The American Bahá’í/Volume 5/Issue 12/Text
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National audience sees Hawaiian float[edit]
The float which the Hawaiian Bahá’í community entered in the annual Aloha Week Parade in Honolulu was seen by millions of Americans on Thanksgiving Day over national television. Highlights of the Hawaiian parade, including a look at the Bahá’í float and a brief explanation of the aims of the Faith, were part of an extended CBS report on Thanksgiving parades. The Bahá’í float won second prize in the schools and churches category.
The theme of the parade was “Mahahiki,” which is the time after harvest when traditional Hawaiians relax and give thanks to God for their blessings. On the Bahá’í float, a warrior wrought in flowers blew a conch shell to the mountains, calling the people to unity and peace. The phrase “Kakea O Lokahi a Maluhia” (The Call of Unity and Peace) was affixed to the sides of the float.
The parade was videotaped for broadcasts in both the United States and Japan. A local television station filmed and aired a special news feature on the construction of the Bahá’í float.
Interior work closes Temple for first time[edit]
For the first time since its dedication to public use more than 20 years ago, the Bahá’í House of Worship was closed to the public for repairs December 16-17.
Crews working in shifts labored around the clock to clean the interior ornamentation of the Temple, dismantle and shine the building’s brass fixtures, and complete paintings of the gallery and alcoves, to be ready to reopen at 10 A.M. Wednesday.
This work was part of an extensive, phased program of repairs, which began shortly after the conclusion of the Nine Year Plan and is expected to continue for several more years.
The Properties Committee, which directs the work here, has concentrated during the current year on making improvements on the interior of the House of Worship. The 1,200 chairs in the auditorium of the Temple were recently repaired and reupholstered, for example; the steel frame of the Temple dome was cleaned and painted this year, a portion of the upper dome was caulked and sealed to make it watertight, and damaged glass panes in the dome were replaced.
Other work in the House of Worship has included the laying of a new carpet in the Foundation Hall area and the construction of new displays in the public exhibit area.
A considerable amount of work in the gardens has recently been completed, including the pruning of all the trees on the property. A 70-car parking lot has also been constructed on the lakefront property east of the Temple.
Sometime next year, repairs on the concrete apron that serves as a walkway around the Temple will be undertaken. The apron has settled and cracked in places because of the movement of the earth below.
Despite the amount of repairs that are necessary, a recent architectural survey found the building to be structurally sound. Many routine tasks were postponed during the Nine Year Plan because of the intense commitments of American resources to winning the teaching and consolidation goals established by The Universal House of Justice.
Community again faces loss of Assemblies[edit]
The National Teaching Committee reports that more than 120 Local Spiritual Assemblies are in jeopardy of being lost at Riḍván.
This is a pattern that has plagued the community repeatedly in recent years, said John Berry, Secretary of the National Teaching Committee, and corrective action requires an excessive drain on the time and resources of the National Center.
“We will again have to work diligently to save the jeopardized Assemblies, but it is not enough that we continue year after year to find ourselves in the same situation as Riḍván approaches,” he said.
“We must reach a point of stability where we can start each year without so much concern about jeopardized Assemblies and can turn our attention to developing the kinds of expansion programs that will increase our numbers.”
The principal cause of weakening the Assemblies is the mobility of the friends, Mr. Berry said. Individuals move away and leave a fragile Assembly in danger of being lost.
“While there are many circumstances where individuals leave and really have no choice, all too often we find that that really isn’t the case,” he said. “This indicates a lack of appreciation for the importance of these institutions.”
A correlation to the problem of mobility in the community is that Assemblies bolstered through the agency of homefront pioneering tend to remain in a threatened circumstance for many years.
“We will achieve what we are looking for when the Assemblies are composed of people with permanent roots in the community,” Mr. Berry said. “We will have to go out and do a super job of teaching the Faith in areas where we want to raise up strong institutions because that strength will come only when we attract people with a permanent commitment to their community.”
A goal of the National Assembly is that all communities attempt to reach and maintain a membership of at least 15 adults.
Mr. Berry reported that 15 new Local Spiritual Assemblies have been formed during the current Bahá’í year.
Bahá’í community to support International Women’s Year[edit]
“Equality, Development, and Peace” is the theme for International Women’s Year 1975 proclaimed by the General Assembly of the United Nations. The National Spiritual Assembly has pledged the support of the Bahá’í community to this year-long observance.
“International recognition and emphasis of this fundamental principle of the Bahá’í Faith, to which Bahá’u’lláh attached supreme importance, provides us with unique teaching opportunities,” said Wilma Brady, the United Nations representative for the National Assembly.
The emphasis of the community in its response to this observance should be on individual and small group teaching efforts, according to the National Teaching Committee. Inviting people into Bahá’í homes to hear about the Faith’s teachings on the
New parking lot construction completed[edit]
A 70-car parking area to accommodate increasing numbers of visitors was recently constructed on lakefront property east of the Temple, adjacent to the Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds. A Bahá’í contractor, Dean Strickland of Omaha, Nebraska, completed the assignment with several helpers in only six weeks. A sidewalk will connect the parking area with a footbridge built by the Properties Committee last year to lead visitors underneath Sheridan Road and on to the Temple grounds. These photographs show the lakefront property at the start of construction and at the time work was completed.
Youth urged to set personal goals[edit]
The Five Year Plan has been successfully launched in the United States. Under its banner march American Bahá’í youth, who have been given a special assignment: the Two Year Youth Program.
One key to meeting this challenge is personal goal-setting. The full, active participation of all Bahá’í youth for victory in 1976 is needed. If each youth develops his or her own two-year plan, universal participation will automatically follow.
Take the time today to set your own goals. Start with prayers. If necessary, review the Five Year Plan and the Two Year Youth Program. Then carefully consider what you can do, what you should do, what you will do — to win the two-year youth goals. If you wish, ask your Local Spiritual Assembly for advice, or contact the National Bahá’í Youth Committee directly. But however you do it, set your goals now.
Here are some examples of goals you might consider including in your own two-year plan. You, of course, will want to develop your own:
- —Confirm at least one person each year in the Faith.
- —Co-sponsor a fireside every other week in the home of a nearby Bahá’í family.
- —Be in the upper 25 percent of your class.
- —Read and study The Advent of Divine Justice and God Passes By.
- —Contribute a certain amount to the Fund every Bahá’í month, and strive for extra, sacrificial giving.
- —Help the District Teaching Committee on weekends with teaching and consolidation work in a goal area.
- —Become a better Bahá’í, and look for ways to tell the people you meet about Bahá’u’lláh.
- —Go back to school and graduate.
- —Get a job as a radio announcer in a goal area in your state.
- —Help the Local Spiritual Assembly establish a Youth Club in your town.
- —Use your vacation to participate in a summer project or circuit teaching.
- —Memorize at least three prayers each year.
- —Take French lessons so that you can eventually pioneer to a French-speaking country.
If you want to, write the National Bahá’í Youth Committee a note and share some of your personal plans. But whatever you do, try to set your own goals and win those goals. Stake out your own piece of the Two Year Youth Program!
House of Worship to hold dawn devotional programs[edit]
In response to the call of The Universal House of Justice to develop the distinctive characteristics of Bahá’í community life, the National Spiritual Assembly has arranged, through its Bahá’í House of Worship Activities Committee, to hold inspirational devotional programs at dawn on Bahá’í Holy Days in the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár.
