The American Bahá’í/Volume 5/Issue 1/Text
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Role for computer expanding[edit]
The mailing of this newspaper—and an increasing number of additional functions at the National Center—is accomplished with the help of a Burroughs 2700 computer.
Once a month this computer, from which operating time is leased by the National Assembly, prints out the thousands of labels needed to mail The American Bahá’í. They are affixed to the newspapers with high-speed labeling machinery, wrapped into more than 2,000 separate bundles according to zip codes, and shipped to the Post Office for distribution.
It was, in fact, the increasingly complicated regulations for zip coding that led to the first use of computers at the National Center. A private computer was hired in 1967 to develop a mailing system that would conform with Federal postal regulations. This system was continued for four years, until the National Center was ready to enter the computer field itself.
The present Data Processing Committee was created in 1971 by the National Assembly, and was given two primary responsibilities: handling a computerized membership and records system, and providing computer assistance with financial and bookkeeping services to the National Assembly.
At the time it was created, the new computer records system was designed to handle rapid growth in the community of up to one million people, and to provide what is called “on-line” information about the continually expanding membership. “On-line” means the information is immediately available to an operator, who can ask such questions as “How many Bahá’ís are in Atlanta, or northern Illinois,” and get an instantaneous reply.
The data base system has been operational now for more than a year. The Data Processing Committee is currently working on correcting and verifying all names and addresses of Bahá’ís in the United States, in an effort to continue to refine and improve the service it can provide to Bahá’í institutions.
The District Teaching Committees, for example, are now being asked to verify and correct the membership information from their districts. Mailings to Local Assemblies of community
Many communities ignoring goals[edit]
The American Bahá’í community is in danger of starting the next plan with a “spiritual and administrative deficit,” according to the secretary of the National Teaching Committee.
“Many communities have not acted on the goals for the interim year set out by the National Assembly last June,” Dr. Phil Christensen said, “and Riḍván is fast approaching.”
To make matters worse, there are now more than 100 jeopardized Local Spiritual Assemblies throughout the country, with the figure likely to rise further when some of the Southern districts make their final reports, he said.
“This situation means that we are in real danger of starting the next plan with a spiritual and administrative deficit, which is really just as serious as a financial deficit,” he said. “And if we have to spend our first year catching up to where we were at the end of the Nine Year Plan, we will have a serious problem with the new Five-Year Plan, as well.”
The solution to the present dilemma rests with the individual believer, he said.
“Unless the individual Bahá’ís pause and reassess their own teaching efforts, things are not likely to change,” he said.
Some things individual Bahá’ís can do: pray, set personal teaching goals, such as the one suggested by the Guardian of holding a fireside every nineteen days, help to save jeopardized Local Assemblies at all costs, make special efforts to assist with teaching in goal communities, volunteer to travel and teach, and contribute regularly to the Bahá’í Funds.
Of particular need at this time are homefront pioneers, Dr. Christensen said. “Homefront pioneers are Bahá’ís who can leave their communities, without placing an Assembly in jeopardy, and move to another locality
Children’s program part of conference[edit]
A special program for children will be a feature of the Bahá’í conference in St. Louis next August 29 through September 1.
“The success of the conference will require the participation of all Bahá’ís, regardless of age,” Dr. Phil Christensen, secretary of the National Teaching Committee said. “At St. Louis we will have a more extensive and more varied program for children than at any other conference ever held.”
The needs of Bahá’í children are different from those of the adults, he said, and, consequently, programs to stimulate, educate, and entertain the children that will attend are being developed.
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Children’s Program
(Continued from page one)
The St. Louis conference is now scheduled to begin on Thursday evening, August 29, and end on Sunday evening, September 1.
The registration fee has been set at $10 per person. However, no family will pay for more than one child under 15 years of age. Children over fifteen are considered adults for purposes of registration.
The registration fee is to be applied to the many costs attending the planning for a conference of this size: convention staff, equipment rental, printing costs, registration expenses, etc. A registration form will be published in a forthcoming issue of The American Bahá’í. The registration fee will not include food and lodging.
Rooms will be available in St. Louis hotels and motels near the conference site. More than 2,000 rooms have been reserved within walking distance of the Kiel Auditorium, where the conference will be held.
The principal conference sessions will be in the mornings and evenings. The afternoons will be devoted to special programs, such as a National Assembly seminar for members of Local Spiritual Assemblies. The chairman of the National Assembly will be the permanent chairman of the St. Louis conference.
The purpose of the conference will be to launch in the United States the five-year global teaching plan that will be announced at Riḍván. The National Assembly will review with the friends the goals assigned to this country by The Universal House of Justice.
| the American Bahá’í
Photo and Drawing Credits COVER: The Hand of the Cause Ugo Giachery by Sharon Monka; 1 (top) Israel Government Tourist Office, (bottom) George Ronald; 4,5 Glenford Mitchell; 7 (top) TAB photo; 9 Courtesy Australian Embassy; 12 Beverly Ruhe. THE AMERICAN BAHÁ’Í is published monthly by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, Illinois 60091. Material must be received by the 15th of the month prior to publication. Black and white glossy prints should be included with material whenever possible. Articles and news written in a clear and concise manner are welcomed from individuals as well as assemblies and committees. Address all mail to: The American Bahá’í Editorial Office, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, Illinois 60091. |
The House of Justice recently announced that the overall goals of the five-year plan will be transmitted to the National Assemblies at Naw-Rúz. The Feast of Naw-Rúz, which begins the Bahá’í year, is on March 21.
In its November 21, 1973, letter, The Universal House of Justice also urged the National Assemblies to schedule meetings with the Continental Counsellors in their areas once the plan is received, to discuss how the assignments are to be won in each country.
In addition, the Assemblies were asked to give careful consideration to holding one or more conferences to introduce the friends to the major features of the five-year global teaching plan.
“We believe that such conferences would greatly assist in acquainting the friends with the nature and aims of the plan and in enlisting their enthusiasm and resolution to achieve it,” the House of Justice said.
The letter also stressed the importance of winning the participation of youth, “so that they may feel wholly identified with the tasks assigned and give their immediate and maximum support to their accomplishment.”
Many of these recommendations were anticipated by our own National Assembly, which initiated most of the measures described before receiving instructions from The Universal House of Justice.
The St. Louis conference, for example, was planned in September, “without any hint of the decisions being made at the World Centre,” the National Assembly said in a commentary on the five-year plan announcement published in the National Bahá’í Review, December 1973.
In October, more than a month before the House of Justice announcement, the National Assembly agreed to meet with the Counsellors shortly after receipt of the new goals to discuss mutually how they were to be implemented.
“Thus, the action of the National Spiritual Assembly in calling a conference, which will be held in St. Louis between August 29 and September 1, 1974, and the agreement it reached with the Continental Counsellors in scheduling joint consultations on the plan fortuitously anticipated the instructions of The Universal House of Justice,” the National Assembly said in its commentary.
“The friends may, therefore, rest assured that no time will be lost in bringing to them through the St. Louis conference and other means the full implications of the eagerly awaited plan which, no doubt, will mark another glorious chapter in the unfoldment of God’s design for the redemption of mankind,” the commentary added.
