The American Bahá’í/Volume 29/Issue 7/Text

The American Bahá’í
Volume 29, Issue 7

Execution draws world’s attention

steady stream of government and media attention followed the execution in Iran on July 21 of Mr.

Ruhollah Rowhani, and Iranian government officials first denied, then admitted that the ution took

Several key members of joined the White House and the U.S. State Department in condemning Mr. Rowhani’s execution and the circum

ongress have

stances surrounding it. Meanwhile in Mashhad—where Mr. s held until his execution—

{ men remained on death row

Youths from Ohio gather outside the Bah.

they were

after i with a

re court-appointed attorney. The three were denied the opportunity to choose their own legal counsel.

Of, «the... 15 Baha'is in prison in Iran in mid RUHOLLAH ROWHANI

August, seven were on death row. On July 23, President Clinton’ secretary and a State Department

press

fi x

House of Worship in Wilmette, during

the Badasht 150 conference July 11. Photo courtesy of Susanne M. Alexander

Calling out to U.S. youth

‘Badasht’ meeting seen as launching pad for national movement

The following message dated Aug. 4, 1998, on behalf of the Universal House of Justice was sent to participants in the commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the Conference of Badasht U.S.A.:

The Universal House of Justice was very pleased to receive your report ‘on the recent conference to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Conference of Badasht. It warmly applauds your redoubled commitment to the major aim of the Four Year Plan and asks that you be assured of its prayers in the Sacred Shrines, that you

may be divinely assisted in your endeavors to promote the Cause at this crucial time.

spokesman condemned the execution and made urgent appeals for the lives of

the other Baha’i prisoners.

Their statements came a day after the National Spiritual Assembly’s Of f 5 fc ral Af had

at the White House

and the State Department, urging the government immediately to protest vigorously and publicly against the execution and to exhort the Iranian government to protect the lives of the other

SEE EXECUTION, PAGE 20

New round of broadcasts due in autumn

BY THE NATIONAL TEACHING COMMITTEE OFFICE

A we gear up for another round of broadcasts of The Power of Race Unity and the premiere of several Baha’{ television commer there is every

reason to believe wonderful victories are in store for us in the months ahead. As

we continue the momentum started in the spring we recall certain points that are essential to our suce

The national fnedia initiative is a critical element in advancing the process of entry by troops. It will continue into the indefinite future. LOCAL COMMUNITIES TYING IN

The National Teaching Plan _ is designed to provide a framework for local initiatives. By tying their local

-the Confe

BY SUSANNE M. ALEXANDER

lk is the greatest thrill of my life to

be a part of, and witness with my own eyes, Baha’u’llah’s assembled, vigilant, and powerful army of light,” said Vesal Dini, member of the National Youth Committee.

Dini was one of those who welcomed 250 youth and youth leaders from the Central States to the Baha’ House of Worship in Wilmette for a conference July 11 commemorating 150 years since nce of Badasht in Persia.

Sponsored by the Regional Ba Council for the Central States, Badasht 150 was designed to make an appeal for the beginning of a national youth movement.

Youth were asked to dedicate them

SEE BADASHT, PAGE 47

SEE TEACHING, PAGE 33

Ute el Se eal 5

The Power of Race Unity national broadcasts:

VH-I, Oct. 15 and 22
Odyssey, Nov. 7 and 14

+ El Entertainment TV (dates TBA) plus ads on various channels DETAILS ON PAGE 33

Eee

New programs on: ¢ The Power of Prayer

Equality of Women and Men

FOR MORE INFORMATION, WATCH THE NATIONAL WEB SITE AND

SEPTEMBER 8, 1998

‘1ZZAT/ MIGHT BAHAI ERA 155

VOLUME 29, NO. 7

leN°S°I-D-E

BLACK MEN’S GATHERING PAGE 3

ARTS SECTION PAGES 23-26

VINEYARD OF THE LORD PAGES 42-43

eee CARTA A LOS AMIGOS - 6 YOUTH PAGES *16-17 KID’S CORNER + 22 UNIT CONVENTIONS » 27-30 CLASSIFIED + 40-41

PERSIAN PAGES + 44-46 (exersronmemmerpemninemmenser men ener

THE NATIONAL FUND

Between May 1 and July 31, 1998

$6,750,000 Goal/All Funds

$3,580,327 Received/All Funds

See page 3 for details

at peace, his resolution

firm, his magnanimity exalted and in the love of

God a shining torch.”

—‘Abdu’l-Baha

[Page 2]LETTERS FROM READ

Open letter to the Baha’is of the U.S., Canada and the world

Beloved Friends,

Anne Morgan Zinke is officially in remission after over three years of battling a malignant brain tumor. Her family and her Baha’i community, San Luis Obispo County Northwest, CA, attribute her healing to “all the forces of heaven and earth,” especially the prayers and donations in panes name to the Arc Fund and other Baha

Despite some sumanent damage from chemotherapy,

and resulting

‘TARAZ BUCK, a 10-year-old Baha’i from Decatur, Illinois, scored in the 99.9 percentile in his cumulative test results on the Stanford Aptitudes Test, the highest mark possible. Having made the High Honor Roll with his 4.0 GPA at the Lutheran School Association, a parochial school in Decatur, Taraz has skipped sixth grade altogether and is being placed in seventh grade in September.~

LUKE CONTE, a 17-year-old Baha’i from Gaithersburg, Maryland, and an honor student, is the 1998 Montgomery County wrestling champion in the 152pound weight class.

ALEX R. COUGARMAN, a computer student at the University of North Carolina in Wilmington, was one of 90 winners selected from 20,000 participants in the Xoom Build-A-Better-Home Page contest in June. His entry was the Wilmington Baha'i Web site (http://members.xoom.com/cougar9).

VAHID ELLIG, a 17-year-old Baha’ from Aitkin, Minnesota, earned a place at the International Science Fair in Fort Worth, Texas, after winning top prize at the Northern Minnesota Regional Science Fair. His research paper and project, “Microprocessor-Based Climate Control,” was later judged the state’s best in the computer, science, engineering, physics and chemistry category.

KALEE GOLTSCHER, a 13-year-old Baha'i from Mukilteo, Washington, was named Young Philanthropist of the Year in May by the American Lung

decreased immune system, Anne has managed to graduate from Coast Union High School in Cambria, with the class she has been with since kindergarten (except for a semester at Maxwell International Baha’i School—where she became ill). By Baha’u'llah’s grace, she was able to achieve academic honors, and received the American Legion Award for “Courage, Honor, Leadership, Patriotism, Scholarship, and Service.” She also was voted “most consid Association of Washington. She has raised more than $6,000 over the past six years through the Lung Associationsponsored Tri-Island Trek bicycle ride.

ROYA HAJBANDEH of Coppell, Texas, was honored as Outstanding Student of the Year at Coppell Middle School East for overall excellence in several categories of study. Two other Baha’ students at the school were also honored: NADIA ESSA for excellence in mathematics, and MONA ROUHANT for excel

lence in history.

LADDA INDHARA, a 13-year-old Bah Modesto, California, was honored for her school’s highest academic achievement in math in the Gifted and Talented Education program. She attends Blaker Kinser Junior High School.

LADDA INDHARA

MAXINE OLIVER, a Baha'i from Gaithersburg, Maryland, made news locally as the first woman ever elected as president of the local Lions Club, as Sahl as the first African-American. The club opened its membership to women in 1989.

MAXINE OLIVER

BEHNAZ ROUHANI, a mathem instructor at the Athens Area Technical

Institute in Athens, Georgia, w: lected for the annual Commissioners Award of Excellence in Teaching. Awarded by

the faculty, this honor recognizé vation and leadership in teaching.

erate” girl in her Senior Class. She is now off to a new adventure: a year of service at Louhelen Baha’i School.

k you for your support and loving wishes for our family, as we have gone thfough this ordeal. We pray for Baha’u’llah to bless each and every one of you.

With warmest Baha’i love, Nancy Vincent Zinke, John, Anne, and Matt Zinke @

N ALL THINGS

WIL SHAHROK, a 13-year-old Baha’ from Austin, Texas, won a college scholarship worth $16,000 for his gold medal performance at the National Science Olympiad in May. He was a member of the Westview Middle School science team, which won first place in Texas. He earned a rare perfect score in the Texas academic skills test for his grade level, and served as student council president for the second straight year.

WIL SHAHROK

‘VAHID SHAKIBAL, a Baha’ from Fountain Valley, California, graduated as valedictorian from Los Amigos High School in June after earning the highest cumulative grade point average in his His speech to more than 1,000 at graduation ceremonies stressed the need for unity of the human family and quoted a brief passage from Baha'u'llah.

RYAN SIEGEL, a 14-year-old Baha’ from Philomath, Oregon, was selected by faculty members as Student of the Year for the freshman class of Philomath High School. Raised in Chile, Ryan had arrived in Oregon only the previous fall.

ERIN SNYDER, a 16-year-old Baha’i from Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, recently was one of 90 students, chosen from a

i ied pay is conducted Mellon University

ally at Cares in Pittsburgh. @

Baha’{ graduate of Tufts University in ledford, Massachusetts, will be studying economics at Oxford University in England as one of this year’s 32 Rhodes Scholarship recipients.

Bryan S. Graham, 22, learned of his honor while studying in Canberra, Australia, on a Fulbright Scholarship.

Graham is no stranger to Oxford, haying completed a year at the university's Pembroke College in 1995-96. —

He is no stranger to international life, either. He grew up in places such as Chile, Papua New Guinea, New

Zealand, Mexico and Iran with his parents and sister.

Asa baby, he was privileged to visit the House of the Bab and other Holy Shrines just prior to the Islamic Revolution.

His father, now living in Singapore, was a hostage in Baghdad during the Iraqi crisis. His mother, Margaret E. Livingston, lives in Pompano Beach, Florida.

Graham has an: impressive list of research and professional experiences to his credit. But in his Rhodes Scholarship, essay, Graham focused on his Baha’i beliefs and how the principles of the

Faith support his goals as an economist. In one passage he writes: “Adam Smith, the father of economics, argued in his Theory of Moral Sentiments. ‘that to restrain our selfish, and to indulge our benevolent affection, constitutes the perfection of human nature.’ This assertion resonates with my own spiritual beliefs as a Baha’s. For Baha'is world citizenship means ‘to consider the welfare of the community as one’s own.’ ... I hope that through my work as an economist I can begin to fulfill this spiritual injunction.” #

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BAHAT‘T

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page 2

THE AMERICAN BAHA’i ¢ EXCELLENCE September 8, 1998 [Page 3]

THE*SECOND*FRONT

A vision of unity, transformation

Black Men's Gathering pays emotional tribute at gravesite of Gregorys

BY MARK E. PERRY AND PHYLLIS RING

“Such love, such love, such love.”

An amazed Walter Heath shook his head, standing in the sunlight of a perfect summe at Green Acre Baha’i School in E) h of the 120 souls gathered at n Acre for the 12th Annual Black Men's Gathering in late July seemed to mirror Heath’s expression, moving between the incredulous gaze of the awestruck and the alertness of the The group of men here bled—this veritable pupil of the had beheld a b

THE PROCESSION

On July 25, 1998, after an intense and spiritually dynamic week together, parthe Black Men’s Gathering joined with hundreds of friends and well-wishers in a procession from Green Acr mpus to the graveside of the Hand of the Cause of God Louis G. Gregory and his wife, Loui

‘The procession followed a mile or so of

Committee changes name to reflect scope of mission

> dispel the myth that the

National Committee for the Advancement of Women is “the Women’s Committee” (a sentiment too often raised by the friends throughout the country this past year), the National Spiritual Assembly responded positively to a request by that committee to change its name.

Its new name, the National Committee for the Equality of Women and Men, more clearly reflects the vital roles that men and women have in pursuing the spiritual principle of gender equality in this country, Even the word “equality” speaks to justice, balance and collaboration, while “advancement” could be misconstrued to imply a more competitive and adversarial situation.

This new name is also more in line with the emphasis of the statement Two Wings of a Bird: The Equality of Women and Men. This statement serves as the reference point and guiding tool for the actions of the committee.

For more information about the committee or how you can become more involved in the pursuit of gender equality, please contact us at:

National Committee for the Equality of Women and Men, Baha'is of the United States, 1320 19th Street N.W. Suite 701, Washington, D. C. 20036 (phone 202-833-8990, e-mail

.

even months after they were acti vated in an emotional, etic orientation meeting edie by

A procession of 120 participants in the Black Men’s Gathering at Green Acre Baha’i

School walks toward the burial place of Louis and Louisa Gregory.

Photo by Marilyn F. Hickey

road to the cemetery, then shared music,

prayers 4 at the grav

Special prayers were offered there for

the release of forces that would assist in

the achievement of the goals of the Four

Year Plan, and for the establishment of ial unity in America.

true rr:

Before the procession began, the 4’i Hall resounded with und and spirit.

Drumbeats, like a waterfall, beat a pathway into chests; the singing of “God

school’s

waves ¢

SEE BLACK MEN’S GATHERING, PAGE 36

REGIONAL PLANS TAKING SHAPE

BY RAMZIA DUSZYNSKI

al Assembly, the ancils in the with the Assembly on June 12-14.

ng was called for consultation on each Council’s development of its plan for advancing the pro of entry by troops. One signif announcement was that the National Spiritual Assembly has ed all four Councils the responsibility for overseeing regional training institutes.

The American Baha’{ asked each of the four Councils questions about their Regional Plans including: How was your plan de ? What are your strategies and plans of action? How is your plan unveiling?

‘They were also asked about important and memorable aspects of the June meeting, and how it has affected their planning and consultation.

The Councils’ responses have been edited for length. All had some common themes:

Regional Plans were devised to be

istent with the Tablets of the Divine Plan, the Four Year Plan goal of the advancement of the process of entry by troops, directives from the Universa House of Justice and the National Spiritual Assembly, and consultation with Counselors.

Communication has continued with

Local Spiritual Assemblies, the “focal centers” of Baha’j activity, to help the ing of plans to meet their needs and foster their development.

Responding to The American Baba’t on behalf of the Councils were: Northeasts, Nina Dini, secretary; Southern States, Robert James, chairman; Central States, L. Caswell Ellis, chairman; Western States, Shannon Javid, chairman, and Charleen Magh: tary.

THE REGIONAL PLANS WESTERN STATES Six initial strategies include: 1) Developing collaboration with the Assemblies and the friends. 2) Supporting the strengthening of

ern

SEE REGIONAL, PAGE 37

»

-” See pages 14-15

sphere of li

THE STATE OF THE PROFESSION

How do Baha’i journalists feel about their field? Its influence on society? Their potential for fulfilling the mandate of Baha’u’llah?

The American Baha’i draws responses from several Baha’is in varied fields of journalism—print, radio, education—and finds a hopeful and realistic view of how they can “win victories for the Faith in their own

Enrollments

july: 1998) ere OS Since May 1, 1998 .seccssse 412

THE FUND

May 1-July 31, 1998

Contributions received by National Treasurer

Goal for

Recren punte

May I, $3,580,327

13.3% of year’s goal was met

25% of fiscal year has passed

April 30, 1999

Allocations to other funds

Arc Projects Fund $397,787

International Baha’i Fund $203,853

The two amounts above add up to 17% of contributions re: National Assembly (goal is 26%)

OO enone eC wm te

$52,663

1.5% of contributions received by National Assembly (goal is 2%)

Other contributions: $58,674

Total revenues and expenses at Baha’i National Center May 1- June 30, 1998 (latest available)

217,819

Revenues

$2,906,118

Expenses

To avoid additional borrowing, some critical projects have been deferred, resulting in revenues temporarily exceeding expenses.

Mail contributions to:

National Baha’i Fund

112 Linden Avenue Wilmette, IL 60091-2800 Please write Baha'i ID # on check

September 8, 1998

THE AMERICAN BAHA’i ¢ THE SECOND FRONT

page 3 [Page 4]ADMINISTERING the CAUSE ‘Prospects for dramatic growth hang in the balance’

A message from the Office of the Treasurer

Nihenon struggles to find a parallel with the results of the National Teaching Plan now under way, and yet Fund support is lower than it has been in years.

At the same time that more than 60,000 seekers have sought information about our beloved Faith and record levels of involvement by individuals and Assemblies have been registered, the contribution total through July 31 was the lowest at any time

since July 1994.

This would appear to be a testing time for American Baha’is. Every victory brings a test so we can become worthy of further blessings, and we have finally begun to see

important victories.

When we recall another testing time, in 1995 when the goals for the Arc hung in the balance, the American community responded magnificently, gave record sums and passed its test. The prospects for dramatic growth now hang in the balance.

Unity in support of Fund means staying focused on our priorities

BY THE OFFICE OF THE TREASURER Rs ponse to the article in the June 24 American al

hé’t about the confusing 2 ing events so many communities face was mo

g, and prompts your

g to hear how communities have

many abandoned the ‘practice of

fund-raisers. They have found them to be confusing and disunifying, and they distract the friends from the most important thing: cementing our relationship with Baha’u’lléh and His Faith through our giving. Activities that do not always promote the greatest good are given more attention than

they really deserve, compared to the larger picture

of the Faith’s advancement.

In one of His letters, the beloved Master shared with an individual friend this beautiful explanation of the value of concentrating on priori

“So long as the thoughts of an individual are scattered he will achieve no results, but if bis thinking be concentrated on a single point wonderful will be the fruits

thereof.

“One cannot obtain the full force of the sunlight when

it is cast on a flat mirror, but once

in added word on this matter.

ray of fund-rais

tive force.” — Babd, pp. 110-111

Office of the

oo ————_——_—

“The unity of the believers, rich and poor alike, in their support of the Fund will be a source of spiritu al confirmations beyond

our capacity to envisage.” —Universal House of Justice

activi

an endles:

back the progre

receive

the sun shineth upon _ ity to envisage.”

a concave mirror, or on a lens that is convex, all its heat will be concentrated on a single point, and that one point will burn the hottest. Thu: thinking on a single poin elections

it necessary to focus one's hat it will become an effecfrom the Writings of ‘Abdu’l Is not “focusing one’s thinking on a single point”

another way of a

mark of Baha’u’llah’s Revels tion and the pivot of His teachings, House of Justice that “The unity of the b ers, rich and poor alike, in their support of the Fund will be a source of spiritual confirmations beyond our capacity to envisage.” It needs therefore to be our most

important operating principle in every one of our

It thus makes sense that we would try to find ways of covering our expenses that are better than stream of fund-raising activi many calls for our attention cannot but help distract us and divert our resources, and that holds of the Faith we love. With one approach, we “achie spiritual or eee beyond our capac

no results”; with another, we

Pennsylvania group sees small change making a big difference

Small efforts make a difference over time, as the Baha'i group of Warren, Pennsylvania, has d ered. Members are making a point of collecting loose change in a can, which is brought regularly to the Feast. Progress of the yearly collection:

1994-1995: $50
1995-1996: $290

cOV Faith:

1996-1997: $510.90

1997-1998: $846

‘The group’s report hints at the mystical connection between spiritual giving and growth of the “Since Ridvan 1998 we have a brand new

Baha’i, and we have two seekers who are very close to signing the declaration card,” it states.

THE TREASURER’S CORNER

The Treasurer's Corner is devoted to helping local treasurers, and others who have special interest in development of the Funds, by offering suggestions and ideas that might be helpful in this work. If you would like to offer stories or ideas that bave increased your community's understanding of and participation in the Fund, you are invited to share them with other communities through this column. Contact the Office of the Treasurer (phone 847-733-3472, e-mail yi

STEWARDSHIP AND DEVELOPMENT SEMINARS More than 60 trained facilitators are available to conduct Stewardship and Development Seminars around the country. These seminars offer an opportunity to explore the guidance given us in the Sacred Writings and by the Universal House of Justice on the true nature of supporting the Funds and how our spiritual lives are changed through giving. Guidance for local treasury management is offered as well. All believers are welcome to attend when a seminar is offered in their area, Local Spiritual Assembly members are especially encouraged to attend. ‘The evaluations by last year’s attendees were very posi tive. To hear more about the seminars, contact someone you know who participated, or contact Jennifer Torrence (phone 847-733-3421). ANNUAL AUDITS OVERDUE

As the work of Local ‘Spiritual Assemblies increases in complexity, it becomes more important than ever that annual audits be performed in an effective and timely manner. Audits were due to the National Spiritual Assembly June 30. If your Assembly has not arranged for its audit of the local treasury for 154 B.E., arrangements should be made promptly and the results forwarded to the Office of the Treasurer as soon as possible. Any questions should be directed to Jeremy Phelan (phone 847733-3475).

ACS FOR THE LOCAL FUND? Monthly contributions to the Automatic Contribution System (ACS) for the National Baha’i Fund continue to | increase steadily. These are contributions that can be counted on each month for the work of the National Spiritual Assembly.

For most local Baha’{ communities, such a system is too costly. However, a modified form of the ACS is possible: Members of the community can arrange individually with their banks to have a set payment made each month to the local Fund. This process is identical to paying an insurance premium or any regular bill from one’s account. ‘Treasurers may wish to seek information from banks to help community members make these arrangements.

INFORMING NEW BELIEVERS ABOUT THE FUNDS

Did you know that a survey of Local Spiritual Assembly treasurers indicates that new believers, on average, make their first gift to the Fund two years after becoming Baha’i? Could it be that we fail to teach our new believ~ ers the privilege and obligation to give? The Universal House of Justice tells us, “Contributing to the Baha’i fund constitutes an act of spiritual discipline which is an intrinsic element of the devotional life of the individual. No believer should be unaware of the privilege of contributing to the advancement of the Cause of God, irrespective of his material circumstances.” Therefore, we should never hesitate to share the bounty of supporting the work of the Cause with the money that Baha’w’llah has provided us.

“Every believer can contribute to the Fund, Not all believers can give public talks, not all are called upon to serve on administrative institutions. But all can pray, fight their own spiritual battles, and contribute to the Fund” —Universal House of Justice, Wellspring of Guidance, p.39 @ =

page 4 THE AMERICAN BAHA‘i * ADMINISTERING THE CAUSE — September 8, 1998

[Page 5]

MN w three-pronged approach is shaping plans for a ationwide Baha’i computer software system, the five Local Spiritual Assemblies participating in its development have learned.

Depending on how complex a particular Assembly’s needs are, it can choose between Thick Client, Outlook Client, or Web Client software when the network is developed across the nation, staffers of the Information Services Office at the Baha’i National Center said at the May meeting of a development group.

Five Assemblies—Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego, California; Portland, Oregon; and Salt Lake City, Utah—have participated in regular meetings with Information Services staff to help development of the Local Spiritual Assembly Automation and Integration Project (LSAD.

Starting with the least elaborate software, proposed features of each set are:

Web Client. This package will provide for Internet

access, on-line forms, Web-based e-mail, encrypted communication and secured access.

Outlook ent. Based on Microsoft Outlook 98,

this package will include everything in the Web Client plus public folders, discussion forums, and some offline re.

Thick Client. This will include a complete set of

will reside in the computer on the local site and will be updated along with the national database on a regular basis. Security will be managed locally and will afford more complete reporting capabilities. While the Thick Client model requires more training and greater technical support, it provides for a greater set of features in the Assembly’s secretariat and treasurer functions.

The project’s phased approach will have the Web Client released for Assemblies’ use first, then the more complex packges released in their turn.

This new approach came about as a result of new technology on the market and means the solution to automation and decentralization will require less custom development. This, in turn, means lower costs, less effort and faster implementation.

‘The May meeting was the first for this group held in Los Angeles, at the new Unity Center next door to the Baha’{ Center. The Local Assembly met the challenge of accommodating nearly 40 out-of-town guests with the assistance of the local Management Information ‘Team and a cadre of dedicated volunte:

The planning group also used the occasion to bid farewell to Farzad Mogharabi, who departed his job as coordinator of national Information Services to serve at the Baha’i World Center. In his closing remarks,

John Fletcher and Farzad Mogharabi of the national Information Services Office greet the friends in Los Angeles at an LSAI development meeting.

closing in on our goals as initially stated in the pilot project and, in spite of delays, it looks like we are still pretty much on schedule and within budget.” The friends gathered in the Unity Center Little Theater gave him a standing ovation in appreciation for his loving stewardship of the decentralization pilot program.

John Fletcher, new Information Services coordinator, joins veteran project staff members Bernal Schooley, Brian Armstrong, Zhinoos Armstrong and Shadan Tofighi. The five Assemblies involved in the LSAI project plan another weekend conference this fall.

—Atnformation submitted by

features plus off-line

sage. A full membership database

Stewardship and Development seminars ready to move forward

egional training for Stewardship

and Development facilitators has

een completed successfully with

sessions in the Metro Atlanta area Aug.

6-9 and at Green Acre Bah: hool Aug.

20-23. Generous hospitality by the Local

Spiritual Assembly of South DeKalb

County lent a special Southern flavor to

the Georgia gathering of 15 Baha'is, while

another 12 facilitators felt the loving welcome of the Green Acre staff.

‘Their assignment: Return to their home areas and carry out seminars for Local Spiritual Assembly members and the friends in general.

As in the earlier sessions held at the Baha’i National Center and at the new local Baha’i center in Las Vegas, Nevada, the training took an intensive look at new guidance about the spiritual nature of the

Funds of the Faith, fund-raising, planned giving and the role of the Local Spiritual Assembly in its responsibilities for managing the Faith’s financial resources.

“The Fund is not really about money,” one participant said. “It’s about our relationships with God, with His Institutions, and with each other as Baha'is.’

Preconceived notions about money and its evils, and old ideas from earlier stages in the Baha'i community’ development, were cited as obstacles to meeting the financial objectives of the Faith.

‘The 65 facilitators trained this summer left these sessions with a high sense of commitment to helping Baha’is change their views to keep up with the times.

Local Stewardship seminars are set to begin in the fall. For information, call the Office of the Treasurer, 847-733-3421. @

Research, unified action help friends in Houston suburb establish center

Rees is under way on what will be the Baha’i center in Missouri City, Texas, in the Houston are:

‘The center was purchased after several months’ research, fund-raising and deepenings on the importance of a center to the advancement of community life.

Fund-raising, which continues, has included a dinner auction at the Missouri City Civic Center and a candlelight dinner. All the surrounding communities, including Houston, have generously contributed time and money.

A committee. has been formed to pri

oritize space utilization for the center, and many Baha’is with skills in various construction areas have been consulted.

A cleanup day early in May concentrated on the outside grounds: clearing, mowing and shrub planting. A wonderful effort by local youth was much appreciated.

Many more work days are planned, along with a large gathering of surrounding communities to celebrate this wonderful monument to the advancement of the Baha’f Faith. —Submitted by the Baha’is of Missouri City

ARE YOU A PRINT DESIGN PROFESSIONAL? Do you want an

Mogharabi thanked his co-workers and said, “We are

HUQUQU’LLAH

Randolph Dobbs, Los Angeles @

THE RIGHT OF GOD

Payments to Huqiqu’llah should be made to “The Baha’i Huqiqu’llah Trust” (please write your Baha’i identification number on your check) and sent to one of the Trustees:

Dr. Amin Banani,

(phone 310-394-5449)

Mr. Stephen Birkland,

(phone 612-484-9518)

Dr, Daryush Haghighi,

(phone 216-333-1506)

Santa Monica, CA 90402 Arden Hills, MN 55112

Rocky River, OH 44116

Inquiries about Huqtqu’llah should be referred to one of the ‘Trustees or to the Office of the Secretariat, Baha’{ Huqiqu’llah Trust,

Rocky River, OH 44116.

Surveys help regional, local planning

Surveys are being used more to aid the research and planning of local and state Baha’i communities. Two recent examples:

MINNESOTA

The Minnesota Baha’i Institute conducted a three-month study to determine the best means of communication, to identify courses the friends would like to see the institute offer toward achieving the goals of the Four Year Plan, and to meet the needs of the state’s diverse community.

Nearly 10 percent of the Minnesota friends responded to the survey. Among key conclusions:

Newsletters (local and_ statewide),

Feasts, Baha’{ events and e-mail/Web sites are the most effective modes of communication with the fri

Small-group discussion should be

the preferred mode of training by the

institute. Courses are needed on community unity, appreciating cultural diversity, Baha’i history, and understanding Baha’i teachings and laws.

COLUMBUS, OHIO

A study of at what agi Baha’is enrolled in the I some interesting results.

James Reinoehl, who conducted the study, found that age 15 is most common. That’s to be expected. He also discovered that ages 20 and 23 are next most common, and the numbers taper off then up to age 52— although there is a little peak around age 40.

His conclusion is that for this small sample, “traditional teaching” was successful for people up to age 52. Thus there is no reason to target only younger people.

Reinoehl did not discover any correlation between age of enrollment and relative activity of any individual. The sample includes inactive believers, some withdrawals and some cases of lost rights. @

Columbus

h yielded

September 8, 1998

THE AMERICAN BAHA‘i ¢ ADMINISTERING THE CAUSE page 5 [Page 6]

from the Latin-American Task Force

Dear and Esteemed Friends in the Cause of Baba’u'llal

Who are the Latino Baha'is in these United States?

The Latin-American Task Force wishes to thank the friends who have responded to the census of Hispanic Baha’is. The response of the friends so far is very encouraging. However, we suspect that thousands of Latino believers have not been identified, and if you are one of them or know of someone, we would be very happy to know this. While some of the friends have limited themselves to sending us only their biographical data (name, place of birth, etc.) others very generous in sha stories, with moving detai they become Baha'is, who were the Baha’is at that time serving in their communities, what happened to those > all of you, MANY

To the friends who have sent only their biographical information, we would be very happy if you could share with us something more about your ‘journey of discovery”: How did you become a Baha’? What moved you to it? Who taught you the Faith? What about your first community? About your service to the Faith? Are you the only Baha’f in your family? Have you been a pioneer, a traveling teacher?

Here are some examples of what has been shared with us.

“T was born in Detroit’s MexicanAmerican barrio. ... I declared as a Baha’i on November 20, 1972. At the time I knew nothing about ‘Abdu’lBaha, about the principles, about the laws or anything other than the vision (which I would later confirm was indeed of Baha’u’llh). I only knew this

Letter to the friends Carta a los amigos de la Comision de Trabajo Latinoamericana

was from God. My parents and older brother were opposed. My mother discussed the matter with my maternal grandmother who, very happy that Thad turned to religion, told my mother to leave me in peac - Lincoln Park became part of a great teaching axis between Lansing and Ann Arbor in the early ’70s. The declarants were mostly young people. These Lincoln Park Baha’is have spread all over the world. ... There were some extraordinary Bahd’is, somewhat older, helping the youth, such as Peter and Janet Khan, Robert and Erma Hayden, David Earl (who just recently passed on), Richard and June Thomas. The sacrifices of. David’s heroic wife Joy |, who died shortly before I declared, influenced both the teaching and my own declaration.”

Another friend wrote the Baha'i story of a friend:

“Shortly after G. declared his belief in Baha'u'llah, he traveled on busir to the United Arab Emirates and was jailed there for a week due to his filling in ‘Baha’? on his entry permit, not realizing that someone traveling on a Chilean passport with a Norwegian visa and declaring himself a Baha’i, on reaching the Emirates in the early ’70s, should expect to be received badly. The Norwegian government got him out of jail after an interminable week.”

Dear friends: Every single one of you is very precious to the Faith. We see in your desire to be counted the expression of your love for this Cause and of your willingness to rise up and share the Message with many others. Please nding your wonderful personal they are truly inspiring.

With loving Baha'i greetings, The Latin-American Task Force #

eoccce

. . . e e e e . . . . e . . . . . . . ° e . e . e e e e e

Queridos y Estimados Amigos en la Causa de Bahd’w'llah:

éQuiénes son los Baha’is latinos en los Estados Unido:

La Comisién de Trabajo Latinoamericana desea agrad a los amigos que han respondido al censo de Baha’is Hispanos. La respuesta de los amigos es hasta ahora bastante alentadora. Sospechamos, no obstante, que hay miles de creyentes latinos que atin no han sido identificados, y si eres uno de ellos o sabes de alguie: saberlo. Mientras algunos de los amigos se han limitado a enviarnos solamente sus datos biograficos (nombre, lugar de Nto, etc.), otros h: ido bas:

nte

historias, con detalles conmovedores de cémo se hicieron Baha’is, quiénes eran

en sus comunidades, qué fue de esos: amigos, etc. A todos ustedes, ; MUCHAS GRACIAS!

