The American Bahá’í/Volume 5/Issue 5/Text

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The American Bahá’í May, 1974

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[Page 1]

Five Year Plan launched

The Five Year Plan, the opening campaign of a critical span of eighteen years separating the Bahá’í World from the centenary of Bahá’u’lláh’s Ascension and the unveiling of His Almighty Covenant, was launched in the United States on the morning of April 26 by the Hand of the Cause Paul Haney, who represented The Universal House of Justice at the 65th Annual National Bahá’í Convention in Wilmette.

More than 400 Bahá’ís were present in Foundation Hall as Mr. Haney faced the National Convention at approximately 10:30 a.m. to read the Five Year Plan message to the Bahá’ís of the world, and the special message to the Bahá’ís of the United States containing their initial assignments and goals. (See NATIONAL BAHÁ’Í REVIEW for text of Messages).

His presentation was punctuated by frequent applause as aspects of the Plan—the third global campaign in the implementation of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Divine Plan—were disclosed to the friends.

The new Plan, according to Mr. Haney, assigns to the American believers a preponderating share of the responsibility for accomplishing its three objectives: the preservation and consolidation of the victories already won, the vast and widespread expansion of the Bahá’í community, and the development of the

(Continued on page two)

Gains are recorded in Assemblies elected

Approximately 860 Local Assemblies were elected at Riḍván and recognized by the National Spiritual Assembly. There were 817 Assemblies in the continental United States before the election.

Approximately 50 of the Assemblies existing before Riḍván were lost, but a sufficient number of new Assemblies were elected to offset the loss and to provide a respectable gain in the total number of Local Assemblies. Approximately 90 new Assemblies were formed.

All election totals are tentative until the National Assembly is able to review and recognize the validity of the Assembly formations. However, the National Assembly did announce to the National Convention that at least 860 Assemblies had been successfully formed.

The National Teaching Committee called these results “a significant victory for the American Bahá’í community.” There was concern as the Riḍván election approached that the number of Assemblies would drop below the 817 mark. As THE AMERICAN BAHÁ’Í went to press in April more than 80 Assemblies were still in jeopardy.

“The obvious fact that we have gained Assemblies will mean that we will start the Five Year Plan closer to the goal of 1,400 Local Spiritual Assemblies that has been established, and with real momentum,” the Committee said.

Several reasons were suggested to explain the Riḍván victory:

(Continued on page two)

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National Assembly elected

THE NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY at its organizational meeting, which followed the announcement of the election results at National Convention. One hundred sixty-eight delegates voted for the members of the National Assembly on Saturday morning, April 27. There were no changes in the composition of the National Assembly. The members are, from left to right: Dr. Daniel Jordan, vice-chairman; Miss Charlotte Linfoot, assistant secretary; Miss Magdalene Carney; Dr. Dwight Allen; Glenford Mitchell, secretary; Dr. Dorothy Nelson, treasurer; Franklin Kahn; Richard Betts; Dr. Firuz Kazemzadeh, chairman.

THE HAND OF THE CAUSE Paul Haney represented The Universal House of Justice at the 65th National Bahá’í Convention in Wilmette, April 25-28. Mr. Haney read the Five Year Plan to the Convention, and addressed the delegates on at least three other occasions, explaining the many steps taken to develop this Plan and placing the new document in the context of Bahá’í history. Mr. Haney was himself a member of the National Spiritual Assembly for twelve years and was appointed a Hand of the Cause by the Guardian in 1954.

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Assembly makes three requests

The newly elected National Spiritual Assembly announced a decision at the National Convention to ask the Bahá’í community to consider between now and the St. Louis Conference next August three requests designed to fulfill the demands of the Five Year Plan.

The first request is that the friends immediately arise to fill the initial quota of 120 pioneers assigned to the United States in the Five Year Plan. Thirty pioneers are ready to leave for their posts immediately, the Assembly said.

“We would be happy to see another contingent ready to leave from the St. Louis Conference,” said Miss Magdalene Carney, a member of the National Assembly.

The second request is that every individual, Bahá’í Group, and Local Spiritual Assembly consider increasing their contributions to the Fund by 30 percent more than last year. The higher level of income would ensure meeting national expenditures which will increase by 25 percent this year.

The third request of the National Assembly is that every Local Assembly and Bahá’í Group initiate an intensive study of the Five Year Plan to prepare to meet its demands.

Deficit in Fund eliminated

A dramatic announcement that the Fund deficit accumulated primarily during the busy years of the Nine Year Plan had been completely eliminated in the final month of the interim year, was made to the Convention by the National Assembly treasurer.

During the month of April revenues exceeded expenditures by more than $100,000, allowing the continuing deficit, which at the beginning of the year loomed at nearly $180,000, to be completely dissolved, Dr. Dorothy Nelson explained. For the first time in several years the assets of the Faith were greater than its liabilities.

This dramatic achievement was attributed by the Office of the Treasurer to the generous response of individuals, Assemblies, and groups to the National Assembly’s request for a 30 percent increase in contributions during the final two months of the Bahá’í year.

The community’s generous acknowledgement of the National Assembly’s call was expected to produce a record monthly total of contributions to the Fund. Contributions for Jalál may exceed $200,000, the highest ever recorded. A new record of Assemblies contributing was also expected to be set. The previous high for a single Bahá’í month was 588.

The National Spiritual Assembly also announced that it had contributed $5,000 to the building funds for each of the proposed new Houses of Worship in

(Continued on page four)

[Page 2]

Computer assistant is welcome addition

Soon the Data Processing Office at the National Center will welcome a new assistant. The basic component of the “Lockheed Sue,” a new minicomputer, was purchased last year, and communications hardware has been added by the staff of the Data Processing Office under the direction of Mr. Carlton Mills. The office staff has, in the last year, intensified its efforts to develop the “hardware” of the computer and the “software,” or programming.

The mini-computer will be brought to Wilmette within the next two months to assist the Data Processing Office in maintaining an up-to-date membership and records system and in the assistance they provide the National Assembly in financial and statistical services. The computer will supplement the services of the Burroughs 6700 computer that is leased by the National Assembly.

The two chief abilities of the Lockheed computer are storage and concentration of information. Information which previously had to be sent directly to Urbana, Illinois (where the Burroughs 6700 is located), will soon be stored at the National Center until it can be sent on. This allows the Data Processing staff to continue feeding the computer information when the larger machine is, for some reason, not available.

The Lockheed computer will also concentrate the information sent. At this time, an average of four telephone lines is required to transfer information. When the computer is in Wilmette, the same amount of information can be sent on only one line. As the needs of the office expand with the Bahá’í community in the future, the Lockheed mini-computer has potential for even more condensation of material.

A data processing staff member said that the new addition to the office should save considerable time and money as the new information retrieval system will be far more efficient. He pointed out, however, that the computer can only be as accurate and efficient as the information it receives allows.

Patience of teachers is rewarded

Although the Bahá’í Faith is recognized by the federal government and all state governments as a legitimate religion, many individual Bahá’ís have had difficulty obtaining such recognition in local branches of government and administration. In Alpena, a town of about 13,000 in northern Michigan, a Bahá’í teacher has attempted for six years to be excused from work on Bahá’í holy days. He has only recently been successful in achieving this goal.

Patrick Chadwick went to the school system the second year he lived in Alpena and requested leave for Bahá’í holy days. The superintendent of schools at that time saw no reason to allow such leave. He reasoned that although he was a Catholic himself, he was not allowed to be absent on Catholic holy days. Mr. Chadwick pointed out that the holy days he requested time off for were analogous to Christmas and Easter for Christians but did not persuade the superintendent with this reasoning.

Mr. Chadwick pursued this request to two other levels of school administration, including a committee of other teachers, both of which upheld the superintendent’s decision.

Mr. Chadwick then “rested his case” for several years. Relying on the principle of obedience to authority, he attended school and taught on Bahá’í holy days.

Recently, however, in a staff newsletter to teachers in the Alpena schools, a new superintendent pointed out the right of Jewish teachers to be absent on their holy days. Encouraged by the presence of a new superintendent, and now supported by two other Bahá’í teachers, Mr. Chadwick took his previous request to the new superintendent. He explained the relevant tenets of the Bahá’í Faith and established that the Faith, although not well-known in the Alpena area, was firmly established throughout the world. The teachers also pointed out that their motive was in no way to reduce their workload, but rather to observe in a befitting manner those days which were holy to them.

Following a congenial interview with the new superintendent of the Alpena schools, who was given a copy of Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era, the Bahá’í educators in the Alpena schools will be excused with no pay on Bahá’í holy days.

Assemblies saved

(Continued from page one)

—The friends responded to the extraordinary steps taken by the NTC to save jeopardized Assemblies, in many cases relocating to new communities in the closing weeks of the interim year. More than 50 Assemblies were saved during this period.

—The friends increased their teaching activity, responding affirmatively to the goals established by the National Assembly in its June 28, 1973, letter to the community. Many of the Assemblies were saved by new declarations.

—The approach of the Five Year Plan generated a sense of excitement in the community which tended to stimulate teaching activity.

Corrections continue on membership data

Work on correcting and updating the computer membership database is continuing at the National Center. The first step in this cleanup process was recently accomplished with the assistance of District Teaching Committees and involved the verification of the boundaries of Bahá’í communities.

The second step, now being implemented by the Membership and Records Office, will involve the Local Assemblies in a process of reviewing membership lists for their localities to determine whether they are complete and correct.

By involving Bahá’í institutions at the local and state levels in the data processing system, the Membership and Records Office hopes to make available membership information more accurate and reliable.

In practical terms, the database cleanup will mean better communications and better response from the National Center. The Membership and Records Office notes the database is used to provide such services as labels for THE AMERICAN BAHÁ’Í and receipts to individuals contributing to the Funds. It is also used to determine the number of voting Bahá’ís in electoral districts and in the process of assigning delegates to the National Convention.

Plan launched

(Continued from page one)

distinctive character of Bahá’í life particularly in the local communities.

The United States will be required to dispatch an initial contingent of 120 pioneers to posts in Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia, Australasia, and Europe. In addition, it must raise the number of localities where Bahá’ís reside to 7,000 and increase the number of Local Assemblies to a minimum of 1,400, including at least 25 on Indian reservations.

Before reading the two documents, Mr. Haney provided some background information about their formulation, noting that the origins of the Plan go back to 1971 when The Universal House of Justice asked the Hands of the Cause and the Continental Counsellors to submit views and recommendations on the needs, requirements, and opportunities that would dominate the next stage in the expansion of the Faith. These recommendations were reviewed periodically during the development of the Plan, Mr. Haney said.