Review goals interim year[edit]
In its November 21 letter, The Universal House of Justice said it was time for Bahá’ís to begin to direct their thoughts to the next great demand on the world community, the five-year global teaching plan to be launched at Riḍván.
“We assure you of our prayers at the Sacred Threshold that you may be guided and strengthened to take such decisions and make such plans as will enable your communities to anticipate with eagerness and receive with joy the new tasks to be offered them...,” the House of Justice said.
In a commentary on that letter, published in the National Bahá’í Review, December 1973, the National Assembly recalled that this year of respite has been a time of preparation for the upcoming challenge, and it reaffirmed that the best preparation for receiving the new plan, called by the House of Justice a challenge that “will raise the Community of the Most Great Name to a position where it may have a greater effect upon men’s minds and prepare it for further thrilling and awe-inspiring achievements in the pursuit of its ultimate goal of the redemption of mankind,” is winning the goals set for the American community
Goals ignored
(Continued from page one)
where their services will have a greater effect,” he said. “Sometimes that means moving to the next town; it could mean moving somewhere else in the district, or moving out of the State entirely.”
The National Teaching Committee feels that Bahá’ís who will move to another community to help save a Local Assembly can provide a valuable service, he said.
“The National Teaching Committee is eager to have homefront pioneering volunteers who can move wherever they are needed in the country to save jeopardized Bahá’í institutions,” Dr. Christensen said. “It is also eager to locate those people who can move anywhere within a given region, district, or state, to perform the same function.” The list of jeopardized Local Spiritual Assemblies published in The American Bahá’í is a good place to begin to consider becoming a homefront pioneer, he said.
Any Bahá’í who would like to volunteer to become a homefront pioneer should contact the National Teaching Committee, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, Illinois 60091.
A WORLD ORDER article can provide material for firesides and deepening sessions.
Pilgrim Impressions[edit]
Recollections of Shoghi Effendi
By Ugo Giachery
A view of Haifa from the top of Mt. Carmel.
I have now only a vague memory of what happened or what I saw in the hours until I met Shoghi Effendi that evening of the middle of February 1952.
Those Bahá’ís who went on pilgrimage during the lifetime of Shoghi Effendi will remember the air of expectation which reigned all day until the coveted moment when, at dinner-time, one was ushered into the Guardian’s presence. It was a custom to let the newcomer precede everyone else to the dining-room of the Western Pilgrim House—an oval-shaped room at the northern end of the lower floor of the building. When my time came that evening, friendly, eager hands led me down the staircase into a large empty hall and through another room to a clear glass door of the French type which opened into the dining-room. Those loving hands literally pushed me through the door into the room where a large table was set for the evening meal. At the far north-eastern side of the table, almost facing the door, sat Shoghi Effendi, his handsome face absorbed in deep thought. A few seconds elapsed as I paused, unable to utter a word or a cry, while my heart was ready to burst. He was wearing a dark steel-grey coat and on his head rested a black tarboosh of unusual height and shape. He lifted his head in my direction and then I met his luminous penetrating gaze. As he rose to greet me, a broad smile illumined his whole face, while his eyes seemed to probe my innermost being, as if searching for proofs of love and trust.
The most affectionate words, the sweetest tongue in the world could not reproduce the eloquence of that smile, nor could the deepest thinker of this earth have analysed the loving understanding that radiated in it. I cannot relate the emotion I felt on going near to him.
“Welcome! Welcome!” he said, with a gentle and yet compelling voice. “At last you have come.” And with a rapid and unforeseen motion, he embraced me with such tenderness that for a time I felt I was in the arms of all the mothers of the world.
Pilgrim Impressions, is a chapter in a new book by the Hand of the Cause Dr. Ugo Giachery entitled Shoghi Effendi—Recollections, Copyright 1973 under the Berne Convention, reprinted here by permission of the publisher, George Ronald, London. All rights reserved.
Satisfaction and contentment filled my heart; unable to utter a word and yet electrified by all the love expressed in this gesture, I had to steel myself not to fall at his feet. A strong urge to embrace him, again and again, to make myself inconspicuous, small, humble, was overpowering me. But Shoghi Effendi must have sensed this perplexity within me and guided me to a place at the table. As soon as I was seated and had regained my control, I had the feeling that finally I had reached home. After so many years I cannot recollect all that Shoghi Effendi told me. Expressions of praise and gratitude were flowing from his lips, and my embarrassment and blushing must have been quite evident to the other guests at the table.
This feeling of nothingness in his presence never left me. Even years afterwards, whenever I came near him, there was an overwhelming force that filled my heart with joy and awe, with the certainty that even my thoughts were visible to him.
As I have stated, we saw Shoghi Effendi nearly every evening at his dinner-table in the Western Pilgrim House. Every day, when the hour approached and our anticipation could scarcely be bridled, minutes became unending hours until the Persian maids of the household appeared unobtrusively and swift as winged messengers, to summon the assembled pilgrims and guests to his presence. My personal experience extended over periods of weeks and, at one time, of months, and yet night after night my meeting him was the source of new emotions. Whenever he came to the table, he brought with him a feeling of ecstatic excitement which replenished my soul. Invariably I was filled with a wondrous sensation of continuity and safety, with all contingent matters fading into nothingness, as I anxiously gazed at the remote but serene expression of his endearing face. Had I served him well that day? Had my modest collaboration brought him relief and solace? Was I worthy of his consideration and love to continue to serve him? These were the questions that assailed me whenever I came into his presence. These daily contacts, however, assured my fears and left me nourished, hopeful and eager.
The dining-room of the Western Pilgrim House, which was located at 10 Persian Street, in Haifa, was
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Ornamentation on Shrine of the Báb.
Delegates to Third International Convention departing from site of future House of Worship on Mt. Carmel. The marker at left indicates site for Temple.
Pilgrim Impressions
(Continued from page three)
at the extreme northern end of the ground floor of the building. On the south side of the room, French doors permitted access from a central hall which was connected with the kitchen. At the west end of the dining-room, a door communicated with a small antechamber used by Shoghi Effendi to enter or leave the dining-room. On the east side, a small door led to another small room used at that time for storage of household implements. Between this door and the south-east corner there was a built-in bookcase, which gave the dining-room a slightly oval shape. In this bookcase were many volumes from the Bahá’í literature and a geographic atlas, kept at hand to be used, very often, by the Guardian. On the north wall, several windows opened on the little garden outside. The dining-table was rectangular and, when fully extended (as it usually was after the pilgrimages began again in the winter of 1951–2), left barely enough space for chairs and for passing around the table.
The Guardian never sat at the head of the table. This place was reserved by him for guests whom he wished especially to honour. When no such guests were present, the Hand of the Cause, Mrs. Amelia E. Collins, sat there. Shoghi Effendi invariably sat at the eastern end of the north side of the table, with Rúḥíyyih Khánum at his right. Hands of the Cause, members of the International Council, and pilgrims sat around the table in places designated by the Guardian. The room was well lit at night, and during the winter months was agreeably heated by a portable kerosene stove.
