The American Bahá’í/Volume 9/Issue 7/Text
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FERVENTLY APPEAL TO ENTIRE BODY OF AMERICAN BELIEVERS TO ARISE IN SUPPORT OF THE HOMEFRONT TEACHING PLANS LAUNCHED BY YOUR NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY AND DESIGNED BY ITS NATIONAL TEACHING COMMITTEE TO WIN MULTITUDES TO THE FAITH OF BAHÁ’U’LLÁH AND TO CAUSE THE LIGHT OF HIS TEACHINGS TO PENETRATE INTO EVERY CORNER OF THE NATION.
WITH EAGER HEARTS WE AWAIT THE RESPONSE BEFITTING A COMMUNITY INVESTED WITH THE SPIRITUAL PRIMACY CONFERRED UPON IT BY ‘ABDU’L-BAHÁ’S DIVINE PLAN, AND WHOM THE MASTER HIMSELF HAILED AS APOSTLES OF BAHÁ’U’LLÁH.
BE ASSURED OF OUR ARDENT PRAYERS FOR SUCCESS UPON SUCCESS TO CROWN YOUR DEVOTED EFFORTS.
May 25, 1978
EVER CONSCIOUS LOVING SPIRIT BELOVED MASTER FRIENDS ASSEMBLED 69TH BAHA’I NATIONAL CONVENTION STEADFASTLY RESOLVE WIN EVERY GOAL FIVE YEAR PLAN THROUGH LOVING UNIFIED ACTION. BLESSED BY PRESENCE OF CONTINENTAL COUNSELLOR MISS EDNA TRUE, AUXILIARY BOARD MEMBERS AND ASSISTANTS, DELEGATES, MEMBERS OF LOCAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLIES FROM CALIFORNIA, ILLINOIS, WASHINGTON, D.C., NEW YORK, AND INDIAN RESERVATIONS, AND GUESTS TOTALING OVER 1,200 PARTICIPANTS, WHOLEHEARTEDLY ARISE TO SUPPORT TEACHING PLANS NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY TO WIN MULTITUDES TO FAITH BAHÁ’U’LLÁH. WE HEARD THE CALL TO ACTION BY HAND OF THE CAUSE OF GOD WILLIAM SEARS AND RESOLVED TO RESPOND WITH RENEWED VIGOR AT THIS CRITICAL HOUR, THE EXHORTATION OF “MARCH” RINGING IN OUR EARS. FRIENDS RECOGNIZE SUPREME IMPORTANCE OF DRAWING ON THE POWER OF THE COVENANT FOR THAT SPIRITUAL TRANSFORMATION THAT ALONE CAN INSURE VICTORY. WE ARE MINDFUL OF THE INCOMPARABLE PRIVILEGE OF SERVING IN RESPONSE TO THE MASTER’S CALL AS APOSTLES OF BAHÁ’U’LLÁH. ETERNALLY GRATEFUL UNERRING GUIDANCE PROVIDED BY GOD’S UNIVERSAL HOUSE OF JUSTICE. WE EXTEND TO YOU OUR BOUNDLESS LOVE AND COMPLETE LOYALTY. BESEECHING YOUR PRAYERS AT THE SACRED THRESHOLD.
NATIONAL CONVENTION UNITED STATES
May 28, 1978
WARMLY WELCOME ENTHUSIASTIC RESPONSE FRIENDS GATHERED IN NATIONAL CONVENTION SUPPORT NATIONAL TEACHING PLANS. CONFIDENT THEIR SPIRITUAL DETERMINATION HEED HAND CAUSE SEARS’ CALL FOR ACTION WILL ASSURE ULTIMATE VICTORY. PRAYING HOLY SHRINES CONFIRMATION THEIR DEVOTED EFFORTS ATTRACT NEW ADHERENTS CAUSE.
May 30, 1978
The Hand of the Cause William Sears unveils at the Convention banquet his ‘Top Secret’ plan for winning the Five Year Plan goals on the homefront.
69th Convention Heightens Spirit Of Resolution[edit]
The 69th Bahá’í National Convention, the largest and in many respects one of the most memorable ever held, was charged with an air of unshakable optimism and bold determination as more than 1,200 believers from throughout the continental U.S. gathered May 25–28 in Wilmette, Illinois, for the election of the National Spiritual Assembly and consultation on winning the goals of the Five Year Plan that ends April 20, 1979.
Among the special guests at the Convention was Continental Counsellor Edna True. And for the first time, invitations to attend were sent to members of Local Spiritual Assemblies in the specially designated goal states of New York, California and Illinois, and to Assembly members from Indian Reservations in the U.S.
Others attending included 15 Auxiliary Board members and 10 Bahá’ís from Bermuda, which is under the jurisdiction of the U.S. National Spiritual Assembly.
THE NUMBER of Bahá’ís at the Convention was so large that most sessions were held at the National College of Education in nearby Evanston instead of at the Bahá’í House of Worship, as was the case in previous years.
More than 900 of the friends attended the Convention banquet on the lawn of the National Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds that honored the special goal states of New York, Local Spiritual Assembly members from Illinois and California.
National Teaching Committee:
Traveling Teachers Are Needed[edit]
With less than a year remaining in the Five Year Plan and most U.S. homefront goals far from won, the National Teaching Committee has issued an urgent appeal for full-time traveling teachers to help bring Groups to Assembly status and win the other goals of the Plan before Riḍván 1979.
During these last few precious months of the Plan, when the level of teaching in this country must rise dramatically to win the victory, the National Teaching Committee is urging every Bahá’í to consider prayerfully his or her situation, and to meditate on the services he or she can render to Bahá’u’lláh.
Bahá’ís who are able to help in any way are asked to contact the National Teaching Committee (312-256-4400), or to offer their services through their District Teaching Committee or Local Spiritual Assembly.
LOCAL SPIRITUAL Assemblies are being urged to consult on the matter, and to encourage the friends in their community who might be able to assist the teaching work full-time. Assemblies also may wish to consider deputizing individuals for specific periods.
“It is gratifying to see the number of Bahá’ís who are able to devote a substantial amount of time to teaching projects,” says John Conkling, secretary of the National Teaching Committee.
“Some already have volunteered to teach full-time until the end of the Plan. The El Centro (California) project was the source of a surprising number of full-time volunteers for the summer months; in North Texas, a project that began with five full-time volunteers quickly grew to 10, with at least one of them able to work full-time until the end of the Plan.
“Students, housewives, retired persons are among those who are making truly sacrificial offers of service.”
Heroic efforts, says Mr. Conkling, are needed this year to win the victories. Nearly 400 Assemblies must be formed and some 1,200 localities opened before Riḍván 1979.
THE UNIVERSAL House of Justice, concerned about the pace of teaching on the U.S. homefront, cabled the Bahá’í National Convention: “Fervently appeal to entire body of
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House of Justice Elected At 4th World Convention[edit]
For the fourth time in 15 years the Universal House of Justice has been elected. Nearly 500 delegates from 108 of the 123 National Spiritual Assemblies then in existence were able to attend the fourth Bahá’í International Convention, April 28–May 2, in Haifa, Israel.
Elected to the Universal House of Justice, each with at least two-thirds of the vote, were Hugh Chance, Ḥushmand Fatheazam, Amoz Gibson, David Hofman, Borrah Kavelin, ‘Alí Nakhjavání, Dr. David Ruhe, Ian Semple and Charles Wolcott.
Besides the delegates, 13 Hands of the Cause of God and 52 members of the 12 Continental Boards of Counsellors attended, as did the nine members of the Universal House of Justice and the three Counsellors resident in Haifa.
The delegates enjoyed three days of pilgrimage and prayers at the Shrines and Holy Places of the Faith prior to the Convention.
ONE OF THE most important events at the Convention for the U.S. National Assembly was a private meeting on April 28 with the Universal House of Justice. The members of the two institutions sat together in a round room, every other chair occupied by a member of the Universal House of Justice. Our National Assembly was asked several times, “How do you plan to win your goals?”
The delegates were greeted on the morning of Saturday, April 29, in Haifa Auditorium by the Hand of the Cause Amatu’l-Bahá Rúḥíyyih Khánum, who said, “World society is disintegrating before our eyes—political, social, economic, and religious systems alike—and the only refuge that remains for mankind is this gift of Bahá’u’lláh, the refuge and hope of mankind.
“You are privileged to vote for the Universal House of Justice, the body that watches over the destinies of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh, the body that guides, protects, and encourages us as we steer our course to the Kingdom of God on earth.”
THEN, AS Rúḥíyyih Khánum presided, the chief teller—Jameson Bond of Canada—began to call the roll of the 1,107 members of the 123 National Spiritual Assemblies in the Bahá’í world.
Glenford Mitchell, secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly of the U.S., recalls thinking to himself as the delegates cast their ballots that he was watching the world pass by, and marvelling at how many of the National Assembly members were believers in their 20s and 30s.
Fifteen of the 123 National Spiritual Assemblies, through circumstances beyond their control, were not represented at the Convention. The tellers cast their ballots, that had been sent by mail, as the roll was called. Nine National Assemblies had all their members present: Canada, Denmark, Germany, Írán, Italy, Portugal, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the U.S.
Early Saturday afternoon, the delegates assembled at the construction site of the Seat of the Universal House of Justice, on the Arc of Mt. Carmel, for a dignified but joyous ceremony in which a casket containing dust from the Shrines of the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh was placed in the structure by Amatu’l-Bahá Rúḥíyyih Khánum on behalf of the Universal House of Justice.
AS THE assemblage quietly sang “Alláh-u-Abhá,” Rúḥíyyih Khánum, accompanied by architect Ḥusayn Amánat and ‘Aziz Khabírpúr, the resident engineer for construction, ascended a set of temporary steps to a small niche that had been prepared in the building, high above the main entrance. With her own hands, she placed the casket in the niche, took up a trowel, and sealed it in place.
Immediately afterward, the delegates assembled in the Pilgrim House courtyard, in the vicinity of the Shrine of the Báb, for the celebration of the ninth day of Riḍván.
On Sunday, April 30, Amatu’l-Bahá Rúḥíyyih Khánum opened the Convention to the first of five consultative sessions. She particularly called on the assembled delegates to recount some of the stories of difficulties suffered for the Cause. Many did so, including a believer from Ethiopia still limping from bullet wounds suffered in an attack by terrorists, and whose wife is still partly paralyzed from her wounds.
The Sunday evening time was given over to consultation between representatives of National Assemblies and the Continental Boards of Counsellors in their respective zones. National Assemblies also consulted among themselves and with each other. The U.S. National Assembly consulted with the National Assembly of South and West Africa, among others.
THE THIRD day of the Convention was entirely devoted to consultation. Unlike national Conventions, in which delegates make recommendations to the National Assembly, no recommendations are made to the Universal House of Justice.
Some of the believers attending the 69th National Convention gather at the House of Worship to renew old friendships.
The final consultative session of the Convention, on Tuesday, May 2, was presided over by the Hand of the Cause Zikrullah Khadem. He reminded the friends that Shoghi Effendi was delighted to be able to say that “the Cause of God has reached places that are difficult to pronounce!”
In the closing address of the Convention, the Hand of the Cause Dr. Ugo Giachery summarized the events of the preceding day, and then repeated the theme that had recurred throughout the long convention: that the members of the National Spiritual Assemblies themselves have a responsibility to be an example of selfless devotion, of unremitting activity, of constant service to the Cause.
In the afternoon, the participants assembled at the mansion of Bahjí for the celebration of the twelfth day of Riḍván. The Hand of the Cause ‘Alí-Akbar Furútan presided. The nearly 600 Bahá’ís were seated in a giant arc around the outer perimeter of the Haram-i-Aqdas, the outer sanctuary of Bahá’u’lláh’s Sepulchre, facing the Shrine of Bahá’u’lláh, as prayers and readings were offered in Arabic, Spanish, English, Persian and French.
Then, in solemn procession, Amatu’l-Bahá Rúḥíyyih Khánum and ‘Alí-Akbar Furútan led the assemblage in humble circumambulation of the Shrine of Bahá’u’lláh.
The official language of the fourth Bahá’í International Convention was English, with simultaneous translations into Spanish and French.
Two Year Youth Program[edit]
| Items | Goals | April 1977 | May 1978 | Yet to be filled |
| Total youth | 5,846 | |||
| Homefront Pioneers To Unopened Countries To unopened Localities |
150 (20) (90) |
0 (0) (0) |
8 6 6 |
142 14 84 |
| Domestic Teaching Trips For Two Months or More To Indian Reservations |
1,000 (15) (50) |
0 (0) (0) |
890 9 77 |
110 6 0 |
| International Pioneers Filling Specific Five Year Plan Goals |
30 (10) |
0 (0) |
11 7 |
19 3 |
| International Teaching Trips For One Month or More Each in a Single Country |
95 (20) |
0 (0) |
61 32 |
34 0 |
| Local Youth Clubs | 200 | 109 | 136 | 64 |
| College Clubs At Colleges with Highest Number American Indian Students |
400 (5) |
354 (0) |
373 2 |
27 3 |
International Goals[edit]
| AFRICA | OPEN | |
|---|---|---|
| (F) | Central African Empire | 2 |
| (E) | Ghana | 4 |
| (E) | Lesotho | 1 |
| (F) | Madagascar | 2 |
| (E) | Malawi | 1 |
| (E) | Sierra Leone | 1 |
| (E) | South Africa (Transkei) | 4 |
| (E) | St. Helena | 1 |
| (P) | Upper West Africa (Cape Verde Islands) | 2 |
| AMERICAS | ||
| (S) | Argentina | 3 |
| (E) | Barbados/Windward Islands | 1 |
| (S) | Bolivia | 1 |
| (P) | Brazil | 2 |
| (S) | Chile | 1 |
| (E) | Guyana | 1 |
| (E) | Jamaica (Cayman Is.) | 2 |
| (E) | Leeward/Virgin Islands | 1 |
| (S) | Mexico | 3 |
| (S) | Paraguay | 2 |
| (S) | Uruguay | 2 |
| ASIA | ||
| (B) | (E) Bangladesh | 2 |
| (J) | Japan | 8 |
| (K) | Korea | 5 |
| (E) | Sri Lanka (Ceylon) | 1 |
| EUROPE | ||
| (F) | Belgium | 3 |
| (D) | Denmark | 2 |
| (I) | Iceland | 1 |
| (Sw) | Sweden | 2 |
| (F) | (G)(It) Switzerland | 2 |
| AUSTRALASIA | ||
| Marshall Islands | 1 | |
| B—Bengali | ||
| D—Danish | ||
| E—English | ||
| F—French | ||
| G—German | ||
| I—Icelandic | ||
| It—Italian | ||
| J—Japanese | ||
| K—Korean | ||
| P—Portuguese | ||
| S—Spanish | ||
| Sw—Swedish | ||
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Spiritual Foundation of Economics “The fundamentals of the whole economic condition are divine in nature and are associated with the world of heart and spirit... Strive therefore to create love in the hearts in order that they may become glowing and radiant. When that love is shining, it will permeate other hearts even as this electric light illumines its surroundings. When the love of God is established, everything else will be realized. This is the true foundation of all economics. Reflect upon it. Endeavor to become the cause of the attraction of souls rather than to enforce minds.”—‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Promulgation of Universal Peace, pp. 233–234 |
Record $4 Million Budget Offered, Endorsed[edit]
Among the several “firsts” at the 69th Bahá’í National Convention was the first $4 million annual budget ever proposed by the National Spiritual Assembly.
It was especially appropriate that the largest Bahá’í Convention in history, and the last before the end of the Five Year Plan, should produce the largest budget proposal in history, one that was enthusiastically endorsed by the delegates.
The budget for the year ending April 30, 1979, includes $718,000 for teaching, an increase of $393,000 over last year’s budget.
While the amount allocated for public information was reduced by $48,000, the delegates recommended that the National Spiritual Assembly reconsider this with an eye toward increasing the figure if possible.
THE TREASURER’S Office, in its annual report to the Bahá’í community, disclosed that there was no deficit in the year just ended, thanks in part to some $588,000 in estate bequests. Contributions last year fell short by $560,000 of reaching the budgeted goal of $3,500,000.
The $4 million proposal for the coming year includes an estimated $400,000 in bequests. The amount proposed before bequests is $3,600,000, an increase of $100,000 above last year.
Contributions to the National Bahá’í Fund last year were $2,942,000, an increase of $20,000 over the previous year.
Of special significance is the steadily widening base of support for the Fund. A total of 915 Local Assemblies (94 per cent) contributed to the Fund at least once last year; of these, 742 Assemblies (77 per cent) contributed at least 10 times. An average of 680 Assemblies contributed each Bahá’í month.
THE AVERAGE number of Bahá’í Groups contributing was 350, up slightly over the previous year.
Individually, a record 8,000 believers contributed directly to the Fund last year, with an average of 2,100 contributing each Bahá’í month—nearly double the figure from the previous year. The amount of money contributed by individuals was up by $80,000.
