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[Page 1]THE AMERICAN BAHÁ’Í NOVEMBER 23, 1999 QAWL/SPEECH MASÁ’IL/QUESTIONS BAHÁ’Í ERA 156 VOLUME 30, NO. 9

Plans for official opening of the Terraces on Mount Carmel

Message of the Universal House of Justice to all National Spiritual Assemblies, Sept. 16, 1999

Dear Bahá’í Friends,

The final work on the current construction projects on Mount Carmel is scheduled to end by December 2000. The Universal House of Justice has therefore decided to proceed with preparations for the official opening to the public of the Terraces of the Shrine of the Báb. The ceremonies to take place in May 2001 will mark the completion of all these projects. We have been asked to convey the following information and requests for your consideration and action.

Programme of activities The activities between 21 and 25 May 2001 will include the following:

21 May: Visit to the Most Holy Shrine in Bahjí.

22 May: In the morning: A preparatory conference. At dusk: A public ceremony, of which the two main features will be the lighting of the Terraces and a musical concert.

23 May: A devotional programme in the morning, principally for Bahá’ís—to be followed by ascent of the Terraces, circumambulation of the Holy Shrine and a visit to buildings on the Arc.

Except for the devotional programme, these activities will be continued for the following two days, the 24th and the 25th, so that there will be adequate time for the participation of all attendees.

Toward a global society

Bahá’í voices gain impact at major U.N. NGO conference

BY VERONICA SHOFFSTALL, NEW YORK, NY

For Bahá’ís, the term “globalization” is likely to inspire visions of a diverse and united humanity, working hand in hand for the good of all.

Many others, however, hear the word and cringe at a darker view: economic exploitation, environmental destruction, and the cultural corruption of developing nations, powerless to stem the encroaching materialism of industrialized societies.

Ideals, challenges and solutions for a global society were explored Sept. 15–17 at the 52nd Annual DPI/NGO conference of the United Nations, which was imbued with Bahá’í involvement from its earliest stages and attended by its largest-ever contingent of Bahá’ís.

The annual forum is organized by the U.N. Department of Public Information with the Executive Committee of Non-Governmental Organizations, to give nongovernmental organization (NGO) representatives a chance to confer with members of the U.N. system. The Bahá’í Faith has had NGO affiliation since 1947.

“Bahá’ís view the United Nations as a unique and extremely important vehicle for international cooperation,” stated

Moments at a Bahá’í conference

Young conference-goers sing along with performers at Massanetta Springs.

Above: The Massanetta Springs Bahá’í Conference Aug. 27–29 in Virginia was a time for personal moments, as well as sessions on race unity and enduring tests.

Left: The Del-Mar-Va Bahá’í Youth Workshop inspires a much younger fan. PHOTOS BY DENNIS GRUNDMAN

I·N·S·I·D·E
VINEYARD OF THE LORD PAGES 4–5
TEMPLE GARDEN PLANS PAGES 16–17
RAISING ‘PILLARS’ PAGE 18
YOUTH • 12
CLASSIFIED • 20–21
KID’S CORNER • 22
IN MEMORIAM • 25
SEEKING YOUR RESPONSE • 27
PERSIAN PAGES • 28–30

THE NATIONAL FUND
Between May 1 and October 31, 1999
$13,500,000 Goal/All Funds
$8,168,442 Received/All Funds
See page 3 for details

EXCERPTS

“Know ye not why We created you all from the same dust? That no one should exalt himself over the other.” —Bahá’u’lláh [Page 2]

ALMANAC

Some significant dates in Bahá’í history

Late November and December

Dec. 20, 1844: The Báb, while on his pilgrimage in Mecca, stood at the Ka’bih (the holiest shrine of Islam) and declared three times in the presence of 100,000 pilgrims that He was the Qá’im awaited by Shí’ih Muslims.

Dec. 1–12, 1863: Bahá’u’lláh and His companions traveled in bitter cold from Constantinople to Adrianople in the European section of Turkey, one of the phases of His banishment. It was the first known time that a Manifestation of God resided on European soil.

Nov. 26, 1901: The Bahá’ís of North America celebrated the Day of the Covenant for the first time.

Dec. 17, 1919: ‘Abdu’l-Bahá sent a Tablet defining the Bahá’í peace program to the Central Organization for a Durable Peace in The Hague, Netherlands.

Dec. 24, 1951: Shoghi Effendi named the first contingent of Hands of the Cause of God to serve under the provisions of the Will and Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. This contingent of 12 appointees included Amelia Collins, the first living Bahá’í named as a Hand of the Cause by the Guardian. It was the first general announcement of her appointment, which had been made five years earlier.

Dec. 13, 1963: Bahá’í prisoners in Morocco were released under order of the country’s Supreme Court after having been imprisoned under threat of death. Only weeks earlier the Universal House of Justice asked Bahá’ís worldwide to pray for this case at the Feast of Qawl.

Dec. 13, 1985: The United Nations General Assembly, for the first time, adopted a resolution on human rights that specifically mentioned the situation of the Bahá’ís in Iran.

Nov. 23–26, 1992: The second Bahá’í World Congress convened in New York City, a highlight of the Holy Year that was observed a century after the passing of Bahá’u’lláh. This celebration of Bahá’u’lláh’s Covenant drew 27,000 believers from nearly 180 countries and was shared through a historic satellite television linkup with nine auxiliary conferences held at the same time around the world. ♦

Facts in this section compiled from A Basic Bahá’í Chronology and past issues of The American Bahá’í.

EXCELLENCE IN ALL THINGS

ZHILA AND PARVANEH MOSTAGHIMI, Bahá’ís from Durham, North Carolina, who are sisters and both nurses, were honored before 10,000 of their peers from around the world at this year’s National Teaching Institute and Critical Care Exposition in New Orleans, sponsored by the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses.

In their eight years of nursing at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, Zhila and Parvaneh have earned the respect and admiration of their peers.

Zhila was one of 74 nurses, and the sole recipient from Duke, to be chosen as a Circle of Excellence award beneficiary, for her work in critical-care practice. This award recognizes nurses who demonstrate excellence as teacher, clinical role model consultant and friend/advocate.

A research project by Parvaneh was one of only 40 (from 800 submissions worldwide), and the only one from Duke, accepted for presentation at the institute. It dealt with best use of intravenous sites for duration, infection prevention and cost savings.

Zhila and Parvaneh were youths when they immigrated to the United States in 1986 to escape persecution in Shiraz, Iran.

“I think Bahá’ís are supposed to be excellent in everything,” Zhila said. “The more we show that we are working hard for the human family, I think it will show the excellence in the Bahá’í Faith.” ♦

SHAZIA ALI, a 13-year-old Bahá’í, received the Good Citizenship Medal for West Middle School in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Sponsored by the Daughters of the American Revolution, the medal recognized a wide array of virtues including honesty, trustworthiness and leadership. ♦

NURI J. DIMLER, a Bahá’í from Pickerington, Ohio, graduated during summer with highest honors from Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia. His bachelor’s degree is in chemical engineering. ♦

NIELS MELIUS, a 17-year-old Bahá’í from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, has won first place awards in two prestigious multi-state debate tournaments, at Wake Forest University in North Carolina and Florida State University. This has resulted in invitations to three other national-scale tournaments. ♦

TANDIS NOWROUZI, a 12-year-old Bahá’í from El Cerrito, California, graduated in June as sixth-grade co-salutatorian at her elementary school. ♦

Each of the three Bahá’í students who attend J.J. Flynn Elementary School in Burlington, Vermont, received an outstanding student award in June. RACHEL SULLIVAN received the Academic Excellence award for the top female student in her second-grade class. EMILY TORRES received the Good Citizenship award for the second grade, while Emily’s sister MARIELLA TORRES received the Good Citizenship award for the fourth grade. ♦

MASOUD YAZARLOU, a Bahá’í from Cerritos, California, was one of 15 educators in the Los Angeles Unified School District given the Platinum Apple Award for excellence in education. He was recognized for exemplary instructional techniques, reform success and effective professional development. ♦

THE AMERICAN BAHÁ’Í

PUBLISHED BY THE NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY OF THE BAHÁ’ÍS OF THE UNITED STATES

Bahá’í National Center 847.869.9039

Office of The American Bahá’í 1233 Central St. • Evanston, IL 60201 Tel/ 847.853.2352 • Fax/ 847.256.1372 E-mail/

Managing Editor / Editorial Content James Humphrey

Managing Editor / Art Director Amethel Parel-Sewell

Associate Editor Tom Mennillo

Associate Editor Ramzia Duszynski

Print Production Specialist Aaron Kreader

Facilities Manager Artis Mebane

Contributors Leo Baldwin, Alice Bathke, Jerry Bathke, Jim Cheek, Kenneth Duszynski, Dennis Grundman, Salma Howard, Roxanna Jensen, Navid Khadem, Juliet Martinez, Jim Sacco, Hugh Semple, Vladimir Shilov, Veronica Shoffstall, Woody Stanwood, Adib Tashakkor, Ruhi Yargha, Lee Vartanian, Alice Williams, Nancy Wong

PUBLISHED ONCE EVERY 38 DAYS (plus one special issue) for a total of 10 issues per year by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States, 1233 Central St., Evanston, IL 60201-1611. Periodical postage paid at Evanston, IL and additional mailing offices. ISSN Number: 1062-1113 Canada: Publications Agreement # 1486683

ADDRESS CHANGES If you have an address change, or want to discontinue or consolidate mailings, please contact the Membership Office, Bahá’í National Center, 1233 Central St., Evanston, IL 60201 ( ). There is no need to contact the Managing Editors directly. A form is available on the back page of this paper.

SUBMITTING ARTICLES AND PHOTOS THE AMERICAN BAHÁ’Í welcomes news, letters or other items of interest from individuals and the institutions of the Bahá’í Faith. •ARTICLES should be clear, concise and relevant to the goals of the Four Year Plan and the National Teaching Plan. Stories may be edited for length. We cannot print advance articles to publicize locally sponsored events, but may be able to list them in the Calendar. •PHOTOGRAPHS may be color or black-and-white prints or slides. Please submit photos that are well-composed and in focus and identify people in photos when possible. If you wish photos returned, include a self-addressed envelope (you do not need to supply postage). •Deadlines for upcoming issues: Dec. 30 for the issue dated Feb. 7, 2000 March 2: Special issue (no regular content)

PLEASE ADDRESS ALL ITEMS for possible publication to Managing Editors, The American Bahá’í, 1233 Central St., Evanston, IL 60201-1611 (e-mail ).

©1999 by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. World rights reserved. Printed in the U.S.A. [Page 3]

A chance seized, a victory won

Minnesotan’s story brings tears, inquiries about Faith at high school

Negar Vahdat-Hagh of suburban Minneapolis, Minnesota, found out firsthand about the confirmations referred to in the quote at right, when she was asked to speak at a high school about persecutions of Bahá’ís in Iran.

“I felt inadequate and weak, but deep down I was convinced that the spirit of the martyrs was at work,” she wrote afterward. “I owed it to the beloved friends at the cradle of our Faith in Iran. ... This was a duty, a privilege, and an honor.”

It was also hours of work, with only two days’ notice that she would be giving a nearly hourlong presentation. And it was very personal. Vahdat-Hagh’s family had escaped Shiraz, Iran, at a high point of repression in the early 1980s.

“The field, in all its vastness and fertility, is wide open and near at hand. The harvest is ripe. The hour is overdue. ... Victory, speedy and unquestioned, is assured to whomsoever will arise and respond to this ... most urgent and vital call.” —Shoghi Effendi, from a July 28, 1939, message to the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States and Canada

But that hour in front of a “very diverse” class of nearly 60 ninth-graders blossomed into two hours. Serious questions about the Faith were asked and answered, and tears filled at least a few eyes. And the student who had contacted her for the presentation praised Vahdat-Hagh for her part in “helping the world heal.”

It started because a young woman from Minneapolis South High School, Marin McMartin, was doing a project about the persecutions of the Bahá’ís in Iran for her class on genocide. She invited Vahdat-Hagh to speak.

Aware of the hazards of discussing the ...

SEE MINNESOTA, PAGE 26

Oregonians pass along fund challenge

In the year that ended at Ridván 1999, contributions to the National Treasurer fell $8.5 million short of the $27 million goal.

The Assembly of Washington County North in Oregon raised a rallying call for Bahá’ís in that state to do something about the shortfall. That Assembly organized a campaign, “From Oregon With Love,” to increase contributions to the National Fund by $250,000 from the previous year’s level.

Now, energized Oregon Bahá’ís have passed the challenge to the rest of the country.

“This is one arena where Oregon friends do not mind being surpassed by California, Virginia, New York, Wisconsin, Iowa, Washington, or any of the other states!” wrote Ferdows Mehregani, public information representative for the Local Assembly. “We anxiously await the news of start of ‘From California With Love,’ or ‘From Texas With Love,’ or ‘From Florida with Love,’ or ‘From Arizona With Love’, etc. Are you going to sit back and let Oregon win this challenge?”

On the heels of a successful campaign in which Oregonians raised $1.5 million to develop an entire terrace of the Shrine of the Báb on Mount Carmel, the new effort has created a spirit that attracted a visit by William Roberts, treasurer of the National Spiritual Assembly. At a victory celebration Sept. 11 in Portland, he was presented with a $6,000 check as a token of the continuing effort.

“I must tell you the joy and radiance of the believers who gathered in Portland was infectious,” Roberts wrote in a recent letter to Local Assemblies nationwide. “The Bahá’ís of Oregon are indeed making their mark in deeds!”

The mechanics of the campaign are as straightforward as the goal, Mehregani reported. With the information that Oregon Bahá’ís contributed a total of about $350,000 to the National Bahá’í ...

SEE CHALLENGE, PAGE 26

Recharging at Green Acre

Some of the 100 or so participants in the 13th annual Black Men’s Gathering during July pose outside the Sarah Farmer Inn at Green Acre Bahá’í School in Eliot, Maine. Days of deepening, discussion of issues, encouragement, sharing and music culminated in a procession of 200 people to the gravesite of the Hand of the Cause of God Louis Gregory and his wife, Louisa, for a musical and devotional tribute. The gathering was also a rallying point for teachers to arise and travel to Africa. Photo by Jim Sacco

Spirit Run to carry message of unity

Next spring and summer, nine young runners will be carrying the Message of Bahá’u’lláh in a sacred bundle to cities, villages and Indian reservations across the country.

The Spirit Run, sponsored by the National American Indian Teaching Committee, is intended to raise the call for race unity and carry a special message to the indigenous peoples of this continent. Organizers have been contacting Spiritual Assemblies along the route to ensure the runners are supported by prayers and a “river” of companions from all ethnic, socioeconomic and religious backgrounds.

“Our Native ancestors held fast to the spiritual principle of race unity,” the committee said in a letter to Assemblies and other potential supporters. “Native people have continued to honor this through prayer, recognition of the four directions, colored flags, the medicine wheel and other symbols acknowledging the different races—calling them all our brothers and sisters. ... We are witnessing the time foretold by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá which would witness the Native people becoming “so enlightened that the whole earth will be illumined.” ”

The run is to start after an all-day opening celebration May 28, 2000, at the Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center in Seattle. Traditional and ...

SEE SPIRIT RUN, PAGE 15

Enrollments

October 1999	126
Since May 1, 1999	699

THE FUND

May 1–Oct. 31, 1999

Contributions received by National Treasurer

Received since May 1, 1999:	Goal for entire year:
$8,168,442	$27,000,000

• 30.3% of year’s goal has been met
• 50% of fiscal year has passed
• April 30, 2000

Total cash-basis revenues and expenditures for Bahá’í National Fund May 1–October 31, 1999

$10,300,531 Revenues (contributions, book sales, school fees etc.)

$12,754,306 Expenditures (operations, capital and debt payments etc.)

Critical projects that could no longer be deferred have forced our Bahá’í national operations into a cash deficit.

Mail contributions to: National Bahá’í Fund 112 Linden Avenue Wilmette, IL 60091-2800 Please write Bahá’í ID # on check

NEW ON THE WEB

Form permission letter for school absences on Holy Days

Parents: This can help you in requesting that Bahá’í children be excused from school on Holy Days. The letter acknowledges that students will be expected to make up for work missed due to such an absence.

To download this letter: Log in to the Administrative Web site (www.usbnc.org). Click on the “Correspondence” icon at left, then find and click on the link to the National Spiritual Assembly’s letter regarding excused school absences. ♦ [Page 4]

VINEYARD of the LORD

PHOTOS BY RUHI VARGHA

The building projects at the Bahá’í World Center on Mount Carmel in Haifa, Israel, are less than two years from their planned completion. Undertaken in 1990, thanks to the generous contributions of Bahá’ís worldwide the projects aim to complete by the turn of the century 19 monumental terraces from the crest to the foot of the mountain, embracing the Shrine of the Báb, plus several new administrative buildings along the Arc near the Seat of the Universal House of Justice.

These projects follow a plan outlined by the Guardian, Shoghi Effendi, who said their development “will synchronize with ... the establishment of the Lesser Peace and the evolution of Bahá’í national and local institutions—the one outside and the other within the Bahá’í world.”

This report is part of a series that has followed the projects’ progress since 1994.

Right: Bare ground is almost gone as landscaping progresses on Mount Carmel above the Shrine of the Báb.

BRIDGE IS COMPLETE FOR THE HOLY DAY OBSERVANCE

Aug. 17 marked another milestone in the Projects on God’s Holy Mountain. For the first time, Bahá’í visitors and staff serving in the Holy Land reverently walked from the Concourse of the Seat of the Universal House of Justice, crossed the bridge over Hatzionut Avenue and approached and circumambulated the sacred Shrine of the Báb. The occasion was the anniversary of the Declaration of the Báb, commemorated according to the lunar calendar.

The Mount Carmel Projects team worked feverishly for weeks to landscape the bridge for this event.

Above: Traffic flows beneath the footbridge over Hatzionut Avenue. Right: The first procession crosses the bridge toward the Shrine of the Báb.

AN EARLY LOOK AT TWO FINISHED BUILDINGS

Friends serving at the Bahá’í World Center had an early opportunity to visit the Center for the Study of the Texts and the Archives Extension in late summer, before the buildings were fully occupied. They were reminded of the significant role these institutions are destined to play, as described in the below passages from the Aug. 31, 1987, letter of the Universal House of Justice addressed to the followers of Bahá’u’lláh.

On the Center for the Study of the Texts: “This building will be the seat of an institution of Bahá’í scholars, the efflorescence of the present Research Department of the World Centre, which will assist the Universal House of Justice in consulting the Sacred Writings, and will prepare translations of and commentaries on the authoritative texts of the Faith.”

On the International Archives Building: “We have decided to construct, westwards, an extension to the basement of the present Archives Building to provide accommodation for the central office of the ever-growing Archives at the World Centre. This institution is charged with the responsibility for the preservation of the Sacred Texts and Relics and the historic documents of the Cause of God.”

INTERIOR OF TEACHING CENTER TAKES SHAPE

Interior work is progressing at an exciting pace in the building to house the International Teaching Center and the Common Area below it.

On levels 1 to 3 a final checklist has been prepared for finishing.

The kitchen on level 4 has walk-in coolers and freezers, and it is ready for installation of cooking equipment.

Bids have been called for audiovisual equipment in the Auditorium at levels 4 and 5. Extensive millwork is under way.

On levels 6 through 9, where the offices of the Counselors and the Teaching Center Secretariat will be, floors and a staircase are being paved with the same red Brazilian granite used in the Center for the Study of the Texts.

Doors, interior windows, built-in furniture and light fittings are being installed in the Council Chamber and nearby offices.

Notably, the Council Chamber in the Teaching Center is oriented toward windows facing the Shrine of the Báb—just as the Council Chamber in the Seat of the Universal House of Justice is oriented toward Bahjí. Composite glass is being manufactured for a window at the rear of the chamber, which will allow reflection of light from a skylight over the entrance hallway. This gives the Council Chamber sources of natural light at opposite ends. [Page 5]

MOUNT CARMEL PROJECTS

Above: As the last touches of roofing work are completed on the Center for the Study of the Texts, the surrounding landscape is also being finished.

Left: Already gaining prominent notice across Israel and beyond, the Terraces on Mount Carmel are to be prepared for official opening in May 2001.

The library at the Center for the Study of the Texts looks into a garden around the central fountain—one of several gardens visible from indoors.

PUBLIC NOTICE OF THE GARDENS SPREADS ACROSS ISRAEL

Summer landscaping at the Terraces above the Shrine of the Báb culminated in planting on more than 370,000 square feet of steep terrain. In the eastern and western transition areas of Terraces 11 through 16, olive and flowering trees, seasonal shrubs and plants emerged in a verdant tapestry amidst the rockeries.

With such eye-catching beauty spreading along the mountainside, the Shrine of the Báb and its terraced gardens are attracting intense public and media interest.

One impressive and colorful 11-page article carried by Itzuv, a publication of the newspaper Ma’ariv with a circulation of 300,000, is headlined “The Eighth Wonder.”

The opening paragraph reads in part: “The Bahá’ís are trying to advance harmony and to maintain peace in the whole world, but their spiritual center is set on Mount Carmel where the remains of their prophet are interred. The Shrine of the Báb [in its design] combines the east and the west, and the hanging gardens around it have won prestigious awards.”

An article in the August 1999 issue of the Hebrew edition of National Geographic provides similar treatment of the subject under the title “Green Splendour in the Bahá’í Gardens.”

Gan Venof, the national horticultural magazine, published a six-page article with spectacular photographs titled “The Wonder of the Hanging Gardens.” It drew a parallel between the hanging gardens of Babylon and the Terraces of the Shrine of the Báb:

“Although the Hanging Gardens of Babylon are known as one of the wonders of the world, there are some common features between the legendary descriptions and the exceptional achievements in the design of the Bahá’í gardens presently being developed. ... As opposed to the grandeur of the Babylon [gardens], it should be noted that the magnificence of the Bahá’í gardens is expressed by the restraint of their design. ...”

INTERNATIONAL OFFICIALS TOUR SHRINE OF THE BÁB AND TERRACES

More than 200 ministers and high-ranking officials from around the world were escorted to the Shrine of the Báb and the Terraces on an official visit Sept. 7, as part of Agritech ’99 (the 14th annual International Agricultural Exhibition), held Sept. 5–9 in Haifa.

Albert Lincoln, secretary-general of the Bahá’í International Community, and Fariborz Sahba, Mount Carmel Projects architect, addressed the gathering at the Dan Carmel Hotel. The dignitaries then were escorted from the uppermost terrace on Yefe Nof Street all the way down to the Shrine of the Báb.

Bahá’í ushers representing a wide spectrum of nationalities, several dressed in their national costumes, presented visible testimony to the world-wide scope of the Bahá’í community. They were available to interact with the visitors all along the Terraces and the Pilgrim House and the adjacent Visitors Center as they returned from their visit for refreshments. Information material arranged for them was eagerly taken, and many opportunities arose to answer questions about the Bahá’í Faith.

