The American Bahá’í/Volume 6/Issue 4/Text
| ←Previous | The American Bahá’í April, 1975 |
Next→ |
 Proofread onceReturn to PDF view
|
National Assembly marks 50th anniversary[edit]
Hand of Cause Sears to join in observance[edit]
A number of special activities have been planned by the National Assembly to commemorate its 50th anniversary during National Convention.
The Hand of the Cause of God William Sears will attend the Convention in Wilmette, April 24-27, to participate in the anniversary observances. Counsellors Edna True and Sarah Pereira, both former members of the National Assembly, will represent the Continental Board of Counsellors.
A public event will take place on the evening of Thursday, April 24, before the start of the Convention itself.
The Wilmette community has been invited to join Bahá’ís in a devotional program at the House of Worship, followed by a talk by Mr. Sears on the aims of the Faith and the functions of its institutions. A full-page ad in the Wilmette Life announced the event.
Miss Edna True (left) and Dr. Sarah Pereira will represent the Continental Board of Counsellors at the 66th National Convention.
It was appropriate for the people of Wilmette to receive this special invitation to participate in the anniversary celebration, the National Assembly felt, because of the Faith’s long and intimate association with their community.
Earlier in the evening on Thursday, Wilmette public officials and other guests will have dinner with the National Assembly and Mr. Sears. A reception for Bahá’ís and visitors will be given by the National Assembly at the close of Mr. Sears’ presentation.
Mr. Sears will speak again to Bahá’ís only on Saturday night, after the new National Assembly is presented to the delegates.
Press materials have been sent to more than 40 news outlets in the area.
An anniversary booklet on the National Assembly has been prepared for distribution at the Convention. It will be available to the Bahá’í community later through the Publishing Trust for use in proclamation programs.
First Assembly included two women, four future Hands of Cause[edit]
In 1925, from July 6-8, Bahá’ís from all parts of the United States gathered at the Green Acre school in Eliot, Maine, to hold their 16th National Convention. What distinguished this from former conventions, beginning with the Bahá’í Temple Unity meeting in 1909, was that this gathering elected the first National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States and Canada. This year marks the fiftieth anniversary of the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States (Canada established its own Assembly in 1948).
In 1975, International Women’s Year, Bahá’ís may well feel satisfaction that their first National Spiritual Assembly in 1925 included two women, Amelia E. Collins and Florence R. Morton. It may be a matter of even greater satisfaction that the delegates at that Convention elected four Bahá’ís to serve on their national administrative body who later attained the rank of Hands of the Cause. They were: Amelia Collins, Horace Holley, Siegfried Schopflocher, and Roy C. Wilhelm. Also elected to serve on that historic body were Mountfort Mills, Allen B. McDaniel, Carl Scheffler, and Ali-Kuli Khan.
Some of the important events in the National Assembly’s 50-year history are covered in a centerfold photo essay in this issue of The American Bahá’í.
The work of the National Bahá’í Convention[edit]
One hundred and seventy-one delegates representing the United States Bahá’í community are meeting in Wilmette, April 24-27, for the 66th National Bahá’í Convention.
The Convention has two primary functions: to elect the nine members of the National Spiritual Assembly, and to consult on issues of importance facing the American Bahá’í community.
The 1975 Convention marks the 50th anniversary of the formation of the first National Spiritual Assembly of the United States and Canada. Although a National Assembly was elected in 1923, the Guardian recognized the body elected in 1925 as the inaugural Assembly.
The delegates of this year’s Convention were elected by the Bahá’í community at 86 district conventions last fall. All adult believers in good standing were both eligible to vote for, and to be elected as, delegates to the Convention from their home districts.
The figure of 171 delegates (19 × 9) to the National Convention was established by the Guardian in 1937, pending confirmation from The Universal House of Justice. Prior to that, the figure had been 95 (19 × 5). Before each Convention, The Universal House of Justice restates the number of delegates that will be elected to represent the community. To date, there has been no change in the number selected by the Guardian.
Delegates are elected from the districts of each state according to the principle of proportional representation. All Bahá’í voting districts have at least one delegate.
[Page 2]
The work of the National Convention
(Continued from page one)
one delegate at Convention, and the highest number of delegates for a single district at this Convention is seven, assigned to California Southern District No. 1. South Carolina’s Eastern District No. 2 has been assigned six delegates.
The Convention itself is divided into two distinct parts. During the first part, the outgoing National Assembly presents its report of the year’s activities. Some of the major national committees also report on their accomplishments during the preceding 12 months. The members of the National Assembly are free to participate in discussions on the floor of the Convention, although only the delegates may vote on questions that are called during the proceedings.
The election of the new National Assembly is held at a point midway through the Convention, to give the new National Assembly an opportunity to consult with the delegates and to present the major outlines of its plans for the coming year.
This year’s election will be held Saturday morning, April 26. The National Assembly is elected by plurality vote. The nine persons who receive the greatest number of votes cast on the first ballot by the delegates attending the Convention and those voting by mail are declared elected. In the event of a tie, additional ballots are taken for those individuals who are tied, until all nine members are elected.
During the Convention, the delegates (“accredited representatives of the American believers,” the Guardian called them) fulfill the functions of “an enlightened, consultative and cooperative body that will enrich the experience, enhance the prestige, support the authority, and assist the deliberations of the National Spiritual Assembly.”
In a letter on the National Convention dated January 29, 1925 (Bahá’í Administration, p. 79), the Guardian gave these instructions to the newly elected members of the National Assembly:
“Banishing every vestige of secrecy, of undue reticence, of dictatorial aloofness, from their midst, they should radiantly and abundantly unfold to the eyes of the delegates, by whom they are elected, their plans, their hopes, and their cares. They should familiarize the delegates with the various matters that will have to be considered in the current year, and calmly and conscientiously study and weigh the opinions and judgments of the delegates.”
The deliberations and decisions of the Convention, however, are only advisory. The opinions of the delegates are recommendations to the National Assembly, which, as the Guardian urged, are given serious attention by the incoming National Spiritual Assembly. The authority of the National Assembly, as the supreme administrative institution of the Cause in the United States, continues in effect even while the Convention is seated.
Shortly after Convention each year, the National Assembly publishes in its National Bahá’í Review decisions and recommendations made by the delegates.
The first Bahá’í Convention was held in Chicago in 1907, on November 26, Thanksgiving Day. It was called by the forerunner of Chicago’s Spiritual Assembly (called the House of Spirituality then) to discuss construction of the House of Worship. The handful of believers who assembled, in the words of the Guardian, “... arose, despite the smallness of their numbers and their limited resources to initiate an enterprise which must rank as the greatest single contribution which the Bahá’ís of America, and indeed of the West, have yet made to the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh.” (Quoted in Bahá’í World, Volume XIII, p. 849).
The second National Convention, in 1909, established the nine-member Executive Board (six men, three women), a harbinger of our future National Spiritual Assembly, on the very day that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá entombed the remains of the Báb on Mount Carmel. There were 39 delegates at that second Convention, representing 36 Bahá’í communities.
Among the displays at this year’s annual meeting will be a collection of memorabilia from the Archives covering fifty years of National Assembly history. Some national committees, among them the National Teaching Committee, the International Goals Committee, and the National Information Committee, will also have displays in the area adjacent to Foundation Hall.
During the election of the National Assembly on Saturday morning, the Foundation Hall area is closed to visitors and non-delegates to ensure the delegates the privacy and quiet they need to carry out their sacred obligation. The 250 visitors expected will attend a non-delegate session in the vicinity of the House of Worship.
Publication Convention report planned for May[edit]
Post-Convention reports from delegates to Bahá’í communities in their districts will no longer be sponsored by the National Spiritual Assembly, its Secretariat announced.
A report to the community of Convention proceedings will be made in a special, comprehensive Convention issue of The American Bahá’í to be published in May, the National Assembly said.
In addition, the Publishing Trust has been instructed to develop an audio cassette recording of Convention highlights, to give the friends an accurate impression of the meeting’s deliberations and actions.
Post-Convention reports have in the past been arranged by the National Teaching Committee, through the District Teaching Committees.
Meetings with delegates that are held will be at the discretion of the friends at the local level, the National Assembly said. The friends are welcome to initiate such meetings if they desire them, the announcement added.
Where Post-Convention reports for 1975 have already been planned, they will proceed as scheduled, the National Assembly said.
Agenda 66th National Bahá’í Convention[edit]
- Thursday, April 24
- 5:00 p.m.
- Registration of Delegates
- 7:30 p.m.
- Thanksgiving Devotional Program in the Auditorium of the Bahá’í House of Worship to mark the Fiftieth Anniversary of the National Spiritual Assembly. The non-Bahá’í public is invited.
- 8:00 p.m.
- Fiftieth Anniversary of the National Spiritual Assembly—A public observance. Speech by the Hand of the Cause William Sears. Reception for non-Bahá’í guests and Delegates.
- Daily Schedule beginning Friday, April 25
- Morning Devotions: 8:30 a.m.
- Daily Sessions:
- Morning - 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
- Afternoon - 2:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
- Evening - 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Friday, April 25
- 9:00-10:00 a.m.
- Opening of Convention in Foundation Hall, Purpose of Convention, Roll Call of Delegates, Election of Convention Officers
- 10:00-12:30 p.m.
- Reading of the Message from The Universal House of Justice. Presentation by Continental Counsellors. General Discussion of the Message from The Universal House of Justice.
- 12:30 p.m.
- Break for lunch
- 2:15-5:30 p.m.
- Report of the National Spiritual Assembly. Consultation on the Report.
- 5:30 p.m.
- Break for dinner
- 7:30-9:30 p.m.
- Report of the Treasurer. Consultation on the Report.
- Saturday, April 26
- 9:00-11:30 a.m.
- Brief statement by the Hand of the Cause William Sears. General Consultation.
- 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
- Election of the National Spiritual Assembly
- 12:30 p.m.
- Break for lunch
- 2:00 p.m.
