The American Bahá’í/Volume 7/Issue 1/Text
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Amatu’l-Bahá Rúḥíyyih Khánum on the East Coast[edit]
New York[edit]
Bahá’ís from all over the East Coast and as far inland as Ohio met Amatu’l-Bahá Rúḥíyyih Khánum on the evening of December 13 in New York City. The Hand of the Cause of God addressed over 500 friends at a special meeting honoring the opening of the new Bahá’í Center for New York City.
Other distinguished guests were Auxiliary Board members Peter Khan, Adrienne Reeves, and Albert James.
The friends met in the auditorium of Public School No. 41, Manhattan, as the Local Spiritual Assembly of New York did not receive the title to their new center until January.
The center is an 81-year-old three-story building which was remodeled in 1969; a theater with complete lighting equipment, dressing rooms, movie screen, and projection booth is on the first floor. The center is near New York University, in a residential area inhabited by people of diverse races and nationalities. And according to a 1970 census, people ages 15 to 34 make up over half the population in the neighborhood of the center.
The Hand of the Cause of God addressed the Bahá’ís, saying that she was honored to be able to be with them, as an adequate Bahá’í Center for New York City is the fulfillment of long-cherished dreams of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Shoghi Effendi, the Universal House of Justice, and the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. She said that she felt especially privileged to participate because she loves New York City and is, in fact, a New Yorker, having been born on 5th Avenue.
Mentioning the Master’s visit to New York City, the City of the Covenant, she emphasized His remarkable, outflowing love; His attitude of love manifested itself in His universal beneficence, kindliness, and understanding towards the leaders and
Left, Amatu’l-Bahá Rúḥíyyih Khánum, meeting with the friends in New York City, awaits a receipt for her contribution toward the purchase of New York’s Bahá’í Center. Below, left and right, she addresses about 500 Bahá’ís at Yale Law Auditorium, New Haven, Connecticut.
New Haven[edit]
Amatu’l-Bahá Rúḥíyyih Khánum spoke to Bahá’ís from Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Canada, and Maryland at a special gathering in New Haven, Connecticut, on November 9.
The Hand of the Cause of God, recently returned from a voyage through South America, recounted her impressions of the trip and enthusiastically encouraged the Bahá’ís to rise to the challenge of pioneering.
Rúḥíyyih Khánum calls her recent voyage “The Green Light Expedition,” because plans and preparations for the journey fell so swiftly and easily into place. Most of the members of the expedition were present and were warmly greeted by the audience. Rúḥíyyih Khánum has been working with her traveling companions preparing a film and slide shows of the trip.
The Bahá’ís who heard the two-hour talk by Rúḥíyyih Khánum felt that it left them with a higher awareness of the problems, dangers, and difficulties of this time, and a clearer sense of the responsibility of the community of the Most Great Name to help alleviate the suffering of humanity, to proclaim the healing Message of Bahá’u’lláh.
See interview, pg. 5
Dr. Muhájir in U.S. to stimulate teaching[edit]
The Hand of the Cause of God Raḥmatu’lláh Muhájir is visiting the United States for the purpose of stimulating teaching work and studying existing teaching projects. Dr. Muhájir arrived in this country during the last week of December and is scheduled to stay here for about a month.
In the spring of this year, Dr. Muhájir traveled through Central and South America, and the Continental Board of Counsellors in Central America reported that “Everywhere, it is truly a miracle to watch the dynamic and broadening effect Dr. Muhájir has on the Bahá’ís. And the effect on the public has also been stupendous.”
Dr. Muhájir was born in Iran to a Bahá’í family. He practiced medicine in Iran and Indonesia before his appointment as a Hand of the Cause of God in 1957. He was a member of the last contingent of Hands of the Cause appointed by the beloved Guardian, Shoghi Effendi.
Dr. Muhájir travels extensively in his duties as a Hand of the Cause of God, which are to protect the Faith and assist with the worldwide expansion of the Faith. He has primarily visited South-East Asia, Indonesia, the Philippines, and other nations of the Pacific. He last visited North America in 1971.
Mr. Furútan plans August visit[edit]
The Hand of the Cause of God ‘Alí-Akbar Furútan will visit the United States in August. During his 45-day visit, he will assist with the training of Local Spiritual Assemblies.
Mr. Furútan was the Secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly of Iran before the Guardian appointed him a Hand of the Cause in 1951. Mr. Furútan was part of the first contingent of Hands of the Cause appointed by Shoghi Effendi.
Bahá’í National Center is new name for Wilmette offices[edit]
A subtle, but significant, change begins this month: the National Bahá’í Center is now known as the Bahá’í National Center. The National Bahá’í Review is now the Bahá’í National Review.
This change, small as it may seem, will cause the many non-Bahá’í organizations that deal with the various offices at the Bahá’í National Center to view the center in a new light. For instance, in their files and address books they have listed the center under “N” for National. It will now be listed under “B” for Bahá’í.
The National Spiritual Assembly announced the change effective January 1.
Training begins for children’s teachers[edit]
Bahá’í education for children will be strengthened by a new teacher-training program initiated by the National Education Committee. In the next few months, Bahá’ís selected for the program will attend intensive five-day sessions throughout the country.
The first session took place Dec. 26–Jan. 1 at the Louis G. Gregory Institute in Hemingway, South Carolina, and was attended by about 20 people. Participants heard lectures, saw videotapes, shared ideas during discussions, and applied their knowledge by working with a group of children. Now this core of 20 well-trained children’s teachers is available for the Bahá’ís of the Southern states.
Bahá’ís trained in the initial sessions have had some academic training in child education or some experience working with Bahá’í children. Their primary job will be to meet with and train other Bahá’ís who want to teach children. Communities that would like to bolster or begin a children’s education program with the help of these teachers should contact the National Education Committee, 112 Linden Ave., Wilmette, Illinois 60001.
This training session is the first of many activities planned by the National Education Committee to win the Five Year Plan objective stated by The Universal House of Justice: “The education of children in the teachings of the Faith must be regarded as an essential obligation of every Bahá’í parent, every local and national community, and it must become a firmly established Bahá’í activity during the course of this Plan. It should include moral instruction by word and example and active participation by children in Bahá’í community life.”
A handbook, including documents on community planning, curriculum planning, materials and resources information, and examples of activities, has been prepared by the National Education Committee. The handbook is presently used by participants in the training sessions, but the committee hopes to eventually make it available to Bahá’í communities.
Committee to spur southern teaching[edit]
To vitalize teaching in the South, the National Spiritual Assembly has appointed a Southern Teaching Committee. Members of the committee are Janice Carter, Jack Guillebeaux, and Dorothy Bruner, administrator.
A new Southern teaching plan will be announced to all Southern believers at the teaching conferences which will energize every district of the United States on March 27.
Working with the District Teaching Committees and Local Spiritual Assemblies, the Southern Teaching Committee will initiate conferences, seminars, institutes, and training sessions in the South. The committee will help plan Bahá’í activities in all states except South Carolina, which is served by the National Teaching Committee.
The core of the activities will be person-to-person teaching. Home firesides will be the foundation of the teaching work.
These developments will prove the success of the new programs: a marked increase in the number of localities where Bahá’ís live; an increase in strong Bahá’í Groups; an increase in strong Local Spiritual Assemblies; an increase of communities which have regular, well-attended Feasts; regular contributions to the Fund; and regular participation in Bahá’í elections. The strength of the program will be shown with the enrollment of many new Bahá’ís from every strata of United States society: all races, backgrounds, and the rich, poor, and middle class.
Districts to host 88 teaching meetings[edit]
Fanning the flame ignited by the Each One Teach One Conferences in Illinois, New York, and California, the National Spiritual Assembly is sponsoring 88 teaching conferences throughout the United States.
Bahá’ís in each District Teaching Committee area will meet on March 27 to inspire each other with teaching zeal.
The enthusiasm generated by the conferences will be used the next day, March 28, when the friends will be able to help with special teaching projects offered by their District Teaching Committees. These projects will build the Faith in goal areas.
Special teaching programs will be open to the friends every weekend after the conferences until Riḍván. The emphasis of the programs will be to maintain Local Spiritual Assemblies, to open new localities, and increase the number of new Assemblies.
Conference agendas include a special slide program prepared by the Bahá’í National Information Office and a meditations tape prepared by the National Teaching Committee. Each Bahá’í’s precious experience will be needed during the workshop sessions on how to reach and teach your neighbor and on declaration and enrollment.
Because Illinois, New York, and California have had major conferences and follow-up meetings, their agendas will center on victories won since the last conferences and how to capitalize on the victories.
U.S., Mexico plan border teaching[edit]
The secretaries of the International Goals Committee and the National Teaching Committee traveled from Wilmette, Illinois, to Mexico City in November. They met with the National Spiritual Assembly of Mexico. Their goal: to initiate special teaching projects along the borders of Mexico and the United States.
This unique program involves cooperation between two National Spiritual Assemblies and their national committees.
Bahá’ís who speak fluent Spanish may volunteer for the project. If invited to a training session, volunteers may participate in the project only after attending that session. Training begins in April.
The aims of the project will be to strengthen believers and their communities, and to expand Bahá’í communities; to use the zeal, enthusiasm, and energy of Bahá’í youth, to help them develop Bahá’í administrative skills and professional skills that will help to build the new World Order; to inspire the projecteers to pioneer or settle a homefront goal; and to develop the administrative and teaching skills of new Bahá’ís.
Bahá’ís who speak fluent Spanish and who may want to work in this project should contact the International Goals Committee, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, Ill. 60091.
Continued from Page 1
prominent figures of the community, and in His charity towards the poorer souls, such as the people that He visited in the Bowrey Mission. Bahá’ís, the Hand of the Cause of God pointed out, must emulate this love. It is this love that makes Bahá’ís unique.
Rúḥíyyih Khánum stressed that the Bahá’ís must follow the admonitions of Bahá’u’lláh to teach those who are open to the Cause. She quoted from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh: “Treasure the companionship of the righteous and eschew all fellowship with the ungodly ...”
She mentioned the sense of peril and urgency that is found in the messages of the Guardian and The Universal House of Justice, and returned to the subject of love: that it is the most powerful influence in our lives. “Do you look forward eagerly to the Nineteen Day Feast?” she asked the friends; if you do, she told them, it reflects true family love, a true home atmosphere among the Bahá’ís. Such love conquers backbiting and solves community problems. Such love is born of prayer and action. Thus will souls be drawn towards the Faith and thus will Bahá’u’lláh be made glad.
The new Bahá’í Center for New York City can be a wonderful instrument for love and attraction, said Rúḥíyyih Khánum, and she concluded her address, “Unbelievable things are possible for you, but you will have to take advantage of them joyously, courageously, and lovingly.”
A congratulatory mailgram was received from the Bahá’ís of New York’s sister city, Los Angeles, California, and a children’s choir added beautiful music to the occasion.
Proclamation[edit]
Proclaiming the Faith in Gainesville, Georgia[edit]
An eight-week proclamation project to make the Faith known in the textile manufacturing community of Gainesville, Georgia, a town of 30,000 people, was launched in September and is still in progress. The project was coordinated by the Bahá’í Georgia Information Service, the Local Spiritual Assembly of North DeKalb, and the District Teaching Committee of North Georgia.
Located forty miles north of Atlanta, Gainesville is in an area which opposed both slavery and secession before the Civil War. Most of its current residents are laborers in the textile and dairy industries. The town has a farm population of 4% and a Black population of 6%. Median income in Gainesville is $7,657, but 10% of the population earns above $15,000. This indicates a wide gulf between rich and poor.