The Treasurer’s Office attributed this, in part, to its continuing effort to emphasize the responsibility of each individual believer to support regularly the National Fund.
While last year’s total contributions do not represent a large increase, the Treasurer’s Office pointed out that the total “represents an expression of love from a great number of Assemblies, Groups, and individuals.”
THANKS TO their support, an unexpectedly large number of estate bequests, and the fact that expenditures were held to 93 per cent of the budget, the present year was begun with a Fund balance of $25,000.
“We are hopeful,” the report added, “that contributions and estates received will enable us once again to end the year with a positive Fund balance.”
Dorothy W. Nelson, treasurer of the National Spiritual Assembly, told the Convention that the National Assembly is determined not to cut back on any planned programs in this final year of the Plan regardless of the level of contributions. Therefore, she said, it is imperative that the Fund receive the wholehearted support of the U.S. Bahá’í community.
The “spiritual focus” on the Covenant and its relationship to the Fund was emphasized during the past year in workshops and deepenings presented by the 86 National Treasurer’s Representatives.
“The Secret of Wealth,” the Treasurer’s Office’s course on the use of personal resources, was revised and presented to more than 400 students at nine Bahá’í schools throughout the country.
The National Spiritual Assembly disclosed at the Convention a tentative plan to purchase an office building in north Evanston, Illinois, to house the various committees and departments at the Bahá’í National Center, which presently are spread over several locations.
This building, at 1233 Central Street, Evanston, Illinois, is being proposed as the Bahá’í National Center administrative office building. Built in 1965, it is one-half mile from the House of Worship in Wilmette. It is a prime piece of commercial real estate in excellent condition and is ideally suited to the needs of the Bahá’í National Center. Purchase of the building is contingent upon the ability of the American Bahá’í community to raise more than $2 million through contributions, investments, loans and estates by the end of August 1978. All contributions for acquiring the building should be sent to the Office of the Treasurer, as should inquiries about possible loans or investments.
A preliminary contract has been signed to acquire the $2,490,000 building, contingent upon the ability of the U.S. Bahá’í community to raise the necessary funds by the end of August 1978.
The plan calls for lease-back to the present owners to June 1980 to assure that there will be no interference in meeting the fiscal needs of the Five Year Plan.
It was pointed out at the Convention that the building is a choice piece of commercial real estate. The delegates were unanimous in recommending that it be purchased.
Funds are being sought through contributions, investments, loans and estates. Contributions should be sent to the Office of the Treasurer, as should inquiries about possible loans or investments.
Fund Receipt Form Problem Noted[edit]
Some concern has arisen about the new computerized receipt forms from the National Bahá’í Fund. A number of people are having difficulty with the return envelope owing to its size and poor quality.
We have found that 10–12 per cent of the return envelopes are defective (the sides are insufficiently glued). We are seeking ways to resolve the problem and estimate that it will be corrected in a few months.
In the meantime, please be sure that your return Fund envelope is sealed properly before mailing. By the way, when sending a contribution to the National Fund, it is necessary to fold the return receipt before placing it in the envelope.
Delegates Summarize Top Priorities for Fund[edit]
In last month’s issue of The American Bahá’í, the Office of the Treasurer printed a list of its concerns. This list was taken from a questionnaire sent to National Convention delegates that asked them to prioritize the items.
In response to the questionnaire, the delegates cited the topics “Participation of Individuals” and “The Fund and Teaching” as the two most important items.
“Participation of Individuals” refers to the following paragraph from the questionnaire:
“Shoghi Effendi said that contributions from individual believers to the National Fund represent a ‘sacred obligation’ of ‘the utmost vital importance’ and that all the National Spiritual Assembly’s plans are ‘foredoomed to failure’ without the financial support of the individual. The Office of the Treasurer is working to increase the individual believers’ awareness of the Fund as part of the Covenant and that one’s spiritual growth depends to a large extent upon the degree to which one supports the Faith materially. There are more than 50,000 Bahá’ís on our mailing list; more than 8,000 individuals have contributed to the Fund at least once this year. An average of 2,000 individuals directly support the National Fund each month. Our efforts to reach the friends on this important subject have taken the form of direct appeals to every believer, articles in The American Bahá’í, the Treasurer’s letter, District Convention reports and the Bahá’í Schools program. What do you think should be done in addition to the efforts already being made to increase the participation of individuals? How should our use of these vehicles be improved?”
THE MAJORITY of the delegates felt this is the primary issue we face regarding the National Fund. While many felt that the work being done by the Office of the Treasurer is sufficient, several recommendations were offered for increasing participation. Most frequently suggested was an increase in the number of letters mailed directly to the believers reminding them of their sacred obligation to support the National Fund directly.
Delegates also suggested more audio-visual aids; an increased emphasis on Fund deepenings by Local Spiritual Assemblies and District Teaching Committees; more information about the individual’s responsibility toward all four Funds (Local, National, Continental, and International); and the establishment of better enrollment procedures.
The second major concern was “The Fund and Teaching,” described in this section of the questionnaire:
“The Fund (like the Guardianship, the Universal House of Justice, the Feast, etc.) is an institution of the Cause, but it is seldom mentioned in our teaching work. Just as we seek to develop a positive attitude toward such obligations as prayer and fasting, so, too, must we instill in each new believer a love for the Fund. At present, only 10 per cent of new believers contribute to the National Fund. What could the National Spiritual Assembly do to make it easier for the friends to include the Fund in their teaching efforts?”
Delegates were in agreement in their recommendations, offering two main suggestions. First, provide an audio-visual aid on the Fund suitable for use in the teaching work and, second, increase the “visibility” of the Fund in the enrollment process.
The delegates frequently stressed the importance of including the Fund in the enrollment process as a means of achieving greater individual participation. The Office of the Treasurer is currently reviewing the delegates’ comments and plans to take action on the suggestions.
[Page 4]
The Hand of the Cause William Sears shares a hearty laugh with his audience at the Convention banquet.
The ‘New World Construction Company’ entertains at the Convention banquet, demonstrating the impact of a Bahá’í ‘road show.’
More Than 900 Hear Mr. Sears at Banquet[edit]
On the hazy, sunlit evening of Saturday, May 27, more than 900 Bahá’ís who were in Wilmette for the 69th Bahá’í National Convention attended a banquet that honored Local Spiritual Assembly members from the specially designated goal states of California, New York and Illinois.
The friends, filled with hope and commitment toward winning the goals of the Five Year Plan, were seated under an enormous blue-and-white striped tent on the back lawn of the National Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds, across the street from the Bahá’í House of Worship.
The moment many of them awaited came when the Hand of the Cause of God William Sears, who had flown in especially for the banquet, strode to the speakers’ platform.
HE ASKED the friends to close their eyes and imagine themselves beneath another tent, just across the street, in May 1912, when the Master laid the cornerstone of the Most Holy House of Worship.
“The Master promised that when the House of Worship was dedicated,” said Mr. Sears, “the Faith would spread around the world. True to His words, only 11 months after the Temple’s dedication in 1953, the Faith had been established in 100 countries.”
Although admitting that the task on the U.S. homefront in the final months of the Plan is formidable, Mr. Sears said his Irish optimism won’t let him contemplate anything less than total victory.
He illustrated his frame of mind with a story of two Irishmen, caught up in the French Revolution, who were arrested and sentenced to the guillotine. With their heads on the block, and the blades falling, one of the Irishmen turned to his companion and whispered, “Now, here’s my plan...”
“AND HERE is my plan,” said Mr. Sears. “Bahá’u’lláh has given us the power to stop the blades. We should keep doing what we are doing, but do more of it! Bring more believers into the Faith, raise up more Local Spiritual Assemblies, open more localities.”
Mr. Sears estimated that if the U.S. Bahá’í community could form 33 Local Assemblies a month beginning at Riḍván this year, or 66 by the date of the second Victory Weekend, June 24–25, the pace for winning the goals would be established.
“So important is teaching,” he said, “that Bahá’u’lláh has given us the perfect Example to follow: ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.
“The Master is the greatest traveling teacher the Faith has ever known. He arose when past 70 years old and in broken health to spend three full years teaching.
“Although not formally educated and unfamiliar with western culture, He traveled more than 5,000 miles in eight months, gave three volumes of talks in 38 cities, 55 talks in New York City alone, three talks in Washington, D.C., in one day, and newspaper interviews from morning till night.
“The friends would ask Him, ‘Shouldn’t you rest?’ He would reply that, weary though He was, He could not rest because He constantly heard Bahá’u’lláh’s voice saying, ‘March! March!’ ”
Mr. Sears removed from his pocket a red envelope, to be opened “in case of emergency.”
As the present state of the goals, he said, is one of emergency, he opened the envelope and shared its contents.
The first five items were promises from the Báb, Bahá’u’lláh, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, the Guardian, and the Universal House of Justice—five infallible sources—that if we but arise, the victory will be won.
A MORE drastic remedy, labeled “M8:22,” was listed at the bottom. It stands for Matthew 8:22, which says, “Let the dead bury the dead.”
“I don’t want to discourage you,” said Mr. Sears. “After all, the U.S. has won every one of its goals in every plan. The more difficult the task, the more wonderful the victory.”
Immediately after his talk, Mr. Sears left for the Bahá’í National Convention in Canada, where, with the approval of the American believers at the banquet, he promised he would challenge the Canadians to come closer to winning their goals by next November 12 than the Americans.
The program continued with brief talks by five Auxiliary Board members from the goal states: Stephen Ader and D. Thelma Jackson (Illinois), Margaret Gallagher and Fred Schechter (California), and Katherine McLaughlin (New York).
Afterward, the New World Construction Company, a group of young Bahá’ís from the Chicago and Milwaukee areas, showed the friends the impact a “road show” can have in teaching the Faith in the goal states and elsewhere. Such shows are presently being organized.
Bahá’í teacher Pauline Weaver, left, goes through “To Be a Bahá’í” with Essie Flemings in Gresham, South Carolina, just after Mrs. Flemings’ declaration. Mrs. Flemings’ brother became a Bahá’í in 1974 and died in 1975; after his death she decided she wanted to be a Bahá’í, and has been teaching the Faith for three years, not knowing how to be enrolled.
12-Day Teaching Institute Fans Flame of Faith in S. Carolina[edit]
Thirty-six Bahá’ís from 10 southern states attended a 12-day teaching institute May 3–14 at the Louis G. Gregory Bahá’í Institute in Hemingway, South Carolina.
Participants were chosen by their District Teaching Committees as individuals who would be able to return home from the institute and organize teaching projects.
After five days of prayers and deepening, the friends went to nearby Gresham, a town of less than 300 people, to try to locate some 111 believers brought into the Faith during mass teaching in the early 1970s, and to bring new believers into the Faith as well.
By the third week in May, nearly all of the 111 believers had been contacted, 20 others had declared their belief in Bahá’u’lláh, 44 believers were “revitalized,” and three localities were opened.
THE NEW declarants were taken step-by-step through the booklet, God’s New Age, and were encouraged to go teaching with the teams.
One child who was given a copy of the booklet read and re-read it until her bedtime, then shared it with classmates the following day.
When the teachers arrived in Johnsonville, they were told at one house that a Bahá’í lived next door. As they approached the second house, a woman came running out, exclaiming, “I’m one! I’m one!” About 15 adults came from in and around the house, saying they would like to reestablish their Local Spiritual Assembly.
The experience of one of the teachers, Suellen Howley of York, South Carolina, is typical of the remarkable confirmations everyone witnessed.
“The person I went to see,” she relates, “said she had been praying and meditating the morning of my visit, and had asked God to send her someone to talk with about Him and help her understand more. You can imagine the instantaneous attraction when I showed up. Bahá’u’lláh really is preparing souls, and they really are waiting.”
The first Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of San Luis Obispo, California, Judicial District No. 4. Seated, left to right: Donna Jewett, treasurer; Claudia Mayer-Harnisch; Anneliese Mayer-Harnisch, secretary; Elaine Henderson; Shirley Davis; Lois Shryock. Standing, left to right: Guenther Mayer-Harnisch, chairman; Henry Davis, vice-chairman; Walter Harrell.
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VANGUARD Youth News |
Committee Spurs Bahá’í Youth to Action[edit]
“Upon them (youth) rests the supreme and challenging responsibility to promote the interests of the Cause of God in the days to come, to coordinate its worldwide activities, to extend its scope, to safeguard its integrity, to exalt its virtues, define its purpose, and to translate its ideals and aims into memorable and abiding achievements.” (Shoghi Effendi, postscript to a letter dated October 1, 1927, to an individual believer, quoted in Bahá’í News, No. 71, February 1933, p.6)
Newspaper reports reflect a growing concern that the flaming idealism of the 1960s has all but vanished, replaced by a more self-serving and apathetic attitude toward social change.
Dr. David Clayborne, secretary of the National Bahá’í Youth Committee, has expressed concern that if Bahá’í youth do not firmly understand the Station of Bahá’u’lláh or rely heavily on His divine medicine, they too may be infected by this atmosphere of lethargy that “saps our spiritual energy, zeal and idealism.”
Dr. Clayborne emphasized the need for Bahá’ís in college, although confronted by many distractions, to persevere in carrying Bahá’u’lláh’s Message to their non-Bahá’í peers.
“ ‘Abdu’l-Bahá said that it is time to ‘...seize the opportunity, rush forth and win the prize...’ In other words, we need to proclaim to the waiting souls the clear and powerful message that Bahá’u’lláh is the Return of all the Prophets of old.”
TO STIMULATE Bahá’í youth to seize this opportunity, the Youth Committee has developed work/study projects, homefront teaching programs and Youth Clubs.
David Clayborne (right), secretary of the National Youth Committee, and staff member Linnea Brush keep their eyes and thoughts squarely on the Two Year Youth Program goals.
The function of the Youth Committee is “to inspire, coordinate, and stimulate youth activities through existing committees and local communities”; that is, to make sure the youth are involved in all activities at the local level.
In addition to Dr. Clayborne, the Youth Committee members are Wendy Suhm, a program coordinator for the National Education Office; Ilham Deloomy, medical student at Rush Medical School in Chicago; Farid Ghalili, computer science major at the University of Southwestern Louisiana, and Carl Lee, who is working on his doctorate in mathematics at Cornell University.
As secretary, Dr. Clayborne carries out decisions made by the committee as a whole and communicates with the other national committees and local communities. The Youth Committee is assisted in its daily activities by one full-time staff member, Linnea Conow Brush. She helps to coordinate the work/study and summer teaching projects.
THE PROJECTS are designed to provide youth an opportunity to serve the Faith. They are held during vacation periods, to avoid conflict with school commitments.
Work/study projects are held twice yearly. The goal of these projects is to involve youth in the daily operations of the Bahá’í National Center in Wilmette. After working in the committee offices during the day, projecteers attend classes on the functions of the administrative order and aspects of living a Bahá’í life. The next work/study project will be held July 9-21.
A work project, initiated by the Youth Committee last summer, will be held from July 24–August 18 this year. It is more loosely structured than the work/study project, with participants being responsible for their own food, lodging and transportation.
They will tend the beautiful gardens of the House of Worship during the day, and, as they will have their evenings and weekends free, will be encouraged to assist in the teaching efforts in the Chicago area.
THE YOUTH Committee also sponsors an abundance of homefront teaching programs. These include projects in California, South Carolina and Texas, and on four Indian Reservations. An international project will be held July 13–August 21 in Scandinavia. The Youth Committee requests that individuals who wish to participate in the summer programs notify the Youth Office as soon as possible.
The third means of stimulating the youth to serve the Faith is through Youth Clubs. Dr. Clayborne feels that the national community has not fully tapped this source of kinship among the Bahá’í youth.
These clubs, he says, are an alternative to the “widespread spiritual and moral bankruptcy” of the outside world. Through social, recreational, and devotional activities, the Bahá’í youth assist one another in the development of a Bahá’í identity.
The ultimate effect will be an increased willingness and desire to be a part of the Bahá’í community and to participate in teaching efforts. These clubs are separate from Bahá’í College Clubs.
THE YOUTH Committee also provides career guidance. Youth in doubt as to what career they should pursue or who wish to attend college in a goal area can ask the Youth Office for assistance.
The Office has on file hundreds of brochures on careers that can be obtained by writing to the National Youth Office, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091.
For those in college now, the Youth Committee suggests that college clubs make every effort to become friends with the non-Bahá’í international students. The Bahá’ís are asked to invite them to meetings, firesides, and, especially, social activities to provide fellowship to these students, who are often lonely and ignored by other groups on campus.
The importance of this effort was stressed by the Guardian. He said, “Not only will these young people get a good impression of American families and hospitality, but the spiritual training you try to give them will make their education so much more complete and worthwhile. This is beside the fact that in their heart is planted the seeds of the Bahá’í teachings which in time will germinate and bring forth wondrous fruits.