- Convention Photograph
- 2:30-5:30 p.m.
- Audiovisual Presentation of Five Year Plan Goals and Brief Statements by the National Teaching Committee, National Education Committee, National Youth Committee, and International Goals Committee. General Consultation.
- 5:30 p.m.
- Break for dinner
- 7:30-9:30 p.m.
- Celebration of the Fiftieth Anniversary of the National Spiritual Assembly—Address by the Hand of the Cause William Sears
- Sunday, April 27
- 9:00 a.m.-12:00 Noon
- General Consultation
- 12:00 Noon
- Final statements by the National Spiritual Assembly
- 1:00 p.m.
- Adjournment
Indian teaching subject for special conference[edit]
A special conference on Indian teaching was conducted by the National Teaching Committee at the House of Worship in Wilmette between March 28-30.
Participants included Bahá’ís from the Ute, Choctaw, Navajo, Sioux, and Oneida tribes, members of the American Indian Committee (see The American Bahá’í, October 1975), members of the Navajo-Hopi Indian Committee, and Auxiliary Board member Nancy Phillips.
The consultation focused on ways to expand the teaching work in Indian areas and to win the goal of the Five Year Plan calling for the election of 25 Spiritual Assemblies on Indian reservations.
The conference prepared a series of recommendations on Indian teaching for the National Assembly and the National Teaching Committee. The group met briefly with the National Spiritual Assembly on Sunday, March 30.
Their recommendations will be studied closely by the National Assembly in future meetings, the Secretary of the National Assembly said.
In opening the conference, Firuz Kazemzadeh, Chairman of the National Assembly, described how mankind had at first lived in isolation, showing hostility to strangers. “Then in the nineteenth century, Bahá’u’lláh came, saying that separation and division were to end,” he said. “He told us to live like members of one family.
“Unfortunately, we must look at what mankind has done to itself. Look at what people have done to one another all through history. We are all so different, yet, if you could go into the mountains and see all the different streams, you would realize that they are all flowing into one ocean.
“In the same way,” Dr. Kazemzadeh continued, “we are now leaving that age of separation and entering the age of unity.... Our task as Bahá’ís is to spread out across this country and be the shock troops working in this front-line area of establishing unity. In your work with the North American Indians, a way must be found to convey the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh so that they know that this religion belongs to them and that their own future in it has been predicted.”
A general overview of Indian teaching in this country was given by Mrs. Phillips, who shared stories of the difficulties faced by the first believers involved in Indian teaching.
“The Hand of the Cause Amelia Collins and Ethel Murray are among those who have set us an example to follow,” she said. “Their work was historic, helping to bring into being the first all-Indian Local Spiritual Assembly and, in the case of Mrs. Murray, living on a reservation and serving in every way she could the needs of the Indians around her.”
A tape recording of a talk given by the Hand of the Cause Dorothy Baker, made at Riḍván, 1953, was played for the symposium. In the recording Mrs. Baker refers to the great emphasis the Guardian, Shoghi Effendi, placed upon teaching American Indians, and urged the believers to become involved more directly with Indians and attract them to the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh.
“At the age of 11 years, it was my privilege to recognize Bahá’u’lláh,” said Benjamin Kahn, the chairman of the Navajo-Hopi Teaching Committee. He then described what stimulated him to accept the teachings for this New Day and his hope for the knowledge of this to reach all Indians.
During the last session Sunday morning, the National Spiritual Assembly joined the symposium and listened quietly as recommendations were made. At the close of the session, participants affirmed their agreement with the suggestion of National Spiritual Assembly member Franklin Kahn that we teach Indians, as well as all people, by “sharing our love and being Bahá’í.”
1. Effective ways to reach Indians, both on Indian reservations and in urban settlements, filled most of the time for delegates and committee members, shown here at the recent symposium on Indian teaching, sponsored at the House of Worship by the National Teaching Committee. 2. Eva Kahn and Violet Starr enjoy a brief visit between sessions. 3. During consultation, Miss Kahn shows agreement with a point being expressed. 4. Ben Kahn, John Cook, and Wayne Steffes follow the discussion intently.
Youth project volunteers enjoy afternoon tea with the National Spiritual Assembly. Shown here, from left to right are Cynthia Barnes, of San Francisco, National Assembly members Magdalene Carney and Dorothy Nelson, and Mary Ellen Pastor of South Hadley, Massachusetts.
Youth take part in work/study project[edit]
Twelve Bahá’í youth participated in the second work/study project in recent months at the National Bahá’í Center, March 24-April 14.
The volunteers, from as far away as Massachusetts and California, and from as near as Chicago, spent part of their time working in the offices at the National Center, and part studying Bahá’í administration.
The Hand of the Cause Zikrullah Khadem spent an afternoon with the volunteers. His presentation centered on the significance of Bahá’u’lláh’s Tablet of Carmel and the formation of The Universal House of Justice.
Among the classroom instructors were the Secretary and Assistant Secretary of the National Assembly, Glenford Mitchell and Charlotte Linfoot, and Gary Worth, chairman of the National Youth Committee, the sponsor of the program.
The youth received a special guided tour of the House of Worship. They attended a Naw-Rúz party in Wilmette and participated in firesides and other teaching events.
Pathways to service[edit]
Recommendations for a summer vacation [edit]
By the National Bahá’í Youth Committee
For Bahá’í youth the summer months have always offered opportunities to be of special service to the Cause. This summer a number of exciting fields of service are available to American youth. The recent messages from The Universal House of Justice, which point to the process of deterioration in the old order and call for an immediate response to the goals of the Five Year Plan, emphasize the need for each Bahá’í youth to prayerfully consider the challenges set before him in the Two Year Program and to decide what his response to the call will be. The National Bahá’í Youth Committee encourages you to consider the following possibilities:
Youth Conferences:
The Two Year Youth Program calls for “a series of state and district conferences...to be held in 1975 to stimulate the winning of the youth goals.” Fifty-one of these conferences will be held throughout the country this summer during the five weekends in June. Guidance on long-range planning for lives of service will be offered as well as on the possibilities for summer service. Begin to plan your attendance at one of these meetings now. A list of locations and dates is on page 11 of this issue.
Teaching Projects
Teaching projects offer all Bahá’ís a chance to teach the Faith, to prepare for pioneering, and to gain valuable experience. Such projects are planned by administrative institutions. All that is required of the individual Bahá’í is a willingness to serve, some free time, and the necessary funds. Participation in a summer teaching project is one of the best ways to help win the circuit teaching goals of the Two Year Youth Program.
There are three international projects this summer—in Northwest Africa, Bolivia, and Brazil. The South American projects will begin with a training session from June 28-29; the African project begins with a session from July 4-6. Project costs range from approximately $1,000 to $1,360. Volunteers who can speak the languages of the areas are especially needed. For more information, see pages 6 and 7 in the March issue of The American Bahá’í, or write to the International Goals Committee.
Nine home front summer teaching projects will also be conducted this summer. They are co-sponsored by Local Spiritual Assemblies or District Teaching Committees and the National Youth Committee. Projects will last from one to six weeks, but participation for the full term is not always required. Volunteers must arrange for their own transportation to and from the sites. Approximately three dollars per day will be required for food and miscellaneous living expenses (at least five dollars per day in urban areas), but housing will be provided without cost to the volunteers in most cases. For more details about these projects, see the March issue of The American Bahá’í. Projects have been scheduled in the following communities: California: Los Angeles, August 1-31; Yosemite, all summer. Illinois: Carbondale, July 4-August 15; Chicago, July 7-August 17. New York: New York City, July 4-31; Hamburg, August 10-23. Eastern Colorado: July 12-August 10. Minnesota: Olmstead County, June 30-August 10. Vermont: July 19-August 17. [The San Diego, California, project has been cancelled.]
Bahá’ís who have youthful enthusiasm, mature dedication, a desire to serve, skill in the Spanish language, the ability to speak in public and to public officials, their own transportation, musical, dramatic, or artistic talent, and/or who are members of a minority group are all needed. To volunteer, write the National Bahá’í Youth Committee, 112 Linden Ave., Wilmette, IL 60091.
Youth who are not able to leave their own localities for extended periods of time can help to fulfill goals in the Youth Program by supporting local projects and by investing “increasing energy in the plans of Local Spiritual Assemblies and teaching committees,” and by initiating “efforts to reach minority groups designated in the Five Year Plan...” Consult your Local Assembly about organizing a local project. Often District Teaching Committees can help recruit more widespread support.
Service Projects
Promotion of and participation in service projects such as children’s classes and work/study sessions is a specific goal of the Youth Program. If you have ideas that could be implemented on the local level, suggest them to your Assembly.
The National Youth Committee is sponsoring the third in a series of work/study projects at the National Center this summer from August 3-15. Youth who would be interested in volunteering their services to do office work at the National Center or to teach children’s classes in the South should contact the National Youth Committee.
Personal Teaching
There is a great need for youth to arise and independently take the initiative to teach the Cause. Such personal teaching is really the foundation of all other victories. This can mean planning firesides in your own communities or traveling to teach elsewhere, whether that is to the next town, the next state, or to another country. In the message from The Universal House of Justice dated March 25, 1975, which stresses the need for traveling teachers throughout the world, a ringing challenge to Bahá’í youth is issued:
- We sincerely hope that in the forefront of the volunteers, the Bahá’í youth will arise for the sake of God and, through their driving force, their ability to endure inhospitable and arduous conditions, and their contentment with the bare necessities of life, they will offer an inspiring example to the peoples and communities they set out to serve, will exert an abiding influence on their personal lives, and will promote with distinction the vital interests of God’s Cause at this crucial stage in the fortunes of the Plan.
For assistance in planning a teaching trip, contact your Local Spiritual Assembly, the District Teaching Committee, or the National Youth Committee.
Summer Schools
Youth can serve at Bahá’í summer schools in at least two ways: as students they can spiritualize their own lives and develop the distinctive character of Bahá’í life; as volunteers they can often work as teachers or teacher aides or serve on the maintenance staff. Occasionally, jobs are even available.
