The American Bahá’í/Volume 8/Issue 10/Text
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★ ★ Victory Campaign Under Way! ★★[edit]
Imbued with a new sense of purpose and inspired by the call to arms sounded by the National Spiritual Assembly, the “radiant spiritual Army” of Bahá’u’lláh in America gathered its far-flung legions the weekend of September 10–11 to launch a mighty push toward victory in the final months of the Five Year Plan.
The Victory Sessions of intensive study that weekend, proposed by the Hand of the Cause of God William Sears, endorsed by the National Assembly, and hosted by every Local Spiritual Assembly in the U.S., were the prelude to a month-long series of firesides throughout the country from September 20–October 20 and a period of deepening and consolidation of victories that is to continue to November 12, the anniversary of the birth of the Blessed Beauty, Bahá’u’lláh.
The three-phase program marks the beginning of a Victory Campaign that is to last until Riḍván 1979 when the Five Year Plan reaches its conclusion. The objective of the campaign is no less than the attainment of every single goal outlined in the Plan.
Mr. Sears, who suggested the Victory Campaign in a letter last May to the National Spiritual Assembly, was himself an active participant in each of the Victory Sessions through a four-part cassette tape recording prepared especially for use at the historic gatherings.
THE NATIONAL Education Committee prepared a complementary tape to guide the discussions after each presentation of Mr. Sears’ tape so that the specific objectives of the campaign might be kept firmly in mind and fulfilled.
This marked the first time such taped study classes ever were held simultaneously nationwide.
The Bahá’í National Center kept its switchboard open all weekend and added special “hotline” phones to receive reports of victories, offers to travel teach, pioneer or host firesides, pledges of service, contributions to the Fund, and other commitments from Spiritual Assemblies, Groups and individuals throughout the country.
The phones were manned by staff members of the National Teaching Committee, National Education Committee, National Youth Committee, International Goals Committee, and other personnel at the National Center.
TELEGRAMS also were received telling of victories won and pledging increased activity in teaching the Cause.
Among the items most eagerly received at the Bahá’í National Center were pledges for firesides to be held during the period from September 20 to October 20, the anniversary of the birth of the Báb. The National Spiritual Assembly had called for a minimum of 20,000 firesides to be held during the period.
Local Assemblies, Groups and isolated believers were encouraged to report the number of firesides held in their community to the District Teaching Committee or their area representative.
The reports were to be forwarded to the National Center, tabulated, and the totals published in The American Bahá’í.
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National Assembly Pledges $100,000 for Deputization The National Spiritual Assembly, in an unprecedented action designed to nourish and support teaching activities in the last critical months of the Five Year Plan, has pledged $100,000 of the current National Center budget to establish a homefront deputization fund and is inviting the friends throughout the country to contribute to it. The purpose of the deputization fund is to encourage and assist homefront pioneers to settle in localities in which Spiritual Assemblies will be formed. Whenever monies from the deputization fund are used, the end result must be the formation of a Local Assembly, and pioneers assisted by the fund will be expected to remain at their posts at least until the end of the Five Year Plan. Establishment of the deputization fund reflects the concern of the National Assembly over the slow pace at which new Local Assemblies are being formed. As of Sept. 1, there were 963 Local Assemblies in the U.S., only four of which had been formed since Riḍván. The deputization fund is to be administered by the National Teaching Committee, with monies to be disbursed as individuals apply for grants, usually through their District or Regional Teaching Committee. The National Treasurer’s Office requests that those who wish to contribute to the deputization fund do so by sending their checks to the National Bahá’í Fund earmarked for “homefront deputization fund.” |
Bosch: Heroism Under Fire[edit]
With the Victory Campaign only weeks away and the Five Year Plan fast approaching its final decisive year, the name of the Faith was emblazoned in front-page headlines from coast to coast on Thursday, August 18, as an armed man with a history of mental illness held 63 of the friends hostage, some for more than five hours, at the Bosch Bahá’í School in northern California.
The strange, tension-packed ordeal began in the early evening hours of August 17 when the gunman, 26-year-old Thomas Benton Wilson, commandeered a city bus in nearby Santa Cruz and ordered its driver to take him to the Bosch School where he entered the dining room brandishing a .22 caliber repeating rifle and ordered the friends, who were having supper, to barricade the building and remain there with him.
The drama ended shortly after 11:30 that same evening when the last of the Bahá’í hostages—the gunman had by that time released all but five men—talked him into laying aside his gun and surrendering to the authorities.
IT WAS a remarkable conclusion to a bizarre episode in which the Faith received its most widespread and favorable media coverage in recent memory.
“Hostages sustained by their faith,” the San Jose, California, Mercury headlined its August 19 front page. “Creed of nonviolence prevails.”
An Associated Press article datelined Santa Cruz began: “A lone gunman held 63 people hostage at a remote religious retreat Thursday, then calmly surrendered to police after his captives helped persuade him to give up.”
The kidnapping was front-page news in daily papers throughout the country the morning of August 18, and was mentioned on nearly every network radio and television news broadcast.
Many of the reports referred to the calm and peaceful way in which the Bahá’ís handled the situation, using love, prayers, and gentle conversation to calm the gunman and persuade him to surrender.
IN THE END, the gunman walked arm-in-arm from the lodge with his five remaining hostages: Kenton Allen of Menlo Park, California; Mark Rossman of Tempe, Arizona; Reese Whitcomb of Redwood Estates, California; Morgan Merritt of Chula Vista, California; and R. Dean Boone of Las Vegas, Nevada.
“We felt that the best approach was to apply the Bahá’í principles, not to use force.” Mr. Allen said later. “We kept praying for the man.
“In conversation we tried to draw him out, to have him explain his problems, to assure him that everything could be worked out without harm to anyone.”
In telephone conversations with the police, the gunman made two demands: that Jack Kimbro, a Bahá’í in Mariposa, California, and another man, an inmate at a minimum security prison in San Luis Obispo, be brought to the Bosch School. Neither demand was met.
Meanwhile, the Bahá’í hostages, held in the lodge with doors locked from the inside and blankets covering the windows, were saying prayers and singing songs.
AS THE gunman’s attitude softened, he agreed to allow the 23 children in the room to leave. About 15 minutes later, he asked any people with health problems to leave.
Shortly afterward, he decided to allow the two families with infants to leave, along with five of the older Bahá’ís. Finally, after conferring again by phone with police, who had the lodge surrounded, he said he would free everyone except five men.
“This really lifted our spirits,” said Mr. Allen, “and within another half-hour he finally agreed to put his gun down and walk out with us with our arms around each other for his protection.”
The gunman later told a reporter that “when the thing was completed at the school, I was supposed to die. But for some reason I let those people talk me out of killing myself.”
WHILE HIS motive in asking to have Mr. Kimbro brought to the school is not clear, the gunman had lived with the Kimbro family for a time several years ago. He was a member of the Faith for about a year before
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Inside
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2nd Persian Conference To Focus on Adjustment[edit]
While the goal of the Bahá’í Faith is a commonwealth of nations spiritually and organically united beneath the shadow of the World Order of Bahá’u’lláh, the fact is that considerable cultural differences often must be overcome when a Bahá’í moves from one country to another.
