The American Bahá’í/Volume 8/Issue 12/Text
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Shown here are some of the thousands of letters and postcards that were forwarded to the Bahá’í National Center for prayers at the House of Worship following the Victory Weekend sessions in September.
Victory Campaign Spurs Teaching Upswing[edit]
Preliminary results of the Victory Campaign’s month of firesides, with reports still arriving daily in mid-October at the National Teaching Committee office, showed 2,915 firesides held and 96 enrollments. Eighteen of the new Bahá’ís are youth.
An unmeasurable but consistently reported result, according to John Conkling, secretary of the National Teaching Committee, is that there has been a change of attitude, an awakening and a new sense of commitment among Bahá’ís across the country.
“I believe the Victory Campaign has proven to be a catalyst for growth we won’t really see until much later,” he said. “The results of teaching activities now going on will continue to be felt for some time.”
LITERALLY thousands of prayers have been said at the Bahá’í House of Worship for individuals whose names were received on some 5,830 postcards and lists sent to the Bahá’í National Center following the Victory Weekend September 10–11.
The Bahá’í community in Yellow Springs-Clifton, Ohio, sent in its entire five-page telephone directory with a note attached: “We feel that the whole community needs prayers at the House of Worship.”
Of enrollments processed during the first two weeks of the fireside month, 16 were from California, four from Illinois, five from New York state, and 70 from the rest of the country.
Indian Assembly Goal Surpassed![edit]
To the American Indian Teaching Committee:
Hail with joyful hearts completion on eve anniversary birth beloved Founder our Faith formation 25 Assemblies on Indian Reservations, marking first Five Year Plan victory on homefront. Our warmest thanks go to your committee, various pioneers and teachers who have worked tirelessly to make this signal accomplishment possible. Fervently praying news this victory will galvanize spirit of believers throughout United States enabling them to arise with new determination to win every remaining goal Plan.
November 11, 1977
With this telegram the National Spiritual Assembly acknowledged the marvelous news that the American Indian Teaching Committee had kept a promise made at the Bahá’í National Convention last May that there would be at least 25 Local Spiritual Assemblies on Indian Reservations in the U.S. before the 160th anniversary of the birth of Bahá’u’lláh on November 12.
The honor of becoming the 25th Indian Assembly to form, thus enabling the U.S. to win its first homefront victory of the Five Year Plan, went to the Spiritual Assembly of the Cherokee Indian Reservation in western North Carolina.
Staff Applicants Sought
Louhelen Center Plans Rounding Into Shape[edit]
For the past several years, the National Spiritual Assembly has deliberated on the future of the Davison Bahá’í School in Davison, Michigan. With the recent addition of some 44 acres of land to the original school property of approximately 12 acres, it became possible to consider the establishment of a major facility to house a comprehensive educational program.
After consulting the Universal House of Justice the National Assembly approved, in March 1977, the redevelopment of the school and renamed it the Louhelen Educational Center.
The vision for the new Louhelen Educational Center was inspired by the statement of the Guardian that as Bahá’ís we should make every effort to provide services that are distinctive, progressive and worthy of emulation.
In God Passes By, pp. 340–341, Shoghi Effendi articulates the lofty functions of Bahá’í educational institutions, and in numerous letters he extols, in particular, the promising future of the Louhelen School:
Shoghi Effendi feels very strongly that Louhelen should, in every way, be safeguarded as a Bahá’í institution ... It has grown to be one of the most important and one of the most valuable centers of Bahá’í learning, and should be maintained at all cost.
(From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual dated 10 December 1942)
... this institution (Central States Bahá’í Summer School) ... is fair to develop into one of the leading and
ID Card Change Set[edit]
The National Spiritual Assembly has announced that beginning in January 1978, Bahá’í identification cards valid for three years will be mailed from the Bahá’í National Center to every believer in the U.S.
Those who enter the Faith after January will receive identification cards that also have a 1981 expiration date. The new identification system replaces one in which Local Spiritual Assemblies issued the cards to their community members, while Groups and isolated believers received identification cards from the Bahá’í National Center.
More Than 100 Groups Near Assembly Status[edit]
While the number of Local Spiritual Assemblies in the U.S. remains below the 1,000 mark, with a goal of 1,400 Assemblies to be formed by the end of the Five Year Plan at Riḍván 1979, the over-all picture is considerably brighter than it may appear at first glance.
As of October 15, according to the National Teaching Committee, there were some 103 active groups of seven or eight Bahá’ís in this country. Upwards of 90 new Assemblies could be quickly formed, says the committee, if as few as 144 of the friends were to relocate to these target communities.
To make such relocation easier, the National Spiritual Assembly has set aside $100,000 from this year’s Bahá’í National Center budget for a homefront deputization fund. Money from the fund is available to those who move to a community in order to assure the formation of a Local Spiritual Assembly.
The deputization fund may be used for assistance in traveling, a bus ticket, rent deposit, or some other legitimate need that if not met would prevent someone who wishes to do so from filling an Assembly goal.
DISTRICT Teaching Committees are authorized to apply to the National Teaching Committee for deputization grants to homefront pioneers who agree to remain at their posts at least until the end of the Five Year Plan.
Applicants should contact their District Teaching Committee or the National Teaching Committee. Assemblies and individuals are of course encouraged to
Green Lake Focuses On Teaching Challenge[edit]
A thousand Bahá’ís and their guests met for the 18th annual Green Lake Conference in Green Lake, Wisconsin, September 16–18, just one weekend after the Victory Sessions.
In keeping with the conference theme—“Come and Pick the Flowers”—everyone wore chrysanthemums that were passed out during the opening session on Saturday.
The weekend topics focused on the history, methods and challenges of teaching the Faith, with the idea that the time is ripe to pick the flowers from the garden of humanity.
A surprise speaker on Saturday evening was the Hand of the Cause William Sears. He brought with him the painting of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá that had been shown in New York City, Washington, D.C., Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles during the Victory Weekend.
MR. SEARS urged the friends to “make the fireside month 31 days that shake the world! We want our children and grandchildren to say, ‘Oh, you should have been there in September 1977 when the Bahá’ís arose from coast to coast.’
“If you’re not active in this Day, for what day are you waiting to be active? There’s no hope anywhere else; we’re the ones who
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FLIGHT Top Bahá’í Musicians Fly High on New Album
A collection of 14 original songs by Bahá’ís will soon be released by the Bahá’í Publishing Trust in an album titled Flight.
“I’ve reviewed albums produced by Bahá’ís around the world, and this one is technically the best,” says Claude Caswell, production manager for audio-visual materials at the Bahá’í Publishing Trust. “There’s a point at which you move from an amateur level to a professional one, particularly cost-wise. We’ve gone a long way toward that point with this album.”
The album’s diverse musical styles range from the soft sound of England Dan and John Ford Coley on “The Greatest Name” and “The Prisoner” to the sophisticated instrumentation of Do’a on “Flight,” the title song, and the rhythm and blues of John and Sharon Barnes.
“I believe this is the first time an album of songs about the Faith has included rhythm and blues,” says Mr. Caswell. “But primarily, the album contains variations of folk-rock. Not the one voice–one guitar sound of the ’60s; this has the full instrumentation and subtlety of an album of the ’70s.”
EIGHT OF the album’s selections were taken from recordings made by the National Information Office at the St. Louis Conference in 1974. Performers’ best numbers were recorded at a rented studio.
“When we contacted the musicians to let them know we wished to use their material for Flight, and to gain their permission for copyright, some of them sent us more recent recordings, especially Do’a and England Dan and John Ford Coley, who have made great advances in their careers since 1974,” says Mr. Caswell.
“The album was mixed at a high-quality professional studio, and mastered—transferred from tape to disc—with the most advanced computerized equipment the industry has to offer. We’ve gone first-class with this album all the way,” he adds.
FLIGHT MARKS marks the first time the Publishing Trust has been involved in producing an album. The Bahá’í Victory Chorus and Fire and Snow, although marketed through the Bahá’í Publishing Trust, were produced by Bahá’í groups and individuals independent of the Trust.
Another album is planned for production soon. Musicians who would like to audition should send tapes to the Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 415 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091.
Several of the performers whose work can be heard on Flight have albums of their own: England Dan and John Ford Coley, Do’a, and Donna Kime Barbre. Many of the other performers also are professional musicians.
“Our basic criterion for choosing the material was quality. We picked the best technically-produced songs,” says Mr. Caswell, adding that although only two of the 14 songs refer specifically to the flight or progress of the soul—the title song by Do’a, and “I Would Fly,” by Solomon Atkins—all the album’s songs concern development of the soul through knowledge of the universal principles of the Bahá’í Faith.
The album title, he says, was inspired by a quote from the Writings: “A wonderful song giveth wings to the spirit and filleth the heart with exaltation.”
Flight will be available in January 1978 from the Bahá’í Publishing Trust. The price is $5.50.
‘Call to Remembrance’ Links Fund, Covenant[edit]
“A Call to Remembrance,” a filmstrip depicting the life of Bahá’u’lláh, was presented at October’s District Conventions by the 86 newly-appointed National Treasurer’s Representatives.
Produced by the Office of the Treasurer, the filmstrip is intended to inspire the believers to rise to greater service.
The National Treasurer’s Representatives are charged with the responsibility of increasing the American Bahá’í community’s understanding of the Fund.
“The foundation of the Fund is the Covenant,” said Dan Ware, a staff member at the Treasurer’s Office. “The Covenant was Bahá’u’lláh’s gift to mankind. By recalling His life, we can see the great sacrifices He made to bring this gift to us.”
REPORTS coming in to the Office of the Treasurer indicate that “A Call to Remembrance” was well-received throughout the country.
“Many people wanted to know how to get copies of the filmstrip,” said Mr. Ware. “It can’t be made available for purchase, but any community that would like to see it can contact the NTR for their area and request a showing.”
He also noted that NTRs in many states already have begun to conduct deepenings with the material.
David Young, NTR for Northern California, explained that the filmstrip is “one example of our heightened awareness that the Fund is a part of the Covenant.
“By focusing on the Blessed Beauty, we can more easily remember what a privilege it is to give to the Fund. It’s the material for building the New World Order.”
Washington State Sets Bahá’í Winter School[edit]
A Bahá’í Winter School will be held at Fort Worden State Park in Port Townsend, Washington, from December 30 to January 2. The theme of the school is “Key to Future Civilization—Our Children.” To register, contact C. Edward Knight, 3927 Banner Road S.E., Port Orchard, WA 98366.
The Albany, Oregon, Bahá’í community presented the book and cassette package, “The Gift”, to the children’s section of the Albany Waverly Branch Library on July 26. Six-year-old Shannon Higgins (right) made the presentation to librarian Lynn Wynn along with two other Bahá’í children, 3-year-old Bryan Higgins (kneeling) and 2-year-old James Carter. The Spanish version of the book, entitled “El Regalo”, also was presented.
More than 1,000 people in Springfield, Oregon, saw this trophy-winning float featuring the Words of Bahá’u’lláh in the second annual Fourth of July parade. The Bahá’ís of Springfield won first prize in the parade’s Heritage division with the float displaying the words, “Ye Are the Flowers of One Garden,” and including banners and hundreds of paper flowers. Total cost for the float, which was manned by children from several Bahá’í communities in the area, was less than $25.
Bahá’í History Course Sparks Repercussions[edit]
When a course on the history of the Faith was offered this autumn at a junior college in Freeport, Illinois, it had repercussions in four counties.
The Bahá’í Group in Freeport had no idea this would happen. The course proposal, submitted in September, said the development of the Bahá’í Faith would be traced and Bahá’í beliefs would be compared with those of other religions. The class would meet once a week in eight sessions as part of the adult education series.
Public attention came when course descriptions were listed in several newspapers and mailed to every home in Carroll, Jo Daviess, Ogle and Stephenson counties.
A MINISTER who is a friend of one of the Bahá’ís telephoned on September 17, shortly after the mailing. He said a pastor in Shannon, 10 miles from Freeport, had written ministers in the area asking them to oppose the Bahá’í course.
The pastor’s letter condemned the Faith and said it is unconstitutional for a comparative religion course to be offered at a state junior college. The same pastor also urged his congregation to oppose the course.
A week after the telephone call, the Freeport newspaper printed a letter from a couple in Jo Daviess County who thought the course should not be offered. They said it would be unconstitutional.
Dick Rundall, a Bahá’í and instructor for the course, responded with a letter to the paper.