Twenty summer schools are scheduled this year throughout the United States. Most have special programs for youth. For more information about programs and service possibilities, contact the summer school you wish to attend.
And so on...
These are only some of the opportunities for service available this summer. Surely there are others. Some youth can best serve the Faith by continuing their studies in preparation for their chosen professions, others can work to earn money for school or for Bahá’í activities. And there are summer job and youth exchange programs abroad, organized by agencies such as the International Educational Exchange (Suite 2200, Hotal McAlpin, Broadway and 34th Street, New York, NY 10001). The U.S. Committee for UNICEF offers a work/study intern program for selected college undergraduates which includes a four week training period in August and a semester of practical application of community organizing skills. College credit can be obtained for this project. (Write Ms. Connie Crosson, Intern Coordinator. U.S. Committee for UNICEF, 331 East 38th St. New York, NY 10016 (as soon as possible.)
As you consider these possibilities for summer service, a careful evaluation of your personal situation, family obligations, strengths, weaknesses, and resources cannot be emphasized too much. Do not hesitate to consult with your Local Assembly or the National Youth Office.
Nationwide conferences will be held for youth[edit]
Fifty-one state and district-wide youth conferences will be held in June to spur achievement of the goals of the Two Year Youth Program.
The conferences are being sponsored and organized by the National Youth Committee, and have been arranged so that they are accessible to all Bahá’í youth in the country.
One of the conferences will be held on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation in North Dakota.
Attendance at one of these conferences will meet the requirement of the Two Year Youth Program that calls on youth to “participate in the series of state and district conferences ... to be held in 1975 to stimulate the winning of the youth goals,” said Philip Christensen, secretary of the National Youth Committee.
The Two Year Youth Program was announced by the National Assembly at the St. Louis Conference in August 1974.
“We felt it was important to have these conferences at the beginning of the summer because it is during the summer that youth have always been most active in serving the Faith,” Dr. Christensen said. “By having them in June we felt we would not only be able to train youth for future service, but would be able to get them involved in special teaching projects that would help win other goals of the Two Year Youth Program.
All the conferences will begin on a Friday evening and end on Sunday at noon. The format will include a talk on the goals of the youth program, and workshops on education and careers, dating, marriage, family life, and planning personal service. Filmstrips on the Bahá’í Fund and the history of American Bahá’í youth activities will be presented.
Each conference will schedule teaching activities on Sunday afternoon.
Housing and other conference arrangements will be handled by the sponsoring community. A list of conferences and localities appears in this issue of The American Bahá’í.
To register, or to obtain more information, write the sponsoring community of the conference you wish to attend at the address given in the list of conferences on page 11.
Washington Bahá’ís urged to demonstrate great unity[edit]
More than 100 believers who attended the launching of the teaching program for Washington, D.C. were urged by the Chairman of the National Spiritual Assembly to demonstrate the triumph of Bahá’í attitudes, through the loving and united existence of all races and people under the shadow of the protective law of Bahá’u’lláh.
The launching ceremony on March 2, the first day of the Fast, was held in the house once owned by Agnes Parsons, a pioneer Bahá’í worker in the cause of racial unity. Mrs. Parsons, at the behest of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, organized the first Race Unity Conference in Washington, in 1921. The friends gathered in the same room in which ‘Abdu’l-Bahá met with the Bahá’ís during His visit to America.
Representing the National Assembly at the ceremony were its Chairman, Firuz Kazemzadeh, and its Vice-Chairman, Daniel Jordan. The Continental Board of Counsellors was represented by Counsellor Sarah Pereira, who lives in Washington. Auxiliary Board member Albert James, whose territory includes the city, was also present.
Dr. Kazemzadeh said the city was chosen for special attention during the Five Year Plan because of its importance as one of the major world capitals and because of its importance in Bahá’í history.
Some of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s greatest pronouncements during His visit here were made in the capital—particularly pronouncements on the subject of race unity, Dr. Kazemzadeh said.
“It was in Washington, D.C. that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá began to teach the American Bahá’í community about the meaning of the unity of mankind—the unity of the races,” he said. “Mrs. Parsons became the instrument for the furtherance of the Bahá’í principle of the unity of mankind.”
Only after the Master had departed from America, and two subsequent world wars had ravaged the world, did the racial composition of the nation’s capital change dramatically, Dr. Kazemzadeh observed.
“It became a city which presents to the country today a very serious problem in the mutual existence in brotherhood and friendship of the two major races inhabiting the United States,” he said.
“Isn’t it interesting,” he asked, “that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá should have chosen this city before problems arose, to teach the Bahá’í community of the meaning of the unity of mankind?”
“Indeed, the Bahá’í community of Washington is called upon to demonstrate the triumph of Bahá’í attitudes through the loving and united existence of all races and people under the shadow of the protective law of Bahá’u’lláh.
Among the goals given to Washington in its special plan are these:
- to take steps to establish a full-time secretariat for the Spiritual Assembly to increase its executive ability;
- to send at least 9 pioneers to foreign posts during the remainder of the Plan;
- to publish a regular newsletter;
- to develop regular, graded classes for Bahá’í and non-Bahá’í children;
- to triple the number of believers in Washington;
- to increase the use of radio and television for Bahá’í broadcasts aimed at proclamation of the Faith to greater numbers of people;
- to use the press more widely, and to publicize events in neighborhood, minority, college, and foreign-language newspapers in the city.
Bahá’ís will join in Women’s Year conference[edit]
The Bahá’í International Community announced it will send two delegates to the International Women’s Year World Conference in Mexico City June 19-July 2.
Wilma Brady, the UN representative of the National Spiritual Assembly, said the delegate selection will be made by The Universal House of Justice. Details for their participation in the conference will be handled by the Mexican National Assembly, she said.
The Bahá’í International Community, as the UN representative of Bahá’í communities throughout the world, was invited to send two delegates by the Economic and Social Council, with which it enjoys consultative status at the United Nations.
The U.S. National Assembly, as a national non-governmental organization at the UN, will not send representatives to the Mexico conference, Dr. Brady said. The U.S., as all other National Assemblies, will be represented by the Bahá’í International Community.
A second gathering for non-governmental organizations (NGO) will run concurrently with the large official conference, she explained. This second session, called an NGO Tribune, will provide a forum for discussion to a greater range of organizations than will be represented at the Women’s Year Conference.
The Tribune will be held at the National Medical Center in Mexico City, and will include plenary meetings, exhibits, films, and group discussions on the subject of improving the status of women in world society.
The Bahá’í International Community will send an official delegation to the Tribune as well as to the Women’s Conference, Dr. Brady said. This delegation will also be selected by The Universal House of Justice.
This special Tribune will be opened to individual participants, Dr. Brady explained. Individual Bahá’ís may attend this Tribune as non-delegates if they desire, she said. Bahá’ís who attend independently, however, will not represent the Bahá’í community or any Bahá’í agency, she noted. Tribune participants must make their own travel and housing arrangements.
Montana Summer School[edit]
An exciting week of learning and fellowship is being planned by the Montana Bahá’í Summer School for June 15-21. The school will be held at the United Methodist Camp, on the Boulder River near Big Timber. Please contact Mrs. Betty Ann Entzminger, Registrar, at 710 Agate Street, Billings, MT 59101.
|
Assignment of delegates by district
|
Pioneers get training despite snowstorm[edit]
In spite of a sudden blizzard which brought Chicago traffic to a halt and closed O’Hare airport for twenty-four hours, forty-two prospective pioneers arrived at the appointed time to attend a Pioneer Training Institute at the House of Worship in Wilmette, beginning Thursday evening, April 3, and concluding Sunday afternoon, April 6. The Hand of the Cause Zikrullah Khadem, National Assembly members Daniel Jordan and Charlotte Linfoot, together with members of the National Center staff and Bahá’ís from the Wilmette area, served as teachers at the institute.
Among those attending were two citizens of foreign countries who are now returning to their native lands as pioneers: Gunnar Sveindal Jr., of Moss, Norway, and Heriberto Moncada, of Siguatepeque, Honduras, and now returning to the capital city of Tegucigalpa.
According to Janet Rubenstein, secretary of the International Goals Committee, this fortunate occurrence has filled two goals otherwise difficult to win, due to increasing restrictions on working permits for foreigners in overseas countries.
Comments of those attending, as the Institute drew to a close, indicated the importance of the carefully planned agenda.
One pioneer who had had to leave a post but is now returning to the pioneering field said the meetings were so valuable that, had they been held before his first pioneering venture, he might not have had to leave his post. Another pioneer said:
“I know when I am in my new country and faced with difficulties that I can’t predict, hearing this weekend stories of the earlier pioneers, like Ella Bailey, will help me to stay at my post.”
Still another exultant Bahá’í, emerging from a particularly long session, said: “All the little points that are being covered here, like the question of whether to stand or sit at a public meeting where you are the speaker, is helping us to think about the customs of our goal countries and to try to find out what is appropriate behavior there.”
Gunnar Sveindal, who came to this country to study chiropractic, always intended to return home with a service he felt was needed in Norway. In Davenport, Iowa, he roomed with a Bahá’í who invited him last summer to go on an eight-thousand-mile teaching trip with him and meet the Bahá’ís of America.
“I could never tell you what that trip meant to me,” said Gunnar, when interviewed between sessions of the institute. “We stayed in many different places, met Bahá’ís of all different races, and I learned something of what oneness means. There is something the same in all Bahá’ís, the same spirit. When we came to the House of Worship at the end of the trip, I knew I had to be a Bahá’í!”
What Gunnar did not know was that the International Goals Committee was searching for a pioneer who could support himself in Norway. When news came to the Committee that Gunnar had completed his studies and was preparing to go back, he was invited to the institute.
The youngest of four children, Gunnar looks forward to discussing the Faith with his parents, brothers, and sisters, as well as becoming acquainted with the Bahá’ís of Norway. “I look forward especially to meeting Amelia Bowman in Stavanger,” he added, referring to a pioneer who has been at her European post since early in the second Seven Year Plan.