With so many Persian believers presently living in the U.S., the National Spiritual Assembly is concerned that their integration into the American Bahá’í community be made one of easy transition.
To help the Persian friends adjust to American life and to discuss matters of concern to them, the National Spiritual Assembly is sponsoring the second in a series of annual conferences especially for Persian believers the weekend of December 23–25.
AS WITH the first such conference last December, this one will be in the Wilmette, Illinois, area. The National Spiritual Assembly plans to make the Persian conference an annual event to be held in various parts of the country.
“It is our hope that the conference will become an attractive yearly event for the Persian friends,” says Glenford E. Mitchell, secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly, “combining both social and educational aspects.”
Last year’s conference attracted some 500 Persian believers and produced several recommendations upon which the National Spiritual Assembly has since acted.
One recommendation was that literature in Persian be made available in the U.S. The Bahá’í Publishing Trust, following up the suggestion, has arranged to publish some literature in Persian beginning this year.
Another recommendation was that Persian youth be encouraged to become more involved in the work of local communities.
THE NATIONAL Spiritual Assembly has reacted favorably to the idea, and encourages local communities to appoint Persian youth to committees on which they are qualified to serve, and to keep the National Assembly fully informed of such activities.
The National Spiritual Assembly also is instructing the National Education Committee to appoint qualified Persian teachers to conduct classes in Persian at summer schools, and to make a special effort to attract the Persian friends to these schools.
Since one of the concerns voiced at last year’s conference was the presence of some “culture shock” among Persian youth in the U.S., the National Assembly has decided to investigate ways to assist youth who are so affected.
Local Bahá’í communities are being encouraged to form Persian hospitality committees to assist these new arrivals. Guidelines for these committees are being drawn up and soon will be made available to local communities.
ANOTHER concern was whether the 95-day period of engagement should be binding on Persian Bahá’ís in the U.S. as it is in Irán. The National Assembly says that if two Persian Bahá’ís decide to marry in this country, the law of engagement is binding; otherwise, it is not.
“One of the great advantages of these conferences,” says Mr. Mitchell, “is that the friends can come together and discuss such problems and concerns.
“The more we are able to help the Persian friends assume an active and productive role in the American Bahá’í community, the better off we and they will be.
“While these conferences won’t solve all the problems by any means, they are at least a step in the right direction, and a most worthwhile step at that.”
If you are Persian and have not yet received a letter containing information and a registration form about the upcoming Persian Conference, December 23–25, please write to Mr. Jerry Healy, c/o Bahá’í National Center, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091, or call Area Code 312-256-4400.
Information Office To Add Skills Bank[edit]
To upgrade the quality of its publications and audio-visual materials, the Bahá’í National Information Office is building a talent-skills bank of people with experience or expertise in various areas of media communication and production.
The bank will include the names, addresses and phone numbers of writers, editors, photographers, persons with clerical skills, and radio, television and film scriptwriters and production personnel.
If you have experience in any of these areas and would like to help, please send a brief résumé with your name, address and phone number to the Bahá’í National Information Office, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091.
Victory
Continued From Page 1
Each Local Spiritual Assembly in the U.S. hosted Victory Sessions on Saturday afternoon and evening, September 10, and on Sunday morning and afternoon.
TO ASSURE assure the active participation in the Victory Weekend of every Bahá’í in the country, members of Groups and isolated believers were invited to take part in the sessions planned by the Local Spiritual Assembly nearest to their community.
The sessions opened with Mr. Sears’ tape, followed by the tape prepared by the National Education Committee, and consultation on how each Bahá’í can arise to help win the goals of the Five Year Plan.
Offers to hold firesides between September 20–October 20 and thereafter were an integral part of each of the sessions.
In addition to preparing his taped message, Mr. Sears spanned the continent on the Victory Weekend to be with the friends in the five goal cities of the Five Year Plan: Washington, D.C., New York City, Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles.
He was greeted in each city by a member of the Continental Board of Counsellors and a member of the National Spiritual Assembly.
THE IDEA for the Victory Weekend, Mr. Sears said in a letter addressed to every Local Spiritual Assembly in the U.S., sprang from these words of the beloved Guardian, Shoghi Effendi:
“... a little effort on our part is so richly blessed by Bahá’u’lláh, we can only wonder what the rewards would be for a great, concerted, truly inspired effort by all members of the community.”
The Victory Weekend, Mr. Sears added in his letter, is “a stirring, dramatic call to intensified individual teaching on a scale never before approached in our Bahá’í lives.
“It is in answer to the call of the Universal House of Justice to each one of us. It is in answer to their summons to each individual Bahá’í to arise and come to the aid of New York, Illinois and California so that we may, indeed, approach the ‘entry by troops’ so longed for by the beloved Master.”
The Village of Hamburg, N.Y., Bahá’í community held a Children’s Conference on Saturday, June 4, for children from ages five to 14. Theme of the conference was “Helping Each Other Grow Toward God.” Children worked on crafts, “think activities” on acquiring virtues, and had periods set aside for recreation and music. There was a special class for parents on Bahá’í education for children. Another children’s conference already is in the planning stages.
Singapore Beckons[edit]
Would you like to find out firsthand what is happening for the Faith in Asia? One way would be to attend a regional conference in Singapore that will be held December 2–4, 1977.
The theme of the conference is “Education for Peace,” with a secondary theme being the role audio-visual materials have played in the propagation of the Faith in Southeast Asia.
Contact the International Goals Committee for more details. The address is 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091.
In Illinois
Bahá’í To Head Activity Coordinators[edit]
Beverly Walker, assistant administrator at the Bahá’í Home for the Aged in Wilmette, Illinois, has been named by the American Health Care Association (AHCA) to represent the concerns of activity coordinators throughout the state.
In her position as assistant administrator at the Bahá’í Home, Mrs. Walker plans activities to satisfy the diverse needs and interests of the home’s 20 residents, one of whom is a Bahá’í.
As the state Council of Activity Coordinators facilitator, Mrs. Walker is to keep the AHCA’s Council of Activity Coordinators informed about concerns and programs of interest to them in the state, and to forward recommendations to the AHCA.
Recommendations will be gleaned from several sources, says Mrs. Walker, a member of the AHCA for more than a year.
SHE WILL approach the Board of Activity Therapists Association for ideas, since she also is a member of the board and is in close contact with its other members.
At various times in the past five years she has served as treasurer and program director of the association.
Before becoming assistant administrator at the Bahá’í Home, a position she has held for five years, Mrs. Walker worked part-time at the Home for a year and a half.
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Child Shows Path to Sacrifice At Mérida During the Bahá’í International Conference at Mérida, Mexico, in February, a seven-year-old Iranian girl shared her personal goals for the Five Year Plan:
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Her planned activities at the Home range from music and singing to visiting lecturers, discussion groups, book reviews, games, classes on cooking, religion, yoga and history, and improving memory techniques.
A lip-reading class is offered under the direction of the Chicago Hearing Society.
A DAILY exercise class is held, and movies are shown weekly. Field trips to Ravinia Park, a North Shore cultural and recreational facility, as well as to restaurants and movies also are a part of the activities.