Throughout the tour heartwarming remarks were made about the beauty of the gardens and the feelings of reverence they inspire. One minister remarked, “In a beautiful environment people tend to become beautiful. I feel in this beautiful and special atmosphere I can recognize beauty in others.” Another exclaimed, “The gardens of Eden must have been like this!”

TERRACES, CONTINUED FROM PAGE I

Attendance

Since it will not be possible to accommodate at the Bahá’í World Centre events as many friends as might wish to attend, the House of Justice has decided to authorize the attendance of believers on the basis of quotas: 19 from each National Spiritual Assembly jurisdiction and 9 from every other territory as will be specified by the House of Justice. Each National Spiritual Assembly is requested to do the following:

Proceed on a fair basis to select 19 attendees, bearing in mind the overall expectation of the House of Justice of a wide ethnic and indigenous representation. Kindly note that it is important that a number of youth be included.

Send the names of those selected to the World Centre no later than 31 May 2000.

The friends should plan to spend up to six nights in the Haifa/‘Akká area, arriving no earlier than 20 May and departing before sunset on the seventh day, 26 May; but they may visit other parts of Israel for an additional period of 10 days, before or after their stay in the Haifa/‘Akká area.

Further details, including information about hotel and other living accommodations and travel, will be sent to you at a later date. The friends should await receipt of this information before making their travel plans.

Your timely attention to this matter would be greatly appreciated.

With loving Bahá’í greetings,

Department of the Secretariat [Page 6]

Many roads, many avenues of service to the Cause

Every year, especially in summer, Bahá’ís arise individually or in groups to travel broad expanses of the United States and scatter the fragrances of the word of God. Here are just a few of those stories:

Blazing a “Trail of Light”

BY ALICE AND JERRY BATHKE, NEWHALL, CA

A Trail of Light team of 14 believers taught the Faith throughout the West after leaving the Native American Bahá’í Institute on Aug. 9 bound for the Neah Bay Councilfire.

The traveling teachers visited pioneers and other Bahá’ís; attended an Indian tribal fair; were invited to participate in their parade (and won second place); and served communities by picking up litter.

Ultimately, their biggest reward was to give a fireside whenever the opportunity arose. And people were attracted everywhere they went, because of each member’s example of service and openness.

Evaluations from host communities bore such descriptions of team members and their visit as: “beautiful and inspiring”; “spiritually recharged our community”; “willingness to share native culture with us”; “sincerity of the team members”; and “love and warmth and openness.”

In sharing the message of the Blessed Beauty, the native believers constituting the team drew on parallels between Indian culture and the Bahá’í Faith. In this way, they showed that the Faith is no threat to the Indian way of life.

In fact, host communities recommended that more native traveling teachers be sent out because “wherever the native friends visited, the Faith grew.”

That wish is being fulfilled. The team’s stories have been retold to such a degree that others have become inspired to arise and proclaim the Word of God for our age.

Thus, “mini-Trail of Light” teaching teams have gone out to different parts of the ‎Najavo Navajo‎ Reservation and others will travel to adjoining Indian reservations (Hopi, Jicarilla Apache, San Carlos Apache, Mescalero Apache in southern New Mexico) during the rest of the Four Year Plan. ♦

The Trail of Light team exercised its service in deeds, not just words, as it helped with highway cleanups as well as firesides across the West. Photo courtesy of NABI

On wheels, trailer and prayers

You could tell Nick Savage was riding that motorcycle because “Bahá’í Faith: 1-800-22-UNITE” festooned its trailer along with children’s drawings accumulated during his cross-country teaching tour.

The trip was fueled by prayer and reliance as much as by gasoline, Savage said recently in Wilmette. “Ruby [the motorcycle] does the driving, Bahá’u’lláh does the steering, and I just hang on,” the Redding, California, resident said.

The lightly encumbered trip was years in the gestation. With the help of a friend, Ragna Jensen, a loose itinerary was arranged in conjunction with all four Regional Bahá’í Councils so he could travel across the southern tier to South Carolina, north and west to Wisconsin, then back to California before fall turned cold.

Through radio interviews, newspaper stories and presentations to school classes, he may have reached his goal of 19,000 contacts on the trip. Person to person, the numbers were humbler, an average of five people per day.

Once in Arkansas an isolated believer spotted the trailer and stopped to talk. Fellow bikers would stop and help when he had mechanical trouble.

“I’ve been returned at least tenfold for everything I possibly gave,” Savage said. ♦

Nick Savage poses outside the House of Worship with Ruby the motorcycle and the trailer the two have towed across the U.S. during a one-man teaching project. Photo by Ken Duszynski

Taking the jazz home

When Chris Ruhe and Arash Aazami began their musical teaching tour July 3 at Poughkeepsie, New York, the odometer on Ruhe’s car read 120,000.

Thirty-six concerts, 15 states from coast to coast, and 1,500 audience members later, it topped 128,000.

With well-received two-guitar jazz sets in places as diverse as Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Green River, Wyoming, Ruhe (from Beacon, New York) and Aazami (from the Netherlands) played “in homes, parks, bandshells, coffeehouses, student unions, Bahá’í centers, dance studios, on the very lip of Niagara Falls, in restaurants and other venues,” Ruhe wrote.

Arash Aazami (from left) and Chris Ruhe collaborate musically with Phil Lucas and Chic Day on a July 30 tour stop in Gallup, New Mexico. Photo by Navid Khadem

‘Heartfriends’ across Northwest

A group of West Coast musicians from San Diego to Seattle rose to the call of the Regional Bahá’í Council for traveling teachers in the Northwest. The 10 singers of “Heartfriends” performed 13 times on their “Big Sky Country” tour through Washington, Idaho, Montana and Oregon under the direction of Paul Seaforth.

The first concert in Spokane, Washington, was “blessed with the enrollment of a new Bahá’í as the sound equipment was being set up,” Jan Faulkner wrote.

“Who would want to leave the beautiful home of Ruth Hall and Katherine Young in Pendleton, Oregon, or the Moscow, Idaho, Bahá’í Center with food and fun to die for?” Faulkner added. ♦

ARISING TO TRAVEL FOR THE FAITH

The decentralization process means a new view of coordinating the work of those who wish to pioneer or travel to teach the Faith—at home or abroad. Here is a list of people you should contact ahead of time.

HOMEFRONT PIONEERING	TEACHING WITHIN THE U.S.	INTERNATIONAL PIONEERING AND TRAVELING TEACHING
Central States: Lynn Wieties (phone 573-364-9618, e-mail ____________ ) Northeastern States: Joel Nizin (phone 201-652-6385, e-mail ____________ ) Southern States: Anne Jalali (phone 912-825-3542, e-mail ____________ ) Western States: Flor Toloui (phone 925-672-6686, e-mail ____________ )	Central States: Marilyn Ray (phone 785-628-1919, e-mail ____________ ) Northeastern States: Diana Kaufman (phone 908-709-1228, e-mail ____________ ) Southern States: Anne Jalali (phone 912-825-3542, e-mail ____________ ) Western States: Jan Saeed (phone 801-582-3135, e-mail ____________ )	IF YOU LIVE IN: Northeastern or Central States: Alex Blakeson (phone 847-733-3511, e-mail ____________ ) Southern States: Sherdeana Jordan (phone 847-733-3507, e-mail ____________ ) Western States: Phone 847-733-3512, e-mail ____________

• INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE/EDUCATION OPPORTUNITIES—See page 31.
• TO REPORT AN INTERNATIONAL TEACHING TRIP ‎YOU'VE YOU’VE‎ ALREADY TAKEN—See form on page 27.

[Page 7]

Rallying around a new Assembly

BY TOM MENNILLO

Twelve years ago a nationally televised march made Forsyth County, Georgia, a symbol of racial separation.

Last year the rapidly growing area north of Atlanta’s Fulton County elected its first Local Spiritual Assembly [“Headway for the Faith in the Atlanta Area,” The American Bahá’í, Dec. 31, 1997]. Its members are of African, European and Persian descent.

Now, that nascent institution of the Faith is helping to make Forsyth and surrounding counties models of unity in diversity. It is sponsoring an area-wide process for teaching, service and enhanced community life.

About 40 Bahá’ís from communities northeast of Atlanta met July 10 in Cumming, the county seat, at the invitation of the Assembly and Auxiliary Board members Danita Brown and Riaz Khadem.

Since then, a North Metro Co-op Committee comprising representatives from communities in north Fulton, Gwinnett, Forsyth, Hall and Cherokee counties has met twice. And a joint Feast was held Oct. 17 to get all the Bahá’ís excited about the process.

At that Feast, Forsyth County Assembly member Stephen Parker reported plans have advanced toward meeting four of the seven major goals the communities adopted in midsummer:

• Regular children’s classes, part of several efforts to enhance community life.
• Increased participation in training institute courses.
• A major proclamation event.
• Establishment of a Bahá’í center serving the area northeast of Atlanta.

“Bahá’ís need to go to the next level and help the area and its people meet today’s challenges,” Parker had told attendees at the kickoff meeting in July.

“We have money, talent, and dynamic Spiritual Assemblies in the area,” he said. “We can do this. Already, this is the largest Bahá’í gathering ever in Forsyth.”

Liaisons from area communities have been helping the metro committee coordinate the process to meet the above goals, as well as others they adopted in midsummer:

• Expanded homefront pioneering to neighboring counties.
• Increased media exposure.
• Greater diversity within Bahá’í communities.

Obstacles remain, of course. Brown noted at the July meeting that a friend cautioned her, as an African-American, to be careful traveling alone into Forsyth.

But she read an e-mail message from Counselor Tod Ewing, who participated in the march 12 years ago with many other Bahá’ís. He urged the friends to be in it “for the long haul.”

Khadem summed up the spirit of the effort: “If we are lovers of Bahá’u’lláh, we can set the whole area ablaze.”

To do that, he said, we must free ourselves of the “pollution” of immorality, amorality and prejudice “dumped on us every day by the old order.” Khadem pointed to training institutes and Ruhi study circles as tools for this work.

Still desperately needed, Parker told the October joint Feast, is a comprehensive teaching strategy aligned with the Southern Regional Bahá’í Council’s “Date With Destiny” goals. But consultation identified many existing activities around which the friends can rally.

Ideas for new activities included an online clearinghouse matching Bahá’ís who want to engage in a particular type of teaching or community service; local efforts piggybacking on the national media initiative; social and economic development projects; and teaching in the area’s burgeoning Latino community. ◆

1-800-22-UNITE rekindles a fire

INFORMATION FROM WOODY STANWOOD, PARIS, KY

Not everybody who watches Bahá’í broadcasts and responds through the 1-800-22-UNITE system is hearing about the Bahá’í Faith for the first time. Sometimes, people rediscover the Faith.

That’s what happened recently in eastern Kentucky, where the friends say they are getting steadily more phone responses through the toll-free seeker response system.

A woman who was raised in the Bahá’í Faith—and who has a photo of herself as a child, sitting on the lap of Bahá’í scholar Stanwood Cobb—had decided in her early teens to become a Baptist.

Now, with four children, she lately was in a spiritual search, and her mother was encouraging her to look into the Bahá’í Faith again.

A few days later, the woman was up late from the effects of prescribed medicine. She turned on the TV and saw a Bahá’í program, inviting watchers to call 1-800-22-UNITE. She called.

Soon, traveling teachers were dispatched from Lexington and Berea to meet the woman in London. Through her years as a Baptist, she told the visitors, many of the Bahá’í teachings stayed with her. After a little discussion with the aid of a teaching booklet, she eagerly declared her faith in Bahá’u’lláh. ◆

ALSO IN THE SOUTH

Southern West Virginia

No TV station here carries the broadcasts of the national media initiative, and there is no access to free cable. These factors did not daunt the creativity and courage of the Bahá’ís in Athens and Princeton.

October is National Domestic Abuse Awareness Month, so the friends presented the video ‎family Family‎: Seeds of World Peace and several copies of the statement Two Wings of a Bird: The Equality of Women and Men as gifts to two domestic violence programs. In meetings with the Bahá’ís, directors of both programs expressed appreciation for the gift, and one later encouraged the friends to present the video to a third violence-prevention group.

Houston, Texas

Feeding a continuing cycle of teaching success here, the 1-800-22-UNITE phone system is providing the community with eight to 10 contacts a day. About half the seekers are continuing their search through regular firesides (currently numbering close to 20) or other public gatherings. The community uses a database to follow up regularly with invitations and phone calls to those seekers.

At a regular fireside designed for youth, people play pool and basketball—then discuss the Faith. This happy, informal gathering continues to attract young people to be friends with the Bahá’ís and to investigate the Faith. ◆

USING 1-800-22-UNITE

HOW DOES IT WORK? If your community does not yet have a voice-mail box: You may request an application/confirmation form from the 800UNITE Office at the Bahá’í National Center, 1233 Central St., Evanston, IL 60201 (e-mail bahai800@usbnc.org). Or you can complete this form on the Administrative Web Site: Access www.usbnc.org, log in, then click on the 1-800-22-UNITE icon at left. Choose “Voicemail Box Application/Confirmation” from the menu, complete the information, click on “submit” and the 800UNITE Office receives your application directly. If you already have a voice-mail box: Make sure to confirm all information, such as community name, BLC code, retrieval contact information and most importantly the ZIP codes you intend to cover. You may do this by following the above instructions for the application/confirmation form. Remember, the seeker’s ZIP code triggers your voice-mail box and allows us to forward calls to you.

USEFUL HINTS: Follow up with every seeker by phone if you have a phone number, or by mail. Develop a standard response or form letter listing local events and inviting the seeker to participate. Include in this letter the name of a Bahá’í in your community who has volunteered to respond to inquiries. Remember: Check your voice-mail box daily for seeker calls, regardless of the number of calls you’ve received so far. Print out the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) listed on the Administrative Web Site (www.usbnc.org) or the public Web site (www.us.bahai.org) and use the answers as a tool when responding to seeker inquiries.

For more information contact the 800UNITE office at the Bahá’í National Center (phone 847-733-3497, e-mail ).

ONE VIDEO FORMAT DOESN’T FIT ALL!

VHS, Betacam, SVHS, 3/4" ...

You probably discovered that when your community asked local TV stations about airing the half-hour programs The Power of Prayer and Family: Seeds of World Peace or the 30- or 60-second Bahá’í commercials.

Here’s a handy guide for making sure you have the right videotape format.

First: Assess your needs. For home viewing, the VHS format is virtually universal. Broadcast or community access stations may need videotapes in Betacam SP, SVHS, 3/4", 1" or other formats. Ask them.

Second: Check whether the Bahá’í Distribution Service (800-999-9019) carries the video(s) you want to order. Currently, BDS sells:

• Each half-hour video in VHS.
• Both half-hour videos above plus the short ads, on one Betacam SP tape.

Third: If you need these products in any other format (for example, the 30-minute programs in SVHS or 3/4", or the short commercials in VHS), contact U.S. Bahá’í Media Services (phone 847-853-2352, fax 847-256-1372, e-mail ). [Page 8]

Radiant Champion: William Foster

From time to time the Office of Pioneering will share stories of African-Americans who answered the call of the Guardian to pioneer to Africa in the 1950s.

"He was very pleased to have the first pioneer from America go forth under this organized African campaign; he was doubly happy that it should have been an American Negro who went. This is highly appropriate and surely has delighted the heart of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá who watched over the race with particular love, tenderness and understanding. The ever increasing part the colored friends are taking in the work of the Cause, and especially of late years in the pioneer work, gratifies the Guardian immensely." -On behalf of the Guardian, Bahá’í News, February 1952, p. 1

"Deplore loss William R. Foster, long-standing servant Bahá’u’lláh, tireless promoter Bahá’í teachings, radiant champion Administrative Order. Apart from his extensive involvement vital activities communities United States and Hawaiian Islands, his valiant, sacrificial endeavors Africa before, during and after Ten Year Crusade ensure indelible record annals Faith, especially regarding Morocco and Liberia. Flame his love Shoghi Effendi, intensified by his direct contact with him while assisting with development Bahá’í World Center properties during brief period 1950s, has left enduring traces in hearts many students his classes on Guardian's writings. Extend loving sympathy members his dear family. Assure ardent prayers Holy Shrines for progress throughout divine worlds this noble soul whose association Cause Blessed Beauty extended beyond six decades." -Universal House of Justice, May 22, 1995

William Foster (right) is pictured in Monrovia, Liberia, alongside a newly declared Bahá’í, during Foster's service there in the 1950s. National Bahá’í Archives

"...The descendant of African slaves, his exemplary life inspired the friends wherever he resided by his unquestioned loyalty to the Covenant, his profound attachment to the beloved Guardian, and as a champion of minority peoples everywhere. The loss of one so deeply loved, honored and respected leaves a void in our hearts as we bid farewell to one of our most illustrious Bahá’ís.

"We beseech prayers in the Holy Shrines for the progress of his radiant soul and that he will be reunited with his beloved Guardian. Our prayers and condolences extend to all members of his devoted family, and to the friends throughout the Hawaiian Islands who mourn his passing." -National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the Hawaiian Islands, May 22, 1995

Africa’s First Bahá’í Martyr: Eduardo Durante Viera

This tribute to the first Bahá’í martyr from Africa has been edited from an obituary in The Bahá’í World, Vol. XIV. The original article also appears in the booklet Exploring the Historical and Spiritual Significance of Being a Person of African Descent in the Bahá’í Faith.

Eduardo Durante Viera was born in Portuguese Guinea, West Africa. He was well educated, charming, liberal-minded and profoundly spiritual. His noble qualities made him a popular figure among his people. He held a prominent position in the government of the colony and was often called upon to tender an address of welcome to important visitors to Bissau, the capital of Portuguese Guinea, on behalf of the government. He served as a member of the church council in Bissau.

Mr. Viera learned of the Bahá’í Faith while on a brief visit to Lisbon, Portugal, during the course of the Ten Year Crusade and became an eager student of the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh. Quickly he embraced the Cause and became an enthusiastic, staunch and knowledgeable believer. The friends in Lisbon warmly remembered the pleasure and stimulation he brought to the meetings.

On his return to Bissau, Mr. Viera severed his affiliation with the church and proceeded with courage and vigor to promote the Bahá’í teachings among his countrymen. The first to embrace the Faith was his wife, who recognized the truth of the message of Bahá’u’lláh after a period of keen study and meditation. Soon a Bahá’í community of 15 members was established in Bissau and a Bahá’í center in one of its suburbs.

A Bahá’í friend in Lisbon recorded: "In those days we used to receive magnificent letters from Mr. Viera. They were highly inspiring and instructive. However, as time went on, his letters grew more infrequent and fitful and eventually stopped altogether.... [W]e in Portugal could hardly grasp the gravity of the situation, and when his letters stopped, altogether, we grew very anxious about him."

Although urged by the clergy to do so, Mr. Viera refused to apostatize his faith. He was summarily dismissed from his post and deprived of all the benefits and privileges he had hitherto enjoyed. Faced with the need of providing for his wife and seven children, one of them a victim of paralysis, Mr. Viera established a travel agency and offered his services as legal adviser to the native population of his hometown. His Bahá’í teaching activity continued unabated.

The clergy instigated the authorities to take severe repressive measures: His house was raided, his Bahá’í books and literature were confiscated, and he was forbidden to hold meetings in his home. Moreover, a strict censorship was imposed on all his correspondence. On several occasions Mr. Viera was arrested by the police on frivolous pretexts, was detained, maltreated and brutally beaten.

This mounting tide of trials served only to increase the tenacity of his loyalty to the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh and to give fresh impetus to his heroic spirit.

Mr. Viera's final arrest, on a charge of subversive political activity, took place on March 11, 1966, following a period of increasing pressure and harassment. A cloud of obscurity surrounds the uncertain circumstances of his death in prison on March 31, 1966, the first African Bahá’í to lay down his life as a martyr for the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh, his sublime heroism thus immortalizing his name in the annals of the Faith.

Final messages for his wife and children were found crudely scratched with a sharp instrument on the metal biscuit box in which Mrs. Viera had transported food to the prison:

"Tonia: This is the way of destiny. All is terminated. Love your fellowman and raise your children with love. Love everybody. Forgive all the wrongs I have done. Be able to face life with naturalness. Good-bye, and I wish you a long life, Durante 29-3-1966"

"Dear children: Always be friendly towards all people. Do not have hate towards anyone. Life is eternal and it never ends; it finishes one cycle and begins another. Forgive all the wrongs of your father. May God protect you, Durante 29-3-1966"

Whither can a lover go but to the land of his beloved? And what seeker findeth rest away from his heart's desire? To the true lover reunion is life, and separation is death. His breast is void of patience and his heart has no peace. A myriad lives would be forsake to hasten to the abode of his beloved. -Bahá’u’lláh

"I appeal particularly to its dearly beloved members belonging to the Negro race to participate in the contemplated project marking a significant milestone in the world-unfoldment of the Faith, supplementing the work initiated fifty years ago on the North American continent, forging fresh links binding the American, British and Egyptian Communities and providing the prelude to the full-scale operations destined to be launched at a later period of the unfoldment of the Divine Plan aiming at the conversion of the backward, oppressed masses of the swiftly awakening continent.

"Though such participation is outside the scope of the Second Seven Year Plan, I feel strongly that the assumption of this added responsibility for this distant vital field at this crucial challenging hour, when world events are moving steadily towards a climax and the Centenary of the birth of Bahá’u’lláh’s Mission is fast approaching, will further ennoble the record of the world-embracing tasks valiantly undertaken by the American Bahá’í Community and constitute a worthy response to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s insistent call raised on behalf of the race He repeatedly blessed and loved so dearly and for whose illumination He ardently prayed and for whose future He cherished the brightest hopes." -Shoghi Effendi, Citadel of Faith, pp. 87-88

"We direct the attention of the believers of African descent, so beloved by the Master, to the pressing need for pioneers, who will contribute to the further development of the Cause in distant areas, including the continent of Africa for which they were assigned a special responsibility by the Guardian when the first systematic campaign was launched for its spiritual illumination." -Universal House of Justice, from Ridván 153 message to the Bahá’ís of North America [Page 9]Teaching with the Media A compilation on Media, Knowledge, Audience, Persuasion, and Unity $4.95 SC (TWM)

“This compilation pulls together from the writings ... a detailed exploration of the importance of the use of media, knowledge, audience, persuasion, and unity in teaching the message of the Bahá’í Faith. Created in response to, and in an effort to develop an understanding of, the use of the media in teaching, this compilation not only serves to deepen our knowledge of the importance of using the media available to us in our current teaching work, it also places the recent systematic efforts of the National Teaching Campaign in a historical and spiritual context.” —National Teaching Committee

5 1/2" x 8 1/2", 47 pp.

From Copper to Gold The Life of Dorothy Baker by Dorothy Freeman Gilstrap $29.95 SC (FCG)

This new edition of the long out-of-print—and much-requested—biography of the Hand of the Cause of God Dorothy Baker is now available! Included in this revised edition are 18 new photographs, brand new appendices containing radio talks and articles presented by Dorothy Baker, additional precious stories and recollections, and a new foreword written by the researcher of this volume, Louise Baker Matthias, the daughter of Dorothy Baker.

5 1/2" x 8 1/2", 569 pp.