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the American Bahá’í 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 1st 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 the various institutions of the Cause. Address all mail to: The American Bahá’í Editorial Office, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, Illinois 60091. Copyright © 1974, National Spiritual assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. World Rights Reserved. Printed in the U.S.A. |
The act of the gathering together of the friends in this hallowed spot, at the moment when a new day just begins to reveal its potential light, releases potent spiritual energies into the world and serves to bind ever closer the Bahá’ís themselves. It has been reported to the Activities Office of the House of Worship that many communities throughout the country hold similar gatherings in a believer’s home at dawn on these Days. Does your community? Why not begin now?
With hearts united in prayer and lips united in praise of our Lord, the Bahá’ís will assuredly develop those characteristics which distinguish a reborn society and shall reach the end of the Five Year Plan a more radiant and united people, a victorious world community.
International Women’s Year
(Continued from page 1)
equality of men and women will provide useful contacts for the community.
“Special emphasis on individual teaching efforts during the coming year gives us the opportunity to increase the number of well-informed, deepened Bahá’ís,” the National Teaching Committee said.
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NSA vacancy filled
The delegates to the 65th National Convention elected Dr. William Maxwell, Jr., to fill the vacancy left by Dr. Dwight Allen. Dr. Maxwell is Associate Dean of the School of Education at North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina. |
Designation of 1975 as International Women’s Year came as a result of United Nations recognition that discrimination against women in many fields of international life denied more than half of the world’s population an opportunity to adequately participate in and contribute to the social development of nations. While 1975 will be a special year to focus on women’s problems, United Nations sources say stress will be placed on their contributions to world peace throughout the ’70s and ’80s.
Minority Committee plans for expansion[edit]
Making increased effort to utilize the black press and radio and television facilities in the country was one of ten suggestions for Bahá’í communities included in a report from the Black Minority Teaching Committee to the National Teaching Committee. According to Wilma Ellis Brady, Committee Secretary, plans are being developed by the Committee to assist all communities in the country in coordinated efforts to promote proclamation, expansion, and consolidation of the Bahá’í Faith within the black community.
Some of the Committee’s suggestions for teaching are:
- To appoint a community task force to determine how the community should deepen on the most challenging issue, racial prejudice, and to have the task force plan a series of deepenings for the entire local Bahá’í community;
- To discuss ways to make the teaching of black people a vital and important part of community life;
- To assist blacks to become involved in service organizations in the black community; and
- To patronize black businesses for Bahá’í business needs, such as printing, catering, providing flowers, etc.
Other measures the Committee would like to see communities adopt include developing a speaker’s bureau designed to meet the needs of various black audiences, presenting Bahá’í literature to local black officials, and developing Bible scholars within the Bahá’í community.
Teaching among Indian populations discussed[edit]
The American Indian Teaching Committee and the Navajo-Hopi Teaching Committee met with a representative of the National Teaching Committee at Window Rock, Arizona, on November 16, to discuss the progress of expansion among Indian populations.
The need for recordings in the various Indian languages for effective teaching and consolidation work was discussed, and plans were made to prepare some programs in Navajo. It was reported that the short obligatory prayer has been printed in that language and that a rendition has been recorded for use on the reservation. The preparation of materials on the Local Spiritual Assembly, healing, the Nineteen Day Feast, the Covenant, the Bahá’í calendar, and aspects of Bahá’í history is contemplated.
Methods of recruiting volunteer workers both in the vicinity of the reservations and in distant cities were given much thought. It was suggested that city people interested in Indian teaching could help in the production of visual teaching aids, while those closer to the reservations could become directly involved with teaching and with helping to raise groups to Assembly status during the Five Year Plan.
A permanent concern of the Committees will be attracting pioneers to Indian areas. Immediate goals include the establishment of children’s classes and youth programs.
Members of the American Indian Teaching Committee are: Cathy Cook, Office Manager; Jerry S. Bathke and Daniel Defender. Benjamin Kahn is Chairman of the Navajo-Hopi Teaching Committee, with Audrie Reynolds, Secretary, and Lorraina Cowboy Kahn, Richard Birkey, and Waldine Yazzie, members.
Three members of the Black Minority Teaching Committee, appointed to “advise, inspire and foster proclamation, expansion and consolidation of the Bahá’í Faith among the black population in the continental United States,” are shown here at their November meeting in Washington, D.C. They are, from left to right: Wilma Ellis Brady, Secretary-Treasurer; M. Hussein Ahdieh, Chairman; and Ann Carpenter. (Member of Committee not in photo is Philip Morrison.)
50th anniversary issue Bahá’í News gets new look[edit]
A new format for Bahá’í News has been gradually implemented since August 1973 when the National Spiritual Assembly assigned production of the magazine to the newly created National Bahá’í Information Office.
The newest series of modifications appear in December 1974, the 50th anniversary issue of the publication.
The most significant of this most recent phase of alterations is the adoption of a new nameplate, indicating still another step in the publication’s transition from newsletter to magazine. The familiar globe design, first used in November 1953, has been replaced with one that is simpler and unembellished.
The new nameplate, created by Joon Chung, a Korean designer presently doing graphics work for the National Bahá’í Information Office, is executed in one of the Univers type faces. The selection was made by the National Spiritual Assembly after studying dozens of designs submitted by many Bahá’í artists.
The interior page design of the magazine will be slightly modified beginning with the December issue as well. The types used in headlines will be changed to Sans Serif faces, and the column widths will be expanded somewhat. The magazine will be increasingly organized into topical sections, a trend that has been discernible since 1973.
The anniversary issue includes an article about Rúḥíyyih Khánum by her frequent traveling companion, Violette Nakhjavání; recommendations on celebrating Bahá’í special events days, by the Bahá’í International Community; a fascinating article on the Master’s last month in America, by Allan Ward; and the second of a two-part series on the history of Bahá’í youth activities, by Philip Christensen.
The change in format has been only one facet of the work done on the publication in recent months. Concentrated efforts have also been underway to eliminate the delays in preparation, printing, and mailing that have caused inconvenience to subscribers. For example, a new subscriber maintenance system has been organized, speeding processing of new orders and periodic renewals. For the first time, the list of subscribers has been effectively computerized, a development that will improve the service to subscribers.
Concomitant steps have been taken to upgrade the editorial efficiency of the publication as well. A larger number of Bahá’í writers have been encouraged to contribute materials in both the United States and points around the globe. An effort is being made to recruit contributing editors in a number of significant regions to increase the flow and quality of international news to the magazine. A modest amount of typesetting equipment has also been ordered to give the staff flexibility in meeting critical printing deadlines.
An evaluation of Bahá’í observances of U.N. special days[edit]
The following information is a summary of activities carried out by Bahá’í communities throughout the world in observance of UN Day and Human Rights Day 1973. This condensation is intended to provide a variety of suggestions and ideas that may be useful to Bahá’í communities wishing to celebrate these UN events for the first time, as well as communities which have had experience in these activities and are, perhaps, looking for fresh approaches to these occasions. We have selected from the overall report of Bahá’í-UN activities examples of various classifications of programs—for example, public meetings, exhibits, international dinners, radio programs, etc.—and have tried to choose, also, observances carried out by communities of varying sizes and conditions, to demonstrate that every community—whatever its circumstances—can celebrate UN Day and Human Rights Day.
