The American Bahá’í/Volume 9/Issue 10/Text
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‘The real treasury of man is his knowledge.’—Bahá’u’lláh
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Message From the Guardian (Reprinted from Bahá’í News, January 1941.) ●
Dearly-beloved friends: My heart is thrilled with delight as I witness, in so many fields, and in such distant outposts, and despite such formidable difficulties, restrictions, obstacles and dangers, so many evidences of the solidarity, the valor, and the achievements of the American Bahá’í community. As the end of the First Century of the Bahá’í Era approaches, as the shadows descending upon and enveloping mankind steadily and remorselessly deepen, this community, which can almost be regarded as the solitary champion of the Faith in the Western World, is increasingly evincing and demonstrating its capacity, its worth, and ability as the torch-bearer of the New, the World Civilization which is destined to supplant in the fullness of time the present one. And more particularly in the virgin and far-flung territories of Latin America, it has, in recent months, abundantly given visible evidence of its merits and competence to shoulder the immense responsibilities which the carrying of the sacred Fire to all the Republics of the Western Hemisphere must necessarily entail. Through these initial steps, which, in pursuance of the Plan conceived by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, this community has taken, through the settlement in each of these sovereign states of the New World of American Bahá’í pioneers, through the formation of Bahá’í groups and establishment of two Assemblies in Buenos Aires and Bahia, the American National Assembly, as well as its Inter-America Committee, and all subsidiary agencies, no less than the individual members of the North American Bahá’í community who have sacrificed and are still sacrificing so much in their support of this Divine and momentous Plan, have earned the unqualified admiration and undying gratitude of sister Assemblies and fellow-workers throughout the Bahá’í World. Their work, however, is only beginning. The dispatch of pioneers, the provision of adequate means for their support, their settlement and initiation of Bahá’í activities in these far-off lands, however strenuous and meritorious, are insufficient if the Plan is to evolve harmoniously and yield promptly its destined fruit. The extension by the Parent Assembly—the immediate source from which this vast system with all its ramifications is now proceeding—of the necessary support, guidance, recognition and material assistance to enable these newly-fledged groups and Assemblies to function in strict accordance with both the spiritual and administrative principles of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh, would seem as essential and urgent as the preliminary task already achieved. To nurse these tender plants of See GUARDIAN, Page 14
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Fund-Raiser[edit]
California Drive Nets $17,000[edit]
Some 600 Bahá’ís contributed more than $17,000 to the California summer teaching campaign at a $25-a-plate fund-raising dinner August 13 sponsored by the Spiritual Assembly of Newport Beach, California.
“Bahá’ís from hundreds of communities were present,” reported Paulette Pappas, secretary of the Newport Beach Assembly.
Charles Wolcott, a member of the Universal House of Justice, was a guest speaker, as was Auxiliary Board member Fred Schechter. Dr. Daniel C. Jordan, chairman of the National Spiritual Assembly, was the emcee.
“SPECIAL entertainment,” the Newport Beach Assembly said in its report of the event, “was provided by Houshmand Aghili, Dr. Masoud Roshan, Nosrat Solhjoo, England Dan and John Ford Coley, and Leslie and Kelly.
Members of the California Victory March teaching team shared tender stories with the audience of the success of the project and the need for further projects hereafter.”
The Newport Beach Assembly indicated that more than $8,000 was raised by the initial $25 contribution per person. The remaining $8,000 to $9,000 was contributed by some 200 Bahá’ís at the dinner, above and beyond their initial contributions.
“We had arranged envelopes around the floral centerpieces at the tables,” said Mrs. Fru Michalchik, Assembly chairman, “and also there were envelopes available by the door. Those who wanted to contribute more used the envelopes and put them into a fund box. There were some contributions without any names.”
“We are overwhelmed by this victory,” concluded the Assembly report. “We pray that this victory will encourage the continued success of the Five Year Plan.”
Charles Wolcott, a member of the Universal House of Justice, was a guest speaker at the fund-raising dinner August 13 at Newport Beach, California.
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Unity Award Presentation Bid Success in Houston[edit]
The week of June 11–18 witnessed a major Bahá’í teaching event in Houston, Texas. After three months of preparation and planning by the Houston Teaching Committee, Race Unity Week got under way.
The week’s events stood in sharp contrast to an atmosphere of tension and unrest created in mid-May by a violent upheaval of racial animosity in the Mexican-American barrios of Houston.
Race Unity Day, June 11, was observed with a picnic and proclamation that attracted 65 people, Bahá’ís and non-Bahá’ís alike.
THE RACE Unity Day event followed a District Teaching Committee-sponsored Cluster meeting and was publicized in newspapers and on posters throughout the city.
T-shirts with the Race Unity Week logo—a group of black and white figures standing on a stylized earth—and the slogan “Mankind Is One” also were used.
The remaining days of the week were devoted to firesides held in various Houston neighborhoods.
The highlight of the week, however, was a semi-formal dinner on Saturday, June 18, at which the Bahá’ís of Houston presented an award to a Houston resident who had made “an outstanding contribution toward racial unity.”
| A special four-page report on the International Year of the Child begins on Page 7. |
SEVERAL prominent citizens were asked to serve on the selection committee. Congresswoman Barbara Jordan, local United Nations director Alice Thompson, the Rev. Tom Freeman, the Rev. Helen Havens, and Larry Spencer, director of the Houston Council on Human Relations, accepted, although Rep. Jordan and the Rev. Freeman were unable to serve. Also on the committee was Cliff Waisome, a member of the Spiritual
3 Countries Have Urgent Pioneer Need[edit]
With only half a year left until the end of the Five Year Plan, the International Goals Committee reports an urgent need for pioneers to Finland, Madagascar and Denmark.
Present assignments call for the U.S. to send four pioneers to Finland, two to Madagascar, and four to Denmark.
In Finland, students may attend the English-speaking University of Helsinki. More than 50 U.S. firms have branches in Finland, and employment in professional fields is possible.
FINLAND’S climate is similar to Boston’s in the winter, but summer temperatures rarely exceed 75 degrees Fahrenheit. Public health standards are on a par with the U.S., medical facilities are of high quality, and education is free through the university level.
Knowledge of French is required in Madagascar. Employment opportunities are limited, with preference given to blacks. University professorships, engineering positions and jobs with multi-national corporations are the most likely employment opportunities.
Unemployment is high in Denmark, and it is all but impossible for an American to secure a job.
A PIONEER may enter the country on a student visa to attend a specific institution; for example, the International
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Inside
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85 Enroll in California March[edit]
A report from the California Regional Teaching Committee says there have been a total of 85 enrollments and 162 declarations as a result of the activities of the Victory March team, a traveling road show that has been teaching and performing throughout the state.
In addition to saving the jeopardized Assembly at El Centro, where the traveling teaching project originated, the Victory March team has helped save the Merced J.D. Assembly, and has helped enroll enough new Bahá’ís to form 17 new Assemblies by November 12.
The team has been working in seven major areas, hoping to form five Local Spiritual Assemblies in each of them before the end of the Five Year Plan. Statistics from these areas (as of August 28) are as follows:
- Redlands area—70 interest cards collected, 10 declarations and three enrollments.
- San Luis Obispo area—71 interest cards collected, six declarations and two enrollments.
- Watsonville area—208 interest cards collected, 90 declarations and 30 enrollments.
- Los Banos area—57 interest cards collected, 22 declarations and 30 enrollments.
- Merced area—91 interest cards collected, 22 declarations and 22 enrollments.
- Vallejo area—77 interest cards collected, 10 declarations with no figure available on the number of enrollments.
- Lemon Grove area—70 interest cards, 12 declarations, and 12 enrollments.
Two permanent projects have been set up in localities already visited by the Victory March team, in Watsonville and El Centro. Teaching teams in these areas have been following up on the information provided on the declaration of interest cards.
Additionally, there have been three teaching projects during the summer on Indian reservations in California: a teaching and service project on the Campo-Manzanita Reservation, sponsored by the El Centro Assembly; a two-week project on the Hoopa Reservation with help from Indian believers who traveled from Idaho and Minnesota; and a project on the Pala Reservation that included visits from England Dan and John Ford Coley.
The American Indian Teaching Committee feels that many people are close to declaration in these areas, and hopes to form Assemblies in them in the near future.
England Dan (right) and John Ford Coley were among the entertainers at the Newport Beach, California, fund-raiser August 13 at which some $17,000 was raised for the California Victory Campaign (Story on Page 1).
‘Road Shows’ Spice California Effort[edit]
“We are traveling with approximately 84 projecteers,” a member of the California Bahá’í Victory March Team and Road Show reported in August. “The youngest member of our team is three and the oldest is 70.”
The traveling teaching team stages two “road shows”, according to the report. One is a musical comedy with eight performers, and the other is a musical concert with approximately six performers. Some of the team members act as stage crew. Everyone teaches, no matter what other duties he or she may have.
Team members indicate that proclamations have been well attended on the whole.
“WHENEVER England Dan and John Ford Coley perform,” the report added, “it is usually very easy to get extensive newspaper, radio and television coverage. We produce our own flyers and posters for the events and use them as teaching tools in the local neighborhoods, inviting families to the evening proclamations and also to firesides, to learn more about the Bahá’í Faith when the event is over.”
The report said that a Bahá’í had donated three motor coaches that were used to transport the majority of the projecteers to new project areas and to their daily teaching areas. Included on the team are three cooks, mechanics to keep the vehicles running, and a nurse.
“We have also promised to establish a Bahá’í Center in Calexico,” the report said, “to initiate entry by troops. This area has proven to be not only highly receptive to the Teachings of Bahá’u’lláh, but is of great assistance in solving the problem of enrolling many of the migrant workers throughout the states of California, Arizona, and Oregon, primarily because they and their families live as permanent residents in either Calexico or Mexicali.
“MANY OF the migrant workers leave their families in Calexico or Mexicali as they travel the harvest circuit; this is why deepening the believers and providing them with literature in this particular area will prove to be a more efficient way of deepening new believers.”
The team has set a goal of securing at least five new Local Spiritual Assemblies in each of the seven major project areas. It has currently helped to raise enough new believers to form at least 17 new Assemblies by November 12.
Many of the teachers on the Victory March team have committed themselves to the teaching effort until the end of the Five Year Plan.
After attending a nine-day teaching institute in early July sponsored by the Michigan District Teaching Committee, members of the Michigan Teaching Team traveled throughout the state holding firesides and proclamations. Included was a proclamation to leaders of the Amish community in southern Michigan, as well as several newspaper ads and articles which explained that Bahá’u’lláh is the spiritual Return of Christ. Success crowned their efforts with the enrollment of three believers and close contact with six or seven very interested seekers. The teaching project was coordinated by the Mainland Michigan District Teaching Committee.
This stylized logo was used by the Bahá’í community of Houston, Texas, to publicize its Race Unity Week events in June
Houston Award[edit]
Continued From Page 1
Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Houston.
Suggestions were sought from the public via press releases.
The recipient of the award was Father Jorge Duran, a Mexican-American Roman Catholic priest whose church is in the neighborhood where racial violence flared in mid-May, and whose actions are credited with doing much to avert further destruction of property and bloodshed.
Fr. Duran organized a large prayer gathering for peace, and encouraged the students in his parish school to disregard the inflammatory literature that was being spread throughout the neighborhood.
IN THE FIVE years he has been in this country, Fr. Duran has gained the love and respect of the members of his community, and no further violence has arisen there.
Fr. Duran, who was nominated by a Bahá’í who teaches at a school in his parish, has shown considerable interest in the Faith.
In his acceptance speech, Fr. Duran said his goal in life is to serve others. He praised the Bahá’ís for their interest in racial unity, and read the words of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá inscribed on the award:
“The difference of color is the adornment of the rose garden. Were it of one color it would not have such splendor.”
About 130 people attended the dinner, more than one-third of whom were not Bahá’ís. They heard a talk on the Faith by Don Hawley and enjoyed entertainment by Freddie Polk, the Seixas, and the Turkish student group of the University of Houston.
The fruits of Race Unity Week are still being harvested. Fr. Duran’s church has requested Spanish-language firesides, and the Spanish-English newspaper, La Prensa, has expressed an interest in articles on the Faith.
