The American Bahá’í/Volume 9/Issue 8/Text
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Message From the Guardian (Reprinted from Bahá’í News, November 1947.) ●
Dear and valued co-workers: I feel truly exhilarated as I witness the ever-recurrent manifestations of unbroken solidarity and unquenchable enthusiasm that distinguish every stage in the progressive development of the nationwide enterprise which is being so unflinchingly pursued by the whole American Bahá’í community. The marked deterioration in world affairs, the steadily deepening gloom that envelops storm-tossed peoples and nations of the Old World, invest the Seven-Year Plan, now operating in both the northern and southern American continents, with a significance and urgency that cannot be overestimated. Conceived as the supreme agency for the establishment, in the opening century of the Bahá’í Era, of what is but the initial stage in the progressive realization of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Plan for the American believers, this enterprise, as it extends its ramifications throughout the entire New World, is demonstrating its power to command all the resources and utilize all the facilities which the machinery of a laboriously evolved Administrative Order can place at its disposal. HOWEVER we view its aspects, it offers in its functioning a sharp contrast to the workings of the moribund and obsolescent institutions to which a perverse generation is desperately clinging. Tempestuous are the winds that buffet and will, as the days go by, fiercely assail the very structure of the Order through the agency of which this twofold task is being performed. The potentialities with which an almighty Providence has endowed it will no doubt enable its promoters to achieve their purpose. Much, however, will depend upon the spirit and manner in which that task will be conducted. Through the clearness and steadiness of their vision, through the unvitiated vitality of their belief, through the incorruptibility of their character, through the adamantine force of their resolve, the matchless superiority of their aims and purpose, and the unsurpassed range of their accomplishments, they who labor for the glory of the Most Great Name throughout both Americas can best demonstrate to the visionless, faithless and restless society to which they belong their power to proffer a haven of refuge See GUARDIAN, Page 13
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House of Worship Designated a U.S. National Historic Place[edit]
DELIGHTED ACTION BY FEDERAL AUTHORITIES TO INCLUDE MOTHER TEMPLE OF THE WEST IN NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES. FRUITION YOUR EFFORTS ON 134TH ANNIVERSARY OF DECLARATION HIS MISSION BY BLESSED BÁB OBTAIN THIS SIGNIFICANT RECOGNITION DESERVES WARM COMMENDATIONS AND IS AN OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT.
June 22, 1978
On May 23, 1978, exactly 134 years after the historic Declaration of the Báb, the Bahá’í House of Worship in Wilmette, Illinois, was designated “one of the Nation’s cultural resources worthy of preservation” and listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
The National Spiritual Assembly, in its letter to the American Bahá’í community for the Feast of Kalimát, emphasized the importance and the significance of such recognition:
“It means that the Federal authorities recognize the architectural importance of the building and are committed to preserving it as a United States historic site.
“THUS OUR efforts to protect the physical existence of this sublime edifice have now been fortified a thousandfold.”
The National Assembly was notified officially of the listing by Keith A. Scalle, National Register coordinator for the Division of Historic Sites, Illinois Department of Conservation. The notification came shortly after the House of Worship welcomed the four millionth visitor since its public dedication in May 1953.
Also in May 1978, the House of Worship was visited by the president of the Republic of Cyprus, Spyros Kyprianou, and the 60-member national ballet company of Poland; and
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National Assembly Doubles Teaching Committee Outlay[edit]
Audacious plans for winning the goals of the Five Year Plan have been developed by the National Spiritual Assembly. The National Assembly is doubling the budget of the National Teaching Committee in support of the major teaching programs throughout the country.
In fiscal 1978, the National Teaching Committee spent $321,000; this year’s budget is $718,000. The National Teaching Committee is disbursing a large part of these funds to the goal states of California, New York and Illinois and to selected District Teaching Committees throughout the country.
At this year’s Bahá’í National Convention, the National Spiritual Assembly said that it is ready to provide whatever material support is necessary to win the goals, even if that means borrowing money. However, the National Spiritual Assembly expressed its conviction that such steps would not be necessary if every individual would fulfill his obligation of regularly supporting the Fund.
In California a “Victory Team” has been mobilized; its goal is to raise up 63 Assemblies before the end of the Plan. So far, $40,000 has been committed to this project.
Illinois and New York also are launching intensive teaching projects designed to attract great numbers to the Cause. Each project is being financed by the National Fund.
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A Reminder If you didn’t have time at the recent Bahá’í National Convention to order the group photo, you can still do so. The 11 x 14 color prints of the friends on the steps of the House of Worship are $7 each (including postage). Send your order to Ken Jennrich Photography, 1225 Maple St., Wilmette, IL 60091. |
Many Indian believers are preparing to travel to the goal states to help with the teaching work; some will need deputization from the National Fund.
Seventeen District Teaching Committees, with a combined total of more than 200 Groups of five or more believers, have been given special funding. These districts alone have the potential to win more than half of the Assembly victories needed. All other District Teaching Committees received budget increases this year.
U.S. Pioneering Assignments Revised Upward[edit]
The National Spiritual Assembly has recently received from the Universal House of Justice a revised list of U.S. pioneering and traveling teaching assignments to be filled by the end of the Five Year Plan on April 20, 1979.
In three territories, the number of pioneers was revised upward, while an additional eight territories were added to the list of U.S. goals.
Previous assignments to six countries involving a total of 13 pioneers were canceled.
The U.S. also is being asked to send traveling teachers to work with the friends who already are serving in some 24 countries.
The Universal House of Justice, while stressing the importance of filling every one of these overseas goals, has designated certain of these territories as “crisis areas.”
FOR PIONEERS, the crisis areas are Madagascar, South Africa (for Transkei), South Africa (for St. Helena), Zaire, Barbados and the Windward Islands, Thailand, Tonga, Japan, Sweden, Lesotho, the French Antilles, Botswana, Zambia and Haiti.
The last three are among the newest assignments given to the U.S., along with the Seychelles (for British Indian
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Inside
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Second ‘Victory Weekend’ Focuses on Goals[edit]
Bahá’ís in the continental United States, Canada, Alaska and Hawaii launched a second “Victory Weekend” Saturday, June 24, with a festive celebration described by the Hand of the Cause of God William Sears as “the largest picnic the world has ever seen.”
The food- and flower-laden picnics, held in many Bahá’í communities throughout North America and Hawaii, commemorated the visit by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in June 1912 to Teaneck and West Englewood, New Jersey.
Mr. Sears was at Evergreen Cabin in Teaneck where more than 1,500 Bahá’ís and their guests gathered for the 66th annual “Souvenir of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.”
RECALLING the words of the Master, Mr. Sears urged the friends in North America to “arise with superhuman strength and energy” to win the goals in the last few fleeting months of the Five Year Plan.
Also present at the Teaneck observance were Continental Counsellors Edna True and Dr. Sarah M. Pereira, and Soo Fouts, the National Spiritual Assembly’s assistant secretary for teaching.
More than 1,000 persons gathered Saturday evening in West Englewood where Mr. Sears hosted “An Evening With the Beloved Master,” and more than 300 were present Sunday morning for a “Victory Rally” with Mr. Sears in New York City.
In Chicago, more than 200 Bahá’ís and their guests from the Chicago area held a picnic at Lincoln Park, where ‘Abdu’l-Bahá also walked and spoke in 1912, and enjoyed a talk on the travels of the Master by Auxiliary Board member D. Thelma Jackson. Present at the gathering were Glenford E. Mitchell, secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly, and Auxiliary Board member Eunice Braun.
IN SOUTH CAROLINA, more than 400 persons attended Victory Weekend events. The Louis G. Gregory Institute in Hemingway observed the occasion with a beach party.
Other large Victory Weekend picnics and meetings were held in California, Minnesota, Texas, Georgia, Missouri, and other states.
While most of those at the observance in Teaneck were from the East Coast, some came to the picnic from as far away as North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Illinois, and even California.
The spacious grounds around Evergreen Cabin, which were bequeathed with the cabin to the Faith by the late Roy Wilhelm, were thronged with Bahá’ís and seekers who relaxed on the lawns, enjoyed food and companionship, threw Frisbees or played volleyball.
THE FORMAL program began with entertainment by “Earthrise,” a three-member vocal-instrumental group from Rhinebeck, New York.
The address given by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá on June 29, 1912, at West Englewood was read by Dr. Pereira. Miss True then shared reminiscences of the Master, after which Mr. Sears spoke movingly of the Station and the Mission of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.
An unbroken tradition was upheld when the program took place under sunny skies.
The story is told that as ‘Abdu’l-Bahá strolled through the grounds in 1912, rain began to fall. Lifting His hands toward the sky, the Master said a few words in Persian, and the rain abruptly stopped. Since that day it has never rained during the Souvenir program.
The Hand of the Cause of God William Sears addresses more than 1,500 Bahá’ís and guests June 24 at Evergreen Cabin in Teaneck, New Jersey, where the 66th annual ‘Souvenir of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’ launched the second “Victory Weekend” observance.
The Saturday evening program, at Dwight Morrow High School in West Englewood, featured rare film footage of the Master taken during His visit to the U.S. in 1912.
THE FILM was followed by a slide presentation, “Memories of the Beloved Master,” narrated by Mr. Sears.
Entertainment at Sunday’s Victory Rally in New York City was provided by Glover Parham, a Bahá’í singer who has appeared on Broadway in “Porgy and Bess” and recently completed a 10-month tour with the road company of “Bubbling Brown Sugar.”
Mr. Parham’s selections included “I Believe in Music,” “The Impossible Dream,” and “What the World Needs Now.”
Mr. Sears’ emphasis at the Sunday meeting was on teaching and winning the goals of the Five Year Plan.
Taking a phrase from the lyrics of “The Impossible Dream,” he exhorted the friends to “march into hell for a heavenly Cause” in these last few months of the Plan.
MR. SEARS reminded those present that the U.S. Bahá’í community is faced with the task of forming one Local Spiritual Assembly each day and opening three localities to the Faith each day to win the goals of the Plan by April 20, 1979.
Mr. Sears again expressed his confidence in the ability of the American Bahá’í community to win every one of its goals.
“We’ve never lost one yet,” he said, adding that this year, 135 B.E., “adds up to nine. One plus three plus five. This is the year of Bahá!”
Mr. Sears pointed out that specific promises of victory have been given by the Báb, Bahá’u’lláh, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Shoghi Effendi and the Universal House of Justice, and the Bahá’ís have only to arise and serve the Cause to enlist the aid of the Supreme Concourse in achieving the victory.
“THE SOULS needed to win every victory are waiting out there, New York,” he said. “Go get ’em!”
Following Mr. Sears’ talk, reports of teaching activities were given by Mrs. Fouts, Auxiliary Board member Nat Rutstein, and Dr. Robert Henderson of the National Teaching Committee.
Dr. Henderson reported that 14 new Local Spiritual Assemblies had been formed in South Carolina since Riḍván, and that the North Texas teaching campaign had received 86 declarations during the previous week alone.
In California, he said, there are new Assemblies in El Centro, Brawley and Calexico as a result of the California Victory Campaign that is to continue throughout the state this summer.
There was also a report by John McNair, coordinator of the “TIGER 1” teaching project in Westchester County, New York.
Four homefront pioneers to communities in New York State spoke movingly of their experiences.
Habib Sabet, who spent more than 200 days with the Guardian on 20 separate occasions in Haifa, spoke of the Guardian’s deep love for the pioneers and teachers, and the great importance he placed on teaching the Cause of God.
Each of those at Sunday’s meeting was given a copy of Mr. Sears’ booklet, Victory Promises, and those who came from places other than New York City were given a flower to take back to their communities as a token of the meeting.
Some of the many Bahá’ís and seekers who enjoyed picnic lunches June 24 at Evergreen Cabin in Teaneck, New Jersey, site of the 66th annual “Souvenir of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá” that keyed the second ‘Victory Weekend’ observance.
Summer Teaching Campaigns Could Be Decisive[edit]
Continued From Page 1
Four traveling “road shows” are being sponsored by the National Spiritual Assembly this summer, one each in California, Illinois, New York and South Carolina.
Stephen Jackson, assistant to the Treasurer, said, “The teaching campaign carried out this summer will determine to a great extent the results we achieve this year. By providing support for the teaching work now, through regular and abundant contributions to the local and national Funds as well as service in the field, we can set the stage for winning our goals.
“However, for the third consecutive month, contributions to the National Bahá’í Fund fell far below the goal of $190,000 set by the National Spiritual Assembly. As of June 24, contributions received totaled $400,000—$170,000 below the goal of $570,000.”
Mr. Jackson said that falling so short of the monthly goal puts a strain on the Treasury at the very time when it needs to be strong.
He pointed to the need for a dramatic increase in the participation of individual believers in direct support of the national Fund.
“Approximately 2,000 Bahá’ís contribute regularly to the National Fund,” he said, “a small number when compared to the size of our national community. What is needed now is an increase in both the number of individuals supporting the Fund and the amounts contributed.
“Shoghi Effendi cited this as the only means by which we could assure the success of our plans. He said that each believer must ‘arise and ensure, to the full measure of his or her capacity, that continuous and abundant flow of funds into the National Treasury.’
National Bahá’í Fund
Contributions
“These are also challenging times for the local Bahá’í communities,” he added. “Local communities are committing most of their resources to proclamation activities and teaching projects. This is precisely what is needed if they are to win their local goals.
“At the same time, the local communities need not abandon or reduce their commitments to the National Fund in order to achieve local goals; the solution is increased support of both the local and national Funds by individual community members.”
Mr. Jackson referred to a Bahá’í Fund survey conducted last year: “On the local level, about 65 percent of the Bahá’ís regularly support their local fund, so there is much room for improvement.
“If we are to achieve victory, we must pray, we must teach, we must fight our own spiritual battles, and we must support both the local and national Funds. These things we do in a spirit of love and sacrifice, as a sign of our love for Bahá’u’lláh and as an expression of our faith in His Plan for building the Kingdom of God on earth.”
In June, participants in a Bahá’í teacher training institute in West Virginia decided to contact 24 mass-taught believers in Bluefield who’d had almost no contact with other Bahá’ís for some years. One week later, the teachers returned to Bluefield to assist in the election of its newly-restored Local Spiritual Assembly.