A los amigos que han datos biogra! s iesen compartir con nosotros algo mas de su “jornada de descubrimiento”: ¢Cémo te hiciste Bahai? Qué te impuls6 a hacerlo? :Quién te ensefio la Fe? <Algo acerca de tu primera comunidad? De tu servicio a la Fe? <Eres el tinico Baha’ en tu familia? ¢Has sido pionero o

A continua

i6n algunos ejemplos de lo que ha sido compartido:

“Naci en el barrio Mejicano Ame cano en Detroit. ... Me declaré Baha’i el 20 de noviembre de 1972. Al tiempo no sabia nada acerca de ‘Abdu’l-Baha, de los principios, de las leyes o de otra cosa excepto de la vision (que luego confirmara haber sido efectivamente de Bah@'w'llah). Solo sabia que esto era de Dios. ... Mis padres y mi hermano

mayor se opusieron. Mi madre discutié el asunto con mi abuela materna quien, feliz de que yo me hubiese vuelto hacia la religion, jle dijo a mi madre que me dejara en paz! ... Lincoln Park se convirtié en parte de un gran eje de ensefianza entre East Lansing y Ann Arbor a comienzos de los 70. Los declar

Baha’is de Lincoln Park se han esparcido por todo el mundo. ... Habia algunos Baha'is extraordinarios, algo mayores, dando a los jévenes, tales como Peter y Janet Khan, Robert y Erma Hayden, David Earl (quien ha muerto recientemente), Richard y June Thomas. Los de David,

Je la heroica

Joy Earl, quien muriera poco antes de mi tanto la

influenciaron ensefianza como mi propia d

Otra amiga de un amigo:

“Poco después de que G. declarara su fe en Baha’u'lléh, viajé por asunto de negocios a los Emiratos Arabes y fue encarcelado alli por una semana, debido a haber escrito ‘Baha’? en su permiso de entrada, sin caer en cuenta de que alguien viajando bajo un_pasaporte Chileno con visa Noruega y declarandose Baha'i al llegar a los Emiratos al comienzo de los 70 deberfa esperar mal recibimiento. El gobierno Noruego lo sac6 de la carcel luego de una interminable semana.”

Queridos amigos: Cada uno de ustedes es precioso para la Fe. Vemos en su deseo de ser contado la expresién de su amor por esta Causa y de su voluntad de levantarse y compartir el Mensaje con muchos otros. Por favor, contintien envidndonos sus maravillosas historias personales; son verdaderamente inspiradoras.

Con carinosos saludos Baha'is, La Comision de Trabajo Latinoamericana @

declaraci6n,

Srta. / Sra. / Sr.

‘Miss / Mrs. /Ms. / Mr.

Direcci6n/

Address

Ciudad/ Estado/ Cédigo postal/ City State ZIP code ‘Niimero telef6nico/ Numero de fax/

‘Telephone ( ) : Fax ( )

Direccién de correo electrénico/

E-mail address

Pais de origen/ Country of origin, ¢En donde Ud. se hizo Baha’i?/

Where did you become a Baha’??.

PARA EL CENSO DE LOS BAHA'IS HISPANOS EN LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS

(FOR THE CENSUS OF HISPANIC BAHA'IS IN THE UNITED STATES)

¢Ud. es 0 ha sido miembro de?:/Are you or have you been a member of?:

Cuerpo de Consejeros Continentales/Continental Board of Counselors

Cuerpo Au

liar/Auxiliary Board

Asamblea Espiritual Local/Local Spiritual Assembly

Asistente a un miembro del Cuerpo Auxiliar/Ass

2A quién?/To whom?

Comité nacional/National committee

Comité local/Local committee

zCuantos miembros de su comunidad Baha’i son latinos?/ How many members of your Baha’i community are Latinos?

¢Cudntos en su Asamblea Espiritual?/How many on your Spiritual Assembly? i

Enviar a la Comisién de Trabajo Latinoamericana/Send to Latin-American Task Force

por correo a/by mail to: por fax a/by fax to: por e-mail a/by e-mail to: Vera Breton Larry Kramer LATFORCE

(773) 509-0466. Vienna, Virginia 22181

stant to Auxiliary Board member

Page 6

‘THE AMERICAN BAnA‘i ¢ LATIN AMERICAN TEACHING September 8, 1998 [Page 7]

BY CAMILLE COLLINS

contingent of Wilmette Institute students discross the country for the third straight

year in August, ready to spread a new energy bringing the teachings of Baha’u’llah to life in service to humanity.

“The Wilmette Institute has incre: and understanding to such an extent tha able to help deepen other Bah: i of Sunrise, Florida.

Michael Wild! of Yukon, Oklahoma, w: ly inspired. “I think the program is spectacul id. “I’ve only been a Baha’i for about a year and a half to handle issues that come

ased my knowledge I feel comfortzgerald Dick

as similar

he

and I’ve learned better w:

up, which I hope to carry back to my community.

‘The commitment to teaching and service prov: qui nt, somewhat familiar with Baha’is, was insp embrace the Faith in the presence of two enthusiastic

result. The owner of a local restaur

Institute studen: “The students themselves are incredible,” said Robert Stockman, administrator of the Institute. “It’s been a privilege to do a program with such good students.” Spiritual Foundations for a Global Civilization, the Wilmette Institute’s four-year program, brought friends of dive: and backgrounds from all over: s of the House of Worship '{ National Center for its three-week res

ages

the country to the enviror and the

Bill Collins of Virginia, Wilmette Institute faculty member, leads a class on the writings of the Guardian. Photo by Manuchehr Derakhshani

The program, on this year’s theme Community and Local Governance, drew 27 students—17 returning for the second or third time. Classes were held at NationalLouis University in Wilmette.

Designed to create a new generation of e, knowledgeable teachers and administrators of the Baha’i Faith, the program aims to impart knowledge and help students develop practical experience in teaching and fostering a Baha’i identity.

Topics of cl included Baha’i writings on gover

Listing of upcoming Wilmette Institute courses:

Correspondence courses for home study
Mini-courses at Bosch Baha’i School

See page 36

nance and community, the theology of the Adminis trative Order, the relationship between the Faith and governance, the history of the G life of Shoghi Effendi, political theory and a workshop on teaching.

Students showed a striving for higher levels of service while still at the National Center. “Many of the n addition to

time for servi

students used their fre the three hours a week that they were required to do,” said Heather Gorman, registrar of the Institute.

ance, Wildhack stayed in the area da the summer program was over to complete project for the Office of Media Services. In the mean

For inst

time, he s:

id, “I’ve been introduced to phenomenal na fantastic experienc ston-Salem, North Carolina,

people and this-has be

Sandra Miles of Wi gained a new perspective on the functioning of the Baha’i Na in the Office of Assembly Development. “The s ce component teaches us how to serve God. By doing service at the National Center you have a better understanding of the work being done here and a better apprecia-.

nal Center through her servi er!

SEE WILMETTE INSTITUTE, PAGE 36

Training, unific activity gains momentum in Navajoland

new mandate andhew board of dire tors for the Native American Baha’i nstitute; children’s classes at NABI and on the Navajo Reservation at Tonalea; an allnight Blessingway ceremony; a two-week local training institute for children and youth in the Lukachukai mountains, called the Dawnbreakers Camp; traveling teachers; recordbreaking Navajo attendance at the Four Corners Baha’i Summer School; youth projects; and more. These

colorful and inspiring pieces of the rich mosaic of activity in Navajoland this summer.

The summer began with the National Spiritual Assembly’s establishment of a new nine-member board of directors for NABI, along with the appointment of Alice and Jerry Bathke as interim Institute administrators for the summer.

The board met in late June with Education and Schools Coordinator Beatriz Reyna Curry and former National Spiritual Assembly member Alberta Deas. The meeting explored NABI’s new mandate: to serve as a regional training institute for the development of human resources in the region’s American Indian communities.

‘To fulfill this mandate, NABI has been given a

special focus on local community empowerment, training of children and youth, and development and dissemination of Baha’{ materials in the Navajo language. These new beginnings were blessed by a beautiful Navajo Blessingway ceremony at NABI, organized in mid-July by the Baha’i community of Pine Springs.

Next step for the board will be a new budget and staffing pattern in line with the new mandate, to include recommendations on the hiring of

administr

‘The Institute’s tering the spirit of reunion and participation among the Baha’is of the area, building relationships with individuals, communities and institund providing support for spiritual training activities initiated by the Baha’is in local communities. This work has been reinforced by a flow of volunteers, including traveling teachers inspired by consultation on Indian teaching at this year’s National Convention.

With the aid of these volunteer resources, NABI supported the two-week “Dawnbreakers Camp” sponsored by the new Reservation-based Local Spiritual Assembly of Tsaile-Wheatfields Chapter and held on the beautiful lands of the Annie Kahn family in the Lukachukai mountains. Among the children participating were fourth-generation Navajo Baha’is, the grandchildren of Annie Kahn and Chester Kahn and descendants of the late Jack and Alta Kahn of Pine Springs. .

NABI also participated in the Four Corners Baha’i Summer School in the pine tree highlands south of Gallup, New Mexico, in late July, where more than 40 of the 200 participants were American Indian. The summer school included daily “Native Learning Circles,” in which the Baha’i teachings were discussed and Ba prayers and passages were recited and memorized in the Navajo language. A special session on NABI and its new directions and plans was well attended.

NABI will host a Reunion Gathering Aug. 28-30 for past and present staff, volunteers, pioneers and friends of the Institute.

—Submitted by Jeff Kiely

tive, program and property personnel. summer focus has been on fos

James Foguth, 7, a fourth-generation Navajo Baha’i, was part of the two-week Dawnbreakers Camp. Photo courtesy of Jef Kiely

September 8, 1998

THE AMERICAN BAHA‘i * CONSOLIDATING THE VICTORIES page 7 [Page 8]

An event-filled season at Green Acre

Sane at Green Acre Baha’ School in Eliot, Maine, rich with music, performances and special events.

More than 400 were on hand for the first Concert-Picnic of the season July 5,

featuring dramatic, artist/singer Ladjamaya

Green Mahoney plus sician/composer Erie Dozier directing ast Regional Baha’i Gos; Choir, Performance themes emph: race unity and the oneness of the human family. In a stirring presentation, Ladjamaya offered segments of her performance piece “The Black Experience—A Cry for World Peace.” The choir delighted the crowd with a high-spirited concert featuring original compositions of joy and praise

Green Acre once again marked the birthday of its founder, Sarah Jane Farmer. About 150 attended the event, hosted by the Sarah Farmer Women’s Center.

Dramatic vignettes and 19th-century setting and costuming recalled the summer of 1848, the year of two significant events highlighted at the evening program:

¢ Téhirih’s role at the Conference of Badasht.

¢ The revolutionary actions of Eliza~ beth Cady Stanton and Frederick Douglass, who spoke for the advancement of women at the first Women’s Rights Con

ference in Seneca Falls, New York.

The life and contributions of Sarah Farmer were celebrated through portrayals of her; her mother, Hannah Farmer; poet John Greenleaf Whittier; the Hand of the Cause of God Louis G. Gregory; and Green Acre champion Harry Randall.

Th lebration closely followed the Black Men’s Baha’i Gathering, which made a history-making procession July 25 to the grave of the Hand of the Cause of God Louis Gregory.

Green Acre celebrated the rel the school’s first music CD at its Concert-Picnic Aug. 2. The performance brought together musicians Bill Fagan, Larry Gray, Allison, Bruce and Dick Grover, LuAnne Hightower, Leona and Larry Hosack, Terry Reimer-Weiss, Bev and Mike Rogers, Chris Ruhe and Jeannine Sacco.

Green Acre’s fall programs begin Sept. 25-27 with a College Club Weekend hosted by the National Youth Committee.

“The Baha'i Faith and the State of Humankind” will be offered by National Spiritual Assembly member William Davis and Constance Davis Oct. 9-12 (ending midday Monday). The themes, relevant to the advancement of the Cause of God, will include family life, professional life, applying spiritual principles to race unity and the equality of women and

men, and the escalating growth of the Baha’f community.

A special U.N. Day program will be offered Oct. 23-25, with presenter to be announced.

Green Acre will host three programs. the we id of Oct. 30-Nov. 1. Peter Oldziey offers “Don’t Yell At Your Watchman: Seeing the End in the Beginning,” an exploration of how changing the way we view our tests can alter our environment, and our response to the challenges we meet.

Also that weekend will be a Junior Youth Institute for those in grades 6-8. A Pioneering/BYSC/SITA Institute hosted the same weekend by the Office of Pioneering will begin Thursday, Oct. 29.

An Institute for High School Youth (grades 9-12) will be offered Nov. 6-8.

Counselor Tod Ewing will present “The Most Vital and Challenging Issue: Meeting the Challenge With Honor” the weekend after Thanksgiving, Nov. 27-29 (beginning noon Friday). This text-based study, drawing on the compilation Toward Oneness, will explore how to create vibrant models of unity in our communities, with applications for “deliberately cultivating” freedom from racial prejudice.

For further information or a program brochure, contact Green Acre, 188 Main St. Eliot, ME 03903 (phone 207-4397200, e-mail .¢

Ladjamaya Green-Mahoney performs part of “The Black Experience—a Cry for World Peace” at Green Acre during the Concert/Picnic July 5.

Photo courtesy of Green Acre Baha'i School

Green Acre’s first music CD, Her Name is

school for ordering information). Produced by Chris Ruhe, its variety of music includes blues, gospel, folk and inspirational. Performers include Nura Creitz, Mary Davis, Eric Dozier, Jim Flood, Van Gilmer, Red Grammer, Varga Hadazadeh, Jeanne Murday, Mark Perry, Rose-Marie Peterson and Jeannine Sacco.

Louhelen emphasizes youth development in summer programs

ouhelen Baha’ School dedicated five

weeks this summer to the empowerment of children and youth. The series of youth development conferences aimed at a threefold transformative process:

‘To provide youth the means to independently connect their hearts to the

message of Baha'u'llah.

To enable them to begin to understand their role in the spiritualization of

the planet.

» contemplate the service they will offer the Cause of God in this priceless day.

Each n wove prayer, teaching, service, consultation and study of the Sacred Texts into the fabric of the daily program as ntial components of a life of service to the Cause:

Maiden of Heaven Young Women’s Institute, May 23-31. The weekend was designed to help young women realize their responsibilities, their true capacity and potential in promoting the equality of men and women.

Workshops focused on the true meaning of love, media influences and strategies to combat the destructive messages latent in the secular world, and the inspiring example of the revolutionary women of the Baha’i Faith.

Camp Louhelen Children’s Institute, June 21-26. Children ages 8-12 got an active and exciting opportunity to build daily habits of spiritual living to help them advance the process of entry by troops. ‘The session focused on building a deep love for Bahd’u'llah through varied and fun

Participants in the Youth Eagle Institute, July 10-15 at Louhelen, listen intently to a presentation by Habib Riazati. Photo by jim Cheek °

activities in and out of the classroom. Youth Eagle Institute: The Role of Youth In America, July 10-15. Through exploration of The Advent of Divine Justice and the Kitab-i-Aqdas, the youth studied their critical role in every aspect of the Baha’ Faith and refected on questions that puzzle and challenge youth. Daily interactive sessions facilitated by Habib Riazati and intense group study of the Aqdas and its relation to individual, community, and_ societal transformation culminated in the presentation of individual and group research papers to parents and guests. The youth

also researched, consulted on and planned interactive deeper ety of subjects, presented in innovative forms such as talk shows, skits and question-and-answer sessions.

Spiritual Empowerment for Junior Youth, July 17-22. This institute fostered devotion, study, consultation, skill development, recreation, music, fellowship and fun. Youth studied heroes of the Babi dispensation and the Conference of Badasht—many of whom were not much older than the students—and compared those deeds of the past with their role in this dispensation. The institute culmi

on a vari

nated in their thoughtful preparation of Heroic Deeds of Service pledge sheets. Baha’u'llah’s Challenge to Today’s Youth: Facing Social Issues, Aug. 21-23. This conference provided an open learning atmosphere for exploring difficult issues youth face day-to-day with their peers. Facilitated by Counselor ‘Abdu’ l-: gh Ghadirian, the i empowered youth to uphold the chastity with daily vigilance. Stude gained understanding of how to influence humanity, by being steadfast in mirroring forth “in their manifold aspects the splendor of those eternal principles proclaimed by Baha’u’llah.”

so included four family sessions ranging in focus from spiritual parenting, to the I 5 of the Wolf, to implementing justice, to promoting oneness, all with a focus on the importance of the individual in advancing the process of entry by troops.

Autumn programs at Louhelen offer children, youth and adults continued possibilities for study, devotion, service, and fellowship. Louhelen will celebrate “Baha’u'llah’s Vision of Oneness” with a family session Nov. 13-15. Upcoming youth sessions include a College Club Weekend convened by the National Youth Committee Oct. 30—Nov. 1, and a Youth Eagle Institute Nov. 6-8.

For information or a brochure, contact Louhelen Baha'i School, 3208 S. State Road, Davison, MI 48423 (phone 810-6535033, e-mail .¢

page 8

CRACK Sate

A2d MUNA tl Sees

THE AMERICAN BAHA‘i * CONSOLIDATING THE VICTORIES — September 8, 1998

DNNAGLENOD + i [Page 9]

TT TCONSOLIDATING* THE’ VICTORIES eee

BOSCH BAHA’I SCHOOL

Saha'¢ education mies by focus on atts, agriculture

osch Baha’i School offers dynamic

educational programs in a quiet em

ronment and warm family atmosphere.

Nestled in the forest at 2,200 feet e!

vation, Bosch combines rust ity with modern comfort.

On the central coast of California, inland from Monterey Bay, Bosch offe = round. It is a popular post for youth volunte all over the nation and the world, who give from three

1927 ata rene vineyard in Northern fornia,

then was relocated nea ly five decades later at the current 67-acre property. In 1999 Bosch will brate its 25th a ry at the new ite, and administrators have planned special programs next summer as a commemoratior

Promoting the arts is a special focus at Bosch. Visitors can enjoy music class on “The ching” and the integration of art into ss through rriculum methods. tic focu to help the friends lop skills and creative ideas for teaching and for more interesting Feasts and community activities.

“Music and art have a truly transformative power,” commented Linda Bedford, who is a school co-admin with her husband, the changes that take place in students of all ages when they connect with their tual natures through music and

The goal of

am coordinator, in charge of de: ind often teaching the childr

An organic garden, another unique feature of the school—produc bles for the kitchen and flowers for the s, dining tables and classrooms. Many Bosch students volunteer to work in the garden, and an agricultural project curriculum for youth and children been developed.

Bosch’s fa s have expanded over the last 10 years to include a large meeting hall and three conference rooms. These improvements allow for expanded programming and make Bosch a popular rental site for outside conferences and celebrations.

The administrators foresee additional expansions in the near future. “In order to meet the needs of the increased number of guests we have on campus, we really’ need to expand our facilities,” Mark Bedford says. “This includes a new dining room, kitchen, laundry room and office complex.” Exi: would be redesigned to allow for a rece; larger bookshop and café spac: and a new Art C

“We have the need are the funds!”

A new harvest firom the

Bosch - faimily VINEYARDS

A case of sacrificial obedience was a turning point leading to creation of Bosch Baha’f School.

John David Bosch had studied winemaking in his native Europe from his early teens. Though he went into other businesses when he came to America in 1879, he was drawn back to wine-making on moving to Northern California two years later. He eventually found himself in charge of the largest, most up-to-date winery in the Napa Valley.

At age 49, in 1905, Mr. Bosch embraced

the Baha’f Faith. With few of the Writings available in English, and those not widely circulated, he had the bounty of receiving several Tablets from ‘Abdu’l-Bahd. In the meantime, he invested in land among America’s richest vineyards. _ Prosperous, respected, knowledgeable, and walking a new spiritual path—before long he discovered that the teachings of Baha’w'llah forbid the drinking of not only liquor, but wine as well.

No wine! Mr. Bosch naturally faced a dilemma. The Master addressed his concerns with the loving advice that he should “move gradually to another line of work.

Fortunately, John Bosch was involved in several areas of food production: prunes, olives and unfermented grape juice. He redeveloped his lands and severed his association with the wine industry in 1916.

When the first permanent Baha’f school in the Western States was founded in 1927, the sessions were held on the Bosch acreage in Geyserville north of San Francisco. That land was deeded to the National Spiritual Assembly in 1936. In the early 1970s a freeway was planned to run through the property, so it was sold and Bosch Baha’i School was located at its current site uphill from Monterey Bay.

Mr. Bosch’s other roles in the history of the Faith are well-documented: as a companion to the Master on His U.S. visit and at His passing in Haifa; as a delegate to the first national Baha’{ administrative gathering on this continent, as a pioneer with his wife, Louise, in the Pacific; as a tireless teacher of the Faith in California. But the institution now known by his name was a great and cherished labor of his final years. #

Photos courtesy of Bosch Baha'i School

BOSCH BAHA’I Ne HOOL 500 Comstock Lane * Santa Cruz, CA 95060 * 408-423-3387 7 Utt~‘Ci‘CS@CY

September 8,1998 | THE AMERICAN BANA’i ¢ CONSOLIDATING THE VICTORIES page 9 [Page 10]

CONSOLIDATING*THE*VICTORIES

Ocean of Light illuminates outstanding season at Bosch

See. got off to a busy start at Bosch

chool, with several conferences and sessions creating bonds of love and unity among friends of all ages and diverse cultural backgrounds.

‘The Pacific Islanders’ Teaching Conference: Ocean of Light on July 2 highlight, with more than 90 across New Zealand, Tahiti, Tonga and the hall Islands, and many former pioiving in the U dd Derek Cockshut, memf Council for the Western States, spoke on the conference theme “Share the Pearls of Baha'u'llah” and

was a

aha’is from

encouraged the friends in their teaching. Workshops, consultation on teaching, reports of teaching in progress—including a beautiful video from the teaching conference in K i—and time for sharing and getting to know one another were all part of the program. The conference received a message from Princess Tooa Te falietoaSavusa of Samoa, and participants returned their thanks in a letter to her.

The children went te; n, the Curable Di

They sang, danced and marched their way through a local Fourth of July parade with an faith group, marching in support of the NAACP. Afterward the children con

ued to teach at a Baha'i booth and won first place as a chi The following week Youth Music Acadei culminating — conc “Outstanding!” “Superb!” “What talent!” This performance by the 28 students followed a week id practice with six professional Students’ comments express the ze now th: : doesn’t have

drew praise for its

mus

to be full of ego and competition. There are those who perform music as worship and as act of love.” “I was overwhelmed by the i for teaching the Cause with A

music.” “Pm inspired More than 90 Bi

brought a wonderful spirit to the P ssion July 18-23 for outstanding cl: nd English, music, dance, flower arranging, great

Helping mothers help kids

Photo courtesy of U.S. Baha'i Refugee Office

Mothers have become involved in mentoring of Southeast Asian children as part of an after-school program carried out by Laurian Harris of San Diego, California, the U.S. Baha’i Refugee Office reports. Chia Her (left), a Hmong woman, has helped her children Manee (standing) and Pasheng with their schoolwork since attending an English class for Hmong women in her community, then English-assecond-language classes at a community college. For information on the work of the Refugee Office, call 847-733-3547.

‘Irfan session in English

n English-language session of the

‘Irfan Colloquium has been rescheduled for Oct. 9-12 at Louhelen Baha’i School, Davison, Michigan. The session will be held at the same time Persian language programs, and participants may attend parts of both.

‘The Colloquia for 1998 will focus on the world religions in Baha’i perspective. The English and Persian ‘Irfin Seminars will focus on the revelation of Baha’u'llah during the Istanbul and Adrianople periods (1863-68). They will examine a number of important writings of Baha’u’llah such as the Surih-yi-Ghusn, many of the tablets addressed to the kings, the two tablets of Ahmad (Arabic and Persian), the Mathnavi-yi Mubarak, the Tablet of the Celestial

is moved to October

Nightingale and the Kitab (Baha’u'llah’s response to questior some Babis). The tablets of Naqus, Sarrdj, ‘Tuga, Ashraf, Salman, Nuqtih, Zibh and Vidad will be discussed in light of Baha’i concepts of Divinity and Manifestation.

Presentations will be made by Muin Afnani, Iraj Ayman, Tal’at Bassari, Ted Brownstein, Iskandar Ha’i, Chris Jones, Moojan Khadem, Ruhullah Khushbin, Parivash Samandari, Sohrab Kourosh, Azar Movagh, Behrooz Sabet, Nader Saiedi and Robert Stockman.

For reservations and registration contact Louhelen (phone 810-653-5033, e-mail

). For information on the pro gram contact Robert Stockman (phone 847733-3425, e-mail .¢

Children attending the Ocean of Light conference assemble in readiness to participate in the local Fourth of July parade. Photo courtesy of Bosch Baha'i School

food and fellowship. ¢ In Persi aha’f Studies, presented Tablets of the Divine F the made about the execution of Mr. Ruhollah Rowhani in Iran. The group by the news, but took imme contact Persian-language medi An details of the situation.

‘arhad Sabetan, representative for the es of Huququ'l sented on Hugqiqu’ll: Covenant and the letter from the Unive

Tt was during

classes

s saddened

Riazati, member of the Regional Council for the Western States, d the Kitab-i

In Eng

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September 8, 1998

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THE AMERICAN BAHA'I « BAHA’i DISTRIBUTION SERVICE _ page 13 [Page 14]

THE STATE OF THE PROFESSION

If you were a Baha’i when you entered journalism, how did your Baha’i identity influence your choice of field and how has it influenced your career moves within the field?

David Freeman: | think I have been influenced m to be conscious of the power of assistance in where I have ended up. While most folks in the field are “climbing the ladder” and are tightly focused on market size and money, I have always felt that I would end up where the Faith needed me. When it comes time to consider this, we just hit the prayer book hard and look for doors to open.

I might also say that doing weather is very much a service-oriented part of the and it also puts me in a position to be a positive force in the ve light. ally, I have found that being a { strongly influences my style of management (I supervise five . We try to employ con: ion-making to create a positive and enjoyable work environment, and I take great joy in developing the potential of each individual.

Lesa Morey: I got into journalism, oddly enough, the same year I became a Baha’i. I’ve never strayed from the Faith nor the field. Not sure there’s a real connection, though!

My “Baha’{ parents” both happened to be broadcast journa - One word of advice one of them gave that sticks with me today: “Anyone can write about

} INTERVIEWS BY TOM MENNILLO Baha’is in journalism who responded to an online survey are greatly troubled by

the state of their profession.

But they are confident by and large that the Revelation of Baha’u’llah will exert the influence needed for journalism to become a unifying agent in society.

And most see a role for themselves—and for young Baha’is they help bring into the field—in canalizing that transformation.”

The survey questions were asked on the international “Bahai-Journalists” e-mail list. Response was invited from journalism practitioners, educators, and students

in the “lower 48” United States.

Four American news people and a communications instructor answered the call, along with a Norwegian journalist who asked that his comments be included. All

responses were edited for length.

problems. A good reporter writes about solution So that has been one approach I’ve always taken, and with some suct

The busi

ss has polished my rusty communication skills (not very high at the onset—I had some borderline speech problems), given me confidence about approching and speaking to “important” people—skills any Baha’t should have.

Neda Najibi: I chose this field because I love to write and because of my parents, especially my mother, being so proud and telling me how I can spread the Baha’{ message through this career. So I became more motivated, stimulated to accomplish this goal.

In all honesty, I don’t feel ’'ve done much in the area of spreading the Baha’i message; it is difficult. Journal

i

re Pe

“AIL | had to do was to strive to really find out the truth, to listen to all sides, and then to set it down accurately—just as Baha’u’llah counsels in the Sixth Taraz, the best bit of

journalism advice ever.” —Brad Pokorny

—_—

's are taught to not take a side. Occasionally when I know of a Baha’i event that could use some publicity P’ll leave a message for our assignment desk at the TV station.

If you weren’t a Baha’i when you entered the field, what role did being a journalist play in your decision to become a Baha’i and how has becoming a Baha’i influenced your career moves within the field?

Brad Pokorny: I was not a Baha’{ when I joined the [Boston] Globe. So I had to deal with the whole transition of trying to practice journalism in a Baha’i way.

I’ve always been interested in journalism because i

seemed to me the best way to find out the truth of things or, to put it in Baha'i terms, to investig: ity

When I became engaged with the

Faith, this exposure to so many aspects of reality led me to see how the Baha’i Faith was the answer to so many questions, the antidote to so many world problems.

1 tired very much of covering politics, which is the meat and potatoes of modern journalism, and decided to apply within the Globe for.a position as a science

reporter, a position that I got shortly

ABOUT THE RESPONDENTS

David Freeman is chief meteorologist and weather reporter for a television station in Wichita, Kansas. He is also a member of the Auxiliary Board for Protection

of the Faith.

Michael Kariberg is a communications lecturer and graduate student in Bellingham, Washington, engaged in media research and education.
Thor Henning Lerstad of Lillehammer, Norway, is a news editor/news presenter

for the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation.

For 22 years, Lesa Morey of Sebring, Florida, has reported for local newspapers

and a trade magazine and been a university public relations specialist.

Neda Najibi is a producer/consumer news for a television station in Austin, Texas,

and a marketing project specialist for Dell Computer.

Brad Pokorny edits One Country magazine at the Baha’j International CommuBley ofits Nery ork, Slew. Be was 2. seal reparcer (ore Boston Gove ee

1980 to 1987.

before I was invited to come to the Baha’i International Community (BIC).

I think, however, that Baha’is should not be afraid of covering politics. There

is no need to take a stand in your reporting—indeed, good reporters should not do so. So, in my view, Baha’is could really make the best political reporters. It just became a tiresome business.

What particular daily challenges do you face in your work because of your beliefs?

Brad Pokorny: Now, working for the BIC, this is not really an issue. I am able to combine belief and work. At the Globe, though, it took some time to figure this one out.

Ultimately, I found that being a Baha’ reporter was easy. All I had to do was to strive to really find out the truth, to listen to all sides to set it down accurately: Baha’u’llah s in the Si Taraz, the best bit of journalism advice ever.

just as

Neda Najibi: I believe that my behavior and the respect I give to my tasks and to all my co-workers has been apparent to them, and the majority know that I’m a Baha There are times when I don’t want to do a particular story because I really believe that it i: ate, but ... my executive producer decides we'll do it and I have to assign it. This makes me uncomfortable, but there are times when I have chosen stories that have act ple. And this is gr: know I’ve done good.

not ac

ally helped peofying, because I

David Freeman: This is a very competitive field, and I often catch myself getting wrapped up in all of that. This requires constant vigilance.

I would like to think we can vie with each other without being meanspirited and without resorting to knocking the other guy. Backbiting is pervasive in the industry.

The other big challenge is dealing with the public—from handling calls that come in at the wrong time from folks who really aren’t using their brains to r virulent c This is becoming my Baha’i barometer—a measure of how I can walk the walk.

sponding to sometimes

cism.

Lesa Morey: I’ve not really encountered any conflicts between

my faith and my job.

Is there a fine line you have to tread in bringing a Baha’i perspective to

your work?

David Freeman: That is one of the great joys of being a meteorologi: school visits, in public appearances I have much more freedom to expres my own views! Less of a conflict or te: for me than for reporters, I Ik.

Lesa Morey: I’ve never tried to bring a Baha’i perspective to my reports. I simply use my own perspective, which is pretty well steeped in Baha’i approaches anyway. Although I am an isolated believer, I have to wonder if any passing-through Baha’i were to pick up the

paper and think to himself: “Ah! She

must be a Baha’i.” I doubt

Brad Pokorny: Except for a column I wrote at the Globe on the persecutions in

ran, I never wrote about the Faith.

I did try, however, for a while, to lobby for what I called the “peace beat” at the Globe. That was a time of much talk about nuclear disarmament and all, and I felt it was under-covered and I felt it should be covered better. They never assigned me full time to it, but they let me do an occasional story.

page 14 THE AMERICAN BAHA‘i * CONSOLIDATING THE VICTORIES

September 8, 1998 [Page 15]

MEE TA TM Co NSOLI 555

‘DAT

Ss ETRE

NG°*THE*VICTORIES

“[T]here must be revived among the individual believers a sense

of mission, a feeling of empowerment to minister to the

urgent need of humanity for guidance and thus to win

victories for the Faith in their own sphere of life.