New Heaven—New Earth The Divine Order of Bahá’u’lláh Part One: Historical Evolution of the Bahá’í Faith and Its Covenant compiled by Heidi Lakshman $27.00 SC (NHNE)

The first installment of a series of compilations prepared as a resource for communities on Bahá’í administration. Bringing together texts from a variety of writings, this volume gives an overview of the main historical events from the inception of the Faith to the formation of its Supreme Institution. It describes the ministries of the Báb, Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, introduces the fundamental tenets and verities they taught, outlines the Covenants they successively established, and traces the subsequent development of the Bahá’í Administrative Order and systematic international expansion of the Bahá’í community under the leadership of Shoghi Effendi.

6 1/2" x 8 1/2", 312 pp.

MUSIC

Mystical Realities: The Báb Inspiring Stories of the Báb’s Revelation Minnesota Bahá’í Institute $16.00 CD (MRBABCD)

Set to beautiful Persian music, this is the first in a series of nine new CDs produced by the Minnesota Bahá’í Institute to convey the history and mystical realities of the Bahá’í Faith. This CD is excellent for seekers, study classes and Holy Day commemorations. The stories, prayers, and tablets in this unique production will stir your heart and lift your soul. You will want to listen to it over and over again!

Traces Geoff and Michaela Smith $15.00 CD (TCD)

Traces is a sparkling collection of 15 original tracks through which the Faith is represented in an appealing, accessible way—uplifting and joyous to Bahá’ís and seekers alike. Michaela sings her refined and soulful songs with exceptional clarity, warmth and beauty. A delightful blend of diverse musical styles.

Quest for Peace $16.00 CD (QPCD)

As humanity enters the turn of the century, the call for peace has been raised in every land. Quest for Peace consists of selections on the themes of Love, Unity, Friendship, Hope, Peace, Faith and the Covenant. This is music for music lovers, unique, improvisational, upbeat and sweet. The first CD publication from Malaysia!

Celebration Congo Music $18.00 CD (CCMCD)

The sounds of this production are as diverse as the performers—there are songs in English and French, as well as the local language of Congo. The album contains a variety of selections that combine the traditional instruments and rhythms of Congo with synthesizers and modern sounds in a unique blend that will have you dancing and singing along from start to finish. The original text of each song is included along with its English and French translations, so that everyone may appreciate Bahá’u’lláh’s message of unity and hope, which these talented musicians can now share with all mankind.

Songs From Green Mountain Ben Koen $17.95 CD (SGMCD)

Produced in response to the call of the Universal House of Justice for devotional gatherings, this is a wonderful resource and tool for teaching, deepening, meditation, devotion, Feasts, Holy Days and other gatherings. Also a powerful tool for relaxation and healing, this soundscape blends indigenous flutes and instruments of the world (featuring the xiao, a Chinese bamboo flute), live recorded streams and waterfalls, and recited prayers and passages from the Bahá’í writings. [Page 10]

The Bahá’í World 1997–98

HC $25.95 (BW98H), SC $13.95 (BW98S)

The sixth installment of the annual series, this edition contains:

• An article titled “Knowledge and Civilization: Implications for the Community and Individuals.”
• A report on the World Faiths and Development Dialogue.
• Selected statements by the Bahá’í International Community, the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States and the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of South Africa.
• An article on models of Bahá’í community life.
• Regular features including a selection of Bahá’í sacred writings, the “Year in Review,” update on the situation of the Bahá’ís in Iran, progress report on the Mount Carmel Projects and more.

6” x 9”, 312 pp.

Sexual Ethics in the Bahá’í Faith, 10/pk

Gary Matthews PA (SE)

1-9 packs of 10	$3.50 ea.
10-99 packs of 10	$2.50 ea.
100+ packs of 10	$1.80 ea.

Sexual behavior may well be the most intensely discussed subject of our time. This fascination reflects a widespread yearning for clear moral standards and for a community which, by precept and example, supports us in living up to those standards.

Life Eternal and the Bahá’í Faith, 10/pk

Gary Matthews PA (LEBF)

1-9 packs of 10	$3.50 ea.
10-99 packs of 10	$2.50 ea.
100+ packs of 10	$1.80 ea.

Only by consciously living in the light of eternity can we be truly happy in the here and now. One of the greatest joys, therefore, which the Bahá’í Faith brings its followers is new perspective on the age-old mystery of life after death.

Communion With God

Bahá’í Prayers BKT (CG)

1-9 copies	$1.25 ea.
10-99 copies	$1.00 ea.
100+ copies	$.75 ea.

A sampling of Bahá’í prayers suitable for giving to friends and acquaintances. A revised version, this edition has an elegant, blind-embossed cover. Specifically suited to complement The Power of Prayer program for the media initiative.

2 3/4” x 4 1/2”, 28 pp.

Every Eye Shall See

Bible Evidence for the Return of Christ Gary Matthews BKT (EESS)

1-9 copies	3.95 ea.
10-24 copies	3.00 ea.
25+ copies	2.60 ea.

Every Eye Shall See is a digest version of Matthews’ popular He Cometh with Clouds. Detailing the biblical evidence for the Second Coming of Christ, the abridged work is suitable for distribution in mass or individual teaching.

6” x 9”, 80 pp.

Coming of Age at the Millennium

Embracing the Oneness of Humankind Nathan Rutstein SC $16.95 (CAM)

Moving into the 21st century, humanity is in a far different condition than it was at the last turn of the century. We stand at the threshold of a reality that has always existed but which has never before been recognized by the masses: the oneness of humankind. Aware of the formidable obstacles barring universal acceptance of this principle, Rutstein offers powerful evidence that they will be overcome. Based on his clear understanding of man’s social evolution, Rutstein asserts persuasively that the next logical step in human progress is the internationalization of our planet. The end result, he suggests, will be global acceptance of the essential oneness of all people, regardless of skin color, ethnicity, gender or culture, and the realization of universal peace.

6” x 9”, 211 pp.

One Life, One Memory

Rúbá Asdaq SC $8.50 (OLOM)

This vivid account of a young ‎girls’ girl’s‎ pilgrimage to Haifa in 1914 includes delightful pen-portraits of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and the Greatest Holy Leaf. Many will be charmed by this vignette, not only for its lively evocation of the rigors of travel earlier this century, but also for the freshness and spiritual eagerness of youth that permeate its pages. 6” x 8 1/4”, 64 pp

Shoghi Effendi in Oxford and Earlier

Riaz Khadem SC $15.95 (SEO)

Riaz Khadem, himself once a student at Balliol College, traces Shoghi Effendi’s educational career from his early youth through his time at Oxford. Drawing on the letters of Shoghi Effendi and Bahá’ís of the time and on the memoirs of Shoghi Effendi’s fellow students at Balliol, the author provides a fascinating glimpse into this little-known aspect of the life of Shoghi Effendi. 5 1/2” x 8 1/2”, 173 pp

To Serve Humanity

Teaching Our Faith Nathan Rutstein SC $15.95 (TSH)

Nathan Rutstein’s second book on teaching the Faith offers insights and observations gained from personal experience. Purposely avoiding discussion of teaching methods, he focuses instead on identifying and overcoming personal barriers to teaching and on developing oneself spiritually so the desire to teach will spring from within. With humility and candor, Rutstein uses solutions drawn from the Bahá’í sacred writings as well as his own successes and mistakes in the teaching field and helps identify ways to become more effective, enthusiastic teachers.

6” x 9”, 189 pp.

Firesides

Catherine Samimi SC $12.95 (FIRE)

Shoghi Effendi called firesides “the most effective method” of teaching. But what exactly is a fireside?

And how can we make our firesides the channels through which people come to know and love Bahá’u’lláh and become members of His Faith? Here is some practical, down-to-earth and often humorous advice from one who’s been there—both before and after becoming a Bahá’í. This book helps organize our firesides and our homes, find people to attend, answer frequently asked and challenging questions, and improve our presentation skills.

5 1/2” x 7”, 230 pp. [Page 11]

The Flame

William Sears and Robert Quigley SC $10.00 (PFLAME)

The Persian translation of the story of Lua Getsinger, who at the age of 22 became enamored of the great universal truths enshrined in the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh and became one of the "Heralds of the Covenant" proclaimed by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.

5"x 8", 150 pp.

Watercolor Greeting Cards

8/pk. CA $10.00 (WGC)

These all-occasion cards are created from original watercolor paintings by Barbara Curry with a Bahá’í prayer or quote on the inside cover, making them appropriate for sympathy, thank-you, hospitality, get-well, new baby, birthday, thinking-of-you and holiday. Eight assorted cards with envelopes per boxed set.

My African Heart

Bonnie Fitzpatrick-Moore SC $12.95 (MYAH)

This is the heartwarming story of one maidservant who returned to the land of her ancestors in the 1970s and settled in South Africa. My African Heart describes with joy and laughter why a black American family would come to the land of apartheid and stay until the present day. It offers wonderful insights into the role Africa is destined to play in the development of the world civilization and casts light on the special role black Americans can play in this process.

5" x 7 1/4", 188 pp.

The Bahá’í World

Volume XX, 1986-1992 HC $55.00 (BWV20)

The last volume in the series initiated by Shoghi Effendi covers the years of the Six Year Plan, the opening of the Fourth Epoch of the Formative Age of the Bahá’í Faith. This chronicle presents the collective efforts of the worldwide Bahá’í community for the years covered and includes key documents, bibliographies, essays, music, poetry and biographical sketches of a number of Bahá’ís who have served in exceptional ways. Special features in this volume include full-color reproductions of the Scroll of Honor initiated by Shoghi Effendi in the Ten Year World Crusade to register the settlement by the Knights of Bahá’u’lláh in the remaining virgin territories of the Master's Divine Plan, as well as the Guardian's global map showing where all of the Knights settled.

6 1/2" x 9 1/2", 1211 pp.

The Creator

Roberta Hafenstein • illustrated by Sergey Valdivieso-Sinyakov SC $6.95 (CREATOR)

The Creator is a collection of three stories for young children about knowing and loving God. The Creator reminds us that we can learn something about God by looking at what He created. The Shining Stars is a whimsical introduction to the concept of God, the Creator. Knowing God helps us through the puzzle of knowing and loving even when we can't understand.

4 3/4" x 6 1/2", 48 pp.

An Evening with Suheil Bushrui

Recitations & commentary on notable prayers by Bahá’u’lláh CD $15.00 (ESBCD), CS $10.00 (ESBCS)

In this recording of a talk at the Tennessee Bahá’í Institute, Professor Bushrui recites in both Arabic and English several of the more significant prayers of Bahá’u’lláh: the Tablet of Ahmad, the Tablet of Visitation and the Fire Tablet. Dr. Bushrui, who has published extensively on a variety of subjects in Arabic and English and who spent his formative years in the Holy Land, also provides commentary and insight to these special verses.

72 minutes

Persian for Beginners

Dr. Mehdi Khorrami with M.R. Ghanoonparvar CD-ROM $39.00 (PBCDR)

Persian for Beginners is the first computer-assisted Persian language program developed by university professors. Takes a beginner through the alphabet, pronunciation and basic grammar. Sound files for hundreds of words and phrases help with pronunciation.

system requirements 486/33 MHz, 8 MB RAM, 75 MB free disk space, MS Windows 3.1 or higher, graphic card for 256 colors at 600x800 pixel resolution, sound card [Page 12]

The time to serve is NOW!

the Youth Page

Your friends, brothers and sisters have traveled across the continent and around the world in service to the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh. Now, it’s your turn for adventure, hard work, tests, great victories, and unforgettable memories! Read the following stories, become inspired through the efforts of our comrades, pray for guidance, and investigate this possibility for yourself. You will not regret it!

In the Holy Land . . .

by Lee Vartanian, Greenwood, SC

In the spring of 1996, I applied to serve at the Bahá’í World Center. Although my expectations for being invited to serve were low, my strong desire to serve in the Holy Land, in such close proximity to the Shrines of the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh, was hard to suppress. After graduating college in 1997, I immediately flew to Haifa, Israel, to perform my term of service at the Bahá’í World Center.

What ensued was an unforgettable and unexplainable experience. I felt blessed and confirmed in every aspect of life. I soon realized that the lessons I was learning in the Holy Land were much more intense, profound and mysterious than any I had gained in college.

These lessons were spiritual in nature, and centered around the Teachings of Bahá’u’lláh and how they affect our daily lives. The more I applied the Bahá’í Writings to my daily life, the easier life became. The more I applied, the more I learned. The more I learned, the more I was inspired and confirmed.

Developing a closer relationship to Bahá’u’lláh is the ultimate and most desirable fruit of any year of service. You draw closer to Him, learn how to rely on Him and pray to Him. Prayer becomes the most mighty and indispensable tool for your survival. Through my year of service, my heart became connected to Bahá’u’lláh in a way I had never before imagined. This was the most precious outcome of my entire year.

The Bahá’í World Center, although currently expanding its numbers, is made up of 700 Bahá’ís from all over the world serving as full-time volunteers. More than 200 of them are youths performing their years of service.

Most of the youths work as janitors, gardeners, security guards and the like. These jobs require a lot of physical labor and endurance.

I was a “delivery guy.” My job centered around furnishing Bahá’í World Center flats—often located on the top floors of apartment buildings. My partner, Afshon, and I mastered the art of carrying large bookshelves, fridges and sofas up and down winding Israeli stairways (and prided ourselves therein). We did this every day and often under hot conditions.

Although this was strenuous work, we enjoyed it. Although we could have complained and felt we deserved something “better,” we did not. Instead, we chose a spiritual approach to our job. We saw it as a way of proving our devotion to Bahá’u’lláh and the Universal House of Justice.

We were carried away from thoughts of ourselves by the act of service. We knew that serving others was the same as serving Bahá’u’lláh. In that way, we were able to approach our tasks happily and thankfully and became more in line with the spirit of “making our work as worship.”

With the friendships gained, lessons learned and a spiritual relationship with Bahá’u’lláh established, my year of service far surpassed any expectations I had ever dreamed of. Along with it came blessings and direction on my own life path.

With this in mind, I can now see the wisdom of devoting a year of service to the Cause in preparation for a lifetime of service. ◆

On the homefront . . .

For many years, Bahá’í youths have labored serenely at the five permanent Bahá’í schools and institutes in the United States—spread across the country and in all regions—rendering a service vital to the continued success of these institutions.

Service at these posts allows for the systematic learning of new skills, the chance to develop close friendships with Bahá’ís from around the world, the ability to deepen in the Teachings of Bahá’u’lláh, and the opportunity for real, effective service to the development of the Faith in America.

One youth reported after completing service at a Bahá’í school: “I went as a naive, young Bahá’í looking for fun. I returned as a deepened youth intent on devoting my all to the Cause. The services I was able to render instilled in me the fire that ‎have has‎ continued to motivate me years after my year of service. Service at the schools is an exciting option for all Bahá’í youth, and is a life-changing experience.”

In foreign lands . . .

Aman McHugh of Durango, Colorado, was a participant in this Unity Feast in June at Antananarivo, Madagascar, where he carried out a year of service. After returning to the United States, he wrote, “I would recommend doing a year of service to anyone. It helped me realize the importance of the Faith in my life and also gave me a lot of experience in teaching. Now I can go out there and feel comfortable teaching the Faith, when I didn’t feel as comfortable before. Do whatever you feel good doing, but consider doing a year of service. I know you won’t regret it.” Photo courtesy of Aman McHugh

TRUE WEALTH

“At this critical hour in the fortunes of humanity, our eyes turn with eagerness and hope to the Bahá’ís of all parts of North America, who constitute a reservoir of human and material resources unmatched elsewhere in the Bahá’í world.”

—Universal House of Justice, Ridván Letter B.E. 153 (1996) to North America

ATTENTION COLLEGE STUDENTS

CALLING ALL TECH YOUTH!

We are looking for people experienced in graphic design, Web site development and database programming. There is an incredible need for volunteers to assist the National Youth Committee, and your services will be invaluable! Please contact us if you are able to assist in this vital capacity.

National Youth Committee Bahá’í National Center 1233 Central St. Evanston, IL 60201 phone 847-733-3499 e-mail [Page 13]

Building a united, peaceful and prosperous life

Training programs, growth and new patterns of community life

Many wonderful and significant efforts have been made to enrich the spiritual life of the believers, foster more effective skills, and develop community life.

The Universal House of Justice confidently expects us to go one step further and make these noble efforts more systematic. Teaching, training and community development must go hand-in-hand in a systematic approach to growth and consolidation.

Proven training programs that meet the needs of a diverse, complex population are necessary and, fortunately, already available. The Core Curriculum programs of the National Spiritual Assembly and the Ruhi Institute both serve the needs of a diverse, complex population.

Social turmoil is transformed by growth

In recent years, as social disintegration has been manifested in ever-more-disturbing forms, the Universal House of Justice has called on the followers of Bahá’u’lláh to attune themselves to a divine perspective by which they may see that they will

“... not merely be able to cope with the alarming incidents of social decline they are daily witnessing, but even better than that, they will be inspired to arise with renewed vision to recruit to Bahá’í membership an increasing number of men and women ... who will join them in dispelling the bewilderment and despair gripping their fellow citizens and undermining the structure of their country.” —Universal House of Justice, letter dated May 19, 1994, to the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States

Growth requires fulfillment of the plan

This divine perspective shows us the deep interconnection between attracting new believers to the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh and redressing the manifold ills that are undermining the structure of our society. Earlier this year, the Universal House of Justice emphasized this point directly in relation to the needs of the Four Year Plan:

“The pitiful conditions implied by such a state of mind and heart [created by social commotion] cannot but prompt us all to action, unabating action, to fulfill the intentions of a Plan whose major aim is to accelerate that process which will make it possible for growing numbers of the world’s people to find the Object of their quest and thus to build a united, peaceful and prosperous life.” —Universal House of Justice, Ridván 156 (1999) letter to the Bahá’ís of the world

Curriculum themes for national training programs

In the United States, the National Spiritual Assembly has vigorously responded to the call for systematic training programs. Several leading themes have been identified from guidance provided by the Universal House of Justice:

“To effect the possibilities of expansion and consolidation implied by entry by troops, a determined, worldwide effort to develop human resources must be made. ... It is therefore of paramount importance that systematic attention be given to devising methods for educating large numbers of believers in the fundamental verities of the Faith and for training and assisting them to serve the Cause as their God-given talents allow.” —Universal House of Justice, Ridván 153 (1996) letter to the Bahá’ís of the world

“The community, as distinguished from the individual and the institutions, assumes its own character and identity as it grows in size. ... [I]t is a composition of diverse, interacting participants that are achieving unity in an unremitting quest for spiritual and social progress. Since Bahá’ís everywhere are at the very beginning of the process of community building, enormous effort must be devoted to the tasks at hand. ....

“... [T]he flourishing of the community, especially at the local level, demands a significant enhancement in patterns of behavior: those patterns by which the collective expression of the virtues of the individual members and the functioning of the Spiritual Assembly is manifest in the unity and fellowship of the community and the dynamism of its activity and growth. This calls for the integration of the component elements—adults, youth and children—in spiritual, social, educational and administrative activities; and their engagement in local plans of teaching and development.” —Universal House of Justice, Ridván 153 (1996) letter to the Bahá’ís of the world

“... your challenge is to demonstrate the efficacy of the Message of Bahá’u’lláh in ministering to their needs and in recreating the very foundation of individual and social life.” —Universal House of Justice, Ridván 153 (1996) letter to the Bahá’ís in North America

Under the supervision of the National Spiritual Assembly a series of training programs has been developed to support the development of human resources in line with these themes.

A recent mailing to all Local Spiritual Assemblies and regional training institutes outlines the following programs, which are available from the National Teacher Training Center at Louhelen Bahá’í School (phone 810-653-5033, e-mail ).

The Fundamental Verities course series is available through the Bahá’í Distribution Service, and a nationwide network of trainers makes the various Core Curriculum training programs readily available at the local level.

Fundamental Verities courses to deepen and consecrate new and veteran believers are:

• We Are Bahá’ís: From New Believers to New Teachers in the Cause
• Every Believer Is A Teacher
• To Serve the Covenant
• A New Civilization
• Teaching Christians (available in December)

Core Curriculum training courses to foster community development are:

• Teacher Training
• Race Unity Training
• Equality Training
• Parenting Training
• Marriage and Family Life Training
• Preparing Youth for Marriage and Family Life Training
• Youth Facilitator Training (available in December)

Successful and expeditious training uses available materials

In a large nation such as the United States, there are diverse training needs in local communities and different regions. Fortunately, a number of materials—proven successful in a variety of settings—are available and ready to use. The Universal House of Justice encourages the friends everywhere, especially in regional and local training institutes, to make use of materials that already exist.

The most successful institutes “have expeditiously chosen a series of courses with the best methods and materials available to them, trained teachers, and set out to build their systems of delivery in the process of implementation.” —Universal House of Justice, Training Institutes document, 1998

A comprehensive curriculum uses many materials

A balanced training program, to fit the needs of a diverse country, will naturally use a variety of curriculum materials to serve complementary purposes.

The training programs sponsored by the National Spiritual Assembly have been created to offer a transformative learning experience that seeks to move the entire community to a new level of consecration, service and pattern of life.

These programs are designed to work easily with other curriculum packages and programs, such as the Ruhi Institute course series. In addition, the National Spiritual Assembly has other programs to train workers in social and economic development skills, develop the capacities of Local Spiritual Assemblies, and deepen understanding of the Fund.

All these programs offer excellent learning materials ready to use, and should be seen as many fingers on a single hand, working together to help us grasp our work firmly.

It is not an either-or situation with these curriculum materials.

The complementary nature of different materials

The various training programs of the U.S. National Assembly and those of the Ruhi Institute are in wide use in the United States. These curriculum materials can be considered as complementary in their content, educational approach and methods. They express a unity in diversity of educational approach.

There are effective features and notable benefits in the Fundamental Verities, Core Curriculum and Ruhi Institute courses. They can be used in a complementary way to serve diverse training needs, and provide a dynamic and systematic set of training possibilities for local and regional institutes. ♦ [Page 14]Empowered!

Lua Yuille (center) and companions express the spirit of the Spiritual Empowerment Institute for Junior Youth July 23–28 at Louhelen Bahá’í School. Photo by Jim Cheek

Bosch Bahá’í School

500 Comstock Lane • Santa Cruz, CA 95060

831-423-3387

www.bosch.org

Training changes lives

“I felt on fire. It turned me upside down. I couldn’t wait until I could start teaching.”

That’s how Maria Rezvani-Yousef described the impact she felt after taking the “Fundamental Verities” course at Bosch Bahá’í School.

Diane Patel said the course “energized my life.”

Rezvani-Yousef, Patel and two other Bahá’ís from San Jose, California, took the three-part course. Then they organized and taught the nine-week course in their own community.

“We were all on fire and it came across in our classes, which were welcomed and enjoyed by the participants,” Patel said.

A little more than two months later, eight people completed the classes and the community witnessed a boost in teaching work, with six new believers enrolled and a greater involvement of the friends in the life of the community.

Patel said the “Fundamental Verities” course “was like having a recipe book, and all I had to do was follow the instructions for the teaching work.”

