The American Bahá’í/Volume 7/Issue 9/Text
| ←Previous | The American Bahá’í September, 1976 |
Next→ |
 Proofread onceReturn to PDF view
|
Teaching to be stressed at District Conventions Sunday, October 3[edit]
Sites, other details of District Conventions—Page 2
Accomplishment of the Five Year Plan teaching goals will be emphasized at the 88 District Conventions to be held on Sunday, October 3.
It is the hope of the National Spiritual Assembly that the friends in each district will identify the goals and volunteer to do what is required to attain them. Design for Victory, the new booklet which lists suggested goals for individuals and communities, should be the basis for discussion.
Each community will be asked to display information on its goals and achievements and to identify any manpower needs. District Teaching Committees, which will host the conventions, will announce the groups to be raised to Assembly status during this Bahá’í year.
Considerable work remains to attain the Five Year Plan teaching goals, including the formation of 500 additional Assemblies (12 on Indian reservations) and the opening of 1,335 new localities where Bahá’ís reside.
Another major purpose of the conventions is to elect delegates to the National Convention. Bahá’ís 21 years or older are eligible to vote for those whom they consider qualified to be delegates to the National Convention and the electors of the new National Assembly.
A District Convention is an essential part of the Bahá’í Administrative Order just like the 19-day Feast or the institution of the Local Spiritual Assembly.
Attendance at District Convention is encouraged. Last year, Western Colorado had the highest percentage of adult Bahá’ís voting at the convention—73. Vermont followed with 67 percent. Others above 50 percent included Wisconsin-Michigan, Southern California No. 3, New Hampshire, Oregon, Northern California No. 2, Maine, Southern Nevada, Southern Arizona, Kansas, North Dakota, and Wyoming.
Ballots and other materials will be mailed to individual believers. Emergency voting procedures are outlined on Page 3 of the Bahá’í National Review.
How direct teaching resulted in 375 declarations in Oregon[edit]
When Bahá’í historians write the history of the Five Year Plan, it may be that they will refer especially to the teaching victories that occurred in Prineville, Oregon, during the week of June 13, 1976. Thirty Bahá’ís were raised up in that community of about 5,000 persons located in the center of the state.
But Prineville was only the beginning—the beginning of a full-time teaching effort that continued from June 12 until August 14 and resulted in 375 declarations of persons residing in 72 different localities in Oregon and more than a dozen localities out-of-state.
Many of the communities are quite small and rural. How many people outside of Oregon have heard of places like Madras (population 1,910), Hood River (population 4,400), or Wasco (population 500)? Yet Bahá’ís were “found” in all these communities.
And in a time of declining youth enrollments, more than 50 percent of the declarants in Oregon are youth.
Do the victories in Oregon during the summer of 1976 mark the turning point of the Five Year Plan? It is perhaps too early to tell, but there are signs that the friends in other parts of the country are being inspired by the Oregon campaign and are arising to follow the example, just as happened during the Nine Year Plan following victories in South Carolina.
Vahid Hedayati of Wichita Falls, Texas, who spent a week of his vacation to teach in Prineville in June, was asked why he thought the Oregon project had been so successful. “Having the Institutions involved—both the Assemblies and the Institution of the Hands through the Auxiliary Board,” he answered.
He said that the friends who became involved in the teaching in Oregon did not come with any pre-conceived notions about just what mass teaching was all about. “They just came to try something new,” he said.
“There was such unity among the friends,” he said. “Everybody had something to contribute and everyone worked as a team.”
Another believer who had moved from Oregon several months before the teaching campaign began was ecstatic with the news of the victories, Juliet Gentzkow said that she felt that the current victories could only be understood in terms of the several years of preparation.
At the beginning of the Five Year Plan, the Oregon friends held a conference at which a plan was presented for the systematic opening of goal localities and the raising up of several dozen new Assemblies. Every existing Local Spiritual Assembly was urged to take on extension teaching goals, both primary and secondary. The primary goal was to raise up an Assembly in every town of 10,000 or more that did not have one.
Prineville pioneer Kathy Berman with new believers Alan More, left, and Cap Lockwood.
What was particularly significant, according to Mrs. Gentzkow, was how the Local Assemblies took the initiative and took very seriously their extension goals. In Oregon, where the great majority of the Assemblies are in the western part of the state, the friends were encouraged to “think east.” Local Assemblies began to send representatives on 200 and 300-mile weekend trips to their goal communities to arrange for publicity, to hold firesides and to say prayers.