Public Meetings. A number of Bahá’í communities chose to sponsor public meetings, in many instances drawing on their local UN office—the office of the United Nations Development Program, the United Nations Information Center, or offices of the United Nations Specialized Agencies—for speakers. For example, the main speaker in Chad was an expert from the UNESCO office; the Local Spiritual Assembly of Asmara, Ethiopia, had as guest speaker the Senior Information Officer of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa; Panama had a speaker from the local office of the UNDP; in Belize, a UNDP Resident Representative acted as Master of Ceremonies at the Human Rights Day observance, while representatives of the United Nations posted in Belize—one from UNDP, one from the UN Office of Technical Cooperation, a Regional Representative for the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, and a UNDP engineer—served as panelists at the UN Day celebration. In Bangladesh, Ambassador Francis Lacoste, Chief of Mission, United Nations Operation in Bangladesh, spoke at a Human Rights Day program. In Honolulu, Hawaii, a panel discussion featured a professor of the University of Hawaii who has served as consultant for the World Health Organization, and Mauritius sponsored a program for UN Day with UNDP Resident Representative John Birt as the main speaker, and for their Human Rights Day program, Mr. T. Sunkur, a member of the UNESCO Club, gave a talk. One Local Spiritual Assembly in Sweden worked closely with the UN office in Sweden and featured a UN speaker at their UN Day program. An unexpected feature of the UN Day observance in Tonga was the presence of representatives of the World Health Organization, who unofficially formed a panel to answer questions from the floor; and the Bahá’ís of Buea, Cameroon, had a public meeting with a representative of UNESCO as speaker. At this meeting, Mihdí Samandarí, a member of the Board of Counsellors for Central and East Africa, was Chairman. The program was taped and played over the radio three times, reaching large audiences.
An interesting approach to a public meeting was tried by the Bahá’ís of Alice Springs, Australia, where an open-air public meeting was held by candle light; and members of the Newtown Group of Australia—at their public meeting held in cooperation with the United Nations Association—showed their appreciation of the evening’s performers by presenting each one with a single rose set in a glass with the inscription “ ‘in the garden of thy heart, plant naught but the rose of love’—Bahá’u’lláh.” In Palma de Mallorca (Baleares Islands), a public talk, which was announced in five newspapers, was followed by a full-page interview of the speaker; and in Valencia, Spain, a public meeting provided an opportunity to distribute 1,000 UN and Bahá’í pamphlets.
Cooperation with other organizations. There are times, too, when cooperation with other organizations in planning and executing UN activities is valuable and successful. One Bahá’í community in Sweden co-sponsored an event with the United Nations Association, and in four other instances, communities participated in activities organized by the local UNA. In Belgium, the Bahá’í community of Brussels sponsored a Human Rights Day meeting in cooperation with the Belgium League for the Defense of the Rights of Man ... and many events in Australia were co-sponsored by Bahá’ís in cooperation with UNA. Especially successful this year was a UNA Inter-Faith Youth Service held in Hobart Town Hall in which eight Tasmanian Bahá’í youth—a mixture of boys and girls, and including an aboriginal girl and a Laotian boy—participated, reading “Words of Wisdom” and a prayer for unity. The youth speaker at the service was also a Bahá’í, and the Secretary of the Assembly reported that Bahá’í participation in this service increased the level of prestige of the Faith in Hobart and established good relations with the Tasmanian director, who assured the Bahá’ís of his assistance and support should they wish to organize future UN activities. A similar function was held in Sydney, Australia, where a 13-year-old Bahá’í read a prayer for mankind, and another 13-year-old girl was the principal speaker, giving a 10-minute address entitled “Unity in Diversity.” Both of these events were given support by the Bahá’í community through posters, literature in schools, invitations, two large paid ads, and one free ad. The Ghana Bahá’í community was the only religious group to be invited to serve on an Ad-Hoc Committee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the observance of Human Rights Day. The Vice-Chairman of the National Spiritual Assembly represented the Bahá’ís, and he was later asked to appear on a nationwide TV program to explain the relationship between the United Nations and the Bahá’ís, and, in addition, he was asked to be Chairman for a symposium on human rights at the Accra Community Center.
Exhibits. Bahá’í-sponsored exhibits were very popular as a way of observing UN Day and Human Rights Day in 1973. One that was particularly successful was executed by the Bahá’í Club at the Catholic University in Quito, Ecuador, where hundreds of people viewed the display of UN posters and pamphlets in the main hall of the “Pedagogia” building, and over 1,000 pieces of literature were given out by 9:00 A.M. Posters were used as means of announcing the event. Later, this observance was written up in Commitment, the official publication of UNDP for non-governmental organizations. In Brazil, a Bahá’í devoted the windows of her fashion store to a display of materials prepared by the United Nations on unity and world peace, and the related principles of the Bahá’í Faith. This drew publicity in the form of a large feature story in a newspaper. A continuing exhibit—from October 1 to the end of February—was arranged by the Bahá’ís of Monaco on the ground floor of a building with windows which could be viewed by passers-by. The display was set for UN Day, and innovations which were made for Human Rights Day became the source for newspaper, radio, and TV publicity. The Bahá’ís of Iran had an exhibit which ran two weeks, to educate people about the teachings of the Bahá’í Faith and the aims of the United Nations and human rights. Later, a film was produced, using the colorful exhibit as a focal point for explaining the teachings of the Bahá’í Faith, particularly as they relate to human rights. A UN display was set up for UN Day by the Bahá’ís of Hilo, Hawaii, in a large shopping center, and in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, two exhibits were displayed at a store in the center of the town and at the Bahá’í Center. In Laos, the Bahá’ís made a display of UN posters which they used as a background for their Human Rights Day meeting, which was held in Luang, Prebang, the royal capital. It was the first UN program organized by a Bahá’í community in Laos. It drew an audience of students, teachers, and members of a hospital staff. In Kiel, Germany, for Human Rights Day, the Bahá’ís set up a booth in the marketplace, where they distributed UN and Bahá’í pamphlets to passers-by and engaged in friendly discussions. In the Dominican Republic, the Bahá’ís made use of their Center to feature an exhibit of UN posters on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Prominent people from local and national communities. In many instances, prominent people from local and national communities participated in the Bahá’í-UN activities. For example, the Attorney-General of Dahomey shared the platform with a Bahá’í speaker at a public meeting. Brussels, Belgium, co-sponsored a program featuring William Deswarte, Vice-President of the Belgium League for the Defense of Human Rights. A high school principal and six of his students contributed to the success of a UN Day program sponsored by the Bahá’ís of Tonga, and in Lae, Papua, New Guinea, the Mayor of Lae was among the 40 guests attending a UN Day function held in a private Bahá’í home. This was the only observance held in Lae for UN Day. In Lower Hutt, New Zealand, the Mayor graciously signed a proclamation for UN Day and offered to serve as Chairman for the Bahá’í public meeting. Also, in New Zealand, Bahá’í contact with the Mayoress of Ngaruawahia, a town in which the majority of the people are Maori, resulted in a UN Day observance, the first ever organized in that town. A Bahá’í community in Canada was successful in achieving a UN Day proclamation from the Mayor of the town—and he called upon citizens to assist the UN in its efforts on behalf of all mankind. A Human Rights Day meeting sponsored by three Local Spiritual Assemblies in Australia had as its Chairman the Mayoress of Fort Adelaide.
Belize, British Honduras; Pinheiro, Brazil; and Newtown, Australia, utilized Bahá’í-sponsored essay contests for high school students, to create interest in the United Nations. Prizes were awarded; a book was given in Newtown along with a check; a set of pens was the first prize in Pinheiro, and hand-lettered certificates were given to the runner-up winners; and in Belize, prizes were donated by merchants.