She is also reaching out to make new friends by serving on civic boards and committees. “These were doors Bahá’u’lláh opened,” she said, “and it had nothing to do with my talents and skills, as the Writings confirmed for us.”

Upcoming: Another teaching tool to help the friends revolutionize the fortunes of the Faith locally is the Ruhi courses Dec. 10–12 and spring 2000, to be facilitated by Ruth and Hamilton Breton.

They introduce a process of social change that begins with the human heart. As we deepen and improve our inner selves, we learn skills and strategies for contributing to a monumental change in society.

Educators can learn more about playing a leading role in establishment of training institutes at the Grassroots Education Conference Dec. 26–30.

Counselor Don Blanks will share insights from the Ocean of Light Teaching Project and on the role of training institutes: “We have institutes which are developing the delivery systems and unlocking the ways to release human potential, and we have the embryonic stages of Bahá’í education.” ◆

Louhelen Bahá’í School

3208 S. State Road • Davison, MI 48423

810-653-5033

www.louhelen.org

Arising immediately

Three-fourths of the friends at the Persian-American Bahá’í Studies session, July 2–7 at Louhelen Bahá’í School, arose to pledge their efforts for traveling teaching or pioneering before the end of the Four Year Plan.

Counselor ‘Abdu’l-Missagh Ghadirian and Auxiliary Board member Tahereh Ahdieh served as lead faculty for the session, which attracted nearly 200 Bahá’ís from across North America.

Courses offered in both English and Persian wove two complementary themes together, offering opportunity for deep spiritual reflection and a dynamic structure for taking action.

One theme, “Circle of Badasht,” encouraged the friends to reflect on their teaching and pioneering responsibilities in the final months of the Four Year Plan.

“Reflections on the Life of the Spirit” was the second theme of the session. This training course explored the fundamental dynamics of successful spiritual living: drawing on the power of prayer, learning to refine one’s character, applying spiritual principles to daily life, and learning to face death with confidence and joy.

Youth training program Beginning Dec. 10–13, a new program to train youth facilitators will be offered at the National Teacher Training Center, Louhelen Bahá’í School.

This Core Curriculum training program, developed by the National Bahá’í Education Task Force in collaboration with the National Youth Committee, can prepare you to provide youths with practical strategies:

• To apply Bahá’í teachings to everyday life.
• To arise as teachers of the Cause.
• To serve humanity.
• To live as heroic champions of Bahá’í standards of morality.

The youth facilitator training program includes a follow-up session May 5–7, 2000. Please contact the National Teacher Training Center at Louhelen for application materials for this important training program.

Other national training programs include training for teachers of children, parents, married couples, individuals preparing for marriage, race unity workers and gender equality workers.

The primary qualifications to undertake this service include love for Bahá’u’lláh, desire to serve and approval of a Local Spiritual Assembly, a regional training institute or an Auxiliary Board member.

In the words of one recent Core Curriculum trainee, “What is most outstanding in this program is that it reflects, emulates and facilitates the implementation of the Plan of God into our own humble, yet potent lives.” ◆

Green Acre Bahá’í School

188 Main Street • Eliot, ME 03903

207-439-7200

www.greenacre.org

Speak, hear, be a parent

The Oct. 8–10 weekend at Green Acre Bahá’í School gave some 80 participants concrete steps for applying Bahá’í principles to marriage and family life.

Clinician Keyvan Geula of California presented “Talking and Listening: The Art of Spiritual Parenting,” a skill-building workshop strong in participatory practice.

Topics included parents’ roles in shaping children’s behavior; why children do what they do; making the Writings an integral part of everyday family conversation; love and fear in discipline; self-awareness and self-esteem; and how to talk about money, peer pressure, drugs and sexuality.

Complimentary comments on the program abounded: “This was real skill building. ... I’m leaving with tools I can use right away and in many kinds of situations.” And [Geula] “modeled very effectively that when good parenting technique is combined with loving spirit, kids really want to do what’s best.”

One of the program’s highlights was a dynamic hands-on segment in which children and adults practiced together cross-generational communication skills.

In a concurrent program, high school and college students took part in a Core Curriculum “Preparation for Marriage” course facilitated by Claudine and Aeric Meredith-Goujon. This exploration made liberal use of group discussion to help the youths apply Bahá’í teachings on this vital topic at a practical level.

Upcoming: While the world around you is consumed with the holidays, come to Green Acre for a renewal of the spirit and a rededication to action in the final months of the Four Year Plan.

Bring the whole family the day after Christmas for Green Acre’s Annual Winter School Dec. 26–31.

This collage of classes, workshops, community-style activities and fun will examine how to “Make Your Mark,” as well as build loving, unified communities that are magnets for thirsting souls.

Invited presenters include Steve Gonzales and Stephanie Fielding, Joycelyn Jolly, Clyde Herring and Carmine Consalvo.

This all-ages session will include classes for 3- to 14-year-olds, youths 15 and up and adults. ◆ [Page 15]

Missouri gathering hears call of unity in Indian culture

INFORMATION FROM ADIB TASHAKKOR

A local goal for the Four Year Plan was fulfilled when the fourth annual Heart of America Spiritual Gathering was held Sept. 13-19 at Temerity Woods near Rolla, Missouri.

A number of Bahá’ís from Missouri had pledged to hold such a gathering each year of the Plan.

This year’s gathering was a joyous celebration of humanity, with its diversity of race, religion and culture. It allowed the participants to experience a glimpse of the beauty of the American Indian ceremonies and culture in the context of the Bahá’í principle of unity in diversity.

Participants came from as far away as Washington and Canada, with most from the Midwest.

The program consisted of lighting of the sacred fire, around which many ceremonies were conducted; rebuilding and rededication of a sweat lodge; construction of a medicine wheel; and presentations on native prophecies, social problems, and past and present injustices.

Two very moving videos also were presented. One concerned a land dispute that has caused many hardships for the Diné (Navajo) people and an attempt to move the tribe from its land. The other was on the American Indian children who were forcefully separated from their families and sent to church-affiliated boarding schools.

Last but not least were the spiritual benefits of participating.

“Picture yourself in a woodsy, rustic campground setting amidst a startling variety (different tribes) of native peoples, some—most—in native garb: elders, women, children, friends of close association,” recalled Bette Duiker.

“Picture people who from breakfast to bedtime meet your eyes with love and good cheer, speak and listen from the heart and create and conduct sacred ceremonies from their tradition, including you as naturally as though you always were meant to be a part of it.

“You are swept into a process of honoring, serving and appreciating fellow human beings as the agenda of the day. The participants, in fact, are the agenda.” ◆

Brenda Harrison (left to right), Vernon Longie, Lynn Howard-Sinnard, Alfred Kahn and Tina Rainwater Kahn get together at the Heart of America Spiritual Gathering. Photo by Hugh Semple

WILMETTE INSTITUTE UPDATE

Distance learning: World Religions

“Chinese Religions and Philosophy for Deepening and Dialogue,” Dec. 1, 1999-Jan. 31, 2000. Faculty includes Phyllis G.L. Chew, author of The Chinese Religion and the Bahá’í Faith; Albert Cheung, who has authored an article on Chinese values as they compare to the Bahá’í teachings; and Dann May, who teaches Chinese religion and philosophy at Oklahoma City University. It can help Bahá’ís understand Confucianism, Taoism and their relationship to the culture and society of modern China.

Cost: $100 ($80 if you are registering as a member of a local study group of three or more).

Upcoming: Zoroastrianism, March 1-April 30, 2000.

Four-year program: 2000-2001 session

Spiritual Foundations for a Global Civilization: May 2000-March 2001 (residential session July 29-Aug. 13, 2000). This four-year program intensively studies every aspect of the Bahá’í Faith. To meet demand, the required summer residential session in the Wilmette area has been reduced to two weeks.

This year’s theme is “World Religions, Philosophy and Bahá’í Theology.” It examines several major world faiths in depth, offers brief highlights of modern philosophy, and examines such themes in Bahá’í theology as concepts of God, revelation, Manifestation, the nature of humanity, physical creation, the Covenant and afterlife.

There will also be sessions on public speaking and teaching the Faith.

Tuition: $700. Lodging and meals will add about $500 more. Financial aid is available. Deadline is April 30, 2000.

All Wilmette Institute courses offer e-mail and phone conference opportunities and a wide variety of learning projects. All courses are available at introductory or intermediate levels depending on whether you want to take a college-level course. If you want to take a course at an advanced (graduate) level or to seek college credit, contact the Institute.

REGISTRATION AND INFORMATION

• 24-hour info line 847-733-3595 • Registrar 847-733-3415
• Information on the Internet www.wilmetteinstitute.org
• E-mail

Councilfire at Neah Bay draws in 600 for learning, inspiration, teaching

INFORMATION FROM ROXANNA JENSEN AND LEO BALDWIN

It was a celebration, a meeting place for old friends who often have not seen each other for decades. Lots of tears and smiles. That’s Neah Bay. That’s a councilfire. And somehow everyone took a little bit home with them.

Nearly 600 souls from every region of the country plus Canada converged on Neah Bay, Washington, for the 1999 United Spiritual Gathering Councilfire hosted Aug. 20-22 by the Bahá’ís of the Makah Reservation.

Close friends shared lessons from years of service or were comforted on the loss of a dearly loved one. At night, campfires lined moonlit Hobuck Beach as people sang, talked till the wee hours, or read prayers for the new day of Bahá’u’lláh’s new earth and new heaven. And six new believers embraced the Faith.

Precious welcomes by Champ McCarty and his family and by local elders Klara and Bill Tyler set the tone for the weekend. Chester Kahn gave a very moving presentation that started with the question to the audience to think about why we were there.

Responding to a heartfelt call by Jack McCants of the National Spiritual Assembly, many people enlisted to be traveling teachers as the Universal House of Justice has asked us: Native Americans to the circumpolar regions and to Russia; African-Americans to Africa; and Hispanics to Central and South America. Others offered to deputize teachers.

Other presentations came from Auxiliary Board members Celia Johnson, Todd Kutches and Henri Cross; representatives of the National American Indian Teaching Committee; the Trail of Light team from Arizona; the Cowichan drummers Honor of All Nations from British Columbia; and respected elders from various Indian nations.

About $3,000 in pledges and cash was raised for the Arc Projects thanks to the donation of a handmade quilt and silver belt by the Trail of Light. Other donated items included hats sewn by one of the six new believers. ◆

SPIRIT RUN, CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3

civic ceremonies will be followed by less formal celebrations, then a commemoration of the Ascension of Bahá’u’lláh. Runners are to leave at daybreak May 29.

The proposed route would take the nine young runners, in one-mile shifts, about three months through 14 northern-tier states, ending at a community of the Six Nations in New York state.

Expenses for the journey are budgeted at $16,000. The Local Spiritual Assembly of ‎Lynwood Lynnwood‎, Washington, is handling the deputization fund for the event, which by October had received $3,500 from several institutions and contributors, including the Regional Bahá’í Council for the Western States.

The National American Indian Teaching Committee is seeking nine ethnically diverse youths to be runners for the event, as well as support volunteers for media relations, community coordination, writing/photography, medical help and other tasks.

For more information, contact Spirit Run c/o Arthur Fernandez Scarberry, Lynnwood, WA 98036 (phone 206-276-4549, e-mail ) or see the Web site (www.spiritrun.org). ◆ [Page 16]

ADMINISTERING THE CAUSE

A vision from the Guardian’s time The House of Worship gardens Story by Juliet Marlingz Photos by Vladimir Shilov

Guide, then, the people unto the garden of delight which God hath made the Throne of His Paradise. —Bahá’u’lláh

Right: José Rubio has guided the gardens team at the House of Worship for 12 years.

Profeti

Top: While inspiring, the gardens have drifted from the original vision of nine segments "sheltered" by trees at each outside edge and decorated by perennials, rather than annual flowers.

BRE TONNE 09

Above and left: A 1960 photo and Dahl's plans show a glimpse of the meditative space in the original design for Garden 9.

Right: Victor Zenteno, a properties crew supervisor, takes a moment to enjoy the gardens.

Gardens are an integral part of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár, the Temple ordained by Bahá’u’lláh as the Dawning-place of the Praise of God.

‘Abdu’l-Bahá specified that each House of Worship include a dome, nine sides, nine gardens, nine fountains and nine paths. The gardens provide a setting in which to pray, meditate and commune with God.

Anyone who has visited the House of Worship in spring or summer has seen the beauty of the gardens firsthand. Full of colorful flowers, shrubs and trees, they attract an enchanting variety of birds, butterflies and bees. The nine gardens are each unique, each changing as spring turns to summer and summer to fall.

The flowers and plants form a living picture. The blue salvia provides a brushstroke of cobalt in the painting, while the sedum in another garden is like a brushstroke of soft pink next to green.

From the Chinese junipers to the roses and flowers, everything in the design of the garden is intended to create an atmosphere of beauty, simple dignity and quiet contemplation. The sanctity one feels upon entering the gardens of this Holiest House of Worship is unmistakable.

The architect of this inspired garden was Hilbert Dahl, a Bahá’í from Frankfort, Kentucky, who first imagined the design in 1938 while guiding at the House of Worship. Over 13 years he perfected the design, gaining the approval of the National Spiritual Assembly and the Guardian in 1951.

Dahl designed the garden so that each part of it would help visitors feel the presence of the Divine. Four multi-stem trees at the outer edge of each garden section provide shade and a feeling of shelter. Shrub masses soften noise from the street, enhancing the feeling of being in a special place.

Rosebeds cause us to remember Bahá’u’lláh’s beauty and perfection. Mosaic-style perennial flowerbeds that Dahl designed remind us that we are all "flowers of one garden." The lively colors of the simple and graceful annual flowerbeds call to mind God's great bounty.

Over time this intricate design has lost some of the subtle elements that create the special feeling Dahl intended. Groundcovers have seeded into adjacent gardens so that instead of providing a soothing uniform backdrop, the groundcovers look mixed and busy. Some of the shrubs have died, leaving holes in what was meant to be a buffer from the outside world. The sheltering effect of the multistem trees has been eroded as some of them have died and not been replaced.

These changes have taken place in spite of the excellent care the garden receives from the grounds crew at the Bahá’í National Center. José Rubio, crew leader for the last 12 years, leads the team of dedicated and knowledgeable gardeners who care for the Temple gardens year after year. Because of such high-quality care, the gardens remain about 80 percent true to the original design 45 years after construction.

In spring 2000 a team of gardeners, landscape architects and engineers organized by the National Spiritual Assembly will begin a $1.2 million project to restore the garden to its original design.

This work will take place alongside a number of other major repairs at the House of Worship:

• Monumental stairs will be replaced.
• The terrace slab will be rebuilt.
• The below-ground irrigation, fountain and plumbing systems for the garden will be replaced.
• Then, the surface of the garden will be landscaped as closely as possible to the original design.

In the first year of the project just two sections of the garden will be restored. In the second year three sections will be restored, and in the third year the last four sections will be completed.

While outside contractors will install the irrigation and plumbing, the House of Worship’s grounds crew will perform landscaping. This not only will save thousands of dollars, but will entrust the landscaping to people who will take the most pride in it.

This restoration will result in a garden that incorporates the design elements that are most important in creating a spiritual atmosphere around the Temple.

After construction the garden will take about three years to look its best. By then, more than 250,000 visitors to the House of Worship each year will be able to experience the feeling evoked by the design that Shoghi Effendi approved for the Holiest House of Worship.

The intricacy of this design reveals the inspiration behind its creation. Through hours and years of effort on his masterwork, Dahl was able to truly fulfill the wish of the Guardian: "May the Almighty guide and inspire you in your meritorious labors, and enable you to render memorable services to the Faith."—Postscript to a letter written on behalf of the Guardian, March 23, 1938

For more information about the Garden Restoration Project, or to arrange a tour of the gardens, please contact Juliet Martinez at the Temple Conservation office (phone 847-853-2319, e-mail ). [Page 17]

RAISING ‘PILLARS’

PHASED PLANNING, EDUCATION ON THE FUND, UNITY-BUILDING SHAPE NASHVILLE’S BAHÁ’Í CENTER

Recent messages of the Universal House of Justice reminded the friends not to neglect the international needs of the Cause in their decisions on funding national and local projects. These messages point to the need for wise planning and decision-making, especially in regard to acquiring a local Bahá’í center.

Several years ago when the Nashville, Tennessee, community decided to build a new center, there was a lot of excitement—along with many concerns. How could they afford it? Could they fit it in their modest community budget? Who would coordinate and design the project? How could they accommodate everybody’s wish list? Would the community stay unified and strong?

The Nashville-area Bahá’ís answered all these questions. The project “Founding Pillars” is in full motion. What are the secrets of their success? Here is the story as told by Faran Ferdowsi and written by Ramzia Duszynski.

Above: Vital community life at the Bahá’í center helps to energize the Faith’s progress in Nashville.

Left: Franko Hashiguchi plays Celtic whistle at a Unity Feast in late 1998. His daughter Honako (center) joins the group dance at her own pace. Photos by Tom Mennillo

HOW WE GOT STARTED

In 1955 a small group of Nashville Bahá’ís bought the first local center. At that time, there were only a handful of centers in the United States.

Over three decades, that place became too small for the fast-growing community. In 1985 Nashville Bahá’ís bought land in a downtown area for a new center.

Nashville became the first community in ‎United States the United States‎ to build a center. It has 1,500 square feet of space, five classrooms and an auditorium for about 75-80 people.

We’ve been using this building since, but our community is quickly outgrowing it. At Feast we always have a full house. At Unity Feast we have a standing audience, and many children. Sometimes we have to use the kitchen as a classroom, too.

A NEED FOR A NEW CENTER

The Assembly had two options: Expand or build a new center. After consultation and discussion with our community we felt expansion would not give us what we really wanted and we decided to build a new center.

We planned that the new community center will serve all of Middle Tennessee as a regional center. Our goal was to create an active community life. We wanted the friends to come to the center to get to know one another and have fun.

The land came to us unexpectedly: One of the believers offered to sell it to us. It’s a nine-acre wooded area with hills in a diverse neighborhood. It is just a very beautiful place. It’s right by a road with 40,000 cars passing by every day, so it has high visibility, which is a big plus.

The $160,000 price was very reasonable. But we did not have the money and we had only two months to purchase it.

We decided to work on this project in stages, and the first stage was to arrange to pay for the land. We borrowed $80,000 from the bank and the other half was borrowed from a few individuals without interest. We bought the land in 1995 and we paid the bank off in two years.

How did it happen? Contributions have increased dramatically. People are so excited about this project!

I’d like to mention one very important matter. Sometimes, when a community wants to buy a center, it cuts its contributions to the National Fund. The Assembly decided we could not.

Since we bought the land, our support for the National Fund has not only continued, it has increased by 60 percent! Friends contribute in a true spirit of giving and sacrifice.

GET EDUCATED!

It wasn’t an overnight miracle. Our community, which is about 150, is very average—we’re not a very poor community, but not really wealthy.

Up until about four years ago, our annual budget was about $35,000, and every year we were $5,000 to $6,000 short. The same community contributed $80,000 last year! When we closed the books, we were $10,000 to $15,000 above the budget. But people didn’t stop contributing. They gave more. Such a change within three to four years! What is the secret?

It was education. When the Assembly began to think about a new center, it also decided to educate the friends about the Fund.

For 10 minutes at every Feast we would read from the Writings, from the letters from the House of Justice, describing different Funds and Huqúqu’lláh. We got a lot of ideas from the book Stewardship and Development.

Education worked! A lot of people didn’t know that giving to the Fund is not optional. We told them the amount is optional, but giving to the Fund is our obligation.

Very often, when we teach the Faith [SEE NASHVILLE, PAGE 24]

ARCHITECTS CONFIRM: CONSULTATION IS KEY

We asked the project architects, Ken Parel-Sewell and Gregory Maire, to share their thoughts about this special project.

How is this project different from other projects?

GM: The work we did is based on consultation with the whole Bahá’í community ... where we had 100 potential clients to discuss what was important to them: the character of the building, openness of it, what do they want there. ... That was very helpful.

What’s unique about this building?

KPS: It combines so many Bahá’í activities. It has a worship space, there are social spaces, there are classrooms for teaching activities. Every space connects directly to the center lobby, so there is a lot of cross-interaction; people will often come into contact with other people they know.

There are nine acres of land, and it slopes 90 feet from top to the bottom. It’s really steep. And the lower hills at the bottom provide an ideal place for the building as you face the street.

How did you come up with the design ideas?

KPS: The original design we showed for the competition before talking to the community. But when we learned what the community wanted ... we went through at least 12 more designs.

GM: I think this building represents balance and proportion. The plan and organization is so much simpler than our original plan.

What was the most challenging issue you had to deal with while working on this project?

GM: There were a lot of local building restrictions, so we didn’t have too many choices. That very [SEE ARCHITECTS, PAGE 24] [Page 18]

Four modules added to development toolbox

Every Local Spiritual Assembly yearns to help build the loving, unified, effective communities envisioned in the world-healing teachings of Bahá’u’lláh.

With four newly released Module Workshops from the National Spiritual Assembly’s Office of Assembly Development, Assemblies can take a day, a weekend or a series of dates to study and reflect on practical steps for guiding their communities toward a Bahá’í vision.

These four modules are the newest versions of Module Workshops on the subjects of overall community development, fostering racial unity and promoting equality of women and men.

Builders of Communities: Developing a Strong, Vibrant Community

This module deepens appreciation of what Bahá’í community life is intended to be and introduces elements of a planning process for development. It contains activities to strengthen an Assembly in:

• Finding out why believers may withdraw from active involvement, and discovering ways to lovingly draw them closer.
• Assessing the needs of community members and identifying skills and resources.
• Examining activities and processes of community life.

3 hours, 40 minutes; optional extensions

Builders of Communities: Fostering Racial Unity

This module explores the role of the Assembly, in partnership with individuals, in eliminating prejudice and fostering oneness. It lists resources and contains an exercise to help Assembly members increase their ability to model racial unity in their own lives. It also includes an opportunity for the Assembly to examine practices in the community and assess the extent to which diversity is incorporated into community life.

3 hours, 15 minutes; optional extensions

Builders of Communities: The Equality of Women and Men, Part 1: A Shared Responsibility

This module is targeted to individuals, rather than Assemblies. It explores the complementary roles of women and men in establishing a partnership between the sexes. It surfaces assumptions participants have about women and men and examines the example of Bahíyyih Khánum. The module also contains a visioning exercise and opportunities for individual and group reflection.

3 hours, 20 minutes; optional extensions

Builders of Communities: The Equality of Women and Men, Part 2: The Assembly’s Role in Fostering Partnership

Building on “The Equality of Women and Men, Part 1: A Shared Responsibility,” this explores the role of the Assembly and resources it can call on. The module also contains opportunities for the Assembly to examine patterns and practices in the community and to assess the extent to which women have been welcomed into partnership in community life.

3 hours, 35 minutes; optional extensions

To arrange for any of the 14 available module workshops to be conducted by a trained Assembly development representative: Contact the Office of Assembly Development, 1233 Central St., Evanston, IL 60201 (e-mail _________).