He said the Faith is not a “cult,” as referred to in the first letter, but an independent world religion. He mentioned the membership of the Bahá’í International Community at the United Nations. He said a comparative religion course cannot be considered unconstitutional as long as no proselytizing occurs.
WHEN MR. Rundall arrived for the first class on September 29, he was told by the college dean that the administration had received six letters and numerous telephone calls opposing the course.
Mr. Rundall was then shown a two-and-one-half page letter composed by the dean and college president. They had researched the Faith in the college library, and concluded that the course should be offered. That was the essence of the letter.
Feeling that misunderstandings needed to be addressed, Mr. Rundall’s wife, Ann, called two radio stations and asked the management if they would like to air programs on the Faith.
One station conducted a 15-minute interview with Debbie Kloby, a Bahá’í from South Carolina who was traveling in the area. It was aired both morning and afternoon on October 2.
The second station invited Mr. Rundall and Ron Bolin, a Freeport Bahá’í, to be guests for a half-hour in a talk show format. Many listeners phoned in questions, and some calls were still waiting when the show was over.
IN THE meantime, the dean of the junior college had met with the Freeport Ministerial Association. The Association said it was in favor of comparative religion courses and would like to see more of them offered.
Of the students registered for the course, three are not Bahá’ís.
Mr. Rundall said he and his wife will propose a course next semester that will teach students how to prepare children’s classes for teaching spiritual values.
Mr. Rundall said many junior colleges are willing to offer an interesting or unusual course at least once to see what the public response is. If eight to 10 people enroll, the school administration will usually consider public interest high enough to warrant continuing the class.
The Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Hialeah, Florida[edit]
The Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Hialeah, Florida, was formed in September. Standing (left to right) are Douglas Honaker, Martin Roth, Wayne Jones, Kathy Jones, George Demas, Francine Levy, Maxine Roth. Kneeling are Ben Levy, Kathleen Demas.
Chicago Media Push Centers on ‘Reunion’[edit]
“We’re all members of one family,” began the radio spots that were aired on four stations in the Chicago area from September 26–October 16. They were part of a comprehensive media proclamation sponsored by the Spiritual Assembly of Chicago and supported by 24 Local Assemblies in the Chicago metropolitan area.
The radio spots were complemented by flyers, handbills, lapel buttons worn by individual Bahá’ís, bumper stickers, newspaper ads, and posters at 25 selected rapid transit stops.
The 60-second spots were broadcast 132 times and were heard an estimated 3.5 million times cumulatively in the metropolitan area. Of exposures to the spots, nearly two million are estimated to have been women.
The four stations that aired the spots were chosen for their appeal to the 25- to 35-year-old listening audience, as the campaign was geared toward young parents who are concerned about the future of their children.
“THE TIME is right for a family reunion—to heal our differences and create understanding,” the radio spots continued.
Family solidarity, which was considered of importance to the target audience, was portrayed in posters and ads featuring a typical “family reunion” photo: three generations of a “family,” facing the camera and smiling broadly. The difference was that the family in the picture included members of every race and from obviously diverse cultural backgrounds.
To open the media campaign, the “family reunion” photo was used with the caption, “The Bahá’í Faith: Really Together,” in a full-page ad in the September issue of Chicago magazine.
The idea for an area-wide media campaign, first mentioned in September 1976, took a year to develop. In the meantime the Chicago Assembly, 14 Assemblies from nearby communities and states, and the Regional Teaching Committee met together to discuss and plan the project.
A solid proposal for the campaign was made last June. It was to cost $20,000 and run from September 1 to the end of November.
AS IT turned out, the communities involved raised only $14,000; the length of the campaign was left unchanged, but fewer radio spots were aired than originally planned.
“We hoped to break new ground with the campaign,” said Larry Kramer, a member of the Spiritual Assembly of Chicago, “and to reach people we hadn’t been meeting on an individual basis.”
One way this was done was through firesides. “This month and next,” the radio spots declared, “Bahá’ís will be inviting you into their homes for informal discussions on unity and ways to achieve it.”
Invitations to be used for the firesides were printed with the “family reunion” theme and distributed to participating Bahá’í communities for use by individual believers.
The aid of the believers also was enlisted to take calls at the Chicago Bahá’í Center from people responding to the media campaign.
THE FIRST week brought 35 calls as a result of the radio spot, and four as a result of the ad in Chicago magazine. One person who called was referred to a fireside, attended and declared. People from some 13 metropolitan communities responded during that first week.
Names of the callers were forwarded to the appropriate Bahá’í communities so they could be invited to firesides.
“Some of those who responded were quite positive about attending a fireside,” said Betty Ann Redson, a member of the Illinois Regional Teaching Committee and secretary of the Spiritual Assembly of Chicago who compiled statistics on the phone responses. “Most just wanted literature. One man called three times and asked that someone visit him.
“Basically,” she continued, “we wanted individual Bahá’ís up front with material to invite seekers into their homes.”
One of the objectives of the campaign, believed to have been accomplished, was to “stimulate a higher level of coordinated activity among Bahá’í communities that will result in a greater sense of fellowship and unity,” said Mrs. Redson.
Or, as the radio spots summed it up: “The Bahá’í Faith: Really Together.”
Mail Bag
Victory Weekend Kindles Joy, Unity[edit]
Dear Friends:
We want to take a moment to share with you the overwhelming joy and unity we felt upon returning home from our Victory Weekend.
Under the sponsorship of the Spiritual Assembly of Hamilton Township, Bahá’ís from Mercer and Atlantic counties, New Jersey, joined together for this weekend on individual teaching.
Overnight camping facilities were secured so the friends could totally immerse themselves in the tapes, free from outside distractions.
Twenty-six people attended the sessions, including several non-Bahá’ís. Here are some of the pledges set for the remaining time in the Five Year Plan: 24 to hold one personal fireside every 19 days; 21 to make efforts to see that Trenton, New Jersey, is returned to Assembly status by Riḍván 1979; 20 to aid New York in winning its goals; five to go international traveling teaching; two to homefront pioneer in Trenton, and one to pioneer in Africa.
Almost everyone completed postcards with the name of an individual he felt would be receptive to the Message of Bahá’u’lláh. After each of the tapes, we also played the “Each One Teach One” filmstrip. It became our weekend theme song.
Twenty-five of the friends attended a Pioneer Training Institute at the Bahá’í House of Worship August 11–14. Eleven of them already have filled posts in the Bahamas, the Leeward and Virgin Islands, and Nigeria. Others were training at the institute to pioneer to Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Japan, Paraguay, Portugal, Puerto Rico, St. Helena and Thailand. The next Pioneer Institutes, by invitation only, will be held January 5–8 and March 30–April 2.
Thank you, on behalf of all who attended, for a most inspiring weekend. We all have rededicated our efforts to this beloved Cause of God.
Public Information Representative
Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís
of Hamilton Township, New Jersey
Dear Bahá’í friends:
To list the Bahá’í Holy Days in the public school calendar in our county, we approached the school-services person, who is in charge of the religious calendar.
Some non-Christian holidays already were listed. The Greek Orthodox and Jewish holidays had been listed for at least three years.
All we had to do was present our calendar and a separate sheet containing a listing of Holy Days. Once it was approved, we were told to submit an updated listing each year before the calendar deadline.
We have had quite a few comments from teachers and some friends who are not Bahá’ís.
Savannah, Georgia
Beloved National Spiritual Assembly:
Thank you from the bottom of my heart for the wonderful Victory Weekend.
What a joy it was to learn in such an inspiring and gentle manner. My efforts will be consecrated in remembrance of your sacrifice and devotion.
Redmond, Washington
Beloved Friends:
Although I have read many selections from “Gleanings From the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh,” I had never read it from front to back, so I finally took it upon myself to do just that, and am very glad I am doing so.
There are so many little gems to discover that I am thoroughly enjoying each page.
When I think of our Fund and its needs, I realize that each one of us needs to do his part, that the individuals make up the whole. It seems sometimes that we Bahá’ís are waiting for some kind of miracle to happen that will make the Fund healthy and increase enrollments.
After reading more of “Gleanings,” I see that the miracle is that we, as Bahá’ís, have the honor of having recognized Bahá’u’lláh, and that we are alive in this Most Great Day.
It seems to me, more and more, that if we are to invest in anything, we should invest in our Faith. For without the healing Message of Bahá’u’lláh, there will be no future in which to invest.
On p. 143 of “Gleanings,” the last half of the page, there is an important reminder that just because no one else is acting doesn’t mean that you or I should be forgetful or inactive: “For the faith of no man can be conditioned by anyone except himself.”
If we need an example, we should of course look to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.
I want to see our Faith grow and be healthy, and the Fund as an indicator of that health says we have a way to go. I pray we may all continue to grow and develop, and that all of us, myself included, can find something each 19 days to send to our Fund.
East Missoula, Montana
Beloved friends:
I would like to share this story with the believers as a wonderful teaching story; a demonstration of the unifying spirit felt at conferences, and in our own communities, especially when we are enthusiastically teaching; and as an example of the love, enthusiasm and energy of Bahá’í youth.
Among the non-Bahá’ís attending the National Youth Conference at Champaign was my sister. She didn’t declare at the conference, but fell in love with the Bahá’ís and had a wonderful time.
She then came to Casper, Wyoming, to spend the summer with me. The second weekend after our arrival, Casper hosted Wyoming’s first intensive teaching project. Although my sister still had not declared, she was very active in the teaching project. She participated in all the sessions, said prayers and went out with the teaching teams.
She was truly a radiant participant, our only youth, contributing that spirit of youth so exciting to see.
On August 1, after going out for the afternoon with a follow-up team, she declared her faith in Bahá’u’lláh.
Though the summer is over and the reporting of this event is past due, the message is still vital. The spirit of a community, when teaching together, is stimulating.
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Carib Indian Enrolled The National Spiritual Assembly of Barbados and the Windward Islands recently sent to the Universal House of Justice the triumphant news that the first Carib Indian believer has been enrolled in the Faith in Dominica. |
The youth in our communities play a vital role in upraising the Banner of Bahá’u’lláh for all to see. They and their contributions to our communities are not to be underestimated.
Casper, Wyoming
Louhelen Center Plans Rounding Into Shape[edit]
Continued From Page 1
most promising cultural centers of the Cause throughout the United States.
(From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual dated 24 June 1937)
... it (the Louhelen School) will grow in the future to be a seat of Bahá’í education.
(From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual dated 10 April 1947)
Every believer, no matter what his gifts and position, has something to contribute to the growth of the school, and it is only by means of such collective support that Louhelen can gradually develop into a true cultural and educational Bahá’í center.
(From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual dated 8 November 1937)
In keeping with these ideals, the National Spiritual Assembly, together with its committees, consultants, and the Louhelen Council, is in the process of developing the programs and designing the facilities to accommodate these particular programs. This is a unique opportunity to design the facilities specially so that they fit the particular purposes, hopes and aspirations of the American Bahá’í community.
This approach represents a major departure from the usual way of planning educational facilities where the buildings are designed in the absence of any clear understanding of how a program and its purposes should determine the creation of architectural form.
During the National Convention last April, the National Assembly outlined two kinds of programs which it approved for the new Louhelen Educational Center: a Bahá’í program for the Bahá’í community, and one designed for the public at large, which also includes Bahá’ís wishing to participate.
Program for Bahá’ís[edit]
For eight or 10 weeks in the summer, a well-organized and comprehensive program will be presented for the Bahá’ís and those wishing to study the Faith.
The summer session will feature special programs in the education of children, the training of teachers, the training of parents, and the preparation of parent, teacher and youth consultants. Consultants who are trained during this period will then be able to offer their services to Bahá’í communities throughout the country.
These special programs will be integrated with the more familiar courses and activities of Bahá’í summer schools that center on the intensive study of all aspects of the Bahá’í Faith.
Particular emphasis will also be placed on training persons to serve on Assemblies, how to teach the Faith, and how to design and sustain consolidation programs. Special events and activities on weekends throughout the year will be encouraged.
Program for the Public[edit]
Since it would not be financially feasible for the large facilities required for the Bahá’í program to stand vacant during the academic year, thereby generating no income for nine months out of each year, the National Spiritual Assembly has decided to establish a tuition-based elementary school that will operate during the regular school year. This will enable the Bahá’í community to offer a service while at the same time generating the income required to maintain and operate a major facility.
The school will serve both Bahá’í and non-Bahá’í children. Initially, the school will open with a program for children aged 3–8, and will expand upward each year until eventually the school will accommodate children and youth from 3–13 years of age (pre-school–grade 8).