“All these young people when they return home will carry the message with them, and even though they do not become confirmed believers, they will remain friends always ready to render a service to the Bahá’í teachers they happen to meet.”
The National Youth Committee and the National Youth Office are financed solely by the National Bahá’í Fund. Their work in support of American Bahá’í youth is one more example of the Guardian’s statement that “the progress and execution of spiritual activities is dependent and conditioned upon material means...”
Oregon Hosts Youth Meeting[edit]
About 40 Bahá’í youth from Oregon, California, and as far away as Montana gathered at Ashland, Oregon, March 25–26 for a Youth Conference whose theme was “Youth in Preparation for Tomorrow.”
The conference was sponsored by the Spiritual Assembly of Jackson County, Oregon.
Discussions on peer pressure, careers, and the California Youth Task Force were led by Ron and Carol Lyles of Burlingame, California. A presentation on the goals of the Five Year Plan was given by Dick Love.
The Lyles furnished music and led singing. Pianist Rick Alfred also entertained the group.
The conference was publicized March 25 on local television as Bahá’ís Mike and Stacy Therrell were interviewed on the 6:30 p.m. news, and the interview was shown again later that night.
The conference was interrupted at 11 o’clock Sunday morning so participants could watch the first of 15 Bahá’í TV programs featuring the Hand of the Cause of God William Sears that are being aired on KTVL.
As the conference was ending later Sunday, Dana Jolly, a youth from Klamath Falls, Oregon, declared his belief in Bahá’u’lláh.
Faith Proclaimed At U. of Nevada[edit]
The Bahá’í Student Association at the University of Nevada seized the opportunity of the release of the book Call to the Nations to proclaim the Faith. A letter was mailed to each one of the members of the faculty and the professional staff, enclosing a selected bibliography of books on the Bahá’í Faith in the university library and a selection of appreciations of the Bahá’í Faith by well-known individuals, both Bahá’í and non-Bahá’í.
- Sunny Jim
- By Gregg Suhm
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First Bahá’í Club in U.S. Marks 40th Anniversary[edit]
Three members of the first Bahá’í Club at the University of Illinois, which was the first such club ever formed in the U.S., were present April 22–23 as the club celebrated its 40th anniversary.
The three are Rhea Gran Akemann Wendt, Eleanor Sweney Hutchens, and Margaret Swengel Bustard.
In all, 26 former club members were among the 85 persons (including a dozen seekers) who gathered for the homecoming party at the Student Union building on the university campus.
MESSAGES were received from former club members Margaret Kunz Ruhe, Haifa, Israel; Sureyya Doktoroglu Güler, Istanbul, Turkey; Suzanne Slavik (Sanders) and Jacques (Sanders) von Frasunkiewicz, from the Amazon River’s Jari region, Brazil; Barbara Hutchens Casterline, Nagoya, Japan; James and Barbara Oswald Jamison, recently from Alaska, now in Swaziland; and Ramin Khadem, Montreal, Canada.
Other former club members are living in Venezuela, Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, Honduras, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, Rhodesia, Japan and Irán.
Records show that Bahá’ís who formerly lived in Champaign-Urbana have lived and taught the Faith in 44 countries.
Notices were sent to 15 countries to reach alumni. Others who were able to attend in person included Byron Larson, who lived for eight years in Taiwan and soon will be going to Hong Kong as a trade representative for the governor of Illinois, and Frank and Amy (Smith) Baker, back for more schooling at the University of Illinois after two years in Bolivia.
Bahá’ís and their guests enjoy dancing during the 40th anniversary celebration April 22–23 of the University of Illinois Bahá’í Club, the first such club formed in the U.S.
Saranac Lake Tackles Goals in ‘Spiritual Olympics’[edit]
Saranac Lake, New York, site of the 1980 Winter Olympics, is the base this summer for a “Spiritual Olympics” sponsored by the Spiritual Assembly of Saranac Lake to win a minimum of 15 teaching goals. The goals include assisting in the formation of Spiritual Assemblies (one on the Akwesasne/Mohawk Indian Reservation), the opening of several localities, and the incorporation of at least one Assembly.
The “Spiritual Olympics” began in earnest the weekend of June 10–11 with a consultation session; however, scouting teams had been active before then, visiting unopened localities, praying, and gathering information.
The campaign will continue through the summer in the seven-county region of northernmost New York State.
TRAVELING teachers, prospective pioneers, youth, Canadian believers, Native Americans, those of other minorities, speakers, and those experienced in teaching and consolidation work are invited. Please be sure to bring a current Bahá’í identification card.
There is a need for teaching materials such as audio-visual aids, filmstrips, projectors, slide shows, cassettes, banners and other display materials, musical instruments, and Bahá’í literature.
For more information, contact the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Saranac Lake, Nancy Perkins, correspondent, 2 Church St., Saranac Lake, NY 12983, or phone 518-891-0985 evenings after 6 o’clock (EDT), or mornings between 6:30 and 8.
Bahá’ís help build a storage shed during the work-weekend April 22–23 at the Bosch Bahá’í School in California.
30 Believers Get Together For Work-Weekend at Bosch[edit]
Some 30 Bahá’ís gathered April 22–23 at the Bosch Bahá’í School near Santa Cruz, California, for a work-weekend.
Most of the participants were from the greater San Francisco Bay area, but one couple came from as far away as Ventura.
Work projects included repainting 20 patio tables, rewebbing patio chairs, applying wood preservative to the exterior of the lodge building, constructing a storage shed, installing a new entrance door on the library building, and weeding the flower gardens.
After a full day’s work Saturday, the friends enjoyed a musical presentation by Naomi Fine and Robin Springfield. Later, old-time movies and cartoons were shown and popcorn was served.
After work and lunch on Sunday, the friends were presented with copies of The Individual and Teaching as they left the school.
‘Victory Promises’ Available[edit]
A complimentary copy of Victory Promises, a new booklet compiled by the Hand of the Cause William Sears, was given to delegates at the 69th Bahá’í National Convention held May 25–28.
The 31-page illustrated booklet contains passages from the Writings of the Báb, Bahá’u’lláh, the Master, the Guardian and the Universal House of Justice, chosen to inspire the Bahá’ís of North America to win the goals of the Five Year Plan. Introductory and closing remarks by Mr. Sears are included.
Among the illustrations are a portrait of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, and an architect’s rendering of the House of Worship to be built in India.
Victory Promises is available for $1 from the Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 415 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091, or from your Bahá’í community librarian. On orders of $5 or less, there is an additional 75 cents postage and handling charge.
W. Washington Sees Radio Blitz[edit]
A radio proclamation campaign in western Washington State, launched in January, had by mid-April reached an estimated half-million people with the Message of Bahá’u’lláh.
Since the proclamation began, some 89 people had phoned the participating radio stations for further information, and had been sent free copies of The Bahá’í Faith: An Introduction, by Gloria Faizi.
The campaign was planned by the Bahá’í Media Team of Western Washington, working under the District Teaching Committee, and has been financed entirely by contributions from Local Spiritual Assemblies, Groups and individual Bahá’ís in western Washington.
Beginning in January, two 60-second messages were produced and broadcast on air time purchased by the Media Team at stations in Bellingham, Mount Vernon, Seattle and Tacoma whose programming is oriented toward young adults.
In May, the proclamation effort entered its fourth month with the addition of a third 60-second radio spot. It is being broadcast in Seattle and Tacoma where response has been heaviest.
The Bahá’í Group of Orange County, North Carolina, near Durham, was formed on February 6. Its target date for Assembly status is September 1, 1978. Front row (left to right) are Jonathan Beane, Anita Beane, Victor Hall, Amanda Hall. Back row (left to right) are Richard Beane III, Phyllis Beane, Richard Beane II, Fred Hall, LaWanda Hall, Darice Hall, Becky Townsend, Carolyn Prevost.
A children’s Intercalary Days party, sponsored by the Oberlin, Ohio, Bahá’í Group, was attended by more than 50 non-Bahá’í children and adults including professors and staff from Oberlin College. The party was held at the college Student Union and was highlighted by a puppet show.
[Page 7]
News Briefs
Teaching Confirmations Strong in Nebraska[edit]
The Bahá’í community of Grand Island, Nebraska, has been teaching vigorously for months to raise its membership from 11 to 15, the number required for incorporation. Within two weeks following Riḍván, four people declared, three of them at a fireside May 5 when, after an evening of studying “On Becoming a Bahá’í”, they were asked if they would like to become Bahá’ís...
Twenty-two Bahá’ís, most of them youth, participated April 22 in a one-day teaching effort in Weatherford, Oklahoma. Thanks to their efforts, five seekers were present that evening at a public meeting. The youth group also helped mail 2,700 brochures to Weatherford residents. Many requests for information and for times of firesides have been received...
George Smedley, an inmate at the Marquette, Michigan, Branch Prison who has been a Bahá’í for more than four years, has been graduated from college Phi Beta Kappa and will pursue postgraduate studies at the University of Michigan following his release from prison...
Dick and Kathleen Forster, Bahá’ís from Puyallup, Washington, traveled to Seoul, Korea, in June as U.S. goodwill ambassadors on behalf of the nationwide Friendship Force program established last year by President Carter.
The purpose of the program is to promote goodwill, peace and understanding among Americans and people of other countries. It is taking place in 40 states and 40 countries, and the goal is to have 600 “ambassadors” traveling from the U.S. to other countries. Anyone can apply for the program.
If you are interested, you may write to the Friendship Force, P.O. Drawer 1753, Atlanta, GA 30301...
Le Ann Bartok Wilchusky, a Bahá’í who also is a painter and sculptor, had some of her works exhibited from May 5–June 1 at the Lion Walk Gallery and Performing Arts Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania...
Twenty-five people, mostly non-Bahá’ís, attended a slide program on Finland given the weekend of April 15 in Marquette, Michigan, by Rich and Becky Flatau...
The Faith was mentioned in April in a newspaper article in Washington, Illinois, that told of a Brazilian exchange student, Marco Garvalho, who is staying with the family of Mr. and Mrs. Carl Crenshaw, Bahá’ís in Washington, under the Youth for Understanding program. The Crenshaws became interested in the program, according to the article, because of the Faith, which “promotes world understanding”...
The Bahá’ís of Humboldt County, California, participated May 10–11 in a PTA-sponsored Health Fair in Eureka, California. A tastefully decorated booth with the theme “Spiritual Healing” featured a children’s prayer by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, a healing prayer, and the Bahá’í principles.
Many children’s classes from local schools visited the fair. Many people from other booths visited with the Bahá’ís; one woman said her daughter is a Bahá’í who is pioneering in Finland.
Among the newly-enrolled Bahá’ís in North Chicago, Illinois, are William Sanford (left) and Albert Scott (right), shown with a homefront pioneer to the community, Dick Hoff. All three became members of the North Chicago community in the two weeks before Riḍván, helping to save the jeopardized Local Assembly there.
9 New Believers Save N. Chicago[edit]
Thrilling? Exciting? Joyous? What words are adequate to describe the feelings of a Bahá’í community that, two weeks before Riḍván, is certain that its Local Assembly will be lost, only to find itself with nine new believers when election time arrives!
As Riḍván approached, the five adult Bahá’ís in North Chicago, an industrial city of some 47,000 people on the shores of Lake Michigan in northeastern Illinois, did not give up hope.
Instead, they asked Bahá’ís from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to Chicago to help them teach in North Chicago on the two Saturdays that remained before Riḍván.
They placed ads about the Faith in the local newspaper, and rented a room at the North Chicago Community Center for a public meeting.
The happy ending to the story is that nine people in North Chicago were enrolled as Bahá’ís before Riḍván, the Assembly was saved, and several homefront pioneers have moved to North Chicago to help the community remain strong.
Pilgrimage Note[edit]
The National Spiritual Assembly wishes to remind the friends that as the pilgrimage season extends from the end of October to the end of July, no pilgrimages to the Bahá’í Holy Places at the World Centre are scheduled during the months of August, September, and most of October.
The first Local Spiritual Assembly of Cochise County, Arizona, was elected April 2. Standing (left to right) are Kenneth Patterson, Ronald Kuykendall, Pauline Kennerson, John F. Cook, LaRue Keys. Seated (left to right) are Darlene Keys, Cheryl Gibbs, Catherine Cook, Larry E. Gibbs.
Art Festival in Mesa Attracts Seekers[edit]
The Bahá’ís in Mesa, Arizona, a 27-member Bahá’í community 15 miles east of Phoenix, decided to kick off the final year of the Five Year Plan with a large and memorable event. And through the combined efforts of the Mesa Teaching Committee and its Feasts and Holy Days Committee, that’s exactly what took place there on Saturday, April 29, the ninth day of Riḍván.
The day-long proclamation at Mesa’s beautiful Pioneer Park was planned as a children’s art festival.
People spending a Saturday afternoon at the park were attracted to the band shell if for no other reason than its size, and a crowd of about 150 people had gathered by the time the program began.
A BRIEF introduction to the Faith was followed by dances performed by Rooha Saffa, a youth in the Mesa Bahá’í community.
Several children, helped by Bahá’ís dressed as clowns, joined in the dancing. A puppet show was next, demonstrating the oneness of mankind through the use of papier mâché puppets representing seven different racial and ethnic backgrounds.
A clown act ended festivities in the band shell, and the clowns then led the children in games, eventually directing them to art tables that had been set up in advance.
More than 100 children took part in the art project. Some made pet rocks, others paper flowers, and at one table children made macramé frames for Bahá’í quotations printed on cards. One large sheet of paper was set up for the children to use their imagination in creating a mural.
Cheryl Belshaw, dressed as a clown, teaches macramé during the children’s art festival presented April 29 by the Bahá’í community of Mesa, Arizona.
THROUGHOUT the day, parents visited the Bahá’í booth that displayed the principles of the Faith and explained progressive revelation. Several Interest Cards were filled out.
One father said the group he was with was greatly impressed by the loving way the Bahá’ís worked with the children.
Toward the end of the afternoon, balloons with the slogan “One Planet, One People...Please,” that had been purchased from the Los Angeles Bahá’í Bookshop, were filled with helium and handed out to the children. Soon the sky around the park was filled with the Bahá’í appeal for a united world.
Two Bahá’í films were shown in the park that evening as a culmination to the children’s art festival.
The festival itself climaxed a week of teaching in Mesa area parks. Bahá’ís had been gathering regularly to pray, sing Bahá’í songs, hand out balloons and give the Message of Bahá’u’lláh to hundreds of waiting souls.
New Bahá’u’lláh Tablets Compilation Available[edit]
The Department of Publishing at the Bahá’í World Centre has announced that Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh Revealed After the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, compiled under the supervision of the Universal House of Justice, is now available.
Sixteen of the most significant and much-loved Tablets, including the Most Holy Tablet, Glad Tidings, Tablet of the World, Tablet of Wisdom, Words of Wisdom, and Book of the Covenant, are included in the compilation.
Some of the Tablets 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 compilation.
Orders may be placed with your local Bahá’í community librarian or the Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 415 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091. The cost is $7.50.
Bahá’í-Run Camping Program Earns National Award[edit]
The High Rise program of the Institute of Human Understanding in Rochester, Vermont, developed and run by Bahá’ís Don and Carolyn Cruikshank, was one of five recipients of the 1977 Eleanor P. Eells award for program excellence presented by the Board of Trustees of the Fund for Advancement of Camping.
Mrs. Cruikshank, co-founder and director of High Rise, received the award March 1, 1978, at the American Camping Association’s national convention at the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim, California.
Each of the other four recipients qualified in one of the five entry categories; High Rise alone qualified and excelled in all five categories. It was founded and operates on Bahá’í principles, with its goal to help in the promotion of the oneness of mankind.
THE FORMAL presentation of the award to High Rise stated:
“The Eleanor P. Eells Award for program excellence brings recognition to a camp program which refuses to accept racial separation, but is centered around creating unity among all races and cultures—the High Rise program for the Institute of Human Understanding in Rochester, Vermont.
“Since its establishment in 1963, each of its expanding programs has sought to bring together children with a variety of backgrounds... Beyond interracial and intercultural understanding, however, High Rise challenges its participants with the adventures of hang-gliding and extended wilderness trips as well as with a chance to experience brotherhood amid the rustic outdoor life in Vermont.”
Carolyn Cruikshank also has received a Governor’s Award through the Vermont Council on World Affairs “in recognition of active and continued personal commitment to global understanding.”
THE NAME “High Rise” signifies the high rise of the human heart as it responds to the spirit of the new age; its symbol is an eagle encircling the earth and rising above all barriers that separate the human race.
The program’s beginning coincided with the Cruikshanks’ arrival at a homefront pioneering post in Rochester in 1963.
Its basis is what they believe to be a vital modern program for youth—a summer experience in which young people can come together from as wide a variety of backgrounds as possible, on common ground, to live in understanding, enlightenment and friendship, with each one making his or her own contribution to the whole in an attractive outdoor program.