“We try to organize our activity program,” says Mrs. Walker, “so that it provides for a variety of interests and encourages the residents to use their time and energy for their own pleasure and benefit.”
Some of the activities take the form of service projects.
Last Christmas, for example, gifts were made for families in Chicago who otherwise would have received none. Currently, alphabet scrapbooks are being made for a nearby pre-school.
Arise! Have You Told a Friend About the Faith?
Generosity, Thrift Can Be Combined[edit]
Dear Bahá’í Friends
Generosity is one of the many virtues Bahá’ís are working to acquire.
Shoghi Effendi said: “We must be like the fountain or spring that is continually emptying itself of all that it has and is continually being refilled from an invisible source.”
But this does not mean we should spend our money recklessly. Thriftiness is also a necessary virtue.
A story about ‘Abdu’l-Bahá from Star of the West gives a vivid portrayal of how He manifested the qualities of thrift and generosity:
“To ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, thrift and economy had but one place, where He surely practised them—that one place was no other than Himself.
“For example: on leaving the Windsor Hotel in Montreal, He wanted to board a street car. ‘A taxicab will be more comfortable for you,’ someone suggested.
“‘Abdu’l-Bahá replied: ‘That is nothing. In this way one dollar difference is saved.’
“But when He reached the Maxwell home, lo and behold! the first thing He did was to see the butler, the nurse, and the maid, and give to each one a five-dollar gold piece.”
The attribute of generosity must permeate our service to the Cause and our relationships with others. Exercising thrift in our personal expenditures will help us achieve this end.
The present condition of the National Fund indicates the need for more individual contributors whose personal thriftiness will enable them to give generously and, as the Guardian said, “undeterred by the fear of poverty and reliant on the unfailing bounty of the Source of all wealth and all good.”
This is the secret to winning our Fund goals, and, indeed, every goal of the Five Year Plan.
With loving Bahá’í greetings
the Bahá’ís of the United States
Dorothy W. Nelson, Treasurer
The three-member Bahá’í Group of Lake Township, Ohio, was represented by this banner in the annual North Canton Memorial Day Parade. Shown carrying the banner (left to right) are Robin Hite and Laura McLachlan.
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Deepening Packets Available The National Education Committee has prepared special deepening packets to assist in the deepening and nurturing process undertaken with newly-declared believers in the third phase of the Victory Campaign. Bahá’í Assemblies, Groups or individuals who have brought in new believers during the Victory Campaign are encouraged to write for the deepening packets, which are available from the National Education Committee, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091. |
On the Fund
Questions and Answers[edit]
Question: We are very upset by the letter written by Dorothy Nelson to each believer in our community concerning the Fund. We believe her letter violates one of the primary principles of the Bahá’í Faith concerning coercion and individual solicitation of funds. Our interpretation of the Writings, as quoted in Guidelines for Local Spiritual Assemblies, pp. 137–138, is that they prohibit this sort of thing from happening in the Faith. We feel that her letter returns the Bahá’í Faith to the realm of the old world order.
Answer: The National Spiritual Assembly consulted on the matter before arriving at the decision to present an appeal to every believer in the American Bahá’í community.
There is a clear distinction between solicitation of funds from certain members of a community and a general appeal addressed to the entire body of believers and sent to every individual in the community. An example of the former would be a letter to individuals who have not been contributing to the Fund, reminding them of their responsibility to do so. Such a singling out of specific individuals is clearly a violation of Bahá’í principle.
The latter method, however, is entirely permissible and, indeed, “welcome under all circumstances” as long as the appeal is “of a general character, carefully worded and moving and dignified in tone,” leaving “entirely to the discretion of every conscientious believer” decisions about “the nature, the amount, the purpose of his or her contribution.” (Guidelines for Local Spiritual Assemblies, pp. 137–138)
This same method of addressing the believers was used by the Universal House of Justice when a crisis in our National Fund precipitated a similar crisis in the Bahá’í International Fund. On December 29, 1970, two letters were sent to every believer in America. They may be found on pp. 57–61 of Messages From the Universal House of Justice, 1968–1973.
We fully support your concern that an “old world” tactic not be employed. This is foremost in our minds as we work to develop an appreciation for the truly unique Institution of the Bahá’í Fund.
It is our bounden duty, however, to ensure that every believer in the American Bahá’í community is well informed of the financial status of the National Fund, “the bedrock upon which all the activities of the Cause ultimately rest,” and toward which “every Bahá’í, no matter how poor, must realize what a grave responsibility he has to shoulder.” (Shoghi Effendi in a letter to the National Spiritual Assembly of India, July 17, 1937)
Our responsibility to educate the believers about this vital Institution of the Faith is incomplete until the goal of universal participation is realized. Toward this end we are earnestly striving.
We are extremely grateful for your vigilance in guarding the principles of the Fund from the corrupting influences of fundraising methods used in the outside world. We are confident that in this instance no principle has been violated.
Question: Why not send receipts to individuals once a year, with a computerized listing of each of their contributions to the National Bahá’í Fund, rather than sending a separate receipt for each one? A lot of money could be saved in postage that way.
Answer: We have given this suggestion a great deal of consideration and feel that at this time in the development of the Faith it is important for us to continue sending a receipt immediately upon the arrival of a contribution.
The American Bahá’ís are slowly becoming aware of their spiritual obligation to contribute to the Fund, but until this knowledge is widespread and we begin to meet our contributions goal regularly, the small reminder to contribute, in the form of a return receipt, will have to continue.
In addition, returning receipts promptly is a good business procedure that we feel should not be compromised in the interest of economy.
Question: While reading the Writings about the significance of pioneering, I realized that since I cannot go myself, I should support one who can go in my stead. Therefore, I have decided to contribute $100 a month for one year in order to achieve that purpose. Please let me know the proper procedure for doing this.
Answer: We are delighted to hear of your decision to deputize a pioneer for one year. If you do not have a specific individual in mind whom you wish to support, you can meet this commitment by sending $100 each month to the National Fund including a note indicating that the money is to be used for deputization. We will see that your wishes are carried out.
Community Profile
In Martinez, Teaching Faith Goal-Centered[edit]
The two resident Bahá’ís in Martinez, California, last February adopted an ambitious goal: they want Martinez—a coastal city of 28,000—to be the first community in the U.S. to have a majority of its residents Bahá’ís.
By early August, the community had grown to six members, with 18 declarants awaiting completion of the enrollment process.
While that’s admittedly a long way from the 14,000 or so needed for a majority, the friends in Martinez are teaching as though the goal were already well within their reach.
The recent declarations were the result of a teaching project from June 13–25 sponsored by the Central California District Teaching Committee.
THE PROJECT began with an institute in February at which Auxiliary Board member Paul Pettit spoke about teaching.
Then in June, eight to 10 projecteers joined with the local Bahá’ís to spread Bahá’u’lláh’s Message throughout a dozen California communities.
Each day began with prayers. Then the teachers went out to find those who would be receptive to the Message.
The teaching effort resulted in 22 declarations in San Jose and 18 in Martinez.