Intensive work began in September 1973 with the formation of the International Teaching Centre in Haifa. One of the functions of this institution, of which all Hands of the Cause and three Counsellors are members, is to make recommendations to the House of Justice on global, regional, and national teaching plans.

Shortly after its formation, the Teaching Centre met in consultation with The Universal House of Justice for a full day at Bahjí, at which time guidelines toward formulating the Plan were discussed, Mr. Haney said.

“That bounty of meeting with The Universal House of Justice under those circumstances, of course, gave us a tremendous impetus in beginning the spade work on the Plan,” he said.

The Five Year Plan is more than the general statement of purpose embodied in the House of Justice’s Naw-Rúz Message, Mr. Haney said. It also includes 115 separate national plans, each tailored to the individual requirements of the communities for which they were formulated.

The preliminary recommendations of the International Teaching Centre were turned over to the House of Justice after months of work and brought by the Supreme Body into their “complete and unerring” final form, Mr. Haney said.

[Page 3]

New school to open

A new 67-acre Bahá’í school in the Santa Cruz mountains of California will soon be dedicated by the National Assembly. The ceremony has been tentatively scheduled for the July 4 weekend.

The property, to be known as the John and Louise Bosch Bahá’í School, will replace the Geyserville school, which was sold to the State of California to allow for the extension of U.S. Highway 101.

It is expected that the Bosch school will be open to Bahá’í use shortly after its dedication. A newly appointed Bosch School Council is now planning its first summer session.

John and Louise Bosch were dedicated early Bahá’ís who met ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in 1912 during His journeys in America and served Him faithfully for many years. The Boschs were present in the Holy Land when the Master passed away in 1921. They donated the Geyserville property—their home at one time—to the Bahá’í Faith in the 1920s.

Negotiations to purchase the $375,000 Bosch school were begun in January 1973. They were completed last December, eleven months later. The Geyserville property was turned over to the State of California in January 1973. The last school sessions were held there in the summer of 1972. The 1973 summer school was conducted in rented facilities nearby.

The new school is located sixteen miles north of Santa Cruz, at the north end of Monterey Bay. It contains large stands of redwood, fir, oak, and madrone, extensive areas of open, rolling land, and a small lake. From several vantage points on the property, situated at an elevation of 2,000 feet, the Pacific Ocean, five miles distant, is clearly visible.

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One of the many double cabins provided for visitors to the School.

The main lodge and swimming pool on the Bosch School property.

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The main building has a dining hall for about 70 people, a fully equipped commercial kitchen, a large lobby, a game room, a snack bar, and locker rooms for the swimming pool. The heated and filtered pool is 30 feet by 60 feet. There are, in addition, ten individual cabins (nine with fireplaces), three duplex cabins, and three separate homes.

Although title to the property has passed to the Bahá’ís, there are still restrictions on the use of the school, fixed by the Santa Cruz county government. The operating permit issued by the county prohibits any more than 125 people from staying there at any one time. It will be possible to have more people on the property for single-day events, but at these times traffic along the narrow access road will have to be carefully regulated. It will be necessary, consequently, for all Bahá’ís wishing to attend events at the Bosch school to register in advance. To obey county regulations this condition must be strictly followed.

Early this spring a severe snowstorm in the Santa Cruz mountains felled many trees, causing some damage on the property. The kitchen of the main residence was destroyed by the falling limbs and trees, and some minor damage was caused to some cabins. The snow damage has been largely repaired.

The manager of the new property is Harry Barr. Mr. Barr was formerly a building contractor in Florida.

The Geyserville property was located 90 miles north of San Francisco, on 80 acres near the Russian River. Highway improvements, announced by the state in the late 50s, would have brought traffic within 100 yards of the main class building.

Bosch school named for devoted early Bahá’ís

When John Bosch met ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in New York in 1912 he told the Master he was not an able speaker because he was of foreign birth. He said his teaching had to be limited to circulating pamphlets and books.

“You are doing very well,” ‘Abdu’l-Bahá replied, “you are doing better than talking. With you it is not words or the movement of the lips; with you it is the heart that speaks. In your presence silence speaks and radiates.” The Master named John Bosch “Núrání,” which means, “full of light.”

Mr. Bosch immigrated to the United States from Switzerland in 1879. Within a few years he became involved with the wine industry in Southern California. In 1899 he superintended the construction of Geyserville, one of the largest wineries in the country.

Throughout his life John Bosch had been interested in various religions. It was in 1905 that he met an old acquaintance on a train who told him of the Bahá’í Faith and referred him to Mrs. Helen Goodall of Oakland. After studying with Mrs. Goodall, on May 29, 1905, Mr. Bosch wrote his first letter to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. The acknowledgment of that letter was the first of many Tablets addressed to John Bosch from the Master.

As soon as he learned of the prohibition of alcoholic beverages in the Faith, John Bosch began to dissociate himself from the wine trade and to engage in other business.

When the news came that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was coming to America in 1912, Mr. Bosch traveled to New York. At that same first meeting ‘Abdu’l-Bahá told John Bosch that he was one of the family and could come and go as he pleased. Mr. Bosch accompanied ‘Abdu’l-Bahá on much of His trip in America.

On one occasion John Bosch was asked to join ‘Abdu’l-Bahá on an automobile trip across New York City. In relating the experience to a friend he said: “As I reached the door, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá seized me by the hand and pulled me into the car, seating me at His right. He seemed very tired. Immediately He put His arm around my waist, dropped His head on my left shoulder, and with a deep sigh went to sleep. During the entire hour’s drive, while the friends in the automobiles looked at the sights, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá slept.”

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John and Louise Bosch

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In San Francisco in 1914 John Bosch married Mrs. Louise Stapfer, who was also a native of Switzerland. She had been a Bahá’í for several years and had accompanied May Maxwell on pilgrimage in 1909.

When the Tablets of the Divine Plan were released, the Boschs were eager to respond. In 1920 they pioneered to Tahiti and the Society Islands. They taught there for five months.

In April of the following year, Mr. and Mrs. Bosch set out for Haifa to visit ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. They traveled and taught through France, Switzerland, Germany, and Italy on their way and arrived in Haifa on November 14, 1921.

They had spent two joyous weeks in the presence of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, when on November 28 the great sorrow of His passing descended upon them. John Bosch was given the great privilege of assisting the family with burial preparations, “and the shoulder upon which ‘Abdu’l-Bahá had slept in New York helped in Haifa to carry His casket to its final resting place on Mt. Carmel.”

When the Boschs left Haifa they were given the first copy of the Will and Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá by the Guardian. They were to deliver it to the Bahá’í Convention in Chicago in 1922.

In the following years John and Louise Bosch focused much of their time and energy on the development of the Geyserville property. They saw the school there grow from a small, informal retreat to an efficiently operating institution.

John Bosch died in 1946; Louise died in 1952. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá wrote to them in Tahiti: “Thou art sowing a seed that shall in due time give rise to thousands of harvests.”

For more information on John and Louise Bosch, see The Bahá’í World, Vol. XI, 1946-1950, “In Memoriam, John David Bosch,” by Charlotte M. Linfoot, pp. 488-494; and The Bahá’í World, Vol. XII, 1950-1954, “In Memoriam, Louise Stapfer Bosch,” by Myrle and Irvin Somerhalder, pp. 705-707; and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Fiftieth Anniversary of His Passing (Commemorative Issue, World Order, Fall 1971), “ ‘Abdu’l-Bahá: Portrayals from East and West,” by Marzieh Gail, pp. 29-46.

[Page 4]

65th National Bahá’í Convention

1. Hand of the Cause Mr. Haney greets a visitor to the Convention. 2. & 3. A record of the proceedings at the Convention was captured on videotape and will be placed in the National Archives. The cameraman, Mr. Jeff Rabidoux, is from Greenfield, Massachusetts.

4. Dr. Daniel Jordan was elected permanent chairman of the Convention. 5. Mrs. Virginia Martig, from the state of Washington, adds her voice to the consultation. 6. Three Southern delegates discuss the proceedings. From left to right: Mr. Howard Edwards, Alabama; Mr. Donald Erby, South Carolina; and Mr. Samuel Green, Central Texas. 7. Continental Counsellor Edna True at the rostrum during an evening with the institutions of the Hand of the Cause, the Counsellors, and the Auxiliary Board. Seated behind her are Mr. Haney, Dr. Iraj Ayman, Counsellor from Western Asia, and six Auxiliary Board members (Miss Thelma Jackson hidden behind Miss True). 8. Mr. Glenford Mitchell presented the annual report of the National Spiritual Assembly.

Photographs by Mark Tanny and Steve Clay

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Hand urges Bahá’ís to attend Conference

(Continued from cover)

Amatu’l-Bahá Rúḥíyyih Khánum, Hand of the Cause of God, wife of the beloved Guardian, exemplary traveling teacher to a whole epoch of Bahá’ís, will be there. Will you? I hope so. For who knows when any of us will have such a wonderful opportunity again. It will be an occasion for you and your children, and your children’s children to remember all the days of your life. Even St. Louis himself will come down from the Supreme Concourse to help us. Not to mention Saint Louis Gregory, Roy Wilhelm,

Martha Root, May Maxwell, Keith Ransom-Kehler, and all those other American angels of heaven. They will be there. Will you?

Beloved friends, I hope to have the opportunity myself, through the kindness of Bahá’u’lláh, to be there with you in St. Louis. To be there among you—the heroes and heroines, the pioneers, the traveling teachers—who will be born there in the inspiration of that occasion. Bahá’u’lláh will lift our hearts into a new kingdom, if we but give Him the opportunity. How about it? I love you all very much. If you feel the same way, tell me so. In person. In St. Louis.

(From a recorded message
to the National Convention)

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Deficit eliminated

(Continued from page one)

Samoa and India. An additional $5,000 was contributed toward the construction of the seat of The Universal House of Justice on Mount Carmel.

Almost $4,000 in contributions was received at the National Convention, of which $1,000 was earmarked for the construction of the new Bahá’í Temples.

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Remember Summer Projects

[Page 5]

Plan de Cinco Años

A los Bahá’ís del Mundo

Muy amados amigos,

Un lapso de dieciocho años nos separa del centenario de la Ascensión de Bahá’u’lláh y la revelación de Su Convenio Todopoderoso. La suerte de la humanidad en ese período no puede ser prevista por hombre alguno. Podemos, sin embargo, predecir con confianza que la Causa de Dios, impelida por las poderosas fuerzas de vida que contiene, deberá seguir aumentando en fuerza sobre fuerza, creciendo en dimensión y desarrollando poderes cada vez mayores para la realización del propósito de Dios sobre la tierra.