The advance preparation in Prineville was excellent. Prineville had had the benefit of a homefront pioneer, Kathy Burman, who lived in Crook County just outside of Prineville. Kathy had months earlier been a member of the Eugene Bahá’í community but had moved to Eugene’s goal area, Prineville, after receiving her nursing degree. For many months prior to the arrival of the Oregon teaching team in Prineville, she had been making known the name of the Faith. She had won the respect of both the radio station and the newspaper to the point that when the team arrived, the one radio station and the one newspaper were vying to report the Bahá’í story. The newspaper ran a long, very favorable story about the Bahá’í teachers in town. The radio station manager spent three hours just looking for music to use in a free spot on the Faith (Among the tunes he felt drawn to were “Joy to the World” and “There Is Only One God and a Million Stars in the Sky”).
The full-time teaching team rarely consisted of more than 10 persons. The team included a writer, a photographer, a housewife, and several students. Ages ranged from 15 to 69 years. A mother and her 17-year-old daughter taught side-by-side throughout most of the summer. One
Editor sought[edit]
The Bahá’í National Information Committee is considering applications for managing editor of The American Bahá’í and Bahá’í News. The position requires substantial writing and editing skills and mature experience in Bahá’í community affairs. If you are qualified for the position and would be able to serve at the Bahá’í National Center, send a resume and examples of your work to Bahá’í National Information Committee, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, Illinois 60091.
Complete details of 1976 District Conventions Sunday, October 3[edit]
Focus on teaching, Mr. Gibson urges friends in visit to U.S.[edit]
Universal House of Justice member Amoz Gibson addresses friends in Foundation Hall.
Teaching the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh is the most important task as the midpoint of the Five Year Plan nears, Amoz Gibson, member of The Universal House of Justice told the friends during an eight-week visit to the United States.
In gatherings with the believers in many states, Mr. Gibson brought greetings from The Universal House of Justice and urged the friends to arrange their pilgrimage to the Holy Land soon.
Mr. Gibson also announced that the Supreme Institution has accepted from a committee of its members an English translation of an important new book, Gleanings from the Writings of the Báb. The volume is expected to be available by Riḍván.
“We must make the Faith the center of our lives—the core around which everything else revolves,” Mr. Gibson told Bahá’ís at a meeting in the House of Worship in Wilmette, Illinois, on July 17. “The central theme of that core is teaching.”
Warning that time is short, Mr. Gibson urged the friends to intensify the teaching work. “Each one should teach one every year,” he said. “Concentrate your love, prayers, and efforts on one person, but don’t neglect others.” Mr. Gibson suggested weekly prayer meetings to provide the spark for successful teaching activities.
He made an appeal for the friends to pioneer or go traveling teaching in the South, particularly in rural areas. “The opportunities are so numerous that you cannot walk down the street without someone wanting to know something about you because you are a stranger and about why you are in their community,” he observed.
The Universal House of Justice member also visited the Louis Gregory Bahá’í Institute in Hemingway, South Carolina, on June 20, bringing a new infusion of enthusiasm to the activities at the institute and to the teaching work in South Carolina.
More people than ever before are ready to hear about the Faith, he told the group of about 240 persons. Mr. Gibson explained that many people are actively searching for answers and are ready for spiritual solutions to their problems, solutions which only Bahá’u’lláh has revealed.
He also directed some remarks to the children in attendance who were beginning a week’s study at the institute. Mr. Gibson urged them to teach their friends and schoolmates about the Faith as well as to study the Writings as much as possible on their own.
A former pioneer to the Navajo Indian Reservation, Mr. Gibson visited with Bahá’í Indian communities in Arizona and North Carolina on his recent trip. He also went to West Virginia, Kentucky, Arkansas, Michigan, and Ohio.
Continued from Page 2
Service honors eight Bahá’ís[edit]
A special memorial service was held in the House of Worship on July 17 for eight Bahá’ís who recently passed away.
They were Edward Bode, Marie Bohmann, Amelia Bowman, Ramona Brown, Clara Edge, Arif Khadem, Dorothy Redson, and Mark Tobey.
How to visit House of Worship[edit]
Another in a series of exciting and informative special visit programs to the Bahá’í House of Worship in Wilmette, Illinois, will be held October 21-24. Enrollment is limited to 30 believers on a first-come-first-served basis. Complete the registration form and mail it soon.