—Universal House of Justice, from the May 19, 1994, letter to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of the United States

To what extent are the news media seen by journalists and the public as a catalyst for uni

Lesa Morey: Hardly! The media are viewed as divisive, I believe. And with good cause. We are. We’re all clamoring for attention as never before and barely pass on the temptation to sensationalize and/or create controvers where there really was none before.

Thor Henning Lerstad: As I see i journalism in general is in deep cri due to the common lack of a spiritual understanding of who we are, why we are and where to go, individually and collectively.

I like to look upon journalism as a genuine way to practice the essence of faith, defined as an attitude of love for the unknown. But many times I feel d couraged working with news because. our common motivation for work only seems to be built upon a combination of critical philosophy, civic arrogance and plain devilry. The ideology might boil down to a “Watergate complex”: Our

What can Baha’i journalists do individually or collectively (perhaps through an organization of Baha’i journalists) to foster that media role (i

main objective is to go hunting for the crook of the we

Brad Pokorny: If they do their jobs well and correctly, that is, if they report fairly and accurately and without ser tion, they accomplish much in this regard, without even trying, inasmuch as the trends toward peace and unity are the major trends today.

Unfortunately, howe ost of the focus of journalism today is on covering the decline of the old world order, without any sense that there is a new one being made at the same time.

Michael Karlberg: Contemporary surveys suggest that public opinion of the news media and journalists has fallen to an extreme low point. Journalists tend to be viewed as part of an eliti group of political players that excludes the public from meaningful participation in public decision-making and

affairs.

Newspaper readership has been in a steady decline for over a decade now. In addition, the news audience (both print and television) among the young “generation X” appears to be lower than any previous (modern) generation.

Regarding journalists’ self-perceptions: Surveys again suggest that journalists tend to be a highly disillusioned group. Many enter the field with high ideals and aspirations of public service, only to become cynical and burnt out from the various pressures and constraints they must operate under.

David Freeman: Zippo. I think the media are, unfortunately, viewed with S . as either a neutral

or disunifying force in society. But this ion is deeper. Are the media a shaping force or merely a reflection of society? Baha'u'llah refers to newspapers as a “mirror” that “reflect the

ing the forces of society?

” of the people. ifest in the sophisticated mar! rch that is increasingly the basis for the modern media. Unfortunately, this often results in the lowest common denominator in news and pragramming. So, in a sense, ty gets exactly what we deserve.

However, there are also instances where there is discretion in what areas will receive special attention and focus. And that is noted in the next phrase of that statement by Baha’u’llah, that the media should be “purged from the promptings of evil passions and desires and to be attired with the raiment of justice and equity.” (Tablets of Baba’u’lJab, page 40)

Neda Najibi: I strongly believe that journalists are a catalyst. I only pray and hope that one day news can be reported not merely for ratings but for information.

assist the exploration of these issues, influence the profession’s evolution, encourage young people to enter the field)?

Michael Karlberg: In its “Individual Rights and Freedoms” letter, the Universal House of Justice stated that “the code of conduct of the press must embrace the principles and objectives of consultation as revealed by Baha’u’llah. Only in this way will the press be able to make its full contribution to the preservation of the rights of the people and become a powerful instrument in the consultative processes of society, and hence for the unity of the human race.”

All Baha’is, including those who work in the media, need to expand their thinking about both consultation and the media. The statement above suggests that the principles and objectives of consultation can somehow be carried out society-wide, facilitated at least in part by the mass media. Baha’is need to figure out ways of influencing the practice of the media/journalists in the direction indicated by the House statement.

Bahd’ journalists and media workers will be able to influence practices from within the profession to some degree. ‘They may want to ally themselves with like-minded reform efforts within the media, such as the “public journalism” or “civic journalism” movements, which have a vision of journalism that parallels the consultative vision set out by the House of Justice in many ways.

Baha'i educators outside the media may be able to influence audience preferences and expectations [outside and

inside the Faith] through “media education” or “media literacy’—a growing movement within education circles that is attempting to raise the critical awareness of students and citizens.

And closely related to these developments, Baha’f scholars in related fields

“TA statement by the Universal House of Justice]

suggests that the prin ples and objectives of consultation can somehow be carried out society-wide,

facilitated at least in part

by the mass media.” —Michael Karlberg

may well want to turn their attention to the media analysis, research, and theory that can often lend valuable insights to media education itself.

Baha’is who practice in public relations, external affairs and similar fields— whether representing Baha’ or secular institutions—also have a role to play in their interactions with the media. Public relations, when conceived of in a consultative framework, takes on new dimen

sions of meaning that in turn call for corresponding changes in practice.

Baha’i [national and global] institutions may also be able to develop organized ways of influencing the media and the public’s thinking about the media, in consultative ways ... by drafting statements on the role of the media, by attending or contributing to policy discussions regarding the media, and so forth.

Finally, this [e-mail] list could be a valuable starting point for further exploring the implications of the statement by the House of Justice quoted above.

Neda Naj think we can do a /ot. Basically, journalism classes always teach how important ethics are, just like the Baha’i Faith teaches how important it is to abide by the Teachings. ... We also can [develop] this within our BahaiJournalist organization.

‘Thor Henning Lerstad: [In addition to exploring Mr. Karlberg’s suggestions above], may I suggest that, if possible, some of you members of this list in the States could meet (and share the results of the consultation with the rest of us afterwards)? I would think Tom’s and Michael’s questions already make an agenda.

Lesa Morey: I do NOT encourage young people to pursue journalism as a

career. In fact, I recently wrote a long, impassioned letter to a college-bound nephew contemplating such a move. I instead counseled him to pursue some area of practical expertise about which, someday, he could write from a platform of authority.

As Baha’is, we are blessed to have tuned into the big story. As journalists, we have great difficulty sharing the good news despite our gateway access to mass communication. Does being a Baha’f journalist make a difference? From my experience, no.

And so, last year, at the ripe age of 42, I started back to school to earn a twoyear degree in a practical field, one which Baha’u’llah called the most important profession: agriculture. My plans are to specialize as an agricultural writer.

David Freeman: We have to stay in the field and encourage young Baha’is to get in the field, so that this important group of people is exposed to the Baha’f concept of justice and equity, along with the positive value of diversity.

I think th one area where we can reach people of capacity, as the Universal House of Justice encourages us.

Brad Pokorny: Report more on the other side of things: the building up of a new world order. This is the real story of the century. But you will have to lobby for this in your newsrooms. #

September 8, 1998

THE AMERICAN

BaniA’i * CONSOLIDATING THE VICTORIES _ page I5 [Page 16]

SERVING AT THE

WORLD CENTER:

The intensity, the diversity, the flow of spirit

BY KARIM BEERS

nescore and a half Baha’i months have passed since I O= for one year at the Holy Land. Having seen the inner workings of the Baha’i World Center, my confidence in the efficacy and potency of the Faith grew, as did my faith. In one sense, the work I did in the gardens was unimpressive: I mowed lawns, cut down trees, planted and watered petunias, pansies, geraniums, and calendula, tended a compost heap, and pulled more weeds than I’m willing to admit. However, regardless of the mundane description of my labor, anything anyone does at the Baha’i World Center somehow attains a superlative status, due to the Spot in which the deed is performed. I mean, we were working in the precincts of the Qiblih of the World, the Point of Adoration, the Most Holy Spot! It is as if all your actions and their implications become magnified a zillion times. Some World Center staff maintain that because of this magnification phenomenon, the tests received while serving in the Holy Land tend to be rather immense. They reason that since we serve around the Qiblih, if you try to stick your little ego up and go against the flow of the current, then the blast from the torrential Waters will be potent. Yet even so, the grace and mercy of God offset the pains of the tests—like a giant comfortable life raft, so to speak. There is something so very special about visiting the blessed Shrines in ‘Akka and Haifa. Visiting the Shrines, you

Karim Beers is an COTS Cr alae ere anes a Teco (me Cond

could revel in the perfumed, simple ambience of the carpeted rooms; you could pray fervently to that i of God Whose earthly remains were but a few paces from you; and you could reflect on how lucky you were for having been allowed to actually enter the Shrines (for in the future, such a bounty will be impossible due to the sheer number of pilgrims). But the power and effect of visiting the Shrines was greater than all these things combined.

One aspect of service that made the experience so much fun and so rewarding was the diversity of the servants at the World Center. In my orientation group of about 15, Ghana, Portugal, England, Singapore, the Congo (Zaire), Malawi, jad, South Africa, Ukraine, Swaziland, Sweden, Eritrea the USA were all repre: Being a witness to the diversity as well as the efficient and joyous functioning of eart of the Baha’i world instilled in me an added degree of hope for the future of our planet.

‘The intensity of laughter was also directly proportional to the degree of diversity. Never have I laughed so hard, so much, as I did during my short months in Israel.

How I wish I could convey an accurate picture of the place, which is at once uniquely charming and so different from any other community on Earth. Alas, neither time, nor space, nor wit, nor memory permit. I do hope, however, that I gave some sort of glimpse of that Spot. Allah-uAkbar! Allah-u-Abha!

A HEROIC DEED OF SERVICE IS PLEDGED

“We look to the members of the Baha’i community in the United States to perform, during the Four Year Plan, heroic deeds of service to the Cause, which will astonish and inspire their fellow-believers throughout the world.” —Universal House of Justice, Ridvan 153 B.E. message to the Baha’is of North America

Youth around the country are deepening on the spirit of heroism and sending in pledges for the Heroic Deeds of Service to the Cause campaign. The National Youth Committee will collect hundreds of pledges that will be sent at Ridvan 156 to the Universal House of Justice as a gift from the Baha’i youth of the United States.

If you would like to participate in the campaign, please send a letter or e-mail to the National Youth Committee that includes the following:

1. What heroic deed of service to the Cause will you perform? If your heroic deed is of a private nature, you may describe it in a general way that conveys the spirit of your efforts without including details.

2. Why is this heroic for you?

3. What other thoughts or quotes do you have related to heroism?

4. Your name, age, address, e-mail, phone number.

5. The date by which you expect to complete your heroic deed of service to the Cause.

Individuals who send in pledge sheets will be contacted some time after their sheets have been received to see what was easy or difficult about converting their pledges into action (not to check up on them). Please send this information to the National Youth Committee, c/o Baha’i National Center, 1233 Central St., Evanston, IL, 60201 (e-mail ) A PLEDGE...

ic deed has two parts, but the overriding a change in the spirit and manner in hich I live my life. On a personal in incre in reading the Writings, being con: ng my anita paye and rai mal

at I apply this new spirituality to more ef tively teaching the issue of race unity on campus. I am involved in a group that arted by Baha’is but not limis. I would to raise my involvement to a al level. I will not let frustration and lack of ation dampen my own degree of commitment. I have not met with much success in gett ment from the campus community, but that is my goal. I will make an effort to publicize meetings, events, etc. and try to involve more people, even if they only come to one

volve

the reaction from the community, my in focus is heightening my commitment, responsib and s 1e of race unity. This deed is heroic for crifice of the time I reserve s a break from my work. It also involves overcoming obstacles (such as fear, despair, embarrassment, disappointment, etc.) and persevering because of my beliefs. And it is a challenge for me that I am rising to face. @

Dawnbreakers

BY FITZGERALD DICK

‘The blackest of the night

is right before the first light. Anew day has begun

with the coming of the dawn. When one has lived in darkness, One’ eyes fear the light

and eyelids quickly close,

to help preserve the night.

‘The chosen few who strive

to bring mankind the light,

must unfortunately battle

the forces of the night.

Tahirih, Quddis, Mullé Husayn and Vahid Hujjat, Badf, Martha and Naim.

Like the burning candle,

that dies to give its light,

they spent their whole lives striving to exterminate the night.

The Equality of Women and Men, the Oneness of Humanity.

‘The One God up in heaven, desires us to live in unity.

‘These teachings were the light

or which they gave their life.

Yet the peoples of the night

filled their life with strife.

‘Tahirih was killed, strangled with her veil. Mullé Husayn shot, Quddis taken to jail, Bad had molten lead

poured down into his throat,

to stop him from speaking the words which God had wrote.

Such undaunted, peerless courage. Such selfless acts of devotion. Their love, a burning raging fire, brought light to all the nations. I give props to thee, O breakers of the dawn! Were it not for thee we would have had no light to signal in the morn. Eyelids have been opened, we can appreciate the light. Without those first few rays We would have lived always

in the night.

Fitzgerald Dick isa

Sunrise, Florida.

page 16 THE AMERICAN BAHA’i* YOUTH = September 8, 1998 [Page 17]

HOW DO YOU GUYS DO IT?

GETTING A COLLEGE CLUB STARTED

BY ARGHAVAN RAHIMPOUR

Fi t, let me tell you a_ story. My family, like many other Baha'is, escaped from Iran when I was 5 years old. Between Illam, Tehran, Isfahan, Rawelpendi, Vienna, Brigham City, Colorado Springs, and now Los Angeles, I have never lived in one place long enough to become attached to it. I don’t really know call home.

Pll never forget the day I asked my mother, who had spent the first 35 years of her life in Iran, if she ever wished she could go back there. To my astonishment, she said, “No!”

“But why?” I asked, completely confused. “It's so beautiful there, grew up there, Faith began there

“Arghay these things, but my dear, these things are only exciting at the beginning. Ultmately, itis friends that make a place wonderful. People always want to be where their friends are.”

Now let me try to answer your question. The best advice I can give anyone about how to have a great college club is to remind them of my mother’s words:

ee Rahimpour is

ERS aC ia)

and natural Presid Per CR UN eos AR ay California.

vhere to

nd you nd the history of our de seore

“People always want to be where their friends are.”

Of course, it does not just come about overnight. In fact, over the past two years, our club has been working on it.

To serve locally with world-embracing vision

aha’i youth, arising in the Heroic Deeds of Service cam an, you're right about all of

anniversary of both the Conference

While we have done the usual firesides, deepenings, and prayer sessions, those are not the things that come to mind when I think about all the great times we've had together.

I remember the drive b: from ch Solan Club Weekend in the Baha . The window shattered while we were driving and we had to drive the next six hours with a trash bag taped to the door. Needless to say, we were yelling the whole trip becaus of all the noise the bag was making and some of us

Talso remember the ike all-nighters Samir pulled with me to help me study for my molecular biology exams.

Then, I remember the thoughtful especially the jalli gave me se orange is my favorite color and embered.

I will never forget the many times Seth, the cinema major, let me borrow his VCR, or the vegetarian Thanksgiving Hope invited me to when I didn’t go home for Thanksgiving. And of course, there’s Damion (one of the greatest cooks I know) and all of the delicious Chinese dishes he made for us. Finally, I remember all the things we found out about each other in our late-night games of spoons and all the pots of coffee we drank.

Whether there are two Baha’is on your campus or 200, forming close friendships with each other is the only way to keep any club active. After all, who wants to be a part of something that's not fun?

And honestly, this goes right along with the basic and fundamental principle of the Baha’i Faith: UNITY.

Since we try to have a good time, we've even attracted some older youth from the community to come to our meetings and events. We call them our

‘teach. Sometimes,

others in organizing activi

“adopted members.” Their experiences are invaluable because most of them have already graduated. Not only do they have experience dealing with their own college clubs, but now that they’re in the “real world” they have tons of contacts to help us out. 4

The next step is to think SIMPLE.

This last year when the Hindu Stuforming, I decided to go to the first meeting. At the meeting, I introduced myself as a Baha’s, and said that I would really like it if they would study the Bhaghavad Gita so that I could learn more about Hindu: For four months, Hindu ne up to me ng about

The lesson we all learned was that while events that had cost us more than $1, 000 from sponsors had been success, we didn’t need to go all-out to simplicity is the

Looking b : cords for the University of Southern lifornia Baha’i Club, we have a lot to ive up to. Our campus has been the site for Baha’i youth conferences, concerts, firesides, theatrical productions, deepenings, book signings, talks, displays, ons, film screenings, youth , and prayer sessions. This last year was filled with a lot of great teaching opportunities and many good memories. We definitely learned a lot. What we have found is that ultimately, it makes no difference how many members a club has or even what they do as long as they do something and they do it in unity.

And of course, don’t forget the prayers! @

COLLEGE CLUB WEEKENDS

AT THE PERMANENT SCHOOLS

The College Club Weekends, sponsored by the National Youth Committee, help college clubs become part of a united network of Baha’i college students regionally and across the country. The session focuses on mobilization of fresh approaches to teaching and serving on campus. Come and learn more about the special role that youth play in the Four Year Plan.

Call the school nearest you for registration information and details. Scheduled programs:

Green Acre Baha’i School, Eliot,

Maine, Sept. 25-27 (phone 207-4397200, fax 207-438-9940,

e-mail

Bosch Baha’i School, Santa Cruz;

California, Oct. 16-18 (phone 408423-3387, fax 408-423-7564, e-mail

Louhelen Baha’i School, Davisdat

Michigan, rescheduled for Oct. 30-Nov. | (phone 810-653-5033, fax 810-653-7181, e-mail )

Hosting for BYW Web sites

Ben Barbour of Wilmington, NC, owns the ‘Web site www.byw.org and would like to provide a service for Baha’i Youth Workshops to get free Web site hosting. He can provide services such as the following for each workshop/youth group:

2MB disk space

Unlimited forwarding addresses,

Unliminted auto-responding

Calendar of events

Photo gallery

E-mail Ben at

for

Pounding pavement in Texas

paign, have in these last two years of the Four Year Plan a special opportunity to apply Baha’i p ples to the many problems of “a planet at odds with itself.”

The Universal House of Justic noted in its 1996 Ridvan mi that the “outstanding contributions of the youth” include “participation in external affairs activities.” Historically, both Badi, who proclaimed the message of Baha’u’llah to the Shah of Iran, and Tahiri who removed her veil at the Conference of Badasht to demonstrate that this was “the day on which the fetters of the past were burst asunder,” sacrificed their lives in speaking the truth to powerful people.

This year marks the 150th

of Badasht and the Women’s Rights Convention that took place in Seneca Falls, New York, where equal rights for women were first proclaimed in North America. The United Nations is also celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Participation in U.N.-related activities provides an excellent opportunity for youth to teach the Faith to likeminded individuals and get the Baha’i perspective on world issues known.

The US/UN Baha’i Office has ideas and resources available to both new and veteran college clubs, youth workshops, and individuals about U.N.-related activities.

Some examples of avenues for service and teaching are:

Sponsor an activity or link with

International Day of Peace on Sept. 19, United Nations Day on Oct. 24, Human Rights Day on Dec. 10 and International Women’s Day on March 8.

Commemorate

anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights with other student organizations. Use the “In Your Hands Community Action Guide for Human Rights Year and Beyond” (see the Web site hetp://www.udhr50.org) and/or the UNAS “UN Day Program Manual 98” (see http://www.unausa.org).

For further information and materials, please contact the US/UN Baha’i Office, 866 United Nations Plaza, Suite 120, New York, NY 10017 (phone 212-803-2500, e-mail

).@

the 50th

Baha’ youth in Tarrant County, Texas, distribute fliers about the June broadcasts of The Power of Race Unity. Pictured are Chuck Freeman, Amelia Villagomez, Hamed Yazhari, Nathan Cain, Pedram Panbechi and Jordan Carter; not pictured is Robin Cain.

September 8, 1998

‘THE AMERICAN BAHA‘i * YouTH page 17

[Page 18]SPREADING the TEACHINGS

Diversity, love are hallmarks of gospel choir tour

passage from the Holy Bible, ‘The harvest is truly plenteous, put the laborers are few”

[Matthew 9:37], was the theme of a 10day Harvest ‘Tour of the One Human Family Workshop Choir.

‘The June 4-14 tour, directed by com/gospel musician Eric Dozier, and ended in Durham, North

It brought together 40 singers from more than a dozen states, diverse in age, race, cultural and socioeconomic background. After rehearsals at the Durham Baha’i Center the singers traveled by bus through Raleigh and Charlotte, North Carolina; Lake City and- Columbia, and Atlanta, Georgia. With the tour organized by co-coordi ilsey Davis of Durham and

ching activities sponsored by Local Spiritual Assemblies. ier and the choir also attracted

media attention, including appearances on radio stations and television news.

Matching black shirts worn on tour by the diverse choir sparked curiosity, providing plenty of teaching opportunities. On the front was the legend “One Human Family Workshop Choir” and a design depicting six faces of varied race. On back, in big-bright letters: “Uniting the World One Song at a Time.”

Members of the One Human Family Workshop Choir perform at a Race Unity Concert at North Carolina Central University in Durham, North Carolina, near the end of the

Harvest Tour. Photo by Pamela Brode

‘The singers proved that the laborers may be few, but when the souls are united and turn to the Holy Spirit with radiant and pure hearts, the “angels of the Abha Paradise, in continuous succession, will come down to their aid.” (‘Abdu’l

Baha, Selections from the Writings of

‘Abdu’l-Bahd, p. 81)

A few highlights of the tour:

The windows were open at the

Baha’{ Unity Center in Raleigh, and as the lively and rhythmic gospel music reverberated out to the streets of the mainly African-American neighborhood, adults, teens and children trickled in and filled the little building. Some

guests stood up and joined the choir in singing both old-time spirituals and praises of Baha’w'llah.

While most members

organized teaching acti City, Dozier and 12 choir members sang at a Baptist church in Raleigh for the funeral of a woman who had been a beloved neighbor of the Baha’i Center in Raleigh. Church members received Dozier’s updated arrangement of the old spiritual “Go Down Moses” with love and enthusiasm.

Later at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, the small group sang to feed the energy of a meeting of the

ers with the Regi he Southern $ Miller

Council

Alejandra Firuz

and Kazemzadeh of the National Spiritual

selor

Assembly were present.

At the end of a concert in Charlotte,

North Carolina, were so moved that everyone jumped out of their seats and stood in the outer aisles forming a big hand-holding circle around the auditorium. The audience followed the still-singing choir out of the building and formed another large circle. It all ended with prayers, group hugs, happy tears, and a lot of hing.

One woman marveled, “I haven't felt this kind of loving spirit since I attended a Pete Seeger concert in the ’60s!”

Wherever the choir sang—at churches, theaters, Baha’i centers, universities, race unity picnics, and at facilities such as the Martin Luther King Center—the choir not only delighted the hearts of their audiences with the soul-stirring beauty of gospel music, but they promoted the teachings of Baha’u’llah.

The music also brought the choir members themselves together—as did i perforhrough love, patience, lessness and continual consultati prayers and deepenings, many. barriers were stripped away and understanding, unity and fellowship were strengthened.

—Submitted by Pamela Brode, Durham, NC @

audience members

» Center dedication raises momentum for Baha’is in San Luis Obispo County

Nincinnati, ue : ‘Bahai ere looking { for an easy but different way to publicize their Baha’i center, eos the Faith, and be of service to the wider community at the same time. ‘Then one of the friends suggested a yard sale. After some brainstorming, the friends came up with the eae Give” project. ‘ Here’s how it worked:

Baha’is and their friends con- _

tributed items of modest value.

The Baha'is prepared

fliers and teaching pamphlets. They did not advertise, but will next year.

Whenever someone stopped

by, assuming that this was yet another yard sale, the friends told them they could simply take anything they wanted free—if they agreed to provide a service to someone they knew.

They could visit-a neighbor, shop for a shut-in, read to a child,

provide any service ‘They were on the honor system; no one would check to see if they had followed through.

Almost everyone said they love the idea and want to return next year. A few wanted to know about the Baha'i Faith. Some took a tour of the Baha’{ Center and mentioned they had gs curious about it.

One person was adamant shee wanting to pay, saying, “I don’t have time to serve anyone and if you don’t want my money I'll leave.”

‘The Baha’is had a chance to be outside, get a little exercise helping to load trucks and cars, and chat with each other. The community shared items that someone no longer needed. A lot of interest in the Baha'i center was generated.

Everything left at the end of the day was donated to a local group to resell. @

ae:

B ‘’is and their friends—including a county supervisor who made an emotionfilled speech praising the comn packed the Cambria, California, B: ter to overflowing when the building was dedicated in May.

‘The event inspired one seeker to enroll in the Faith. She helped form the Baha’i group of nearby Atascadero the following week.

The dedication ceremony began’ with a prayer for mankind read by Anne Zinke, a youth whose inspirational battle with brain cancer has made her a local heroine as well as capturing the hearts of Baha’is onwide through reports in The American Babd’é. Tim Franklin, a facilitator for the Institute for the Healing of Racism, spoke on the message of the oneness of mankind.

‘Then came the surprise: San Luis Obispo County Supervisor Bud Laurent spoke for 20 minutes, his eyes welling with tears and his voice often choked with emotion. He described the Baha’is as “an island of peace and serenity in a chaotic world.”

“You may be simply standing in line at a supermarket, and the person behind you doesn’t even know that you’re a Baha’i, but somehow that faith and love you have radiates out from you and touches ail of us; you heal us,” Laurent said. The supervisor also noted

The Baha’i Center of Cambria, California, was the scene of a tribute from a county official n of faith by a seeker during

he keeps a copy of The Promise of World Peace, presented to him in 1985, mounted on his office wall as a prized possession.

The festivity of the day was topped off with African drumming and dancing performed and led by Francisca Atule of Ghana. @

page 18

THE AMERICAN BAHA’{ * SPREADING THE TEACHINGS

September 8, 1998 [Page 19]

TV interview publicizes Faith in Virginia

public-access TV interview by a

Argan Central Virginian helped

aise the profile of the Faith in

Lynchburg and Bedford County, V gini

nce the

y Ch

ea does not have the

cable, the Whitehead

greed to in with a religion and philosophy professor from Liberty University, a well-known C i

Though the interview, a June, got started with a q whether the Ba Faith is a cult, it was Professor Mi el McKenz: ho. dismissed that issue right away. From that point the conversation with Greg Slominski, a local Baha’i, continued in

Teaching Skills

ele sharing of Baha’ literature is critical for effective teaching. Dissemination of the Faith’s sacred literature Guardian said, “is an essential prerequis to any effectively organized campaign of teaching.” (The Advent of Divine Justice, p. 9) We must strive to “get out more literature, which is the very backbone of the teaching work.” (Lights of Divine Guidance, Vol. 1, p. 265) “[Blooks can do infinitely more work than teachers. Sitting in a chair in a solitary corner one is infinitely more receptive to truth than in a lecture hall or in a discussion group.” (Dawn of a New Day, p. 39) Moreover, pamphlets will “enable the teaching work to progress more rapidly.” (Letters of the Guardian to Australia and New Zealand, p. 123)

As teachers, we must develop the skill of widely and wisely disseminating Baha’ literature. One aspect is knowing what literature to give. Giving a seeker a piece of lit= erature unsuitable for him is much like telling him about a subject that is of no interest to him or beyond his capacity to digest. It may well turn the seeker away from the Faith. Thus, it is helpful to be familiar with the seeker’s background and interests.

One way to determine the seeker’s interests is to ask directly. An example: “John, you said you wanted to read some literature on the Baha’f Faith. Is there something in particular you would be interested in reading? Do you want to know about its history or social teachings or spiritual teachings or administration or other aspect?”

Even without asking directly, teacher can, through conversation and observation, indirectly determine the seeker’s background and inclinations. For example, does the seeker appear to be oriented more toward the mystical or the practical? A book like The Seven Valleys may well be appropriate for the former,

the

SPREADING*THE*TEACHINGS

Greg Slominski (center), a Baha’i from Lynchburg, host André Whitehead (left) and Michael McKenzie, a rel public access TV program that was acclaimed as a “proclamation success.”

an informational and congenial tone according to a report from the Baha’ public information representative.

As the teachings of the Faith were explained, several audience members asked questions seeking to clarify points. Only one phone-in participant

flanked by talk show igion professor, during a

report said. “The local Baha’fs ed that the evening was a big procla

where the Faith is little known.”

6: Sharing Baha’i literature

but not the latter. Similarly, a work The Promise of World Peace may interest the latter, but not the former. As another example, a strong Christian may be turned off by a general pamphlet that refers to Jesus as one in a series of “Prophe: may well be attracted by a pamphlet written for a Christian audience.

As the above suggests, in addition to being familiar with the seeker’s “character

WT ——=S

In addition to being familiar with the seeker’s “character and mind,” the teacher must know about the Baha’i books or pamphlets he will be sharing.

and mind” (Arohanui: Letters from Shoghi Effendi to New Zealand, p. 28), the teacher must know about the Baha’i books or pamphlets he will be sharing.

Not all Baha’f literature is of equal status. We must distinguish between the primary literature of the Faith (the Sacred and authoritative Writings) and its secondary literature (writings by individual Baha'is).

We know the Sacred Writings have a special power and influence. Therefore, if the seeker has expressed a direct interest in the Faith, it may be best to share the Baha’ writings or works extensively quoting them.

On the other hand, if the teacher is trying to take an indirect approach, sharing secondary literature on topics of interest to the seeker may open the door for the study of the Writings later.

Secondary literature is of varying quali ty. Simply because a book or pamphlet has been published does not guarantee its quality. Through study and consultation with Baha’ institutions or more experienced teachers, the teacher can identify secondary sources that are well-written and well-grounded in the Teachings.

How we give literature will often affect how it is received. Sometimes we may want to give it to the seeker in a very casual or neutral manner (“Please read this” or “You might find this interesting”). Or we may want to share our excitement and enthusiasm about a piece of literature (“This book has transformed my life” or “I have learned so much from this book!”). We can also emphasize the particular value a book will have for that seeker (“This specifically addresses the points you have raised” or “This may well challenge your thinking about ...”).

We may want to show, by our reverence and humility, the sacred nature of what we are offering (“This is worthy of your most careful and prayerful consideration” or “You will find that this speaks to the heart and soul of those who are sincerely seeking the truth”). The idea is to help the seeker appreciate what is being given him.

Some teachers have found that lending books, instead of giving them away, conveys the value of the books.

Keep literature readily available. Have there been times when we have had teaching opportunities, but did not have literature with us? Keeping ample supplies of literature at home and copies nearby (e.g. at work, in the car, in the backpack or pocketbook) will ensure we have it handy when needed.

How do you effectively share Baha’ literature?

Extract from Raising the Call: The Individual and Effective Teaching (Palabra Publications, 1998). Used by permission of the author.

BRIEFLY

HOUSE OF WORSHIP ON THE WEB

major newspaper’s World Wide Web site features a rofile of the Baha’i House of

Worship in Wilmette, with plenty of photos and short articles on the teachings and history of the Faith.

The Chicago Tribune, on its Digital Cities Online site, posted a “virtual tour” with links to pages headed “Temple,” “Beliefs,” and “Baha’i Life.”

Fach of those pages has a brief introduction and links to articles and related photos. Also presented are passages of Baha’i-composed music, accessible to Web browsers with audio software.

The site was prepared after members of the Tribune staff, working through the Office of Public Information’s office at the Baha’i National Center, visited the Temple in March and interviewed local Bahi’is.

‘The Internet address for the site is communities.chicago.digitalcity.com/ evanston/special/1,1575,bahai,00.frm

BiG IMPACT THROUGH MEDIA

San Mateo, California, has seen a pair of successful proclamation meetings attracting 50-60 people each since it began a systematic outreach through the media.

‘Though small, the community has reached tens of thousands of readers throughout the San Francisco Bay area through newspaper ads, television spots and nightly ads on a flashing race-track sign, seen by hundreds of motorists every hour on a major freeway.

ORIGINALITY AWARD IN PARADE

‘Twenty-three Baha’is won first prize for originality as they marched in the Fourth of July parade in Mead Valley, California.

Most of the group traveled from San Bernardino, Temecula, Redlands, Perris and Lake Elsinore to join the Three Lakes Judicial District community in the event.

After the parade the Baha’is sponsored an information table at the Country Picnic, making pamphlets and mini-cards available in English and Spanish.

YOUTH REUNION DRAWS ATTENTION

A July 4 reunion of friends who became close during the intense youth activity of the early 1980s provided opportunities to introduce the Faith to numerous people in the Smoky Mountains area of North Carolina.

The group of 17 friends from six states “had a magnetic appeal in the small town of Bryson City because of the diversity of the group and loving and happy attitudes,” a note from the gathering said. “We were thrilled and humbled by the effect that just gathering together had on so many.” @

September 8, 1998

THE AMERICAN BAHA'I * SPREADING THE TEACHINGS

page 19 [Page 20]

EXECUTION, CONTINUED FROM PAGE | ec cccccccccccccccccccs

Baha’ prisoners.