Las evidencias abundantes de la confirmación Divina que han recompensado los esfuerzos árduos y dedicados de la comunidad Bahá’í durante la última década son aparentes por toda la tierra y dan certeza incontrovertible de su capacidad para ganar el beneplácito de Bahá’u’lláh y responder a cada llamado que se le hace en Su servicio.

El Plan de Cinco Años, al cual se llama ahora a esta comunidad, constituye la campaña inicial de estos años críticos. Es el tercer plan global emprendido por el Ejército de la Luz en su implementación del Plan Divino de ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, ese programa de alcance mundial revelado en Sus lúcidas Tablas y descrito por el Guardián de la Causa de Dios como la Carta para la propagación de la Fe en todo el mundo. Fue el Guardián mismo, el amado “signo de Dios”, quien, por su exposición e interpretación de la Revelación, por la disciplina y educación que dió a la comunidad Bahá’í y por una serie de planes nacionales asignados a las varias unidades de esa comunidad, forjó el Orden Administrativo de la Fe y lo hizo un instrumento para la implementación de esta gran Carta, y él mismo diseñó y lanzó el primer plan global, la Cruzada de Diez Años—singular, brillante y espiritualmente gloriosa. Las victorias de esa cruzada implantaron el estandarte de Bahá’u’lláh en todas partes del planeta, y el Plan de Nueve Años que la siguió reforzó y extendió los baluartes de la Fe y elevó el número de Asambleas Espirituales Nacionales—los pilares que sostienen a la Casa Universal de Justicia—a ciento trece, número que se aumenta a ciento quince este Riḍván con la formación de las Asambleas Espirituales Nacionales de Hong Kong y Arabia Sudoriental.

Este Plan de Cinco Años tiene tres objetivos principales: la preservación y consolidación de las victorias ganadas; una expansión vasta y extensa de la comunidad Bahá’í; el desarrollo del carácter distintivo de la vida Bahá’í, especialmente en las comunidades locales. El logro de estos objetivos generales requiere la realización de tareas específicas en el Centro Mundial de la Fe y por comunidades nacionales y locales.

En el Centro Mundial se continuará con el trabajo de cotejo y clasificación de los Textos Sagrados; se harán traducciones autorizadas de tres compilaciones de las Escrituras que luego serán publicadas, a saber, las Tablas de Bahá’u’lláh reveladas después del Kitáb-i-Aqdas, oraciones y extractos de los Escritos del Báb, aumentando grandemente los fragmentos de Sus Palabras ahora disponibles en el Occidente, y de las obras del Maestro comprendiendo una selección amplia de la vasta extensión de temas iluminados por Su sabiduría Divina; se empezará la construcción del edificio en el Monte Carmelo que servirá como sede de la Casa Universal de Justicia y se espera completarlo durante el Plan de Cinco Años; tendrá lugar adicional extensión y embellecimiento de los jardines y propiedades que rodean los Lugares Sagrados; el fortalecimiento de la relación entre la Comunidad Internacional Bahá’í y las Naciones Unidas continuará y se harán esfuerzos continuos para proteger la Fe de la persecución y liberarla de las restricciones impuestas por la ortodoxia religiosa.

En la esfera internacional, se iniciará la erección de dos Mashriqu’l-Adhkár—uno en la India y uno en Samoa; ocho Conferencias Internacionales de Enseñanza se celebrarán en la parte media del Plan de Cinco Años; dos para el Ártico, una en Anchorage y una en Helsinki durante julio de 1976, una en Paris en agosto de 1976, una en Nairobi en octubre de 1976, una en Hong Kong en noviembre de 1976, una en Auckland y una en Bahía, Brasil, en enero de 1977 y una en Mérida, México, en ‎febero febrero‎ de 1977.

Se formarán dieciseis nuevas Asambleas Espirituales Nacionales, a saber, las Asambleas Espirituales Nacionales de las Bahamas, Burundi, Chipre, las Antillas Francesas, Grecia, Jordania, Mali, Mauritania, las Nuevas Hébridas, Niger, Senegal, Sierra Leona, Somalia, Surinam y Guayana Francesa, Togo, y Alto Volta; sus Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds nacionales, sitios para Templos y dotaciones deben ser adquiridos; la diseminación de noticias y mensajes, tan vital para el conocimiento, el aliento y la unidad de la comunidad Bahá’í, debe volverse eficiente y rápida; y en anticipación de una vasta expansión en el número de creyentes, de Asambleas Espirituales Locales y de localidades donde residen Bahá’ís, ha de desarrollarse un programa coordinado de traducción y publicación de literatura Bahá’í con la finalidad de proveer, con el tiempo, el Texto Sagrado y las enseñanzas de la Fe a toda la humanidad—programa que incluirá la fundación de seis Editoriales Bahá’ís y la subvención continuada de literatura Bahá’í; se han planeado 409 proyectos de ayuda entre Asambleas, y se requiere 557 pioneros en el comienzo del Plan.

Uno de los rasgos distintivos de la Causa de Dios es su principio de no aceptar para sus propios propósitos contribuciones financieras de no-Bahá’ís; el apoyo del Fondo Bahá’í es una merced reservada por Bahá’u’lláh para Sus seguidores declarados. Esta merced impone la responsabilidad entera por el apoyo financiero de la Fe sobre los creyentes únicamente, y a cada uno de ellos se le pide que haga el máximo para asegurar que se mantenga y se aumente la efusión constante y liberal de medios para hacer frente a las necesidades crecientes de la Causa. Muchas comunidades Bahá’ís actualmente dependen de ayuda de afuera, y para ellas la meta debe ser el llegar a sostenerse solas, confidentes de que el Generoso Señor les permitirá ofrecer, con el tiempo y a medida que aumenten sus esfuerzos, tanto sus riquezas materiales como su devoción, su energía y amor para el progreso de Su Fe.

Se debe proseguir vigorosamente con la proclamación de la Fe de acuerdo con planes establecidos y con el objeto de utilizar en escala cada vez mayor los medios de la comunicación masiva. Se debe recordar que el propósito de la proclamación consiste en dar a conocer a toda la humanidad la existencia de la nueva Revelación y su propósito general, mientras que los programas de enseñanza deben ser planeados para confirmar a individuos de todos los niveles de la sociedad.

Mensaje de La Casa Universal de Justicia

El vasto depósito de energía espiritual, celo e idealismo que se halla en la juventud Bahá’í, el cual contribuyó tan eficazmente al éxito del Plan de Nueve Años, debe ser dirigido a la proclamación, la enseñanza y consolidación de la Causa y generosamente gastado en ello. Se urge a las Asambleas Espirituales que provean consulta y ofrezcan guía a los jóvenes Bahá’ís que buscan planear sus vidas de tal manera que puedan rendir el mayor servicio a la Causa de Dios.

La educación de los niños en las enseñanzas de la Fe debe considerarse como una obligación esencial de todos los padres Bahá’ís y de toda comunidad local y nacional, y debe llegar a ser una actividad Bahá’í firmemente establecida durante el curso de este Plan. Esta educación debe incluir instrucción moral mediante la palabra y el ejemplo y la participación de los niños en la vida de comunidad Bahá’í.

Este Plan de Cinco Años debe atestiguar el desarrollo en la comunidad mundial Bahá’í de características distintivas Bahá’ís implantadas en ella por Bahá’u’lláh Mismo. La unidad del género humano es el principio básico de Su Revelación; las comunidades Bahá’ís, por lo tanto, deben llegar a ser renombradas por su demostración de esta unidad. En un mundo que día a día se divide cada vez más por el partidarismo y los intereses de grupo, la comunidad Bahá’í debe distinguirse por la concordia y la armonía de sus relaciones. La llegada de la edad de madurez de la raza humana debe ser prefigurada por la comprensión madura y responsable de los problemas humanos y la administración sabia de sus asuntos por estas mismas comunidades Bahá’ís. La práctica y el desarrollo de tales características Bahá’ís son la responsabilidad tanto de los individuos Bahá’ís como de las instituciones administrativas, aunque la mayor oportunidad para fomentar su crecimiento descansa sobre las Asambleas Espirituales Locales.

La institución divinamente ordenada de la Asamblea Espiritual Local funciona en los primeros niveles de la sociedad humana y es la unidad administrativa básica del Orden Mundial de Bahá’u’lláh. Ella se concierne con individuos y familias a quienes debe alentar constantemente a unirse en una sociedad Bahá’í distintiva, vitalizada y protegida por las leyes, ordenanzas y principios de la Revelación de Bahá’u’lláh. Ella protege a la Causa de Dios; actúa como el pastor amoroso del rebaño Bahá’í.

El fortalecimiento y desarrollo de las Asambleas Espirituales Locales es un objetivo vital del Plan de Cinco Años. El éxito solamente en esta meta

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Mason Remey ha fallecido en Florencia “CHARLES MASON REMEY, CUYO INTENTO ARROGANTE DE USURPAR LA GUARDIANIA DESPUES DEL FALLECIMIENTO SHOGHI EFFENDI CONDUJO A SU EXPULSION DE FILAS FIELES, HA FALLECIDO EN FLORENCIA, ITALIA, EN CENTESIMO AÑO DE SU VIDA ENTERRADO SIN CEREMONIA RELIGIOSA, ABANDONADO POR SEGUIDORES DE ANTAÑO. HISTORIA ESTA LASTIMOSA DESVIACION POR QUIEN HABIA RECIBIDO GRANDES HONORES TANTO DEL MAESTRO COMO DEL GUARDIAN CONSTITUYE AUN OTRO EJEMPLO DE LA FUTILIDAD DE TODOS LOS INTENTOS DE SOCAVAR CONVENIO IMPREGNABLE DE LA CAUSA DE BAHÁ’U’LLÁH.” 5 DE ABRIL DE 1974 LA CASA UNIVERSAL DE JUSTÍCIA

[Page 6]

Meeting explores Bahá’í characteristics

Developing distinctive Bahá’í characteristics was emphasized March 30-31 in Knoxville, Tennessee, at a conference headed by a member of the Continental Board of Counsellors and three Auxiliary Board members.

About 70 Bahá’ís attended the weekend event, featuring as speakers Continental Counsellor Sarah Pereira, and Auxiliary Board members William Tucker, Elizabeth Martin and Jane McCants.