To make the name Bahá’í familiar to the people of Gainesville and surrounding areas which are served by Gainesville radio stations, time was bought on an FM top 40’s station, which is the most listened-to station in the area; and a country-western station, as country music is very popular in rural regions. Each station ran 25-30 spots per week for four weeks. The spots were run every other week, so that four weeks’ worth of spots netted eight weeks of advertising.
Ad space was bought in the local paper, and an ad appeared each Friday during each week that the spots were on the radio.
The radio spots were tagged with a local phone number which people could call for more information, and each newspaper ad included an address and phone number.
So that a local address and phone number could be given, firesides be convenient and consistent, and deepening be facilitated, a member of the North DeKalb Bahá’í community moved to Gainesville. This homefront settler is a nurse. She moved to Gainesville and found employment before the proclamation began. Her move paved the way in that, while seeking a home and job, she was able to make many new acquaintances.
While arranging the placement of spots and ads, the Information Service representatives tried to arrange feature interviews or articles. The results were an excellent feature on the Faith in the Gainesville newspaper and a 15-minute informal fireside tape made especially for the project and aired during prime time on the country-western station.
As soon as the proclamation began, the homefront settler started firesides three nights a week. After the first week of advertising, a seeker phoned, attended a fireside, took several Bahá’í books home with her, read them all, and declared at her second fireside. After a few more weeks, a man who had been in touch with and interested in the Faith in various parts of the country saw the ad in the paper, came to the fireside, and declared. When seekers at that fireside asked a question which the Bahá’ís could not immediately answer, the man recommended that they turn to a certain page in Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era. He had been studying that book for several years.
About thirty requests for information were received by phone and by mail. Each inquirer was sent the pamphlet Basic Facts of the Bahá’í Faith, an Ebony reprint, and the book The Bahá’í Faith: An Introduction by Gloria Faizi.
Towards the end of the first week of advertising, books were placed in all the city libraries, and in the libraries of the two local colleges.
During the third week of advertising, project representatives visited the Mayor of Gainesville, the Chief of Police, the Sheriff, and other officials. They introduced themselves and gave information about the Faith.
After the third week, teaching teams began working in the town and surrounding areas. The teams were and are active in the area every weekend.
Three public meetings were held. They were announced by special tags on the news ads and radio spots, by special press releases, and by posters distributed around town by the teaching teams. The teams also personally invited people to the meetings. The teachers found that almost everyone they spoke to had heard of the Faith, pronounced the name Bahá’í correctly, and knew that the Faith represented unity. Business people were open to renting halls for the meetings and giving space for the posters because they were aware of the Faith.
However, attendance at the meetings was low. A consistent effort is now being made to personally reach Gainesville people with the Message of Bahá’u’lláh. Each teacher and professor of each high school and college is being contacted with information about the Faith and an offer of speakers for their classes. The local clergy are also being contacted and are receiving The Proclamation of Bahá’u’lláh. A mass mailer is being prepared for all civic and study organizations, and the special International Women’s Year Issue of World Order magazine has been mailed to prominent women in the community.
Some local Bahá’ís have put together a puppet show for use in teaching.
Below, a Bahá’í teaching team and seekers near Gainesville. The teams visit Gainesville every weekend.
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Get some of that old time religion |
The Bahá’í Faith.
Old and new.
It reaffirms the truth of all the previous world religions and adds social teachings intended for this day.
“Ye are the leaves of one tree, the fruits of one bough,” the Bahá’í Writings say.
The teachings of Bahá’u’lláh, Prophet-Founder of the Bahá’í Faith, today unite people of all backgrounds, in more than 300 countries of the world, in pursuit of peace and unity.
Write Bahá’í Faith, at the address shown below, and we’ll tell you what our Faith is all about.
Bahá’í Faith
This ad appeared in the Gainesville newspaper in conjunction with regular radio spots.
Record requests for World Order[edit]
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The special Bicentennial edition of World Order magazine will be printed in mid-January. Listed below is the table of contents of that issue: Editorial (an essay on the meaning of America and the role it has been called upon to play in bringing about world order) James H. Moorhead, “Religion and American Identity: 1609–1776” Nosratollah Rassekh, “Boiling Cauldron or Melting Pot: The Ethnic Experience in America” Interviews with Dorothy Nelson, Robert Hayden, David Villaseñor, Shinji Yamamoto, and Mildred Mottahedeh (with a brief introduction) Poems by Robert Hayden, William Stafford Artwork by Mark Tobey, Romare Bearden, David Villasenor The first photo reproduction of Chinese porcelain from the Mottahedeh collection See World Order subscription form on Page 12. |
More than 20,000 copies of the Bicentennial Issue of World Order magazine had been ordered by Local Spiritual Assemblies and Bahá’í Groups throughout the United States when The American Bahá’í went to press in late December.
The Bahá’í Publishing Trust anticipates that orders will peak at about 25,000, which could require a second printing of the magazine.
The orders came from more than 500 communities, in response to an invitation issued by the National Spiritual Assembly for Bahá’ís to use the specially prepared issue of World Order in their local proclamation efforts.
The Bahá’ís were asked to consider sending copies to local libraries, newspaper editors, prominent women, organization presidents, religious leaders, educators, and local government officials.
To insure that the magazine reaches national and state leaders, the National Assembly will mail 25,000 issues to chairmen and presidents of major American corporations, all members of Congress and their staff, 4,000 prominent leaders of minority groups and communities, key leaders of State Legislatures, a selected number of professors of political science, certain university libraries, and program directors for certain radio and television stations. These 25,000 copies will be mailed when the magazine is delivered from the printer in mid-January.
Media[edit]
Radio-TV recording studio completed at National Center[edit]
A recording studio for radio and television was recently installed in the basement of the Bahá’í House of Worship in Wilmette, Illinois. Proclamation and deepening materials will be produced in the studio.
Expanded use of radio and television by Bahá’ís is a goal of the Five Year Plan. And as long ago as 1937, the beloved Guardian answered a suggestion that a radio station be built in the Temple: “... there is no reason why the believers should not start now considering seriously the possibility of such a plan which, when carried out and perfected, can lend an unprecedented impetus to the expansion of the teaching work throughout America.” (From a letter dated January 31, 1937, written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer.)
Another letter, written on the Guardian’s behalf to an individual believer in 1945, says, “He feels it would be excellent if the Cause could be introduced to more people through the medium of radio, as it reaches the masses, especially those who do not take an interest in lectures or attend any type of meeting.”
The studio was designed and constructed by the Bahá’í National Properties Office. Much research was done before plans were drawn up. The design standards were very high, and the studio is considered one of the best of its kind in the Chicago area.
The studio area is completely soundproofed and air-conditioned, and is about 24 feet square. The corners are rounded to give an illusion of spaciousness and depth to materials recorded for television. A control booth for television and one for radio adjoin the studio. Operators of booths view the studio through wide windows, share the same recording space, and schedule time according to their needs.
Despite the attention given to details in planning the studio, many ingenious shortcuts were implemented. These shortcuts permitted costs to be reduced without sacrificing quality. An example of this are the doors of the studio. Contractors normally buy specially designed, insulated doors for approximately $600 to assure that no outside sounds leak into the studio. The properties office was able to design a two-door system that cut costs to $150 and had a higher capacity to block sound than commercially manufactured doors.
The video, or television, facility is equipped with two Sony DXC 1600 color cameras and two Sony 2850 recording and editing decks. Thirteen 1,000-watt quartz lamps are mounted on ceiling racks to light the studio.
The audio, or radio, facility uses two Crown 800 tape recorders and a Tascam model 10 mixing console in its production.
Radio series to reach rock fans[edit]
A series of weekly half-hour programs designed to assist proclamation of the Bahá’í Faith to youth and to adults under 30 will be released by the Bahá’í Publishing Trust by Naw-Rúz.
More than 50 Bahá’í communities have already placed orders for the series. The goal of the Bahá’í National Information Committee is to have the program aired in at least 100 communities by Riḍván.
Seven of thirteen programs are completed. The remaining programs are under production.
Work on the series was started by the National Information Office more than a year ago. The programs, called the Jeff Reynolds Show, are designed for AM and FM rock stations. They combine popular music with commentary on topics such as marriage, the family, the elimination of prejudice, the oneness of mankind.
The format was chosen after extensive research and interviews with radio program managers. The research indicates that public service programming which follows a format similar to the station’s regular format has a better chance of being aired than programming which does not. The Information Office attributes the ready acceptance of the series by program
How to get the series on the air[edit]
In many communities, getting a radio series on the air is not difficult. All stations must devote some of their broadcast schedule to public service programming. That is a regulation of the Federal Communications Commission. The exact amount of time is unspecified, and the station may choose what public service programs it will allow.
Most program managers will consider the programs that your community submits if (a) they are complete, (b) the quality of content and recording meets the station’s professional standards, and (c) the programming follows the station’s regular format.
If your community is interested in getting the new series, the Jeff Reynolds show, on the air, the Bahá’í National Information Office suggests this procedure:
— First, select a station that has a rock or contemporary format.
How do you find such a station? One way is to listen to the radio in your community, or ask the youth which rock station is most popular. Another is to go to your library and consult the Radio Buyer’s Guide published by Standard Rate and Data Service. The book is divided into sections by state, with communities listed alphabetically under each state heading. Under each community subhead, each radio station in the community is listed with information about the station’s format, programming mix, advertising and program rates, and the name of the station manager or another person to contact for information.
— Order a demonstration tape of the series from the Bahá’í National Information Office. The tape is a sampling from the 13 programs and is designed to give the station manager an idea of what the series is like.
— Call the station manager or program director; tell him or her that your Bahá’í community has access to a 13-week series of half-hour programs on contemporary issues prepared by the Bahá’í Faith and produced in a standard rock format, combining commentary with popular music in a mix of about 12 minutes of talk to 18 minutes of music. Say that you have a demonstration tape and would like to make an appointment. You will probably be invited to the station, but no commitments will be made or implied until the demonstration tape is heard.
The station may not accept religious programming. Some stations exclude all religious broadcasts; some divide time among large, powerful religious groups; some sell time to religious groups.
If you are turned down, don’t be discouraged.
Tapes of original music needed[edit]
The Bahá’í National Information Committee is interested in receiving audition tapes of music composed and performed by Bahá’ís. The committee would like to review the tapes for possible inclusion into radio programs now in production, and for other audio and video productions.
Some selections by Bahá’í musicians recorded during the St. Louis Conference have been included in a series of half-hour radio proclamation tapes which will soon be available to stations with rock formats.
More music will be needed for this series as it develops. The songs, interspersed among the commercial rock selections, are useful in proclaiming the Faith to a wide audience.
Different types of music—folk, instrumental, classical, rock, country-western, etc—will be used in different types of audio and video productions for both proclamation and deepening.
The Information Committee can conveniently review the music if it is recorded and sent on cassette tapes. However, a reel tape would also be adequate. The tapes will be auditioned promptly and returned with appropriate comments.
An interview with Amatu’l-Bahá Rúḥíyyih Khánum[edit]
The interview with Amatu’l-Bahá Rúḥíyyih Khánum, which appears below, was conducted in Connecticut recently. Rúḥíyyih Khánum has spent the several months since her return from a journey on the Amazon River in South America directing the editing of a film about that experience. (See Bahá’í News, Vol. 52, No. 5, and Vol. 52, No. 6). The two-hour documentary, produced and financed by Rúḥíyyih Khánum herself, is scheduled to be available for purchase before Riḍván 1976. The purpose of the film, as Rúḥíyyih Khánum says in the interview, is to encourage the friends to leave their settled existence and go pioneering. No details are yet available on cost and distribution of the film.