Treasurer’s Office Replies to Concerns[edit]
Delegates to this year’s National Convention cited the relationship of the individual believer to the Fund as one of their chief concerns.
The Office of the Treasurer is responding to that concern by developing deepening programs for local communities and by promoting the availability of National Treasurer’s Representatives to conduct these deepenings.
“We believe that support of the Fund is a sign of one’s commitment to the Covenant,” said staff member Dan Ware. “As we fall in love with the Covenant, so, too, will we increase our support of the Fund. Therefore, our programs on the Fund focus on developing our love for Bahá’u’lláh and committing ourselves to His Covenant.”
DEEPENING materials developed by the Office of the Treasurer include “Stories and Talks on the Spirit of Sacrifice,” a cassette tape containing inspiring selections by the Hand of the Cause of God William Sears, Continental Counsellor Dr. Peter Khan, and a former member of the National Spiritual Assembly, Jack McCants.
“A Call to Remembrance” is a filmstrip recently produced by the Office of the Treasurer and distributed to all National Treasurer’s Representatives. The filmstrip introduces the concept of universal participation in building the World Order and presents an inspiring portrait of the life of Bahá’u’lláh. Premiered last fall at District Conventions, the filmstrip shows that giving to the Fund is an act that is motivated by love for Bahá’u’lláh.
Another filmstrip is being prepared for distribution to National Treasurer’s Representatives for use in Fund deepenings. Entitled “Rich Ones on Earth,” it cites the lives of the Hands of the Cause of God Martha Root and Amelia Collins as examples of individuals who gave their all in support of the Cause.
Convention delegates also stressed the importance of including the Fund in the enrollment process as a means of achieving greater participation.
THE OFFICE of the Treasurer is encouraging every Bahá’í community and each Bahá’í teacher to include the Fund when discussing the obligations and privileges extended to individuals who enter into the Covenant.
“The recently-published New Believer’s Deepening Packet contains excellent material on the Fund,” said Mr. Ware. “This material should play a vital part in the enrollment process. When we focus our energies on teaching, and when teaching includes the Fund, we will see a corresponding increase in both the number of individuals participating and in the amounts contributed.”
Mr. Ware encouraged all Bahá’í communities to contact their nearest NTR and strengthen their commitment to the Covenant by holding a deepening on the Fund.
Suggestions for Increasing Contributions to Fund[edit]
The Office of the Treasurer frequently receives letters from individuals asking for suggestions on how to increase one’s contributions to the National Fund. We are happy to offer the following:
1. Fall in love with Bahá’u’lláh. Through prayer, meditation and reading the Writings, your love for God will grow to such an extent that you will want to give Him your all. With this attitude, you will soon see numerous opportunities for giving your resources and energy to His Cause.
2. Be firm in the Covenant. Contributing to the Fund, like praying and fasting, is a sign of firmness in the Covenant. As we understand that our obligations to the Cause are the source of our spiritual growth, we will become more eager to obey Bahá’u’lláh’s ordinances.
3. Serve mankind. Following the “Golden Rule” awakens us to the needs of others. The more we become concerned with the needs of others, the more we will want to support the Fund, for the Fund is the building material for the World Order of Bahá’u’lláh. His divinely-ordained institutions are the surest way to lift the burdens of suffering and misery from mankind.
4. Overcome materialism. Bahá’u’lláh cites materialism as the chief factor for the suffering we see in our society. By practicing moderation, detachment and sacrifice, we serve to combat the destructive force of materialism. This frees us to put our material resources to their best possible use—building the New World Order.
5. Attend deepenings and Bahá’í schools. The Office of the Treasurer has developed two Bahá’í school courses, one on family finance entitled “The Secret of Wealth,” and the other on the Fund entitled “The Surest Way.” Some of the materials from these courses are available in deepenings conducted by National Treasurer’s Representatives. If you cannot attend our courses, have your community request a deepening from your nearest National Treasurer’s Representative.
6. Put the Fund first. Make the Fund the top item in your personal budget. The Fund is as important a commitment as one’s mortgage or car payment. Just as the first item in the National Spiritual Assembly’s budget is the Bahá’í International Fund, the Fund should be the top financial priority of the individual believer. It needn’t be the biggest check you write, but it can certainly be the first!
7. Consult with your community. The Universal House of Justice said, “The unity of the friends in sacrifice draws upon them the confirmations of the Blessed Beauty.” Work together to develop personal and collective methods for increasing contributions to the Fund.
New York State Launches Two Teaching Campaigns[edit]
In June, the National Spiritual Assembly appointed two committees in New York State—one in eastern New York, the other in western New York—to initiate the process of entry by troops in that goal state by channeling resources including funds, traveling teachers, special materials, and other assistance to Westchester County, near New York City, and Monroe County, whose largest city is Rochester.
The committees are directed to work with local, district, regional and national Bahá’í institutions to intensify teaching and deepening efforts to bring about the growth in the Bahá’í community called for by the Universal House of Justice.
On Saturday, June 17, the Bahá’í Committee for Westchester County hosted the “TIGER 1” Teaching Conference in White Plains.
DR. FIRUZ Kazemzadeh, a member of the National Spiritual Assembly and its representative at the conference, told the friends the teaching campaign is the result of a decision by the National Assembly to concentrate the tremendous human and material resources at its disposal in small geographic areas for intensive teaching and proclamation.
Westchester County was chosen as the focal point in eastern New York because of its diverse population and its proximity to New York City, where manpower needs can be drawn from the large Bahá’í community.
The conference, attended by some 80 Bahá’ís from Westchester County and surrounding areas, also was addressed by Continental Counsellor Dr. Sarah M. Pereira, and Auxiliary Board member Nat Rutstein.
TIGER 1’s full-time coordinator, John McNair, led the conference’s spirited consultation on the objectives of the campaign.
THE PLAN calls, among other things, for the establishment of an information center and executive office for the project; for a thorough and well-organized series of public meetings, firesides, concerts, picnics, parties and direct “street teaching” events, as well as for regular seminars, workshops and devotional meetings.
The day after the TIGER 1 conference, the Bahá’í Committee of Monroe County hosted a meeting at Rochester that was attended by 50 of the county’s 105 Bahá’ís, and by 25 Bahá’ís from surrounding areas. Speakers included Dr. Pereira and Dr. Kazemzadeh.
Dr. Kazemzadeh told the friends, “The National Assembly is trying to set up a permanent condition of expansion.”
An office for the project was opened July 1 in Rochester. The building has a meeting room, reading room and storefront, as well as office space.
TAKING advantage of the warm summer weather and the tendency of workers to eat outdoors, the friends have been making noontime presentations about the Faith in a downtown park and at the newly-rented building.
More than 80 Bahá’ís attended a conference in White Plains, New York, on June 17, at which the ‘TIGER 1’ teaching campaign, focused in Westchester County, was launched.
One of the first projects co-sponsored by the Bahá’í Committee of Monroe County, the Western New York District Teaching Committee, and the Spiritual Assembly of Rochester was a teaching effort in East Bloomfield, just outside Monroe County.
The first declaration in East Bloomfield, a community with four homefront pioneers, took place on June 24 during the second Victory Weekend.
Teaching teams had been visiting East Bloomfield for nearly a year, and, prior to involvement by the Committee for Monroe County, had had the only float in the community’s Memorial Day parade. The float was manned by children of several races, and was much enjoyed by the townspeople.
The homefront pioneers have been able to establish a friendly relationship with the pastors of two local churches. One of them even has offered meeting space at his church for the Bahá’ís.
SODUS POINT, a small resort community on Lake Ontario, was the site of another two-week proclamation. Press kits were given to the town warden and local police. A Race Unity Day square dance was attended by 40 people and publicized on three radio stations.
The Bahá’ís of New York State also are trying to establish Local Assemblies on two Indian Reservations, as directed by the Universal House of Justice.
On April 29, close to 18 Bahá’ís in the state who are active in Indian teaching met at Ithaca.
From that meeting came the decision to establish the two required Assemblies on the St. Regis Mohawk Reservation and the Allegheny Seneca Reservation by November 29, the day after the anniversary of the Ascension of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.
Teaching also is being done on the Oneida Reservation south of Syracuse.
‘Illinois Victory Army’ on the March in Chicago Area[edit]
The Master called Chicago the heart of the North American continent, and said about the city, “The heart is connected with all the organs and parts of man. If the heart is strengthened, all the organs of the body are reinforced.”
With that promise in mind, the National Spiritual Assembly in June appointed a special ad hoc committee to organize a “no holds barred” teaching campaign in the Chicago area to prepare the way for the entry by troops before the end of the Five Year Plan next April 20.
By the end of June, teaching initiated by the committee had led to 18 declarations, with three of the declarants enrolled within two weeks.
THE CAMPAIGN was launched June 10–11 with a teacher training institute attended by some 80 believers from northern Illinois, southern Wisconsin and one from Colorado. The institute was held at the National College of Education in Evanston, where two weeks earlier Bahá’ís from all over the country had gathered for the 69th Bahá’í National Convention.
The following week, June 12–16, the institute continued at the Bahá’í Center in Chicago, where the friends studied the Writings, prayed, discussed the new booklet, Victory Promises, and taught in the afternoons.
Somehow, 19 Bahá’ís were able to teach all week. Sometimes the Bahá’ís composing the 19 changed, but “every morning after prayers, the count would be taken and 19 would be present!” said one of the participants.
The group ranged in age from 10 to the late 70s. Such unity and love was formed among the members that all realized anew that teaching truly is “the greatest gift.”
THE AFTERNOONS were spent teaching in Grant Park in downtown Chicago, and in a predominantly Puerto Rican neighborhood on Chicago’s West Side. Fifteen people signed Declaration of Interest cards.
At the end of the week some of the friends had to return to work, but several were able to arrange for more time off to teach at a later date.
One young man, after conferring with his parents, decided not to return to college in the fall, but instead to teach the Faith full-time in the Chicago area.
The second week of the campaign was spent in Harvey, 18 miles south of Chicago, where the teachers—who had by now christened themselves the “Illinois Victory Army”—operated out of the Bahá’í Center. They continued to pray and deepen in the mornings, and spent the afternoons teaching in Harvey and nearby Blue Island, trying to raise the communities to Assembly status.
DURING THE week, 18 people declared their belief in Bahá’u’lláh and are in the process of being enrolled.
The Project Committee feels that if the goal of raising 19 Assemblies is won first in Cook County, a 94-square-mile area that encompasses Chicago, it will create a spirit of victory necessary to begin entry by troops in Illinois.
Two storefronts have been chosen in Chicago for possible use as headquarters for the remainder of the campaign. The immediate goals are to teach the Spanish-speaking population, and perhaps to expand into the Hyde Park area near the University of Chicago.
A nine-day teacher training institute was held July 1–9. The committee hopes to have a trained corps of five teaching teams of a dozen members each that will be broken down into groups of two or three members to teach.
The committee plans to continue the teaching and training sessions throughout August and September.
A MEMBER of the committee, referring to the entry by troops, recalled the words of the Guardian in Citadel of Faith, page 117:
“This flow (of new believers), moreover, will presage and hasten the advent of the day which, as prophesied by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, will witness the entry by troops of peoples of divers nations and races into the Bahá’í world—a day which, viewed in its proper perspective, will be the prelude to that long-awaited hour when a mass conversion on the part of these same nations and races, and as a direct result of a chain of events, momentous and possibly catastrophic in nature, which cannot as yet be even dimly visualized, will suddenly revolutionize the fortunes of the Faith, derange the equilibrium of the world, and reinforce a thousandfold the spiritual authority of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh.”
To become a part of the teaching project in Chicago, contact its director, Thomas Behrendt, at 312-352-7012 or 312-339-4454; or its secretary, Lani Smith, at 312-236-7771 or 312-483-8005.
The Bahá’í community of Costa Mesa, California, won second place in the Youth and Religious Organizations category for this float in the 33rd annual Costa Mesa Fish Fry parade in June. The Bahá’í float included a banner, decorated Volkswagen bus, and signs reading, “One Planet, One People Please.” The Fish Fry is sponsored by the Costa Mesa Lions Clubs for their charities.
California ‘Victory March’ Under Way[edit]
The Bahá’í communities of Lemon Grove, Redlands, Atascadero and Watsonville, California, have acquired local Bahá’í Centers to be used in ongoing teaching activities and by the California Victory March team as it travels the state from south to north and back again this summer.
Three other communities are in the process of acquiring local Centers.
In keeping with instructions from the Universal House of Justice received at Riḍván to raise three Local Spiritual Assemblies on Indian Reservations in California by the end of the Five Year Plan, the friends were given approval in June, by appropriate Tribal Councils, to teach on the Hoopa Indian Reservation and the Campo Indian Reservation.
To raise the 63 Local Assemblies needed in the state by the end of the Plan, District Teaching Committees are covering goals not included in the Victory March campaign. In June, a District Teaching Committee plan was responsible for raising the Spiritual Assembly of South San Francisco.
Carol Allen, secretary of the California Regional Teaching Committee, says more volunteers are needed to help with stationary goals, especially in Northern California.
If you are able to donate a weekend or a week of your time, please contact Mrs. Allen at 1143 Knollwood, Newbury Park, CA 91320, or phone 805-498-0129.
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VANGUARD Youth News |
Young Performers Key in ‘Road Show’ Teaching Plan[edit]
Three “road shows” organized by the National Youth Committee and the National Teaching Committee traveled in Illinois, New York and four Southern states this summer, proclaiming the Faith.
The shows were based on a proposal submitted to the National Assembly by Carolyn Cheeks, a Bahá’í from Wisconsin, who has been the director and general chairman of four road shows and who coordinated the current ones.
A total of 35 performers were involved in the three shows, which were to run from three to four weeks beginning in mid-July. The Southern states that were being visited are North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida.
The performers range from 14 to 31 years in age, and are experienced singers and/or dancers.
Miss Cheeks says there is a certain appeal to having young people on stage singing about something hopeful. She feels people will often be more inclined to attend a Bahá’í road show than go to a public meeting that features a speaker.