The Houston Bahá’í community plans to make Race Unity Week an annual event.
Believer From U.S. Recounts Mexico Teaching Experiences[edit]
Nick Athan, a Bahá’í from San Diego, California, traveled and taught the Faith from October 1977 to May 1978 in about 40 cities, towns and villages in 14 states of the Republic of Mexico.
Many localities were opened to the Faith, Mr. Athan said in a report to the International Goals Committee, but “the outstanding achievement...was the election of the first Spiritual Assembly in the state of Michoacan, and the opening and subsequent formation of the first Spiritual Assembly in the region of La Huasteca.”
The film, Paso a Paso, was used, he reported, when teaching in a new area.
“In one town,” he said, “we used the local movie theater, and over 400 people came to see the film.”
Afterward, audiences would be told more about the Faith. Follow-up meetings were held in the homes of those who indicated an interest. The efforts led, said Mr. Athan, to “many people declaring their belief in Bahá’u’lláh.”
After returning to the U.S. last June to participate in a Youth Project on the Navajo Reservation in Arizona and to visit San Diego, Mr. Athan returned to Mexico in August to continue teaching.
America to ‘Lead All Nations Spiritually’[edit]
(EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the first in a series of articles on materialism in America prepared by the Office of the Treasurer. This first article deals with “The Destiny of America.”)
‘Abdu’l-Bahá loved the American believers. In His Tablets and addresses, He consistently praised us and expressed hopes for our great attainments: “May (it) be the first nation to establish the foundation of international agreement...the first nation to proclaim universality of mankind...the first to upraise the standard of the Most Great Peace.”1
‘Abdu’l-Bahá also promised great success. The believers of the American continent, He said, “will lead all nations spiritually.”2 What a glorious destiny America has! Yet, it must be remembered that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was speaking of America’s potential, not its current reality.
OUR CURRENT reality as a nation is somewhat lower than those noble ideals. In The Advent of Divine Justice, the Guardian cited the American people’s great destiny as builders of the World Order of Bahá’u’lláh. He also made clear the reasons why America had been chosen for such a high destiny.
He said the American believers should not “imagine for a moment that for some mysterious purpose or by any reason of inherent excellence or special merit Bahá’u’lláh has chosen to confer upon their country and people so great and lasting a distinction.
“It is precisely by reason of the patent evils which, notwithstanding its other admittedly great characteristics and achievements, an excessive and binding materialism has unfortunately engendered within it that the Author of their Faith and the Center of His Covenant have singled it out to become the standard-bearer of the New World Order envisaged in their writings.”3
WHY WAS America chosen as the Cradle of the Administrative Order if this community is so “patently evil”? Why were we, so severely afflicted with the spiritual disease of materialism, given so stunning a responsibility? Shoghi Effendi gave an illuminating answer:
“It is by such means as this that Bahá’u’lláh can best demonstrate to a heedless generation His almighty power to raise up from the very midst of a people, immersed in a sea of materialism, a prey to one of the most virulent and long-standing forms of racial prejudice, and notorious for its political corruption, lawlessness and laxity in moral standards, men and women who, as time goes by, will increasingly exemplify those essential virtues of self-renunciation, of moral rectitude, of chastity, of indiscriminating fellowship, of holy discipline, and of spiritual insight that will fit them for the preponderating share they will have in calling into being that World Order and that World Civilization of which their country, no less than the entire human race, stands in desperate need.”4
Therefore, we see that America’s true destiny is to demonstrate the transforming, regenerative power of the Word of God as brought by Bahá’u’lláh.
It is our duty as American Bahá’ís to demonstrate to the entire world that the Message of Bahá’u’lláh is so potent that it can change one of the most materialistic nations on the planet into a community of selfless souls who, through their sacrificial services to their fellow men, will build the framework for the establishment of the Kingdom of God on Earth.
In the next issue, we will examine the destructive forces of materialism that must be overcome if the American Bahá’í community is to fulfill its high destiny.
- ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, pp. 33-34.
- ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, cited by Shoghi Effendi in Guidance for Today and Tomorrow, p. 241.
- Shoghi Effendi, The Advent of Divine Justice, p. 16.
- Shoghi Effendi, The Advent of Divine Justice, p. 16.
Shown above are views of the employee lunchroom and an office in the newly-acquired Bahá’í National Administrative Building. The building, which is being financed through contributions, loans and estate bequests from individual believers, was purchased by the National Spiritual Assembly in August. By 1980, the widely separated branches of the Bahá’í National Center will at last be united in a single structure. Contributions toward the purchase of the Administrative Office Building should be over and above one’s regular support of the Bahá’í Funds.
Unity Enables Assembly to Top Fund Goal[edit]
Dear Bahá’í Co-workers:
The Bahá’ís of Herndon have been increasingly aware of the deficit facing the National Spiritual Assembly this year. The Treasurer’s chart is more disheartening every month as we see that we are not meeting our goals.
This morning, I gave our Assembly the good news that we had not only met our goal, but we had exceeded it. More importantly, we achieved 100 per cent participation!
After paying our debts, we found that we had a considerable amount left in the treasury. We decided that it was unnecessary to keep such a large amount on hand. Therefore, with the greatest of joy, we are sending the bulk of our reserves to the National Fund.
We sincerely hope that this sum will not only help to meet the goal, but that it will help us to surpass some of the remaining goals of the Five Year Plan.
Lawrence Nylin, Treasurer
Focus Is on Individual
Conventions Get Treasurer’s Report[edit]
During the month of September, the Treasurer’s Report for District Conventions was mailed to every Bahá’í in the United States. This marks the first time that the report has been distributed in advance of the District Conventions.
According to Stephen Jackson, assistant to the Treasurer, the mailing was sent to stimulate consultation on the Fund at the Conventions as well as to encourage increased contributions.
The report focuses on two main areas: the importance of the individual contributing regularly to the National Fund, and the pressing financial needs of the Faith during the remaining months of the Five Year Plan.
DELEGATES to the National Convention cited “Participation of Individuals” as the major issue regarding the National Fund. The National Spiritual Assembly is placing major emphasis on the significance of the individual in helping to win the annual contributions goal.
“An average of 2,000 individuals are contributing each month,” Mr. Jackson noted. “We are hoping that many more believers will follow the guidance of the Guardian and begin to make regular contributions to the National Fund.”
The report also expressed the National Spiritual Assembly’s concern over the low level of contributions received this year.
In an effort to fulfill the remaining goals of the Plan, the National Spiritual Assembly has doubled the amount of money to be spent for teaching and set the National Fund contributions goal at a record level. To date, however, contributions are running about $400,000 behind the goal.
THE NATIONAL Spiritual Assembly is confident that the American Bahá’í community can exceed the National Fund goal.
To assist in that effort, the National Spiritual Assembly is asking the believers who have not yet contributed directly to the National Fund to begin to contribute regularly. In addition, those who are already supporting the Fund are being encouraged to seek ways in which they can increase the level of their support.
“A substantial increase in the number of individuals contributing to the National Fund would provide all the resources necessary to win our goals,” Mr. Jackson concluded.
What of Child’s Contributions?[edit]
Q.: Should the treasurer provide Fund envelopes for the children in the community, and how should these contributions be handled?
A.: Children below the age of 15 are regarded as members of the community and are entitled and encouraged to support the Fund. Not only may they be provided with envelopes, but they should be included in all activities relating to the Fund.
The treasurer may wish to provide time during the Feast presentation for a “children’s report,” keep a universal participation chart for them, and initiate activities that will increase their attachment to the institution of the Fund.
Q.: Should children and youth be included when calculating the percentage of the community giving to the local Fund?
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Have You Invited a Friend to a Fireside? |
A.: It is left to the discretion of each community to develop its own system for reporting contributions from children. Youth, if they are enrolled Bahá’ís, can be included with the adult participation figures. If a youth is over 15 and not a declared believer, he or she is considered a non-Bahá’í and is not privileged to contribute to the Fund.
Counsellors Confer With Board Members[edit]
How to help the United States and Canada win their remaining goals of the Five Year Plan was the major theme of three regional workshop sessions of the Continental Board of Counsellors for North America and its Auxiliary Boards that were held July 1-3 and July 7-9 in Toronto, Canada, and in Los Angeles and Wilmette.
All three gatherings were blessed with the presence of a Hand of the Cause of God. John Robarts was at the meeting in Toronto, with Counsellors Lloyd Gardner, Angus Cowan and Edna True. Zikrullah Khadem, with Counsellors Lloyd Gardner, Sarah Pereira and Edna True, was present at the Wilmette meeting, while William Sears attended the West Coast workshop with Counsellor Velma Sherrill.
BEFORE consultation at the Midwest meeting, representatives of the National Spiritual Assembly—Magdalene Carney, Soo Fouts and Glenford E. Mitchell—outlined the Assembly’s plans for winning the goals. John Conkling, secretary of the National Teaching Committee, explained how these plans are being implemented.
The West Coast assemblage was addressed by National Spiritual Assembly member Richard Betts, and by Carol Allen, secretary of the California Regional Teaching Committee.
Four members of the Canadian National Spiritual Assembly—Jameson Bond, Douglas Martin, Husayn Banani and Hossain Danesh—as well as representatives of the National Teaching Committee of Canada consulted with those gathered in Toronto.
THE PARTICIPANTS in the Wilmette sessions had the added bounty of being able to pray together in the Holy House of Worship.
The workshops and accompanying consultations emphasized the importance of all members of the institution focusing their entire efforts toward gaining the remaining goals of the Five Year Plan in collaboration with the National Spiritual Assemblies and their committees. Consultation also centered on the valuable role and utilization of the assistants to Auxiliary Board members.
Present at a regional workshop session of the Continental Board of Counsellors for North America and their Auxiliary Boards held July 1-3 at Wilmette, Illinois, were (front row, left to right) Auxiliary Board member Adrienne Reeves, Counsellor Lloyd Gardner, Counsellor Edna M. True, the Hand of the Cause of God Zikrullah Khadem, Counsellor Sarah M. Pereira; (middle row, left to right) Auxiliary Board members Benjamin Levy, Katherine McLaughlin, Nat Rutstein, Javidukht Khadem, D. Thelma Jackson, Dr. Sam McClellan, Hormoz Bastani; (back row, left to right) Auxiliary Board members Stephen Birkland, Albert James, Elizabeth Martin, Donald Barrett, Eunice Braun, Susan Gerard, Stephen P. Ader.
The Auxiliary Board members and their assistants, the Counsellors pointed out, should help the friends develop and enhance their spiritual capacities. Through the power of the Covenant in teaching and in living the life, and total dedication to the tasks, victory can be attained.
The Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Washington, Illinois, was formed May 15 and a Recognition Ceremony held June 11. Members are (front row, left to right) Rose Koutelis, Shirley Crenshaw, Laura Beebe, Kimberly Norris; (back row, left to right) Charles Wilson, Michael Koutelis, Carl Crenshaw, Gene Houk, and (kneeling) Patricia Houk.
Bahá’í Office Urges Support Of United Nations Programs[edit]
The Bahá’í International Community, which represents the Faith at the United Nations, requests that the friends in this country continue this year to foster their relationship with the U.N. by planning special programs for United Nations/World Development Information Day (October 24) and Human Rights Day (December 10).
These are the most well-known events observed by the U.N. to call attention to the aims and activities of that world body, which today has a membership of 149 nations—representing almost the whole of humanity.
SINCE UN Day and Human Rights Day are not Bahá’í events, they frequently offer Bahá’ís an opportunity to reach many people who are concerned with the serious problems the U.N. is trying to solve, such as problems of the advancement of women, the well-being of children, health, nutrition, education, drug abuse, environment and others—all conditions for which the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh is the complete answer.
Such observances not only lend themselves to public education and favorable publicity, they also afford an excellent opportunity to teach the Faith. On these occasions, Bahá’ís are able to show how the obstacles to human happiness and a peaceful and healthy world community can be overcome and eliminated through Bahá’í unity in diversity.
The Bahá’í International Community suggests that in planning these observances, the friends work closely with the National Information Office and U.N. chapters to obtain information and materials, borrow films, and invite the participation of appropriate speakers.