Hosted by the Knoxville Spiritual Assembly and the Eastern Tennessee District Teaching Committee, it was the largest such gathering yet to be held in the eastern half of the state. The conference took place on the campus of the University of Tennessee.

Without learning the details, the believers present were given an advance glimpse of the new Five Year Plan, of which, they were told, a key goal is “the development in the Bahá’í community of the distinctive characteristics implanted in it by Bahá’u’lláh.”

The speakers discussed various aspects of how to meet the challenge in an age marked increasingly by corruption, materialism, immorality and apathy.

Dr. McCants, who teaches psychiatry at the University of North Carolina, spoke of the need for reliance on God in meeting the three major standards outlined by Shoghi Effendi for American Bahá’ís: rectitude of conduct, freedom from all traces of racial prejudice, and a life of purity and chastity.

“Don’t look at the standards of the world and be comforted that we’re not quite that bad,” she said, adding that America, with its materialism and its “collapsing, decadent, corrupt institutions,” was chosen as the cradle of the Bahá’í administrative order so that “the transforming miracle of the Word of God would display itself in radiant contrast.”

Quoting Counsellor Edna True, she said recent national scandals have brought on the time when “Bahá’ís will be known by deeds,” since the public has lost faith in the meaning of words.

Dr. McCants said black and white Bahá’ís “both have some work to do” in eliminating racial prejudice, and warned that the furor in the past decade over integration and civil rights was only a “fad.”

“That fad is over in the United States,” she said. “They’re arguing over busing; no one is singing ‘We Shall Overcome.’ ” But, she said, Bahá’ís must continue to work towards race unity among themselves—the whites by eliminating a sometimes-unconscious air of superiority, the blacks by overcoming ingrained suspicions.

Achieving a spirit of complete reliance on Bahá’u’lláh is harder now than it was 10 years ago, and will be harder next year than it is now, she said. “There’s no security left,” Dr. McCants stated. “You don’t know whether you’ll be able to drive three miles three months from now, or whether the economic situation will be intact...

“If we look at ourselves, we won’t feel optimistic. We should look at the promises of Bahá’u’lláh. However dark the situation of the world is, our confidence in Bahá’u’lláh must become stronger.”

Mrs. Martin, a school teacher in Winnsboro, South Carolina, spoke on teaching methods and enriching Bahá’í community life, and said the believers must become renowned for their unity because “now people are looking—they’re not listening any more.”

She said the greatest need of the Bahá’í community today is “that we as a group of people begin to fall in love with each other... We have some people in Bahá’í communities with whom we have a real affinity—we have a good time with each other—but this we have to do for everybody.

“Each of us needs to feel that when I suffer, my Bahá’í friend suffers.”

To develop such a close-knit spirit, she said, Bahá’ís should spend more time with each other, because “you can’t do it just at Feast.” Another prerequisite is for each Bahá’í to develop his own virtues, she added: “Be more lovable if you can and make somebody else’s job a little bit easier.”

Mrs. Martin said love should manifest itself as service, which may consist of teaching children’s classes, being a willing listener to the concerns of others, or “doing an outstanding job wherever we work.”

Counsellor Pereira, a language teacher residing in Washington, D.C., spoke on “Bahá’í identity” and presented an after-dinner talk Saturday on the significance of the Synopsis and Codification of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas.

She said her own favorite thing about the Cause is its “reconciliation of idealism and practicality,” as shown by the fact that Bahá’u’lláh never calls the believers to a distinction without providing the means of achieving it.

The Counsellor warned that Bahá’ís “in this period of possible persecution” must avoid confrontations, such as arguing at firesides.

“As the process of disintegration pulls the world down, we are supposed to be working feverishly to build the World Order of Bahá’u’lláh up,” Dr. Pereira said. “We must keep pace with that process of disintegration or the world won’t have anywhere to turn.”

She said Bahá’ís can achieve a sense of their identity by knowing the purpose of their lives, which is the establishment of a divine civilization—functioning in accordance with the laws of Bahá’u’lláh—in which the Faith will be a “state religion.”

This will come about, she said, not by any “takeover,” since Bahá’ís are loyal to their governments, but simply by the steady growth of the Cause. As Bahá’ís attain positions of leadership, society will evolve in line with Bahá’í precepts, she said.

Plan de Cinco Años lanzado a Través del mundo

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enriquecerá grandemente la calidad de vida Bahá’í, aumentará la capacidad de la Fe de hacer frente a la entrada en tropel que aún ahora está tomando lugar y, sobre todo, demostrará la solidaridad y distinción siempre creciente de la comunidad Bahá’í, atrayendo de esta manera a cada vez más almas meditativas a la Fe y ofreciendo un refugio a los millones desafortunados y sin guía del actual orden moribundo y en bancarrota espiritual.

“Estas Asambleas Espirituales”, escribió ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, “son asistidas por el Espíritu de Dios. Su defensor es ‘Abdu’l-Bahá: sobre ellas, Él extiende Sus alas. Qué merced hay mayor que esta?” Asimismo dice: “Estas Asambleas Espirituales son lámparas brillantes y jardines celestiales, de los cuales las fragancias de santidad son difundidas a todas las regiones y las luces del conocimiento son arrojadas sobre todo lo creado. De ellas fluye en todas direcciones el espíritu de vida. Ellas, ciertamente, son las poderosas fuentes del progreso de la humanidad en todo momento y bajo todas las condiciones.”

Durante el Plan de Cinco Años, las Asambleas Espirituales Locales que se forman por vez primera han de formarse cuandoquiera hayan nueve o más creyentes adultos en el área pertinente; desde entonces en adelante, deben ser elegidas o declaradas en Riḍván. Se llama a las Asambleas Espirituales Nacionales a asignar a las Asambleas Espirituales Locales metas dentro del esquema general del Plan de Cinco Años y a alentarlas a adoptar metas propias; además, deben consultar con éstas y ayudarlas a hacer grandes esfuerzos para asumir gradualmente su función y responsabilidades debidas en el Orden Mundial de Bahá’u’lláh. A los amigos se les llama a dar su apoyo y cooperación de todo corazón a la Asamblea Espiritual Local, primero por votar en su elección y luego por proseguir con energía sus planes y programas, por volverse a ella en tiempos de prueba o dificultad, por orar por su éxito y gozar de su elevación a una posición de influencia y honor. Este gran premio, esta dádiva de Dios dentro de cada comunidad debe ser atesorada, nutrida, amada, ayudada, obedecida—y se debe orar por élla.

Tal vida de comunidad, firmemente establecida, ocupada y feliz, como la prevista para cuando las Asambleas Espirituales Locales son realmente eficaces, proveerá una firme base central de la cual los amigos podrán derivar valor, fortaleza y apoyo amoroso al llevar el Mensaje Divino a sus semejantes y conformar sus vidas a su autoridad benévola.

Los hechos y programas, todas estas variadas actividades mundiales a las cuales ustedes son llamados tienen un solo objetivo—el establecimiento del Reino de Dios sobre la tierra. En cada etapa de este proceso y en todos los niveles de la responsabilidad Bahá’í, sea individual, local o nacional, ustedes serán alentados, aconsejados y ayudados por la institución divinamente ordenada por las Manos de la Causa de Dios, una Institución fuertemente reforzada por el exitoso establecimiento del Centro Internacional de Enseñanza. Por la aparición de este Centro, se ha estampado el sello en la realización de la meta, anunciada hace casi diez años, de asegurar la extensión hacia el futuro de las funciones específicas de protección y propagación conferidas sobre las Manos de la Causa en el Texto Sagrado. Mediante el trabajo del Centro Internacional de Enseñanza—que dirige y coordina el trabajo de los Cuerpos de Consejeros en todo el mundo—el amor, la guía y la ayuda de las Manos, a través de los Cuerpos de Consejeros, sus miembros del Cuerpo Auxiliar y sus ayudantes, penetra la estructura entera de la sociedad Bahá’í.

Los Mayordomos Principales de la mancomunidad mundial embrionaria de Bahá’u’lláh de hecho han asegurado a esa comunidad creciente el cuidado para su bienestar, para el desarrollo de su carácter, y para su aliento espiritual, lo cual figura entre los deberes de su elevada posición.

A medida que el viejo orden ceda al nuevo, los cambios que han de tomar lugar en los asuntos humanos son tales como para anonadar la imaginación. Esta es la oportunidad para las huestes del Señor. Sin dejarse desanimar ni disuadir por la ruina de “ideales por mucho tiempo atesorados e instituciones por largos años honradas” que ahora están siendo ‘arrastradas y relegadas al limbo de las doctrinas caducas y olvidadas’, la comunidad mundial de Bahá’ís debe lanzarse hacia adelante con entusiasmo y con energía siempre creciente, para erigir aquellas nuevas instituciones dadas por Dios, desde las cuales se difundirá la luz de los sagrados principios y enseñanzas enviados por Dios en este día para la salvación de toda la humanidad.

La Casa Universal de Justicia

[Page 7]

World News

Translating delays cause rescue alert

In March 1973, Dale and Jean Morrow attempted to fulfill a Nine Year Plan goal of translating prayers into the dialect of the Sumo Indians, a remote tribe in the jungle of Honduras. This is their account of the trip up the Río Patuca.

The U.S. Air Force was on alert to send a rescue helicopter from Panama, a radio station in Tegucigalpa announced that two North Americans were lost in the jungles of the Patuca River, and the same story was printed in a newspaper in El Salvador. Rumors spread that we were eaten by crocodiles, bitten by poisonous snakes, drowned in a whirlpool or had simply disappeared. This letter testifies to the fact that none of those rumors were true.

In early 1973 we received a request from the National Spiritual Assembly of Honduras. The Universal House of Justice had assigned it the Nine Year Plan goal of translating prayers into the Sumo dialect. During the closing months of the Plan, the goal had still not been accomplished and the Assembly asked us to attempt it.

The Sumo Indians live along the Patuca River in the Mosquitia Region of Honduras. The only way to reach their settlement was by boat and so we began to search for a rubber raft. A Peace Corps friend of ours in Tegucigalpa lent us his raft. It measured about 7 feet by 4 feet and made a rather snug “houseboat” for what we thought would be a 12-day trip. Dale made a little trailer out of an inner tube and a wash tub which we used for extra storage space. We packed enough sardines, crackers, oatmeal, peanuts, raisins, cocoa, dry soups, canned juices and milk for 12 days. We had calculated 12 days for the trip on the basis of a talk we’d had with two young men who made the trip every year in a huge rubber raft. It normally took them about 10 days and so we calculated 2 more days to be on the safe side. It was only as our 21-day trip ended that we discovered that their raft had a motor.