For Heriberto Moncada, concern about general conditions within his own country, Honduras, led him to do volunteer work for several years for the Red Cross before coming to America. In Chicago, through a friend, he learned of a beautiful building on the North Shore and went to see it for himself.
“From that day, when I walked through the House of Worship,” he recalls, “I began studying the Writings. I knew this was true. For eleven months, I attended the Sunday services. One day the speaker told about having been to Central America. Afterwards, she spoke with me and asked if I were a Bahá’í. When I said no one had invited me, she did so and that day I enrolled.”
Now, all the experiences in Heriberto Moncada’s life in Honduras before coming to America have a new meaning.
“There are many people I want to see again and tell about this beautiful Faith,” he said. “My people have suffered a great deal and I want them to be happy, as I have been made happy by the coming of Bahá’u’lláh.”
With almost one year of the Five Year Plan completed, this institute demonstrated the vitality of the American community in responding to fill the goals set by The Universal House of Justice. Many participants left saying, “I wouldn’t have missed it!” One pioneer telephoned from the airport, the day after the institute, to report as he left the country that his sister and brother-in-law had entered the Faith the previous evening. “I was so happy about the institute and I told them all about it. Now they are Bahá’ís!”
Those leaving for their posts include: Reuben and Bea Busby, Violet Clark, Dale and Nahid Eng, Ronald and Giel Goldman, Francis and Norma Jordan, Emily Kramer, John and Patricia Lang, Michael and Kay Maloney, Dale and Jeanne Morrow, Terry and Liz McAtee, Mary Jane Nelson, Robert and Gwen Palmer, Marilyn Smith, Gunnar Sveindal, Jr., Donald Thompson, Daniel and Pam Wegener, Joseph and Heather Wissler, Clark and Betty Cooper, Lori Reida Doss, Penny Walker, Beth Dickey Maglothin, Gary and Elaine Hogenson, James and Christine Wonders, Jean Harris, Steve and Sherman Waite, Heriberto Moncada, and Susan Isaacs.
Many children were in the group of pioneers (shown above) attending the Pioneer Training Institute the weekend of April 4 at the House of Worship, Wilmette. Pictured in the background is the rug from the Tomb of Bahá’u’lláh, sent by the Guardian as a precious gift to the American Bahá’í community.
Students deepen on minority cultures[edit]
The Bahá’í Club at St. Cloud State College in St. Cloud, Minnesota, has begun a series of deepenings on different minority cultures, to better appreciate and respect the contributions each can make to a world civilization.
The first guest speaker recently was Flavio Vega, a human relations teacher at the college, who gave a presentation on Mexican-American culture.
“He deepened us on his people’s history and development in the United States and helped us to dissolve some of the misconceptions and myths that are often taught about Chicano people,” the club’s correspondent said. “Mr. Vega expanded our knowledge and awareness of the beauty in a lifestyle different than our own.”
At another meeting the group viewed a Bill Cosby film that attempted to show how foolish it was for one people to feel superior to another.
“We realized that each culture has important and unique qualities to contribute if we are to truly establish ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s beautifully diverse garden here on earth,” the club’s correspondent said.
Future deepenings will be held on the lives of Native Americans, Japanese, Armenians, and others.
In attempting an explanation of the club’s motivation in conducting this series of deepenings, the group’s correspondent said this:
“How many times have you heard someone say, ‘if they would only do it the same way we do, they wouldn’t have any problems?’ Traditionally, Americans have taken this ethnocentric attitude when assessing the different cultures and minority groups in this country and others. Trying to be Bahá’ís, we have begun to realize how important it is not to be all the same.
“ ‘Abdu’l-Bahá said we should strive to be as diverse flowers of a garden. So in an effort to incorporate this teaching into our lives, the St. Cloud Bahá’í College Club has begun a series of deepenings on different minority cultures so that we can better appreciate and respect the beauty each offers, if we are only willing to take a look.”
A look into 50 years of service[edit]
Horace Holley, Secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly for 34 years, witnessed the formation of this body in 1925, and assisted in its subsequent development during his long tenure as one of the institution’s nine elected members.
In an early communication to the friends, Mr. Holley wrote, “Concerning the national administrative body, Shoghi Effendi provided clear information and direction. Its purpose, its power, its responsibility and its functions and duties are definitely prescribed.” He went on to quote Shoghi Effendi: “Its immediate purpose is to stimulate, unify and coordinate, by frequent personal consultations, the manifold activities of the friends as well as the local Assemblies; and by keeping in close and constant touch with the Holy Land, initiate measures, and direct in general the affairs of the Cause in that country.
“It serves also another purpose, no less essential than the first... in conjunction with the other National Assemblies throughout the Bahá’í world, to elect directly the members of the International House of Justice, that Supreme Council that will guide, organize and unify the affairs of the Movement throughout the world.” (Bahá’í Administration, p. 39)
Photographs of several National Spiritual Assemblies in the United States during the past 50 years reveal many members destined to serve later as Hands of the Cause, Continental Counsellors, Auxiliary Board members and members of The Universal House of Justice.
In 1944, standing on the steps of the House of Worship, from left to right, are: Allen McDaniel, Amelia Collins, Dorothy Baker, and George Latimer; (second row, left to right) Horace Holley, Roy C. Wilhelm, and Louis Gregory, and (back row) Philip G. Sprague and Leroy Ioas.
In 1954, the year in which five members of the National Spiritual Assembly left America as pioneers in the Ten Year Crusade, the members included, from left to right, first row: Elsie Austin, Mamie Seto, Dorothy Baker, and Edna True.
From left to right, back row: Kenneth Christian, H. Borrah Kavelin, Paul Haney, Matthew Bullock, and Horace Holley.
In 1960, the members were, from left to right, first row: Florence Mayberry, H. Borrah Kavelin, Edna True, and Charlotte Linfoot. From left to right, back row: David Ruhe, Charles Wolcott, Ellsworth Blackwell, Amoz Gibson, and Arthur L. Dahl.
[Page 8]
Since its inception in 1925, the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States has had fifty-one Bahá’ís serve as members. Until 1947, this body was the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States and Canada, but in the second year of the second Seven Year Plan, Canada elected its own National Spiritual Assembly. Those who have served as members of the United Slates Assembly are:
| Mr. Alfred L. Lunt | Miss Charlotte M. Linfoot |
| Mr. Louis G. Gregory | Mrs. Margery McCormick |
| Mr. Mountfort Mills | Mr. Lawrence Hautz |
| Mr. Roy C. Wilhelm | Mr. Robert McLaughlin |
| Mr. Horace Holley | Mr. Ellsworth Blackwell |
| Mr. Siegfried Schopflocher | Dr. Katherine True |
| Mrs. Florence Morton | Mr. Arthur L. Dahl |
| Mrs. May Maxwell | Mrs. Florence Mayberry |
| Mr. Allen B. McDaniel | Dr. David S. Ruhe |
| Mr. Carl Scheffler | Mr. Amoz Gibson |
| Mírzá Ali-Kuli Khan | Mr. Hugh Chance |
| Mrs. Amelia E. Collins | Dr. Sarah M. Pereira |
| Mrs. Nellie S. French | Mrs. Velma Sherrill |
| Mr. Leroy Ioas | Dr. Daniel C. Jordan |
| Mr. George O. Latimer | Mr. Robert Quigley |
| Mrs. Dorothy Beecher Baker | Dr. Firuz Kazemzadeh |
| Mr. Harlan Ober | Mr. Paul Pettit |
| Mr. Philip G. Sprague | Dr. Dwight Allen |
| Dr. Elsie Austin | Mr. Glenford H. Mitchell |
| Miss Edna M. True | Mr. Franklin Kahn |
| Mr. Paul Haney | Dr. Dorothy W. Nelson |
| Mr. Wm. Kenneth Christian | Mr. Jack McCants |
| Mr. H. Borrah Kavelin | Miss Magdalene Carney |
| Mrs. Mamie Seto | Mr. Richard D. Betts |
| Mr. Matthew W. Bullock | Dr. William Maxwell, Jr. |
| Mr. Charles Wolcott |
Almost all the members of the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States gathered with grieving Bahá’ís from all over the planet for the funeral of the beloved Guardian. Here are some of those (above) who stood outside the chapel after it was filled to its full seating capacity. Following 36 years of endeavor which witnessed the vast expansion and consolidation of teaching goals given by the Master in the Tablets of the Divine Plan, the Guardian left a legacy of Hands of the Cause of God to guide the Faith to that historic moment in 1963 when, in Haifa, Israel, members of National Spiritual Assemblies from all over the world elected the first members to serve on The Universal House of Justice.
In 1947, with Europe again open to travel after the Second World War and with the Second Seven Year Plan under way, the first European Teaching Session was held at Temerity Ranch, Colorado Springs, Colorado, to devise ways to increase the flow of pioneers to Europe. Teachers and prospective pioneers are shown outdoors following a session.
A photograph of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá appropriately stands in the center of this group of Bahá’ís and their friends from a Black church, meeting for a picnic at the home of Walter Bohannen, Kenosha, Wisconsin, more than 40 years ago. The next photo shows a group of Bahá’ís and Indian friends, meeting during a council fire on the Mescalero Reservation in New Mexico, in 1973. Children’s classes have always provided an opportunity for the promotion of the oneness of mankind. For children do not have difficulty with acquired prejudice such as their parents and grandparents have experienced. Here, a few children show their artwork from a class held during a South Carolina conference.