On entering the room, always after the Guardian had been seated, one became surcharged with intimate joy and assurance. His radiant smile always expressed his welcome. Night after night here was the most perfect setting for a symposium of love, of universal planning, of understanding, and of action. The stream of noble words, the flow of thoughts, ideas and plans, coupled with his far-reaching vision, probing into the immediate and the distant future, were exciting and ultra-stimulating. I believe that, year after year, every person who sat at his dinner-table was changed, immediately and completely, as if touched by a magic wand. That person’s inner life and his approach to life, renewed by the sublimating love of the Guardian, were undoubtedly transformed in a way that no other person could ever experience. I, myself, have never been alone or unhappy again. He imparted something to my spirit that levelled all obstacles within myself, and he opened avenues of freedom and heavenly vistas among all children of man. It was as if we were sitting in the hall of the highest-ranking university in the world, where the instructor was enlightening us on any subject the human mind could conceive, imparting a plenitude of knowledge, compassion and wisdom. I shall never forget those evenings and, as days go by, my link of love and gratitude to Shoghi Effendi grows stronger and stronger.
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One became surcharged with intimate joy and assurance |
The towering spiritual perception of Shoghi Effendi always astonished all who met him for the first time, and this spiritual strength which he so abundantly possessed greatly enhanced his physical body. He had a refreshing directness that deeply stirred one’s faculties; he asked many questions of everyone, and listened carefully to everything he was told. At times his conversation was far beyond the questioner’s range, and more than often he was simplifying his reply, keeping it on an understandable level. It is said that “man is a total of what he knows”; the greatness of Shoghi Effendi has been proved by the immensity of his knowledge. I cannot further elucidate this point because of my own limitations, but I shall try to portray his extraordinary stature by reviewing here the monumental structure he erected during the thirty-six years of his ministry.
Shoghi Effendi’s actions were always founded on the solid blocks of divine inspiration, while the simplicity of his environment and of his personal life gave him an aura of great stability. He possessed the perfect clarity of vision that comes from supranormal simplicity, and because of this he countered any form of ambition, indulgence or neglectfulness with his unfailing faith and stability, with the nobility of his purpose and the unwavering discipline of self-sacrifice, instilled in him from his childhood by his beloved maternal Grandfather, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.
In the Master’s house, at 7 Persian Street, Haifa, which was also Shoghi Effendi’s home for many years, on entering the large sitting-room one sees over a table on the left-hand side the portrait of a child’s head which is arresting and fascinating. It is like the head of a cherub made by a great master and it reminds one of the school of Leonardo da Vinci, although I believe it is a skilfully arranged
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The Shrine of the Báb.
Delegates to the Third International Convention.
enlargement of a photograph. The size of the head is almost natural, and its beauty moves and touches one very deeply. It is Shoghi Effendi as a child. He may have been four or five years of age at the time. Innocence and wonder are depicted on that dear face. The very large, almond-shaped eyes seem to look at one inquiringly; there is an expression of anticipation and eagerness in the whole countenance, as the lips are slightly parted, ready to utter an exclamation of surprise or marvel. I have looked at that picture for hours during the meetings of the Hands of the Cause, which at times have been held in that room. Many questions have rushed to my mind: What was Shoghi Effendi like when a child? Was he aware of his great destiny? What was his character?
Shoghi Effendi was born in ‘Akká, Palestine, in a house which still stands inside the fortress-city, quite close to the Most Great Prison. He was the son of Ḍíyá’íyyih Khánum, the eldest daughter of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, and of Mírzá Hádí, an Afnán, a descendant of the Báb’s family. Because most of those who lived with him, in the same household, have passed away long ago, there are only a very few persons living today who can remember Shoghi Effendi as a child. Mme. Laura Dreyfus-Barney related to me the following:
“I was permitted, at the beginning of this century, to visit the Master in ‘Akká, which at that time was a Turkish province. This happened during the critical years 1904–5 when ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was constantly under the menace of being exiled to the far-away desert of Fízán in Africa, and I was privileged to have my interviews and conversations with Him while I was living in His household. Shoghi Effendi was at the time a child of seven or eight years of age. He was rather small for his age, but very keen and attentive. When not engaged in his early morning studies, he followed his Grandfather [‘Abdu’l-Bahá] wherever He went. He was almost like His shadow and passed long hours seated on the rug in the manner of the East, listening, quietly and silently, to every word He uttered. The child had a remarkably retentive memory and, at times when guests were present, the Master would ask him either to recite some passage from Bahá’u’lláh’s Writings, which he had memorized, or to chant a prayer. It was very moving to hear the limpid, crystal chanting of that child, because all his being and soul were engaged in communion with God. Eagerness was ever present and animated him like a flame of fire in all he did.”
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His towering spiritual perception astonished everyone who met him. |
‘Abdu’l-Bahá Himself was conscious of the potentiality already evident in the child; He made His Will at that time and appointed Shoghi Effendi His successor—the Válíy-i-Amru’lláh. To a believer who asked if He would have a successor, the Master replied: “Verily that infant is born and exists and there will appear from his cause a wonder which thou wilt hear in future. Thou shalt see him with the most perfect form, most great gift, most complete perfection, most great power and strongest might! His face glisteneth a glistening whereby the horizons are illumined!”
There is no doubt that the choice of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s successor had been made quite early in the life of Shoghi Effendi; although he himself was not aware of it, the Master had absolute faith in the character and capacity of His little grandson. That Shoghi Effendi was not aware of the Master’s choice is certain. In December 1954, when my wife and I were on pilgrimage to Haifa, the Guardian turned to her one evening at dinner and said, without any apparent motive except to answer the question she had been wanting to ask for days:
“I want you to know that the Master neither in writing nor by word of mouth intimated that I was to be His successor, nor left any written instruction as to the manner in which to conduct the affairs of the Cause; I had a tumult in my soul and find my way step by step.”
News Briefs[edit]
Committee seeks information[edit]
The Wilhelm Properties Committee is preparing a brochure on the history of the Wilhelm Properties, part of the National Properties, located in Teaneck, New Jersey. If any of the friends have letters, diaries, memoranda, or records of any kind containing information about the Hand of the Cause of God Roy Wilhelm, or the Wilhelm Properties, please write to: Ben Kaufman, Wilhelm Properties Committee, 126 Evergreen Place, Teaneck, New Jersey 07666.
Presentation[edit]
The Hand of the Cause William Sears presents an autographed copy of “God Loves Laughter” to a library in Thousand Oaks, California. A local newspaper did a follow-up story on Mr. Sears.
Ten-day proclamation[edit]
The Bahá’ís of South Dade, Florida, supported by believers throughout the Miami area, sponsored a ten-day proclamation to celebrate the anniversary of the Birth of Bahá’u’lláh. Dr. Elsie Austin, former member of the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States, was invited to be the prime speaker for firesides and public meetings during the proclamation period.
Interviews with Dr. Austin by newspaper and television reporters resulted in a half-page article in the Miami Herald.
At the public meeting on November 12, Dr. Austin spoke on “Bahá’u’lláh, Light in the Despairing World” to an audience of two hundred. Firesides were held throughout the ten days. Many non-Bahá’ís were introduced to the Faith, and the proclamation was considered a great success.
Dr. Elsie Austin
Radio teaching[edit]
Once a week the residents of Greenfield, Indiana, have an opportunity to listen and learn about the Bahá’í teachings.
At the request of the local radio station, WSMJ, the Greenfield Spiritual Assembly prepared twenty two-and-a-half-minute programs on the Bahá’í Faith.