The director for the show in Illinois is George Davis of Danville, Illinois, who has a degree in Fine Arts; the director for New York’s show is Carl Reynolds, from Virginia, who has been involved in show production since age five; and the director for the Southern states’ show is Phillip Sisson, a professional actor from New York City.
The Bahá’í communities that served as headquarters for the shows’ casts were chosen by their Regional and District Teaching Committees, and were “extremely cooperative,” says Miss Cheeks.
Youth to Meet In N. England[edit]
The Vernon, Connecticut, Bahá’í community is sponsoring a New England Youth Conference September 2–4 at the Tolland Agricultural Center in Vernon.
The conference, entitled “The Dynamic Force of Example,” will focus on Bahá’í morality. It will include workshops, entertainment, guest speakers, a coffeehouse, and more.
The conference is for people 15–25 years old. There is a $10 fee that will include all meals (seven). Campsites are available at the Tolland Agricultural Center, and there is space in the homes of area Bahá’ís for those who wish to stay indoors.
Bahá’í Youth Teach, Deepen, Learn On Week-long Trip in Texas, Mexico[edit]
(EDITOR’S NOTE: The following report of traveling teaching in Texas and Mexico was written by Karen Locher and Stephanie Roehr, Bahá’í youth from Stephenville and Houston, Texas.)
Plans for the trip, which took place May 20–27, came as a result of the Youth Rally held in February at Rice University in Houston.
We are indeed grateful for the sponsorship and support of the Spiritual Assembly of Houston, and for the generous assistance of many friends.
We were two enthusiastic Bahá’ís accompanied by our well-deepened friend of the Faith, Daniel Carrillo. It was a learning and growing experience for us, as we worked together to prepare the hearts and spread the Glad Tidings of the Faith.
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Remember to Attend Your District Convention Sunday, October 1 |
The following is a daily account of our activities:
Saturday. Before leaving Houston we prayed for guidance and protection. On our arrival in San Antonio we picked up Daniel, then had lunch before visiting and discussing teaching with the friends in San Antonio. We then traveled to Uvalde, and with our host family, Henry and Maria Cantu, held firesides there and in La Pryor. These were done in Spanish, and it was a delight to hear the glorious Teachings in another tongue. In Carrizo Springs we met with Mrs. Rouse and her granddaughter, Sheri, who form a Group in this isolated locale. Sheri had been pioneering in Colombia, and we enjoyed hearing about the teaching work in our sister country.
Sunday. We presented a skit in Spanish for the Uvalde children’s classes on the equality of men and women, using a quote from the Writings and our imaginations. We sang Bahá’í songs and enjoyed a lovely Bahá’í home and atmosphere. As we left, we passed through La Pryor, leaving Sabiduría de ‘Abdu’l-Bahá with the friends we had visited the previous night. We then headed for Laredo where we contacted Bahá’ís who hadn’t had any contact with other Bahá’ís for more than two years. We spoke with six of the seven who were on our list, and distributed bilingual literature to them. We noticed the great need this friendly city has for pioneers, as the Bahá’ís there are much in need of deepening on the fundamentals of the Faith. After confirming names and addresses we drove to McAllen, our place of residence in the Valley.
Monday. We worked with the friends in McAllen, taping up posters in the city of Harlingen. We were able to do a lot of direct and indirect teaching while placing posters and pamphlets in stores and laundromats. That evening we held a deepening on teaching, played music, and enjoyed the company of the Bahá’ís in McAllen and Harlingen. Karen found that one pin was especially effective in teaching. The pin reads simply, “Ask Me, I’m a Bahá’í.” It was designed by Jan Goucher, a Bahá’í in Spencer, Oklahoma. Because it says, “Ask Me,” people who had never heard of the Faith didn’t feel they were bothering Karen by asking questions.
Tuesday. We traveled to Weslaco and visited a Chicano friend who can’t read or write. She was memorizing the obligatory Noon Prayer with the help of Bahá’ís from McAllen. She is a beautiful Bahá’í who is trying to overcome the handicap of not being able to read or write. That evening we held a fireside at the city park and attracted many seekers with a skit. It was an especially enthusiastic and enjoyable occasion.
Wednesday. We traveled to Brownsville and distributed posters in the afternoon. Stephanie got lost in a shopping center, so as a little indirect teaching effort she went to the “lost and found” department and had them announce: “Would the members of the Bahá’í Faith please meet their traveling companion at the fountain? I repeat...” We contacted people who had expressed an interest in the Faith at a fireside given by England Dan and John Ford Coley, and invited them to the fireside that evening. We gave the college library two more Bahá’í books. That evening we discussed prophecy, and later we enjoyed food and more teaching at a local restaurant.
Thursday. We arose early and rode the bus to Monterrey, Mexico, where we spent most of the day discussing the principles of the Faith with Romeo Guerra and his family, who are not Bahá’ís. We also enjoyed the company of a pioneer to Mexico, and a discussion of teaching in that country. Afterward, we toured the city. We had planned to meet with the other Bahá’ís in Monterrey, but were unable to do so.
Friday. We returned to McAllen and bid our fantastic friends goodbye. We then headed for Victoria, where we enjoyed a fireside picnic. An integrated group was present, and again our skit attracted considerable attention from passersby.
Saturday. After a delicious breakfast prepared by our hostess, Mrs. Rucker, we began the homeward journey to Houston, physically tired but spiritually regenerated and more eager than ever to spread the Glad Tidings of the Faith.
The trip was a marvelously good experience for the three of us. We learned more about the Faith and about ourselves. Would that each of the friends could have the bounty of traveling teaching! Again, our thanks to the Local Spiritual Assemblies who supported us on the trip, and to all our friends along the way.
Members of the Bahá’í College Club at Chabot College in Hayward, California, presented Call to the Nations to Dr. Reed Buffington, superintendent and president of the college’s Board of Trustees, in May. Left to right are Mona Miller, Dr. Buffington, Afsaneh Yazdani and Farzan Tom, chairman of the Bahá’í Club.
Chabot College
Bahá’í Club Named ‘Most Active’[edit]
“The most active club during the autumn quarter” appeared on the certificate awarded to the Bahá’í Club at Chabot College, Hayward, California, by the Associated Students of Chabot College, the student government organization.
The Bahá’í Club was established in the autumn of 1977 and presently has seven members.
One of its activities in May was to present Call to the Nations to Dr. Reed Buffington, superintendent and president of the college’s Board of Trustees.
Dr. Buffington said he hoped soon to read the book.
30 Attend Youth Weekend in N. Carolina[edit]
Thirty young people from the Carolinas gathered April 8–9 in Greenville, North Carolina, for a Bahá’í Youth Weekend.
Through small group interaction, the youth considered their relationship to Bahá’í history, the beauty of teaching the Faith, and the necessity of developing interpersonal skills.
Bahá’ís and their friends gathered Saturday evening for a varied program of entertainment centered around the theme “One World, One People.” The Greenville Bahá’í community offered hospitality and supported the weekend’s events.
200 Attend Fort Peck Recognition Ceremony[edit]
Bahá’ís from throughout Montana, some of whom made round trips of more than 1,100 miles, were present April 22 at the Recognition Ceremony for the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation.
Among those who attended the ceremony at Oswego Hall on the Reservation were Fred Bennett, Peter Vaughn and Charles Nolley, assistants to Auxiliary Board member Opal Conner. Mr. Nolley represented the National Spiritual Assembly.
Bahá’í representatives from the Fort Belknap, Lillian Shortman, Northern Cheyenne, and Irene Archambeau Indian Reservations also attended.
More than 120 adults and 40 children joined the 30 adult Bahá’ís and their 10 children for the festivities that began Saturday evening with a grand entry dance.
FLAGS representing the four points of the compass and the red, yellow, black and white races were raised, and prayers in English, Persian and Sioux were shared.
The dance caller, Leslie Forstars, chanted a prayer in Sioux that he had written for the Bahá’ís.
Following the opening ceremony, Bahá’ís and guests participated in several Indian dances. Later, the Fort Peck Spiritual Assembly was presented a copy of The World Order of Bahá’u’lláh, a gift from the National Spiritual Assembly.
The importance of the Local Assembly in the Bahá’í community and the spiritual development of the Fort Peck Reservation were discussed in conjunction with the presentation.
Afterward, the Bahá’ís participated in an honor dance. The friends and their guests then shared a late evening supper.
Mr. Vaughn later reported to the National Spiritual Assembly that the ceremony had enhanced the prestige of the Local Assembly on the Reservation, that the Bahá’ís are well recognized there, and that much positive teaching had taken place during and after the ceremony.
Mrs. Romaine Firemoon (right), a member of the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the Fort Peck (Montana) Indian Reservation, receives a copy of The World Order of Bahá’u’lláh on behalf of the National Spiritual Assembly at the Recognition ceremony April 22 for the Fort Peck Assembly. Making the presentation are Peter Vaughn (left) and Charles Nolley, assistants to Auxiliary Board member Opal Conner.
TV Shows Key Atlanta Race Unity Day Observance[edit]
Governor George Busbee proclaims Sunday, June 11, Race Unity Day in Georgia as members of Bahá’í communities in the metropolitan Atlanta area look on.
To publicize Race Unity Day in North Georgia, the Atlanta Bahá’í Metro Media Council helped to arrange a two-part panel discussion on the Georgia Educational Television network’s weekly show, “A Second Look”, whose host is a Bahá’í.
The panel discussion on race unity between a Bahá’í, a Black Baptist minister, a rabbi, a Quaker, and a Black Muslim minister was publicized in a full-page ad in both the North and South Georgia editions of TV Guide.
The ad was prepared by the Metro Media Council and paid for by contributions from Local Spiritual Assemblies, Groups and individuals within a four-day period. The ad cost $1,000; $1,300 was raised, leaving enough money for a newspaper ad to further publicize the program.
THE TWO editions of TV Guide cover most of Georgia as well as Chattanooga, Tennessee, and Tallahassee, Florida, with a combined weekly circulation of 452,000.
Gov. George Busbee of Georgia proclaimed June 11 “Race Unity Day” in the state.
A poster and cover letter discussing the need for race unity and Bahá’u’lláh’s Teachings on the subject were sent to dignitaries including clergymen, school principals, and members of city, county and state government.
The poster also was used on advertising cards on city buses and in ads in the Atlanta Journal and Constitution, the state’s largest newspaper.
The Spiritual Assembly of North Cobb County, in the Atlanta area, held a Race Unity Day public meeting at the city square in Marietta, Georgia. It featured live music and a large sign that read, “Bahá’í Faith Unity.”
THE METRO Media Council sent kits to local news media that included the poster, a copy of the governor’s proclamation, and a news release about the Marietta observance. Radio stations were given taped public service spots with a cover letter.
Although June 11 marked the beginning of a major Baptist convention in Atlanta, the religion editor of the Atlanta Journal and Constitution devoted more attention to the Faith in her daily column than she ever had before.
The reception to the Race Unity Day observance in Marietta was quite friendly. Since Cobb County is considered to be one of the more conservative areas in North Georgia, the Bahá’ís felt this was very encouraging.
One seeker even accompanied the Bahá’ís to an international dinner that evening at the Atlanta Bahá’í Center, and requested more information about the Faith.
Pine Ridge Sees Teaching Effort[edit]
The South Dakota District Teaching Committee and 10 young traveling teachers from six states made many friends for the Faith during a whirlwind teaching campaign June 17–23 at the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation near Wanblee, South Dakota.
Much interest was generated through children’s classes, firesides, and two showings of the film, The Green Light Expedition.
At Wanblee, daily children’s classes were held along with open-door teaching for people of all ages, and Bahá’ís were on call 24 hours a day to answer questions about the Faith.
Old and new friends were found, and a sort of “family tree” of seekers was drawn up with more than 30 names.
One teaching trip was made to the town of Pine Ridge, and three to teach builders in the Sundance area. Three seekers even arrived on horseback at the lodge where the Bahá’í teachers were housed.
The traveling teachers were from the states of New York, Oregon, Texas, New Mexico, North Dakota and South Dakota.
The District Teaching Committee says the Pine Ridge Reservation is ready now for pioneers and traveling teachers to deepen the interest generated by the June teaching effort.
Especially needed are experienced teachers for children’s classes. There are three buildings at Wanblee that are ready for Bahá’ís to repair and live in while directing the teaching activities.
If you’d like to help, contact the South Dakota District Teaching Committee, Joanne Marian, corresponding secretary, Box 597, Fort Thompson, SD 57339.
Bahá’í News Ready at Discount[edit]
The Bahá’í Publishing Trust has announced that back issues of Bahá’í News are available at quantity discounts of as much as 45 per cent.
The new discounts are designed to help individuals and communities fill in gaps in their collections, or build large new collections.
The discounts also will make it easier for Bahá’ís who can afford large collections of the magazine to buy selected issues as gifts, or as their own mementos of the period of the Guardianship, the construction of the House of Worship in Wilmette, the election of the first Universal House of Justice in 1963, or other historic events.
Discounts range from 25 per cent off on orders for 15–49 issues, to 35 per cent off for 50–99 issues, and 45 per cent off for 100 issues or more. (The discount is based on the number shipped, not the number ordered.)
All domestic orders processed after June 25 were processed at the new rates. The discount is available to individuals as well as to Bahá’í community librarians.
Most persons whose orders for back issues were processed before June 25, and whose orders were shipped in sufficient quantity to qualify for the discount, received rebate checks in July. Bahá’í librarians who charged their orders automatically received credit in their accounts. (If you are eligible for a rebate, but have not received one, write to the Publishing Trust, enclosing a copy of the invoice or packing slip.)
Bahá’í News back issues now available include almost every issue from 1924–1977. Prices range from as low as $1.24 for the 1924–25 issues to 44 cents each for the 1967–77 issues.
More details about back issues of Bahá’í News are listed on the special order forms available through community librarians or the Bahá’í Publishing Trust.
A sampling of some of the hundreds of historic back issues of Bahá’í News available at quantity discounts from the Bahá’í Publishing Trust. The issue at the bottom, dated December 1957, announces the passing of Shoghi Effendi.
Goals Committee: A Pioneer’s Best Friend[edit]
One of life’s mysteries is that the more love one gives away, the more it is returned.