On Monday, March 19, we set out on the Guayape River, a beautiful, clear, mountain stream about 14 kilometers from Catacamas. Our illusions about lazy river life were soon destroyed by the intense sunlight. We got sunburn upon sunburn; our lips and noses peeled six or seven times. My hands and feet burned, blistered, peeled and repeated the cycle. We also had intended to relax and drift along the river, trailing our feet in the water. On the contrary, we paddled and paddled—for 16 days. But the river life around us was quiet and peaceful.

After the first few days the animal life became rich and abundant—we saw trees filled with capering monkeys, huge iguanas, bright macaws, herons, kingfishers, orioles, wild ducks, anteaters, turtles, peacocks, parakeets and even an otter. One morning we had a special delight in seeing a 300-pound tapir slide into the water near our tent and surface quite near where we were standing. The Indians hunt these shy animals for their meat.

Gradually our life fell into a routine more or less like this: Out of bed at 5:30; ready to be on our way at 7:00; lunch, swimming, chores, and rest from 11:30-2:00; more paddling 2:00-5:00; supper and setting up camp 5:00-7:30; collapsing for the night 7:30 or later.

During the first five days we passed several houses along the banks and saw people washing clothes, bathing, or watering cattle. Later there were no more permanent houses and we might go two days without seeing anyone on the shore. By the third day we were on the Patuca River. We began to see the “champas”—temporary lean-to shelters used by small groups of men or families who come up the Patuca each year to set tigre (wildcat) traps, pan for gold, hunt alligators or tap trees for a rubber-like sap or chicle. The champas are made of stick frames with leaves covering them. They are always out in the open on gravel bars (perhaps for protection from wild animals). We often wondered how the people slept on the beds of hard, jabbing rocks.

Soon after we reached the Patuca, we saw the rapids that so many people had told us about. But with our little raft, we had none of the terrifying experiences that we had been led to expect—just one discomfort. It was nearly impossible to overturn the raft, but it easily held water. And so on several occasions we spent our siesta time drying provisions and books that had been thoroughly soaked by the river.

We had been traveling about 10 days and were getting a bit bored of our simple diet when we received a delightful treat. We met four Indian boys setting tigre traps. After chatting with us for a while, they invited us to their camp for lunch. These young brothers worked together beautifully. Not one word was spoken and within a short time we were served a delicious meal of fried bread, boiled fish ... scrambled turtle and iguana eggs. The Indians spear fish in the clear waters of the river.

Finally on April 1, the fourteenth day of our trip, we reached our destination Kraosyrpe—the only Sumo Indian village in Honduras. Kraosyrpe consists of about 30 bamboo houses with grass roofs. The people were fascinated by the rubber raft and its little aluminum paddles. They also came to see the Bahá’í pamphlets and photographs that we had brought. Soon the children were playing with our Frisbee and the adults presented us with bananas, watermelons, beans, breadfruit, meat and eggs. The school teacher had left for a few days and we were given the school to stay in.

The following day we became more acquainted with the people and explained our desire to get a few prayers translated into Sumo. Although Kraosyrpe is called a Sumo village, it has a mixed culture. Most of the inhabitants speak Misquito and Spanish among themselves, although many still speak Sumo.

Two factors had to be dealt with as we attempted to get prayers translated. Several groups have visited the Sumos to study them, investigate their private lives, to force new ideas on them, or to take advantage in trading with them. The natives had become very suspicious of foreigners.

The language itself also posed a problem. Sumo is much more elemental and literal than English or Spanish. Accurate translation of the concepts in the prayers took some time.

At first, the results of our efforts were discouraging. We planned to stay two days and after three had translated only two and a half prayers. On the fourth day we decided to leave. We’d been gone so long already, our friends would be worrying about us. Also, we didn’t want to be a burden on the villagers and the teacher was ready to use the school again.

We began to pack our meager belongings into the raft. A young man passed by and offered to help. When we told him of the purpose of our trip, he volunteered to assist in translating. We were pleased to leave that day with four and a half prayers translated.

As we set out from Kraosyrpe our destination was Ahuas, a Misquito town where we hoped to catch the Honduras airlines flight back to Tegucigalpa. When we came to Wampusyrpe two days later, we were fortunate to meet a Moravian mission plane which gave us a lift to Ahuas, so we arrived there three or four days earlier than we had expected.

In Ahuas we met a missionary doctor. He radioed Tegucigalpa that we were safe and the Air Force helicopter was taken off the alert.

Back home on Tuesday, we learned of the Embassy rescue plans. They had gathered a group of people who either knew about our trip or the Patuca River. They tried to get every detail pertinent to our trip in order to find us. Only one bit of information was withheld. When a man who had attempted a similar trip along the river 15 years ago pointed out that “a man should never take his wife on such a trip,” it was decided not to mention that the wife was also four months pregnant at the time.

[Page 8] The meeting hall, decorated for the evening Fiesta. Auxiliary Board member Fred Schechter is at the podium.

Members of the Spanish-Speaking Teaching Committee with Auxiliary Board member Fred Schechter and National Assembly member Richard Betts. From left to right: David Villaseñor, Mr. Schechter, Jesse Villagomez, Mrs. Caridad Crocker, Mr. Betts, Armando Alzamora, and Mrs. Mariel Sears.

Regional Spanish Conference held

More than 130 Bahá’ís attended a Spanish-Speaking Regional Conference in Santa Monica, California, March 16-17, sponsored by the California Regional Teaching Committee. Planned and developed by the Spanish-Speaking Teaching Committee, one of the four minority teaching committees appointed by the National Teaching Committee in 1973-74, the conference stressed the general importance of teaching minorities, and particularly of reaching Spanish-speaking people.

The conference underscored the importance of individual Bahá’ís actively participating in minority teaching and attempted to provide specific techniques and strategies for carrying on the necessary work.

Among the speakers were Richard Betts, a member of the National Assembly, and Auxiliary Board members Fred Schechter and Anthony Lease.

A surprise visitor was the Hand of the Cause William Sears. “Our first goal must be the St. Louis Conference,” he said. “The Guardian stressed that if the American Bahá’ís would work as hard during the first year of the Plan as they did during the last year, the victories would be won at the very beginning. We should strive to make the St. Louis Conference the greatest one in the Bahá’í world.”

Mr. Betts likened the California conference to the first extensive efforts to reach blacks in the South with news of the Faith in 1968.

“If the Spanish-speaking people are not in the Faith, then the Faith is incomplete,” he said. “All must be encompassed within its sphere.”

Mr. Jesse Villagomez, a member of the Spanish-Speaking Teaching Committee, said Local Assemblies are the keys to reaching the Spanish communities. Through consultation, the Assemblies will develop effective teaching methods, he said. He suggested that The Proclamation of Bahá’u’lláh be given to leaders of the Spanish community, and noted that the teaching of indigenous people was a goal set by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and The Universal House of Justice.

Auxiliary Board member Anthony Lease urged the friends to become familiar with the beliefs of Catholicism. “We should be familiar with Catholicism if we are to reach the Spanish-speaking people,” he said.

On the evening of March 16, a Spanish-style “Fiesta” was given for the Bahá’ís and their guests, featuring dancing, refreshments, and a professional mariachi band.

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Proclamation to Clergy Conducted

A proclamation to the clergy of Grand Rapids, Michigan, was recently conducted by the Local Assembly there. In the photograph (right), a presentation of Bahá’í literature is made to the Most Rev. Joseph Breitenbeck, Bishop of the Grand Rapids diocese.

A nun teaching at a local parochial school who had become interested in the Bahá’í Faith was helpful in guiding the Grand Rapids Assembly in its plans to meet with Bishop Breitenbeck. Bahá’ís have spoken to her history classes, and she has begun to correspond with Miss Kate Dwyer, the former nun and Mother Superior in Australia who joined the Bahá’í Faith.

As part of its proclamation effort, the Assembly also sent a copy of the April 1973 edition of THE AMERICAN BAHÁ’Í and a brochure describing the film “A New Wind” to all social studies and religion teachers in the public schools and area colleges, inviting them to include the Bahá’í Faith in their studies. A copy of the film was donated to the public library for use by schools and institutions.

One group using the film was seminary students of the Calvin College and Seminary. Two local Bahá’ís briefly introduced the film to the 50 students present. They were well received and were asked to answer many questions. Another group of Bahá’ís was asked to address a youth class at a Presbyterian church.

As follow-up to their proclamation, the Assembly now plans to send the Grand Rapids clergy a statement by Shoghi Effendi, found in The Promised Day Is Come, defining the relationship between Christianity and the Bahá’í Faith.

For some time now, the Grand Rapids Assembly has also published a weekly column on the Bahá’í Faith in The Grand Rapids Times. The column is called “Bahá’í Reflections.”

[Page 9]

News Briefs

Meeting Explores Uses of Graphic Arts

Bahá’ís from six cities in East and Central Tennessee gathered in Johnson City, Feb. 16-17, for an institute on proclamation through graphic arts, sponsored by the East Tennessee District Teaching Committee.

J. Steven Wyandt, a Bahá’í commercial artist residing in Johnson City, was instructor for the institute, which drew about eight believers the first day and 12 the second.

Mr. Wyandt, who has produced displays and posters for the National Spiritual Assembly as well as the District Teaching Committee stressed the role of graphics in making the public aware of the identity of Bahá’u’lláh.

The purpose of proclamation through graphic arts, he said, is to carry out the words of Bahá’u’lláh: “...proclaim unto all who are in heaven and on earth, this holy, this exalted, and all-highest Name.”

There were demonstrations and workshop exercises in the use of contact vinyl, commercial and freehand lettering techniques, silkscreening, and camera-ready art.

Climaxing the institute was the production of about 100 silkscreened posters in two colors, adaptable for announcing firesides, public meetings, and other Bahá’í activities.

He defined a graphic image as “a pattern of forms and figures endowed with significance,” and said the importance of images to learning is shown by the fact that 85 to 90 percent of man’s learning capacity is visual in nature.

“En el jardín de tu corazón no plantes sino la rosa del amor.” —Bahá’u’lláh

“We need to take the names of Bahá’u’lláh and the Bahá’í Faith and consistently relate them to images which teach the verities of the Cause,” he said, adding that this involves “associating many pleasing qualities” with these names.

Each great religion, he said, has had a theme or keynote: detachment in Hinduism, peace and meditation in Buddhism, law in Judaism, love in Christianity, and submission to God in Islam.