[Page 9]
Development of summer schools and the prodigious effort required to complete the House of Worship have occupied much of the consultative time of the National Spiritual Assembly over the years. Shown above, left, is a memorable moment when the Hand of the Cause Dorothy Baker and National Spiritual Assembly member Matthew Bullock shared their delight in the completed interior of the House of Worship. To their right is a more recent scene in the House of Worship when Counsellor Sarah M. Pereira addressed the Bahá’ís assembled at the launching of the special teaching program for Illinois. Seated on the platform behind her are: (left to right) Charlotte Linfoot, Magdalene Carney, Auxiliary Board member Thelma Jackson; Counsellor Edna True; the Hand of the Cause Zikrullah Khadem; Firuz Kazemzadeh, and the Hand of the Cause William Sears. Mr. Glenford Mitchell is also on the platform but out of view of the camera. The Sunday morning class at Geyserville, during the 1939 summer session, is shown, mostly smiling, although a few of the younger ones look uncertain about the process of taking a group photo. Almost thirty years later, seven members of the National Spiritual Assembly paid a visit to Geyserville to discuss plans for expanding the school. They are: (left to right) Robert Quigley, David Ruhe, Paul Pettit, Dwight Allen, Sarah M. Pereira, Arthur Dahl, and Daniel Jordan. Unceasing effort by L. Wyatt Cooper, in charge of the gardens at the House of Worship for many years, led to a number of national honors, including several prizes from the World Flower and Garden Show held at McCormick Place in Chicago for exhibits such as this one. The dream of early believers who bought land for a House of Worship was fully realized almost fifty years later when, in 1953, thousands of Bahá’ís from all over the planet attended its dedication. This coincided with the launching of the Ten Year Crusade.
Inside we see Bahá’ís at the special dedication service, while outside spring transforms trees and shrubs into a lacy framework surrounding the Mother Temple of the West. General in charge of the American Bahá’í community, the National Spiritual Assembly has, over the years, out of sacrifice and heroic promotion of visionary teaching plans, assisted in the winning of goals which the beloved Guardian has assured us “constitute the one hope of a stricken society.” (World Order of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 195)
Spanish section[edit]
Necesidad de maestros viajeros adquiere urgencia[edit]
A Todas Las Asambleas Espirituales Nacionales
Queridos amigos Bahá’ís,
Al acercarnos al umbral del segundo año del Plan de Cinco Años, se hace evidente que la necesidad de maestros viajeros, tal como fue indicado en el mensaje que lanzó este Plan, está adquiriendo mayor urgencia e importancia.
Durante el año pasado se dieron pasos para revisar las funciones de los Comités Continentales de Pioneros, ampliar su base, fortalecer su trabajo y establecer una colaboración mucho más íntima entre ellos y los Cuerpos Continentales de Consejeros. Ya, con su ayuda, un ejército de pioneros se ha movido y aún se está moviendo hacia sus objetivos, y los amigos, especialmente los jóvenes, han mostrado una disposición general para servir como maestros viajeros.
Los esfuerzos arduos que se están haciendo por llenar las metas de pionería para cuando llegue el Plan a su punto medio ahora tienen que ser acompañados de esfuerzos resueltos y bien pensados por convertir en un gran río la corriente de aquellos amigos que viajarán a países extranjeros para robustecer los esfuerzos de quienes laboran tan valientemente para ampliar y consolidar las comunidades Bahá’ís tan extensamente esparcidas y proclamar el Mensaje de Bahá’u’lláh a todo nivel de la sociedad.
A pedido nuestro, el Centro Internacional de Enseñanza ha desarrollado un plan que hemos aprobado entusiastamente, el cual comprende metas específicas de colaboración internacional en el campo de los viajes de enseñanza. Ahora se está enviando este plan a los Cuerpos Continentales de Consejeros que, a su vez, lo presentarán a las Asambleas Espirituales Nacionales, cuya tarea será la de llevarlo a cabo. Cada Asamblea Espiritual Nacional en consulta con los Consejeros, ha de elaborar propuestas específicas que luego deben ser presentadas a las otras Asambleas Nacionales con las cuales ha de colaborar a fin de elaborar, tan pronto como sea posible, proyectos definitivos para ser puestos en movimiento, inaugurando así un proceso cuyo ímpetu debe aumentarse rápidamente y que debe ser perseguido con vigor sostenido en los años por delante.
A los Comités Continentales de Pioneros se les debe mantener informados respecto a todos los proyectos para que puedan saber cómo mejor reforzar la corriente con aquellos numerosos voluntarios que indudablemente se levantarán fuera del armazón de los proyectos específicos que ahora se han de concebir. Es nuestra esperanza que, hasta donde sea posible, los proyectos de viajes de enseñanza serán autofinanciados o podrán ser ayudados por los Fondos Nacionales correspondientes, sin embargo, cuando sea necesario el Fondo Internacional de Diputación está disponible para ayudar. Cuandoquiera sea precisa ayuda del Fondo de Diputización, se la debe solicitar al Comité Continental de Pioneros, dando detalles del proyecto. Si la suma requerida es pequeña, puede ser que el Comité pueda ayudar inmediatamente, de otra manera pasará la solicitud, junto con su propia recomendación, a la Casa Universal de Justicia para ser considerada.
Esperamos sinceramente que la juventud Bahá’í se colocará en la vanguardia de los voluntarios que se levantarán por amor a Dios y que, por medio de su fuerza impeledor, su capacidad para soportar las condiciones inhóspitas y arduas, y su contentamiento con las mínimas necesidades de la vida, darán un ejemplo inspirador a los pueblos y las comunidades que buscan servir, que ejercerán una influencia perdurable sobre las vidas personales de ellos, y que promoverán con distinción los intereses vitales de la Causa de Dios en esta etapa crucial del desenvolvimiento del Plan.
Ofreceremos nuestras ardientes oraciones en los Santuarios Sagrados por la confirmación de los esfuerzos de todos los que responderán heroicamente e este llamado.
- Con cariñosos saludos Bahá’ís,
- LA CASA UNIVERSAL DE JUSTICIA
25 de Marzo de 1975
Aquellos que quieren responder a este llamado deben escribir al Comité Internacional de Metas, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091.
Señor Flavio Vega hizo una presentación sobre la cultura mexicana.
Jovenes estudian culturas distintas[edit]
El Club Bahá’í de St. Cloud State College en St. Cloud, Minnesota, ha empezado una serie de clases de profundización sobre la cultura de las distintas menoridades para ayudar a mejor apreciar y respetar la contribución que cada una de ellas hacen a la civilización mundial.
El primer invitado para hablar sobre su cultura, fue Flavio Vega, Profesor de relaciones humanas del mismo colegio, quien hizo una presentación sobre la cultura mexicana.
“Nos iluminó respecto a la historia y desarrollo de su pueblo en los Estados Unidos lo cual nos ayudó a deshacernos de los mitos y conceptos erróneos que frequentemente se dan por verdad contra los chicanos (americanos de descendencia mexicana),” dijo el correspondiente del club. “El Señor Vega nos dio un mayor entendimiento y conocimiento de la belleza que existe en culturas distintas a la nuestra.”
En otra de sus reuniones, el grupo vio una película con el artista de cine Bill Cosby, que trataba de mostrar lo ridículo que es que una raza se sienta superior a otra.
“Realizamos que cada cultura tiene cualidades únicas e importantes que contribuir, si es que vamos a lograr el jardín diverso y bello que anticipa ‘Abdu’l-Bahá en la tierra,” dijo el correspondiente del club.
Treinta naciones participan en seminario sobre la mujer[edit]
Participantes de más de treinta países se reunieron en Ottawa del 4 al 7 de septiembre de 1975 para participar en el seminario de las Naciones Unidas sobre “La participación de la mujer en la evolución y eliminación de la discriminación de sexo.”
Este fue el primer seminario interregional sobre este tema “Cuya importancia ha sido enfatizada en resoluciones de la Asamblea General, el Concilio Economico y Social, Comisión sobre la Posición Relativa de la Mujer, y la Conferencia Internacional sobre los Derechos Humanos (Teheran 1968),” según el anuncio de la Oficina de Información Publica de las Naciones Unidas.
Carol Bowie, miembro de la Asambléa Espiritual Nacional de Canadá y Judy Gibson representaron la Comunidad Bahá’í Internacional y tuvieron muchas oportunidades para llamar la atención a la fe a los delegados y observadores.
En sus reportes los observadores bahá’ís comentaron “cuanto cerca en principios llegaban los delegados a las enseñanzas bahá’ís. Vez tras vez los representantes de los paises del tercer mundo se oyeron expresar los conceptos de que sin la plena contribución de las mujeres a la sociedad, el desarrollo de sus países quedarían lisiados, que la educación es crucial si esta integración ha de tomar lugar y que lo que es esencial es el cambio de estado de la mujer y su papel no obstante la ultimada definición de este papel.”
La iniciativa mostrada por parte de la Señora Bowie después del seminario produjo unos resultados sobresalientes. Para utilizar la oportunidad que el seminario presentó para la publicidad de la fe así como del Año Internacional de las Mujeres, ella se dirijió a las oficinas del diario y los estudios de television a cable de la ciudad de Cornwall. Los estudios, no teniendo un programa regular donde se hacen discursos y entrevistas le ofrecieron a la Señora Bowie su propio programa de entrevistas. “El resultado”, dice la Señora Bowie, “fue una serie de programas de 15 semanas de 30 minutos de duración cada uno. Llevaba por nombre ‘Nuestro Mundo’ y me invitaron a expresarme francamente acerca de la fe, las Naciones Unidas o cualquier topico o tema que quisiera. Al presente solo tres programas han sido gravados el primero trataba de mi participación en el seminario, el segundo fue un programa de diapositivos sobre la fe y el tercero fue una entrevista con otro bahá’í. El programa empieza cada vez con la vista del santuario del Báb y palabras de Bahá’u’lláh: “La tierra es un solo país, y la humanidad sus ciudadanos.”
A listing of youth conferences to be held in June[edit]
Listed below are the fifty-one youth conferences which will be held this June to fulfill one goal of the Two Year Youth Program. The conferences will begin Friday evening and end Sunday noon; teaching projects will be scheduled for Sunday afternoon. They are designed especially for young Bahá’ís, but all believers are welcome to attend.