In the same way, American Bahá’ís have been promised by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá that sharing the Faith with peoples around the world will bring its firm establishment in the U.S.
“The moment this Divine Message is carried forward by the American believers from the shores of America,” the Master said in 1916, “and is propagated throughout the continents of Europe, of Asia, of Africa, of Australasia, and as far as the islands of the Pacific, this community will find itself securely established upon the throne of an everlasting dominion. Then will all the people of the world witness that this community is spiritually illumined and divinely guided. Then will the whole earth resound with the praises of its majesty and greatness.”
The Guardian and, since 1963, the Universal House of Justice have guided the American Bahá’ís in reaching their destiny, giving specific international goals to the U.S. in each global teaching plan.
DURING THE Five Year Plan, the U.S. has been given the task of sending 414 pioneers to 90 goal countries, and to consolidate the Faith in the Bahamas, Bermuda, the Falkland Islands, and the Turks and Caicos Islands. The International Teaching Centre in Haifa has asked U.S. Bahá’ís to make teaching trips to 70 countries.
The National Spiritual Assembly of the United States annually appoints an International Goals Committee to oversee implementation of its overseas commitments. The committee maintains an office at the Bahá’í National Center with a full-time staff of five people. Qualified volunteers are welcome to assist in the office during their vacations or when on break from school.
The staff tries to keep abreast of changing conditions in goal countries: visa requirements, medical requirements for entry (such as cholera shots), employment opportunities for U.S. citizens, political transition, changes in attitudes toward the Faith, etc.
MUCH OF THIS information is gleaned from correspondence with National Spiritual Assemblies, members of the Continental Boards of Counsellors, pioneers in the field, and the Continental Pioneering Committees.
Some information comes from publications such as U.S. News & World Report; the magazine recently predicted that in the near future there will be a worldwide shortage of skilled workers such as cabinet makers, plumbers, electricians, etc. This information could be helpful in the International Goals Committee’s efforts to suggest careers that will enable the friends to serve abroad.
The committee advises that more important than what occupation a person chooses is the degree of competency achieved.
The committee knows that long-range planning with prospective pioneers is beneficial, and is not reluctant to tell applicants to first spend time learning a foreign language or finishing a formal education in preparation for the move—goals that can be accomplished while homefront pioneering.
SOME PEOPLE’S names are kept on file for as long as five years while they complete preparations. These friends usually are first-rate pioneers by the time they go.
While a pure heart and love for Bahá’u’lláh are among the essential characteristics of a pioneer, the Blessed Beauty also tells us that skills and education are equally important to support oneself and benefit mankind.
Developing nations sometimes do not allow Americans to immigrate unless their ancestors were from that country, or unless they have some skill that is in short supply but in great demand there.
Agricultural and health-related skills currently are in high demand in most nations. Pioneers also may be employed through United Nations projects, American firms with overseas offices, or professional agencies. Career counseling from the committee can continue even while a pioneer is in the field.
AS IMMIGRATION requirements stiffen, the need grows for self-supporting pioneers such as retired persons. In some countries, only students can remain for extended periods. At times, in countries where U.S. citizens aren’t permitted to work, it is necessary for the International Goals Committee to provide subsistence for a specified period to fill a goal.
In recent years, it has not been necessary for the committee to assist large numbers of pioneers financially, through provision of a budget, though it sometimes is necessary to offer help with travel expenses to the destination. Bahá’ís who wish to deputize a pioneer, in keeping with the injunction to “appoint one in your stead,” may earmark contributions to the National Bahá’í Fund for international deputization of U.S. pioneers.
Pioneering is more than merely going to another country to live, as it is often the American pioneers who are called upon to serve in many administrative capacities through election to Local or National Spiritual Assemblies, or appointment to the Continental Board of Counsellors or the Auxiliary Board. This is in keeping with the primary function of a pioneer—to help establish the Faith solidly in whatever country he or she settles.
BECAUSE pioneers will in almost every case play an active role in administration, they are encouraged to gain administrative experience before going abroad.
The International Goals Committee actively recruits Bahá’ís who are in good standing and good health, who are flexible but practical and highly motivated. A person in the year of patience, or whose leaving would jeopardize a Local Spiritual Assembly or another homefront goal, is encouraged to postpone pioneering.
When possible, the committee helps pioneers to obtain proper visas, credentials and permits, and to make applications for employment. It introduces them to the National Spiritual Assembly having jurisdiction in the country in which they will live, thus initiating the relationship between the pioneer and his new community.
During a four-day Pioneer Training Institute prior to departure, these friends learn about their role as pioneers, and the everyday aspects of living and teaching the Faith in a new country. They also come to understand that upon arriving at their posts, they will be under the jurisdiction of a new National Spiritual Assembly to whom they must be loyal and obedient.
The committee prays each day for the 900 American pioneers in the field, and sends them regular letters of appreciation and encouragement.
THERE ARE presently more than enough volunteers to fill the remaining goals of the Five Year Plan, but it is difficult to place them because so many doors have been closed to American emigrants, especially those who are not highly skilled or self-supporting.
In most instances, if a pioneer remains at his post for at least two years, the Universal House of Justice considers the goal filled. Ideally, of course, a person would spend a lifetime in his adopted home.
Americans who are unable to pioneer outside the U.S. can spread the Faith abroad by attending international conferences, participating in special international teaching projects, or by making international teaching trips. Even showing kindness to foreign students in this country is a way to spread the Faith, as students carry impressions of the Faith back to their homes. Praying for the pioneers and the international goals also is of great spiritual benefit.
Some Bahá’ís make teaching trips every year or two, in lieu of pioneering, since for one reason or another they cannot leave the U.S. permanently.
IN FACT, a good source of pioneers are the traveling teachers who fall in love with a country and want to make it their home.
The committee tries to match people with locations where they will be happiest and provide the greatest services. For instance, someone who prefers a tropical climate would not be asked to go to Greenland.
While there is presently an urgent need to fill the goals, it is better for someone to prepare himself properly than to rush into the pioneering field. Service of this kind will be needed for decades and generations, and the preparation made now will enable one to effectively and joyously carry out this important role.
The committee hopes that training for international Bahá’í service will begin from childhood so that our children and youth will gain a world perspective and gear their education and learning skills toward preparing for a lifetime of service to our beloved Cause, at home and abroad.
Goals[edit]
Continued From Page 1
Ocean Territory), Chile, Ecuador, Denmark and Finland.
The number of U.S. pioneers to be sent to Lesotho was raised from one to two; to the French Antilles, from one to two, and to the Leeward and Virgin Islands, from one to three.
Among the U.S. goals for traveling teachers, the following territories are designated as crisis areas: Cameroon Republic, Lesotho, Nigeria, Rhodesia, South and West Africa, Barbados and the Windward Islands, the French Antilles, Haiti, Taiwan, Samoa and Spain.
In revising the list of U.S. assignments, the Universal House of Justice reminded the National Assembly of the necessity of the rapid completion of those previously assigned goals which have not been met.
In addition to its new assignments, the U.S. must send pioneers to the Central African Empire (2), Ghana (2), Madagascar (2), Malawi (1), Sierra Leone (2), South Africa (for Transkei) (4), South Africa (for St. Helena) (1), Zaire (1), Argentina (3), Barbados and the Windward Islands (2), Mexico (6), Uruguay (1), Thailand (2), Tonga (2), Japan (11), Belgium (1), Sweden (2) and Switzerland (2).
Several Steps Necessary For Pioneers, Teachers[edit]
You want to pioneer or make an international teaching trip, and you write or call the International Goals Committee, letting them know of your intent. What happens next? How soon will you be able to go? There are several steps between your original inquiry and your departure, but these do not necessarily require a great deal of time.
PIONEERING
1. First, the International Goals Committee will ask you to complete a form that helps it learn about your talents and skills, Bahá’í volunteer activities, administrative and work experience, etc. At the same time, your Local Assembly or District Teaching Committee is informed of your desire to serve and is asked to comment.
2. While this information is being acquired, the International Goals Committee informs the National Spiritual Assembly of your plans. In some instances the friends are asked to delay international service.
3. But if there is no reason you should remain in the U.S., the International Goals Committee will then guide you to those countries that could most benefit from your combination of skills and experience.
4. Upon selecting the country in which you would like to settle, you are introduced to the National Assembly and given the address of that institution to enable you to correspond directly and learn more details about your post.
5. Before leaving the U.S., you will have the opportunity and are encouraged to attend a four-day Pioneer Training Institute in Wilmette, Illinois.
6. When you arrive at your post, the International Goals Committee looks forward to hearing from you immediately, thus beginning a long relationship of correspondence.
TRAVELING TEACHING AND SPECIAL PROJECTS
The application process for traveling teaching internationally is similar to that of pioneering, but the time element is more crucial because the International Goals Committee may need time to introduce you to more than one National Assembly, depending on how many countries you will be visiting.
1. The moment you know you will be traveling internationally—and by the way, “internationally” includes Alaska and Hawaii, which have their own National Assemblies, as well as Canada and Mexico—call or write the International Goals Committee.
2. The International Goals Committee will then request information from you and your Local Assembly or District Teaching Committee to learn about your skills, talents and abilities.
3. Our National Spiritual Assembly also is notified of your plans.
4. You are then introduced by cable or letter to the National Assembly within whose jurisdiction you will be traveling. To help that National Assembly plan teaching activities for you, it is informed of your skills and talents. You are given the address of that institution, and are encouraged to correspond directly for more details about your trip.
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Remember to Attend Your District Convention Sunday, October 1 |
5. Upon your return to the U.S., a report of your trip should be sent to the International Goals Committee.
[Page 8]
In First Three Weeks
North Texas Campaign Counts 95 Declarations[edit]
The first three weeks of the North Texas Victory Campaign, which began early in June, resulted in 95 declarants whose enrollment could increase the district’s Bahá’í population by 70 per cent and the number of Local Spiritual Assemblies from three to nine.
The North Texas campaign was announced April 9 at a conference in Canyon, Texas, attended by 60 believers. Although the friends were surprised when the District Teaching Committee said it intended that all of North Texas’ Five Year Plan goals should be won by August 31, they quickly offered to support the plan, pledging manpower, funds, housing, food (including 400 pounds of vegetables), art work, and the use of camping equipment and cars for Victory Team members.
Some eight weeks later, on June 4, the friends met a second time in Canyon, this time for team training sessions conducted by Vahid Hedayati of Wichita Falls.
THE MEETING got off to a marvelous start when the babysitter declared and later was enrolled. Three observers from Ft. Worth, who were to report back to their district, volunteered to become full-time teachers for the rest of the month.
The following morning, the full-time teaching team was assembled. Its members included four adults, one Bahá’í youth, and six children ages 10–14. The team began teaching that day in Canyon, and almost immediately found three Mexican-Americans who wished to become Bahá’ís.
Becky Caldwell, field coordinator, said, “That convinced us that what we had been reading in Victory Promises and the Writings is true, if only we commit ourselves.”
Members of the North Texas Victory Team are shown in front of the Canyon, Texas, Bahá’í Center. Left to right are Julia Lee; Curtiss Lee II, age 8; Dick Smith; Veronica Trevino, age 13; Becky Caldwell; Janice Rossing; Beckie Biggs, age 10; Mary MacBride, age 13; Bonnie Biggs, age 14; Steve Trevino, age 11.
As of June 28, the team had taught in six towns with plans to visit four more; 95 people in 12 localities had declared, and five of them had been enrolled.
Paul Reynolds, the project coordinator, commented that one of the most amazing aspects of the team’s success was that it was primarily composed of children.
“IT HAS proven to me,” said Mr. Reynolds, “that large-scale teaching does not require large amounts of people or funds but rather a handful of devoted souls who are brave enough to take that first step and ask people on the street if they have heard about Bahá’u’lláh.”
The successes would not have been possible, he added, without the wholehearted support of local Bahá’í communities. Consolidation already has started.
Team members Jan Rossing and Mary MacBride shared the following stories as living examples of the miracles of Bahá’u’lláh:
A Black middle-aged woman, leaving a store, was approached by the team. When asked if she had heard about Bahá’u’lláh, she hesitated, but the moment she saw the reprint about the Faith from Ebony magazine, she said, “I read that article when it first came out, and my husband and I have believed everything it said.”
THE TEAM coordinator said, “Do you mean you believe Bahá’u’lláh is God’s Messenger for today and that He is the return of Christ’s Spirit?”
The woman replied, “Yes.”
The amazed Bahá’í said, “Then do you consider yourself a Bahá’í?”
Again, the woman replied, “Yes.”
In the town of Pampa, Bonnie Biggs, age 14, and Mary MacBride, age 13, saw a man sitting under a tree in the city park. Mary was feeling shy and “the man looked kind of scary,” she says. Yet she mustered up her courage and began to tell him about the Faith. He told her that he did not speak much English, so Mary gave him God’s New Age in Spanish. After reading two pages he began saying, “Si.” He said it all made sense and he wanted to become a Bahá’í.
TWO TEAM members saw an elderly couple sitting in their front yard. When approached, the couple said they had not heard about Bahá’u’lláh, and invited the friends in to discuss the Faith. The couple accepted Bahá’u’lláh when told this is Christ’s new name.
The couple told the friends they had been worried that they might die before learning Christ’s new name, but now were relieved. The woman said that the previous evening, Jesus had told her that if she sat in her front yard the next day someone would tell her His new name.
The couple was so grateful they knelt and thanked God for sending the Bahá’í teachers. The couple hugged and kissed the friends and said they felt as if the Bahá’ís were their children. The man said it was the first time he had truly felt he was a brother or sister with someone in the town.
During July and August the team is teaching on weekends in East Texas and New Mexico.
Above: North Texas Victory Team members relax in the shade as daily temperatures soar to above 100 degrees. Below: The number of teachers has risen each weekend as Bahá’ís from many Texas communities join the ranks of the North Texas Victory Team.
‘Youth Energy Zone’ Camp Slated[edit]
“Youth Energy Zone,” an intensive seven-day program to be held December 17-23 in Southern California, has been designed by a special task force of the National Education Committee to stimulate and challenge Bahá’í youth ages 13-16 spiritually, physically and intellectually.