The special visit program is an ongoing project of the Bahá’í House of Worship Activities Committee and is designed primarily to refresh and gladden the spirit as well as provide an insight into the functioning of the various departments at the Bahá’í National Center.
Participants will visit all of the offices at the National Center, including the Bahá’í Publishing Trust and the Bahá’í Home. A special display of the National Archives is planned in addition to many other activities. Talks will be given by Continental Counsellor Edna True and Glenford E. Mitchell, secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly.
Housing has been arranged at the Howard Johnson Motor Lodge in nearby Skokie, Illinois. Transportation from the motel to the National Center will be provided. Each participant will be responsible for his own meals.
8,000 Bahá’ís attend first three International Teaching Conferences[edit]
PARIS: Rúḥíyyih Khánum addresses conference; Persians listen with headsets; dedication of National Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds.
ANCHORAGE: Mr. Robarts delivers talk; one of the many native believers; starting a book revolution.
HELSINKI: Magdalene Carney speaks on children; Dr. Giachery greets pioneer Erik Nielsen; Dizzy Gillespie on Finnish television.
See September ‘Bahá’í News’ for complete details of Paris and Anchorage conferences. See August ‘Bahá’í News’ for details of Helsinki conference.
Approximately 8,000 Bahá’ís from around the world attended the first three International Teaching Conferences called by The Universal House of Justice to promote the victory of the Five Year Plan.
In separate messages to the conferences in Paris, France, Anchorage, Alaska, and Helsinki, Finland, The Universal House of Justice said that prayers were being offered at the Sacred Threshold for an upsurge of Bahá’í activity. One immediate result was that 468 volunteers came forward to fill international pioneering posts.
Amatu’l-Bahá Rúḥíyyih Khánum, representative of the Supreme Institution at the Paris gathering, said it was the biggest conference ever held under the auspices of The Universal House of Justice. A total of 6,050 Bahá’ís from 55 countries attended.
Feelings of love, unity, and dedication to serve the Cause were heightened by the presence of seven Hands of the Cause at the Paris conference. In addition to Rúḥíyyih Khánum, the Hands of the Cause of God Shu’á’u’lláh ‘Alá’í, Collis Featherstone, Zikrullah Khadem, Raḥmatu’lláh Muhájir, John Robarts, and Valíyu’lláh Vargá attended.
It was the most important Bahá’í event in France since the historic visits of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in 1911 and 1913.
Hands of the Cause present at the Anchorage conference were Mr. Featherstone, Mr. Robarts, and William Sears. Hands of the Cause who participated in the Helsinki conference were General ‘Alá’í, Dr. Muhájir, Ugo Giachery, and Adelbert Mühlschlegel.
Many Counsellors, members of National Spiritual Assemblies, and members of Auxiliary Boards were also present at the conferences. Representatives from the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States were Fírúz Kazemzadeh, Paris; Soo Fouts, Anchorage; and Magdalene Carney, Helsinki.
The conferences provided many opportunities for teaching and proclamation. Activities included public meetings, press conferences, television interviews, and sessions with dignitaries.
A special report on the Anchorage conference was given by Continental Counsellor Edna True and Auxiliary Board member Thelma Jackson at the Bahá’í House of Worship in Wilmette on July 31.
Miss True said she felt a special spirit of “dedication, complete commitment, and enthusiasm” among the friends. “The city was filled with an air of excitement created by this conference,” she said. Miss Jackson told of the participation of Indian believers in the conference.
The friends who attended the three conferences were urged to carry forward the spiritual energies released by the gatherings, to follow the examples of the Master, to serve more actively, and to surpass the goals of the Five Year Plan.
Amatu’l-Bahá said in Paris that whatever the Bahá’ís are asked to do by the divinely-guided Universal House of Justice, they must have confidence that the goals can be attained and surpassed.
“Anything that we have to sacrifice is so insignificant compared to what has already been sacrificed by other Bahá’ís, let alone the Central Figures of the Faith,” she said. “We have no time to lose.”
Size of ‘American Bahá’í’ reduced in economy measure[edit]
The inability thus far in the Bahá’í year to attain the level of contributions contemplated by the Fund goal has made necessary painful cuts in activities and services by committees and agencies of the National Spiritual Assembly.
The American Bahá’í itself had not been able to escape the essential cutting process, even though an effort was made to keep its services intact as long as possible.