Las Vegas to Present Faith Via Cassette Tape Library[edit]
The Greater Las Vegas, Nevada, Bahá’í Media Committee has signed a contract with Tel-Life magazine to present Bahá’í cassette tapes to Las Vegas area residents via telephone.
Tel-Life is distributed by the Tel-It-All audio library, a nationwide concern that supplies helpful, free information to the public through tape-recorded messages. The complete audio library is listed each month in the magazine.
Tel-Life allowed the Bahá’í media committee to place its first tape in the magazine free. Ten tapes presently are listed under the heading “Bahá’í Faith.” The titles are:
ONE PLANET, One People; Divine Education; Principles of True Religion; Purpose of Religion; Some Truths for a New Age; Unity, Not Uniformity; Faith for Freedom; Search for Truth; The Oneness of Religion, and Science and Religion as Partners.
To receive information from a tape, a person need only dial the Tel-Life number and, when the operator asks, “What tape, please?” specify the number of the tape that is being requested.
Tel-Life itself records the tapes from scripts supplied by the Bahá’ís using a professional announcer.
The magazine also printed a one-quarter page ad for the Faith for the cost of one-eighth of a page, because, said a spokesman for the media committee, “they didn’t want to detract from what they considered a beautiful advertisement.”
The theme of the ad was “One Planet, One People...Please.”
The Pioneer Training Institute held August 3-6 in Wilmette, Illinois, was attended by 57 believers who will be filling pioneer posts in Argentina, Bermuda, the Central African Empire, the French Antilles, Ghana, Greenland, Haiti, Japan, Leeward/Virgin Islands, Mexico, New Zealand, the Philippines, the Seychelles, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sweden, Thailand, Trinidad/Tobago, Zaire, and Zambia.
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VANGUARD Youth News |
Youth Relates Indian Teaching Successes[edit]
Dear Youth Committee:
I want to thank you with all my heart for the scholarship you sent so that I could travel and teach on the Indian Reservations in South Dakota.
Thank you for a beautiful month filled with teaching the Faith. I truly learned what it is to live each day for one purpose—teaching—and that’s a beautiful way to live a day!
I arrived as scheduled on July 5. Joanne Marion, the project coordinator, brought me first to Lower Brule (on the Pine Ridge Reservation) to meet the other youth who had been teaching in the area for about a month.
WE WERE to have children’s classes, firesides (in the people’s homes with their permission—this was much more accepted than their coming to Bahá’í homes), and a public meeting at the end of the week.
We began each morning with children’s classes. There I learned that these children truly need and love the Bahá’ís; their open love and sincerity was really heart-filling.
Afterward, we visited seekers, and the families of the children. There were many who were truly searching, and we told them that the Bahá’í Faith is it!
Our public meeting left everyone quite pleased because the Indians came to a white person’s home, which is not usually done. We showed the film, The Green Light Expedition.
THAT WEEKEND we picked up another youth and went to Wanblee. Again, we had classes, firesides and visits. We met many youth in Wanblee. We stayed at the community hall and had a sort of open house for people to come whenever they wanted—and they did!
We made many warm friendships there, and learned many things about the beauty and simplicity of Indian traditions.
A few weeks later, some of the youth returned to Wanblee to ask the people their opinion of the Bahá’ís, and whether they would like to hear more about the Faith. This brought many positive responses; we felt they truly wanted the Bahá’ís to return there.
Next, we held a proclamation at Fort Thompson (on the Crow Creek Reservation). We designed invitations using parts of the pamphlet, The Spirit Way, quotes from ‘Abdu’l-Bahá on progressive revelation, and basic Bahá’í principles.
OTHERS OF us planned entertainment—children singing, a Bahá’í play, an interpretive dance, and two speakers (one of whom spoke in the Sioux language).
Though the speakers were delayed, the evening was a big success, with about 12 adults and their children attending.
That was to have been the end of our teaching, but for me and Bruce Wells, another Bahá’í youth, it was only the beginning.
Littlebrave Beaston, our speaker from North Dakota, said we were needed to teach in Fort Yates (on the Standing Rock Reservation), so away we went.
The Assembly there met and planned for us two weeks of teaching, nonstop! Children’s classes, meeting local non-Bahá’í youth, firesides, and, most important, meeting with isolated believers.
IT WAS A beautiful two weeks, with seekers literally “dropping into our laps.”
Our stay in North Dakota ended on a high note in Wakpala with another proclamation, on a smaller scale.
We used the same invitations, with some small alterations, and went from house to house inviting people to see the filmstrip, The People.
Five interested seekers came. We had a brief fireside, and gave each of them an Interest Card. All of them wanted to know more. And one man who has a family of nine children wanted to know how to become a Bahá’í!
The meeting didn’t end with that. As I stood outside, a group of close to 15 youth came up and asked me what was happening, then Bahá’u’lláh took over!
Well, that’s what happened. I hope I’ve brightened your day a little by telling you that your funds and your support are really working for the Faith! Many know of the Faith now, and it won’t be long before they do something about it.
Astoria, Oregon
Careers for Youth
Business Administration Offers Arena for Service[edit]
(EDITOR’S NOTE: The first of a two-part series on careers for young people in accounting was written by Geoffrey N. Wilson, CPA, with Dorothy M. Há’i.)
Career opportunities in business continue to grow. Well-qualified people are needed to run our organizations. Developing nations need skilled people in business administration if they are to raise the standard of living of their malnourished, poorly educated peoples.
One type of service to humanity would be to become educated in a field of business administration to contribute to “an ever-advancing civilization.”
By 1985, the United States alone will need about 150,000 more accountants than there are now. Accounting isn’t the same as bookkeeping, which involves recording financial information for the accountants.
ACCOUNTANTS, on the other hand, are responsible for gathering the financial information required by management to make decisions concerning how to operate their firms.
This means accountants would be involved in designing systems needed to generate accurate and timely financial information. Such systems include payroll, purchasing, inventory, disbursements, sales, receivables, cost accounting control, and maintenance of the general books of accounts.
Accountants also are involved in auditing or testing the financial information systems. This type of work requires a background knowledge of the firm, and a good command of math and statistics. Many times it is the auditor who is relied upon to detect fraud or uncover errors and inefficiencies in the operations.
A certified public accountant is an outside accountant who is hired by management to audit the financial statements and render an opinion. Owing to the CPA’s familiarity with his client’s systems and operations, he also is in a very good position to make management recommendations for improving the company. This often leads to CPAs helping clients to install new computer-based systems, as an example.
THE CPA’s report or opinion is vital to the company. The report is used by banks to determine amounts of credit to extend. It is also used heavily by securities analysts and investors in determining the value of the company’s stock if it is listed on one of the stock exchanges.
Jobs for accountants are available in all types of corporations, non-profit organizations, Certified Public Accounting firms, educational institutions such as colleges and universities, and government agencies.
The level of education required to be an accountant varies. The usual minimum is a college degree with an accounting major from a four-year college or university. A master’s degree can bring additional opportunities and often a higher salary.
To be an accounting professor, a doctorate is required. A CPA (Certified Public Accountant) certificate is required by CPA firms, but usually not until after several years in the job.
ABILITIES needed to become an accountant include logical thinking and some facility for working with numbers and statistical information (but one doesn’t have to be a math whiz).
Pioneering opportunities are good, since accountants are needed everywhere. U.S. government agencies abroad, and overseas offices of multinational corporations need accountants, and at least 10 of the larger CPA firms employ CPAs overseas.
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Positions Available At National Center Job openings are available at the Bahá’í National Center for general clerks, stenographers, and word processing machine operators. Please send resumes to the Bahá’í National Center, Personnel Office, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091. |
Accountants can use their skills to serve the Faith by assisting National or Local Assembly treasurers to carry out their accounting duties. They can also serve as a good example to their professional colleagues of what it means to be a Bahá’í.
The second part of this article will discuss careers in finance and compare them with accounting careers.
A Bahá’í youth working at the Bahá’í National Center offices this summer included Summer Work/Study projecteers Dan Ḥaghighi (left) and Allen Plymale (center), shown here with Paul Levine of Niles, Illinois, who was doing volunteer work at the National Center when this picture was taken.
Youth Work, Study at Center[edit]
The National Bahá’í Youth Committee sponsored its Summer 1978 Work/Study Project July 9-21.
Because of the relatively small number of people involved, the project was modified to allow the participants to work at the National Center offices during the full work day.
The youth were able to learn about and work in Community Administration, Membership and Records, Mail Services, the Education Committee office, the Youth Committee office, and the Teaching Committee office.
In the evenings, the Work/Study projecteers guided at the Bahá’í House of Worship and participated in the “after-hours garden teaching” program. Weekend highlights included a trip to Marriott’s “Great America” amusement park and a barbecue hosted by David Clayborne, secretary of the National Youth Committee.
The projecteers also had the special bounty of meeting and hearing Hooper Dunbar, a member of the Continental Board of Counsellors and International Teaching Centre, when he visited Wilmette.
The participants said they liked the project so much they already are planning to attend next summer’s Work/Study Project.
The Winter Work/Study Project will be held for one week only, December 24-31. Start planning NOW to participate!
600 Hear of Faith at Kentucky College[edit]
More than 600 alumni and friends of Berea (Kentucky) College were present at a class reunion in July that featured an address by Dr. James Turpin of Palo Alto, California, a Bahá’í who was founder and director of Project Concern, a worldwide organization dedicated to improving health conditions everywhere.
In his address, Dr. Turpin spoke of the great disparity among nations in terms of resources and technology, and of the need for a remedy for its maladies.
HE SAID he had hoped to offer some relief through his own efforts and those of the many people associated with Project Concern. But even such efforts, he told his audience, were not enough to heal the world’s ailments.
After years of search, he said, he had found a far better instrument for solving the world’s problems and curing its ills: the Bahá’í Faith.
Dr. Turpin then told those present that Bahá’u’lláh is the Promised One of God—the long-awaited “Return of Christ.”
At the close of his address, Dr. Turpin received a standing ovation. The alumni director said that never before had he heard such an electrifying presentation.
Afterward, Dr. Turpin spoke individually with several hundred of the guests, greeting them in a reception line that lasted for nearly two hours.
Among the audience were ministers and clergymen from nearby churches. Several requested that Dr. Turpin speak to their congregations in the near future.
The Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Las Cruces, New Mexico, at the time of its incorporation last February. Front row (left to right) are Richard M. Miller, Gordon Butler, Pia Adams, Kathy Beavers, Frances Gunderson, Marylou Krummenacker. Back row (left to right) are Joseph F. Zambrano, Gary E. Beavers, Gary Sedillo.
The Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of West Covina, California, at its Recognition Ceremony July 30. Members are (seated left to right) Lynne O’Neal, Marcia Flick, Willa Kendrick, Elizabeth Brown, and (standing left to right) Dr. Carl Brodie, Jerome Schreiber, Jonathan Brown, Martin Flick, William Kendrick.
News Briefs
Providence ‘Freedom Display’ Center of Attention[edit]
Last year, the U.S. National Park Service asked the Providence, Rhode Island, Bahá’í community to provide an item for its display on religious freedom at the Roger Williams National Memorial in Providence.
Roger Williams, the founder of Rhode Island, also is credited with being the founder of religious freedom in America.
A lovely illuminated nine-pointed star produced by a local Bahá’í for display was contributed. When the display was set up recently, the star was placed in the middle with photos of local churches and synagogues arranged around it.
Teaching momentum in Providence is increasing as a result of several programs of its Spiritual Assembly.
A summer Neighborhood Teaching Project resulted in the mailing of 2,000 brochures on the Faith to nearly every household in the goal area. To publicize meetings at the local library, newspaper ads and radio public service announcements have been used successfully for the first time.
One seeker who came to a public meeting in Providence and subsequently declared is from Ganado, Arizona.
One radio and one television interview have been obtained in pursuit of the Assembly’s media goals. A great upswing in individual teaching has led to two additional declarations including one in Providence’s goal town of Warren.
The Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Superior Township (Ypsilanti), Michigan, sponsored an auction April 16 to raise money for the National Bahá’í Fund.
Many Bahá’í communities, Groups and individuals in Michigan were contacted and asked to participate in the auction. Items auctioned included pottery, photographs, books, jewelry, trinkets, a typewriter, sewing machine, clothing and a small Persian rug.