Q. Why did you go to the Amazon? How did you happen to think of the whole enterprise?
A. Well, all my life I wanted to go to the Amazon. I think that by nature I’m greatly attracted to the far places of the world. I often wonder why more young people don’t have that spirit of adventure, but why I should have had to think, at my age, of going to the Amazon, is really beyond human understanding.
I felt I wanted to go, and I wanted very much to have the journey recorded on film. I’ve had such wonderful experiences with tribal people and villagers in the last 10 years, and so many times I’ve said, “Oh! if only the Bahá’ís could see this. If they could know what it is like to be in these places, if they could meet these people, see how wonderful they are, they would feel a more personal response to The Tablets of the Divine Plan and to the appeals so repeatedly made by the Master, Shoghi Effendi, and now, by The Universal House of Justice.” And so I conceived the idea of getting together a professional crew of young Bahá’ís to make a moving picture of a journey through the Amazon. We took over 32,000 feet of film and, between us, we must have taken about 4,000 slides. Our purpose, now that our journey is finished, is to produce a film which will let the Bahá’ís who see it make the trip with us, let them feel that they have experienced, and seen, and done the same things that we did. Thanks to the mercy of Bahá’u’lláh, I think that we will achieve this objective in the film. We have so much marvelous material that it’s really impossible to make the film shorter than two hours. Originally, we felt the film would be a one-hour feature, but it is unfair and literally a physical impossibility to make it shorter than two hours.
Q. What do you hope the film will accomplish?
A. Well, I’ve always had the feeling that Bahá’ís are just ordinary human beings, and I think that ordinary human beings cannot visualize something that they have not experienced. It’s perfectly natural. When our party started out at Puerto Ayacucho, in Venezuela, on the Orinoco River, none of us had the faintest idea what lay further up the river. You see, you can’t visualize something you have never experienced. The whole thing was an absolute revelation to us, because we found that, far from coming in contact with savage tribes, not being able to buy things, and not being able to meet people, the whole river was like a vast village. Along the whole length of the river we could talk to the people in Spanish and somebody could translate that into the native dialect. There were towns where we could buy things. There were government outposts; there were people constantly going up and down the river, either in boats as large as ours or in tiny canoes. How easy the whole thing was, compared to what we had expected, was a revelation to us. All of that will now be seen in a moving picture.
Q. Are we supposed to get the impression from the film that it is easy to pioneer in these areas?
A. How are we going to teach the human race about the Bahá’í Faith? Two-thirds of the world’s population live in villages. Over half of the world’s population is illiterate. How are we going to teach these people about Bahá’u’lláh? They not only have just as much right to hear about Him as anybody living in a city, or in Europe, or North America, but frankly, they are very much more receptive to it. Who is going to go out and tell them that Bahá’u’lláh has come and what His Revelation is? They will accept it in great numbers, I think, if it is presented to them and presented to them quickly.
Civilization is penetrating this region; the missionary work is constantly advancing. To my astonishment, I saw a great deal more missionary activity on this trip than I have seen anywhere in Africa. There isn’t any time to lose. It’s either now, or God knows when. The House of Justice has made the need quite clear in its messages, and by its recent increase in the number of pioneers that will be required as a minimum for the Five Year Plan.
When are we going to do it? How are the Bahá’ís going to understand? The hope for this film—made at great sacrifice by all the people that were involved—is that it will help the Bahá’ís understand the possibilities and encourage them to pioneer to either the villages of South America or to those of Africa, Asia, or the Pacific. I think the film will do that, for it will show the Bahá’ís how thrilling the experience can be, how extraordinarily beautiful nature is, how wonderful these people are. We forget that Bahá’u’lláh said that the city is the home of the body, but the country is the home of the soul.
We’re planning to call the film “The Green Light Expedition.” We want also to make slide programs with very much the same content as the film. We plan, for instance, to make one slide program of the Venezuelan portion of the journey, one covering the journey through the Amazonian Basin, one about the Bolivian Altiplano, and one about the leg of our journey in Peru. These five slide shows, plus a major film, will be available to the Bahá’ís shortly after they are completed.
Q. Were there pioneers in these remote areas?
A. None. Of course, in the Altiplano of Peru and Bolivia there are a relatively large number of pioneers. But in other areas where we traveled, there weren’t any pioneers. There may be a few there now, but at that time, there were none.
In Surinam, we were the first Bahá’ís to ever visit some areas of the country, and yet we were only five hours away from a city. It’s almost incomprehensible, but no one had ever visited there before. In one of the places that we visited, there were Bahá’ís who had been taught in the city and had later returned to their own villages. But no one had ever gone to visit them. The need for pioneers is horrifying; and I do think horrifying is the best word to use.
Q. Are there special requirements for pioneers to these areas?
A. The youngest one of us was 29, and I’m 65. If we could do it, I really fail to see why other people could not. I don’t think there is a special category of person that should do it. It’s not just for young people, or married couples, or the middle-aged. I think it’s something that a person has to want to do, there has to be the longing in his heart and a willingness to do it. I think, too, that pioneers have to be free of prejudices against the environment. They mustn’t be afraid of a village way of life. They mustn’t be afraid of hardships, they mustn’t be terrified because they have heard someone say, “Oh, there are so many snakes in that part of the world.” Well, there are snakes, but you very seldom come in direct contact with a snake yourself. To pioneer in these villages, they have to feel that they can go and endure a certain amount of privation; they certainly wouldn’t be living in a comfortable city.
I think that the best people to go deep into the interior are the Indians themselves. Indian Bahá’ís, who already have an affinity for this way of life, are the ideal pioneers. But that doesn’t mean that elderly people can’t go. Where do you suppose the missionaries are? Some of them have been there 20 years and raised their families along the river system, and they’re doing fine. Why shouldn’t the Bahá’ís be there instead of the missionaries?
Q. You say the missionaries are settled everywhere?
A. They certainly are; everywhere and walking upwards, so to speak. We found crosses everywhere in the Amazon region, and along the tributaries of the Amazon as well. And mind you, some of this area, like that between Leticia and Iquitos in Peru, is unbelievably hard. It’s over 2,500 miles from the Atlantic Coast, and the river is sometimes two miles wide. Along the tributaries of the Amazon, which themselves are very large rivers, we found in the villages crosses marked 1971, 1972, 1973, indicating when these villages were missionized. It’s as recent as that. We’re three years, four years, and sometimes five years behind. Don’t let’s be behind forever.
Q. How many countries did you visit on this trip?
A. We went first to Venezuela. We started out from New York on the 4th of February, 1975, and we celebrated Naw-Rúz in Caracas, the capital. From Venezuela we went to Surinam, where we spent almost three weeks. Then it was on to Brazil for about two weeks, where we rested and scrubbed down our clothes and belongings, and where we attended an all-Amazonian Bahá’í Conference which was held in Manaus, a free port with a half-million population, with every conceivable amenity of modern civilization, in the middle of the Amazonian basin and of the South American continent. From Brazil we traveled to Peru, again by boat. And we went from there to Bolivia, to attend a Bahá’í conference on the Altiplano. It was a marvelous, marvelous experience. The film crew returned home from Bolivia, but I remained with Ruth Pringle and Anthony Worley and later attended the first all-Quechua speaking Bahá’í conference in Latin America, held in Cuzco, Peru.
There had never been a Quechua-speaking conference of any kind before; the first was held by Bahá’ís. For once we got in on the ground floor. We were the first. And it created a great deal of interest. The government of Peru has only recently declared Quechua the second official language of the country. Representatives of a Quechua-speaking institute in Lima attended the conference and addressed the Bahá’ís. They were immensely enthusiastic over what we are doing. The whole conference was in Quechua.
Q. How did you select the tribes that you would visit?
A. We didn’t select them. The whole area was completely unknown to us. We would simply come to a place along the river and would find there had been a change of tribes. There would be Piaroas here and Guajibos there, further along there would be Macos, and so on. Automatically, as you changed direction on the river, or went
Bahá’ís work weekends at Bosch School[edit]
Bahá’ís sealed floors, caulked doors, cleared the forest, dug ditches, terraced a hill, surveyed the land, and moved and stored equipment during two work-weekends at the John and Louise Bosch Bahá’í School in California, Nov. 1-2 and Dec. 6-7.
Each weekend, about 30 Bahá’ís worked all day and enjoyed fellowship in the evening. A singing group called “The Welcome Change” worked Dec. 6-7. They sing for proclamations and other Bahá’í gatherings, but they did not sing at the Bosch School; they were too tired.
The ditches are for the installment of a fire-alarm system. Clearing the forest around the school also lessens fire hazards. The school is in a mountainous, dry region which is prone to fire.
The terraced land next to the lodge and swimming pool will be planted with shrubs and fragrant roses.
The two recent work-weekends are the first sponsored by the school since last spring. More of these relaxing, rewarding weekends are planned, as well as, of course, wonderful class sessions.
The school is also hosting training sessions for Bahá’ís who will take the strengthening Local Spiritual Assembly Development Program to Assemblies in California. One such session took place Dec. 6-7, along with the work weekend. Bahá’ís who had attended special sessions at the Bahá’í National Center in Wilmette, Illinois, gave classes to 16 other Bahá’ís who will in turn train others. Such training sessions are taking place all over the United States. Thus, Bahá’ís will learn to balance administrative and spiritual energy; Local Spiritual Assemblies will become effective, efficient channels of justice and mercy.
Upper right, a young helper at the Bosch school transports tools to a fellow-worker. Upper left, work crew clears forest of clutter which could cause fire. A floor is painted, left, and the picture on the right shows terraces being prepared for roses and other shrubs.
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deeper into the interior, you would meet another tribe. It’s just like crossing a state boundary. You leave Massachusetts and go into New York State, you leave New York State and go into New Jersey. You come to areas where there are different tribes because these are either their tribal homes, or they have migrated to that part of the river.
Q. How were you received by the indigenous people?
A. Always and invariably with great courtesy. All primitive people are courteous. If you seek lack of courtesy, go to the city. All primitive people are exceedingly courteous; I think we sometimes forget that courtesy is upheld in the Bahá’í Teachings.
The American Indians are a very dignified race; they are a taciturn race. I think it well to remember that. They are also very friendly.
There is one point that I would like to call attention to. Many young people today play the guitar. They are musically inclined and they sing songs with Bahá’í themes. But if they go to the Indian villages, the flute or recorder will have an infinitely greater impact on the people. Theirs is a flute-playing culture. We found that when one of the members of our expedition played the flute, the Indians went and brought out their flutes and demonstrated their skill. They had a perfectly thrilling time. They just loved having us appreciate their flute playing and loved discovering that we had brought something familiar with us. So it would be wonderful if the young people would learn to play some kind of wind instrument. It would be much more suitable to the Indian culture.
Q. How would the pioneers support themselves in the villages?
A. We have to recognize the fact that village teaching all over the world is going to require that a person have some independent means of support. There aren’t any jobs, they don’t exist in villages. The villagers themselves don’t have jobs; at least not the kind that provide them with money. At best, they grow some plantains and take them by canoe to sell in the town. The few pennies they get are the extent of their cash. There aren’t any paying jobs as we know them. Now when you come to the towns, of course, there are shop-keepers and perhaps a pharmacist. There may also be a government clinic and a government school with a medica and teacher paid by the government. But these jobs are not given to foreigners. Why should they be?
