regional teaching plan, the committee has issued a vision statement that draws the friends’ attention to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s description of the Southern States as having the greatest potential for fueling entry by troops.

• Appointment of state teaching committees.

Teaching committees have been appointed for five states in the region. The Southern committee is proposing five more state committees.

The Southern committee sees the state committees as major agents of change in such areas as teaching, youth activity and Assembly formation.

• Collaboration with institutions of the Learned.

The committee was afforded a wonderful opportunity for exchange of perspectives through its participation in Counselor Tod Ewing’s recent briefing for Auxiliary Board members from the region.

Through the Auxiliary Board members, the assistants will be able to gain a fuller understanding of the regional plan and more effectively help communities implement it.

• Training institutes.

The committee is engaged in working with established local institutes to assist them in becoming regional.

The committee also is collaborating actively with the Louis G. Gregory Bahá’í Institute, the Magdalene Carney Bahá’í Institute, and bilingual projects in the border area around Harlingen, Texas.

Strategic Plan

will be led by local Spiritual Assemblies, which will take up the themes of promotion of human rights, global prosperity and moral development.

Establish a national task force to reach leaders of thought and prominent citizens

This task force, to be established by the National Teaching Committee, will develop and implement strategies for reaching leaders of thought and help local communities to pursue similar initiatives.

Target receptive populations to stimulate the process of large-scale growth

Studies undertaken by a number of groups indicate that there are millions of people in the U.S. who are actively seeking spiritual and moral solutions to life issues. Among them are “Baby Boomers,” college students, youth and others. The Baby Boomers are the same population who, a generation ago, abandoned traditional religion in large numbers in a search for alternative beliefs. The Bahá’í Faith was a direct beneficiary of this phenomenon according to the National Spiritual Assembly’s 1991 survey, the vast majority of those who entered the Faith in the late ’60s and early ’70s came from this age group. That same survey also shows that they now make up the largest segment of active Bahá’ís. A large part of this cohort (estimates range up to 12 million) are once again actively searching for alternative systems of belief. Their concerns as gleaned from survey data parallel remarkably issues that Bahá’ís consider to be of great importance: race unity, world peace, the environment, prayer and spirituality, family life, etc.

These individuals are concentrated in urban and suburban locations, primarily in the West and the South (the two regions historically most receptive to the Faith). They can be identified, their needs ascertained through well-designed programs of research, and teaching approaches crafted to address them.

Other groups with identifiable segments of “seekers” whose concerns reflect Bahá’í themes are African-Americans, Latin Americans, American Indians and Asians. In all of these groups there is evidence that youth and women are particularly receptive, as are leaders of thought. This is not to say that other groups are not at all receptive.

National efforts will be centered initially on those groups that are large and about which there is ample information, and will expand later to include others.

To implement this strategy the following lines of action will be followed:

Design and implement a media campaign to proclaim the Faith to target audiences

The use of broadcast media will be an important component in a systematic effort to dramatically increase enrollment. A media campaign, directed toward identifiable audience segments, will be designed. It will build incrementally and emerge by degrees, emphasizing the use of research in identifying susceptible audiences and targeting current issues in metropolitan areas. Print advertising will be used to direct audiences to scheduled programming. Careful tracking of rates of response and experimenting with formats will improve performance. Special care will be given to preparations in Bahá’í communities and follow-up efforts to link inquiries with opportunities to learn more about the Faith and to get in contact with Bahá’í communities.

Develop and implement systematic and balanced teaching campaigns in target areas

Lines of action will begin by focusing on a limited number of places where there are significant, identifiable populations who are likely to be receptive to the Faith, and where there are sufficiently strong Bahá’í communities in place to sustain a campaign of growth. Teaching activities in each area will embrace various racial and ethnic groups, all social strata, leaders of thought, college campuses, and more.

An important part of the approach will be to ascertain the needs of the target populations using well designed surveys and similar methods. Teaching approaches will then be adopted that address those needs. They will be tested and refined over time for greater impact.

Diversity of approaches to reach various kinds of populations and individuals will be adopted, and a number of teaching methods will be encouraged and tested. They will aim at reaching increasingly wider social strata, ethnic groups and religious backgrounds.

The Universal House of Justice has pointed out the crucial importance of balance to a sustainable campaign of teaching. A wide variety of activities must be harmonized to address the needs of proclamation, expansion and consolidation.

In these areas campaigns will emerge that include all the necessary elements for a successful acceleration of the process of entry by troops, such as:

• Well-designed and multi-faceted approaches to proclamation.
• Regular devotional gatherings.
• A wide variety of direct teaching activities, such as firesides, public talks, campus activities, etc.
• Training and deepening for the believers (through training institutes and other centers of learning).
• A rich array of other community activities that embrace large numbers of people, such as social activities, social and economic development projects, youth programs, children’s classes, etc.
• Developing and distributing essential teaching and deepening materials.
• Training and support of local Spiritual Assemblies.
• Use of the arts.
• Refined and more effective Feasts.
• Developing efficient systems of communication and reporting.
• Supporting the Funds.
• Encouraging universal participation.

Applying models and approaches to other communities

A course of parallel actions will be to refine approaches and apply models in other Bahá’í communities that also show great potential for advancing the process of entry by troops. It is expected that particular teaching methods will vary considerably even in one place, but will follow similar principles and processes.

Reaching minorities

To help reach receptive populations, several groups of experts will be called upon to focus their efforts on specific minority groups:

National African-American Task Force

A national gathering will be called to devise a strategy to reach African-Americans throughout the country, and a National Task Force will be appointed to implement a plan of action. This should be accomplished by early February.

National Latin American Task Force

This task force is already established. Its mandate and role in the Four Year Plan are described.

National American Indian Teaching Committee

This committee has already been established. The focus will be on indigenous peoples through a targeted strategy that focuses on local communities. American Indians living in urban areas will be served, as well as those on Reservations.

A teaching program to more effectively reach Southeast Asians

This particular population has demonstrated great receptivity to the Faith. The U.S. Bahá’í Refugee Office has been the agency serving this particular group. Consultations with that office to determine the best way to reach this population will be pursued.

National Chinese Task Force

This task force is already established. Its mandate and role in the Four Year Plan are briefly described.

Literature Development

The development and distribution of [Page 21]literature to respond to the needs of large-scale growth campaigns will be carefully scrutinized, and an effort to widely distribute literature and audio/visual materials in various languages will be pursued. The implementation of this line of action will be pursue by the Bahá’í Publications Office with the support of the National Teaching Committee.

Regional Committees

The first year of the Plan saw a major step forward, with the establishment of four Regional Committees in July, in the decentralization of the administration of the teaching work. The committees serve the regions described by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in the Tablets of the Divine Plan.

Role and Responsibilities

Regional Committees are the arms of the National Spiritual Assembly designated to assist with the growth and development of the Faith in specific areas of the country. Their primary purpose is to advance the teaching work by fostering the emergence and development of sustained patterns of proclamation, expansion and consolidation across their regions. This is done through expert analysis and study of the areas in their charge; the provision of strategic advice to the National Spiritual Assembly through the National Teaching Committee; and the formulation, promotion and execution of regional teaching plans.

Regional teaching plans should include provisions for the following activities:

• Establishing regional Centers of Learning as needed
• Promoting individual teaching
• Launching campaigns of various kinds
• Holding conferences
• Establishing local and regional projects, including fostering inter-community collaboration
• Strengthening local communities (including the establishment and development of local Assemblies)
• Dispatching traveling teachers and homefront pioneers
• Widely distributing literature and audio-visual materials, especially in areas of large-scale expansion
• Developing human resources

Strategies addressing each of the above categories should be formulated in light of the conditions and opportunities that prevail in each region.

Reporting

The Regional Committees are appointed by the National Spiritual Assembly and operate under the guidance of the National Teaching Committee. Regional Committees will be in close and constant interaction with the National Teaching Committee and will receive regular reports from the National Center conveying strategic priorities and other information. In return, the Regional Committees will submit monthly reports to the National Teaching Committee that should include the following information: a concise report on teaching activity with analysis of progress; an update and assessment of Regional Committee activities; and future activities to be undertaken. In addition, quarterly reports to the National Teaching Committee will offer a closer analysis of trends, emerging opportunities and regional needs, with recommendations for action.

Administrative relationship with local Assemblies

As committees of the National Spiritual Assembly, the Regional Committees are expected to work with local Spiritual Assemblies and all other institutions and agencies in a spirit of loving cooperation. Regional Committees have the authority to set regional teaching goals, communicate regional priorities and needs, offer support and advice to local teaching projects, and appoint entities to carry out specific tasks in areas without local Spiritual Assemblies or to coordinate activities between local Spiritual Assemblies (for example, State Teaching Committees, minority teaching task forces, or inter-Assembly task forces). However, Regional Committees and other appointed entities have no administrative jurisdiction over local Assemblies. Updates on regional activities are included on page 19.

A national network of training institutes for the development of human resources

A national network of training institutes will ensure that the development of human resources and training of believers to support regional and local plans will receive focused and systematic attention. The establishment of these centers of learning will result from a process of consultation between the National Teaching Committee, the Regional Committees and the Auxiliary Board members.

These training institutes will be developed in a context of action so that the knowledge and skills of the friends will be put to immediate and effective use. They will not only contribute to a national program for systematic instruction in the fundamental verities of the Faith, but also for systematic training in teaching and administration.

The National Spiritual Assembly’s National Bahá’í Education Task Force is responsible for developing new curricula for national use. The task force is working on several programs for implementation at the regional training institutes and other venues. The National Teaching Committee and other agencies will collaborate with them in this process.

As agencies of the National Spiritual Assembly, the regional training institutes receive vision and strategic direction from the National Spiritual Assembly through the National Teaching Committee and the National Education and Schools Office. They will be administered by boards of directors appointed by the National Assembly, and will work in close collaboration with members of the Auxiliary Board.

Collaboration with Other Agencies and Institutions

Successful prosecution of the teaching work will depend upon establishing communication and collaboration with local institutions and with isolated believers and groups. It will also be necessary to create harmonious working relationships with permanent schools and institutes and other centers of Bahá’í learning; the Auxiliary Board and their assistants; and others in the region who share responsibility for the growth and development of the Faith.

Establish and develop devotional gatherings in local communities

A national program establishing and developing devotional gatherings will be promoted to foster the development of community patterns to support large-scale growth in local communities

Training programs for all local Assemblies

Local Spiritual Assembly training programs for developing of the administrative capacities of local institutions will continue to be implemented, and new training aspects will be developed as the need arises. These programs are currently being implemented by the Office of Local Spiritual Assembly Development.

Use of the arts

A National Arts Conference will be held to promote the use of the arts for the expansion and consolidation of the Faith by local communities (the date has not yet been set). The National Teaching Committee will appoint a National Arts Task Force by Ridván. Other means will also be used to encourage development of the arts.

Fund development

The National Teaching Committee will support the National Spiritual Assembly’s Office of the Treasurer to develop in the institutions and agencies involved in the execution of the plan the capacity to expend funds in a judicious and effective manner, and to increase awareness of the spiritual significance of contributing to the Fund.

Youth

Last Ridván the National Assembly appointed a new National Youth Committee, which will implement a national youth program centered on teaching and development through the following lines of action:

• Army of Light Campaign
• National Youth Conferences
• African-American Youth Task Force
• Youth Workshops
• Bahá’í Youth Service Corps
• Web Site
• College Campus Clubs

The National Teaching Committee and National Youth Committee are collaborating in many ways to ensure that the potential of Bahá’í youth as teachers and servants of the Faith receives the utmost attention.

Communications

New communications systems will be established to enhance the regular and efficient exchange of information at all levels. The first stages of this endeavor are already under way. Lines of action to be followed will be implemented by the Management Information Systems Office. They include the establishment of a Web site, and a plan to network local Spiritual Assemblies with the National Center and each other.

One-third of a typical weekend is spent on studying the Faith. As facilitated by Peter Oldjiey, the youngsters break into small groups to research a social question, or perhaps the life of an early believer. Then they present what they’ve learned to the others.

Out of this come skits, improvisational movement, sound, dance—and performance pieces for the new Workshop are born. That’s the second third of a weekend, the act of creating. The remainder of a retreat is spent in what teens enjoy most, getting to know one another better.

Meanwhile, the parents of these young believers have embarked on their own spiritual journey.

It’s a bit frightening, of course, when your child becomes involved with a largely unknown group with a foreign-sounding name. So Dover Bahá’ís are quick to sit down with parents and give them the facts. And when the parents start to see the transformation in their kids, it’s all confirmed.

The parents have become enthusiastic supporters of the Workshop, many have investigated the Faith for themselves, and some have become Bahá’ís.

The Bahá’í community as a whole has been rejuvenated by the events of the past two years. Adults have committed themselves en masse to undertake the Core Curriculum training. Even those without children have been seen accompanying the youth to activities.

In short, the entire community has been transformed into lovers of Bahá’u’lláh to an extent never before seen. And not just in Dover.

One community’s flagging Race Unity Day was brought to new levels of participation by the presence of the Dover youth. A mass-taught community brought in the youth for a church festival that the Bahá’ís hosted.

Bahá’u’lláh’s words were read at the governor’s recent inauguration.

Out of nowhere, a Bahá’í not known to be active arranged for the Faith to get three tables center-front at a Martin Luther King Jr. breakfast attended by 600 people, giving the Bahá’ís an opportunity to demonstrate the diversity they live.

Now has come the most striking development to date. Ground-breaking is scheduled for May 23, the anniversary of the Declaration of the Báb, on a regional Bahá’í Center.

A Center wasn’t even on the Dover Assembly’s agenda when the vision sprang from the body’s prayers one night. The members spontaneously started talking about a community barn-raising by Bahá’ís from the entire region. Stunned, they held hands, choked back tears and proceeded―without a plan or money.

But they needn’t have had any qualms. The region’s believers have come to a unity of thought fueled by the irresistible magnetism of this youth-centered community. The resources are coming together to turn a dream into a reality.

As part of the process, a site selection committee is meeting with local leaders of thought to explain what the Center will stand for and to receive their input on where it will be of most service to Dover residents. [Page 22]

Beauty of the portico of the Center for the Study of the Texts unveiled

Shorn of the scaffolding that veiled it, the classic beauty of the entrance portico of the Center for the Study of the Texts, with its majestic columns, stands revealed.

The circular portico with the double ring beams bridged with pre-cast panels, semi-circular wall at the back, windows and entrance, are all clad in white Piastrone marble from Italy.

The circular entablature above the library area in the basement of the building is also in place. What remains to be done is the marble floor of the portico and the fountain area at the basement level.

While the facade of the Center for the Study of the Texts is nearing completion, finishing work in other areas is progressing rapidly. Work on ceramic tiling for the walls and floors is in progress on a few levels of the building. Terrazzo tile work in the service areas is also under way and is proceeding along the Arc tunnel.

Internal marble work has begun with the arrival of four containers of marble from Italy and France. Ordered in various colors, finishes and textures, the marble is being coordinated with the interior design.

External wood-framed double-glazed windows have been tested in Canada for air pressure and water leakage and are now being manufactured along with shelving for the library and cabinets for the scholars’ rooms. The first container of wood doors has arrived.