The Cruikshanks’ unusual home site provides an ideal location for High Rise, commanding a panoramic view of the rolling New England countryside and rising into the forested Green Mountain range of central Vermont.
THE CHILDREN’S four-week Summer Intercultural Outdoor Leadership Program for boys and girls (ages 9–13) has been in effect since the inception of High Rise, and draws campers and an outstanding staff from many economic, cultural, religious, ethnic and geographic backgrounds.
Mrs. Carolyn Cruikshank (right), co-founder and director of the High Rise program of the Institute for Human Understanding in Rochester, Vermont, receives the Eleanor P. Eells award for program excellence from Kendall I. Lingle, chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Fund for Advancement of Camping, as John D. MacInnes (left), executive director of the Fund, looks on. The award was presented March 1 at the American Camping Association’s national convention in Anaheim, California.
The four-week Junior Youth Program, begun last summer, operates on the same format but separates the young teens (ages 14–15) to meet their special needs and to begin to prepare them for service to mankind.
High Rise has expanded to include an intermittent People-to-People study-travel program to other areas during the year; has offered institutes, seminars and special courses at the high school and college level, and has put on programs for service organizations, libraries, schools and other groups.
Beginning this summer, in Arizona, a four-week intercultural exchange program between the Navajo Indians, other native peoples of the Southwestern U.S., and young people from other backgrounds and areas of the country is being offered for 16- to 18-year-olds.
WHENEVER possible, the Cruikshanks have traveled throughout the country getting to know the families and home areas of those who join them in the summer. These journeys have taken them to nine Indian Reservations, to rural areas of the South, and to many other localities where the diversity of Asian, Indian, and other cultures abound. All are represented in the veritable “flower garden of God” that typifies the High Rise summer experience.
The Cruikshanks are well-known educators who have lifted their talents from the confines of the classroom and directed them toward helping youngsters discover their potential in a healthful living-learning outdoor situation.
Their areas of expertise include swimming, water safety, first aid, counseling, campcrafts, ecology, woodsmanship, back-packing and nutrition.
The summer camp is health-oriented, with much of the fresh produce coming from the large garden that the campers help to tend. The campers also assist in food preparation.
PHYSICAL skills and accomplishments are balanced by an emphasis on spiritual development. A personal commendation in recognition of the attribute of God that each camper has best displayed is given, as his or her crowning accomplishment, at the close of the final campfire of the summer session.
The diversity of the resource people who have shared their time and talents with the summer campers is another exciting facet of the High Rise program. They have included a geologist, an athlete from Hawaii, writers, musicians, artists, Navajo craftsmen, a traditional Iroquois false-face carver, a soil conservationist, forest rangers, an African story-teller and dancer, an Eskimo trained in Arctic survival, and local craftsmen.
Among the tributes paid to the High Rise program is this one from a Ugandan staff member:
“High Rise. Before I found it I would not have believed that a program like this could happen. Such harmony! If only there could be something like this in my country, and more places like it for children everywhere!”
Chicago Launches Teaching Campaign[edit]
A large-scale teaching/proclamation campaign is being held through the summer months in and around Chicago.
The campaign is directed by the Coordinating Committee for the Special Teaching Project–Chicago, an ad hoc committee of the National Spiritual Assembly.
The National Assembly has earmarked in its proposed budget for this year $100,000 for each of the specially designated goal states of Illinois, New York and California to support such teaching efforts during the final year of the Five Year Plan.
The coordinating committee is asking for volunteers to come to Chicago to help in the campaign. People are needed to assist in almost every way.
If you’d like to volunteer to help in the Chicago campaign, or would like more information, please contact the coordinating committee secretary, Ruth Leilani Smith, 6921 South Halsted, Chicago, IL 60621, or phone 312-483-8005.
David Villaseñor, Bahá’í artist, sculptor and sand painter from California, poses with a rendition of the Aztec god Quetzalcoatl during an April visit to the Rogue Valley area of southern Oregon.
Oregon Bahá’ís Host Villaseñor[edit]
David Villaseñor, world-renowned Bahá’í artist, sculptor, and sand painter, was the featured speaker early in April at the opening of the Native American Cultural Center in Medford, Oregon.
Mr. Villaseñor, who was invited to speak by the Bahá’ís in the Rogue Valley area, addressed several hundred Native Americans and their guests.
During his talk he mentioned that he is a Bahá’í and that Bahá’u’lláh is the Great White Spirit the Indians have been looking for. Afterward, he rendered a large sand painting outdoors in the sun.
On Sunday, April 9, Mr. Villaseñor conducted a Cluster Teaching event at the Grange Co-op in Ashland, Oregon. Several seekers attended both the afternoon and evening sessions.
ON MONDAY and Tuesday, he worked with schools in the Central Point School District, and spoke at a potluck supper Monday evening in Central Point where there were three seekers.
A Tuesday evening fireside given by Mr. Villaseñor attracted nine seekers including Sra. Chela Kocks, a Chicano of Apache background who is professor of Spanish at Southern Oregon State College, and Sr. and Sra. Olivares, graduate exchange students from Guanajuato, Mexico.
Wednesday morning, Mr. Villaseñor demonstrated sand painting on a popular television show that reaches all of southern Oregon and northern California. That afternoon, the Medford Mail Tribune carried a large feature story about him.
Following Mr. Villaseñor’s visit, a 23-year-old Indian requested enrollment in the Faith.
Dr. Daniel C. Jordan, chairman of the National Spiritual Assembly, delivers a talk on the pressing need for world unity to nearly 100 Bahá’ís and seekers during a two-day visit in March to Columbus, Ohio. Dr. Jordan also conducted a workshop on parenting and spoke at Ohio State University.
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To the Friends gathered at National Bahá’í Conventions Beloved Friends, We joyfully hail the formation of seven more National Spiritual Assemblies, those of Burundi, Mauritania, the Bahamas, Oman, Qatar, the Mariana Islands and Cyprus; two in Africa, one in the Americas, two in Asia, one in the Pacific and one in Europe, raising to one hundred and thirty the number of pillars of the Universal House of Justice. Your National Spiritual Assemblies will be sharing with you the message addressed to the International Bahá’í Convention and the news of the progress of the Five Year Plan that was released on that occasion. As you will see, many national communities already have completed, or virtually completed, their Five Year Plan goals. These communities must now ensure that the pace of expansion and consolidation which brought them victory is maintained so that they will advance strongly into the next plan. They can also, by pioneering and travel teaching, rally to the assistance of their sister communities which still have months of intensive work before them in order to win their goals. It is to these latter communities that we now address our call to redoubled, united and sacrificial effort. We are fervently supplicating at the Sacred Threshold that the followers of the Blessed Beauty will arise with enthusiasm, confidence and consecration to ensure that every goal is attained. With loving Bahá’í greetings,
The Universal House of Justice Riḍván 1978 |
Dawn Prayers Slated Daily[edit]
The National Spiritual Assembly, seeking to provide a fresh spiritual impetus to help win the U.S. homefront goals of the Five Year Plan, announced June 1 that starting immediately, the auditorium at the Bahá’í House of Worship in Wilmette, Illinois, will be open daily with devotions at dawn (6:30 Central Time), followed by silent prayer and meditation.
Believers who wish to partake of the assured joys and benefits of these devotions are welcome to participate, either at the House of Worship or in their own communities. It is a positive way in which every Bahá’í can help win the goals of the Plan, since only through the assistance of the Supreme Concourse and Divine Intervention will the friends be assured of victory.
The silhouette of a video camera looms in the foreground as delegates assemble for the 69th Bahá’í National Convention. The proceedings were beamed to a second auditorium via closed-circuit TV.
Goal States Discuss Plans, Progress at 69th Convention[edit]
At the beginning of the Five Year Plan, the National Spiritual Assembly, acting on instructions from the Universal House of Justice, selected Illinois, New York and California, three of the states visited by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in 1912, as areas for special teaching emphasis in the Plan.
At the 69th Bahá’í National Convention in May—the last such gathering before the end of the Plan next April 20—reports on the status of the goals in these three key states were shared with the believers.
Carol Allen, secretary of the Regional Teaching Committee of California, said the state needs to raise 63 more Local Spiritual Assemblies, open 63 localities and six counties, and incorporate 28 Local Assemblies.
“WE CAN’T do it alone,” she said. “We need the help of Bahá’ís in other states. We’ve learned that a victory in New York is a victory in California, that a victory in Kansas is a victory in Illinois.”
The good news from Illinois, reported by Regional Teaching Committee Secretary Patricia Jackson, was that the state has not lost a single Local Spiritual Assembly in the last two years.
On the other hand, Illinois’ believers, homefront pioneers and traveling teachers were faced with a formidable task in the final 10 months of the Plan: opening 41 counties and 83 localities, forming 36 Local Assemblies and incorporating 18 Assemblies.
Carla Jeffords, Regional Teaching Committee secretary in New York State, said the state has 80 localities and seven counties to open, 23 Local Assemblies to raise, and eight Assemblies to incorporate.
California and New York have the additional goal of establishing Local Spiritual Assemblies on Indian Reservations, as directed by the Universal House of Justice. Of the 26 Local Assemblies formed on Indian Reservations by last November, thus winning the first homefront goal of the Five Year Plan, none was in California or New York.
THE BAHÁ’ÍS in New York have set a deadline of November 29 for establishing Local Assemblies on two Indian Reservations in that state.
One way in which it is hoped that the goals will be won is through “road shows” that will travel through the goal states and parts of the South this summer. Actors, singers, dancers and musicians will present principles of the Faith to their audiences.
The National Spiritual Assembly is lending considerable financial support to the three states, earmarking $100,000 for each of them in its proposed budget for the coming year to support teaching and proclamation efforts during the final year of the Plan.
Anyone who is able to teach in the goal states, to deputize a traveling teacher, or help in any way should contact the National Teaching Committee, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091, or phone 312-256-4400, ext. 237.
| 5 YEAR PLAN | 69th National Bahá’í Convention MAY 25-28, 1978 |
House of Justice Notes 5 Year Plan Gains, Goals[edit]
To the International Bahá’í Convention
Dearly-loved Friends,
The Universal House of Justice takes great pleasure in addressing the members of National Spiritual Assemblies gathered in the Holy Land, in the presence of Hands of the Cause of God and Counsellors from all continents, at this fourth International Convention, pausing with you to review the course and needs of the Five Year Plan as we cross the threshold of its final year.
The opening of the Plan witnessed the eager response of the friends, careful study made by the national institutions of the Faith of its implications and requirements, the establishment of machinery and the setting up of projects to achieve its goals, and the often arduous struggle to fulfill the first of its three major objectives—the safeguarding and consolidation of all prizes won in earlier campaigns. This phase extended in many countries over a period of several months, and in others continued as far as the mid-way point of the Plan.
The middle year of the Plan saw the holding of the International Conferences and those many regional and national conferences which were held concurrently and diffused far and wide the inspiration flowing from these eight major assemblages of the believers. These gatherings motivated a great acceleration of the work and helped the believers throughout the world to arrive at a new realization of the responsibility entrusted to the followers of the Most Great Name for the spiritual regeneration of their fellow men.
WE ARE NOW in the last stage of the Plan, and this Convention provides us with a welcome and auspicious hour in which to assess our progress and to direct our thoughts to the complete achievement of the goals.
Of the 130 National Spiritual Assemblies which will be operating during the last year of the Plan, 50 have either achieved or nearly achieved their teaching goals. Of the remaining 80 National Assemblies, some 40 are confidently forging ahead and are assured of victory if the present tempo in their teaching work is maintained.
Nine National Spiritual Assemblies are restricted by conditions which make the fulfillment of their homefront goals dependent upon circumstances beyond their control. The remaining 30 national communities are, alas, seriously lagging behind, and only strenuous and sacrificial effort will enable them to win their goals.
The second of the three major objectives of the Plan—a vast and widespread expansion of the Bahá’í community—has seen great but geographically uneven progress. There are now more than 19,000 Local Spiritual Assemblies, and the number of localities where Bahá’ís reside is over 83,000. This expansion has been accompanied by an intensification of proclamation efforts and increased use of mass media such as radio and television.
THERE HAVE BEEN notable advances in the process of gaining wider recognition for the Cause of God and in fostering cordial relations with civil authorities, a matter of vital importance in these days when there is a growth of opposition to the Faith from those who, misconstruing its true nature and aims, take alarm at its progress.
Some of the most significant achievements of the Plan have been towards its third major objective—the development of the distinctive character of the Bahá’í community. The beloved Hands of the Cause of God, who have been in the forefront of so many aspects of the work of the Faith, have rendered far-reaching services in this field.
The Local Spiritual Assemblies, focal centres for the teaching of the Faith and the consolidation of the community, are growing in experience, maturity and wisdom, are proving to be potent instruments for nurturing the Bahá’í life and are, in increasing numbers, carrying out plans for the establishment of the Faith in areas outside their own range of jurisdiction, under the over-all guidance of their National Spiritual Assemblies, and with the encouragement...
See FAITH PASSING, Page 10
Warm greetings always are a part of the National Convention. Here Eileen Norman, secretary of the National Education Committee, embraces Georgia Sanchez, one of the friends from Bermuda.
Faith Passing Through Time of Opportunity,[edit]
Continued From Page 9
and help of the Auxiliary Boards and their assistants.
The work of developing Local Spiritual Assemblies is a task without end in the foreseeable future. As the Bahá’í community, which is still very thinly spread around the world, moves continually and with increasing rapidity into new areas, new Assemblies will come into being and will need patient help and training in their sacred duties.
THE DEVOTION and self-sacrifice of the friends, which have drawn to them the confirmations of Bahá’u’lláh, have resulted in the very great advances made so far.
Evidences of this striving are apparent in the growing number of national communities which, under the wise stewardship and challenging leadership of their National Spiritual Assemblies, are becoming financially self-supporting; in the fact that ever more individual believers are adopting for themselves specific goals and plans of service for the advancement of the Faith; in the settlement of more than 2,000 pioneers during the course of the Plan; in the upsurge of travel teaching individually and in teams; in a greater awareness of the power of prayer; and in many other ways.
Three vital aspects of Bahá’í community life which have seen marked progress during the past four years are the development of the services of women and of youth, and the Bahá’í education of children. The youth have long been in the forefront of the teaching work, and now our hearts rejoice to see the women, in so many lands where previously their capacities were largely left unused, devoting their capable services to the life of the Bahá’í community.
The education of Bahá’í children is also receiving much attention, which bodes well for the future generations of Bahá’ís.
EXPERIENCE HAS shown that active and loving collaboration between the Continental Boards of Counsellors and National Spiritual Assemblies has
[Page 11]
Capturing the many aspects of a Bahá’í National Convention on film is no easy task, but photographers Ken Jennrich, Bob Harris and Haynes McFadden tackled the assignment with vigor and enthusiasm. Shown here are some of the results of their hard work. 1. The friends arrive for a devotional service at the House of Worship. 2. Every Convention begins, of course, at the registration desk. 3. Among those who addressed the Convention was Continental Counsellor Edna True. 4. José Escalanto, a newly-enrolled Bahá’í from El Centro, California, tells the friends how happy he is to be at the Convention. 5. Daniel Jordan (left) and Franklin Kahn of the National Spiritual Assembly display gifts to the Convention presented by Indian believers in the U.S., Canada and Alaska. 6. The friends enjoy supper beneath a tent at a banquet honoring Local Assembly members from New York, Illinois and California. 7. Pianists Ludwig Tuman and Camilla Krueger entertain the friends with some ragtime music. 8. Delegates used small hand-held wireless microphones when speaking. This is Nancy Dobbins of Ft. Worth, Texas. 9. Indian believers relax on a lawn near the House of Worship. 10. The Hand of the Cause William Sears fills his plate at the Convention banquet. 11. The friends in the balcony were engrossed in the Convention proceedings too. 12. Convention visitors included 10 radiant Bahá’ís from Bermuda. 13. Carol Allen, secretary of the California Regional Teaching Committee, addresses Assembly members from that state. 14. All the talk about teaching, goals, victory plans, and the Fund left some of the Convention visitors a trifle exhausted.
Challenge, House of Justice Tells Friends[edit]
been a particularly invigorating and strengthening factor in the progress of the Cause in all aspects of the work.
Reflecting the growth of the community, the number of Continental Counsellors has been raised to 64 during the Plan, and the number of the members of Auxiliary Boards to 675. Under the authorization given to them, members of the Auxiliary Boards have till now appointed 3,358 assistants, who already are playing a significant role in the formation and consolidation of Local Assemblies and the fostering of the Bahá’í way of life in local communities.
Coordinating and directing the work of these Continental Boards from the Holy Land, the International Teaching Centre is now well established in the conduct of its responsibilities, foreshadowing the mighty role that it is destined to play in the functioning of the Administrative Order of Bahá’u’lláh.