Pioneers in villages, it seems to me, will have to be financed from the Fund or be deputized by other Bahá’ís. We know Bahá’u’lláh Himself said if one cannot go, it is incumbent on him to send another in his stead. Or the village pioneer will have to have some independent means of support.
Q. What are the obstacles that keep us from leaving and pioneering?
A. I often wonder. I cannot understand why there isn’t a greater spirit of adventure. Why wouldn’t anybody want to leave this civilization? It’s an awful civilization. The people of America themselves, the non-Bahá’ís, are beginning to realize what a horrible civilization it is: pollution, corruption, degeneracy, crime. Why wouldn’t Bahá’ís want to leave that and go to where nature still exists more or less as God created it? The human race is a very nice race when you go and meet it in the villages. There it is made up of wonderful, wonderful people. Why wouldn’t we prefer being there? I can’t understand it.
Q. Let me ask you another question about the film: you have made other extended journeys to different parts of the world; is there a reason why you chose to make a film on Latin America?
A. The reason I chose to make a film on Latin America is that at my age I don’t know where I’m going to go next and how I’m going to get there. I said to myself, “If you’re going to the Amazon at your age, you’re not going to wait till you’re one year older.” So I just picked up and went.
I was very happy with the encouragement that I received from The Universal House of Justice and with their enthusiasm for the whole project. Their prayers and their encouragement, I think, have been a great bounty to the whole expedition. I would like to say, however, that the project was not financed by The House of Justice. There was no necessity for them to finance it. I didn’t want them to take any money away from projects of the Five Year Plan, which are so important.
Q. Do you have any idea when the film will be ready for distribution?
A. We’re working steadily on it. That’s why I’m in the United States now. It is my great hope and desire, and, I might add, a hope echoed by The House of Justice in recent letters to me, that the film and slide programs should be available by National Convention time. If they can be shown to as many Bahá’ís as possible at the National Conventions all over the world, they will have a great impact. We hope very much to have the film in the hands of the Bahá’ís before Convention, to have it available for those who wish to order it. We are planning to have a Super 8 version of the film as well as a 16mm version.
Q. Is the film exclusively for Bahá’ís?
A. No, anybody can see it. Many people on this trip asked if they would ever see it. “As soon as it comes back to this country,” I said, “the Bahá’ís will let you know and invite you to a showing of it.” Why shouldn’t everybody see it? It is a fascinating and beautiful film, because the subject matter is so fascinating and beautiful.
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Bahá’í teachers manned a booth for one weekend at a large Gainesville shopping center. They distributed many pamphlets, and again noticed that almost everyone they met had heard of the Faith. Further booths and information tables are planned for other shopping centers and for area campuses.
Teaching workshops are held regularly. About forty Bahá’ís have been involved in the systematic teaching effort. Approximately 115 teaching trips have been made to Gainesville so far, and five of these trips were made entirely by youths. The teachers represent 12 communities of varying sizes; some are isolated believers.
So far, about nine people, five of whom are youth, have become Bahá’ís in the area. One of the new Bahá’ís, a youth, is now holding regular firesides. The new community recently celebrated its first Feast.
Historic Wilhelm home is renovated[edit]
The Hand of the Cause of God Roy C. Wilhelm, right, donated his house, below, to the National Spiritual Assembly of the U.S. in 1916. Now the house is being lovingly restored. The Master told Roy Wilhelm, “Your house is My house; there is no difference whatsoever between yours and Mine.”
“We have lost our hearts to this beautiful old house with its special charm,” say the two Bahá’ís who are restoring and redecorating the home of the late Hand of the Cause of God Roy C. Wilhelm.
The house is part of the historic Bahá’í property in Teaneck, New Jersey. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá hosted a Unity Feast in the pine grove on this property on June 29, 1912, during His journey of love through the United States. At His Unity Feast, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá announced that on that date the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh was truly established in America. He said, “This assembly has a name and significance which will last forever. Hundreds of thousands of meetings shall be held to commemorate this occasion, and the very words I speak to you today shall be repeated in them for ages to come.”
The beloved Guardian instructed that only one memorial should be built to commemorate ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s visit to the United States, and specified that it should be built in the pine grove on the Wilhelm properties.
Every year since that Unity Feast, on June 29, the Bahá’ís meet in Teaneck to celebrate the bounty of the Master. These annual meetings are called the Annual Souvenir.
Roy Wilhelm built a log cabin on the land a few years after the Master’s visit. He called it the Evergreen Cabin. He deeded the cabin and the pine grove to nine trustees for the benefit of the National Spiritual Assembly in 1935. About a year later, he added to the trust his house, his garage, and the land between the pine grove and the Evergreen Cabin.
In that garage is parked the car in which ‘Abdu’l-Bahá rode. He sat on the porch of that house, in the evening, after the Feast. Juliet Thompson, who describes in her diary many moving experiences with the Master, says, “A few of us were sitting on the porch ... Below us on the grass sat the people — that is, those who had lingered — who could not tear themselves away. Their white clothes in the dusk were as soft as moth wings. In their hands they held burning tapers — really to keep off the mosquitoes! — but the effect was of tiny wands tipped with red stars, and the incense was like some Eastern temple. It was a fairy-like picture. The Master took a chair in the center of the step, and delicately holding a taper Himself, He spoke in words of flame! I can see it all vividly still — and shall through my life — those trembling red stars among the dim white figures on the grass; behind them a most wonderful tall tree, luxuriant, with rolling outline — now a great black cloud against the silver stars ...”
That afternoon, the Master had walked among His more than 200 guests, anointing them all with attar of roses. One guest noted Him talking “... to the people, sitting beneath a great tree, with a poor old woman on one side — very poor and humble, but with the most shining faith, and on the other side Mrs. Krug, with her radiant prettiness and rich clothes.”
The Wilhelm properties became the meeting place for the Local Spiritual Assembly of Teaneck. Roy Wilhelm’s home was also the headquarters of the National Spiritual Assembly from 1931 to 1939, when the Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds, the Bahá’í National Center, in Wilmette, Illinois, was completed.
Mr. Wilhelm was a member of the National Spiritual Assembly and served for many years as its treasurer. The integrity of his character and his simple explanations of financial needs aided the development of the Bahá’í National Fund. When the Master died in 1921, the beloved Guardian, Shoghi Effendi, summoned two American Bahá’ís to confer with him in Haifa: Montfort Mills and Roy C. Wilhelm. No other American believer can equal Mr. Wilhelm’s record of administrative service: from 1909, when he was elected to the Bahá’í Temple Unity, the first nationally elected body of Bahá’ís in the United States; until 1946, when he retired from the National Spiritual Assembly.
Mr. Wilhelm was a noted Bahá’í teacher. He never traveled on business alone. He always managed to proclaim the Faith. He gave the message to the incomparable Hand of the Cause of God Martha L. Root, and gave her financial aid while she awakened numerous countries and continents during 20 continuous years of travel-teaching.
When Mr. Wilhelm first became a Bahá’í, in about 1900, there was little Bahá’í literature available. He compiled what he had of the Sacred Texts, and had the compilations printed. Eventually, the compilations were translated into many languages. Roy Wilhelm printed and distributed thousands of Bahá’í pamphlets, which were used in the ever-growing public meetings and home firesides.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá said to Mr. Wilhelm, “I am extremely pleased with you because you are a true Bahá’í. Your house is My house; there is no difference whatsoever between yours and Mine.”
Now Roy Wilhelm’s house is being restored. Its ceilings and floors were sagging; they are being reinforced. The rooms are being cleaned and returned to their old-fashioned, elegant beauty. Sharon and Ed Marino, the Bahá’í couple who are renovating the house, point out that it is “... for the Bahá’ís, our children and grandchildren ... so they will be able to enjoy the home ‘Abdu’l-Bahá stayed in and where one day, nearby, a great monument to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá will be built.”
Juliet Thompson, in her word-picture of that evening of June 29, 1912, recalls the Master taking leave of the friends who clustered near Him at Roy Wilhelm’s home: “He rose from His chair and started down the path ...
“ ‘Peace be with you,’ He said as He receded into the darkness, the rich liquid Persian and the quivering translation floating back to us from His invisibility, ‘I will pray for you.’ ”
The Bahá’í Home: First dependency of the Mother Temple of the West[edit]
Below, a resident of the Bahá’í Home entertains his friends at a Christmas party.
The Bahá’í Home for the aged is a modest, attractive brick building with a lovely garden. Located near the Bahá’í House of Worship in Wilmette, Illinois, it is home to twenty people whose ages range from 70 to 98 years.
Each resident has his or her own room, and each room reflects, through photos, knickknacks, and books, the life and tastes of its occupant. Currently, 17 women and three men live in the home; among the aged, women far outnumber men. These people have diverse backgrounds: housewives, teachers, secretaries. One woman is a doctor of economics who worked for federal governments all over the world.
George Walker is the administrator of the home, and Beverly Walker is the activities director. Mr. Walker enjoys painting and did a series of small portraits for Mrs. Walker’s office. They are faces of radiant children, each of a different race, each wearing a big Bahá’í button. “... just did them to decorate,” he said. “I don’t have much time to paint now.” An engineer with administrative experience, Mr. Walker came to Wilmette to act as coordinator for the Temple. Mrs. Walker worked in the membership and records office of the Bahá’í National Center. When the administrator of the Bahá’í Home had to leave, Mr. Walker was offered that job. He took it, and Mrs. Walker worked in the home on weekends as a nurses’ aide. She began organizing activities for the residents, and soon became full-time activities director. The couple is intensely devoted to the home and its occupants. “I feel so lucky to be here,” said Mrs. Walker.
Residents of the home also feel lucky to be there. “It’s an individual’s own positive thinking that will help him,” said Mr. S., an 84-year-old resident who was one of Chicago’s first radio broadcasters, “and Mr. and Mrs. Walker and their activities around here really help.” He said that he and his wife were both “hit by strokes” at the same time, “but she didn’t pull through. When I came in here, I had to get hold of myself, with the help of the Walkers, and all the others in here. They were very tolerant with me. Finally I ... came out of it, and I said to the Walkers, ‘I want to assist you,’ so every activity I’m able to do, I do.”
Activities in the home include arts and crafts projects; lip-reading classes; sing-alongs; field trips to movies, plays, and senior centers; lectures, discussions, and book reviews; cooking, and a daily exercise class.
Some discussions center on religion. Residents have various beliefs. Only one of them is a Bahá’í. The Guardian wished the home to serve the general public. Clergy visit the home, and some residents attend their own churches. Sometimes they visit the Bahá’í House of Worship where they enjoy the gardens. All religious holidays, including Bahá’í Holy Days, are observed. Mr. S., who is a devoted
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Christian Scientist, interpreted the home’s religious policy, “We’ve got a loop in Chicago, and you get to it from any different direction. What is the center of your thinking? The center of your thinking is God, and you can get there from any different direction.”
Daily life in the home varies from person to person. Some, like Philip Grondal, say they are “just lazy.” Mr. Grondal, now 89 years old, retired from his career as an architectural superintendent at the age of 85. In his long years of work, he supervised the construction of many of Chicago’s skyscrapers. When asked if he ever gets lonely, Mr. Grondal replied, “Well, there are some things you can’t forget. My wife died in 1953 and I’m still in love with her ... but lonely ... no, I’ve given that up long ago.”