The feasibility of establishing and operating a prep school (grades 9–12) is now being studied.
To ensure a program of unparalleled excellence housed in beautiful, imaginative and modern facilities on an exquisite site, the establishment of the Louhelen Educational Center cannot be hurried. Careful attention must be given to every detail.
At the present time, our attention is focused on the recruitment and training of staff for the tuition-based elementary school and the specialized offerings of the summer school.
Recruitment[edit]
Our goal in attempting to establish an educational center of the highest calibre can only be achieved by recruiting persons who are truly competent and who reflect the diversity of the American Bahá’í community. Therefore, those qualified persons who are representative of diverse ethnic and racial backgrounds and those who are fluent in Persian, French, English, Spanish, and Native American languages are urged to apply.
In addition, we want to see both sexes represented in the non-traditional staffing pattern being planned; a wide range of ages (old and young); persons with a variety of talents and skills; and those with backgrounds in such areas as child and adolescent psychology, adult education, communications (speaking, reading, and writing), organization and administration, staff development, observation and diagnosis, music, movement, art, drama, natural science, social science, mathematics, library science, and learning disabilities.
Specifically, applicants should:
- Hold a bachelor’s or a master’s degree from an accredited institution;
- Have a minimum of 2–5 years teaching experience (pre-school, elementary, secondary, adult education—certification if applicable);
- Be willing and able to commit at least six full years to the Louhelen Project—two to three years full time, intensive study in a doctoral program at the University of Massachusetts and four years or more at the Louhelen Educational Center, Davison, Michigan;
- Be in good health.
Nature of the Commitment[edit]
The long-range nature of the project requires that each applicant consider in a realistic fashion the following factors: the physical and psychological stamina needed to adjust to two major moves, i.e., moving from present location to Massachusetts and then on to Michigan within a period of 2–3 years; family needs and responsibilities; and the capacity for rigorous study.
Those persons selected for the project will be expected to:
- Complete a program of studies leading to a doctorate in education.
- Help to operate a summer program for the Bahá’ís for eight to 10 weeks (adults, children and youth).
- Provide certain ancillary services to the community at large, such as parent education, teacher training, child education, youth counseling.
- Operate a tuition-based elementary school that serves both Bahá’ís and non-Bahá’ís for nine months of the year. This will be a professional responsibility in an accredited school.
Financial Resources[edit]
The Louhelen Educational Center development calls for the expenditure of resources over what is normally contributed to the National Bahá’í Fund.
Economy will necessarily be an important principle to be considered when any decision is being made. Therefore, those persons who can afford to participate in the project without financial assistance are encouraged to do so. We also are aware that there are those who meet all of the requirements but who do not have the means to participate. For them, we have a limited number of assistantships and other forms of financial aid.
Final Staff Selection[edit]
Final selection of persons for the paid staff positions of the tuition-based school at Louhelen will be made only after satisfactory completion of formal instruction and practice. Therefore, one should not construe selection into the doctoral program as a guarantee of a paid job at Louhelen.
Lionel Wilson, mayor of Oakland, California, proclaims September 18 World Peace Day in Oakland as members of the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Oakland (from left) Gordon Gullett; Nora Gullett, chairman; and Betty Garcia, secretary, look on. The Bahá’í community of Oakland observed World Peace Day with a tea at Mills College at which 26 non-Bahá’ís were present.
Louhelen Prep School Feasibility Eyed[edit]
Many Bahá’ís have expressed a deep interest in the possibility of developing a prep school as part of the Louhelen Educational Center in Michigan.
In response to this interest, the National Spiritual Assembly is studying the feasibility of establishing and operating a tuition-based, residential, co-ed preparatory school (for traditional grades 9–12) as an integral part of the new Louhelen Center.
While it would be open to non-Bahá’ís, the school would be run entirely as a Bahá’í school if the majority of the students were Bahá’ís.
It is extremely important to successful long-range planning to know how many Bahá’í children attend private schools. If you have children currently attending private schools, or intend to send your children to private schools (kindergarten through 12th grade) at some future time, or would be interested in sending your children to the Louhelen prep school, please fill out the following form and send it to the National Education Committee by January 15, 1978.
Some of the information needed concerns finances, which one might ordinarily be reluctant to disclose. However, since there is no requirement for parents or guardians to sign the form, we hope that all questions will be answered. The information will make it possible for the National Spiritual Assembly to determine the feasibility of establishing and operating a prep school.
Opportunity Knocks[edit]
THE BAHÁ’ÍS OF of Mapleton Township, South Dakota, ask that those wishing to pioneer on the homefront keep this community in mind. Contact Mary Hetts, secretary of the Spiritual Assembly of Mapleton Township, Box 61, Renner, SD 57055, or telephone 605-332-4159.
The Bahá’í Group of Spencer, Oklahoma, won a first place trophy for this float, “134 Years of Pioneering for World Unity,” in the annual Heritage Day Parade. It was the Group’s second year of participation in the parade.
Deepening Program Changes Lives, Attitudes[edit]
A salesman rehearses in his mind a scene in which a customer does not make an order. Rather than becoming aggravated, as he sometimes does in real life, he assures himself that the order will come and remains patient.
One day, when the situation occurs, he is able to react exactly as he has rehearsed the scene. Thought has become reality.
He was able to change his reaction to the situation through a technique learned in the National Education Committee’s 10-week Comprehensive Deepening Program, which is subtitled “A Process for Spiritual Transformation.”
He learned that his desire to react with patience rather than aggravation had to be put in manageable and measurable terms. Using an “instead, I will” clause, he chose as his goal: “I will not be aggravated when my customer delays placing an order; instead, I will be patient, for the order is sure to come in.”
A central theme of the Comprehensive Deepening Program is to help individuals such as the salesman replace habits they dislike with new habits. In the process, participants find productive ways to use energy, to grow spiritually and to exemplify Bahá’í teachings.
BY THE END of 10 weeks, most participants have begun to develop new patterns of living and have learned how to continually improve their lives. For example:
Michael became a Bahá’í five years ago. As a new Bahá’í he did not read the Writings, believing that as time passed he would “get around to it.”
He still had not gotten around to it by the time he enrolled in the Comprehensive Deepening Program.
When he enrolled, one of the things he committed himself to was 15–30 minutes daily of disciplined prayer, meditation and goal rehearsal. Michael found these moments a good time to read five pages of the Writings each day as well.
The stories of the salesman and Michael illustrate the results that are being achieved by individuals who participate in the Comprehensive Deepening Program.
GROUPS OF eight to 15 people, usually from one community, are offered the program by training facilitators. In an introductory session, to which the entire community is invited, the first of 10 tapes is played.
Those individuals who wish to participate may then do so if they are willing to commit themselves to attend the remaining nine sessions once a week for 1½ to two hours at a time. They must also be willing to spend two to three hours a week reading assigned Writings and 15-30 minutes a day in prayer, meditation and goal rehearsal.
One person who took the course said, “I bought the Comprehensive Deepening Program at the Oklahoma Conference in 1973, but never could use it. Now I can, and am developing rapidly, whereas before I was just hanging on.”
“What is most important is what goes on between sessions, not the weekly sessions themselves,” says National Education Committee Secretary Eileen Norman.
In fact, when the National Education Committee was created in 1973, one of its first tasks was to develop the Comprehensive Deepening Program into an organized course for self-improvement.
SOME INDIVIDUALS who took the course at the Bahá’í School of the North Shore in Evanston, Illinois, said that by the tenth week all group members were participating in discussions equally, whereas in the beginning some members were noticeably more vocal than others.
Others who have completed the sessions have asked for “booster” meetings to reinforce the new patterns of living they have begun to develop.
Progress can be checked periodically by going back to the Comprehensive Deepening booklets used in the sessions. For 10 weeks key ideas are recorded in the right-hand margin, and implications those ideas have for action are recorded in the left-hand margin. “The notebooks become very personal,” says Mrs. Norman. “They serve as workbooks for the soul.”
Non-Bahá’ís who are interested in the Faith are welcome to join Bahá’ís in the program. New believers might find the sessions a way to set desirable living patterns at the beginning of their Bahá’í lives.
Over the past two years the program has been tested and refined several times. It will gradually be introduced nationally beginning at Riḍván 1978.
BECAUSE OF the urgency of winning the goals in California, Illinois and New York, the program is being offered in these states prior to Riḍván.
The Comprehensive Deepening Program is quite different from the deepening classes that were in progress across the country until November 12, the anniversary of the birth of Bahá’u’lláh.
Facilitators for the program—usually couples—were trained in the goal states this past summer. Additional facilitators are chosen from among those individuals who participate in the program and are recommended by their Regional Teaching Committee or District Teaching Committee. As they train other groups, the program will mushroom.
Facilitators work in teams of two, and married couples are preferred, because three weeks of the program are devoted to marriage. Not only do facilitators see that group sessions run smoothly, but they are available to group members who need assistance between sessions.
Group members might call facilitators for help in planning a presentation, as different members are assigned presentations to make at various sessions. This encourages each group member to feel unity with the others.
New Book Links Bahá’í Revelation, Buddhist Prophecy[edit]
A book that should interest members of all religions who await the return of a Promised One is Buddha Maitrya-Amitabha Has Appeared, by Jamshed Fozdar.
This is the second book on Buddhism written by Mr. Fozdar. His first book, The God of Buddha, prompted the following comment from the reviewer at the department of Buddhist studies at Yale University: “The subject of Jamshed K. Fozdar’s The God of Buddha is indeed a welcome surprise and its excellent treatment is long overdue. Here is an impressive, soundly reasoned thesis... Exceptional scholarship is in evidence throughout this challenging study of the Enlightened One ...”
This most recent book recounts the Buddha’s clear promises and prophetic utterances concerning the advent of His successor, the Buddha Maitrya-Amitabha.
IT SHOWS how Bahá’u’lláh, the Prophet-Founder of the Bahá’í Faith, fulfills the prophecies of the Buddha concerning His successor.
The book also treats the unfoldment of the historical and spiritual relationship between the Buddha and the Avatars of Hinduism, and includes a scholarly refutation of the theory of reincarnation.
Buddha Maitrya-Amitabha Has Appeared, using Buddhist prophecies, shows that the Promised One awaited by Hindus, Jews, Zoroastrians, Christians and Muslims already has returned.
The book is available from your Bahá’í community librarian or the Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 415 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091. The cloth edition is $12, and the paper edition is $9.
The site of the permanent seat of the Universal House of Justice in Haifa, Israel, is seen here as it appeared in September viewed from the west end of the building. The upper basement is seen in the foreground. In the background concrete is being poured for the first suspended slab forming the ceiling of the lower basement.
Bahá’í Youth Clubs Active, Growing[edit]
Two Bahá’í youth clubs recently added to their memberships through the declaration of non-Bahá’ís. Evanston, Illinois, and Newport Beach, California, each had a declaration...
Seven Bahá’í college clubs were represented at a recent college club conference in the San Francisco Bay area. Goals for college clubs for the 1977–78 school year were discussed, as well as the need for better communication with the National Youth Committee...
One of the goals of the Two Year Youth Program is to have Bahá’í college clubs at the five colleges in the country with the highest number of Indian enrollments. There are now Bahá’í clubs at two of these schools—Brigham Young University and Northern Arizona State University—leaving only three to go: Navajo Community College in Tsaile, Arizona; Northeastern Oklahoma State University in Tahlequah, Oklahoma; and Haskell Indian Junior College in Lawrence, Kansas...
The Bahá’í club at the Palmer College of Chiropractic in Iowa has been quite active this fall.
A September book sale raised $275 to be used to further the club’s teaching activities. A full-page ad in the Homecoming edition of the school newspaper included a picture of the House of Worship and half the preamble of the Bahá’í College Club constitution. A report of the club’s activities also was included in the paper which is mailed to chiropractors all over the world...
| Arise! |
The Bahá’í youth club in Monmouth, New Jersey, recently hosted a camp-out for the youth in that state. Included were a Unity Feast, square dance, and skits. “These events show our non-Bahá’í friends what a great Bahá’í family we belong to,” the club reports. Plans already have been made for a second camp-out, this time including a canoe trip.
[Page 6]
‘Mother Temple of West’
The House of Worship: A Very Special Place[edit]
When it comes to predicting the future, we have to rely on guesswork, but in assessing the importance of the Bahá’í House of Worship, the Mother Temple of the West, we needn’t rely on guesses; the facts are abundantly evident.