Steel supports for the glass balustrades along the spiral stairs, which were recently delivered to the site, are now being installed. Work is also under way on pre-cast gypsum plaster molded ceilings, prepared in elliptical shapes, which are being installed in certain lobbies and corridors within the building. Painting is well advanced on three levels. All in all, work is proceeding quite satisfactorily.

Construction proceeding on the sixth level of the International Teaching Center

Construction of the Teaching Center has progressed rapidly at level 6, which has the largest floor area covering nearly the full extent of the building. It is also at this level that the Teaching Center will be linked to the Arc service tunnel.

Level 6 forms the roof for nearly 40 percent of the building's Common Area and will be landscaped to blend with the existing garden around the plaza of the Seat of the Universal House of Justice. The building of the Teaching Center is connected to the street level through its own plaza which will form the parking entrance for cars entering the building.

From the plaza there is a vehicular ramp, 8 meters (26.4 feet) wide and 72 meters (237.6 feet) long, which will lead to the parking areas at levels 1 to 3. The ramp is now 75 percent complete. Other facilities housed at level 6 are a 170-square-meter multi-purpose room with a stage, offices, mechanical and electrical rooms and a fully equipped shelter.

Construction of the Teaching Center will be linked to the road leading to the Seat of the Universal House of Justice by bridging slabs at levels 6 and 7. These slabs will cover the area between the structure of the building and the retaining wall, and will eventually be landscaped to form part of the roof garden. These slabs will be completed together with the rest of floor slabs for levels 6 and 7.

Aerial photograph showing the construction site of the building of the International Teaching Center.

The contract for drywall partitions and ceilings has been awarded to the plied them for the Center for the Study same Canadian company that supplied of the Texts. A contract for the supply and installation of catwalks in the mechanical service areas and for the space above the stage in the Auditorium has also been signed and special structural arrangements made for their installation.

Play of colors on the Terraces below the Shrine of the Báb

Looking at the broad sweep of the Terraces from a distance, one cannot help noting major color schemes playing on the mountainside. The soothing green lawns of the Terraces, the colorful plants in the inner and outer areas, the crushed ochre tiles of the paths, the orange inlaid flat stone of the access roads all weave a "tapestry" [Page 23]

THE ARC

No sooner had her voice reached that most exalted Spot than We made reply: "Render thanks unto thy Lord, O Carmel. The fire of thy separation from Me was fast consuming thee, when the ocean of My presence surged before thy face, cheering thine eyes and those of all creation, and filling with delight all things visible and invisible. Rejoice, for God hath in this Day established upon thee His throne, hath made thee the dawning-place of His signs and the dayspring of the evidences of His Revelation. Well is it with him that circleth around thee, that proclaimeth the revelation of thy glory, and recounteth that which the bounty of the Lord thy God hath showered upon thee. Seize thou the Chalice of Immortality in the name of thy Lord, the All-Glorious, and give thanks unto Him, inasmuch as He, in token of His mercy unto thee, hath turned thy sorrow into gladness, and transmuted thy grief into blissful joy. He, verily, loveth the spot which hath been made the seat of His throne, which His footsteps have trodden, which hath been honored by His presence, from which He raised His call, and upon which He shed His tears.—Bahá’u’lláh, The Tablet of Carmel

The street at upper left will be reoriented to line up with the Lower Terraces ascending to the Shrine of the Báb, providing an unbroken pathway from the port below.

Vineyard

"of beauty," heightened by the presence of the imposing structure of the Shrine of the Báb in the heart of Mount Carmel.

Against the limestone Terrace walls, stairs, balustrades and outcroppings of rocks are contrasting hues of greens, greys and dark reds. As one comes closer to the gardens, more colors in smaller areas come into view. The light green of the lawns is set off by the dark green spires of the cypresses that line the Kings' Pathway and fan in arcs from the central Terraces.

Splashes of brilliant colors can be seen in many areas: bright purples and reds of bougainvillaea, orange flowers of Tecomaria, purple flowers of Solanum, blue spikes of the butterfly bush, and lemon-yellow flowers of the OENOTHÉRA, to name a few.

In the outer edges are grey foliage olives and the green leaves of the fig trees, Delonix, Jacaranda, Plumaria and other flowering trees and shrubs. Many grey-leafed small plants and ground covers are also in evidence.

This vibrant beauty was captured in print and displayed during a photo exhibit at the Bahá’í World Center. Through the sale of many of the prints the friends here were able to contribute their mite toward the Mount Carmel Projects.

As mentioned earlier, the maintenance of the Terrace gardens is an ongoing process, and constant replenishing of the plants according to the changing seasons becomes necessary.

With the winter rains upon us, to protect all the top-soiled areas from erosion, 30,000 plants of alyssum (a delicate white fragrant flower) were planted. On Terrace 4, plantings on the eastern and western outer areas have been completed while more than half of the areas to the west have been planted, and lawn grass has been installed in the inner areas.

Upper Terraces

While some finishing work continues on the double-storied structure of Terrace 19, landscaping work has begun on Terraces 18 through 15. Installation of cypress trees along their stairways has commenced.

Due to their large size, and the necessity to use heavy equipment to put them in place, palm trees were installed on Terraces 16, 17 and 18 before completion of the stone work. The outer areas of these Terraces are also being prepared for planting native shrubs and trees during the springtime.

On Hatzionut Avenue, the first and second stages of work have been completed expeditiously. The southern section has been lowered and made accessible for vehicular traffic down Mount Carmel, and preparations are under way to complete the second lane for uphill traffic at the lowered level.

Underground municipal facilities have been relocated and storm drain pipes put in place; the structure of the building of the Information Center and Office of Security has been raised to roof level, and the ground slab of the Auditorium has been constructed.

As part of the third stage of work on these areas within the Bahá’í property, roads on the north side have been cleared of trees and a temporary fence has been installed with a pedestrian walkway. Soon, excavations will begin on this side of the road.

Earthworks have commenced on Terraces 13 and 14 above the Shrine of the Báb, and anchors are being installed to strengthen the mountain for construction of these Terraces over the parking tunnel of the Center for the Study of the Texts/Archives extension.

Templar project is highly significant

The restoration and development of the main axis of the German Templar colony is one of the significant government projects being undertaken in the city of Haifa.

The project is of great interest to the Bahá’í World Center, as it conjoins the site of the entrance plaza of the Terraces of the Shrine of the Báb. This interest is further enhanced by the fact that the time of the arrival of the German Templars, awaiting the return of Christ, coincided with the arrival of Bahá’u’lláh in the Holy Land.

This colony of distinctive red-roofed houses was built by members of the Templar Society from Württemberg, South Germany, whose founder, Christoph Hoffmann, was convinced that the gathering of the people of God was the need of the hour, and that based on the prophecies of the Old and New Testaments, the return of Jesus Christ was imminent.

In his book The Bábí and Bahá’í Religions, 1844-1944, Moojan Momen records the following:

"It is interesting that both the Templars, who came to Palestine fired by the desire to witness the imminent return of Christ, and Bahá’u’lláh, Who claimed to be that return, arrived in the Haifa-‘Akká area within a few months of each other....Believing the second coming of Christ to be so near, Hofman [sic] with his principal lieutenant Georg David Hardegg landed in Haifa on October 30, 1868. Hardegg remained in Haifa as the head of the colony... [which] became the largest and most important colony in Palestine."

In God Passes By (p. 194), the Guardian of the Faith states that Bahá’u’lláh visited Haifa four times. During three of those sojourns He lived in the Templar Colony.

Each visit was brief, except the fourth one in 1891, when He stayed in Haifa for four months. During this last visit, one day, standing by the side of a circle of cypresses halfway up Mount Carmel, Bahá’u’lláh pointed out to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá the spot where the remains of His Martyr-Herald should be laid to rest and a mausoleum built over it.

It was also during this visit that Bahá’u’lláh revealed the momentous Tablet of Carmel, described by Shoghi Effendi as "this great Tablet which unveils divine mysteries and heralds the establishment of two mighty, majestic and momentous undertakings one of which is spiritual and the other administrative, both at the World Center of the Faith..." (from a letter dated Naw-Rúz 111 B.E. to the Bahá’ís of the East, translated from the Persian)

In 1990, following the occasion of the 137th commemoration of the Declaration of the Báb, work began again on the mountain of the Lord, on the monumental Terraces of the Shrine of the Báb.

This process was initiated by the Lord of Hosts, Bahá’u’lláh, with the revelation of the Tablet of Carmel, carried forward by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, expanded and developed by Shoghi Effendi, and is now entering its final stage through the Mount Carmel Projects under the direction of the Universal House of Justice.

While these projects are progressing rapidly on the one hand, on the other the restoration and development of the historic German Templar colony by the government authorities in Haifa is also gathering momentum. [Page 24]

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

EMPLOYMENT opportunities at the Bahá’í National Center. Human Resources assistant, Human Resources Department—must have ability to maintain highly confidential information with some experience in HR work. Must be highly proficient in the use of personal computers and have the ability to produce professional-looking documents. In-depth experience with MS Word, Print Shop Deluxe, Excel and desktop publishing is desirable. Program coordinator, Office of the Treasurer's Development Department—must be well-grounded in the fundamental verities of the Faith, have exceptional written and oral communication skills, ability to coordinate many tasks simultaneously. Prefer a minimum of a B.S. in human services-related field with experience in program design and management. Assembly Development assistant, Department of Administration and Development—full-time position for someone who has served on a local Spiritual Assembly, has experience in writing correspondence, knowledge of a variety of software programs including word processing, database and spread sheet applications. Must be skilled in information-gathering and analysis with strong interpersonal skills. For information about any of these positions, please phone Christine Stanwood, 847-733-3429, or send a resumé to the Department of Human Resources, Bahá’í National Center, Evanston, IL 60201-1611.

EXCITING opportunities in China: business, law experts and college graduates can apply to the China Teaching Program for training and placement as a teacher of English as a second language in China. Numerous openings for teachers of English or English as a second language. China Europe International Business School is recruiting students for MBA and EMBA programs, taught entirely in English. For more information contact Ms.Gwili Posey, 847-733-3512 (fax 847-733-3509; e-mail

THE BOSCH Bahá’í School has immediate openings for the following positions: coordinator of guest services (presently a paid position, but would consider an unpaid volunteer); coordinator of volunteers (unpaid); hospitality/housekeeping coordinator (may be funded after May 1, 1997); children's classroom teacher (may be funded after May 1, 1997). Interested persons are asked to write to the school, Attention: Mark/Linda Bedford, co-administrators, 500 Comstock Lane, Santa Cruz, CA 95060 (phone 408-423-3387; fax 408-423-7564; e-mail

PIONEERING (HOMEFRONT)

WILMINGTON, on the southeastern coast of North Carolina, seeks seasoned Bahá’ís who are excited about teaching to support a dynamic, growing community and help preserve its local Spiritual Assembly, which has lost four members to relocation over the past two years. Ability to speak Spanish is a plus, as there is a significant Hispanic population. The Faith is highly visible in Wilmington through active participation in events pertaining to Martin Luther King Day, race unity, healing racism, the United Nations, human rights, interfaith festivals, public observances of Holy Days, teaching events, firesides and other activities. Wilmington has a mild climate, a university (UNC-W) and community college, and is about two hours from the Louis Gregory Bahá’í Institute, the state capital of Raleigh, and Chapel Hill. There is a range of recreational activities, and employment opportunities at the local mental health center for those with backgrounds in social work, psychology and substance abuse to work as therapists, case managers, psychologists or supervisors for children and youth or substance abuse counselors for adults. Please phone Carlie Barbour at 910-251-6518, fax 910-251-6557, or e-mail

HAVE seekers. Have six Bahá’ís. Have children and youth. NEED pioneers by Ridván to form an Assembly! Please contact the Bahá’í Group of Altoona, Pennsylvania, 814-942-9833 or 814-941-1701.

INCORPORATED local Spiritual Assembly of Palm Bay, Florida, needs one or more adult Bahá’ís to assure its re-election at Ridván. Palm Bay offers warm semi-tropical weather, affordable housing, no state income tax, and is 20 minutes from world-class Atlantic beaches and an hour from Orlando with its many attractions and good schools. A great area for young families or those who are planning to retire. Contact Dick and Connie Wylemski, Palm Bay, FL 32905, or phone 407-725-9172.

LOOKING for an active Bahá’í community in a small town? Come join us in Olean, New York. Our community, about 90 miles southeast of Buffalo, is spiritually alive and actively teaching the Faith. Due to relocations, we need one or possibly two adult Bahá’ís to maintain our Assembly. If you are interested, please phone Brenda at 716-372-3663 or Mike at 716-372-5146, or write to P.O. Box 9, Olean, NY 14760.

PETERBOROUGH, New Hampshire, needs at least one more adult Bahá’í to maintain its long-established Assembly. Peterborough (pop. 6,000), in southeastern New Hampshire, is 30 minutes west of Nashua and 30 minutes east of Keene—both areas a source of possible employment. The village of Dublin, important to Bahá’í history because of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s three-week visit there in 1912, is 10 minutes west. Peterborough is also close to Mt. Monadnock and noted for its natural beauty. It's an ideal place for retirees and young families, with good schools and a fine hospital. First-class restaurants, a supermarket, bookstore and various small shops are within easy distance of the city's downtown area. Culturally dynamic, with the renowned McDowell artist/writer colony at its doorstep, "our town" (Thornton Wilder wrote his play of that name here) is locally famous for its summer theatre and stimulating lectures and concerts. It's a great place to live! For information, write to Julie Swan, secretary, Spiritual Assembly of Peterborough, Peterborough, NH 03458, or phone 603-924-6011.

THE BAHÁ’Í community of Sierra Madre, California, must increase its numbers from five adults to at least nine to save its Assembly. If you are interested in learning more about this charming mountain village close to Pasadena with easy access to metropolitan Los Angeles, phone for a guided tour or enjoy a hike in the beautiful mountains, followed by a cappucino in one of Sierra Madre's popular coffee houses. For information, please phone Noura Samimi, 818-355-6683.