The program topics chosen from the Writings are progressive revelation, prejudice, justice, universal peace, and music.
Selections from the Seals and Crofts album, “The Year of Sunday”, open and close the programs.
Since the show is aired on Wednesdays at 4:15 p.m., the Assembly expects to primarily reach Greenfield housewives and youth with the Bahá’í message.
Annual Macy camp-out[edit]
The Bahá’í property in Macy, Nebraska, is not dormant. A clean-up event in August 1973 prepared it for the First Annual Macy Camp-Out Conference. Most significantly, plans for continual improvement of the property will ensure more camp-out conferences and other activities for Bahá’ís and Macy residents.
One of the immediate plans is to erect a permanent picnic shelter equipped with a stone fireplace. A local Bahá’í has access to broken and used masonry bricks and could do the work. Outdoor lighting and a water faucet will also be installed.
Before any construction is feasible, the land will be filled and leveled. Contacts have already been made for landfill in the spring.
The picnic shelter will serve a dual purpose: One, it will afford local residents a neighborhood picnic and park area; and two, it will provide convenience to the new annual camp-out for Bahá’ís in the region.
The first annual camp-out in August 1973 was sponsored by the District Teaching Committees of Nebraska and Western Iowa. Attending were Bahá’ís from Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, and North Dakota.
During the conference, the history of the Macy property was discussed, as well as the importance of Indian teaching.
Many Macy residents attended a public meeting. Following a brief introduction to the Faith, the film “A New Wind” was shown.
Bahá’í display at the University of Missouri, at St. Louis. The Bahá’í club at the University has recently been active in promoting the Faith.
Art Festival[edit]
An Arts Festival, recently sponsored by the Bahá’ís of Hartford, enabled several artists of various talents to display their work to the public. Although there is no way to know how many people strolled through the Hartford Insurance Group Auditorium where the Festival was held, approximately 150 were on hand for the two-hour performance section.
Thirty-five pieces of art, including many different styles of painting, sculpture, photography, calligraphy, and crafts, were displayed in the foyer of the auditorium. Among the highlights of the show were paintings by Paula Henderson of Springfield, Massachusetts; sculpture by Bob Schure, who had shows in contemporary galleries in Boston; and a large painting of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá by Harriet Pasca of New York State.
Various talents were also featured on stage. Musicians performed bluegrass, classical, jazz, and folk music; poets read selections of their poetry, some of which had been published in Bahá’í and non-Bahá’í publications, and two dance selections were performed. The show was emceed by Robert Rollins, chairman of the Hartford Spiritual Assembly, who added continuity and zest to a diverse program.
Publicity about the program appeared in local newspapers, TV, and on the radio. The Arts Festival Committee distributed 1,000 flyers to Bahá’ís, community organizations, and other individuals.
Walnut Creek Float[edit]
A float made by the Pleasant Hill Bahá’ís and entered in the Walnut Festival in Walnut Creek, California, won first place in the miscellaneous category. The float, seen by 85,000 people, was a tree of multicolored flowers resting on a nine-pointed star and surrounded by dolls of many nations. “Mankind is One” was emblazoned on the sides of the float.
The success of this modest float, basically composed of a four-by-eight sheet of plywood and a coaster wagon, should encourage others who might have thought another large and expensive one was necessary for a successful proclamation of this sort.
Regional Office[edit]
The staff of the Bahá’í Regional Office for South Carolina is shown at right. Seated is Mrs. Alberta Lansdowne, secretary of the Regional Teaching Committee. Standing are, left to right, Mrs. Betty Shurtleff and Mrs. Trudy White.
District Teaching Committees[edit]
DISTRICT TEACHING COMMITTEES (80)
CENTRAL REGION (17)
- Northern Illinois
- Southern Illinois
- Indiana
- Eastern Iowa
- Western Iowa
- Kansas
- Michigan
- Northern Minnesota
- Southern Minnesota
- Missouri
- Nebraska
- North Dakota
- Northern Ohio
- Southern Ohio
- South Dakota
- Wis-Mich (Northern Wisconsin and Upper Peninsula Michigan)
- Southern Wisconsin
NORTHEASTERN REGION (11)
- Connecticut
- Maine
- Massachusetts
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- Eastern New York
- Western New York
- Eastern Pennsylvania
- Western Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- Vermont
SOUTHERN REGION (30)
- Northern Alabama
- Southern Alabama
- Arkansas
- Delmarva (Delaware, Eastern Maryland Peninsula, and Eastern Virginia Peninsula)
- Central Florida
- Northern Florida
- Southern Florida
- Northern Georgia
- Southern Georgia
- Kentucky
- Northern Louisiana
- Southern Louisiana
- Maryland/DC
- Mississippi
- Central North Carolina
- Eastern North Carolina
- Western North Carolina
- Eastern Oklahoma
- Western Oklahoma
- Eastern Tennessee
- Western Tennessee
- Eastern Texas No. 1
- Eastern Texas No. 2
- Central Texas
- Northern Texas
- Southern Texas
- Western Texas
- Northern Virginia
- Southern Virginia
- West Virginia
SOUTH CAROLINA REGION (5)
- Central South Carolina
- Eastern South Carolina
- Northern South Carolina
- Southern South Carolina
- Western South Carolina
WESTERN REGION (14)
- Northern Arizona
- Southern Arizona
- Eastern Colorado
- Western Colorado
- Northern Idaho/Eastern Washington
- Southern Idaho
- Montana
- Northern Nevada
- Southern Nevada
- New Mexico
- Oregon
- Utah
- Western Washington
- Wyoming
CALIFORNIA REGION (3)
- California No. 1
- California No. 2
- California No. 3
Sebastopol School[edit]
Games, crafts, singing, prayer, stories, special guests, and refreshments are part of the annual Bahá’í summer school for children ages 4–12 sponsored by the Bahá’í community of Sebastopol, California.
For the past two years, the Bahá’ís have held a week-long school in the city park, open to all children. The park provided an excellent setting for the various activities and a good place for proclamation purposes.
The teachers were from Sebastopol and surrounding communities. Each teacher planned lessons around daily themes. This year they will begin planning at Naw-Rúz for the August summer school. The summer school proclaims the Faith at minimum cost. The budget has averaged less than $15 a year.
There have been special guests from the community who present a different program daily. For example, this year there was a clown who rode into the park on a motorcycle, a Spanish dancer, and a lady dressed as a skunk who told stories illustrated with puppets. There was also a visit to the local Buddhist temple.
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Editorial
Peace and justice[edit]
Peace is frequently understood to mean an absence of war. Such a negative definition is totally inadequate to the needs of the complex, interdependent, and fragile system of social, economic, and political relationships in which mankind lives. The ingrained desire to preserve the status quo and to prolong “the absence of war,” the very fear of conflict, make men timid, preventing them from seeking fundamental solutions and attacking the root of the problem.
The root of the problem is, of course, the outmoded concept of unfettered national sovereignty.
Ages ago man recognized that peace and justice cannot prevail in relations among individuals without there existing a superior authority, that in the absence of law no one’s life is safe and no one’s freedom assured, that no individual can be a judge in his own case. These are simple and obvious truths; yet nations still live in a world without enforceable law, without an international police force, without an international court of compulsory jurisdiction.