The Faith is passing through a time of tremendous opportunity and development, as well as of increasing opposition and of growing complexity in the problems confronting it. These opportunities must be seized and these problems overcome, for so crucial are these times that the future course of human history is daily in the balance.
DURING THIS year the Universal House of Justice will be consulting on the nature, duration and goals of the next stage in the implementation of the Divine Plan. The firm base of the achievement of the Five Year Plan goals, both those of quality and those of quantity, is therefore the burning necessity of the months now before us.
Let us go forward in a spirit of optimism, with confidence, determination, courage and unity. The greater the love and unity among the friends, the more speedily will the work advance.
May the Almighty bless the endeavours of His servants and inspire their hearts to arise in His Cause with that degree of radiant faith and self-sacrifice which will draw to their aid the conquering hosts of the Supreme Concourse.
Riḍván 1978
Convention Salutes Goal States, Indian Believers[edit]
Continued From Page 1
The Hand of the Cause of God William Sears flew in from Canada via Los Angeles to address more than 900 of the friends Saturday evening, May 27, at a banquet honoring Assembly members from the three special goal states. The gathering was held beneath a huge tent on the lawn of the National Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds across the street from the House of Worship.
The delegates had met that morning to elect the National Spiritual Assembly. Its members are:
Dr. Daniel C. Jordan, chairman; Judge James F. Nelson, vice-chairman; Glenford E. Mitchell, secretary; Dean Dorothy W. Nelson, treasurer; Dr. Magdalene Carney, assistant secretary for administration; Soo Fouts, assistant secretary for teaching; Richard D. Betts; Franklin Kahn; Dr. Firuz Kazemzadeh.
A RECORD $4 million national budget for the year ending April 30, 1979, was proposed by the National Spiritual Assembly and heartily endorsed by the delegates.
Included in the budget proposal is $718,000 for teaching, compared to $321,000 last year. The figure includes $300,000 to be divided equally among the goal states of New York, California and Illinois to support teaching campaigns there during the final year of the Five Year Plan.
Dean Nelson, addressing the Convention, emphasized the National Spiritual Assembly’s determination not to cut back on any plans or programs budgeted during the coming year; and since the $4 million is the minimum amount required to carry out those plans, she said, it is imperative that the budget receive the wholehearted support of the American Bahá’í community.
Among other Convention highlights were a report by the National Spiritual Assembly on the fourth Bahá’í International Convention April 29–May 2 in Haifa, Israel; a special presentation by the Continental Board of Counsellors that included an address by Miss True; the presentation of two gifts to the National Spiritual Assembly on behalf of the Indian believers in the U.S., Alaska and Canada; meetings of Assembly members from New York, California and Illinois, and a Convention session devoted to teaching in the goal states; a film festival that included films from the U.S. and Canada along with radio and TV spots and programs; and a surprise visit to the House of Worship on the final day of the Convention by Spyros Kyprianou, president of the Republic of Cyprus, and his wife.
MANY OF the friends attended a memorial service Sunday morning at the House of Worship for L. Wyatt Cooper, who devoted nearly a quarter of a century to improving the grounds and gardens there. Mr. Cooper died in November 1977.
In its annual report to the U.S. Bahá’í community, the National Spiritual Assembly listed the preparation of the Bahamas for the formation of its National Spiritual Assembly, which took place May 20, and the formation of Local Spiritual Assemblies on 25 Indian Reservations in this country as “the most outstanding accomplishments” of the American Bahá’í community during the past year.
The number of Assemblies on Indian Reservations reached 26 on November 11, the eve of Bahá’u’lláh’s birthday; since then it has risen to 27.
On the homefront, the National Assembly cited the existence of more than 400 Groups of five or more Bahá’ís and the assignment of target dates for their formation; the California Victory Campaign, which got off to such a remarkable start in February in and around El Centro; and the plan for joint meetings of the Auxiliary Board members and District Teaching Committees as among the most promising elements in the drive to win the remaining goals of the Five Year Plan.
Glenford E. Mitchell (left), secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly, presents a copy of The Bahá’í World to Spyros Kyprianou, president of the Republic of Cyprus. Others (left to right) are Dorothy W. Nelson, Firuz Kazemzadeh, an unidentified aide to the president, Soo Fouts, and Mrs. Kyprianou.
THE SPECIFIC homefront teaching goals, said the report, are establishing 1,170 localities and 400 Local Spiritual Assemblies, and effecting large-scale enrollments in California, Illinois and New York.
The effort to win these goals was given a fresh impetus in June when a second Victory Weekend was held, coinciding with the annual commemoration of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s visit in 1912 to the Evergreen Cabin in Teaneck, New Jersey.
In addition, each teaching district has been given a specific portion of localities and Assemblies goals that must be achieved in accordance with certain deadlines.
Teaching programs in the three goal states are to be intensified through large-scale teaching campaigns sponsored directly by the National Spiritual Assembly. These programs will supplement the plans already being pursued.
IN A RELATED move, Soo Fouts has been named assistant secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly for teaching, and will spend much of her time in the field this year offering advice and encouragement to teaching efforts throughout the U.S. on behalf of the National Assembly.
Eleven youth projects are planned this summer, in the three goal states, the South, and on the Navajo Reservation.
A message to the Universal House of Justice from the Convention said in part:
“...friends assembled 69th Bahá’í National Convention steadfastly resolve win every goal Five Year Plan through loving unified action...Friends recognize supreme importance of drawing on the power of the Covenant for that spiritual transformation that alone can insure victory.”
Mr. Sears, reiterating his confidence that every U.S. goal will be won before the end of the Plan, said: “We should keep doing what we are doing, but do more of it. Win more localities, bring more believers into the Faith, raise up more Local Spiritual Assemblies.”
FOLLOWING the banquet, Mr. Sears flew immediately to Canada to participate in its National Convention.
Time was set aside at the Convention for consultation on teaching by Local Assembly members from California, New York and Illinois. Each of these states presented reports to the Convention, and consultation was held on teaching in the three states.
Two recently enrolled Bahá’ís from El Centro, California, attended the Convention. Each of them spoke briefly, and one, José Escalanto, presented the National Assembly a portrait of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá that he had painted, he said, “not with my hands, but with my heart.”
Members of Local Assemblies on Indian Reservations and pioneers to the Reservations were recognized at a special ceremony Friday evening during which a message to them from the Universal House of Justice was read.
THE AMERICAN Indian Teaching Committee presented to the National Spiritual Assembly on behalf of Indian Bahá’ís in the U.S. a buckskin bearing the names of Local Assemblies on Indian Reservations in this country.
A sealskin from Alaska signed by members of Indian Assemblies in North America was presented to the National Spiritual Assembly by Cathy Cook, representing the recently formed Continental Indigenous Council.
Several of the Auxiliary Board members present spoke Saturday afternoon when Miss True also addressed the Convention on behalf of the Continental Board of Counsellors.
More than $6,000 was contributed to the National Fund by those who attended the Convention.
Displays outside the main auditorium were presented by the Bahá’í Publishing Trust, National Treasurer’s Office, National Archives Committee, National Teaching Committee, International Goals Committee, National Youth Committee, National Information Committee, American Indian Teaching Committee, and each of the three special goal states.
The president of Cyprus, whose wife had visited the House of Worship in 1965 and asked her husband to accompany her on a return visit, was greeted Sunday by four members of the National Spiritual Assembly—Soo Fouts, Firuz Kazemzadeh, Glenford Mitchell, and Dorothy Nelson—and presented a copy of the most recent edition of The Bahá’í World.
The younger visitors to the Convention found plenty of love and friendship to keep them company.
‘Retrospective’ Set for Rental[edit]
The new film, Retrospective, which premiered at the Bahá’í National Convention in Wilmette and was announced in the May issue of The American Bahá’í, is now available for three-day rental from the Bahá’í Publishing Trust. The rental fee is $20 for three showings.
Retrospective was made as a tribute to the Hand of the Cause of God John A. Robarts on the occasion of his 40th anniversary as a member of the Bahá’í Faith. His career of service to the Faith has involved him intimately in the major events of the past four decades of Bahá’í history: the Ten Year Crusade, the passing of the Guardian, the trusteeship of the Hands, and the emergence of the Universal House of Justice.
In the film Mr. Robarts shares, in his inimitable style, a wealth of anecdote and reflection that illuminates the story of this stirring era with humor and poignancy.
Retrospective is suitable for Bahá’í audiences and for other interested persons who have previously been acquainted with the basic history and teachings of the Faith.
Produced by Ciné Bahá’í, the 16mm color film is available for sale from the Bahá’í Distribution Service, 7200 Leslie St., Thornhill, Ontario, Canada L3T 2A1. The price is $500 plus postage.
To rent the film send a letter separate from other orders and payments to the Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 415 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091. Give your first, second, and third choice of dates desired, and enclose full payment with your order.
For immediate film rental information, call the Bahá’í bookstore at (312) 256-4400 Sunday through Thursday between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. (Central Time).
Native Americans Pledge Support in Goals Drive[edit]
The final session of the 69th Bahá’í National Convention—Sunday morning, May 28—witnessed an event that Dr. Daniel Jordan, chairman of the newly-elected National Spiritual Assembly, described as “rounding an extraordinary bend in the history of the Faith.”
To begin to understand its significance, one must be aware of two things:
First, in the Tablets of the Divine Plan, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá said: “You must attach great importance to the Indians, the original inhabitants of America... there can be no doubt that through the Divine teachings they will become so enlightened that the whole earth will be illumined.”
Second, the first victory of the Five Year Plan in this country came last November 12 when the number of Local Spiritual Assemblies on Indian Reservations not only reached the goal number of 25, but surpassed it by one!
MEMBERS OF these Local Assemblies were special guests at the Convention, and arrived from Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, South Dakota and Washington State to attend.
What they noticed, however, during the first two days of the Convention was that while they were warmly welcomed, almost no one asked them to share information on how they had won their goals.
Indian believers listen intently as National Spiritual Assembly member Franklin Kahn reads a message to them from the Universal House of Justice.
This led to consultation among the Indian delegation that lasted until 3 o’clock Sunday morning, at which time a spokesman was appointed to address the Convention at its final session.
The spokesman was introduced by Charles Nolley, a homefront pioneer to the Fort Peck Reservation in Montana.
MR. NOLLEY referred to the words of the Guardian, written in 1938, urging white Bahá’ís to overcome their sense of superiority toward blacks, which Mr. Nolley then extended to include members of any minority group. “We need minorities in the Faith,” he said. “We need to ask how the Indians won the victory on the Indian Reservations.”
He then introduced the spokesman for the Indian delegation, Dwight Williams of the Nez Perce Reservation in Idaho, a Bahá’í since 1967.
As Mr. Williams began to speak, he suddenly was overcome by emotion and reduced to tears. “This has been a long time coming,” he said.
After some tentative applause, the believers began singing “Alláh’u’Abhá,” showing their support and encouragement for Mr. Williams.
He resumed speaking: “Instead of going back to the Reservations after the Convention, the Indians want to help in California, Illinois and New York!” The statement was greeted with a loud burst of applause.
THE INDIANS still weren’t finished. The delegation recommended that a teaching center be built in New Mexico on the Navajo Reservation, where there are about 10 Local Assemblies, to serve as a meeting place and deepening center for the friends.
“A unity fund, much like the Temple unity fund started by the early believers, could be begun on the Navajo Reservation, helping to unite the Hopi, Zuni and Navajo Bahá’ís who live in the southwest,” said Mr. Williams. “We’d like to recommend that the cornerstone for this center be laid by Amoz Gibson (a member of the Universal House of Justice) when he is in the U.S. this summer.
“The Indian friends don’t have dollars,” he added, “so we want to show them that the teaching center can be built with coins, if enough coins are given.”
A large cardboard box was placed in front of the auditorium for anyone who wished to contribute coins for the teaching center, and soon was passed through the audience at the insistence of the delegates.
IN LESS than half an hour it was filled to overflowing, and the person who was carrying it strained under its weight.
Earlier in the Convention, the Indian friends had presented two gifts to the American Bahá’í community.
The first of these is a buckskin on which are written the names of all the Indian Local Assemblies, along with a painted Indian symbol for “prayer,” signifying that the Indians are praying for the success of the Five Year Plan.
The other gift is a sealskin that had traveled in a prayer chain beginning at Naw-Rúz in Alaska, and continuing through Canada to the U.S.
It contains the names of those who had met together and prayed for the Cause. Three linked circles on the skin represent the National Spiritual Assemblies of Alaska, Canada and the U.S. In the center of the circles is the print of the hand of an Indian believer.
The gifts were presented Friday evening when the Indian delegation was invited to the stage for a special recognition ceremony and to hear a message to the Indian believers from the Universal House of Justice.
DEADLINE Conference Sparks Pioneer Offers[edit]
“Definitive Encouragement Always Dramatically Leads Individuals to Necessary Endeavors” (D-E-A-D-L-I-N-E) was the theme of a recent teaching conference at Moline, Illinois, sponsored by the four-month-old Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Silvis, Illinois.
During the conference 11 persons arose and offered to homefront pioneer, thus helping to win some of the area goals of the Five Year Plan.
Among those attending the conference was Soo Fouts, the assistant secretary for teaching of the National Spiritual Assembly, whose loving words and assurances helped everyone there to gain a clearer understanding of the goals of the Five Year Plan and the part that each of us must play in winning them.
The conference also included a report by National Treasurer’s Representative Edith Elmore of Davenport, Iowa; a presentation by the Illinois Regional Teaching Committee on the status of goals in the state, and a talk by Auxiliary Board member Stephen Ader on the purposes of the Five Year Plan and the significance of the DEADLINE conference.
$115 was collected at the conference to be given to the National Fund.
Of the 11 believers who volunteered to pioneer on the homefront, five are from Illinois, four from Iowa, and two from Ohio.
The Spiritual Assembly of Davenport, Iowa, pledged that its members would give at least nine public presentations of the Faith in Illinois goal areas near Davenport.
Soo Fouts, a member of the National Spiritual Assembly, addressing the DEADLINE teaching conference at Moline. Illinois. The conference was sponsored by the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Silvis, Illinois.
U.S. Youth Are Invited To Guyana Bahá’í Camp[edit]
U.S. Bahá’í youth are warmly invited to attend the 6th annual International Bahá’í Youth Camp August 4–7 at Camp Kayuka, Guyana.
The camp is sponsored by the National Youth Committee of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Guyana. It is open to young people 14 years old or older.
For more information, contact the International Goals Committee, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091.
The friends who gathered for a Mass Teaching/Consolidation Institute one week after the National Convention. National Spiritual Assembly member Soo Fouts is second from left in the front row.
Teachers Gather in Skokie[edit]
A talk by Continental Counsellor Edna True and visits by Glenford E. Mitchell, secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly, and Soo Fouts, who holds the newly-created office on the National Assembly of assistant secretary for teaching, set the tone of the Mass Teaching/Mass Consolidation Institute held June 3–4 at the Howard Johnson’s in Skokie, Illinois.
Held within a week after the idea was suggested at the 69th Bahá’í National Convention, the institute was attended by 17 believers, experienced in intensive teaching campaigns, who had only four days’ notice to attend. They came not only from the goal states of California, Illinois and New York, but also from South Carolina, North Carolina, Washington, Texas, Oregon, Florida, Louisiana, and Colorado. Only one of the 18 believers invited was unable to attend.
The believers consulted with and advised the National Teaching Committee, which feels that while individual teaching and firesides must continue, mass teaching and mass consolidation are necessary to bring the “waiting souls” into the Faith, and bring enough people into the Faith to raise the Local Spiritual Assemblies and open the localities needed to win the Five Year Plan.
The believers who were at the institute will be on call to assist District Teaching Committees or Local Spiritual Assemblies across the country in teaching institutes and campaigns.
Newly-formed Local Assemblies that spring from such teaching efforts will immediately be involved in teaching and adopting extension goals.
The National Teaching Committee already has been able to refer some District Teaching Committees who have asked for assistance in teaching plans to individuals who attended the institute.
Las Cruces, New Mexico, Host to Media Workshop[edit]
Bahá’ís from New Mexico, Colorado, western Texas and Arizona gathered at Las Cruces, New Mexico, May 6–7 for a regional media workshop sponsored by the Spiritual Assembly of Las Cruces and the Southern New Mexico–West Texas District Teaching Committee.
The workshop was geared toward meeting the directive from the Universal House of Justice concerning the increased use of radio and television during the Five Year Plan. It was conducted by the Greater Phoenix, Arizona, Bahá’í Media Committee with the purpose of sending participants back to their home communities with a media plan ready for immediate execution.
Participants had been asked to do their homework, bringing to the workshop a complete list of radio and TV stations serving their area including call letters, frequencies, names of program directors, and station formats.
A SEPARATE list of all public service programs, name of the show and its host, air time, and each station’s religious programming policy also was compiled.