PIONEERING (OVERSEAS)

EMPLOYMENT opportunities overseas. AFRICA: Ghana—project director needed for five-year field position on USAID-funded project to increase community participation in primary school improvement efforts. Tanzania—teachers. Zambia—teachers. AMERICAS: Alaska—general practitioner. Guatemala—high school band teacher, music teacher. ASIA: Azerbaijan—community public health trainer, water & sanitation specialist, construction officer, agricultural specialist. Korea—ESL instructors, airport construction personnel. Malaysia—ESL instructors. Sri Lanka—project director needed to coordinate and manage rehabilitation program to assist internally displaced persons and returning refugees. Thailand—volunteers to help with kindergarten, nursery classes, teach English, help with maintenance and building work. AUSTRALASIA: American Samoa—U.S.-trained physicians. EUROPE: Hungary/Romania—teachers of English and German, with some placements in Poland and Slovakia. Russia—bank credit officers needed by U.S. Russia Investment Fund to staff a loan program. MULTI-REGIONAL: computer systems analysts/trainers needed for contract supporting U.S. Department of State at over 200 sites worldwide. Urgent need for self-supporting pioneers to the Bahamas, Bosnia, Cyprus, Iceland, Faroe Islands, Hungary, Macedonia, Serbia, Turks & Caicos and Venezuela. URGENT—the National Spiritual Assembly of Belarus needs a fluent Russian-English secretarial assistant with good interpersonal and computer skills. Brazil—the National Spiritual Assembly of Brazil needs a volunteer to help set up its computer system; the School of Nations needs teachers. Cameroon—the National Assembly of Cameroon is starting a publishing agency and needs a pioneer with publishing skills. Urgent need in Cyprus for self-supporting pioneers to save the jeopardized local Assembly of Limassol. Honduras—elementary and secondary school teachers. Macau—the School of Nations needs elementary and secondary school teachers; volunteer to help with office duties at the BCC and the School of Nations. Nepal—the American School needs a guidance counselor, music/band teacher, elementary teacher, secondary school history/English teacher. Peru—a Spanish-speaking couple needed to serve as caretakers of the Bahá’í Center of Arequipa. Romania—need self-supporting caretakers for local Bahá’í Center in Iasi. Solomon Islands—self-supporting couple to serve as custodians of the Bahá’í Center in Honiara; volunteer to train National Center office staff. The Peace Corps is recruiting for South Africa: agriculturalists, educators, health professionals, skilled trades professionals, environmental workers, businesspeople, math, science & engineering majors; associate Peace Corps directors for Africa and other regions. For application information, phone 800-424-8580, or write to Peace Corps, Washington, DC 20526. For more information about any of these positions, please contact the Office of Pioneering, Bahá’í National Center, Evanston, IL 60201-1611. phone 847-733-3512; fax 847-733-3509; e-mail

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: Larry M. Beers, Mary Beery, Irene Behrens, Reva R. Belcher, Earl Bell, Fred Bell, Geneva Bell, Jessie A. Belt, Isabelle Belyea, Romeyn Benjamin, Winifred E. Bennell, Ivan Benson and Jean Berest. 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 has available several free information sheets on local archives and records. Any Bahá’í community that wishes to obtain a set is asked to send a request with a mailing address to the National Bahá’í Archives, Bahá’í National Center, 1233 Central St., Evanston, IL 60201-1611 (phone 847-869-9039).

WANTED

BRIGHTON CREEK Family Center, a Bahá’í-owned facility in a rural area about 55 miles south of Seattle, Washington, is looking for a full-time general manager. The facility includes a large meeting hall, a dining room and 16 cabins on 24 wooded acres. A non-profit corporation to direct the facility has recently been formed under the sponsorship of a nearby local Spiritual Assembly. The goal is to establish for the Pacific Northwest a self-supporting regional Bahá’í school similar to Bosch or Louhelen. The general manager would be responsible for coordinating, directing and taking part in day-to-day activities relating to the administration of Brighton Creek; serving as liaison between the board of directors and employees, volunteers, consultants and others; hiring and supervising staff, employees and volunteers; preparing, presenting and managing budgets; establishing schedules and goals in consultation with the board of directors; attending meetings of the board; and assuming other duties as assigned by the board. An ideal position for one who is willing to serve the Faith while becoming directly involved in creating and developing a new institution. Living quarters are available at Brighton Creek. For more information, phone Linda Dimitroff, 206-838-1498, or submit a resumé to Brighton Creek, P.O. Box 67, McKenna, WA 98558.

CONFERENCES / EVENTS

THE BAHÁ’Í Groups of Weston County and Newcastle, Wyoming, invite you to take part in a "Musical Unity Revolution" to be held June 20-22 at an easily accessible camp/resort in the western Black Hills of Wyoming. Music has been our most effective teaching tool in the past, so we are hoping for a massive proclamation success. As this is also a popular summer tourist area, we expect the audience to represent many areas of the country and the world. There will be ample time for Bahá’ís to share ideas about teaching the Faith through music, together with an outdoor concert for the public. Anyone who is interested should contact the Bahá’ís of Newcastle, c/o Nancy Moore, Newcastle, WY 82701 (phone/fax 307-746-4932, e-mail. Musicians may contact Pat Moore by e-mail or by phone at 307-721-3974.

CONFERENCE in English on "Persian Roots, Ancient to Today: Cultural Religious, Literary, Philosophical," Memorial Day weekend, May 24-25, in Chicago. Confirmed speakers/facilitators include Dr. Frank Lewis, Dr. Susan Stiles Maneck, Dr. Mana Derakhshani Stockman, Dr. Ahang Rabbani. The conference is being held parallel with and is sponsored by the Friends of Persian Culture Association's 7th annual conference in Chicago. To obtain more information or registration materials, phone Dr. Manuchehr Derakhshani, 847-733-3526, or write to him c/o the Persian/American Affairs Office, Bahá’í National Center, Evanston, IL 60201-1611. [Page 25]

Bahá’ís and the UN

Faith is recognized as non-governmental body

By LEWIS WALKER

This is the second in a year-long series of articles marking the 50th anniversary of formal Bahá’í recognition by the United Nations as a non-governmental organization.—Ed.

The second stage of the Bahá’í-UN relationship involved the application for recognition of the Faith by the UN as an international non-governmental body.

The Guardian, who represented the only international Bahá’í institution in existence at the time, declined to enter into a relationship with the UN and directed that the matter be worked out among the various National Assemblies, pursuant to his approval.

A form was drawn up that authorized the National Spiritual Assembly of the U.S. and Canada to act in relation to UN matters for the seven other National Assemblies in existence at the time. In the name of "The Bahá’í International Community," these Assemblies were given recognition as an international organization, with their number increasing to nine when Canada gained its own National Assembly in 1948.

In the September 1948 issue of Bahá’í News, the U.S. National Assembly stated: "The Bahá’í International Community is thus a union of nine National Spiritual Assemblies for the purpose of maintaining a relationship to the UN. 'The Bahá’í International Community' has no other function or authority. It is not an international Bahá’í institution as such bodies are defined in the Master's Will and Testament. It acts solely in relation to the United Nations."

It was due to the official status the Faith had gained that the "Bahá’í International Community" was able to file with the UN trusteeship council a certified list of Bahá’í religious properties in Palestine and record an official appeal for their protection and preservation.

Two other advantages in achieving the status of international non-governmental organization were (1) only such organizations have the right to send delegates to the major UN-sponsored conferences, and (2) only such organizations can apply for consultative status, which confers the right to participate directly in such UN components as UNESCO, etc.

The estimation of the U.S. National Assembly of the importance of the work of the UN and the relationship of Bahá’ís to that work can be seen in this part of a 1948 statement: "[The] United Nations is vital to the establishment of the Lesser Peace, and in this role it is part of the destiny unfolding within mankind under the guidance of Bahá’u’lláh."

To any formal recitation of the progress of the interaction of the Bahá’í world community with the UN should be added at least some reference to the innumerable informal interactions that were taking place.

One example was included in the November 1948 issue of Bahá’í News, in remarks by the UN Ambassador from India who paid tribute to the encouragement he had received from Bahá’ís at the founding conference in San Francisco in 1945, and mentioned his appreciation of the Faith and a visit he had made to the House of Worship in Wilmette.

The lives of Mildred Mottahedeh, Hilda Yen, Amin Banani and other key Bahá’ís in those early years are full of such stories; regular firesides directed toward UN-related friends were held in New York City for many years.

The first of the Bahá’í representations at international UN conferences took place in May 1948 in Geneva, Switzerland, when Mrs. Mottahedeh, Ugo Giachery and Charles Mason Remey, as appointed representatives of the Bahá’í International Community, took part in a gathering of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to confer about human rights.

They had received a request prior to the conference to present a brief statement on what Bahá’ís were doing to promote human rights. The result was later issued in pamphlet form as "The Work of Bahá’ís for Human Rights," authored by the Bahá’í International Community.

The delegation also introduced two resolutions—again, the first of many to come—that were accepted by the Geneva conference.

Delegates to the U.S. National Convention in 1949 recommended that the National Spiritual Assembly support the participation of local communities in annual observances of Human Rights Day and UN Day. This was approved, and hundreds of such observances were sponsored or co-sponsored thereafter by local Bahá’í communities.

The National Spiritual Assembly had referred, as early as the summer of 1948, to a pending action that it termed the "third stage in the development of relationships with the UN." This was accreditation as an organization.

The exact way in which Bahá’ís had been relating to the UN was as individual representatives accredited through the UN's Department of Public Information, Section for Non-Governmental Organizations. They were recognized in the manner of newspaper correspondents, whose accreditation was dependent on the standing of their newspaper but whose paper was not granted any status.

The only way an organization itself could receive status from the UN was through being granted consultative status by the Economic and Social Council.

Within this constraint, Bahá’ís nevertheless continued to take part actively in UN conferences and in promoting UN activities on their respective homefronts. Indeed, one of the goals comprising the Guardian's Ten Year Crusade was "reinforcement of ties binding the Bahá’í World Community to the United Nations."

The Bahá’í UN Committee referred to this goal in excerpting some of the 68 reports of local community observances of UN Day activities in 1957 and noted the definitive survey of Bahá’í-UN relationships by Mildred Mottahedeh that appeared in The Bahá’í World, Vol. XII, pp. 601-615.

The next major mission of the Bahá’í International Community took place in 1955. The UN Charter had been accepted in 1945 with the stipulation that 10 years had to pass before it could be revised.

With the Guardian's approval, the BIC—with the U.S. National Spiritual Assembly preparing the final text after studying suggestions from the then 11 other National Assemblies—prepared a number of proposed revisions that were submitted to the UN Secretary General through the U.S. National Assembly's United Nations Committee.

Entitled "Proposals for Charter Revision Submitted by the Bahá’í International Community to the United Nations," it included a section of references from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh about world order and was printed in a general edition and a special edition for UN delegates at the meeting of the General Assembly in San Francisco commemorating the 10th anniversary of the UN.

The National Spiritual Assembly recommended its use in a manner that has since become familiar in connection with significant statements by Bahá’í institutions: local Assemblies were encouraged to use it as teaching material, to feature it in conjunction with UN Day observances, and to present it "to local organizations and key persons interested in world affairs."

The National Spiritual Assembly apprised the document as a weighty one, writing, "The intention of the revision is to transform the existing status of the United Nations into a world federation, a principle endorsed in the Bahá’í teachings."

Next: The Bahá’ís assume a more active role in UN deliberations and conferences.

EDITOR NEEDED

The National Spiritual Assembly is seeking qualified applicants for the key position of editor of The American Bahá’í. Candidates should have experience in newspaper writing, editing and design, a good command of PageMaker desktop publishing software, and the proven ability to communicate well, both orally and in writing, to manage people, work well in groups and handle deadline pressures. Some experience in photography would be helpful. For more information, please phone 847-733-3429, or send a resumé and other relevant informaton to the Department of Human Resources, Bahá’í National Center, Evanston, IL 60201-1611.

[Exemplar Virtues Award]

Last December 6, six students from Crescenta Valley (California) High School were presented the Exemplar Virtues Award, which is sponsored each quarter by the Spiritual Assembly of La Crescenta. Students were nominated by their peers and school faculty for their virtuous behavior. The winners received award certificates, gift certificates donated by local merchants, and enjoyed lunch with members of the faculty and three representatives of the Bahá’í community. [Page 26]

Rapid growth holds 7 lessons for KY friends

By CHRIS HAMILTON

Rapid growth—perhaps entry by troops—has enveloped Bowling Green, Kentucky, a city of 50,000, over the past three years.

From November 12, 1993, to fall 1996, a total of 25 souls were enrolled in this small Bible Belt city. That’s an average of one every five weeks, and the growth has been sustained at a pretty even pace.

A short summary of how such growth was achieved in a place where no Bahá’ís lived as recently as nine years ago is hard to give. In brief, we want to tell our story as we remember it, as a sort of “discovery” of seven keys or lessons to growth.

We hope this will help others, and help us to remember what we did so we can keep doing it! After all, in April 1994 we pledged to each other a goal to have 100 Bahá’ís in Bowling Green within five years.

Taking this pledge felt a lot like jumping off a cliff. But our basic conviction was that if we seriously studied how to do it, and followed the “instructions” without blinking or hesitating, we were sure Bahá’u’lláh could work it out despite our own limitations. We’re already one-fourth of the way there.

As this dream comes alive, these are the lessons we’ve learned:

1. Try hard on a daily basis to love and be supportive of one another in your community.

For instance, we tried to open our home and ourselves to seekers, holding firesides every Sunday night. As the community grew, the friends and the new local Spiritual Assembly offered financial help, counseling, housing, whatever was needed in the personal lives of the new believers or seekers. New believers facing hard times were housed and aided by other believers, some of them new believers themselves.

Basically, this kind of caring for each other never stopped. It seemed to confirm to people that the Bahá’í community was one of deeds, not words, and this reality alone, several new believers said, was the point of attraction to the Faith for them.

Above all, we tried to keep foremost in our minds what the Universal House of Justice wrote in its letter to the second Bahá’í World Congress: that “mirroring forth” the principles in our lives is the key to all growth, and that Shoghi Effendi wrote that no significant growth will come unless this is put first.

2. Seek out spiritual strength from sustained reading of the Writings and prayers together in groups, as well as individually.

There are many ways that spiritual maturity grew in all of us. Some of the new believers were from Buddhist, Urantia or professional religious studies backgrounds. Others were from Church of Christ, Baptist or Catholic roots.

We were a really diverse mix: construction workers, students, social workers, the unemployed, African-Americans, European-Americans, teenagers, children, middle-aged adults, marrieds and singles.

All of the new believers were quite vigorous in teaching seekers at firesides, going to deepenings, attending Bahá’í schools and youth functions, sponsoring a prayer house and taking part in Bahá’í life and Holy Days.

There have been periodic deepenings by Auxiliary Board members or their assistants, and by traveling teachers and singers. The community hosted visiting Tibetan Buddhist monks, had talks by Bahá’ís who had been on pilgrimage, and hosted a former Catholic priest who is now Bahá’í.

3. Always act in unity on projects in small groups.

This small-group activity and teaching method was the main way that growing numbers of seekers were brought to our firesides and into the Faith. Groups of two or three of our new Bahá’ís of similar background would “bond and contract” together to approach as many people of similar background as their mutual friendships and acquaintances would allow.

It was done in four steps: (1) agree to hear out each other’s most desired projects and teaching goals, (2) break into small like-minded groups to pursue the project, (3) seek out other non-Bahá’í spiritual people to help build the project, and (4) make a pact to support with attendance the other small-group projects.

One small group sponsored a year-long public study series on the lives of the Founders of the world faiths, inviting devout believers of the other faiths to conduct sessions. By this we hoped to demonstrate that we honor and venerate all the divine Manifestations and at the same time build unity with others. We saw this as helping to “spiritualize” our city.

Another small group put on regular interfaith study groups, co-sponsored by the Catholic church, on the Western Kentucky University campus.

Yet another small group became extremely involved in establishing cooperative efforts in the city to establish an annual Race and Cultural Unity Festival. Eventually, this gained the support of a number of churches and civic leaders, and in its second year became an official activity of the city by mayor’s proclamation.

A small group took the Core Curriculum training, then established children’s classes as well as a virtues class at the Girls’ Club.

Another group became involved in fairly regular social visitation with other churches and religious groups. As a result, the Faith was asked to join the Ministerial Alliance.

And a group got an elementary school to adopt the 52 virtues as part of the school’s official code of behavior, with one virtue taught each week.