Although the turnout was light (22), the spirit was exuberant, and a check for $1,241.50 was sent to the National Bahá’í Fund.
The Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the Fort Hall (Idaho) Indian Reservation has adopted two plans to raise money for the National Bahá’í Fund:
The first involves recycling aluminum cans and foil. A nearby recycling plant pays 17 cents per pound of aluminum; in one month, $8 was raised in this way. The effort is supported by other Bahá’í communities in southeastern Idaho.
The second part of the plan is the auction, American style, of an item during the social portion of each Nineteen Day Feast.
A timer is set for an undisclosed amount of time and bidding begins. Each person keeps track of his or her own bids. The last person to bid before the timer rings receives the item, but each person who bids must pay the amount that he or she has raised the bid. For example, if person A bids five cents and person B five cents and the timer rings, person B receives the item, but both bidders pay five cents.
The person who receives the item is responsible for bringing an item to be auctioned at the next Feast. In this way, the Fort Hall community has nearly doubled its regular monthly contribution to the National Fund...
On July 15, the Mainland Michigan District Teaching Committee sponsored an auction of three Persian rugs combined with a musical program in Bloomfield Hills.
More than 40 people participated, and some $2,000 was raised to help the teaching work in Michigan...
In Alaska, its National Teaching Committee and Bahá’í Information Office are collaborating on a statewide teaching project using the theme “One Planet, One People...Please” that was first used earlier this year in the Los Angeles, California, area.
The eight-month campaign is presenting its theme at fairs, on floats, in proclamations, at firesides, and in the media to make every person in Alaska aware of the Faith. Buttons, posters, balloons, T-shirts and pamphlets using the campaign theme are being made available through the Bahá’í Information Office. The kickoff day was September 17, World Peace Day.
The Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Anaheim, California, sponsored a “game party” July 15 to raise funds for teaching.
Admission (a contribution) was paid by the Bahá’ís: $5 per Bahá’í, $2 per seeker. Food and coffee were donated by the Anaheim community; soft drinks sold for 25 cents each.
Fifty people attended the party, which was held at the home of a Bahá’í in Anaheim. The eight non-Bahá’ís who were present asked for more information about the Faith either at the party or within the next few days.
Contributions totaled nearly $200, one-half of which was forwarded to the California Regional Teaching Committee for the Victory Campaign...
The Bahá’ís of New Castle County, Delaware, achieved an historic first with their participation this year in the first Governor’s Youth Day at the University of Delaware. More than 150 Delaware high school students stopped at the Bahá’í booth to pick up literature and ask questions. Shown here manning the booth are (left to right) Jim Honatka of Swarthmore, Pennsylvania; Barbara Rogers of Newark, Delaware; and Ivan Loder of New Castle.
Pioneers[edit]
Continued From Page 1
People’s College in Helsingor or the New Experimental College in Skyrum Bjerge. It is also possible to enter Denmark through U.S.-sponsored college programs.
Housing in Denmark is limited and expensive, as are most household items and clothing. It is helpful but not essential to speak Danish.
For more information about these most important opportunities to serve the Cause, please contact the International Goals Committee, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091.
Bahá’ís Ready Programs To Support Year of Child[edit]
On December 21, 1976, the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution proclaiming 1979 the International Year of the Child (IYC).
In doing so, the UN asked the people of the world to “thank children,” to celebrate their true potential, to take a hard look at each nation’s programs for children, and to mobilize every possible supportive action in developing and developed countries alike, at the local, national and international levels.
The Bahá’í International Community, which represents the Faith at the UN, is cooperating closely with UNICEF (the UN Children’s Fund) in planning and developing appropriate activities for IYC, and is requesting that Bahá’í communities throughout the world support IYC, as it affords an excellent opportunity for teaching the Faith and promoting Bahá’í ideals as well as for helping the world’s children to improve their lot.
IN THE U.S., the National Education Committee is planning a number of programs and activities for IYC, among them a series of child-oriented articles in The American Bahá’í that will appear throughout 1979.
All Bahá’í local administrative institutions will receive from the committee the IYC kit produced by UNICEF. They are being urged to implement the ideas contained therein.
IYC kits also are being sent to the committee’s trained educational consultants, who will assist local communities with development and implementation of proclamation activities related to the Year of the Child, as well as with activities designed to strengthen the quality of Bahá’í child/adult relations.
The committee also is coordinating its programs with those of the National Spiritual Assemblies of Canada and Alaska to develop a unified IYC plan of action for the North American continent.
Child’s Way, a Bahá’í quarterly magazine for children, and World Order magazine, a Bahá’í quarterly periodical, have agreed to devote an entire issue to the Year of the Child.
Bahá’í News, the U.S. Bahá’í monthly magazine whose circulation is worldwide, is devoting its October issue to the Year of the Child.
In addition to this month’s articles, The American Bahá’í will include articles on Family Unity Night (FUN) activities in January, April, July and October 1979, and will devote one-half page in the eight remaining months of 1979 to topics relating to the International Year of the Child.
The Bahá’í Publishing Trust is preparing special materials whose release will coincide with the Year of the Child.
AMONG THESE materials are a children’s book about the Bahá’ís at the United Nations; the Bahá’í Child Education Teacher Training Manual; a Bahá’í “baby book”; Bahá’í birth certificate; children’s note paper with special IYC design, and miscellaneous arts and crafts items.
The National Education Committee is developing special educational materials including a workshop to be incorporated into the 1978 Bahá’í Winter School sessions, and a special course to be offered to all Bahá’í Summer Schools in 1979.
IYC materials also are available from the IYC Resource Center, a service of the U.S. Committee for UNICEF, at 331 E. 38th St., New York, NY 10016.
The Resource Center was established to assist national, state and local organizations in planning programs for IYC.
OTHER UN materials and programs include a World Atlas on the Child, to be produced by the World Bank; an international exhibition of photos on the theme of children around the world that is to be shown at museums and cultural institutions in 52 countries; a register of planned events, activities and studies arranged by country, by topic and by sponsoring organization that would be of interest to those working on the Year of the Child; and a children’s art contest whose prizes include eight-day trips to Paris.
The Resource Center publishes a regular IYC newsletter and activity leaflet along with other materials including a teacher’s packet, posters, slides and filmstrips.
All are available from the IYC Resource Center at the address listed above.
The Office of Public Information at the UN is planning a full publicity support program for IYC. In addition, the National Education Committee is planning publicity that is to include radio spots.
| O God Guide Me... Guidance is by example – let deeds, not words be our adorning in the coming year. | Protect Me... The health and well-being of the world’s children must be safeguarded, yet as parents, we must allow our children to grow through tests. | Illumine the Lamp of My Heart... “Every child is potentially the light of the world – and at the same time its darkness; wherefore must the question of education be accounted as of primary importance.” |
O GOD GUIDE ME
Bahá’í Principles in the Light of the UN’s International Year of the Child | ||
| And Make Me a Brilliant Star... Children are so much more than objects of our guidance and concern, they are also radiant sources of inspiration, direction and joy. | Thou Art the Mighty and the Powerful... Children’s sense of awe is still fresh, thus reverence is an attribute which we can teach them as they teach us by allowing them to participate in community life. |
Bahá’u’lláh has promised that the future will bring a world of peace and unity, but all we can hope to do right now is prepare for its coming. That world, that day; tomorrow, belongs to the children. International Year of the Child is an excellent opportunity to prepare ourselves, our children and the world for Bahá’u’lláh’s world order. Think of things YOUR community can do to help. |
International Year of the Child is sponsored by the UN, organized by UNICEF.
Children Must Be Trained With Care[edit]
Human beings are the only species on the planet that do not know instinctively how to raise their offspring. We have to learn how to do it.
This is a blessing.
But ignorance can turn the blessing into a nightmare.
Every time a human child is born, a creature comes into being who can transcend nature, a being who, according to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, “can modify, change and control nature according to his own wishes and uses.” (Bahá’í World Faith, p. 243)
“CHILDREN are even as a branch that is fresh and green,” writes ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, “they will grow up in whatever way you train them. Take the utmost care to give them high ideals and goals, so that once they come of age, they will cast their beams like brilliant candles on the world, and will not be defiled by lusts and passions in the way of animals, heedless and unaware, but instead will set their hearts on achieving everlasting honor and acquiring all the excellences of humankind.” (Bahá’í Education: A Compilation, pp. 43-44)
What a precious trust God has given us! To be the custodians of another human life besides our own, to nurture another human soul so that in the fullness of time and maturity it can alter the very foundations of the world, to be one of the exclusive channels of God’s love and knowledge to another human being—these are astonishing gifts, remarkable privileges, as well as awesome responsibilities.
These are tasks for which we must arduously prepare ourselves, so that we can use all our skills, talents, and knowledge to do this job the best way we know how.
We must prepare ourselves to be parents. It is not a task that can be approached in a half-hearted, slipshod manner.
THE UNITED Nations, in calling for the observance of the International Year of the Child, is sending us a clear message about the horrors of raising children in ignorance and with ignorance. In the UN Declaration of the Rights of the Child, 10 rights are listed:
- The right to affection, love, and understanding.
- The right to adequate nutrition and medical care.
- The right to free education.
- The right to full opportunity for play and recreation.
- The right to a name and nationality.
- The right to special care, if handicapped.
- The right to be among the first to receive relief in times of disaster.
- The right to learn to be a useful member of society and to develop individual abilities.
- The right to be brought up in a spirit of peace and universal brotherhood.
- The right to enjoy these rights, regardless of race, color, sex, religion, national or social origin.
One of the messages of this Declaration is that there are millions of children throughout the world who are unwanted, unloved, starving, ignorant, and nameless; who die in droves and suffer terribly at the first sign of natural disaster or war; who will never be able to be useful, contributing members of society; who will never be able to experience the joys of human brotherhood.
NOR SHOULD we assume, simply because we are bringing up children in a materially affluent culture, that the possibility of this nightmare doesn’t exist for us. Some of the most insidious products of ignorant child-rearing are evident in the midst of affluence.
“Truly,” says ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, “if a babe did not live at all it were better than to let it grow ignorant, for that innocent babe, in later life, would become afflicted with innumerable defects, responsible to and questioned by God, reproached and rejected by the people. What a sin this would be and what an omission!” (Bahá’í World Faith, pp. 398-399)
The series of articles compiled by the National Education Committee and presented in The American Bahá’í during the next few months barely scratches the surface in the area of parental skills.
These articles must serve as starting points in our own personal preparations for parenthood—whether we are beginning a new family, or in the midst of raising our children, or even whether we have the responsibility of raising older children through a second marriage. The areas covered in future articles will include:
- building families
- health and nutrition
- raising families that have non-Bahá’í members
- moral and spiritual education of children
- children and the learning process
“AMONG the greatest of all services that can possibly be rendered by man to Almighty God,” says ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, “is the education and training of children, young plants of the Abhá Paradise, so that these children, fostered by grace in the way of salvation, growing like pearls of divine bounty in the shell of education, will one day bejewel the crown of abiding glory.
“It is, however, very difficult to undertake this service, even harder to succeed in it. I hope that you will acquit yourself well in this most important of tasks, and successfully carry the day, and become an ensign of God’s abounding grace; that these children, reared one and all in the holy Teachings, will develop natures like unto the sweet airs that blow across the gardens of the All-Glorious, and will waft their fragrance around the world.” (Bahá’í Education: A Compilation, p. 31)
The National Education Committee hopes that you will find these articles useful in your task of raising children. If you have any comments, or would like to see other subjects covered, please let the committee know.
Programs[edit]
Continued From Page 7
As of mid-July, 91 national commissions had been established to promote the International Year of the Child.
For the Bahá’í community, IYC offers the best opportunity ever for reaching those people who truly are interested in the future of the world and its children. The Bahá’í International Community and National Education Committee hope that Bahá’ís in the U.S. will take full advantage of the opportunity by lending their wholehearted support to activities and programs associated with the International Year of the Child, and by planning appropriate activities for Bahá’í children to demonstrate their interest in IYC.
Unity of Bahá’í Family Basis for World Peace[edit]
Today’s journalists, social scientists, and politicians tell us that the family is in “trouble,” may be “out of style,” and, most certainly, is undergoing “change.”