To register for these conferences and to request details about costs, contact the conference host. More information will be published in the May issue of The American Bahá’í and in most district and regional bulletins.
Make plans now to attend one of these important youth conferences!
NORTHEASTERN REGION
- Connecticut June 20-22
- Host: Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of New Haven; Mr. David Walline, Secretary; 1243 State St.; New Haven, CT 06511
- Maine June 27-29
- Host: District Teaching Committee of Maine; Mrs. Claire Cline, Secretary; 80 Willow St.; Augusta, ME 04330
- Site: Green Acre Bahá’í School; 189 Main St.; Eliot, Maine 03903
- Massachusetts/Rhode Island June 13-15
- Host: Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Boston; Mrs. Christina Bell, Secretary; Box 1207; Boston, MA 02104
- New Hampshire/Vermont June 6-8
- Host: District Teaching Committee of New Hampshire; Mrs. Jacqueline Roberts, Secretary; 40 Webster St.; Hudson, NH 03051
- Site: 450 N. State St.; Concord, New Hampshire
- New Jersey May 31-June 1
- Host: Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Teaneck; Mr. John A. Savage, Secretary; 231 Hargreaves Ave.; Teaneck, NJ
- New York June 27-29
- Host: Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Ithaca; Mr. Ervin E. Kreutter, Secretary; 419 N. Cayuga St.; Ithaca, NY 14850
- Site: Cornell University
- Eastern Pennsylvania June 13-15
- Host: Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Bethlehem; Mrs. Janet G. Homnick, Secretary; Apt. 7, 1725 Shimer Ave.; Bethlehem, PA 18018
- Western Pennsylvania/West Virginia June 6-8
- Host: Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Pittsburgh; Mrs. Dawn A. Pearson, Secretary; P.O. Box 7190; Pittsburgh, PA 15213
- Site: 712 South Ave.; Williamsburg, Pennsylvania
SOUTHERN REGION
- Alabama June 20-22
- Host: Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Birmingham; Mrs. L. Delight Bethune, Secretary; 30- 12th Ave.; Birmingham, AL 35204
- Arkansas June 27-29
- Host: Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Little Rock; Miss Beulah I. Magruder, Secretary; 511 N. Pine St.; Little Rock, AR 72205
- Central Florida June 13-15
- Host: Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of St. Petersburg; Mrs. Dorothy Stortz, Secretary; 327-50th Ave. N; St. Petersburg, FL 33703
- Site: Eckerd College, St. Petersburg
- Northern Florida May 30-June 1
- Host: Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Jacksonville; Mrs. Judith A. Harrington, Secretary; 3542 Lenczyk Dr. W; Jacksonville, FL 32211
- Southern Florida June 20-22
- Host: Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of South Dade County; Mrs. Patricia L. Myers, Secretary; P.O. Box 560554; Miami, FL 33156
- Site: YWCA, 100 Southeast 4th St.; Miami, Florida
- Georgia June 13-15
- Host: Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Atlanta; Mrs. Carol Cused, Secretary; 1547 Pontiac Pl. SE; Atlanta, GA 30315
- Site: Hard Labor Creek State Park; Rutledge, Georgia
- Kentucky/Tennessee June 27-29
- Host: Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Louisville; Mr. Paul McGee, Secretary; 104 Forest Court; Louisville, KY 40206
- Site: Harris Farm; 15004 Brush Run Road; Jeffersontown, Kentucky
- Louisiana June 13-15
- Host: Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Alexandria; Mr. Charles Ward, Secretary; P.O. Box 7492; Alexandria, LA 71301
- Maryland/District of Columbia/Delaware June 27-29
- Host: Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Baltimore County West; Mrs. Madge T. Palmer, Secretary; 310 Glenrae Drive; Baltimore, MD 21228
- Mississippi June 6-8
- Host: Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Jackson; Mrs. Dorothy Bruner, Secretary; P.O. Box 1489; Jackson, MS 39205
- North Carolina June 6-8
- Host: Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Raleigh; Mrs. Nancy Schear, Secretary; P.O. Box 10383; Raleigh, NC 27605
- Oklahoma June 20-22
- Host: Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Tulsa; Mrs. Virginia R. McCoy, Secretary; 4940 E. 32nd St.; Tulsa, OK 74135
- Site: Lorton Hall, Univ. of Tulsa; Tulsa, Oklahoma
- South Carolina June 13-15
- Host: Regional Teaching Committee of South Carolina; Mrs. Gertrude White, Office Mgr.; P.O. Box 337; Goose Creek, SC 29445
- Site: Louis Gregory Bahá’í Institute; Rt. 2 Box 123; Hemingway, South Carolina 29554
- Eastern Texas No. 1 June 20-22
- Host: Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Fort Worth; Mr. Gordon Dobbins Jr., Secretary; 6501 Sabrosa Ct. E.; Fort Worth, TX 76133
- Site: Lecture Theater, Reed Science Bldg.; Texas Wesleyan College; 3200 Block of East Rosedale, Fort Worth, Texas
- North Central and Eastern Texas No. 2 June 6-8
- Host: Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Houston; Mrs. Virginia G. Baxley, Secretary; Apt. 135, 8233 Kingsbrook Rd.; Houston, TX 77024
- Northern Texas June 27-29
- Host: Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Amarillo; Mrs. Alberta Trevino, Secretary; P.O. Box 9103; Amarillo, TX 79015
- Southern and South Central Texas June 20-22
- Host: Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Corpus Christi; Mrs. Robin Denney, Secretary; P.O. Box 1572; Corpus Christi, TX 78412
- Western Texas June 6-8
- Host: Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of El Paso; Mrs. Nancy M. Dale, Secretary; P.O. Box 12762; El Paso, TX 79912
- Site: University of Texas; El Paso, Texas
- Virginia June 20-22
- Host: Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Richmond; Mrs. Jeanne Cessna, Secretary; 3113 Rendale Ave.; Richmond, VA 23221
- Site: YMCA Camp Thunderbird; Shawandasee Road; Chesterfield, Virginia
CENTRAL REGION
- Northern Illinois June 13-15
- Host: Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Skokie; Mrs. Carol Allen, Secretary; P.O. Box 572; Skokie, IL 60076
- Southern Illinois June 13-15
- Host: Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Champaign Township; Mrs. Barbara Casterline, Secretary; 1609 Sheffield; Champaign, IL 61802
- Indiana June 20-22
- Host: Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Indianapolis; Mrs. Kathleen Station, Secretary; 1629 Stevenson; Indianapolis, IN 46208
- Iowa June 27-29
- Host: Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Ames; Mr. Don Joel Mason, Secretary; ISU Station; P.O. Box 1278; Ames, IA 50010
- Kansas June 13-15
- Host: Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Topeka; Mrs. Ruth Ashworth, Secretary; P.O. Box 4434; Topeka, KS 66604
- Mainland Michigan June 27-29
- Host: Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of East Lansing; Mr. David L. Rouleau, Secretary; Union PO M.S.U.; P.O. Box 703; East Lansing, MI 48823
- Minnesota June 27-29
- Host: Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of St. Cloud; Mrs. Ruth LaQuier, Secretary; 1305 13th St. SE; St. Cloud, MN 56301
- Site: St. Cloud State College; St. Cloud, Minnesota
- Missouri June 6-8
- Host: Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Jefferson City; Mrs. Gloria L. Barding, Secretary; 1301 Kolb Dr.; Jefferson City, MO 65101
- Nebraska June 6-8
- Host: Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Omaha; Mrs. Doreene Brown, Secretary; P.O. Box 1475; Omaha, NE 68101
- North Dakota/South Dakota June 27-29
- Host: Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Fort Yates; Mr. Larry Scott, Secretary; P.O. Box 441; Fort Yates, ND 58538
- Site: Standing Rock Indian Reservation
- Ohio June 13-15
- Host: Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Columbus; Miss Elizabeth A. Carter, Secretary; Apt. 106, 690 Riverview Dr.; Columbus, OH 43202
- Wisconsin/Michigan June 27-29
- Host: Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Madison; Miss Margaret Dean, Secretary; 613 N. Frances St.; Madison, WI 53703
- Site: Howard Johnson Motor Lodge; 525 W. Johnson St.; Madison, Wisconsin
WESTERN REGION
- Arizona May 30-June 1
- Host: Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Phoenix; Mrs. Beatrice Bechtold, Secretary; 6747 North 10th Pl.; Phoenix, AZ 85014
- Site: Northeast YMCA; 2602 E. Clarendon; Phoenix, Arizona
- Northern California/Northern Nevada June 20-22
- Host: Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Stockton; Mrs. Jean W. Johnson, Secretary; P.O. Box 4131; Stockton, CA 95204
- Southern California/Southern Nevada June 6-8
- Host: Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Pomona; Mrs. Gloria G. Buis, Secretary; P.O. Box 463; Pomona, CA 91769
- Site: Los Angeles County Fairgrounds, Pomona
- Far Southern California June 27-29
- Host: Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of San Diego; Ms. Barbara L. Miller, Secretary; 1559 Oliver Avenue; San Diego, CA 92109
News Briefs[edit]
‘Hoy es el Día’, a bilingual musical group, leading the Northfield group in Bahá’í songs.
Spanish teaching progressing in Illinois[edit]
Bahá’ís from several Chicago area communities united to support a recent proclamation in Northfield Township, Illinois, where the Spanish-speaking non-Bahá’ís outnumbered the Spanish-speaking Bahá’ís.
Separate discussions in English and Spanish and a potluck dinner highlighted the January 26 meeting and attracted over 60 people of various cultural backgrounds. Everyone joined “Hoy es el Día”, a Bahá’í musical group, with songs in both Spanish and English.
Patricia Klem, a member of the Illinois Bahá’í Spanish-Teaching Team, a committee of the Regional Teaching Committee, led the fireside discussion attended primarily by non-Bahá’ís of Spanish-speaking backgrounds.
One brand-new Spanish-speaking believer brought her parents, who until that time had appeared extremely cautious but seemed to show much interest during the discussion.
In another room, Bob Hurley, a member of the Illinois District Teaching Committee, Number 2, and his wife Cindie, spoke to nearly 30 people about the unity of science and religion.