All these ideas came from the “wheel of community life” [see Lesson 5], which advises holding spiritual meetings that involve other faiths and taking other actions that infuse Bahá’í values into the community. We found that by regularly doing these things, not as individuals but as unified groups, the result was astounding. New seekers were constantly making their way to our firesides.

4. Follow closely directives from the Writings and from recent Universal House of Justice letters on teaching.

As a community, we studied carefully the Four Year Plan messages and the writings of Shoghi Effendi on effective methods of teaching. In this respect, our community was aided by the presence of two assistants to Auxiliary Board members, with other assistants nearby.

It has been emphasized time and again in the Universal House of Justice’s communications that the American Bahá’ís must achieve new levels of collaboration between the Auxiliary Board and the local Spiritual Assemblies in a mutual process of planning deepenings, especially on understanding the Covenant and on teaching.

But the most important lesson from our experience and from our study of how to achieve growth is summarized in the following idea: Teaching must go hand in hand with living the life as individuals and hand in hand with community efforts to serve the larger community at the same time.

You can’t proselytize, you must do things with others that meet the community’s social and spiritual needs and demonstrate and build Bahá’í life. These goals must be pursued both as individuals and as communities.

The new Spiritual Assembly formed its entire teaching and service plan for the past two years around this understanding. The result was that after a year of effort, starting in the fall of 1994, our firesides grew steadily in numbers. At first it was a few seekers, then a half-dozen or so, attending with the new believers. Now attendance at firesides is usually at least a dozen, and often more than 20.

Eventually the Assembly broke the meeting into new-believer meetings and new-seeker meetings, along with regular children’s classes.

Eventually, some of our new believers left for other cities. It may be that a growing community experience like this becomes something of a seed-pod for other places as well.

5. Stop everything and deliberately base all your activities on the “wheel of community life” concept.

After examining many cases of community growth in South and North America, the Counselors reached the conclusion that sustained and large-scale growth depends on your community pursuing some mix of nine regular activities: devotional meetings; teaching (the small-group and other methods); Feasts and Spiritual Assembly meetings; individual and family life; youth activities; children’s classes and activities; deepenings, schools and institutes; social and economic development projects; and social activities.

Frankly, we desperately wanted sustained and large-scale community growth. So we took this guidance as seriously as a lost and frozen person in the Arctic who finds a compass that can lead him or her home to loved ones.

If you look carefully, all of our activities described above fit somewhere in the nine points on the wheel. As it was said in the movie Field of Dreams, if you build it (the activities in the wheel), they (the seekers) will come.

6. The Universal House of Justice has told us that growth will alternate with personal and group obstacles to further growth.

This is the tough side of Bahá’í community life. Growth in a new Bahá’í or a Bahá’í community is like a “honeymoon period” in a marriage. But as activities settle in, and people work with each other, we are challenged with the differences we each have. And people still carry with them their Christian or American or other expectations about life.

As a result, these old tendencies settle in to hinder participation, group unity and community deepening. People sometimes face personal conflicts with others’ lifestyles, or personal problems with some of the laws. Sometimes work is given higher priority than Bahá’í life. Or people may devote too much energy to their own spiritual growth rather than to group goals. And we still struggle to achieve maturity in Assembly functioning, and to get larger group unity in support of Assembly goals.

Fortunately, we have the tools of consultation, the inspiration of the prayers and other Writings, and each others’ love and acceptance to counter them. Any real effort to achieve loving unity overcomes the doldrums of the cycles of growth! We are consciously attempting to remember, and return, to elements that have worked for us.

7. Work with others in your area to establish Bahá’í Institutes.

Recently, we have entered a most exciting phase, by cooperating with other communities in our somewhat isolated Western Kentucky region to create a rotating Bahá’í training institute that provides classes and deepenings once a month in different towns.

This institute is already a great aid in exposing new believers to new teachers and new perspectives by drawing on the strengths of others outside our immediate circle. It also lets them experience the broader Bahá’í family.

Our afterthoughts: We have been thrilled and stunned by our experience of rapid growth. We have had our lives immeasurably enriched by our new friends, weddings, births, new families, and by the indescribable love and dedication we all share. We have only begun to taste what community truly means in Bahá’u’lláh’s vast renewal of all life on earth.

We invite all American Bahá’ís to study what happens in places where such growth takes place, and turn for advice to the new institutes, the Universal House of Justice messages, and to the Auxiliary Board at this time when we literally are being called upon to raise up a new civilization on the planet, starting with rapid growth where we live. [Page 27]

Make plans now to attend 88th National Convention

The National Spiritual Assembly invites all adult believers to attend the 88th Bahá’í National Convention, to be held next April 24-27 at the Holiday Inn-O'Hare in Rosemont, Illinois.

The National Assembly has once again provided space so that up to 1,800 visitors will be able to attend the Convention. The site of the upcoming event is the same as last year's, which was popular with visitors and delegates because of its proximity to Chicago's O'Hare Airport and its accessibility by major highways. (See the form below for seating registration and hotel information.)

The Convention opens Thursday evening with the seating of delegates and election of permanent Convention officers. Convention attendees will hear first-hand the Ridván message from the Universal House of Justice for the second year of the Four Year Plan.

Most of the Convention sessions before and after the election of the National Spiritual Assembly are devoted to consultation between the delegates and the National Assembly. The National Convention provides an opportunity to obtain a picture of the American Bahá’í community through this important consultative process.

During the Convention, the delegates fulfill the function of "an enlightened, consultative and cooperative body that will enrich the experience, enhance the prestige, support the authority, and assist the deliberations of the National Spiritual Assembly."

The recommendations made by the assembled delegates, while advisory in nature, are given serious consideration by the incoming National Spiritual Assembly. The Guardian explained that the Convention is a temporary gathering whose status is "limited in time to the convention sessions, the function of consultation at all other times being vested in the entire body of believers through the local Spiritual Assemblies."

Non-delegate visitors will have a chance to observe, although they do not take part in the consultation between delegates and the National Spiritual Assembly. These individuals will learn about the present state of the American Bahá’í community and witness the consultation, which will center on advancing the goals of the Four Year Plan.

Visitors will also have an opportunity to attend several non-delegate events to be held concurrently with the Convention. Several workshops will be offered by various agencies of the Bahá’í National Center. Included in the topics for discussion are a number of important issues related to fufilling the goals of the Four Year Plan.

Exhibitors representing most agencies at the Bahá’í National Center—including the Bahá’í Publishing Trust and Distribution Service—will be greeting the believers in the hotel's atrium area. Visitors will also want to plan a visit to the Bahá’í House of Worship in Wilmette during their Convention stay.

At the House of Worship, a special Archives display is being planned to focus on the Tablets of the Divine Plan and the Tablet of Ahmad. The originals of these sacred documents are held in the National Archives.

The Convention closes around noon on Sunday, April 27.

Convention Seating Registration

Hotel Reservations must be made directly with the Holiday Inn O'Hare, 847-671-6350, 5440 N. River Rd., Rosemont, IL. Make sure you ask for the Bahá’í National Convention rate.

Room Rates are $81 per room, double occupancy. Rollaways are $10 a day. Cribs are free. We ask that you make your hotel reservation at the Holiday Inn O'Hare. Staying at the Holiday Inn helps reduce the National Center's over-all administrative costs for the Convention.

Sharing Rooms: Individuals seeking roommates must make their own arrangements. Neither the National Center nor the hotel can offer such help.

Air Arrangements: The Bahá’í National Center has negotiated with Total Travel Management to provide reduced air fares. Call 800-383-4133 between 8:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. EST. After hours call 800-823-3695.

Free Shuttles to and from O'Hare Airport are offered by the Holiday Inn O'Hare. Follow the signs to the Bus Shuttle pick-up area in front of the Hilton Hotel.

Children: The National Spiritual Assembly regrets that the Convention is unable to provide a quality children's program. There are no provisions for children's classes or child care. The sessions are long—three full 13 hour days and two half-days—and it is difficult to provide meaningful programs for children for such a long period of time. Your understanding and cooperation are appreciated.

Last Name April 24-27, 1997 Rosemont, Illinois

First Name Mid. Initial Bahá’í I.D. #

Contact Person (will receive registration confirmation for all listed on this form.)

Mailing Address Contact Person Street City State Zip

Will your party be staying at the Holiday Inn O'Hare? Yes □ No □

Will your stay require any special attention such as wheel chair accessibility or sign language interpreter? Yes □ No □

If yes, please specify needs on a separate sheet of paper including a contact name and phone number. Attach to this form.

Mail form to: Conventions Office Bahá’í National Center Wilmette, IL 60091 Phone 847-733-3569. Fax 847-869-0247 [Page 28]

Gregory Institute's innovative programs help set the stage for entry by troops

The Louis Gregory Bahá’í Institute has been setting the stage for the advancement of the process of entry by troops. Among the highlights in January were performances by the Louis Gregory Bahá’í Gospel Choir, which performed in a celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day at one of the largest and most renowned cultural centers in South Carolina, the Koger Center.

The invitation was extended by the University of South Carolina because the LGI Choir is the only one in the area to demonstrate through its diversity the principle of the oneness of humanity. This honor is a testament to the spiritual forces surrounding us at this critical time in the history of the planet.

To prepare for events such as this, training programs like "Spiritual Transformation," "Fundamental Verities" and "Individual Teaching," among others, have been held to better equip the friends to assume their rightful role in this divine process. We invite all our dear brothers and sisters to join us for the following weekends of spiritual empowerment:

February 15-16: Fundamental Verities, focusing on themes presented in The Dispensation of Bahá’u’lláh, designed to reinforce the vigor of our spiritual lives.

March 1-2: Local Spiritual Assembly Development, designed to help Assemblies arise to exercise 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.

March 15-16: Spiritual Transformation, a weekend program focusing on the path toward the attainment of spirituality through such practices as prayer, reciting the verses of God, meditation, study of the Faith, teaching, observing divine laws and principles, and service and community involvement.

April 19-20: Community Development: Race Unity, a training session focusing on overcoming the most challenging issue as a prerequisite to community development.

In addition to the above-mentioned training weekends, the Institute offers specific weekend programs for youth, junior youth and children. These programs focus on developing a positive Bahá’í identity and leadership skills, to help participants become better Bahá’í teachers, administrators and servants, with a special emphasis on the application of those aspects during the Four Year Plan.

February 21-23: Children's Weekend (for elementary school ages).

March 28-30: Junior Youth Weekend (for middle school ages).

April 4-6: Youth Weekend (for high-school age and older up to age 18).

Spring sessions at Louhelen

An Eagle Institute for Youth will be held March 28-30. Facilitated by Layli Miller Bashir, Roshan Bashir and Sasha Williams, this session for youth ages 15 and up will use varied learning experiences, song, dance and drama to explore the Writings that offer practical approaches to living the Bahá’í life. Young adults who strive to be "apprentices of God" in the great work of serving humanity through academics, professional service, the arts, or teaching are warmly invited to participate.

Also that weekend, an institute on Growth and Transformation for Bahá’í Groups and Assemblies will be facilitated by Auxiliary Board member Hoda Mahmoudi. The session is designed to explore the process of entry by troops; the development of individual capacity to manifest vitality of faith; the establishment of an "order designed to canalize the forces of a new civilization"; and the fostering of spiritual, social, educational and adminstrative activities of Bahá’í community life.

The compilation "The Pupil of the Eye: African Americans in the World Order of Bahá’u’lláh" will be the focus of a workshop the weekend of April 11-13. Bonnie Taylor, the book's compiler, and her associate, Gwen Clayborne, will conduct the session that will explore the Writings on people of African descent; Bahá’u’lláh's principle of oneness; unity in diversity; applying solutions to racism; and African Americans and teaching the Faith.

A good time was had by all at the annual Kansas Bahá’í Winter School at which students learned about the Bahá’í House of Worship in Wilmette in classes taught by T.J. and Joyce Stohr of Topeka, enjoyed performances by the Kansas Bahá’í Youth Workshop, story-telling sessions, and a video produced by the children in classes for ages 5-6. Here, Mel Page delights some of the young people by showing them some useful tricks with balloons.

Dr. Vida Bertrand, a Bahá’í who is a lecturer in French language and literature at Stanford University, speaks on 'The Journey of the Soul' to Bahá’ís and guests last November at the Nine Oaks Bahá’í Institute in Arroyo Grande, California.

Nine Oaks Bahá’í Institute becoming 'learning center' to support entry by troops

The Nine Oaks Bahá’í Institute in rural Arroyo Grande, California, sponsored by the Spiritual Assembly of Santa Barbara, is rapidly evolving into a "center of learning" to support the process of entry by troops.

A new larger meeting room with a 100-person capacity, completed less than two years ago, has already been filled twice. Other facilities include the Youth Center (a mobile home with four well-stocked classrooms, kitchen and restrooms), Children and Youth Academies, playgrounds for toddlers and gardens, hiking trails, and a meeting room with library and bookstore.

Last October, Nine Oaks was the site of the new Electoral Unit 145's first Convention, which brought together 95 adults and 25 children and youth. A highlight was the first visit by some of the unit's many Hmong believers.

At the core of Nine Oaks' development are the monthly proclamation events—usually a half-day or day-long lecture, often accompanied by a concert—which has been going on for 11 years. These events have received excellent coverage in local newspapers while generating a mailing list of more than 400 interested guests.

In November, Dr. Vida Bertrand, a Bahá’í who is a lecturer in French language and literature at Stanford University, presented a weekend program on "The Journey of the Soul." Her series of talks, and a concert by a local flutist and pianist, drew an audience of 55 Bahá’ís and their guests.

Also in November, Nine Oaks was host to a four-day Core Curriculum teacher training session facilitated by Karen Olin Parrish and Kathleen Cannon, while the month's grand finale was a proclamation "Concert plus Commentary" by Bahá’í pianist and traveling teacher Mark Ochu from Minneapolis.

The standing-room only audience of 45 Bahá’ís and 65 guests was treated to a concert of classical favorites skillfully combined with intriguing insights into mythology, history, philosophy and themes of Bahá’u’llah’s Revelation.

Although the Four Year Plan has only just begun, it is already evident that Nine Oaks, the "jewel" of California's central coast, will play a pivotal role in advancing the process of entry by troops in that area. Karen Olin Parrish [Page 29]

EDUCATION/SCHOOLS

Green Acre, buoyed by four declarations, plans busy winter and spring

The Green Acre Bahá’í School's January program for seekers and new believers provided a weekend of spiritual inspiration during which four souls declared their belief in Bahá’u’lláh. To be a part of the special atmosphere at Green Acre, plan now to take part in one of the following programs planned at the school for winter and spring:

Feb. 21-23: All About Training Institutes. Veteran teacher Ruth Hampson shares models and strategies for developing effective Training Institutes. Learn how Institutes help "all Bahá’ís, new and veteran, embark on a systematic study of the fundamental verities of the Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh" guaranteed to advance the process of entry by troops. (Special discounts for Spiritual Assemblies who send three or more community members.)

March 7-9: Spiritual Retreat for the Fast. A weekend of spiritual renewal and focus for those 15 and older, facilitated by Auxiliary Board member Tahereh Ahdieh. An opportunity for detachment from the outside world and immersion in a spiritual environment. The session is limited to overnight guests only.