Newspaper publicity. In some Bahá’í communities, newspaper publicity did an excellent job of
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substituting for an actual event. Through extensive mailings of UN materials to libraries, clubs, schools and colleges, radio stations, etc., several communities in Spain heard of the Faith and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, some of them for the first time. The National Spiritual Assembly of Tonga observed Human Rights Day in a unique way. It bought a full page in the national newspaper, the Chronicle, and had printed “A Bahá’í Declaration of Human Obligations and Rights” in addition to a commentary on the United Nations, with reference to the Bahá’í International Community office in New York City and to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Tonga and the Cook Islands. There was much comment about this page, and the President of the State Church later spoke favorably about it on radio.
Before United Nations Day, the Bahá’í National Spiritual Assembly of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands sent a long letter to the Director of Information, in charge of all news. The letter called attention to World Development Day and to the United Nations teams of experts who contribute so much to the Colony’s progress, and explained briefly the relationship of the Bahá’í world to the UN. Included were UN and Bahá’í pamphlets, information sheets, and posters. These materials were also widely distributed to schools. Further, the National Assembly sent to a young Ellice woman who is the director of a new radio program on women, UN pamphlets and Bahá’í materials and offered suggestions of people to be interviewed, who could lead discussions on the subject of the equality of men and women.... In Trier, Germany, a UN leaflet on World Development Information Day was distributed to all schools and to teachers at the university. As a result, the Ministry of Education instructed all high schools to discuss UN World Development Day in their classes. The newspapers in Trier announced this activity and later carried an article.
Radio Programs. Radio programs were the source of much publicity for the observance of UN Day and Human Rights Day by Bahá’í communities. For Human Rights Day, the Bahá’ís of Belize sponsored a half-hour radio program with outstanding personalities discussing human rights in relation to education, law, youth, religion, and women. Since this is the only radio station in the country, the program, planned by the Bahá’í community in cooperation with the United Nations Development Program office—the UNDP Resident Representative acted as Master of Ceremonies—reached some 130,000 people. Radio was used effectively for both United Nations Day and Human Rights Day by the Bahá’ís of Seychelles. A script was prepared by them for United Nations Day, and it was broadcast on Radio Seychelles. For Human Rights Day, a talk in French was recorded for Radio Seychelles, and along with this was read the Message of the Secretary-General of the United Nations for the occasion. This public service was received with great appreciation. In one area of Canada, a call-in radio show was held and received good response from listeners. Other Canadian communities made a concentrated effort to gain maximum usage of talk-shows or other radio shows available. To the great joy and delight of the Bahá’ís of New Caledonia, they were successful in arranging to have both a Bahá’í and a Melanesian non-Bahá’í interviewed on the radio and on TV. In addition, as a direct result of contact which the Bahá’ís made with the newspaper La France Australe, the front page carried an editorial on human rights.
Sydney, Australia, blessed with a Bahá’í House of Worship, organized services at the Temple for United Nations Day and Human Rights Day. Among the guests were dignitaries, councillors, UN personnel, and inquirers.
Human Rights Day, 1973, at the House of Worship in Sydney, Australia.
Panel Discussions and Seminars.
Panel discussions and seminars were organized by several communities. In Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, at the Syndicate for Civil Servants, a Bahá’í was invited to join a panel of speakers for UN Day. After the talks, the Bahá’ís showed slides and arranged an exhibit of United Nations posters. The President of the Syndicate requested a copy of the talk given by the Bahá’í on the relationship of the UN and the Bahá’í Faith, and it was then printed by the Syndicate and distributed to its members.
The Bahá’ís of Belize received first-page newspaper coverage and first place on the radio news as a result of an interesting round-table discussion which was held at the Bahá’í Center for United Nations Day. The Bahá’í community of Nelson, New Zealand, sponsored a United Nations Day seminar which included a workshop program.
Films were used extensively throughout the Bahá’í communities this year, sometimes as a main attraction, other times in addition to a speaker. The film recently produced by the United Nations Development Program, “One and a Half Dreams,” was especially popular, and in one instance, as a result of a showing by a Bahá’í community, the local TV station decided to show it also.
Social Affairs. Many Bahá’í communities chose to have social affairs to celebrate UN Day and Human Rights Day, demonstrating the Bahá’í belief in unity, through pot-luck dinners, progressive dinners, international dinners, teas, and receptions—and there were children’s parties too, with games, dancing, and singing. At least on one occasion, a public meeting was followed by a dance group, performing colorful folk dances (Panama). This produced a fiesta atmosphere, and some of the audience joined in the dancing.
In Porto Alegre, Brazil, the Bahá’í Institute of Porto Alegre, a primary school with over 200 registered children, was the only school in the area of one-and-a-half-million people to observe United Nations Day. Delegations of teachers and students from other schools attended. The main auditorium was decorated with UN posters, Bahá’í posters, and work of the children. A panel discussed the various UN agencies. The program received excellent coverage by two newspapers and two radio stations.
Slide Presentations. There were communities which used slide presentations to show the work of the United Nations. The Bahá’í community of Santo André, Brazil, presented programs at the city’s largest educational institution with 4,000 students. The presentation consisted of two sets of slides, one of the United Nations and the other on the United Nations Development Program. The program was given nine times, and it was so well received that the Bahá’ís were asked to repeat it during 1974.
Finland’s United Nations programs were distinguished by the places they chose for their programs. They included a university students’ lounge, a hotel, a coffee house, a theater, and a “disco.” In one town, the only Bahá’í arranged with the local theater for a dance where children performed to show UNICEF ideas.
A large number of communities drew on their local UN offices for all kinds of assistance—pamphlets, posters, film strips, speakers, films—and in Dahomey, the UNDP office loaned the Bahá’ís a truck and drivers to transport the chairs on loan for the occasion from an American cultural center.
UN Day was celebrated by the Bahá’ís of N’djamena, Chad, with the full support and assistance of the United Nations office. It was the only public recognition in Chad of this special day, which was reported as “a dignified gathering of young and old of many nationalities.” The UN Information Center in Bolivia cooperated fully with the Bahá’ís of Cochabamba, Bolivia, providing UN material on loan for a Bahá’í-sponsored exhibit on the United Nations for Human Rights Day.
A representative from the UN Information Center in Pakistan and the Deputy Commissioner of Abbottabad participated in the UN Day observance held in Abbottabad and expressed their appreciation for the efforts of the Bahá’ís to observe and publicize United Nations efforts in protecting human rights everywhere.
Reports received from Bahá’í communities all over the world speak clearly of the excellent cooperation generally received from United Nations offices.
News Briefs[edit]
Sheila Powell, left, standing, and Andrea Smith, right, standing, of Detroit, apply some of the knowledge gained at the Children’s Educational Materials Conference, in working with Daniel McRoberts, left, seated, Shariff Nichols, center, seated, and David McRoberts, right, seated.
Workshops held on writing for children[edit]
A modest conference at Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan, November 16, brought together representatives from more than 14 area communities to discuss the development of basic educational and recreational materials for use in Bahá’í children’s classes.
The 20 participants also consulted on ways to evaluate already existing materials to make them available for use by Bahá’í teachers.
Lois Goebel, a representative of the Bahá’í Publishing Trust, and Jacqueline Wuetenberg, Professor of Children’s Literature at Oakland University, were present to offer guidance to the group.