Analyzing the world situation from the vantage point of the Bahá’í principle of the unity of mankind, Shoghi Effendi wrote in 1931:
Some form of a world Super-State must needs be evolved, in whose favor all the nations of the world will have willingly ceded every claim to make war, certain rights to impose taxation and all rights to maintain armaments, except for purposes of maintaining internal order within their respective dominions. Such a state will have to include within its orbit an International Executive adequate to enforce supreme and unchallengeable authority on every recalcitrant member of the commonwealth; a World Parliament ...; and a Supreme Tribunal whose judgment will have a binding effect even in such cases where the parties concerned did not voluntarily agree to submit their case to its consideration. A world community in which all economic barriers will have been permanently demolished and the interdependence of Capital and Labor definitely recognized; in which the clamor of religious fanaticism and strife will have been forever stilled; in which the flame of racial animosity will have been finally extinguished; in which a single code of international law ... shall have as its sanction the instant and coercive intervention of the combined forces of the federated units; and finally a world community in which the fury of a capricious and militant nationalism will have been transmuted into an abiding consciousness of world citizenship—such indeed, appears, in its broadest outline, the Order anticipated by Bahá’u’lláh, an Order that shall come to be regarded as the fairest fruit of a slowly maturing age.
Thus peace is not a negative quantity, not merely an absence of war. It is rather a new mode of international existence, a new world structure, a new world ethic. To achieve it in full mankind must embark upon a spiritual adventure without parallel in all history, an adventure destined to culminate in the construction of the first world civilization. (World Order, Fall 1973)
THE BAHÁ’Í COMMUNITY OF ALTAMONT
CORDIALLY INVITES YOU TO
A SPECIAL SHOWING OF
it’ just the beginning
2:00 PM
DECEMBER 9
AMERICAN LEGION HALL
ALTAMONT BLVD
ALTAMONT N.Y.
Isolation[edit]
Dear Friends,
I am an isolated believer in Altamont, New York. On Sunday, December 9, a public meeting was held for the first time in the Village of Altamont; the occasion being Human Rights Day. Approximately forty people attended, many of whom were Bahá’ís from the surrounding area. However, about fifteen of the people were non-Bahá’ís. An assistant minister from one of the Protestant churches in the area also attended.
The local newspaper cooperated beautifully in printing articles about the event and in taking a picture of the Bahá’ís presenting a book to the mayor in thanks for his proclamation of December 10 as Human Rights Day in the Village.
A letter giving an explanation of Human Rights Day and the Bahá’í observance of it, along with an invitation designed by my husband, Jack Harlow (not a Bahá’í), were sent to all the town and village officials, to all the ministers and their congregations in the area, to all the staff of the local newspaper, and to individuals. About one hundred invitations were mailed altogether.
This is just to let you know that the seeds are being spread in Altamont, New York.
With love,
- Karol Harlow
Education[edit]
Dear Friends,
Our community of twelve adults and two young children decided to have a mini-school for the 5–10 age group. With a high sense of participation, ten adults taught some of the classes or prepared posters, puppets, and materials for arts and crafts, etc.
Ten children attended classes for five consecutive days, from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m., at the home of Boyd and Sandra Larson. They studied the stations of the Báb, Bahá’u’lláh, and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá; the five kingdoms of God; they memorized prayers and sang, etc.
Apart from the regular community Feast that week, another Feast was held for the children only, for which they elected their own chairman (David Hoff), secretary (Leslie Coleman), and treasurer (Nikki Ewing).
Boyd and Sandra reported that the eight children in attendance showed respect and reverence during the devotional part and cooperation during their own consultation.
After a serious plea from the “treasurer,” the children collected $1.50, which has been sent to the National Fund. Later the “secretary” wrote a letter of appreciation to the Roswell Spiritual Assembly and the Chaves County Group for making the mini-school possible and expressing their hope for another such experience.
All this from children between five and ten years of age. And now there is a marvelous, large collection of visual aids contributed by members of the community, for use during the coming year of weekly children’s classes.
- Estelle Rouse
Permeation[edit]
Dear Friends,
Whitinsville, Massachusetts, had only one Bahá’í for one-and-a-half years. Then another Bahá’í arrived and things began to happen.
At our first Feast together—the Feast of Qudrat (Power)—we decided to “powerfully proclaim” the Faith by initially setting up a two-week display at the Whitinsville Public Library. The display included 7 posters, 20 Bahá’í books, and a complete pamphlet assortment.
A picture of our exhibit along with a good article announcing the display in the library and our weekly firesides appeared in the local newspaper, which has a circulation of 18,000. Fifty-six people, including 18 non-Bahá’ís, attended the fireside the following Monday evening when Greg Dahl presented a musical slide show of his recent trip to Africa, Asia, and the South Pacific, where he spent some time teaching.
- Margaret Kalousdian
World Order
Read WORLD ORDER, share it with your friends, Bahá’ís and seekers alike.
International News[edit]
The Sydney Opera House at the time of dedication.
Family of Man[edit]
A new opera house situated on Bennelong Point in Sydney Harbor was recently completed after fourteen years of construction. Perhaps the most controversial building ever constructed in Australia, the opera house resembles a ship in full sail and is almost completely surrounded by water.
During the elaborate three-week-long civic festival which drew the attention of millions of Australians, the Bahá’ís participated in several events. A service and pageant were planned by a special committee consisting of members from various religious groups, including the Bahá’í Faith, and Bahá’ís were invited to participate in a “Family of Man” service held at the Opera House.
On Sunday afternoon, October 28, the Old Testament, the New Testament, and a Bahá’í book were presented to the Opera House Trust. The open-air service was attended by about 25,000 people.
“We were very grateful to see that the Hand of the Cause of God H. Collis Featherstone was treated with great dignity and courtesy by the officials, and was welcomed as a V.I.P. guest, seated amongst such others as the Cardinal, the Papal Nuncio, and the Heads of the Presbyterian Church...”, the National Spiritual Assembly of Australia wrote.
The service was closed by the Bahá’í representative, who read a Bahá’í prayer for unity to a hushed audience, from a stage surrounded by hundreds of people of many races, all in national costume.
The Bahá’í community was also invited to be represented at the opening of the Opera House by Her Majesty the Queen.
“The event lasted approximately two-and-a-half hours, and was to be televised that evening. However, as it was condensed into a one-hour program, and so many of the items of the afternoon were so well presented, we were very anxious to see what would be left out. But the television showed the presentation of the Bahá’í book by the National Secretary, and later in the program a close-up was shown of ‘Bahá’í World Faith’, followed by the announcement that Mrs. Kay de Vogel would read a Bahá’í prayer for unity. The entire prayer was televised and was shown in many parts of Australia that night!”, the National Spiritual Assembly wrote.
Travelogue[edit]
The Hand of the Cause of God ‘Alí Akbar Furútan recently completed a two-month tour of several countries of Europe.
Mr. Furútan arrived in Paris from the Holy Land on August 18. He participated in two large meetings there: one at the National Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds, and one at the home of a Bahá’í, in a Parisian suburb. Both of these meetings, and one with American Bahá’í youth on a summer teaching project in France, were sources of great joy to him.
While in Paris he also had the opportunity of visiting Madame Dreyfus-Barney, a wonderful servant of the Cause, who, although over ninety years of age, still vividly remembers her visits with ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, when she recorded “Some Answered Questions.”