Other residents of the home, like the Bahá’í resident, Sophie Loeding, are very active and busy, with many friends and interests. Miss Loeding is a member of the Temple Devotions Committee; the desk in her room is piled with Bahá’í books and papers.
Miss Loeding says that she is always occupied, for “... becoming a Bahá’í as young as I did, I have always had many interests.” She is now 89 years old. She became a Bahá’í at the age of 10. Her parents were among the first Bahá’ís in the United States. At the time of their declaration, seekers took 10 preparatory lessons in the Faith, and after the 10 lessons wrote to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. He would answer them with a letter of confirmation.
After Miss Loeding’s parents declared, they arranged for her and her brother to also have the 10 lessons. Miss Loeding said that the first nine lessons were based on personal Tablets from ‘Abdu’l-Bahá to the early Bahá’ís. Lesson 10 was given by the Mother Teacher of the West, Lua Getsinger. She told the two children the Greatest Name. Miss Loeding said that when Lua came into the room to give them the lesson, “she actually seemed to radiate ... she had on a diaphanous pink robe of some kind ... I thought, ‘she looks just like an angel ...’ ”
Miss Loeding was the first secretary in the office of the secretariat at the National Center, assisting Horace Holley, then the Secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly, until he was called to the Holy Land as a Hand of the Cause of God. She then worked with secretaries Charles Wolcott, Hugh Chance, and David Ruhe.
“It was a great privilege,” she said, “a very great education for me.” She worked at the National Center until she was 75 years old, when problems in her shoulders and arms made it impossible for her to type. Her long years of operating large, manual typewriters and heavy, primitive recording and copying equipment had taken their toll.
Miss Loeding says that she is happy and comfortable in the Bahá’í Home. She feels that it is not just a place to stay, but it is her dwelling.
Other residents feel the same way. They enjoy serving and helping one another. As Mr. Grondal said, “I like the general atmosphere of the home. They try to make it convenient for everyone, and that’s something we all have to do.”
Employees of the home, some of whom remain on call 24 hours a day, are largely responsible for this air of comfort and convenience, and they receive high praise from the Walkers and from the home’s residents. The home is free of theft, a condition which plagues most nursing homes, homes for the aged, and hospitals. “Everything is open here!” one visitor exclaimed. “There are no locks!”
The home is highly recommended by area doctors as an example of what a home for the aged should be.
Many medical, psychiatric, and social workers are very concerned today with the problems of the aged. Aged people are the fastest growing minority in the United States. “After war,” said one commentator, “the second biggest problem facing the United States is the problem of aging.” The beloved Guardian foresaw this development. In his Ten Year Crusade, initiated in 1953, he required the United States Bahá’ís to erect “... the first Dependency of the first Mashriqu’l-Adhkár of the Western World...” And he wished this Dependency to be a home for the aged.
This goal, fulfilled in 1958, when the home opened, was part of the gradual evolution of the Mother Temple of the West. According to Bahá’u’lláh’s instructions, each Mashriqu’l-Adhkár, or Dawning-Place of the Mention of God, must be surrounded by social service institutions such as a hospital, an orphanage, a university, a library.
Imagine the joy of the United States Bahá’ís when they received this goal along with the great international and pioneering goals of the Ten Year Crusade, announced to them at the Forty-Fifth Annual Bahá’í Convention in the United States. That convention was called a jubilee celebration, for it took place in 1953, the Year of Jubilees; 1953 marked the 100th anniversary of Bahá’u’lláh’s revelation in the Black Pit of Persia where, chained, a prisoner, He received the knowledge that He was the Promised One.
At that convention, the Mother Temple of the West, finally completed after 50 years of love and sacrifice, was dedicated. It is now known as the great silent teacher, because of the huge number of seekers it attracts each year.
And its first dependency, the Bahá’í Home, also gains the admiration of all who visit it. In its cleanliness, comfortable design and furnishings, and in its calm, open atmosphere, it reflects ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s injunction to “Welcome all with the light of oneness ...”
1. Philip Grondal, resident of the Home and long-time Chicago construction worker. 2. Sophie Loeding, Bahá’í resident who worked many years in the Bahá’í National Center. 3. Beverly Walker, activities director, chats with a resident. 4. The cook prepares dinner. 5. Residents enjoy puzzles. 6. Private rooms. 7. Dinnertime in the comfortable dining room. 8. Some fans of the game “Probe” enjoy a session.
News briefs[edit]
Love and unity in Denver[edit]
Continental Counsellor Velma Sherrill urged the Bahá’ís to action when she addressed the 330 friends gathered at the Love and Fellowship Conference, November 14–16, in Denver, Colorado. The conference was sponsored by the Continental Board of Counsellors for North America and by the Auxiliary Board members.
Mrs. Sherrill came to the conference directly from Alaska; her plane landed in Denver while the Bahá’ís met for a reception Friday night.
Auxiliary Board members Margaret Gallagher, Nancy Phillips, and Jalil Mahmoudi, with their Assistants, Chris Cholas, Mehri Jensen, and John Stevenson, visited with the friends during the Friday night reception.
Bahá’ís from eight states attended the conference, and there was a guest from Great Britain.
During one conference session, Mrs. Sherrill explained the Institutions of the Guardianship, the International Teaching Center, the Hands of the Cause of God, the Continental Boards of Counsellors, the Auxiliary Board Members and their Assistants. These people are appointed to serve the Faith, and have the tasks of protecting and promulgating the Faith.
Dr. Mahmoudi gave a talk on the elected Institutions of the Faith, stressing the power of Spiritual Assemblies to administer justice. Dr. Mahmoudi is a newly-appointed Auxiliary Board Member for Utah, Wyoming, and Southern Idaho.
Mrs. Gallagher introduced the conference, and one session was devoted to a panel discussion, open to questions from the believers.
The Conference closed with a stirring address from Mrs. Sherrill. Citing the tremendous Alaskan teaching efforts, she said that the United States Bahá’ís must take such efforts as an example for action, as time is growing short and opportunities may quickly slip away.
[edit]
Teaching efforts are news. Each proclamation method is valuable inspiration to every Bahá’í community.
Each Local Spiritual Assembly, Bahá’í Group, and Isolated Believer has exciting teaching experiences. And teaching by individual Bahá’ís brings endless rewards and interesting stories.
Share your activities. Report them to The American Bahá’í. If you have no photographs, send a story. If you don’t have time to organize and write a story, send information, answering the questions below. Using this checklist will ensure that your experiences can be shared, in their fullest excitement and significance, with the whole Bahá’í community.
The Story
- What kind of activity are you reporting? What was the purpose of the activity?
- What was the most important thing about the activity? What was the most stirring moment of the activity?
- When and where did the activity occur? Date? Time? What was special about the place where it occurred? Beauty? Location?
- Who planned and sponsored the activity? How was it prepared? By an individual? By a committee?
- How was the Faith presented? Speaker? Music? Film? A booth? If a speaker, what was the most stirring thing said? If music, who performed; what kind of music? If a film, what film? If a booth, what was the theme of the booth? If books were given to the library, what books?
- Details are important. They give color to your story.
- How did non-Bahá’ís respond to your effort? How did Bahá’ís respond? What comments were made?
- How did the activity help towards winning the goals of the Five Year Plan?
- —Did it open a new locality?
- —Did it help form a new Bahá’í Group?
- —Did it help form a new Local Spiritual Assembly?
- —Did it help form a new college or high school club?
- —Did it use radio and television to proclaim the Faith?
- —Did it use the “energy, zeal, and idealism” of Bahá’í youth?
- —Did it help Bahá’í children become an active part of Bahá’í community life?
- —Did it reach a specific minority group?
- —Did it help the Bahá’ís develop the distinctive characteristics of Bahá’í life?
The Photographs
Pictures are the most effective storytellers. Use your camera to capture the touching moments of the event.
Make sure that you tell who is in the pictures, and what they are doing. Black and white glossy photographs are most easily reproduced. Slides and color prints can be reproduced, but with difficulty.
Firesides held at nursing home[edit]
Every Wednesday, Bahá’ís in Harvard, Nebraska, visit their local nursing home. After a few months of this service, they report that “These dear souls don’t hear well; most of them hurt and they all feel forgotten. But the realities of these precious people are ... embryonic-eager to be nurtured by the soothing, warming message and love of the Blessed Beauty, Bahá’u’lláh. The bounty of being part of their lives is unspeakable.”
The Bahá’ís meet regularly with 15 to 20 residents of the nursing home. If someone is absent, a healing prayer is often requested. Since Wednesday is a visiting day, some people bring their visitors to the Fireside.
The group always meets in the chapel of the nursing home, since the people prefer the routine of gathering in the same place, even of sitting in the same chair. The Teachings of the Faith are often presented through Gospel stories. The seekers also enjoy stories of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. They like Bahá’í prayers, and enjoy hearing Hidden Words, which remind them of Bible proverbs. Their favorite Bahá’í book is Tokens from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh.
Bahá’í children often go along to these nursing home firesides. They play music and sing, and they enjoy hearing prayers by one of the residents who has a very melodious voice.
Teaching project begins at Millbrae[edit]
Inspired by the successful teaching project in Watsonville, California, the Bahá’í Group of Millbrae, California, began a long-term teaching effort. The group has three adults and one youth and plans to triple its adult membership by Riḍván.
The Millbrae Bahá’ís began progressing toward their goal with a one-day proclamation project on November 8. The neighboring Burlingame Local Spiritual Assembly and the District Teaching Committee for California Central No. 1 sponsored a meeting in Millbrae. In the morning, Auxiliary Board member Paul Pettit explained direct teaching methods to 40 Bahá’ís.
In the afternoon, in teams of four, the Bahá’ís went into the downtown plazas and the residential areas. They carried invitations to an evening lecture by Mr. Pettit called “Bicentennial Thoughts on Re: Spiritualizing America,” “Basic Facts” pamphlets, and declaration cards.
They carried in their hearts the assurance that God assists His servants. Mr. Pettit had encouraged them to “Fortify your soul with prayer. Prayer puts about us a coat of armor. Turn yourself over to Bahá’u’lláh...”
The Bahá’ís found it a joyous experience to greet their fellows and give them the exciting Bahá’í Message. At a feedback session, they discussed the results of their work. People in the least pretentious parts of town had seemed most friendly, and the Millbrae group can now return to these areas, and visit their new friends.
And a few days after the proclamation, the Millbrae group expanded from four to six. The enthusiasm of the friends encouraged the declarations of two seekers who had been studying the Faith for months.
Janet Khan speaks at Green Bay, Wis.[edit]
The Bahá’í community of Green Bay, Wisconsin, hosted two public events and obtained much publicity for the Faith December 12–14.
Dr. Janet Khan was their special guest. Dr. Khan is a Counselor and Program Specialist for the University of Michigan’s Center for the Continuing Education of Women. She was the featured speaker for the public meetings, which related to International Women’s Year.
Dr. Khan gave a talk at a local neighborhood organization’s center on December 12. The next day, she taped a half-hour interview for a Green Bay television station; the interview’s topic was career-planning for women. That evening, Dr. Khan spoke at the University of Wisconsin during a meeting sponsored by the University’s Bahá’í club.
Dr. Khan talked informally with the believers at a brunch on December 14, focusing attention on the Five Year Plan. That afternoon, she taped a half-hour interview for the university’s FM radio station. The interview’s subject was the Bahá’í Faith.