“We dealt with the nuts and bolts of putting together a media plan,” said Doug Carpa, workshop facilitator and chairman of the Phoenix media committee.
“We covered areas important to the formation and effectiveness of an aggressive media committee. Topics included approaches to program directors, what the media expects from us, media resources available from the Bahá’í Publishing Trust and their use on a local level, how to use government regulations for our benefit, how to select and apply the Teachings to media plans, and how to build a positive image, both from within the Faith and without.”
This was a working meeting at which the friends applied the information, experience and guidance of the Phoenix media committee toward shaping a plan of action at the local level.
They analyzed their local media outlets, determined what resources are available, and put together a plan to “...expand the use of radio and television for Bahá’í broadcasts aimed at proclamation of the Faith to greater numbers of listeners...”
THE FOLLOWING committees were to be formed shortly after the workshop: Southeastern New Mexico Bahá’í Media Committee, Roswell; Four Corners Bahá’í Media Committee, Durango, Colorado; Southern Rio Grande Bahá’í Media Council, Las Cruces, New Mexico; and Central New Mexico Consolidated Bahá’í Media Council, Albuquerque.
Doug Carpa of the Greater Phoenix, Arizona, Bahá’í Media Committee (standing) emphasizes a point during the media workshop May 6–7 at Las Cruces, New Mexico.
“It was a fun workshop,” said Mr. Carpa, “and we tried to convey the idea that media work isn’t mystical, and is easy to do if you have a plan.
“The theme was strength—unused strength from within one’s community, within the group, and within the individual Bahá’í.”
Evaluating the workshop’s results, he said, “It was an overwhelming success. We look forward to great media victories in New Mexico during the final year of the Plan.”
The Greater Phoenix Bahá’í Media Committee has played a direct role in the formation of seven other intercommunity media committees. It will consider repeating its workshop in other areas on a first-come, first-served basis.
For information, write to the Greater Phoenix Bahá’í Media Committee.
Annual Conference September 15–17
Green Lake Offers Fun, Surprises[edit]
One never knows what to expect at a Green Lake Bahá’í Conference. Last year, for example, it was revealed that in addition to a Continental Counsellor and an Auxiliary Board member, the Hand of the Cause of God William Sears would participate in the Saturday evening program. What a memorable and historic night that was!
This year the Green Lake Conference is scheduled for the weekend of September 15–17 at the American Baptist Assembly at Green Lake, in south-central Wisconsin.
The conference comes only about six months before the end of the Five Year Plan, and plans are under way to make this the most memorable and exciting conference ever.
Its theme, “Kam, Kam, Rúz bih Rúz” (Little by Little, Day by Day) is a phrase often used by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.
APPLYING the theme to the Five Year Plan goals means the key to success is “taking the big idea and making it smaller.” The big idea (goals) will be achieved as each believer “makes it smaller” through a personal commitment to steady progress “little by little, day by day.”
Forthcoming program details will reveal stimulating speakers, audiovisual treats, a wide variety of activities from musical programs to hayrides, plus the warm and precious fellowship for which Green Lake is well known.
There will be a special youth program for those ages 12 to 20, a children’s program for ages 3–11, and a nursery for those up to age 3.
Conference fees are $4 per adult for the weekend, or $1.50 for children under 12. For Saturday day-guests, the fee is $3 plus $1 charged by the grounds. Fees are not included in room rates.
ROOM RATES are based on the full American Plan, meaning one night’s lodging plus three consecutive meals. Total cost per person is determined by the first and last meal.
Prices for adults 18 and older range from $17.75 to $21.25. Prices for youth 12–17 range from $16.75 to $19.75. For children 6–11, they range from $12 to $14.50. Children 5 years old or under are $2.50. Single occupancy is $5 additional.
Single meal prices for adults are $2.25 for breakfast, $3 for lunch, $4.50 for dinner. Single meal prices for children 6–11 are $1.20 for breakfast, $1.80 for lunch, $3 for dinner. No meals available Friday. Snack bar available.
This year a limited number of economy-priced units are available for families or groups of four to 17 persons. Camping facilities also are available for $6 to $9 per site. Write for details about either of these.
Registration should be in advance, and a $10 deposit per person must accompany the registration form.
Those who bring nursery-age children should also bring whatever is necessary to care for them: toys, bottles, diapers, blankets, pillows, etc. Label everything. Write out any special instructions about food sensitivities, allergies, medications, etc. Please bring porta-cribs if possible.
For parents with babes in arms, a special room with piped-in audio is located near the conference room.
The conference site is on 1,000 acres of wooded hills and fields with many recreational features including the lake, golf course, hiking trails and an indoor pool. See you there!
The Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Huntington, New York, was incorporated last December 15. Its members at that time were (standing, left to right) Tom Hasegawa, Walter Dalleinne, Frank Winters, Ed Candidus, Ed Sobhani, and (seated, left to right) Linda Laurens, Jackie Osborne, Dorothy Babcock, Martha Candidus.
New ‘Seven Valleys’ Edition Is Available[edit]
A new edition of The Seven Valleys and the Four Valleys, by Bahá’u’lláh, is now available from the Bahá’í Publishing Trust. The book’s price is still $2.75 (cloth) and $1.75 (paper).
This third edition was revised under the supervision of the Universal House of Justice. In addition to revisions in the text, the footnotes in the book have been renumbered, and the type has been reset.
The new cloth edition is deep blue and stamped in gold, while the paper edition is powder blue and stamped in silver. The cover design is by John Solarz.
To make it easier for public and school librarians to place the book in circulation, the Publishing Trust printed Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data in this edition.
The Seven Valleys and the Four Valleys are two treatises by Bahá’u’lláh that describe the stages the soul must traverse to “attain the object of its existence.” Shoghi Effendi wrote that The Seven Valleys “may well be regarded as (Bahá’u’lláh’s) greatest mystical composition.”
The book can be ordered through local Bahá’í librarians or the Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 415 Linden Ave., Wilmette, IL 60091. Enclose 75 cents for postage and handling on orders under $5.
Decision to Go Pioneering Requires Careful Planning[edit]
When each of us considers a move in his life, he realizes that much planning, consultation and careful consideration must go into the decision as to when, where and for what purpose the step is to be taken.
If one is considering international pioneering, even further investigation is necessary, and much of the information that the International Goals Committee maintains about resources for international employment and study are generally available.
Read on and learn how you can begin to initiate these vital steps toward the most meritorious service to our beloved Cause.
AS YOU HAVE read about the glorious deeds of Bahá’í pioneers throughout the world, have you ever thought to yourself, “Now, why can’t I do that?”
The point is, you can. And one of the important elements in any such plan is acquiring employment overseas.
The inevitable question arises, “How in the world am I going to find information about jobs in foreign countries?”
Do not despair. There are many opportunities for you to put your fingers on the pulse of the international job market.
The first, easiest and cheapest way is to go to your local library. There you’ll find good reference books including The International Yearbook and Statesman’s Who’s Who, an excellent introduction to the countries of the world, their industrial and agricultural development.
IF YOU ARE interested in education, consult the card catalog for publications of the Institute of International Education, for a Handbook of International Study for U.S. Nationals, and for numerous other handbooks and informational pamphlets.
If you are not inclined toward teaching or studying abroad and the business world is your interest, Fortune magazine maintains listings of the top 500, 100, and other multinational corporations, all of whom hire internationally to fill their production and management needs.
The American Encyclopedia of International Information, Vol. 2, lists all American firms doing business abroad, alphabetically and by country.
Last but not least, you might invest $1.25 for the Sunday New York Times (which can also be read at the library) in which educational, medical and business opportunities are listed, often for international positions.
THE TRAVEL section of The Times provides helpful hints for the traveler, as well as information about events and happenings throughout the U.S. and around the world.
If you are a professional who belongs to any organizations, read the professional journals; or if you have access to agencies for assistance to underdeveloped countries, check their publications. Often, positions are listed, and some of these may be for international employment.
In addition to this, the International Goals Committee maintains some general bibliographies on international employment and study, as well as guidelines for securing jobs, and specific references.
If you’d like to know more, please contact the International Goals Committee, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091, or phone 312-256-4400.
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NEW BOOKS!
For Children, Youth, Adults— Bahá’í Prayers and Tablets for the Young Features 28 prayers revealed by Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá together with 10 Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá for children and youth. The book, which includes many previously untranslated passages, was prepared by The Universal House of Justice. Illustrated with line drawings by John Solarz, 30 pp.
by Eunice Braun. A moving account of the extraordinary expansion of the Bahá’í Faith throughout the world from the time of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s passing in 1921 to the end of the Nine Year Plan in 1973. More than a book for historians. From Strength to Strength inspires the reader with the knowledge that no obstacle— however great—can stop the unfoldment of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Divine Plan. 64 pp., notes. 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 |
Classified Ads[edit]
HOMEFRONT SETTLERS urgently needed in Monona, a suburb of Madison, the state capital and seat of the state university system. Monona is a residential community with job opportunities in the recreational, educational and medical fields available in Madison. The area is convenient to Chicago and Milwaukee. Monona’s Assembly is in jeopardy and requires two more Bahá’ís to save its Assembly status. For further information contact Mrs. Eleanor Griffin, 4421 Oak Court, Monona, WI 53716, or phone 608-222-5614.
HELP! The Bahá’ís of Jefferson Parish (a suburb of New Orleans) are hosting a Bahá’í Week July 30–August 6. More manpower is needed to make the week successful. Sleeping accommodations will be provided if notified two weeks in advance. Come help spread the Faith in Louisiana. We need you! For more information, write to Barbara Sauce, 656 Pat Drive, Westwego, LA 70094.
BLUE ISLAND, one of the primary goals still remaining in Illinois, needs three Bahá’ís to form its Spiritual Assembly. One of the members of this active Bahá’í Group is a handicapped male school teacher who needs a male roommate or a married couple to assist him. The teacher will provide room and board (and other basic benefits) in return for such assistance. Blue Island, near Chicago, is a bustling community of more than 30,000. If you would like to help raise the standard of Bahá’u’lláh there (and/or help the teacher), please contact Terrel Trotter, correspondent, Bahá’í Group of Blue Island, 12934 Page Court, Blue Island, IL 60406.
LEXINGTON, KENTUCKY, Assembly is in jeopardy! Owing to graduation of Bahá’í students at the University of Kentucky, we are searching for stable, secure Bahá’í families to settle permanently in our lovely bluegrass community. We will do whatever possible to assist in finding housing and employment. Help us save our dedicated 10-year-old Assembly. Write: Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Lexington, P.O. Box 1825, Lexington, KY 40593, or phone Mrs. Barbara McHugh at 606-266-4795.
POTSDAM, NEW YORK, a goal for Assembly status in the Five Year Plan, needs homefront pioneers. There have been Bahá’ís in Potsdam for 40 years, but owing to the transient nature of its college town population, there are presently only two adult Bahá’ís there. The area boasts four colleges, and Clarkson College is hiring professors in mechanical engineering. Secretaries usually are in demand. The area colleges have excellent programs in computer science, engineering, education, agriculture and psychology. Traditional area arts include maple sugaring, dairying, cedar oil making, and fiddling. Bahá’í children’s classes are available in nearby Cornwall, Ontario. Anyone interested in pioneering to this lovely area may phone 315-265-9478, or write to the Potsdam Bahá’í Group, 41 Pierrepont Avenue, Potsdam, NY 13676. Make a big splash in a small puddle!
SAN DIEGO, California, Bahá’í Center offers to a retired Bahá’í couple who are active and willing to do caretaking, cleaning and gardening nice living quarters—bedroom, living room, kitchen and bath—free. For additional work, they would receive moderate pay. Call or write the San Diego Bahá’í Center, 4565 Alcala Knolls, San Diego, CA.
FULL-TIME POSITIONS for career-oriented professionals in radio and television including radio announcer for morning show, television producer, television news reporter, and television sportscaster available at KCRT-TV and KCRG Radio in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. If interested and qualified, please phone Tom Collier at 319-398-8392.
WANTED: BAHA’IS TO SETTLE in goal communities in Mississippi: Vicksburg, which has many civil service and science-related employment opportunities; Bay St. Louis, 25 miles west of New Orleans; and Meridian, where many people go to retire. Contact the Mississippi District Teaching Committee, 3229 23rd Avenue, Meridian, MS 39301.
BAHÁ’Í PUBLICATIONS AUSTRALIA has received a large number of requests for its catalog from Bahá’í libraries and communities throughout the U.S. It is in the process of revising and reprinting the catalog in light of recent policy changes, and hopes to be able to send out the catalog lists by August.
IMMEDIATE OPENINGS available at the new Omaha Tribal Health Education Center on the Omaha Reservation at Macy, Nebraska. Needed are assistant director, medical records technician, physician’s assistant, X-ray technician, medical technologist, nurses’ aides/orderlies, registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, pharmacists, dietitian, supply technician, director of nursing, sanitarian, environmental health technician, public health nurse, building superintendent, health educator, master of social work, mental health technician, physical therapist (part-time). Interested persons should forward resumés to Nancy Herrod, executive director, Macy, NE 68039 (phone 402-846-5764), or Edward Cline, chairman, Omaha Tribe of Nebraska, Macy, NE 68039 (phone 402-846-5361). The people accepting these applications are not Bahá’ís.
PIONEERS desperately needed! If you’ve thought of pioneering where there is a different culture and beautiful, spiritual people, then come to Navajo land (Arizona, Utah, New Mexico). Navajo is the main language there, but many are learning to speak English. The Navajo Reservation is as large as West Virginia, and many more pioneers are needed. One can apply for many jobs at schools, hospitals, colleges, and other agencies. Many of them supply housing. Also, students or youth who wish to pioneer while in college (first two years) can apply. For more information, please send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to Jan Herbst, Navajo-Hopi District Teaching Committee, P.O. Box 701, Ganado, AZ 86505.
ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY to serve! Four homefront pioneers are needed to form our Local Spiritual Assembly. Come to Rawlins, Wyoming, where the spirit flows on the prairie winds. Job opportunities in coal mining, uranium, oil and gas drilling and construction. Contact Rick James, Box 193, Rawlins, WY 82301.
A MAINTENANCE PERSON is urgently needed at the Louis Gregory Bahá’í Institute, Route 2, Box 123, Hemingway, SC 29554. Write or phone 803-558-5093.
VOLUNTEERS ARE NEEDED to work in the International Goals Committee office at the National Center during the summer. Contact Mary Louise Suhm, 312-256-4400.
JEOPARDIZED Spiritual Assembly of Tonawanda, New York, needs one adult to save it. An active couple would be sincerely appreciated. Twice in the last 20 years Tonawanda has lost Assemblies through move-outs. In suburban Erie County just north of Buffalo, it offers the kind of winters that make one appreciate the springtime. Convenient to several universities, with heavy and light industry, it would be an ideal location for a self-sufficient, resourceful person or couple seeking to make the world a better place in which to live. For information, write to the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the Town of Tonawanda, P.O. Box 132-Hiler, Buffalo, NY 14223.
WANTED: YOUTH to pioneer on the homefront and establish a Bahá’í Club while in college. Pembroke State University is in the goal area of Robeson County in a rural, mass-taught area of southeastern North Carolina. There are currently no Bahá’ís on campus at the formerly all-Indian school of about 1,500 students. The school has a basically liberal arts curriculum with particular strength in teacher training and physical education. Contact Carolyn McCormick, secretary, Central North Carolina District Teaching Committee, 305 W. Blue Street, Robeson County, St. Paul’s, NC 28304, or telephone 919-865-4378.
HOMEFRONT PIONEERING opportunity in Urbana Township, Illinois. The four-member Bahá’í Group there has a goal of reaching Assembly status by the end of the Five Year Plan. Students have a special opportunity to pioneer there; it is adjacent to Champaign-Urbana, home of the University of Illinois. Married, divorced or widowed students are eligible for low rent ($120 month for two-bedroom unfurnished apartment) university-owned housing in Orchard South, which can be specifically requested on one’s application. Other public housing such as apartments and trailer parks is available. Employment possibilities for non-students are numerous, including academic areas, light industry and service occupations. For more information, contact Marilyn Miller, correspondent, Bahá’í Group of Urbana Twp., 2111-204 Hazelwood, Urbana, IL 61801 (phone 217-367-1429).
Dallas, Texas, Dedicates New Bahá’í Center[edit]
The dedication March 25 of the first Bahá’í Center in Dallas, the second largest city in Texas, was among the many highlights of “Bahá’í Week” in Dallas March 22–28.
A Bahá’í Week proclamation signed by Mayor Robert S. Folsom of Dallas was displayed that week at the Bahá’í Center for everyone to see.
The Spiritual Assembly of Dallas bought the property for the Center, on a well-traveled thoroughfare, in December 1976 and began making renovations. Last winter, the den was enlarged to make a large meeting hall.
THE TEAMWORK of Bahá’ís in Dallas and neighboring communities helped bring about the construction of a lovely Bahá’í Center, situated on approximately one acre of land.