During the firesides, a class was also held for the children who learned about the heroes of the Faith and enjoyed singing many Bahá’í songs.
Personal invitations drew the largest number of people to the event. Newspaper publicity included a weekly listing of the community public meetings in nine Chicago suburban newspapers, as well as a short article each week printed in the Northbrook Star about the particular meeting scheduled.
Teenage camping planned for Conifer Hill[edit]
The Conifer Hill Bahá’í school will sponsor two one-week camping sessions this summer for Bahá’í teenagers between 13-16 years old in addition to the regularly scheduled program (see The American Bahá’í, March 1975, p. 8).
The sessions will be held from July 27-August 2, and from August 3-9. Enrollment will be limited to 35 campers per session. The cost will be $40 per week.
The scheduled program will emphasize deepening in the Bahá’í writings, training in drama, handcrafts, campcrafts, music, games, and sports. The purpose of the experience will be to strengthen youth to meet the adverse pressures they may expect to encounter from their society and their peers in the years ahead.
Four volunteer counsellors and a nurse or medical officer are needed at the camp this year. The counsellors must be deepened Bahá’ís who can lead the study classes. They must also be proficient in some of the activities to be taught at the camp. Financial assistance can be made available to these staff members.
For information about attendance or volunteering service write: Conifer Hill Bahá’í Schools Committee, Mrs. Marilyn Fisher, Secretary and Registrar, 437 Pine, Boulder, CO 80302, or phone (303) 443-6422.
In the photograph above, Anthony Cubero, formerly of the Cuban Bahá’í community, discusses the new World Order with a Spanish-speaking audience in Miami, during an observance of World Religion Day.
Latins attend Bahá’í meeting[edit]
Several dozen Spanish-speaking guests attended a February 8 World Religion Day observance sponsored jointly by the Bahá’ís of Homestead and South Dade, Florida. The speaker was Anthony Cubero, a former member of the National Assembly of Cuba.
As a prop for his talk, Dr. Cubero used a large drawing of a narrow, winding pathway; its mileposts, principles from the Bahá’í teachings.
In his talk, he led the audience along this pathway, pausing at each milepost to comment on a significant teaching of the Faith. The destination of the journey, he said, was universal peace and a new World Order.
The event was held at the Koubek Center, part of the University of Miami.
Bahá’í receives Jaycee Religion award[edit]
Joanne Marian, a member of the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Iowa City, and secretary of the Eastern Iowa District Teaching Committee was recently named the year’s Outstanding Young Religious Leader by the Iowa City Jaycees.
Mrs. Marian was one of two women honored by the Jaycees in 1975. It was believed they were the first women ever to receive awards from the Iowa City Jaycees.
John McDonald, the local Jaycee president, presented certificates to the individuals selected in the various categories at a special dinner. The annual awards honor outstanding achievements by young people in their professions, and in service to their community.
Mrs. Marian, who is 33, was chosen the outstanding young religious leader because of her work with the Bahá’í Faith in Iowa. She has also served on state and national Bahá’í committees, and has assisted with planning of teaching conferences and other activities.
She has worked with the Girl Scouts, and the Iowa City Volunteer Bureau. She is a member of the Open Door Society, Friends of Children of Vietnam, Birthright Organization, and is a foster parent.
Mrs. Marian holds a B.A. degree in religion from the College of Wooster in Ohio, and an M.A. in Christian education from the San Francisco Theological Seminary.
She has two daughters, Shirrin, 6, and Jalalieh, 1 1/2, and a son, Rahim, 3 1/2. Her husband’s name is Albert.
[Page 13]
Arkansas-Missouri Bahá’í Information Service members Mary Remmel and Albert Porter (2nd and 3rd from right) during workshop session in Springfield with friends from the Ozark area.
Second media institute held[edit]
The Arkansas-Missouri Bahá’í Information Service held its second area institute in Springfield, Missouri, on February 22, to assist in deepening the friends in the two states in the use of public information and its relation to the community’s deepening and teaching activities.
The conference location was chosen to be convenient for the widely scattered believers in the Ozark areas of southern Missouri and northern Arkansas. The Information Service expressed great joy at the attendance from this developing Bahá’í area, with people attending from fifteen communities, including two localities from Kansas, in spite of continuous rain, ice, and snow.
Following the format of the first experimental session held in November in St. Louis, the Information Service showed the relationship of publicity efforts, deepening, and teaching to the spiritual roots of our Faith, using slides, discussions, and demonstrations.
“I have gained tremendously... I felt free to let the information I gathered become a part of me and (it) gave me the guidelines on which to act in my own community.”
“It helped to bring together the different aspects of Bahá’í activities.”
“This may have been a record for Bahá’í attendance (in this area).”
“Wish there were more. What can I say? I am speechless!”
“It covers much in the short time.”
A third institute, following the same format, was held Saturday, April 12, in Kansas City, Missouri, for the convenience of Bahá’ís in the western part of Missouri and Arkansas.
Indian proclamation held[edit]
Children entertained a wandering dog during a break in activities at an Indian proclamation event (called a songfest) at the Stockbridge-Munsee Reservation near Bowler, Wisconsin. Approximately 50 people participated in the program, held February 23. “Humming, strumming, listening, chatting,” were the featured activities, according to a report from Stockbridge. A potluck dinner was assembled by the Indian families and visiting Bahá’ís.
Performers Jim Seals and Dash Crofts present a plaque to Dr. Anna Smith, Interim Director of the Central City Medical Center.
Bahá’ís confer Human Rights Awards[edit]
Bahá’ís of Los Angeles County gathered in the University of California’s Grand Ballroom on December 8, 1974, for presentations by the Spiritual Assembly of Bahá’í Human Rights Awards for 1974.
Awards went to the Central City Medical Center in Los Angeles; Dr. Sidney Rooth, Managing Director of the Gardena Memorial Hospital; and Daisy Lee Mothershed Gibson, a resident of nearby Antelope Valley active in community organizations.
The Los Angeles Assembly has presented human rights awards for the past six years. They go to people who it is felt have, through outstanding service to their community, promoted the cause of human rights.
The Medical Center, which started several years ago without adequate funding or facilities, now provides extensive care and counseling to emotionally disturbed children and adults and to individuals suffering from drug or alcohol abuse.
Bahá’í musicians to meet[edit]
A meeting of Bahá’í musicians will be held in Salt Lake City, Utah, June 8-15.
The meeting, sponsored by the Utah District Teaching Committee, will give Bahá’í musicians an opportunity to become acquainted with one another, and to exchange information and resources.
This conference of musicians will end with two public concerts in Salt Lake City. The Local Assembly has scheduled a musical proclamation in the downtown area on the evening of June 13. On June 14, Saturday, the Bahá’í Club at the University of Utah will sponsor a proclamation concert on campus.
During the week, seminars and workshops on music and related subjects will be conducted. Each attending musician will have an opportunity to perform at a local fireside or teaching event in the area.
Housing and meals will be arranged by the university Bahá’í club at economical rates.
The coordinator for this meeting, to whom questions may be addressed: H. Kingsley Thurber, 348 East 17th South, Salt Lake City, UT 84115.
A celebration of daisies[edit]
The University of Wisconsin Bahá’í College Club in Green Bay celebrated Naw-Rúz by handing out daisies and literature on campus.
The idea proved so successful that by noon 500 daisies had been given away and the students had to buy more. Only 80 more flowers were available at the florists and they were distributed within 20 minutes.
A display was set up and many people who came originally for daisies also took literature.
Cast from “The Fireside,” from left to right, Lani Kay, Susan Harloff, Andre Harvey, and Eileen Saki.
Play proclaims to public[edit]
To celebrate World Religion Day and proclaim the Faith, the Bahá’ís of Los Angeles and West Hollywood commissioned and produced a one-act play, and had it performed on January 19.
The play, called “The Fireside,” was designed to give the audience an impression of the aims and achievements of the Bahá’í Faith. It used actors of different nationalities, dressed in costumes worn in their homelands, to convey the international relevance of the Faith.
More than 300 people attended the performance in Fiesta Hall in West Hollywood.
The play was written and directed by John Angelo of West Hollywood.
BAHÁ’Í BOOKS AND MATERIALS[edit]
Make the Most of Your Summer[edit]
“Be not content with the ease of a passing day, and deprive not thyself of everlasting rest. Barter not the garden of eternal delight for the dust-heap of a mortal world. Up from thy prison ascend unto the glorious meads above, and from thy mortal cage wing thy flight unto the paradise of the Placeless.”
With summer only weeks away, Bahá’í communities around the country are preparing for the second summer of teaching and proclamation since the beginning of the Five Year Plan. Communities are making plans to build and man booths at shopping centers and city and county fairs and to host picnics, concerts, and summer youth projects. Individual Bahá’ís young and old are mapping their travel teaching trips and vacations to many parts of the nation and the world. All of these efforts will require dedication, steadfastness, foresight, and Bahá’í Literature and Special Materials.
To assist Bahá’ís in their teaching work this summer, the Publishing Trust offers the following list of Literature and Special Materials items. The list—which is necessarily incomplete—includes eye-catching posters and absorbing filmstrip programs for fair booths as well as inexpensive introductory literature for use in all Bahá’í teaching work. Why not circle the titles that interest you? Your local Bahá’í Librarian may already have what you need, but if not, he or she will be happy to order for you. Have an exciting summer!