The new believers were then invited to social and deepening events to further solidify the preliminary friendships that had been established. One of the events was a spaghetti supper and swim party in Martinez.
THE DISTRICT Teaching Committee has called a meeting of all Bahá’ís in the District, according to Mrs. Roberta McFarland, secretary of the District Teaching Committee, to assist the friends in Martinez to continue the teaching and consolidation work, as well as to make the effort a part of the Victory Campaign.
Mrs. McFarland believes the friends in the District have reached a new level of cooperation, energy and community involvement.
They’ll need to maintain that level if declarations keep coming at the rate they have been.
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Teaching Briefs
Declarations Save Two Maine Assemblies[edit]
Four declarations in Maine have saved two jeopardized Assemblies and opened a new locality: Islesboro Island ...
Garrison, Iowa, has been raised to Assembly status with the help of two declarants.
One is the cousin of a believer in Garrison who declared one week before Riḍván, moved immediately to Garrison and found a job. The second believer declared at a Nebraska summer school...
Why would seven new believers in Rome be of special interest to American Bahá’ís? Because they live in Rome, Georgia, rather than Italy. Located southwest of Rome is Carrollton, where there were 13 declarations recently.
In southern Georgia, the towns of Brunswick, Fort Valley, Quitman and Valdosta have had nine declarants among them through firesides, summer school and teaching campaigns...
Bahá’ís in south Texas have had considerable success recently with the mass media, especially radio.
In Brownsville, two Bahá’ís were to appear for five to seven minutes on a radio talk show. But the regular host was taken ill, and the substitute hosts expanded the program to 30 minutes. Both hosts—Janie Gomez and Fred Cantu—expressed an interest in learning more about the Faith.
Also in Brownsville, KDUV-FM is airing public service spots that explain Bahá’í principles.
In nearby Harlingen, a Spanish-language station is airing public service spots that contain short quotations from the Writings. The program director liked the tapes so well she decided to play them during the day when more people would be listening.
The program director at KMBS Radio wishes to attend a Bahá’í fireside to learn more about the Faith ...
Day-Spring, a musical teaching group, has changed its name to Talisman and is under the sponsorship of the Spiritual Assembly of Nevada J.D. (California).
The team has two forms of proclamation to offer, one direct, the other more low-key, and urges the friends to use this teaching resource. For information, write TALISMAN, 161 N. Bloomingfield Road, Nevada City, CA 95959 ...
“A Time to Remember God” was the theme for this float decorated by the Bahá’í communities of Norwich and Groton, Connecticut, for the local Rose Arts parade on June 26. The float presented quotes from the Bahá’í Writings and was decorated with three dozen roses in honor of the “rose city” of Norwich. Equipped with a cassette tape player and speakers, it also broadcast a 60-second Bahá’í message and music by Seals and Crofts.
The Bahá’í community of Salt Lake City, Utah, had a booth at the International Women’s Year Conference held there in late June.
Since one of the IWY executive committee members is a Bahá’í, the conference was opened with a Bahá’í prayer...
The first direct teaching effort ever in Wyoming, which took place July 22–24 in North Casper and was supported by 17 Bahá’ís from all over the state, has resulted in three new believers in the Cause of God...
A student in Berea, Kentucky, attended a fireside. Since he questioned the validity of Bahá’u’lláh’s being the return of Christ, Thief in the Night was given to him.
After a sleepless night brought on by reading the book, he was convinced of Bahá’u’lláh’s Station and declared his belief...
The Shreveport, Louisiana, Spiritual Assembly contacted a local radio station with the Jeff Reynolds demonstration tape. The program manager was so impressed that he suggested airing the tape later that same day.
The program is now running for 13 weeks on the 50,000-watt station at 8 p.m. Sunday and reaching audiences in Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Georgia ...
Perry County, Pennsylvania, was opened with the declaration of a youth who was a member of the Seals and Crofts fan club for three years. She met her first Bahá’í when a District Teaching Committee representative took on the goal of opening Perry County. The Bahá’í had prayed to be led to a waiting soul ...
Twenty-seven people have declared during the past year in Evanston, Illinois. At least 20 of them have been enrolled ...
More than 125 people from five states attended an institute June 3–5 at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, on the station of the Universal House of Justice.
Since 1975 the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Harrisburg has sponsored institutes on the Báb, Bahá’u’lláh, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and Shoghi Effendi, in addition to the conference on the House of Justice. The next institute, in October, will be on teaching ...
Direct teaching in Marshalltown, Iowa, has swelled the ranks of the Bahá’í community there by 14 new believers encompassing four families in the Marshalltown area.
The Arlington, Texas, Bahá’í community won a second-place award for “decorated vehicles” with this float in the city’s annual Fourth of July parade. The theme of the entry was “Ye Are the Flowers of One Garden.”
A number of close contacts also have been established, giving hope of more new believers soon.
The community reports that a key to the teaching success in Marshalltown has been the many prayers offered individually and by the community as a whole. Consolidation efforts have begun with a well-attended series of deepenings for the new believers...
Several communities in the San Diego, California, area have formed an Intercommunity Communications Committee under the sponsorship of the Spiritual Assembly of San Diego.
Its purpose is to use the media and other devices effectively to proclaim the Faith in San Diego County.
Already a one-year contract has been signed by the Spiritual Assembly of Oceanside with radio station KUDE to run the 13-part Jeff Reynolds series with future programs to be made using local talent.
A Race Unity Day panel discussion was televised on June 12 with three racial groups represented, all of whom reside in San Diego County. On July 2, a section was reserved for the friends in the area at a San Diego Padres baseball game. The names of visiting groups are put on the scoreboard in lights and announced to the thousands of other people attending the game ...
The Bahá’ís of Oklahoma and American Indian Bahá’ís throughout the country hosted a Unity Council Fire on Saturday, August 13, in the land of the Cherokee Nation near Tahlequah, Oklahoma. The Council Fire included a community picnic, music, sharing of traditions, talks, prayers, fellowship and love ...
The Bahá’ís of Traverse City and Suttons Bay, Michigan, were invited to participate July 8–10 in the Unity of Cultures Pow Wow in Traverse City.
The Pow Wow, sponsored by the American Indian Center in Traverse City, offered the music and dance, foods, arts, crafts and jewelry of Indian, Spanish-American, Black and White cultures.
The focus at the Bahá’í tables was on “the oneness of mankind” with appropriate materials from the Bahá’í Publishing Trust and Naturegraph Books offered free to those who requested them.
City Councilman Ernest Pintor (left), representing the mayor of Riverside, California, is shown presenting the document of declaration of Race Unity Day in Riverside to Robert Hart Jr., chairman of the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Riverside. The Race Unity Day observance was held at Bordwell Park in an area of the city that is largely populated by minority groups.
Trustees of the Merciful[edit]
The Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Garrison, Iowa, was formed at Riḍván. Front row, left to right, are Kathy Terry, treasurer; Janine Stanisjewski, Betty Vavra, Cynthia Christensen, secretary; Helga Walda, assistant secretary. Back row, left to right: Freddie Walda, John Andreini, Bob Terry, vice-chairman, Phillip E. Stanisjewski, chairman.