Mr. Furútan also visited the French Summer School, held near Marseilles, which was attended by over two hundred believers from fifteen countries. An exciting development of this summer school was the participation of many new, young, enthusiastic French Bahá’ís, whose presence promised much hope for the future of their country. The Hand of the Cause gave a number of talks on a variety of subjects, always encouraging the French believers to take the lead in Bahá’í activities. Mr. Furútan’s stay in France ended after he visited the friends in Orleans, whence, on the 3rd of September, he left for Portugal.
In Faro, in the south of Portugal, a meeting was held at the home of a lady, who, although her husband was not a Bahá’í and she was herself a new believer, had imbued her five children with the spirit of the Cause. A youth in that town proved to be a wonderful servant of the Cause. Indeed, it was a truly magnificent sight to see the number of Portuguese believers who were ablaze with the fire of the love of God, an achievement due, at least in part, to the steadfast devotion of a Bahá’í couple who pioneered there from Latin America.
The beloved Hand of the Cause then visited Portimao, where the young Auxiliary Board member has, with his wife, established a school for foreign languages, an institution that, hopefully, will be instrumental in spreading the Message of God to the Portuguese people.
From here, Mr. Furútan traveled north to Setubal, to Coimbra, and thence to Porto in the extreme north, meeting the pioneers, their families, and friends. Sometimes these meetings did not end until after midnight.
On September 8 Mr. Furútan visited the Bahá’ís in Lisbon, participating in a youth gathering, where he spoke of the International Teaching Centre, a topic that was the subject of many of his talks throughout Portugal and France. The whole of the next day was spent with some thirty to forty friends from Portugal, America, and Persia, who gathered at the site chosen for the future Mashriqu’l-Adhkár, a beautiful spot looking out to the Atlantic Ocean.
From there, Mr. Furútan proceeded to Spain, where he says the spirituality of the Bahá’ís and their sincerity made him very happy. In one small village, he met in the local Bahá’í Centre more than 200 friends, a memory which he says “will never be forgotten.”
He later traveled in Germany and held deepening conferences in four regions of Cologne, where more than 300 people gathered for three consecutive nights of study.
In Luxembourg, the next country visited, he met the friends in two meetings. He said he would never forget the sweetness of those memorable days. In Austria, he visited believers in Vienna, Graz, and Linz. He attended a conference held for all the Bahá’ís of Austria, about which he said he was unable to record his “inner feelings and impressions of so much spirituality and enthusiasm.”
On October 24, he returned to the Holy Land.
On Homefront Pioneering[edit]
Kentucky[edit]
Kentucky, the “Blue Grass State,” is one of the sixteen Southern States referred to by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in the Tablets of the Divine Plan (p. 36). It is, he said, “situated in the temperate zone, and in these regions the perfections of the world of nature have been fully revealed. For the moderation of the weather, the beauty of the scenery and the geographical configuration of the country display a great effect in the world of minds and thoughts.”
Western Kentucky has Bahá’í centers in Paducah and Bowling Green. This area has the largest number of inland waterways in the country, with lots of fishing and tourism. Good job opportunities are available here.
Danville and Lancaster, near the center of the State, are both mass teaching areas that need homefront pioneers to be resident consolidation teachers.
Four believers live in Harlan, in the eastern Appalachian region of Kentucky. Harlan needs social workers, doctors, psychiatrists, psychologists, nurses (both registered and practical), speech therapists, and experienced mental health workers. Veterinarians are also needed.
Pineville, an unopened locality, also in Appalachia, sorely needs pioneers, as does Middlesboro which has a group of two; and Hazard, an isolated center. The mountain people are very warm, friendly, and unsophisticated.
Frankfort, the capital city of Kentucky, has only two Bahá’ís. It is an especially important goal to establish a Spiritual Assembly here.
There were Bahá’ís in Murray who planted seeds and now farmers are needed to reap the harvest. Covington is another unopened locality a few miles from Cincinnati, Ohio. Hyden, Bowling Green, Radcliff, and Columbia are other goal cities.
Kentucky has 4 Local Spiritual Assemblies. The District Teaching Committee has chosen 6 groups, 4 isolated centers, and 5 unopened localities to raise to Assembly status, group status, and isolated status, respectively. The area is very challenging, especially in Appalachia.
Summer Projects 1974[edit]
The success of Summer Projects over the past years has been immeasurable. Participants have expanded their vision and many are already pioneers.
This coming year more Bahá’ís will be needed, and preparation should begin now. If you are considering becoming a Summer Projecteer, you should:
- Begin now to accumulate the necessary funds—
| Europe | $700 (estimated New York departure) |
| Latin America | $450 (estimated California departure) |
| India | $900 (estimated New York departure) |
- Develop proficiency in the language you will be using—
We suggest French, German, Spanish. - Plan your summer so you can spend six weeks (early July to late August) on the Project.
- Deepen in the Writings so you can give the Message clearly and simply, and gain experience in teaching and consolidation.
The minimum age limit for Europe and Latin America is 18, and for India, you must be at least 20 years old.
If you are interested in participating in Summer Projects ’74, please fill out the form below and mail to: International Goals Committee, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, Illinois 60091.
On Homefront Pioneering[edit]
Many of these communities have colleges. Cost of living is not high in Kentucky, and housing is generally available.
For more information, contact the secretary of the Kentucky District Teaching Committee, Mrs. Sally Herr Bell, 163 Thistlewood, Apt. 4, Frankfort, Kentucky 40601, or telephone Mrs. Erica Toussaint, Chairman, (606) 573-6510.
Wyoming[edit]
Because Wyoming was a pioneer State in woman suffrage, it is popularly known as the “Equality” state. Relatively few believers live in this state, so it offers great challenge and potential for the Bahá’ís. There are only two Assemblies in Wyoming, and its capital city, Cheyenne, is planning to re-form its Assembly next Riḍván.
Wyoming offers a variety of opportunities to young and old alike. The University of Wyoming at Laramie offers a full range of undergraduate and graduate courses. The entire state is a seasonal outdoor recreation area—tourism is a big business, as is government service in all fields: ranching, mining, construction, and the railroad. All areas sorely need medical and paramedical workers.
The Riverton-Lander area Bahá’ís are particularly concerned with Indian teaching on the Wind River Reservation—a long-time Wyoming goal.
The following is a list of the goals for this year:
Riverton needs three people to bring the community to Assembly status. The population is 9,000, and the Central Wyoming College is located here. Riverton is on the outskirts of the Wind River Reservation. Housing is limited but available. Jobs are available in mining.
Jackson is a group of five adults and needs pioneers. A town of 3,000 situated near the beautiful Teton Mountains and Yellowstone Park, Jackson residents enjoy all winter sports.
Sheridan is a group of four adults, has a population of 10,856, an altitude of 4,000 feet, and is located in the northern part of the state in the Big Horn Mountains.
Newcastle is a newly-formed group of three in the northeastern part of the state near the Black Hills, South Dakota, has a population of 4,500 and an altitude of 4,300 feet. Jobs in all fields are plentiful.
Rock Springs has two adults and a population of 20,000; it is located in the southwestern section. Jobs in asphalt mining and other fields are available. Housing is scarce. A group of Bahá’ís live in Natrona County outside of Casper. This is an area with a beautiful climate, winter sports, low humidity, and good job opportunities.