The Bahá’ís of Green Bay announced their events with two articles in each of Green Bay’s two daily newspapers, posters in area businesses, public service announcements on the radio, and an article in the neighborhood organization’s newsletter.
Deerfield Bahá’ís proclaim with ad[edit]
The radiant faces of Bahá’í children proclaim the Faith in Deerfield, Illinois. This picture of the children happily awaiting the cutting of the cake appeared in the newspaper with an article headlined “Bahá’ís mark birth of founder of faith.” The brief article told, simply and directly, of the Birth of Bahá’u’lláh, the unifying principles of the Faith, and the worldwide influence of the Faith. It described the community’s celebration of the Holy Day: a brief presentation for the children, prayers and readings, lunch, and the special cake.
Booth part of Bensalem, Pa., teaching work[edit]
In Bensalem Township, Pennsylvania, the Bahá’ís, with the help of neighboring friends, had a booth in a large shopping center on October 1.
The booth was publicized in the newspaper and through the cooperation of the area school, and many people took literature and fireside information. People particularly noticed the photographs of the Bahá’í Temples and the Shrine of the Báb.
The booth was part of ongoing proclamation work by the Bensalem Bahá’ís. They recently had two large public meetings and presented Bahá’í literature to the high school principal for the school library.
First prize for Bahá’ís at U.N. Festival[edit]
The Bahá’ís of Sarasota County, Florida, won a trophy for best exhibit at the United Nations Festival of Nations. The Festival took place on October 22 in Sarasota; its stated aim was to promote brotherhood and peace.
The colorful Bahá’í exhibit on Mexico attracted much interest. The Bahá’ís answered questions on the Faith and distributed Spanish and English literature.
Infomobile open to public[edit]
A Bahá’í Infomobile, sponsored by the El Paso County West, Texas, Bahá’í Group, is the hub of extensive proclamation activities. The goal of the activities is to form a new Local Spiritual Assembly.
The Infomobile, which is on an empty lot close to the center of the town of Canutillo, is open every Saturday afternoon. Interested seekers will also be able to attend three major events in January and February.
Dancing for joy in Colorado[edit]
The most successful proclamation in the history of the Greeley, Colorado, Bahá’í community was an International Dance Festival on November 8. Held in honor of the Birth of Bahá’u’lláh, the program consisted of dances from Thailand, Mexico, Spain, Germany, and the United States.
The dance festival was attended by 175 people, including natives of seven different countries, among them Nigeria and Colombia. People of diverse ages, professions, and economic status were present. Various languages could be heard.
The master of ceremonies skillfully wove the Bahá’í Teachings into his remarks. Bahá’í literature was distributed, and foods of various countries were served.
Goals achieved through the proclamation were: universal community participation, increased recognition of the community’s Bahá’í college club, teaching of foreign students, teaching of Spanish-speaking people, increased use of media, and inter-community cooperation.
Greeley is a community of 11 Bahá’ís. Many Spanish-speaking people live in the town, as well as many students who attend the University of Northern Colorado. The Faith has been established in Greeley for 24 years.
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Teaching tips One way to pioneer on the homefront is to teach the Faith to foreign students. When such students go back to their own countries, they often become leaders of their people. Their influence as Bahá’ís or as friends of the Bahá’í Faith cannot be overestimated. How to meet them?
Become aware of the size and significance of the international communities within your community: people from India, Africa, China, Japan, etc. And do not hesitate to offer them the Cup of Life, the Bahá’í Faith. |
News briefs[edit]
Float strengthens Dania, Fla., Bahá’ís[edit]
Bahá’ís waved and smiled to parade-watchers in Hollywood, Florida, as they rode their float in the Hollywood Bicentennial Parade.
The float was built by the Bahá’í community of Dania, Florida, which began the work with a small number of believers and no money in its fund.
Now, about 5,000 people have seen the float, with its diverse riders and large banner: “The Bahá’í Faith Unifies Mankind.” The float was also seen on television, and mentioned in radio and newspaper parade coverage.
The Dania Bahá’ís feel that the work strengthened their Local Spiritual Assembly. They are also happy that their firesides are now attracting more seekers.
5,000 see Bahá’í float in Indiana[edit]
The Greenfield, Indiana, Bahá’ís entered a float in Greenfield’s annual James Whitcomb Riley Festival Parade, October 4. The float was viewed by about 5,000 people.
The Bahá’ís chose “Family Unity — World Unity” as their float theme. The theme of the parade was “Out to Old Aunt Mary’s,” taken from one of Riley’s well-known poems.
Some bystanders photographed the float and many praised it. People also noticed the float while it was being built, since the Bahá’ís constructed it on one of Greenfield’s main streets.
50 dignitaries attend tea[edit]
The mayor, school and hospital administrators, and about 50 other people attended a tea hosted by the Bahá’í Group of Powell County, Montana. There are four people in that Group.
The tea honored 16 women for outstanding community service.
Auxiliary Board member Opal Conner spoke at the meeting, and each guest received the pamphlet “Equality of Men and Women — A New Reality.”
The local weekly newspaper carried a front-page picture of the event and 21 column inches of coverage. Papers in the cities of Missoula and Butte also covered the event.
Information on the program and on the awards given the women were sent to the governor of Montana, as he had proclaimed October to be International Women’s Year Month for Montana.
The Bahá’ís of Powell County received many thank-you notes and appreciative phone calls from their guests.
First proclamation in Durham, N.H.[edit]
The Bahá’í Group of Durham, New Hampshire, sponsored its first proclamation on November 1.
Dr. Wilma Brady, Bahá’í representative to the United Nations, spoke on “Women in Development: A Bahá’í Perspective.” The program attracted about 25 seekers.
The Durham group had an article on Dr. Brady in the local newspaper, and announced the event through posters and on the radio’s “community bulletin board.”
Mrs. McComb visits Southwest area[edit]
Rouhieh Musette McComb was nine years old when she met ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. Her sister photographed her with the Master in Chicago and New York, and the Master gave her the name Rouhieh, which means spiritual.
Mrs. McComb’s son, Robert, helped her prepare a slide show of her historic photographs called “In the Presence of the Master.”
Wanting to see these slides and hear Mrs. McComb’s story, the District Teaching Committee of North Texas invited her to take a teaching trip through Texas and Oklahoma. Mrs. McComb recently completed the trip. She visited Wichita Falls, Lubbock, Plainview, Canyon, Hereford, Amarillo, Dallas, and Waco. In Oklahoma, she went to Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Okmulgee, Stillwater, and Tahlequah. She showed her slides to Bahá’ís, gave firesides, spoke at a children’s class, and was featured in newspapers and interviewed by radio and television stations.
Bahá’í marchers in Dallas[edit]
More than 9,000 people saw the large blue, white, and gold banner carried by Bahá’ís in the Bicentennial procession which honored the United States’ religious heritage. The parade was held November 9 in Dallas, Texas.
Many more saw it on a Dallas TV station, which spotlighted the Bahá’í banner in its coverage of the parade. The banner also appeared on two other stations.
The celebration was sponsored by the Dallas Committee for the Religious Observance of the Bicentennial. A Bahá’í is on that committee.
In the procession, four Bahá’ís of diverse backgrounds marched with about 500 other religious and civic leaders through downtown Dallas to the Dallas Convention Center.
A program followed the parade. After a drama-dance on religion’s influence in United States history, a noted Dallas theologian spoke and mentioned the Bahá’ís in his address.
Papago member of Pima Co. LSA[edit]
The first Papago Indian to serve on a Local Spiritual Assembly was elected to the Local Spiritual Assembly of Pima County, Arizona, last Riḍván. She is Veronica D. Chiago, standing, right, in this picture. Other members of the Assembly are, left to right, top row: Star Almendinger, Doris Kirkham, Phyllis Murphy, Hazel Little and, left to right, seated: Dave Holbrook, John Birkinbine, Ann Almendinger, and Don Murphy.
LSAs deepen in Nebraska[edit]
Auxiliary Board Member Bill Borland met with four newly formed Local Spiritual Assemblies and one Bahá’í Group in Aurora, Nebraska, on November 16. The Assemblies of Aurora, Crete, Grand Island, and North Platte, and the Group of Kearney, consulted with Mr. Borland on the special problems of small communities and new Assemblies.
The District Teaching Committee of Nebraska hosted the meeting and met with the new Assemblies and the Group on November 15 to discuss the authority and responsibilities of the Local Spiritual Assembly.
Mr. Borland stressed the importance of eliminating all forms of backbiting and gossip from Bahá’í communities. He pointed out that the politics and newspapers of the old order are based on gossip, and that the new World Order must be free of this infectious old world disease.
Education[edit]
The use of audio-visual materials in the training of children[edit]
Fifth in a Series
To learn, children must understand the what, why, and how of a topic. Teachers and books, however, are not the only ways of transmitting ideas. Audio-visual materials have an important and unique role in the learning process. They bridge the gap between direct, sensory learning experiences and the abstract world of words. Films, tapes, slides, and records provide mechanical representations of reality. They are an excellent substitute for real-life experiences. Audio-visual materials are also a valuable means of reinforcing verbal messages and are adaptable for all age and ability groups.
Below is a list of audio-visual materials and techniques. The materials can be adapted to large groups, small groups, or individual use. They furnish coordinated learning experiences which vary from concrete to abstract. The thoughtful inclusion of audio-visual materials in your Bahá’í child education program will enrich and add dynamic interest to your lessons.
Pictured Instructional Materials[edit]
Unprojected pictures
- —Study prints (a unified set of pictures on a single subject):
- —Photographs (teacher or student made to satisfy a specific purpose);
- —Illustrations in books;
- —Miscellaneous illustrations (magazines, newspapers, advertisements).
Uses[edit]
Clarify an abstract idea: Show foreign places and customs; clearly show events of the past (show pictures of the Bahá’í House of Worship in various stages of development; show pictures of early Bahá’í heroes from The Dawnbreakers or Bahá’í World).
Motivator for discussion: The need for rules can be demonstrated by showing pictures of situations where rules are necessary for order or for the protection of individual rights. The children can view a picture of a traffic jam, a street signal, or a group of people arguing. Then the teacher can lead a discussion on the need for rules in these situations. The teacher can then extend the discussion to the need for Bahá’u’lláh’s laws and cite specific examples from the Writings. Pictures will not be an effective motivator in a discussion of a concept with a child under the age of six, unless the child has had some direct experience with the concept. For example, you can’t discuss the need for “street signals” unless the child has had experience with one.
Teaches Concepts:[edit]
Family—Show that families may differ in size, composition, race, and age. Stress unity in diversity.
Homes—Show how homes may differ, but that mankind shares a common need for shelter.
Wants and Needs—Show pictures of different items and have children identify them as a want or a need. The teacher can show pictures of “needs,” such as food, shelter, water, etc., and contrast them with “wants,” such as toys or ice cream cones. The teacher can extend the discussion to man’s spiritual “needs” by introducing pictures of people praying, a loving family, etc. Or the teacher may wish to introduce the concept of moderation by limiting her pictures to material wants and needs.
Writing stories: Show a picture of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. Ask, how does this picture make you feel? What does ‘Abdu’l-Bahá have to do with you as a Bahá’í child?
Answering questions: Have pictures of various items representing each of the four kingdoms. Ask the children to classify the items by placing all the pictures of items from the animal kingdom in one stack, all the pictures of items from the mineral kingdom in another stack, etc.
Dramatization: Show a picture of a boy and girl sharing, then ask, “What are they saying?” The teacher and the children can discuss courtesy. The children can then act out the situation using “please” and “thank you.”