“In the Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh, the theme is the oneness of God, mankind, and religion,” Mr. Wyandt said. “All our proclamation should be geared to relating His teachings to their proper source.”

In producing art for Bahá’í use, “we’re just incredibly fortunate that Bahá’u’lláh has done all the work for us graphically; images just flow from His Writings,” Mr. Wyandt said.

He proposed several guidelines to follow in preparing and using displays for the Faith:

—Make certain the display is not showing signs of wear and tear with letters dropping off, fingerprints, and so forth: “Anything we put out for the Faith should be squeaky clean.”

—To attract the eye, use bright colors, though not necessarily “advancing colors” such as red, yellow, and orange. Bright blues, greens, and similar “regressive” or “cool” colors are readily associated with world peace and harmony, whereas red used in the wrong context may suggest conflict.

—To gain attention without being gaudy, the display may incorporate “a little motion,” which may take such forms as curving letters, action pictures, or perhaps a mobile design hanging from the ceiling.

—For human interest, use figures of people and things related to people; and, in writing or lettering for the display, use names and personal pronouns because “people relate to people.”

“You have to assume that people who see the display are a little thirsty for the teachings,” Mr. Wyandt said. “If someone is thirsty, don’t drown him with a profusion of teachings. Develop a theme, or maybe take one principle instead of five or six.”

Effective as such methods may be, however, he said no proclamation can succeed unless Bahá’ís “illustrate” the Faith in their own conduct: “When we live the life and obey the laws, we become in a sense a graphic image—and this is the greatest teaching tool we have.”

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Bahá’í Plans Talk Esperanto Congress

The first presentation on religion ever given on the floor of an official Esperanto gathering in North America will deal with the translation into Esperanto of Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era.

The presentation will be made by Mrs. Roan Orloff Stone, a member of the Bahá’í Esperanto League, at the National Congress of the Esperanto League, to be held in Spokane, Washington, June 21-24. Mrs. Stone, who worked on a revised translation of the book into Esperanto, was invited by congress organizers to give a half-hour talk on the final morning. The original translation of Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era was done by Lydia Zamenhof, daughter of the founder of the international language.

The Bahá’í Esperanto League will also give a fireside in Esperanto at some point during the congress.

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Five-Day Deepening Held

A five-day intensive deepening program for new believers was held at the Louis Gregory Institute April 9-13. Fourteen people attended this first of a series of planned deepening programs, designed to stimulate undeepened believers to become dedicated servants of Bahá’u’lláh. The program will be repeated in late April and early May. By June it will be conducted weekly.

The content of the course was designed by the National Teaching Committee and approved by the National Assembly. It focuses heavily on the Covenant, the Administrative Order, and the individual believer’s relationship to both.

Participants are encouraged to carry the spirit of the Bahá’í Faith back to their communities, with a strong sense of commitment and responsibility to the Faith.

Mrs. Alberta Lansdowne, secretary of the South Carolina Regional Teaching Committee, led the class sessions, but as she pointed out, “Bahá’u’lláh taught them.” Attendance at classes, which began at 9 a.m. and continued for approximately eight hours each day, was mandatory. The evening sessions were mainly devotional.

The staff at the Institute is now working to recruit new and undeepened believers for the deepening programs through the Local Assemblies and District Teaching Committees throughout the South. Although the Institute was built to serve this region primarily, it is not restricted solely to believers from the South.

More details and transportation information are available from Dean Bransford Watson, at the Gregory Institute, or from Caswell Ellis, Assistant to the Dean. Write Louis G. Gregory Bahá’í Institute, Route 2, Hemingway, S.C., 29554.

[Page 10]

Summer Schedule Green Acre School

The Green Acre Council has designed this year’s program to offer students a wide range of stimulating topics and varied formats, including seminars, workshops, and courses at introductory and advanced levels. The theme of the summer school is “Life in a God-centered Community,” and throughout the eight weeks many of the studies should serve to heighten our awareness of the manifold aspects of this subject.

Three weeks of the summer are devoted to special programs. The first week (June 30–July 6) is a national training week for children’s teachers. Child educators and Bahá’í teachers from all over the country will gather to prepare for teaching in Bahá’í children’s schools this summer, at the St. Louis Conference, and in their own local communities. The fourth week (July 21–27) will be organized by the International Goals Committee as a Pioneering Week and will raise our sights to the specific challenges of the new global Plan. The fifth week (July 28–August 3) is Youth Week. It features outstanding teachers and special projects and promises to be an exciting, varied program for young people ages 15-25.

Week of June 30-July 6

NATIONAL TEACHER TRAINING WEEK

This week’s special program has been designed for the training of teachers for Bahá’í children’s schools. The training program is particularly directed to the staff of the Green Acre Children’s School and to prospective children’s teachers for the St. Louis Conference, but other Bahá’ís interested in Bahá’í child education are encouraged to attend.

Teacher trainers:

Daniel Jordan	Linda Jones
Magdalene Carney	Arthur Cutting
Nancy Mondschein	Lee Trembath
Susan Theroux	Geoffrey Marks
and members of the ANISA staff

Week of July 7–13

Teachers for the week:

Allan Ward: “The Life of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá”

Saeid Khadivian: “The Unknowable Essence and Primal Will”,

“Prophecies of the Nine Major Religions”

Robert McLaughlin: “Epistle to the Son of the Wolf”

Edwin Miller: “The Unfolding World Civilization”

Weekend Program: Nancy and Daniel Jordan

Week of July 14-20

Teachers for the week:

Auxiliary Board Member Javidukht Khádem

Vasudevan Nair: “From Hinduism to the World Order of Bahá’u’lláh”

William Foster and staff: “What We Believe”

Wanden Kane: “The Study of the Kitáb-i-Íqán”

Garry Rea-Airth: “The Family Unit—Seeds of the Faith”

Weekend Program: Firuz Kazemzadeh

Week of July 21-27

PIONEERING WEEK

Are you thinking of pioneering? This week will focus on the needs and challenges of the Five Year Plan and give information, direction, and inspiration to Bahá’ís considering this important service.

Teachers for the week:

Eileen Norman, staff of the International Goals Committee, and Bahá’í pioneers

Week of July 28-August 3

YOUTH WEEK

A special program designed for youth ages 15 to 25. This week will focus on teaching, study, recreation, and service. It will feature teaching projects in nearby communities and field trips.

Teachers for the week:

Auxiliary Board Member Elizabeth Martin: “Teaching—The Greatest Gift of God”

Douglas Martin: “The Bahá’í Faith and History”

Robert Phillips: “You and Badasht—What Veils Do You Need to Remove?”

Stanwood Cobb: “The Bahá’í Faith and the Universal Spiritualization of Mankind”

Week of August 4-10

Teachers for the week:

Auxiliary Board Member Jane McCants: “The Character of Bahá’í Community Life”

Jamshid Monajem: “Bahá’í History”

Linda Jones: “Consultation—a Spiritual Skill and Life Style”

Leonard Smith: “Strategies for Achieving the Oneness of Mankind” Workshops

Week of August 11-August 17

Teachers for the week:

Auxiliary Board Member Katherine McLaughlin: “The World Order of Bahá’u’lláh”

Elizabeth Rochester: “Removing the Veils of Prejudice”

Robert Henderson: “The Role of Minorities in the Development of the New World Order”

Week of August 18-24

Teachers for the week:

Dwight Allen: “A Global Challenge for Bahá’í Community Life”

Beth McKenty: “Tablets of the Divine Plan”

Jalil Mahmoudi: “Bahá’í Family Life”

Fred Myers: “The Individual and World Order”

Erma Hayden

*Note: There will be no children’s program during the weeks of June 30-July 6 and July 28-August 3. Youth week will be open to youth only.

CHILDREN’S SCHOOL

The challenge of bringing children into full participation in Bahá’í community life can start in the summer school community. The Council has tried to develop a program that will offer each child diverse and interesting experiences to help them better understand the dimensions of living a Bahá’í life.

Curriculum

Hoping to create a program for children as rich and as carefully planned as the adult program, the Green Acre Council appointed a Task Force of specialists in child and Bahá’í education to plan curriculum and teacher training for the Children’s School. A program of instruction, discussion, service, prayer, fellowship, play, arts and crafts, music, and participation in events with the rest of the school will expose the children to the Bahá’í teachings and the principles of community life. The curriculum is designed for children from ages 3-11.

Family Orientation

Recognizing that family life is an important part of Bahá’í community life, the children’s program will include family devotions each morning, a family hour after dinner, and a late evening adult session to allow parents to put their children to bed. The curfew for children under twelve will be 8:30 P.M.

Directors of the Children’s School:

Dr. Lola Washburn	July 7-July 27
Mrs. Betty Vary	August 4-August 24

RATES

	Day	Week
Private Rooms—per bed
Adults	$10	$60
12–18	$9	$55
3–11	$6	$35
4th Floor Inn—per bed
Adults	$9	$55
12–18	$7.50	$50
Dormitories—per bed
Adults	$8.50	$50
12–18	$7	$45

Weekly rate includes room, board, and facility fee. There will be a 10% discount for families.

Family Campground

There is no charge for sites on the campground, but it is for the use of families only. They should bring their own trailers, tents, and camping equipment. Campers are encouraged to take their meals at the Inn at the rate of $32/wk. for adults and $20/wk. for children. Each camper must pay the facility fee according to the rates for local residents given below.

Other Fees

Local adult residents will pay a facility fee for participation in the program—$1.00/day; $5.00/wk.; $15.00/8-week season. Senior citizens will receive a 50% discount. No facility fee charge on Sundays.

Local children are welcome to enroll in the Children’s School. Registration must be for a minimum of one week (Monday–Saturday). Hours for daily arrival and departure will be specified at registration. Local children who enroll in the school will pay the facility fee of $5.00/wk., which will also cover the cost of their materials.

Nursery Service

Infants and toddlers under 3 years old may not accompany parents to adult classes. Nursery service will be provided by the school at the rate of $0.50 per class or $1.50 for 4 periods. Service at other times can be arranged with the childcare workers at reasonable rates.

Safety and Health Regulations

Personal electrical appliances can be used at Green Acre only under limited circumstances. No smoking is allowed on the sleeping floors of any building. Pets are not permitted anywhere on the Green Acre grounds.