The Guardian, for example, said that the efforts involved in the construction of this majestic building were “the noblest of the exploits which immortalized the services of the American Bahá’í community to the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh,” and “the crowning achievement of the Administrative Order... in the first Bahá’í century.”
The House of Worship in Wilmette, Illinois, stands as a symbol of man’s unavoidable destiny: to create a socially and spiritually united earth.
Tens of thousands enter its doors each year and learn of Bahá’u’lláh’s healing Message.
THERE ARE, however, even deeper significances to the House of Worship. It is the first structure in the Americas that is part of an indispensable institution of our Faith that most of us know little about: the institution of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár.
With its “institutions of social service as shall afford relief to the suffering, sustenance to the poor, shelter to the wayfarer, solace to the bereaved, and education to the ignorant...” the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár is the practical embodiment of the spiritual reality of the Faith. Ordained by Bahá’u’lláh, it has been provided specifically to support each individual in his effort to become “a true Bahá’í.”
Bahá’u’lláh said: “It is incumbent upon every man of insight and understanding to strive to translate that which hath been written into reality and action.”
The process, beginning with acquiring knowledge, is complete only when that knowledge is manifested in action for the betterment of humanity. The transition is dependent upon volition, defined as “the action of consciously willing or resolving; the making of a definite choice or decision with regard to a course of action and exercise of the will.”
VOLITION may be acquired primarily through the use of one of God’s special gifts: prayer.
By enabling us to free ourselves from all attachment to anything but God, and by supporting our efforts to develop the essential qualities of perseverance and patience, prayer becomes an absolute necessity in translating that which we know into that which we do.
The Guardian explained that “the very core of religious faith is that mystic feeling which unites man with God. This state of spiritual communion can be brought about and maintained by means of meditation and prayer. And this is the reason why Bahá’u’lláh has so much stressed the importance of worship...”
“The believers... should therefore fully realize the necessity of praying. For prayer is absolutely indispensable to their inner spiritual development, and this... is the very foundation and purpose of the religion of God.”
It is the “central edifice” of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár, the House of Worship, to which individuals turn for spiritual revitalization; a haven in which to seek out spiritual power and energy.
THE GUARDIAN has declared that these individuals, filled with love for Bahá’u’lláh, “... will irresistibly feel attracted to seek the shelter of His House, and congregate therein, unhampered by ceremonies and unfettered by creed, to render homage to the one true God, the Essence and Orb of eternal Truth...”
Concerning the entire institution of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár, the Guardian further said: “For it is assuredly upon the consciousness of the efficacy of the Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh, reinforced on one hand by spiritual communion with His Spirit, and on the other by the intelligent application and the faithful execution of the principles and laws He revealed, that the salvation of a world in travail must ultimately depend.
“And of all the institutions that stand associated with His Holy Name, surely none save the institution of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár can most adequately provide the essentials of Bahá’í worship and service, both so vital to the regeneration of the world. Therein lies the secret of the loftiness, of the potency, of the unique position of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár as one of the outstanding institutions conceived by Bahá’u’lláh.”
WHETHER one travels a long distance to briefly visit the House of Worship during any of the 365 days it is open each year, or comes to participate in one of the Special Visit Programs and experience the unique aspects of the event, or is fortunate enough to live nearby and be able to visit frequently, it is a priceless bounty to enter the Auditorium, gaze upward at the awe-inspiring dome, and commune with the Lord in this Holy Place.
The invincibility of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh is divinely assured. There is, however, no guarantee that this or any of the Houses of Worship will survive to the Golden Age. Indeed, the first House of Worship ever constructed already has ceased to exist.
If, God forbid, the day should come when, for whatever reasons, the House of Worship is no longer accessible to the believers, will you be filled with regret because of missed opportunities, or will you have joyful memories of entering within and inhaling the spiritual fragrances of this “divine sanctuary,” this “expression of the elevation of the Word of God”?
Dr. and Mrs. Sun Sen San of Pembroke Pines, Florida, who recently declared their belief in Bahá’u’lláh, are shown here with their son and with Leon Sternberger, a Bahá’í from Hollywood, Florida, and Mrs. Sternberger.
Chinese Doctor, Wife Declare in Florida[edit]
Acupuncture treatments paid added dividends for a Bahá’í in Pompano Beach, Florida, when the physician giving the treatments, Dr. Sun Sen San of Pembroke Pines, and his wife accepted an invitation to a fireside, were lovingly taught the Faith, and eventually declared their belief in Bahá’u’lláh.
Dr. Sun and his wife are natives of mainland China who met and were married in the U.S. Dr. Sun rendered great help to wounded soldiers in Vietnam through acupuncture, and as a result the American ambassador arranged for his entry into this country.
Their introduction to and subsequent acceptance of the Faith, says the Asian American Teaching Committee, underscores the fact that not all Asian Americans in the U.S. are on the Pacific Coast or in the larger cities of the Midwest and East Coast.
WHILE ONE might not expect to find many Asian Americans in the South, there are some 400 Vietnamese in Savannah, Georgia, and around 20,000 in Texas.
Even if one doesn’t live in an area with a large concentration of Asian Americans, he shouldn’t dismiss the possibility of being able to fulfill one of the Five Year Plan goals by reaching such minority groups.
Judging from the outstanding teaching work being done by Chinese and East Indians in Malaysia, where the Five Year Plan goals already have been won, says the committee, Asian Americans who are attracted to the Faith should lend great assistance to the American teaching effort.
Actually, it isn’t too difficult to find Asian Americans in nearly every area of the U.S. who have become well-exposed to American culture.
The Asian American Teaching Committee suggests directing your initial efforts toward them, as they will be easier to deepen. They can then teach other Asian Americans who do not speak English or are not yet at ease with American customs and lifestyle.
THE BEST teaching approach with Asian Americans, as with most groups, is to be courteous and friendly.
The Asian American Teaching Committee would very much like to hear of any efforts to reach Asian Americans in your area, and to offer you any assistance you might need in those efforts.
Please contact the Asian American Teaching Committee c/o Jim Fischer, secretary, 2-D Parkway, Greenbelt, MD 20770.
Asian Americans Gather in Virginia[edit]
A successful and enjoyable teaching event was held recently in Springfield, Virginia, at the home of former pioneers to Taiwan.
The purpose of the gathering was to invite Asian Americans to an informal social meeting where they could be introduced to the Faith in an atmosphere of love and fellowship.
The Bahá’ís who participated had spent time in Asian countries and brought their Asian American friends.
The conversation was lively, and Bahá’ís were able to relate their personal experiences in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Okinawa, Vietnam and Japan. This put the visiting Asian Americans at ease and encouraged them to open up, leading to questions about the Faith.
The story of Pei-Lu Chiu is a good example of what can be accomplished by efforts to reach Asian Americans.
MISS CHIU became a Bahá’í in College Park, Maryland, then returned to Taiwan for a year to help with the teaching there.
She has since come back to Maryland to continue her education. In addition to recounting her many experiences in Taiwan, she demonstrated Chinese calligraphy to the group at Springfield.
Not only can one reach Asian Americans at universities, as in the case of Miss Chiu; there are also a number of organizations that look for American homes in which to house foreign students and visitors.
One such organization is The Experiment in International Living, through which students come to the U.S. specifically to spend time in an American home.
At Springfield, one Bahá’í couple brought such a house guest from Yokohama, Japan.
The Asian American Teaching Committee will be most happy to add your name to its mailing list and send you information about The Experiment in International Living if you are interested in that particular avenue of teaching.
Please report your efforts to reach Asian Americans to the committee c/o Jim Fischer, secretary, 2-D Parkway, Greenbelt, MD 20770.
Secretariat Seeks Administrator[edit]
The Bahá’í National Center is seeking a qualified personnel administrator to work full-time at the Center. The position requires considerable experience and strong managerial skills. If you are qualified for such a position and are willing and able to serve at the Bahá’í National Center, please send a resume to the National Spiritual Assembly, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091.
S.C. Teachers Open D.C. Goal[edit]
Teaching Briefs
Seat Pleasant, Maryland, one of the Washington, D.C., community’s goal areas in Prince George’s County, has been opened by eight Bahá’ís from South Carolina who arose in response to the Riḍván cablegram from the Universal House of Justice asking American believers to help win the goals in California, Illinois, New York and the five goal cities of the Five Year Plan. Their teaching effort opened the town this summer...
Members of four generations of a family have become Bahá’ís as a result of children’s classes taught by Lois Richards in Kershaw, South Carolina.
The little girl who attended the classes told her mother about the Faith. Her mother, grandmother and great-grandmother became Bahá’ís.
Who’s the fourth-generation Bahá’í? The little girl or her great-grandmother? ...
The Bahá’ís of Roanoke, Virginia, have had an information booth about the Faith for the past four years, with virtually no response from the community. Three hours after the last Victory Session, 35 people stopped for literature and eight others asked when Bahá’í meetings are held...
Also in Roanoke, the vice-mayor attended the World Peace Day observance sponsored by the Bahá’ís on September 18. She said she was overwhelmed by the love and warmth shown, especially by the children who gave her flowers. She was presented with two books on the Faith which she says she will share with the mayor and city council...
A Bahá’í at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge was asked to tell a class of 30 students about the Faith. The talk lasted one hour...
In Lafayette, Louisiana, a Methodist minister has asked a Bahá’í to address his congregation...
The Jewish Council of Greater Washington, D.C., has included all the Bahá’í Holy Days on which work and school should be suspended in its 1977–78 school calendar which is distributed to more than 50,000 individuals and institutions in the metropolitan Washington area. The calendar is designed to call attention to religious holidays observed by Jews and other religious groups...
The Bahá’ís of Redlands, California, have begun an ongoing teaching effort aimed at reaching their goal of having 30 believers in Redlands by the end of the Five Year Plan (there presently are nine).
The project involves sending a brochure similar to those developed by the National Teaching Committee and National Information Office to each home in a section of town. The homes are then visited by the Bahá’ís and the people given personal invitations to firesides. About 200 homes a week are covered in this way.
For those who aren’t home, printed invitations are hung on doorknobs, and these people later receive a personal invitation by phone.
The response of each person is recorded on a survey sheet as positive, indifferent or negative. Positive responses are compiled for a mailing list used for invitations to other events.
The beginning of the project coincided with the national month of firesides. After only one week a list of 41 positive responses had been recorded, with six of the 41 reported to be seriously interested in the Faith...
When Bahá’ís arrived at the home of a new believer in Olympia, South Carolina, a family reunion was taking place. One of the non-Bahá’í family members from New York became so interested in the Faith that the consolidation visit resulted in a declaration...
The Bahá’í community of Raleigh, N.C., observed World Peace Day September 18 with a public meeting at North Carolina State University.
Speakers were the Rev. William Jeffries of the World Federalists Association and current president of the American Freedom Association; Douglas Jennette of the Society of Friends (Quakers), and Mrs. Jean Scales of Durham, N.C., an assistant to Auxiliary Board member Elizabeth Martin.
Approximately 40 persons attended, the majority of whom were not Bahá’ís...
The friends in Knoxville, Tennessee, approached a local gospel radio station to see if they could obtain an interview for the Faith. The station manager agreed to do a 10-minute telephone interview, but the telephone interview turned into a 45-minute talk show...
International teaching has been going on in Hallandale, Florida. Someone who had heard about the Faith in Ecuador moved to Hallandale and subsequently became a Bahá’í. Within the next three days a friend visiting her from Switzerland was taught the Faith by her, and also declared...
The Bahá’ís of Newark, Delaware, had a portable display booth in the city’s annual Sidewalk Days August 19–20...
In Worcester County, Maryland, regular ads in the Ocean City and Snow Hill newspapers proclaiming the Faith have totaled more than 40 column inches in recent weeks...
The Bahá’í Group of Cabell County, West Virginia, showed the filmstrip “Carmel: Mountain of God” to more than 40 members of a Methodist young adult study class that was studying world religions...
The Bahá’ís of Millcreek Township, Pennsylvania, have begun a large-scale proclamation effort involving direct mail, newspaper ads and articles, posters, radio spots, and public events. By the end of August more than 400 copies of the mailer, “The Bahá’í Faith: A New Way to Bring People Together,” had been sent to township residents, with more than 200 copies of the Ebony magazine reprint, “Bahá’í: A Way of Life for Millions,” to be mailed as a follow-up in September. The film, “A New Wind,” was shown at a World Peace Day open house on September 18...
The Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Lafayette Parish, Louisiana, was formed on September 20, the first day of the Victory Campaign’s month of firesides. Members seated left to right are Joan Boudreaux, treasurer; Azizullah Ghalili, chairman; Mrs. Malik Ghalili; Mrs. Mastoureh Ashena; Farid Ghalili, secretary. Standing, left to right are Hassan Ashena; Mrs. Kathy Ching; Kevin Crowley, vice-chairman; Farshid Ghalili.
The Spiritual Assembly of the Town of Fishkill, Dutchess County, N.Y., was formed at Riḍván. Standing, left to right, are Albert Sollecito, vice-chairman; Joanne Sollecito; Monireh Lanzaro; Constance Nenni, secretary; Andre Lanzaro, chairman. Seated, left to right, are Rosemary Albano, recording secretary; Judy Washington; McCleary B. Washington; Erna Gutberlet, treasurer.
Rachael Ray, an isolated believer in Franklin, Indiana, organized a World Peace Day program on the campus of Franklin College. Bob Hauck and Kamran Akhavan of Indianapolis were guest speakers. The event was publicized in part by a moving marquee on a bank in the downtown area, and attracted 13 adults and three children. Among those in the audience was a Methodist minister...
The Faith was mentioned last summer on two local television stations in Amarillo, Texas. A flyer announcing a proclamation event was sent to one station, and resulted in an interview on the evening news. Several weeks later, two Bahá’ís were interviewed at another station on a noon talk show...
A Bahá’í who owns a golf course in New Jersey taught the Faith to two golfers there. The two men declared, opening the locality of Camden...
A Bahá’í in Spokane, Washington, recently asked, “If we don’t raise the Banner of Bahá’u’lláh, who will?”
The friends in Spokane, Spokane Valley and Millwood, Washington, and Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, responded on World Peace Day by having an airplane pull a banner across the sky for two hours. The banner read: “World Peace Day ... The Bahá’í Faith ... September 18.”...
A Unity Council Fire initiated by the Spiritual Assembly of Hard Rock Chapter on the Navajo Reservation in Arizona resulted in the declaration of the tribal chairman of the Manzanita Reservation in California...
The Bahá’í community of Breckenridge, Minnesota, had a booth at the annual Wilkin County Fair July 21–24 that proclaimed the name of Bahá’u’lláh to many visitors. The friends also phoned or visited those in the area who had shown an interest in the Faith, and supplemented the proclamation effort with newspaper articles that were run during the days of the fair...
The Bahá’ís of Greeley, Colorado, have placed the Jeff Reynolds radio tapes on KUAD-FM for weekly broadcast. The station reaches many communities in northeastern Colorado as well as some areas of Wyoming.
Children’s Day Programs Successful[edit]
Several Bahá’í communities have reported successful and well-attended observances of Universal Children’s Day on October 3.
The Bahá’í Group in Lahaska, Pennsylvania, observed the occasion by showing the film, “Free to Be ... You and Me,” to 100 first-graders at the local elementary school at a special assembly arranged by the school principal. Total attendance including adults was 110, all but two of whom were not Bahá’ís. The Bahá’ís were invited to return next year...
The Groups in Wood River, Foster Township, and Alton, Illinois, hosted two children’s parties at Toddle Town in Wood River. A newspaper photographer was present at one of them. The children also presented books to the Alton Children’s Library and to the teachers at Toddle Town...
Between 70 and 75 children and parents saw a puppet show in the Village of Hamburg, New York, incorporating facts from UN information sheets about the problems connected with water throughout the world. The puppets were five different-colored roses operated by five children from 7–12 years old, one of them a non-Bahá’í. Posters at three elementary schools and a library wall display were used to advertise the puppet show, and a follow-up article was sent to the local newspaper telling about the show and Universal Children’s Day...
The librarian at the Alton, Illinois, Children’s Library receives the book, The Gift, from Bahá’í children (left to right) Elizabeth Thomas, Justin Michael McLaughlin, and Tara Cox as a part of Madison County’s observance of Universal Children’s Day.
Mrs. Mabel Garis, former UN observer for the Bahá’í Faith, was the guest speaker at a public meeting and coffee social in Keene, New Hampshire. Newspaper ads and brief articles advertised the events. Sixteen persons including six non-Bahá’ís attended the public meeting; nine adults and six children were at the coffee social including seven non-Bahá’ís...
Bahá’ís in Oceanside, California, had a Children’s Day display at the local public library. Also through their efforts, Universal Children’s Day was added to the monthly calendar sent out to all teachers in the school district...
The Bahá’í Group in Newaygo County, Michigan, hosted an international costume party attended by seven persons including five non-Bahá’ís. An eight-inch article was published in the local newspaper, the Newaygo County Sun...
A puppet show, “Clean Water,” highlighted the observance in Irving, Texas, presented at the Irving public library and Dallas Parent-Child Center. Also included was the film, “Kantatiskiwa—Dawn of a New Day.” The puppet show and film each was presented twice, with about six adults and a dozen children attending each performance...
The Bahá’í Group of the Southern Ute Reservation in Ignacio, Colorado, enjoyed remarkable success in publicizing and enlisting local cooperation in holding Universal Children’s Day observances.
At a luncheon meeting with the superintendent of schools and principals of the elementary and high schools, the UN pamphlet, “UNICEF and the Rights of the Child,” was presented. The high school principal planned an assembly for the morning of October 3 at which students were given an opportunity, for the first time, to express their feelings about the school, its policies, and their desires.
The principal also announced that the UN filmstrip, “The Rights of the Child,” was to be shown by the Bahá’ís that evening at a meeting of the board of directors of the Head Start program; two students attended the meeting. As a result, a Parent-Teacher-Student organization is to be established.
The manager of the local FM educational radio station was so enthusiastic about plans for Universal Children’s Day that he decided to suspend regular programming that day for special programs, and provided air time for a group of students to participate in open forum discussions, reading exercises, poetry readings for younger children by older students, debates, and feedback to the community on school developments.
The Senior Citizens Center, a new facility, opened its doors with refreshments and hospitality for children and youth from 3:30 to 5 p.m. Two local restaurants offered specials on their menus for lunch and dinner. The Southern Ute Community Center hosted a free splash party at its indoor heated pool. On the marquee outside the restaurant-pool-motel complex, UNIVERSAL CHILDREN’S DAY was displayed for all to see.
Reporters from the Durango Herald and Southern Ute Drum came to cover the town’s activities, and photos were taken for both papers.
“Ideas for next year are already flying,” the Group reports, “with everyone in the town looking forward to more efforts that will unify the community in service to one another.”
Costa Rica to Host Youth Conference[edit]
An International Youth Conference will be held January 3–8 in Costa Rica.
The conference is co-sponsored by the Continental Board of Counsellors in Central America and the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Costa Rica.
Purpose of the conference is to gather Spanish-speaking youth in Central America, Mexico, the Caribbean and neighboring countries such as the United States for five days of fellowship and deepening in proclamation and teaching, as well as participation in proclamation and teaching events.
Cost of board and lodging for the conference is estimated at $25. Active participants will be Bahá’ís between 15 and 30 years of age. Those who are older than 30 may attend as observers.
For further information, please contact the International Goals Committee, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091.
Bahá’ís from throughout the eastern United States gathered July 2 through July 17 for the New York State Bahá’í School held at Oakwood School, Poughkeepsie, N.Y. The school was visited by the Hands of the Cause of God Zikrullah Khadem and ‘Alí-Akbar Furútan as well as by Auxiliary Board members Mrs. Javidukht Khadem and Nathan Rutstein.
IGC Answers Questions About Pioneering[edit]
(EDITOR’S NOTE: The 4th Bahá’í National Youth Conference June 29–July 3 at the University of Illinois included an evening session on pioneering and traveling teaching hosted by the International Goals Committee. The principal speaker was Mrs. Mildred Mottahedeh, former member of the International Bahá’í Council and long-time official representative of the International Bahá’í Community to the United Nations who is now a member of the International Goals Committee. Following her talk Mrs. Mottahedeh and Dr. Alfred Neumann, another member of the Goals Committee, fielded questions from the audience. Here is Part I of that question-and-answer session. Part II will be published in January.)
Question: How does one prepare for pioneering?
Answer: Preparing for pioneering must include all those elements included in preparing for a lifetime of service. To this we would add that one should gather systematically information about the culture, customs, job possibilities and opportunities for public service in the country to which he or she would like to pioneer.
Obviously, in countries where English is not the common language, it is essential, if one is to be able to reach the people, to learn the language.
Q.: Where is the pioneering need the greatest, on the homefront or abroad? How can one decide where to pioneer?
A.: It’s important to maintain a balanced approach in every aspect of the Faith. The reply is that both are important. We need a continuing stream of pioneers, both on the homefront and abroad.
One decides where to pioneer through a combination of prayer, meditation, and careful consideration of the practical realities of one’s professional skills, ability to earn a living, language skills, ability to live in a different environment, family considerations, etc. Most people who give careful and systematic thought to this question have no difficulty in arriving at a decision.
Q.: What’s the best age for pioneering? What’s the minimum age?
A.: This, of course, depends a great deal on the individual. Too young, that is, much below 15, and the person may not be ready for pioneering. On the other hand, there are prominent exceptions, and we find that some of the more effective pioneers are in the 15–25 age group.
Q.: Is international pioneering for everyone?
A.: No. Some people make their best contributions to the Faith by staying in their home communities and serving the Faith there.
Pioneering can be, physically and emotionally, a strenuous and taxing experience, and one should consider carefully all the factors involved before entering the field.
Q.: What is more important, finishing one’s education or going pioneering?
A.: In almost every case, one would flatly answer that the most important thing is to complete one’s education.
The problem is that the requirements for entrance into countries are becoming increasingly rigorous, and though the countries need the healing Message of Bahá’u’lláh, they don’t know that. What they’re looking for are individuals who can make a tangible contribution to the development of their country. This implies, then, that the prospective pioneer should have a thorough grounding in a trade or profession needed by that country.
Q.: Why have a special job skill? Why not work at the same jobs as the people in the country to which one is pioneering?
A.: For practical purposes, this usually is not possible, because the foreign guest is then seen as someone who is taking a job away from a local person. Moreover, if the country thinks that the person coming in is depriving a local resident of a job, it probably won’t grant the prospective foreign resident a visa.
Q.: Could one go to college in another country?
A.: Yes. There are many colleges that would be happy to have students from abroad come to study. There are colleges accredited by American universities.
Many American schools have exchange programs, and it is not uncommon to have a sophomore or junior year abroad as a part of the regular program of the college in this country, for which one receives full credit.
The International Goals Committee has some information on this subject, and your own high school or college counselors would be able to provide the most up-to-date and suitable information.
Many Countries Need Pioneers, Teachers[edit]
With less than two years remaining in the Five Year Plan, the need for pioneers and traveling teachers becomes ever greater. Among the recent requests for traveling teachers received by the International Goals Committee are these:
Nicaragua
The country has made a special request for traveling teachers who are self-supporting and who speak English and/or Spanish. Families, couples and youth are welcome. Traveling teachers can expect limited hospitality. Those who can stay one to three months will be considered to become part of a special project now under development.
Leeward/Virgin Islands
A team teaching project has begun in Antigua in the Leeward/Virgin Islands. Present team members can continue only for a short time; replacements are needed for the project to continue. Assistance is provided in housing and food for qualified team members able to stay for two or more months.
Southwest Pacific Ocean
Traveling teachers are needed desperately to travel in the Southwest Pacific Islands.
Duration of stay: If you can only come for a week, that is all right; but preferably longer. A trip through all the islands can be made in two weeks.
Type of teaching: Tribal; audio-visual materials are most effective. Translators are available from English to French.
Expenses: Self-supporting; lodging provided.
Assemblies are urged to deputize mature, deepened believers, including youth, to undertake a traveling teaching trip in the South Pacific.
Switzerland
Team teaching projects are now under way in the French-speaking, Italian-speaking, and German-speaking areas of Switzerland. Language skills are most useful. The project will continue through the winter. Mature, well-deepened traveling teachers are needed; individuals interested must be mostly self-supporting. Those with musical skills are most welcome.
Germany
Germany has requested traveling teachers for a minimum of four to six weeks. Those who speak German would be most useful; those who are self-supporting are preferred.
Finland, Norway, Sweden
An Inter-Assembly Project has been initiated by the Continental Board of Counsellors in Europe. American believers are invited to participate. Native American believers are especially welcome.
Arctic team: Working in northern Finland, Norway, and Sweden, spending three weeks in each country.