Tips for developing your own picture file[edit]
Not every picture is worth saving. Judge by the following criteria:
Authenticity: Pictures should be accurate and truthful, particularly when depicting foreign countries, costumes, or customs.
Simplicity: Pictures should be simple and uncluttered.
Action: Unless the picture is one of purely static things, it should show action. Posed pictures of people should be used only to show costume or to bring out detail such as facial expression or hairstyle.
Pictures should be classified, mounted, and stored: Classifications could include occupations, emotions, geography, virtues, costumes, etc. Write for a source list entitled “Pictorial Materials: Children Around the World” available from UNICEF, Information Committee on Children’s Cultures, 331 East 38th Street, New York, New York 10016.
Projected Pictures
- —Slides;
- —Filmstrips;
- —Motion Pictures (8mm and 16mm).
Uses[edit]
Visualize a story or a poem: While studying early heroes of the Faith, the filmstrip “Out of God’s Eternal Ocean” can be used, or “‘Abdu’l-Bahá: Glimpses of Perfection” can be used in conjunction with Bahá’í Lesson Plans, Grade 4. These filmstrips are available from the Bahá’í Publishing Trust.
Students can produce their own slide show, filmstrips, or movies: The children can film a movie of beautiful nature scenes, then the film can be used to set the mood for a discussion on prayer or the four kingdoms. Children can make a filmstrip to illustrate the principle of unity in diversity. The children can draw squares, circles, and triangles directly on the film and show that by combining them in various ways, different objects can be formed. Filmstrips can be made by having students simply draw or write on 35mm film with magic markers. Drawings can be easily erased with a damp cloth so that the filmstrips can be used again. The children’s section of the public library has simple “how-to-do-it” books on filmmaking and photography which give step-by-step directions which children can read for themselves, or for approximately $18.00 you can purchase Draw Your Own Filmstrip and Slide Kit from Scholastic Audio-Visual, 904 Sylvan Avenue, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey 07632.
Stimulate appreciation involving feelings and attitudes: Scenes visualizing the world’s work can be used in a discussion on work as worship. The media section of the public library has slides on various subjects for loan. The movie “Blue and Yellow” can be used to visualize the concept of the oneness of mankind. The movie “Swimmee” can be used to stress problem-solving or the need to work in groups. Both of these popular children’s films are available in most public libraries.
Provide common experiences as a springboard for discussion: “The Red Velvet Story” shows examples of how children can teach the Faith, available from the Bahá’í Publishing Trust.
Pictorial materials, films, filmstrips, slides, etc., are available from the media section of the public library; the Bahá’í Publishing Trust; film distribution agencies, such as Modern Talking Pictures, 2323 New Hyde Park Road, New Hyde Park, New York 11040; UNICEF, 331 East 38th Street, New York, New York 10016; B’nai B’rith Anti-Defamation League, 315 Lexington, New York 10016; and other special organizations.
Tips for getting the most out of projected materials[edit]
Prepare in advance: Select appropriate material. The picture should be an integral part of the lesson.
Prepare the class: Discuss reasons for using the selected audio-visual material. Discuss things to look for and give background information. Discuss new or unusual words, and/or negative features of the film, if there are any.
Prepare equipment in advance and test it out.
Encourage student participation during presentation, if appropriate: This usually takes the form of discussion or expressing feelings.
Prepare proper follow-up: This includes planning for a stimulating discussion, forming general principles or ideas from specific facts, testing, re-showing, dramatization, artwork, maps, bulletin boards, or other project activities.
Evaluate the effectiveness of the presentation: Did the materials do the job for which they were intended?
Graphic Instructional Materials[edit]
The specific purpose of graphic material is to simplify and convey complicated information in an abbreviated and condensed form. They can be student or teacher made. Examples of graphic instructional materials are:
- —Charts, graphs, and diagrams;
- —Sketches;
- —Posters;
- —Cartoons and comic strips;
- —Maps and globes (these should not be used by themselves. Their value comes when they are used with such things as field trips, films, filmstrips, bulletin boards, printed or flat pictures).
Uses[edit]
Catch attention.
Present facts: Make a chart showing the status of the Fund, or a map of Bahá’u’lláh’s travels.
Express an idea: Day-Glo posters from the Bahá’í Publishing Trust.
Summarize material: Prepare a poster or a chart showing an individual’s relationship to the administrative institutions, listing such things as the Feast, the Fund, the District Conventions, the Local Spiritual Assembly, the National Spiritual Assembly, and The Universal House of Justice.
Locate goal areas of the Five Year Plan.
Make an experience chart: The teacher writes down on a big chart the children’s words as they describe stories, news, or experiences of the class. Prepared materials are available from the Bahá’í Publishing Trust, public library, UNICEF, travel agencies, etc.
Auditory Instructional Materials[edit]
- —Radio;
- —Records;
- —Tapes.
Uses[edit]
Radio: Student-prepared programs can include spot announcements for the Faith, a press interview, or a panel discussion on a Bahá’í principle.
Records:
Music—All of the music available from the Bahá’í Publishing Trust is suitable for children. Examples are “Fire and Snow” and the “Bahá’í Victory Chorus.” “Hear the Song of the Wind” is available on cassette.
Dance—“Dances of the World’s People” from Folkways Records. “Hi Neighbor” is a series of songs and dances from countries all over the world by CMS Productions, available from UNICEF.
Drama—“It’s a Children’s World” are folktales from around the world by CMS Productions. “The Wonder Lamp” is a play about progressive revelation available from the Bahá’í Publishing Trust.
Recordings: Make a tape dramatizing a story from Memorials of the Faithful or The Flame. Students can tape a “You Are There” historical format radio broadcast. Students can tape interviews with members of the Local Spiritual Assembly or their committees on such topics as the Fund, achievement of local goals, or minority teaching. Older children or youth can record the text of a book so younger children or weak readers can listen and look at a book at the same time. Materials should be kept short (10–15 minutes) and illustrated books should be used. Students can prepare a tape narration for a student-produced slide show. Students can record a mock fireside and analyze their statements for accuracy.
Tips for the use of audio-materials[edit]
Be sure to include in the introduction of any audio presentation, the why a student is supposed to listen and what he must listen for.
Set up a listening post: This would be a designated area devoted to quiet student listening of stories, music, plays, etc. The post is equipped with a record player or tape recorder, a “plug box,” and several sets of earphones. A “plug box” is a large bar containing a series of covered plug outlets into which individual sets of earphones are connected. The plug box is connected directly to one tape recorder or record player. In this way, several children can listen simultaneously to the same recorded material without disturbing the other members of the class. A plug box can be purchased at most electronic stores for approximately $12.95.
Miscellaneous Materials[edit]
- —Chalkboard;
- —Bulletin board;
- —Felt Board;
- —Electric board
Uses[edit]
Chalkboard: Colored chalk can be used to stress or pinpoint an issue.
Bulletin Board: Creates a cheerful and
Pathways to service[edit]
How you can win Youth Program goals[edit]
As of January 1st, there are only eight months remaining in the Two Year Youth Program. American Bahá’í youth have already won some victories. We are making great progress towards others. But we are in real danger of failing to win some important goals.
If the Two Year Youth Program is to succeed, we need the active participation of young Bahá’ís all over the country.
A glance at the Two Year Youth Program graph in this month’s Bahá’í National Review will reveal several of its objectives in need of immediate attention: homefront pioneering (especially to unopened localities and Indian reservations), domestic traveling teaching trips lasting two months or more, international pioneering, and Bahá’í clubs. The graph doesn’t even show other important goals: increased youth enrollments, regular Fund contributions, and the development of distinctive Bahá’í characteristics.
The one method by which every young Bahá’í can assist with every one of these goals is personal teaching. During the Nine Year Plan, American Bahá’í youth helped lead their community to great teaching victories. Their spiritual energy, zeal, and idealism were focused on bringing the healing Message of the Blessed Beauty to waiting souls of all ages, especially their fellow youth. This same spirit is now needed again. Without it, the Two Year Youth Program cannot succeed.
Teaching circuits, proclamations, public meetings, special teaching projects—all of these are impotent unless individual Bahá’ís are telling other individuals—friends, neighbors, schoolmates, co-workers—about Bahá’u’lláh. Teaching plans unsupported by personal teaching are like a car without gas. The car may be in perfect mechanical condition, but it will never go anywhere. If Bahá’í youth are not telling other youth about the Lord of the Age, no youth program can succeed.
The most important service, personal teaching, is also the simplest. You do not need lots of money or free time. You don’t have to be a Bahá’í scholar. You need not travel hundreds of miles, or give long talks, or fill out any forms. All you have to do is tell someone else about the Message of Bahá’u’lláh. Surely you know someone at school or work, or in your own neighborhood, who might be attracted to the Bahá’í Faith. Find him or her, and give the Greatest Gift. This is what “each one teach one” means. It’s not hard, but it’s very important.
Once American Bahá’í youth begin to do more personal teaching, the vast increase in their numbers will be assured. Then we will have the energy and the resources to win all the other goals. In the meantime, we need all the help you can give. If you can offer something extra to the Cause, now is the time to do so.
Can you become a homefront pioneer? Perhaps your family is moving to a new community, and you can go with them. Perhaps you can enroll in a school or find a job in a new town. Most important, can you move to someplace where there are no Bahá’ís? If so, you can help win the homefront pioneering goal.
Can you become an international pioneer? Can you move to another country with your family, or to attend school? Can you leave before next September? If so, you can help win the international pioneering goal.
Can you travel to teach the Cause? Perhaps you have time to travel and teach for two months or more. Summer is an especially good time for this type of service. The National Bahá’í Youth Committee can help you arrange an itinerary, and there are special bus passes available which give you unlimited travel for a two month period. Perhaps you can go abroad to teach the Faith by volunteering to the International Goals Committee. If so, you can help win the circuit teaching goals.
Can you form a Bahá’í college-club on your college campus? Last month’s “Pathways to Service” explained how. All you need is two believers. Maybe you can pioneer to another campus and establish a club there, or find enough new believers on your own campus to start a club. Can you suggest to your Local Spiritual Assembly that they form a local youth club in your community? If so, you can help win the youth club goals.
Can you contribute something each month to a Bahá’í Fund? Can you find a way to sacrifice for the Cause? If so, you can help win the Fund goal.
Can you develop distinctive Bahá’í characteristics? Can you deepen in the teachings, spiritualize your life, cultivate a love of excellence in all your strivings, and learn a trade or profession? If so, you can help win this goal.
Can you develop a good relationship with Bahá’í institutions, especially with your Local Spiritual Assembly? If so, you can help win still another goal.
If you are 21 or older, can you help a Bahá’í youth achieve one of these goals? You can teach the Faith to youth, and perhaps you can help form a college club, help plan an extended teaching trip, suggest ways of pioneering and contributing to the Fund, or offer other support.
Can you arise to teach the Cause? Can you find new ways to serve Bahá’u’lláh? Can each one teach one?
If so, you will win the Two Year Youth Program!
Dates to Remember[edit]
- January 18 World Religion Day.
- January 19 Feast of Sulṭán (Sovereignty).
- January 19–23 Five-Day Deepening and Teacher Training Institute, Louis Gregory Institute, Hemingway, South Carolina.
- January 22–25 Pioneer Training Institute (by invitation only), National Center, sponsored by International Goals Committee.
- January 23–25 Heart O’Winter New Believers/Old Believers Conference, Rhinelander, Wisconsin, sponsored by the Wis/Mich District Teaching Committee.