First, the paper’s one staff reporting position had to be eliminated. Henceforth, the managing editor, virtually alone, would maintain the editorial flow.
It was soon clear, as the Fund’s prospects did not brighten, that this would not be enough. A second serious step to enforce economy was taken. The size of the paper would be reduced from 12 pages (already down from 16 in years past) to eight pages each month.
The Bahá’í National Review would continue to be published quarterly, instead of monthly, sustaining an economy measure taken earlier in the Bahá’í year.
A smaller newspaper, of course, means that there will be less news reported each month. Some reports of local activities that would otherwise have been published must now be deferred. However, every effort will be made, through tighter editing and stricter selectivity, to continue to carry news from the community that will stimulate and inspire all Bahá’ís to achieve the goals of the Five Year Plan.
Moreover, efforts will be made to add to the inspirational tone of the publication through the introduction of new types of feature materials in the course of the year.
It is our hope that these stringent measures will last only temporarily, that the targeted levels of contribution will be attained and the work that has been stalled will proceed apace.
Meanwhile, we will attempt to keep the quality of the publications intact. We welcome your observations and comments on these measures, the implementation of which has proven inescapable.
Treasurers to be trained in new accounting system[edit]
Hussien Ahdieh is treasurer of one of the largest Bahá’í communities in the United States—New York City. He was among the first local treasurers in the country to receive training in the new accounting procedures recommended by the Office of the Treasurer.
When asked how this training affected his ability to perform his duties, he replied: “It made my life much easier. It provided an easy and efficient way to keep the books and simplified the reporting process. By using the new system, the figures are always at my fingertips and everything balances perfectly. It is a professional system and yet simple enough to enable someone who has had no previous bookkeeping experience to deal accurately with the Fund.”
When Louis Mascali, treasurer of the Spiritual Assembly of Escondido, California, was told that soon every local treasurer would have an opportunity to become trained in the new system of accounting, he exclaimed: “A commendable idea. I could use this information and I know that others in my community would be interested in it since the Fund is an area of concern to our entire Assembly.”
The new accounting system represents the culmination of one year’s efforts by the Office of the Treasurer. These efforts are nearing completion as the first copies of the handbook, Accounting Procedures for Bahá’í Treasurers, begin to roll off the presses. The handbook’s first printing, a limited “draft” copy, became available on August 16 and was distributed to about 60 local treasurers throughout the country who volunteered to evaluate it. Final printing will take place in mid-September and it will then be mailed to every local treasurer in the country.
In order to help local treasurers implement these new procedures, 70 individuals chosen to serve as National Treasurer’s Representatives will attend a training institute in Wilmette over the Labor Day weekend. The institute will include an in-depth study of the new accounting handbook, training the participants in various methods of presenting the material so that they may later host local workshops for treasurers in their area.
According to Glenford Mitchell, secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly, “This is part of the larger Local Spiritual Assembly Development Program and as such is regarded as a matter of importance to us.”
“The day-long workshop,” said Dorothy Nelson, treasurer of the National Spiritual Assembly, “will provide treasurers and other interested persons with a thorough look at every aspect of a local treasurer’s duties.” Quoting The Universal House of Justice, Mrs. Nelson stated that “...upon the degree to which the members of these Assemblies...arise selflessly to fulfil their prescribed and sacred duties...depends to a large extent the healthy growth of the world-wide community of the Most Great Name. Local Treasurers, therefore, must regard their bookkeeping and reporting duties as sacred.”
The Office of the Treasurer interviewed several local treasurers throughout the country to ask what areas of concern they hoped would be covered in the new handbook. Most treasurers expressed the desire to learn how to encourage a greater degree of participation in giving to the local Fund. Some wanted to know how to search out materials which would help them convey the spiritual nature of the Fund to their community at the Feast, and others stressed the need for an accounting system which is simple enough that persons who have had no formal training in bookkeeping procedures can understand and follow it. Addressing the needs of these treasurers, the new handbook devotes attention to the subject of presenting an effective Feast report. A portion on the new accounting system provides a sample cash journal with 10 months of bookkeeping entries which covers the entire range of situations a local treasurer might encounter.
Last fall, treasurers in Illinois were given an opportunity to field-test the new accounting procedures. Harlene Noble, treasurer of Wheeling, Illinois, related her experience with the new system nearly one year later. “Before I learned the new system, it was difficult to get the books to balance when it came time for the annual audit. Now it is much easier. It has even made our Assembly more financially responsible because we now make our decisions with an accurate assessment of our financial situation. It is a well-thought-out program which covers just about every angle. Local treasurers will be lost without it.”