That week, the Office of the Secretary for External Affairs began informing key members of Congress about the execution. Over the following weeks Sen. Sam Brownback of Kansas and Reps. Benjamin Gilman of New York, Christopher Smith of New Jersey and John Porter of Illinois submitted to the Congressional Record strong statements decrying the recent execution and the Baha’s’ inability to practice freely their religion in Iran.

‘The New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times and other national newspapers have covered the execution. Wire services and prominent international media such as the British Broadcasting Corporation, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Le Monde, Agence FrancePresse, International Herald Tribune, Reuters, Associated Press and United Press International also covered the execution.

On July 24 Voice of America interviewed top government officials about the execution on a program broadcast directly to Iran; on July 28 and 30, the -language editorial broadcast worldwide was about the persecution of the Baha’is in Iran. Worldnet television program On the Line broadcast worldwide a program on the persecution of in Tran.

IRANIAN GOVERNMENT RESPONSE

On July 26 Judge Gholam-Hossein Rahbar-Pour, head of the Islamic Revoluart in ‘Tehran, was quoted as entially, none of the branches ssued a death sentence for a person named Ruhollah Rowhani, affiliated to the Baha’i sect. The report of his execution is a total lie.”

On July 27 the Chargé d’Affaires at the Iranian Embassy in Australia, Mr. K. Sheikh-Hassani, denied the execution took place, in a letter to an Australian senator.

On July 29, contrary to Judge RahbarPour’s July 26 denial, a spokesman for the Tranian Embassy in Australia, Mr. Zaboli Mohammed, said Mr. Rowhani had been. executed after being convicted three times of acting against the national interest of the government.

On Aug. 3, in a second letter to another member of the Australian Parliament, Mr. Sheikh-Hassani confirmed that the execution took place and repeated the unsupported statements that Mr. Rowhani had been arrested twice before for engaging in crimes against national security.

‘The Aug. 3 letter stated that Mr. Rowhani “had long records of being engaged in activities which endangered and undermined the national security of his country since 1984.” In reality, Mr. Rowhani’s previous arrests came as a result of (1) his membership on a Local Spiritual Assembly before such institutions were disbanded in 1983 by the order of the Iranian Attorney General and (2) his participation in the planning of activities such as children’s classes and prayer meetings.

“For the last 19 years the Iranian gov

In the U.S. Government’s Words

These statements were issued July 23 in response to news of the execution two days earlier of Mr. Ruhollah Rowhani in Mashhad, Iran.

THE WHITE HOUSE STATEMENT BY THE PRESS SECRETARY EXECUTION OF BAHA’I IN IRAN ee President was deeply troubled to learn of the July 21 summary execution of Iranian citizen Ruhollah Rowhani for the exercise of his Baha’i faith. The United States condemns this action, which violates the most basic international norms and universal standards of human rights. Furthermore, The United States deplores the gravely flawed process by which Mr. Rowhani was charged and executed, including the absence of due process or the announcement of a sentence.

The world has been encouraged by the recent statements from Iranian leaders about the need for rule of law and the rights of individuals. Such words have little meaning so long as the human rights of the Iranian people, including the right to worship freely, are not upheld, and until the persecution of and violence against Iranians of the Baha’i faith stops. day's action was the first known execution of a Baha’i since 1992 and is a most unhopeful sign.

Khatami to take the necessary steps to ensure that others are not victimized for the Peacession of their faith. The United States will continue to monitor closely Iranian treatment of the Baha’i community, and particularly the treatment of those who remain imprisoned or under sentence of death for their religious beliefs.

The President wi: to extend his condolences to Mr. Rowhani’s family.

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE STATEMENT BY JAMES P. RUBIN, SPOKESMAN SUMMARY EXECUTION IN IRAN

to death on charges of aposta

religious or political beliefs.

ed with imminent execution and urge the Ira mic Republic came to power more than 200 Bah

. We do so again today.

The President and Secretary Albright have made it clear that the issue of freedom of conscie component of our human rights policy in Iran and around the world. Our concerns about restrictions on the pri religion will play an important role in any future dialogue with the Government of Iran.

Opi 21, Iranian authorities executed by hanging Ruhollah Rowhani, an Iranian Bal converting a Muslim to the Baha’i faith. There is no evidence that Mr. Rowhani

The United States strongly condemns the execution of Mr, Rowhani for the exerci call on the Government of Iran to protect the li

called “Zionist Baha’i activities.” We

ave been

ind uphold the fund:

i who had been charged with accorded due process of law. freedom of conscience. We

of the fifteen other imprisoned Baha’is, seven of whom are sentenced inderstand that three of the condemned an authorities not to carry out the death sentence: xecuted because of their religious be

nental human right to freedom of conease of all those serving sentences for the peaceful expression of their

ernment has engaged in a consistent pattern of duplicity, ing to United Nations officials, foreign governments and the foreign press an entirely different set of explanations for the treatment of the Baha’is than is reflected in government documents,” a statement from the Office of the Secretary for External Affairs said. “Yet in all that time the Iranian government has failed to produce a single document to substantiate the vague explanations given to foreigners that Baha’is are guilty of espionage and crimes against national security.

“The execution of Mr. Rowhani is another result of completely unfounded claims and surreptitious actions against the Baha'is in Iran,” the statement continued.

STATUS OF THREE BAHA‘is ON DEATH ROW IN MASHHAD

‘The three prisoners on death row in Mashhad, Mr. Ataullah Hamid Nasirizadeh, Mr. Sirus Zabihi-Moghaddam and Mr. Hedayat Kashefi Najafabadi, were arrested in fall 1997 for holding “family life” meetings.

Apparently when the sentences of the three men were sent to Tehran for confir

mation, the Supreme Court had detected a technical error in the original proceedings: The three Bahd’is had no defense counsel during their trial.

For their retrial, the three were forced to accept someone appointed by the court to act as their attorney. Apparently the court-appointed lawyer made statements to the court that were contrary to the facts and to the wishes of the Baha’is on trial.

At present, Baha’is fear that the appointment by the court of the lawyer to represent the prisoners was made simply to meet the technical requirement of the Supreme Court and that the judiciary of Mashhad already had made the decision against the Baha’is. Families of the three men on death row have recently been granted permission to visit the prisoners every other Tuesday.

‘The day after the execution, the Iranian authorities forced the three men to attend a memorial service for Mr. Rowhani. “This psychologically cruel act has brought about fear that these three prisoners might suffer the same fate as Mr. Rowhani,” the Office of the Secretary for External Affairs said. @

STATUS OF THE BAHA’i COMMUNITY IN IRAN

This information is drawn from a “current situation” report released July 22 by the National Spiritual Assembly: ‘

The Baha’i Faith is not recognized as

a legitimate religion; as “unprotected infidels,” Baha’is have no legal rights.

More than 200 Baha’is have been

executed since 1979, solely on account of religion. Fifteen Baha’is are in prison, compared with nearly 750 in 1986.

Baha’is are denied jobs and pensions, and barred from universities.

Baha’i marriages and divorces are not recognized. The right to inherit is denied.

U.S. and world response: Congress

has adopted seven resolutions condemning lran’s persecution of Baha’is and urging religious rights for the community. The 1997 U.N. General Assembly Resolution (A/RES/52/142) calls for emancipating the Baha’i community.

Up-to-date news releases on 'the situation of Baha'is in Iran have been sent to public information representatives for Baha’i communities across the country. These, along with the full texts of the July 23 statements from the White House and the State Department, can be found on the National Spiritual Assembly’s Administrative Web site (www.usbnc.org) or the “Dawn of a New Day” public Web site (www.us.bahai.org).

page 20 THE AMERICAN BAHA‘i ¢ BAHA’iS INIKAN September 8, 1998 [Page 21]rT 2

AS eT ee ee

BACKGKOUND INFORMATION

on recent events in the ongoing persecution

of the Baha'is in Iran

Perce rec cccccrcccecee cece cece seer eee eee ee see esse esse esses ese see esesssseesesessesesees

The Execution of M

owhani, 52, had been imprisoned in itary confinement in Mashhad, Iran, since September 1997. He had been

charged withconverting a Muslim to the Baha’é

Faith. The woman whom he was accused of converting refuted the accusation, stating that she had been raised as a Baha’i. She has not been arrested. After his execution ano prisoner told a that Mr. Rowhani tenced to death. There is no e dence that he was accorded any legal process or access to a lawyer. Mr. Rowhani was a person of a deeply gentle and innocent character. He was the father of four children: s ges 24 and 17, and daughters ages 22 and 9.

- Ruhollah Kowhani

Since September 1997 the family had seen Mr. Rowhani only once, about a month after he was arrested. Afterward the authorities ed to give them any information about him, even whether he was alive or dead.

On July 20 his family was informed they could see him for one hour. It is understood that this meeting was the first time Mr. Rowhani had breathed fresh air in three months.

On the night before the execution, Baha’is learned from the Iranian Intelligence Office that Mr. Rowhani to be executed the next day. ” statement w: ously because authori often

He made a modest living as a Ruhollah Rowhani was without carrying them out to salesman of medical supplies and the father of four chil- harass the Baha’is, and so the health products, an occupationhe ‘dren, the youngest age 9. family was not informed.

had engaged in for about 20 years.

Approximately 12 years ago he was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment because of his membership in the Baha’{ Faith and to an additional year’s internal exile in the village of Najafabad, which he was not permitted to leave and where he had to report daily to the police. After this he returned to Mashhad to continue his profession.

Just before his arrest in September 1997 the family had decided to move to Isfahan, as Mr. Rowhani had found it increasingly difficult to make a satisfactory living in Mashhad. On the day of the family’s intended departure, revolutionary guards arrested him at his home.

‘The next day the family was called to the prison to collect his body. They were given only one hour to bury Mr. Rowhani, despite their appeal for more time to enable other relatives to attend the funeral. Rope marks on Mr. Rowhani’s neck appeared to indicate Mr. Rowhani had been executed by hanging.

_ Mr. Rowhani is the first Baha’i to be executed i March 1992. In mid-August, 15 Baha’is being held in Iranian prisons on charges stemming from their adherence to the Baha’s Faith. Seven of these prisoners are on death row, two on charges of apostasy and two on charges of “Zionist Baha’i activities.”

Three Baha’is Under Threat of Imminent Execution

hree other Baha’i prisoners in Mashhad have been sentenced to

death. The death sentences have not been made public but were conveyed orally to the prisoners, one of whom told a relative about the senten during a prisoner visit.

The three prisoners on death row in Mashhad—Mr. Ataullah Hamid Nasirizadeh, Mr. Sirus Zabihi-Moghaddam and Mr. Hedayat Kashefi Najafabadi— were arrested in October or November 1997 for holding “family life” meetings.

Mr. Nasirizadeh told visiting relatives of the death sentences. He explained that existing regulations require that all death sentences meted out by courts in any part of Iran had to be confirmed by the Supreme Judicial Court in Tehran before

S

executions could take place. Mr. Nasirizadeh said that

when his sentence and that of

two other Baha’is had been

sent to Tehran for confirmation, the Supreme Court had

the proceedings in their cases and had referred the $

to the Mashhad judi retrial. The technical irregu ity was that three of the Ba had had no defense counsel during their trial.

The three Baha’is have been retried. They were not allowed to choose and hire their own lawyers to defend them but were forced to accept someone appointed by the court to act on their behalf. Apparently the courtappointed lawyer made statements to the court which were contrary to the facts and to the

wishes of the Baha’is on trial. A heated argument between the lawyer and the Baha’is ensued during the retrial.

Baha’is fear that the appointment by the court of the lawyer to represent the prisoners was made simply to meet the technical requirement of the Supreme Court and that the judiciary of Mashhad already had made a decision against the Baha’is.

Families of the three men on death row have recently been granted permission to visit the prisoners every other Tuesday. The most recent visit was July 28. Because Iranian authorities brought the three prisoners to a memorial service for Mr. Rowhani, there has been fear the prisoners might suffer the same fate as Mr. Rowhani. @

U.S. Government Reaction

n July 23 the White House and the Or Department issued strong state ments condemning the Iranian government for the execution of Mr. Rowhani; President Clinton offered his condolences to the Rowhani family.

On July 29 Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Martin S. Indyk condemned the execution of Mr. Rowhani and called for the safety of other Baha’t prisoners in testimony before the House International Relations Committee.

On July 30 Sen. Sam Brownback of Kansas submitted to the Congressional Record a strong statement condemning the execution of Mr. Rowhani.

Voice of America: On July 24 U.S. government officials were interviewed on program broadcast to Iran; on July 28 and July 30, the English-language editorial broadcast worldwide was about the persecution of the Baha’is in Iran; Worldnet television program On the Line broadcast Aug. 1-2 worldwide a program on the persecution of the Baha'is in Iran. By law Voice of America may not broadcast its radio or television programs in the United States.

Iranian Government Responses

n July 26 Judge Gholam-Hossein O Rahbar-Pour, head of the Islamic Rev olutionary Court in Tehran, was quoted as saying, “Essentially, none of the branches of the court has issued a death sentence for a person named Ruhollah Rowhani, affiliated to the Baha’ sect. The report of his execution is a total lie.”

An Iranian television report was quoted as saying, “The U.N. committee on human rights, influenced by this propaganda and in line with it, referred to the execution of this imaginary individual and protested the action on Friday, announcing that it was very concerned about the human rights situation in Iran.”

On July 29, contrary to Judge Rahbar-Pour’s statement that Mr. Rowhani had not been executed, a spokesman for the Iranian Embassy in Australia, Mr. Zaboli Mohammed, said Mr. Rowhani had been executed after being convicted three times of acting against the national interest of the government.

Other Government Reactions

anadian Foreign Affairs Minister Lloyd

Axworthy, Australian Minister for For eign Affairs Alexander Downer, and the — U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for — Human Rights have issued strong public suate®, ments condemning the execution.

August 1, 1998

THE AMERICAN BAHA'I ¢ BAHA‘is IN IRAN

page 21 [Page 22]Brilliant Star K.i2’§ C@sRoNERe

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ACROSS PEN PAL? Do you have 2. friendship with many others something to submit to 4. opposite of hate BRILLIANT STAR 5. the one kind like photographs, Gr yauety, stories, POEMS, or 8. work together ‘ a 8 drawings? Tell us what 11. tactful b : 13, opposite of war you are doing lately in 14. nobility your Bahai community! 17. oneness Our upcoming themes: 18. show honor to others : Force of Transformation 19. to fix wound of racism Dynamics of Prayer 21. flowers of one Study of the Holy Texts Inspired to Teach DOWN B “See the answers in the next issue of The American Baha'i! Send mail to: i Brilliant Star (Submissions) 1. exchange ideas 10. we're all members of the same Managing Editor 2. walk with the same 12. dwell in the same BRILLIANT STAR os citizen 15. eat with the same C/o Bahai Media Services 7. we're all made of the dust 16. obligatory 1233 Central St.- Evanston, IL. 60201 9. who racism hurts 20. number of races SELES SoD Naa aE

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page 22 THE AMERICAN BAHA'I ¢ BRILLIANT STAR KID'S CORNER _— September 8, 1998 [Page 23]THE*ARTS

South Arts

"_ BYBARBARACURRY BARBARA CURRY

aha’is in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, are involved in a community arts organization to advance a vision of bringing together diverse people in harmony for cultural development. South Arts, a nonprofit arts organization, has Baha’is on its board of directors, on committees and in the membership. We are a diverse organization dedicated to coordinating, promoting and assisting in the development and advancement of cultural activities of the arts in the south hills and surrounding areas of Pittsburgh through the collaboration efforts of individuals and organizations. The group has brought a variety of people together from different areas working toward a common goal

A Family Creates about Baha’s Fait

BY SENTA AZARKADEH

“On the hard alone road of my life, I once met together a little Bird, a Flower and a Rainbow, coming from the far West, singing and dancing God, His Prophets and Love.

“They were like rays shining; a great sweetness and a lot of humanity emanated from them. Around that Bird, that Flower and that Rainbow, I saw such as fire flies, who seemed to be earth stars, a great harmony. And I found it beautiful and I felt it graceful and I thanked the Lord for His gifts.”

—From me to you with tenderness

Paul Simon (but you can call me Al)

(A seeker’s poem following a performance of The Magic Bird in Verviers, Belgium, Aug. 9, 1994)

Over the past six years Wendy, Marty and Caitlyn Quinn have produced two outstanding shows, The Magic Bird and The Seven Valleys, about the Baha’i Faith. ‘Their goal is to present the Faith to the peoples of the world through the arts. They have toured in Taiwan, Belgium, Hungary, the United States, Canada and twice in Germany, performing over 70 shows. Everywhere Bah: lic have responded enthusiastically.

This poem is an example of the response that we receive. It is one of the many wonderful gifts you get when travel teaching for the Faith,” the Quinns explai Tere was a beautiful and mystical soul, who worked as a tax in Belgium and who c The Magic Bird. He spent a few days with us, learning about the Faith. On our last day he gave us this poem among other

tant ame to our concert

through the arts. Recently, we opened a gallery space in a prime downtown office building, the Koppers Building at 7th and Grant. We are currently conducting a Cultural Assessment of the south hills area of Pittsburgh, funded by a grant, with a consulting firm hired to facilitate the process. This firm will conduct interviews with government officials, educators, youth, parents, religious organizations (including Baha’is), artists, financial institutions and many other individuals and organizations to give South Arts a better vision of what the area needs in terms of cultural programs to improve community life.

The person most responsible for taking the leadership role is Ruth Richardson, currently president, who became a Baha'i almost two years ago. Over the years she has been honored by several organizations, including the YWCA, for

precious things. Later we heard that a number of people declared in Verviers, and they were able to form their Local Spiritual Assembly. We do our performances so that the hearts of the people will be moved, like his was.”

mly believing in the beloved Guardian's words that “the stage will be the pulpit of the future,” the Quinns and other Baha’ artists are proving that the public is ready and willing to attend Baha’i-inspired performing arts.

“Play explores Baha’i Faith” read the headline in Bristol, Vermont, where one Baha’i and her family hosted The Seven Valleys. Sixty-five people attended, ju under half of them Baha’is.

“We are excited to be able to offer our newest production of The Seven Valleys for the public,” Marty said. “When you combine these potent words with sensitive and, at times, powerful music and dance, along with family unity, it surely fosters an appreciation for Bahé’u’llah’s ical and poetic work. People have said they have gained new insights by watching the production. We know we

ave in creating it.” hourlong concert intersperses

rumental music, lyrical and dramatic recitation. Only Baha’u'llah’s text is uttered.

Highlights include Marty Quinn drumming as he recites the Holy Words of Baha’u’llah, and Caitlyn, 12, joining her parents to recite in two sections, bringing the text to life as a story. Fu ther special moments involve Wendy and Caitlyn dancing together during the “Valley of Love.” This mother/daughter dance is tender and inspiring.

The Magic Bird was the first show by

her involvement in programs that truly make a ference in Pittsburgh-area community life. Recently, South Arts sponsored world-renowned watercolor artist Zoltan Szabo for a week-long workshop. He said our workshop looked like a mini-United Nations. He spoke at our annual meeting about his escape from Hungary in the 1940s. It was a nice way to get people thinking about our next juried exhibit at our gallery on Racial Harmony, beginning June 1.

We see South Arts as a wonderful way of putting the Baha’i teachings in action in this area and supporting local teaching efforts. We ask for sincere prayers to help us let this be a magnet of attraction for Baha’u’lléh through our deeds and actions.

Barbara Curry, a Baba, is vice president of South Arts. @

the Quinn Family. With song, dramatic recitation, instrumental music, dance and powerful visual effects, the two-act piece portrays Mull4 Husayn’s search for his Beloved, the sacred and mysterious moment in which the Bab reveals Himself, the sacrifices of the Letters of the Living, and the ministries of Baha’u’llah, ‘Abdu’l-Baha and Shoghi Effendi.

A centerpiece is a dance portraying Baha’u'll4h’s terrible imprisonment in the Siyah-Chal and His transformation from wealthy nobleman Mirz4 Husayn‘Ali to scorned prisoner and, ultimately, Holy Messenger. Wendy says she chose the image of a bird to depict this trans formation, cari gy a Native Ame bird fan and using birdlike ballet movements. She points out that Baha’u’llih referred to Himself as the Bird of Paradise, the Royal Falcon, or even a small sparrow.

The Magic Bird ends joyously with a song about the unity of the human family, with the audience invited to join a Balkan-style circle dance. This piece has moved non-Baha’j audience members to tears as they realize that the Baha’fs are truly working on the dream of unity.

Last year the Quinns produced a CD of The Magic Bird. The music is celestial and their voices sweet.

Both The Magic Bird and Seven Valleys are graced with costumes and beautiful hand-painted silk sets produced by Vermont artist Ellen Spi The sets feature expert Persian 2 Arabic calligraphy by Burhan Zahi the great-grandson of Mishkin-Qala ‘The overall effect is of a sacred phere filled with vibrant and shimmering beauty. @

Got a Web site that features the arts? Send your URL to the National Arts Task Force are of is a sampling of what we've received so far:

cH

vege comand painings vwoew.netbistro.conv~iankluge/aiktte htm oe mindspring.com/~faraday/ wwrw.unit-e.com/sjb vworw.unit-e.com/studiol 82

wor geocites.com/SoHo/7795 www.geocities.com/Athens/9941

wren iquestnet/~wittman/soulspeak html -wvew.wyndows.com/gb

-~ panel designs nd ‘www.ee.pdx.edu/~pamela/bahai/comp/arts/ ‘wwrw.pagecreator.com/~newsroom/

vww.oh tranet.com/~mwcquinn/quinnarts him

www highwire.com

‘worn xenonarts,com/artists/dtaylor bhttp://electricstores.com/susan hhttp://members.aol.com/donerdman/index.html http://members.aol.com/donerdman/hotswing html

hitp://personal ne. f/private/mjg/index html

September 8, 1998

THE AMERICAN BAHA‘i ¢ THE ARTS

page 23 [Page 24]

Soe?

BY DORIAN C. HYLAND °

ating unity is artist Suzanne g principle. Her ork—drawings, enormous multi-layered tapestries and sculpture— offers the viewer visually moving, spiritually inspiring images, but creating art is only part of her real work. She uses art as a means of unifying diverse groups of people: those from the East and West Banks of Jerusalem, children living near the national headquarters of the Ku Klux Klan, the indigenous peoples of South Australia and the Anglo population. She has presented workshops that give children and adults the time and space to practice unity. She has prepared art shows for the Baha’i Office of the Environment of Taiwan, which include children’s art from almost every country.

To understand how one person can create unity on five continents, one must take seriously and accept the process of spiritual transformation inherent in the Baha’f Writings and putting the powerful principle of oneness into action.

One evening several years ago, Klotz told me she had just started a painting she thought would be titled “Watcher at the Sea of Galilee,” a large painted and stitched canvas of an exotic landscape. ‘The next morning when I visited her, she had barely slept. During the night the

“The Traveler on the Journey” by Suzanne Klotz

me

OMAN ETE

watcher had evolved through several personas to become a guardian with guardian birds—symbols of glorious souls—atop the man’s shoulders. At first glance he seemed a bit ominous, his featureless back hovering in the brush, overlooking a bright scape. Yet thi figure exuded no ill will, but rather a benevolent presence that cared for the spirit that resides within.

As work progressed on the painting, it naturally changed, as did its name. ‘Today it is called “The Traveler on the Journey,” and the thoughtful figure on the canvas winds his way through the thick undergrowth of the world with his beautiful companions, those silken, shimmering birds.

In a book she recently put together, Klotz took writings from various religions to accompany her paintings. Two of the quotes used to explain this painting are “The divine guidance often comes when the horizon is blackest,” from the Hindu tradition, and “For every soul there is a guardian,” from Islam. Although other quotes applying to this painting are just as pertinent and encouraging, these two are the essence of the search within all her paintings: her faith that guidance is always present even if we do not recognize it until we are caught in the thick undergrowth; and that always we are watched, guided by souls who aid and -protect us on our journey back to God. Her journey with this particular painting shows a deep trust and faith in the Word of Bahd’u’ll4h. She trusts i that journey that the seeker makes God, guided by the wisdom of the Writings and the purity of the heart.

For Baha’fs, art has an exalted place in God's plan, creativity being an attribute of God. ‘Abdu’l-Baha wrote, “When the studying of art is with the intention of obeying the command of God, this study will certainly be done easily and great progress will soon be made therein, and when others discover this fragrance of spirituality in the action i will cause their awakening.” (Baba’t World Faith, p. 377) True art, when conceived as an act of worship, will speak heart to heart, unveil evidence of the unseen and

river

“Men Praying in Mosque” by Omar Al-Kurd, age 15, Shufat Refugee Camp, Jerusalem

TRON EEN _ ae

glorify the Word of God.

As the artist works with a purity of intention that is inspired by the creative Word of God, she manifests the divine attribute of creativity, and the work itself becomes imbued with a spirit that transforms it from — something pleasant on a wall to spirituality made visual in a way that touches us and coaxes us to embark on the process of seeking.

Nearly eight years ago, at the height of her success as an artist with works in major museums on three continents, Klotz decided she wanted to put into action Baha’u'llah’s Message that art will bring about peace. For the sole purpose of putting into action the virtue of unity, she began giving workshops around the world. “Art and related art activities are non-confrontational vehicles for creating unity and understanding among all people and their respective cultures,” Klotz said. “Art transcends political, religious and cultural differ

ROAR

wanted and hoped for. This would have been impossible if Klotz didn’t consciously apply the principle that “the only politic is the politic of God.” She looked for a way to conduct workshops that would join children and adults of both banks of Jerusalem. After many meetings with various individuals in East and West Jerusalem, the workshop was agreed on. ‘This became another continuing theme in Klotz’s efforts: whenever she persevered toward creating unity, something in the world responded.

‘The children in these workshops produced a moving testament to unity and the desire for peace. Conducted in three stages—before, during and after the peace talks from 1991 to 1994—the effort showed a dramatic change in the children’s subject matter as the peace talks pros

Before the talks, the drawings reflecteda world of tanks, bombs and stretchers.

As the talks progressed, the children

introduced flowers and brightly colored landscapes into their drawings.

At the last workshop, images of burning tires and soldiers were replaced with

images of homes, families and smiles.

After several shows, Klotz donated three large canvases with the children’s pictures and photographs, “Life in the Camps,” to the Arizona Museum of Youth in Mesa, Arizona.

Klotz refused to allow negatives in her

Balloons drawn with faces welcoming “Bubba” International School, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso

ences and gives people the opportunity to participate in the establishment of unity.”

In 1990, Klotz began a series of seven trips to Israel, where she ultimately gave jops Den eM, together Is id children in a setting for the first time since the Intifada had been declared in 1987. At first she made friends with Palestinian and Israeli artists, discovering what they

workshops, no reference to prejudice because it introduces a negat applied the teaching of ‘Abdu’l-Baha that we must focus on the posi if we are to attain a positive result. The children therefore worked in pairs and in groups, always observing tolerance, court respect and understanding. This gave the children an opportunity not only to share their reality and dreams visually, but to

page 24 THE AMERICAN BAHA’i

THE ARTS — September 8, 1998 [Page 25]THE*ARTS

From International Traveling Children’s Art Exhibit Sponsored by the Baha’i Office of the Environment of Taiwan

discover how similar their dreams and desires are.

The assistant to the mayor of Jerusalem opened their show at the Municipal Art Gallery in Jerusalem by declaring that for the first time since the beginning of the Intifada, Palestinians and Israelis were together in a social, non-politically motivated setting. Klotz takes the principle of unity to its logical conclusion. To label any human being as an alien is insanity, she said. In her “We are Unity People” workshop near the national headquarters of the Ku Klux Klan, she asked the cultural

“Art transcends political, religious and cultural differences and gives people the opportunity to participate in the

itual quality of oneness, the children had a chance to practice unity: taking a positive approach and concentrating on similarities. That makes it easier for them to choose positive options in the future.

This practical experience also helped them develop an expanded world view. After a slide presentation and discussion of clothing, design and lifestyles of diverse cultures, their first assignment was a self-portrait as a world person. When they had examined and discussed each other’s work, the children were paired to collaborate on a drawing that portrayed world unity.

ly diverse group of @stablishment Personal developclden, “ould you poi ae during the befriend someone f workshop was as who came from o unity. liad s the another planet? If we —Suzanne Klotz visual products. Durare unity people then ing the week, each

no one is considered

an alien.” She described “Bubba,” an imaginary new friend, and his many characteristics. The children refused to welcome Klotz ET until she said “Bubba” could really dance. When they recognized a quality they admired, “Bubba” became someone they would invite home, would befriend and definitely would invite to parties. By refusing to allow a negative attitude into the workshop and by stressing the spir

child recorded in a journal any negative or uncomfortable events outside class. They discussed those problems with the class and shared their positive solutions. Later, in preparation for the reception, the children roleplayed meeting the guests, introducing ind their partners, discussing s, making visitors feel comfortable, and providing refreshments., ‘The children focused on courtesy, unity,

“Capturing the Golden Moment” by Suzanne Klotz

respect and kindness. Finally, the children planned what to wear and designed a name tag with the theme that everybody is a star.

At the opening two children conducted sales of the art, from which all proceeds were distributed to the children. The larger world unity drawings became available for display at the public library and city halls.

‘The parents were amazed at the change in their children’s behavior during the workshop week. Quiet children became confident and expressive; rowdy children directed energy toward positive activities and helping other students. For a week, these children received the gift of focusing on spiritual virtues through creativity exemplified in their conduct, which reflected cooperation, courtesy and respect. They learned the difference between words and actions, between discussing what is good and the feeling of having done it. They pledged to create unity in all future situations. Most astonhingly, they learned they could create

“The Wings of Love” by Suzanne Klotz

BAUS

unity in any situation and live in the solution and not the problem. The sponsor was impressed by the children’s art, and even more by the manners and qualities the children displayed at the reception and in their thank-you lette! Among her teaching ventures, Klotz went to Southern Australia where she was an art consultant for the Ngarrindjeri z arrived to find a com munity with few resou

es and a limited

connection to the larger art world. By the time

he left six months later she had n exhibit of their art at Northerm Arizona University in Flagstaff as well as guest lecturer positions for two of the Ngarrindjeri.

‘The idea for an international collaborative exhibit came to Klotz when she was talking with Palestinian artists in E; Jerusalem about their dream to see the United States.

Her solution to creating the opportunity for them to realize their dreams took four years and culminated in an exhibit, “Visions of Unity: A Multi-Cultural Exhibition,” that included 24 artists from five continents at the Salt Lake City Art Center. She contacted artists around the world to collaborate on works. Considering visual styles, she paired artists who produced 12 works of art that evolved from their respect for unity, and they wrote movingly about unity. Funds were raised in the U.S. to. have four Israelis, two Palestinians and one Aborigine attend the opening.

‘These results from one person's efforts to practice the virtues of friendship and respect have culminated into a shared experience by everyone involved. ‘Abdu'lBaha wrote, “In this great dispensation, art is identical with an act of worship and this is a clear text of the Blessed Perfection. Therefore, extreme effort should be made in art and this will not prevent the teaching of the people in that region. Nay, rather, each should assist the other in art and guidance.”

Effort, then, is the first and major step in teaching. Arising as an act of wors in obedience draws those beautiful glorious souls to our efforts. ‘Abdu’l-Bah continued, “Likewise, managing art with propriety will become the means of sociability and affinity; and sociability and affinity themselves tend to guide others to Truth.”

Klotz’s work can be seen at the Suzanne Brown Gallery in Scottsdale, Arizona, and the Threshhold Gallery in inta Monica, California. The children’s show, prepared for the Baha’i Office of the Environment of Taiwan, is available for display upon request. #

September 8, 1998

THE AMERICAN BAHA’i ¢ THE ARTS

page 25 [Page 26]THE*ARTS

The New Creation by Robert E. Kogan

Day One

It was seven years after the time of the end,

‘And the rains had washed the smell of destruction Into the heart of the Earth.

Inside the Soul of Man,

The Message,

Silent and dead for so many years Began to stir and move.

Were this to have happened in the past,

Man would have felt a surge of feelings within him— Joy! Wonder! Awe! Love!

But hope was left behind in the ashes of the cities, ‘And only a scattered few felt the warmth

Of the first ray of sunlight.

Others went deeper into the caves,

Unaware that this was not to be another day of fire. The Soul of Man began to move,

The Letters spoke the Message, And the evening and the morning were the first day.