Dr. Wuetenberg gave a workshop on writing books for children, in which the friends actually attempted to produce a simple volume. In her talk, Dr. Wuetenberg used more than 100 illustrations to show that discernible rhythms and patterns, even when repetitious, are useful in making a book an experience for children. The best children’s books are built upon what children already know, she said. They do not say to children, “Look at how much you don’t know.”
In the first session of her workshop, the group developed simple paragraphs with details that could be illustrated.
In the second session, a bookmaking kit, containing illustrated instructions, cloth covers, chip boards, four text paper sheets, and an inside cover sheet, were handed out and individual productions got under way in earnest. By the end of the session, participants had written, illustrated, and bound their own Bahá’í book.
At other sessions, recreational materials, such as coloring books, games, and art projects, were discussed. It was indicated that the value of these materials is that children approach them in a relaxed and playful frame of mind. Consequently, the lessons imparted are likely to really impress themselves upon their receptive minds. It was also suggested that some commercially published coloring books, particularly those dealing with such topics as history, nature, and travel, could be put to good use in Bahá’í classes to demonstrate Bahá’í principles.
The group found one presentation, given by the director of the children’s department of the Pontiac City Library, of special value. In this session, an effort was made to review many of the titles in the library’s collection for themes that were consonant with the Bahá’í teachings.
An interesting feature of the conference was that each participant selected a project to complete by Riḍván 1975. The Spiritual Assembly of Pontiac will supervise the work of the various groups.
Mrs. Goebel acknowledged the great need for the types of materials under discussion and encouraged the friends to carry through in their efforts at production.
She described briefly the procedure of publishing followed at the Trust. When a manuscript arrives, she said, the first thing is to determine that it does not replicate some already existing volume and that it does indeed fulfill a teaching or deepening need in the community. Assuming that the book is accepted and that the obvious errors and omissions are corrected at this stage, the manuscript is sent to the National Assembly with a detailed explanation of the form in which it will be published if accepted. A manuscript then goes to the National Assembly’s reviewing committee, which exhaustively considers the authenticity of every detail.
In all, this is a lengthy process that may stretch out for as long as two years, Mrs. Goebel explained. “Don’t be discouraged though,” she said. “We are in a 500,000-year cycle.”
Tobey volume offered[edit]
The cover of the October 1974 catalog of U.S. Government Publications carried as illustration a print of E Pluribus Unum, a 1942 painting by Bahá’í artist Mark Tobey. The painting was among those exhibited by the National Gallery of Fine Arts in Washington, D.C., prior to the St. Louis Conference. The government catalog offered for sale copies of the Smithsonian book, Tribute to Mark Tobey, produced to complement the summer retrospective. The book, according to the promotional blurb, unfolds the character and personality both of the artist and his work; includes 70 reproductions of Tobey’s work, several in full color; and carries an essay by the Director of the National Collection of Fine Arts on Tobey, his style, and his accomplishments. To order Tribute to Mark Tobey, 112 pp., $5.85, write Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402.
Nevadans discuss plan[edit]
Bahá’ís from several northern Nevada communities met recently to discuss their role in the teaching work of the Five Year Plan. The friends in Reno report that from this two-day retreat there emerged a “new sense of community” and a “vitalized sense of urgency and expectation.”
Houston making inroads[edit]
The Bahá’ís of Houston report that considerable teaching activity has taken place in their community since the St. Louis Conference last August.
Shortly after the conference, for example, Bahá’ís were invited to send a representative to be interviewed on a popular Sunday-night radio program. The program host was so intrigued by his conversation with the Bahá’ís that he invited them back for a second broadcast interview the following week.
A fireside for Spanish-speaking people is conducted each week in the home of Arturo and Virginia Padilla, Bahá’ís in northeast Houston. An outgrowth of these well-attended firesides was the establishment of a Sunday morning class for children and teenagers from a local housing project. The classes are normally attended by more than 30 young people.
The University of Houston’s Bahá’í Club is also actively teaching the Faith. It has plans to sponsor a campus proclamation sometime in January.
The newly formed and very active Bahá’í Club of the University of Houston, Houston, Texas. Left to right, front row: Nezy Maani, Roya Maani, and Lomeli Olivo. Back row: Jay Hunter, Mahnaz Aflatooni, and Shahran Razmzman. Photo by Larry Loper.
Summer teaching planned for Africa[edit]
A summer youth project for Dahomey, Niger, and Togo is being organized by the International Goals Committee. The purpose of the project will be, according to the National Assembly for that region, “to bring the Message of Bahá’u’lláh for the first time to the distant parts of each country, and to enroll and consolidate Bahá’ís in newly opened goal areas.” Only French-speaking Bahá’ís who are over 18 will be considered for this project.
“Older people will balance the groups and the villagers respond well to them as equals and people of authority,” the National Assembly said. “However, it will be necessary to travel long distances and perhaps to remain in remote areas for several days with the simplest of lodgings and food.” For additional information write: International Goals Committee, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, Illinois 60091; phone (312) 256-4400.
Support a group, open a county or locality, join a community where there are no youth. Many goal areas are awaiting youth pioneers. For more information contact the National Bahá’í Youth Committee, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, Illinois 60091.
A discussion on the Faith under way at public meeting in Coral Gables.
Coral Gables gathering[edit]
About 100 people, a quarter of them non-Bahá’ís, attended a public meeting, November 11, in Coral Gables, Florida, in commemoration of the Birth of Bahá’u’lláh. The event was sponsored jointly by several communities in the greater Miami area. Posters and handbills were used to publicize the meeting. The film, “And His Name Shall Be One,” produced by CBS some years ago, was shown. Three newspapers printed reports of the event.
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Bahá’í Proclamation and Deepening Film
Step by Step
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The Materialist-Maker Machine[edit]
by Nathaniel Rutstein
Copyright 1974. Chapter from the book entitled Go Watch TV! by Nathaniel Rutstein, reprinted with permission.
Marty’s presence before the TV set on Saturday mornings is as certain as the sunrise. In his home, as in many other homes, kids watching TV are more acceptable than kids playing in the house, for during the weekend parents like to sleep later, and television keeps kids quiet. But this kind of permissiveness is costly and usually backfires. One place where backfiring occurs is in the supermarket.
On Saturday morning Marty is huckstered by cereal companies, sneaker firms, soda pop producers, candy makers, bicycle manufacturers, and a dozen other product producers. The boy doesn’t have to wait a week to see these products again, and advertisers and their agencies know this. Marty unwittingly becomes an uncommissioned, unpaid salesman for the advertisers.
While being wheeled down the aisle in a supermarket cart, Marty spots a cereal he wants.
“Mommy,” he cries, “get Sugar Nut Squares! It has a big whistle.”
When Marty’s mother refuses to purchase the cereal, the boy screams. Embarrassed, she picks the box off the shelf and throws it into the cart. A smile flashes across Marty’s tear-stained face. But it is a false victory for Marty, for nutritionally the cereal is practically worthless, and the prize breaks after five blows. But more seriously, the boy’s spirit has been assaulted; Marty has been seduced into becoming a materialist without really understanding what materialism is.
Unfortunately, what is happening to Marty is happening to millions of kids like Marty all over our country.