The National Treasurer’s Representatives, working in cooperation with a host Assembly, will begin holding their regional one-day workshops for local treasurers toward the end of October or sometime in November. Although it will be an intensive work session primarily devoted to accounting procedures, other aspects of the Fund and the duties of the treasurer will be discussed and the session will be open to all interested persons.
Exhibit proclaims Faith at 41st Eucharistic Congress[edit]
Bahá’í display draws interest in Philadelphia
Opportunities to converse with many Roman Catholic priests and nuns who have visited the Shrine of the Báb in Haifa, Israel, occurred during the 41st International Eucharistic Congress, held the first week in August in Philadelphia. A Bahá’í booth, containing the exhibit prepared for the Bicentennial observance earlier this year, occupied a central position in the Civic Center, where hundreds of exhibits were assembled to attract some of the more than one million visitors to the Congress.
Developed around the theme, “The Eucharist and the Hungers of the Human Family,” the Congress was addressed by James Cardinal Knox of Australia, official representative of Pope Paul VI, who was unable to attend due to illness, as well as Cesar Chavez, United Farm Workers leader, and Princess Grace of Monaco.
In this setting, Bahá’ís in attendance at the Bahá’í exhibit offered copies of the editorial from the recent Bicentennial issue of World Order magazine, the statement on the Faith prepared for the Encyclopedia Britannica, and postcards of one of the gardens of the House of Worship. During preparations to participate in this Congress, Bahá’í representatives had been informed that there would be an ecumenical aspect to the gathering, but that direct teaching by other Faiths was not permitted. This instruction was scrupulously observed, but there were many lay people who expressed interest in the concept of the oneness of mankind, visually expressed in the slides of diverse people that formed part of the exhibit.
Planned with the cooperation of the Spiritual Assembly of Philadelphia, participation in the Congress was facilitated by the assistance of one full-time attendant at the exhibit, Helen Underhill of West Chester, Pennsylvania. “So many enthusiastic comments were made by visitors,” she later reported.
Participation in this event is part of an increasing effort, under the direction of the National Spiritual Assembly, to make known the aims and purposes of the Bahá’í Faith to all strata of our nation, in keeping with the goals of the Five Year Plan.
Teaching project in Australasia[edit]
Details are being completed for an international teaching project to Australasia this winter.
Participants will visit Samoa, Fiji, Tonga, and New Zealand, spending nearly five weeks assisting these sister communities with expansion and consolidation efforts. The projecteers will return to the United States in late January after attending the International Teaching Conference in Auckland, New Zealand, January 19–22.
Participants will be required to attend a training program December 17–19. The minimum age is 18. There is no maximum age limit, but teachers can expect to do a great deal of walking and should be prepared to live under simple conditions. It is estimated that the cost will be $1,600 per person.
Bahá’ís interested in volunteering for this project should consult with their Spiritual Assembly and then write to the International Goals Committee, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, Illinois 60091.
Master’s talk is commemorated[edit]
More than 400 persons attended the 64th Annual Souvenir of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá on the grounds of the Wilhelm Properties in Teaneck, New Jersey, on June 26.
The program included the reading of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s talk given there on June 29, 1912, a talk by Mildred Mottahedeh on the Master and the destiny of America, and musical selections.
The commemorative services were held in the grove where ‘Abdu’l-Bahá gave His Unity Feast that memorable day in 1912. A special event was the opening of the Wilhelm House and its beautiful meditation room to guests.
Floating on a spirit of cooperation in Beaufort, South Carolina[edit]
A successful inter-community project has brought closer together the members of five Bahá’í communities in Beaufort County, South Carolina.
Members of the communities gathered on July 11 to start talking about teaching on an inter-community basis. It was decided that each community would plan events for its own area and that they would all team to build and enter a float in a parade that was to be held the following Sunday. A committee was formed to plan the float, and volunteers stepped forward to provide labor, materials, and funds.
In just five days, the float was designed and constructed. More than 38,000 flowers were created from tissue paper and wired to an old farm truck.
A prayer watch began with the work and continued until the morning of the parade. The tired Bahá’ís beamed when the float went by in the annual Beaufort County Water Festival Parade.
Later, it was announced that the Bahá’í float had won a prize in the civic division.