Day Two Somewhere in the long forgotten past The breeze of memory

of what once was

and might have been, Like gentle hands,

lifting life from the womb of darkness, Guided and pushed man through

The Valley of Search. Three days travel from his cave, man again

discovers the green of a leaf and

of man is man. linging desperately The Soul of Man

of the past, He ‘And the evening

Day Three

Dark Dance by Anne Gabeler

The room was crowded with all the faces of possibilty.

Then,

then Yesterday asked me to dance.

We remembered everything together.

The music stopped and Now passed the Canapés which | refused, crying . as he went away again. “When will I refuse to dance?” 1 asked myself.

When will Yesterday's ghost cease to hold me?

walked the empty corridors igniting incense of wisdom. The building itself was so arranged that the‘rays of the sun would constantly fall on the nine paintings of the Year of Destruction. All who entered the Hall paid homage and felt the warmth of Justice and Peace captured so vividly in the the painting of the beginning of the end of the beginning. When the Tribunal entered, its first formal act was to take the Yow of Ignorance. The Soul of Man rejoiced and cried, for He had witnessed an act of knowledge. And the evening and the morning were the third day.

Day Four High above the Great City the Soul of Man became as one with the mountain. Across the bay, the sea-of humanity in a multitude of voices suddenly gave melody to the All Glorious. Never since Creation had all mankind

assembled

together. Never again would man

The Breaking by Anne Gabeler

Life sail, nearly open Torn by a storm.

Will the ship return? Will there be life after death?

The silence, where the dream breaks bleeds all the torn tomorrows

of a thousand faces

in a sculpture garden

of shocked stone.

There is a longing, full of tears, reaching for better times and massive regret.

I stand among these icons of pain ‘overwhelmed, not knowing. if I dare to feel publidy.

Please, someone, give me permission to cry.

of the fulfillment

of love and want and need

that time itself was captured and discarded. The Soul of Han awaited his return

to the Universe;

mindful of the fact that in yesterdays

man had reached for the stars,

and in his eagerness

forgot to tend the meadows. ‘And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.

Day Six The consultation Chamber of every House Instantly received visual transmission from the depths of the Universe; enabling all mankind to behold the wonders of space, and travel from astonishment to astonishment. The Soul of Man left the House and the city, and crossed the meadow and the sea breathing the air of creation and touching the wonderment of life. He stopped to watch the children play, and became as one with the distant travelers; discovering the secrets and mysteries of the many Worlds of God. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

Day Seven

~The Soul of Man returned

“Every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God is endowed with such potency as can instill new life into every human frame, if ye be of them that comprehend this truth. All the wondrous works ye behold in this world have been manifested through the operation of His su; and most exalted Will, His wondrous and inflexible Purpose. Through the mere revelation of the word “Fashioner” issuing forth from his lips and proclaiming His attribute to mankind, such power is released as can generate, through successive ages, all the manifold arts which the hands of man can produce ... No sooner is this resplendent Word uttered than its animating energies, stirring within all created things, give birth to the means and instruments whereby such arts can be produced and perfected. All the wondrous achievements ye now witness are the direct consequences of the Revelation of this Name. —Babi'wllah Gleanings from the Writings of Babd’u'llih “.,. in accordance with the Divine Teachings, the acquisition of sciences and the perfection of arts

is considered as acts of worship. If a man engages with all bis

power in the acquisition of a

science or in the perfection of an art, it is as if be has been worshipping God in the churches and temples ... What bounty greater than this that science should be considered as an act of worship and art as service to the Kingdom of God.” 5 — Abdu'l-Baha — Baba’t World Faith

“Observe carefully how education and the arts of civilization bring honour, prosperity, independence and freedom to a government and its people.” — Abdu’l-Baba The Secret of Divine Civilization

and the mé connecting awaited the

The Soul of Man, caretaker and

The materials submitted and contained herein are the Peace eu ey eee RR ny Arts Task Force or the National Teaching Committee,

page 26 THE AMERICAN BAHA‘i* THE ARTS — September 8, 1998 [Page 27]

This is the first year the Conventions are being overseen by Regional Baha’i Councils.
If you don’t know your Electoral Unit (EU) number, it will be printed on the envelop

Internet access, you can find out your Electoral Unit number on the National Spiritual Assembly's Administrative Web Site (www.usbne.org). You will need your U.S. Baha’i ID number to log into this site. ¢ If information here is incomplete, the contact number or the Local Assembly hosting your Convention may be reached for further de

—1998 ELECTORAL UNIT CONVENTIONS —

Here is the latest information available on Electoral Unit conventions, which will be held across the country in early October.

Your Electoral Unit is listed here under one of the four regions. in which you will receive your ballot in a few weeks. If you have

For holding children’s programs at Unit convention: See Kid’s Corner (page 22) for information on enhancing your curriculum with the Special Edition of Brilliant Star

magazine and the accompanying music tape.

NORTHEASTERN STATES

EU001: Green Acre Baha'i School, 195 Main St., Eliot ‘; Sunday, Oct. 4, 9

llots to LSA of Port.O. Box 674, Portland, ME 04104-0674. Phone: 207797-9068

EU002: Hartford High , White

School, Highland River Junction, V Oc ter 5: LSA of Rochester ‘Town, RO.

ite, time TBA. Mail to: LSA of Boston, BO. Box 1207, Boston, MA 02104-1207. Phone: 617-4694317

£U004: Chelmsford Community Center, 1A Noah Rd., Chelmsford, MA; Sunday, Oct. 4. 9:30 a.m.4 p.m. (Register 8:30 a.m.) Mail ballots to LSA. of Chelmsford, P.O. Box 544, Chelmsford, MA 01824-0544. Phone: 508-970-0646

EU005: Site, time TBA; Sunday, Oct. 4. Mail ballots to LSA of Wilbraham,

Wilbraham, MA 01095-1426. Phone: 413-5969487

EU006: Site, time TBA. Mail ballots to LSA of Providence, P.O. Box 41001, Providence, RI 02940-1001. Phone: 401-9433013

EU007: Tunxis Community College, 271 Scott Swamp Rd., Farmington, CT; Sunday, Oct. 4, 9 a.m.4 p.m. (Register 8:15 a.m.) Mail ballots to LSA of Farmington,

Unionville, CT 06085-1164. Phone: 860-677-4460

EU008: Site, time TBA. Mail ballots to LSA of Cortlandt ‘Town, P.O. Box 547, Crugers, NY 10521-0547. Phone: 914737-6224

EU009: Waldorf School, Cambridge Ave., Garden City, NY; Sunday, Oct. 4. (Register 8:30 a.m.) Mail ballots to LSA of Brookhaven Town,

East Patchogue, NY 11772-6137. Phone: $16-289

Sunday, Oct. 4, 1-5 p.m. Mail ballots to LSA of New York

City, New York City, NY 10003-4601. Phone: 212-674-8998

EUOL1: Rutgers University, Busch Campus Bartholomew,

ballots to LSA of P P.O. Box 1406, Pis 08855-1406. Phone: 732. 6990240

EUO12: Site, time TBA. Mail ballots to LSA of Montel: P.O. Box 3407, Memorial Sta. ey Montclair, NJ 07043-3407. Phone: 201-509-9695

EUOL e, time TBA. Mail ballots to LSA of Schenectady,

Schenectady, NY

12304-3107. Phone: 518-3462731

EUO014: Rochester Baha’i Center, corner of Oxford and East Ave., Rochester, NY; Sunday, Oct. 4, 10 a.m.—4 p.m. (Register 9 a.m.) Mail ballots to LSA of Pittsford c/o Mitra Dianat, Pittsford, NY 14534-1077. Phone: 716/264-1180

EUO15: Gettysburg Middle. School Gettysburg, PA; Saturday, Oct. 3, 1-5 p.m. (Register 10:30 a.m.) Mail ballots to LSA of Frederick County,

Frederick,

MD 21702-3406. Phone: 301694-6439

EU016: Philadelphia Regional Baha’i Center, 2462 Bryn Mawr Ave., Philadelphia, PA; Sunday, Oct. 4; time TBA. Mail ballots to LSA of Lower Merion Township c/o Melanie B. Etemad, Bryn Mawr, PA 19010. Phone: 610527-1928

EU048: St. Bonaventure University, St. Bonaventure, NY; Sunday, Oct. 11, 10 a.m.—4:30 p.m. (Register 9 a.m.) Mail ballots to LSA of Olean, P.O. Box 9, Olean, NY 14760-0009. Phone: 716-3723663

CENTRAL STATES

EU049: Baker Hall, CWRU, 10950 Euclid Ave., Cleveland, OH; Sunday, Oct. 4; 10 am.4 pm. (Register 9 a.m.) Mail ballots to LSA of Cleveland,

Cleveland, OH 44102-3337. e: 216-752-4679

2U050: Recreation alae 7700 Piper Rd, Ashley day, Oct. 11 (Register 8 a. ballots to LSA of Upper Arlington, PO. Box 21166, Upper Arlington, OH 43221-0166, Phone: 614-9237215

EU0S1: Edison State College, Piqua, OH; Sunday, Oct. 4, 10 am.-4 p.m. Register 9 a.m.) Mail ballots to LSA of Yellow Springs, P.O. Box 93, Yellow Springs, OH 45387-0093. Phone: 937-426-3350

EU073: C.K. Newsome Center; time TBA. Mail ballots to Glen Peirce,

Evansville, IN 47711. Phone: 812421-0667

EU074: Teachers College, Ball State University, McKinley Ave, Muncie, IN; Sunday, Oct. 4, 9:30 a.m.—3:30 p.m. (Register 8:30 a.m.) Mail ballots to LSA of Muncie, PO. Box 586, Muncie, IN 47308-0586. Phone: 765-284-5656

EU075: Charles Martin Youth Center, 802 LinconlInway West, South Bend, IN 46616; Sunday, Oct. 4, 9:30 a.m.-4 p.m. (Register 8:30 a.m.) Mail ballots to LSA of Mishawaka, P.O. Box 42, Mishawaka, IN 46546-0042. Phone: 219255-9186 2U076: John Grace Recreation Center, 21030 Indian Rd., Southfield, MI; Sunday, Oct. 4, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. (Register 8:30 a.m.) Mail ballots to LSA of Southfield,

Southfield, MI 48075-1733. Phone: 313-353-2939

EU077: Louhelen Baha'i School, 3208 S. State Rd., Davison, MI; Sunday, Oct. 4, 9:30 a.m.-5 pam. (Register 830 a.m). Mail ballots to LSA of Ann Arbor, BO. Box 6021, Ann Arbor, MI 48106-6021. Phone: 734-665-0562

EU078: Central Michigan University, 100 Grawn Hall, Mt. Pleasant, MI; Sunday, Oct. 4, 10 a.m.4 p.m. (Register 9 a.m.) Mail ballots to LSA of Saginaw,

Saginaw, MI 48602-2711. Phone: 517-792-8999

EU079: Thompson Community Center, 832 W. College Ave., Appleton, WI; Saturday, Oct. 3, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. (Register 10:45 a.m.) Mail ballots to LSA of Appleton,

Appleton,

WI 54911-2747. Phone: 920-7317724 EU080: Wilson Town Hall, 5933 S. Business Dr, Hwys. O&K South, Sheboygan, WI; Sunday, Oct. 4, 1-4 p.m. (Register noon) Mail ballots to LSA of Cedarburg, Cedarburg, WI 53012-2125. Phone: 414-377-5877 EU081; 4-H Building, Olmstead County Fairgrounds, 310 14th St Rochester, MN; Sunday, Oct. 4, Noon-4 p.m. (Register 11 a.m.) Mail ballots to Pauline McFarlin, Rochester, MN 55904. Phone: 507-289-4682 EU082: Holiday Inn of Greater Beloit, 200 Dearborn Ave., South Beloit, IL 61080; Sunday, Oct. 4, 10 am.-5 p.m. Register 9 am.) Mail ballots to LSA of Beloit, RO. Box 1278, Beloit, WI 53512-1278. Phone: 608-365-7879 EU083: Arlington Park Hilton, 3400)W. Euclid Ave., Arlington Heights, IL 60005; Sunday, Oct. 4, 9:30a.m.—I p.m. (Register 8:30 al Ma ballots to Susan PeterHighal Park, IL 60035-4422. Phone: 847-432-1765 EU084: Baha'i House of Worship, Linden Ave. and Sheridan Rd., Wilmette, IL; Sunday, Oct. 4, 9am. (Register 8:15 a.m.) Mail ballots to LSA of Park Ridge, Park Ridge, IL 60068-2246. Phone: 847-827-9462 EU085: Chicago Baha'i Center, 3321 S. Calumet Ave, Chicago, IL; Sunday, Oct. 4, 1-5 p.m. Register 12:30 p.m.) Mail ballots to LSA of Chicago, 3321 S. Calumet Ave., Chicago, IL 60616-3933. Phone: 312-482-1772 EU086: Georgetown Clubhouse, 301 S. Prospect St, Wood Dale, IL; Sunday, Oct. 4, 9 a.m4 p.m. Mail ballots to LSA of Naperville, RO. Box 851, Naperville, IL. 61566-0851. Phone: 630-416-8189 EU087: Levis Faculty Cur, 919 W. Illinois, Urbana, IL; Sunday, Oct. 4, 9:30 am.-3:30 pam. (Register 8:45 a.m.) Mail ballots to LSA of Champaign, Champaign, IL 61821-5836. Phone: 217-356-9654 EU088: Willkie House, 900 17th St, Des Moines, IA; Sunday, Oct. 4, 930 am~4 p.m. Register 9 a.m.) Mail ballots to LSA of Des Moines, Des Moines, IA 50310-5267. Phone: 515-279-1730

EU089: McNutt Hall, 2nd floor, University of Missouri-Rolla, Rolla, MO; Sunday, Oct. 4, 10 am. p.m. (Register a.m.)

Mail ballots to LSA of Phelps County, RO. Box 446, Rolla, MO 65402-0446. Phone: 573-364-0845

EU090: Creve Coeur Community Center, 300 N. New Ballas, Creve Coeur, MO; Sat. Oct. 4, 10 a.m.4 p.m. (Register Mail ballots to LSA of University City, P.O. Box 3121, St. Louis, MO 63130-0521. Phone: 314-997-5864

EU106: Student Union, Hutchinson Community College, 1300 N. Plum, Hutchinson, KS; Sunday, Oct. 4, 10 a.m.-430 p.m. (Register 9 a ballots to LSA of Hut on, RO. Box 1332, Hutchinson, KS 67504-1332. Phone: 316-662-4680

EU107: Kansas Union, University of Kansas, 1321 Oread Ave., Lawrence, KS; Sunday, Oct. 4, 10. a.m.-4:30 p.m. (Register 9 a.m.) Mail ballots to LSA of Lawrence, PO. Box 3518, Lawrence, KS 66046-0518. Phone: 785-749SIS1

EUL08: Nebraska City High School Auditorium, 141 Steinhart Park Rd., Nebraska City, NE Sunday, Oct. 4, 9:30 a.m.4 p.m. (Register 8:30 a.m.) Mail ballots to LSA of Lincoln c/o Terry L. Johnson, P.O. Box 80601, Lincoln, NE 68501-0601. Phone: 402-464-0452»

EU109: Minnetonka Community Center, 14600 Minnetonka Blvd., Minnetonka, MN; Sunday, Oct. 4, 9 a.m.4 p.m. (Register 8:30 a.m.) Mail ballots to LSA of Plymouth, P.O. Box 41068, Plymouth, MN 55441-0068. Phone: 612476-9530

EUL1L0: Radisson Hotel, Viking Room, 505 W. Superior St. Duluth, MN; Sunday, Oct. 4, Noon4 p.m. Register 11:30 a.m.) Mail ballots to LSA of Duluth,

Duluth, MN 55802-2555. Phone: 218-722-3818

EULLA1: Jamestown Civic Arena, 212 3rd St. N.E., Jamestown, ND; Sunday, Oct. 4, 9:30 a.m.-3:30 pam. (Register 9 a.m.) Mail ballots to LSA of Minot, 400 Lincoln Ave., Minot, ND 58703-2216. Phone: 701-839-4072

EUL12: Tieehaven Institute, Kyle, SD; Sunday, Oct. 11, 12:30-4:30 p.m: (Register 11 a.m.) Mail ballots to LSA of Custer, PO. Box 502, Custer, SD 57730-0502.

.)

» Phone: 605-673-2380

‘September 8, 1998

‘THE AMERICAN BAHA‘i «

Unrr CONVENTIONS

page 27 [Page 28]

SOUTHERN STATES |

EUO017: Ramada Inn, 348 N. Dupont Hwy. U.S. Hwy. 13 S., Dover, DE; Sunday, Oct. 4, 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Mail ballots to LSA of Salisbury c/o George Stroop,

Salisbury, MD 21801-4229. Phone: 410-74277239

EU018: Burleigh Manor Middle School, 4200 Centennial Lane, Ellicott City, MD; Sunday, Oct. 4, time TBA. Mail ballots to LSA of Howard County, P.O. Box 488, Columbia, MD 21045. Phone: 410-531-5073

EU019: Rock Terrace School, Rockville, MD; Sunday, Oct. 4, 9 a.m.4p.m. Mail ballots to LSA of Rockville,

Rockville, MD 20849. Phone: 301-762-7956

EU020: Greenbelt Community Center, 15 Crescent Rd., Greenbelt, MD; Sunday, Oct. 4; 9 am.-5 p.m. Mail ballots to LSA of Greenbelt, P.O. Box 245, Greenbelt, MD 20770. Phone: 301-474-4090

EU021: Northern Virginia Community College, Annandale Campus, 8333 Little River Turnpike, Annandale, VA; Sunday, Oct. 4; 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Mail ballots to LSA of Fairfax County E., P.O. Box 1325, Falls Church, VA 22041-0325. Phone: 703-93 16146

EU022: George Mason University., Student Union Bldg. #2, 4400 University Dr., Fairfax, VA; Sunday, Oct. 4; 9 a.m.4 p.m. Mail ballots to LSA of Mount Vernon, P.O. Box 6398, Alexandria, VA 22306. Phone: 703-9220561

EU023: Hilton, WashingtonDulles Airport, 13869 Park Center Rd., Herndon, VA; Sunday, Oct, 4, 10 am.-5 p.m. Mail ballots to LSA of Loudoun County, P.O. Box 291, Sterling, VA 20167-0291. Phone: 703-4062988

EU024: Girl Scout Camp, Williamsburg, VA; Sunday, Oct. 4;9a.m.4 p.m. Mail ballots to LSA of Chesapeake,

Chesapeake, VA 23321. Phone: 757-483-6971

EU025: Site, time TBA. Mail

ballots to LSA of Wilmington,

Wilmington, NC 28401-4724. Phone: 910-7620354

EU026: Inter-community Baha’ Center, 5103 Revere Rd., Durham, NC; Sunday, Oct 4, time TBA; Mail ballots to LSA of Durham County, PO. Box 12324, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709-2324. Phone: 919309-9900

EU027: Coastal Carolina University, Admissions Bldg., Room 003, Conway, SC; time TBA. Mail ballots to LSA of Conway,

PO. Box 348, Conway, SC 29528-0348. Phone: 803-2486224

EU028: Site, time TBA. Mail ballots to LSA of Williams Hill,

Hemingway, SC 29554-4017. Phone: 803-558-9494, ask for Ernest Hilton

EU029: Felix Davis Community Center, 4800 Park Cir., North Charleston, SC; time ‘TBA. Mail ballots to LSA of Mount Pleasant, P.O. Box 1389, Mount Pleasant, SC 29465-1389. Phone: 803-881-9599

EU030: Host Assembly TBA.

EU031: Site, time TBA. Mail ballots to LSA of St. Helena Island, P.O. Box 977, St. Helena Island, SC 29920-0977. Contact: Laura Smalls. Phone: 803-8381139

EU032: North Family Com- _ munity School, 616 Main St. North, SC; Sunday, Oct. 4, 9:30 a.m. Mail ballots to LSA of Lexington County North, P.O. Box 8501, Columbia, SC 29202-8501. Phone: 803-772-6757

EU033: Earlwood Park, Columbia, SC; Sunday, Oct. 4, 9 a.m.-I p.m. Mail ballots to LSA of Richland County North, RO. Box 210351, Columbia, SC 29221-0351. Phone: 803-7987116

EU034: Home of Sandra Lally, 104 Swails St., Kingtree, SC; Friday, Oct. 2, 1-5 p.m. (Register 11 a.m.) Mail ballots to LSA of Kingstree, P.O. Box 26, Kingstree, SC 29556-0026. Phone: 803-354-7119

EU035: Site, time TBA. Mail ballots to LSA of Donnelly, RO. Box 915, Hemingway, SC 29554— 0915. Phone: 803-558-9289

EU036: Site, time TBA. Mail ballots to LSA of Johnsonville, P.O. Box 1012, Johnsonville, SC 29555-1012. Contact person: Jenni Green.

EU037: Florence Baha’i Center, 541 W. Evans St, Florence, SC; Saturday, Oct. 3, 2-6 p.m. Mail ballots to LSA of Florence,

Florence, SC 29501-3407. Phone: 803-6671540

EU039: Host Assembly TBA.

EU040: Host Assembly TBA.

EU041: Host Assembly TBA.

EU042: Home of Elizabeth Martin, 208 Woodward St., Winnsboro, SC; Sunday, Oct. 4, 10 a.m. Mail ballots to Elizabeth Martin, P.O. Box 178, Winnsboro, SC 29180-0178. Phone: 803-635-9602

EU043: Peachtree Apt. Clubhouse, Ft. Mills, SC; time TBA. Mail ballots to LSA of Rock Hill,

Rock Hill, SC 29730-5311. Phone: 803-3288395

EU044: Greenville Baha'i Center, 132 Greenacre Road, Greenville, SC 29604; Sunday, Oct. 4, 9 a.m. Mail ballots to LSA of Greenville, RO. Box 8026, Greenville, SC 29604. Phone: 864-242-6506

EU045: Alexander Graham School, 1800 Runnymeade Lane, Charlotte, NC; Sunday, Oct. 4, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. (Register 9 a.m.) Mail ballots to LSA of Charlotte c/o Dell Campbell,

Charlotte, NC 28227-1155. Phone: 704-3443501

EU046: Site, time TBA. Mail ballots to LSA of Chapel Hill,

Chapel Hill, NC 27514-2330. Phone: 919-932-3554

E0047: Avanti Restaurant, 119 E. Washington St., Charles ‘Town, WV; Sunday, Oct 4; 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Mail ballots to LSA of Jefferson County,

Harpers Ferry, WV 25424. Phone: 304-876-3995

EU082: College of Law Courtroom, University of Kentucky, Limestone St., Lexington, KY; Sunday, Oct. 4; 8:30 a.m. Mail ballots to LSA of Lexington, PO. Box 22102, Lexington, KY 40522-2102. Phone: 606-2631820

EU053: Hardin Park Elementary School, 361 Jefferson Rd., Hwy. 194, Boone, NC; Sunday, Oct 4, time TBA. Mail ballots to LSA of Wataugua County, P.O. Box 1406, Boone, NC 28607. Phone: 828-264-2297

EU054: Cherokee County Rec. Center, 7545 N. Main St., Woodstock, GA; Saturday, Oct. 10, 8:30 a.m.4 p.m. Mail ballots to LSA of Cherokee County, P.O. Box 283, Woodstock, GA 30188-0283. Phone: 770-9282483

EU0S5S5: Baha'i Unity Center, 2370 Wesley Chapel Rd., Decatur, GA; Sunday, Oct. 4, 12:30-5:30 p.m. Mail ballots to LSA of DeKalb County North, PO. Box 942131, Adanta, GA 31141-2131. Phone: 770-4961565

EU056: East Roswell Park, 9000 Fouts Road, Roswell, GA; Sunday, Oct. 4, 1-5 p.m. Mail ballots to LSA of Fulton County Central,

Duluth, GA 30097-1730. Phone: 770-360-1363

EU057: Life College, 1269 Barclay Cir., Annex C, Room 106C, Marietta, GA; Sunday, Oct. 4; 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Mail ballots to LSA of Cobb County West,

Marietta, GA 30064-5020. Phone: 770919-1919

EUO0S8: University Hospital

Medical Center, Columbia

County, Martinez, GA; Sunday, Oct. 4, 9 a.m. Mail ballots to LSA of Augusta, P.O. Box 14031, Augusta, GA 30919-0031. Phone: 706738-3104 or 706-833-2515 EU059: Riverview Park Golf Course Auditorium, next to clubhouse off Hwy. 19, Dublin, GA; Sunday, Oct. 4, 10 a.m. Mail ballots to LSA of Peach County, PO. Box 5136, Fort Valley, GA 31030-0600. Phone: 912-8253542 EU060: Dunkan House, #3 Mink Court, Midland, GA; Saturday, Oct. 3, 1-5 p.m. Mail ballots to Dunkan House, Midland, GA 31820. Phone: 706-568-0108 EU061: Jacksonville Baha'i Center, 2140 St. John’s Bluff Rd. S., Jacksonville, FL; Sunday, Oct. 4,9 an p.m. (Register 8:30 a.m.) Mail ballots to LSA of Jacksonville, 2140 St. John’s Bluff Rd. S., Jacksonville, FL 32246. Phone: 904-221-4212 EU062: Brevard Community College, Melbourne Campus, 3865 N. Wickham Rd., Bldg. NMI14, Melbourne, FL; Sunday, Oct. 4, 12 noon. Mail ballots to LSA of Brevard County c/o Laen Dalpak, Melbourne, FL 32935. Phone: 407-242-4959 EU063: Magdalene Carney Baha’ Institute, 130 S.E. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Belle Glade, FL; time TBA. Mail ballots to Eleanor Walker, Belle Glade, FL 33430. Phone: 561-993-0607 EU064: Palm Beach County Baha’ Center, 420 U.S. Hwy. 1, North Palm Beach, FL; Sunday, Oct. 4, 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. (Registration 8:30 a.m.) Mail ballots to Tris Tarafdar, Boca Raton, FL 33433. Phone: 407-488-1949 EU065: Sawgrass Springs Middle School, Sawgrass Expressway at Sample Rd., Coral Springs, FL; Sunday, Oct. 4, 9 a.m. Mail ballots to LSA of Coral Springs, P.O. Box 9746, Coral Springs, FL 33075-9746. Phone: 954-757-1957 EU066: Edison Community College, Collier County Campus, 7007 Lely Cultural Pkwy, Naples, FL; Sunday, Oct. 4; 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mail ballots to LSA of Collier County, P.O. Box 3081, Naples, FL 34106-3081. Phone: 941-495-6154 EU067: Holiday Inn Express, 400 East Bearss Ave. and I-275, ‘Tampa, FL; Sunday, Oct 4, 9 a.m.~4:30 p.m. Mail ballots to LSA of Hillsborough County NW c/o Nancy Rykwalder, ‘Tampa, FL 33618-3710. Phone: 813-933 9329 EU068: St. Petersburg Baha’i Center, 676 2nd Ave. S., St. Petersburg, FL; Sunday, Oct. 4, 10 a.m.4 p.m. Mail ballots to LSA of St. Petersburg, P.O. Box 15343, St. Petersburg, FL 33733-5343. Phone: 813-8663220 EU069: Tallahassee Baha’i Center, 1310 Cross Creek Cir., Suite D, Tallahassee, FL; Sunday, Oct. 4, 9 a.m. Mail ballots to LSA of Tallahassee c/o Florence Reed, Tallahassee, FL 32303. Phone: 850-671-6684 EU070: Catholic Service Center; Sunday, Oct. 4, 9 a.m. Mail ballots to LSA of Montgomery, PO. Box 1131, Montgomery, AL 36101-1131. Phone: 334-2700589 EUO71: University of Alabama-Birmingham, Great Hall, 1400 University Blvd.; Saturday, Oct. 3, 9 a.m.—4 p.m. Mail ballots to LSA of Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35222-3465. Contact: Keitha Hudson, 205-599-3399 EU072: James E. Ward Agricultural & Community Center, 945 Baddour Pkwy. (off I-40 at exit 239), Lebanon, TN; Sunday, Oct. 11, 9 a.m. Mail ballots to LSA of Wilson County c/o Joyce Maneck, Mt Juliet, TN 37122. Phone: 615758-3336 EU091: Site, time TBA; Sat., Oct 3. Mail ballots to LSA of Memphis c/o Janice Peterson, Memphis, ‘TN 38107. Phone: 901-276-4106 EU092: Park Inn Int.., I-20 at Exit 4B, 4137 I-20 Frontage Rd., Vicksburg, MS; Sunday, Oct. 4, 10 a.m4 p.m. (Register 9 a.m.) Mail ballots to LSA of Vicksburg, Vicksburg, MS 39180-5249. Phone: 601-638-5537 EU093: Baton Rouge, LA, Baha'i Center; Sunday, Oct. 4, 9:30 a.m. (Register 8:30 a.m.) Mail ballots to LSA of New Orleans c/o Cheryl Johnson, New Orleans, LA 70131. Phone: 504433-2621 EU094: Site, time TBA. Mail ballots to LSA of Edinburg, Edinburg, TX 78539-7313. Contact: Wilson Ballard, 210-383-3189 EU095: Barrington Place Community Center, 13318 Rosstown Ct. Sugar Land, TX; Sunday, Oct. 4; 9 a.m.—5 p.m. Mail ballots to LSA of Sugar Land, P.O. Box 2103, Sugar Land, TX 77487-2103. Phone: 281-491-6806 EU096: Houston, TX, Baha’i

SEE SOUTHERN STATES, PAGE 29

page 28 THE AMERICAN BAHA‘i ¢ UNIT CONVENTIONS — September 8, 1998 [Page 29]

SOUTHER! “i STATES:

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 28

Center; Saturday, Oct. 3; 6 p.m. Mail ballots to LSA of Houston, PO. Box 301190, Houston, TX 77230-1190. Phone: 281-5310975

EU097: Austin Baha’i Center, 2215 E.M. Franklin Ave., Austin, ‘TX; Sunday, Oct. 4, 8:30 a.m.4 p.m. Mail ballots to LSA of Austin, Austin, TX 78723. Phone: 512467-0645

EU098: ‘Texas A&M University, Rudder Tower, College Station, TX; Sunday, Oct. 4, 9:30 a.m. Mail ballots to LSA of Round Rock, P.O. Box 433, Round Rock, 78680-0433. Phone: 512-863-6328

EU099: Tyler Baha'i Center, 406 NNW Loop 323, > TX;

y! time TBA. Mail ballots to LSA of

‘Tyler, ‘Tyler, TX 75707-1600. Phone: 903-566-8058

EU100: Southern Methodist Uni Hughes- Trigg Student Center, University Park, ‘TX; Sunday, Oct. 4, 9 a.m. Mail ballots to LSA of Irving, RO. Box 154636, Irving, TX 75015-4636. Phone: 214-5295802, EUI1O01: Site, time TBA. Mail ballots to LSA of Richardson c/o Linda Jenson,

Richard son, TX 75081. Phone: 974- . 437-4604

EU102: Tarrant County Baha’i Center, 723 E. Border, Arlington, TX; Sunday, Oct. 4, 9 a.m.-I p.m. (Dawn prayers 6:30 a.m., register 8:30 a.m.) Mail ballots to LSA of Bedford, P.O. Box 211482, Bedford, TX 76095-8482. Phone: 817-498-5026

EU103: El Paso Baha’i Center, 9931 McCombs St, El Paso, TX; Sunday, Oct. 4, 9:30 a.m. Mail ballots to Mrs. Patricia Lang, El Paso, TX 79912-1950. Phone: 915-565-2211

EU104: University of Tulsa, Keplinger Hall, Tulsa, OK, off Harvard Ave. between 4th and Sth PL; Sunday, Oct. 11, 9:30 a.m.. Mail ballots to LSA of Tulsa, P.O. Box 251, Tulsa, OK 74101-0251. Phone: 918749-2859

EU105: Oklahoma City Baha’i Center, 1201 S. Blackwelder, Oklahoma City, OK; Sunday, Oct. 4; 10 a.m.—4 p.m. (Register 9 a.m.) Mail ballots to LSA of Edmond, P.O. Box 1178, Edmond, OK 73083-1178. Phone: 405359-7013

‘WESTERN STATES

EU113: Site, time TBA. Mail ballots to LSA of Fort Collins, P.O. Box 1118, Fort Collins, CO 80522-1118. Phone: 970-2295962.