While the Bahá’í Writings assure us that the family will be the basic unit of an evolving world civilization, we may wonder how to create or sustain a Bahá’í family in the face of the stresses and strains affecting our society.
If we look around us, we see that outwardly, at least, families in the community do not conform to any one “model.” Both parents may not be Bahá’ís. There may be one parent rather than two.
We may find parents and children living with other relatives and close friends, or living isolated and apart from others. Not all parents and children are biologically related.
DESPITE these outer differences in form, the family stands as the basic unit of our social structure. The Bahá’í Writings tell us that family unity not only fosters the growth of its members but is the basis of world peace:
If love and agreement are manifest in a single family, that family will advance, become illumined and spiritual.... In the same way, the people of a nation develop and advance toward civilization and enlightenment through love and accord.... When love is realized and the ideal spiritual bonds unite the hearts of men, the whole human race will be uplifted.... All mankind will dwell together as one family.... I desire this station for you and I pray God that the people of America may achieve this great end.... (‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Bahá’í World Faith, pp. 229-230)
More specifically, the family, our basic social unit, is governed by the same processes that affect the life of the nation and of the world. It is for this reason that creating unity within our families is a necessary first step to creating unity in the family of nations:
A family is a nation in miniature. Simply enlarge the circle of the household and you have the nation. Enlarge the circle of nations and you have all humanity. The conditions surrounding the family surround the nation. The happenings in the family are the happenings in the life of the nation. Would it add to the progress and advancement of a family if dissensions should arise among its members...? Nay, this would be the cause of the effacement of progress and advancement. So it is in the great family of nations, for nations are but an aggregate of families. (The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 151)
THE FAMILY can achieve unity when it lives according to spiritual laws and principles. The Bahá’í Writings explain:
According to the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh, the family being a human unit must be educated according to rules of sanctity. All the virtues must be taught the family. The integrity of the family bond must be constantly considered and the rights of the individual
Families Show World Power of Bahá’í Love[edit]
Hi, kids! This part of the page is for you. If you like, ask someone in your family to read this section with you. It will be more fun if you can share it with someone.
What do you think about families? What is a family? What is important to you about your own family?
Those are big questions, aren’t they? While you are thinking about them, look at these pictures that some children your age have drawn for us about their families.
The next two drawings show us that families have fun together. Families DO things together—like going camping in the woods!
One boy said he hoped that his family might take a space trip to another planet. His picture shows us how exciting that family adventure might be!
Have you and your family done something fun—or had an adventure lately? What do you like to do with your family?
This picture shows a family group smiling and holding hands. Everyone looks happy, even their dog!
How do people in your family show their love for each other? How does it feel when someone in your family hugs you? How do you feel when you tell someone in your family that you love them?
The last picture shows us that the people all over the world are one family—the human family. The Bahá’í Faith teaches us that we will have peace when the different races, religions and nations love each other and can do things together, just like a family.
Most of the things that Bahá’u’lláh has asked us to do to make the world a better place are things we learn to do in our families. We learn about God and loving other people because of the way we love each other at home.
When we bring our friends who are of different races or religions home to play with us, then people know that Bahá’ís really do love all people.
We learn to be courteous and reverent in our homes. We learn how to talk and listen to people in our family so that as we grow up we will know how to consult and plan exciting things for the whole Bahá’í community.
It is very exciting to be a Bahá’í child. We hope you are thinking about how your family helps you grow and learn and be a part of your Bahá’í community.
If you are a good reader, you might like to read over some of the questions on the quality of our Bahá’í family life and talk with your family about them. If you need some help, ask your parents to read the questions to you and talk with you about what they mean.
In January, this newspaper will have a special activity for you and your family to do. It should be fun. In fact, that will be the name of the activity, “FUN.”
It means that when you and your family do the activity together, and think about it, you will feel closer. “FUN” is short for “family unity.”
Every three months after that, there will be a new FUN activity for you and your family. So be watching for them and let us know how you like them. We would be glad to hear from you. Just write us at:
112 Linden Avenue
Wilmette, Illinois 60091
Bahá’í Children Have the ‘Greatest Gift’[edit]
Dear Bahá’í children:
“The newly born babe of that Day excels the wisest and most venerable men of this time.”
Does that quotation make you feel special? It should. The Báb is talking about you. He is saying that you “have been selected by God and given a wonderful gift.”
‘Abdu’l-Bahá tells you the same thing: “O beloved child! Praise be to God that thou hast entered the divine Kingdom while of tender age and that thou hast received a share of the manifold bounties of the Lord of Hosts.”
YOUR GIFT is the knowledge of Bahá’u’lláh, God’s latest Teacher. It is the most important knowledge that anyone can possibly have.
God’s Teachers are like doctors. When you are sick, you visit a doctor to find out how to get better. The doctor can also tell you what to do to stay well. And a doctor looks after lots of other people so that everyone can be healthy. If people didn’t know where to find a doctor, or if they didn’t listen to his or her advice, soon everyone would be sick and unhappy.
God’s Teachers do the same things for souls that a doctor does for your body. When we are unhappy or worried or confused we can listen to Their teachings and find the answers we need. When we follow these teachings, we grow more spiritually healthy every day. And when all mankind obeys Their laws, the world becomes full of peace and joy and love.
You know that God’s Teacher for this Age is Bahá’u’lláh. This is most important because He is the only Doctor Who can cure the world’s sicknesses—hunger, war, hate, ignorance, and so on. But most people don’t know where to find Him. That is why we still have so many problems.
IT IS SAD but true, that the world’s children suffer terribly because their parents have not been able to find Bahá’u’lláh. It may be hard for you to understand this, because you live in a country where children are usually happy and safe. But in many places on this earth, things are different.
Some children don’t have enough food. (Have you ever been hungry and had nothing to eat? Can you imagine what it would be like to be hungry all the time?) Some don’t have enough clothing. (What would it be like to go without warm clothes when it is cold outside?) There are no schools for them. (What if you never learned to read and write?) There are no doctors and hospitals where they can go. (What would you do if you were very sick and no one could help you?)
Because these children lack so many things, it is very hard for them to develop healthy bodies, minds, and souls.
The United Nations (UN) is an organization of the world’s countries. It represents a first tentative step toward the world government that Bahá’u’lláh told us about.
THE UN says that more than 350 million children are suffering because they don’t have enough food, clothing, schools, and doctors. That’s a lot of children—more than all of the people who live in the United States, Canada, and Mexico combined.
The United Nations has been trying to help these children for many years. It established the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) for this very reason. Maybe you have seen birthday cards made by UNICEF, or gone trick-or-treating for UNICEF and sent the money you collected to help.
Now the UN is trying something new. It has decided that 1979, next year, will be the International Year of the Child.
For 12 whole months, people everywhere will be talking about how to help the world’s children. Governments will be planning what should be done to solve some of these problems. Rich nations will be looking for ways to assist their poorer neighbors.
What can you do about all of this? Well, for one thing, you might be able to help support the International Year of the Child yourself.
YOU COULD tell your friends and teachers at school about it. Maybe you could suggest a class project or a school fair on this theme. How about going to visit your mayor or city council or other government officials and asking them to do something? You might write a letter to your local newspaper about it. What about helping your public library make a display for the International Year of the Child?
You could write and perform a play or puppet show about the world’s children, or organize a fund-raising project for UNICEF. Perhaps you could contact the UN Association where you live and ask for their help.
But there is one thing you can do that is more important than any of these ideas. You can teach people about Bahá’u’lláh. None of the world’s ills can be completely cured until everyone turns to Bahá’u’lláh for help and guidance.
Since you are one of the few who know Him, you can share this good news with others. You can tell your friends and your classmates, and you can help the other Bahá’ís in your area with their teaching work.
IN FACT, you can even use the International Year of the Child as a way of telling others about Bahá’u’lláh and the Bahá’í Faith. If you try some of the projects we have suggested, make sure the people you meet know why you are doing something—because you are a Bahá’í and you want to serve all mankind.
You can talk about these ideas with your parents. Maybe they can help. You might even make suggestions at a Feast and see if your whole community wants to make a teaching project out of the International Year of the Child.
When God gives you a gift, He expects you to use it well. He has given each of us different special gifts—good health, enough food to eat, intelligence, the ability to help other people, and so on. But most important, He has given you the Greatest Gift, Bahá’u’lláh.
You are special. And you have a very special job—to share the gift of Bahá’u’lláh and His Teachings with everyone you can. Good luck!
Debbie and Phil Christensen
Child Education Consultants Available[edit]
The National Education Committee wishes to remind the friends that nationally-trained Child Education Consultants are available to assist local Bahá’í communities with the organization of child education programs.
There are some areas that presently do not have consultants and some areas in which consultants have heavy assignment schedules; however, let the Education Committee know if your community would like the services of a consultant and it will provide assistance to your community as soon as possible.
Requests for services should be directed to the National Education Committee, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091.
Slides of Children Sought for Show[edit]
The National Education Committee is seeking slides of children for possible use in a slide show being prepared by the committee for use during the International Year of the Child (1979).
The slide show is scheduled to premiere at the Bahá’í National Convention in 1979.
Slides should be clear, horizontal, and contain action rather than poses. The committee is especially interested in obtaining slides of children with grandparents, showing a diversity of races, children in meditation and prayer, etc.
Slides should be originals (not duplicates). The committee will select those it wishes to use. Slides submitted are not returnable.
Please send slides to the National Education Committee, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091.
Archives Committee Seeking Papers of Early Believers[edit]
The National Bahá’í Archives Committee has undertaken a systematic program to locate and acquire, if possible, the personal papers of Bahá’ís of national import whose papers are not already in the National Bahá’í Archives.
The committee has identified more than 160 Bahá’ís whose papers would be a valuable addition to the Archives. The Archives Committee has found that personal papers are important to historians as they often contain historical information not found elsewhere.
THE ARCHIVES Committee is especially interested in correspondence, diaries, personal recollections and photographs.
One difficulty the Archives Committee has is that most of the early Bahá’ís have been dead for many years, and the location of their papers is not known.
The committee would like to learn the names of descendants of early Bahá’ís, whether Bahá’í or non-Bahá’í, so that they might be contacted, to try and locate these personal documents.
Among the papers being sought are those of Arthur Agnew, Dr. F.W. D’Evelyn, Lua and Edward Getsinger, Charles and Elizabeth Greenleaf, Albert Hall, Kate Ives, Byron S. Lane, Howard MacNutt, Florence Morton, Chester I. Thatcher, Robert Abbott, Nellie S. French, and Annie Parmerton.
Anyone having information about the personal papers of these or other early Bahá’ís is asked to write to the National Bahá’í Archives Committee, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091.
Members of the Spiritual Assembly of Dona Ana County, New Mexico, at its Recognition Ceremony February 9. The Assembly was elected December 31, 1977. Front row (left to right) are Eugene Robinson, Patricia Black, David Black. Back row (left to right) are Cynthia H. Robinson, Mike Tourtillot, Paula Tourtillot. Not present were Assembly members Rosa Lopez, Hyram Miller, and Sonnie Love.
Western N.Y. Slates Unity Festival[edit]
The Bahá’í information center for western New York State has asked for volunteers to assist with its “Unity Festival,” a period of intense teaching activity that will begin on the anniversary of the Birth of the Báb, October 20, and continue through November 26, the Day of the Covenant.
“We are planning teaching events for every single day during that period,” said Dana Paxson, teaching project coordinator for western New York. “We are asking for traveling teachers, musicians, public speakers, people who can devote one day, two days, a weekend, a week, a Holy Day—whatever.
“What we are hoping to do is stir up activity among the Bahá’ís in the area,” he explained. “We have had considerable activity here already—a number of traveling teachers have been through, we’ve had 18 declarations and about 15 enrollments since Riḍván, and have received some 50 Interest Cards since then.
“But during the period of the Unity Festival, we are hoping to stimulate activity in every single community in western New York, and we are asking for help from across the United States to do this.”
Individuals interested in offering their time and services to the New York State Unity Festival should contact the Bahá’í information center in western New York, 15 State Street, Rochester, NY 14614 (phone 716-325-5120), or the National Teaching Committee, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091.