March 21-23: A Weekend with the Ruhes. With a special focus on the writings of Shoghi Effendi, Dr. David Ruhe addresses developing Bahá’í institutions and promoting development in North America; Mrs. Margaret Ruhe discusses marriage and family life; and Chris Ruhe offers a special evening program at the Fellowship Café.

March 28-30: Spirituality & Sexuality: A Weekend for Youth, facilitated by Robin Marshall Murphy. What is the Bahá’í concept of sexuality and its relationship to spiritual growth? What role can young people play in rejecting mediocrity and putting spiritual principles into practice as they meet the challenges of their daily lives? Session open to those ages 15-21.

March 29-30 and April 5-6: Core Curriculum Teacher Training. Embark on a special journey of transformation that explores the spiritual reality of the child, the station of the teacher, the "child-development-centered community," and the first sections of the curriculum for ages 6-12. This 32-hour introduction to the Core Curriculum for the Spiritual Education of Children requires attendance at two consecutive Saturday/Sunday programs.

April 11-13: The World Order of Bahá’u’lláh. Habib Riazati helps participants link two key letters of the Guardian to the Four Year Plan and the nature of Bahá’í institutions. Required advance reading: pp. 15-26 and pp. 97-157 (the section entitled "The Dispensation of Bahá’u’lláh") in The World Order of Bahá’u’lláh.

For information, or to register for any of these programs, phone 207-439-7200, fax 207-439-7202, or email

Personal transformation is goal of March workshop at Louhelen

On March 21-23 a workshop will be held at the Louhelen Bahá’í School that is designed to illumine the path to personal transformation. "Transformation is the essential purpose of the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh, but it lies in the will and effort of the individual to achieve it in obedience to the Covenant."—The Universal House of Justice

Auxiliary Board member Bill Wieties will facilitate a review of the Writings on personal transformation, and will guide consultation devoted to identifying the activities necessary to achieve this transformation. In its Ridván 1989 letter the Universal House of Justice wrote, "It is not enough to proclaim the Bahá’í message, essential as that is. It is not enough to expand the rolls of Bahá’í membership, vital as that is. Souls must be transformed, communities thereby consolidated, new models of life thus attained."

Also planned that weekend is a program for children up to 15 years of age, and a festive Naw-Rúz celebration with noted concert pianist Mark Ochu.

Winter sessions at Bosch

LITTER REMOVAL NEXT 2 MILES BAHA’I FAITH ADOPT-A HIGHWAY CARE FOR

Bosch School staff and youth volunteers are committed to helping the Spiritual Assembly of Santa Cruz County North in its efforts to clean up Highway 1 outside of Santa Cruz, which is just down the mountain from the school.

Bosch winter school sessions have had a diverse array of guests as well as presenters from several countries. The campus was "invaded" by the British with the arrival of David Hofman, former member of the Universal House of Justice, plus Erica and Barney Leith (managing editor of George Ronald Publisher and member of the National Spiritual Assembly of the UK). Bosch also welcomed Zarin Malmiri, a traveling teacher from Alaska, and, from Florida, Dr. Kerry McCord and Debbie Hasty for our presentations on health and healing.

One of the more exciting sessions held in January was the National Youth Committee's College Club weekend, which motivated the young adults to renew their commitment to teaching activities in their home states and universities. Bosch will again host a National Youth Committee-sponsored College Club weekend next October.

About 60 people attended the Pioneering/SITA/Youth Service Corps training session held January 17-20. The exercise helped participants make plans for taking the initiative in meeting pioneering and service goals. They'll likely be pioneering across five continents to such far-flung locations as Tanzania, Haiti and Russia.

Another successful session was the Singles/Relationships weekend with about 90 people taking part. Held in a workshop format, the session covered "singles" in the many facets of their lives: at work, at play, in service and in families. That same weekend, Bosch hosted the Seekers/New Believers session, which provided a chance for new believers and seekers to meet other Bahá’ís and find out more about the Faith in a format filled with art, music and study.

Bosch distributed special flyers to promote several other excellent sessions including the Black Heritage Weekend in February that featured Richard Thomas and Bonnie Taylor. There were also excellent presentations on the Black Men's Gathering as well as the Sisters to Sisters project for South Africa. This annual session has helped participants recognize and value cultural differences and similarities, while beginning to heal the racism that has infected us all.

Many other exciting sessions are planned in the months ahead. March, for example, will include the joint Mysticism/Bahá’í Scholarship conference with Robert Stockman from the Bahá’í National Center's Research Office and Habib Riazati, a noted Arabic scholar. Derek Cockshut from the Bosch School will also be a presenter. For those interested in either mysticism or scholarship, this is a must.

March also offers an Elderhostel session and the International Women's Writing Guild. Also, the Women's Awakening Session, to be held in April, is an annual event that grows in popularity each year.

Two Children's Academies will be held this spring, Children's Academy I (March 22-25) and Children's Academy II (March 31-April 3), both directed by Marsha Gilpatrick and Joannie Yuille. A special Youth and the Arts session for ages 14 and older, conducted by Joseph Galata and Paula Wahlstrom, is also upcoming, along with a course on computers and two kinds of Core Curriculum sessions—Parent Training (May 2-4) and Race Unity (May 9-11).

A repeat of the Teacher Training Workshop held last October by Sue and Khalil Khavari is scheduled May 16-18. And during Memorial Day weekend, the 11th annual Marriage Enrichment Weekend will be held, featuring Kurt and Leslie Asplund from Washington state. Leslie is a professional marriage and family counselor, Kurt a computer consultant and music composer. [Page 30]

Arjmand Fund sets two English-language conferences

The Haj Mehdi Arjmand Memorial Fund has scheduled two English-language conferences in 1997, the 14th and 15th “Irfan Colloquia” (irfan, an Arabic and Persian word, refers to mystical, theological or spiritual knowledge).

The first of these conferences will be held July 4-6 in Oxford, England, the second August 8-10 in Wilmette, Illinois. The theme of both is “The World Religions and the Bahá’í Faith.”

Presentations should be 30 minutes long. If you would like to present at either colloquium, please send a 500-word abstract and a brief (100-word) bio to the Research Office, Bahá’í National Center, Evanston, IL 60201-1611, phone 847-733-3425, fax 847-733-3563, or e-mail

The colloquium in Wilmette will immediately follow the Wilmette Institute’s three-week summer residential session, and will be followed by a four-day seminar on Bahá’u’lláh’s revelation during the Tehran and Baghdad periods, and perhaps other seminars as well. The seminars will be open to all Bahá’ís.

Registration information for the colloquium in Wilmette is also available from the Research Office at the National Center.

Welcome to the Bahá’í House of Worship

The staff at the Bahá’í House of Worship extends to you an invitation to take part in the Special Visit program at the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár. Choose either one of two four-day weekends (Thursday-Sunday), June 26-29 or July 24-27.

Special Visit program highlights: Orientation; tours of the Bahá’í Home, Bahá’í Publishing Trust, Media Services, Archives and Bahá’í House of Worship, presentations on Properties and Restoration; audio-visual programs; historical films; visit to the Bahá’í National Center; opportunities for guiding and garden teaching; luncheon; option to read in the daily devotional programs in the Auditorium; shopping in the Bahá’í bookstore; deepening sessions; talk on the significance of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár; group photograph; lakeshore park with beach for free-time activities; structured classes and activities for children and youth.

Bahá’ís may bring friends and family who are not registered Bahá’ís with the understanding that some events may require supplementary explanation for these visitors.

Please direct inquiries to the Activities Office, 847-853-2326, or e-mail

Bahá’í House of Worship 1997 Special Visit Program

REGISTRATION FORM - Please return by: May 23, 1997 We wish to attend the Special Visit Program on: June 26-29 or July 24-27 (Circle one)

PARTICIPANTS: Number in your party. Telephone (hm./ wk/ other) List name(s) and Bahá’í I.D.#'s/Attach additional sheet as needed. Indicate Children/Youth and I.D. #'s (ages 4 and up may register). Children’s and youth activities will be available. Infant care and toddler care will not be provided.

Address: City State Zip

Registration fee - $20.00 per person age 12 and older, $10.00 for each younger child. Please make checks payable to the Bahá’í Services Fund. A schedule of activities and check-in will be sent to you upon receipt of deposit. Canadian monies need to be sent by cashiers check in U.S. dollars.

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

Below, please mark confirmation of your hotel choice and number in your party staying in each room. In addition, please state special needs requirements during your stay.

Skokie Howard Johnson Yes__ No_

• Hot Buffet Breakfast included
• 1 room, 1 to 4 persons - $77.00
• Airport shuttle service option

Send alternative hotel listing? Yes No

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

Portland Assembly shares Thanksgiving with Chinese

Last Thanksgiving, November 21, the Spiritual Assembly of Portland, Oregon, invited more than 25 Chinese scholars and a newly arrived family from Nepal to share Thanksgiving dinner at the Bahá’í Center in Portland.

Among the Chinese scholars were educators, scientists, medical doctors—both in the Chinese healing arts and western medicine—while adding to the festivities was the presence of several delightful Chinese children.

The guests were given a brief explanation of how the holiday came to be, as some were enjoying their first “traditional” American Thanksgiving dinner.

Afterward, Bahá’ís and their guests had time to introduce themselves and share some of their personal background.

The program continued with songs by Bahá’ís, group singing by everyone, native Nepalese folk songs by Jagadish Malthema, an ancient Chinese song in the Peking Opera style sung by one of the Chinese guests and narrated in English for everyone, and a group of Chinese and Americans singing Chinese folk songs.

A number of the guests departed with copies of “Turning Point for All Nations,” the Bahá’í International Community’s statement on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the United Nations, and “Teachings for a New World Order.”

Bahá’í Toastmasters group celebrates first anniversary

The Dawn-Breakers Toastmasters, formed a year ago by Bahá’ís in Decatur, Georgia, celebrated that milestone recently with the second annual community dinner at the Bahá’í Unity Center in Decatur.

Members of the club and invited guests attended, with the invocation offered by DeKalb County Commissioner Bill Brown.

Nicolle McKoy, Georgia’s Miss Talented Teen, opened the program by singing Be A Lion, after which Bahá’í club member Joy Bennett gave the before-dinner speech.

Graduates of the Youth Leadership Institute, sponsored by the Dawn-Breakers Toastmasters, were recognized, club president Almeda Hunt presented door prizes and gifts, and area Toastmasters governor Anita Strickland gave the closing remarks.

Toastmasters is an international organization dedicated to improving the public speaking skills of its members. The Youth Leadership Institute enables young people ages 10-16 to gain confidence, exhibit leadership and enhance their public speaking skills. [Page 31]

هفتمین کنفرانس انجمن دوستداران فرهنگ ایرانی

FRIENDS OF PERSIAN CULTURE CONFERENCE

چنانکه در شمارههای پیشین این نشریه به آگاهی دوستان رسید هفتمین کنفرانس سالانه دوستداران فرهنگ ایرانی از ۲۳ تا ۲۵ می سال ۱۹۹۷ در هتل هیلتن شیکاگو Chicago Hilton and Towers تشکیل خواهد شد.

این کنفرانس شامل برنامههای همزمان فارسی و انگلیسی خواهد بود و بخشی از برنامه آن به بزرگداشت حیات و آثار و خدمات ایادی عزیز امرالله جناب ابوالقاسم فیضی اختصاص خواهد داشت.

برای نونهالان بهائی نیز برنامه های ویژه ای در نظر گرفته شده است.

دوستان میتوانند برای رزرو کردن اتاق مستقیماً با هتل تماس حاصل نمایند و ذکر فرمایند که برای شرکت در Bahá’í Arts Festival اتاق لازم دارند. نرخ مخصوص کنفرانس که از ۲۲ تا ۲۵ می سال ۱۹۹۷ معتبر خواهد بود برای هر اتاق شبی ۸۹ دلار است. این مبلغ فقط برای کرایه اتاق است و شامل مخارج خوراک و نام نویسی نمی شود. شماره تلفن هتل 1-800-Hiltons

نام نویسی از صبح روز پنجشنبه ۲۲ می آغاز خواهد شد. آن روز عصر جلسه ای برای بزرگداشت اظهار امر حضرت اعلی در مشرق الاذكار تشكيل خواهد شد. شروع جلسات کنفرانس صبح روز جمعه و خاتمه آن ساعت ۱۱ شب یکشنبه ۲۵ می خواهد بود.

از علاقه مندان دعوت می شود برای نام نویسی در کنفرانس برگه ثبت نام را تکمیل فرمایند و آن را همراه با حق نام نویسی به نشانی زیر ارسال دارند.

Persian/American Affairs Office Bahá’í National Center 1233 Central St. Evanston, IL. 60201

برای دریافت اطلاعات بیشتر میتوان با دفتر انجمن دوستداران فرهنگ ایرانی تماس حاصل نمود. تلفن: ۳۵۲۸-۷۳۳ (۸۴۷) فکس: ۰۲۴۷-۸۶۹ (۸۴۷)

برگ نام نویسی هفتمین کنفرانس سالانه انجمن دوستداران فرهنگ ایرانی

۲۳ تا ۲۵ می سال ۱۹۹۷

نام خانوادگی: نام کوچک: نشانی: شهر: ایالت: کد پستی: شماره تلفن: حق ثبت نام برای کنفرانس تا ۲۱ اپریل ۱۹۹۷ هر نفر ۳۵ دلار امریکانی است و بعد از آن تاریخ ۴۰ دلار خواهد بود. تعداد شرکت کنندگان: مبلغ چک: شماره چک:

ANNOUNCING CONFERENCE IN ENGLISH

Memorial Day weekend May 24-25, Chicago

Theme: "Persian Roots: Ancient to Today—cultural, religious, literary, philosophical"

Topics: 1. Modern Iranian culture through its films and literature 2. Zoroastrianism 3. Islam and Bábí/Bahá’í experiences 4. Persian poetry (Rumi and Hafez) in English 5. Women in Iran 6. Cross-cultural workshops 7. Persian/non-Persian families: panel discussions

Confirmed speakers/facilitators include: Dr. Frank Lewis, Dr. Susan Stiles Maneck, Dr. Mana Derakhshani Stockman, Dr. Ahang Rabbani

The conference is being held parallel with and is sponsored by the "Friends of Persian Culture Association" seventh annual conference in Chicago. For information or to register, phone 847-733-3526.

English conference coordinator: Sheila Banani.

اطلاعات بیشتر درباره برنامه خردسالان

برای شرکت خردسالان بهائی در کنفرانس موارد و شرایطی در نظر گرفته شده است که خلاصه آن در زیر درج می گردد:

۱- در طول کنفرانس همه خردسالان کمتر از ۱۲ سال باید در قسمت خردسالان نام نویسی کنند. ناگفته پیداست که انتظار میرود نونهالان عزیز رفتار و اخلاق و شؤون بهائی را رعایت نمایند.

۲- نونهالانی که در رابطه با فرهنگ ایران مایل به اجرای برنامه هنری باشند، باید والدینشان از قبل با هیئت برگزاری کنفرانس تماس حاصل نمایند.

۳- معلمانی که برای بخش خردسالان انتخاب شده اند همگی از افراد با تجربه و حرفه ای و متخصص آموزش و پرورش خردسالانند.