EU114: Metro Denver Baha’i Center, 225 E. Bayaud Ave., Denver, CO; time TBA. Mail ballots to LSA of Denver c/o Leota Malleck,

Denver, CO 80209-1706. Phone: 303-221-1077

EUL1S5: Beech Street Kindergarden, 510 N. Beech, Cortez, CO; Sunday, Oct. 4, 10 a.m.—3 p-m. (Register 9 a.m.) Mail ballots to LSA of Cortez, P.O. Box 165, Cortez, CO 81321. Phone: 970-565-2632

EU116: College of Santa Fe, 1600 St. Michael’s Drive, Santa Fe, NM; Sunday, Oct. 11; 9:30 a.m.—3 p.m. (Register 8:30 a.m.) Mail ballots to LSA of Santa Fe, P.O. Box 22907, ita Fe, NM 87505. Phone: 505-983-8740

EU117: Albuquerque Baha’t Center, 202 Harvard S.E., Albuquerque, NM; Sunday, Oct. 4, 9:30 a.m.4 p.m. (Register 9 a.m.) Mail ballots to LSA of Albuquerque c/o Jenni Beory, PO. Box 21517, Albuquerque, NM 87154. Phone: 505-2558639

EU118: NM School for the Visually Handicapped, Reese Hall, 1900 N. White Sands Blvd., Alamogordo, NM; Sunday, Oct. 4, 10 a.m.4 p.m. (Register 9 a.m.) Mail ballots to LSA of Alamogordo, P.O. Box 1461, Alamogordo, NM 88311- 1461. Phone: 505-434-4192

EU119: La Tierra Linda Guest Ranch, 7501 N. Wade Rd., Tucson, AZ; Sunday, Oct. 11, 1-5 p.m. (Activities before and after; register 9:30 a.m.) Mail ballots to LSA of Oro Valley, P.O. Box 36771, Tucson, AZ 85740-6771. Phone: 520-5448834

EU120: Site, time TBA. Mail ballots to LSA of Mesa, P.O. Box 5487, Mesa, AZ 85211-5487. Phone: 602-981-6172

EU121: Phoenix, AZ, Baha’i Center, 944 E. Mountain View; time TBA. Mail ballots to LSA of Phoenix, P.O. Box 9961, Phoenix, AZ 85068-0961. Phone: 602-997-2826

EU122: Dysart Union High School Dist. Ofc., 530 E. Riley, Avondale, AZ; Sunday, Oct. 4, 9 a.m.—I p.m. (Register 8:30 a.m.) Mail ballots to LSA of Avondale c/o Susan Cunningham, P.O. Box 507, Avondale, AZ 85323. Phone: 602-925-0989

EU123: Arizona State University, Pima Room—Memorial Union, Apache Blvd., Tempe, AZ; Sunday, Oct 4, 1-5 p.m. (Register noon) Mail ballots to

LSA of Tempe, P.O. Box 504, ‘Tempe, AZ 85280-0504. Phone: 602-839-1963

EU124: Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, 510 N. Leroux, Flagstaff, AZ; Saturday, Oct. 3, time TBA. Mail ballots to LSA of Flagstaff, P.O. Box 2533, Flagstaff, AZ 86003-2533. Phone: 520-526-4801

EU125: (Tentative) Native American Baha'i Institute, Houck, AZ; Sunday, Oct. 4, 9:30 a.m.—4 p.m. (Register 9 a.m.) Mail ballots to LSA of Gallup, P.O. Box 1822, Gallup, NM 87305. Phone: 505-722-0039

EU126: Site, time TBA. Mail ballots.to LSA of Salt Lake County, P.O. Box 57775, Salt Lake UT 84757-0775. Phone: 801-967-6680.

EU127: Best Western Colonial Hotel, 2301 Colonial Dr., Helena, MT 59601; 9 a p.m. (Register 8 a.m.) Mai lots to LSA of Helena c/o S: Marisdotter,

Helena, MT 59601-3202. Phone: 406-442-7526

EUI128: West Valley High School, 8301 E. Buckeye, Spokane, WA; Sunday, Oct. 4, 9:30 a.m. (Register 9 a.m.) Mail ballots to LSA of Spokane CCD

2 c/o David Simmons,

Veradale, WA 99037-9001. Phone: 509-2559926

EU129: Site, time TBA. Mail

ballots to LSA of Toppenish,

‘Toppenish, WA 98948-1037. Phone: 509-865-5062

EU130: Winnemucca Convention Center, 50 W. Winnemucca Ave, Winnemucca, NV; Saturday, Oct. 3, time TBA. Mail ballots to LSA of Sparks c/o Nancy Jeppson, P.O. Box 505, Sparks, NV 89432. Phone: 702-626-5454

EU131: Las Vegas Baha’i Center, 7035 West Oakey Blvd., Las Vegas, NV; Sunday, Oct. 4, 9:30 a.m.4 p.m. (Register 8:30 a.m.) Mail ballots to LSA of Clark County West,

Las Vegas, NV 89103. Phone: 702-873-3318

EU132: Helix High School cafeteria, 7323 University Ave., LaMesa, CA; Sunday, Oct. 4, 9 a.m. (Register 8:30 a.m.) Mail ballots to LSA of La Mesa c/o Jim Schechter, P.O. Box 1113, LaMesa, CA 91944-1113. Phone: 619-464-6761

EU133: San Diego Baha’i Center; 6545 Alcala Knolls Dr., San Diego, CA; Sunday, Oct. 4, 2-5 pam. (Register 1:30 p.m.) Mail ballots to LSA of San Diego, 6545 Alcala Knolls Dr., San Diego, CA 92111. Phone: 619-262-8462

EU134: Carlsbad Senior Center, 799 Pine Ave., Carlsbad, CA; Sunday, Oct. 4, 9 a.m.—1 p.m. (Register 8:30 a.m.) Mail ballots to LSA of Escondido c/o Unit Convention Ballot, P.O. Box 300691, Escondido, CA 92030. Phone: 760-744-6228

EU135: Harris Department Store, 3635 Riverside Plaza, Central Ave., Riverside, CA; Sunday, Oct. 4. 10 a.m.4 p.m. (Register 9 a.m.) Mail ballots to LSA of Riverside c/o Riverside Baha’i Center,

Riverside, CA 92501. Phone: 909-683-6515

EU136: Baha’i Center, 3316 Ave. Del Presidente, San Clemente, € day, Oct. 11, 10 a.m.4 p.m. (Register 9 a.m.) Mail ballots to LSA of Laguna Niguel, P.O. Box 7776, Laguna Niguel, CA 92607. Phone: 714831-1609

EU137: Tustin Community Room, 300 Centennial Way, ‘Tustin, CA; Sunday, Oct. 4, 1-5 p.m. Mail ballots to LSA of ‘Tustin, P.O. Box 681, Tustin, CA 92781. Phone: 714-8382011

EU138; Fullerton Senior Center, 340 West Commonwealth Ave., Fullerton, CA; Sunday, Oct. 4, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. (Register 9 a.m.) Mail ballots to LSA of Orange c/o Jean Gruber, P.O, Box 5441, Orange, CA 92613-5441. Phone: 714-6333435

EU139: Furman Park, 10419 Rives Ave., Downey, CA; Sunday, Oct. 4, 1:30-5 p.m. (Regis ter 1p.m.) Mail ballots to LSA of Long Beach c/o Travis Williams, RO. Box 4150, Long Beach, CA 90804-0150. Phone: 562-425-4676

EU140: Culver City Veterans Memorial Bldg., 4117 Overland Ave., Culver City, CA; Sunday, Oct. 4, 10:30 a.m.—2 p.m. (Register 10 a.m.) Mail ballots to LSA of Santa Monica, P.O. Box 1066, Santa Monica, CA 90406. Phone: 310-829-9625

EU141: Arcadia Community Center, 365 Campus Drive, Arcadia, CA; Sunday, Oct. 4, 9 a.m.-12:30 pam. Register 8:30 a.m.) Mail ballots to LSA of Monrovia c/o Joanie Yuille, P.O. Box 346, Monrovia, CA 91017-0857. Phone: 626-3588254

EU142: Los Angeles Baha’i Center, 5755 Rodeo Rd., Los Angeles, CA; time TBA. Mail ballots to LSA of Los Angeles, 5755 Rodeo Rd., Los Angeles, CA 90016-5013. Phone: 818908-1020

EU143: Canyon Country Park, 17615 Soledad Canyon Rd., Canyon Country, CA; Sun

day, Oct. 4, 9:45 a.m.-1:30 p.m. (Register 9 a.m.) Mail ballots to LSA of Newhall JD c/o Mojgan Tabrizi, Castaic, CA 91384. Phone: 805-257B98

EU144: Rancho Santa Susana Community Center, 5005 Los Angeles Ave., Simi Valley, CA; Sunday, Oct. 4, 10 a.m.-3:30. p-m. (Register 9 a.m.) Mail ballots to H. Rastegar,

Agoura Hills, CA

91301. Phone: 818-991-3512

EU145: Nine Oaks Baha’i Institute, 1201 Old Oak Park Rd., Arroyo Grande, CA; Sunday, Oct. 4, 10 a.m.4 p.m, (Register 9 a.m.) Mail ballots to LSA of Bakersfield, PO. Box 9002, Bakersfield, CA 93389-9002. Phone: 805-398-6203

EUL146: Site TBA; Sunday, Oct. 4, 9:30 a.m.—1:30 p.m. (Register 9 a.m.) Mail ballots to LSA of Toro and

54-9351

EU147: Fresno Baha’i Center, 2240 E. Angus Ave., Fresno, CA; Sunday, Oct. 4, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. (Register 9 a.m.) Mail ballots to LSA of Clovis c/o Pattie Lacefield, P.O. Box 462, Clovis, CA 93613. Phone: 209-297-7137

EU148: Regional Baha’i Center, 995 Willow St., San Jose, CA; Sunday, Oct. 4, 9:30 a.m.—1 p.m. (Register 9 a.m.) Mail ballots to LSA of San Jose c/o Don Burt Jr., P.O. Box 6381, San Jose, CA 95150. Phone: 408-9972621

EU149: Bosch Baha’{ School, Santa Cruz, CA; Sunday, Oct. 4, time TBA. Mail ballots to LSA of Mountain View, P.O. Box 1223, Mountain View, CA 94042-1223. Phone: 650-9613374

EUI1S0: Kiwanis Community Center, 1017 Cedar St., San Carlos, CA; Sunday, Oct. 4, 9:30 a.m.I p.m. (Register 9 a.m.) Mail ballots to LSA of San Carlos c/o Mehran Bashiri,

San Carlos, CA

94070. Phone: 650-596-9635

EUIS1: Chabat College, 25555 Hesperian Blvd., Hayward, CA; Sunday, Oct. 4, 10 a.m.—3 p.m. (Register 9 a.m.) Mail ballots to LSA of Fremont c/o Farzaneh Sani, P.O. Box 3531, Fremont, CA 94539. Phone: 510-657-7777

EU152: Bancroft Elementary School, 2200 Parish Dr., Walnut Creek, CA; Sunday, Oct. 4, 9 a.m.—3 p.m. (Register 8:30 a.m.) Mail ballots to LSA of Orinda, P.O. Box, Orinda, CA 94563-0064. Phone: 925-2530412

SEE WESTERN STATES, PAGE 30

September 8, 1998

‘THE: AMERICAN BAHA‘i * Unit CONVENTIONS.

page 29 [Page 30]

UNIT*®CONVENTIONS=

WESTERN STATES

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 29

EU153: Site, time TBA. Mail ballots to LSA of V 20. Box 2101, Vacaville, CA 95696-8101. Phone: 707-447-3609 EUI54: Roseville High School, 601 Tahoe Ave., Roseville, CA; Sund:

ws Sandra Moline, Roseville, CA 95678. Phone: 916-774-9392 EU155: Gold Run Elementary School, 470 Searls Ave., 2A; Sunday, Oct.

4, 10 a.m.-3:30 p.m. (Register 9 a.m.) Mail ballots to LSA of Nevada County Central, P.O. Box 1092, Nevada City, CA

95959-1092. Phone: 530-4771351

EU156: Petaluma Community Center, 320 N. McDowell Blvd., Petaluma, CA; Saturday, Oct. 3, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. (Register 9:30 a.m.) Mail ballots to LSA of Petaluma, P.O. Box 23, Petaluma, CA 94953-0023. Phone: 707-769-1591

EU157: Ashland Community Center, 59 Winburn Way, OR; Sunday, Oct. 4, 10 a.m.-S p.m. (Register 9 a.m.) Mail ballots to LSA of Medford, PO. Box 534, Medford, OR 97501-0036. Phone: 541-770-9128

EUI158: Umpqua Community College, 1140 College Rd., Roseburg, OR; Sunday, Oct. 4, 10 a.m. p.m. (Register 9 a.m.)

Mail ballots to LSA of Douglas County, P.O. Box 212, Winchester, OR 97495-0212. Phone: 541-459-9763 EU159: LaSells Stewart Center, 26th at Western S.W., Corvallis, OR; ete ee 4, 10

5» OR 97339-0308. Phone: 541 7066

EU160: TBA; Saturday, oo 3, 10a.m.-5 p.m. (Register 9

ail ballots to LSA of Mil RO. Box 22517, Mila OR 97269-2517. Phone: 503-652-9319

EU161: Mt. Hood Community College, 26000 S.E. Stark, Gresham, OR; Sunday, Oct. 4, 9:30

a.m.4 pam. (Register 9 a.m.) Mail ballots to LSA of Portland, PO. Box 83297, Pordand, OR 97283-0297. Phone: 503-7369388

EU162: Tigard Senior Center, 8813 O'Mara St., Tigard, OR; Sunday, Oct. 4, 1-5 p.m. Register noon) Mail ballot A Beaverton c/o M:; 10360 S.W. Cyn ton, OR 97008-6032. 503-644-6751

EU163: Site, time TBA. Mail ballots to LSA of King County East Cental, P.O. Box 722, Issaquah, WA 98027-0027. Phone: 425-396-8253.

EU164: Carco Theatre, 1717 Maple Valley Hwy., Renton, WA; Sunday, Oct. 11, 11 a.m.-5

p.m. Mail ballots to LSA of Kirkland c/o Patt Savage, PO. Box 128, Kirkland, WA 98083-0128. Phone: 425-8231349

EUI65: Site, time TBA. Mail ballots to LSA of Burien, RO. Box 373, Seahurst, WA 98062-0373. Phone: 206-244-3757

EU16: Site, time TBA. Mail ballots to LSA of Everett, RO. Box 2001, Everett, WA 98203-0001.

5

remerton High School, 1500 13th St Bremerinday, Oct. 4; 14:30 p.m. (Register 12 noon) Mail ballots to LSA of Bremerton c/o Pat Sloan, Bremerton, WA 98310-6201. Phone: 360-377-1977 @

-Countries/territories in need of pioneers and traveling teachers

ese international pioneering and

traveling teaching needs for the Four

Year Plan are in categories as defined by the

Universal House of Justice in 1996. Paren theses indicate the National or Regional

Spiritual Assembly under whose jurisdiction a county or territory falls.

CATEGORY 1

‘The needs are especially pressing.

Africa: Equatorial Guinea, Lesotho, Gambia

Australasia: Cook Islands, French Polynesia (Hawaii)

Europe: Yugoslavia (Austria)

CATEGORY 2

The Faith is established, but pioneers are needed to stimulate the process of growth and to halp open new centers.

Africa: Benin, Botswana, Burkina, Cape Verde, Eritrea, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Madagascar, Mali, Namibia, Niger, Réunion, Sao ‘Tomé and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, St. Helena

(South Africa), Tanzania, Uganda

Americas: Argentina, Aruba, Bonaire and Curagao (Venezuela), Bahamas, Bermuda, Cayman Islands (Jamaica), Chile, Chiloé Island (Chile), Dominica, East Leeward Islands, Easter Island (Chile), Falkland Islands. (United States), French Guiana, Gakipagos Islands (Ecuador), Greenland, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Jamaica, Juan Ferndndez Islands (Chile), Martinique, Mexico, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Puerto Rico, St, Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Turks and Caicos Islands (United States), Venezuela, Virgin Islands, West Leeward Islands

Asia: Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Armenia, Asiatic Russia, including Sakhalin, Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Korea South, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Nepal, Ogasawara Islands. @apan), Ryukyu Islands (Japan), Sri Lanka, ‘Thailand, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan

Australasia: Christmas Island (Australia),

Eastern Caroline Islands, Fiji Islands, Mar iana Islands, Marshall Islands, Nauru (Kiribati), New Caledonia and the Loyalty Islands, Norfolk Island (Australia), Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Western Caroline Islands

Europe: Albania, Andorra (Spain), Azores (Portugal), Balearic Islands (Spain), Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Channel Islands (United Kingdom), Corsica, Croatia (Slovenia and Croatia), Cyprus-Northern, Cyprus-Southern, Czech Republic, Denmark, Elba (ltaly), Estonia (Baltic States), Faroe Islands (Iceland), Finland, Gibraltar (United Kingdom), Greece, Hungary, Latvia (Baltic States), Liechtenstein (Switzerland), Lithuania (Baltic States), Macedonia, Madeira Island (Portugal), Malta (Italy), Moldova, Monaco (France), Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, San Marino (Italy), Sardinia (Italy), Sicily, Slovak Republic, Slovenia (Croatia and Slovenia), Spitsbergen (Norway), Ukraine

CATEGORY 3

ness, holiday, family, study or otherwise.

3511, fax 847-733-3509, e-mail

information it

INFORMAATION ON YOUR INTERNATIONAL TEACHING TRIP

‘To record achievement of traveling teaching goals, the Office of Pioneering needs information on all international trips undertaken for the sake of promoting the interests of the Faith. Thi: of service and regardless of whether your trip was exclusively for service to the F

important whatever the level or amount aith or was combined with a trip for busi Just fill out and send this form to the Office of Pioneering, 1233 Central St., Evanston, IL 60201 (phone 847-733 ). Please include the names of all Baha’is traveling, the names of each

country and the one or two main localities visited, the dates of your trip and the main purpose of your travel.

American Indian African descent

Countries/Localities

Hispanic Other

From (dates) To

Name(s): LD. #(s): Name(s): LD. #(s): Street: City, State, Zip:

Did you arise in response to the call of the Universal House of Justice to particular ethnic groups in the Ridvan B.E. 153 message to North America? If so, please indicate your background:

Main Purpose

Please attach any comments.

‘The process of expansion and consolidation has a significant momentum, but there is a need for pioneers who can undertake specific tasks, such as arousing the interest of prominent people, strengthening the communities in certain areas, or assisting with projects of social and economic development.

Africa: Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo Republic, Cote dIvoire, Ethiopia, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Malawi, Mauritius, Nigeria, Rodrigues (Mauritius), South Africa, Swaziland, ‘Togo, Zaire, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

Americas: Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guyana, Honduras, Panama, Peru, Suriname, ‘Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay.

Asia: Bangladesh, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Macau, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, ‘Taiwan.

Australasia: Kiribati, Papua New Guinea, Samoa.

Europe: Canary Islands, Iceland

CATEGORY 4

Pioneers are greatly needed, but entry is difficult due to restrictions on Baha’ activity, lack of security, or other circumstances. ‘These conditions present a need for believers who will resourcefully seek out opportunities for pioneering. “Baha'i World Center” appears in parentheses next to particularly sensitive areas, and those interested in pioneering or traveling to teach in such areas should contact the World Center directly.

Africa: Angola, Burundi (Baha'i World Center), Comoros (Mauritius), Djibouti (Ethiopia), Liberia, Mauritania (Baha’f World Center), Mozambique, Rwanda (Baha’ World Center), Somalia (Kenya), Sudan.

Americas: Cuba, Haiti, St. Pierre and Miquelon (Canada)

Asia: Afghanistan (Baha'i World Center), Bhutan (India), Brunei (Malaysia), Indonesia (Baha’f World Center), Korea-North, Laos, Maldives (Sri Lanka), Myanmar, ‘Tajikistan, Viemam (Baha'i World Center).

Australasia: Wallis and Futuna (New Caledonia and the Loyalty Islands)

page 30 THE AMERICAN BANA’i ¢ UNIT

(CONVENTIONS September 8, 1998 [Page 31]PROMOTING the PRINCIPLES

Badasht and Seneca Falls: Parallel forces for equality

BY BRADFORD W. MILLER

he nference of Badasht shares everal noteworthy parallels with the Seneca Falls, New York, First Women’s Rights Convention. Each was held in July 1848, and each marked emancipation of women. And men played a

a vital role in each c:

E ht, of course, is known to Baha’is for being the occasion on which Tahirih unveiled herself-at a gathering

of the Bab’s follows

village. Here Tahirih introduced the revolutionary

feminine within an exploding Islamic framework in a drama that would see the abrogation of Islamic law itself and the inception of the Baha’ Dispensation in which the equality of men and women would stand as a pillar.

Fewer Baha’fs, however, are aware that Elizabeth Cady Stanton, one of the United States’ earliest feminists, made a similarly dran and_ revolutionary gesture concerning the rights of women in Seneca Falls. The 150th anniversary of this was celebrated in mid-July, with first lady Hillary Clinton attending.

In 1848 at the Wesleyan Chapel, Stanton and her abolitionist and reformist colleagues put forth, together with « an pape aa of eee

in a tiny Persian

for women’s right to vote. Th tion inaugurated the women’s s movement in America.

ton’s demand for the vote was

The 150th anniversary of the Seneca Falls Conference, celebrated July 16-19, became a venue for a prominent Baha’i presence. The Baha’is of New York and surrounding areas participated in an interfaith devotional service in honor of the Women's Rights Convention; artistic presentations on the issue of equality were performed by the Rochester Baha’i Choir, Youth Workshop, and community members; and more than 1,000 copies of the statement ‘Two Wings of A Bird: The Equality of Women and Men were disseminated.

The National Committee for the Equality of Women and Men encourages Baha’is and local communities to study the 1848 Seneca Falls event and help like-minded groups raise public consciousness of its significance to women’s rights in America.

supported by only one man at the convention, Frederick Douglass, a former slave legally free only since December 1846. In this way, it is the Seneca Falls Convention's personification of complex gender and racial relationships that s it as a broad frame of ref

their own identity acquisition, their own coming of age in social, gender, and spiritual terms.

irih daring presentation was likewise the decisive deed of Badasht. She, too, ant man, Quddtis, who coordinated his efforts to support and enhance hers, following a previously

was assisted by a signif

agreed-upon arrangement with Bahd’w'llah, also present at Badasht. 5 is Conv the Ba spresentative rite of pa: sage in w1 hich the als aid fer

were symboli

Like the

ntion,

Badasht the divine word and Seneca Falls its worldly creation. Indeed, ‘Abdu’l-Baha writes, “Among the miracles which distinguish this sacred Dispensation is this, that women have evinced a greater boldness than men. (The Advent of Divine Justice, p. 57). Furthermore, continues Abdu’l-Baha, “The continent of America is in the eyes of the one true God, the land wherein the splendors of His light shall be revealed, where the mysteries of His Faith shall be unveiled. ...” (ibid, p. 5)

‘The seemingly secular and rather local Seneca Falls Convention, if properly understood and revalorized in the light of the Baha’ Faith, should represent to Baha'i thinkers, s, and teachers itually transformative drama in eds of the full equality of men and women, and, indeed, of the destiny of Ameri Bradford W. Mille

of Seneca

a Babi’é in Northauthor of Return

ing to Seneca Fall

Community involvement boosts unity event

nvolvement of like-minded groups

helped the second annual Race Unity Celebration in Springfield, Oregon, grow to twice the size of last year’s event.

‘The planning team attended meetings of like-minded organizations and pre: sented the event's vision—not as Bal but as members of the Race Unity Celebration Team. ‘

Within each packet handed out, however, was The Vision of Race Unity statement. And the more the planners didn’t mention the Faith, the more it was mentioned by others.

~ newspaper to help pay for advel

More than 90 percent of the organizations responded positively to the invitation to support the event.

Because the planners could not accept donated funds, they suggested checks be written to a third party, such as to a g. Next year the team plans to set up an account with a tax ID number for the celebration.

The June 20 event included a proclamation issued by the mayor at Springfield City Hall. Blessings were given by a tant to the rabbi, and an

American Indiar

Mistress of ceremonies Ernestine t Berkey said a few words, and an was presented by the Springfield to Naomi Fellows, a local midschool teacher who teaches her children each year how to accept those who are different from them. ‘

Participants then marched to a nearby park, where there was a variety of entertainment, booths, games, face painting, a balloon artist and much more.

All three major television channels and two local papers covered the event. @

Niky Farid (left) of the UCLA Baha’i Club presents university official Carol Peterson with a copy of Two Wings of a Bird as part of a presentation on women’s role in world peace earlier this year.

Club gains inroad at UCLA

fl

invited to become part of the camp dent Religious Steering Committe

The goal of the committee is to establish a core of students to organize educational and cultural events aimed at i ing interreligious tolerance, fellowship, and love.

In inviting the Baha’fs to join this body, the Chancellors Committee for Religion, Ethics, and Values p d the active club for its warm and inclusive nature.

Among significant activities last year, the Baha’f Club planned and ex ed an effective 1998 One Voice paign program in response to the call of the National Committee for the Advancement of Women (now the National Committee for the Equality of Women and Men).

Earlier, Judge Dorothy Nelson spoke to 130 students and faculty on the role of women in establishing world peace.

Students and faculty said they found the talk “valuable and enlightening,” according to an extensive article printed the following Monday in the college newspaper, The Daily Bruin.

Following the talk, the Baha’i Club made a formal presentation of the National Spiritual Assembly’s statement on the equality of women and men to Carol Peterson, vice provost in the College of Letters and Sciences and special assistant in the Chancellor's Office; Carry Porter, senior associate dean of students; and

¢ Baha’i Club of the University of

chool

Cam

Susan French, professor of law. #

CALL FOR KELLUM AWARD

‘he Committee for the Celebration of Humanity and the Baha’{ House of Worship invite nominees for the 1999 David Kellum Award. Distinguished servants of humankind need not be members of the Bahé’i Faith to receive this award. The National Spiritual Assembly presents this award yearly to people or

organizations who “represent positive

role models for youth of all races and

who contribute outstanding service to the community.”

‘The award honors the memory of David Kellum, a longtime member of the Chicago Baha’i community, who dedicated his life to improving relations between the races. He directed Bud Billiken activities and was city editor of the Chicago Defender.

You are invited to nominate someone you feel deserves recognition for efforts of

this type. The 1999 Kellum Award will be presented Feb. 20, 1999, at the Baha’f House of Worship, Wilmette) Illinois.

For information or a nomination form, please contact the Baha’i House of Worship Activities Office (phone 847-853-2326, email ). Return your candidate’s information to the Baha’i House of Worship by Nov. 15, 1998, to be considered for the 1999 award.

September 8, 1998

THE AMERICAN BAHA‘i * PROMOTING THE PRINCIPLES

page 31

[Page 32]

U.N. observances offer chance to serve

Ti, Nations! Spitimal Assembly invites local Baha'i communities, permanent schools and college clubs to join with others in the observance of International Day of Peace Sept. 15 and United Nations Day on Oct. 24.

The third Tuesday in September was designated by the U.N. in 1981 as the International Day of Peace. The U.N. General Assembly traditionally opens on this day and observes a minute of silence at noon for world peace. People all over the world will join in this minute

of si » and many will also perform an act of kindness or local peac building.

The ry of the entry into force of the U.N. Charter—Oct. 24, 1945—has been celebrated as United

Nations Day 1948. It has been marked throughout the world by discussions and exhibits on the achievements and goals of the United Nations.

The United Nations Association of the United States of America (UNA-USA) has made available the U.N. Day program manual, titled The Universal Declaration of. Human Rights at 50, which offers practical tips on planning for U.N. Day.

The National Coordinating Committee for the 50th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHRS0), of which the National Spiritual Assembly is a member, has also developed In Your Hands: A Community Action Guide. The guide includes the complete text of the Declaration and suggests activites related to human rights for groups at the community, nationational levels.

a’i community has historically given strong support to U.N. special event days and activities, which provide opportunities for Baha’is to share the teachings of the Faith on a wide range of related topics. The National Assembly encourages Baha’is—on their own

or with other community groups—to plan public meetings, seminars, proclamations or other activities to commemorate the International Day of Peace and United Nations Day. It also encourages public information representatives to coordinate publicity related to these events.

Commemoration of U.N. observances gives Baha’{ communities the opportunity to support two National Assembly-endorsed campaigns:

¢ To promote U.S. ratification of the U.N. Convention to End All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).

The National Spiritual Assembly is co-chair with Amnesty International USA of a Campaign for Commitment on CEDAW to urge Senate action in support of ratification of the Convention. A total of 10,000 letters—half of which were sent by the Baha’i community and other CEDAW supporters through the National Spiritual Assembly’s Office of the Secretary for External Affairs—were delivered to Senate offices in the days before and after March 8, International Women’s Day.

¢ To urge full U.S. payment of its debt to the U.N.

In March, the National Spiritual Assembly joined the United Nations Association and dozens of other organizations in sending yet another open letter to Congress calling on the government to fulfill its financial obligations to the U.N. The United States could lose its U.N. General Assembly vote if its dues are unpaid at the end of the year.

‘The National Spiritual Assembly is a long-standing member of the UNA-USA, which is dedicated to strengthening the U.N. system and enhancing U.S. participation. Spirisual Assemblies and individual Baha’fs are encouraged to become members of local UNA chapters.

RESOURCES FOR U.N.-RELATED ACTIVITIES

For general information on these events or to

order the UNA-USA program manual The Universal Declaration of Human Rights at 50 (free) or the UDHR50 manual In Your Hands: A Community Action Guide ($9.50 including shipping): Baha’i US/UN Office, 866 United Nations Plaza, Suite 120, New York, NY 10017

phone 212-803-2500, fax 212-803-2573, email

For information on joining the UNA-USA in

your area:

United Nations Association of the USA, 801 Second Ave., New York, NY 10017

phone 212-907-1300, fax: 212-682-9185, Web http://www.unausa.org/ f

Web information on U.N. special events:

www.un.org.

Web information on the Declaration of

Human Rights: www.udhr50.org

Web posting of statements of the Baha’i

International Community submitted to the United Nations: www.bic-un.bahai.org

For recent relevant issues of the publications

World Order and One Country: Baha’i Distribution Service (phone 800-999-9019)

How to support efforts for Senate ratification

of the Women’s Convention and payment of U.S. arrears to the U.N.: i National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of the United States, Washington Office, 1320 19th St. NW, Suite 701, Washington, DC 20036 (phone 202-833-8990, fax 202-833-8988, email )o

Baha’i responds to appeal for minority marrow donors

BY TOM MENNILLO

iana Gale Kite was prepared for the worst, but when the news came it was “the saddest thing I can imagine.”

What the Bahai from The Dalles, Oregon, learned was that she is not a bone marrow match for a 25-year-old man who without new tissue will die.

“A young man doesn’t have a match yet,” she said, “because the registry doesn’t have enough ethnic/bi-racial people in it.”

She added, “I am so disappointed. All I can do now is ask my family to in the hopes that one of them might match.”

Diana is still high on the marrow program. She urged anyone interested in becoming a donor to call 1-800-MARROW2, write National Marrow Donor Program, 3433 Broadway St. NE, Suite 500, Minneapolis, MN 55413, or chee! out the program’s Web site (hetp://www.marrow.org).

All ofa donor's medical expenses are covered by the recipient’ insurance, and some employers offer paid time off, she said.

More than 60 fatal diseases are treated with donated bone marrow, including leukemia and aplastic anemia. The marrow is where the body produces new blood components, including red and white blood cells and platelets.

Tt was back in 1991 when she signed up

st

to be a potential donor and her name went into an international registry. Her blood was analyzed for some of the leukocyte antigens she carries—much like a blood type, but more specific.

‘Tissue types are genetic and some are unique to certain groups; thus there’s a

a

“1 personally believe that God created medicine, and that to take advantage of it to save someone’s life, especially a young person, [there] can be no

greater thing.” —E-mail posting by Diana Kite

a

critical need for ethnic and racial minorities to enter the registry, Diana said.

Her emotional roller-coaster started in mid-June when she got an urgent message: Please call the bone marrow donor program office at once.

She did so and learned she was a preliminary match.