Families[edit]
Continued From Page 8
members must not be transgressed...none of them must be arbitrary... All these rights and prerogatives must be conserved, yet the unity of the family must be sustained. The injury of one shall be considered the injury of all; the comfort of each the comfort of all; the honor of one the honor of all. (The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 163)
The spiritual laws, principles, and institutions found in the Bahá’í community are designed not just to promote family unity, but to prepare family members to become true servants of humanity:
...the happiness and greatness, the rank and station, the pleasure and peace, of an individual have never consisted in his personal wealth, but rather in his excellent character, his high resolve, the breadth of his learning, and his ability to solve difficult problems.” (ʻAbdu’l-Bahá, The Secret of Divine Civilization, pp. 23-24)
...The honor and distinction of the individual consist in this, that he among all the world’s multitudes should become a source of social good.” (The Secret of Divine Civilization, p. 2)
The skills and attributes required for service to humanity, which can be learned first in the family, include listening courteously to the opinions of others; speaking frankly but with politeness; supporting family decisions wholeheartedly; loving and trusting others; and treating others fairly.
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Victory Promises Compiled by the Hand of the Cause of God William Sears. In Mr. Sears’ words, Victory Promises contains “magnificent PROMISES ... from five separate Sources of Divine Infallibility.” These promises of victory—words of Bahá’u’lláh, the Báb, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Shoghi Effendi, and The Universal House of Justice—will encourage and inspire all Bahá’ís to arise and win the goals of the Five Year Plan. Victory Promises includes a section of “special promises” that deals with some of the obstacles you might face right now, especially if you feel stifled by the apathy of the world or that a miracle is needed to win the goals. Fourteen black and white illustrations. 31 pp. 7-67-19............paper $1.00 NET To order: Order through Community librarians if possible. Personal orders enclose full payment plus $.75 handling charge for orders under $5.00 Bahá’í Publishing Trust 415 LINDEN AVE. • WILMETTE, ILLINOIS • 60091 312/251-1854 |
THE BAHÁ’Í Writings indicate that it is the spiritual responsibility of parents to nourish, from the moment of conception, the spiritual capacity of their children. As children are loved, and taught of the love of God, they are able to develop spiritual qualities and to learn to deal effectively with their world.
When parents and children resolve problems and share their joys, using the Bahá’í Writings and institutions as their resources, they not only are achieving family unity, they are participating in the creation of world peace.
No matter what your current family circumstances are, you may find the list of questions below helpful in building your family life. You might consider these questions alone, with your spouse, with other parents or adults planning a family, or with your children.
These questions are based, in part, upon the Hand of the Cause of God A.Q. Faizí’s discussion of parental obligations (Bahá’í News, November 1967). Be sure to consider your own situation in response to each question!
1. When we have a family problem, or a family decision to be made, how do we do it? Do we ever use consultation as a family? Do our children participate? How well do we listen to each other? Do we respect each other’s rights?
2. Do we set aside regular or special times to do things together as a family?
3. (a) Do we find it easy or difficult to be affectionate in our family? Do our children feel criticized or do they feel accepted most of the time? Do we share the good things we see in each other?
(b) To what extent do we practice virtues in our family? (e.g., honesty, justice, truthfulness, courtesy, reverence...)
4. Do we read the Writings, morning and evening, as a family?
5. Do we recite prayers with our children at bedtime? Are they learning to recite prayers? (If expecting a child: Are we praying for the unborn child?) Do we recite obligatory prayers?
6. Do our children attend Bahá’í Child Education classes? Regularly? From the age of five years? What Bahá’í history, principles and laws do they know? What do they know about the history and teachings of other religions?
7. How do our children feel about telling their friends that they are Bahá’ís? Can they explain the Faith to others? Do they know why we became Bahá’ís (or how we feel about the Bahá’í Faith)?
8. Do we host firesides and other Bahá’í gatherings where our children meet people from different racial, religious and social backgrounds? Does our family have close friends of different races, classes and creeds?
9. Do we have a Bahá’í calendar in use in our home? Do our children understand its use?
10. Do we attend the Nineteen Day Feast? Regularly? Do our children attend? Do our children participate in devotions? Consultation? Fellowship? The Fund?
11. Do we observe the Holy Days, especially the nine days when work is suspended—and children stay home from school?
12. Do we observe the Fast? What impressions do our children have of fasting?
13. Do we serve on a Bahá’í institution or committee? What do our children understand about its purpose and function? Do they hear positive comments when we discuss our participation in the work of the Faith?
14. Do we feel safe and secure in taking a family problem to our Local Spiritual Assembly? Would our children?
These questions may raise more questions than answers. We hope they will serve as a springboard for family discussion and for further reading of the Bahá’í Writings on family life.
Beginning in the January 1979 issue of The American Bahá’í, a series of learning activities to promote family unity (“FUN”) will be offered on this page. One activity will appear every three months. Topics will include: “The Family as a Purposeful Unit,” “Courtesy and Reverence in the Family,” “Family Consultation,” and “The Family and Society.”
We hope you will let us hear if these questions and the “FUN” activities have been of assistance to you. Please write: National Education Committee, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091.
Salt Lake City Host To Dr. Kazemzadeh[edit]
Dr. Firuz Kazemzadeh, a member of the National Spiritual Assembly, spoke July 30 to Bahá’ís from Salt Lake City and throughout Utah on the approaching close of the Five Year Plan and the renewed efforts that must be made to win the remaining goals.
The next morning, Dr. Kazemzadeh was interviewed for 15 minutes on KUER-FM, the University of Utah’s radio station. The program was aired on Sunday, August 7.
Following the KUER interview, Dr. Kazemzadeh was interviewed on the 12:30 p.m. news on KSL-TV, which reaches all of Utah and much of Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado.
Although only three minutes were available, the interviewer, Shelle Osterloh, had some knowledge of the Faith, and asked questions that made the best use of the time. An audience estimated at several hundred thousand thus had an opportunity to hear the name “Bahá’í” and something of the Faith itself.
Dr. Firuz Kazemzadeh (right), a member of the National Spiritual Assembly, is interviewed July 31 by Shelle Osterloh on KSL-TV, Salt Lake City, Utah.
Dr. Kazemzadeh Encourages Teaching Effort in Washington[edit]
Dr. Firuz Kazemzadeh, a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States, was in the Spokane, Washington, area August 1 especially to encourage the Bahá’ís in their teaching efforts.
Among those who attended an evening meeting with Dr. Kazemzadeh were three non-Bahá’ís: the president of the Spokane chapter of the United Nations Association, and a couple from a nearby goal area who are studying the Faith.
Afterward, Dr. Kazemzadeh met with the Bahá’ís, some of whom had come many miles to attend, and gave a brief but inspiring message emphasizing the necessity of winning the Five Year Plan goals for Bahá’u’lláh.
An afternoon news conference resulted in two newspaper articles, radio coverage, and coverage on a local TV station’s evening news program.
Members of the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the Southern Ute Reservation in Colorado are (back row, left to right) Harold Seibel, John Chad Williams, Harold Silva, Chris Christlake. (Front row, left to right) Kaare Evensen Sr., Chris Cholas, Linda Cholas, Charlotte Richardson, Betty Eskuche.
Seventeen children from the Clackamas County, Oregon, Bahá’í Children’s Class “camped out” with seven adults from the community the last weekend in June on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation at their resort, Hah-nee-ta. During classes the children learned about the Indian culture and some of the promises made by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá concerning the American Indians. The Indians at Warm Springs hosted a pow-wow that weekend, and members of the Bahá’í group joined in the Friendship Dance. Some of them are shown here in front of one of the tepees that served as living quarters for the group.
One hundred-twenty people including six non-Bahá’ís attended an institute entitled ‘The Bahá’í Way of Life,’ sponsored over the Memorial Day weekend by the Spiritual Assembly of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Thirty-seven of the participants volunteered to take teaching trips and seven to homefront pioneer to help win the goals of the Five Year Plan. The friends contributed $223.05 to the building fund for the Seat of the Universal House of Justice, and $164.46 to the Continental Board of Counsellors.
The Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Rancho Palos Verdes, California, was formed April 20. Members are (seated left to right) Laurine DiPalma; Barbara Bray West, secretary; Freideh Astani; Alison McGee, and (standing left to right) Irvin Berger, chairman; Parker McGee; Major West, treasurer; Farshad Mahjoor. Not pictured is Mrs. Shannon Agnew.
Correct Address More Important Than Ever[edit]
The Bahá’í Subscriber Service and Office of Membership and Records ask that the friends who receive copies of The American Bahá’í, Bahá’í News, World Order or Child’s Way magazines make an extra effort to inform them of address changes at least two weeks before the changes take effect.
“The recent jump in postal rates has increased the amount that must be paid for periodicals that are returned because of inaccurate addresses,” said Irene Chung, manager of Bahá’í Subscriber Service at the Publishing Trust.
She cited the following figures for the cost of returned periodicals:
- The Post Office charges 25 cents for each undeliverable copy of The American Bahá’í. Copies aren’t returned, but the Post Office notifies the Bahá’í National Center that the periodical was not delivered, and includes a new address if one is available.
- SIMILARLY, it costs 25 cents a copy for each Bahá’í News sent to an incorrect address in the United States. Copies are not returned.
- Approximately $500 a month is spent paying for notification of non-delivery of copies of The American Bahá’í and Bahá’í News.
- The Post Office charges 58 cents a copy for World Order magazines sent to incorrect addresses. Copies are returned to the National Center. About $60 is spent on returned copies of World Order after each mailing.
- There is a 40-cent charge for each undeliverable copy of Child’s Way. Approximately $20 is spent on returns each time the periodical is mailed.
It takes Membership and Records about two weeks to process an address change. So it often happens that even after an address change notification is received from the Post Office, Membership and Records is unable to prevent another issue of a periodical from going to an incorrect address.
BESIDES the increasing cost of postage, The American Bahá’í will be published twice a month starting in November, so it is now doubly important that the friends make an effort to notify the National Center of a change of address before they move.
If Membership and Records learns of the anticipated change of address more than two weeks before it occurs, it can be processed to help cut down on unnecessary expenses to the Fund.
Address changes should be reported to the Office of Membership and Records, Bahá’í National Center, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091.
A convenient change of address form is included on the back page of every issue of The American Bahá’í.
Trust Establishes New Policy for Librarians[edit]
The Bahá’í Publishing Trust has established new procedures for Local Spiritual Assemblies to use in authorizing librarians for their communities, according to Jack M. Barker, general manager of the Trust.
Under the new policy, Local Spiritual Assemblies will now be permitted to authorize up to three people from their communities to order on their Publishing Trust accounts.
New authorization forms, which will be distributed to the American Bahá’í community over the next few months, will allow for the appointment of one librarian and two alternates, all of whom will be recognized by the Trust as authorized representatives on the Assembly’s account. An Assembly will not be required to appoint alternates, but Mr. Barker advises that they at least consider the possibility.
MANY communities have suffered when their librarians left town on an extended vacation and there was no one else authorized by the Assembly to charge orders on the community’s account at the Trust.
With the new procedures, Assemblies can anticipate such possibilities and appoint alternates to function in the absence of the librarian.
The Assemblies will also be able to authorize their essential committees, such as the local Teaching Committee, to deal directly with the Trust and charge orders to the Assembly’s account simply by naming a member of that committee as an alternate.
Mr. Barker, who assumed the position of general manager in July, explained that the Trust is currently reviewing all its procedures and is attempting to establish policies that will enable the Trust to offer the best possible service to the American Bahá’í community.
MR. BARKER cautioned Assemblies that with the newer, more liberal authorization procedures, the Trust will make no exceptions to its policies, so that only orders submitted by appointed librarians or alternates will be honored. Orders from any other individual must be processed as personal orders, which must be prepaid and do not qualify for any discount.
He added, however, that communities should not experience any difficulties as a result of the no-exceptions policy if they will carefully choose their librarians and alternates. The Trust will monitor closely the success of the new policy, and if it appears that it is creating problems for the communities the policy will be reviewed.
Mr. Barker explained that this policy is being established to protect communities from unauthorized purchases being placed on their accounts by individuals other than those appointed by the Assembly to use the account. With the new no-exceptions policy, the Trust will be able to offer the communities this sort of security.