Fifty youth will be selected by application (see coupon for instructions on how to obtain one) to attend this pilot school.
Attendance will be limited to provide a unique experience within the wide diversity of the Bahá’í community.
The site for this special school is the lovely and internationally famous mountain camp ISOMATA (Idyllwild School of Music and the Arts). Materials, room and board, and arts and crafts supplies are included in the $95-a-person fee.
Youth are encouraged to consult with their Local Spiritual Assemblies for financial assistance, if it is needed. A limited number of scholarships is available.
I am interested in attending YOUTH ENERGY ZONE December 17-23. I understand that materials, room and board total $95, and that only Bahá’í youth ages 13-16 may attend. I also understand that this special school is like no other Bahá’í school that has ever been held. PLEASE SEND MY APPLICATION RIGHT AWAY!
Bahá’ís and Members of a church youth group in Wyoming, Illinois, who participated June 17 in a canoe trip on the Spoon River.
Bahá’ís, Church Group Establish Warm Ties[edit]
Nine Bahá’í youth, children and adults from the Chicago area were in the front row at the First Congregational Church of Wyoming, Illinois, June 18 as the minister delivered his sermon.
After referring to the Bahá’ís and touching on the theme of the oneness of humanity, the minister described the events of the previous day that included a canoe trip on the Spoon River by Bahá’ís and members of the church’s youth group.
The event was one of a series of contacts by the Jackson family of Deerfield, Illinois, who accepted Stark County as an extension teaching goal in April 1977.
The Jacksons met the minister on their first trip to the county, and quickly established many friendships in the town of Wyoming. Previous visits included a performance by the Unity Bluegrass Band, Bahá’ís from the Chicago area.
The June visit provided a very favorable impact on the community. Beyond mention of the Bahá’ís in the church and local newspaper, information was provided for those who inquired about the Faith.
Plans have been initiated for a visit by Wyoming residents to the Bahá’í House of Worship in the fall.
Publishing Trust Offers Bargain-Priced Selection[edit]
Bargain hunters can save from 25 cents to $50 per item on a selection of materials now available at reduced prices from the Bahá’í Publishing Trust. The sale items include:
The Five Year Plan (was 40 cents; now 15 cents), a booklet that contains two Naw-Rúz 1974 messages from the Universal House of Justice—one to Bahá’ís of the world and one to Bahá’ís in the U.S. Every Bahá’í—including believers enrolled this year—can benefit from reading, meditating and acting upon these important messages. (Order number 7-25-50, 11 pages.)
Analysis of the Five Year International Teaching Plan: 1974–1979 (was $2.25; now $1), a four-part analysis of the Five Year Plan that lists its major objectives and summarizes specific goals assigned to National Spiritual Assemblies. (Order number 7-68-25, 103 pages.)
The National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States (was $3; now $1.50), a booklet reviewing the history, functions, formation, and achievements of the institution, and featuring many photographs. It was published to commemorate the National Spiritual Assembly’s 50th anniversary in 1975. (Order number 7-32-08, 16 pages.)
Meditations on Teaching (was 75 cents; now 25 cents), a soundsheet featuring prayers and passages from the Bahá’í Writings on the subject of teaching. Beautiful music—solo, choral and instrumental—highlights the recording. Note: a soundsheet is a recording on a vinyl sheet that can be played on record players at 33⅓ RPM. (Order number 6-35-51, 11 minutes.)
Fourth Bahá’í National Youth Conference Portfolio Bag (was $3.95; now $2.95), a durable white-and-red canvas bag with two compartments, one zippered and one open. The portfolio bag, designed to be carried under the arm, is imprinted on one side with the logo of the Bahá’í National Youth Conference held in Champaign, Illinois, in 1977. It can be used for work, school, Bahá’í meetings, travel or as a gift. (Order number 6-40-41, 11 x 14 inches.)
The Green Light Expedition (Super 8 mm. magnetic sound film, was $175; now $125), traces the progress of the Green Light Expedition, an historic “journey of friendship” by the Hand of the Cause Amatu’l-Bahá Rúḥíyyih Khánum to the Indian peoples of South America. The film also is available in Spanish under the title La Expedicion Luz Verde. These Super 8 mm. films, recommended for use by traveling teachers and pioneers, can be projected only by a Super 8 mm. magnetic sound film projector on small screens and for relatively small gatherings. The film is suitable for Bahá’í audiences and the general public. Color, two hours. (English: 2-08-95; Spanish: 2-08-96.)
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Have You Invited a Friend to a Fireside? |
All sale prices are NET (no discount). Orders may be made through community librarians or the Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 415 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091. For orders under $5, include 75 cents for postage and handling.
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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 |
This sign “The Bahá’í Faith Unifies Mankind,” has been posted for more than a year on the main street in Anacortes, Washington. The sign was donated to the community by Bahá’ís Ken and Doris Howell, and later was purchased with the building when the Howells moved from Anacortes. The building is rented to a group called ‘New Leaf’ that helps the handicapped learn horticulture.
S. Carolina Accelerates Teaching Pace, Forms 14 Local Assemblies[edit]
At least 14 Local Spiritual Assemblies were formed in South Carolina from Riḍván to the end of June, “more than we usually form in a whole year,” according to Trudy White, secretary of the South Carolina Regional Teaching Committee.
Eleven of the Local Assemblies were restored, having originally been formed in the early 1970s during a period of intensive teaching in the state.
New Assemblies were formed in Varnville, Charleston Heights and Little Camden. One of the new Assemblies already has adopted an extension teaching goal.
The ongoing campaign to have 1,000 active believers and 80 Local Spiritual Assemblies in South Carolina by the end of the Five Year Plan looks promising, says Mrs. White, as far as the number of Assemblies is concerned.
“If no Assemblies are lost,” she says, “and if they continue to be formed at the present rate, we will meet our Assembly goal.”
The biggest need in South Carolina, she adds, is manpower. Anyone interested in teaching there should contact Mrs. White at P.O. Box 337, Goose Creek, SC 29445, or phone 803-797-1024.
Some of the friends who attended a teaching conference February 11-12 at the Hamburg, New York, community center.
Hamburg Hosts Teaching Conference[edit]
The Village of Hamburg, New York, hosted a teaching conference February 11–12 whose theme was “Finding the Inner Glow for Successful Teaching.”
Bahá’ís from Rochester, Jamestown, Fredonia, Niagara Falls, Canandaigua, Springville, and communities surrounding Buffalo, New York, were among those present for the two-day event at the Hamburg community center.
The keynote speaker was Auxiliary Board member Nat Rutstein of Amherst, Massachusetts. Other speakers included Dr. Y. Stephen Yamamoto, Toni McCants, Robert Rosenfeld, Jack McCants, and June Harmsen.
Mrs. Nora Henderson of Canada told the believers about a week she had spent teaching the Faith in Hume, New York, the hometown of Lua Getsinger, who was referred to by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá as “the Mother Teacher of the West.”
Saturday evening the friends enjoyed a puppet show, “We Can Have a Beautiful World,” that featured the Green and Purple People and the Beautiful Red Bird, given by the Hamburg children’s classes and directed by Rick Snyder.
“DawnStar,” a singing group directed by Mr. Snyder, also performed during the evening program.
Liberia Conference For Women Slated[edit]
The National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Liberia and Guinea will host a West African Women’s Conference in Monrovia, Liberia, December 28-30.
Bahá’ís throughout the world are being encouraged by the National Spiritual Assembly of Liberia and Guinea to attend the conference to help assure its success.
During the conference, an exhibit will be held depicting the activities of Bahá’í women all over the world.
[Page 10]
Planned by 4-Member Group
Potluck Dinner Draws 115 Seekers in North Carolina[edit]
One hundred eighty-three people from 24 countries including 115 non-Bahá’ís attended an international potluck dinner May 6 that was planned and hosted by the four-member Bahá’í Group in High Point, North Carolina, as its first Cluster Teaching event.
In addition to the host community, Bahá’ís attended from Greensboro, Guilford County, Winston-Salem, Mt. Airy, Surry County, Chapel Hill, Raleigh, Asheboro and Asheville. The communities helped present a program of international music.
THE HIGH POINT Group—David and Vedad Jurney and their sons, 16-year-old Nabil and 13-year-old Riaz—printed and distributed invitations with the theme “the earth is one country, and mankind its citizens.”
Some names of people from other countries were obtained from the High Point Chamber of Commerce; a follow-up to the printed invitations was made by personal phone calls.
Each of the invited guests was called a second time two days before the event. They were encouraged to bring their children, and to participate in the music program if they wished to do so.
Guests were greeted at the door by the host community while Riaz Jurney played selections on the piano. Table decorations included toothpick flags of various countries and photos of people from around the world. Wall posters showed magazine cutouts of people from many countries, several quotations from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, and pictures of the Bahá’í Houses of Worship.
FOLLOWING a Bahá’í Prayer for Unity, Bahá’ís and their guests enjoyed an abundant supper that included exotic dishes from many countries.
Following the supper and a brief talk by Frank Kelleher, a Bahá’í from Greensboro, that focused on the evening’s theme, the music program began.
Included was music from several countries played on the piano, flute, Indian santour, and drums, and songs and dances from Japan, Africa and India.
A piñata made by Nabil and Riaz Jurney was hung from the ceiling and eventually broken, dispensing its gifts. The children especially enjoyed this part of the program.
Ribbons were pinned on a large map to indicate the 24 countries represented at the dinner.
Each of the guests was asked to get acquainted with at least five other people during the evening. After the formal program, they had another good chance to get acquainted during a social hour that featured background music played on piano, flute and drums.
Many of the guests expressed a desire to have another international evening. This was the second Cluster Teaching event in the High Point–Greensboro–Guilford County area.
Bahá’ís and their guests enjoy good food and fellowship during an international potluck dinner May 6 that was planned and hosted by the four-member Bahá’í Group in High Point, North Carolina. Twenty-four countries were represented at the dinner.
A Japanese student, accompanied by Bahá’í Rick Heyman on guitar, sings in her native language during an international potluck dinner May 6 in High Point, North Carolina.
Shown here are Bahá’ís and their guests who attended a children’s garden party June 3 at the home of Harold and Hattie Chamberlin in Three Rivers, Massachusetts. Mrs. Gladys Weeden of Henniker, New Hampshire, who served for many years in Haifa, Israel, as secretary to the Guardian, Shoghi Effendi, shared many memorable stories of the Holy Land. Forty-one persons from 11 communities in Massachusetts and New Hampshire were at the party; the age range was from 7½ weeks to 77 years.
Grand Valley, Colorado, Campaign Counts 12 Declarations in One Week[edit]
The first week of teaching in the Grand Valley Project in western Colorado brought 12 declarations, one person being enrolled during the week.
The teaching project began June 25 with a meeting among the Auxiliary Board; the Local Spiritual Assemblies of Grand Junction, Palisade and Mesa; the Western Colorado District Teaching Committee; and a project coordinator, Jack Stone, from Oregon.
By July 22 the teachers planned to have raised the total number of Bahá’ís in Grand Junction to 30, in Palisade to 15 and in Mesa to 50; to have established a tri-community Bahá’í Center; to have reached every minority group in the county represented in the Bahá’í community; and to have increased the unity and cooperation among area Bahá’ís.
A victory celebration July 22–23 was sponsored by Dennis Jenkyns, Auxiliary Board member for the propagation of the Faith. At this celebration the state of the goals was assessed, and new plans made.
Anyone who would like to participate in the Grand Valley Project should contact Ron Kohls at 2305 Arriba Drive, Grand Junction, CO 81501, or Terry Johnson at P.O. Box 31, Palisade, CO 81526.
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Guardian: ‘Continuous Flow’ to Fund Essential “The Guardian would advise your Assembly to continue impressing upon the believers the necessity of their contributing regularly to the National Fund, irrespective of whether there is an emergency to be met or not. Nothing short of a continuous flow of contributions to that Fund can, indeed, ensure that financial stability upon which so much of the progress of the institutions of the Faith must now inevitably depend.” (from a letter written on behalf of the Guardian to the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States and Canada dated July 29, 1935) |
New Deepening Packet Designed To Smooth Path for Declarants[edit]
“The period of time between an individual’s declaration of faith in Bahá’u’lláh and his or her enrollment in the Bahá’í community,” says Mary Taylor, a staff member of the Bahá’í National Education Committee, “is one of the most critical in the life of the new believer.
“The deepening packet produced by the National Education Committee is designed specifically for this important period,” she points out. “It is during this time that the new believer forms basic attitudes and learns specific behaviors that enable him or her to function in the Bahá’í community.
“If we are to avoid the formation of misconceptions and misunderstandings that can occur when an individual first declares, it is imperative that he be provided with this information.”
TEACHING and consolidation, Mrs. Taylor adds, are a single process. “We are going to lose the declarants we have unless we deepen them immediately,” she says. “Deepening teams or committees may or may not be able to come in later, but it is our duty to provide these new believers with a basic ‘survival kit.’
“That is what the deepening packets are—basic survival kits. The packet clarifies for the individual what he has accepted, and motivates him to involve himself instantly in Bahá’í community life. We feel there is no point in planting a seed if you do not intend to care for the garden.”
The deepening packets include modules on the Covenant, God and His Manifestations, the Báb, Bahá’u’lláh, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Marriage and Family Life, Teaching, Prayer, the Bahá’í Fund, Laws and Obligations, and the Bahá’í Calendar.
The packets are available from the Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 415 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091. The cost is $3.50 each.
Speakers Discuss Religion, Family At New York City’s Bahá’í Center[edit]
Speakers from several religious and national backgrounds discussed the power of religion in creating successful families at a series of meetings in May at the Bahá’í Center in New York City.
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Trust Seeks Help The Bahá’í Publishing Trust is accepting applications for the following positions: Editorial Assistant; Audio-Visual Assistant; Marketing Manager; Marketing Assistant; Financial Manager; Office Manager; Keyline/Pasteup Artist. Please send a resumé of experience and request for employment application form to the Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 415 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091. |
Speakers at the meetings included Bahá’ís Dr. Hussein Ahdieh, a New York City educator, and his father, who recently moved to this country from Irán; Donald Kinney, a native New Yorker who has been a Bahá’í for more than 50 years; and Auxiliary Board member Dr. Adrienne Ellis Reeves and her nephew, Dr. Robert C. Henderson, a member of the National Teaching Committee.