The five communities are now planning future inter-community activities designed to proclaim and teach the Cause.
120 gather for youth conference[edit]
More than 120 youth gathered at the Louis Gregory Bahá’í Institute July 30–August 1 for a youth conference sponsored by the South Carolina Regional Teaching Committee.
Workshops were held to assist the youth in teaching and consolidation activities. Talks were given by Auxiliary Board member Elizabeth Martin and Jenefer McNair, a youth from Greene County, Alabama, who drove 10 hours on short notice to participate in the conference.
One of the highlights of the conference was the premiere of a play designed to proclaim the Faith. The play, “Whatever Happened to Harry’s Bar,” was written by Della Glover with music by George Cherry.
Continued from Page 1
of the three team coordinators was an assistant to the Auxiliary Board, Ethyln Lindstrom.
Members of the teaching team, both full-time and part-time, had had months of practice at mass teaching on consecutive weekends in April and May before the full-time teaching effort was launched with a two-day weekend institute in June. Those two months of weekend teaching resulted in 28 declarations that aren’t included in the total of 375 declarations.
When the friends began their teaching efforts in April, virtually no one was really very experienced in mass teaching, according to a letter written by the team members to The American Bahá’í. Among the lessons learned very early was that mass teaching is not the same as proclamation.
A public meeting was held in almost every community that the team taught in, and the friends came armed with hundreds of flyers to announce the public meetings. But their basic purpose was not merely to extend invitations to a public meeting; rather, the friends were looking for opportunities to tell people about the Bahá’í Faith. They approached people in parks, working in their front yards, or walking down the street, and asked, “Have you heard of Bahá’u’lláh?” If the person expressed an interest in knowing who Bahá’u’lláh was, the friends proceeded to tell him, directly and succinctly, inviting him to join with the Bahá’ís, if he too could believe that Bahá’u’lláh was who He said He was.
No single presentation was used. Each Bahá’í teacher developed one that would meet the needs of each individual seeker, and one that was comfortable. As an overall principle, the friends strived to be brief in their presentation.
Everyone the Bahá’ís met was given an invitation to the public meeting. If there was no one on the streets or in the parks to teach, the friends would go door-to-door to extend invitations, but would make no attempt to teach on someone’s doorstep.
The Oregon teaching team members wrote in a letter to The American Bahá’í that: “This kind of teaching is a teaching of the heart, where the love of the teacher flows to the heart of the seeker. It is the heart that is touched, the heart that is opened, and the heart that is filled. The consolidation teams should be aware of these facts.”
Indeed, when a person’s heart is touched and he indicates his desire to become a member of the Bahá’í community by signing a declaration card, it is just the beginning of a process, not the end. David House said. The success of mass teaching depends upon effective consolidation, it was pointed out again and again.
It was for the purpose of gaining consolidation workers that the Gresham, Oregon, Spiritual Assembly, sponsoring institution for the teaching team, decided to hold an institute over the weekend of July 4. More than 95 Bahá’ís from all over Oregon and four surrounding states gathered to hear the stories of the teaching victories and to discuss mass teaching and the importance of consolidation.
“Have no doubt about what is going on,” said Kim Kimerling, assistant to an Auxiliary Board member. “The declarations are real. One of the new believers walked four-and-a-half miles to be with other Bahá’ís.”
Another believer, one uncovered in Prineville just a few weeks earlier, came to the Gresham conference bearing two declaration cards that he had obtained after the teaching team had left. He told how several of his friends and acquaintances kept asking him about the Faith after he had become a Bahá’í and how he had really not wanted to tell one of them, thinking this person would never want to become a Bahá’í. His friend did want to become a Bahá’í; in fact, he insisted upon it. “You can’t be selective in who you teach,” the Prineville believer said. “You must teach everyone.”
It was the repeated experience of the teaching team that teaching and consolidation go hand-in-hand.
In Prineville, a couple with two young children had been approached on the street. While only the wife asked questions, both embraced the Faith—the husband without a single word. The next day, consolidation workers went to visit the new Bahá’ís in their home. They were not there, but three other persons were. They asked about the Faith, all three ultimately embracing it. One of the new Bahá’ís said that she had stopped going to church to pray because she felt ashamed of her clothing. How pleased and excited she was to know that Bahá’ís prayed in each other’s homes. “Please,” she said, “Come pray in our home.”