To acquire materials: Handouts for participants may be downloaded without charge from the Administrative Web Site (log into www.usbnc.org with your Bahá’í ID number; click on the “NSA Departments” icon at left; find and click on the “LSA Development” link; then follow links to the download site for the workshop you’re planning to take). Facilitator’s handbooks for each module are available from BDS (800-999-9019), but it is recommended that an Assembly development representative facilitate your workshop. ♦

Local TREASURER’S Corner

The Local 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 have 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 _________).

Something to celebrate!

For the second consecutive year, the friends who give to the National Bahá’í Fund warded off the old “summer swoon” pattern. Monthly contributions during the summer stayed about the same as the average for the year. As a result, the National Spiritual Assembly avoided borrowing for the many projects that must be conducted during that season.

Although our overall level of giving poses a challenge to our meeting the annual goal, the disappearance of the “summer swoon” is cause for celebration!

National Fund Goal: $27 million

Treasurers, please remind the friends that the National Fund goal is $27 million for this very critical last year of the Plan. This goal includes all contributions made through the National Fund for all Funds. Rushing toward the end of the Four Year Plan, with nearly half of B.E. 156 behind us, at mid-October we were slightly over a quarter of the way to our goal.

Spiritual significance of supporting the Funds

More and more friends around the country are participating in Stewardship and Development Seminars, where they are learning what the Writings convey regarding the spiritual significance of supporting our Faith materially. A trained facilitator near you can present the seminar in your choice of a number of formats. Contact the Office of the Treasurer for information (phone 847-733-3472) or check the National Administrative Web Site (www.usbnc.org) for a facilitator near you.

Treasurers visit National Center

Nine Local Spiritual Assembly treasurers from around the country participated in the first-ever Weekend Visit for treasurers held in October at the National Center. This new program, containing elements of the established Weekend Visit, has an additional day on which treasurers meet with William Roberts, treasurer of the National Spiritual Assembly, and members of the Office of the Treasurer for the purpose of building partnerships to support our work. The feedback about this visit was very enthusiastic.

If the treasurer of your Assembly would like to participate in one of these visits, please contact the Office of the Treasurer (phone 847-733-3472, e-mail _________).

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

PLANNED GIVING extends our options

“The resources at the disposal of the community must, as a result of its expansion, be continually augmented and carefully extended.” —Shoghi Effendi

Many of us can make substantial gifts to the Funds of the Faith beyond our regular cash contributions—and sometimes benefit ourselves through tax savings or increased available cash.

• Bequests through wills
• Gifts of stock or securities
• Gift annuities

The National Spiritual Assembly has announced a Planned Giving Program that allows believers to make these or other financial arrangements.

For a packet of information on how you might be able to plan a gift, please complete the form at right or contact the Office of the Treasurer (phone 847-733-3466, e-mail _________).

CLIP OR COPY THIS FORM

I/we would like more information about planned giving. I am particularly interested in:

____ Providing for the Bahá’í Faith in my will
____ Making a gift of securities
____ Making a gift of real estate
____ Making a gift through life insurance

Receiving income from my gift:

____ Charitable Gift Annuities
____ Charitable Remainder Trusts

Name	__________________________________________________
Spouse’s Name (if Bahá’í)	__________________________________________________
Address	__________________________________________________
City	__________________________________________________
State	Zip ______________________________________________
Telephone	__________________________________________________
E-mail	__________________________________________________

____ I prefer that someone contact me by telephone.

Return form to:
Development Department, Office of the Treasurer,
1233 Central St., Evanston, IL 60201

TAB 11/23/99 [Page 19]

CLASSIFIED

Classified notices in The American Babff are published free of charge to the Bahá’í community. Because of this, notices are limited to items relat- ing to the Faith; no personal or com- mercial 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 AT THE BAHÁ’Í NATIONAL CENTER

EVANSTON, ILLINOIS

Conventions Coordinator, Conventions Office. Coordinates logistics, planning and support for annual conventions. Will interact with every office and agency of the National Spiritual Assembly as well as delegates and people attending the Convention. Provides support to host Assemblies for Unit Conventions. Manages annual review of elec- toral units and needed redistricting. Needs ability to handle confidential information appropriately; excellent verbal and written communication skills; experience with Microsoft Word and Outlook; mature under- standing of Bahá’í electoral process.

Conservation Coordinator, Conservation. Does inspection, recordkeeping, testing and research for Conservation Program at Bahá’í House of Worship; maintains Conservation Team information systems; manages some projects; must work at heights. Needs three. years' experience in engineering technology and/or conservation/preservation work; degree in engineering technology, museum science or related field; skill in sketching, word processing.

Publisher, Bahá’í Trade Publishing, Wilmette or Fulton County, Georgia. General manager and chief operating officer, public and legal spokesperson. Responsible for the product quality and financial results. Oversees general business, policies and inter- departmental collaboration toward developing a presence for Bahá’í literature in retail book- stores and libraries. Needs excellent written and oral communication skills, including pre- sentation, negotiation and problem-solving; expertise in publishing (including distribution) and business management; extensive knowl- edge of literature and Bahá’í principles; bach- elor's degree; record of service on Bahá’í administrative institutions.

Maintenance Technician, Properties Office. Responsible for preventive maintenance, inspection and repairs. Needs high aptitude for electrical and mechanical systems. Additional training will be provided.

Program Assistant, Persian/American Affairs Office. Helps follow up on programs and projects; performs records management and other office functions; handles correspon- dence in Persian and English; translates docu- ments and letters. Must be skilled writing and speaking Persian and English; familiar with Bahá’í administrative practices and with Iranian culture. Must type 30 wpm in English and Persian, and be capable of detailed work with frequent interruptions.

Administrative assistant (part-time), U.S. Babá’í Refugee Office. Prepares correspon- dence to refugees and to Bahá’í, government and other agencies involved in refugee reset- tlement. Develops reports, maintains records, helps process Southeast Asian Bahá’í refugees.

IMMEDIATE NEEDS

Office of the Treasurer, Evanston: Assistant Controller. Responsible for National Spiritual Assembly financial operations: budget and cash management, reporting and control. Maintains relationships with department heads. Needs high degree of honesty and integrity; five years' experience as controller of mid-sized corporation or not-for-profit entity; bachelor's degree in accounting (CPA preferred); experi- ence in creating and managing budgets; working knowledge of cash management, accounting and control systems. Must be organized, have good communication and people skills, and be able to function in fast-moving, consultative environment.

Executive Assistant, National Teaching Office. Helps National Teaching Committee secretary: Coordinates projects related to National Teaching Plan; helps develop reports; communicates with other agencies; prepares articles for The American Bahá’í. Needs bachelor's degree; knowledge of Bahá’í writings/administration; project management experience; superior writing, speaking, analytical skills; word processing, spreadsheet, desktop publishing, Internet skills. Some travel required.

Office of Pioneering, Evanston: International Consultant (2 positions). Recruits, counsels, trains and dispatches international pioneers, youth volun- teers and traveling teachers; assists current volunteers and those returning to the States. Needs excellent communication and organizational skills and computer/word processing skills; office experience preferable. Should under- stand cross-cultural interactions, international affairs etc.

U.S. Bahá’í Refugee Office, Evanston: Assistant Coordinator, Southeast Asian Program. Helps support teaching and consolidation activities: prepares corre- spondence; monitors/reports on programs throughout the country; coordinates annual Southeast Asian Bahá’í Conference; prepares printed and audiovisual materials for the Southeast Asian Bahá’ís; writes, compiles, lays out Southeast Asian Helpers Bulletin. Two-year commitment expected; some travel may be required.

Information Services, Evanston: Webmaster. Proficient in Internet HTML; at least 2 years' experience; applications/development experience is a plus.

Mail Services, Evanston: Clerk. Handles incoming and outgoing mail; carries out shipping, receiving, distribution storage duties. Must be computer-literate, espe- cially in Microsoft Office programs. Must speak, read and write English; needs valid driver's license.

If interested, contact the Office of Human Resources, 1233 Central St., Evanston, IL 60201 (phone 847-733-3427, fax 847-733-3430). ◆

Helps compile and write the Southeast Asian Helpers Bulletin, articles for The American Bahá’í and other publications. Needs proven ability to work with confidential information, strong skills writing and speaking English.

OFFICE OF INFORMATION SERVICES

Applications developer. Provides high-level analysis, design and implementation of infor- mation systems. Familiar with a variety of technologies including Visual tools, database tools and Web tools.

Network Administrator/Engineer. Responsible for configuration, maintenance and security of all computer networking infrastructure (LAN and WAN) including servers, cabling, routers, switches and NICs. Maintains documentation of network and servers setup and structure.

LSAI Support. Coordinates support activities for LSAI project. Provides training and sup- port for LSAI. Handles initial requests for support, escalates support issues to support team when necessary (LSAI help desk). Develops training-related communications materials, assists promotion and education.

Database administrator. Coordinates all database development. Responsible for Enterprise SQL server including security rights, table design, normalization. Responsible for design and implementation of user and departmental applications as front ends to SQL using MS Access, VB or other tools as determined.

Data entry clerk. Will transcribe contact information from the 1-800-22-UNITE voice-mail system. Needs transcription experi- ence; will cooperate with the National Teaching Committee office.

If interested in any Bahá’í National Center position, contact the Office of Human Resources, 1233 Central St., Evanston, IL 60201 (phone 847-733-3427, fax 847-733-3430).

AT GREEN ACRE BAHÁ’Í SCHOOL

ELIOT, MAINE

Assistant Facilities Coordinator. Helps with inspections, preventive and routine mainte- nance, exterior and interior repairs. Must have proven skills in housekeeping and maintenace of buildings, equipment, vehicles and grounds.

Receptionist/Office Assistant. Receives phone, e-mail and fax communications and greets all visitors to the office in a courteous, efficient manner. Provides administrative support to the co-administrators, registrar and program coordinator. Helps bookstore manager with sales and inventory.

If interested in either position, please contact Jim Sacco, co-administrator, Green Acre Bahá’í School, 188 Main St., Eliot, ME 03903 (phone 207-439-7200, e-mail ).

AT BOSCH BAHÁ’Í SCHOOL

SANTA CRUZ, CALIFORNIA

Program Director. Plans, organizes and implements programs sponsored by Bosch or other Bahá’í agencies; supervises an assistant and recruits course facilitators; supervises chil- dren's programming and curriculum. Needs experience in curriculum planning/instruction and supervision at an academic institution; knowledge of Core Curriculum and Ruhi methodology; basic computer knowledge including word processing. Required: master's in education, or bachelor's plus five years' supervisory experience. If interested, contact the Administrators, Bosch Bahá’í School, 500 Comstock Lane, Santa Cruz, CA 95060 (phone 831-423-3387, fax 831-423-7564).

LOUHELEN BAHÁ’Í SCHOOL

DAVISON, MICHIGAN

Outreach Coordinator, National Teacher Training Center. Open January 2000. Supports implementation of Core Curriculum programs in local communities and otherwise supports the work of the National Teacher Training Center. Needs formal or informal educational experience; familiarity with Core Curriculum training programs; experience training children, youths and adults.

Properties Associate. Open June 2000. Full range skilled maintenance and manual labor, to care for Louhelen's facilities and grounds year- round. Needs experience and training in any or all of the following: carpentry, construction, plumbing, electrical, HVAC, grounds etc.

If interested in either position, contact Rick or Barbara Johnson, Louhelen Bahá’í School, 3208 S. State Road, Davison, MI 48423 (phone 810- 653-5033, e-mail ) or see the Web site (www.louhelen.org).

INTERNATIONAL

China: Numerous openings for English teach- ers and professionals willing to travel for ser- vice in this rapidly developing country. For more information contact Susan Senchuk (phone 847-733-3506, fax 847-733-3509, e- mail >

PIONEERING/OVERSEAS

The Office of Pioneering is eager to assist the friends preparing for international service. To that end, the Office will post service opportunities related to the needs of other national Bahá’í insti- tutions. For international job and study opportu- nities, we will provide Web sites, e-mail addresses and other resources to benefit your search.

For more information regarding jobs and study abroad, please contact the Office of Pioneering, Bahá’í National Center, 1233 Central St., Evanston, IL 60201 (phone 847-733-3508, e-mail

PIONEERING/HOMEFRONT

Discover the beautiful spirit of Jamestown, North Dakota. This town of about 14,000 is a great place to raise a family. Employment opportunities include health care, aerospace and food-processing centers, Jamestown College and public education. We have an arts center, a little theater and a Civic Music Association. Plentiful opportunities for teach- ing among American Indians. Jamestown has maintained an Assembly for many years, but it is time to grow, and we would welcome you with open arms. Please contact the Spiritual Assembly c/o Elaine Kelm, Jamestown, ND 58401 (phone 701-252-7109).

Gulfport, Florida, is looking for Bahá’ís who want to help build a thriving and loving Bahá’í community in a lovely, quaint town off Boca Ciega Bay near St. Petersburg, with all its [Page 20]...opportunities and amenities. The town has a well-developed senior community and an active recreation center with regular youth activities. Please contact the Assembly c/o Sally Hansen (phone 727-323-8799) or Barbara Bostian (e-mail ________________).

Turlock in pleasant Northern California has a goal of a Local Spiritual Assembly by Ridván 2000. This town of 50,000 contains a small California State University branch. Reasonable housing costs. Jobs available in education, agriculture, health services. For more information contact Mary Allen, group secretary, ________________ Turlock, CA 95382.

WANTED

The Bahá’í Association for the Arts—producers of Arts Dialogue magazine—is seeking submissions for a book about the diverse ways Bahá’ís explore the arts, and also about art inspired by the Bahá’í teachings (not necessarily by Bahá’ís). We accept b/w or color photographs (caption on a separate sheet), high-quality copies of line drawings, text on paper or disk, or spoken word on tape. The book will be in English but we can translate submissions in Esperanto, Spanish, French, German, Russian or Dutch. We assume permission to edit unless notified otherwise. Submissions may be sent by Dec. 31 to Sonja van Kerkhoff, Bernhardstraat ________________ Leiden, The Netherlands (e-mail ________________). Also see our Web site (http://bahai-library.org/bafa).

ARCHIVES

The Bahá’í World Center library needs a few copies of the following issues of World Order magazine for departmental libraries:

• Vol. 25, no. 1: Fall 1993
• Vol. 25, no. 2: Winter 1993/1994
• Vol. 25, no. 3: Spring 1994

Please don’t send any magazines until we have responded to you accepting your offer. We would not like to deprive anybody of their magazines unnecessarily. If you are willing to part with a copy of any of those issues, please contact the Bahá’í World Center Library, Periodicals Acquisitions, P.O. Box 155, Haifa 31001 Israel (phone 972-4-8358570, fax 972-4-8358280, e-mail ________________, Web http://library.bahai.org).

The National Bahá’í Archives is seeking original letters written on behalf of the Guardian to the following: Robert L. Davis, Charlotte L. Davison, Sarah Davison, Katherine R. De Desdier, Keith De Folo, Paul De La Croix, C.O. De Moure and Lucha G. De Padilla. Anyone knowing family members or relatives who might have these Guardian’s letters is asked to contact the National Bahá’í Archives, 1233 Central St., Evanston, IL 60201-1611 (phone 847-869-9039).

The National Bahá’í Archives is seeking copies of the following magazines in good or mint condition: Herald of the South April 1986, Oct. 1986; Light of the Pacific Oct. 1985 through Feb. 1986, Jan. 1990, Feb. 1990, July 1990 through May 1991, Nov./Dec. 1996 and Jan./Feb. 1997. Anyone with copies they could donate may send them to the National Bahá’í Archives, 1233 Central St., Evanston, IL 60201-1611. ♦

NGO, CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Peter Adriance, NGO liaison for the National Spiritual Assembly, “and this conference is a reflection of the importance attributed to the U.N. by the NGO community at large.”

Held at U.N. headquarters in New York, this year’s conference was on the theme “Challenges of a Globalized World: Finding New Directions.” It brought together experts from three key international influences: the private sector, civil society and governments.

“Ours is a world in which no individual and no country exists in isolation. ... [The world] is shrinking as quickly as one can say fax, e-mail or CNN,” said Kofi Annan, U.N. secretary-general. “The international system for much of our century has been based on division. We must now stitch together the strands of cooperation into a strong fabric of community for the new millennium.”

Other dynamic speakers stressing globalization’s potential benefits to humanity included Jordan’s Queen Noor and Costa Rica’s former President Oscar Arias.

Daily plenary sessions focused on major issues affecting an increasingly interdependent world: trade and finance, labor, food and agriculture, culture and communications, and new structures and partnerships.

Lunchtime workshops, an important contribution of NGOs to the conference, further addressed such topics as ethics and values, the environment, health and human rights.

Despite the destructive rain and wind of Hurricane Floyd, participation was high, with some 1,700 people attending from 64 countries and representing about 800 organizations.

More than 40 Bahá’ís registered under the auspices of the Bahá’í International Community or the U.S. National Spiritual Assembly, both of which hold NGO status at the U.N. Sixteen of them were from the United States, while the others paid their own way from places as distant as New Zealand and Guam.

Carl Murrell (left) and Victoria Jones (right), both of whom serve at Bahá’í national offices in New York City, join Meraash Mahajuodeen of Young Asia Television (second from left) and Peter Arnett of CNN on a panel discussing “Culture and Communications Technology” during the DPI/NGO conference in September at the United Nations. Photo by Veronica Shoffstall

According to Jeffery Huffines, U.S. Bahá’í representative to the U.N., this was the largest number of Bahá’ís ever to attend this yearly event. Huffines organized their participation and prepared a briefing for them the day before the conference.

Carl Murrell, the alternate representative to the U.N. for the Bahá’ís of the United States, chaired the NGO/DPI Conference Planning Committee.

“A conversation about globalization is ultimately a conversation about the direction of the future of civilization,” Murrell said in welcoming remarks at the opening session of the conference. “My hope is that we can recognize the essential oneness of humanity, hold this as a standard during our deliberations, and be confident that despite the litany of difficulties imposed by such conditions as poverty, war, violence, fanaticism, disease and degradation of the environment, that we are indeed making progress towards making our common homeland—Earth—a planet of justice and peace.”

As chair of the Conference Planning Committee, Murrell was interviewed on U.N. Radio for five minutes by Hak-Fan Lau, whose show is broadcast to China, Malaysia and Southeast Asia. Murrell gave him a copy of The Bahá’í’s magazine and a Chinese edition of One Country.

From the earliest planning for the conference, Murrell brought Bahá’í principles of courtesy and consultation to bear on his work with the planning committee.

In another plenary session, Victoria Jones, director of the U.S. Bahá’í Office of Public Information, was both moderator and participant in a panel discussion on culture and communications technology.

Jones, a national presence on cable TV and talk radio, fostered a vigorous and balanced discussion. She noted that while Americans are less focused on globalization than many others around the world, “cable and the Internet are bringing the world to us—and there are signs that many Americans are thirsty to expand their horizons.”

Without direct mention of the Faith, Murrell and Jones both mentioned “the oneness of humanity” as an ideal consistent with the purpose of the program. ♦

Media contact pays off

Bahá’ís in Bradenton, Florida, were undeterred when media declined to publish their releases concerning the plight of the believers in Iran.

They knew it was just a matter of finding the right local-interest “hook”—especially because Bradenton Herald features reporter Rod Harmon wanted to write something about the Faith.

Eventually, the life stories of Iranian-born Bahá’ís Farzad Azizi and Farkhonde Edwards clicked with Harmon.

The result was a cover article Aug. 28 in the “WellBeing” section of the Herald, including photos of Azizi’s family and of Edwards.

A sidebar outlined Bahá’í history and tenets. ♦

HUQÚQU’LLÁH — THE RIGHT OF GOD

Payments to Huqúqu’lláh should be made to “The Bahá’í Huqúqu’lláh Trust” (please write your Bahá’í identification number on your check) and sent to one of the Trustees: Amin Banani, 1509 Yale Ave., Santa Monica, CA 90402 (phone 310-394-5449, fax 310-394-6167, e-mail ________________) Stephen Birkland, 3350 Chatsworth Dr., Arden Hills, MN 55112 (phone 651-484-9518, fax 651-415-1766, e-mail ________________) Sally Foo, 13 Glen-Yne Dr., Lawrenceville, NJ 08648 (phone 609-671-9125, fax 609-671-0740, e-mail ________________) Daryush Haghighi, 20300 Linda Dr., Rocky River, OH 44116 (phone 440-333-1506, fax 440-333-6938, e-mail ________________) Elizabeth Martin, P.O. Box 178, Winnsboro, SC 29180 (phone 803-635-9602, e-mail ________________) Office of the Secretariat, Bahá’í Huqúqu’lláh Trust: 20300 Linda Dr., Rocky River, OH 44116 (phone 440-333-1506, fax 440-333-6938, e-mail ________________)

[Page 21]

Kids’ Thoughts on THE EQUALITY OF WOMEN AND MEN

Photos & Interviews by Nancy Wong

Liang loves to remind Bahá’í kids that when we give to the Bahá’í Funds, we make it possible to share the teachings of the Bahá’í Faith. Bahá’u’lláh teaches that equality between women and men is important for world unity.

What are Bahá’í kids thinking and doing about equality? Liang sent a reporter to the Solomon R.G. Hilton Bahá’í School in New York to find out why equality is important and what we can all do to encourage it.

“We’re really the same—physically we’re different but spiritually we are not. In school I can pick boys to play with too. I can treat boys the same and not treat girls as more superior just because I am a girl.” Amy Herrera • age 10 • Westfield, NJ

“Boys and girls are supposed to like each other and not be mean to each other. Girls can play with boys. My best friend is a boy.” Allison Cabot • age 8 • Norwood, NJ

“If we were all one sex, then there wouldn’t be any children or differences. Both are important to the cycle of life. I try to treat others the way I want to be treated. I help by teaching the Faith.” Alex Mojaverian • age 10 • Blue Bell, PA

“[Equality is important] because boys and girls look different and some people are mean ... [equality helps] to stop the meanness. ... I can help equality if I tell people, that just because she’s a girl, it doesn’t mean that she can’t play basketball.” Robert McSweeney • age 8 • Baltimore, MD

What do you think we can do to make the world a better place? Share your thoughts for an upcoming issue of Brilliant Star. Draw yourself or send us a picture. Include your name, age, and community. Use this space or your own paper and send it to the address at right.

Your picture or drawing

Brilliant Star Kid’s Corner!

Do you have something to SHARE with BRILLIANT STAR, like PHOTOGRAPHS, stories, poems, or DRAWings? Tell us what you are DOING lately in your Bahá’í COMMUNITY!

We invite kids, youths, artists, photographers, writers and teachers to send submissions for our upcoming issues. Our general themes are:

The Harmony of Science and Religion

The Time Capsule

Making the World a Better Place

The Arc Projects

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Program on freedom from violence strikes chord in Texas

Months ago, the Bahá’ís of Carrollton, Texas, knew an Assembly-sponsored weekend of events they were planning Sept. 17–18 on the theme “Building a Violence-Free World” would be timely and needed.

Just how timely and needed was driven home when, on the eve of the conference, a gunman opened fire on a Fort Worth church youth rally. Eight people—including the shooter—were killed and six were wounded or injured.