For further information on these goals, contact the Wyoming District Teaching Committee, Mrs. Anita R. Tuttle, Secretary, 1839 South Boxelder, Casper, Wyoming 82601 (Tel. No. 307/237-2040).
Child’s Way
Children and adults in nearly 40 countries are reading Child’s Way, enjoying it and learning from it.
- Six issues a year, $4.50.
- Foreign subscriptions, $5.00.
Send your check or money order to Bahá’í Subscriber Service, 415 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091.
Chinatown proclamation courteous and aware[edit]
Mr. Wong and Mrs. Carpenter
Mr. Stephen Yiu Hon Wong, born fifty-eight years ago in Pahsien, in southern China, and for many years a resident of New York City, declared his acceptance of the Bahá’í Faith at an April public meeting in New York’s Chinatown.
A man of exquisite courtesy and noble bearing, Mr. Wong has traveled throughout the world as a businessman. He saw a notice for a January Bahá’í meeting on a wall in Chinatown and went to investigate. Mr. Wong joyously explained that at this first meeting he met the Bahá’ís and learned the message of “one God, one religion, one nation, everybody brothers and sisters,” and decided at once to accept the Faith.
But he told the Bahá’ís then that before becoming a member of the Bahá’í community, he would first make a business trip to Hong Kong and would contact the Bahá’ís there. Mr. Wong attended a lively fireside discussion in Hong Kong and obtained Bahá’í literature in Chinese. Satisfied that he had found the truth, Mr. Wong signed a declaration card soon after his return to New York.
Mr. Wong’s acceptance of the Faith is the first fruit of a proclamation organized by the Northeastern Oriental Teaching Committee (recently replaced by the Asian American Teaching Committee—see The American Bahá’í, November 1973) to reach the residents of Chinatown with the Message of Bahá’u’lláh.
Appointed by the National Spiritual Assembly before the close of 1972, the Oriental Teaching Committee sponsored a series of seven public meetings, and aided by area Bahá’í youth, publicized the Faith widely by means of posters, newspaper ads, and street invitations (see The American Bahá’í, December 1972).
Mrs. Ann M. Carpenter, secretary of the Committee, said the National Spiritual Assembly established the Northeastern Oriental Teaching Committee in response to the following directive from The Universal House of Justice dated February 14, 1972:
“Efforts to reach the minorities should be increased and broadened to include all minority groups such as the Indians, Spanish-speaking people, Japanese and Chinese. Indeed, every stratum of American society must be reached and can be reached with the healing Message, if the believers will but arise and go forth with the spirit which is conquering the citadels of the southern states.”
Publicity for the series of meetings in Chinatown reached thousands of residents and attracted hundreds to Public School 23 where they learned more from Bahá’ís.
Mr. Wong said that at the first meeting he attended, the Chinese part of the presentation was in Mandarin, a version of Chinese understood by few in the audience. He tried to help with translation. This gesture of service at the first Bahá’í gathering he attended was simply one more thread in a pattern of service to mankind that Mr. Wong has followed throughout his life.
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A new committee The Northeast Oriental Teaching Committee was superseded in November by the Asian-American Teaching Committee, one of four national minority teaching committees formulated by the National Teaching Committee to develop means of proclaiming the Faith to minorities in the United States. The new Asian-American Teaching Committee is currently developing literature and audiovisual materials to offer as assistance to teaching. |
Upon graduation from a university in Hong Kong, Mr. Wong soon began to assist refugees fleeing from the ravages of civil war on the mainland. All his life, he has visited Chinese people in hospitals and prisons to offer material assistance and faith in God. He has also enlisted the aid of wealthy Chinese businessmen to help the destitute. “Now when I go to the hospitals or jails,” he said, “it will be not just for Chinese but also for Puerto Ricans, black, white, everybody.” He said, “Chinese people don’t know about Bahá’í. When I learn more, I will teach them.”
The Bahá’í teaching effort that attracted Mr. Wong was characterized by courtesy and awareness of Chinese culture. The set of guidelines drawn up by the Committee for the participants included the following statement: “Knowledge and appreciation of the culture and religious beliefs of the Oriental people is important and should be continually pursued.”
Mrs. Carpenter told a story about this cultural respect, manifested by one of the Bahá’ís who participated in the street-teaching work. When a Chinese man was offered an invitation to a public meeting, he pointed to a picture of Chairman Mao Tse Tung that he was carrying and asked, “Do you believe in him?”
The Bahá’í answered, “He is the leader of the government, and Bahá’ís are respectful and obedient to governments.” The man replied, “O.K., then I’ll come to your meeting.” And he did.
Fiftieth year marked[edit]
An extraordinary evening of tribute to the formation of the Local Spiritual Assembly of Milwaukee fifty years ago was experienced by 200 Bahá’ís, November 9, at Aliota’s restaurant, in Milwaukee. Mrs. Vivian Fellows, chairman of the Local Spiritual Assembly of Milwaukee, chaired the evening program, which featured remembrances of Dr. Loftin Clark, first chairman of the Local Spiritual Assembly of Milwaukee.
“We formed our Assembly at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Brown, 3514 N. Murray Avenue, and sent a message to Mr. Alfred Lunt, secretary of the Bahá’í Temple Unity (predecessor of the National Spiritual Assembly), to tell him we had successfully completed the formation,” recalled Dr. Clark. “In those days, we were permitted to form any time of the year, so long as we had nine. The Assembly flourished so well that in 1934 we had a carefully organized teaching project which brought 69 Bahá’ís into the Faith. Milwaukee community was, for a time, third largest in the country.”
[Page 13]
Role for computer expanding
(Continued from page one)
lists for verification are also planned.
“This will help us to be sure that our information is accurate,” Carlton Mills, secretary of the Data Processing Committee, said. “The District Teaching Committees and Local Assemblies are the only ones that can really guarantee the accuracy of this information.”
“Our objective is to involve the local institutions in the membership and records function,” Mr. Mills said. “We are attempting to update our data base before every major mailing so there will be a minimum of errors to inconvenience the community.”
He said the Data Processing Office has managed to remain current on all changes in information sent to the National Center during the past nine months. The time required to process a change of address and produce a new mailing label has been reduced from at least one week to two or three days, he said.
To assist with the teaching work and the expansion of the Administrative Order, the computer provides some of the following services:
- a more legible listing of Bahá’ís in their area to District Teaching Committees
- detailed membership statistics to the National Assembly
- lists to the National Teaching Committee of communities with more than and less than nine adults. This information is important as plans to elect Local Spiritual Assemblies are made each year before Riḍván.
The computer is also used to assist with the complicated work of the Office of the Treasurer. The computer prepares receipts for contributions from both Local Assemblies and individuals. In addition, it keeps track of address changes for the Treasurer’s Office, so that if an individual or local institution makes a contribution to the Fund shortly before changing addresses, the receipt for the contribution will be delivered to the new address.
The monthly universal participation report of Assemblies and Groups contributing to the Fund is also prepared by the computer. “It keeps track each month of Assemblies contributing and gives the count used in calculating the percentage of participation,” Mr. Mills said. “We are now interested in expanding the work of the computer in this area to include accounting, budget control, and expenditure forecasting,” he said.