The first major public activity which the new Assembly undertook was a Clean-Up Day for the town of Garrison, which has approximately 375 people. Fifty non-Bahá’ís participated.
In July, Rose Stanisjewski, a sister of one of the community members, declared.
The Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Lakewood, Ohio, was incorporated at Riḍván 1977. Front row, left to right Mrs. Janet Weaver, Karl Weaver, Mrs. Arthur Siebert, Richard Cunningham. Back row, left to right: Mrs. Vicki Schmotzer, Michael Burns, Melford Nemitz, Deborah Ryan, Everett Hall.
The first Local Spiritual Assembly of Linn County, Oregon, was elected January 30 in Scio, Oregon. Front row, left to right, Yvonne Lincoln, Robert Hamilton, chairman, Eileen Bergeson, Mary Gifford. Back row, left to right, David Burge, Evelyn Hamilton, Linda Gross, Don Birdsell, Judy Flood.
The first Spiritual Assembly of Lynnwood, Washington, was elected at Riḍván. Front row, left to right: Gayle Schuyller, Laura Ford, Dixie Owen, Marie Pursley. Back row, left to right: Roger Schuyller, Beatrice Hutchinson, Ira Ford, Betty Wirkkunen, Hussein Ekbal.
The first Local Spiritual Assembly of Vienna, Virginia, was formed at Riḍván 1977. Back row, left to right: Manouchehr Mohajeri, Paul Olson, Farhad Kazazi, Greg Dahl, John Huddleston. Front row, left to right: Roughi Huddleston, Karen Mohajeri, Jamshid Golestani, Faezeh Golestani.
Refreshing The Spirit In Georgia[edit]
“Immerse yourselves,” Bahá’u’lláh commands His followers, “in the ocean of My words.”
But in today’s fast-paced society, with its many distractions and interruptions, such an immersion can be most difficult.
The answer, of course, is to seek a place of solitude where one’s complete attention may be given to the Creative Word.
That’s the idea behind a series of weekend institutes held twice a year, usually in the spring and fall, in northern Georgia.
There, the friends put the cares and concerns of everyday life behind them and retreat to a lodge or cabins at a state park for a weekend of intensive deepening.
THEY GO over the selected Writings word by word, dictionaries in hand, and share with one another what particular quotations mean to them.
One of the purposes of the “WE Institutes,” as they’ve been called, is “to get in touch with the Creative Word,” says Mrs. Carey Murphy of North DeKalb County, Georgia, who is one of the coordinators.
There are no interruptions at these deepening sessions. Children and telephones are left behind, and no one attends with the idea of leaving before the weekend is over.
Everyone shares in the cooking, cleaning and other responsibilities. Under these conditions, says Mrs. Murphy, the friends have no trouble concentrating on the Writings.
EACH SESSION, mornings and afternoons, begins with a round of prayers, with each person praying aloud.
“The friends begin by saying the Healing Prayer or something else fairly short,” says Mrs. Murphy, “trying to hurry things along. But by the end of the weekend, nearly everyone is saying the Tablet of Aḥmad.”
The group usually is divided into classes of 12 people each. A coordinator directs which Writings will be studied, and keeps the discussion flowing smoothly.
One of the ground rules is that each person’s thoughts and impressions are valid and worthy of consideration. The coordinator does not act as a “teacher,” and does not attempt to point out any “correct” meaning of the Writings.
Evenings are devoted to music and other entertainment, says Mrs. Murphy, because the daily sessions are “very, very heavy.”
TWO AREAS of study during past weekend institutes, she says, have been teaching, and living the Bahá’í life in terms of sacrifice.
Sometimes, if the topic is teaching, the group will plan to meet after the weekend to proclaim the Faith in one another’s communities.
Mrs. Murphy says the closeness generated among the friends at the weekend sessions serves to unify the entire northern Georgia community.
“Often our only opportunity to get together with other Bahá’ís is at Feast,” she says. “Going to the woods for a weekend of deepening helps us to get to know one another better.
“We have lots of ‘repeaters,’ though the institutes are sort of intended for Bahá’ís who have never been to one before,” she says.
The northern Georgia Bahá’ís hope that new believers will take advantage of the weekend institutes as an opportunity to become deepened in the Faith.
“It’s not a ‘high,’ ” says Mrs. Murphy. “It is a ‘deep.’ ”
The Norwich, Connecticut, Bahá’í community observed the anniversary of the martyrdom of the Báb on July 9 with a women’s conference at the Norwich Sheraton Hotel. Twenty-nine persons, most of whom received specially designed invitations based on the women’s exhibit from the Bahá’í Publishing Trust, attended the conference whose theme was “Women in a Changing World.” Shown here (left to right) are Barbara Gilbert of Norwich, Auxiliary Board member Dr. Adrienne Reeves, the keynote speaker; and Judy Constantine and Lois Andrews, guest speakers from New London, Connecticut.
Two-Phase Winter Teaching Campaign Slated in Bahamas[edit]
Youth who travel to the Bahamas for the upcoming Winter Teaching Project will reap the harvest sown by the 25 American youth who taught in the islands in July and August, says Mary Louise Suhm, secretary of the International Goals Committee.
The Winter Project, coming only a few months before the formation of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the Bahamas, will be held in two parts, each of them two weeks long.
The dates for the first part are December 15–29, and for the second, December 29–January 12. Youth are welcome to participate in both parts if they are able.
The cost for food, shelter, and interisland travel for two weeks is $150, while the cost for four weeks is only $200.
BOTH RATES exclude air fare. From Chicago, a round-trip ticket to the Bahamas is $270; from New York, it is $242, and from Miami, $66. Mrs. Suhm suggests “shopping around,” however.
Ideally, at least 25 youth and three supervisors will be able to teach during each two-week segment of the project.
The International Goals Committee says there was an overabundance of girls for the summer project, and is striving to have a more diverse group for winter teaching, one that will more fully exemplify the Bahá’í belief of unity in diversity.
Teaching will be concentrated in three areas: West End, Grand Bahama; the island of Abaco; and in Nassau, New Providence.
If you are unable to teach in the Bahamas this winter but could do so at another time, the International Goals Committee would be happy to hear from you, says Mrs. Suhm. A continuous flow of teachers to the islands is needed.
ONE YOUTH who participated in the summer project said it was wonderful to have the freedom to teach and to mention God.
Several of the youth did not want to leave when it came time to end the month-long project.
If you are able to teach in the Bahamas or elsewhere, contact the International Goals Committee, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091.
Organize, Groups Urged By Teaching Committee[edit]
With only a year and a half remaining in the Five Year Plan, the U.S. Bahá’í community must form more than 400 additional Local Spiritual Assemblies to reach the goal of 1,400 by Riḍván 1979.
Since there are presently more than 300 Groups of nine or more members who have not formed Assemblies, the National Teaching Committee is urging that they consider carefully the obligation to form and study the procedures involved in Assembly formation.
The goal of every Bahá’í Group is to become a divine institution, a new Local Spiritual Assembly.
The first step in the process is for the Group to organize itself by electing officers and reporting this to the National Teaching Committee.