[Page 11]

To Do Our Part We Can Be Bahá’ís

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The article below was first published in 1952 in Bahá’í Youth, the monthly bulletin of the former Bahá’í Youth Committee of the United States. It was written to give Bahá’í youth of that day a sense of the importance and purpose of their lives, but it is probably as timely today, more ‎that than‎ two decades later, as it was when it was delivered to the publication. Amatu’l-Bahá Rúḥíyyih Khánum is scheduled to attend the National Bahá’í Conference in St. Louis, from Aug. 29-Sept. 1. She will be one of the featured speakers at that gathering.

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This afternoon, I was reading an article written by an army nurse, recounting some of her impressions and experiences. She told of a soldier who had lost both eyes and both legs....and who was thinking of how best to break the news lovingly and gently to his mother and brothers and sisters. It seemed to just strike me between the eyes for a moment and overcome me. I thought what on earth I would do and feel if I had been both blinded and lost the use of my legs, indeed, lost the legs themselves. Then a wonderful feeling came over me. I can help that man right here by the way I behave as a Bahá’í!

It was as if a great realization of our duties as believers swept into my consciousness. Everywhere we look, we see suffering—suffering so great that one cannot tolerate the thought of it mentally; one pushes it out of one’s consciousness because it is too soul-crushing. To really, seriously, for even a moment, picture the feelings and condition in which millions of people find themselves, is absolutely unbearable. To think of the people who are hungry and cold; the old people debilitated through slow starvation and illness, with no one to help them in the daily tasks now far beyond their strength; the children...we had better pass over the children and not even try to think about them; the soldiers, living always in the hell of war or on leave, exposed to the terribly degenerating influence of liquor and bawdy companions, opiates to produce forgetfulness of what lies behind and what lies ahead; to think seems to risk breakdown, and so we don’t think, if we can help it. What can we do for them, these nameless, endless millions and millions of fellow men?

Rolling bandages, knitting mufflers, buying bonds, and doing our part as civilians or workers—or even in some form of war service is not much, it’s just a minimum. It helps and it must be done, but it is only a palliative. The Bahá’ís’ task is bigger and harder: it is to BE a Bahá’í.

The other day, a man asked Shoghi Effendi: “What is the object of life to a Bahá’í?” As the Guardian repeated his answer to me (I had not been present with the visitor), indeed, before he did, I wondered in my own mind what it had been. Had he told the man that to us the object of life is to know God, or to perfect our character? I never really dreamed of the answer he had given, which was this: the object of life to a Bahá’í is to promote the oneness of mankind. The whole object of our lives is bound up with the lives of all human beings; not a personal salvation we are seeking, but a universal one. We are not to cast our eyes within ourselves and say, “Now get busy saving your soul and reserving a comfortable berth in the Next World!” No, we are to get busy bringing Heaven to this planet. That is a very big concept. The Guardian then went on to explain that our aim is to produce a world civilization, which will in turn react on the character of the individual. It is, in a way, the inverse of Christianity, which started with the individual unit and through it reached out to the conglomerate life of men.

This does not mean we must neglect to prune our personalities and weed out our faults and weaknesses. But it does mean we have to do a lot of radiating out to others of what we know to be true through the study of Bahá’u’lláh’s teachings. It also means, it seems to me, that our “Administrative Order,” our Spiritual Assemblies, Committees, Nineteen Day Feasts, and Conventions present a near-at-hand and very challenging testing ground to us. If we don’t and won’t learn to work with our fellow believers as we can and should in our Bahá’í community life, then we cannot very well expect that the world is going to listen to us or follow our example: we are prone to think of our Administration as a set of procedures, a way of conducting Bahá’í business. Maybe that is why we do not get results from it which we know we should get. It is not a bunch of regulations; it is a mould of oneness, a mould of joint life. Every single thing we conceive of as being Bahá’í—love, justice, lack of prejudice, fairmindedness, liberality, understanding, etc.—should find its living embodiment in our way of conducting as a group our affairs. When we have oneness on our Assembly, we will more than likely have it, or be able to produce it, in our community. When we get it as far as that, people will start entering the Cause in droves. Why shouldn’t they? What is the world looking for except just this: something that actually does enable people to work and live harmoniously together? Until we can do it ourselves, why should we believe anyone else is going to be interested in our ideas really seriously?

That is why I felt that I could help that soldier, and beyond him all the others of my kind, suffering so grievously today, if I just made it a point of being a Bahá’í. A real one. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá is credited with having said that the secret of self-mastery is self-forgetfulness. If there is anything wrong with the way our administration works, it is this, that we just don’t forget ourselves. Our own little ego—or big one, as the case may be—goes right along with us into our Assembly or any other meeting. There we sit with our superiority complex, or our inferiority complex, or just our normal, healthy selves, waiting to impose our views, or to get upset over an imaginary insult, or just to monopolize unconsciously time, or to be too tired to make the effort to contribute our legitimate share. I should be allowed to say this, in all humility and with deep sympathy for all my fellow Bahá’ís, as I served on many committees and once on an Assembly, and I look back with horror and amusement on my past follies and attitudes. I can remember how very important my point of view was to myself, how offended or distressed I got if it was not at least weighed with great consideration, how I sometimes believed only I was a firm Bahá’í amongst those present who were about to wreck the Cause by a majority decision in which I did not share! We must be patient with not only others but with ourselves too. But also we must try much harder to be Bahá’ís in the place where it counts most heavily—in our joint Bahá’í life.

There is really nothing easier in the world than to tell other people what to do; the pinch begins when you try to tell yourself what you ought to do and get yourself to do it! Even we Bahá’ís share in this commonest of human weaknesses. We are prone to fix our attention on the failings of our fellow believer, thinking that if she (or he) were not such an impediment, the affairs of our group, assembly, or community would run smoother. Of course, there is probably justification for criticism, but the criticism is not going to help matters much; on the contrary, it is more likely to continually divert our attention from more important tasks. At the same time, some bias, some defect of our own, is no doubt a test and a hindrance to others as much as theirs is to us. The best way to overcome our weaknesses is, it seems to me, is twofold: Try to perfect yourself, for if you are better it stands to reason the sum total of the community is that much better too; and direct your energies into really working according to the administration, which is a living, dynamic thing, and not a set of do’s and don’ts.

Bahá’ís, quickened as they are by the fire of a living religious conviction, are for the most part conscientious in following the laws and principles of their Faith. They take pride in their teachings; they really love them and sincerely seek to live up to them. The sacrifices (for such they seem in the eyes of the sophisticated and the worldly) they make, such as not drinking, when it is the commonest social custom of the age, living a chaste and noble life in a society that for the most part believes any restriction on its sensual life to be unnecessary and unhealthy, accepting censure and ostracism rather than going against the belief that all colors and classes are to be treated with absolute equality and associated with freely and lovingly—are gladly accepted as a means of demonstrating the reality of their Faith.

There is no doubt, too, that the believers have a high reputation for character and integrity amongst those who contact them. But for some reason or other, all our weaknesses seem to come out in the working of the Administrative Order, perhaps because it is the touchstone Bahá’u’lláh has applied to the ills of the world. I have thought about this very much and wondered why it is so. For what my conclusion is worth, I offer it to others. It can’t be the whole answer—but maybe it will help a little towards finding it.

We have a tendency to put aside spiritual laws when we deal with administrative problems. If one thinks about it, this is the exact opposite of the whole concept of Bahá’í government. Bahá’u’lláh, the “Father,” has come to establish the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. If we really believe this (which of course we do), then we must analyze it. It implies a world run by law, but spiritual law. It implies order, discipline, organization, but based on the principles given by God’s unerring Prophet and constructed by the little, self-interested minds of men. It follows that the place where a Bahá’í should be most actively one, living up to his teachings to the fullest extent of his capacity, is in any gathering representing the Administrative Order. And yet so often you see a very fine Bahá’í put aside a lot, if not all, of his spiritual attitudes when he enters an Assembly meeting, or a committee or a Convention, and become a businessman, a mere executive, or even something

(Continued on page fifteen)

[Page 12]

Treasurer’s Report

Two “clear messages” on the Bahá’í Fund were conveyed to the delegates to the National Convention by the treasurer of the National Assembly, Dorothy W. Nelson.

The first message was that after a decade of headlong expansion the financial condition of the American Bahá’í community had stabilized—the result of greater participation in giving, and of the deeper understanding that had developed among the believers as to the nature and significance of the Bahá’í Fund.

The stabilization was demonstrated by the higher and sustained levels of contributions to the Fund, by the increased rate of participation, and by the prompt response of the friends to special appeals by the National Assembly.

Annual contributions to the Fund since 1964 increased almost fourfold, she said. Participation in giving, by both Assemblies and Groups, also grew. This year a new high of 592 Local Assemblies contributed during a single Bahá’í month, an increase of more than 60 Assemblies since Riḍván last year.

The rise in contributions from Groups was even more pronounced. Starting at a low of 167 Groups participating in the first months of the year, the total of contributing Groups reached a new high of 343 before Riḍván. A major factor in this increase was a National Teaching Committee seminar on the Covenant implemented by Bahá’í Groups earlier in the year.

The response to a National Assembly appeal that the believers increase their contributions to the Fund by 30 percent in the last two months of the Bahá’í year was immediate and positive. Dozens of contributors promptly announced to the Office of the Treasurer their resolve to comply.

The second message presented by Dr. Nelson was that the new Plan would require, in the words of the Guardian, “a pouring out of substance, not only by those of limited means, but by the richest and wealthiest, in a degree involving the truest sacrifice, for the purpose of insuring the attainment of the aims and purposes of the Plan...”

In addition to the regular administrative expenditures in the United States, significant contributions will be made toward the construction of two new Houses of Worship—in Samoa and India—and the erection of the Seat of the Universal House of Justice on Mount Carmel, as well as toward other goals of the Five Year Plan.

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Mr. Ernest Lopez, a delegate from Southern California, addresses the Convention.

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The Plan, Dr. Nelson said, is more than a listing of goals to be won: “It is a prophecy of where the Bahá’í community will be in only a few years.”

The Treasurer’s report also noted that expenditures by the National Assembly in the past two years have been in balance. This was not possible in some of the years prior to that because of the need to win goals assigned in the Nine Year Plan.

A shift in the pattern of contributions over several years was noted. The proportion of contributions from individual believers diminished, while that of Local Assemblies increased significantly. In 1973-74 the share of overall contributions from individual Bahá’ís was 29 percent, the share of Assemblies 45 percent. The Local Assemblies are clearly becoming the bedrock of the National Fund.