Commercials nourish children’s appetites for things. So do many programs children watch. TV teaches young children that the most meaningful rewards in life are whistles found in cereal boxes, walking and talking child-size dolls with a complete wardrobe of clothes, ten-speed bikes, new big cars, vacations at luxury hotels on a tropical isle or on a snow-covered mountaintop. A quick review of TV’s game shows, soap operas, commercial children’s TV programs, and prime-time fare will substantiate what I am pointing out.
Some psychiatrists and childhood specialists have noticed television’s materialistic brainwashing process taking its toll on children and parents. Dr. Theodore I. Rubin, a psychiatrist and columnist for the Ladies Home Journal, wrote in the January 1972 issue: “Television promotes the belief that a person will be socially rejected unless he or she owns certain material things. This is particularly worrisome when children are made to believe they must have a special toy to achieve happiness. Aside from the way this materialism distorts values, it also makes parents who can’t afford those toys feel guilty.”
The religious family as well as the irreligious family is affected by the materialism on TV. Television has penetrated the defenses of churches and synagogues against TV’s materialistic messages. For the most part, TV has more sway with a child than a minister, priest, or rabbi. This is mainly because most children have more experience with TV than with a clergyman; also, the experience with TV has been enjoyable and nonthreatening, which is not always the case in a child-clergyman encounter.
In a sense, materialism is being proselytized like a religion over TV—and with evangelical fervor. Advertised products are supposed to provide a viewer with all of the feelings and beliefs religion is supposed to provide: an inner strength to meet the problems of life, happiness and joy, a feeling of security, a loving, kind, and positive personality, even faith and purpose in life. Purchasing a certain car, for example, provides a person “with something to believe in”; drinking a particular brand of coffee “is heavenly.”
Materialistic values are inculcated in most viewers through TV. These values are taught by the behavior that’s on the tube.
A value that TV teaches well is exploitation. In fact, the exploiter is glorified on TV. How is this done? TV gives status to the character who takes advantage of people’s weaknesses. There are plenty of examples of this kind of behavior, especially in children’s cartoons. Bugs Bunny, for example, is continually making most of the creatures around him look like buffoons. He thrives on their ignorance and awkwardness.
Greed is another value that TV teaches effectively. In quiz games like Let’s Make a Deal, contestants are continually trying to outbid the other guy. The shrewdest bargainer emerges as the winner—the hero.
Winning at all costs is a value that is stressed. So is self-centeredness, sensuality, and superficiality. These values are taught on commercials as well as in programs.
Tragically, most viewers are not aware that this teaching process is taking place. For most people still view TV as an entertainment vehicle provided for them free by advertisers. They believe they are free agents, able to choose the programs that interest them most. However, they fail to realize that in what they consider to be their tastes and preferences, they have been conditioned by TV.
Ours is a materialistic society, despite what is said and written by some professional religionists in seminaries, monasteries, and parish-house libraries, and despite the passionate rhetoric of the revolutionaries who engineered the break of the American colonies with the British Crown. Television per se is not solely to blame for molding our children into materialists. It is only one tool—granted, a powerful one—in the materialist-making process in our country. Television describes and reflects quite accurately our material needs, our material desires, even our silent gnawing ones. Materialism was here long before TV. Television only helps to expand its influence, tighten its grip on the American soul.
We find ourselves caught in a sinister cycle where materialist writers and producers shape materialistically oriented programs which TV transmits to materialistic audiences that approve of the programs and clamor for more of the same and get it.
But there are some Americans, most of them youth, who have noticed the cycle and have withdrawn from it. And commercial television inadvertently has played a role in freeing them from the cycle’s whirl. Their dropping out seemed to begin in the mid-1960s.
When you consider the statistic that the average eighteen-year-old American has already been exposed to 350,000 TV commercials, you can understand why some kids go streaking to the hills. Imagine all of the beer, cereal, mouthwash, candy, girdle, toothpaste, panty hose, mattress, soda pop, potato chip, pretzel, hot dog, cat food, automobile, razor blade, wine, dog food, toy, and bologna images and sounds that have bombarded a growing teenager’s brain since his first encounter with TV. For some youth, the exposure and absorption of such an avalanche of consumer items has set off a psychic regurgitation. They literally and figuratively want to purge themselves of all accumulated and inherited things, concepts, and mores that smack of a social order that they feel is obsessed with materialism. Some among them have even severed all ties with their parents, who they feel are contaminated by materialism. They curse phoniness and yearn for naturalness. They have an aversion to luxury and the processes that lead toward the acquisition of it. They bristle at the sight or mention of the trappings and social rituals of modern America. They seek freshness, new ways; they desire to climb spiritual heights, welcoming such struggles as a means to true emancipation. Sometimes, tragically, their search plunges them into a period of horror. In their probing, they take a wrong turn which psychologically maims them for life.
A great many youth today, however, have adopted the precepts of materialism, thanks to TV’s superb job of brainwashing. Unlike their parents, whose materialism was born out of the daily struggle to find enough food to eat during the great depression in the 1930s, many of these young people, especially those from the middle class, want things and objects without struggling for them. It is as if what they see and like on TV, they believe is theirs or should be theirs. And their parents usually get them what they demand, sometimes reluctantly because something inside them is aware of the consequences of spoiling a child. But parents usually bow to the demand because they don’t quite understand what makes today’s high-school and college-age people tick, and they are obsessed with maintaining household tranquility. In reality, they don’t really know children, and they find themselves in the pitiful position of buying their love and respect.
There’s a lot more that upsets them. They worry about their children’s lack of initiative and volition, of their disdain for working for what they want. They’re puzzled and hurt, for they don’t know why their children grew up the way they did.
The tragedy is that they must bear most of the blame, though they did nothing malicious. In fact, they worked hard to create a comfortable home, a house with two garages, a carefully manicured lawn, membership at the country club, and a cleaning woman. They bought their children the best clothes and toys and took them to the best hotels during the family vacation time.
But it was what they didn’t do that contributed to the kind of outlook their children have as they approach adulthood. One of their most grievous errors of omission was to have forfeited much of their parental responsibility to the “third parent” in their home, television. TV comforted the kids when they were lonely and brought them hours and hours of pleasure, making them susceptible to TV’s demands to do its bidding. The children were turned into consumers, expecting their demands to be answered as fast as they switched channels. TV has made them into materialists—like their parents, except that their philosophical interpretation and style is different.
Dr. Daniel C. Jordan, the director of the Center for the Study of Human Potential at the University of Massachusetts School of Education (in a personal communication on April 19, 1973), feels the materialistic thrust of television is derailing many children from knowing their true selves: “What we become depends almost entirely on what we learn and what we learn is for the most part limited to the experiences we have. Among the most critical aspects of any experience are all of the cues that define the nature of man—all of the bits and pieces of information, whether factual or emotional in nature, that tell us who we are. Since television figures prominently in the experience of children, it is important to examine the kinds of views coming from television programming that speak to our own natures. I suspect that the most fundamentally damaging view of man that is perpetually emphasized on television is that he is a material being rather than a spiritual one. To know and to love are two basic capacities of man that enable him to transcend the limitations of materiality. If a human being cannot love or does not know how to be loved, he may withdraw entirely and become more like a vegetable or he may strike out and become worse than a beast. To be loved, one must be lovable and to be lovable means to acquire virtues, such as kindness, courtesy, fairness, helpfulness, hopefulness, and compassion. Yet, the thesis presented by television is that having love is indeed desirable and you can get it by using the right cosmetics, the right hair sprays, the best
Dates to Remember[edit]
January 3-5 Proclamations, Wilcox, Eloy, and Casa Grande, Arizona. Sponsored by the District Teaching Committee of the Bahá’ís of Southern Arizona.