Other speakers were Mrs. Iris Tarafdar, an interior designer; Hassan Tarafdar, an architect; and Morton Mondschein, an attorney. Mrs. Tarafdar and Mr. Mondschein are from a Jewish background; Mr. Tarafdar is a Bahá’í from a Moslem background. Mr. Mondschein is married to a Bahá’í, and Mrs. Tarafdar has since been enrolled in the Faith.
A question-and-answer period followed each of the talks.
[Page 11]
News Briefs
Radio Campaign Beams Message to Four-State Area[edit]
Bahá’ís in San Juan County, Utah; Montezuma County, Colorado, and Cortez, Colorado, have joined forces to broadcast the Message of Bahá’u’lláh to a four-state area on radio station KUTA in Blanding, Utah.
From January through April, the media effort included one five-minute program, three one-minute spots, five 30-second spots and 10 10-second spots each month. Thanks to support from the District Teaching Committee of Utah, programming was increased from May through August.
The programs and spots, each of which is reviewed by the Spiritual Assembly of Cortez, feature Ed Engel, a Bahá’í from South Carolina, and Ben and Jackie Hendricks of San Juan County, near Blanding. Mr. Hendricks is a part-time announcer at KUTA...
On May 14, Gloria Hamrang, a 15-year-old Bahá’í from the Town of North Hempstead, New York, presented a talk on the Faith to a comparative religion class at Temple Israel in the borough of Queens, New York.
The presentation included an explanation of the history and principles of the Faith, a part of the filmstrip, “Out of God’s Eternal Ocean,” and a 20-minute question-and-answer session.
Gloria, a 10th grade student, is involved in an experimental program, IPCT (Inter-age Program for Critical Thinking), sponsored by the board of education in Great Neck, New York.
The program’s director was so impressed by Gloria’s presentation of the Faith that she asked Gloria to take charge of IPCT’s comparative religion program for the coming year for students in grades 4, 5 and 6...
The friends in Riverton, Wyoming, observed Race Unity Day, June 11, with a picnic at Thermopolis, in the goal county of Hot Springs. The picnic was covered in the Thermopolis newspaper, the Riverton newspaper, and on radio...
The Bahá’ís in the Bahamas, where a National Spiritual Assembly was formed in May, were assisted in their teaching work last year by 21 American pioneers, 47 traveling teachers from the U.S., and close to 40 American youth projecteers, according to a report from the International Goals Committee...
Bahá’ís in northern Minnesota met June 24 in Bemidji for the second “Victory Weekend” Souvenir picnic, with the Faith being publicized for a week in advance via 70 10-second spots on radio. Arrangements were made with KKBJ, a Bemidji radio station that covers most of Minnesota, to broadcast live from the picnic area for two hours, with on-the-spot interviews with Bahá’ís...
The Bahá’í community in Stamford, Connecticut, received an unexpected boost in its proclamation efforts recently when Shelly Cook, a Bahá’í from Ohio who was en route to Africa, decided to visit a friend in Stamford before leaving the U.S.
Her friend is an announcer on a local radio station, and the result of her visit was a 1½-hour interview with Mrs. Cook and three other believers. The interview was live, and included a selection from the new album, Flight...
Forty-five Bahá’ís from Utah, Idaho and Wyoming attended a conference in May at Logan, Utah. They lunched on the results of a Persian cooking workshop, heard a song written by those at a music workshop, saw a play given by members of a drama workshop, took part in some excellent discussions, and raised $64 toward a Utah Bahá’í Summer School...
The minister of defense of a Latin American country heard Bahá’í radio spots last spring while visiting San Francisco. After contacting the Local Spiritual Assembly, he said he felt his “prayers had been answered.” The minister promised to seek out Bahá’ís when he returned home. The National Spiritual Assembly of his country was informed of the inquiry...
The Bahá’ís of Story, Wyoming, held their first children’s classes on June 4, together with the Bahá’í Group in nearby Buffalo.
Women Confer in Florida[edit]
The Bahá’ís of Tallahassee, Florida, sponsored a Women’s Conference May 20–23 on the campus at Florida State University.
Bahá’ís from Alabama, Georgia, and northern and central Florida attended the conference. Dr. Ann Schoonmaker, a Bahá’í from Summit, New Jersey, who is the author of Me, Myself and I: Every Woman’s Journey to Herself, came to Tallahassee to assist with the activities.
Spot announcements about the conference were given to every local radio station, and more than 1,000 flyers were distributed in the city and at colleges and universities in Tallahassee.
ON FRIDAY, May 19, Dr. Schoonmaker was interviewed on “Prime Time,” a local interest show on WFSU-TV, and on “Cavalcade,” a weekly half-hour radio program hosted by a Bahá’í from Tallahassee, Thelma Gorham.
A local savings and loan association offered to announce the conference on its marquee, and the local newspaper gave excellent free coverage to the program.
Linda Foust-Belt of Tallahassee and Dr. Laura Newman and Bill Hewitt of Gainesville, Florida, conducted Saturday and Sunday workshops on “Family Life and Marital Infraction,” “Sex and Sexuality,” “Assertiveness and Effective Consultation,” “Child Training,” “Racism and Sexism,” and “An Historical Perspective on Bahá’í Women.”
A picnic at the local state park followed the Saturday workshops, and a discussion of the Faith was held on campus after the Sunday sessions.
At public meetings on Monday and Tuesday evenings, Dr. Schoonmaker delivered the conference’s keynote address, “Women in Today’s World: A Bahá’í Perspective.”
INVITATIONS to these meetings (in the form of flyers) were sent to local women’s groups, churches, civic organizations, etc.
Also on Monday and Tuesday, Dr. Schoonmaker spoke to half a dozen sociology classes and one class in religion. A campus organization, “Luther House,” asked her to speak at the United Ministries Center on her doctoral thesis in religion, which dealt with the thought of theologians Martin Luther and Erik Erikson.
In all, more than a dozen seekers came to the various workshops and the two public meetings, and about 180 students heard of the Faith during Dr. Schoonmaker’s campus lectures. Many others heard of the Faith through the flyers and radio announcements.
The proclamation of the Faith occurred constantly during preparations for the conference, and plans are being made for a follow-up consisting of weekly discussions of the Faith on the Florida State campus.
Five Communities Join Forces
Cooperation Aids Illinois Proclamation Effort[edit]
Riḍván 135 brought a number of exciting firsts to the Bahá’í communities of Berwyn, Cicero, Forest Park, LaGrange and Oak Park, near Chicago.
It was the first time these communities ever had worked together to proclaim the Faith; it was the first time that “Bahá’í Week” ever was proclaimed in Berwyn and Cicero; and, above all, every day during Riḍván was a day for proclaiming the Word and Station of Bahá’u’lláh, just as the first Riḍván had been.
The proclamation began April 21 with a dinner sponsored by the Bahá’í communities of Berwyn and Cicero. Among the 40 people present, including eight non-Bahá’ís, was Christy Berkos, the president of Cicero. It was the first time he had ever attended a Bahá’í function.
OTHER activities during the Riḍván period included music, folk dancing, a visit to the Bahá’í House of Worship in Wilmette, a tree-planting, a film, public meetings, a children’s carnival, a concert, and a literature display at Morton College in Cicero.
Saturday evening, April 22, some 70 Bahá’ís and seekers enjoyed the “Donna Kime Show” and folk dancing at the YWCA in LaGrange, the first large teaching event ever held there.
The tree-planting was held Tuesday, April 25, at Morton College. The Cicero Bahá’ís gave a Colorado blue spruce as their contribution to the college’s new landscaping program. Present at the ceremony were the college’s president and physical plant director, the town president, and three members of its board of trustees.
A plaque beside the tree bears the date, the name of the contributing community, and the quotation, “Ye are all the leaves of one branch, and the fruits of one tree.”
The following day, the film, “Sands of Time,” was shown in Forest Park.
SATURDAY’S children’s carnival, complete with clowns, a magician, and music, was held in Cicero. That evening, 50-60 people enjoyed a show by the New World Construction Company at the YWCA in LaGrange.
The Sunday evening concert in Oak Park featured young Bahá’í soloists from the Chicago area. It was followed by a fireside and the literature display at Morton College that attracted considerable interest from a student body that has been hard to reach with the Message of Bahá’u’lláh.
In addition to attracting many interested seekers, the Riḍván proclamation buoyed the enthusiasm of the believers and showed the participating communities the benefits of working together to reach their goals.
The Faith received wide publicity, thanks not only to the excellent relationships of the communities with their newspapers, but also to the work of a centralized publicity committee from Forest Park composed of students in design and advertising.
On one day, an entire page of Berwyn and Cicero’s local paper was devoted to Bahá’í activities, and throughout the five towns, brightly-colored posters proclaimed to everyone, “Bahá’u’lláh: Rebirth for Mankind.”
Mrs. Reech, Pioneer[edit]
Mrs. Helen Reech, a pioneer to Togo, West Africa, from February 1967 to July 1973, died on the morning of June 15, 1978, one month short of her 62nd birthday. She was buried in Uniontown, Ohio, at 3 o’clock that same afternoon.
On learning of her passing, the National Spiritual Assembly sent the following telegram to the Akron, Ohio, Bahá’í community:
“Hearts saddened passing Helen Reech loyal supporter Cause Bahá’u’lláh whose life was distinguished by her pioneering activities West Africa. Praying progress her soul Abhá Kingdom.”
Faith Shown at Festival In Rochester, Minnesota[edit]
The Spiritual Assemblies of Rochester and Olmsted County, Minnesota, joined nine other community organizations April 30 in sponsoring a Rochester World Festival.
An estimated 4,000 persons attended the festival at Rochester Community College. It included a fashion show (from 18 countries), a piñata, Karate demonstration, Cambodian and Chinese dancers, Nordic singers, a soccer exhibition by players from 20 countries, and food from 14 countries.
Thirty-one exhibitors presented displays at the festival.
The Bahá’í display, as well as Bahá’í participation in planning, financing and supporting the festival, afforded many opportunities for teaching the Faith. Newspaper and radio publicity about the festival also mentioned the Faith.
A suggestion by the Bahá’ís that the city of Rochester be “mundalized” was accepted by the city council. To mundalize means to “make world”; that is, to declare a state, city, college or organization a world organization, thereby recognizing the importance of world citizenship.
Mundalization of Rochester Community College was approved by the school’s Student Senate.
Some of the more than 4,000 persons who attended the World Festival held April 30 at Rochester (Minnesota) Community College. The Bahá’í communities of Rochester and Olmsted County helped plan the festival and sponsored a Bahá’í display booth.
Visitors in colorful native costumes stroll among the displays at the World Festival held April 30 at Rochester (Minnesota) Community College. The Bahá’í communities of Rochester and Olmsted County helped plan the festival and sponsored a Bahá’í display booth.
A part of the Bahá’í display at the World Festival held April 30 at Rochester Community College in Minnesota.
Careers for Youth
Goal Setting an Important First Step in Career Plans[edit]
(EDITOR’S NOTE: The seventh in a series of articles on careers for young people was written by Dorothy M. Há’i of Tempe, Arizona.)
One of the fundamental phases in personal and spiritual advancement is the process of goal setting.
When we recite the short obligatory prayer, we begin to see the goal that God has set for us: “I bear witness, O my God, that Thou hast created me to know Thee and to worship Thee...” Our main purpose in life is set; all we have to do to fulfill our part is to establish the smaller goals that will lead us toward the knowledge and worship of God.
Naturally, it’s not as simple as that. Being human, we must go through the painful process of learning just how to set these smaller goals.
THE FIRST STEP is to look at the main purpose for mankind. Once we understand that main purpose, it becomes easier to set smaller goals.
It also is good to keep in mind that we have been given some wonderful examples of goal setting by our institutions. The National Spiritual Assembly gives us marvelous guidance in many forms as to how we might accomplish our national goals on a yearly basis, along with help as to how to achieve our world plan goals as set by the Universal House of Justice.
If we look back at the many plans given to the world both by the Guardian and the Universal House of Justice, we will see that these goals are a challenge, but are manageable enough that they are not impossible to achieve.
These are the two main considerations in goal setting: to make our goals a challenge, and yet attainable.
TO DO THIS we must become increasingly knowledgeable about ourselves and the opportunities around us. We must constantly be open to new and different information. As we and our environment change, so will our goals.
We are aware as Bahá’ís of our main purpose in life, but how can we best achieve this all-encompassing goal?
A good beginning step is to break down a large goal into smaller sections. That way, an apparently vast goal becomes manageable.
We can then begin to think about the steps we may already have taken toward that goal, and the steps we can take in the near future without overburdening ourselves.
A next step could be to define the larger goals that would help us to know and to worship God, including, possibly, service to mankind; i.e., a career and service to the Faith.
WE COULD next divide these larger goals into medium-term goals with segments of approximately five to 10 years, with examples of this being the educational phase of one or more “careers,” and possibly the goal of homefront and/or foreign pioneering for a certain period of time within it.
A further step in the process would be to break the goals down into smaller segments of perhaps six months to a year. At this point we might be aiming for a special summer job that would allow us to save enough money for a year of college, or the possibility of a summer teaching project in Europe, on the homefront, or elsewhere.
Soon we find ourselves working on the smaller goals that involve daily sacrifice. We may pledge to study our academic subjects an extra hour a day, or we may pledge a larger contribution to the national Fund, or to our own pioneering fund. These smaller goals often prove to be the hardest of all to carry out.
To make valid goals, we must daily become more aware of our own needs. Would I really enjoy being a plumber, or a lawyer? Would I prefer to teach?
We must also be aware of the needs of society. Will there be an overabundance of plumbers or lawyers when I finish my training?
And of course, we must think too of the needs of the Faith. Will more foreign pioneers be needed than homefront pioneers?
We must continually be conscious of our capabilities and limitations. We must make our personal goals challenging, but not unattainable.
House of Worship[edit]
Continued From Page 1
53 tours, the largest number for any month since the opening of the Temple, were accommodated.