Southern team: Working in southern Finland; team changes location in southern Finland at two-week intervals.
France, Luxembourg, Belgium
Another Inter-Assembly team is serving these countries. They are requesting two U.S. French-speaking traveling teachers to aid the team for at least a month at a time.
Winter Projects
These are scheduled in the Bahamas, Bermuda, and the Turks and Caicos Islands, all in the Caribbean.
Traveling teachers here are needed for any length of time. Also, traveling teachers are requested who can make a circuit teaching trip of approximately two weeks in each of the above-mentioned consolidation areas. Individuals in all cases should be self-supporting, and English-speaking.
For further information on these or any other traveling teaching opportunities, please contact the International Goals Committee, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091.
Remaining Overseas Goals[edit]
| AFRICA | FILLED | OPEN | |
| (E) | British Indian Ocean Territory (Seychelles) | 2 | |
| (F) | Central African Empire | 2 | |
| (E) | Ghana | 2 | |
| (E) | Lesotho | 1 | |
| (E) | Liberia | 2 | |
| (F) | Madagascar | 2 | |
| (E) | Malawi | 1 | |
| (E) | Nigeria | 4 | |
| (E) | Sierra Leone | 1 | |
| (E) | South Africa (Transkei) | 4 | |
| (E) | St. Helena | 1 | |
| (P) | Upper West Africa (Cape Verde Islands) | 2 | |
| (F) | Zaire | __ | 1 |
| 2 | 24 | ||
| Americas | FILLED | OPEN | |
| (S) | Argentina | 3 | |
| (E) | Barbados/Windward Islands | 2 | |
| (S) | Bolivia | 3 | |
| (P) | Brazil | 2 | 3 |
| (S) | Chile | 2 | |
| (S) | Colombia | 2 | |
| (S) | Costa Rica | 1 | 1 |
| (S) | Dominican Republic | 1 | |
| (F) | French Antilles | 2 | |
| (S) | Guatemala | 2 | |
| (E) | Guyana | 1 | |
| (E) | Jamaica (Cayman Is.) | 2 | |
| (E) | Leeward Virgin Islands | 5 | 1 |
| (S) | Mexico | 8 | 2 |
| (S) | Paraguay | 1 | 4 |
| (S) | Peru | 2 | |
| (S) | Puerto Rico | 2 | |
| (S) | Uruguay | __ | 2 |
| 26 | 28 | ||
| ASIA | FILLED | OPEN | |
| (B) | (E) Bangladesh | 2 | |
| (J) | Japan | 4 | 16 |
| (K) | Korea | 6 | |
| (E) | Sri Lanka (Ceylon) | 1 | |
| (E) | Thailand | 1 | 1 |
| 5 | 26 | ||
| AUSTRALASIA | FILLED | OPEN | |
| (E) | Marshall Islands | 1 | 1 |
| (E) | Northwest Pacific Ocean | ||
| E. Caroline Islands | 1 | ||
| W. Caroline Islands | 1 | ||
| (E) | Papua New Guinea | 1 | |
| (E) | Western Samoa | 2 | |
| (E) | Tonga | 2 | |
| __ | __ | ||
| 5 | 4 | ||
| EUROPE | FILLED | OPEN | |
| (F) | Belgium | 4 | |
| (D) | Denmark | 4 | |
| (I) | Iceland | 2 | |
| (Sw) | Sweden | 2 | |
| (F) | (G) (It) Switzerland | __ | 2 |
| 0 | 14 | ||
| TOTAL | FILLED | OPEN | |
| AFRICA | 2 | 24 | |
| AMERICAS | 26 | 28 | |
| ASIA | 5 | 26 | |
| AUSTRALASIA | 5 | 4 | |
| EUROPE | 0 | 14 | |
| 38 | 96 | ||
| FIVE YEAR PLAN TO DATE | ||
| Total Assigned Goals | 438 | |
| Previous unfilled | 24 | |
| Total Remaining assignments | 414 | |
| Present Assigned Goals | FILLED | OPEN |
| 414 | 318 | 96 |
| LANGUAGE KEY | |
| Dn | Danish |
| E | English |
| F | French |
| G | German |
| I | Icelandic |
| It | Italian |
| J | Japanese |
| K | Korean |
| P | Portuguese |
| S | Spanish |
| Sw | Swedish |
To Choose Proper Career, Know Yourself[edit]
Careers for Youth
(Editor’s Note: This is the first in a series of articles on career planning and development for youth written by Dorothy Ha’i and Maxine Rossman of Tempe, Arizona. Future articles will deal with such areas as non-traditional occupations, job-hunting skills, and goal setting.)
Young people are often perplexed by the question of career choice. Bahá’í youth have the additional concern of selecting a career that is in harmony with their goals of service to the Cause—for example, careers that would enable them to pioneer or to travel.
In beginning our career exploration, we will discuss the importance of self-assessment as the foundation of career building.
A 16-year study of 350,000 persons indicated that four out of five people are in the wrong jobs for their abilities. In another study, more than half of the students surveyed were unable to list two or more skills needed in the jobs they ranked as their top choices. These studies indicate the necessity of developing strong self-appraisal skills.
The Bahá’í community increasingly will need men and women of many skills and qualifications, for as it grows in size, the sphere of its activities in the life of society will increase and diversify.
“LET BAHÁ’Í youth, therefore, consider the best ways in which they can use and develop their native abilities for the service of mankind and the Cause of God, whether this be as farmers, teachers, doctors, artisans, musicians, or any of the multitude of livelihoods that are open to them.” (Wellspring of Guidance, p. 95)
To develop one’s native abilities, it is vital to begin the journey of self-discovery. In one sense, none of us can ever completely know himself; yet self-knowledge is basic to adjustment in the world of work.
Certain things you can know about yourself and already do know. You know your physical characteristics and your temperament, some of your talents and general abilities.
But are you aware of your life style? Your personal style? Your motivations? Knowing these will enable you to discriminate more carefully when choosing the work that is most appropriate for you.
BY LIFE style, we mean the manner in which you characteristically react to your environment. To understand your life style you need to answer such questions as these:
1. When do you do your best work: Morning? Evening? Anytime? Do you think best early in the morning? Do you do your clearest thinking consistently in the evening?
2. In what physical environment are you happiest: Outdoors? In the city? When it is quiet? Noisy? Well organized? Loosely organized? With people? By yourself? In large, luxurious surroundings? In small, friendly surroundings?
3. What working conditions do you enjoy: Under pressure? Without pressure? Creative? Routine? Giving direction? Taking direction? Self-employed? An employee? With a prestige company? With a small organization?
4. What kind of doer are you: Fast? Slow? Meticulous? Casual? Rigid? Flexible? Conformist? Non-conformist? Disciplined? Careless?
5. WHAT KIND of thinker are you: Analytical? Perceptive? Objective? Subjective? Scientific? Intuitive? Do you remember best what you hear? Or see? Or touch? Are you a reader, a listener, a talker, or all of these?
6. What kind of people do you enjoy: A few close friends? Many friends? Children? Old people? Sick people? Animals?
7. What causes you frustration, anger, unhappiness?
8. What causes you joy, peace, contentment?
Some of these questions you may not be able to answer, but answering honestly those you can will enable you to realize your own preferences and unique needs for your daily activities.
The development of skills assessment is fundamental to an understanding of career development.
When it is time to leave school and enter full-time into the world of work, most of us know that we are embarking upon our “career.” But we are not always clear just what is meant by this word.
A CAREER is the sum total of all that we do in the world of work—from age 18, 22 or 25 to age 60, 65, 68, or whatever. It is composed of the different fields that we are going to be working in during our lifetime.
The average person will be in two or three different fields during his or her total life in the world of work. While in each field, we usually hold two or three (or more) jobs. And each job, in turn, consists of a number of activities, tasks or roles. These, in turn, use or require several different “skills.”
As we change fields or go job-hunting in a tight economy, we see that it is increasingly fruitless to begin by being conscious of our field.
We need, instead, to begin with an inventory of our skills, and then ask ourselves what kinds of activities, tasks or roles we would like to use those skills to accomplish. Next we should look for a job that lets us use those skills in that way, only asking at the last what field this all happens to be in. (from R. Bolles, “Choosing a Career: The Skill-Inventory Approach,” The Graduate, 1977, p. 30)
It should be realized that just being aware of skills and abilities is not sufficient. You must decide where you want to use your skills.
For further information on skills assessment and career development it is advisable to contact high schools, colleges, state employment service and local libraries. In future issues, this column will explore ways in which you can channel your skills and abilities into the world of work while maintaining a Bahá’í perspective.
“The future of this Cause, which is so dear to us all, depends upon the energy and devotion of the rising generation. It is you who before long will be called to shoulder its responsibilities and undertake its spread. To do that, however, you ought to be well-equipped. You ought to have your intellectual as well as spiritual side equally developed.” (From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi, quoted in Bahá’í Youth: A Compilation, p. 13)
Two Year Youth Program:[edit]
|
Homefront Pioneers 5
150
3
20 to Unopened Goal Counties
3
90 to Unopened Goal Localities counties
Domestic Traveling Teaching Trips 126
1000
1
15 Trips to Indian Reservations
22
50 Trips to Indian Reservations
International Pioneers 10
30
7
10 To Specific Goals of the Five Year Plan
International Traveling Teaching Trips 51
95
28
20 Lasting One Month or Longer in a Single Country
College Clubs 360
400
2
5 At Colleges with the Highest Indian Enrollment
Local Bahá’í Youth Clubs (The New Two Year Youth Program began with 102 clubs) 115
200
|
Reports From Youth Needed[edit]
Teaching Trips: Anytime a youth age 15 through 20 years leaves his or her locality with the intention of teaching the Faith, or of participating in proclamation or consolidation activities.
Any mobility for the Faith counts toward winning the goals of the Two Year Youth Program. If you go to a neighboring community to assist with children’s classes, help a homefront pioneer move, or leave your home locality for any reason connected with the Faith, please report it to the National Youth Committee, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091.
The National Youth Committee needs postcards from you telling about the hundreds of trips being made; this is the only way trips can be counted toward the winning of the Two Year Youth Program goals.
Especially needed are 150 homefront pioneers to fill goals of Local Spiritual Assemblies or District Teaching Committees. One way this may be accomplished is to attend college in a goal locality.
Youth have the ability to win victories for the Faith.
Perfect for Children
Rubber Stamps Easy, Exciting Way to Teach[edit]
Looking for new and exciting ways to teach the Faith?
Have you thought about rubber stamps?
That’s right. Rubber stamps. They’re versatile teaching aids that can be used in many different ways. What’s more, they’re practical, fun and easy to use.
Teachers and students can use rubber stamps to illustrate Bahá’í principles, quotations from the Writings, or scenes from Bahá’í community life, as well as stories and talks.
Rubber stamps can also be used to create posters, displays, game materials, puppets, dolls and three-dimensional figures.
They’re especially useful in children’s classes, as children love to work with them and can have fun while learning.
Rubber stamps have many distinctive characteristics that make them extremely practical:
- They can be assembled and used by almost anyone.
- They can be easily carried by traveling teachers.
- They last a long time with no maintenance.
- They require no electricity or special equipment.
- A complete rubber stamp kit is available from the Bahá’í Publishing Trust for only $10.50.
The kit contains four sheets of rubber stamps—more than 100 different designs in all—including human, gumdrop and animal figures as well as props such as houses, clouds, lamps, cars, boxes, chairs, and so on.
Instructions for mounting and using the rubber stamps are packaged with the kit. Also included is a comprehensive teacher’s guide that suggests how to incorporate rubber stamps into Bahá’í teaching and deepening activities.
The materials needed to prepare and mount rubber stamps are scissors, blocks of wood, glue, an ink pad, and washable ink.
The rubber stamp kit is a part of the Star Study Program.
Children have fun while learning Bahá’í principles with the new rubber stamp kit available through the Bahá’í Publishing Trust. It’s a part of the Star Study Program.
Rochester Hosts Conference[edit]
As a prelude to the Victory Weekend in early September, some 170 Bahá’ís from more than 70 communities gathered at Rochester, New York, August 28–29 for a conference on “The Greatest Challenge—Expansion and Consolidation.”
The Hand of the Cause of God Zikrullah Khadem addressed the conference three times. Following music and devotions, Mr. Khadem opened the conference with a moving address on “The Twin Manifestations,” the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh.