January 10-13 National Spiritual Assembly Meeting, Ithaca, New York.
January 10-14 Deepening Conference on the Five Year Plan, Houston, Texas. Sponsored by the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Houston.
January 11 National Spiritual Assembly to launch Five Year Plan program for New York, in Ithaca.
January 19 Feast of Sulṭán (Sovereignty).
January 19 World Religion Day.
January 19 Proclamation, Mt. Vernon, Texas. Sponsored by the District Teaching Committee of the Bahá’ís of East Texas No. 1.
January 19 Proclamation, Augusta, Wisconsin. Sponsored by the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Eau Claire.
January 19 Proclamation, Bethany, Oklahoma. Speaker: Auxiliary Board member Darrell Borland. Sponsored by the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Bethany.
January 25-26 Family Life Conference, Grand Rapids, Michigan. Sponsored by the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Grand Rapids.
February 1 Deadline for receipt of materials for March issue of The American Bahá’í.
February 1 Proclamation and Consolidation Conference, Rockwall and Greenville, Texas. Sponsored by the District Teaching Committee of the Bahá’ís of East Texas No. 1.
February 1-9 Proclamation, Wausau, Wisconsin. Sponsored by the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Wausau.
February 7 Feast of Mulk (Dominion).
February 8-28 Proclamation through the Arts, Geneva, New York. Sponsored by the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Geneva.
February 9 New Believers Conference/Old Believers Update, Reno, Nevada. Speaker: Auxiliary Board member Margaret Gallagher. Sponsored by the District Teaching Committee of the Bahá’ís of Northern Nevada.
February 14-16 National Spiritual Assembly Meeting.
February 16 Proclamation, San Augustine, Texas. Sponsored by the District Teaching Committee of the Bahá’ís of East Texas No. I.
February 24-28 Week-long Proclamation, University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee campus. Sponsored by the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Milwaukee.
February 26-March 1 Ayyám-i-Há (Intercalary Days).
March 1 Deadline for receipt of materials for April issue of The American Bahá’í.
March 1-2 Proclamation and Consolidation Conference, Waskom and Longview, Texas. Sponsored by the District Teaching Committee of the Bahá’ís of East Texas No. 1.
March 1-20 Period of the Fast. Begins sunset March 1 and ends sunrise March 20.
March 2 Feast of ‘Alá’ (Loftiness).
March 16 Proclamation, Clarksville, Texas. Sponsored by the District Teaching Committee of the Bahá’ís of East Texas No. 1.
March 21 Naw-Rúz (Bahá’í New Year), Holy Day on which work should be suspended.
March 21 Feast of Bahá (Splendor).
March 28-30 National Spiritual Assembly Meeting.
April 4-6 Institute on the Distinctive Character of Bahá’í Life, Springfield, Illinois. Sponsored by the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Springfield.
April 5 Proclamation and Consolidation Conference, Mineral Wells, Texas. Sponsored by the District Teaching Committee of the Bahá’ís of East Texas No. 1.
April 24 National Spiritual Assembly Meeting.
April 25-27 National Convention, Wilmette, Illinois.
The Materialist-Maker
deodorants, certain clothes, particular foundation garments; use the right toothpaste and mouth washes, chew a particular gum, smoke the right cigarettes, serve the appropriate beer, wash your clothes with the most powerful detergents, ad infinitum, and you will become lovable and will therefore be loved. Love is thus made dependent upon commercially available material things. It is difficult to imagine a greater distortion of a truth so basic to our sanity. Love comes to us through the spiritualization of our characters and through no other means.
“Even the plots of the dramatic serials focus on the material aspect of our lives and do not deal with fundamental issues in a way that orients us to basic realities. For instance, a fair percentage of movies and serialized programs center around violence and exalt the capacity for ‘steel nerves’ in fighting crime or perpetrating it. There is little emphasis on the means by which moral virtues are acquired and a positive emphasis placed upon the struggle to acquire them. The criminal appears as given, and after several violent episodes, he is apprehended or killed, and the drama ends. Again, the superficial events in the lives of people are portrayed and not the deep underlying needs and meanings. We know that human beings who are not loved and who experience repeated rejection are likely to become criminals or mentally ill or both. To experience love, one must attract it, and this depends upon a spiritual force and not material ones.”
Job Opening at National Center[edit]
The National Education Committee is seeking an individual for employment at the National Bahá’í Center in Wilmette, Illinois. In addition to a sincere desire to serve the Faith, we are looking for someone with basic clerical skills, some administrative experience within the Faith, and, if possible, some experience in the development and organization of conferences, institutes, and classes. This individual would also be called upon to gather and index pertinent materials for educational development and communicate with and coordinate activities of resource volunteers. If you qualify, please send your résumé to: National Education Committee, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, Illinois 60091.
Pioneers needed for homefront goals[edit]
Now is the time to come forward and pioneer to an area where Bahá’ís are ardently requesting support of their efforts to fulfill goals of the Five Year Plan. Certainly, victory will be attained if we confidently seize such opportunities.
The following is a list of requests for homefront pioneers needed throughout the country:
Bisbee, Southern Arizona—Jeopardized Assembly. Spanish-speaking area where the main source of revenue is dying out. Self-sustaining Bahá’ís are needed.
Casa Grande, Southern Arizona—Bahá’í group needs help to consolidate and to form an Assembly.
Douglas, Southern Arizona—Jeopardized Assembly. Retired couple or people who can work as teachers are required to support this Assembly.
Nogales, Southern Arizona—Spanish-speaking area, port-of-entry into Mexico. Needs assistance in consolidation and in forming an Assembly.
Sierra Vista, Southern Arizona—Bedroom town for Ft. Huachuca Army Base. There is a jeopardized Assembly in this growing town with new businesses.
Aurora, Eastern Colorado—Jeopardized Assembly.
Englewood, Eastern Colorado—All attempts to raise the number of believers in this community have not been successful so far. The Assembly is jeopardized with only six members.
Alachua, Northern Florida—Assembly requires support.
Burley, Southern Idaho—Couples or single people of any age are requested. This is a Spanish-speaking area with a strong Mormon community and good job opportunities.
Blackfoot, Idaho—Jeopardized Assembly. Two strong, well-deepened couples are requested.
St. Louis Park, Southern Minnesota—Jeopardized Assembly. Town with a population of 30,000 has excellent transportation and living conditions.
Bozeman, Montana—Jeopardized Assembly. Active community with a Spiritual Assembly, but membership fluctuates due to the percentage of college students who leave after finishing school. Population of 13,000 with job opportunities in farming, forestry, construction, and tourism.
Carlsbad, Southern New Mexico—Strong, well-deepened couples are requested.
McKinley County, Northern New Mexico—Adult believers are needed for the Assembly. Most of the county is on the Navajo Reservation and is within easy commuting distance to Gallup.
Xenia, Southern Ohio—Jeopardized Assembly.
Abilene, Central Texas—Adult Bahá’ís needed.
Midland, Western Texas—Good job opportunities. There is only one Assembly in this district.
San Angelo, Central Texas—Strong, well-deepened adult believers requested.
Wichita Falls, Northern Texas—Enthusiastic and energetic adult Bahá’ís are needed to help consolidate and form an Assembly.
Orem, Utah—Requires youth particularly. Very near Brigham Young University.
Bluefield, West Virginia—Strong, well-deepened adult Bahá’ís needed.