“In this new recognition coming from the Federal authorities,” said the National Spiritual Assembly, “we experience a fresh measure of the dynamic quality which is implied in the beloved Master’s description of the Temple as ‘silent teacher’; and we sense more fully the spell it casts as the ‘ordained source,’ in Shoghi Effendi’s words, ‘from which rays (of) spiritual guidance will radiate.’”
BECAUSE the House of Worship isn’t old enough for consideration as a “historic place,” it was nominated on the basis of its architectural uniqueness.
The nine-sided structure, which symbolizes the unity of religions and the oneness of mankind, was designed by French-Canadian architect Louis Bourgeois. The cornerstone was laid by the Master, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, on May 1, 1912.
The House of Worship was nominated for the National Register by the National Assembly in 1974 on advice from the Wilmette Historical Society.
The nominating process included the submission of photos and written information about the House of Worship to the Illinois Department of Conservation, which, upon approval, forwarded the materials to the Illinois Historic Sites Advisory Board.
The materials were then sent to Washington, D.C., for consideration by the U.S. Department of Interior’s National Parks Service, which is responsible for compiling the National Register of Historic Places.
“Dearly-loved Friends,” the National Assembly said in its Feast letter, “may our individual and collective efforts to win the pressing goals of the Five Year Plan be spurred on by this outstanding achievement.”
Faith Growing Fast in Oregon[edit]
The Faith has grown 400 per cent in Oregon since 1974, when the Five Year Plan began, a delegate from that state reported at the 69th Bahá’í National Convention.
Some 700 believers have been enrolled in Oregon during that time. Other victories include the establishment of seven Local Spiritual Assemblies on two Indian Reservations, with a Bahá’í Group on a third Reservation.
The secret behind the growth, according to the delegate, is that the Bahá’ís in Oregon have been asking “waiting souls” to become Bahá’ís.
15 Educators Are Among U.S. Pioneers Abroad[edit]
Fifteen of 129 professional educators who were trained as consultants about two years ago by the National Education Committee to help Bahá’í communities establish or upgrade children’s classes have since pioneered abroad, and many have shared their consulting skills with their new national communities.
The National Assemblies under whose jurisdiction the 15 pioneers reside are those of the Bahamas, Bermuda, Chile, Costa Rica, Denmark, Germany, Irán, Japan, Mexico, Paraguay, the Philippines, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and Zaire.
Two more consultants are making extended international teaching trips—one to the Philippines, where she is establishing a national Child Education Consultant program, and the other to southern Africa, where she will share her training as an educational consultant with Local Spiritual Assemblies.
The Bahá’í Child Education Training Manual, developed by the National Education Committee and used by the consultants, has been requested and received by the National Spiritual Assemblies of Brazil, Finland, Greece, Hawaii, New Zealand, Samoa, and Sweden.
The Bahamas and Bermuda have sent believers to the U.S. to be trained as educational consultants.
In the U.S., the consultants will be used extensively to implement the UN’s Year of the Child (1979) activities in Bahá’í communities.
One of the key concerns expressed by the Universal House of Justice and delegates during the recent International Convention in Haifa, Israel, was the worldwide education of Bahá’í children.
Mike Kavanagh (left), representing the Bahá’ís of Saratoga County, New York, presents copies of Bahá’í World Faith, Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era, The Divine Art of Living, and Mysticism, Science and Revelation to Mrs. Claire Haizlip, library director, Mechanicsville District Public Library. Mechanicsville has a population of 6,000, and the library serves up to 10,000 people.
Classified Ads[edit]
HOMEFRONT PIONEERS needed in Greenfield, Massachusetts, to bring its Bahá’í Group to Assembly status. Greenfield, in the lush, green Pioneer Valley in western Massachusetts, has unlimited recreational opportunities summer and winter, and is ideal for married couples or single persons. Working opportunities for Registered Nurses, LPN’s, secretaries, cooks, teachers, farmer’s helpers, clerks, factory workers, papermakers, toolmakers, mechanics. A local junior college and five major colleges within a half-hour drive. For more information, contact the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Montague, P.O. Box 205, Montague, MA, or phone anytime 413-367-2363.
WANTED: A DEDICATED homefront pioneer or two on the Oneida Indian Reservation near Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Reservation is a Five Year Plan goal of the Ashwaubenon, Brown County, and Green Bay Bahá’í communities. The Oneida Indians of Wisconsin are mentioned by Shoghi Effendi on page 3 of A Special Measure of Love in regard to teaching the masses. Housing is difficult to obtain. It is easier if one is an Indian, especially Oneida, or self-supporting. Opportunities for education in nearby Green Bay include an excellent vocational school and a good university with undergraduate and graduate programs. There are opportunities for employment at three hospitals and a number of nursing homes, one on the Oneida Reservation. There also are paper mills, factories, and commercial businesses, as well as opportunities for farming. What Oneida really needs is a pioneer! If you’d like to be that pioneer, please contact Ms. Lori Block, secretary, Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Green Bay, 619 Porlier St., Green Bay, WI 53201, or phone 715-432-7110.
HOMEFRONT PIONEERS needed to help form a Local Assembly in Niles, a community of 13,000 in southwest lower Michigan. The five-member Bahá’í Group must be raised to Assembly status by Riḍván 1979 to meet a goal of the Five Year Plan. Many opportunities are available for higher education. Also, the group of two Bahá’ís on campus at the University of Notre Dame needs help to form a college club. For information, contact Kathleen S. Haight, secretary, Niles Bahá’í Group, P.O. Box 511, Niles, MI 49120, or phone 616-683-3666.
THE SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY of Moscow, Idaho (home of the University of Idaho), is again in jeopardy, and is seeking several youth and adult homefront pioneers willing to spend several years in Moscow. The city has a population of about 20,000—7,000 of whom are students at the university, which is noted for its colleges of agriculture, education, engineering, and forestry-wildlife. Career jobs are scarce, though there was a recent need for several doctor-specialists that may not have been filled yet. For more information, please contact the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Moscow, Margo-Amee Smallwood, secretary, P.O. Box 3068, University Station, Moscow, ID 83843.
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Guardian Continued From Page 1 to its members in the hour of their realized doom. Then, and only then, will this tender sapling, embedded in the fertile soil of a Divinely appointed Administrative Order, and energized by the dynamic processes of its institutions, yield its richest and destined fruit. That the community of the American believers, to whose keeping so vast, so delicate and precious a trust has been committed will, severally and collectively, prove themselves worthy of their high calling, I for one, who in my association with them have been privileged to observe more closely than perhaps anyone else the nature of their reactions to the momentous issues that have confronted them in the past, will refuse to doubt. SHOGHI
September 10, 1938 |
BOAT BUILDER–marine consultant wanted in Moen, Truk, Eastern Caroline Islands (U.S. Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands). Overall general knowledge of boats, supply sources, seamanship, etc., would be required from time to time. Applicants should have experience in all phases of small boat building. Some knowledge of fiberglass is helpful but not essential. Must be able to settle for some years in a remote, developing area. Resumés should show all jobs relating to the position offered as well as all employment in the last eight years, leaving no time gaps. Those who are qualified and interested should contact the International Goals Committee, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091.
THE NEW WORLD Construction Company is seeking singers, dancers and especially musicians to perform with them on weekends in Illinois and Wisconsin until the end of the Five Year Plan. Contact Jo Boor at 414-962-4625.
THE SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY of San Angelo, Texas, needs seasoned Bahá’ís to help achieve its goal of an incorporated Assembly by next Riḍván. San Angelo is a lovely city of some 75,000 on the Concho River. There are good schools; Angelo State University has a fine curriculum, nearly 5,000 students and, during the last five years, 1,500 graduate students. We also need a Bahá’í Club on campus. Employment opportunities are better than in many college towns in Texas. The Assembly was first formed in 1972. Please contact the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of San Angelo, P.O. Box 3620, San Angelo, TX 76901, or phone 915-944-3495.
IS THERE a blind person in your Bahá’í community, or a handicapped Bahá’í who cannot read print? If so, he or she should be registered with BAHÁ’Í SERVICE FOR THE BLIND, 3110 E. Lester St., Tucson, AZ 85716.
ALBANY, GEORGIA, is losing three community members, placing its Assembly below functioning level. Two homefront pioneers would bring it back to nine. Albany is a growing city with several northern companies moving in; it has a Florida-like climate without the state’s heavy traffic. Write or phone Ramie L. York, 1013 Cedar Ave., Apt. 2-F, Albany, GA 31701, or phone 912-432-5443.
TEACHERS NEEDED. Africa: Botswana, University College; professor lecturers needed for faculty of education, department of physics, department of chemistry, department of accounting. Asia: Taiwan, International Dependents’ School; secondary and elementary levels, school administrator. Europe: Sweden, Stockholm University; part-time lectureship, department of English. For more information contact the International Goals Committee, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091, or phone 312-256-4400.
WANTED: DEDICATED BAHA’ÍS willing to teach by example to pioneer or undertake traveling teaching in Plattsburgh, New York. Pioneers are desperately needed in Plattsburgh, which is about 20 miles south of the Canadian border on Lake Champlain across from Vermont. Pioneers should be self-sufficient. If interested, please write to the Plattsburgh Bahá’í Group, 19 Lorraine St., Plattsburgh, NY 12901, or phone Simona and Patricia Nobile (518-563-0651), or Mari and Steve Myers (518-561-5487).
THE BAHA’Í Publishing Trust is accepting applications for the following positions: Editorial Assistant; Audio-Visual Assistant; Marketing Manager; Marketing Assistant; Financial Manager; Office Manager; Keyline/Pasteup Artist. Please send a resumé of experience and request for employment application form to the Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 415 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091.
MAMA YEMO HOSPITAL, a 2,000-bed teaching hospital serving Kinshasa (population 2,500,000) in the Republic of Zaire in central Africa is actively recruiting specialists in surgery, obstetrics-gynecology, pediatrics, internal medicine, pathology, and radiology, as well as a variety of sub-specialists. The hospital is run by FOMECO, an organization created and supported by President Mobutu Sese Seko. Salaries range from $20,000-$25,000 a year, and comfortable housing is included. For those with children, a well-established and lovely American school is located within minutes of the doctors’ residence. Two-year renewable contracts are being offered, with transportation to and from the U.S. included. Those who are qualified and interested should contact the International Goals Committee, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091.
EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY. Daystar Record Company is now employing sales representatives for all states. Also needed: part-time recording engineer for 16-track studio who could help fill an Assembly goal in Lockport, Illinois. Ability to play musical instrument essential. Contact Jack Barbre or Donna Kime Barbre at 509 West Jefferson, Joliet, IL 60435, or telephone 815-744-1701 or 815-723-8488.
ILLINOIS ASSEMBLY GOAL. Harlem Township, which has five Bahá’ís, offers an excellent location to persons desiring to move to a goal area in a goal state. Harlem Township has outstanding career, housing and recreational opportunities, as well as being prime ground for teaching the Faith. The Township includes North Park, and is conveniently located near Rockford, with its large number and wide variety of employment opportunities, three hospitals, a two-year junior college, a four-year college, a school of medicine, excellent shopping, and a fine park system. This is a good crossroads city and is just a pleasant drive away from the Most Holy House of Worship. For more information contact Gary Corbin, correspondent, Bahá’í Group of Harlem Township, 10562 Crimson Drive, Rockford, IL 61111, or phone 815-654-3273.
THE NEWLY-FORMED National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the Bahamas is compiling a concise, up-to-date history of the Faith in the Bahamas. The National Assembly is requesting information from the friends regarding visits to the Bahamas for teaching or pioneering for the period 1953–1976. Information should include full names, dates, locations visited, and any interesting stories relating to the Faith. Please send information to the International Goals Committee, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091.
THE CROTON TOWNSHIP, Michigan, Bahá’í Group needs four adult Bahá’ís to form an Assembly before November 12. We are working hard to find new believers locally, but would welcome any move-ins. We have a building lot in a lovely National Forest area near the Little Muskegon River, or land where small industry could be established to provide much-needed employment. We are within 30 miles of metropolitan areas and educational centers. For more information, phone 616-931-5249, or write 8163 E. 80th St., Howard City, MI 49329.
NOTIFICATION of great need and announcement of opportunity to fulfill at this late date in the Five Year Plan—not only the goal of opening localities to the Faith and forming Assemblies, but also the important goal set forth by the Universal House of Justice to increase the number of Spanish-speaking believers. Most of the remaining goals in southern Arizona are in predominantly Spanish-American areas, and they are virtually untouched. Time is short. Now is the time to act! If you are inclined toward helping to teach the Spanish-American population in southern Arizona, please contact Mrs. LaRue Keys, secretary, P.O. Box 2175, Sierra Vista, AZ 85635 (602-378-6785 or 2839), or Mrs. Doris E. Kirkham, 6320 N. Mango Way, Tucson, AZ 85704 (602-297-1014).
THE TOWN OF RAMAPO, in southern New York State (Rockland County), needs homefront pioneers. Two employment opportunities are available: (1) assistant to manager with bookkeeping background, and (2) dairy and produce manager. For further information, please contact Mr. Modarai at 914-357-0106.
Introductory Book Available[edit]
The Earth Is But One Country, a new introductory book on the Faith by John Huddleston, was released in the U.S. at the Bahá’í National Convention in May. Published by the British Bahá’í Publishing Trust, its price is $11 net (cloth, 185 pages).
The book opens with a brief analysis of the major problems facing mankind, then outlines the principles and aims of the Bahá’í Faith. It includes a chapter on the history of the Faith.
According to its introduction, the book is aimed primarily toward readers whose impression is that religion is based on “superstition and escapism.”
Its author, Mr. Huddleston, was born in Bowdon, Cheshire, England, and was educated at Manchester University.
After a brief period with the British Civil Service, he traveled to Washington, D.C., to work for the International Monetary Fund, where he now serves as assistant chief of the Budget and Planning Division.
Before becoming a Bahá’í in 1968, Mr. Huddleston was a self-described political radical and an agnostic.
The Earth Is But One Country may be ordered through Bahá’í community librarians or from the Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 415 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091.
Knoxville Festival Salutes Race Unity[edit]
The Bahá’ís in Knoxville, Tennessee, observed Race Unity Day on Sunday, June 11, with a festival entitled “Rainbow of the Arts: A Celebration of the Unity of the Human Race.”