The tragedy gave fresh impetus to the vital search for answers. And it drew hundreds of Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex residents to the Bahá’í events.

A Friday luncheon for prominent people was attended by police chiefs, city mayors, school board members, local reporters, FBI special agents, members of Congress, lawyers, civic activists, clergy and community leaders.

The audience from many cultures and backgrounds enthusiastically received Robert C. Henderson, secretary-general of the National Spiritual Assembly, as he listed “models of unity” being carried out every day by a “silent army” of people working to rid their neighborhoods, cities, and the nation of violence.

“As you looked across the room during the talk, you saw many nodding their heads, in rapt attention,” said Gigi Shamsy Raye, a Bahá’í from Frisco, Texas. “The understated sadness from the Fort Worth shootings was palpable; the common quest for solutions was evident.”

One mayor immediately asked for a video dub of Henderson’s talk to stimulate brainstorming with neighboring community mayors on “creating their own models of unity.”

That night, a youth meeting was held at the University of Texas-Dallas on the same subject. Saturday, a public meeting drew another crowd in the hundreds.

The youth meeting garnered a nearly two-minute report in the evening newscast on ABC television affiliate WFAA.

The piece opened with a haunting bassoon solo played in honor of the shooting victims, and continued with words of caution and encouragement from Henderson, interspersed with footage of the crowd of conference-goers and a Bahá’í Youth Workshop performance.

Voice-overs by the reporter described some of the Bahá’í Faith’s beliefs and principles.

Noted Raye, “The best publicity and teaching results come when we’re actively attempting to ‘live the life,’ promote the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh, offer solutions to the crumbling world around us.

“We now hope to carry on the momentum of this weekend, roll up our sleeves and work with our non-Bahá’í community to instill these so desperately needed spiritual principles into the world around us.” ♦

Sound bites from the Sept. 18 WFAA-TV report on a meeting at UT-Dallas:

“There are lots and lots of people who are actively engaged in community life, who are doing things about the problems that we face, and are having a constructive effect. ... The people want to do this. And we have to let them know that there is a larger community of folks just like them who want to join them and make this happen.” —Robert Henderson, secretary-general, National Spiritual Assembly

“The Bahá’ís say these effective [anti-violence] groups need to work together, much as this youth group does—Asians, Hispanics, blacks and whites stepping in unity. This religion believes the same God sent Christ and Muhammad, Moses, Krishna, and Buddha. They believe peace comes when their followers learn what these dancers know: how to step together.” —Gary Reaves, reporter

Sharing the ideal of unity in California

Above: Silua ‘Akuila, Jean Bell and Etonde Thomas were among the Ocean of Light dancers performing at a race unity celebration held June 30 for Electoral Unit 144 northwest of Los Angeles, California. Photo by Salma Howard, Ventura, CA

The 300 attendees included Ruika Kumagui, Raven Frazier, Emma Porter, Sina Rouhani and Jasmine Howard. Organizers say months of consultation and study helped unify area friends in advance of the event. They worked to ensure a racial mix in each musical or dancing group, so the event would be a celebration of unity, not just diversity. Photo by Alice Williams, Santa Barbara, CA

Institute shelters dozens during hurricane

Spiritual shelter is available year-round at the Louis G. Gregory Bahá’í Institute. When Hurricane Floyd came calling, physical shelter was added to the curriculum.

As the Category 3 storm came ashore in Wilmington, North Carolina, on Sept. 15, a wide area including the Institute campus in Hemingway, South Carolina, was buffeted by high winds and lashing rains.

Power soon went out, leaving the rural neighborhood in darkness. A wayward branch even knocked WLGI Radio Bahá’í off the air.

But the Institute represents safety to area residents, many of whom live in trailers, and 40 to 50 arrived seeking refuge in the solid brick buildings.

“They know we’re going to be here and that we’re not going to turn them away, even though we’re not an official shelter,” said Lanita Barnes of the Institute staff. “We dragged in mats from the dormitories and started cooking rice—basic food—on our propane stove.”

When the storm subsided, the campus was littered with thousands of branches and twigs.

WLGI was able to resume operations the following Monday. Spiritual shelter is once again the program. ♦

IN HONOR OR IN MEMORY

Honor or remember those you love

... on their special days with your gift to the National Bahá’í Fund. Mothers, fathers, newlyweds, new parents and graduates will especially appreciate your thoughtfulness. Each gift sent with an “In Honor” or “In Memory” form will be beautifully acknowledged by the National Spiritual Assembly.

You may get these Treasurer’s Office forms:

• On the Web: Printable forms for these special contributions are available on the Administrative Web Site (www.usbnc.org). Log in with your Bahá’í ID number, then click on the “NSA Departments” icon at left. Click on the “Office of the Treasurer” link, then click on “Other Forms,” and finally choose which form you wish to print out.
• Through the mail: Printed forms are available from the Office of the Treasurer, 1233 Central St., Evanston, IL 60201 (e-mail: ).

Your local treasurer may already have forms available for you to use or copy.

Be sure to check the Administrative Web Site for other forms to help local treasurers:

• Automatic Contribution System
• Budget and audit worksheets
• Project Unity! for young Bahá’ís

[Page 23]

NASHVILLE, CONTINUED FROM PAGE 18

we do not talk about the Fund. We changed that. The Assembly meets with every new believer and talks about the spiritual obligations of the believer, especially the Fund. Over 90 percent of our new believers have been participating from day one! Statistics say it usually takes two years for them to participate.

We also provided the friends with all the statistics about the project. It helps people to be conscious about their contribution and helps them to add to them. They feel ownership. This type of involvement creates the spirit of giving. From 40 households contributing a few years ago, this year we closed with 80 households.

WE’RE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER

It’s not just a Nashville project, it’s a Middle Tennessee project. Eight surrounding Assemblies have cooperated in buying the land and helping us financially. They see this project as a benefit to the Faith.

This center will definitely serve not only Middle Tennessee, but the entire Southern Region with a variety of activities. We hope we can have a lot of regional meetings there—summer schools, regional training institutes, conferences.

For those reasons, we didn’t want to be the only community making decisions. We asked all the surrounding Assemblies to appoint a member for the project committee. Three communities sent a representative; the rest are supporting us spiritually without being involved administratively.

Our committee of three members works out all the details related to this project. All the major decisions are recommended by the committee to the Nashville Assembly. For example, when we wanted to put a dome on our main meeting hall it was an Assembly decision. But the committee decides, for instance, whether to choose a glass or wood door.

The architects (Gregory Maire Architect Ltd) were chosen last year. After putting an ad in The American Bahá’í we received six or seven applications. The committee, after interviewing them, picked three architects and asked them to give a presentation to all eight Assemblies.

After the presentation, friends expressed their opinions, ideas and suggestions. Then the committee recommended the architects that had the best grasp of our needs. They have worked on this project since last year. They met with the community to learn what everybody wants from this project.

Unity Feasts are among numerous activities that fill the nine-sided auditorium of the Bahá’í Center of Nashville to brimming. Here, Mike Orrick provides music at a Unity Feast late in 1998. Photo by Tom Mennillo

LEARNING TO CONSULT AND MAKE DECISIONS

The community asked them to create a center that is a real community meeting place, where people can come and bring their kids and meet other Bahá’ís. They can sit in the room, talk, discuss or just relax, read books.

The architects created a master plan, so we can build the center in stages. We don’t have to come up with a lot of money right away.

We all are very happy with the final design. The main auditorium will hold 500 people. It will have a dining room, a family room, bookstore, 10 classrooms, administrative office, Assembly room and meeting room.

We’ll have enough space for an outdoor playground for the kids. We are discussing the possibility of having a cemetery, if we get permission.

Our goal is to start site improvements by Riḍván. The design has been approved and the architects are working on the detail drawings. We have chosen the contractor and all the engineers. We have contracted to sell our current center and expect to close between January and December 2000. But a lot depends on the financial arrangements.

Ground broken in Indy

Indianapolis is one of several communities carrying out major, long-planned commitments to acquire a Bahá’í center for the needs of a growing community.

Improvements on their site began July 24, and operations have continued briskly into autumn, with excavation and grading, storm sewer work, and the first graveling of the parking lot complete. Foundation and slab work is next, with completion expected by December.

Volunteer contracting and subcontracting by qualified Bahá’ís from around the state has reduced the $300,000 price tag of the overall project to about $200,000. ♦

ARE YOU READY TO HAVE A BAHÁ’Í CENTER?

Many communities are thinking about having a Bahá’í center. It’s very important to remember that the whole community has to be united. Our community was very passionate and unified about this project—99.9 percent of it! If you see that part of the community is disagreeing, if there are “whys” and “ifs,” you’d better consult more and delay the project until everyone has decided on what to do. That’s the No. 1 element.

It is a good idea—before your community buys a center—to rent a space as a center for a year to see the commitment of the friends. Very often we dream about a center but we don’t know what the problems will be.

You need to know: When you have a Feast, who is going to open doors? Who is going to clean up? Will a person who always cleans up say after four or five months, “I’m tired, I can’t do it anymore”? Then who else is going to do it? Do you have that type of commitment?

Your community will have to have that experience. You cannot get it just by hearing about it or by reading about it. If you see that your community is not ready, you can cancel the lease. But when you’re under construction and you have these problems, it brings a lot of difficulties and disunity.

If you don’t have a plan to build, the time will come when you have to build the center. So just open a savings account and start saving money. No matter how little it is, save it! ♦

ARCHITECTS, CONTINUED FROM PAGE 18

much determined where the building could be on this site. That was the biggest challenge.

Another thing is that we were trying to accommodate as many functions as possible, knowing that none of them is going to be 100 percent.

When you worked with the committee, how supportive was it?

GM: They are very excited and supportive. It is better than any other job. Start with the fact that this is the Bahá’í Faith and people consult. It makes a difference. Another thing is that after they chose us, they trusted us completely. It was always very easy, open conversation.

How are you helping to reduce the cost of the building?

GM: By working with the contractor from the very beginning we get a sense where we are costwise early in the design process. The contractor is a part of the design process. He has been willing to spend time estimating costs and discussing economical construction methods.

KPS: Plus, we get the information we need from the contractor to make an intelligent, cost-effective design in a timely way.

GM: The other thing we do is the process of programming, or evaluating things and looking at different options.

For instance, if we can save money by reducing 4 feet from 3 floors on each side of the building, it’s a lot of money. Another option is to take out a stack of rooms from each side of the building.

KPS: Also, by phasing. Our approach was to start with a big plan and build as much as possible incrementally.

GM: In this case, phasing means to build the ‎shellof shell of‎ the building—the rectangular blocks—then finish the first floor, which can be used as a temporary meeting hall. It has three classrooms, nursery, a temporary office, restrooms and a lobby. It replaces what they have now. And then when they raise more money they’ll continue. ... The other two floors will be empty, but when money will be available they can put up the walls, do the lighting, finish the next floor.

What is your opinion of the secrets of the success of the Nashville center?

GM:

• Clear goals and clear sense of what they can afford to spend.
• Dedication.
• One person having ultimate charge of what needs to be done.
• Good professional architect. ... A good architect can save you from a lot of trouble. There are a thousand decisions on the road.

My advice if a community wants to buy land or a building to remodel: be very careful and get a professional real estate agent and a licensed architect who can educate you as soon as possible.

KPS: Their unity and spiritual trust. They trust their LSA and committee to do the right thing, they trust us to do our job, and they trust that they will find a way to make their dream a reality. ...

I have also been impressed with their commitment to quality and long-range vision. They have deepened long and hard about what this center should be, and how it will fit into the life of their community.

Any other comments?

GM: I’d like to say how much I enjoy working with all these people. It’s been terrific. The community’s been very supportive and appreciative of us, and we feel that by doing this building we’re able to give something back. It gives me a spiritual satisfaction.

KPS: I began studying architecture and became a Bahá’í at about the same time. This project is something I dreamed about all my life. These two passages of my life are very parallel, and the touch of these two lanes is extremely satisfying. ♦ [Page 24]

Thelma Jackson aided Cause of God in U.S., internationally

D. Thelma Jackson, a Bahá’í of 52 years whose travels for the Cause of God took her all across North America and into Europe, passed to the next world on Sept. 29, 1999, in Evanston, Illinois. She was 90.

“She dedicated her life to the Cause of God more than 50 years ago, having discovered the Faith in Alaska,” wrote the Secretariat of the National Spiritual Assembly in a tribute. “The success of her exemplary efforts are visible internationally through her services as a member of the European Teaching Committee during the Ten Year Crusade and in the development of the Bahá’í communities in North America where she served as a member of the National Teaching Committee, the United States Bahá’í National Center’s Office of Assembly Development and as a member of the Auxiliary Board helping to establish the first National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the Bahamas. These, and many more of her activities, along with her determined focus on and depth of understanding of Bahá’í administration in her nurturing of the friends, have earned Thelma a place in the annals of the Bahá’í world community. She will be sorely missed on this plane of existence.”

Raised in Texas, Jackson worked through her young adulthood in the oil industry as a secretary, bookkeeper and map draftsman. She was a junior college graduate and continued her education with night courses in business, education, psychology and philosophy.

Late in World War II, while in her early 30s, Jackson took a civil service job at a military post in Alaska. While on a boat to Anchorage, she was given Prayers and Meditations by a woman who was investigating the Faith, and soon began attending firesides hosted by Honor Kempton and Dagmar Dole, two early lights of the Alaskan Bahá’í community.

She maintained a keen interest in the Bahá’í writings, and later said the reading of the Kitáb-i-Íqán impelled her to enroll in the Faith in January 1947.

Later that year she moved to San Antonio, Texas. She helped found the city’s first Local Spiritual Assembly at Riḍván 1948, and served on that body for more than a decade. She also was a delegate to the Bahá’í National Convention for several years in the 1950s and served on the Area Teaching Committee for the Southwestern States.

In 1963 Jackson moved to Wilmette, Illinois, and became a boon companion to Edna True, who a few years later was appointed as one of the first Continental Counselors. While there, Jackson worked for several agencies at the Bahá’í National Center, including the Secretariat, Bahá’í News and the Publishing Trust.

Before and during this time she served on several national and international Bahá’í committees, including the European Teaching Committee, National Teaching Committee, National Goals Committee and Community Development Committee.

Jackson’s work for community consolidation was amplified when she was appointed a member of the Auxiliary Board for Protection of the Faith in 1970. She served in that capacity until 1986.

She moved to Evanston in 1988, after Edna True’s passing.

D. Thelma Jackson, who found the Faith in Alaska, helped establish a Spiritual Assembly in Texas.

Amina Michael-Smith worked for race unity

Amina Michael-Smith, 48, was well-known in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, as a tireless worker for race unity, religious tolerance and conflict resolution. She passed away at home on July 27, 1999, after a prolonged illness.

She was a delegate to the Bahá’í National Convention the past three years. Her work for the Faith included service on the Local Spiritual Assembly and as an assistant to the Auxiliary Board member for propagation.

Often utilizing Bahá’í writings and principles, Amina brought programs in conflict resolution and diversity awareness to high schools, colleges, churches, businesses and civic organizations.

In her work as an assistant to an Auxiliary Board member, Amina extended her race unity efforts to Bahá’í communities in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

She was often asked at Bahá’í gatherings to lead a group in singing or to offer her passionate recital of Bahá’u’lláh’s Tablet of Carmel.

According to her husband of 11 years, Stewart E. Smith, she was especially fond of employing Shoghi Effendi’s statement that racial prejudice is a “negation of faith.”

Amina was director of the local American Friends Service Committee chapter and a member of the Youth Violence Council, the Martin Luther King School Project and the Peace and Justice Coalition.

The YWCA honored her this year with the Sojourner Truth Award for fostering respect among all peoples. Two years earlier, the local chapter of the National Conference of Christians and Jews gave her its Human Relations Award.

A former member of the Nation of Islam, Amina often recounted how her reading in The Dawn-Breakers about the imprisonment in the Black Pit of Tehran confirmed her faith in Bahá’u’lláh, according to her husband.

“Nearly 300 people of many ages, races and creeds attended her funeral, a true testament to the oneness of humanity,” Stewart Smith wrote.

Amina Michael-Smith was well-known in the Bahá’í and wider communities.

Danny Morris’s passing touched many friends

People in La Crescenta, California, knew and loved Daniel Warren Morris as a scrappy, overachieving basketball player and a tireless servant of humanity.

Now, through his sudden death at age 20, they know him by his faith and want to learn more. And the Bahá’ís are discovering the impact he made by living a positive, enthusiastic life.

“In many ways the depth of our trauma and sorrow has been equaled by the abundance of spreading the healing message of Bahá’u’lláh,” observed his aunt Paulette Pappas. “It is like the dandelion flower gone to seed and blown by the wind, and the seeds have been scattered far and wide.”

IN MEMORIAM

Mahmood Ajdari Brentwood, TN August 17, 1999	Julia Frierson Dunbar, SC August 19, 1999	John W. Keller Spokane, WA Sept. 9, 1999	Daniel W. Morris La Crescenta, CA June 26, 1999	Suzanne W. Robison Yavapai County, AZ June 1, 1999	Ruth G. Stephenson Clackamas County, OR September 25, 1999
Massoud Amini San Ramon, CA May 30, 1999	Leone L. Hoffman Coon Rapids, MN August 23, 1999	Edward F. Lacy III Austin, TX August 1999	Esther M. Owen Salem, OR April 5, 1999	Sara J. Simonfy Albuquerque, NM July 8, 1999	Rochelle Stoffer Santa Cruz County, CA June 11, 1999
Frieda Curtis Daytona Beach, FL Jan. 24, 1999	Laura J. Howard Buffalo, NY July 18, 1997	Rayne E. Lamont Hillsboro, OR March 26, 1999	Walter D. Owen Salem, OR October 3, 1997	Hazel V. Sly Moberly, MO September 29, 1999	Lester C. Uebner Gilbertsville, KY September 23, 1999
Elizabeth D. Duhig Holly Hill, FL November 6, 1998	D. Thelma Jackson Evanston, IL September 29, 1999	Tavoos Nadib-Naeim Glen Cove, NY June 17, 1999	Parviz Rezvani Long Beach, CA June 1998	Dorothy C. Stephens Ashland, OR August 19, 1999	Khalil Yadegari San Diego, CA September 1998

[Page 25]

MINNESOTA, CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3

Faith in a public school, the Bahá’í woman discovered that the student “expected me to tell them exactly what the Bahá’í Faith is and who Bahá’u’lláh was.” And this was fine with the teacher.

Days later, Vahdat-Hagh discovered more: she would be the only speaker for an hourlong class session.

“That night, I spent many hours trying to download intriguing Bahá’í photos from the Internet to use as a guide and as visual aid,” she said.

During the presentation the next day, “I felt myself so moved by the stories and the glory of the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh that time slipped through my fingers. The students were very attentive and interested. I remember that when I showed a picture of Mona [Mahmudnizhad, a teen-age martyr] and said a few words about her personality, my eye caught the tearful eyes of a girl sitting in the front row,” she said.

Then the bell rang, but students stayed seated. It turned out the class was meeting for two straight hours, and the students unanimously asked Vahdat-Hagh to stay and answer questions.

“I stood there in complete awe at how this was evolving,” she said.

Two of those students’ questions:

• “Exactly which prophets do the Bahá’ís believe were sent from God?”
• “If I wanted to become a Bahá’í, what do I have to do?”

At the end of the talk, she even managed to put in a plug for Project Wildfire, a youth workshop that was scheduled to perform at South High the following week.

The next month, Vahdat-Hagh received a letter from McMartin, who said the Bahá’í presentation stood out from the rest of the material presented in the genocide class, because of the emphasis on staying positive in adversity. “It is people taking actions like yours in educating youth that are helping the world heal,” she wrote. ♦

Gathering for religious harmony

Abdullah Tarmugi (center), government minister for community development, views the Bahá’í booth during the opening ceremonies of the Inter-Religious Harmony Exhibition, June 20 in Singapore. Bahá’í International News Service

National Spiritual Assembly expresses gratitude to friends

In September, the National Spiritual Assembly called on the U.S. Bahá’í community to support a national effort to urge Congress to retain provisions in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) that guarantee equal access to educational opportunities for girls and women.

We are happy to report that on Oct. 20, the House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly to restore the program designed to promote gender equity for girls in elementary and secondary schools.

There is no doubt that the American Bahá’í community’s immediate response to this request and its communication with Congress on this important matter played a role in keeping the gender equity language in the bill. The National Spiritual Assembly sends you its heartfelt gratitude and prays for the continuous success of all your endeavors to translate the principles of this sacred Cause into action. ♦

BRIEFLY

Southern States

Four months after the Regional Bahá’í Council for the Southern States launched its “Date with Destiny” teaching campaign, the friends across the South are responding energetically.

Here is the progress reported toward the six main teaching and consolidation goals the Council envisioned to be met between July 27 and Ridván 2000:

• Devotional gatherings: 126 (goal surpassed)
• Traveling teachers: More than 500 (goal achieved)
• Homefront pioneers: 63 (42%)
• Regularly scheduled, home-based firesides: 248 (28%)
• Youth and adult teaching teams: 207 (21%)
• Regional training institute course participants: 876 (18%)

Northeastern States

Traveling teachers and the arts have long gone together in the U.S. Bahá’í community. Now the marriage is being sealed in the Northeastern States.

The Regional Bahá’í Council has formed the Northeast Regional Arts Travel Teaching Task Force to identify qualified artists who are Bahá’í teachers and make them available to Bahá’í communities across the Northeast for firesides, proclamations and other events.

A goal is to facilitate 95 arts firesides in the Northeast, at least one in each of the nine states, before the end of the Four Year Plan. The first 30, through the end of 1999, feature such artists as photo artist Don Camp, poet Peter Murphy, TV actor Geoff Ewing, collage artist Clyde Herring or singer Red Grammer.

Communities that wish to host arts teaching events and artists who wish to offer their services should contact Anne Millonig (phone 914-331-4697, e-mail ). ♦

CHALLENGE, CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3

Fund in the 1998–1999 fiscal year, the Oregon friends embraced a goal proposed by the Assembly of Washington County North to raise that number to $600,000—an increase of $250,000.

Bahá’ís still contribute to the National Fund the same way, either directly or through their local treasurers. Forms for individuals to enroll in the Automatic Contribution System were distributed statewide, and the friends were encouraged to make their contributions unrestricted.

In turn, the national Office of the Treasurer each month informs the Oregon Bahá’ís of the sum of contributions from that state. Individual contributors’ privacy is preserved.

For more information on “From Oregon With Love,” contact the Spiritual Assembly of Washington County North (e-mail ). ♦

MORRIS, CONTINUED FROM PAGE 25

Morris collapsed and died June 26 at home in this small city tucked into the foothills between Los Angeles and the San Gabriel Mountains.

An autopsy failed to find a primary cause for his death. “No brain aneurysm, no heart attack, toxicology clean, etc. Danny’s heart simply stopped,” said Pappas, a Bahá’í in Temecula.

According to Steve Pulley, a Bahá’í in Temple City, the coroner later commented, “He should have been able to wake up and walk away.”