۴- کنفرانس خردسالان شامل بخشهای آموزشی تربیتی هنری و ورزشی خواهد بود.

حق نام نویسی کودکان برای سه روز کنفرانس نفری ۵۰ دلار است. در صورتی که دوستان مایل باشند که اطفالشان را روزانه نام نویسی کنند مبلغ نام نویسی روزی ۲۰ دلار خواهد بود.

برای نام نویسی خردسالان باید دوستان برگه زیر را به همراه چک قبل از ۲۱ اپریل سال جاری به نشانی دفتر امور احبای ایرانی امریکائی ارسال دارند چک ارسالی باید در وجه Bahá’í Services Fund صادر شود.

برای دریافت اطلاعات بیشتر میتوان با خانم آتی سا آذر در دفتر امور احبای ایرانی امریکائی تماس حاصل نمود. شماره تلفن: ۳۵۲۸-۷۳۳ (۸۴۷)

برگه نام نویسی برای کنفرانس خردسالان

نام: نام خانوادگی: سن: نام و نام خانوادگی مادر: نام و نام خانوادگی پدر: نشانی: شماره تلفن: شماره چک: مبلغ چک:

سیمرغان بلند آشیانه

(دنباله انتشارات جدید از صفحه ۲۲)

سیمرغان بلند آشیانه نام کتابی است که تألیف و نگارش و نقاشی و نشر آن را هنرمند بهائی خانم ماه مهر (وحدت) گلستانه بر عهده داشته است.

مطالب کتاب حاوی نگارشها و یادها و گزارشهای مستند و نقاشیها و عکسهای مربوط به دوران قاجار به ویژه طی سالهای ۱۸۸۲-۱۸۹۰ است. در این کتاب به آثار منتشر نشده به دست آمده در اسکندریه (مانند ۸ نامه از جناب ابوالفضائل و عکس های منحصر به فرد آن دوران و اماکن و شهرهای ایران را تصویر کرده است و چند اثر و عکس تاریخی را برای اثبات مطالب کتاب شاهد آورده است.

قسمت هائی از کتابهای امری و گزارشها و کتابهای خارجیانی که در ایران به سر می بردهاند استناد شده است. نگارنده به نیروی تخیل از رنگ و قلم مو و مُرکب زندگی مردم را به تصویر کشیده است.

علاقه مندان میتوانند برای دریافت کتاب یا اطلاعات بیشتر درباره دیگر آثار خانم گلستانه با ایشان تماس حاصل نمایند تلفن: ۵۳۷۵-۹۳۱ (۹۷۲) [Page 32]دستگیر شده بود، نخست به اتهامات نامعلومی به ۱۰ سال زندان محکوم شد. پس از استیناف محکومیت ایشان به ۱۸ ماه تقلیل یافت.

دادستان جرم ارتداد را به میان کشید و به کاهش دوره زندان از ۱۰ سال به ۱۸ ماه اعتراض کرد. در محاکمه بعدی که در جولای سال ۱۹۹۶ صورت گرفت، آقای طالبی محکوم به اعدام شد.

وکیل آقای طالبی درخواست استیناف داد ولی بنا به گزارش‌های اخیر حکم اعدام آقای طالبی نیز شفاهاً به او ابلاغ شده است.

هر چند ارتداد در قوانین جزائی کشور ایران جرم به شمار نمی‌رود، کسانی که به اسلام بگرویند و دوباره از آن باز گردند به تشخیص آیت‌الله خمینی مرتد ملی به شمار می‌روند و مجازاتشان اعدام است. در نظام قضائی ایران فتوای آیت‌الله خمینی در حکم قانون است.

اما آزادی برای انتخاب دین ماده هجدهم "پیمان بین‌المللی حقوق مدنی و سیاسی" است که کشور ایران نیز آن را پذیرفته است. کمیسیون حقوق بشر سازمان ملل نیز که مسؤول تفسیر پیمان فوق است در سال ۱۹۹۳ صریحاً در تفسیر ماده ۱۸ پیمان مذکور اظهار داشت که مطابق ماده مذکور مردم حق دارند دین خود را عوض کنند و هر عملی که این حق را نقض کند (مانند محرومیت و اعمال زور) ممنوع است.

ناگفته نماند که دو تن دیگر از احباء، آقای کیوان خلج‌آبادی و بهنام میثاقی نیز از قبل به اعدام محکوم شده‌اند.

انتشارات جديد

NEW PUBLICATIONS

اطلاعیه مؤسسه معارف بهائی در کانادا ایام هاء قبل از روزهای صیام و سپس ماه روزه و بعد از آن نوروز فیروز فرا می‌رسد و احبای عزیز الهی خود را آماده می‌سازند تا در آخرین روزهای سال ۱۵۳ بدیع و اولین روزهای سنة ۱۵۴ بهائی به حکم کتاب به اعطاء، روزه‌داری و برگزاری جشن و سرور قیام کنند. مؤسسه معارف بهائی نیز به کمک یاران برخاسته و وسائل دعا و مناجات و راز و نیاز روزه‌داران را به درگاه حضرت بی‌نیاز فراهم آورده است.

"نفحات فضل ۵" که اخیراً توسط مؤسسه معارف بهائی تهیه و چاپ و منتشر شده مجموعه بی‌نظیری از آثار مبارکة حضرت بهاءالله و متضمن سه چهار لوح ویژة عید نوروز است که همگی با نهایت دقت اعراب شده و برای اینکه یاران فارسی‌زبان مفهوم و معنای آثار مبارکه را به خوبی دریابند علاوه بر اینکه مضمون بیانات مبارکه به فارسی مرقوم گردیده، لغات مشکل آن نیز در کتابچه لغت-معنی ضمیمه نوشته شده و ضمناً متن الواح در دو نوار صوتی تلاوت و ضبط گردیده که خواندن صحیح آن آثار را تسهیل می‌نماید.

یاران عزیز می‌توانند این جزوه را از کتاب‌فروشی‌های بهائی خریداری فرمایند و یا مستقیماً به مؤسسة معارف بهائی سفارش دهند و آن را دریافت دارند. شماره تلفن: ۳۰۲۰-۶۲۸ (۴۱۶)

زيارت نامه حضرت بهاءالله

TABLET OF VISITATION

سال مقدس تأثیرات گوناگونی بر احیاء داشت و بسیاری را برانگیخت که خدمتی تقدیم آستان الهی نمایند.

دو تن از احبای عزیز، آقای بیژن فردوسی و مایکل هیونی Michael Hughey تحت تأثیر الهامات ناشی از سال مقدس بر آن شدند هدیه‌ای به آستان الهی تقدیم نمایند. این دو عزیز زیارت‌نامه حضرت بهاءالله را به عربی و انگلیسی خطاطی کردند و آن را تذهیب نمودند و حاصل مجموعه‌ای بسیار نفیس است. دارالانشاء معهد اعلی در مرقومه‌ای به تاریخ ۲۴ مارچ سال ۱۹۹۲ خطاب به جناب فردوسی اظهار داشتند: "...بیت‌العدل اعظم مقرر فرمودند سوادی از مکتوب واصله برای ملاحظه و اظهار نظر به دائرة مطالعة نصوص و الواح ارسال گردد. به ضمیمه شرحی که از دائرة مزبوره واصل گشته... ارسال می‌گردد. در اینجا بخش‌هائی از شرحی که دائرة مذکور به معهد اعلی تقدیم نموده است درج می‌گردد."

"... نیت جناب فردوسی مبنی بر خوش‌نویسی زیارت‌نامه مبارکة جمال اقدس ابهی و حضرت رب اعلی نیتی بس مبارک و ممدوح است چه نشان از استمرار سنت سنيّة خوش‌نویسی آثار مبارکه در امر بدیع خواهد داشت و ان‌شاء‌الله علاقه مندان به این فن شریف را مطلوب و مقبول خواهد افتاد. تذهیب این اثر مبارک به رسم و سبک قدیم نیز بسیار ارزنده و باارزش است زیرا بسیار بجا و مطلوب است که صنعت ظریف و هنر گرانمایة تذهیب در بین اهل بهاء پابرجا و استوار بماند و هنرمندان باسلیقه و پرمهارتی در استمرار و تداوم این فن شریف همواره مساعی جمیلة خویش را به منصه ظهور و بروز رسانند. بنابراین مقدمات، آنچه جناب فردوسی در نظر گرفته‌اند... از هر جهت مایة سرور و ستایش است ...."

اما سوای متن مقدس این مجموعه، ارزش هنری آن را نباید از نظر دور داشت. در حال حاضر نسخه‌ای از این خوش‌نویسی زیارت‌نامه مبارک در مجموعة دائمی موزة هنری نیویورک 'Metropolitan Museum of Art' و نیز گالری فاگ Fogg Gallery در دانشگاه معروف هاروارد نگهداری می‌شود. متصدی موزة هنری نیویورک اظهار می‌داشت که این اثر از لحاظ حسن انتخاب کاغذ و چاپ و تذهیب و صحافی و جلد بی نظیر است."

این مجموعه تحت اشراف محفل روحانی برنت‌ود Brentwood (در ایالت تنسی) به تعداد محدودی چاپ شده است و تقدیم کسانی خواهد شد که مبلغ ۱۰۰۰ دلار یا بیشتر به صندوق ساختمان‌های قوس تقدیم نمایند. علاقه مندان می‌توانند نسخه‌ای از این اثر زیبا را با تماس با محفل روحانی برنت وود دریافت نمایند. چک باید در وجه Brentwood Bahá’í Fund حواله و به نشانی آن محفل فرستاده شود.

The Spiritual Assembly of Brentwood P.O. Box 2366 Brentwood, TN. 37027

برای دریافت اطلاعات بیشتر می‌توان با محفل روحانی برنت وود تماس حاصل کرد. تلفن: ۳۰۸۸-۳۷۷ (۶۱۵)

طاير قدسى

"طاير قدسی که در پرواز همتائی نداشت" تازه ترین اثر آقای هوشنگ روحانی (سرکش) است که مؤسسة انتشارات مرآت آن را چاپ و منتشر کرده است. دارالانشاء معهد اعلی در مرقومة مورخ ۳۱ آگوست ۱۹۹۶ دربارة این مجموعه فرمودند:

"... باعث خوشوقتی وفیر است که اثر طبع آن شاعر توانای بهائی به نحوی نفیس و خطی خوش و طرازی جمیل به حلیة طبع آراسته شده و در اختیار علاقه مندان به شعر و ادب فارسی قرار گرفته است. هر اقدامی از این قبیل که سبب تلطیف اذهان و تسریر قلوب و حصول روح و ریحان در وجدان نفوس گردد مبارک و ممدوح است و بر شعرا و هنرمندان گرانقدر بهائی است که با الهام از آثار الهیه نتایج حاصله از تراوشات ذوق و قریحة سیال خود را به انحاء مختلفه به منصه ظهور رسانند و جذب و وله قلوب و افکار را در جامعة امر بل در جامعة انسانی سبب گردند. در پیام مفصل معهد اعلی خطاب به اهل بهاء که در رضوان امسال عز صدور یافته دربارة نقش هنر و هنرمندان بهائی در ظل نقشة چهارساله تصریحات مهمی به عمل آمده که مطالعه‌اش الهام‌بخش اهل بصر خواهد بود."

این کتاب ۲۶۵ صفحه دارد و محتوی آثار آقای روحانی به سبک نو و سنتی است. خطاط هنرمند بهائی آقای سعادت‌الله منجذب این مجموعه را خوش‌نویسی کرده است.

قیمت این مجموعه ۲۰ دلار است و می‌توان آن را از مؤسسة Images International خریداری نمود. شماره تلفن رایگان: ۴۵۲۵-۴۷۰ (۸۰۰)

دنبالة "انتشارات جدید" در صفحة ۲۱

Dr. Amin Banani Santa Monica, CA 90402-3154	Mr. ‎Sephen Stephen‎ P. Birkland Arden Hills, MN ‎5511 55112‎-3756
Dr. Daryush Haghighi Rocky River, OH 44116-1124	Mrs. Thelma Khelghati Lunenburg, MA 01462-2125

حقوق الله

در تاریخ ۱۳ نوامبر ۱۹۹۶ هیئت امنای حقوق الله در آمریکا اعلام نمود که دو نفس نفیس بر عدۀ اعضاء هیئت افزوده گردیده است. امنای جدید جناب ستیون بیرکلند عضو محترم هیئت مشاورین قاره‌ای و خانم تلما خلقتى هستند. بنابراین دوستان عزیز می‌توانند تقدیمی‌های حقوق الله را در وجه Bahá’í Huququ’llah Trust و به نشانی یکی از امنای حقوق الله ارسال فرمایند. خانم دکتر الس آستین بعلت کسالت، از دریافت وجوه حقوق الله عذر خواسته اند. [Page 33]

ترجمه پیام دارالانشاء معهد اعلی

خطاب به محفل روحانی ملی بهائیان ایالات متحده مورخ ۱۹ جنوری ۱۹۹۷

متمنی است پیام ذیل را به اعضاء خانوادۀ فؤاد اشرف مهاجر سابق اتیوپی (حبشه) که در سن دیه‌گو صعود نموده‌اند ابلاغ کنید.

از خبر صعود مهاجر و مُبلّغ بسیار مخلص و محبوب امرالله، جناب فؤاد اشرف شدیداً متأثریم. خدمات خالصانۀ ایشان در مهد امرالله و در میدان مهاجرت در افریقا با کمال عطوفت یاد می‌شود.

اطمینان دهید در اعتاب مقدسه برای ارتقاء روح پرفتوح آن متصاعد الی الله دعا می‌کنیم. به منسوبان ایشان همدردی صمیمانۀ این هیئت را ابلاغ فرمائید.

بیت‌العدل اعظم

مرقومة دفتر امور احبای ایرانی/آمریکائی

بازماندگان گرامی متصاعد الی الله جناب فؤاد اشرف علیه رضوان الله

اعضاء و همکاران دفتر امور احبای ایرانی/آمریکائی محفل روحانی ملی ایالات متحده از فقدان خادم برجستۀ امرالله جناب فؤاد اشرف اعلی الله مقامه متأثر و متأسفند.

همکاری ممتد و خالصانه و ارزشمند آن فقید سعید با این دفتر در ترجمۀ آثار مبارکه مخصوصاً تهیۀ ترجمۀ فارسی مجموعۀ "تلخیص و تدوین حدود و احکام کتاب مستطاب اقدس" (Synopsis and Codification of the Laws and Ordinances of the Kitab-i- Aqdas) و نیز پایداری ایشان در تهیۀ ترجمه اخبار امری بین‌المللی به نحوی مرتب و بدون وقفه و همچنین تهیۀ ترجمۀ مجموعۀ پیام‌های حضرت ولی امرالله تحت عنوان "حصن حصین امرالله" (‎Citidel Citadel‎ of Faith) آثار مهم و گرانبهایی را نصیب جامعۀ احبای فارسی زبان نمود.

خدمات جناب اشرف که یکی از اولین مهاجرین افریقا در کشور حبشه بودند و سپس عضویت ایشان در هیئت معاونت برای صیانت در مهد امرالله زینت‌بخش صفحات تاریخ امر خواهد بود.