GROUPS re-elect their officers each year. The benefits of this to the Group are many, some of which are listed here:
- Receipt of the Feast letter from the National Spiritual Assembly.
- Receipt of the Treasurer’s Feast letter.
- Receipt of material and information on publications and other materials from the Bahá’í Publishing Trust.
- The Group may maintain a library account with the Publishing Trust.
- Receipt of The American Bahá’í for the community.
- Learning to work together to establish unity and lay the foundation for becoming an Assembly.
- Developing coordinated teaching activities.
When a Group is large enough to think about forming an Assembly, it should take part in a “Pre-Formation Seminar” administered by the District Teaching Committee or the sponsoring Local Spiritual Assembly.
THE NATIONAL Spiritual Assembly then gives the authorization to proceed with the formation of the new Assembly after making certain that all Bahá’ís in the Group are members in good standing and that the area of jurisdiction or boundaries of the about-to-form Assembly are clearly defined.
While most communities do not have boundary problems, across the country unusual situations can occur that should be cleared up before an Assembly is formed.
Each Assembly following the process for formation and forming for the first time during the Bahá’í year will be recognized by the National Spiritual Assembly within 48 hours after the paperwork reaches the Bahá’í National Center.
The National Spiritual Assembly also wishes to give special recognition to each newly-formed Assembly.
A special program has been developed to celebrate the formation, and a gift will be sent from the National Spiritual Assembly to the new Local Spiritual Assembly in addition to a certificate of recognition.
To help the entire Bahá’í community share in the joy of the new formation, a photograph of the new Assembly will be published in The American Bahá’í.
Protect Relics, Friends Asked[edit]
The National Spiritual Assembly is concerned that Bahá’í papers and books vital to future Bahá’í historians are being lost.
It is imperative that those possessing such items take appropriate measures to ensure that they are not destroyed or lost to the Faith and to future Bahá’í historians.
Individuals can take one of two steps to preserve these materials. They can give their Bahá’í papers and books to the National Bahá’í Archives or to a local Bahá’í archives while they are still living, or they can make specific provisions in their wills that such items be given to a local Bahá’í archives or to the National Bahá’í Archives.
Either measure will ensure their safety. Individuals are free to dispose of their papers and books as they desire; but if they wish to preserve them for the Faith, they need to take positive legal action now.
The National Spiritual Assembly also requests that Bahá’ís inheriting papers from early believers consult with the National Bahá’í Archives Committee before disposing of any acquired documents.
The National Archives Committee is interested in correspondence among early Bahá’ís and in manuscripts and other materials that may be of significant historical value.
The National Bahá’í Archives Committee is at the Bahá’í National Center, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091.
Teachers Travel To Aid New York[edit]
While by August the Bahá’ís in the Western New York Teaching District had received no formal commitments from Local Spiritual Assemblies in neighboring states to help them win their goals, they had received aid in the form of Bahá’í teachers from states farther away.
Douglas and Sharon Wright, from Anoka, Minnesota, spent 18 days in New York teaching the Faith.
A Bahá’í youth, L.F. Strain, from Greencastle, Indiana, made his way directly from the 4th Bahá’í National Youth Conference to New York. He spent two weeks teaching in the Western District before going to the Eastern District.
Many New Yorkers also are traveling teaching in the state, some under the auspices of the Rochester Spiritual Assembly, which is sponsoring groups of three or four people from area communities to teach at least once a week in goal localities.
The goal localities, chosen by the District Teaching Committee, are no more than an hour’s drive from Rochester. The nearness of the goal localities to Rochester allows that Assembly to work closely with new believers brought in by the groups.
People who normally see each other socially are usually placed in the same group, with the idea that they will be more likely to see one another during the week and plan their teaching trips.
Each group is given a specific goal, whether it be to bring a locality to solid Group status (five believers is considered “solid” by the Rochester Assembly) or to bring a Group to Assembly status.
After a month of teaching, the groups met to discuss their experiences and ways of resolving problems encountered. At that time, each group had faithfully visited its goal once a week, and some groups had made contact with local citizens.
The groups are leaning toward teaching individuals more so than holding proclamations. One way of contacting individuals, mentioned by District Teaching Committee Secretary Karen Atkinson, is to return to the same restaurant each week until the frequent visits are noticed and questions asked.
Gregory Institute Seeks Volunteer[edit]
The Louis G. Gregory Bahá’í Institute needs a volunteer to assist with the ongoing children’s program for Bahá’í and non-Bahá’í families from communities surrounding the Institute.
Any interested person experienced or trained in working with children and organizing educational programs, who is able to make at least a one-month commitment, is asked to submit a resume and Local Spiritual Assembly recommendation to: Louis G. Gregory Bahá’í Institute, Route 2, Box 71, Hemingway, SC 29554.
During the spring and summer months, these area children developed great interest in the Institute and attended many regular and special events there. They are an important part of the teaching and consolidation work in that area of the country.
Neighboring States Promise To Help Illinois Win Goals[edit]
Iowa, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, and Wisconsin have one important attribute in common: friends from each of these states are helping Illinois win its Five Year Plan goals.
Davenport, Iowa, for example, is sending three of its Local Spiritual Assembly members, and possibly two other believers as well, to homefront pioneer in Illinois.
The Groups in Silvis and Andalusia, Illinois, will be able to form Spiritual Assemblies when these homefront pioneers arrive.
The Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of St. Louis held a two-day institute in August to inspire Missouri believers to help win Illinois’ goals along the border between the two states. Homefront pioneering was strongly encouraged.
Two Spiritual Assemblies in Indiana have offered assistance. One of them, the newly-formed Spiritual Assembly of Evansville, has committed itself to open two counties. The other is the Spiritual Assembly of Terre Haute, which has adopted three counties where individual Illinois believers also have goals.
One Bahá’í from a Group in Henderson, Kentucky, has promised to open Gallatin County, Illinois.
Why are the friends in neighboring states offering to help Illinois?
Says Patricia Jackson, Illinois Regional Teaching Committee secretary: “The moment Bahá’í communities in nearby states realize they have a responsibility to help us win our goals, they are ready to do so.
“Entry by troops in Illinois will help them win their goals too. It has to start with California, New York, and Illinois. The other states are counting on Illinois to win its goals quickly so they can win their goals.”
George Hill (left), chairman of the Bahá’í Media Council of Los Angeles County; Verna Johnson, Orange County Public Relations Committee; and Anthony Temple, Long Beach Bahá’í Public Information Service, discuss the outstanding successes and increased media usage in Southern California resulting from media workshops that were held recently in the five-county area around Los Angeles.
Media Workshops a Success[edit]
Bahá’ís in Los Angeles, Orange, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, and Ventura counties in California recently attended media workshops sponsored by Local Spiritual Assemblies and the Bahá’í Media Council of Los Angeles County, an intercommunity committee whose aim is to foster more effective media use.
“The objectives of the workshops,” according to George Hill, chairman of the Media Council, “are to share knowledge about using the media more effectively and to share experiences we’ve had in proper media use. We discuss items such as publicity, media relations, and advertising.”
Emphasis is placed on using newspapers, because every community has at least one paper in its jurisdiction.