BAHÁ’Í LITERATURE[edit]
INTRODUCTORY MATERIALS:
7-40-02 Bahá’í Answers | 10/$1.00; 50/$4.00 |
7-31-59 Bahá’í Faith, The: An Introduction | $.40; 50/$17.50; 100/$30.00 |
7-40-05 Bahá’í House of Worship, The | 10/$.75; 50/$3.00 |
7-40-10 Bahá’í: Way of Life for Millions | 10/$2.00 |
7-40-14 Basic Facts of the Bahá’í Faith | 25/$1.00; 100/$3.00, 500/$10.00 |
7-40-65 Decade of Expansion, A | 100/$5.00 NET |
7-40-35 Message of Bahá’u’lláh | 20/$1.00; 100/$4.00 |
7-40-37 One Universal Faith | 25/$1.00; 100/$3.00; 500/$10.00 |
7-40-38 One World, One Family | 25/$1.00; 100/$3.00; 500/$10.00 |
7-40-40 Pattern for Future Society, A | 25/$1.00; 100/$3.00; 500/$10.00 |
7-40-51 Sample Pamphlet Assortment | $3.95 |
6-46-00 Wilmette Temple teaching card | 100/$3.00; 500/$13.75 |
7-40-95 World Order Editorials, asst. of six | $1.00 |
FOR INDIANS: |
|
7-40-08 Bahá’í Teachings: Light for all Regions | $.25; 25/$5.00 |
7-40-70 Straight Path, The | 25/$1.50; 100/$5.00 |
ABOUT WOMEN: |
|
7-40-73 Women: Attaining Their Birthright | $.35; 10/$3.25 |
7-40-89 Women: Striking the Balance | 20/$2.00 |
PRAYERS: |
|
7-15-09 Communion With God | $.15; 100/$12.00 |
7-15-25 Mention of God, The | 50/$2.50; 350/$14.00; 3500/$122.50 |
IN SPANISH: |
|
7-93-55 Bahá’í Faith, The: An Introduction | $.50 |
7-93-51 God’s New Age | $.15; 25/$3.00 |
7-93-52 Immortal Passages | $.20 |
7-93-58 Life After Death | $.10 |
7-93-59 Religion of Bahá’u’lláh, The | $.05; 100/$2.00 |
TO ORDER: Order through Community Librarians if possible! Personal Orders: Enclose full payment, Plus $.50 handling charge for all orders under $5.00.
|
“Every created thing in the whole universe is but a door leading into His knowledge, a sign of His sovereignty, a revelation of His names, a symbol of His majesty, a token of His power, a means of admittance into His straight path.” —Bahá’u’lláh
Tokens from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh Tokens from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, a book which combines the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh with exquisite nature photographs and drawings, is now available in a paperbound edition. Featuring thirty-three photographs (ten in color), numerous drawings, and selections from the Writings, Tokens turns the reader’s attention to the beauty and mystery of the physical world and its underlying spiritual significance. Tokens from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh is a moving and satisfying experience for everyone who is touched by the beauty and profundity of the natural world and who reaches beyond these tokens to “take the step of the spirit.” Man’s station is high, his progress and happiness limitless, both in this world and the next, once he sets his feet upon the pathway of true elevation. Whether in its cloth or paperbound edition, Tokens is an impressive gift and a cherished personal possession. 80 pp.
|
SPECIAL MATERIALS[edit]
DECORATING YOUR DISPLAY:
6-58-32 “Bahá’í Faith Unifies Mankind” poster | $.50; 10/$2.50; 500/$100.00 |
6-71-00 Bahá’í Temples colorprints, set of four, 12"x12" | $2.00; 10/$15.00 |
6-58-29 “Bahá’u’lláh” 24"x36" green poster | 4/$1.80; 8/$3.20 |
6-58-04 Day-Glo 15"x22" 4-poster asst. | $6.00 |
6-58-13 Fluorescent 8½"x11" 20-poster asst. | $2.50 |
6-58-31 “Love Everybody” poster | 20/$1.40; 100/$5.00 |
6-47-02 Wall Hanging A (Gleanings CLI) | $1.50; 10/$7.50 |
6-47-02 Wall Hanging B (Hidden Words Arabic 11) | $1.00; 10/$5.00 |
6-71-01 Wilmette Temple colorprints, set of two, 12"x12" | $1.00; 10/$7.50$ |
FILMSTRIP PROGRAMS: |
|
6-00-25 Bahá’ís and the Holy Land, The | $7.50 |
6-00-11 God Speaks Again | $7.50 |
6-01-58 Out of God’s Eternal Ocean | $9.50 |
MUSIC: |
|
6-30-25 Bahá’í Victory Chorus (reel) | $3.00 |
6-35-01 Bahá’í Victory Chorus 12"LP | $3.50 |
6-30-37 Fire and Snow (cassette) | $3.75 |
Dates to remember[edit]
April 21 First day of Riḍván. Holy Day on which work should be suspended.
April 21-May 2 Feast of Riḍván (Declaration of Bahá’u’lláh).
April 24 National Spiritual Assembly Meeting
April 25-27 National Convention. Wilmette, Illinois
April 26 Proclamation, Patchogue, New York. Sponsored by the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Brookhaven, New York.
April 28 Feast of Jamál (Beauty).
April 29 Ninth day of Riḍván, Holy Day on which work should be suspended.
May 1 Deadline for receipt of materials for June issue of The American Bahá’í.
May 2 Twelfth day of Riḍván, Holy Day on which work should be suspended.
May 9-11 Family Life Conference. Los Angeles, California. Sponsored by the National Bahá’í Education Committee.
May 10-11 Auxiliary Board Team Conference. University of Iowa, Iowa City. Theme: The Individual, the Covenant and the Five Year Plan. Hosted by the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Iowa City.
May 14 Proclamation, Muncie, Indiana. Sponsored by the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Muncie.
May 15-22 Bahá’í Information Week, Dover, Delaware. Sponsored by the Del/Mar/Va District Teaching Committee.
May 16-18 National Spiritual Assembly meeting.
May 17 Feast of ‘Aẓamat (Grandeur).
May 23 Anniversary of the Declaration of the Báb, Holy Day on which work should be suspended.
May 29 Anniversary of the Ascension of Bahá’u’lláh. Holy Day on which work should be suspended.
June 1 Deadline for receipt of materials for July issue of The American Bahá’í.
June 5 Feast of Núr (Light).
State and district youth conferences. Five weekends in June. See page 11 of this issue.
June 8 Arts exhibit, Endicott, New York. Sponsored by the District Teaching Committee of the Bahá’ís of Western New York.
June 8-15 Fifth Annual Western Regional Bahá’í Musicians Conference. Salt Lake City, Utah. Sponsored by the District Teaching Committee of the Bahá’ís of Utah.
June 9 Race Unity Day.
June 19-22 National Bahá’í Center pilgrimage. Participants must register in advance.
June 24 Feast of Raḥmat (Mercy).
June 27-29 National Spiritual Assembly Meeting.
June 28-29 Proclamation, Paradise, California. Sponsored by the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Paradise, California.
July 1 Deadline for receipt of materials for August issue of The American Bahá’í.
July 9 Anniversary of the Martyrdom of the Báb, Holy Day on which work should be suspended.
July 12-13 and each weekend thereafter through August 30-31. Summer Teaching Project, Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Sponsored by the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Yarmouth, Massachusetts.
August 4-29 National Bahá’í Center work/study project. Sponsored by the National Bahá’í Youth Committee.
Youth conferences (Continued from page 11)
- Eastern Colorado/Wyoming June 27-29
- Host: Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Denver; Mrs. Kathi Jo Wyckoff, Secretary; 1079 South High St.; Denver, CO 80209
- Western Colorado June 20-22
- Host: Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Durango; Mrs. Rhoderoi R. Myers, Secretary; P.O. Box 256; Durango, CO 81301
- Montana June 27-29
- Host: Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Butte; Mrs. Betty Bennett, Secretary; 2127 Garrison Avenue; Butte, MT 59701
- New Mexico June 13-15
- Host: Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Albuquerque; Mrs. Mary Lou Ewing, Secretary; 1830 Arizona NE; Albuquerque, NM 87110
- Oregon June 20-22
- Host: Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Corvallis; c/o Mr. Ed Stebinger; 20 NW 33rd St.; Corvallis, OR 97330
- Utah/Southern Idaho June 6-8
- Host: Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Salt Lake City; Miss Hoda Mahmoudi, Secretary; P.O. Box 11905; Salt Lake City, UT 84111
- Eastern Washington/Northern Idaho June 27-29
- Host: Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Spokane; Mrs. Mary E. Parker, Secretary; P.O. Box 9018; Spokane, WA 99209
- Site: Elizabethan Hall; Gonzaga University; E. 502 Boone Ave.; Spokane, Washington
- Western Washington June 13-15
- Host: Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Seattle; Mrs. Shirley Ballard, Secretary; P.O. Box 396; Seattle, WA 98111
Training institute scheduled for pioneers to reservation[edit]
The Navajo-Hopi Teaching Committee wishes to announce a Homefront Pioneer Training Institute to be held in Fort Wingate, New Mexico, July 5-10, 1975, to orient those who wish to pioneer to the Navajo-Hopi reservations.
There is no charge for the Institute, but it will be necessary to arrange for your own housing. There will be a small fee of about $3.00 to go toward food. Nearby camping facilities and some accommodations will be available. The nearest motels, however, are in Gallup, New Mexico, approximately 15 miles distant. If you plan to camp out, bring your camping equipment and bedding.
As accommodations will be limited, it is necessary to contact the Navajo-Hopi Teaching Committee by June 1 in order to reserve a place.
Write: Navajo-Hopi Teaching Committee, Mrs. Audrie Reynolds, Secretary. P.O. Box 448, Fort Wingate, NM 87316. Bahá’ís who intend to participate in the institute must contact the Committee by that date.
Green Acre school seeking full-time innkeeper[edit]
A permanent, full-time innkeeper will be needed at the Green Acre Bahá’í School starting May 1. The job will require a person with training in hotel management or equivalent experience. It will involve supervision of registration, publicity, food services, and housekeeping at the Maine Bahá’í school. Send applications or requests for further information to Green Acre Bahá’í School Maintenance Committee, 185 Main Street, Eliot, ME 03903.
|
|
Bahá’ís attending Indian teaching conference in Wilmette recently join members of the National Spiritual Assembly for morning prayers. |
National Assembly celebrates 50th anniversary, page 1
Special conference discusses Indian teaching, page 3