“TI didn’t think twice. Within two sec

onds I was thinking, ‘Great,” said Diana. “L was very excited and even a little dizzy at the idea of having something to do in life that I consider second to giving birth to my daughter [Stefi].”

‘The next day she drove the 85 miles to Portland, to give blood for further testing.

‘Then came the waiting game.

Diana said she was flooded with “great responses from so many people all over the world” after she announced on a Baha’i e-mail list in June that she was a preliminary match.

“T can’t tell you the depth of love I feel surrounding me from the Celestial Kingdom and from the friends right now,” she wrote at the time.

“T personally believe that God created medicine, and that to take advantage of it to save someone’ life, especially a young person, [there] can be no greater thing.”

It turned out that not all her antigens matched those of the patient. If they had, she would have gone on to another series of tests and a complete physical exam.

When the donor makes the final commitment to give marrow to a specific patient, it can’t be reversed—because when the patient undergoes intense chemotherapy and radiation treatment to destroy diseased cells, it also destroys the immune system. Without the donated marrow, the patient would not survive.

In a two-hour procedure, marrow is removed from the donor's hip bone. It is

transported to be infused into the patient within a day in the United States, or within 48 hours elsewhere.

A patient's best chance of finding a donor is within the family or ethnic group, Diana said, but only 30 percent will find a match that way. #

Performance furthers gender equality message

Res in Oakland, California, used a performance on the li d poetry of Tahirih to acquaint dozens of people with the Baha'i principle of gender equality and to benefit a local non-profit group.

At the well-received production May 23 of a solo performance by Muhtadia Rice, each person in the audience of 225 received a copy of the National Spiritual Assembly’s statement Two Wings of a Bird: The Equality of Women and Men.

Proceeds from the show were donated to the Hale Laulima Family House, which provides housing and support for women with HIV and their children. @

page 32

THE AMERICAN BAHA‘i * PROMOTING THE PRINCIPLES — September 8, 1998 [Page 33]

TEACHING, continuen From pace 1

plans into the national plan, communities across the country have greatly ed their activity.

of new firesides, devotional and development projects are happening throught the United ce the beginning of the media intiative we have had more than 60,000 responses from s Most of these have been in response to activi that local communities have held to support the release of The Power of Race Unity video.

The national teaching plan helps identify seekers, but it is in local communities where the teaching of seekers happens and where the entry by troops will occur.

To KEEP THE MOMENTUM

Quick and efficient follow-up of

seekers. Follow-up is crucial. When you receive a request, the seeker should be contacted as quickly as possible. Several communities have found that the ideal follow-up time is 24 to 48 hours after a for contact. The longer one the less interested the seekers are

in being contacted. We do not want to lose opportunities to teach the Faith.

¢ Immediate deepening for new believers. Columbus, Ohio, developed a special deepening program based on .” Anyone who enrolls is mediately to join the program. New Baha’is who have gone through the program within a month of enrolling show a much higher degree of community participation than do others.

Individuals Arise! When it comes

down to it, each one of us is responsible for teaching. We work with our Assemblies (local and national) to formulate and organize plans, but it is up to each one of us to do the actual teaching. Nothing beats the individual contact, the one-on-one, to bring someone into the Faith.

Create a joyous and happy community. People are desperate for places

to belong, for places where they feel welcome and loved. The more we can make our communities safe and joyful havens, the more we will attract people to us.

PRACTICAL STEPS TO ENHANCE LOCAL TEACHING

Once seeking souls have learned about Baha'u'llah, what is the next step in advancing the process of entry by troops?

We can work individually or collectively to guide such souls until they arise independently to serve His Cause.

The principle of individual transformation is the same for every human being—we all must progress along a path of growth towards God.

The Sacred Writings have ample passages describing the qualities of a successful teacher. Among them are a spirit of service, genuine love for others, sensitivity to the needs of seekers, perseverance and patience. Time and again the importance of the individual teacher is stressed. Only the individual, through his or her consecrated efforts, holds the real power to ignite hearts with the flame of the love of Baha’u’llah.

PATTERNS OF COMMUNITY LIFE

Individual action in teaching is com

plemented by a regular cycle of community life that confirms the individual’s faith, provides fellowship and worship, guides individual

and families in the

and offers oppor

's fit into such a pattern? They would include:

Devotional gatherings. F others should gather regularly for music, worship and fellowship, to enable everyone to be uplifted by the f the

Teaching activitie: other suitable activities, believ share the Faith with others on mate, personal level. It is often in firesides that the spark of interest in the aith is fanned into a flame of conviction, when learn the Teachings and feel the warmth of Baha’u’llah’s love.

Feasts and Assembly meetings. In some communities these are not estab

and

lished on a regular basis. Although developing them can take time, they are crucial to the progress of the Cause.

Youth and children’s activities. Youth and children are often the most effective teachers and servants of the Cause. In addition, the community has the responsibility to help provide for their spiritual education. Children do not have to have Baha’i parents to learn about the Faith.

‘Training and deepening. There

SEE PRACTICAL, PAGE 34

MAKING THE Most OF THE VIDEO

Develop a spiritual atmosphere in

your community

Create a loving and joyful environment that will attract people
Use the video as a launching pad

for local activities: Devotional gatherings Social events Art events Youth activities Development projects Children’s classes

Extend personal invitations for

people to watch the video or national broadcast with you: In your homes At your local Baha’i Center Ina rented hall At a local civic organization At the local college

Work with your local media
Work with like-minded organizations
Advertise our toll free number:

800-22-UNITE

Advertise our public Web site:

www.us.bahai.com

IA TR ET

PLA

Race Unity Day 1998

Baha'is and others support a rarseday Race Unity Walk in two coastal counties of California northwest of Los Angeles. Starting from opposite directions, two groups of participants converged on San Luis Obispo.

San Luis Obispo/Santa Barbara counties, California

aha’is and others covered 93 miles of highways and byways in their ambitious third annual Race Unity Walk, June 12-14.

Some joined the walk for a few miles and others utilized car support. One walker was in her 70s; for the two youngest walkers, Nathan Parrish, 7, and Chad Booker, 8, this was already their third annual walk.

Corrie Bryson walked all three days with her three sons, Fred, 12, Victor, 9, and Anthony, 8. They and many others found out about the walk through fliers posted around the area.

For several, the Race Unity Walk meant a 60-mile trek over three days: blistered, hobbling, but still smiling and waving to passing cars.

‘The journey began 8 a.m. Friday in Lompoc after prayers were said for racial unity. Eleven souls walked all 23 miles to Santa Maria and finished at 5 p.m. They were joined partway by a reporter for the Lompoc Record, resulting in a front-page article the next day.

Saturday morning a group of 32 Iking north from Santa Maria included the mayor pro tem, a county supervisor and a representative of an African-American group with whom the Baha’is had been trying to establish a relationship for many years Most walkers were not Baha’is, and

most walked every step of the 22 miles to Arroyo Grande.

‘The same morning, 17 walkers— half of them children and youth— headed south from the Cambria Baha’f Center, southward 22 miles to Morro Bay.

On Sunday, Race Unity Day, by the time the groups met in San Luis Obispo, the northbound team was large and racially diverse. and the southbound group was joined six miles from the end by 15 AmeriCorps volunteers.

Then the real celebration began with a Race Unity Festival at Mission Plaza. Music in the styles of India, the Middle East, Australia, West Africa and down-home America were interspersed with an “open mike” at which walkers and well-wishers could voice their positive feelings and experiences regarding the oneness of mankind.

In a keynote address, County Supervisor Bud Laurent, a friend of the Faith, asserted, “There is only one race—the human race!” and quoted a Baha’ prayer.

At the end, the audience was invited to join in a final walk, circling four blocks of downtown San Luis Obispo. With Aba-ko-Ma of Ghana drumming energetically, more than 100 danced in celebration. —Submitted by Karen Olin Parrish

THE POWER OF RACE UNITY NATIONAL CABLE TV BROADCASTS:

¢ VH-I, Thursdays, Oct. 15 and 22:

6 a.m. Eastern, 5 a.m. Central, 4 a.m. Mountain, 3 a.m. Pacific

Odyssey, Saturdays, Nov. 7 and 14:

6 p.m. Eastern, 5 p.m. Central, 4 p.m. Mountain, 3 p.m. Pacific

El: Two broadcasts in October and/or November; dates/times unavailable

30— AND 60-SECOND TV COMMERCIALS:

Various national cable channels in October and November; see the National

Spiritual Assembly’s Web site (www.usbnc.org) as details come available.

The National Spiritual Assembly had hoped to broadcast The Power of Race Unity on the Family Channel and the Inspiration Channel. Their programming departments approved the show, but senior mangement reversed that approval at the last minute. We don’t know why this happened. The National Assembly is pursuing this and asks that the friends take no action themselves at this time.

September 8, 1998

THE AMERICAN BAHA'I * NATIONAL TEACHING PLAN

Page 33 [Page 34]

“NATIONAL

Race Unity Day 1998

Flint, Michigan

The kids enjoyed food, music and dancing at a family-centered Race Unity Day outing in Flint, Michgan.

Broward County, Florida

R% Unity Day brought a vibrant Peace Jam ’98 in Lake Worth and a ‘edoubling of past success in the Fort Lauderdale area.

The relatively new Baha’i community of Lake Worth—12 adults stwong— teamed with several civic organizations to attract about 600 people to Peace Jam, including the mayor, despite midday heat and a rain shower.

Music from five local bands ranged in style from folk to jazz to African drums. The Broward County Baha’i Youth Workshop was received enthusiastically. Baha’is, community leaders and others offered short unity talks.

Local vendors offered ethnic food. Children were treated to creative games, storytelling, a soap bubble extravaganza and face painting. Information on Calling All Colors and the Institute for the Healing of Racism was made available.

Baha’is arranged potlucks and firesides to follow up.

A little south, the Baha’is of Fort Lauderdale and Broward County capitalized on wide media attention and prestige from last year’s Race Unity Day celebration.

‘That event inspired the Broward County Board of Education to make widerscale plans for Race Unity Day.

Nosrat Scott, a Baha’i invited by the board to help form an organizing committee, was elected chairperson. Represented on the committee were the school board, the county Human Rights Division, Museum of Discovery and Science, Florida Institute for Peace Education and Research, NAACP, the county library, F nic Unity and the Urban League.

After six weeks’ discussion and several changes of plan, the committee decided to hold the celebration at the museum, across the hall from a traveling exhibition called “A Question of Truth” from the Ontario Science Center in Canada. The Sun-Sentinel newspaper wrote: “That eternal oneness of mankind was the thrust of the museum exhibit. ... In a scientific approach some 40 exhibits showed that classifying people by race and sex is more political than biological.”

The museum generously reduced the admission charge for that day and added multicultural entertainment to its afternoon schedule.

‘The Race Unity Day program consisted of speeches, music, dance, and readings of race unity proclamations signed by U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings, Florida Gov. Lawton Chiles, and the Broward County Board of Commissioners. Almost 20 local mayors also sent proclamations recognizing June 14 as Race Unity Day.

‘To top the day off, a Race Unity Day march organized by the Spiritual Assembly of Fort Lauderdale and the Healing of Racism Institute completed its route right outside the museum. The marchers were welcomed inside to attend the evening event. @

Murfreesboro, Tennessee

editorial in Sidelines, the student newspaper at Middle Tennessee State University, passed along the Baha’is’ public invitation to a race unity dialogue in June as an example of a positive step toward “the process of healing racism in America.” “Racism is the most challenging issue confronting this country to date,” the editorial said. “Ignoring this can only result in additional injuries to every American.” @

PRACTICAL, continuep From pace 33

should be regular, systematic opportunities for interaction with the Word of God and for acquiring skills to better serve the Faith.

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

Service to humanity. Sincere and impartial service to others is one of the fundamental principles of our Faith. Baha’u'lldh’s teachings provide solutions for the problems of humanity. Baha’is can work together to apply them

through a variety of activities.

FIND THE SEEKERS IN YOUR AREA

Find out about the people who live around you:

What are their interests?

What kind of activities are they

interested in? (For example, tures and groups prefer activities based on devotions, others prefer music, others prefer talks or lectures. Also, some people pre! y-oriented events, others prefer events that focus on partic me cul

What is the best way to deliver your

message to them?

Get to know new people:

Join local organizations.

Lead a Girl/Boy Scout troop.

Volunteer at a local soup kitchen.

Teach an ESL class.

Volunteer at a library or museum.

These are only a few ways to meet new people. If we don’t meet new people we don’t have people to te Rihiyyih Khanum’s pamphlet on teaching)

Don’t be afraid to talk:

Just about any subject can give you an opening to talk about the Faith. You can bring in Baha’f c

ncepts or use quotations from the Writings. For example, if the discussion is about education you can introduce the Baha’{ view on education. You can talk about the Core Curriculum program and the service projects at Louis Gregory Baha’i Institute.

We often hesititate to mention the Faith but it is surprising how many people are willing to listen.

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER

pPaiee progressing at their own pace, are systematically deepened, trained and included in the life of the community. Community activities confirm individuals; they multiply and grow in complexity as more and more individuals arise to serve. This combination of processes helps move a population toward the New World Order.

Success in community life requires attention to a number of principles:

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

Embracing the entire population. If our activities involve only Baha'is, we cannot grow. Baha'u'llah is the Messenger for all humanity. His teachings are urgently needed by humanity at this time.

Learning through action and

reflection. Virtually every community already has some level of activity. Local patterns can evolve to include vital missing elements, or to refine e We should encourage initiative without undue worry about mistakes, which are a necessary part of the learning process. We can evaluate our actions and revise them as needed to increase effectiveness.

Universal participation. grows through individual coordinated and led by the Institutions. 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.

Increase human resources. Systematic training for the believers, complemented by meaningful opportuniti service, is a key to individual spirit transformation and for the raising up of skilled workers for the Cause.

A COMMUNITY’S EXPERIENCE

The TV broadcast was a great rallying point for us. It helped bring the community together and got us excited about, and interested in, being involved in teaching.

While our Assembly didn’t start out with a year-long plan, we came to realize the importance of planning ahead. Once you get people’s interest you have to have activities and events in which to include them.

We've found that some people enjoyed the program but weren’t ready to explore the Faith. However, they did want to be part of the unity-building activities profiled in the program (such as Calling All Colors, the Cemetery restoration project, Baha’i Youth Workshop etc). Some even wanted to spearhead ini tiatives and have the Baha’is help.

This made us realize the importance of the service projects in which we are involved. They show the community that we really believe in what we say. Our particiation helps those people who are not active seekers learn about the Faith.

page 34

THE AMERICAN BAHA‘i * NATIONAL TEACHING PLAN

September 8, 1998 [Page 35]

SUMMARY

Millions of Americans are looking for spiritual solutions to their personal sues—a phenomenon observed by many holars and the media. With this teaching plan, the National Spiritual Assembly has adopted a systematic approach for lentifying these souls, ascertaining their needs, and crafting messages that will produce response.

¢ The vast majority of the initiative must be local.

‘The National Spiritual Assembly has only enough resources to implement modest efforts at the national level. This will surely change as our community grows, but it underscores the importance of local activity to complement national programs. ery local community should do n to undertake proclama tion activity. This can include local television, press and radio usage, public events of various types, race unity dialogues, and so on. © Proclamation must be complemented by other activiti

It is essential that local communiti provide for adequate follow-up with seekers. Fire devotional gatherings, tivities, service projects and other programs should be established, and seekers should be included in all of them.

¢ Local communities can work together.

whatever it c:

In a number of cases, several Assemblies and groups have pooled their resources in a united effort to advance the process of entry by troops. This is a wise approach, since most of our local communities are small.

h the Faith. Not

thing they can to t only should they invite their contacts to community events, they should hold their own regular firesides.

New teaching resources are being

developed.

New audio-visual products are being developed, focusing on themes other than race unity. Some will be directed at new audiences. New literature i » scheduled for production later this year. Th efforts will continue throughout the Plan. The believers will be notified as work nears completion.

‘The Universal House of Justice has stated that one of the main challenges of the Four Year Plan is to “mount a campaign of teaching in which the broad membership of our community is enthusiastically, systematically and personally engaged...” Our collective endeavors over the course of the remainder of the Four Year Plan will surely achieve this result, which will in turn attract the confirmations of the Blessed Beauty.

THE ENTERPRISE BEHIND THE VIDEO

‘he Satellite Initiative Development corp. (SIDCorp), producer of The Power of Race Unity, was founded at a Bah media conference in Nashville, ‘Tennessee, in 1994 as a response to a message of the Universal House of Jus

tic

‘That message called on believers to have “a sense of mission, a feeling of empowerment to minister to the urgent need of humanity for guidance and thus to win victories for the Faith in thei own sphere of life” and to “feel a greater sense of freedom to engage in a wide range of activities originating with themselve:

‘Today, in addition to The Power of Race Unity, SIDCorp has programs on several subjects in various stages of development: prayer, spiritual transformation, spiritual leadership of American Indians, community, equality of men and women, a talk show and a Spanish language program.

‘The keynote address at the Nashville conference called for creation of a series of documentary TV programs about the Baha’i Faith for satellite broadcast over national cable networks.

‘The founding group of SIDCorp included David Ruhe, a former member of the Universal House of Justice, as executive producer; Counselor Isabel Sanchez of Peru; Mary Kay Radpour; and two members of the National ‘Teaching Committee, William Geissler and Pat Steele.

‘They presented the National Spiritual Assembly with a proposal to produce a

series of magazine-format programs. The Assembly gave the non-profit group permission to raise fund:

SIDCorp adopted two principles to govern production:

Programs would be designed to

communicate as effectively as possible with a designated “target audience” mong the mass audience, by addressing its interests and concerns.

Each program would be tested in its

first rough-edit version with a focus group of non-Baha’i viewers representing this target audience.

Audience research turned up a category that small but susceptible to the message of our Faith: those 10 million-20 million Ame: who regard themselves king a new religion.” It turned out this target audience was made up mainly of Baby Boomers, women, African-Americans and youth.

Working closely with the National ‘Teaching Committee, SIDCorp struggled through many development phases to create a process for testing and reediting programs before release.

A focus group criticized the first edited version of The Power of Race Unity in many ways. They concluded that the Faith was a cult and that Baha’fs did not believe in God, even though God and prayer were spoken about frequently.

‘The program was put through three more complete re-edits before it reached its final version, to ensure the program would not create wrong impressions of the Faith. #

Race Unity Day 1998

Beaufort, South Carolina

Preparation, perseverance and loving assistance were key to the Beaufort community capitalizing on the Black Entertainment Television broadcast of The Power of Race Unity. Two newspaper stories and a television interview resulted from the broadcasts and the community’ Race Unity Picnic on June 28.

A local TV station made good on a promise to interview Baha’fs on the subject of race unity in early June, coinciding with the BET broade: “We were able to present the Faith and our local upcoming activities during a news broadcast that reached a maximum audience,” a report from the small coastal community said.

‘The prospect of an interview stemmed from several months before, when the Beaufort Baha’is—trying to work around the fact that the national broadcast on the Odyssey Channel wouldn't reach their cable system—approached the station to air The Power of Race Unity. They were unable to arrange that broadcast, but the contact was established so that the community could more readily set up the June interview.

“This was the first of several surp: ” the report said.

A reporter for the Carolina Morning News, a daily paper distributed in several counti w the ‘TV interview and was inspired to write an article in advance of the picnic. It ended up filling most of a page, inchiding photos of the Shrine of the Bab and the House of Worship as well as background information the community had received from the Office of Public Information. The reporter “attended the Race Unity Picnic and became a new friend,” the report said.

Meanwhile, a reporter from the Gullah Sentinel, a paper read mainly by AfricanAmericans, attended the picnic and produced a large article on the event, which was printed alongside several pictures of people of varied races having fun together. The story made lengthy reference to the National Spiritual Assembly’ statement The Vision of Race Unity and scenes from The Power Of Race Unity program.

“A special thanks is extended to our friends from the neighboring community of Savannah, Georgia,” the report said. “They immediately sent a spokesperson to assist one of our community members in the TV interview. Then in further follow-up, their community came out in full force to support our Race Unity Picnic.”

—Submitted by Laurent Bernad, Beaufort, SC

Bente Osteras and Gracie Reddicks pose under the community banner at the Race Unity Day nic in Beaufort, South Carolina.

Denton, Texas

ROOM

Www

Tans bd

Denton Baha’is preciaim aie conviction at their Race Unity Day Picnic.

Mayor Jack Miller issued a proclamation and various grocery stores donated food, drinks and grilling charcoal for the Race Unity Day picnic June 14 at a Denton city park.

John Eddy, professor of intercultural studies at the University of North ‘Texas, spoke on race relations. The celebration culminated with dances of universal peace with a handcrafted banner as backdrop.

‘The following Saturday, June 20, the Baha’is participated in a parade and operated a game booth during the local celebration of Juneteenth, an African-American festival day that began in Texas.

September 8, 1998

THE AMERICAN BAHA’i * NATIONAL TEACHING PLAN page 35 [Page 36]oO

BLACK MEN’S GATHERING, continuen From pace 3

Pee e er recerccccccc cece secre eee reese esse esses esses esse esses ese eeeSESeeEEseeEEeeH Ee eeEEEEOEE SEES Eee eeeeeseseseseseeeses

Is Sufficient Unto Me” from some deep, hidden ocean surged with a soul-shaking tenor; prayers fell as a gentle rain, then a shower, and finally as a morning dew. When devotions were done, faces were wet from what closed eyes had witnessed.

THE PROGRAM

Music ‘and prayers are the springs from which the Black Men’s Gathering gets its life.

Heath, a first-time attendee, can testify: “Coming out of the prayers, coming out of the singing. ... 1 is the first time in my life I’ve prayed for two hours. ... It’s the most incredible feeling in the world.”

The gathering is about spiritual transformation. One attendee remarked, “The first day we were here, we deepened all day on the Ridvan message. That let me know that it was not about personal stuff, not about anger. It was about Baha’u’llah.”

Deepening topics included the Ridvin 155 message from the Universal House of Justice, the equality of women and men and the education of children. By the end of the week, men had committed themselves to take the spirit they received here back to their communities, and to lovingly and firmly move

them to action.

A subject of great importance in the group’ con ions was the Universal House of Justice’s request that Americans of African descent become traveling teachers and pioneers to the African continent.

Many attendees from previous years

then-Counselor and now-National Spiritual sembly member William Roberts, was identified with the Louis G. Gregory Baha’i Institute in South Carolina.

For 11 years, it grew and established itself there. Last year it was suggested

TTT a SEO

“| haven’t been in a place with more love ... more

unconditional love. I let down every guard I’d had my

whole life.”

—Daryll King, Tampa, Florida

have responded to this call, several pledged to go this year, others plan to go in the future, and still others are digging deep to deputize those who wish to go.

‘The men’s response to this request is an evidence of the degree of love and obedience they feel toward the Supreme Body.

MOVE TO GREEN ACRE From the first, the Black Men’s Gathering, initiated through the efforts of

WILMETTE INSTITUTE, continuen From pace 7

eee cere cee reeeecce reece eee seer eee ress esse reese esses eee esse e ees EE ESE SESE ESET ESOS E DEST SEES OOOO EES E EEE Eeeereeee

tion for the people. There is a small staff Gers a tremendous amount of work,”

‘feasts’ that provide an opportur the students to pray, consult abou affecting the group and the Bahai{ orld in general, and to socialize.

Consultation during the ‘feasts’ ranges from discussions about how to keep the group unified through application of the spiritual teachings to more somber topics such as the recent martyrdom of Mr. Ruhollah Rowhani in Iran.

Dr. Stockman described the student council and the weekly feasts as an opportunity to “create an ideal Baha'i community.” The social portion of these feasts, with lots of games and refreshments, helped to build a sense of belonging among what Wildhack calls

“4 transient community.”

Students also made field trips to Holy Name Cathedral and to the resting place of the Hand of the Cause of God Corinne True and her family.

During the farewell dinner on the last night of the Institute, Juana Conrad, assistant secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly, gave a talk on “Morality— the Government of One’s Self.” The student council donated a new copy of The Dawn-Breakers to the Wilmette Institute library, and certificates of achievement were awarded to each student.

Dr. Keyvan Nazerian, a staff member of the National Teaching Office and

faculty member of the Institute, said a feeling of warmth permeated the night that the students and faculty had together. “The atmosphere was joyous, loving and uplifting.”

Alice Fero of Afton, Oklahoma, now in her third year of the program, feels an inc d level of devotion to the Faith and is ready to share her posi ences with others.

“The Institute has confirmed me in the Covenant. It has made me dig into the books,” she said. “I’ve read more in the past three years than I had in the past 25 before. It has taught me what the Baha'i Faith really is. The Institute teaches people by doing and then you teach others how to do. They've taught us to be systematic and to have a plan. It has taught us to be servants of Baha, that to serve is what we’re here to do.”

Miles echoes Fero’s enthusiasm and appreciation | of the program’s emphasis

as encouraged by letter from the . “Pm more relaxed now about teaching and I know where to find the answers in the Baha'i ion to studying the d sociology and psychology. I understand other people’s perspectives and I’ve learned to listen to

e experi

“We're only at the start of building this world order. Every community should make an effort to deputize or send people to the Wilmette. Institute. ‘They [the community] will receive an invaluable reward from it.”

e gathering might move north, to a blessed by the footsteps of ‘Abdu’lplace that holds the earthly remains of the first Hand of the Cause of the black race, a place where, indeed, black fa re few.

Response and participation from the greater commu: was enthusiastic. Local newspapers provided coverage before and after the week’s events, including emphasis on the gathering’s desire to honor Mr. Gregory’s memory

and his tireless efforts as a worker for race unity.

On the day of the procession, all were engulfed by the love and unity emanating from these dynamic souls. Even those grown accustomed to the spiritual atmosphere of Green Acre perceived a difference.

“They literally transformed the environment as they walked through,” said Green Acre program coordinator Phyllis Ring

Daryll King of Tampa, Florida, said he was glad a member of his community helped him overcome reluctance to attend the gathering: “I haven’t been in a place with more love... ditional love. I let down every guard I'd had my whole life.”

King added, “I cannot go back to my community now and be lazy. We've been moved to action by this gathering and by Baha’u’llah’s Messag:

‘Abdu’l-Baha said that Baha’u’lléh compared the black people to “the pupil of the eye” that is “surrounded by the whit The Black Men’s Gathering seemed to help that pupil bring its powerful vision into focus.

‘The prayer of that gathering is that the Ame n Baha’i community embrace this vision with eagerness and gratitude. @

more uncon

WILMETTE INSTITUTE UPDATE

Mini-course on world religion, philosophy, and theology

at Bosch Baha’i School

Sept. 11-13: Dr. Behrooz Sabet will speak about “Modern Philosophy and the Baha'i Faith.” The program will begin Friday evening and end Sunday at noon. In addition to Bosch’s weekend registration fee, the course costs $75 if you register two weeks in advance, and $100 at the door. The program is open to anyone curious to learn a bit about philosophy from a Baha’i perspective and how philosophy helps us understand and appreciate the insights in the Baha’i writings.

Dec. 18-20 there sill be a course on Islam from a Baha’i perspective.

CANCELLATION: A course on Baha’i theology Oct. 30-Nov. | has been canceled.

Correspondence courses

Home study (no residential requirement)

Sept. 4—Feb. 28: Kitab-i-Aqdas. Students will read the Aqdas and related documents from beginning to end, then consider them topic by topic. Registration will close when the course fills; if space remains, late students may be enrolled throughout September. Course has been extended to run six months.

Oct, 3-March 30: Revelation of Baha’u’llah, 1868-92. Students will study the major works of Baha’u’llah revealed in ‘Akka, including some Tablets to the Kings, the Kitab-i-Aqdas, tablets revealed after the Aqdas and the Epistle to the Son of the Wolf. Students wishing to extend their study beyond March 30 will be assisted to do so. This is a second session of the course; the first began in July.

Cost for either course is $200, or $160 per member of a registered local study group of three or more. All correspondence courses include participation in an email listserver (if one has e-mail), the opportunity to Participate in conference calls, and use of the course’s special Web site.

For more information ‘

Contact the Wilmette Institute at 536 Sheridan Road, Wilmette, IL 60091 (phone 847-733-3415, automated information line 847-733-3595, fax 847-733-3563, email Web site www.usbnc.org/wilmette).

page 36

THE AMERICAN BAHA‘i * CONTINUED — September 8, 1998 [Page 37]

“[We] urge the members of the Regional Councils to press forward quickly in effecting sound action that will boost the thrust in the expansion and consolidation of the community, so that there will be no slackening of the momentum already achieved, but rather 4 greater upsurge in activity than has as yet been evident.”

—Universal House of Justice, in its letter to the Regional Baha’{ Councils of the United States, De

12, 1997

REGIONAL PLANS TAKING SHAPE ACROSS THE COUNTRY

SOUTHERN STATES

O i Council has appointed almost 40 agencies to help advance the process of entry by troops in the South. Twentyone of these a agencies have been mans ed to focus spe: ttention on teaching activities (ie. State Teaching Committees in each of the 16 states and five Coordinating T in various metropolitan and rural areas that we feel have tremendous potential for large scale growth).

Some of the other agencies are developing strategies regional training institutes, travel teaching, publishing mate: ically designed for Southerners, unit convention, e-mail communication, ete.

Our regional plan through an organic process. At our first meeting we identified five items that we felt were challenges for the Southern believers. They included:

1) Feeling a personal spiritual connection to Baha’u’llah

2) Having a clear sense of mission

3) ching with confidence and courage and providing for effective

WESTERN STATES,

“ams

Local Spiritual Assemblies.

3) Devising a region-wide youth program while promoting collective endeavors by the youth.

4) Enhancing, nurturing and networking regional training institutes.

5) Improving Unit Convention quality and attendance.

6) Accelerating expansion and consolidation efforts, and foster initiative: aimed at reaching all strata of the diverse human family.

Among initial of action:

Communicated with all 470 Local

Spiritual Assemblies in the region, sharing the Council’s vision, inviting them to share their expansion and consolidation plans and encouraging them to continue the planning in collaboration with the Auxiliary Boards.

This correspondence has informed Assemblies of initial phases of the regional plan, for their consultation and sharing with their communi

Encouraged plans to continue developing the Assemblies themselves, such

as the use of the training modules provided by the National Office of Assem

developing

teaching s

4) Nurturing a loving, accepting environment that embraces diversity of all kinds.

5) Ensuring effective and sustained collaboration between the twin arms of the Administrative Order

Almost 100% of the Assemblies we asked agreed with that assessment of challenges. We are developing lines of action to addr ch on|

We are encouraging individual initi tive to get more people involved in the proce support and encour: ge an intensification of all types and a much greater reliance on Bah lah to effect the acceleration of entry by troops in the South. As the plan continues to be unveiled we feel assured that hand.

We have our Council meetings in a different state each month and make it a point to always meet and greet the friends in each area. C ting to know them and experiencing their enthusiasm is very energizing for our Council.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3

bly Development.

Continuing to meet with the friends

throughout the region.

Inviting suggestions from and consultation with the youth.

°As ing how training institutes are working in the region and how they are customized to the local population. established a Unit Conventions Office and appointed a coordinator, who is developing written and videotaped training materials for convention planning teams. Sent out a deepening booklet on Unit Convention. Asked Assemblies to aid development of the conventions in their unit.

Investigating ways to set up collaborative efforts for teaching the Faith to

the many cultural groups in this region.

Planning a Media Coordinating

Office to work with Local Assemblies to assure systematic response to national proclamation efforts.

As the Council members become more familiar with the region, as Assemblies share their plans and actions, as the Counselors and their Board members offer advice, the regional plan is evolying through consultation. @

NORTHEASTERN STATES

he Regional Teaching Plan for

the Northeastern Region mirrors the National Teaching Plan with regard to the core and supporting strategies. We have tailored the regional plan to the needs in our region.

The plan is focused on raising the spiritual dedication and action of the individual believers and Local Spiritual Assemblies. Individual prayer, deepening, meditation, teaching and

service are emphasized as the friends express their love of Baha’w’llah and His redeeming message.

In some areas we are still in planning stages. In other areas, such as the media initiative, we are well advanced in the process. At this point the Council is laying a firm foundation and is trying to develop a loving relationship with our region through letters and community meetings.

CENTRAL STATES

Le I “he regional plan for the Central

States has been constructed over six months.