Morris was a third-generation Bahá’í, born May 28, 1979. He was the seventh of eight children of Michele and Archie Morris, Pappas’ sister and brother-in-law.

“Members of our family have been established in La Crescenta since 1954 when my parents, who had been Bahá’ís since 1940, homefront pioneered there during the Ten Year Crusade,” Pappas said. The Morrises’ home “has always been a center of Bahá’í activity,” she said.

Surrounded by an “active, loving” Bahá’í community, Pulley said, Danny was “distinguished for his character and conduct and his many acts of service.” He showed particular enthusiasm for helping children, and was often ready to pitch in time and encouragement for them.

When Bahá’ís in La Crescenta proposed that Crescenta Valley High School establish a virtues program, with students to be recognized for outstanding ethics and service, the school “enthusiastically embraced the concept,” Pulley said. “And who should be one of the Virtues Award’s first recipients, selected by his peers and his teachers, but Danny Morris?”

After high school, Morris worked for a film company in Hollywood. He was training to be an editor and aspired to become a director.

When he died, “Word quickly spread throughout his community and beyond and his family’s home was besieged by mourners, overwhelmed by the shock of losing this young man so quickly,” Pulley said.

As chronicled in two front-page articles in the Glendale News-Press, more than 1,000 people attended Morris’s funeral, plus a memorial service afterward in the high school gymnasium where he had soared for the Falcons.

“Though not its biggest or fastest player, he was [the team’s] greatest asset and was voted most valuable player,” Pulley said.

Since Danny’s sudden passing, “Hundreds of pamphlets have been requested by friends; prayer meetings have taken place; service projects in honor of Danny are in process; dozens and dozens of prayer books have been given out; dozens of books on the Bahá’í perspective on life after death have been purchased and distributed. Introductory books, videotapes, musical tapes have been shared,” Pappas said.

“Each day in each community of the many members of our family—La Crescenta, Glendora and Temecula—people learn about our glorious Faith as part of the story of Danny and the subsequent death of my father, Gust Pappas,” she said. “Each day people visit in my sister’s home, and on her patio, and front porch, until the wee hours of the morning, and one-on-one firesides are taking place.”

In addition, “Friends of the family have traveled to the Midwest and made a point of visiting the House of Worship. Friends have requested that my mother, Marion Pappas, accompany them to the Los Angeles Bahá’í Center Bookstore to purchase more information on the Faith: books for little children, books for youth, books for the young at heart. The more teaching there is, the more questions arise and, of course, the more teaching there is.” ♦ [Page 26]

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Now available: Spring 1999 issue Defining Moments "Who Is Writing the Future? Reflections on the Twentieth Century" Ahang Rabbani's "The Conversion of the Great Uncle of the Báb" •Aden Lauchner's "Albert Killius: Photographer of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá"

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YOUNG AT HEART CAMPAIGN

Association of American Bahá’ís 50 years and older Organized by a task force under the auspices of the National Teaching Committee. OUR MISSION: To facilitate seasoned Bahá’ís to utilize their life and professional experiences, talents and resources, knowledge and skills in continued service to Bahá’u’lláh.

ORGANIZATIONAL MEETING/CONFERENCE Louhelen Bahá’í School Davison, Michigan May 19-21, 2000

Plan ahead to attend this conference, organized to help "senior" Bahá’ís: • Get acquainted. • Inspire one another to keep active or be even more active, especially in teaching the Faith. • Strengthen the organization of the Young at Heart association.

Featured speakers: Counselor A.-M. Ghadirian (tentative), Dr. Elizabeth Bowen

JOIN THE ASSOCIATION! Use the form below to respond by mail.

Special information: Indicate your area(s) of strength or experience: teaching, pioneering, administrative service, race unity, social/economic projects, escorted traveling teaching, advancement of women, youth tutoring, fireside/public speaking or other.

Please return form to: Virginia Harden St. Paul, KS 66771 (phone 316-449-8955, e-mail)

INFORMATION 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. This information is important whatever the level or amount of service and regardless of whether your trip was exclusively for service to the Faith or was combined with a trip for business, holiday, family, study or otherwise.

Just contact the Office of Pioneering, 1233 Central St., Evanston, IL 60201 (phone 847-733-3508, fax 847-733-3509, e-mail).

Use the Multipurpose Form below to respond by mail.

Special information (use a separate sheet as needed): • Names and ID numbers of all Bahá’ís on each trip. • Names of each country visited, plus the one or two main localities, and date(s) of visit(s). • Main purpose of your travel. • Did you arise to meet the call of the Universal House of Justice for: Native Americans to teach in the circumpolar areas? Hispanic believers to teach in Latin America? African-Americans to teach in Africa?

MULTIPURPOSE FORM

CLIP OR COPY AS NEEDED

For which event or activity? Name Address City State, ZIP Country Home phone Work phone Fax E-mail

Special information (please include dates if reporting international teaching trip):

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Mail orders: Bahá’í Subscriber Service, 4703 Fulton Industrial Blvd., Atlanta, GA 30336 Phone orders: 800-999-9019 E-mail orders: [Page 27]

نشریات جدید امری

New Persian Publications

ریاض اللغات

چندی است که جلد چهارم فرهنگ عربی به فارسی ریاض اللغات تألیف جناب دکتر ریاض قدیمی با حروفچینی کامپیوتری و جلد عالی شامل لغات و اسمها در حروف "د"، "ذ"، "ر"، "ز" انتشار یافته است. دوستان می‌توانند برای خریداری آن با آقای کامران نجاتی تماس بگیرند.

شماره تلفن: ۲۵۷۳-۷۹۴ (۹۰۵)

آموزش زبان فارسی با مطالعه آثار امری

آموختن خواندن و نوشتن فارسی در ابتدا، همان قدر که معلمی آگاه در اختیار باشد، کار بسیار دشواری نیست. دشواری کار از آنجا شروع می‌شود که نوآموز مهارتهای اولیه خواندن و نوشتن را به دست می‌آورد ولی وسیله تمرین و به کار بردن آنها را پیدا نمی‌کند. زندگی در خارج از ایران و در محیطی غیرفارسی زبان این اشکال را دوچندان می‌کند. زیرا نه مطلبی خواندنی در حد سواد نوآموز به دست می‌آید و نه موقعیتی برای نگارش به زبان فارسی پیش می‌آید. در نتیجه این خلائی که وجود داشت اغلب نوجوانان بهائی که خواندن و نوشتن فارسی را به زحمت فرا می‌گرفتند آن را به زودی فراموش می‌کردند و متأسفانه به همین دلیل آنچه مقصد بیت العدل اعظم از تشویق نوجوانان بهائی به خواندن فارسی بود حاصل نمی‌شد، یعنی آنان موفق به خواندن آثار امری به فارسی نمی‌شدند.

خوشبختانه در تابستان گذشته عاقبت به همت انجمن ادب و هنر ایران (در اروپا) و با کوشش نویسنده‌ای توانا و دردآشنا کتاب داستان‌هایی از تاریخ بهائی به فارسی آسان به بازار آمد و چشم همه ما را روشن کرد. جناب ف. بهگرا با دقتی کامل داستان‌ها و متن‌هایی را از آثار امری گردآوری کرده اند و به ترتیبی که خواندن را برای نوسوادان آسان می‌سازد به خوانندگان ارائه داده‌اند. مجموعاً ۱۹ قطعه همراه تمرین‌های زبان آموزی مفید و قابل اجرا و معنی کلمات به زبان انگلیسی در این کتاب عرضه شده است.

علاوه براین در پایان هر قطعه جمله‌ای برای حفظ کردن نیز پیشنهاد شده است و این شاید یکی از بهترین نکته‌های کتاب باشد زیرا ما ایرانیها رسم بسیار نیکوئی داشتیم که در جریان غرب‌زدگی آموزش و پرورشمان در خطر فراموشی قرار گرفت و آن حفظ کردن شعر و کلمات قصار بزرگان بود. غافل از اینکه این عمل حفظ کردن نه فقط گسترش واژگانمان را یاری می‌داد و ما را از زبانی غنی‌تر و دلنشین‌تر برخوردار می‌کرد بلکه بر قدرت حافظه مان نیز می‌افزود. با افزودن این بخش مؤلف محترم یک سنت شایسته فرهنگی را زنده کرده است.

در پایان کتاب همه کلمه‌های دشوار به ترتیب الفبا به چهار زبان انگلیسی، فرانسه، آلمانی و اسپانیائی نیز ترجمه شده است و این کار کتاب را برای ایرانیانی که در گوشه و کنار این جهان پراکنده هستند قابل استفاده ساخته است.

از نکته‌های مثبت دیگری که باید به آن اشاره کرد راهنمای مختصری است که در ابتدای کتاب آمده است تا مربیان یا چه معلم باشند چه پدر و مادر با نحوه استفاده از کتاب آشنا کنند. خوشبختانه زبان فارسی ساده این قسمت نیز استفاده از آن را برای والدینی که ممکن است با خواندن فارسی زیاد آشنا نباشند آسان کرده است.

در اینجا باید از تصاویر زیبا و گویانی که خانم الهه ژوبین برای هر یک از قطعات نوزده گانه کتاب تهیه کرده‌اند به نیکی یاد کرد. نوع صفحه آرائی کتاب به خوبی نشان می‌دهد که به کار گرفتن فضای آزاد و تصاویر گویای سیاه و سفید در زیبائی کتاب چه نقش اساسی را ایفاء می‌کند.

کتاب با قسمتی از پیام بیت العدل اعظم (نوروز ۱۵۴ بدیع) آغاز می‌شود و با نقشه‌ای از ایران در بطن خاورمیانه پایان می‌یابد. نقشه‌ای که نه فقط اطفال ما را با موقعیت جغرافیائی خاص ایران آشنا می‌کند بلکه به آنها جای محل‌های تاریخی امری را نیز نشان می‌دهد. این نقشه نیز به دو خط فارسی و لاتین ارائه شده است. جلد خوش‌رنگ کتاب با تزئین ساده‌ای از تصویری از کاشی‌کاری ایرانی شما را دعوت می‌کند که کتاب را بردارید و بخرید و هدیه کودکان و نوجوانان بهائی کنید، زیرا به جرأت می‌توان گفتن که هر نوآموزی که کتاب اول فارسی را به روشنی درست آموخته باشد به آسانی و با رغبت بسیار خواهد توانست از این کتاب استفاده کند و اگر، چنانکه مؤلف پیشنهاد می‌کند، از آن استفاده شود نونهالان ایرانی تبار پس از اتمام آن به آسانی خواهند توانست از کتاب‌های مختلفی که در بازار برای آنان یافت می‌شود استفاده کنند. این کتاب را می‌توان از مؤسسه عصر جدید در دارمشتاد آلمان به دست آورد.

نهال تازه

به تازگی خانم ژنا تقوانی، از احبای ساکن کانادا، یک نوار صوتی حاوی مناجات‌های فارسی برای اطفال تهیه کرده‌اند. نوار مذکور به تصویب محفل روحانی ملی کانادا رسیده است.

خانم ژنا تقوانی از زمان کودکی خوانندگی می‌کردند و در برنامه‌های هنری در ایران و هندوستان و کانادا و ایالات متحده شرکت داشته و حتی در چند برنامه تلویزیونی برنامه اجرا کرده و ترانه نیز تصنیف می‌کند.

خانم تقوانی از ده سال پیش که اولین فرزند ایشان متولد شد در جستجوی نواری ویژه مناجات‌های کودکان بوده و چون مجموعه‌ای که خاص مناجات‌های اطفال باشد نیافته در صدد تهیه نوار حاضر برآمده است.

نهال تازه حاوی ۷ مناجات مخصوص نونهالان است. قیمت نوار صوتی ۱۰ دلار و قیمت سی دی ۱۵ دلار به اضافه هزینه پستی است. علاقه‌مندان می‌توانند برای تهیه نوار یا سی دی با مؤسسه توزیع نشریات امری مراجعه کنند یا با ایشان تماس حاصل نمایند.

شماره تلفن: ۵۷۱۹-۹۴۱ (۶۰۴) E Mail:

دو نوار پر احساس

اخیراً دو نوار جدید، که بصورت دیسک (CD) هم تکثیر شده، توسط هنرمندان جامعه بهائی تهیه و در اختیار علاقه‌مندان قرار گرفته است.

نام آلبوم اولی ای ملایک است که حاوی سه آهنگ دلپذیر در مایه‌های موسیقی ایرانی بر روی سه شعر ای ملایک بگشائید در معبد عشق از آقای منصور نبیلی، یادته گفتی و گفتم که چه تنگه قفسمون از خانم هما میر افشار، و مرگ قو از شادروان دکتر مهدی حمیدی شیرازی است. آهنگ‌ها توسط هنرمند با ذوق مهندس منوچهر وهمن ساخته شده و خانم شکوه رضائی با صدای گرم خود آن را اجراء نموده‌اند. در این کاست اشعاری از خانم ژاله اصفهانی، آقای هوشمند فتح اعظم و دیگر شعرای عزیز توسط آقای ثابت ایمانی خوانده شده است.

آلبوم دوم که حاوی دو مثنوی مبارک و چند مناجات فارسی است توسط خانم شکوه رضائی تلاوت شده است. ترجمه انگلیسی همان مناجاتها توسط آقای جک لنز هنرمند پر آوازه جامعه بهائی خوانده شده.

این مناجاتها با متن موسیقی آرام و عرفانی ایرانی و مناسب برای جلسات و کنفرانسها و جلسات مختلط انگلیسی زبان و فارسی زبان است. این آلبوم‌ها به تصویب محفل روحانی ملی ‎کانادارسیده کانادا رسیده‎ است.

برای خرید این آلبوم‌ها لطفاً با کتابفروشی‌های بهائی در شهر خود و یا با مؤسسه مطالعات بهائی در کانادا به شرح زیر تماس بگیرید:

Association for Bahá’í Studies P.O.Box 65600 ONT L9H 6Y6 CANADA

و یا با تلفن، فکس و پیام کامپیوتری به شرح زیر تماس بگیرید:

Email: Phone: (905) 681-9539 Fax: (905) 681-3738

خوشه‌هائی از خرمن ادب و هنر (۱۰)

دهمین مجلد "خوشه‌ها" شامل سخنرانی‌های ایراد شده در "دوره فیضی" اخیراً منتشر شده است. صدر این شماره به توقیعات مبارکه حضرت ولی امرالله خطاب به جناب فیضی و پیام‌های بیت العدل اعظم الهی و ایادی امرالله مقیم ارض اقدس مزین گردیده است. همچنین مقالات تحقیقی مفصلی درباره ایام حیات و خدمات و آثار جناب فیضی در سال‌های مختلف زندگی ایشان و خانواده محترمشان به چاپ رسیده است.

در بخش دیگر مقالاتی درباره خاندان فیضی آمده است و در بخش دیگر مقالات محققانه دیگری در زمینه تاریخ و هنر و فرهنگ و ادب ایران درج شده که هر یک خواندنی است. در این مجموعه عکس‌های زیبائی نیز از مراحل حیات جناب فیضی و خانواده درج گردیده که هر یک گویای مرحله‌ای از زندگی پربار آن ایادی محبوب امرالله است.

این کتاب و مجلدات قبلی آن را میتوانید از مؤسسه ایمجز اینترنشنال خریداری فرمائید:

Images International (423) 843-1129 [Page 28]

تا شرق و غرب دست در آغوش یکدیگر نمایند

THAT EAST AND WEST MAY EMBRACE

روز ۷ نوامبر ۱۹۹۹ احتفالی روحانی در شهرک شکوهی در ایالت ایلینوی تشکیل شد که بدرستی مصداق این آرزوی حضرت عبدالبهاء بود.

چندین خانواده از یاران تازه وارد از ایران در دو سه سال گذشته بتدریج به جامعه بهائی سکوکی ملحق شدند. این عزیزان که عموماً سالها در یکی از کشورهای مجاور ایران در انتظار گرفتن ویزای ورود به امریکا بسر برده‌اند، در راه متحمل صدمات بسیار شده و حتی بعضی از آنان ماهها در بازداشتگاههای مرزی گرفتار بوده‌اند و در تمام این مدت با صبر و بردباری و با رفتار و سلوک بهائی به اعتلاء امر الهی خدمت کرده‌اند.

پس از ورود به جامعه بهائی سکوکی نیز همواره در جلسات ضیافات و اعیاد و اجتماعات دیگر بهائی حاضرند، اگرچه بعضی هنوز با زبان انگلیسی آشنائی کافی ندارند. در نتیجه در جلسات کمتر سخن می‌گویند و یاران محلی را فرصت آن نیست که با آنان آشنائی بیشتری پیدا کنند.

چندی پیش یک نوجوان بهائی، جاناتان الیس Jonathan Ellis، نگرانی خود را از این که الفت و اتحاد لازم را در جامعه محلی احساس نمیکند با والدین خود در میان گذارد و والدین گرامیش در پی چاره جوئی برآمدند. با دوستان ایرانی‌تبار خود مشورت نمودند و مقدمات تشکیل میهمانی خاصی برای خیر مقدم گفتن و آشنائی بیشتر با تازه واردین را فراهم نمودند. دعوتنامه‌های مخصوص برای هر یک از خانواده‌ها فرستادند، روزی را انتخاب کردند که اکثر تازه واردین و نزدیکانشان بتوانند شرکت کنند، انواع شیرینیها و خوردنیهای مورد علاقه ایرانیان را تهیه نمودند. حتی وقتی شنیدند که ایرانیهائی که مدتی از ایران دور بوده‌اند ممکن است هوس انار کرده باشند مقداری انار خریدند. خلاصه آنکه تمام کوشش خود را نمودند که آنچه در توانشان بود برای خوش آمد دوستان ایرانی خود فراهم آورند.

روز موعود منزل این عزیزان به زیباترین وجه آراسته شده بود و گل و ریاحین بر زیبائی سفرۀ رنگین پذیرائی می‌افزود.

آقا و خانم الیس واردین را بگرمی استقبال کردند و برنامه‌ای که تنظیم نموده بودند در نهایت روحانیت اجرا شد. بالاخص بخشی از یکی از الواح فرامین تبلیغی حضرت مولی الورٰی را انتخاب کرده بودند که بنظر می‌رسید برای آن حفله روحانی نازل گردیده بود. "...ملاحظه کنید که اهل شرق و غرب در نهایت بیگانگی بودند، حال چگونه آشنائی و یگانگی جستند. اهل ایران کجا و اقصی بلاد امریکا کجا. ببینید که قوۀ آسمانی چه نفوذ عظیمی دارد که مسافت هزار فرسنگها حکم یک قدم یافته و شعوب مختلفه را که هیچ مناسبت و مشابهت بهمدیگر ندارند چگونه ارتباط و اتحاد داده است. لله القدرة من قبل و من بعد ان الله علی کل شیئ قدیر".

سپس از یاران تازه وارد دعوت شد که شرحی از سرگذشت خود و تجربیات تلخ و شیرینی که در راه رسیدن به امریکا داشته‌اند بیان نمایند. این اطلاعات موجب شد که رابطه‌ای نزدیکتر و صمیمیتر بین قلوب برقرار شود. زمانی که یکی از خانمها شرح داد چگونه هنگام خروج از ایران ناچار شده بود از یک کامیون در حال حرکت به کامیون دیگری که آنهم در حال حرکت بود بپرد، یا هنگامی که شرح سختیهای خانمی داده میشد که بیشتر دوران بارداری را در زندان گذرانده بود وحال کودک پنجسالۀ او در میان جمع مشغول بازی بود، خانم صاحبخانه بوضوح تحت تأثیر قرار گرفته بود و میگفت اکنون محبتی سوای آنچه در گذشته احساس میکردم نسبت به این عزیزان دارم.

بیش از هر چیز صفا و خلوص و محبتی که حاضران نسبت به یکدیگر ابراز میداشتند خاطره انگیز بود و بر گرمی آن محفل انس و الفت می‌افزود.

هنگام خداحافظی هم به هر یک از میهمانان یک شاخه گل رز بسیار زیبا و خوشرنگ به نشانۀ محبت هدیه شد.

بقرار اطلاع یاران آن منطقه از این تجربه که ببرکت قلب پاک و احساس محبّت عمیق یک نوجوان بهائی نسبت به خواهران و برادران روحانیش بوجود آمد حظ بسیار برده‌اند و قصد دارند دست کم هر ماه یکبار چنین گردهم آئی ترتیب دهند زیرا معتقدند با ازدیاد الفت و محبت و یگانگی در جمیع میادین خدمت به توفیقات بدیعی نائل خواهند شد.

جمعی از یاران حاضر در جلسه

خانم معصومه اکبری و دو دختر ایشان خانمها مهین و محبوبه طالبی

انجمن دوستداران فرهنگ ایرانی

دهمین گرد همائی دوستداران فرهنگ ایرانی در آخر تعطیل هفتۀ روز کار یعنی از ساعت ۷ شب، پنجشنبه ۳۱ آگست تا ۱۱ شب، یکشنبه ۳ سپتامبر ۲۰۰۰ در هتل مریات Chicago O’Hare Marriott در شیکاگو تشکیل خواهد گردید.

موضوع محوری کنفرانس قرن بیستم: قرن انوار یا قرن تاریکی خواهد بود. نگاهی به میراث‌های این قرن گرچه عمومی‌تر از فرهنگ ایرانی به معنی ویژه‌اش است، ولی از آنجا که همۀ فرهنگها و تمدن‌های جهان در قرن بیستم از یک سلسله روندهای فوق ملّی با گرایش به سوی وحدت متأثر بوده‌اند، بعضی از این روندها در ایران و در جهان به اختصار بررسی خواهد شد.

قیمت اطاقهای هتل شبی ۸۰ دلار بعلاوه مالیات است. تا چهار نفر میتوانند هم اطاق شوند. از مزایای این هتل اینست که سوپر مارکت در نزدیکی آن قرار دارد. بعلاوه با داشتن دو رستوران در داخل هتل نزدیک به ۷۵۰ نفر را میتواند در یک زمان پذیرائی کند. علاوه بر غذاهای معمول، غذای ایرانی هم جزء دستور غذا است که در هتل توسط آشپز با تجربه تهیه میشود.

برای رزرو اطاق، مستقیماً با هتل با این شماره تماس بگیرید: ۴۴۴۴-۶۹۳-۷۷۳-۱

در شماره‌های آینده توضیحات دیگری در بارۀ دیدار اماکن تاریخی امری و مشرق الاذکار داده میشود. [Page 29]

ترجمه ابلاغیه دارالانشاء بیت العدل اعظم

خطاب به عموم محافل روحانی ملی مورخ ۱۶ سپتامبر ۱۹۹۹ افتتاح رسمی طبقات مقام اعلی

Inauguration of Terraces

مشروعات ساختمانی کنونی کوه کرمل رو به اتمام است و قرار است تا ماه دسامبر سال ۲۰۰۰ میلادی پایان پذیرد. بنابر این بیت العدل اعظم تصمیم گرفته اند که مقدمات افتتاح رسمی طبقات مقام اعلی بر روی عموم فراهم گردد. مراسمی که قرار است در ماه می سال ۲۰۰۱ میلادی برگزار شود پایان مشروعات ساختمانی مزبور را اعلام خواهد نمود. مقرر شده است که اطلاعات و تقاضاهای ذیل را برای اقدامات مقتضی باستحضارتان برسانیم.