- February 1 Deadline for receipt of materials for March issue of The American Bahá’í.
- February 6–7 Family-Life Conference, Orlando, Florida, sponsored by National Education Committee.
- February 7 Feast of Mulk (Dominion).
- February 7–8 Love and Fellowship Conference, Albuquerque, New Mexico, sponsored by the Continental Board of Counsellors for North America and the Auxiliary Board.
- February 14–15 Conference on “The Bahá’í Faith and Christianity,” Greenfield, Indiana, sponsored by the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Greenfield.
- February 20–22 National Spiritual Assembly meeting.
- February 21 Proclamation—Bicentennial Concert featuring music of George Gershwin performed by Bahá’í artists, Gresham, Oregon, sponsored by the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Gresham.
- February 26–March 1 Ayyám-i-Há (Intercalary Days).
- March 1 Deadline for receipt of materials for April issue of The American Bahá’í.
- March 1–20 Period of the Fast, begins sunset March 1 and ends sunrise March 20.
- March 2 Feast of ‘Alá’ (Loftiness).
Continued from Page 4
managers to the fact that the series does follow a contemporary format. Each program consists of an even mix of music and talk. Programming for other types of stations is being considered.
A delay in completion of the series was caused by unexpected difficulties in getting permission to use commercially recorded music in the series. Copyright law requires that permission be obtained for the duplication of tapes and records that are to be broadcast. Many publishers and record companies object to the use of their material in any religious broadcast. Finding selections with suitable content for Bahá’í programs, and for which permission for broadcast could be obtained, was a formidable task.
The disk jockey for the new series is Burl Barer, a Bahá’í from Seattle, Washington, who is a well-respected professional broadcaster. Mr. Barer is currently assisting the Information Office with the production of thirteen programs which will extend the series.
A five-minute demonstration tape is available from the Information Office for communities interested in canvassing their local radio stations for a slot for the series.
Most program managers will want to hear a sample of the material before committing time.
Continued from Page 4
Go to another station.
— When you meet with the program manager or director, gently explore the station’s policy on public service programming. You may find other opportunities to proclaim the Faith, such as a talk show that might accept an interesting Bahá’í guest.
—Remember that your initial contact with the station will help you get air time in the future. Be careful not to overdo the first contact: you will probably be expected to be business-like. Don’t see this as an opportunity to tell the station manager everything you know about the Bahá’í Faith. Restraint and business-like attire (coat and tie for men, dress for women) will make a good impression.
— Keep a record of these meetings, noting information learned during each exchange, for reference when communicating with the stations again. Make sure the Local Spiritual Assembly or Bahá’í Group files have a copy of this record.
— Order the Jeff Reynolds series from the Bahá’í Publishing Trust.
— Abide by any conditions placed on broadcast by the station and by agreements made with the station manager.
— Encourage friends and acquaintances to listen to the program.
— You may want to add a local tag to each program, inviting listeners to write for information or attend regularly scheduled firesides. The station will probably charge for this service, but you might think it worthwhile if the show helps direct people to the Bahá’í Faith. Sample text for such a tag is available from the Bahá’í National Information Office.
Continued from Page 13
interesting learning environment, provides sustained viewing of learning materials, and can serve as an outlet for the talents of students. A student can also be assigned to develop a single theme, such as, “My Pilgrimage,” “My Visit to Green Acre,” etc.
Felt board: Dramatizes or highlights storytelling and develops concepts. Felt board presentations are available through the Bahá’í Publishing Trust.
Electric board: Arranged so that pairs of matched items fit together electronically so that the selection of the correct answer will make an electrical contact and ring a buzzer or light up a small light bulb. It is an excellent tool for memorizing dates and events, the Persian and English names of Feasts, etc. An electric board can be easily made by the community handyman, or by purchasing a commercially prepared electric game and pasting appropriate Bahá’í selections over the existing game board. (Check garage sales.)
Three Dimensional Materials[edit]
- — Specimens (shells, bones, leaves);
- — Models (a miniature representation made of clay, plaster of paris, etc.);
- — Artifacts (tools, wooden masks):
- — Costumes.
Uses[edit]
Motivator to class discussion: Students enjoy making clay models of various things. For instance, a model of Ṭabarsí could be made while studying early Bahá’í history.
Summary[edit]
Understanding is impossible without communication. In modern society, communication techniques have been vastly expanded. There is no one way to transmit ideas. There are many ways. Audio-visual materials can help the teacher bring the world to the student in a vital way. The most abstract ideas can be presented in a vivid, concrete manner, stimulating the student to discover and learn for himself.
Bahá’í books and materials[edit]
Messages from The Universal House of Justice Now Available[edit]
Messages from The Universal House of Justice: 1968–1973
Messages from The Universal House of Justice: 1968–1973, just published, comprises communications spanning that institution’s second term, Riḍván 1968 to Riḍván 1973. The volume is a sequel to Wellspring of Guidance, which was published in 1969. These selected messages, beginning with the results of the election of the second International Convention, portray the major developments of the latter half of the Nine Year Plan. The communications also convey the guidance, advice, and comments of The House of Justice on a variety of questions confronting the Bahá’í world community at various stages of the Plan.
Among the many landmarks of the Nine Year Plan covered in the volume are the commemoration of the centenary of Bahá’u’lláh’s arrival in the Holy Land, the dedication of the Panama Temple, the acceleration of enrollments in the United States, the holding of a series of eight continental and oceanic conferences, the adoption of the Constitution of The House of Justice, and the completion of the synopsis and codification of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas. A message concerning the fiftieth anniversary of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s passing is also included.
A number of communications in the volume deal with matters of a more general nature: prejudice, self-defense, consultation, pioneering and education, and obeying the Law of God in one’s personal life. Three other messages comment on the Guardianship and The Universal House of Justice and describe the work of the Continental Boards of Counsellors and Auxiliary Board members.
The last pages of the book contain an In Memoriam section with messages from The House of Justice on the occasions of the passing of twelve honored Bahá’í teachers.
Messages: 1968–1973 contains a complete index which will make it easy to use for personal study and deepening classes. Also, the messages have been printed as complete documents and include addressees, salutations, and complimentary closes, as in the originals.
Except for three messages, all these communications have appeared in part or in whole in the various Bahá’í journals. Bahá’ís will be able to refer to the messages more easily now that they are gathered in one volume. Cover design by Conrad Heleniak. 129 pp., index.
7-25-08 cloth.................$4.00
Bahá’í Literature[edit]
Each One Teach One:
A Call to the Individual Believer
This attractive new booklet is designed, as its title suggests, to help the individual Bahá’í understand the importance of teaching the Faith to at least one person each year and to assist him in his teaching efforts. Arranged in an easy-to-read question and answer format, the booklet draws primarily on Bahá’í Writings to answer such questions as “Why Must I Teach?”, “What Must I Do to Prepare?”, “How Should I Teach?”, “What Is Fireside Teaching?”, and many more. Each One Teach One is essential reading for individual Bahá’ís and is a convenient resource for Local Spiritual Assemblies and teaching committees. Compiled by the National Teaching Committee and National Education Committee. 5½ x 8½ inches. 19 pp.
7-68-33 ..............$.35; 10/$3.25
Spanish Literature[edit]
La Fe Mundial Bahá’í:
Datos y Principios Básicos de la Fe Bahá’í
This new Spanish pamphlet is a translation of the Basic Facts of the Bahá’í Faith brochure. Clearly and briefly, it presents a short history of the Bahá’í Faith as well as its basic teachings and its pattern for the future. 3⅝ x 4¼ inches.
7-93-70.............25/$1.50; 100/$4.00; 500/$15.00
La Fe Bahá’í:
La Mujer en un Mundo de Cambio
This new brochure (“The Bahá’í Faith: Women in a Changing World”) features three quotations from ‘Abdu’l-Bahá on the subjects of women and equality, development, and peace. It also contains introductory paragraphs on the Bahá’í Faith, explaining its primary purpose and summarizing its basic principles. 3⅝ x 8½ inches.
7-93-71 ............25/$.75; 100/$1.50; 500/$5.00
Wall Hangings[edit]
Wall Hangings from the Publishing Trust make attractive gifts for Bahá’ís and help create a Bahá’í atmosphere in the home. Use the photographs above and descriptions below to select the wall hangings of your choice.
Sidrah Star Wall Hanging
The Sidrah Star Wall Hanging is a striking illumination of the Arabic phrase “Sadratu’l-Muntahá,” a reference to the Manifestation of God for this day. Printed in seven vibrant colors on heavy white paper. An explanation of the symbolic meaning of the design is included. Suitable for framing. 14½ x 22 inches.
6-47-05 ..............$4.00; 4/$15.00
Wall Hanging “A”
The largest of the wall hangings, “A” is printed in dark maroon on grey-beige paper, features a floral border, and is hand-lettered by Terese Blanding. The quotation (“Hear Me, ye mortal birds! In the Rose Garden of changeless splendor a flower hath begun to bloom....”) is from Gleanings, No. CLI. 20½ x 25¼ inches.
Part of the Comprehensive Deepening Program. Wall Hangings “A,” “B,” and “C” supplement the six Comprehensive Deepening books and one filmstrip now available.
6-47-01...............$1.50; 10/$7.50
Wall Hanging “B”
Featuring the quotation “O Son of Being! Thou art My Lamp and My Light is in thee....” (Hidden Words, Arabic No. 11), Wall Hanging “B” is hand-lettered by Terese Blanding and printed in black ink on natural-colored parchment. 11½ x 17½ inches. Comprehensive Deepening Program.
6-47-02 ..............$1.00; 10/$5.00
Wall Hanging “C”
The quotation on this wall hanging (“Should any man, in this Day, arise, and with absolute detachment....”) is from Gleanings, No. CXLIX. Hand-lettering by Terese Blanding. Printed in black ink on natural-colored parchment. 17½ x 23 inches. Comprehensive Deepening Program.
6-47-03 ..............$1.25; 10/$6.00
Stationery[edit]
Shrine of the Báb Notecards
Sending a note to someone? The new Shrine of the Báb notecards can lend a special touch to your message. Like the color notecards of the Houses of Worship, these new cards are perfect for notes and invitations to all your friends, Bahá’í and non-Bahá’í. Fifteen cards and envelopes per box.
6-48-41 night view | $2.25 |
6-48-42 day view | $2.25 |
1976 Bahá’í Date Book: |
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6-69-26 | $.50; 10/$4.50 |
1976 Bahá’í Wall Calendar: |
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6-39-36 | $.25; 10/$2.00; 25/$4.50 |
1976 Bahá’í Pocket Calendar: |
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6-69-56 | $.10; 5/$.25; 25/$1.00 |
| Amatu’l-Bahá in U.S. for film work, teaching | Media used in Georgia proclamation | Radio-television recording studio is completed |
| Amatu’l-Bahá Rúḥíyyih Khánum, widow of the beloved Guardian, Shoghi Effendi, is in the United States preparing a film of her recent Green Light Expedition to the Amazon. She addressed Bahá’ís in New York City during December and in New Haven, Connecticut, during November. | Radio, newspaper, booths, letters, literature presentations, a puppet show, a homefront pioneer, and systematic teaching by teams are all part of a carefully planned proclamation in Gainesville, Georgia. | A radio and TV studio for the production of proclamation and deepening materials was recently installed in the basement of the House of Worship and is now being used. |
| See Page 1 See interview, page 5 |
See Page 3 | See Page 4 |