Other speakers included Auxiliary Board members Nat Rutstein and Mrs. Javidukht Khadem, assistants to the Auxiliary Board Mrs. Nancy Mondschein and Dr. Y. Stephen Yamamoto, and Dr. Jane Faily from Canada.
Dr. Faily addressed the first morning session on “The Heavenly Concourse.” After lunch, Mr. Rutstein spoke on “Our Covenant With ‘Abdu’l-Bahá,” Mrs. Khadem on “The Formative Age and Its Expansion,” and Dr. Faily on “The Five Year Plan.”
AFTER SUPPER, Mrs. Carol Rutstein, a professional singer, entertained the group with a number of songs. Mr. Khadem then returned to enthrall the gathering with a glimpse of the meaning of the station and work of the beloved Guardian, Shoghi Effendi.
Mrs. Carol Rutstein entertains at the Rochester Conference. Some 170 of the friends gathered there August 28–29 to discuss “The Greatest Challenge—Expansion and Consolidation.”
On Sunday morning the Regional and District Teaching Committees summarized their roles and activities, and Robert Rosenfeld of Rochester followed with an illustrated discussion of “The Dynamics of Fireside Teaching.”
Later, Dr. Yamamoto spoke on “Expansion Teaching Among Minorities,” Mrs. Mondschein on “Balancing Family Life and the Faith,” and Mr. Rutstein on “Universal Participation.”
Among the conference sidelights: one young man declared his belief in Bahá’u’lláh at the conference on Saturday; more than $400 worth of Bahá’í literature was sold; two Bahá’ís who were passing through Rochester saw the sign outside and stayed for the conference.
Three nearby Local Assemblies—Brighton, Victor and Webster—assisted the Spiritual Assembly of Rochester in coordinating housing and meals.
Assistant Auxiliary Board member Dr. Y. Stephen Yamamoto, one of the speakers at the Rochester Conference, stops to chat with Mrs. Susan Rafalak and her son, Jason.
The conference “gave a needed lift to the Bahá’ís in an area where progress in winning the (Five Year Plan) goals has been very slow,” the Rochester Assembly reported.
Guidelines for Photos For American Bahá’í[edit]
Since The American Bahá’í is receiving an ever-larger number of photos from the friends, we felt that the following guidelines would be helpful to those who plan to submit them:
1. Photos for “The American Bahá’í” should be sharp, clear, in focus and printed on glossy paper if possible. The desired size is either 8x10 or 5x7, but smaller photos are acceptable if they are of good quality. While color photos can be used, black and whites are preferable.
2. Photos of Bahá’í schools or conferences should show groups, classes or seminars in action, not merely looking at the camera. Undignified, overly casual poses should be avoided, such as individuals with their arms around each other, or stretched out on the floor or ground.
3. Clothing worn in photos also should be dignified—no beach wear or shorts. The friends should consider how they would like to appear to the Bahá’í world, or to dignitaries to whom the photos may be shown.
4. All nine members must be present in photos taken of a National or Local Spiritual Assembly.
5. Try to arrange an interesting pose for Assembly photos, rather than members standing or seated in rows. They might be grouped at a table, signing documents, or examining a book or other materials. Appropriate clothing should be worn for the official Assembly photo, as it will be preserved in the Archives.
6. If the Greatest Name is used in a photo, it must be done with great dignity. If held, it must be approximately chest high and very straight. A better way is to stand it upright on a table. If framed, the glass should be removed; otherwise, the reflection of the glass makes it appear as a white blur.
7. Since photos are accepted for publication only when they are from recognized Bahá’í sources, it is not a requirement, for purposes of identification, to hold the Greatest Name in group photos.
8. Complete descriptive information must accompany each photo, including date, names of individuals in small groups or Assemblies (even though these aren’t always published), addresses or locations of meetings, displays, events, etc.
9. Of course, photos should be sent to The American Bahá’í as soon after an event as possible. Even good photos must sometimes be rejected because they arrive too late to be used.
Send photos and other material to The American Bahá’í, Bahá’í National Information Office, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091.
The Bahá’í District Teaching Committee of Rhode Island sponsored this booth at the Rhode Island State Fair that runs for six days each year in late August. Thousands of people saw the booth, and many stopped to pick up literature, fill out interest cards or ask for information about the Faith.
The Bahá’í community of Alamagordo, New Mexico, sponsored the fourth annual Labor Day Conference September 2–5 at Camp Mary White near Weed, New Mexico. Nine communities from New Mexico, Texas, Utah and Arizona were represented. Study classes were centered around the pamphlet, The Individual and Teaching: Raising the Divine Call. Five adult non-Bahá’í guests attended, and there was one declaration.
Bahá’ís in the Los Angeles area again sponsored a booth at this year’s Los Angeles County Fair at Pomona, which annually attracts more than a million visitors. Seen here (second and third from left) are Bahá’í artists David and Jeanne Villasenor, who redesigned the booth this year, and members of the Bahá’í Booth Committee of Pomona who are responsible for decorating and securing financing for the booth. They are (left to right) Gladys Johnson, Linda Boddy, Bill Boddy and Lynn Bruning. Not pictured is SaRann LeVelle.
Bahá’ís and non-Bahá’ís from various parts of the Window Rock, Arizona, Navajo Reservation collaborated to build and enter this float in the Window Rock-Navajo Tribal Fair September 9-11. The Bahá’ís also had a booth at the fair.
|
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Bahá’í Publishing Trust |
[Page 11]
Groups
Continued From Page 1
contribute to the deputation fund above and beyond their contributions to the Bahá’í National Fund.
The target Groups for which deputation funds may be used have been selected by the National Teaching Committee from its list of Groups because of their relatively high level of activity and demonstrated ability to function as a Bahá’í entity.
The target list includes only those Groups with seven or eight believers: as smaller Groups reach that number and demonstrate an ability to function, they will be added to the list.
The National Teaching Committee asks that Bahá’ís who are considering a move to one of these target communities check first with the committee or with the District Teaching Committee to make certain the goal has not been filled.
ANOTHER area of some concern to the National Teaching Committee is the number of numerically jeopardized Local Assemblies (less than nine adult believers), a figure that rose to 92 in mid-October.
To help prevent the loss of numerically jeopardized Assemblies, the National Teaching Committee is appointing coordinators to work with each Assembly under the general supervision of the National Teaching Committee and/or District Teaching Committee.
Basically, the coordinator’s function is to see that the Assembly receives the help it needs to sustain a positive and effective teaching program.
The coordinator recruits volunteers from outside the community to assist in working with the Assembly, helps to establish a place where teaching can take place if that hasn’t already been done locally, keeps in touch with the Assembly and its volunteers to assure continued support for the local teaching plans, and keeps the National and District Teaching Committees informed of progress.
Although the National Teaching Committee also is actively encouraging homefront pioneers to move to areas in which there are numerically jeopardized Assemblies, it wishes to emphasize that assistance from the homefront deputation fund is not available for that purpose. The deputation fund is to be used only in cases in which a move is made to an area in which a Group will be helped to reach Assembly status.
- Groups Close to Assembly Status
(As of October 15)
- Alabama—Greene County (8).
- Arizona—Maricopa County NW (7), Gilbert (7), Sells/Papago Indian Reservation (7).
- California—Nevada City (7), Susanville (7), Happy Camp J.D. (8), Auburn (7), Woodland (8), Sonoma J.D. (7), Lafayette (8), South San Francisco (7), San Bruno (7), Pacifico (8), Maricopa-Taft J.D. (7), Merced (7), Coronado (8), Riverside J.D. (7), Yucaipa (7), Rancho Palos Verdes (7), West Covina (7), Compton J.D. (8), Duarte (7), Temple City (7), San Luis Obispo No. 4 (8).
- Colorado—Adams County (8), Florence (7), Garfield County (7), La Plata County (7).
- Connecticut—Groton (7), East Hartford (7).
- Florida—Miami Beach (7), Orange County (8), Daytona Beach (8), Temple Terrace (8), Winter Haven (7).
- Idaho—Lewiston (7).
- Illinois—Warren Township (7), Andalusia (7), Alton (7).
- Indiana—Richmond (8), Lafayette (7).
- Iowa—Coralville (8), Boone (7).
- Kansas—Dodge City (7).
- Kentucky—Boyle County (8).
- Louisiana—East Baton Rouge Parish No. 1 (8), St. Martinsville (7).
- Maine—Eastport (8).
- Massachusetts—Framingham (7), Arlington (8), Amesbury (8), Pittsfield (8), Upton (8).
- Michigan—Alpena (11), Kalamazoo Township (8), Davison Township (7), Bloomfield Township (7), Adrian.
- Minnesota—Beltrami County (7).
- Mississippi—Vicksburg (7).
- Missouri—Clayton (8), Meramec No. 1 (8), St. Charles City (7).
- Montana—Gallatin County (7).
- New Hampshire—Woodstock (7).
- New Jersey—Trenton (8), Morristown (8).
- New Mexico—Doña Ana County (7).
- New York—Binghamton (8), Greece (8), Babylon (8), Smithtown (8), Troy (7).
- North Carolina—Mt. Airy (8), Wrightsville Beach (8), Cherokee (8).
- North Dakota—Minot (7).
- Ohio—Euclid (8), Oberlin (8), Xenia (8).
- Oklahoma—Ponca City (7), The Village (7).
- Pennsylvania—Bethlehem (8), Lower Swatara (8), Allentown (7).
- South Carolina—Charleston Heights (7).
- South Dakota—Custer County (7).
- Tennessee—Warren County (7).
- Texas—Italy (7), Mansfield (7).
- Virginia—Blacksburg (7), Herndon (7).
- Washington—Raymond (8), Marysville (7), Wenatchee (7), Whatcom C.D. No. 2 (8).
- West Virginia—Wetzel County (8).
- Wisconsin—Burlington (8), Deerfield Township (7), Wilson Township (7).
- Number of believers is in parentheses.
(As of October 15)
- Alabama—Jefferson County.
- Arizona—North Maricopa County, South Tucson.
- California—Chico J.D., Fair Oaks-Folsom J.D., Oroville J.D., Redding, Petaluma, Livermore, Pleasanton, Daly City, La Habra, Fountain Valley, San Clemente, Camarillo, Paradise J.D., Fairfield, South Bay J.D., Santa Maria, Milpitas.
- Colorado—Palisade, Grand Junction, Englewood.
- Connecticut—Norwich, Norwalk, Hamden.
- Florida—Lakeland.
- Georgia—Smyrna.
- Idaho—Moscow, Ellensburg.
- Illinois—Elmhurst, Northbrook, Berwyn, Chicago Heights, DeKalb.
- Indiana—Columbus, Greenfield. Fort Wayne.
- Iowa—Council Bluffs.
- Kansas—Hays, Manhattan. Pittsburg.
- Maine—Eastport.
- Maryland—Annapolis, Greenbelt, College Park.
- Massachusetts—Dartmouth, Belchertown, South Hadley.
- Michigan—Superior Township, St. Joseph. Marquette. Pittsfield.
- Minnesota—Bemidji, Falcon Heights, Virginia.
- Missouri—Clayton, Universal City.
- Montana—Miles City.
- Nevada—Elko.
- New Hampshire—Durham.
- New Mexico—Ruidoso.
- New York—Cortland, Scarsdale. Fishkill.
- North Carolina—Boone.
- North Dakota—Bismarck.
- Ohio—Upper Arlington.
- Oklahoma—Okmulgee.
- Oregon—Umatilla Indian Reservation, McMinnville. Gladstone, Milwaukee.
- Pennsylvania—Swarthmore.
- Rhode Island—Cranston.
- South Carolina—Goose Creek, St. Andrew’s Parish.
- South Dakota—Mapleton Township.
- Vermont—Montpelier, Brattleboro, Burlington, Rochester.
- Virginia—Hampton.
- Washington—Pierce Peninsula, Montlake Terrace. Ellensburg, Auburn.
- West Virginia—Kanawha County.
- Wisconsin—Racine, Wausau, Fond du Lac.
In Memoriam[edit]
- Mrs. Louise Aplin
- Lakwood, Ohio
- September 4, 1977
- Michael Betelak, Sr.