As would often happen, a person would declare in a community different from the one in which he resided. The direct teaching effort in Lebanon, Oregon, resulted in the declaration of a youth from Stayton, Oregon, where there were already two seasoned believers. As a part of the process of getting to know and making friends with the new Bahá’í youth, the older Bahá’ís were presented with the opportunity to provide service in the form of helping two acquaintances of the youth with moving. The subject of the Faith came up. Again, a new believer was instrumental in obtaining the declarations of two of his friends—but not before he posed the question, “Oh, by the way, Ross, can women become Bahá’ís, too?” He was assured that indeed they could.
Between June 12 and the Gresham conference the weekend of the 4th of July, there were 112 declarations. Between July 4th and the end of the full-time teaching campaign August 14, there were 163 declarations. If Prineville was one of the highlights of the early part of the campaign, Roseburg marked a high point of the later campaign.
During the time the friends were in Roseburg, every single unopened locality in Douglas County was opened, and in so doing, the Douglas County Spiritual Assembly fulfilled every one of its Five Year Plan goals.
There had been only one adult believer in Roseburg when the campaign began. Seven of the 42 declarants in Roseburg were adults from Roseburg itself. That brought the number of adults to eight. In addition, one of the youth declarants who resided in Roseburg, it was learned, would be turning 21 in November.
While the team was in Roseburg, one man called the Bahá’í number very eager to learn more about the Faith. He was given the Message by phone. He declared his belief, hung up, drove over to where the Bahá’ís were staying, and signed his card.
The word “obedience” was used by the Oregon friends to explain their success time and again. In their letter to The American Bahá’í, the team members wrote: “It is clear that the success of the team is due entirely to prayer, obedience to the Writings, the use and support of the institutions of the Faith, and the love and unity within the team.” Their teaching was simply, they wrote, “a response to the urgent messages of The Universal House of Justice and the National Spiritual Assembly, the exhortations of the beloved Guardian, and the Writings of the Center of the Covenant and the Blessed Beauty Himself.”
Bahá’í books and materials[edit]
Now Available—Literature of the Bahá’í Faith
and Parts III and IV of The Green Light Expedition of Rúḥíyyih Rabbani[edit]
Clockwise from left: A Message to the Indian Bahá’ís of the Western Hemisphere, by Amatu’l-Bahá Rúḥíyyih Khánum; Spiritual Teachings, the latest of the Star Study Program booklets; Literature of the Bahá’í Faith, the revised brochure of Bahá’í literature with combination order form and envelope for use by non-Bahá’ís; The Bahá’í Faith Unifies Mankind poster, available in four bright colors; and a scene from Part III of The Green Light Expedition of Rúḥíyyih Rabbani.
New Bahá’í Literature[edit]
A Message to the Indian and Eskimo Bahá’ís of the Western Hemisphere
by Amatu’l-Bahá Rúḥíyyih Khánum
In this booklet, now available in the United States for the first time, the Hand of the Cause of God Amatu’l-Bahá Rúḥíyyih Khánum speaks of the assurance given in the Bahá’í Writings that the destiny of the Indian and Eskimo people is very great. Addressing the Indian and Eskimo believers as her “especially loved brothers and sisters,” she explains that they can best help to fulfill the promise given in the Bahá’í Writings by taking the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh to their own people. The booklet is a helpful aid to understanding the role of the original inhabitants of America in the unfoldment of the new World Order. Illustrated. Orange cover. 5 x 10½ inches. 14 pp.
7-32-01.....$.35; 10/$3.00 (prices NET)
New Special Materials[edit]
|
Good News! As a service to our customers, the Publishing Trust is working with District Teaching Committees to ensure that Bahá’í books and materials will be available at all State and District Conventions on October 3. The Trust is also arranging for a Subscriber Service Representative to be present at each Convention so that the friends may subscribe to Bahá’í News, World Order, and Child’s Way. |
The Green Light Expedition of Rúḥíyyih Rabbani
Part III: The Upper Amazon and Its Tributaries
The Green Light Expedition of Rúḥíyyih Rabbání, Part III is the third program in a four-part audiovisual series tracing the progress of the Green Light Expedition, an historic “journey of friendship” by the Hand of the Cause of God Rúḥíyyih Khánum to the Indian peoples of South America. The purpose of the expedition was to help people all over the world see the Indian villagers of the Amazon region “as they really are, and to feel the common bond of humanity linking us all together.”