The Universal House of Justice emphasized two complementary, interwoven and sustained activities for advancing the process of entry by troops: “working towards embracing masses of new believers” and “setting in motion the means for effecting their spiritual and administrative training and development.” The Council believes that the believers and institutions can repeatedly perform these two activities best by focusing on the following five goals:

1) Generate new expansion and consolidation projects, or refine or enlarge such projects already in motion.

2) Enhance the teaching effort among racial minorities and youth.

3) Strengthen and support efforts to promote racial unity and the equality of men and women.

4) Promote an increase in contributions to the Fund, and develop regional economic resources.

5) Enhance and increase efforts to train human resources in the fundamental verities of the Faith, with emphasis on developing knowledgeable and active teachers of the Faith.

Strategies to accomplish these goals:

Distribute the Council’s plan to

encourage new and existing projects, with Assemblies, communities and

individuals, to be supported by regional training institut

Create a task force for youth and

promote participation among youth.

Create task forces for American

Indian, Latin American, AfricanAmerican, and C teaching.

Support the national media campaign for race unity, promote the Tivo

Wings of a Bird statement, appoint a Regional Committee for the Advancement of Women, and promote diverse participation in conferences.

¢ Encourage attention to the needs of the Fund, seeking help from. Auxiliary Board members and assistants. Support the National ‘Treasurer's Office’s Stewardship and Development seminars, and educate the friends about regional Baha’ funds.

Encourage development of local

training institutes, establish and/or strengthen regional training institutes, support and promote a network of travel teachers, and support participation of Assemblies in the Local Spi tual Assembly Development Program.

The Council has sent letters and other communications to the friends with the text of the plan, as well as ¢ cussing the plan wherever the Council or its representatives have met with the friends. E-mail and telephone communications will also be used to discuss the plan and answer any questions. @

n conferences

‘SEE REFLECTIONS, PAGE 38.

September 8, 1998

‘THE AMERICAN BAHA'I ¢ REGIONAL BAHA‘i COUNCILS

page 37 [Page 38]ESR EASES PLES T CTRTNTT

KREGIONA

L*BAHA’i

COUNCILS

SE

REFLECTIONS OF THE JUNE 12-14 MEETING BETWEEN THE COUNCILS AND THE NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY

NORTHEASTERN STATES

The love and a genuine sense of intimacy with which the members of the National Assembly once again showered the Councils was revitalizing, motivating and felt like a breath of fresh air at this critical time of the Four Year P|

‘The issues were discussed in a al atmosphere permeated with love, honesty and candor. The topics of consultation such as the challenges to advance, foster systematization and

assure tency in the teaching work, training institutes, youth, building the Baha'i system, fund development and

budget challenges and creating strong Local Spiritual Assemblies enabled the Councils to develop a deeper insight into these challenging issues.

It truly was a spiritual conference. Judge [James] Nelson and Jack McCants

lightened the room with their wonderful senses of humor. Judge Nelson did a fantic job in chairing the meeting.

WESTERN STATES

Like other Baha’f experiences, the spirit of the gathering built as the we end sessions progressed. The National Spiritual Assembly set a wonderful example by giving the large majority of the ions for the Councils to share their progress and challenges and ask questions to learn from each other.

It was also a wonderful experience to informally discuss the needs of the Cause with the members of the National Assembly. The bond that was developed between the Councils and the National Assembly, and between the Councils, was perhaps the most energiz ing part of the weekend gathering.

Sp

A provocative editc

problem of a realization.

which the early North American Bah

the process, stay the same.

World Order

YOUR WINDOW TO TEACHING, DEEPENING, AND EXTERNAL AFFAIRS WORK

ing 1998 issue:

The practical application of spiritual principles in the past and the future

called “2000—Apocalypse or Rebirth?” calls for thought about the much-discussed end of the century.

“Language as Justice in the New World Order” takes up the ve:

versal auxiliary language—and the matter of justice in

“American Baha’{ Publishing: 1896-1922” explores the means by

mation about their newfound Faith available to ends up showing how the more things change the more they

Don’t forget the Fall 1997 issue: A collector's item devoted to Shoghi Effendi on the 100th anniversary of his birth

To subscribe _ ship to: os Fill out form, mailto: Address Baha'i Subscriber City & State Saris LIPIPostal Code Country 5397 Wilbanks Drive i. 5, ORS IENRE CeS VT Chattanooga, TN Daytime Phone or e-mail 37343-4047 SOLD TO: _ SES ea Phone 800-999-9019 Address (Single issues available City & State oniphione ofsers for.s> < Zip/Postal Code. 2 Country p PP 8) Is this a gift for person listed in “Ship To”? Circle one: Y N Payment must be Daytime phone__e-mailorfax__ enclosed. For Canadian Credit card order? Circle one: VISA MC Discover Amex or international orders Credit card## __ = enclose an interna- Exp. tional money order or 5 Paik chaise daainion | disnieh apnea iy a US. bank in U.S. dol lars payable to Baha’i__Type of subscription (check one): lyear 2 years Subscriber Service. United States: $19 56 All other countries, surface mail = $19- $36 All other countries, air mail SE SI4S $46

s met the challenge of making informany as possible—and, in

Also memorable was going to the House of Worship for morning prayers preceding each of the full-day s The ride back and forth to the House of Worship provided wonderful opportunities for one-to-one exchanges between individual Council members and networking of Council secretaries to share methodologies, challenges and solutions.

SOUTHERN STATES

Our beloved National Spiritual Assembly conveyed to us their immense love and appreciation. Feeling this tremendous love and having several hours of serious and heartfelt consultation gave us a lot of confidence, insights and energy.

We felt a greater actualization of the May 19, 1994, letter from the Universal

ssions.

House of Justice as the National Assembly took us into its confidence; it allowed us to consult openly and frankly, and there was a greater sensitivity to the participation of women in the meetings.

CENTRAL STATES

The Council energized itself through prayer with the National Assembly and the other Councils, and by drawing upon the knowledge, love, wisdom, connection to the Covenant, warmth, and spiritual intimacy expressed by the Assembly and the other Councils. The flow of spirit experienced in such circumstances miraculously energizing.

It was memorable to hear the reports of the other Councils, learning of the Assemblies’, believers’ and_ institutes’ achievements in different parts of the country. The process is advancing!

RESULTS: AND, PROGRESS FROM THE JUNE MEETING

SOUTHERN STATES

Asa result of the meeting, we feel more of a partnership with the National

a “date with destiny.” We have only a few precious months left to ate the process of entry by troops We want to focus more of our time 2 energy on what will a te the process of entry by troops. There will be a greater emphasis on teaching, youth, nd strengthening Assembiies

ome of the most memorable Council

are our meetings with the senior institutions (i.e. the National Spiritual Assembly twice, and two members of the Continental Board of Counselors for the Americas—Tod Ewing and Alejandra Miller). The love and insights glea are wonderful.

CENTRAL STATES

‘The Council has been building its love, unity, efficiency, sense of vision, and how specifit detailed matters fit into that vision. Our meeting after the sessions with the National Spiritual Assembly showed an acceleration of that movement.

The Council’s goals were clearly defined and refined already, due to the intense and prolonged effort directed toward constructing our plan over the last six months. Listening to the National Assembly’s views, concerns, confidences and vision, plus learning from the other Councils’ progress, helped to confirm the directions we had previously begun to take, and highlight the efficacy of our intentions.

NORTHEASTERN STATES The topics of consultation during the weekend deepened our understanding of the critical nature of the issues at hand and heightened our awareness and sense of urgency “to

ed from these meetings

press forward quickly in effecting sound action that will boost the thrust in the expansion and consolidation of the community.

Before the Council eve:

after the June meeting, we already felt its impact in our conference calls.

ms every time we are together is The orientation meeting of the councils in Wilmette in December, one in June, our meetings with youth and community that take place every month at a different location in the region, are extremely energizing and uplifting for the Council.

WESTERN STATES

The December gathering put the

Councils in motion; the June gathering

hift into a higher gear of maturi nd action. The Regional Council felt reassured that it was on track with its strategies and lines of action.

What was very clear from the comments over the weekend was an urgent need for more individuals to arise with heroic action as courageous teachers of the Cause, as well as the need for more campaigns and projects that create a higher-level teacher effort through collective community enterprise.

As the national media initiative continues to draw more seekers to investigate the message of Baha’w’llah, the communities are challenged to lovingly and systematically share His healing message and befriend the receptive masses the media effort will produce.

The Council views training the friends as vital to expansion and consolidation of the Faith in this region. A major portion of the Council’s meeting immediately after the June session was devoted to developing strategies for boosting the thrust in the further development of regional training institutes. @

met

was a

page 38 THE AMERICAN BAHA‘i ¢ REGIONAL BAHA’i COUNCILS September 8, 1998 [Page 39]

°IN°-MEMORIAM.:

A personal tribute

y was unable to accompany him. e

BY DAN GEIGER:

Jf has only been four years since a friend told me she was a Baha’f and I replied, “What's that?”

Little did I realize that God was pushing the fast-forward button on my life.

I investigated the Faith and eventually ‘ed, determined to enjoy this gentle religion in the solitude and peace of a comfortable corner.

I found p but solitude.

’u'llih dispatched a cadre of the

‘t me from my corner.

Not the least of these spiritual warriors was Ron Van Pelt, who passed away in April, a year after we met. He had di armed my ego, laid aside my vanity and shone the light of Baha into my life.

Thursday, April 24, 1997. I am check ing into the Holiday Inn O’Hare Airport near Chicago while the lobby fills with the delegates to the 88th National Baha’f Convention. s a rookie Baha'i representing my electoral district, I am amazed by the energy and ity filling the lobby. Standing in line at the registration desk, I have a sinking feeling there is no room at the inn.

I am sent to one room, only to find it occupied. Conversation between the clerks at the registration de overbooking.

Standing next to me whose room |

not

gentleman an extra bed because his

rings of

‘Two,

maybe three sentences exchanged and we become roommat add my name to his registration and pic’ up my bags

Upstairs, I find my roommate has already unpacked. Weary after a long day of traveling, I empty my pockets. I toss $300 in cash, several credit cards and other personal effects onto the nightstand

oo S—S[]—_—_=_—

Newfound friendship generated nourishment for our souls, nourishment for our marriages, nourishment for salvation.

Er

before leaving to change clothes in another part of the vite. Itis not my habit to trust my valuables to strangers but my new roommate already seems more like a

ing I don’t know his name, I s “My name is Dan. What's yours? “Ron,” he rep

“Are you a Baha'i?” I ask.

He smiles. “Yes, and I know you are.” He says he can spot fellow Ba The exchange exp my comfort in trusting this stranger in a big city. He was

How a weekend with Ronald Van Pelt

hastened the evolution

my brother in Baha, showing that “pure, kindly and radiant heart” that Baha’u’lléh describes in the Hidden Words.

The experience is comfortable but novel. I grew up in rural Montana with little or no diversity. ’'m a Cau country boy; Ron ity-bred Afri American. I sta well over 6 f

erences prove

nfold like lotus blossoms. Ron showers me with kindness, n and permission to be human intance generates gems of

Weary from a busy day we sink into our beds, turn out the lights and exchange goodnights. Moments later one of u S

awake?” and two hearts connect for of conversation.

We would break it off at 1 a.m. And again at 2 and 3:30. The ndship in the

another hou!

oe 3 a.m.

much territory of the heart to explore. “How did you become a Baha’?” What is your family like?” “How long have you been married?” More impor i marriage like?” “Do n imagination?” and all ions, thoughts and feelings

Newfound friendship generated nourishment for our souls, nourishment for our marriages, nourishment for salvation. Glimpses of Baha and what it means to be a follower of Baha'u'llah, challenges and a

Casey Walton was HERS father’ to many

he Nashville, Tennessee, Baha’i

community was saddened by the passing May 7 of Casey Walton, a devoted servant of Baha’u’llah and spiritual father to many Nashville Baha’is.

In a life dedicated in service to his Faith, his family and his community, Mr. Walton also built a thriving insurance busines:

Born March 3, 1911, in Rail, Georgia, he was a small child when his family moved to Chicago. It was there he first heard of the Baha’i Faith as a young man, but he began investigating the Faith seriously after moving to Nashville, marrying and developing his business. He declared his faith in

Baha’u’ Barne:

First elected soon after ah declaration, Mr. Walton served on the Spiritual Assembly of Nashville for almost 45 consecutive years. He was instrumental in ching of the Faith throughout nessee and the South, and served on various district and regional teaching committees.

In 1979 he served on the National Teaching Committee; for numerous years he was a delegate from “ S to the National Convention; ard he served as an assistant to Auxiliary Board member Sam McClellan.

‘ades the Walton family hosted weekly firesides in their home, and many Nashville-area Baha’is credit Mr. Walton for their confirmation in the Faith. He continued to teach as long as he could, still hosting fir until illness and repeated hospital visits prevented him.

Even gravely ill, he found ways to teach the hospital staff.

He was also active in the community at large, and r

ved several awards and

his daughter and son-i nd Paul Lample of H grandchildren.

and three

of a ‘rookie Baha’’’

1g to step forward as a spiritual warrior for the se, were just a few of the bounties I reaped from this deepened Baha'i. Baha’u'llah had placed me face to face with a man who would lead me, push me and on occasion roust me from my comfortable corner of the Faith. More important, he brought a gift of healing. At Convention’s end I drive Ron to Union Station. I try to put our meeting perpective. He talks of growing up blac and his struggle to heal the hurts of

cal

and retrieve his bags from the trunk, I thank him for his kindness love and understanding during the

‘1 Te looks at me and , “You may not understand this, but key in the healing of a blac wounds from racism is his need to feel the love of a white man. I feel that love from you. Thank you.

I look into his kind eyes and say, “I feel the

‘Today Ron looks down from the Abha Kingdom, a mighty member of the Concourse on High. I caution any aha’f who might call upon him for nce in teaching the Faith to beware. He will stretch you, lead you, roust you out of your comfortable Baha’ corner and push you to places you have only seen in your dreams. Be prepared to pick up the Banner of Baha’u'llah, be prepared to march into the fray of spiritual battle for the Cause and be prepared to be victorious. #

in Nashville

man’s

ame.”

Casey Walton was a member of the Nashville, Tennessee, Spiritual Assembly for nearly 45 straight years and was host to weekly firesides for decades.

IN MEMORIAM Debi Ann Bekele Madelyn V. Floyd Hayat Jarrah Suzanne Kuykendall James Neill Hossain Sabeti Antoinette Tummarello Buda, TX Chicago, TL Jordan Quinlan, TX Lincoln, NE Orlando, FL Hollywood, FL June 8, 1998 March 19, 1998 June 25, 1998 July 23, 1998 July 22, 1998 June 20, 1998 March 25, 1998 Madeline Boyle Yuki Hachisu John Charles Jones ‘Torrell Mason Maria Novak Beatrice Somerhalder Lillie Willis El Centro, CA Cambridge, MA Norfolk, VA Chicago, IL Frazier Park, CA Suamico, WI Portland, OR April 1998 May 19, 1998 July 24, 1998 June 26, 1998 June 29, 1998 July 22, 1998 July 2, 1998 Dossie Lee L. Beryl Kendrick — Batoul Farrokhzadeh Shamsozzoha Waverly Trent Hathaway Hinsdale, NH Naraghi Rajai-Dana Farmville, VA Cw Raleigh, NC May 29, 1998 Menlo Park, CA. Columbia, MD March 19, 1998 Cw > June 23, 1998 Bi hus das aiion: cane skuly14, 1998 __ June 19, 1998 _ : ie

September 8, 1998

‘THE AMERICAN BAHA’i ¢ IN MEMORIAM

page 39 [Page 40]

in The American Baha'i are published free of cha

to the Baha’i community. Because o' this, notices are limited to items relating to the Faith; no personal or commercial ads are accepted. Some of the opportunities have not been approved by the National Spiritual Assembly; the friends should exercise judgment and care in responding.

SERVICE OPPORTUNITIES

Project Manager for the Baba’t House of Worship, Wilmette, Illinois

Will supervise g restoration and conservation of the Holiest House of Worship and coordinate development projects at the National Center, permanent schools and institutes. Will provide technical guidance in design, project development, project management, acquisitions, facility management and construction. ialifications include professional training and a minimum of eight years’ responsible experience in the development and project management field. A strategic and spiritually rewarding mn for the achievement of the gl ndards of maintenance of the properties which are a sacred trust of the National Spiritual Assembly. Please send résumé to the Office of Human Resources, 1233 Central St., Evanston, IL 60201 (phone 847-7333427, fax 847-733-3430). Fe information about the position, please contact Louis Offstein, Support Services Coordinator at the Baha’i National Center (phone 847-733-3435, e-mail »

Administrator, the Baba’i Home

A unique for “work in service to o1 rg which Baha’u’llah has raised to the status of worship. You won't find a more rewarding aio

inistrative and supervisory experience desirable but a loving heart and a desire to serve, grow and learn are the most important qualifications. Contact the Office of Human Resources, 1233 Central St. Evanston, IL 60201 (phone 847-733-3427, fax 847-733-3430).

AT THE BAHA’! NATIONAL CENTER Accountant, Office of the Treasurer. Applicant should have strong interpersonal and analytic skills and be familiar with integrated PC-based accounting software. nce in implementing internal control procedures is highly desirable. Must have degree in accounting or equivalent accounting experience. Some travel required. Must be able to maintain a sense of humor while working in a fast-paced, flexible environment. Appreciation for the importance of confidentiality essential. If interested, contact the Office of Human Resources, 1233 Central St, Evanston, IL 60201 (phone 847-733-3427, fax 847-733-3430).

THE AMERICAN BAHA’i &

BRILLIANT STAR MAGAZINE Print Production Specialist for Baha’i Media Services. Provides production support for The American Baba’é and Brilliant Star magazine. Assists in design and layout of both publications. Works with printers and outside vendors to ensure smooth production of each issue; with freelance authors, illustrators, writers and designers to acquire content for

Service opportunities at the Baha'i World Center

‘THE MOUNT CARMEL PROJECTS, constructing the buildings and terraces of the Arc in Haifa, Israel, have the following opportunity for service:

Interior designer. Needs experience in execution and supervision.

To apply, please mail or fax your résumé to Mount Carmel Projects, Project Office, P.O. Box 155, 31 001 Haifa, Israel (phone 972 (4) 835-8358, fax 972 (4) 835-8437, e-mail bs

both publications. Qualifications include a strong command of all phases of digital print production, including - design, layout, photo editing, copy editing, production, and digital prepress; a minimum of two years’ experience with Quark Xpress and Adobe Photoshop in a newspaper, magazine or other print production environment; experience with Illustrator and Freehand; skill in verbal and written communication; ability to work with minimum supervision. If interested, contact the Office of Human Resources, 1233 Central St., Evanston, IL 60201 (phone 847-733-3427, fax 847-733-3430).

‘AT BAHA’| OFFICES, NEW YORK Professional translators, Spanish/French. The Baha’{ International Community United Nations Office in New York is seeking to identify Baha’fs with strong language skills to assist with periodic translations from English to either French or Spanish. The highest sential given the ser

is to be trans. Prior experience in professional translation is extremely helpful. Please contact Dorothy Longo, Operations. Officer, Baha’f i taterationtl Community, United Nations Office, 866 United Nations Plaza, Suite 120, New York, NY 10017 (phone 212-803-2500, e-mail ).

AT Bosc BAHA’i SCHOOL Immediate opening for fe -time Registrar. Responsible for all aspects of session registration: requests for information, registering guests, associated financial transactions. Must have excellent verbal communication skills; strong phone skills desirable. Must be well-organized, thorough, patient, flexible and skilled in consultation. Should project enthusiasm for the work, sincere feeling of caring and desire to serve others.

Needs common computer skills; experiadvanced word processing, dataand e-mail highly desirable. Basic accounting knowledge preferred. Experience in hotel, school or office environments rable. Some college experience required bachelor’s degree preferable. Limited on-campus housing may be available, best suited to single individuals. Assistant facilities manager. Responsible for maintenance of buildings, grounds, equipment and vehicles for Bosch; helps ect the work of volunteers. Responsi

-ble for creating and maintaining operat ing procedures and system documentation. Works on all renovation, repair, restoration and new construction. Must have knowledge and skills in building and equipment maintenance, plumbing, electrical, carpentry, roofing, painting, masonry, etc. Strongly prefer applicant with five years’ experience in facility management (hotel, motel, school, condominium, light industrial plant, ete.), with at least three years supervising three or more workers. Basic computer literacy (database, spreadsheet, word processing) is necessary; CAD experience desirable. Organization and consultation skills, flexibility and enthusiasm are essential. Building contractor experience very desirable. Vehicie maintenance skills

desirable.

A diverse field of applicants is strongly encouraged. If interested in either position, contact Mark J. Bedford, CoAdministrator, Bosch Baha’i School, 500 Comstock Lane, Santa Cruz, CA 95060, (phone 408-423-3387, fax 408-423~ 7564, e-mail »

AT GREEN ACRE BAHA’i SCHOOL Maintenance worker. Enthusiastic, industrious, spiritually motivated. General knowledge of custodial duties, building nce and repair, grounds work,

ems helpful. High

skill in interior/exterior painting a plus.

Work environment requires a resourceful person dedicated to courtesy, meticulous attention to detail. Minoriti encouraged to apply. Professional training lable. Contact James M. Sacco, Coor, G Acre Baha'i School, Eliot, ME 03903-1800

).

AT THE WILHELM PROPERTY Caretakers needed at the Wilhelm Property in Teaneck, New Jersey. Mature person(s) to perform custodial and mainte fe igs and Per Includes. Ss

188 Main St

grou coordination v mbly of Teaneck and other Ne

in the area for regional Sunday school and other programs on the property. About 20 hours of service each week ~ is necessary for proper uy An apartment including utilities is provided on the second floor of the Wilhelm House. For formation and to d qualifications, please contact Sam Conrad, Properties Department, Baha’f National C Senter (phone 847-853-2314).

INTERNATIONAL

China: Numerous openings for En, teachers and profe: ing to travel for service in th ly developing For more information contact enchuk (phone 847-733-3506, fax 847- 733-3509, e-mail

).

PIONEERING / OVERSEAS

Although the Office of Pioneering ties to help by providing information on mployment opportunities that come to attention, it does not have the resources for actual job placement. AFRICA: Botswana—Chief executive officer Botswana Export Development and Investment ‘Auth hority. Burundi— Assistant country representative (CRS), community health nurse, intern primary health care nurse, field managers (IRC), sit nanager/construction feta) manager (IMC), shelter manager. Cameroon— World Bank financial management specialist. Cote d’Ivoire—Finance manager. Gambia—Manager for Permanent Institute. Ghana—Executive director National Development Planni Reduction/Social Investment Kenya—Country program adviser (UNAID), medical coordinator Kakuma Refugee Camp, program coordinator (IRC). Liberia—Field project manager (IRC). Malawi—Country director

(Care). Mali—USAID team leader information and communication. Mozambique—Child survival training coordinator, program manager (HNI), senior auditor. Nigeria—Director Resource and Crop Management Division, director Crop Improvement Division, economist (IITA). Field coordinator, Unaccompanied Minors Program technical adviser (IRC). Senegal—Small enterPee development trainers. Sudan— apacity building manager (IRC), health officer, field manager (IRC). Swaziland—Senior special eee adviser. Uggnde Country program adviser (UNAIDS). Zambia—Senior associate health finance adviser (USAID), teachers, basic education adviser, disaster mitigation and preparedness coordinator, Africa monet n technical adviser. AMERICAS: Bahamas. f-supporting couple to caretake National Center. Bermuda—Coordinator of 50th Anniversary activi in July. Bolivia— Child Survival Project manager. Brazil— ger (CRS). Costa Rica— and ecological resource economist. El Salvador—Teachers, tutors, chers for SED proje 1a—Volunteer trainers for Literacy Project. Haiti—Director human rights education, area representative. Honduras—Teachers. Jamaica—

vi

Community area repr de Quintana Roo. Nicaragua—! Educational and Training Prog (AID). Suriname—Clii ;

environmental planner, marine policy and resource planner, government doc

tors, health educators. Venezuela—caretakers for National Institute. ASIA: Afghanistan—Project manager id coordinator (IRC), gender ‘/director level (UNOPS). Armei iaison, country ‘or (OSI). Azerbaijan—Small enterprise develoy pment and micro-credit

onal Center for Diarhoeal Dis ease Research. Burma—Program manag| projects director (PST), senior ‘ector. Cambodic manager (HNI), lecturer, reprodu Georgia—Human righ (UN). India—Program n Alliance representative. Japan—| teachers, engin Ni: mechanical engineer. Kazakbstan— Engineering manager, R&D mechanical

Pair/teacher. Korea—Un

(CRS). Philippines—I ibrarian As Development Bank. Singapore—Fitness members! lesperson. South Asia— Development managers. Thailand— Country director URC), country program ah er (UNAIDS), volunteer

phy: hers. Ukraine— Environmental law liaison. Vietm National data management consultant (UNDP), field project manager, (Vietnam and Southeast Asia) industry consultants.

AUSTRALASIA: Australia—Natural resource economist tropical agriculture. Postdoctoral fellowship/r: arch fellowhip in international 1

n. Taiwan

¢

purce ‘Team Project. Ki set-up/train for National Assembly. Solomon Islands—Custodians at the Baha’f Center. Western Caroline Islands—Self-supporting assistant to the

page 40. THE AMERICAN BAHA‘i * CLASSIFIED — September 8, 1998 [Page 41]

National Assembly secretary. EUROPE: Austria—Chinese translator (IAEA), techni 2 ) SA) egal officer(IAE, A), dire jon of Conference and Document ices (IAEA), personnel officer, headOffice of Internal Audit and Evaluation support, senior auditor. Belgium—SME. and economic reform advisers. Bosnia—

Country director, NGO Program manager (IRC), project ma

ager information sical therapy edu oc therapy edu (Project Hope), program manag aes professional. Czech Republic—Prihers in mathema 's, science, humanities, Spanish, ondary language, cher. Germany—Person$0), postdoctoral fellows in Center for Economic Studies U. of Munich, manager of information support rch post for Northern Ireland Ecoearch Centre. Italy—Administrative director. Kosovo—Emergency project officer (MCI). Moldova—Commercial law adviser. Netherlands—Senior lecturer in international relations and development. NIS—Economic program iser. Poland—Junior lecturer in public Russia—Biomedical research felsulting, partner audi and gas, economic research expert, international fin: economic development/regional investment specialist, ity protection officers, agricultural lending/credit speci: international finance, women’s issues legal specialist. Slovakia—Teachers and English teachers. Sweden—Assistant professor total quality management, project manager, professor in project manage ment, associate professor in project management, Chalmers U. of Technology. Switzerland—Chief Water, Sanitation and Health, chief Urban Environmental Health, technical officer (WHO), international corporate editor, business devel‘opment analy , head of media rela a litor. Ukraine— ), program director (economics education), Economic Reform Program adviser, Commercial law adviser. United Kingdom—Program officers, consultants, prog director of sales, PoesehiD Agricultural E ion and Rural Develtere Dept. U. of Readin Yugoslavia (fe

West Africa. Microfinance professional, Africa. Livestock restocking project officer, Burundi and Rwanda. Agribusiness consultants worldwid agers, development consultants, interna

development, intermediate technology consultants. for agricultural projects, proj cation and development, sustainable project management (CTS). International Research and Exchanges Board (IREX), teaching for economists, lawyers and social scientists. USAID trainers Central and Eastern Europe and NIS. Advocacy tra specialists (ADF). Senior judicial and legal reform advisers for Central and South Americas (ARD). Staff public finance specialist (ARD). Senior sales manager South America. FMS contract administrator, training specialist, supply management analyst. Area representatives for mainland Southeast Asia and Central America (World Neighbors). Managers and specialists for SAC International. Peace Corps—foresters, parks and wildlife, environmental education and awareness. Water and sanitation engineers, Agronomists for Action oe i rer. American Refugee Committee, Breast Cancer

tion Central Europe, stern and Central

in international training in women’s and development projects, international sales and marketing, interns (some paid positions) reproductive health program, rural self-help, HIV/AIDS education. Volunteers in Africa and Latin America (Vision Action). Rule of law specialis associate liaisons, rule of law I intellectual property legal sbecalise Ns, tral and tiative (ABA/CEEL)). Volu io cou! nay Is es) Field intern hij

advisor (abi at for Humanity). C) law related opportunities in 19 cc throughout che world. GFA Medical public health staff and short-term cons tants. International Medical Cor, (IMC). Global C placement assistance to English as ond/foreign language ( sionals seeking overseas positions require at least an certificate or one year ESL/EFL teaching experience.

GENT NEEDS self-supporting couple to serve as caretakers for National Center. BELIZE—Couple or single individual to serve as caretaker for Baha’f Cente: Belmopan, national capital. COSTA RICA—| 1 service for 6-12 months for Spanish-speaking, selfsupporting (preferred) youth to work with Baha’s Youth Workshop. HONDURAS—Elementary and secondary school teachers. MACAU—The School of Nations need: qualified kindergarten, primary and s ondary teachers SOLOMON ISLANDS—Self-supporting couple to serve as custodians of the Baha ¢ enter in Honiara. Volunteer to train National Center office staff. TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS— Medical personnel includ riety of specialtie:

1, clerical officer, biomedi an and medical records officer.

VENEZUELA. Sel supporting couple (preferable) to serve as caretakers of the Baha'i National Center and assistants to

For ‘additional i ii nformation, plea act the Office of Pioneering, Baha'i nter, Wi ilmette IL 60091

Cortez, Colorado offers a great pioncer’s lenge and opportunity. A ded Spiritual As bly, when a couple pion small city in th hub of a ranching/farming county, n desert and mountains. W ute of Durango (home of

), Cortez is next door to Ute and

ee Indian Reservations. We can refer you to housing; recent want ads call for a journalist/educator, sales and insurance executive, medical and other professionals, and construction workers. Contact Art and Ruth Hampson, 1202 Melrose St., Cortez, CO 81321 (phone 970).

565-2632, e-mail

Service-minded friends needed to keep the Baha’f groups of Jeddito, Arizona, and the Hopi Indian Reservation alive and functioning. An opportunity to teach and work with the Navajo, Hopi and ‘Tewa peoples. There are openings for special areas educators at tlie local school ict. For information, please contact Penny Boivin (phone 520-738-5424).

Wanted: Students to help establish a Baha'i Club on the Montana Tech camus in Butte, Montana. U.S. News and

World Report has recognized the excellence of a Montana ‘Tech education ina mber of critical a merica’s No. 1 ce and tech

nology institutior West, most efficient in the West, top 15 in quality in the West. With a 15:1 student-faculty ratio, it has programs in

ng science, environmental, geo|, geophysical, rede, mining and petroleum en; ng; also in occusafety and health,

development and

communication. s to Montana Tech (phone $00. 445.1 8324). Contact the Spiritual Assembly of ButteSilver Bow, P.O. Box 3922, Butte, MT 59702 (phone 406-782-8194, e-mail

).

WANTED

Musicians, composers wanted: To create more music with themes celebrating Ridvan. Enter a competition with a $50 prize in each category: English lyric, Pern lyric, other language lyric, and strumental, by composing and presenting music on cassette, CD, sheet m 8mm or VHS Ridvan. Historical accuracy important, poetic imagery encouraged; various styles sought, particularly gospel and new age. Plaintive song about a nightingale sought. We have ideas for themes and a isting of known music about Ridvan. Send music (with title, length, names of composer(s)/performer(s), translation of lyrics if other than English, address of contact person, and permission to use in Ridvin programs) by Nov. 19, 1998, to Anne & Tim Perry, Arts Afire, 9235, Chimney Gomeaiet , Dallas, TX 75243 (fax 972-680-9128, %

PROJECTS WITHIN U.S.

Help the Bab of Canton, Ohio, work toward a Spiritual Assembly by teaching through music! We cordially invite singers to participate in the Baba’i One World Choir and Concert, directed by ‘Tom Price, Nov. 14-15. The event, sponsored by the Kent Spiritual Assemby, will be held in the prestigious Players Guild Theater at the Canton Civic Center. There will be an all-day rehearsal and an evening performance on Saturday. We will perform Sunday afternoon at nearby Walsh University. For information, please contact Barbara Baumgartner, Director, Baha’{ Choir of Northeast Ohio,

Solon OH 44139 (phone 440-248-7817, e-mai ). Deadline for registration is Sept. 30.