- Syracuse, New York
- August 24, 1977
- Bruce A. Bland
- San Francisco, California
- June 21, 1977
- Mrs. Kathrin Black Patrick
- South Carolina
- 1977
- Mrs. Carrie Carney
- Lebanon, Missouri
- 1976
- Mrs. Edna Coleman
- Evanston, Illinois
- March 29, 1977
- John H. Coleman
- Evanston, Illinois
- July 2, 1977
- Madline Duncan
- Goliad, Texas
- Date Unknown
- Mrs. Sophie L. Hays
- Sioux City, Iowa
- September 11, 1977
- Clifford G. Helwig
- Boulder, Montana
- August 24, 1977
- Walter N. Ingham
- Fremont, California
- July 10, 1977
- Chester Lott
- Goliad, Texas
- Date Unknown
- Henry K. Luther
- Tonalea, Arizona
- August 20, 1977
- Mrs. Rizvanieh Moghaddam
- Flushing, New York
- May 3, 1977
- John McAuslan
- John Day, Oregon
- February 1977
- Ivan Osborn
- Pompano Beach, Florida
- August 3, 1977
- Mary Joan Paul
- North Platte, Nebraska
- September 3, 1977
- Rose Lee Perry
- Pompano Beach, Florida
- July 1977
- Mrs. Maidie Quinn
- Alturas, California
- August 25, 1977
- Mrs. Mattie Ragland
- Madison, Alabama
- June 1977
- Donald L. Raynor
- Brockport, New York
- July 14, 1977
- Robert Ralph Reddick II
- Quincy, Illinois
- August 3, 1977
Assemblies
Continued From Page 1
The Assembly at Cherokee also is the first to be raised on an Indian Reservation east of the Mississippi River. Its formation on Thursday, November 10, meant the promise of 25 Indian Assemblies by November 12 was kept with two days to spare.
AND THAT’S not all. A few hours later, an Assembly was formed at the Fort Peck Indian Reservation in Montana, the fourth in less than a week and the 26th in the U.S. What a birthday present for Bahá’u’lláh!
Other Local Spiritual Assemblies formed on Indian Reservations the first week in November were the Southern Ute in western Colorado, and Red Lake Chapter, New Mexico.
Recognition of these new Assemblies at the Bahá’í National Center kept pace with the swiftness of their formation; each of them had been recognized by 10 a.m. (CST) Friday, November 11.
TWO MORE Bahá’í Groups on Indian Reservations are on the brink of Assembly formation: the Nez-Perce Reservation in Idaho, and Fort Belknap, Montana. Each Group has eight adult members.
There were 20 Local Spiritual Assemblies on Indian Reservations in this country at the time of the Bahá’í National Convention in May.
The number rose to 22 in October when Assemblies in Toppenish and Wapato, Washington, that are on Indian Reservations but were not included in the total at the outset of the Five Year Plan were recognized as Indian Assemblies through an administrative adjustment.
The formation of the Assembly on the Southern Ute Reservation came about when a computer print-out at the Bahá’í National Center disclosed that there were 11 Bahá’ís on the Reservation; the Group there had been aware of only seven.
Red Lake Chapter, New Mexico, was formed through the combination of a new enrollee and a homefront pioneer from the Bahá’í National Center, raising the number of believers there to nine.
THE NATIONAL Center also played a part in the formation of the Assembly at the Cherokee Indian Reservation.
The Group there had eight members, with seven interested seekers. It was advised by the National Teaching Committee to have faith and proceed with its preelection seminar on November 1, inviting seekers to attend.
One of the seekers, Sara Martin, attended the seminar and declared her belief in Bahá’u’lláh at its close. Her declaration enabled the Group to form an Assembly, some 23 years after the first Bahá’í pioneer arrived at the Reservation.
That homefront pioneer was Ethel Murray. She came to Cherokee in 1954, at the age of 69, and remained for nearly 17 years. Interestingly, Mrs. Martin, who became the ninth member of the Cherokee Reservation Bahá’í community, was originally taught the Faith by Mrs. Murray.
Another member of the Cherokee Assembly, Minnie Feather, is the first Native American believer on the Reservation.
THE OTHER Cherokee Assembly members are Melvin and Ida Abercrombie, who pioneered to the Reservation from Virginia about five years ago; Charles Lossiah, a Cherokee and Mrs. Feather’s son-in-law; Peter and Willa Snyder, who pioneered to Cherokee from Minnesota nearly three years ago; Lloyd Wolfe, a Cherokee who became a Bahá’í more than a year ago, and his wife, Linda, a native of Georgia.
The formation of the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the Cherokee Indian Reservation on November 10 was attended by Auxiliary Board member Dr. William Tucker of Asheville, North Carolina, and his wife, Bernice (Bunny) Tucker, who is acting secretary of the Western North Carolina District Teaching Committee.
Classified Ads[edit]
A DITTO MACHINE is needed by the National Spiritual Assembly of Portugal to reproduce deepening materials for a correspondence course for 150 believers who have enrolled since August. If your community is able to donate or sell a used ditto machine to this National Assembly, please contact the International Goals Committee, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091.
HOMEFRONT PIONEER families are needed in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, a goal for an Assembly by Riḍván 1979. Can work with a seasoned Bahá’í family already established. This is a growing suburb northwest of Chicago with employment opportunities in a nearby manufacturing and distribution area. Housing is reasonable for the possible income level. Contact Mrs. Janet M Marks, secretary, Spiritual Assembly of Wilmette, 1729 Washington Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091.
A PHYSICIAN is needed in Rangely, Colorado, a goal community. Salary $2,000-$3,500 a month. Many other benefits. Write Director, Rangely Hospital, Rangely, CO 81648.
PERSIAN COUPLE, self-supporting, needed to settle in Bermuda to assist with fireside teaching, deepening, and consolidation. Please contact the International Goals Committee, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091.
“EVEN THE DESERTS will bloom.” Southern New Mexico offers abundant opportunity for steadfast souls yearning to answer ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s summons. Three great cultures mingle in rugged, lovely terrain. Showers of Bahá’í love will make blossoms for two jeopardized Assemblies (one numerical, one functional). Five Groups nearby ready to be raised to Assemblies, six communities with isolated Bahá’ís. Interested in making the move? Contact District Teaching Committee Secretary Ann E. Mitchell, 1814 North Maryland, Roswell, NM 88201.
TWO JOB possibilities exist for Bahá’ís in Anoka, Minnesota. One is secretary-bookkeeper in an office; the other is coordinator-assistant working with a recreation program for the deaf. Experience in working with the deaf is required for the latter position. For further information phone Carrol Carlson, 612-421-2736.
A HISTORY of the Bahá’í Faith in Chicago is being written in fulfillment of one of Chicago’s goals for the Five Year Plan. If anyone has information on the Chicago community (personal experiences, stories, publications, photos, etc.), please contact Sharon Butler, 5631 South Maryland Ave., Chicago, IL 60637.
ONE OF the goals of the Spiritual Assemblies of Key West and South Dade County is to establish Bahá’í Centers in the lower, middle, and upper Keys, better known as the Florida Keys, a chain of islands extending approximately 100 miles from the southern tip of the mainland of Florida to Key West. Please contact Roberta M. Hilke, secretary of the Spiritual Assembly of Key West, 2405 Unda Avenue, Key West, FL 33040.
ARE YOU thinking about moving to an unopened locality, or moving to save a jeopardized Local Spiritual Assembly? Send a letter addressed “Chamber of Commerce” to the town or county in which you are interested, and they will send you general information and answer your questions. If you send a letter to “Employment Development Department” in a county or sizable town, the department will send you job information. Also, contact the District Teaching Committee in the area for up-to-date information on the Bahá’í needs of the community you’d like to make your home.
[Page 12]
Green Lake
Continued From Page 1
have to bring forth the Plan of God.”
He said the United States is hungry for a victory, and victory here could affect Five Year Plan goals all over the world.
“What an exciting thing it would be,” he said, “if at Riḍván we were to send cables to the National Assemblies around the world saying we’d had 30,000 firesides, far more than the 20,000 called for.”
Continental Counsellor Angus Cowan, from Canada, had the topic “Get Off Your Flower Beds.” He told stories dating back to 1948, when he became a Bahá’í.
ANOTHER featured speaker was Stephen Birkland, an Auxiliary Board member. He said it was neither the rich, the famous nor the well-educated who won the early victories for the Faith. It was the devoted, sincere and loyal supporters of the Cause who were unaware of their limitations. He said “limitations” should not be in the vocabulary of any Bahá’í.
Heroes and heroines of the Faith—those who heeded the words of the Master and “ran” to teach the Faith—were the topic of a talk by assistant Auxiliary Board member Lois Goebel. She said that one of the miracles of this Dispensation is that women have been bolder than men in teaching the Faith.
Trudy White, secretary of the South Carolina Regional Teaching Committee, shared news of the progress of the Faith in “The Blooming South: Update.”
She said that for the first time since the beginning of the Five Year Plan a Local Assembly has been formed in southern Louisiana. And after hearing Mr. Sears speak, Mrs. White said she would return home and ask the friends in South Carolina to triple their efforts for Bahá’u’lláh.
VAHID Hedayati, a member of the Spiritual Assembly of Wichita Falls, Texas, told the friends, “The heroes and heroines of today and tomorrow may be sitting right where you’re sitting now.”
He said we should give one another encouragement, and write each other letters saying, “We will have victory in 1979. We will not fail.”
He said Bahá’ís must become detached from their egos. He illustrated with a story about the Master:
“A young man who was studying in Paris to be a minister in the Shah’s government noticed a man called ‘Abdu’l-Bahá who was visiting the city.
“He was jealous because throngs of people would follow ‘Abdu’l-Bahá down the street, yet they would not follow him, and he was studying to become a powerful man.
“HE DECIDED to find out why people were so attracted to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, so he approached the Master for an answer.
“‘Abdu’l-Bahá asked him, ‘What do you want to be?’ He proudly replied, ‘A minister for the Shah!’
“‘Abdu’l-Bahá asked, ‘What is higher?’ The young man thought a moment and said, ‘Prime Minister.’
“‘Abdu’l-Bahá then asked, ‘What is higher?’ The young man whispered, ‘I cannot say it!’ He finally said, ‘Shah is higher.’
“‘Abdu’l-Bahá asked, ‘And what is higher than the Shah?’ The young man exclaimed, ‘Nothing is higher than the Shah!’ ‘That is your answer,’ replied ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. ‘I am nothing.’ ”
Beth McKenty, who has worked for the National Information Office contacting news media across the country, spoke of methods for getting publicity about the Faith into print.
She suggested praying before visiting an editor, and “connecting” with the editor on a human level.
Bahá’ís from Canada, Irán and Mexico were among those at the conference.
At least four individuals asked to become Bahá’ís before the conference was over, with one of them signing a declaration card in the parking lot outside the meeting hall.
One of the things that attracts so many people to the annual Green Lake Conference is the natural beauty of the Wisconsin surroundings.
Among the special attractions at the 18th Green Lake Conference was entertainment by the New World Construction Company, etc. (The “etc.” stands for “expansion, teaching and consolidation.”)
The Harvest Is Always Good[edit]
The following is reprinted with thanks from the monthly Bulletin of the Bahá’ís of Barbados and the Windward Islands: •
How to Plant a Spiritual Garden
- 1. Plant four rows of “peas”
- Prayer
- Perseverance
- Preparation
- Promptness
- 2. Plant four rows of “squash”
- Squash backbiting
- Squash criticism
- Squash negative thinking
- Squash interference
- 3. Plant four rows of “lettuce”
- Let us support the Fund
- Let us live the Bahá’í life
- Let us love one another
- Let us deepen daily
- 4. Plant four rows of “turnips”
- Turn up for Feast
- Turn up with a smile
- Turn up with ideas
- Turn up with reverence
College Teaching Campaign Slated[edit]
The National Bahá’í Youth Committee will be contacting college clubs shortly regarding details of a two-week intensive teaching campaign. One of the highlights will involve victory rallies in California, New York, Illinois, the District of Columbia, and South Carolina. Watch for further details in the January issue of The American Bahá’í.
When Moving
A Way to Help Fund[edit]
There’s more than one way to help the National Bahá’í Fund.
You help the Fund, for example, when you notify the Department of Membership and Records before moving of your change of address.
When the U.S. Postal Service has to notify Membership and Records that someone has moved by returning his mail, it costs money.
During the last year, mail returns of The American Bahá’í averaged 1,450 a month (roughly 4 per cent of the mailing). These mail returns cost the Bahá’í National Center 25 cents each, which is $360 a month or $4,300 a year.
You can see how that quickly becomes expensive. What’s more, it’s really an unnecessary expense.
If the friends would simply inform Membership and Records of a change of address before moving, the Postal Service wouldn’t have to charge 25 cents to give the same information.
Please, before you move, contact the Office of Membership and Records, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091.
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