In Part III, The Upper Amazon and Its Tributaries, Rúḥíyyih Khánum visits the Bahá’ís in the major cities on the Amazon River as well as many of the indigenous Indian peoples of the Amazon region. Travelling by plane and riverboat, she and the members of her expedition journey over three thousand kilometers (two thousand miles) through Brazil, Colombia, and Peru.
This audiovisual program, whether viewed as an historical documentary or as a unique adventure, will spark the keen interest of almost any audience. Written and narrated by Rúḥíyyih Khánum. Color. 160 frames.
6-03-70 filmstrip program..$6.75 NET
6-03-75 slide program....$15.50 NET
The Green Light Expedition of Rúḥíyyih Rabbani
Part IV: The Andean Bahá’ís of Bolivia and Peru
The Green Light Expedition of Rúḥíyyih Rabbani, Part IV completes the four-program audiovisual series on the Green Light Expedition. In this final stage of the journey, the Hand of the Cause of God Rúḥíyyih Khánum visits the Indian Bahá’ís of Bolivia and Peru in the Andes Mountains. She and the members of her expedition join these descendants of the Incas at two historic Bahá’í conferences, one of which was the first all-Quechua-speaking Bahá’í conference ever held. Like the other three programs in the Green Light Expedition series, The Andean Bahá’ís of Bolivia and Peru, whether viewed as an historical documentary or as a unique adventure, will spark the interest of almost any audience. Color. 160 frames.
6-03-80 filmstrip program..$6.75 NET
6-03-85 slide program......$15.50 NET
The Bahá’í Faith Unifies Mankind poster
This attractive new poster—available in four bright colors—features a sunburst design certain to capture the attention of passersby even from a distance. The text includes a brief quotation from the Bahá’í Writings and information about the purpose, history, and scope of the Faith. Space is provided at the bottom of the poster to fill in an address, phone number, and information about a local event. Available in red, green, purple, and blue, the posters can be displayed together or separately depending on the space available and the visual effect desired. They fit conveniently on portable display stands. Printed on white enamel stock. 11 x 17 inches. Prices as low as $.11 each in quantities of 200 or more.
6-59-03 green | 10/$1.50; 50/$6.50; 200/$22.00 |
6-59-04 purple | (prices as above) |
6-59-05 red | (prices as above) |
6-59-06 blue | (prices as above) |
6-59-07 8-poster assortment, 2 each of 4 colors | $1.25 |
Star Study Program[edit]
Spiritual Teachings
(Star Study Program)
Spiritual Teachings, the fourth of the nine booklets which make up the core of the Star Study Program, is now available. The new booklet discusses, in nine brief and simply-written chapters, the basic spiritual teachings of the Bahá’í Faith. Among the subjects covered are the nature of God, the independent investigation of truth, sacrifice, prayer and meditation, and life after death. Spiritual Teachings is recommended for community deepenings and classes as well as for individual study. It can also be used for youth deepenings. Illustrated by Gordon Laite. Aspen gold cover. 13 pp. 5½ x 8½ inches. Star Study Program.
7-64-56........$.40
Back in Stock[edit]
Literature of the Bahá’í Faith
This newly revised and redesigned brochure, intended for use by non-Bahá’ís, contains descriptions and prices of more than seventy books, pamphlet assortments, and introductory cassette recordings. It includes photographs of twenty-five books and three cassettes. The cover of the brochure features a brief essay on the Bahá’í Faith and a photograph of the Bahá’í House of Worship in Wilmette, Illinois. To order, the seeker need only fill out the attached combination order form and envelope and enclose payment—no postage stamp is necessary if mailed in the United States.
Literature of the Bahá’í Faith is an excellent tool for teaching the Bahá’í Faith. The brochure is recommended for use by individual Bahá’ís in their personal teaching and firesides and by Bahá’í communities at public meetings, fair booths, literature displays, in mailings, and so on. It gives the reader a large selection of literature and materials from which to choose and permits him to order and study the literature in the privacy of his home. Note: Bahá’ís are encouraged to use the brochure as a catalog of selected Bahá’í literature but are asked not to use the attached order form to order materials. Printed on white 11 x 25” stock. Folded to fit standard business envelope.
7-40-28..........25/$2.50; 100/$8.50
| International Conferences | Amoz Gibson visits America | The victories in Oregon |
| ... See Page 4 | ... See Page 3 | ... See page 1 |
Attend your District Convention on Sunday, October 3