Mr. Barker complimented the American Bahá’í community for its acceptance of the Trust’s policies in the past, and stated that the community has always been so ready to help the Trust improve its service that there should be few problems with this new procedure.
Some of the more than 100 Persian believers who attended the first Persian Session April 14-16 at the Bosch Bahá’í School in Santa Cruz, California. Teachers at the session were Dr. Jahlil Mahmoudi, Dr. Homa Snibbe, and Vahid Rafati. A special bus was chartered from the Los Angeles area to take the friends to the Bosch School and return them to Los Angeles.
Classified Ads[edit]
IF YOU ARE retiring; if you want to go fishing or boating on a beautiful lake; if you’d love to pioneer to a homefront goal area that needs to be opened, please consider Kissimmee, Florida, a lovely town only 30 minutes from Orlando. For more information contact the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Orlando, 709 Euclid Avenue, Orlando, FL 32801, or phone 305-894-8361.
THE SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY of LaGrande, Oregon, formed in the past year, soon will lose three of its members. We would welcome anyone who would like to pioneer to our beautiful area. Some financial help is available through the District Teaching Committee of Oregon. For more information write to Ruth L. Wayne, secretary, Route 1, Box 1736, LaGrande, OR 97850, or phone 503-963-0579.
ARE YOU DREADING the coming of winter with its snow, sleet and ice? Looking for a better idea? Then come help the “Sun of Reality” illumine 27 new Spiritual Assemblies in South Florida. Arise to help the South Florida District Teaching Committee’s Phase II teaching project win this vital goal from December 15, 1978, to January 15, 1979. Needed are at least 15 full-time and 45 part-time teachers. Housing will be provided, along with transportation inside the District. Food expense is roughly $5 a day. For information contact Karen Pritchard, 241 N.E. 60th St., Ft. Lauderdale, FL, or phone 305-772-7706.
JOB OPENINGS are available at the Bahá’í National Center for general clerks, stenographers, and word processing machine operators. Please send résumés to the Bahá’í National Center, Personnel Office, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091.
FREE TIME? Would you like to serve Bahá’u’lláh in the beautiful Northwest? The Oregon Mass Teaching Project needs teachers, cooks, consolidators, public relations people—you! Funds are available for deputization, so material barriers need not stop you. Write to David House, Mass Teaching Project coordinator, Route 2, Box 259, Aurora, OR 97002.
A NEW RECORD ALBUM, “Peace Will Shine”, by the Irish Bahá’ís is available from Hyacinth Records Ireland Ltd. The company was formed to foster and promote the musical, literary and artistic talents of the Bahá’ís in the Republic of Ireland. For information about the album, write to Hyacinth Records Ireland Ltd., 2 Belfield Grove, Limerick, Eire 061-62957.
THE LOUIS GREGORY Bahá’í Institute is urgently in need of a maintenance man with carpentry, electrical and grounds maintenance skills. Please send inquiries and applications to the Louis Gregory Bahá’í Institute, Route 2, Box 71, Hemingway, SC 29554.
BAHÁ’Í FAMILY NEEDED to help goal community of Frederick County, Maryland, reach Assembly status. Frederick County is a growing community with several colleges and good employment opportunities in science, health, construction, teaching and other fields. We have a large 200-year-old stone house complete with river, gardens and fields to rent to a family. The house is one hour from Washington, D.C., and Baltimore, and 1½ hours from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. It is available for at least the next three years, perhaps longer if needed. The rent is negotiable; the owners are Bahá’ís. For information, write to Bill and Malinda Cecil, Route 10, “Dear-bought,” Frederick, MD 21701, or phone 301-662-1682.
WANTED: Acoustic bass player or acoustic bluegrass guitar player. Lead flat picking preferable. Must have a good singing voice. To play full time. Ability to work closely with people necessary. Send demonstration tape and bio sheets to the Unity Bluegrass Band, 3125 Lake Street, Wilmette, IL 60091.
WANTED: 14 BAHÁ’ÍS to help form seven Spiritual Assemblies in Indiana, specifically, Lafayette (2), Columbus (2), Mishawaka (2), Gary (2), St. Joseph Township (1), Hammond (3), Warsaw (2). For information contact the Indiana District Teaching Committee, Rhonda Palmer, secretary, 504 S. Indiana, Greencastle, IN 46135, or phone 317-653-9522.
HOMEFRONT PIONEERS are needed in Page, Arizona. Job openings are available at a local power plant for plant operators, welders, first- and second-class mechanics, electricians, clerks, etc. Boat maintenance jobs are available in Page or nearby Lake Powell. There are also openings in a non-denominational day care or nursery school. Page, in beautiful northern Arizona, has a Bahá’í Group of three adults and two children. It is bounded on two sides by the Navajo Reservation where teaching is possible. Interested persons are asked to please contact the Bahá’í Group of Page, Linda Sampson, correspondent, Box 1492, Page, AZ 86040.
THE SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY of the Bahá’ís of Hialeah, Florida, is in jeopardy. There are eight adults in the community. Hialeah, in Dade County, is the sixth largest city in Florida. The University of Miami, Florida International University, Miami-Dade Community College, and other colleges and universities are nearby in Dade County. For more information, please contact Kathleen Demas, secretary, 1755 W. 60th St., Apt. 209, Hialeah, FL 33012, or phone 305-822-1735.
BETTY LENGYEL, a Romanian-born Bahá’í from Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, who is translating Bahá’í Holy Writings from English to Romanian at the request of the National Spiritual Assembly of Germany is looking for someone who is qualified and able to edit and appraise her translations. The task requires an excellent command of both English and Romanian. Those who are able to help should contact Ms. Lengyel at 636 Yale Avenue, Swarthmore, PA 19081, or phone 215-544-1359.
BAHÁ’Í WISHES TO SHARE home with woman who drives for half expenses of food, phone, gas, power, utilities, and half regular rent for room. Should be interested in hospitality, firesides, direct teaching activities. Contact Mrs. Alberta Bird, 1933 Springtime Avenue, Clearwater, FL 33515, or phone 813-447-4044.
THE SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY of Mount Airy, North Carolina, has lost one and may lose two more members. It is in need of homefront pioneers to raise it back to nine. Mount Airy, in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, has employment opportunities in furniture factories, knitting mills, a granite quarry, restaurants, and other factories. The climate is mild, the cost of living relatively low. There are good housing opportunities, and a fine community college nearby. For details please write to Mrs. Patricia G. Bradley, 628 Woodside Drive, Mount Airy, NC 27030.
FULL-TIME DENTIST sought for Indian Reservation in northern Wisconsin. Much teaching groundwork has been laid by a Bahá’í dental hygienist, a pioneer who was in this goal area for a number of years. For information, qualified believers should contact the Lac du Flambeau Tribal Council, George Brown, secretary, Community Center, Lac du Flambeau, WI 54538.
A JOB OPENING is available at the Bahá’í National Center for a qualified heating and air conditioning mechanic. Please send inquiries and applications to the Bahá’í National Center, Personnel Office, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091.
PIONEER NEEDED on the Uintah-Ouray Indian Reservation in eastern Utah. Lumber, oil fields, and rifle works provide plentiful jobs for machinists, oil drillers, diesel mechanics, truck drivers, clerical personnel, and laborers. Two Indian believers on the Reservation need help for community growth. For information write to Merridy Ayer, Utah District Teaching Committee, 1239 Roosevelt Avenue, Salt Lake City, UT 84105, or phone (evenings) 801-466-9018.
MUSICIANS NEEDED for several orchestras in Portugal, a recently reopened U.S. pioneering goal. The Radio Orchestra in Porto needs violin, viola and bass players; the Radio Orchestra in Lisbon (RDP) and State Opera Orchestra need violinists, violists and cellists, while the RDP Light Orchestra in Lisbon needs a harpist. Also, the Gulbenkian Orchestra may need not only string players, but woodwinds and brass too. Base salary begins at $355 to $389; applicants must send a cassette tape recording with works of their choice, i.e., concertos, sonatas, etc. For further information about these positions, contact the International Goals Committee, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091.
THE SANTA PAULA, California, Bahá’í community urgently needs four homefront pioneers to save its jeopardized Assembly. Ideal climate, lovely surroundings, accessible to Oxnard and Ventura, the heart of the California citrus country. Possibility of a house to rent from Bahá’ís. For more information please write to the Spiritual Assembly of Santa Paula, P.O. Box 1008, Santa Paula, CA 93060.
PETERSBURG, VIRGINIA has a dynamic opportunity for homefront pioneers to assist with consolidation of mass-taught believers. Educational and work opportunities in the city (45,000 population) or nearby metropolitan area and state capital (Richmond) area of 450,000. One hundred miles from the District of Columbia, 100 miles from the Atlantic Coast. Goal area for the Five Year Plan. Write to the Spiritual Assembly of Chesterfield County, 4102 Birchleaf Court, Chester, VA 23831.
Some 25 Bahá’ís representing a dozen Oregon communities manned a booth August 15-20 at the Clackamas County Fair in Canby, giving away approximately 2,000 balloons with the slogan “One Planet, One People Please” and many Bahá’í pamphlets. Here, Bob Klingston of the Canby Bahá’í Group hands a balloon to a visitor. The Spiritual Assembly of Milwaukie, Oregon, helped sponsor the booth. A teaching team sponsored by the Spiritual Assembly of Gresham, Oregon, did follow-up teaching in Canby.
Belleville, Illinois, Opens Bahá’í Information Office[edit]
Bahá’ís from St. Louis, Normal, Wood River and other nearby communities were present with National Assembly member Soo Fouts for the grand opening June 17 of the new Bahá’í information office in Belleville, Illinois.
The information office is open each Wednesday, Friday and Saturday from 12-4 p.m. Wednesday nights are audio-visual nights, while Saturday nights feature a coffeehouse.
ENGLAND Dan and John Ford Coley added fuel to the daily teaching efforts in Belleville with a concert and a fireside that drew more than 95 people, most of whom were seekers.
Publicity was excellent with newspaper articles and ads, the presence at their talk of two reporters, and a radio interview.
Despite summer heat, teaching has continued regularly in Belleville and a constant flow of seekers has been seen. Traveling teachers Happy Clark and Ann Rawlins have assisted with the project.
Following a teaching institute July 21, the friends organized themselves into six teams of two to three members each for direct teaching in Wood River, an extension goal of the Belleville Assembly.
Five newly-enrolled Bahá’ís and one homefront pioneer have brought the membership in Wood River to eight.
Some of the Bahá’ís who gathered in Belleville, Illinois, June 17 for the grand opening of its Bahá’í information office. Standing in the center of the photo is Mrs. Soo Fouts of the National Spiritual Assembly. Second from right in the back row is newly-enrolled believer Al Stern of Belleville.
Enrollment Procedures Clarified
25 Attend Atlanta Teaching Conference[edit]
The National Teaching Committee held a special conference on mass teaching and the enrollment process August 11-13 in Atlanta, Georgia. Twenty-five mass teaching/mass consolidation project coordinators from various Southern, Northeastern, and Central states attended.
Consolidation at the Atlanta conference focused on the apparent lag of actual enrollments behind the reported high volume of declarations in the various mass teaching areas. Four major problems were delineated:
- Teachers are simply not asking the seekers they find to join the Faith. “We must ask the declarants to become Bahá’ís,” said Larry Miller, vice-chairman of the National Teaching Committee and chairman of the conference. “We must invite our friends to join the Faith and encourage them to make a personal commitment to Bahá’u’lláh. That way, they will know that there is, in fact, something to be part of, something with which to identify.”
- THERE IS an urgent need for effective communication and cooperation between teaching teams and the Local Spiritual Assemblies or District Teaching Committee in a mass teaching area.
- Clarification of enrollment responsibilities and procedures is necessary at the beginning of teaching projects. Also, in areas where Assemblies and District Teaching Committees are working together, it should be clearly understood which administrative body will be responsible for processing the declarations.
- “The important thing,” said Mr. Miller, “is that some administrative body take action on processing the enrollments before the commitment is lost.”
- Often, unnecessarily stringent requirements for enrollment into the community are placed on the new declarants.