Other computer information services are also being planned by the Data Processing Committee for other offices at the National Center.
“We are, for example, building a pioneer data base for the International Goals Committee,” Mr. Mills said. “It will provide information about the pioneers already in the field and those that will be sent to new posts. It will certainly help facilitate the movement of pioneers that is expected during the next five-year plan,” he said.
The National Teaching Committee would like more accurate and prompt information about Bahá’í membership in communities around the country, to take strategic advantage of upward or downward shifts. With this information at their disposal, the National Teaching Committee would know almost instantly when a Local Assembly was in danger of being lost because of the diminishing size of its community, or when a Group had reached the point of growth where it was reasonable to expect that an Assembly be elected there at Riḍván.
A first step in this direction is the production of a directory of Group correspondents and Assembly secretaries undertaken recently by the Data Processing Office. The directory includes the number of adults and youth in each community.
There are several things, according to Mr. Mills, that the Bahá’ís themselves may do to assist in providing up-to-date information.
One of the most important is to report changes of address promptly. A small coupon is printed on the back cover of The American Bahá’í each month, below the space in which the mailing label is affixed. “If this is clipped out and mailed to The American Bahá’í, it will not only ensure that you are listed properly by the computer, but it will also eliminate any interruption in the flow of mail to your new address,” he said.
Another is to check the zip code on mailing labels from the National Center. “Sometimes the Post Office will not deliver a Bahá’í newspaper that does not have a valid zip code,” Mr. Mills said.
A third is to include the Bahá’í identification number on all correspondence with the Membership and Records Office. “This number, located at the top right-hand corner of the mailing label, is a unique identification for each Bahá’í,” Mr. Mills said. “Each person has a different number, which lets us make fast distinctions in cases where there might otherwise be confusion,” he said. “There are several John Smiths on record, for example. If a letter is received from one of them, the staff must search the files until they find the one intended,” he said. “The use of the identification number would eliminate the guesswork,” Mr. Mills said.
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USA international goals
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BAHÁ’Í INTERNATIONAL YOUTH CONFERENCE
A CHANCE FOR BAHÁ’Í YOUTH OVER THE WORLD TO MEET!!
| DATE: | August 4 through 8, 1974 |
| SPONSORED BY: | The National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the Hawaiian Islands |
| * * * CONFERENCE IS OPEN TO ALL BAHÁ’ÍS, YOUTH AND ADULTS, AROUND THE WORLD * * * | |
| LOCATION: | Hilo Civic Auditorium, Hilo, Hawaii, U.S.A. Hilo is located on the Island of Hawaii, approximately 200 miles by air from Honolulu. |
| CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS: | Sunday, August 4 | Noon - Registration Begins | |
| (The entire schedule and program for the Conference will be mailed to registrants at a later date.) | 7 PM - 10 PM - | Hawaiian Luau Unity Feast | |
| Monday, August 5 | 10 AM - 4 PM - | Volcano Tour | |
| 7:30 PM - | Conference Opens | ||
| Wednesday, August 7 | 7:30 PM - | Public Proclamation | |
| (Bahá’í Entertainers) | |||
| Thursday, August 8 | Noon - | Conference Adjourns | |
| On Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons, there will be symposiums on the part that youths can play in advancing the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh in the years ahead. | |||
| Speakers will include: Hands of the Cause of God, Members of the Board of Counsellors, and speakers from Bahá’í communities around the world. | |||
| CONFERENCE COSTS: | Conference fee - | $40.00 (U.S.). Fee includes transportation at the conference, tour, luau, noon and evening meals, and conference materials. | |
| HOTEL ROOM CATEGORIES: | A - $60.00 (3 to a room) | C - $30.00 (3 to 4 to a room) | |
| B - $46.00 (4 to a room) | D - $8.00 (Dormitory) | ||
Hotels in Hawaii require pre-payment in full. All rates quoted above are per person.
* Please enclose $40 (U.S.) check or money order per person for conference reservation, payable to Bahá’í International Youth Conference, 3264 Allan Place, Honolulu, Hawaii 96817. Balance of all payments is due on June 1, 1974. Form required for each individual registering including one for each member of a family. Conference reservations close on April 1, 1974.
[Page 15]
Review of Interim Year Goals
(Continued from page two)
for this interim year.
“To the extent to which the individual believers and Local Assemblies succeed with these objectives, they will be prepared to carry forward the aims of the five-year enterprise to be announced at Riḍván 1974,” the National Assembly said.
The goals for the interim year, which has less than four months remaining, were set forth in a June 28, 1973, letter to the Bahá’ís of the United States. In that letter, the National Assembly outlined four basic objectives:
To extend the range of all teaching programs Local Spiritual Assemblies were asked to adopt one or more of the following goals: (a) raise a neighboring group to Assembly status by Riḍván; (b) bring an isolated center to group status; or (c) open a new locality. Groups and isolated believers were asked to achieve the next level of their administrative evolution; “thus, a group should strive to become an Assembly, and an isolated believer should strive toward group status,” the National Assembly said. This was the first objective.
Every individual, Group, and Assembly was urged to engage in regular study of the Teachings. “The great success we achieved during the Nine Year Plan will remain intact, and we will attain greater success, if we gain more knowledge of God’s purpose for man, and particularly of His immediate purpose,” the National Spiritual Assembly said. “Knowledge is a power that reinforces faith, and all the believers are invited to share in this power.” The publication of the first installment of the Comprehensive Deepening Program, which took two years to prepare, was announced, and the friends were urged to purchase and study this material. Deepening was the second objective.
The third objective was for each member of a Local Spiritual Assembly to respond wholeheartedly to the invitation to attend a new series of Local Spiritual Assembly seminars being given by the National Assembly between November and March.
The last objective, that each Local Assembly contribute to the National Bahá’í Fund at least once every Bahá’í month, to “...set before the believers the example of regularity and confidence in giving to the Funds of the Faith.”
“The best preparation for the plan to come will be the accomplishment of the tasks set before us during this interim year,” the National Spiritual Assembly said in its published commentary. “For, whatever the aims of the five-year plan might be, there will continue to be the fundamental need for all of us to study more and more the Teachings of Bahá’u’lláh, to conduct our lives in accordance with His standards, to teach His Cause, to build His institutions—the only hope of a sore-stricken world—and to give to the Funds of His Faith. The four objectives outlined in the National Spiritual Assembly’s message of 28 June 1973 to the American believers are a measure toward the fulfillment of these needs.”
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Jeopardized Local Spiritual Assemblies
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Inside:
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Computers have been used to provide a range of important services at the National Center for almost eight years. The developments in the use of computers is outlined in this PAGE 1 story. The Hand of the Cause of God Ugo Giachery was a close working associate of Shoghi Effendi. In this PAGE 3 story, Mr. Giachery reveals some of his fascinating impressions of the Guardian. The Bahá’ís of Australia had a hand in dedicating the majestic Sydney Opera House recently. The ceremony was attended by the Queen of England, and viewed by millions of Australians. Story PAGE 9. A dignified proclamation in New York’s Chinatown recently, placed the Word God before another stratum of society. This story on PAGE 12 tells briefly the story of the first man of Chinatown to become a Bahá’í. |
Pilgrim impressions, page 3