Eight editors of daily or weekly papers were guest speakers at the workshops. Two public service directors from radio stations also shared information.
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‘Flowers of One Garden’ Is Theme for Universal Children’s Day[edit]
“Ye are the flowers of one garden” is the theme chosen by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) for Universal Children’s Day, to be held in October.
Kits containing a poster designed by Eliane Hopson, a New York Bahá’í, as well as French, English, and Spanish versions of the song “Ye are the flowers of one garden” are being sent around the world to groups in UNICEF countries that host Children’s Day events.
The Bahá’í Writings will be cited as the source of the quote.
Nancy Mondshein, associate representative to the United Nations for the United States Bahá’í community, says, “It is hoped that Bahá’í communities across the country will be able to take advantage of this unique teaching opportunity.”
She said kits will be mailed to Bahá’í communities as soon as they are printed.
She also reported that the United States Committee for UNICEF has been consulting with the Bahá’í office at the United Nations regarding the selection of a ‘Oneness of Mankind’ theme for International Children’s Year, coming up in 1979.
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Update from the Bahá’í Publishing Trust
To order: Order through Community Librarians if possible! Personal orders, enclose full payment plus $.75 handling charge for orders under $5.00. Order from Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 415 Linden Ave., Wilmette, IL 60091. |
In Madison Heights or Potosi, Bahá’í Love Is Key[edit]
It’s a long way from Madison Heights, Michigan, to Potosi, Bolivia.
More than mere distance is involved. Culturally, the town of Potosi, high in the Andes mountains, and Madison Heights, a medium-sized city in the heart of America’s Midwest, are literally worlds apart.
But Potosí was home for more than four years for Jim Selph, a 26-year-old American from Madison Heights whose burning ambition is to teach the Bahá’í Faith to South American Indians.
Jim’s first experience in teaching the Faith outside the U.S. came in 1970 when, as a new Bahá’í, he was invited to Panama.
It was while in Panama that Jim realized he wanted to pioneer somewhere to teach the Faith to Indians.
THERE WERE two reasons behind the desire: first, he was enthralled by what the Writings say about the role of indigenous peoples in the Faith; and second, Amatu’l-Bahá Rúḥíyyih Khánum spoke to him about the great importance of teaching Indians.
Jim’s plans to pioneer were delayed, however, when a draft notice arrived.
He served as a medical corpsman in Vietnam, meanwhile preparing to pioneer by saving his money.
Upon his discharge, Jim called the International Goals Committee to let them know he was available. Six weeks later he was in Bolivia.
When he arrived, the National Spiritual Assembly of Bolivia met with him to decide where he should be sent.
SINCE JIM was young, single, enjoyed rugged outdoor activity and was not averse to eating foods that might be considered unusual by American standards, he asked to be sent to someplace difficult to settle, preferably a jungle area.
Instead, he was sent to Potosi, far up in the Andes, where there had once been a Local Spiritual Assembly.
Two steadfast Bahá’ís still lived in Potosi. There were other Bahá’ís in nearby areas, but they had not been visited by pioneers or traveling teachers in some time.
Jim wasted no time in getting to the business at hand. He was appointed to the Regional Teaching Committee, and began visiting local villages where Bahá’ís lived, as well as unopened villages, on its behalf.
In his spare time, Jim concentrated on becoming fluent in the language.
“TALK ABOUT ‘culture shock’ isn’t necessarily true if you know the language,” he says. “It’s harder to love people, however, if you can’t talk to them. Once you love them, they become receptive.”
Jim’s teaching work brought him in contact with every level of society in Bolivia, from the poorest to the wealthiest, from educated to illiterate, from city dwellers to rural people, and from children to university students.
The “poor” people are generally more immediately receptive, he says, while students and more educated people investigate the Faith in a thorough manner.
Pioneers must concentrate on their own spiritual development, he says, because they are in a position to help the Cause or harm it by the impression they make in the country in which they live.
THEY MUST understand, too, he adds, that the Administrative Order is there to aid teaching, and shouldn’t insist on hard and fast rules of administration as long as there is unity and the friends are moving forward with the teaching work.
Jim’s perseverance in Potosi was rewarded with the re-establishment of its Local Spiritual Assembly. Last year he was appointed an Auxiliary Board member and moved from Potosí to a jungle town in Bolivia, there to begin again the teaching process.
Jim says a prospective pioneer should begin with prayer and determine whether his motive is pure.
Pioneering, he says, must be done solely for the love of Bahá’u’lláh.
Pray for the doors to open, Jim advises, and meet with your Local Spiritual Assembly and the International Goals Committee for guidance.
HE ALSO offers this advice to would-be pioneers:
Finish whatever preparation is necessary for pioneering, whether it is getting an education, saving enough money, finding a job, or learning another language.
Set a goal date for leaving. Try to be practical and have a workable plan, but be flexible too.
Think about how to teach the Faith while supporting yourself. For inspiration and guidance, read biographies of outstanding Bahá’í teachers such as Martha Root and Agnes Alexander.
And above all, he says, deepen yourself by reading the Writings so that you will always carry with you a heart overflowing with love for everyone you meet, whether it is in Potosi, Bolivia, or Madison Heights, Michigan.
S.C. Teaching Aired at Gregory Meeting[edit]
The Louis Gregory Bahá’í Institute at Hemingway, South Carolina, was the site of a meeting July 23 to assess the progress of teaching efforts in the state.
Some 65 of the friends in South Carolina including representatives of the Regional Teaching Committee, District Teaching Committees and Local Spiritual Assemblies conferred with Glenford E. Mitchell, secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly, and John Conkling, secretary of the National Teaching Committee.
The meeting was a follow-up to a conference in January. Its purpose was to discuss teaching in South Carolina since then and to delineate tasks that must be carried out in the remaining months of the Five Year Plan.
The friends in South Carolina are optimistic about the teaching, and pointed out that in the Southern District alone, no fewer than 11 firesides are being held each week.
THE FRIENDS in that area, working through the Spiritual Assembly of Beaufort, are revisiting “mass-taught” communities and encouraging inactive believers to become involved in Bahá’í community life.
Two large Groups of more than nine believers are involved in this “cluster teaching” effort.
Mr. Mitchell praised the teaching efforts in South Carolina, but cautioned that while it is one thing to find souls who are prepared to receive the Message and to recognize the Manifestation of God for this day, it is quite another to impress upon them the obligation of obedience to His laws.
The new believer, he said, has the twin obligations of recognition and obedience. Neither, he said, is acceptable without the other.
Mr. Mitchell urged that every teaching effort include adequate plans for deepening the declarants so that the community might rest on a solid and secure foundation.
He reminded the friends that mass teaching in this country started at firesides in South Carolina, not on sidewalks, and said the harvest is yet to come in that state.
Auxiliary Board member Jalil Mahmoudi was the guest speaker at the Regional Youth Conference in Fort Collins, Colorado, April 16–17. Other Youth Conferences were held in Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Ohio and Texas, all in preparation for the 4th Bahá’í National Youth Conference June 29–July 3.