[Page 13]

BAHÁ’Í BOOKS AND MATERIALS

FILMSTRIP PROGRAMS

The Five Year Plan: America’s Role in the Third Global Teaching Campaign

A new audio-visual program highlighting the goals of the Five Year Plan is now available. The filmstrip focuses on the three major objectives of the new Plan: the consolidation of the victories of the Nine Year Plan, the expansion of the Faith, and the development of the distinctive character of Bahá’í life, which includes tapping the energy, zeal, and idealism of youth; educating children; and developing and strengthening the Local Spiritual Assemblies. It also outlines the major goals of the new Plan—the World Center tasks to be accomplished, the new National and Local Spiritual Assemblies to be formed, the localities to be opened, the Temples to be built, the properties to be acquired, the Publishing Trusts to be founded, the conferences to be held, the minorities to be reached, and the pioneers to be sent out. Particular emphasis, in the program, is given to the goals assigned to the American Bahá’í Community, which has once again received the “lion’s share” of the tasks.

Individual Bahá’ís, communities, summer schools, and institutes will find this program invaluable in informing the friends of the new responsibilities assigned in the Five Year Plan and in stimulating and inspiring them, as individuals and as a community, to arise and play their part in winning the goals of the new Plan. Color. 97 frames.

6-02-01 filmstrip with script and cassette/$8.50

Decade of Drama

This audio-visual program highlights the major events and developments in the Bahá’í World Community between Riḍván 1963 and Riḍván 1973 and shows how the goals of the Nine Year Plan were attained and surpassed. Special attention is given to the role of the American Bahá’í Community in the successful completion of this Plan. Shown in conjunction with the new filmstrip The Five Year Plan, Decade of Drama will provide a historical perspective from which to view the challenges and opportunities offered by the new Plan. Color. 121 frames.

6-01-01 filmstrip with script and cassette/$8.00

BAHÁ’Í LITERATURE

O God, Guide Me!

A colorful new prayer book for children is now available. O God, Guide Me! contains prayers for divine guidance, spiritual education, protection, spiritual happiness, morning, obedience to God, healing, the light of God, and assistance from God. The attractive royal blue and lime green cover and the numerous illustrations by Gordon Laite will appeal to both children and adults. The prayer book is set in large, easy-to-read type and has a sturdy cloth library binding. 4x6 inches. 39 pp.

7-52-47............cl $1.25

The Spiritual Revolution

The Spiritual Revolution, a new pamphlet imported from Canada, discusses the outstanding features of the global revolution, including its spiritual character, its universal range, and its uncontrollable inevitability. The commentary also explores the twin processes of worldwide disintegration and universal reorganization and traces the path mankind must follow through revolution to organic community. The pamphlet contains numerous quotations from the Bahá’í writings which analyze present trends and describe the qualities which must become integrated into the life of the individual.

The Spiritual Revolution is an excellent introduction to the Faith for those not initially interested in progressive revelation or the nature of the Manifestation and will be very useful in reaching college students and liberal intellectuals. It also provides material for stimulating deepenings on the responsibilities facing Bahá’ís living through the “dark heart of this age of transition,” so vividly described by Shoghi Effendi. Colorful pop art graphic cover. 5½ x 8½ inches. 18 pp.

7-40-68...........p $.35; 10/$3.00

The Straight Path

The Straight Path, an attractive brick red and cream brochure which will be helpful in Indian teaching, is now available. It contains the message from The Universal House of Justice to the Bahá’í Unity Conference held in Ganado, Arizona, in June 1972. The illustrations by David Villaseñor contain a number of Indian motifs. The rainbow on the front panel is the symbol of the spiritual path. Father Sky and Mother Earth on panel two represent heaven and earth. The sun on the back panel is the emissary of the Great Spirit who returns anew each day to share the life-giving bounties. Man and woman, who are also depicted on the back panel, are reminded by the sun’s reappearance of their dependence upon the great creative force and of their need to establish daily contact with the Great Spirit through prayer.

7-40-70 ...........25/$1.50; 100/$5.00

Fire on the Mountain-Top by Gloria Faizi

Fire on the Mountain-Top, a new book by Gloria Faizi, is now available. The book is a collection of touching and inspiring stories about nearly thirty early Persian Bahá’ís. The stories tell how these dawn-breakers learned of the Faith and show their teaching methods and the variety of persecutions they suffered in the path of God. 140 pp.

7-31-68............p $.75

In Praise of God

A new pocket compilation of prayers is now available. In Praise of God contains prayers for children, comfort, the departed, morning, evening, healing, steadfastness, teaching, tests, and unity. In addition, this compilation includes the short obligatory prayer, a prayer for fasting, and a marriage prayer. In Praise of God is a thoughtful gift for new Bahá’ís. Bulk prices will make the compilation especially welcome in mass teaching areas. Royal purple cover with photograph of the House of Worship in Wilmette. 3¼ x 5¼ inches. 11 pp.

7-15-10..........25/$1.50; 100/$5.00; 1000/$37.50; 3800/$130.00

[Page 14]

1st National Bahá’í Conference - 5 Year Plan

St. Louis, Missouri

Aug. 29 - Sept. 2, 1974

[Page 15]

Dates to Remember

May 1—THE AMERICAN BAHÁ’Í Deadline for June Issue

May 2—Twelfth Day of Riḍván

May 4-5—Education Conference, Mankato, Minnesota

May 10-12—Dayspring II Conference, Kent, Ohio

May 17—Feast of ‘Aẓamat (Grandeur)

May 17-19—National Spiritual Assembly Meeting

May 23—Declaration of the Báb—1844

May 25—Application deadline for Summer Projects beginning in June or early July

May 26—Conference of Continental Board of Counsellors, National Spiritual Assembly, Auxiliary Board members, and National Teaching Committee members.

May 29—Ascension of Bahá’u’lláh—1892

June 1—THE AMERICAN BAHÁ’Í Deadline for July Issue

June 5—Feast of Núr (Light)

June 6-9—Pioneer Training Institute, Wilmette, Illinois

June 9—Race Unity Day

June 15—Application deadline for Summer Projects beginning in July or August

June 21-23—National Spiritual Assembly Meeting

June 22-28—First Session Conifer Hill Work/Study Camp, Conifer Hill, Colorado

June 24—Feast of Raḥmat (Mercy)

June 29-July 5—Carolinas Summer School, Swannanoa, North Carolina

June 30-August 25—Green Acre Summer School

July 1—Deadline for Artwork for St. Louis Exhibition

August 29-September 1—ST. LOUIS CONFERENCE

Registration Information Most of the suitable hotel/motel accommodations near the conference site have been reserved by Tony Lease Tours for the Bahá’ís in order to ensure that adequate and reasonable housing will be available to the friends. You are not required to purchase a housing package, but you should know that all choice rooms have been set aside for assignment by Tony Lease Tours. This approach to housing allowed us to provide you with the best combination of good housing, convenience, safety, and economy. All Bahá’ís purchasing housing and/or transportation packages must also complete a registration form and mail it to: Tony Lease Tours 305 North Coast Blvd. Laguna Beach, California 92651 along with deposits and appropriate coupons. Note: Packages A and B include your Conference services and materials fee. Those Bahá’ís making independent housing arrangements are encouraged to pre-register. Send the above form and appropriate fee to: National Bahá’í Conference Committee 112 Linden Avenue Wilmette, Illinois 60091 Housing and transportation packages are priced separately and may be purchased independently of each other. The Jefferson Hotel has been designated as Conference Headquarters. It will house the Pioneer/Trade Fair and feature a special after-session social center for the Bahá’ís’ convenience and entertainment. The Jefferson Hotel is a standard hotel, and its rates are listed in Package B. It will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis. Those Bahá’í communities wishing to charter buses to and from St. Louis are free to make their own arrangements or contact Tony Lease Tours, which will arrange a charter. Note: Most buses seat 38 to 43 passengers, and each interested community should determine beforehand its ability to fill a bus. If you have already pre-registered and wish to purchase a housing package, you will be credited for the amount already paid. Prices quoted in housing packages do not include the cost of food or beverages.

To do our part we can be Bahá’ís

(Continued from page eleven)

faintly resembling a politician! When this happens we may well suppose that inspiration and guidance from on high flies out of the window! We have plugged up the pipeline, and we are not going to be moved by the great spiritual forces of our Faith, but, just like the members of all other floundering councils of the world, by mixed motives, personality problems, individual aggressiveness, etc. I wonder why? Is it because we have the age-old belief that God is something connected with a purely inner state, and therefore the salvation of the after-life? Or because we feel we are competent to run any mundane affairs according to our own lights? Whatever it is, it is the thing that is preventing our Bahá’í community life from attracting large numbers to the Cause, because it is the thing that is preventing us from showing that love and unity, amongst a body of people, for which the whole human race is starving.

We think too much of our own capacities and abilities, and altogether too little of what the power of God can do through any little soul, however insignificant, who opens himself to that power. The greatest living example of what one person can do who hitches herself to the power of God, that I have seen, was Martha Root. Not that she was insignificant, she wasn’t; she was a fairly gifted and intelligent woman. But what she accomplished was infinitely beyond her own resources. And she knew it. She also well understood the process at work. She used to say: “Bahá’u’lláh does it.” She was too modest to put the matter even more pointedly and say: “I let Bahá’u’lláh do it.”

[Page 16]

INSIDE

A WELCOME NEW assistant at the National Center will be a mini-computer designed to improve the handling of membership information. The new equipment will supplement the larger Burroughs 6700 computer that is now leased by the National Assembly. For details see story page 2.

THE HAND OF THE CAUSE Rúḥíyyih Khánum will be one of the featured speakers at the National Bahá’í Conference in St. Louis, August 29-September 1. Perhaps an indication of the kinds of presentations that can be expected is a 1952 letter on the challenges of Faith, reprinted on page 4.

A NEW BAHÁ’Í school will be dedicated by the National Spiritual Assembly. The John and Louise Bosch Bahá’í School, located in the Santa Cruz mountains of California, will replace the Geyserville school, which was purchased by the state for a road expansion project. See story page 3.

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The Hand of the Cause William Sears:

Beloved friends. I will be looking forward to seeing each one of you, without exception, next August in St. Louis ... For those days shall set the entire American Bahá’í community on fire, and we will make the that a conference the like of which the American continent has never before seen—dedicated to the memory of the beloved Guardian and in support of our mighty House of Justice. In that spirit we can launch the Five Year Plan in a blaze of glory and surely, surely we will win many, if not the lion’s share, of all the goals of the Five Year Plan. If you are alive on the planet between August 29 and September 1, you had better be in St. Louis.

(Continued on page four)

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