At the beginning of Bahá’í Week, three days before its formal dedication, the Bahá’í Center was opened to the public for an informal “open house.”
On Thursday, March 23, Nancy Dobbins and Chester Lynam of Fort Worth spoke at a public meeting on “What Would the Elimination of Prejudice Mean to Me?”
“Developing Your Own True Self” was the topic the following evening of a program presented by Albert Porter and Dr. Allan Ward of Little Rock, Arkansas.
Dr. Ward was the keynote speaker at the formal dedication of the Dallas Bahá’í Center on Saturday, March 25. In the audience were Bahá’ís from throughout the Dallas metropolitan area.
A CABLEGRAM from the Universal House of Justice thrilled the hearts of everyone present:
“KINDLY CONVEY LSA DALLAS TEXAS ASSURANCE OUR ARDENT PRAYERS SUCCESS TEACHING EFFORTS PROCLAMATION CONJUNCTION DEDICATION CENTER WEEK 22ND MARCH.”
A brief statement from the Spiritual Assembly of Dallas concerning the significance of the program concluded the evening.
On Sunday, March 26, Frank Palmer from Oklahoma spoke on “The Renewal of Christ’s Covenant: Age of Promise/Age of Fulfillment.”
The following evening, Bob and Jackie Oswald spoke on “The Role of the Family in the Progress of Humanity.”
TUESDAY, March 28, the final day of Bahá’í Week, featured a talk by Gordon Dobbins of Fort Worth on “Divine Messengers: God Speaks Again.”
Bahá’í Week events and the dedication of the Bahá’í Center were covered in four local newspapers and were carried by both the AP and UPI wire services to newspapers elsewhere.
A Bahá’í was interviewed for an hour on a popular radio station about Bahá’í Week and the Faith in general, and publicity was aired on two TV stations, not only during Bahá’í Week but in the week leading up to it.
The week also was publicized by some 200 bright yellow posters placed in stores and shopping centers, and by 100 invitations to selected individuals.
The Bahá’ís who were privileged to work on the Bahá’í Center and to be a part of arranging the city’s Bahá’í Week events are grateful for the opportunity. No other generation of Bahá’ís will ever again have the privilege.
The Spiritual Assembly of the Town of Ithaca, New York, at its Recognition Ceremony April 29. Front row (left to right) Shala Waniska, Charlene Winger-Bearskin, Jill Warner, Sarah O’Neill Lee, Michael Winger-Bearskin, Milton Heath (representing the National Spiritual Assembly). Back row (left to right) Ralph Waniska, Mary (Deecee) Snowden, Carl Lee, Tim Warner.
Charlene Winger-Bearskin (left), representing the Bahá’í Association at Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, presents Barbara Abrams, coordinator of Native American Affairs at the university, an award for outstanding service to American Indian education at a ceremony held April 29.
Spiritual Assembly of Ithaca Holds Recognition Ceremony[edit]
The Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the Township of Ithaca, New York, held its Recognition Ceremony April 29 at the Greater Ithaca Activities Center.
Six guests were present along with local and out-of-town believers, representatives from the District and Regional Teaching Committees, two assistants to the Auxiliary Board (one a member of the new Assembly), and Milton Heath, representing the National Spiritual Assembly.
Entertainment was provided by the Bahá’í musical group, “Earthrise.”
The ceremony was announced in the local newspaper and on radio and television.
Among the nine adult believers and two Bahá’í children in the Town of Ithaca are two Native American believers. Yearly goals have been set and will be pursued vigorously before the end of the Five Year Plan.
Michael and Charlene Winger-Bearskin and their 2-year-old daughter, Anís, have been appointed representatives to the Allegheny Seneca Reservation, a goal adopted by the Ithaca Assembly through the Regional Teaching Committee of New York, and will pioneer to the Reservation in September. They’ll be replaced in the Ithaca community by four adults who will be attending Cornell University.
Anyone wishing to pioneer in Groton, Allegheny, Tioga County or Schuyler County in the lovely Finger Lakes region should contact the Spiritual Assembly of the Town of Ithaca, c/o Sarah O’Neill Lee, Pleasant Grove Apartments, 3G, Ithaca, NY 14850.
W. Colorado Invites Friends To Teach on Summer Circuit[edit]
The District Teaching Committee of Western Colorado has developed a traveling teaching circuit in its district and is inviting Bahá’ís from other areas of the country to participate this summer in the teaching work there.
Those who participate are being asked to make a definite time commitment so that they can return to a goal locality, establish a good working relationship with the area Bahá’ís, acquire knowledge about the specific needs of the community, and develop a teaching plan best suited to the area and their own teaching style.
If you’d like to teach in Colorado this summer, the District Teaching Committee would like to know as soon as possible the dates you plan to visit, and what type of teaching you can do: street teaching, firesides, proclamations, etc. The committee also would like to know whether you speak Spanish or play a musical instrument.
Contact the District Teaching Committee of Western Colorado at P.O. Box 2154, Durango, CO 81301, or phone 303-259-1385.
Some of the participants at a weekend workshop April 29-30 at Ithaca. New York, sponsored by the American Indian Teaching Committee to encourage efforts in the state to teach among Native Americans.
Ithaca Site of Workshop For Native Americans[edit]
The American Indian Teaching Committee (AITC) sponsored a weekend workshop April 29–30 at Ithaca, New York, to encourage the coordination of New York state’s efforts to teach among Native Americans.
Representatives from the Regional Teaching Committee, the Eastern and Western New York District Teaching Committees, assistants to the Auxiliary Board, and Indian and non-Indian believers were present for the workshop that focused on action plans for delivering the Message of Bahá’u’lláh and forming Spiritual Assemblies on two Reservations in New York State.
Two Reservations among the state’s nine—the St. Regis Mohawk and Allegheny Seneca—were chosen as primary goals. The goal to have pioneers move to these areas was achieved during the workshop when two families announced their intention to be settled at pioneer posts on these Reservations by September.
SATURDAY’S workshop had 18 participants and included audio-visual presentations, an address by John Cook of the American Indian Teaching Committee, and group planning sessions.
Later, participants attended a picnic sponsored by the American Indian Affairs Committee at Cornell University. They were the guests of two Indian Bahá’í students who brought with them “dishes-to-pass” that were prepared by the Bahá’ís of Ithaca.
The Bahá’í performing group, “Earthrise,” from Rhinebeck, New York, entertained, and the Cornell University Bahá’í Association made a presentation to the school’s coordinator of Native American Affairs, Barbara Abrams, a Tonawanda Seneca, for outstanding service to Indian education.
Saturday evening, workshop members attended a Recognition Ceremony for the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the Town of Ithaca. “Earthrise” (Chris and Janet Ruhe-Schoen, Steve Caswell) again entertained.
Sunday’s workshop began with an early breakfast at the Etna firehouse and continued with the formulation of teaching plans and a schedule for accomplishing the goals.
The group will meet again the first weekend in August at Saranac Lake to reassess its plans and progress.
Bahá’ís at Cornell Present Award[edit]
The Cornell University Bahá’í Association has presented an award for outstanding service to American Indian education to Barbara Abrams, coordinator of Native American Affairs at the Ithaca, New York, school.
The award ceremony was held April 29 in the presence of more than 50 students, faculty members, staff and guests during the annual picnic for Native American students at Cornell, held at the home of Dr. and Mrs. Donald Graham.
Representing the Bahá’í Association was Charlene Winger-Bearskin, who gave Ms. Abrams a beaded bookmark with the picture of a bear, Ms. Abrams’ clan symbol; a traditional Seneca floral design, representing Ms. Abrams’ tribe; a copy of the Bahá’í ringstone symbol, and a copy of the book, Tokens From the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh.
Auxiliary Board Members, Alabama Believers Confer[edit]
Bahá’ís from six Alabama communities who were present April 2 at the Recognition Ceremony for the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Decatur, Alabama.
Auxiliary Board members Elizabeth Martin and Sam McClellan were in Alabama for a series of meetings March 31–April 2.
On Friday evening, March 31, Mrs. Martin and Dr. McClellan met with members of the Spiritual Assembly of Birmingham to discuss teaching efforts in that area.
An Auxiliary Board team conference, sponsored by the Birmingham Assembly, was held the following day in Hoover, Alabama.
THE THEME was “Strengthening Ourselves for the Final Year of the Plan.” Mrs. Martin and Dr. McClellan spoke on the institutions of the Faith, the Covenant, opposition to the Faith, and teaching.
At least eight communities were represented. The District Teaching Committee of North Alabama presented its teaching plans for the coming year.
Sunday, April 2, found Dr. McClellan and members of the District Teaching Committee in Decatur, Alabama, for the Recognition Ceremony for its recently-formed Assembly.
John Smith, a District Teaching Committee member, presented a copy of The World Order of Bahá’u’lláh to the Decatur Assembly on behalf of the National Spiritual Assembly. The Spiritual Assembly of Huntsville presented the gift of a file box.
At least six communities were represented at the ceremony, some from more than 100 miles away.
Pioneers Must Be Flexible, Creative, Well-Schooled[edit]
(EDITOR’S NOTE: The sixth in a series of articles on careers of service for young people was written by Rentha G. Park of Topeka, Kansas.)
We are admonished by none other than the Founder of the Bahá’í Faith:
“They that have forsaken their country for the purpose of teaching Our Cause—these shall the Faithful Spirit strengthen through Its power. A company of Our chosen angels shall go forth with them, as bidden by Him Who is the Almighty, the All-Wise. How great the blessedness that awaiteth him that hath attained the honor of serving the Almighty! By My life! No act, however great, can compare with It, except such deeds as have been ordained by God, the All-Powerful, the Most Mighty. Such a service is, indeed, the prince of all goodly deeds, and the ornament of every goodly act. Thus hath it been ordained by Him Who is the Sovereign Revealer, the Ancient of Days.” (Gleanings, p. 334)
When we read this and other portions of the Writings, my husband and I were so moved that we sold or gave away our material possessions, resigned our jobs and boarded a plane for our pioneering post.
We would like to share with you some of the things we learned so that you might benefit as you make your plans or dream your dreams of pioneering.
WE WERE in the South Pacific, and most of the pioneers we met were concerned with the matter of employment. Many of them were working at jobs quite different from the kind their education and training had prepared them for.
For example, one man was trained as a mechanical engineer, which was far too technical for that particular country, so he secured the appropriate permits to start a small business making and selling taro chips (something like potato chips, but made from the root of the taro plant that grows there).
This small business keeps him and his family at their pioneering post.
Another man had a degree in agriculture. For a few years he was able to find work in related areas, but now he has developed a thriving business using business skills learned mostly by trial-and-error.
These are only a couple of examples of what we saw time and again. Therefore, we would like to suggest that Bahá’ís, both male and female, acquire as many business skills as possible, since these will be invaluable as we serve the Faith in many parts of the world.
WE ALSO found that Bahá’ís need skills and knowledge in the vocational areas of plumbing, heating, electrical work, air conditioning, refrigeration, printing, welding, building, auto and airplane mechanics, and so on.
Often, Bahá’ís would get together to help one another build or repair something to make life more convenient. This wasn’t just so they could have more leisure time; it was essential so that time would be available for the much-needed Bahá’í work.
A motorcycle, for example, was given to an indigenous Bahá’í who was well versed in the Faith, respected by the village people, and could speak their language. He was physically unable to walk, as he once had, so the pioneers helped him keep the machine in good repair. On several occasions, wild dogs attacked the motorcycle, causing serious accidents. The pioneers were called upon to use both their medical and mechanical skills to help this Bahá’í.
That area of the world is developing economically, and there are often needs for people with secretarial skills. Typing, bookkeeping, filing, spelling, the ability to communicate in writing, and adaptability to work in another language are most useful.
“LET THEM (Bahá’í youth) seriously consider their own and the Bahá’í community’s practical future needs and determine to acquire, in response to Bahá’u’lláh’s injunction, knowledge of the arts and sciences, and to learn a trade or profession whereby they can earn their living and support their families.” (Two Year Youth Program)
From our professional and practical experience, we strongly suggest the following occupational areas for serious consideration:
- business
- teaching—elementary and secondary education. Methods of teaching can be used in teaching the Faith as well as for earning a living.
- building trades—carpenter, plumber, electrician, brick mason, etc.
- motor mechanics—for airplanes, motorcycles, autos, trucks, buses.
- medical services—doctors, nurses, aides, medical technicians, doctor’s assistants.
- communications—radio, television, printing (newspaper, offset).
- agricultural—every aspect is needed, since this is basic to every society.
NOTICE, however, that no matter what your career choice—agriculture, medicine, trades, homemaking, along with being a Bahá’í (serving on committees, in Groups, on Spiritual Assemblies)—you will need to utilize business skills.
Therefore, we recommend that you enroll in courses such as Introduction to Business, personal finances, or go to a free seminar offered by the Small Business Administration to people who are considering starting their own business.
Find out what is offered by your community vocational-technical school, or community junior college. If you live in a rural area, find out what is available at your public library or through correspondence courses. Set up your own schedule of accomplishments you wish to make as you prepare for pioneering.
It’s never too early to begin looking to the future: investigating alternatives, developing talents, etc.
The formula I use for career choice is: self-knowledge plus occupational knowledge divided by decision-making skills equals good career choice.
Of course, this is over-simplified, but perhaps it may help as you plan your life in the field of Bahá’í service wherever you are in the world.
North Dakota Bahá’í College Club Gives Portrait to Black Center[edit]
In March, the Bahá’í College Club at the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks presented a portrait of Jack Mayfield—who at various times in his 98 years has been a prize fighter, musician and masseur—to the city’s Black Cultural Center.
Mr. Mayfield, who once worked in minstrel shows and vaudeville with Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, Duke Ellington, and others, has refereed many Golden Gloves amateur boxing events in the Grand Forks area.
The portrait painter, Alyce Blue, is a Bahá’í from nearby Manvel, North Dakota. She says she has painted more than a hundred portraits, but felt especially “exhilarated” by this one, and considers it one of her best works.
Mr. Mayfield was present when the two- by three-foot portrait of him playing the mandolin was given to the Black Cultural Center. Next to the portrait is a plaque crediting the Bahá’í College Club with its donation.
| Arise! |
In April, two members of the Bahá’í College Club spoke at a world religion class at the university, and the club has been invited to place displays in three display cases at the Chester Fritz Library on campus.
The Spiritual Assembly of Rogers, Arkansas, was incorporated April 20. Its members included (front row, left to right) Opal Winans, Ruth Albrecht, Gladys Livermore, Nadine Close, and (back row, left to right) Nahdean Albrecht, Pamela Albrecht, Gerald Abas, Donald Livermore, James Burda.
[Page 18]
The Mail Bag
Youth Have Spirit to Set the World on Fire[edit]
Beloved Friends:
I would like to share this story with the believers as a wonderful teaching story; a demonstration of the unifying spirit felt at conferences, and in our own communities, especially when we are enthusiastically teaching; and as an example of the love, enthusiasm and energy of Bahá’í youth.
Among the non-Bahá’ís attending the National Youth Conference at Champaign was my sister. She didn’t declare at the conference, but fell in love with the Bahá’ís and had a wonderful time.
She then came to Casper, Wyoming, to spend the summer with me. The second weekend after our arrival, Casper hosted Wyoming’s first intensive teaching project. Although my sister still had not declared, she was very active in the teaching project. She participated in all the sessions, said prayers and went out with the teaching teams.
She was truly a radiant participant, our only youth, contributing that spirit of youth so exciting to see.
On August 1, after going out for the afternoon with a follow-up team, she declared her Faith in Bahá’u’lláh.
Though the summer is over and the reporting of this event is past due, the message is still vital. The spirit of a community, when teaching together, is stimulating.
The youth in our communities play a vital role in upraising the Banner of Bahá’u’lláh for all to see. They and their contributions to our communities are not to be underestimated by either adult believers or their own often timid and strongly self-critical judgments.
Arise, youth of America and of the world! Give your spirit, resources, skills, efforts and time! You can set the world on fire!
Casper, Wyoming
Dearest Friends:
Eight years ago I wrote a rather impassioned appeal to the National Spiritual Assembly asking it to reconsider the Bahá’í position on the military draft. I am writing now to share some of the consequences of a decision I made based upon the guidance offered in its reply of May 28, 1970.
At that time I had been a Bahá’í for less than one year, was about to graduate from college, and was deeply involved in the Vietnam issue, particularly my own draft status.
During the preceding year I had been actively pursuing alternatives to military service. I had been accepted by the Peace Corps (but declined), I was offered a position with the Teacher Corps (my best option), and I had even gained admission to a graduate school in Sweden (my last resort)! Obviously, I was not planning to enter the service.
Upon receiving the National Assembly’s letter, however, my perspective was most definitely changed.