The Clovis–Fresno, California, Bahá’í Youth Club invited older members of the two communities to a Riḍván party in their honor this year. A cake with the inscription “In Honor of Your Service” was prepared and each of those invited shared remembrances of his or her experiences as a Bahá’í. Five of the nine members of the first Spiritual Assembly of Fresno attended. The program included the film of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá made during His visit to America, and a recording of the Master chanting a prayer.
Exchange Programs Beckon to Pioneers[edit]
Your university could be a good place to start for gaining entry into another country as a pioneer.
Often American universities have exchange programs with foreign universities, or if not, can help you enroll in a school overseas.
Graduating from a foreign university can improve one’s opportunity to receive a work permit to remain in that country. In addition, the time spent in school can be useful in fulfilling an international goal of the Five Year Plan.
Even if you study abroad for only two years, you could fill a goal during that time. The Universal House of Justice has said that in order for a goal to be counted as filled, a pioneer must stay in the goal country for a minimum of two years.
Contact the International Goals Committee, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091, if you are interested in pursuing pioneering from this angle.
Little Effort Goes Long Way[edit]
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KINDLE THE FIRE OF FAITH IN MEN’S HEARTS ...
Design for Victory, p. 6
TEACH WITH BOOKS.
For advice on books suitable for your needs, ask your local Bahá’í librarian, or write Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 415 Linden Ave., Wilmette, Illinois 60091. |
Every once in a while we see visible evidence of the bounties and confirmations that follow even the most modest effort in the Cause of God. For example, the following letter was received in July from the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Arvada, Colorado:
“Recently our Assembly sent funds for summer school scholarships to our district’s schools committee. The summer school registration deadline had passed, so as I sent the money on behalf of the Assembly I was afraid we were too late.
“As it turned out, our money was used to help two non-Bahá’í youth, both of American Indian descent, attend the school. After the summer school, the boys sent us a thank-you letter along with their photographs.
“We were quite touched, and thought that you might want to publish the letter to encourage other Assemblies to offer scholarships.”
Spiritual Assembly of Arvada, Colorado
Enclosed was this letter from the non-Bahá’í youngsters who attended the summer school on scholarship:
“Dear Friends,
“Hello, thanks for letting us go to camp it was a lot of fun. We were building a log cabin, we met a lot of new friends.
“The food was good. We ain’t Bahá’ís but we are going to ask our parents if we may become Bahá’ís.
“Terry Dale Oakes
“Manuel Cruz
“P.S.—Can we go next year!! PLEASE!”
To Youth, Happiness Is Work and Study[edit]
Summarizing the contents of letters may not seem exciting to some people, but to Heather McLane the experience was “great.”
Heather, from Downey, California, is one of six youth who participated in a Youth Work Study Project in August at the Bahá’í National Center in Wilmette, Illinois.
She had an opportunity to work at the National Archives office and to summarize letters from Martha Root, Louis G. Gregory and Lua Getsinger, among others, for inclusion with other memorabilia of the Faith in the Archives.
Twenty-year-old Betsy Weiss of Greencastle, Indiana, said she applied to work in the project because she felt it would be an ideal opportunity to combine deepening with service to the Faith.
SHE SPENT much of her time typing enrollment certificates and membership cards, and said later, “It’s neat how so many couples declare together.”
Laura Love, 19, grew up in a Bahá’í home and now lives in Rockville, Maryland, where she intends to study forestry at Montgomery Junior College this fall.
Laura was happy to be accepted for the project because it meant she could be near the House of Worship, which she said she considers her “home.”
Riaz Shahrokh, 15, from Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, was pleased with an incident that occurred at a local restaurant.
Riaz said that after the meal, the restaurant manager asked the group whether they were Bahá’ís.
THE YOUTHS said “yes,” and asked how it was he knew. He replied that their good conduct had given them away.
Sixteen-year-old Kim Armstrong from Cincinnati, Ohio, was so excited about the prospect of participating in the Work Study Project that she applied months in advance.
Kim said she was impressed that the National Center staff “treats us like people.” She said being close to the House of Worship gave her a “spiritual lift.”
Rooha Saffa, who attends high school in Mesa, Arizona, said she has considered herself a Bahá’í since she was nine years old and living in Guam.
Rooha said she was surprised by the amount of work that goes on at the National Center.
Classified Ads[edit]
HELP! Young college-age community of Bahá’ís seeks believers willing to be in the area for an extended period of time to provide some stability to the Bahá’í community in State College, Pennsylvania. This pleasant town of 60,000 people is the home of Penn State University; that population figure includes some 31,000 students. Write to Barbara I. Hancock, corresponding secretary, Spiritual Assembly of State College, P.O. Box 253, State College, PA 16801.
WANTED: Talented young professionals to aid the National Information Office on an occasional basis in publicizing the Faith. Services needed are those of script writers, journalists, photographers, television and radio producers, film producers, designers and graphic artists. Special help is needed in producing 30-second and 60-second PSA’s. Please write to the National Information Committee, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091.
THE LIBRARY and Program Development Center of the Louis G. Gregory Institute are in need of several copies of Some Answered Questions and any other Bahá’í books people might donate. Also, slides on all subjects are needed for composing teaching and consolidation programs for the Institute. Send to Route 2, Box 71, Hemingway, SC 29554.
TWO JOB positions are open at the Passamaquoddy Indian Reservation in northeastern Maine. The first position, that of a social services director, requires a college degree in sociology and/or psychology, and experience. The second position is that of a project development director. A degree in architecture and/or engineering is required, plus some experience. Applicants for both positions should be able to work with people. Both the positions are open immediately. Contact John Stevens, Indian Township Tribal Council, Box 301, Princeton, ME 04688. Phone (207) 796-2321.
THE DISTRICT Teaching Committee of Western South Carolina asks that prospective homefront pioneers consider moving to Newberry, to consolidate the Local Spiritual Assembly and to teach the Faith in the area. Contact the District Teaching Committee of Western South Carolina, 205 Pinehurst Drive, Greenwood, SC 29646.
THE JEOPARDIZED Spiritual Assembly of Grand Junction, Colorado, needs two adults to save it. Room and board may be furnished for one homefront pioneer, preferably a student over the age of 21. Contact Diana T. Carson, secretary, P.O. Box 2805, Grand Junction, CO 81501.
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Coming Next Month in The American Bahá’í |
Bosch
Continued From Page 1
his membership was rescinded in 1973.
“The incident itself was most distressing,” said Glenford E. Mitchell, secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly, “and we thank God that no one was harmed. However, the outcome is fraught with great teaching opportunities.
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FUND ADDRESSES National Bahá’í Fund, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091. Continental Bahá’í Fund, 418 Forest Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091. Bahá’í International Fund, P.O. Box 55, Haifa, Israel 31-000 |
“With the Five Year Plan nearing its end, and the need for teaching the Cause with courage and audacity greater than ever before, the Bosch incident serves as a reminder of the spiritual resources we must draw upon to win the goals of the Plan.
“We sincerely hope that the friends throughout the country have been inspired by the faith and courage demonstrated by the hostages and that their example, so reminiscent of the heroism of the Dawnbreakers, will galvanize the teaching work.”