- “THERE ARE no specific reading requirements or mandatory classes to be attended that lead to qualification for enrollment into the Faith,” Mr. Miller said.
- He also pointed out that books such as God’s New Age and On Becoming a Bahá’í can be particularly helpful during the enrollment process. According to Guidelines for the Local Spiritual Assembly, “two essentials are required for enrollment: an understanding of the Station or reality of the Manifestation, and the recognition of Bahá’u’lláh in that Station.”
- There is a lack of understanding that the authority to enroll new believers into the community can be delegated.
- Local Assemblies and District Teaching Committees do not have to meet with each new declarant. The administrative bodies can appoint representatives or committees to ascertain the readiness of the new declarants to become Bahá’ís.
“Delegation of authority in some form or another appears to be the only effective method of dealing with large volumes of declarations and enrollments,” Mr. Miller commented.
The National Teaching Committee is hoping to schedule similar conferences throughout the United States in the near future.
As a recent class assignment, the children of the Clackamas County, Oregon, Bahá’í Children’s Class designed Bahá’í flags that were made out of material by the teacher, Mrs. Judith Sabo. Some flag themes were “Love One Another,” “Reach Out With Love,” “Save Our World—Save Our People—Save Our Animals,” “Peace,” and “Universal Brotherhood.” The flags are used at Bahá’í community functions and are to be displayed in libraries throughout the county. Shown here (left to right) with flags are students Kevin Haines, Kathy Murphy and Lisa Bradshaw.
Arise!
Have You Held a Fireside This Month?
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The Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, at the time of its recent incorporation. Back row (left to right) are Barbara Sauce, Dale Hogue, Suzanne Boland, Marvin Grafton. Front Row (left to right) are Terrence Boland, Jane Hogue, Bernice Dormio, Dorothy Davison, Michael Sauce.
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Guardian Continued From Page 1 the Vineyard of God, to foster their growth, to direct their development, to accord them the necessary recognition, to help solve their problems, to familiarize them with the processes of the Administrative Order and thus enable them to assume independently the conduct of future local and national Bahá’í activities, would bring the Plan to swift and full fruition and would add fresh laurels to the crown of immortal glory already won by a community that holds in these days of dark and dire calamities, valiantly and almost alone, the Fort of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh. Fortified by these reflections, let them gird up their loins for still mightier exertions and more brilliant victories. SHOGHI
December 3, 1940 |
‘Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh’ Ready at Trust[edit]
Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh Revealed After the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, a new compilation of the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh published under the supervision of the Universal House of Justice, is now available at the Bahá’í Publishing Trust. The price of the book is $7.50.
The compilation includes 16 of Bahá’u’lláh’s most significant and much-loved Tablets including the Tablet of Carmel, the Most Holy Tablet, Glad Tidings, Tablet of the World, Tablet of Wisdom, Words of Wisdom, and Book of the Covenant.
These Tablets, all revealed after the formulation of the laws and ordinances of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas (circa 1873), are characterized by Shoghi Effendi as the “mighty and final effusions of His indefatigable pen.”
THE TABLETS revealed during this period, the Guardian affirms, “must rank among the choicest fruits which His mind has yielded, and mark the consummation of His 40-year-long ministry.”
Some of the Tablets in the new volume were translated into English many years ago at the instructions of the Master, with many passages retranslated by the Guardian. Other Tablets and passages are published in English for the first time in this volume.
The publication of Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh fulfills a goal of the Five Year Plan. Other Five Year Plan publication goals set for the World Centre include Selections From the Writings of the Báb, published in 1976, and a compilation of the works of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá which has yet to be published.
The Universal House of Justice appointed its Research Department to prepare Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh, and Habib Taherzadeh, with the assistance of a committee at the World Centre, was responsible for the translation of those Tablets and passages of Tablets not translated by Shoghi Effendi.
Orders may be placed with your local Bahá’í librarian or the Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 415 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091.
Members of the Spartanburg, South Carolina, Bahá’í Youth Club with Bahá’ís from the Walterboro area during a week-long teaching trip to Walterboro by club members that began on July 31.
Spartanburg Youth Club Aids Teaching in Walterboro, S.C.[edit]
On July 31, six members of the Spartanburg, South Carolina, Bahá’í Youth Club and the club’s adult coordinator began a week-long teaching trip in Walterboro, sponsored by the Southern District Teaching Committee of South Carolina.
The communities around Walterboro were canvassed to locate adults who had become Bahá’ís during teaching projects in the early 1970’s.
Each community had a large number of Bahá’ís, but many had to be retaught because they hadn’t been visited in some time, or hadn’t been taught enough about the Faith when first contacted.
On the last night of the teaching trip the Youth Club, which recently reactivated its chorus, gave a musical fireside.
The youth were warmly received by the Bahá’ís of the Walterboro area. The club plans now to visit other areas in South Carolina to help them complete their Two Year Youth Plan goals.
Honofre Restor (second from right), a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Philippines, has taken a six-month leave of absence from his law practice in the Philippines to bring the Message of Bahá’u’lláh to Filipino communities in California. He is shown here following a successful proclamation June 25 at the San Francisco Bahá’í Center. Francesca Dobson and John Cook of the San Francisco Bahá’í community are second and third from the left. Others in the photo are seekers who attended Mr. Restor’s talk.
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The UN Declaration of the Rights of the Child
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In Memoriam[edit]
- Frank Baksa
- Wallingford, Conn.
- Date Unknown
- John Bethea
- Rowland, North Carolina
- August 25, 1972
- Isiah Brown
- Yonges Island, S.C.
- Date Unknown
- Leonard J. Cole, Jr.
- Hamburg, New York
- August 15, 1978
- Mrs. Gertrude Cornell
- Kansas City, Kansas
- May 31, 1978
- Ralph Corry
- Yountville, California
- June 13, 1978
- Alfonzy Davis
- Gresham, South Carolina
- August 12, 1978
- Mrs. Ellen Donovan
- Soleburg Twp., Pa.
- Date Unknown
- Abdu’l Ghafour Fazilat
- Agoura, California
- Date Unknown
- Mrs. Edith Freitag
- Chicago, Illinois
- May 31, 1978
- Frank Gadson
- Cayce, South Carolina
- Date Unknown
- Mrs. Katherine T. Ingle
- La Mesa, California
- July 24, 1978
- Mrs. Maddie Bell Johnson
- Anderson, S.C.
- 1975
- Levi Jones
- Ridgeville, S.C.
- Date Unknown
- Mrs. Annie Lawrence
- Philadelphia, Pa.
- November 15, 1977
- Melford C. Lindeman
- Clearwater, Florida
- August 14, 1978
- Charles Mackey
- Pasadena, California
- May 3, 1978
- Mrs. Audrey MacLeod
- Geyserville, California
- August 9, 1978
- Mrs. Mary McCoy
- Cayce, South Carolina
- Date Unknown
- Mrs. Estelle Muckenfuss
- Ridgeville, S.C.
- Date Unknown
- Mrs. Lela Norris
- Anderson, S.C.
- Date Unknown
- Lomeli Olivo
- Houston, Texas
- July 10, 1978
- Miss Sina O. Olsen
- Minneapolis, Minnesota
- July 25, 1978
- Miss Edna Parson
- Ridgeville, S.C.
- August 1, 1977
- William Peake
- Kelso, Washington
- Date Unknown
- Frank Pridgett
- Covington, Georgia
- April 3, 1978
- Sergers Pringle
- Ridgeville, S.C.
- 1973
- John Henry Prior
- Ridgeville, S.C.
- 1975
- Mrs. Zahrah Schoeny
- Phoenix, Arizona
- July 15, 1978
- Mrs. Isabel Siefert
- Alhambra, California
- April 26, 1978
- Mrs. Margaret Stackhouse
- Santa Cruz, California
- Date Unknown
- Mrs. Nizzie Thomas
- Cayce, South Carolina
- Date Unknown
- George E. Whelchel
- Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
- July 1978
- Miss Anna Williams
- Ridgeville, S.C.
- 1976
- Miss Eloise Wright
- Ridgeville, S.C.
- Date Unknown
Resource Center Offers IYC Materials, Services[edit]
Communities or individuals who are planning activities in connection with the International Year of the Child in 1979 will be interested to know that specific resources are available through the IYC Resource Center, a service of the United States Committee for UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund).
The IYC Secretariat and the U.S. Committee for UNICEF will be issuing periodic newsletters and brochures on the national and international IYC events, programs, conferences, and program ideas. To be placed on the mailing list, send your name and address to the Office of the IYC Coordinator, U.S. Committee for UNICEF, 331 E. 38th St., New York, NY 10016.
AN IYC activity leaflet suggests ways of participating in the International Year of the Child at the local, national or international level. Up to 20 copies of the brochure are available without charge. Orders of more than 20 copies are available at a cost of five cents each.
An IYC poster, in dramatic red and white, graphically depicts children reaching for the sun and the ideals of the International Year of the Child. Individual copies are available at no charge. Additional copies are 50 cents each.
A “rights of the child” poster, in orange and white, spells out the rights of the child to capture the imagination and interest of the viewer. Copies are available for 50 cents each.
A “rights of the child” teacher’s kit relates human rights to the child’s own experiences and sense of justice. The kit, aimed at the elementary or junior high school level, is available for $2.
A SLIDE or filmstrip program on the rights of the child focuses on the UN Declaration of the Rights of the Child and the efforts of UNICEF to bring about its realization. A teacher’s guide considers the concept of rights. A cassette tape is available with two sound tracks for both adult and child audiences. The slide set with guide is $5; the filmstrip with guide is $4; the cassette tape is $2.
The IYC Resource Center has access to information sources on the social, physical, cultural and intellectual development and concerns of the children of the developing world. Annotated bibliographies are available.
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KINDLE THE FIRE OF FAITH IN MEN’S HEARTS ...
TEACH WITH BOOKS. For advice on books suitable for your needs, ask your local Bahá’í librarian, or write Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 415 Linden Ave., Wilmette, Illinois 60091. |
The Resource Center also offers a collection of educational and cultural materials about children of other lands (primarily materials that have been designed for use by children). A list of bibliographies is available.
Orders for materials should be directed to the Office of the IYC Coordinator, U.S. Committee for UNICEF, 331 E. 38th St., New York, NY 10016. Remittances should be made payable to the U.S. Committee for UNICEF.
Approximately 250 people attended a public talk by Amoz Gibson, a member of the Universal House of Justice, Saturday, August 26, at the Bahá’í House of Worship in Wilmette, Illinois. Mr. Gibson addressed himself to the non-Bahá’ís in the audience, explaining the basic principles of the Faith, and concentrating on the “three onenesses”: the oneness of man, the oneness of religion, and the oneness of God. Mr. Gibson had spoken the night before at a reception in Chicago held in its proposed new Bahá’í Center. He encouraged the friends to teach, and stressed the need for unity in all Bahá’í activities.
| 2 Year Youth Program | ||
| CURRENT | GOAL | |
| Homefront Pioneers | 9 | 150 |
| 1. To unopened counties | 6 | 20 |
| 2. To unopened localities | 7 | 90 |
| Domestic Travel-Teaching Trips | 1059 | 1000 |
| 1. Trips of Two Months or More | 17 | 15 |
| 2. Trips to Indian Reservations | 87 | 50 |
| International Pioneers | 14 | 30 |
| 1. Filling Specific Five Year Plan Goals | 9 | 10 |
| International Travel-Teaching | 81 | 95 |
| 1. Trips of One Month or More | 34 | 20 |
| Local Youth Clubs | 136 | 200 |
| College Clubs | 374 | 400 |
| 1. At Colleges with Highest American Indian Enrollment | 2 | 5 |
Do You Receive More Than 1 American Bahá’í?[edit]
Does your family receive more than one copy of The American Bahá’í? If you require only one copy, please fill out the coupon below or attach your mailing labels indicating which family member(s) should no longer receive a personal copy.
Please note that if you also receive a copy of The American Bahá’í for your Bahá’í Group, that copy should be retained in the Group’s files.
Regional Media Conference Set[edit]
A regional Media Conference is planned for Dallas, Texas, in mid-November. For more information contact the Bahá’í National Information Office, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091, or phone 312-256-4400.