I shared the letter with my girlfriend (not a Bahá’í) and we agreed that my best course of action was obvious. As a matter of fact, after reading the direct and unequivocal language of the Guardian, I was so moved that I immediately applied for 1-A-O status. I experienced great relief—a burden of anxiety and fear was lifted from me.
Dramatic changes began to take place in my life. My girlfriend, who had been earnestly studying the Faith, was greatly impressed by the intimate and personal attention offered to me by a national institution. Within two weeks, she was a Bahá’í. (Incidentally, Delane’s enrollment also was the catalyst that led to our marriage one month later.)
I joined the Teacher Corps with the rather fanciful hope that the draft might be speedily abolished, but I was drafted in April 1971. I entered the Army fully expecting to be sent to Vietnam as a medic. Owing to my background, however, I was taken into the School of Social Work Service and trained as an alcohol and drug abuse counselor.
I was ultimately stationed in my hometown, San Francisco, a decidedly non-military atmosphere.
My job was primarily with civilians (I seldom even wore a uniform) and my co-workers were a warm and supportive group of spiritually-minded people. Even my transience, which had delayed Delane’s studies, proved favorable, as Mills College was eager to enroll her as a “returning woman” student.
After leaving the service, the GI Bill provided enough additional income to allow us to complete master’s studies simultaneously. When we were hired for our first teaching jobs, my status as a veteran was not only a point of attraction to my employer, it also gave me an automatic two-year seniority and a higher starting salary.
At the same time, a special mortgage program for Oregon veterans allowed us to buy a home in an unopened locality; there is no other way we could have purchased a home. Even now, we own a GI-financed house in Oregon, and I am hoping to pursue part-time doctoral studies paid for by GI benefits.
My veteran’s status also has been a positive factor with many members of my family, who are aware of the role the Faith played in my decision. In addition, my peers have great respect for my position as a conscientious objector.
For many years, one of my friends had so agonized over the draft that he was virtually debilitated by the lack of any options acceptable to him. He had noticed the marked contrast in our experiences; he was impressed by the positive resolution that I had achieved. He knew of the National Assembly’s letter to me, and began, ultimately, to study the Faith. He became a Bahá’í two years ago and is experiencing the same galvanizing of his life that I realized.
There is so much more, but I think you can see that my life has been substantially enriched as a result of the guidance that was offered me. As a Bahá’í, I can see the blessings one receives when practicing obedience.
My one small act of “instant, exact and complete” obedience has had a dramatic and positive effect on my life. Even more thrilling is the way it has influenced those around me. They have seen the results of obeying the Divine Standard.
Deerfield, Illinois
Dear Friends:
I belong to a community that has just completed the 10-week “Comprehensive Deepening Program: A Process for Personal Transformation,” which is presently being offered in New York, California and Illinois.
A word of praise is in order for the National Spiritual Assembly and the National Education Committee. They have done an exceptional job. The Personal Transformation Program far exceeded my expectations.
I would like to encourage any Bahá’í who is offered this program to take it. I, for one, have finally begun to understand how Bahá’u’lláh’s prescription for living is the natural way for unity on all levels, from self to world.
I also have found a way, through this program, to internalize my Bahá’í beliefs so that I find myself living the life and teaching always. And my teaching is successful! Suddenly, many people seem to be drawn to the Faith through me.
Please do give yourself the favor of experiencing this marvelous program.
East Northport, New York
Dear Bahá’í Friends:
As a Bahá’í who is just starting her second year, I recently experienced my first Naw-Rúz observance. I attended the program at the House of Worship that I had been eagerly awaiting, and brought both my sisters, who are not Bahá’ís.
I had a wonderful time, and there were several musicians who played beautifully. The only damper on the evening was one that I’ve experienced every time I have gone to a large Bahá’í gathering at the House of Worship where someone is performing.
This is that the friends (not all of them) are always greeting and talking to other friends in the middle of the performance. I feel uneasy about this because I always have non-Bahá’ís with me, and I know that if it distracts me, it is distracting them too.
So please remember that you would not talk during a performance at a theater where you knew you were the only Bahá’í, and you shouldn’t talk at a performance where you think that everyone, including the performers, are Bahá’ís.
You owe the performer, Bahá’í or not, the courtesy of being polite and quiet until he or she finishes, or else quietly leaving the room. Also, remember that the person in front of or beside you may be a non-Bahá’í who is noticing the actions of all the Bahá’ís who are there.
Winnetka, Illinois
Dear Bahá’í Friends:
My warm appreciation goes to you for the quotation of the Blessed Báb that you so kindly sent. It will be a constant reminder of my first responsibility—teaching.
During the past year it has been my privilege to assist in teaching people who have accepted Bahá’u’lláh, and to take part in deepening programs mindful of the words of the Universal House of Justice: “Consolidation and deepening must go hand in hand with an eager extension of the teaching work ...” (Wellspring of Guidance, p. 3)
No doubt your thoughtfulness in sending the beautiful reminder will stimulate and strengthen the teaching work to achieve the goals of the Five Year Plan.
Perry, Florida
Twenty-nine adults and nine children attended the Pioneer Training Institute held March 30–April 2 at the Bahá’í National Center in Wilmette, Illinois. They will be pioneering to Alaska, Australasia, Barbados, Belgium, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Hawaii, Japan, Korea, Mexico, South Africa and Tonga.
The Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of La Mesa, California, was incorporated June 13, 1977, achieving one of its goals of the Five Year Plan. Incorporation was accomplished with the help of Neil Gerber, a lawyer who is pioneering in El Centro, California. Assembly members are (front row, left to right): Fahimeh Etheshamsadeh, Marcia Baltgavis, Mildred Sherrin, and (back row, left to right): Zabi Mahboubi, Carolyn Watts, Sally Mahboubi, Julia Schechter, Jane Trude, Janis Baltgavis.
Pamphlet Explains Faith To Non-Bahá’í Parents[edit]
If a teenager in your locality becomes a Bahá’í, how can you explain the Faith to his or her non-Bahá’í parents? One helpful aid is the new pamphlet From One Parent to Another now available from the Bahá’í Publishing Trust. Prices are 10/$1.80, 25/$4.25, and 100/$15.
The new folder, written by a Bahá’í parent, explains the basic teachings of the Bahá’í Faith in a brief but understanding way.
“The purpose of this leaflet,” writes the author, “is to put your mind at rest and to reassure you that you have not failed in your upbringing, but on the contrary have raised a young person with perception and courage and a determination to make this world a better place for all people.”
The pamphlet, published by the Australian Bahá’í Publishing Trust, can be ordered through local librarians or from the Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 415 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091. Enclose 75 cents for postage and handling on orders under $5.
Mayor Bill McCormick (right) of Topeka, Kansas, receives a copy of Call to the Nations on behalf of the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Topeka.
Topeka Observes ‘Bahá’í Day’[edit]
In honor of the 10th anniversary of the incorporation of the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Topeka, Kansas, Mayor Bill McCormick of Topeka proclaimed Saturday, April 8, “Bahá’í Day” in that city.
When the proclamation was presented to the Bahá’ís, the mayor was given a copy of Call to the Nations on behalf of the Spiritual Assembly.
Nineteen Bahá’ís and guests attended an anniversary dinner that evening at a downtown restaurant. The program included a dramatic reading on true freedom, and a talk presenting milestones in the development of the Topeka Bahá’í community from its beginning in 1912.
Two members of Topeka’s first incorporated Assembly, one of whom served on its first Assembly in 1935, are serving on it today. Mrs. May Brown and Mrs. Ruth Ashworth have been members of the Topeka Assembly for at least 32 years.
The California Victory Campaign continued in the El Centro area in May prior to a summer of teaching throughout the state by the Victory Campaign team. Here, Bahá’í singers Leslie and Kelly entertain Bahá’ís and seekers at the El Centro Bahá’í Center. Accompanists include Bob Gundry, drummer Gary Bulkin, and a Bahá’í from Florida.
The first Spiritual Assembly of St. Charles, Missouri, was formed by joint declaration December 11. Its members at that time were (front row, left to right) Emmanuel Ankrah, Patricia Saladin, Robert Crossman, and (back row, left to right) Thomas Saladin, Richard Meier, Sandra Ankrah, Linda Sue Brucker, Irene Spooner, Bruce Widaman.
In Memoriam[edit]
- Mrs. Lorene Abraham
- Gresham, South Carolina
- Date Unknown
- Henry Ahrens
- Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin
- Date Unknown
- Hendrik J. Ammeraal, Sr.
- New Port Richey, Florida
- December 26, 1976
- Mrs. Maurine Augustine
- Cedar Rapids, Iowa
- October 27, 1976
- Ralph E. Baptiste
- Simi Valley, California
- March 2, 1978
- John R. Barrett
- Schererville, Indiana
- November 11, 1976
- Mrs. Estell Bennett
- Winston-Salem, N.C.
- October 6, 1976
- James L. Best
- Norfolk, Virginia
- December 28, 1976
- Ned Brydone-Jack
- Hollywood, California
- October 20, 1976
- Edgar Eugene Canavan
- Salt Lake City, Utah
- September 30, 1976
- Miss Dorothy Coleman
- Fort Valley, Georgia
- 1975
- Mrs. Frances Sonia Dailey
- Margate, Florida
- January 28, 1977
- Miss Judy E. Danenberg
- New York
- April 13, 1978
- Mrs. Elizabeth Jane Davis
- St. Louis, Missouri
- December 23, 1976
- Mrs. Margaret Davis
- Gresham, South Carolina
- Date Unknown
- Mrs. Katherine Deforge
- Hackensack, New Jersey
- March 1, 1978
- Walter M. Dunn
- Clovis, California
- October 30, 1976
- Mrs. Barbara K. Egan
- Overland Park, Kansas
- January 1977
- Howard J. Ellis
- Los Angeles, California
- September 22, 1976
- George M. Fennell
- Washington, D.C.
- December 21, 1974
- Mrs. Etta Ferrell
- Muskegon, Michigan
- 1976
- Mrs. Jennie Fitzsimmons
- Redding, California
- May 13, 1977
- Daniel Francisco
- Sells, Arizona
- 1976
- Mrs. Margaret Gawen
- Arlington, Virginia
- March 22, 1978
- Homer Germany
- Clewiston, Florida
- Date Unknown
- Mrs. Rita S. Gonsalves
- Wrightsville Beach, N.C.
- March 11, 1978
- William Graves
- Gresham, South Carolina
- Date Unknown
- Byrd Grayson
- Wagoner, Oklahoma
- Date Unknown
- Roy Hampton
- Fort Valley, Georgia
- September 23, 1974
- Mrs. Pauline Hettmansperger
- Waukesha, Wisconsin
- January 5, 1977
- Mrs. Grace Higgins
- Flint, Michigan
- October 11, 1977
- Andrew Hinds
- Tacoma, Washington
- Date Unknown
- Miss Mamie Howard
- Kinston, North Carolina
- Date Unknown
- Mrs. Selma Howard
- Tucson, Arizona
- January 18, 1977
- Mrs. Georgia Jones
- South Bay, Florida
- Date Unknown
- Mrs. Margaret B. Kaley
- Columbus, Ohio
- October 16, 1976
- Mrs. Elizabeth L. Knill
- Ventura, California
- December 16, 1975
- Dr. O. B. Kongslie
- Auburn, California
- Winter 1978
- Mrs. Elah C. Lau
- Fort Myers, Florida
- March 1978
- Jim Lee
- Rowland, North Carolina
- December 31, 1977
- Mrs. Carrie Lee
- Rowland, North Carolina
- 1972
- Herman W. Love
- State College, Pa.
- April 22, 1978
- Mrs. Susie Madison
- Washington, D.C.
- 1976
- Mrs. Emma Lee Mann
- South Bay, Florida
- Date Unknown
- William E. McQueen
- Dillon, South Carolina
- Date Unknown
- Alberta Mills
- Greensboro, North Carolina
- 1971
- Mrs. Elizabeth Montwill
- San Antonio, Texas
- April 4, 1978
- Mrs. Amelia Morris
- Nesmith, South Carolina
- February 9, 1976
- Rafi Mottahedeh
- New York, New York
- May 1, 1978
- Mrs. Evelyn Pash
- Altamonte Springs, Florida
- June 24, 1976
- John Pringle
- Andrews, South Carolina
- February 19, 1978
- Mrs. Kathryn Maye Rankin
- Fresno, California
- October 13, 1977
- Mrs. Salley R. Reynolds
- Trumansburg, New York
- April 22, 1978
- Mrs. Jessie Mae Richardson
- Mullins, South Carolina
- 1971
- James D. Rogers
- San Angelo, Texas
- February 17, 1978
- Edward Schlesinger
- Charlottesville, Virginia
- February 7, 1977
- Mrs. Caldonia Sims
- Bryan, Texas
- Date Unknown
- James F. Sloan
- Butler, New Jersey
- January 20, 1977
- Baqaullah Sobahani
- Jackson Heights, N.Y.
- October 16, 1976
- George C. Storm
- Hollywood, Florida
- July 1976
- Henry E. Tachene
- Kaibito, Arizona
- 1974
- Miss Sandra Jo Tegtmeier
- Eugene, Oregon
- November 6, 1976
- Mrs. Martha Whitecrane
- Ashland, Montana
- May 1977
- Dr. Abbas Yazdí
- Orange, New York
- Date Unknown
- Ali Yazdi
- Berkeley, California
- March 1978
- Dr. Monireh Yazdi
- Livingston, New Jersey
- Date Unknown
Saturday a Special Time for Illinois Bahá’í Family[edit]
Saturday is a special time for George and Bonita Dannells and their 10-year-old daughter, Laurel Anderson.
Almost every other Saturday since March 1977, the Dannells have traveled some 125 miles from their home in Wilmette, Illinois, a suburb north of Chicago, past corn fields or snow banks, depending on the season, to the town of Dixon in Lee County, almost due west of Wilmette.
There, in a rented room at the Dixon community center, the Dannells family proclaims the Message of Bahá’u’lláh at informal round-table discussions.
When the Dannells made their first teaching trip to Dixon, there wasn’t one Bahá’í among the 20,000 residents, or even in the entire county.
The Bahá’ís in Illinois had to open 44 counties to win the state’s Five Year Plan goal. The Dannells decided to take the personal responsibility as a family for opening one of them, and chose Lee County as their goal.
BESIDES performing a valuable service in helping to win a goal of the Five Year Plan, the Dannells reasoned that teaching as a family would bring them even closer together.
Reflecting on the past year, George says, “The teaching trips have given us a common sense of purpose, have made us more close-knit.”
George and Bonita are proud of Laurel, who they feel is learning at a tender age the meaning of sacrifice by giving up her Saturday morning cartoon shows to make the trips, and by baby-sitting her brother, Ruhu’lláh, born last fall, while George and Bonita are conducting public meetings and firesides in Dixon.
The Dannells have tried to make the teaching trips special for Laurel, sometimes leaving an hour earlier than necessary, packing her sled, and stopping at the first good hill they see, or perhaps visiting one of Dixon’s parks to swing and play on the slides or seesaw.
GEORGE AND Bonita feel that the presence of their children has been a boon to their teaching, not only demonstrating family unity to non-Bahá’ís, but serving as an “icebreaker” when opening conversations with strangers.
In the past year, as a family, the Dannells have taught one person who has become a Bahá’í, thus opening the county, and are teaching three women who have shown enough interest in the Faith to attend regularly the bi-weekly discussions at the community center.
What is most important about the Dannells’ relationship with the new Bahá’í in Lee County and the three seekers is that it is a close personal relationship. “They know we care about them as people,” says George, “and that we see them as having needs that the Faith can satisfy.”
The family has found that a bond of friendship can be developed and nurtured even across 125 miles through phone calls, letters and postcards, plus personal contact once or twice a month.
The Dannells say that through sticking to their goal, and going to Dixon every other week the trips have become a pleasant habit, and an integral part of their lives.
Traveling Teachers[edit]
Continued From Page 1
American believers to arise in support of the homefront teaching plans launched by your National Spiritual Assembly and designed by its National Teaching Committee to win multitudes to the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh and to cause the light of His Teachings to penetrate into every corner of the nation...”
The National Teaching Committee has informed each District of the number of Local Assemblies and localities that are its contribution to the goals of the Plan. As it is vital to reach or exceed these goals, there is ample opportunity for teachers to assist in areas near their homes.
Some, however, may be able to travel to the three specially designated goal states of the Plan—New York, California or Illinois—to assist with teaching projects there.
Other teaching campaigns are being mounted throughout the country, with many opportunities for service as the Five Year Plan draws to a close.
“Spiritual heroes and heroines have arisen before in the U.S.,” says Mr. Conkling, “and the signs of their arising are becoming evident again as the Plan moves toward its conclusion and the” ultimate victory on the homefront.”
Children were very much in evidence at the 69th Bahá’í National Convention. The happiness of some was evident in their sparkling eyes, while others, such as Justice Nerenberg of Bermuda (bottom photo), simply couldn’t resist shouting for joy.