The festival was held at the Phyllis Wheatley Branch of the YWCA, in a predominantly Black area of Knoxville and named for the first published Black poet in the U.S. A part of the impetus for the festival was a request from the director of that branch, Mrs. Mildred Ward, that an integrated group use the facility.
About 75 people, at least half of whom were not Bahá’ís, and some of whom were introduced to the Faith for the first time, attended the festival, which was the first ever sponsored by the Spiritual Assembly of Knoxville.
Mayor Randy Tyree signed a proclamation designating June 11 “Race Unity Day” in Knoxville.
FESTIVAL publicity included articles and photos in the entertainment sections of both Knoxville newspapers, and an interview on the local public television station with the festival chairpersons, Linda Lyerly and Starita Matthews.
About 500 invitations were sent by mail or distributed personally in the neighborhood around the YWCA. All correspondence and other materials concerning the festival carried its logo, designed by Steven Wyandt of Mountain Home, Tennessee.
Exhibitors at the festival were Thomas Beers of Tuskegee, Alabama; Neranza Blount of Knoxville; and Janice and Steven Wyandt of Mountain Home, who exhibited paintings in various media; photographer Warren Bruner of Berea, Kentucky, who specializes in Appalachian subjects; Jane Wilson of Berea, who displayed fabric tapestries; and Gwen Gerlach, a jeweler from Knoxville.
Performers included singers Mary Lynn Knipfel of Knoxville, Barbara Jones Missaghian of Atlanta, and “Vessel,” a group from York, South Carolina.
Conga drummer George Brantley II of Knoxville was joined by Rajalakshmi Iyengar, also of Knoxville, who played the Indian tamboura and sang with Mr. Brantley.
Starita Matthews performed an interpretive dance. Harry Bruner played contemporary guitar music, Mary Nell and Gene Young played Irish fiddle music, and Gary Matthews entertained with feats of memory.
Among the featured performers at the ‘Rainbow of the Arts’ Race Unity Day festival in Knoxville, Tennessee, was Harry Bruner who played jazz compositions on guitar and accompanied another of the performers, singer Mary Lynn Knipfel.
Starita Matthews performs an interpretive dance during the ‘Rainbow of the Arts’ Race Unity Day festival in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Children prepare to present a program on progressive revelation at the second annual South Suburban Bahá’í Children’s Class program February 25 in Park Forest, Illinois.
Children’s Program Features Faith[edit]
The second annual South Suburban Bahá’í Children’s Class program was presented February 25 in Park Forest, Illinois, to parents and several non-Bahá’ís.
Some 20 children sang, presented a program of progressive revelation to the music of Seals and Crofts’ “Year of Sundays,” and gave flowers to each of the more than 50 people who attended.
Although the program had been proposed earlier, actual planning wasn’t begun until a month before it was to be presented. Then a script was written to use with the Seals and Crofts song, two adults organized the singing, costumes were made by others, programs and artwork by another, flowers were purchased, platforms brought, and publicity released, all in a beautiful spirit of love and cooperation.
A large basket of fruit was presented to employees at the Crete Trust and Savings Bank in appreciation for the use of the bank’s community room for this and other Bahá’í programs.
The friends in Park Forest report that the program was “a beautiful expression of adult and child cooperation” involving seven Illinois Bahá’í communities.
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KINDLE THE FIRE OF FAITH IN MEN’S HEARTS ...
Design for Victory, p. 6
TEACH WITH BOOKS.
For advice on books suitable for your needs, ask your local Bahá’í librarian, or write Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 415 Linden Ave., Wilmette, Illinois 60091. |
Fozdar Book in Stock
Buddha Maitrya-Amitabha Has Appeared, by Jamshed Fozdar, is now back in stock at the Bahá’í Publishing Trust in its cloth ($12) and paper ($9) editions.
The book is a reasoned and meticulous examination of prophecy in Buddhist texts and Hindu scripture leading to the conclusion that the Buddha Maitrya, the Promised One of all religions, has appeared in the Person of Bahá’u’lláh.
The 531-page illustrated text is supplemented by a selected bibliography, glossary and index.
Published by the Bahá’í Publishing Trust of India, the book may be ordered through Bahá’í community librarians or from the Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 415 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091.
In Memoriam[edit]
- Bahá’í Ahdieh
- Jackson Heights, N.Y.
- May 17, 1978
- Roger Benton
- Goldsboro, N.C.
- 1976
- William Wayne Brackney
- Harrisburg, Illinois
- 1974
- Mrs. Louise Candler
- Sarasota, Florida
- May 5, 1978
- Mrs. Mandie Corker
- Oakland Park, Florida
- Date Unknown
- John Denise
- Pasadena, California
- June 1978
- Mrs. Amanda Flournah
- Cleeviston, Florida
- 1976
- Silas Givens
- Wilmington, Delaware
- June 1977
- Miss Mamie Glaspie
- Goldsboro, N.C.
- Date Unknown
- Mrs. Dora E. Gustafson
- Laconia, N.H.
- June 13, 1978
- Mrs. Eleanor Hadden
- Honey Brook, Pa.
- May 31, 1978
- Maxwell Haupt
- Philadelphia, Pa.
- December 9, 1977
- Charles Hazard
- Westchester, Pa.
- December 18, 1977
- Remus A. Holland
- Frogmore, S.C.
- March 3, 1978
- Frank Houston
- Prineville, Oklahoma
- May 31, 1978
- Mrs. Annie Joyner
- Goldsboro, N.C.
- Date Unknown
- Ernest C. King
- Des Moines, Iowa
- May 29, 1978
- Mrs. Minnie B. Lines
- Escondido, California
- June 14, 1978
- Foster Manuel
- Goldsboro, N.C.
- June 8, 1978
- Richard Meeker
- New York, N.Y.
- May 16, 1978
- Miss Rita Ontiveros
- Houston, Texas
- Date Unknown
- Noah Parker
- Farmville, N.C.
- Date Unknown
- Mrs. Helen E. Reech
- Akron, Ohio
- June 15, 1978
- Mrs. Starette Rogers
- Gresham, S.C.
- Date Unknown
- Jack Shepherd
- Detroit, Michigan
- June 1, 1978
- Mrs. Patricia L. Shepherd
- Boerne, Texas
- May 15, 1978
- Mrs. Henrietta Shinn
- Woodstock, Vermont
- June 5, 1978
- Joseph M. Stevens
- Goldsboro, N.C.
- Date Unknown
- Mrs. Gladys P. Steward
- Victoria, Texas
- May 27, 1978
- Mrs. Joann Sudhop
- South Bend, Indiana
- November 4, 1977
- Mrs. Mildred G. Throne
- Battleground, Wash.
- May 3, 1978
- Robert G. Triplett
- Idaho Falls, Idaho
- June 11, 1978
- Mrs. Irene Turner
- Johnsonville, S.C.
- April 1978
- Miss Jane Ward
- Reno, Nevada
- May 30, 1978
- Merritt Williams
- Gresham, S.C.
- Date Unknown
- Mrs. Juanita Yanez
- Donna, Texas
- December 1977
Sarawak to Host Asia Conference[edit]
The second of two Bahá’í Regional Conferences for the Southeast Asian countries scheduled during the Five Year Plan is to be held December 16–19 at Kuching, Sarawak.
Kuching is in the eastern area of Malaysia, about a two-hour flight from Kuala Lumpur, the federal capital.
The conference theme is “The Mighty Forces of Life Within.”
The first of the two conferences for Southeast Asia was held in December 1976 at Port Dickson, West Malaysia, and was attended by more than 1,200 of the friends from 19 countries.
The National Spiritual Assembly of Malaysia and the Malaysian Bahá’í community extend a warm invitation to Bahá’ís in the U.S. to attend the conference in December. Those who are considering attending should contact the International Goals Committee, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091.
Quality of Life Discussed At North Dakota Meeting[edit]
Nearly 100 Bahá’ís from North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota and Manitoba, Canada, attended a “Quality of Life” Bahá’í Family Conference April 22–23 at Fargo, North Dakota.
Saturday’s session featured workshops for adults on Teaching the Bahá’í Faith, Bahá’í Family Life, Prophecy Fulfilled, the Indian Way, and the Second Victory Weekend. Children’s activities, coordinated by Dick and Debby Hastings, included crafts for every age group.
That evening, 53 adults attended a banquet at North Dakota State University that was followed by a presentation entitled, “The Bahá’í Faith—Religion for Today,” by Auxiliary Board member Ron Parsons.
The children had supper at a nearby restaurant and then enjoyed swimming.
Later Saturday evening, an auction for the Fund was held with many lovely items sold to the highest bidder. The proceeds for the National Bahá’í Fund totaled $455.
Sunday’s program included a presentation by Ann Knudsen on some of the women of the Holy Family, and entertainment by the Minot Players.
The conference was concluded with talks by Auxiliary Board members Ron Parsons and Steven Birkland.
Children enjoy arts and crafts during a ‘Quality of Life’ Bahá’í Family Conference April 22-23 at Fargo, North Dakota.
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Remember to Attend Your District Convention Sunday, October 1 |
Some $455 was raised during an auction for the National Bahá’í Fund at a ‘Quality of Life’ Bahá’í Family Conference April 22–23 at Fargo, North Dakota.
Mary Moore (left) and Tanya Gavorski (center) of the Bahá’í community of Santa Maria, California, present the book and cassette tape, ‘The Gift,’ to the Santa Maria Children’s Public Library as a part of the Bahá’í Week observance in Santa Maria.
Varied ‘Bahá’í Week’ Program Proclaims Faith in Santa Maria[edit]
March 26-April 2 was “Bahá’í Week” in Santa Maria, California, with a proclamation by Mayor Elwin Mussell and an international potluck dinner underscoring the many activities planned by the Bahá’í community in that dairy farming center in the southwestern area of the state.
The Spiritual Assembly of Santa Maria publicized the week’s events with newspaper ads, radio spots, window posters, and flyers.
On Sunday, March 26, a 30-minute Bahá’í Week presentation was incorporated in the regular weekly Bahá’í program on Santa Maria’s KSEE Radio.
The following day, the book and cassette tape, “The Gift,” were presented to the Santa Maria Children’s Public Library.
Other events during the week included a literature display at Allan Hancock College, with believers available to answer questions; a public talk and music program at the Evans Park recreation building; a musical presentation and introduction to the Faith at a local rest home; an “open house” attended by some 40 children that included filmstrips, literature, pantomime, songs, and free balloons with the theme “One Planet, One People...Please”; and another public proclamation and music program at Evans Park.
New Believers Should Be Told Necessity of Supporting Fund[edit]
Who among us would fail to instruct a new member of the Bahá’í family on the importance of fasting and prayer? These practices are essential to the spiritual growth and well-being of every Bahá’í.
It is equally important to ensure that a new believer understands the necessity of contributing to the Fund, as his spiritual growth also depends in part upon the assumption of this responsibility.
We may be reluctant to inform a new believer of his obligation to support the Bahá’í Fund because religious fund-raising in this society is so sadly abused, but it is no kindness to leave a new Bahá’í unaware of the means that Bahá’u’lláh has provided to aid his spiritual growth.
The Guardian asserted, “Every Bahá’í, no matter how poor, must realize what a grave responsibility he has to shoulder in this connection, and should have confidence that his spiritual progress as a believer in the World Order of Bahá’u’lláh will largely depend upon the measure in which he proves, in deeds, his readiness to support materially the divine institutions of the Faith.” (Shoghi Effendi, through his secretary, to the National Spiritual Assembly of India and Burma, July 17, 1937)
During these last months of the Five Year Plan, abundant financial resources are necessary to extend, consolidate, and preserve our victories. An important aid in this task is the conscientious effort made by the members of every community to ensure that both old and new believers understand the uniqueness of the Fund.
When teaching the Faith, include a discussion of the role that the Fund plays in the spiritual growth of the individual and in the unfoldment of the World Order of Bahá’u’lláh. Does it work? Just read the following letter!
Fund Spurs Declarations[edit]
Dear Bahá’í Friends:
It is surprising that many communities feel the Fund should not be discussed when non-Bahá’ís are present!
The Fund is as much a part of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh as the Covenant, the Administration, and the Guardianship. Maybe this is why we have such a poor showing on our National Fund goals.
The principles of the Fund are so unique that they can serve as a “turning point” for a non-Bahá’í.
Earlier this month, I had the pleasure of discussing the principles of the Fund at a Cluster meeting. There were about five non-Bahá’ís present, one of whom did not even know who Bahá’u’lláh was.
After a brief explanation of the Central Figures, I proceeded with questions and answers on the Fund (taken from the recent Deepening Packet from the National Education Committee). Many good questions were asked by both the Bahá’ís and non-Bahá’ís.
The non-Bahá’ís were not afraid to discuss the Fund; in fact, they welcomed it! Halfway through the discussion, one of them said she was ready to become a Bahá’í. Another said the Fund had been his only “hang-up” with the Faith; now he understood it, he was ready to consider declaring.
I hope the friends will consider hosting a Cluster program or a deepening on the Fund and that they will invite a National Treasurer’s Representative to present it.
National Treasurer’s Representative
Warrensville Heights, Ohio
The Pioneer Training Institute held June 8-11 in Wilmette, Illinois, was attended by 20 believers who will be filling pioneer posts in Chile, Japan, Lesotho, American Samoa, the Caribbean, Sweden, Honduras, Puerto Rico and Switzerland.
[Page 16]
Above: A joyous moment is shared at the 66th annual ‘Souvenir of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’ June 24 at Evergreen Cabin in Teaneck, New Jersey. Below: Some of the Bahá’ís and guests who were present June 11 at a Race Unity Day observance in Evanston, Illinois. The event attracted more than 100 people including many community leaders.
Top photo: Bahá’ís and guests who gathered June 24 at Lincoln Park in Chicago for the ‘Victory Weekend’ picnic. Bottom photo: ‘Earthrise,’ a vocal-instrumental group from Rhinebeck, New York, entertains during the ‘Victory Weekend’ observance June 24 at Evergreen Cabin in Teaneck, New Jersey.