جناب فؤاد اشرف یادگار یکی از خاندان‌های برجستۀ بهائی بودند که در طلوع امر الهی بدان اقبال نمودند و در تاریخ امر جایگاهی والا دارند. صفات ممتازه و خلق و خوی پرمحبت و آمادگی و اشتیاق ایشان به تقبل خدمات امری نمونه و سرمشق بود و هرگز فراموش نخواهد شد.

از آستان قدس الهی تعالی آن روح پرفتوح را در ملکوت ابهی مسألت داریم.

با تقدیم تحیات بهیه

یادی از جناب فؤاد اشرف

FOAD ASHRAF

جناب فؤاد اشرف به سال ۱۸۹۸ میلادی در طهران در یک خانوادۀ قدیمی بهائی چشم به جهان گشود.

پدرش میرزا فضل‌الله پسر میرزا اشرف برادر ملا باقر و ملا مهدی بود که در قلعۀ شیخ طبرسی به شهادت رسیدند.

جناب اشرف پس از اتمام تحصیلات متوسطه به استخدام کارخانۀ اتوموبیل‌سازی فورد درآمد و کارآموزی خود را در سِمت مهندس اتوموبیل آغاز کرد. در راه سفر به ایالات متحده جناب اشرف به همراه دو تن دیگر از دانشجویان بهائی اجازه حاصل کرد که به مدت سه روز به زیارت ولی گرامی امر بهائی و اعتاب مقدسه افتخار یابد. در این زیارت جناب اشرف از راهنمائی‌های بی‌دریغ و گرانبهای هیکل مبارک سود بسیار جست.

جناب اشرف پس از اشتغال به کار در شرکت فورد (در دیترویت، میشیگان) به دریافت لیسانس در رشتۀ مهندسی شیمی موفق شد و بعدها نیز مدرک دیگری در رشتۀ مهندسی نفت از دانشگاه اوکلاهما اخذ کرد.

در همین دوران بود که عریضه‌ای به حضرت ولی امرالله تقدیم نمود و جویای راهنمائی از هیکل مبارک شد. حضرت ولی امرالله در پاسخ، جناب اشرف را آگاه فرمودند که عنقریب به خدمات شایانی توفیق خواهد یافت.

در سال ۱۹۳۴ جناب اشرف در راه بازگشت به ایران برای دومین بار به حضور ولی امر الهی مشرف شد. در بازگشت به ایران به آبادان رفت و در شرکت ملی نفت مشغول به کار شد.

جناب اشرف مدتی پس از آغاز نقشۀ ده سالۀ جهاد کبیر اکبر در سال ۱۹۵۳ و شرکت در دو کنفرانس مربوط به نقشه تصمیم گرفت که به آرزوی همیشگی جانش جامۀ عمل بپوشاند و به مهاجرت قیام کند. بدین منظور از کار خود استعفا کرد و همراه همسر و سه فرزندش ایران را ترک نمود و به حبشه مهاجرت کرد.

در حبشه به تدریس در یک دانشکدۀ فنی مشغول شد. در منزل جلسات تبلیغی دائر می‌نمود و تعطیلات آخر هفته را به سفرهای تبلیغی می‌پرداخت. در ابتدا تعداد بهائیان حبشه کم بود اما به تدریج این تعداد رو به افزایش نهاد. جناب اشرف هفت سال در حبشه به سر برد و همواره می‌گفت که آن هفت سال بهترین سال‌های عمرش بوده است.

پس از هفت سال مهاجرت در حبشه به ایران باز گشت و در یک شرکت متعلق به احباء مشغول کار شد و در تأسیس پالایشگاه ایسو Esso در طهران دست داشت.

چندی بعد جناب فؤاد اشرف به عضویت در هیئت معاونت برای شرق افریقا انتخاب شد. برای چندمین بار از کار استعفا کرد و بار دیگر همراه خانواده در حبشه اقامت گزید و به خدمت امر مبارک پرداخت.

جناب اشرف در سال ۱۹۷۳ به ایران بازگشت و برای خدمت در سراسر ایران به عضویت در هیئت معاونت منصوب شد. اما به علت بیماری همسر مهرپرورش مقبوله خانم برای درمان سفری به ایالات متحده کرد. با این حال خانم اشرف بهبود نیافت و به ملکوت الهی صعود کرد. اما این غم سنگین جناب اشرف را از خدمت در راه امر مبارک باز نداشت.

در سال ۱۹۷۹ جناب اشرف از طرف معهد اعلی و محفل روحانی ملی ایالات متحده مسؤولیت اموری از جمله ترجمه اخبار امری را بر عهده گرفت و تا آخرین روزهای زندگی نیز به این کار مشغول بود.

جناب اشرف عمر خود را در راه خدمت به امر الهی گذراند و از این رهگذر توشۀ آخرت را فراهم ساخت و با ایمان به فراسوی جهان خاک شتافت. روانش شاد و یادش گرامی باد!

اظهار نگرانی سازمان عفو بین‌المللی

AMNESTY ‎INTERIATIONAL INTERNATIONAL‎ REPORT

سازمان عفو بین‌المللی Amnesty International در ماه ژانویه سال جاری درباره دو تن از بهائیان ایران که سال گذشته به جرم ارتداد محکوم به اعدام شده بودند، اظهار نگرانی کرد.

نگرانی سازمان عفو بین‌المللی ناشی از این است که دیوان عالی کشور ایران حکم اعدام این دو تن را تأیید کرده است.

اتهام این دو تن بهائی آقای ذبیح‌الله محرمی و موسی طالبی گرویدن به اسلام و سپس بازگشت به امر بهائی بوده است.

آقای محرمی در جنیوری سال ۱۹۹۶ از طرف یک دادگاه انقلابی در یزد محکوم به اعدام شد ولی دیوان عالی کشور حکم اعدام را لغو کرد و قضیه را برای تجدید نظر به یک دادگاه دیگر ارجاع کرد.

هر چند سازمان عفو بین‌المللی از جزئیات و زمان محاکمۀ دوم آگاهی ندارد، برابر گزارش‌های اخیر اطلاع یافته که تأیید حکم اعدام توسط دیوان عالی شفاهاً به آقای محرمی ابلاغ شده است.

آقای طالبی که در جون سال ۱۹۹۴ در اصفهان [Page 34]PERSIAN

حضرت عبدالبهاء می‌فرمایند: "... ملت ایران قریب پنج شش هزار سال است که این روز را فیروز شمرده‌اند و شگون دانسته‌اند...."

فرا رسیدن ایام هاء و ایام صیام و عید نوروز را به همه دوستان عزیز تبریک می‌گوئیم.

محله آلمانی‌ها در حیفا

GERMAN TEMPLAR COLONY

ترمیم و بازسازی محله آلمانی‌ها یکی از پروژه‌های مهم شهرداری حیفا است.

این پروژه مورد توجه مرکز جهانی بهائی نیز قرارگرفته است زیرا قسمت ورودی طبقات مقام اعلی را به محله آلمانی‌ها وصل می‌کند. همچنین اهمیت دیگری که این بخش دارد این است که زمان ورود آلمانی‌هایی که منتظر بازگشت حضرت مسیح بودند، مصادف با ورود حضرت بهاءالله به ارض اقدس بود.

این محله ویژه را که مرکب از خانه‌هایی با بام‌های سرخ رنگ است، مهاجران آلمانی عضو یک فرقه مسیحی ساخته‌اند. بنیان‌گذار این فرقه کریستف هافمن Christoph Hoffmann بود که اعتقاد داشت که مطابق نصوص کتاب مقدس زمان ظهور حضرت مسیح نزدیک است.

حضرت ولی امرالله در "کتاب قرن بدیع" اشاره فرموده‌اند که حضرت بهاءالله سه بار از چهار مرتبه‌ای که از حیفا دیدار کردند در محله آلمانی‌ها به سر بردند.

اقامت حضرت بهاءالله در حیفا کوتاه بود به جز مرتبه چهارم که چهار ماه به طول انجامید. در همین دیدار بود که روزی در میان درختان سروی که نیمه‌راه کوه کرمل بود، به نقطه‌ای اشاره فرمودند و محل مقام اعلی را به حضرت عبدالبهاء نشان دادند.

همچنین در خلال همین دیدار چهارم بود که حضرت بهاءالله لوح کرمل را نازل فرمودند. حضرت ولی امرالله درباره این لوح می‌فرمایند: "مقصود در این لوح عظیم که در الحقیقه کاشف اسرار الهیه و بشارت‌دهنده دو تأسیس عظیم و جلیل و خطیر، که یکی روحانی و دیگری اداری در مرکز جهانی آئین بهائی است، سفینه‌ای است که راکبینش رجال بیت عدل اعظم که بر طبق وصایای متقنه مرکز عهد اتم و اقوم مصدر تشریع احکام غیرمنصوصه‌اند...." (توقیع نوروز ۱۱۱ بدیع)

ساختن طبقات مقام اعلی از سال ۱۹۹۰، صد و سی و هفت سال پس از اظهار امر حضرت اعلی، تحت هدایت بیت‌العدل اعظم الهی آغاز شد و همچنان ادامه دارد.

همانگونه که اجرای طرح‌های ساختمانی قوس حول مرقد مطهره به سرعت به پیش می‌رود، جریان ترمیم و بازسازی قسمت اصلی محله آلمانی‌ها نیز به همت شهرداری حیفا ادامه دارد و به تازگی سرعت بیشتری گرفته است.

روز بین المللی زنان

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY

بیت‌العدل اعظم الهی در سال ۱۹۹۴ در مرقومه‌ای خطاب به همه محافل روحانی ملی اظهار فرمودند که بهائیان باید در رابطه با امور خارجی در ۴ مورد تأکید ورزند: حقوق بشر، پیشرفت امور زنان، رفاه جهانی، رشد اخلاقی.

محفل روحانی ملی پیشنهاد کرده است که احباء می‌توانند روز بین المللی زنان (۸ مارس) را فرصتی مغتنم برای گرفتن جلسات و دیگر رویدادهای امری به حساب آورند و از آن روز برای پیشبرد امور زنان استفاده نمایند.

محفل روحانی ملی و یکی از رهبران هیئت مخصوصی است که برای تصویب عهدنامه سازمان ملل متحد در باره زنان فعالیت دارند. هیئت مذکور در صدد است که با کوشش‌های خود از مجلس سنای آمریکا درخواست کند که پیمان سازمان ملل را برای الغای هر گونه تبعیض علیه زنان به تصویب رساند. این پیمان ضد تبعیض گام مهمی در راه برقراری تساوی حقوق زن و مرد است.

اخیراً محفل روحانی ملی در طی نامه‌ای خطاب به برخی از محافل روحانی محلی از آن محافل و اعضای جامعه آنان درخواست کرده است که به سناتورهای ایالت خود نامه بنویسند و از آنان بخواهند عهدنامه مذکور را جهت تحریم تبعیض علیه زنان به تصویب رسانند. تا کنون ۱۵۵ کشور لایحه مذکور را تصویب کرده‌اند.

احبای الهی، از جمله احبای ایرانی مقیم ایالات متحده، می‌توانند به سناتورهای ایالت خود نامه بنویسند و از آنان تقاضا کنند که پیمان مذکور را تصویب نمایند.

دوستان می‌توانند برای دریافت اطلاعات بیشتر با دفتر امور خارجی محفل در واشنگتن دی‌سی تماس حاصل نمایند. تلفن: ۸۳۳-۸۹۹۰ (۲۰۲)

محفل ملی دوستان عزیز را متذکر می‌دارد که در مراسلات خود به نمایندگان منتخب از نقل آثار همچنین محفل روحانی ملی یاران را تشویق می‌نماید که به افراد و گروه‌هایی که در سطوح محلی برای تصویب عهدنامه تحریم تبعیض زنان فعالیت دارند، ملحق شوند و با آنان همکاری کنند.

دفتر پیشرفت امور زنان وابسته به "جامعه جهانی بهائی" در نیویورک نیز مطالبی درباره حقوق و مقام زنان منتشر ساخته است. دوستان می‌توانند برای دریافت مطالب مربوط به زنان که توسط سازمان ملل متحد و نیز دفتر "جامعه جهانی بهائی" تهیه شده است، با آن دفتر تماس حاصل نمایند.

تلفن: ۸۰۳-۲۵۰۰ (۲۱۲)

نمایشگاه بهداشت برای بشر

NSA HEALTH FOR HUMANITY EXHIBIT

از ۱۳ تا ۱۵ جنیوری سال جاری کنفرانس بین‌المللی توسعه در واشنگتن دی‌سی تشکیل شد و محفل روحانی ملی با همکاری مؤسسه "بهداشت برای بشر" Health for Humanity نمایشگاهی در آن دائر کرد. در این کنفرانس بیش از ۱۰۰۰ نفر از متخصصان امور توسعه و عمران و نمایندگان سازمان‌های غیردولتی و اولیای دولت و نمایندگان سازمان ملل شرکت داشتند. مؤسسه "بهداشت برای بشر" یک شبکه توسعه بهداشتی است که با الهام از اصول امری در سال ۱۹۹۲ تشکیل شد و مرکب از بیش از ۱۰۰۰ نفر فرد و سازمان گوناگون از ۴۳ کشور است. از جمله برنامه‌های "بهداشت برای بشر" گسترش کوشش‌های مربوط به بهداشت اولیه و آموزش حفظ سلامت و جلوگیری از مبتلا شدن به امراض است. دیگر برنامه‌های "بهداشت برای بشر" دائر کردن کلاس‌های سوادآموزی و آموزش مسئولیت‌های اجتماعی به خردسالان و تعلیم فنون مشورت و رهبری اخلاقی و وحدت خانوادگی است.

نمایشگاه "بهداشت برای بشر" را یکی از احباء طراحی نموده و خدمات خود را برایگان تقدیم محفل روحانی ملی کرده بود. این نمایشگاه مورد توجه و قدرشناسی دیدارکنندگان واقع شد.

دوستان می‌توانند برای دریافت اطلاعات بیشتر درباره "بهداشت برای بشر" با آن نهاد تماس حاصل نمایند.

تلفن: ۸۳۵-۵۰۸۸ (۸۴۷)

اطلاعیه انجمن ادب و هنر

LANDEGG ACADEMY SWITZERLAND

از جانب دبیر انجمن ادب و هنر لندگ اطلاعیه‌ای به هیئت تحریریه "امریکن بهائی" رسیده است که عین آن در زیر درج می‌گردد.

نهمین مجمع سالیانه انجمن ادب و هنر "دوره سمندر" از ۱۸ تا ۲۴ آگست سال ۱۹۹۷ در آکادمی لندگ (سوئیس) برگزار خواهد شد. موضوع اصلی این دوره احوال و آثار و خدمات جناب شیخ کاظم سمندر و حاجی شیخ محمد نبیل و خاندان جلیل ایشان است. ضمناً مباحثی در زمینه ادب و هنر و فرهنگ ایران توسط محققان بهائی مطرح خواهد شد و شب‌ها برنامه شعرخوانی و موسیقی ایرانی اجرا خواهد گردید. و نیز برای جوانان و نوجوانان برنامه مخصوصی ترتیب داده شده و از آنان با تخفیف پذیرائی خواهد شد.