برنامه مراسم افتتاحیه

برنامه مراسمی که از ۲۱ تا ۲۵ ماه می سال ۲۰۰۱ میلادی انجام خواهد گرفت بقرار ذیل خواهد بود.

۲۱ می	زیارت روضه مبارکه
۲۲ می صبح	کنفرانس مقدماتی
۲۲ می غروب	مراسم برای عموم مردم که از جمله شامل روشن شدن چراغهای طبقات و اجرای کنسرت موسیقی خواهد بود.
۲۳ می صبح	برنامه دعا و مناجات که اصولاً برای احباء خواهد بود و سپس با مراسم بالا رفتن از پله‌های طبقات و طواف مقام اعلی و بازدید از ساختمانهای حول قوس کرمل ادامه خواهد یافت.

باستثنای برنامه دعا و مناجات، این مراسم برای دو روز بعد یعنی ۲۴ و ۲۵ می هم ادامه خواهد داشت تا برای مشارکت جمیع شرکت کنندگان فرصت کافی موجود باشد.

شرکت کنندگان

نظر به اینکه تأمین تسهیلات لازم برای اقامت و مشارکت تمام بهائیانی که مشتاق و قادر به حضور و شرکت در این مراسم هستند مقدور نیست بیت العدل اعظم مقرر فرموده‌اند که شرکت یاران الهی در این مراسم بر اساس سهمیه بندی انجام پذیرد. بدین ترتیب که از حوزه حاکمیت هر محفل روحانی ملی ۱۹ نفر و از سایر سرزمینهائی که بیت العدل اعظم مشخص خواهد فرمود از هر کدام ۹ نفر شرکت نمایند. از هر محفل روحانی ملی تقاضا میشود به ترتیب ذیل اقدام نمایند:

در انتخاب ۱۹ نفر باید منصفانه اقدام شود و انتظارات کلی بیت العدل اعظم بر مشارکت افرادی از نژادها و فرهنگهای گوناگون مراعات گردد. لطفاً توجه بفرمائید که شرکت دادن تعدادی از جوانان بسیار مهم است.

اسامی نفوسی را که انتخاب میشوند تا آخر ماه می سال ۲۰۰۰ به مرکز جهانی بهائی ارسال نمائید.

نفوسی که شرکت خواهند کرد میتوانند تا شش شب در منطقه حیفا و عکا اقامت داشته باشند، یعنی قبل از روز ۲۰ می به حیفا وارد نشوند و قبل از غروب روز هفتم یعنی ۲۶ می منطقه حیفا و عکا را ترک نمایند. شرکت کنندگان در این مراسم البته میتوانند بمدت ده روز قبل یا بعد از ایام اقامت در حیفا و عکا از سایر نقاط کشور اسرائیل دیدن کنند.

تفصیلات دیگر شامل اطلاعات مربوط به مسافرت و ذخیره جا در هتلها و سایر محلها بعداً ارسال میگردد. نفوسی که انتخاب میشوند نباید قبل از وصول اطلاعات فوق الذکر اقدام به ترتیب دادن سفر خود نمایند.

از بذل توجه بموقع برای اجرای نکاتی که ذکر شد صمیمانه قدردانی میشود.

با تحیات ابدع ابهی دارالانشاء بیت العدل اعظم

سواد: حضرات ایادی امرالله دارالتبلیغ بین المللی هیاتهای مشاورین قاره ای مشاورین

حقوق الله

HUQUQULLAH

احبای عزیز وجوه حقوق‌الله را لطفاً به یکی از امناء حقوق به نشانی ذیل ارسال فرمایند:

• Amin Banani, Santa Monica, CA 90402 (phone 310-394-5449, fax 310-394-6167, e-mail [removed])

• Stephen Birkland, Arden Hills, MN 55112 (phone 651-484-9518, fax 651-415-1766, e-mail [removed])

• Sally Foo, Lawrenceville, NJ 08648 (phone 609-671-9125, fax 609-671-0740, e-mail [removed])

• Daryush Haghighi, Rocky River, OH 44116 (phone 440-333-1506, fax 440-333-6938, e-mail [removed])

• Elizabeth Martin, P.O. Box 178, Winnsboro, SC 29180 (phone 803-635-9602, e-mail [removed])

... طوبی از برای نفوسی که فائز گشتند به آنچه در کتاب الهی مذکور و مسطور است. باید کل به ما اراده‌الله عامل شوند چه که آنچه در کتاب از قلم اعلی نازل، سبب و علت تطهیر و تنزیه و تقدیس و نعمت و برکت بوده و هست؛ طوبی للفائزین.

(حضرت بهاءالله، نقل در جزوه نصوص مبارکه در باره حقوق‌الله، مرکز جهانی بهائی، ص ۱۶)

"وقت تنگ است"

TIME IS SHORT

بیت العدل اعظم الهی در پیام مبارک رضوان سال جاری تاکید فرموده اند: "یاران عزیز، ایام مانند چشمک ستارگان به سرعت در گذر است. حال نقطه عطف بحرانی است که هرگز شبه و مثلش دو راه پیش نخواهد آمد." معهد اعلی در خاتمه پیام مذکور بیانی باین مضمون میفرمایند که فرصت را غنیمت شمارید و نشانی و اثری از خود بجای گذارید.

ما هموطنان جمال مبارک که بر حسب اراده غالبه اش از رنج تضییقات و تعصبات رها شده در دیار غرب از نعمت آزادی بهره مندیم شایسته است که در این ایام زود گذر پایان "قرن انوار" بیان مبارک حضرت عبدالبهاء را در الواح مبارکه وصایا بیاد آوریم قوله العزيز: "دقیقه‌ای آرام نگیرند و آنی استراحت نکنند، در ممالک و دیار منتشر شوند و آواره هر بلد و سرگشته هر اقلیم گردند دقیقه‌ای نیاسایند و آنی آسوده نگردند و نفسی راحت نجویند."

موجب سرور موفور است که طرح تبلیغی و مهاجرتی "حروف حی" و گروه بدشت که ابتدا در کانادا و حالیه در امریکا در دست اقدام است با استقبال یاران رحمانی روبرو شده است و هم اکنون تعداد قابل توجهی از دوستان با وفا با هدایت دفتر ملی مهاجرت در امریکا عازم سفرهای تبلیغی و مهاجرتی هستند.

بدون شبهه در امتثال اوامر معهد اعلی و بیاد اصحاب اولیه امر و اخلاف برگزیده آنان که اکنون در مهد امرالله به استقامتی بی‌نظیر قائم و مفتخرند، ما هم قیامی شایسته خواهیم کرد و بیان مبارک حضرت عبدالبهاء تحقق خواهد پذیرفت: "وقت تنگ است و حرکت خیل الهی بی‌درنگ. باید سبقت و پیشی گرفت و شمع نورانی افروخت."

یاران الهی می‌توانند برای کسب اطلاعات بیشتر با رابطین نامبرده ذیل تماصل فرمایند. این افراد بواسطه جناب دکتر عیدامیشاق قدیریان عضو محترم هیأت مشاورین قاره‌ای تعیین شده‌اند تا یاران را در انجام خدمات روحانی خود بر اساس طرح گروه بدشت تشویق و مساعدت نمایند و در حقیقت کمکی برای دفتر ملی مهاجرت باشند که مسؤولیت کلیه امور مهاجرتی و سفرهای تبلیغی را بر عهده دارد.

شماره های تلفن و فکس و نشانی پست الکترونیکی دفتر ملی مهاجرت بشرح زیر است.

Office of Pioneering Phone: (847) 733-3508 Fax: (847) 733-3509 E-mail: [removed]

تلفن رابطین: ۱. خانم مینا دینی در شرق آمریکا ۴۱۳-۵۹۹-۴۲۲۹ ۲. جناب وحید هدایتی در جنوب ۶۷۶۹-۵۴۹-۹۴۰ ۳. جناب شن جاوید در غرب ۹۲۱۶-۷۴۲-۴۲۵ ۴. جناب بدیع مصباح در مرکز ۱۱۹۹-۵۴۴-۲۱۷ ۵. جناب فرشید احمدی در شمال شرق ۱۲۰۴-۶۵۶-۲۴۸ [Page 30]

Indigenous people arising worldwide

Development of the Cause among indigenous and traditional peoples is rising to new levels in several areas worldwide. A few examples:

• Bolivia: Quechuas and Aymaras from Bolivia and Peru, Mapuche and Wichí from Chile and Argentina, Guaymí from Panama and Costa Rica, Kariri Xoco and Fulni-ó from Brazil, and Maya from Mexico were among 600 Bahá’ís thronging the second Encounter of the Native Peoples of the Americas, Aug. 21–23 in Sucre.

“The entire event has been characterized by an incredibly deep spirit of joy and happiness, created through the many musical presentations of different indigenous groups in which they shared the songs and dances they have created to teach the Faith,” the conference committee reported. It was a time for recalling the sacrifices of the early indigenous believers of generations past, and for sharing news and comparing notes on current projects among native peoples.

Teaching methods from the successful Rúhíyyih Khánum Teaching Project in Chuquisaca, Bolivia, were a subject for particular study. The gathering culminated in a festival of music, song, dance and art.

• Australia: The Indigenous Gathering July 20–23 at Ross River, Northern Territory, was a “tjukurpa”—a creation-in process. It was “a mixture of flowing ideas and stories, with everyone gathered around a fire in the presence of the beautiful mountains, rocks and trees,” the Australian Bahá’í Bulletin reported. More than 200 friends attended, including four Counselors.

The intense struggle of adjusting to Western ways, while not losing one’s tribal identity, was a key theme of discussion. In the perspective of speaker Walter Waia of Sabai Island, the Earth is a tiny speck in a vast universe. “Once one comprehends this fact, then it is easy to understand that all human beings are one family,” he said. “All world groups have their own songs, dances and stories and lands and seas, and their own place on planet Earth.” People shared stories around a fire about how they had become Bahá’ís and how they were coping with their life’s circumstances. The indigenous Bahá’ís also consulted on ways to take the Faith to other native peoples of Australia. One of their suggestions was to start a teaching institute for indigenous people.

• Zambia: A regional seminar for Bahá’í headmen, or traditional village leaders, was held June 11–13 in Sinazongwe. Covering some of the fundamental verities of the Faith, the seminar also examined ways the 19 attending headmen could encourage community development in their localities, including creation of Bahá’í centers and children’s classes.

“A lot of spirituality was seen amongst those attending, both during the sessions and outside the classroom,” an individual reported. “This was visible in the manner in which they asked questions, contributed to deliberations, and conducted themselves.”

Conferences, Schools and Events

• France: Under the theme “Together for a Culture of Peace,” the “Night of Hope” public presentation will be held in Paris on Dec. 3. The program will feature a blend of songs, dances and other performances by well-known international artists.
• Kenya: National Youth Conference, Dec. 23–27.
• Namibia: Bahá’í International Summer School, Dec. 26–31.
• Slovakia and Hungary: 1999 Bahá’í Winter School for these two countries will be held jointly Dec. 26–30. Likely location is Stura, Slovakia.
• Ecuador: 20th Anniversary of the Passing of the Hand of the Cause of God Rahmatullah Muhajir, plus two-day teaching campaign and devotional meeting, Dec. 25–29.
• Kazakhstan: International Winter School Jan. 21–26, 2000, in Almaty. Theme: “On the Threshold of the 21st Century.”

For more information ... about these events or about needs and opportunities for international traveling teachers, please contact the Office of Pioneering, 1233 Central St., Evanston, IL 60201 (phone 847-733-3508, fax 847-733-3509, e-mail pioneer@usbnc.org).

Absolutely afloat after training

A mother and her daughter in Guyana are shown riding on the Pomeroon River during their return home after attending a tutor-training program in Alliance, Essequibo, during May. Bahá’í International News Service photo

IN MEMORIAM

• United Kingdom: Meherangiz Munsiff, a knight of Bahá’u’lláh to the French Cameroons and a traveling teacher in more than 170 countries and territories, passed away June 21, 1999, in London. She was 74.

While living in the United States as a diplomat’s wife in the mid-1950s, she was honored by the American Red Cross and the Maryland Legislature for outstanding humanitarian services, including her time spent among the Navajo, Hopi and Zuñi peoples in the Southwest. Born in 1924 in India, Munsiff traveled across India as a girl with such illustrious teachers as the Hand of the Cause of God Martha Root and Keith Ransom-Kehler. In her early teens her growing social concern led her to work actively for the living conditions of the poor in Ahmadabad, a textile center. Munsiff lacked a formal education but studied the writings of the Faith deeply. According to her daughter Jyoti Munsiff, a pilgrimage to the Holy Land in 1952 changed Meherangiz’s life when the Guardian, Shoghi Effendi, told her that teaching requires only faith, devotion and sincerity. “From then on despite all her insecurities and with my beloved father’s support she bravely went off to the far-off island of Madagascar and then on to the French Cameroons [now part of modern Cameroon] in Africa,” said Jyoti Munsiff in a memorial tribute. She endured considerable tests in her travels because she was convinced the healing message of Bahá’u’lláh is the ultimate answer to the ills besetting humanity. “While trying to promote the teachings of her beloved Faith her personal comfort was an irrelevancy,” her daughter said. Munsiff’s travels over the decades took her repeatedly throughout Europe and Africa, from the Arctic in the north to the Falklands in the south, from Japan and Australia in the east to the Americas in the west. She spoke on such subjects as the roles of women and youth in this age, the state of women in many Eastern countries, religions of the world and training of children. She conducted courses on prayer and meditation at several U.S. Bahá’í schools.

EDUCATION

• New Zealand: Terrence O’Brien, this country’s former U.N. ambassador, upheld the United Nations as an unprecedented experiment in human relations, during his keynote speech at the Association for Bahá’í Studies Conference July 10–11 at Victoria University.

On the theme “Global Prosperity,” the conference saw more than a dozen Bahá’ís presenting papers on practical implications of the Bahá’í teachings in the workplace, in schools and on the world level.

TEACHING

• Chad: More than 1,000 former Bahá’ís rejoined the Faith and 340 others declared their faith in Bahá’u’lláh in the Yegue Teaching Campaign in June, which involved the arts and the institute process.

Named for Jacqueline Yegue, a dynamic Bahá’í teacher and one of the first Chadian women to embrace the Faith, the project was initiated by two Auxiliary Board members. It sent about 30 Bahá’ís, mostly youths, to 16 villages in Moyen-Chari canton. The youths would enter a village, singing songs with drums. Then the singers would “make way for other Bahá’ís who presented the Message,” according to a report from the Continental Board of Counselors. When believers were enrolled, two facilitators from the nearby Samandari Institute stayed behind to organize basic courses.

• Democratic Republic of the Congo: Bahá’ís in Kinshasa are creating original programs for weekly airing on national television. Imported videos had been shown successfully for months, already attracting a significant number of seekers and enrollees.

A National Teaching Committee task force has produced a series of informational programs aligned with principles of the Faith. They are videotaped in a makeshift studio in the home of a believer. They present the teachings in a dialogue format, which allows some believers to tell their individual stories.

YOUTH

• Samoa: About 15,000 people were exposed to the Teachings through a four-week tour of the Bahá’í Youth Workshop of Oahu, Hawaii. On several islands in both American and Western Samoa, word spread quickly and new performances were added frequently by popular demand.

More than a dozen Samoan youths joined in the performances, as the Hawaiians taught some of the dances to new friends. Response was enthusiastic at all performances, some of which took place at schools with as many as 1,000 students. The tour culminated in a show outside a government building in Western Samoa before more than 500 people. [Page 31]

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

FOR INFORMATION ABOUT EVENTS sponsored by the National Spiritual Assembly or its agencies at the Bahá’í National Center, please phone 847-869-9039 and ask for the relevant department. Numbers and e-mail addresses for the permanent Bahá’í schools and institutes are: Bosch Bahá’í School, phone 831-423-3387; fax 831-423-7564; e-mail. Green Acre Bahá’í School, phone 207-439-7200; fax 207-438-9940; e-mail. Louhelen Bahá’í School, phone 810-653-5033; fax 810-653-7181; e-mail. Louis G. Gregory Bahá’í Institute, phone 843-558-5093; fax 843-558-9136; e-mail. Native American Bahá’í Institute (NABI), phone and fax 520-587-7599; e-mail.

DECEMBER

10–12: Two programs at Green Acre: “Bahá’í-Centered Management: Principles and Practice”; “Spirituality and Ethics in Medicine.”

10–12: Two Programs at Bosch: Youth Deepening Weekend for ages 16–25; Ruhi courses on Book 1 or Book 2.

10–13: Youth Facilitator Training at Louhelen (session continues May 5–7).

17–19: Ruhi courses at Bosch: Book 2 or tutor training for Book 1.

23–26: Grand Canyon Bahá’í Conference and Youth Conference, Hyatt Regency, Phoenix AZ; “Equality of Women and Men: Two Wings of a Heavenly Bird.” With Counselor David Smith, Rebequa Academy, Kambiz Rafraf; representatives of NCEWM, Persian-American Affairs Task Force, Landegg Academy. Hotel lodging: 800-233-1234; Bahá’í conference rate available. For fee/scholarship information contact committee (phone 602-861-1609, e-mail, Web http://mesabahai.org/Default.asp?go=grandcanyon).

23–27: South Carolina Winter School, “Cultivating Distinction”; Myrtle Beach, SC. With James Sturdivant, Marvin “Doc” Holladay, Shahin Vafai, Phyllis Porter, Ethel Crawford. Registrar: Doug Phillips, Rock Hill, SC (phone 803-328-6353, e-mail).

26–30: Two programs at Bosch: Winter School, “Choosing the Future at the End of the Millennium”/ “Preparing the Hearts for Entry by Troops”; Grassroots Education Conference.

26–31: Winter School, “Make Your Mark,” at Green Acre.

27–Jan. 1, 2000: Winter School, “Teaching In Community: Coherence of Vision while Advancing the Process of Entry by Troops,” at Louhelen.

27–Jan. 1, 2000: “Make Your Mark Now,” Midwinter Youth Conference, Cleveland, Ohio; ages 13 and up. Sponsor: Assembly of Warrensville Heights. Registrar: Frank Jenkins, Warrensville Heights, OH 44122 (phone 216-283-8526, e-mail).

30–Jan. 2, 2000: Texas Winter School, “Bahá’u’lláh and the 21st Century,” Bruceville, TX. With Dr. David Ruhe, Margaret Ruhe, Diane Iverson. Registrar: M. Mazidi (e-mail).

31–Jan. 2, 2000: Winter Retreat at Bosch. ♦

PAID SERVICE OPPORTUNITIES AT BAHÁ’Í NATIONAL OFFICES

See Page 20

JANUARY

6–9: Women’s Retreat at Bosch.

7–9: “Business and Ethics” at Bosch.

13–17: Pioneering/SITA/Bahá’í Youth Service Corps training at Bosch. Contact Office of Pioneering.

14–16: Two programs at Bosch: “America’s Most Challenging Issue”; Ruhi Book 1 course, “Reflections on the Life of the Spirit.”

14–17: Social and Economic Development Facilitator training by Mottahedeh Development Services at Green Acre.

14–17: Teacher Trainer training at Louhelen (session continues June 2–4).

15–17: Heartland Winter School, “Increasing the Light: The Radiance of a Shining Character”; Springfield, IL. With Bill Wieties and Lynn Wieties. Hotel accommodations available; deposit/pre-registration by Dec. 15. Registrar: Carl Clingenpeel, Aurora, IL 60504 (phone 630-898-0520, e-mail).

17: Race Amity Banquet/Martin Luther King Day observance at Bosch.

21–23: Social and Economic Development Facilitator training by Mottahedeh Development Services at Louhelen (session continues April 14–16).

21–23: Two programs at Green Acre: “Choose a Noble Goal”; Seekers and New Believers Retreat.

21–23: Colorado East Winter School, “The Role of the Community in the Process of Entry by Troops”; Estes Park, CO. With Carolyn Staples and Valerie Dana. Deposit/pre-registration by Dec. 16. Registrar: Don Brayton (phone 719-687-3351, e-mail).

21–23: “Fundamental Verities, Part 2: Every Believer Is a Teacher” at Bosch; session continues Feb. 4–6 and Feb. 25–27. Recommendation by an Assembly, RTI or Auxiliary Board member required.

21–23: Assembly Team Development at Bosch.

21–23: Iowa Winter School, “Love, Faith and Service—Make Your Mark!”; West Des Moines, IA. With Curtis Russell. Jan. 12 deadline for special hotel rate (800-792-5688). Registrar: Al Prosser, West Des Moines, IA 50265 (phone 515-224-4966, e-mail).

21–23: Arkansas Bahá’í Conference, “Teaching Christians,” near Little Rock, AR. With David Young. Information: phone 870-553-2513 before 10 p.m. CST, e-mail.

21–24: Parent Facilitator training at Louhelen (session continues June 2–4).

28–30: Assembly Team Development at Bosch. ♦

Harper Elementary School students from Wilmette, Illinois, raise their voices Oct. 10 during Universal Children’s Day at the House of Worship. There were 300 participants, a record for U.N.-related events at the Temple. Photo by Vladimir Shilov

BAHÁ’Í NATIONAL CENTER 112 LINDEN AVE WILMETTE, IL 60091-2849

NOVEMBER 23, 1999 QAWL, MASÁ’IL • B.E. 156

CHANGE OF ADDRESS

To avoid unnecessary delays in receiving The American Bahá’í, send all family members’ names, new address and mailing label to: Membership Office, Bahá’í National Center, 1233 Central St., Evanston, IL 60201-1611. If acquiring a Post Office box, your residence address (B) must be filled in. Please allow three weeks for processing. (This also updates the National Center’s database.)

A. NAME(S)
1. ____________________ ID# ____________________	2. ____________________ ID# ____________________
3. ____________________ ID# ____________________	4. ____________________ ID# ____________________

B. NEW RESIDENCE ADDRESS	C. NEW MAILING ADDRESS
Street Address ____________________	Street Address ____________________
Apartment # (if applicable) ____________________	Apartment # (if applicable) ____________________
City ____________________	City ____________________
State ____________________ Zip code ________	State ____________________ Zip code ________

D. NEW COMMUNITY	E. HOME TELEPHONE NUMBER
Name of new Bahá’í Community ________________ Moving Date ________	Area Code ____ Phone Number ________ Name ____________

F. WORK TELEPHONE NUMBER(S)
Area Code ____ Phone Number ________ Name ____________	Area Code ____ Phone Number ________ Name ____________

G. WE RECEIVE EXTRA COPIES BECAUSE:	H. I WOULD LIKE A COPY
[ ] we do not have the same last name. We do not want extra copies, so please cancel the copy for the person(s) and ID number(s) listed above. The last names and addresses on our address labels do not match. We have listed above the full names of family members as they should appear on the national records, their ID numbers, and the corrections so that we will receive only one copy.	[ ] Our household receives only one copy of The American Bahá’í. I wish to receive my own copy. I have listed my name, ID number and address above.