Charleston, West Virginia—Jeopardized Assembly. Anyone is welcome. It is the only incorporated Assembly in the state and the largest urban center. Economically depressed area. Retired couple preferable.
Stoughton, Southern Wisconsin—Jeopardized Assembly.
For further information, please contact: National Teaching Committee, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, Illinois 60091.
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World Order Appearing in the Fall 1974 issue:
See subscription blank page 9.
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PUT YOURSELF IN THE PICTURE AS A TRAVELING TEACHER
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BAHÁ’Í BOOKS AND MATERIALS[edit]
SPECIAL MATERIALS[edit]
Greatest Name Plaques[edit]
Would you like to give a Greatest Name Plaque to a Bahá’í friend? Plaques are available in a variety of materials and at several prices. Some are unmounted with an adhesive backing for custom framing or mounting. Others come mounted and ready for hanging.
The Greatest Name symbol means “Yá Bahá’u’l-Abhá” or “O Glory of the All-Glorious,” a phrase that is often used to appeal to God for assistance.
The following is a partial listing of available plaques. All are 7½ x 10 inches and printed in gold, except as noted. See your Bahá’í community librarian for further details.
| Leather Greatest Name Plaques: | ||
6-64-00 Green, mounted | $9.00 | |
6-64-01 Brown, mounted | $9.00 | |
6-64-02 Tortoise leather, mounted | $9.00 | |
| Leather-grained paper plaques, mounted: | ||
6-64-15 Green, mounted | $6.00 | |
6-64-22 Maroon, mounted | $6.00 | |
6-64-18 Silver on Blue, mounted | $6.00 | |
| Leather-grained paper plaques, unmounted: | ||
6-64-20 Green, unmounted | $1.50 | |
6-64-22 Black, unmounted | $1.50 | |
6-64-24 Silver on Blue, unmounted | $1.50 | |
Photographs of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá[edit]
Photographs of the Master make excellent gifts, and the Publishing Trust has a large selection from which to choose. For a complete listing, see your local Bahá’í librarian or the current Special Materials Price List Order Form.
6-70-03 ‘Abdu’l-Bahá (Washington), set of two, 5 x 7 | $2.50 |
6-70-04 ‘Abdu’l-Bahá (Illinois), set of two, 5 x 7 | $2.50 |
6-70-05 ‘Abdu’l-Bahá miniatures, set of two, 2 x 2½ | $ .50 |
6-75-02 ‘Abdu’l-Bahá as young man, 4 x 5 | $1.00 |
6-75-09 ‘Abdu’l-Bahá (front), 2 x 2½ | $ .30; 10/$2.50; 20/$3.50 |
6-75-14 ‘Abdu’l-Bahá (front) 8 x 10 | $2.00 |
BAHÁ’Í LITERATURE[edit]
The World Order of Bahá’u’lláh: Selected Letters by Shoghi Effendi
The second revised edition of The World Order of Bahá’u’lláh is now available. The volume contains seven letters from the Guardian to define the relationship of the Bahá’í Faith to the evolution in this age.
7-08-20 | cl $4.00 |
7-08-21 | p $2.50 |
GIFT IDEAS
From the Publishing Trust[edit]
Pins, Pendants, Rings, and Brooches[edit]
Looking for jewelry for a Bahá’í friend or relative? The Publishing Trust offers an expanding variety of pins, pendants, rings, and brooches, with prices starting at $1.00.
Among the new items this year are 18mm and 29mm enameled pendants and a 29mm enameled brooch. Each piece features the ringstone symbol of the Greatest Name—a faithful reproduction of the design on the corners of the Shrine of the Báb on Mount Carmel. The items are gold-plated and produced in four enameled colors—red, green, blue, and black. The chain on each pendant is gold-colored and 17½ inches in length. Each piece is attractively mounted and packaged in a clear plastic box and is accompanied by a printed explanation of the ringstone symbol. Note: Because they are inexpensive, these items are not able to withstand constant wear or abrasion.
Stationery and Notecards[edit]
Sending a note to someone special? You have a wide variety of notecards to choose from. New this year are “Bahá’í Heritage Cards,” produced by the International Bahá’í Audio-Visual Centre. The cards feature quill and dry brush drawings of Bahá’í holy places or landmarks, including Bahjí and Mount Carmel in Assortment “A” and the House of Abbud and the Land Gate of ‘Akká in Assortment “B.” A quotation on each card explains the significance of the landmark illustrated on the front panel. Eight cards per assortment, two each of four different views. Illustrated by Dr. David S. Ruhe.
Other stationery includes colorful cards picturing Bahá’í Houses of Worship around the world. Below is a partial listing of stationery available from the Trust. Please note that envelopes are included with all notecards.
2-06-84 Bahá’í Heritage Cards “A” | $3.00 |
2-06-85 Bahá’í Heritage Cards “B” | $3.00 |
6-48-01 Wilmette Temple (day) | 15/$2.00 |
6-48-02 Wilmette Temple (sunset) | 15/$2.00 |
6-49-01 Houses of Worship 8-card asst | $1.25 |
6-49-02 Houses of Worship 16-card asst | $2.25 |
The cloisonné ring available from the Trust is adjustable and can be ordered without custom fitting. Featuring the ringstone symbol, the ring is electroplated in gold and available in four enameled colors.
If pins are your preference, you can choose between two kinds. One is cloisonné enamel and is identical in style and price to the cloisonné ring described above. The other is a “Bahá’í lapel pin—a nine-pointed star imprinted with the word “Bahá’í.” This pin is available in five colors.
The following list of jewelry items includes only those rings, pins, pendants, and brooches which are currently available. For a more complete listing, see your Bahá’í community librarian.
| Brooches: | ||
2-00-15 29mm Brooch, green | $6.00 | |
2-00-16 29mm Brooch, blue | $6.00 | |
| Pendants: | ||
2-00-19 18mm Pendant with chain, green | $9.50 | |
2-00-20 18mm Pendant with chain, blue | $9.50 | |
2-00-21 18mm Pendant with chain, black | $9.50 | |
2-00-22 29mm Pendant with chain, red | $12.00 | |
2-00-23 29mm Pendant with chain, green | $12.00 | |
| Rings: | ||
2-00-06 Cloisonné Ring, red | $2.75 | |
2-00-07 Cloisonné Ring, green | $2.75 | |
2-00-08 Cloisonné Ring, blue | $2.75 | |
2-00-09 Cloisonné Ring, black | $2.75 | |
| Pins: | ||
2-00-10 Cloisonné Pin, red | $2.75 | |
2-00-11 Cloisonné Pin, green | $2.75 | |
2-00-12 Cloisonné Pin, blue | $2.75 | |
2-00-13 Cloisonné Pin, black | $2.75 | |
6-61-61 “Bahá’í” Lapel Pin, red | $1.00 | |
6-61-62 “Bahá’í” Lapel Pin, green | $1.00 | |
6-61-63 “Bahá’í” Lapel Pin, blue | $1.00 | |
6-61-64 “Bahá’í” Lapel Pin, black | $1.00 | |
6-61-65 “Bahá’í” Lapel Pin, white | $1.00 |
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Everett Hubbart, the National Bahá’í Center properties manager, polishes brass lighting fixtures in auditorium of the House of Worship on the first morning the building was closed to the public. |
New member National Assembly elected, page 2
House of Worship closes for repairs, page 1
International Women’s Year beginning, page 1