دوستانی که مایل به شرکت در این دوره باشند می‌توانند با آکادمی لندگ (سوئیس) به آدرس زیر مکاتبه یا مکالمه فرمایند.

هیئت اجرائی انجمن ادب و هنر تلفن: ۳۱-۹۱-۸۹۱-۷۱-۴۱ فکس: ۰۱-۹۳-۸۹۱-۷۱

Landegg Academy CH 9405 Wienacht, Switzerland

اعلان نقض عهد

COVENANT-BREAKER

محفل روحانی ملی بهائیان ایالات متحده در تاریخ ۲۴ جنیوری سال جاری به آگاهی یاران رساندند که بیت عدل اعظم الهی طرد روحانی آقای برنت رید Brent Reed ساکن هانتیگتن Huntington در ویرجینیای غربی را اعلام فرموده‌اند. [Page 35]

Beverly Kolstoe, long-time pioneer to Alaska, Caribbean

Beverly Kolstoe died last June 18 in Anchorage, Alaska, 38 years after arriving there as a pioneer during the Ten Year Crusade.

Beverly and her husband, John, became Bahá’ís in 1953 and responded to the call for pioneers to Alaska following the Continental Conference in Chicago in 1958.

In 1961 the family pioneered to the Indian village of Ft. Yukon, where they helped form the first local Spiritual Assembly north of the Arctic Circle.

In 1968 the Kolstoes pioneered to Palmer in the Matanuska Valley, making it possible to form the first Spiritual Assembly there.

In 1985 Alaska was given a goal of sending pioneers to St. Lucia in the Caribbean, and again the Kolstoes responded, serving there for five years until circumstances forced their return to Alaska.

While in St. Lucia Mrs. Kolstoe found that there were Bahá’ís eager to teach children's classes in the villages, but they had no training and little in the way of materials.

She wrote a simple, systematic curriculum that could be used by those without other resources, experience or training. The curriculum has since been used effectively in many countries, and the Spiritual Assembly of Anchorage is making plans to publish it.

On hearing of Mrs. Kolstoe's death, the Universal House of Justice sent the following message to the National Spiritual Assembly of Alaska:

"Your e-mail message of June 18 has been received, and the Universal House of Justice was grieved to learn of the passing of dear Beverly Kolstoe. Her steadfastness in the Covenant, long and devoted services as an international and homefront pioneer, membership on the National Spiritual Assembly, special love [for] and relationship with children, and dedicated endeavors as a teacher of the Faith are remembered with particular warmth and admiration. The House of Justice will offer prayers in the Holy Shrines for the progress of her radiant soul in all the worlds of God, and for the comfort of her dear family."

Mary Jane Carter Johnson, pioneer to Colombia, dies at her post at age 89

Mary Jane Carter Johnson, a pioneer to Colombia, died January 8 at her pioneering post at age 89.

After meeting each other at a Pioneering Institute when in their late 60s, Mary Jane Carter and Andrew Johnson were married and set off for their pioneering post in Colombia. They soon settled on San Andres Island, where they served until 1985. They then transferred to Providencia Island, where they bought land and built a house.

After 11 years of dedicated service, Andrew passed away and was buried on the island. Within a year, Mrs. Johnson became seriously ill and was moved to Cartagena where she could be cared for by the friends. Mrs. Johnson was also buried in Colombia, her funeral being the first for a Bahá’í in Cartagena.

Upon learning of her death, the Universal House of Justice sent the following message to the National Spiritual Assembly of Colombia:

"The Universal House of Justice was grieved to learn...of the passing of Mrs Mary Jane Johnson, steadfast and dedicated pioneer to San Andres and Providencia. Be assured of its ardent prayers at the Sacred Threshold for the progress of her soul in all the divine worlds."

3 young Bahá’ís from pioneer families killed in series of accidents

In a series of tragic accidents three young Bahá’ís, children of American pioneer families, were recently killed.

Zorana Rinaldi, daughter of Wiley and Enidia Rinaldi of Colombia, died in an automobile accident in Redmond, Washington, last December while giving a year of service in the United States.

Also in December, Amanda Smith Billington, daughter of Barry and Marilyn Smith of Honduras and wife of Gabriel Billington, was killed in a traffic accident while bicycling with her father in Fort Myers, Florida.

In January, Deborah Woodard Wiley, daughter of Weldon and the late Carole Woodard of Venezuela and wife of Benjamin Wiley, was killed in an automobile accident in Kentucky.

Linda Knight, former pioneer to Colombia, New Zealand, Guam, dies in New York City

Linda Knight, a former pioneer to Colombia, New Zealand and Guam, died in New York City last December 6.

Ms Knight was born and raised in New York and became a Bahá’í in 1970 while in college there. She pioneered to Cali, Colombia in July 1982, then to Guam in 1974.

After a year in Guam, she returned to the States, but set out as a pioneer once again, this time to New Zealand, in 1986. After nine years in that community, she again returned home in 1995 where she lived and worked in Madras, Oregon, on an Indian Reservation as a public health nurse.

Memorials will be held in several of the communities where she lived and served.

On January 4, about 60 Bahá’ís gathered in Mbabane, Swaziland, to commemorate the placement of a memorial stone on the grave of Knight of Bahá’u’lláh Valera Fisher Allen who moved with her husband John to Swaziland in answer to the Guardian's call for pioneers during the Ten Year Crusade. Mrs. Allen died in 1993, having lived in Swaziland for 39 years, during which time more than 6,000 Swazis declared their belief in Bahá’u’lláh.

Words of Bahá’u’lláh quoted in non-fiction work on black holes

The words of Bahá’u’lláh are quoted in a recently published non-fiction book, Black Holes: A Traveler's Guide, by Clifford Kickover (published by John Wiley & Sons).

On page ix of the preface, the author mentions the Siyyah-Chal (Black Pit) in Tehran and quotes Bahá’u’lláh in a metaphor that compares the Black Pit to a black hole in outer space.

Also, in a recent episode of the television series Star Trek: Deep Space 9 entitled "Rapture," a word that sounds much like "Bahá’u’lláh" is used throughout in connection with an ancient holy site of the fictitious Bajoran people.

House of Justice responds to former pioneer's death

Upon the recent death of Fu'ad Ashraf, former pioneer to Ethiopia, in San Diego, California, the Universal House of Justice sent the following message to the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States:

"Deeply saddened news passing dearly loved highly dedicated pioneer teacher Faith, Fu'ad Ashraf. His devoted services cradle Faith and pioneer field Africa fondly remembered. Assure loving prayers Holy Shrines progress his radiant soul. Convey relatives heartfelt sympathy."

The Guardian and the Universal House of Justice have strongly urged the friends to treat the Greatest Name with the utmost respect and dignity. The National Spiritual Assembly discourages the use of the Greatest Name in contacts with the media. It is not advisable for Bahá’ís to pose for newspaper photographs while holding the Greatest Name or portraits of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.

In Memoriam

Ann Bulloch Richmond, CA December 27, 1996

Margaret Cavanaugh Monterey, CA November 1996

Lillian Dake Medina, OH January 12, 1997

Martha Fiedler Brattleboro, VT January 5, 1997

Virginia Grimm San Francisco, CA January 10, 1997

Gholam Jalili Bloomfield, NJ December 6, 1996

Mary Jane Johnson Colombia January 8, 1997

Habibollah Kayfan Montgomery, AL December 1996

Muhammad Khorvash Lancaster, CA January 7, 1997

Linda Knight Madras, OR December 5, 1996

Sonia K. Nielsen Sepastopol, CA December 13, 1996

Arizona O'Neal 120 Portland, OR

Joseph E. Lines Hereford, AZ December 18, 1996

Janet M. Lane Santa Rosa, CA January 4, 1997

Courtenay McWhinney Santa Monica, CA August 30, 1996

Thomas McWilliams Santa Barbara, CA December 28, 1996 December 1996 33012

Gladys Rainwater Baton Rouge, LA November 15, 1996

Ayala Ries Colorado Springs, CO January 16, 1997

Greda Routheau Green Bay, WI December 6, 1996

Blanche Rudnick Miami, FL 9100 December 19, 1996

Anne Rusk Port Angeles, WAJA July 23, 1996

Abdul-Hossein Taifoori Santee, CA December 25, 1996 [Page 36]Pictured are Bahá’ís in Monroe, Louisiana, who recently blended their musical talents in a group whose purpose is to proclaim and teach the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh. A seeker who arrived during one of the group’s regular Tuesday evening rehearsals expressed an interest in singing with them, and soon afterward was singing as a Bahá’í. At about the same time, the friends were invited to perform at a local independent bookstore whose proprietors have made space on their shelves for Bahá’í literature and asked the group to make its appearance an annual event.

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 three weeks for processing. (This also updates the National Center’s data base.)

A. NAME(S)
1.	I.D. #
2.	I.D. #
3.	I.D. #
4.	I.D. #

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

D. NEW COMMUNITY	E. HOME TELEPHONE NUMBER
Name of new Bahá’í community        Moving date	Area code    Phone number      Name

F. WORK TELEPHONE NUMBER(S)
Area code    Phone number      Name	Area code    Phone number      Name

G. WE RECEIVE EXTRA COPIES BECAUSE:	H. I WOULD LIKE A COPY
[ ] we do not have the same last name. We do not want extra copies, so please cancel the copy for the person(s) and I.D. number(s) listed above. [ ] the last names and addresses on our address labels do not match. We have listed above the full names of family members as they should appear on the national records, their I.D. numbers, and the corrections so that we will receive only one copy.	[ ] Our household receives only one copy of The American Bahá’í. I wish to receive my own copy. I have listed my name, I.D. number and address above.

Bahá’í National Center 1233 Central St. Evanston, IL 60201-1611

‘ALA’ B.E. 153 • MARCH 2, 1997

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

For information about events sponsored by the National Spiritual Assembly or its agencies at the Bahá’í National Center, please phone 847-869-9039 and ask for the relevant department. The numbers for the permanent Bahá’í schools and institutes are as follows: Bosch Bahá’í School, phone 408-423-3387; fax 408-423-7564; e-mail __________ Green Acre Bahá’í School, phone 207-439-7200; fax 207-439-7202; e-mail __________ Louhelen Bahá’í School, phone 810-653-5033; fax 810-653-7181; e-mail __________ Louis Gregory Bahá’í Institute, phone 803-558-5093; fax 803-558-9114; e-mail __________ Native American Bahá’í Institute, phone/fax 520-521-1063; e-mail __________.

MARCH

8-10: Bahá’í Youth Conference, Holiday Inn, Uvalde, Texas. Guest speakers (all female), teaching in the Uvalde area, and a talent show. For information, phone Henry Cantu, 210-278-1668.

21-23: Personal Transformation with Auxiliary Board member Bill Wieties and a festive Naw-Rúz celebration with concert pianist Mark Ochu, Louhelen Bahá’í School.

21-23: A Weekend with David, Margaret and Chris Ruhe, Green Acre Bahá’í School.

22-25: Children’s Academy I (grades 4, 5, 6 only), Bosch Bahá’í School.

28-30: Youth Eagle Institute: “The Bahá’í Life,” with Layli Miller Bashir and Dr. Roshan Bashir (for youth ages 15 and older), Louhelen Bahá’í School. Also, growth and transformation for Bahá’í Groups and Assemblies with Auxiliary Board member Hoda Mahmoudi.

28-30: Persian Gathering for Bahá’ís from Kashan, Bosch Bahá’í School.

28-30: Spirituality and Sexuality, weekend for youth ages 15-21, facilitated by Robin Marshall Murphy, Green Acre Bahá’í School.

29-30: Core Curriculum Teacher Training, Green Acre Bahá’í School.

31-April 3: Children’s Academy II (grades 4, 5, 6 only), Bosch Bahá’í School.

APRIL

3: “Health Care Ethics and Religion—Oil and Water?,” a day-long conference for health-care professionals at the University of Maryland’s Inn and Conference Center, sponsored by the Bahá’í Chair for World Peace and the Center for International Development and Conflict Management. For information or to register, please phone Dr. Babak Etemad, 215-762-7592.

4-6: Seminar on the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, conducted by Habib Riazati, Medford, Oregon. For reservations, phone Marilyn Boesch, 541-772-5502, or e-mail __________. For special room ‎reservatio n’s reservations‎, phone 800-535-5805.

5-6: Core Curriculum Teacher Training, Green Acre Bahá’í School.

11-13: Oklahoma Regional Bahá’í School, Saint Anne’s Grove Campground, 11 miles east of Stillwater. Registrar: David Gainey, Sulphur, OK 73086 (phone 405-622-2655).

11-13: “The World Order of Bahá’u’lláh,” led by Habib Riazati, Green Acre Bahá’í School.

11-13: “Youth and the Arts,” with Joseph Galata, Bosch Bahá’í School. Also, “Surfing the Net,” facilitated by Carl Fravel.

11-13: “The Pupil of the Eye” with Bonnie Taylor and Gwen Clayborne, Louhelen Bahá’í School.

17-20: Women’s Awakening, Bosch Bahá’í School. For information, phone Melissa Whitaker, 408-730-8463.

18-20: Renewing the Spirit of the Fortress for Well-Being, Part III, Bosch Bahá’í School.

MAY

1-4: Youth Workshop gathering, Becoming Teachers of the Cause, with extra day added for teaching in a nearby city, Bosch Bahá’í School.

2-4: Institute for Junior Youth (ages 12-16) with Russell Balew, and a Ridván celebration with well-known musician Susan Engle, Louhelen Bahá’í School.

2-4: Core Curriculum Parent Training, facilitated by Cindy Savage and Linda Bedford, Bosch Bahá’í School.

3-4: “The Four Year Plan—Transformation and Change,” conference sponsored by the William Sears Teaching Institute of Northeastern Minnesota, Duluth. For registration information, write to Jorge Pena-Duren, Chisholm, MN 55719, phone 218-254-3101, or e-mail __________.

9-11: Parent/Child Weekend with Lily Ayman and Marie Scheffer, Louhelen Bahá’í School. Full children’s program offered.

9-11: Core Curriculum Race Unity Training, facilitated by Farzin Behroozi and Barbara Gholar, Bosch Bahá’í School. Also, Assembly Team Development Weekend with Auxiliary Board members.

16-18: “The Travels of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in America,” with Mohi Sobhani and Jena Khodadad, Louhelen Bahá’í School.

16-18: Teacher Training Institute Workshop, facilitated by Sue and Khalil Khavari, Bosch Bahá’í School. Also, San Jose, CA, Weekend at Bosch.

23-25: Institute for local Spiritual Assembly Development with Auxiliary Board member Hoda Mahmoudi, Louhelen Bahá’í School.

23-26: 11th annual Marriage Enrichment Weekend, facilitated by Leslie and Kurt Asplund, Bosch Bahá’í School.

23-26: Utah Bahá’í Summer School, Chateau Apres, Park City, with emphasis on advancing the process of entry by troops. Also, “Balancing Family, Career and the Faith,” “The Covenant and the Verities,” and “Developing Artistic Capacities in the Community.” Classes for children and adults. Registrar: Karen Anne Webb, Bountiful, UT 84010.

24-25: Conference in English, “Persian Roots: Ancient to Today,” sponsored by the Friends of Persian Culture Association, Chicago. For more information or conference registration, phone 847-733-3526.